Tour Guide

“…And this is where the porn is, if you get bored.” Tala excitedly showed them all around the streets without missing a single detail, the seventh or eighth building they pointed out being full of all sorts of interesting contents.

“Oh, keep that one in mind for Mom.” Katie noted.

“This place has good karaage” they kept walking the sisters through the streets without skipping a beat, seemingly having done this many, many times before. “Skip that one, they kicked me out last week…”

Frankie’s eyes couldn’t help but to drift in the crowded and overstimulating surroundings. It became apparent to her that, not just did Tara and those punks from before have trickery, but most people in this place did. Considering the price and bizarreness of the machinery, at least in her home country, there was something about it she just couldn’t wrap her mind around.

“Any questions so far? Sorry, I know it’s a lot to take in.”

Frankie looked away, somehow afraid it would be rude to ask.

“Do you know… why… everyone here’s so decked-out?”

“Huh?” Tala raised an eyebrow. “Oh! The trickery. Yes, we have a lot of that here. It’s Miyano’s fault, she’s the one who polluted our popular culture with depictions of it. It’s made a lot cheaper here, to the point where even kids can afford it. Can’t be too surprised if it fails on you, though…”

“Miyano? Like, that Miyano?” Frankie asked, just a little shocked to hear her name so casually.

“Which else? She does own the park. Tell me- you are a fan, right?”

“Huge one. I mean, I- watched Rouge anime before I could even read subtitles, that’s… why we came here.”

“Good for you, then. But yeah, they’re kind of obsessed with her work here. The other ones… I mean. That’s why they attacked you in the first place- not like they wanted money or anything, just a chance to reenact their favorite scenes.”

“As the villains?” Questioned Katie.

“These are dark times.” Tara happened to look up into the equally dark sky.

“Is there a place we can sleep?” Frankie was ready to turn in so she could take this park in fully tomorrow.

“Try this one! Used to go there a lot.” The young Kaneko pointed to a hotel they already went far from. “It’s cheap, and they’ll treat you well because they don’t get a lot of business. No cross-promos currently going on either, so you won’t run into more fanboys. Not too many, at least.”

“Thanks!” She examined the tall building that was relatively short compared to the others that pierced the sky. No overhead coasters here, thankfully- just the ones coiling around buildings like dragons. She started to walk over to it.

“Er- wait!” Their tour guide suddenly stopped them.

“What is it?” Frankie wasn’t trying to be rude, but she was honestly afraid the two of them were becoming an annoyance at this point.

“I could show you around more tomorrow. Check out some shops and rides. Can I get your numbers?”

“Oh, sure…” Frankie exchanged her own.

“Thanks…” Tala looked relieved. “See you tomorrow?”

“Sure, meet us here.” Frankie smiled. It wasn’t hard to talk to people when they were this nice. “Hey, can I get a picture with you?”

“Hell yeah!”

Frankie got an especially fun shot of the three of them posing to send to Mom later that night.