Sheltered [Dr Herbert West and Sigr]

[Sigr]

Private tutors at home, escorted walks through the city and an army of servants and bodyguards felt a wall taller than the one that surrounded her magnificent home. It had been there for generations, rebuilt during fires, earthquakes and typhoons, and even if it didn't always belong to the Yamamoto family, it had been theirs since the war. It would be a lie if she ever said that it was bought with honest means or money, even if she didn't exactly know how her great grandfather managed it. Holding a small strapless black dress with the tips of her fingers, Saori found amusing that something so flimsy and tiny could be... not exactly the key to freedom, but more akin to a flag to rally all her courage to do what she was about to.

After all, her grandfather's old fashioned self had been the key. With all his prevision, all his oversight, a little thing like the Internet escaped his grasp and consideration. That was what Saori had used to peek beyond her jail, to get the things she didn't dare to buy in person. Rushing through in case she lost heart, Saori soon was dressed in heels, lace lingerie and a little tight dress that reached mid tight, all in black. Looking at herself in the mirror she found her image almost impossible to recognize, specially with those ruby red lips on her face. Sneaking around a house she could move around while blindfolded and out of the walls, Saori's pale skin shone white under the full moon.

Just taking the subway was a crazy and new experience, she who was accustomed to be driven by car everywhere now was there, with the rest of people, feeling their judging stares. Courage born from naiveté, as she didn't get catcalled or asked for a date, at least not yet, so Saori felt like floating on a cloud when she reached Shinjuku. Small clubs, bars and worse awaited depending on the streets you moved, places she was aware to avoid, not for the danger they could pose as it was little, but mostly in case any of her grandfather's men recognized her. Choosing a place at random, perhaps fortune, maybe destiny, it seemed that it was a calm enough spot with many foreign tourists, or so she thought.

Getting carded and having to pay at the door, she was glad of sporting a fake id that she had managed to obtain from her home. After all, she was only eighteen and in Japan the legal age to drink was twenty. The club was nice and bigger than it seemed from outside, it could perhaps hold a couple hundred people at best, and after asking for a random drink since she knew nothing of it, Saori could see a DJ getting ready at the end of it. Wondering how music on that place could sound, Saori found her drink sweet and hot, a delicious burn that coursed through her limbs, almost preparing her for the unexpected.

As the DJ unleashed the music, Saori was completely baffled. It was some kind of mix of a mix, a blend of strange electronica that sometimes was hectic and others calm, and although the occasional foghorns startled her at first, she soon started to move her head to the beat. Seeing people wave their arms side by side at the calm beats, she soon joined as one more, daring to follow the vibes. When the song picked up again, her drink was empty and discarded and soon she started to dance and bounce along with the rest of the people there, her long black hair flowing around her bare shoulders.

It was deafening and weird, embarrassing and crazy, scary and enticing. It was everything she had dreamed of and then some, and it was just the beginning. Soon the piece ended to be promptly followed by another one, but Saori needed a breather and found herself thirsty again, so she soon headed back to the bar through the warmth of the crowd.

 

[Dr Herbert West]

Elliot stood in the middle of Shinjuku or at least that's what he was told the area was called. The original plan was was for his friend Allan to take him out to hit some of the little bars and the flashy clubs. They were both in Tokyo as part of a conference on human sexuality. There were tons of psychologists and sociologists all gathering to talk about sex and love, a hot topic in Japan with their ever shrinking birthrates. Elliot had become a bit of an authority on how people dated in the modern age despite his youth and (sadly) general lack of experience. He was one of the younger PhD's teaching at OSU and his publications on the subject of dating had really blown up. His friend, Allan Sheppard, was a psychologist who had managed to get him invited to this conference.

Allan was a little more hip but hadn't published nearly as much as Elliot either. Allan was the one who had demanded that Elliot go out with him since they had both already given their presentations. They had almost made it to the subway when Allan had gotten a call about his credit card being compromised. Allan had apologized and ran off to deal with it but Elliot had decided he would try to explore on his own. Allan had told him that he could easily hit the touristy spots and be fine though Elliot wasn't sure if he believed that.

A few places looked fun but he wasn't sure what to choose. There were dance clubs and bars and a hell of a lot of people. Where did he even begin? Elliot walked with the crowd until he found his way into a line to go into a club that thumped with dance music. He got inside no problem and before he had time to process anything he was near the bar and was caught off guard by how amazing the place looked. It wasn't just the club itself either, it was the people too. It was like being around a ton of fashion models.

Elliot was in decent shape, he worked out and did a lot of swimming to stay in shape but he wasn't a fashion guru. He was dressed in slacks, a jacket and button up shirt. The only thing missing was a tie and that was because he was trying to look more relaxed. Ah well, it just meant that he'd look pretty much as he did back home. Running his fingers through his dirty blonde hair he moved towards the bar and waited for the bartender next to a beautiful young woman. Without meaning to he looked her right in the eyes and realized that he'd been looking a little too long.

"Hi...this is a really cool club." Elliot said with a pleasant smile despite how awkward he felt.

 

[Sigr]

"I know, right?" Saori answered excited without a second thought. Her expensive and exhaustive home education allowed her to talk English almost without accent, although the small hints of it sounded more cute than anything else and were caused by the ambience and relaxation than a lack of ability to keep it at bay. Noticing for the first time who she was talking to, Saori was forced to look slightly upwards, since she was close to a man that was a least a head taller than her. It was the first foreigner she had seen up close, as non Japanese people always seemed something that was just on the movies and Internet, if you didn't count the ones that came to do business with her grandfather, moments where anything she could do was look from far away if anything.

He looked a bit out of place, then again she shouldn't be there either. Dressed a bit more formally than expected, the man made his outfit work with those broad shoulders of his, although he seemed smaller hunched by the bar. But above all, Saori's dark eyes were fixated upon his blonde hair, although its color was more of a guess as it seemed to change according to the lights of the club, seeming red one moment, blue another. "Do you know Japanese? If not, getting an order on a noisy club can be a challenge..." she guessed, seeing how awkwardly he seemed to be there. "Tell me what are you drinking and I'll ask for two of them" Saori added, feeling bold and using a line she remembered from a videogame to look more forward than she really was.

She felt curious about what was a man like that doing in such a place, feeling almost like he was a window to a world she had never been in, unaware that he could feel similar with her, but the club was a place for hard drinks and charged dancing, hardly the place to talk. The music continued getting crazier by the minute, with an MC hyping up the crowd as Saori was visibly bouncing excited on the spot.

 

[Dr Herbert West]

It was hard for Elliot not to start bouncing just a bit himself from the energy of the club as well as his new friend. He blushed a bit and nodded, "Yeah, I don't know any Japanese I'm sad to say." The music felt like it was even louder now that he was trying to talk to someone. He felt like he was shouting at the poor girl and hoped that he didn't come across as too aggressive. Allan had told him that a lot of Japanese people thought Americans were all really loud. "If you could get me..." Elliot paused trying to figure out what to order. He didn't drink often but when he did it was usually just something simple like a beer. Honestly he had no idea what beer culture was like in Japan so he just went with the first mixed drink he could think of. "Uh...Rum and coke or maybe a mojito or...just...something with rum in it."

Elliot had to laugh at his own silly answer and just shrugged it off. Looking at her, he was really taken with her appearance. There were a lot of pretty girls in the club but this one...there was something different about her that he just couldn't place. After she ordered their drinks he decided to try and continue the conversation. She was being exceptionally kind, helping him and such. "My name is Elliot by the way! Elliot Spencer, thank you so much for your help!"

The music and the atmosphere were hypnotic. It was like fun had been made form there. The lights flashed and strobed all over the club in a rainbow of colors synced perfectly with the music. The people in the club were clearly having an amazing time and weren't afraid to jump up and down, waving their arms and dancing as one big group. Was this what all clubs were like? It was hard for him to believe that this was what he had been missing for years while he spent time in labs and an office. "This place is incredible!" He added, absolutely positive that if he didn't make a fool of himself then he would have an incredible time.

 

[Sigr]

"Two Mojito's then, they sound amusing" Saori said with a smile, both ordering them in Japanese from a bartender that was more than pleased to tend to her and paying them as soon as they were served. Offering one of the glasses to him, Saori soon tinkled it with her own, accompanying the gesture with a cheerful "Kanpai!" as she did so. "It's so fresh and sweet!" she added with surprise once she tasted it. "Saori Yamamoto!" she introduced herself over the music, arranging her name and surname in occidental fashion for ease of comprehension, thinking for a moment that perhaps it wasn't prudent to use her surname, but there was no way that a non Japanese speaker thought anything of a more or less surname and even less to tie it with the Yakuza.

Feeling that she had to yell too much to talk, she instead approached him until their bodies were touching, and tiptoed to be closer to her ear. "Call me Saori, it's a pleasure Elliot" she said, backing off half a step. The thirst started to disappear, quenched by rum and mint, and none of them seemed to be able to avoid the contagious beat of the music. Even Elliot who may had seemed stuffy at first, was seemingly having fun while Saori bounced and looked at him with curiosity. Finally he praised the place, sharing her feeling about it showing her a dazzling and honest smile.

As the MC seemed to take a brief rest, the music banged harder and harder, making impossible to resist its pull. "Come on, lets dance!" Saori said, finishing her drink and promptly grabbing Elliot by his free hand. It was manly but soft, way bigger than hers and firm. After waiting a moment so he could finish his drink and either accept the invitation and let himself be dragged or refused outright. Saori threw herself into the dance floor, bouncing wild next to Elliot if he accepted, cheering him to just letting himself go and share the moment with the crowd and her.

 

[Dr Herbert West]

There was a drink in Elliot's hand before he could fish his wallet out to offer to pay for his own drink. A bit naive, he figured she had a tab going and he'd just pay Saori back after they were done talking. She was so cute and playful that it was hard not to just play along to get more of her. When Saori pressed closer to talk to him, Elliot felt the electric shot of attraction hit him hard. It was a little embarrassing that just that little bit of contact had his heart racing but he did his best to play it cool.

"Sure!" He said as she dragged him to the dance floor. Elliot had barely finished his drink and set it on the bar before he found himself in the crowd, bouncing to the music with her. This wasn't at all something that he would normally do but he loved every minute of it. It felt insane to think that he hadn't been doing this before now. Elliot also found that dancing with Saori was so much fun to dance with. Never at any point did he feel like she was judging him if his dancing wasn't the best. If anything he felt like the more enthusiasm he showed the happier it seemed to make her. In that moment it was easy to be carefree and to just let go. The drink had made it easy too, as Elliot was a total lightweight.

After what Elliot thought was several songs (it was so hard to tell since they seemed to fade from one to the next) he leaned in close to Saori, trying to ignore the charge he got from their bodies touching and said, "I think I might need another drink. This time they're on me though. What do you say?"

 

[Sigr]

Bright pearls of sweat spotted here and there on Saori's pale skin as they stopped dancing, recovering balance by leaning on each other. The air was electric, but they seemed to ground each other in that crazy night. "Mojito!" was Saori's enthusiastic answer to Elliot's proposal, happy to share her adventure with someone else. Back at the bar, she did the ordering while Elliot did the paying, cheering "Kanpai!" once more when the drinks were served, something quite odd to do in a bar, but still amusing by itself. As they quenched their thirst, the MC seemed to take stage once more, adding hype and variety to the show.

There were so many questions Saori wanted to ask, so many things she wondered about... and yet part of her just wanted to party. After all it wasn't like she could talk properly in that place. Things were a bit awkward, their eyes meeting and avoiding each other, almost in a dance of their own, and it was in one of those averted glances when Saori noticed. One of her grandfather's trusted men was on the bar, talking with some guy that looked like one of the managers. For a moment Saori thought that he was looking for her, but such a thing was impossible, as nobody could know where she was. Then he must be there for business, but it didn't matter anyways, as even if she looked different, there was still a chance he recognized her.

"It's crazy hot in here!" Saori said trying to hide her rattled nerves, leaning into Elliot and tip toeing close to his ear. "Lets go elsewhere!" she decided, finishing the rest of the drink with a gulp, holding Elliot's hand. "Runaway! Runaway! Top Speed!..." the MC chanted on the scenario as Saori dragged Elliot out of there. The night in Shinjuku was nothing near cool, but compared to the inside of the club it felt refreshing. Saori was still holding to his hand, getting away from the bar as they went deeper into Kabuki-cho, the red light district. It was of course a quite safe spot plagued with cameras to discourage crime, but a naive and drunk person could still get conned if he intended to buy the wrong girl's affections.

"Last tickets! Last tickets!" a voice echoed down the street, peddling some kind of show under the neon craze the streets were by night. "Oh! I've heard of this place! You'll love it!" Saori said, welcoming the hiding spot and small respite. She also was curious about that place, so it was a happy accident. Taking and paying for a couple of tickets, soon Saori and Elliot were in the waiting room of the Robot Restaurant, a place that looked like the most garish Bond villain hideout you could imagine. Every surface was a screen, a light, a mirror or just plain golden. It was like sinking into a kaleidoscope, and only sitting down on a table allowed them to recover a bit of their direction sense.

"This is crazy!" Saori said, one would almost think of a kid on a toy store, judging for the innocent and happy tone of her voice, but just one look at her little black dress could convince you otherwise. It was the first time they could see each other under good light, and the result was showing. As soon as she landed eyes on the blonde hair and handsome features of Elliot, with that physique hidden by his serious clothes, Saori ended up staring more than a little bit. "The show will still take a bit, so... tell me something about yourself" Saori said, wanting to know more.