CHAPTER 21:
INT. JIRO’S APARTMENT-MORNING
(Takao and Jiro are studying in Jiro’s living room. Jiro closes his book.)
Jiro: Well, there’s nothing more I can do for you. You’re gonna ace the next exam and there’s no reason you should be worried about the final.
(Takao smiles and closes his book. Suddenly, a knock is heard at the door. Jiro gets up and opens the door. Yuriko is standing outside. She smiles and leaps into his arms.)
Yuriko: I aced my History exam, babe!
Jiro: Hey, congrats! You want to go get some breakfast to celebrate?
Yuriko: Sounds great!
Jiro: Hey, Takao, you want to come with?
(Yuriko’s smile slowly leaves her face, as Takao stands up from the couch and walks toward them.)
Takao: Nah, I’m gonna head home. Thanks for the invite, though.
Jiro: No problem, man. Have a good one!
Takao: You too, bro.
(Takao and Jiro high-five and then bring it in for a quick bro hug. Takao walks out of the room and shuts the door behind him. Yuriko stares at Jiro, trying to think of what to say. Jiro quickly becomes uncomfortable.)
Jiro: What?
Yuriko: You were gonna bring your friend along on our date?
Jiro: Date? What are you talking about? You didn’t say it was a date.
(Jiro turns around and begins putting his books aside, as if trying to avoid an argument.)
Yuriko: I didn’t think that I’d have to! Jiro, do you realize that we haven’t spent any time, just the two of us, in over a month?
Jiro: Oh, bullshit, there’s no way. I hang out with you all the time.
Yuriko: Are you kidding me?! The few times we hang out, we’re never alone, and every goddamn time, Takao’s there!
Jiro: Whoa, wait a second, do you have a problem with Takao?
Yuriko: I don’t have a problem with him. I have a problem with the fact that you hang out with him almost every second of the day and you don’t even want to spend one breakfast alone with me!
Jiro: We are going to breakfast, just the two of us! What is your problem?
Yuriko: My problem? I just told you my problem, have you even been listening?!
Jiro: …Yeah, Yuriko, I heard you. I’m sorry, if you think that I’m ignoring you. I’ve been busy, okay! I’ve been dealing with work, school, and tutoring Takao. All while trying to balance my social life and sleep schedule. It’s not easy, you know.
Yuriko: I deal with all of that, too! Except for the tutoring Takao part, of course, but, you get the point. You know what, let’s just go to breakfast, I’m starving and I’m stressed out and I’m taking it out on you…
(Jiro quickly reaches out and hugs Yuriko. He kisses her on the forehead.)
Jiro: I think we both just need to chill out. We’ve got a lot on our plate and it’s starting to get to us. Let’s just go get some breakfast and relax.
Yuriko: You’re right.
(Yuriko breathes a sigh of relief, trying to calm down. Jiro guides her out the door.)
INT. JIRO’S APARTMENT-EVENING
(Goro, Honda, and Takao are standing outside Jiro’s apartment. Goro knocks on the door and Yuriko quickly answers. They all stand there, silent, but only for a moment.)
Jiro: CHILDREN CREATE THE WORLD!
(Dazzle Vision’s song “Vision” explodes from Jiro’s speakers. Goro, Honda, and Takao throw their hands into the air and begin head banging. Yuriko shrugs and joins in.)
INT. DAZZLE VISION CONCERT
(The group has made it into the concert and is leaping up and down and head banging, as they listen to the song “Here.”)
Takao: THIS IS F***ING EPIC!!!
Honda: YOU SAID IT, BRO!
(Honda and Goro head butt each other and then return to jumping around like idiots. “Here” ends and “Like I’m Not Real” begins.)
Takao: HELL YEAH!
Jiro: DUDE, COME ON! LET’S GET A BETTER VIEW!
(Takao and Jiro rush through the crowd, hurrying to the front. Yuriko soon notices that she has been left alone in the crowd. She looks around, nervously.)
Yuriko: JIRO! …JIRO!
(She accidentally stumbles into a mosh pit. A large man with a Mohawk stumbles into her, knocking her to the ground. She looks up, to see the man staring at her.)
Punk: Well, well, well! Look what we have here…
(The man picks Yuriko up and holds on to her arm, bringing her in close to his chest.)
Yuriko: GET THE HELL OFF ME YOU F***ING PERV!
(Yuriko struggles to break out of his grip, but the two of them eventually get lost in the mosh pit. Jiro stops and turns around.)
Jiro: WHERE’D YURIKO GO?!
Takao: I DON’T KNOW!
(Jiro bolts past Takao, searching for her. Takao disappears leaving behind Yoshiro. Yoshiro leaps into the air and scans the crowd, hoping to see Yuriko. He sees her in the middle of a mosh pit, struggling to get out. Suddenly, a demon leaps through the wall and tackles him. Jimmy is standing in the crowd and points at the demon and Yoshiro, trying to grab everyone’s attention.)
Jimmy: DOESN’T ANYBODY SEE WHAT THE F*** IS GOING ON?!
(Jimmy grabs a nearby punk and shakes him around, pointing at Yoshiro and the demon. The man punches Jimmy in the face, knocking him half-way across the room. Yoshiro grabs the demon’s arm and burns it off. He quickly plunges his foot into the demon’s chest and swings him around. He slams the demon into the ground and thrusts his hand into his face, sending him back to Hell. Another two demons rush in from the ceiling.)
Yoshiro: I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS SHIT!
(Yoshiro leaps into the air and pulls his scythe out of his weapons device. He stabs the closest demon and flings him into the other, knocking them out of the room. He pulls out his fake body device and transforms back into Takao. He rushes over to Yuriko, but before he can reach her, Jiro rushes in and punches the punk holding onto her, in the face. The punk is lifted off of his feet and hits the floor, with his face heavily bleeding. He gets up and makes his way toward Jiro. Jiro shoves Yuriko behind himself, ready to fight. Takao leaps in the way and knees the punk in the stomach. He then lands a devastating uppercut to the guy’s chin. He hits the ground, but doesn’t get up this time. A few of the guy’s friends rush over to assist him. Takao punches one of them in the face, but the other kicks Takao in the chest, knocking him away. Jiro rushes up and catches Takao. He sets him down and slides underneath an incoming punch. He jabs the guy in the ribs and then busts his kneecap with his foot. He head butts the guy, knocking him to the ground. Blood runs down Jiro’s head, causing his vision to fog up. One of the punk-ass guys rushes in, but Goro runs up from behind Jiro and punches him in the jaw, shattering a few teeth. Honda leaps over Goro and kicks another one in the head, causing him to hit his jaw off the ground.)
Goro: COME GET SOME, ASSHOLES!
(Goro clutches his muscle, taunting the men. Honda gets into a martial arts stance, ready for some action.)
Honda: THIS IS THE BEST F***ING PART ABOUT METAL CONCERTS!
(Takao and Jiro run up and continue to pummel the incoming douche bags. Once the numbers have thinned, Jiro runs over and guides Yuriko to the entrance. They enter the light outside and Yuriko sees that Jiro has a black-eye and a bloody lip, as well as his sleeve being torn off and blood running down his arm.)
Yuriko: Jiro, are you okay?!
Jiro: Hahaha! Yeah, I’m fine. Are you alright?
Yuriko: Of course, I’m alright! But, this wouldn’t have happened in the first place, if you hadn’t have left me there!
Jiro: Really? You’re gonna lecture me after I just got my ass kicked trying to save you?
Yuriko: Ass kicked?! What happened to “Yeah, I’m fine?”
Jiro: You know what I meant, Yuriko.
Yuriko: No, I don’t! You need to tell me what you mean! You ditched me to hang out with Takao and left me, alone, with a bunch of huge, scary, perverts!
Jiro: I thought you were going to follow us! I didn’t realize that you hadn’t heard me and stayed behind!
Yuriko: You know what, it’s over. Let’s stop dwelling on it and just move on. You’d better get in there and make sure your friends are okay.
Jiro: Our friends, Yuriko, OUR friends.
(Jiro rushes back inside, leaving Yuriko at the entrance.)