Mascots are better than people

Nagisa bit her lip in discomfort as she read the email she had just got from her brother on her cellphone.
Hey I know we were supposed to meet at 5 but the meeting is going to take longer than I thought. We should meet in an hour or so I'll text you for more details. Again sorry.
She was going to see her older brother, Masahiko, that day but apparently he managed to be late again. When Masahiko was still a student they would go out once a week, usually at this particular theme park and they would simply have fun like normal siblings. However, after he enrolled in university he began to spent even less time with her and he would skip their meetings from time to time. Now that he was working on their father's company they only met once or twice per month and only for a few hours. Surely he was still coming home for dinner occasionally but it wasn't the same.

Frustrated she sat on one of the nearest benches. She resisted the urge to slam her expensive cellphone on the ground and instead she placed it inside her purse. She was wearing a long pink coat with white buttons and fur around the collar along with white boots, her long hair were loose as usually. She tried to calm herself down by looking at the children playing however the only thing is her view was a young boy digging his nose and a mother dragging her daughter who was nagging her for more candy. Frankly none of them made her feel any better instead they irritated her even more.

Jack felt silly... well sillyer then normal at least. Today he was, once again, put on mascot duty. This meant going around the park and making a general fool of himself. Sigh... This was NOT worth seven fifty an hour. Honestly... running around in a silly costume making an utter idiot of yourself just to make people laugh, who would do that? Jack would much rather be out on patrol in his ranger suit. Unfortunately being a Featherman Ranger doesn't pay and if Jack wanted to continue to feed his addiction to buying useless junk on the internet... he had to keep these people happy... Speak of the devil... There was someone looking quite down.

"Well hey there young lady, you seem down in the dumpity dumps. What's wrong? Hyuck Hyuck, You can tell your old friend Marty the Marry Martian!" Jack nearly gagged at his words... Ugh... there was no ambition or fire in these words! Jack's heroic heart screamed in pain as the words left his mouth..."Say... do you want a balloon?Hyuck Hyuck!"

There were many things that Nagisa thought that could happen that day but getting offered a balloon by Marty the Merry Martian wasn't one of them. Under normal circumstances she would have shoo the mascot away but the character brought her back the childhood memory of her and her brother chasing a mascot of the said character to give them balloons and take a picture with them. Due to that memory she was unable to get mad at him.

"Thank you..you are very kind but don't you think that I'm a bit too old for this? I mean that little girl over there would appreciate it more than me." She replied as she pointed towards to the crying girl. "Though I don't think her mother would be exactly trilled, or willing to buy her at that point... I think I can understand her though. Sometimes people who you love can drive you to your limits, don't you agree, Marty?" She added as she made a bit more room to the bench so the mascot could sit as well. "Don't get me wrong I'm usually a bitch. I just need some company until the person I'm waiting for shows up.

Well now... People don't usually call themselves bitches... nor do they then invite other people, who happen to be wearing fluffy mascot costumes by the way, to sit with them and shoot the breeze. So Jack was obviously a little taken aback by the offer, though it wasn't exactly unwelcome...Hyuck Hyuck! As much as I'd love to sprinkle some love and fun on her day! Something tells me that would make her juuuust a bit more insufferable! Hyuck Hyuck!" Jack sat down next to the odd girl and crossed his left leg over his right. He took out a balloon and an automated pump. He inflated the balloon and handed it to the girl on a string."Hyuck Hyuck, I see what you mean though. When you love some one, you'll put up with just about anything from them. All cus they give you that warm fuzzy feeling in your heart! Hyuck Hyuck! So who are you waiting for young lady?"

Nagisa stared at the mascot for a bit. Even she couldn't come up with something to say. It wasn't in her nature to trust strangers after all but maybe the connection of the costume with her childhood or the anonymous status it provide the person who wore it had weaken her guard. She turned her gaze away from the mascot and gazed at the feris wheel.

"I'm not waiting for someone important so if you want to hear a cliche story about boy doesn't show up on date for the girl then I'm afraid I will disappoint you. I'm here simply to meet my... I'm here to see a family member. I have been looking forward for it but he's too busy lately so he had to make a rearrangement to our schedule. I understand why he had to do it and frankly I would have done the same if I was in his place but it still hurts."

At that point Nagisa leaned backwards and faced the afternoon sky. "What about you? Why are you here, I can bet all the money I have on my that you don't do it because you enjoy being dressed like that and act like a clown... So what is it for you Marty?" Her tune was more direct, and even somewhat hostile, than before and yet she was able to maintain her composure.

When Jack got into work this morning he didn't expect two things... One, for Golem... the personification of his inner true self... to laugh at him and his mascot costume... it was weird to! Sense Golem for some reason sounded a lot like Jack it almost felt like he was laughing at himself. A weird sensation to say the least. Second, to have a heart to heart with a stranger while dressed up as a beet red martian... Surprise is the spice of life he supposes... or something like that...

"You say it like he's NOT important..." Jack's silly falsetto faltered slightly, making him sound slightly more serious,"If you care about him enough to be hurt by his absense, even when you understand and agree with why, I'd say that makes him "Someone Important"... Oh uh... Hyuck Hyuck," Jack hoped she could tell he was smiling under his big puffy mascot head.

Jack regarded her question for a moment and chuckled slightly, dropping the voice entirely"Beats flipping burgers... Plus, I get to help people like you."

Nagisa again took a moment of silence before she replied to the mascot. It was true that her brother's distance was making her sad but perhaps for the first time in her life she wasn't going out of her way to get what she wanted, her brother's attention was something she desired but in the end it wasn't something she wanted to force in order to happen.

"You are weird. But I guess the joke's on me since I'm the one who started it. I always got what I wanted in my life. Dresses, jewels even friends. I could find a way to get that... kinsman of mine to pay attention to me like he used to but... I want him to do it on his own accord and not because I have orchestrated his affection.

At that pont she stopped once again. She found it even harder to keep her cool and keep talking about Masahiko. So she decided to change the topic.

"Do you think it's lazy not to want for someone's feelings? Personally I do think I'm a bit selfish for wanted to be loved without trying to gain his affection after all this is how every relationship work. Would you still talking to me if I had been rude or cold to you when you first asked me how I was doing? People are eager to believe that there's someone out there who would always love and take care of you but that's a lie. People simply can't love without something in return it's within our nature. What's the point of taking care of someone when they can't give you nothing in return. I'm sure that he thought of it many times, not willingly, but it just happened and now he's slowly leaving me behind. Have you ever felt that? Have you ever found yourself unable to keep hanging out with your old friends or keep going out with your girlfriend?"

Nagisa didn't expect an honest answer or an answer at all for that matter but still she wanted to give the mascot a try. Maybe in the end he could prove her wrong, she certainly hoped so but was she really that far away from the truth?

Jack couldn't help but laugh at her comment. Yes he supposed he was weird... but then again he noticed the Pot calling the kettle black."Yes yes, I'm weird... But then again I'm not the one having a heart to heart with a dude in a mascot costume now am I? I'd say you're pretty weird yourself. Not that that's a bad thing, weird people make the world interesting after all." Jack's laughter died down once she finished her speech however. He could feel her emotions seeping from every word. She was definitely in distress.

However, once she mentioned him having a girlfriend, a slight blush etched his way onto his face as he remembered the cup of ZyuGreen Tea he shared with Oki... He pushed the thought out of his mind... Now was not the time for his little crush to rear it's ugly head."Hmm, I'd say you're not to different from that little girl over there after all. See, all her life she's been given things without even trying, candy, friends, affection... all just because she wanted it. So it stands to reason that she's confused by the fact that now she can't have the candy that she wants. She doesn't understand why Mommy won't give her what she wants... Dose Mommy not love her anymore? Did she do something wrong to make mommy mad? She's confused and hurt... So she's dealing witht he problem the only way she knows how? By kicking and screaming... You on the other hand seem to deal with the same emotions by sitting on benches and talking to strange guys in costumes. Personally I'd go with the screaming myself. There is one more difference between you and her though... She's to young to understand that, no matter what, Mommy will always love her. That even if she's a brat and demands affection without giving anything back, Mommy will always be there to love and comfort her, even when it seems like Mommy doesn't care, that because Mommy isn't giving you candy, doesn't mean mommy doesn't love you. You are..." Jack gently placed a comforting hand on her shoulder."You should understand that even though he's not here, I'm sure he still loves you unconditionally."

Nagisa couldn't convince herself to believe that. Was there truly someone out there who could love her unconditionally? She wasn't the easiest person to deal with, she knew that much, so as long as she had something to give in return she could keep the people she wanted close to her. However she still hoped that the mascot was right, she did want her brother to love her because she was his sister and not because she was fun to hang out with.

"Are you sure about that?" She asked the mascot "I can't imagine myself loving someone who couldn't offer me anything in return. Maybe the only reason I care about this person is because when we are together he treats me really nicely. If he wasn't kind to me then I guess I wouldn't want to see him either. How can you be so certain that people can love without any condition. Have you ever cared for someone who couldn't possibly return your feelings one way or another?"

The last line came out a bit more hostile than Nagisa intended but she didn't apologize for it. Instead she took a deep breath in order to regain control of her emotions. After that she simply stared at the mascot like she was trying to see the person's face through the costume.

Her gaze seemed to cut through Jack's costume. It almost felt like she was trying to see his face under the mask. He gulped slightly at her harsh tone of voice... it was almost accusatory. Like she was saying "how dare you try to contradict me"... To be honest it made Jack feel a little uncomfortable, but he's nothing if not persistent. He laughed the feeling off and scratched the mascot head's cheek."Well, the way I see it you have two options. Ether one, continue to be selfish and test his love for you, or two, be a bit kinder to him. Ether way I don't think he'd ever truly stop loving you, so it would be more for your own benefit then anything else, still, I'm sure it would make him happy,"

Jack looked down at his feet and sighed," And to answer your question... Yeah... I have, but that didn't change how I felt. How you feel for a person can only change if you let it... Understand what I'm saying?"

"To love someone without having something to gain I wonder if he thinks that such a thing is possible. If you take me for an example then I guess it is something that's unavoidable but that doesn't mean that it's not stupid." She replied before she broke the 'eye contract' she had with the mascot. It was funny that a person dressed like that made so compelling arguments.

"I'm not a child so I can't expect others to care for my every decisions any longer nor I should expect to coddle me... I just need to brave through it. Thank you for listening to me, you've given me a lot to think about." She added as she checked the time on her cellphone. "Are you usually this friendly with the customers or I just happened to be the first one who needed to be cheered up like that?"

"I'm sure he dose..." Jack smiled slightly and turned to look at the children playing before him. They didn't understand how love could hurt. To them love was just an amazing feeling that they got for free. Jack knew all to well the pain of love, but he kept an optimistic view about it."Well, you've stumbled across the real reason I love my job... Every now and then I meet someone who needs help on a more personal level... And for some reason they feel more comfortable talking about their problems with Marty the Marry Martian then another person... I'm just happy I can help." Jack did his best to give her a thumbs up under his large fluffy gloves... Yeah... he loved his job.

Nagisa smiled at the mascot as she stood from the bench. "Keep this up and I will request to promote you, if there's even a promotion for mascots that is. Thank you for hanging out with me. I'm not sure that I agree with you but at least you made some interesting arguments..." At that point Nagisa remembered that she haven't introduced herself to him. There was no harm in telling him her name since this mascot couldn't possibly be someone she knew so she offered her hand for a handshake.

"My name is Nagisa by the way. A pleasure to make your acquaintance mister Marty. I hope to see you again when I visit the park. Hopefully this time my kin will show up on time. Oh and you don't have to tell me your real name, at least not yet, it would be more awkward than it already is." Marty the merry Martian was the mascot of the Galaxy theme park for ages and yet for the first time Nagisa had a conversation with him, she did realize that in reality it was simply a random guy in a costume, however thinking that she was speaking to a fictional character made her overcome her coldness and speak more openly about her troubles.

Jack felt content as he stood from the bench. He chuckled to himself and dusted his suit off and took a silly pose putting hands on his head and wagging his hips, his silly voice returning to him"Hyuck Hyuck! Well if you ever need a friendly friend friend Marty the Mary Martian will always be here! Just look me up and I'll be happy to help! Hyuck Hyuck! Later Space Alligator!" With that Jack hopped off into the sunset... Nagisa was a nice girl. He hopped things worked out for her... More then that... Even though she said she was mean she had been nice to Jack. So he hoped they could meet again some day... Oh well.. back to balloons and bratty kids.

(Exit)