“Aw! Look at this Tomio! It’s my favorite animal!” Emi excitedly calls Tomio as she limps over to an exhibit at the zoo. There’s not a lot of people around today. It’s not too hot making it perfect for shorts. Tomio comes over to Emi, looking at the iron fence below. A solitary creature with a head of a giraffe, a body of a mule, and legs with zebra stripes
“An okapi! Didn’t think they would have one of those?” He observes the okapi lazily chewing on some leaves from some shrubbery.
”Okapis are like a mish-mash of so many animals into one. And somehow it’s still so cute!”
”So it’s kind of like me?” Tomio suggested referring to his mixed Italian and Japanese heritage.
Emi’s laughter rings out with her face blushing, as she leans against the railing. “Maybe.” She nudges her head into Tomio’s shoulder.
”Just maybe, huh?” Tomio smiles and shakes his head. “Ha. I see how it is. Okay, then.” He smirks before he asks Emi. “What kind of animal do you think you’re like? You can’t say Armadillo!”
“Hmm…” Emi thinks about it for a moment. “I never thought about it. What do you think, Tomio? About me?”
Tomio is put on the spotlight from Emi’s question. He has to really be honest with himself and Emi if he wants to leave a good impression with her on his date. “I think you’re strong, Emi. In the mind, in the heart, and in the spirit. You have a charm that I don’t really see in most other girls. You don't give in so easily which I really like about you Emi. You care about your friends and family. You're one of a kind, Emi."
Tomio's words instantly instigate a blushing response from Emi's cheeks. They glow red against her olive tan skin. Her dark green eyes gleaming as Tomio speaks about her.
”And you also hate being cold too!” Tomio laughs. “You fit right in with the Texas heat.”
Emi blushes even more and playfully swats Tomio’s arm. “T…that’s no fair. You can’t just name all of my good traits and finish off by saying I don’t like winter.”
”I’m sorry but it’s so true, Emi!” Tomio grins. “Even when we were kids, you would dress up like an Eskimo whenever it would get colder than 60 degrees.”
”So that makes me a summer creature.” Emi leans over the fence and comes up with an animal. She thinks about her dark skin and brunette hair before coming up with the perfect animal to represent herself. “You know what, Tomio? I think I’m like a jaguar! They are athletic, fast, and don’t like to get cold! Ragwh!” Emi paws her hands at Tomio like one.
”That’s perfect, Emi! And just like one, you’ve been hunting for me for years!”
Emi’s cheeks burn even warmer than the Texas sun as her hands freeze mid paw. “I….uh…..was…” She shakes her head nervously and tries to make a comeback. “Oh you think I’m wild like one don’t you, To-mio!” She places her hands on her hips between her clutches. “You know I could be wild in more ways than one.” Emi didn’t realize the meaning of her words until it was too late. Her face starts to blush even more and now it’s obvious she’s been flirting with Tomio and took it to the extreme.
”Ah…ha…wh…what?” Tomio is now blushing along with her. The two of them look awkwardly at each other, knowing full well that they have a connection that’s going beyond just a long time friendship since their childhood. So…um…yeah…Jaguars are cool…yeah.”
”Y…yeah...and okapis too…They’re cute.” Emi rubs the back of her head. The okapi flicks its ears from the little conversation between Tomio and Emi and goes back to chewing. A staff member of the Zoo is coming through with a bucket of hay, vegetables, and shoots. He’s a young caucasian male with mildly long red hair, blue eyes, and stands about the same height as Tomio if not taller.
“Excuse me, coming through.” He announces as Emi and Tomio didn’t realize they were blocking the gate to the exhibit.
“Oh. Sorry about that.” Tomio remarked as he backed off with Emi.
“It’s all good… When he turns to look at Tomio and Emi, he has this look of realization. “Wait just a second…you’re….you two are Mil-Simmers…you’re the squad leaders from Team Lonestar!”
“You recognize us?” Emi asks. She looks over at Tomio who is just as confused as she is. They don’t recognize who this employee working at this zoo is. His name on his uniform “Garrett” is not in their mental roster of friends or acquaintances.
”Yeah! You two are representing our state in the tournament! You both were amazing in the last match. The players from our region are rooting for you in the next match!”
”You’re a Mil-Simmer too?” Tomio asks. “A zookeeper?”
”A zookeeper and a vet! I’m Garrett. I sometimes play Mil-Sim Story with my buds when I’m not busy with feeding and caring for the animals around here. I know this chick who’s like really really good at competition shooting that sometimes plays with us. She’s going to be stoked when I tell her I came across you two!”
”I didn’t realize we’d have a fanbase so close to home.” Emi says humbly. “I would have thought we wouldn’t be that interesting compared to the other teams.”
”Nah, your squads are legends with the Texas Mil-Sim Players. There’s a thread on the Mil-Sim Story forums documenting all your team's antics and players. We have guys and girls there who are big fans of you and some of your squadmates.”
”I’m not sure how I feel about that.” Emi chuckles nervously with Tomio. “The girls and I are just college students who just started playing.”
”And my squad is just a bunch of casual players.” Tomio adds. “We were just participating in the tournament for fun.” His eyes look over to Emi. “Or so we thought.”
”Well what you did in your match against Kraken and Glam Squad was pretty impressive. Ever since then, your fans have started following your stats, squad members, and we even got a few trying to ship players from the squads.”
”Excuse me.” Emi looks puzzled. “What do you mean by “ship”?”
Garrett grins, leaning on the feed bucket. "You know, shipping. Pairing people up romantically. The forums go wild over your squad mates.”
”Oh god…” Tomio blushes and shakes his head.
”Yeah, it’s a little strange, but real talk, they love your team.” Garrett grins, still holding onto the feed bucket. “Hey, since you two are really interested in our okapi exhibit, how about you join me and help me feed him?”
Emi’s eyes light up bright. “You’re serious? We can go into the exhibit with the Okapi?!”
”I’m not supposed to let guests into the exhibit but I’ll make an exception for the squad leaders of Team Lonestar if you keep it on the down low.” Garrett grabs some keys from his lanyard. “Don’t worry, Okapis are peaceful creatures. Especially Kofi here.”
”Tomio? Can we?” Emi begs Tomio.
”Hah. I don’t see why not.” Tomio shrugs. “Just watch your step. You’re still in clutches.”
”What happened to your leg, Emi?” Garrett looks at the cast covering Emi’s leg.
”I sprained my leg during a track competition for Uni. This doesn’t affect my performance in MIl-Sim story but I’ve been behind my cardio routine.” She wiggles her casted leg which still kind of hurts. “I’m just hoping it will heal soon.”
”No worries. That’s not going to stop you in Mil-Simming or feeding Kofi.” Garrett takes one of his keys and unlocks the gate. The scent from the food bucket warrants the attention from the Okapi. “Come on in. Kofi is a good boy.” Tomio and Emi follow closely behind Garrett. The okapi approaches Garret. He pulls out some greenery and the okapi’s long tongue takes a hold of it and brings it into his mouth. “Come on, don’t be afraid to feed him.”
Emi hesitates for only a second before reaching into the bucket, pulling out a handful of leafy greens. Kofi obverses curiously before his dark, velvety lips gently take the offering from her palm. He gets close enough for Emi to pet his head. “His tongue feels like paper tongue. He’s got beautiful eyes.”
Tomio can’t help but smile seeing Emi feed the okapi. Garrett pulls out a carrot from the bucket. “Here. Watch him take one of these.” He gives Tomio the carrot and Kofi walks towards him.
”Don’t be scared Tomio, he’s not going to bite.” Tomio takes Emi’s word and offers the carrot to Kofi. His tongue stretches out to grab the carrot right out from Tomio’s hand. “You’re right, Emi!” It does feel like sandpaper!”
”He’s freaking adorable!” Emi continues to pet Kofi who doesn’t seem to mind the three of them. “Tomio, we should have gone with Okapi Squad!”
”Hah. True. But then we wouldn’t be doing our state a favor.” He joins Emi by petting the okapi too. “Armadillo Squad is a good name too. Not as good a name as Longhorn Squad.”
”Oh Tomio, you think?” Emi smirks at him.
”Longhorns are pretty strong. You wouldn't want to mess with one.”
”Actually, they are pretty docile unless they perceive you as predatory or a threat to a calf.” Garrett adds. “We don’t have those at this zoo, though. You can probably see one at one of the many ranches south from the city.”
”Hey Garrett, what was that about your friend being a competition shooter?” Emi asks while she gushes over Kofi.
”You haven’t heard of Nina?” Garrett grabs some more leafy greens from his bucket to feed Kofi as he explains. “She's one of the best female handgun shooters in the USPSA scene.”
”She shoots competition guns...in real life?” Tomio asks.
”Uh huh.” Garrett offers more food to Kofi. “Nina is pretty fast and accurate with her CZ. She plays Mil-Sim Story with us sometimes but nothing really competitive like you all are doing. She has a bit of a quirk you have to know about before you meet her. She’s anti-social.”
Tomio chuckles to himself. “Our luck, Emi. Seems like we tend to run into those types often. Chiara, Fio...”
"Nina doesn’t suffer from social anxiety or anything like that. She just doesn’t like to talk to people. It tires her easily.” Garrett takes the empty bucket from the ground after feeding Kofi. “Don't worry, she's not moody or anything like that. She’s a big fan of everything your squad is doing so far.”
”We’d love to meet her eventually.” Emi smiles after moving her hand from Kofi as he walks away to get some quiet time. “We’re always looking for new members in our team too. Especially now. We need them more than ever.”
”We’ll have to see about that.” Garrett pats his hands on a towel to clean his hands after feeding Kofi. “Nina is a loner, but she’s been solid as a teammate in the casual matches I’d played with her.”
”She would fit just fine in my squad of misfits.” Tomio notes. “What about you Garrett? We’d love to have you on Armadillo or Longhorn Squad.”
”That would be cool, my man. I don’t know. My plate is full these days. I work part time at this zoo and at the local animal hospital. But maybe I can do something with my schedule and make time if I could. I’d have to talk to my employers about it.”
”Think about. We're a pretty fun team. Oh and thanks for letting us feed Kofi.”
”My pleasure.” Garrett nods his head. “Just don’t tell anyone that I let you in Kofi’s enclosure. The zoo doesn’t like having guest getting too close to our animals, but I’ll make an exception for you two. I appreciate getting to meet you on my shift.”
”Thanks. We won’t take up any of your time Garrett. Emi and I are going to check out the rest of the zoo.”
The three of them exit out of Kofi’s exhibit. Garrett locks the gate and says his goodbyes. “Hey, good luck on your match next week. I know Vampire and JarPig Squad seem like a scary team, but I think your squad of Texans can handle it.”
”Appreciate it!” Tomio smiles. “We’ll try not to disappoint our fans.”
”Oh and if one of our lions gets out, here’s my business card.” He offers Emi and Tomio his card with his employee ID and his phone number. “Just kidding. Enjoy your date, Trackstar and Cowboy!” He waves goodbye on his way to another exhibit closeby.
Tomio and Emi look at each other, their cheeks blushing as they both realize that they really are on a date together.
”So…do you want to see the reptile house next?
”Y..yeah..that sounds good, Emi.
”Race you there?”
”Emi! You’re in clutches! You can’t run!”
”That’s fine. I’ll limp there and still beat you!”
Tomio shakes his head, grinning as Emi hobbles ahead with determination. He jogs after her, deliberately slowing his pace to match hers. "You really are a jaguar, Emi."