A few days later, Vera, Akari, Summer and me were all gathered around a table in the common room of the hostel. We were there to celebrate our successful mission and the defeat of the Dragon Gang, which had been arrested thanks to the information we provided to the police. We were also drinking beer rather heavily.
“To us! Kampai!” yelled Vera, raising her glass.
“Kampai!” we all shouted in unison, clinking her glass, and then draining ours.
When had finished drinking, Vera immediately shouted over at Clara, who was serving us drinks: “Oi, barmaid! Another round!”
“Got it!” Clara shouted back, and she soon came over with a tray of large beer steins. Some she kept it all balanced on one hand, while serving us with the other. She was wearing one of those Bavarian Oktoberfest-style outfits that (I couldn’t help but notice) pushed up her large chest very prominently. She leaned down to hand us our drinks, and as she handed me mine, it was hard to see anything else but Clara’s boobs.
“So, what are you all celebrating?” she asked. I tried to explain, but for some reason I found it hard to explain, so I just stammered while feasting my eyes on the view.
Akari cut in to explain for me. “We are celebrating the arrest of a dangerous criminal, which we accomplished as a team. Now please remove your oppai from my teammate’s face!”
Clara giggled and stood up. “Sorry about that! But these drinks are heavy, you know! Anyway, please tell me about it—it sounds like you did something heroic, Eddie!”
This made Vera angry. “We all did! Not just him! And I’m the leader of this group, so that means I get the most credit!”
“What did you do?” I asked. “As I recall, this whole mess was your fault for antagonizing Dragon Gang in the first place.”
“Exactly—I was the first!” Vera smirked, and took a swig of beer. “I took the first step in taking down a dangerous gang.”
“Only because you wanted to start your own gang…” said Akari.
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“Wait, what?” Summer looked shocked. “You never told me that part, Eddie!”
“I talked her out of it, OK!” I tried to defend myself. “I made them stay on the path of law and virtue.”
“Well, I don’t understand any of this,” said Clara, putting her hand on my shoulder, “But I’d sure like to know more! Maybe I can come up to your room later tonight and you can explain it to me privately…” she gave me a little shoulder rub as she said that.
“Get out of here!” yelled Summer. “We already got a gang leader arrested, don’t think we can’t get you arrested for sexual harassment!”
Clara giggled and left. “Is she always like that?” asked Akari. “So… flirtatious…” she scowled.
“Unfortunately, yes,” answered Summer. “Every time I’ve met this woman, she acts that way. But Eddie is a fine young man who would never fall for such a loose woman.”
“Uh, right!” I said, raising my glass. Truthfully I wasn’t sure about that, I’d just been so busy working that I hadn’t seen Clara much. But I appreciated Summer’s confidence in me.
“I think you overestimate him,” said Akari coldly. “I have seen him before being manipulated by a similar type of loose woman.”
Vera was ignoring all this drama and happily drinking her beer, but Summer looked shocked. “What? Who!”
“During our trip to Japan,” Akari explained. I felt embarrassed, thinking of how stupidly I’d acted at the hostess club with Nozomi, and tried to stop her from telling this story to Summer, but Akari insisted on telling her anyway.
“Hey, I didn’t do anything!” I tried to defend myself. “I just had too much to drink and uh, got tricked by a pro.”
“I see…” said Summer. She acted calm, but I could see a fire in her eyes. “Then I suggest that you not drink during this next mission.”
“What mission?” asked Vera. She was quite drunk by now, having drunk more than the rest of us combined.
“My company is establishing a branch office in Tokyo, and I requested that you three come with me and handle logistics.” Summer explained. “But after hearing that story, I’m reconsidering…”
“No, he should go.” Akari said forcefully. “I think it would be good for him to get away from this place and that Clara woman. I will keep an eye him to make sure he doesn’t fall prey to any villainous geisha there.”
“What about the money?” asked Vera. “There should be lots of money in this, right?”
Summer nodded. “Yes, it’s a big job, and the compensation for you will be quite high. $50 a day, each.”
“Hmm… not as good as what I could have made in the mafia…” Vera sighed. “But I guess it’ll do.”
Fifty dollars a day sounded great to me! I was still only getting paid $5 a day as a dockie, so this was a huge pay raise for me. With that much money, I could easily afford a few gambling sessions with Nozomi. I knew I was being stupid, but hearing the story from Akari had only reminded of Nozomi’s fragrance, and the way the curves of her body moved under that tight silk dress. Maybe if I spent more time with her, she’d come to like me for real…
I shook my head. There were already at least two women here who liked me for real, and I really wanted to explore a real relationship with one of them. I couldn’t let myself be distracted with floozies. I was going to properly enjoy this world of adventure and lovely ladies.
I raised my glass. “To a new mission—together!”