The few times YF had gone to a hostess club it was always with Eiji and Saru in Nishida Ward. The week before Eiji deployed to the north the whole group had gone to one together. Each time he thought the experience was unpleasant and awkward; it was obvious the girls did not enjoy talking to him. During the final outing Eiji and Mohan seemed in their element, but Saru, Beef, and YF were not. Nobody ever knew what Ken was thinking, but he probably didn’t find the banal conversations very enjoyable either.
And so YF tried to suppress his memories of those experiences as he pushed open the doors to The Mermaid. He straightened his polo a few times and pressed the area in front of him where his pistol usually rested, feeling particularly vulnerable as the doors swung shut behind him. Moving around without his uniform now felt strange where it would have felt liberating months ago. With the uniform he could have convinced himself and the hostesses that he was there on official business. But even that layer of emotional protection was gone. He pulled the top of his terminal out of his pocket to check the time. YF was technically still supposed to be in the koban if not on patrol. But he figured an hour would not be a big deal, given that little had happened in the neighborhood after the Silver District incident.
The Mermaid. What a tacky name. Even after standing there for three or four minutes he was greeted by absolutely nobody. It was a far cry from the clubs in the Ward. About ten minutes later a girl in a very short black dress and fishnets showed up at the entrance. She was scratching the back of her head and cursing.
“What do you…” she looked up, her eyes widening. “Sakai?”
“Oh by the flames…” YF raised a hand to his face, covering his eyes.
“Oh come on Sakai, hisashiburi! We have some catching up to do. Let’s go, follow me.”
YF pointed his thumb back out the door. “I think I left somethin—”
She grabbed him by the arm and hauled him past the unmanned reception podium into the center area. There, a depressed couch-square with flower beds lining the head rests — with nobody sitting in the seats — surrounded a large central table. The woman led YF past the center area into the main hall, where many doors led to private rooms. She grabbed a door handle and pulled it open violently, pushing YF inside.
YF sat in the chair furthest from the door. He could swear he started feeling itchy instantly.
“I rolled a few blunts,” she said, pointing idly at the brown cylinders on the table.
“Is this—”
“What? You the Ward police now?”
“No,” said YF. He thought about mentioning that he was a patrolman, but decided against it.
“How’s Ueno?” she asked, puffing out a cloud of smoke.
YF coughed and used his hand to fan away the stench. He never liked the smell of hemp. “She’s doing fine.”
“What’s she up to these days?”
“In the old country for a bit.”
“Ah.”
YF recalled that Erika and Misaki hated each other during their school days. From Misaki’s tone and expression it seemed like she had forgotten that little detail.
“So what are you doing here? Didn’t take you for the type,” said Misaki.
“I just wanted a drink and to talk to someone. That’s really it. You said you want to catch up right?”
“Right.”
“So tell me what’s going on in your life then,” said YF.
“Business is getting better. You’d think it’d be the opposite but I suppose all this talk of urban renewal is doing something right.”
“Where are your colleagues?” asked YF.
“There weren’t many of us to begin with. Only three. The other two took up jobs in the Ward. Seems there’s more of those to go around these days.”
“Urban renewal,” said YF.
“Urban renewal,” Misaki repeated.
“It got me kicked out of my house,” YF muttered.
Misaki sat up, crossing her legs and frowning. “You need somewhere to stay?” she asked, looking genuinely concerned.
“No…I…I have somewhere,” YF replied. He found his eyes wandering toward her legs but averted his gaze at the last second. “So!” He pulled out his receiver and opened the menu for The Mermaid. “What happened after high school?”
“I finished college.”
YF lowered the receiver. “You got into one?” asked YF incredulously.
“Uh huh, you remember I did pretty well in school.”
“Yeah you did.”
Misaki took a drag from her blunt. “Partied through most of college since I was finally free to do so. Still managed to pass somehow. I didn’t feel like working for the Big Three, so I came back home. I make enough money and my mom is sick anyway, so coming back worked out.”
YF frowned. Back during their high school years Misaki was called the Ice Princess of Gochome. No one had ever seen her cry, or really even upset. Though that strong exterior hadn’t changed, YF could see in her expression the faintest crack in her armor. Whatever had happened since they last met in highschool had taken its toll on her. “I’m…sorry,” said YF.
“Don’t be!” Misaki exclaimed with feigned cheerfulness. “I’m not.”
“So your mom doing all right?”
“She’s still kicking. Can’t say she was too happy with the outcome after she pushed me so hard all those years. But when the money’s rolling in and we sit together for lunch, I think she’s come to see things my way,” said Misaki.
“Sounds like a win.”
“As much of one as you can get in this damn place.”
“You said you came back home,” said YF slowly. “Did you work for the Big Three?”
“Yeah,” said Misaki, puffing out a cloud and then reaching down to pull her heels off, plopping them on the table. “These things suck.”
The comment made him recall Reina saying something similar.
“Which one?” asked YF.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“Started at Aritomo then switched to Takei before getting out altogether.”
“In what?”
“Marketing.”
“So did you see my brother out there?” asked YF. He wasn’t sure why he asked. Any answer was bound to make him feel worse.
“Yeah he was already a rising star by the time I got there. He dated a few girls in our department, though he pretended I didn’t exist. Probably reminded him too much of home.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, I’m sure he’d like to erase this place from his past.”
“I don’t necessarily think so,” said YF.
Misaki waved her blunt in the air. “Let’s not talk about him.”
On that, at least, YF could agree. “So what was so bad about the Big Three?” he asked.
“Suffocating. Too much control over what you did, too many procedures. Felt like I wasn’t given that much latitude.”
“Pretty standard for new hires.”
“Yeah well, that doesn’t work for me,” said Misaki.
“So you traded suited assholes for trenchcoated assholes?” asked YF.
“The trenchcoated ones are much easier to deal with, trust me,” said Misaki.
“How so?”
“They care a lot more about how people think of them. It makes a difference. Not as psycho as the higher ups at the Big Three.”
YF leaned in. “They come here a lot?”
“Who?” asked Misaki.
“The guys in trenchcoats.”
“If you’re wondering whether sectarians frequent places like this the answer is obviously yes.”
YF wanted to ask who The Mermaid paid protection money to, Uwada or Nakajima. But he felt a question like that would be too direct too fast. “Here, I’ll buy us something to drink,” he offered.
“Sure,” said Misaki.
“You’re not going to recommend something?”
“And ask you to get the most expensive bottle? No. That’s the type of thing Ward bitches do.”
“Ward bitches need to get paid,” said YF. “It’s not like it’s hard to understand.”
“Rent is cheaper here. Just get whatever you want, it’s on me.”
YF waved a hand. “I’ll take it.”
He took out his receiver and flipped to the digital image of Kita’s black card. He then turned to the menu on the terminal and scrolled to a bottle a few tiers down from the most expensive one just so he didn’t arouse suspicion, swiping from his receiver to the terminal.
Misaki raised an eyebrow as the transaction appeared on her receiver. “Thanks.”
YF supposed the bottle was still significantly expensive. “Sure.”
He leaned back on the couch, which felt a lot more comfortable now than it did before. “You mind if I rest a bit? It’s been a few long days.” He couldn’t remember when the last time he had any proper sleep was.
“Be my guest.”
The faux leather seats seemed to absorb his body into its warm embrace, dropping YF into a deep sleep instantly. He could feel his leg twitch before entering a permanently suspended space, as if he were floating through a thick, beige fluid. The smell of hemp mixed with Misaki’s perfume added a comforting, earthy fragrance to the air. YF did not know how much time had passed before a guy showed up with the bottle of champagne sitting in a bucket of ice. The tap of metal against glass was enough to wake him up.
“Thanks Takahashi, I’ll get it,” said Misaki.
The man bowed and exited the room, closing the door gently behind him. Misaki moved closer to him on the couch. YF thought he saw her reach both hands toward his head, though he lifted his hand, brushing it against hers gently.
“I’ll get up fine on my own.”
“You can keep sleeping if you want,” said Misaki.
“No, I have to be somewhere after this.”
“Sure.”
YF pointed to the bottle. “We going to drink that?”
“You don’t seem like you’re in any condition to. I can return it, you know. It’s not a big deal.”
“Just open it. For old times’ sake.”
“Fine,” said Misaki. She sliced through the foil with her nail and undid the wire cage. She then held the bottle at an angle and twisted both the cork and the bottle at the same time. After waiting a few seconds, she poured it into YF and her glasses, placed it on the table, set a metal stopper into it and put it to the side.
“Pretty impressive,” said YF.
“Whatever.”
YF sat up straight, his senses returning to him. The smell of hemp grew less fragrant than when he slept. He turned to Misaki. “You never get bored of this place?”
“Itsugo?”
“Yeah, Itsugo.”
Misaki shrugged. “I got to live in the Ward like everyone wants to, and just discovered that it wasn’t for me.”
“Think Erika thought the same way.”
“I don’t think she ever wanted to live out there.”
“Really?”
“I saw her in the plaza at Nishida Heights sometimes for lunch. Didn’t seem very happy.”
“But you were?”
“Yes I was. I was happy. And I did what I set out to do. Much of what I imagined living in the Ward would be like, anyway. Then I decided I had enough. I don’t have the energy or liver for that anymore.”
“Nothing says you can’t live a calm life in the city.”
Misaki smirked. “You haven’t been out there much have you?”
“Sure I have,” said YF.
“If you have to live there longer than a year or two you’ll see. It wears on you. Not a boring day, sure, but sometimes you need the boring days.”
“That’s the first time I heard anybody not want to leave here to go there.”
“Think maybe that’s the problem,” said Misaki, frowning. “There’d be a lot less dissatisfaction if they let everyone here live in the Ward for a year or two.”
“Maybe the whole urban renewal thing is a chance at that. Transform Itsugo into Nishida Ward.”
YF thought that Misaki would laugh at the joke, but instead, her frown only deepend. “That’s what I’m afraid of.” Misaki puffed out another cloud of hemp smoke. She then picked up her hand purse and looked around, as if suddenly remembering something. “Listen, I think you bought enough to cover for the evening and I need to get some medicine for my mom. You mind if I make it up to you some other time? Lunch maybe?”
YF stood up. “You don’t need to make up anything Misaki. Besides, you said you eat lunch with your mom. I’m sure we’ll run into each other some other time.”
Misaki smiled a smile of sadness mixed with gratitude. “Thank you Sakai.” She thumbed through her receiver and swiped toward YF, who received a friend request from the messaging app.
“It’s my handle,” she said. Misaki put her heels back on and stood up, pressing her hand against his wrist. “Message me if you need something. See you later.” She opened the door and walked into the hall. “Takahashi! Close up shop and go home.”
“Yes ma’am!”
YF stepped out, his eyes trained on Misaki’s silhouette as she made her way out of the club. Something about the way she described her life in Nishida Ward bothered him. Was it simply that she had told him there was nothing really to look forward to there? Was it that she had described Erika’s sadness, a sadness she never confided in him? He put his hands in his pockets and sighed. But as he did so, his fingers brushed against something cold and metallic. It was then that he remembered he hadn’t come to The Mermaid in search of old friends or new lovers, but because he still had a job to do.
YF looked down the hall and heard the sound of cloth over glass, figuring that Takahashi was still in one of the back rooms. He took the opportunity to turn back and shove the recording device from his pocket into the space between the backrest and seat cushion where he sat. He did the same in two other private rooms before going to the center square-couch near the entrance, planting one there as well.
“Were you waiting for me, Mr. Sakai?” asked Takahashi emerging from the hall.
YF already had his hands in his pockets, staring absentmindedly at the ceiling. “Oh yes. I was wondering if I could take a bottle of whiskey home.”
Takahashi looked at him confusedly.
“Misaki’s an old friend. That’s all.”
Takahashi had a conflicted expression on his face. “I see, very well Mr. Sakai.”
YF pulled up the menu for The Mermaid and picked out a bottle worth around 20,000 DTKs, swiping Kita’s card against it. Takahashi bowed once and made his way to the entrance. He stood waiting to the side of the door and bowed as YF left.