A few days later YF visited the East Star, a hostess club near the border with Yonchome. Upon entering he was confronted with another familiar face: the woman standing behind the reception podium dressed in slacks, a white button-up shirt, and a black vest. Torii also went to YF’s highschool, and he remembered her as a quiet, demure girl who spent most of her time taking care of the Gochome Shrine, which her family owned and operated. She did not look happy, nor in a mood to reminisce on the past, but YF took one look over her shoulder at the hostesses and figured he’d rather talk to her.
“Hisashiburi-dane, Torii.”
“Hisashiburi,” Torii replied with a thin smile.
“Why don’t we catch up?”
Torii coughed. “I’m needed at the front of the house. Perhaps someone—” she turned toward the two hostesses standing behind her, raising an open hand toward them.
“Good evening.”
YF turned to see a tall, skinny man in an expensive suit, smiling a smile that would have landed him a manager role at a Tanaka dealership.
“Can I assist you in any way?” A slight look of annoyance flashed over the man’s face as he glanced at Torii.
“I’d like to spend some time with Miss Torii,” said YF.
“Miss Torii…?”
“Yes.”
The man coughed. “Miss Torii is a fine woman, but she is fulfilling her duties at the reception—”
YF pulled out his receiver, opened the menu for The East Star and picked a bottle of champagne. He swiped Kita’s card against it and held it up for the man to see.
The man smiled that same smile and bowed, holding his hand out to the hall. “Please, this way.” He then led them to a room in the middle of the hall and opened the door. When YF and Torii entered it, he closed it lightly behind them.
Torii remained standing by the door as YF took his seat in the middle of the couch.
“Please sit,” said YF.
“Ah…”
“Please,” YF repeated.
Torii took a seat on the end of the couch, in the spot closest to the door. She sat on the edge of the cushion with a perfectly straight posture, her hands folded in her lap as she looked toward the center of the room. From his angle he could not tell, but he was sure that her back was parallel with the backrest.
“You can relax a little. It’s not like we don’t know each other.”
“This is my place of employment, Sakai.”
The statement felt like a slap in the face. But without his police uniform there was little he could say to make it seem like he was not wasting her time. “So,” said YF.
“Yes?” asked Torii, turning to face him.
“We haven’t spoken in a while. Wanted to see how you were doing.”
Torii brushed a stray bang behind her ear. “What should we talk about, Sakai?”
Torii hadn’t changed much. Still cold and reticent.
“How’s the shrine? I should stop by sometime. Maybe for the new year.”
“I can conduct a Miyamairi for your firstborn with Ueno-san, when the time comes.”
YF raised an eyebrow.
“For free,” she added.
“No, that's fine. I can pay.”
“I see. That is much appreciated,” she said.
YF tried to think about what he could talk about with her, but was finding it hard to come up with something. "What sorts of guys come here? Seems pretty popular."
"I can't speak about our clients."
"I see."
"Please understand, Sakai."
"I understand."
The two of them sat for a few minutes before YF thought he should find a way to get her out of the room. "You remember the pretty girl in the blue dress?" he asked.
He could see a look of contempt washing over her.
“Do you?” YF repeated.
“Shosho-omachikudasai,” she said softly, standing and bowing once before exiting the room.
As soon as she did, YF shoved a recording device into the seat cushion. YF was not interested in talking to anybody else, but by the time he made up his mind to try to sneak out of the room and past everyone else somehow, the woman in the blue dress entered the room, closing the door behind her. She leaned her back against the door, crossing her right leg in front of her left.
“Good evening,” she said.
YF tried to resist the urge to check his receiver for the time. “Good evening,” he said distractedly.
“So, should we have a light drink before we talk?” she asked.
“I’d prefer to just talk. I’ll compensate you somehow,” YF added, smiling as best he could.
“That’s fine.” She took a seat next to him on the couch. “Rather hot outside these days, isn’t it?”
“It is,” said YF. He found himself trying to pull out his receiver, but stopped himself. YF then tried to think of a non-banal question that he actually wanted to know the answer to. “Is Torii happy here?”
“Torii?” she repeated.
“Yes. Please be honest with me and don’t play games.”
The woman looked somewhat uneasy. “She works reception and does not seem very happy with it.”
“Then why is she here?” asked YF.
“I heard the shrine is falling on hard times. They need help with basic expenses.”
The reason seemed to make sense, but something about Torii felt off the more YF thought about it. “So she gets paid a lot?”
“Not really. And I’m honestly worried that Niijima might fire her.”
“I see,” said YF. “Miss…”
“Endo.”
“Miss Endo. I’m Sakai, forgive my lack of manners. I’m tired and I need to nap about twenty minutes before leaving. Do you think you could keep me company?”
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
She looked confused.
“That’s it, I just want you to make sure nobody bothers me. The presence of somebody nearby helps me sleep.” He felt a faint pang of sadness as the words came out of his mouth.
She looked at YF with pity. “I would be glad to, Mr. Sakai.”
YF thought of some other way he could place a few more devices in the club, but could not think of anything while Endo remained in the room. On top of that, he did not have much time before he had to go back to the koban. “If you give me your messaging handle I can contact you later.”
She frowned.
YF made a face as if he was trying to make her understand he meant something else by what he said.
She did not seem to completely catch on, but nevertheless pulled out her receiver and scrolled through it, swiping once toward YF.
YF entered two sums of money on a split screen, swiping both at the same time such that one went to a bottle of champagne to the club, while the rest of the money went directly to her.
Endo’s eyes widened.
“I hope you have some time to talk later, but for now I will rest,” said YF.
“I…I see. Please rest well Mr. Sakai.”
YF nodded and moved over to the end of the couch so that he could lay down completely. He folded his arms over his chest and proceeded to pretend to sleep.
***
The next day YF started to check the recording devices while he was on break at the koban to see if Uwada visited either The Mermaid or The Southern Star. Uwada did not visit either, making YF start to think about where else he needed to investigate. There was a ring on his receiver.
“How are things progressing?” asked Kita on the other end.
“I’m working on it. Did you clear Nakajima?”
“There should be a few colleagues from Division Four paying Nakajima a visit shortly. Would you like to see how the inspection unfolds?”
“Don’t have time,” said YF. He also did not like being near Nakajima.
“A busy man,” said Kita. “You also spent quite a bit on hardware.”
“It’ll be easier to record conversations that way.”
“I’m sure it will. Do you need help with Uwada?” asked Kita.
YF imagined Toa’s expression from a few days ago. “I will deal with it myself and call you if there’s an update. I’m sure you have enough to worry about. We’ll talk later.”
“Sure,” Kita replied. “Until next time then”
“Until next time.” YF hung up.
***
YF decided to go to the bar at the entrance of Daimon-dori to see if he could find some more information, though he had to resist the urge to drink on the job.
“Could I get you something, officer?” asked the bartender.
“No, I'm all right,” said YF.
“Some water perhaps?”
“Sure.”
YF looked up at the man. He could not tell whether the man was wearing long sleeves because he felt it was professional or he was hiding his sectarian marks underneath. “You heard about the Silver District incident,” said YF.
“Yes I have,” the man replied, placing a glass of water on the counter.
“So who do you think did it?”
The man glanced in a direction, but when YF tried to follow his gaze, he could not tell what the man was looking at.
“I’m not sure who would cause trouble to that degree,” said the man. “But please be careful, officer. These types of cases can be very dangerous. I appreciate what you do for this community, and would prefer that service to continue.”
YF nodded slowly. “Me too.” He decided it would be difficult to plant any sort of recording device inside without arousing suspicion. YF stood up off the barstool. “I’ll pay for the water.”
“There’s no need for that,” said the bartender. “Please have a good day.”
“Thank you. You as well.”
YF stepped outside and rounded the corner, checking for any open windows out of sight of the cameras. He eventually found one, removing the pocket knife from his utility belt — which finally arrived from the Ward Office — to cut a slot in the screen. YF removed the adhesive protection layer and placed the recording device inside, under the sill.
***
Listening to the devices over the next week did not turn up any new information. For the first few days, YF resisted the urge to call Misaki for help. But by the end of the week he gave in and texted her, deciding she probably didn’t care anyway.
“Where does a man go to find some company these days?” he messaged her.
There was barely any delay before he got a reply. “Oh, I know just the place for you,” came the text, along with an address. “I’m swiping you a VIP card. I know the guy who owns it. It should be enough to get you in.”
“Thanks.” YF pocketed his receiver and waited until the start of early morning patrol before going to the back of the koban, pulling up the garage door, and mounting his scooter. He activated his helmet by pressing a button on his neckband, riding toward the Gochome Village Center. It was long after rush hour, so YF expected there to be less vehicles along the roads. But as he approached his destination — which looked like a club — the traffic slowly came to a halt. YF pulled over to the shoulder and rode down toward the destination, stopping in an alley a few blocks away. He changed into his normal clothes and activated the auto park function, which included a program for the scooter to locate the nearest paid parking lot.
When the scooter started moving, YF walked the rest of his way to the club and then proceeded to make his way to the front of the line, holding up the VIP card displayed on his receiver as he arrived. The bouncer scanned the card and looked at his screen, nodding once to indicate YF was allowed in.
Upon entering, YF went straight to the central bar. "Beer please. Akatsuki." He motioned to the bartender.
"Coming right up."
YF continued to sit at the bar without drinking his drink. He instead scanned the dance floor and the upper levels, almost jumping back when he saw Uwada standing in the window of the central VIP area.
“Sakai?”
YF turned to see a woman in a form fitting green dress and stockings, holding a mixed drink in her hands. With the makeup and the outfit, it took YF a second to realize she was Numata, Erika’s colleague from work.
“Thanks again for helping me deal with those guys,” she said, pulling up a seat.
YF recalled punching the man who was getting grabby with her, though he remembered doing it more because he was having a bad day at work than because he really wanted to protect her. He also remembered her screaming for him to stop. “Ah…yeah Erika conveyed that.”
“How is she? By the way.”
“Back visiting family.”
“The old country?”
“Right.”
Numata nodded, sipping her drink.
YF looked around the club. “Find it weird.”
“Find what weird?”
“Why’s a nice girl like you mixing with these sorts of crowds?” Most of the people in the club were the same Village riff raff YF remembered growing up. Sure, YF was used to them, but it didn’t seem to fit Numata’s style. She had a job in the Ward and from what he could guess she was doing well. There was really no need for her to be here.
“I can mix with whichever crowds I want,” she said, flipping her hair back.
“Yeah I know,” said YF.
“And Sakai,” she said firmly, placing her drink on the table.
“What?”
“I really did appreciate what you did. But next time let me handle it. I’m a hometown girl too, you know. I can deal with most boys without anyone getting a bloody nose.”
YF grinned. “Maybe they’ll get the bloody nose just from looking at you.”
“Ha! Good one.”
YF motioned with his chin toward Uwada. “You know anything about that guy? The guy standing in the glass?”
Numata frowned. “Yeah. You know that bitch Misaki?”
YF tried to feign ignorance. “I know she and Erika didn’t get along in high school. Misaki went to my school though. Didn’t talk to her much but didn’t think she was too bad. Why?”
“She’s fucking him.” Numata nodded toward Uwada.
“Oh,” said YF. When Kita told him to investigate who was keeping Uwada company, Misaki was probably bottom of his list of expected candidates. “You mean like a girlfriend or something?”
“I don’t think it’s anything like that,” said Numata. “But I know one of that guy’s ex-girlfriends who mentioned it. He’s apparently not somebody you’d want to talk to on a daily basis. Though I suppose few sectarians are.”
“Yeah that makes sense,” said YF. He was sure that if Numata knew Erika was also an ex-girlfriend of Uwada’s that she would have mentioned it. Erika must not have told her.
“What makes Misaki such a bitch?” asked YF.
“Just the queen bee attitude. She needs all her workers to buzz around her all the time. I really hate it. Erika—. Um. Just forget it.”
“Erika what?” asked YF.
“She also mentioned there was a problem in the past with a boy. That’s all I know though.”
YF nodded. Perhaps Misaki’s history with Uwada went much further back. Her and Erika having problems over Uwada would be about the only reason YF could think that would make Erika hate her.
YF glanced at Uwada for a few seconds. He wondered what was so attractive about him that would make both Erika and Misaki enamored with him. Uwada's gaze suddenly seemed to shift to where YF and Numata were seated. YF looked down at his drink.
"You sticking around for a while?" asked YF.
"Probably not," said Numata with a yawn. "Haven't had much luck with this crowd today."
"Let's get some breakfast. I know an udon place in Daimon-dori."
"Sure."