YF hesitated outside The Black Hat for quite a while, deciding his next course of action. Hiding what was going on from Lydia was not the most ideal choice. But YF knew that telling her the club might be targeted by a Big Three zaibatsu and or become the site of sectarian conflict would not go over well. Lydia probably could not muster enough firepower for something like that, despite her connections. After thinking it over for some more though, YF realized Reina was more likely to try to shut it down using dubious legal means rather than a full on assault — no political fallout and no loss of lives. For somebody like Lydia, that outcome was arguably worse.
YF took one last inhale from his vape box before pocketing it and starting for the club. There was really no other option.
Lydia was standing in her usual spot, leaned over the rail with a cigarette between two fingers. YF stopped a few strides from the steps, looking up at her face. It was the first time he noticed that she looked very tired.
“You’ve got bad news to share with me,” said Lydia, blowing out a puff of smoke. “Some very bad news.” She motioned with two fingers. “Come on, out with all of it. Don’t leave anything out.”
YF placed his hands in his pocket. “I’ve made you a target. It’s to a point I’m not sure that if I take Erika away the problem will be solved. Even so, I've come to tell you that I will take her away soon. We’re going to go somewhere else and hope that spares you the trouble.”
“She will not shut down this club, it’s too important for her.”
YF thought about what sort of exchange of information among sectarians happened at The Black Hat, but then began to wonder whether sending Erika there in the first place was safe. Though YF tried to hide it, it was obvious Lydia could guess what he was thinking. She remained silent, continuing to smoke her cigarette.
“Do you think it’s safer for Erika to be here?” he asked.
Lydia sighed. “Don’t ask me Sakai. What do you think is best for her? Is this your family or mine?”
“It doesn’t hurt to be careful about her safety. Thought a second opinion might increase my options.”
Lydia frowned as she nodded and glanced off to the side. “Sure sure, I can respect that,” said Lydia. She tapped on her cigarette, letting the ashes fall to the metal below. “Still, I think it will be best to start the life that you want with her."
"How can I do that if I can't guarantee her safety?"
"And who says you can't guarantee her safety?"
Lydia likely knew what Reina was capable of; Lydia was also not the type to suggest YF deal with Reina on his own on a whim. She must have her reasons for being so confident. But he could not dispel the feeling she was saying it more out of her hopes for him than because she really believed he could pull it off.
"I'll find a way," said YF.
"Good," said Lydia. She dropped her cigarette and stepped on the end of it with her heel. "I'm sure you'll come up with something good."
***
YF decided to set up a recorded tour for multiple places so that he would not meet any of the realtors in person. When he finally found a place he could afford and was acceptable, YF rode to The Black Hat and retrieved Erika without telling Lydia where they were going.
The apartment was actually further from the Ward Office and closer to Itsugo, meaning he would have to go further west. During the whole trip YF was expecting her to comment on the bike and where and how he had gotten it. But she did no such thing, only holding onto him tightly as he rode slowly through the back alleys.
When YF brought Erika to the new apartment he could tell that the owner hired somebody on the cheap to clean the place. There was nothing too noticeable that was out of place. But the space still had a musty smell, scratches on the walls, and the occasional piece of paper or plastic shoved between a tatami mat and a wall that had not been retrieved. Despite all this, Erika walked into the one bedroom of the apartment without hesitation. She placed the five luggages that had been delivered there onto the ground and unzipped them. She then began to unpack, having an almost unnatural smile on her face. YF turned to look at the stack of boxes in the kitchen.
“The baby will have to sleep with us,” she said. “I heard that that’s better for their sense of security.”
YF had not thought much about the baby coming, but with Erika putting it in those terms he knew that had to change. “That’ll be good.” It was not like they had a choice.
“You should come to the doctor with me,” Erika suggested. “She has a lot to say about the whole process. She’s very good.”
The thought of him, Erika, and the doctor sitting in a consultation room and discussing a future family did not sound attractive. It also drew out a fear from within YF he did not know he had. He always thought that they would have children eventually. But now that it was about to happen everything seemed so sudden and unplanned. The prospect of all that would change was too overwhelming. To his chagrin, he could only feel an urge to escape. “It’s not that I don’t want to,” said YF. “But I’m about to start at the Ward Office. And I think I should do my best to make an impression there, keep the lights on in the house.” He pointed up.
Erika smiled sadly. “Of course.”
“Which reminds me, I need to take some things out of the boxes and get ready for work.”
“Yeah, of course,” she repeated.
He started for the kitchen and stopped halfway. “Yeah…also.”
Erika turned, still smiling in that strange way. “What?”
“I didn’t want to get into it but I think we need to talk about it. You will see some familiar faces occasionally in this building. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you what they’re here for.”
She looked away, seemingly blocking out what he said from her thoughts. “I got it thanks. So! What should I make for dinner?”
“I’m going to need to meet with someone to confirm some things and so I will be having dinner with him.”
“O-oh…” she said, trailing off. “That sounds nice.”
“Let me finish up packing and then I’ll go meet him,” said YF, turning to the boxes. “Headed to work directly after.”
“Sure! Let me know if you need anything,” she said.
YF knew he wasn’t going to contact her for her own safety. And he would have to count on the person he was meeting now to ensure said safety. “I will,” YF lied.
***
“So what will I get in return?”
YF had an inkling that Uwada would agree to protect Erika but perhaps naively did not consider what he might want in exchange for doing so. Having distributed the house sale funds to his friends and bought the bike, there was almost nothing left for YF to give.
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“My men need to eat,” Uwada continued. “And between now and when I become the oyabun we’ll be lacking in funds.”
“I have nothing of that scale to give,” YF admitted.
“Oh but you do.”
YF was expecting Uwada to taunt him; perhaps he would rub in the fact that Erika had chosen YF over Uwada, and that YF had never provided much — if anything — for her afterward. If YF had not had anything to give to anyone up until that point, he was not sure what Uwada was talking about.
“A good colleague of mine who has become my sworn brother has a plan to make us big money,” Uwada explained. “I’m sure you’ve heard of him, his name is Numata Keisuke. We’re partnering and splitting the gains according to our sworn oath. I could use a man of your talents in the operation.”
“I’m not sure what use I could be there.”
“And yet your track record would speak otherwise.”
YF thought back to Mizuno’s warning about favors, but found that he was powerless not to ask for them. He could feel that the further he sank into this world the harder it was to get out. But what was Erika’s safety worth? “Round the clock protection?” asked YF.
Uwada smiled, leaning back and making a circular motion with his finger. “Round the clock protection.”
“Tell me where I need to be and when.”
***
“Good morning! I am Sakai Yasufumi from the Itsugo Town Office. I will be the Liaison for the same Office. Please take care of me!” he bowed low and then stood back up straight.
“Good morning,” the Ward Office personnel responded in unison, bowing. YF continued to stand there awkwardly as the officers glanced from YF to Uraga. He could see Shoda and Higashi off to the side, the former of whom nodded once in acknowledgement. YF nodded back.
“So you’re with us now, huh?” asked Honda with a frown.
Murmured laughter spread through the ranks.
Uraga coughed. “Thank you for agreeing to join us Mr. Sakai,” he said. “Everyone get back to work. Sakai, in my office. Now.”
The officers returned to their seats at the different desk islands. YF bowed and walked after Uraga toward the only room that looked too small to be a conference room.
As soon as the automatic door slid shut, Uraga began to speak. “You are being assigned to Division Four, reporting to Detective Muto. You will need to make regular trips between the Town and here,” said Uraga. “And give a report of what you see. We’re looking for things that warrant early cooperation from the Ward Office.”
YF could feel the frustration rising from within as he thought about constantly riding the train back and forth between the Village and the Ward, on top of somehow finding time in between to see Erika. “I’m not going to do that.”
“What?”
“I will not travel back and forth. I will be spending most of my time at the Ward and will go back to the Vill- to the Town if an assignment requires. Or you can send me back to my koban.”
Uraga held his forehead in his hand. “This will not do.”
“Then I will pack my things and go back.”
“I would love nothing less than to grant you your wish to go home but unfortunately you killed Division Four’s main detective and Muto insists that you replace her.”
YF glanced to the side. Having it put in those terms did not make him feel good about it, even if all the times he replayed the incident in his head he could not imagine a different outcome. Once again the memory of Kita raising her pistol to her temple and pulling the trigger replayed in his mind. When he looked up he was surprised to see a look of guilt on Uraga’s face, as if he himself thought he stepped over the line.
“For the record I think you did the right thing,” Uraga muttered. “But the point is we need to solve sectarian cases to keep the Met Police off our asses and you fit the bill. Go talk to Muto and see what he needs you to do. You might as well tell him what you told me about travel. What he thinks about it is what counts.”
YF bowed. “Yes sir.”
***
There was a general sense of unwelcome when YF entered the office space of Division Four. It was probably what YF should have expected. Based on Kita’s age and pedigree some of these people probably knew her for over a decade. Even if they believed she was trafficking weapons to sectarians, the polite, proper, tea-gifting colleague they had seen every day was gone; and that was solely because of this backwater village officer who stood before them. Muto was the only one who seemed excited to see him, though when he came closer YF could tell that the Division Chief’s smile was masking an enormous amount of pressure. YF immediately began to speculate where that pressure was coming from.
“Mr. Sakai!” Muto greeted cheerily, patting YF’s back.
YF bowed. “Chief.”
“Come come, here’s your desk.” Muto led YF over to a half of a desk-island where nobody was sitting. The chief did not need to tell him this is where Kita and her crew used to sit. “Yonai has loaded the onboarding information to your terminal.”
YF turned to the pretty young secretary sitting on the occupied end of the island, who smiled politely and bowed her head as she remained seated. He turned back to his terminal. “I’ll get right to it, chief.”
“Sure! Take your time. When all the paperwork is done, please ask Yonai for the authorized case list,” said Muto.
“Authorized?” YF could tell he made a mistake as Muto’s smile cracked for a split second.
“There are clearances required to see certain cases Mr. Sakai. But of course, as you move up the ranks you might be able to work on those!”
YF knew he did not mean that last part, and decided to switch the subject. “Yes sir. I will get on these trainings. I need to find someone first though. I’ll be back shortly.”
“Of course, take your time!”
***
“What did you want to meet for?” asked Honda, staring suspiciously at the vending machine coffee YF had bought for her.
“I heard you were kicked out of the Metropolitan Police Department because you refused to back down on an internal investigation into corporate bribes.”
“I don’t talk about closed cases. And you weren’t involved,” said Honda, still holding the coffee. “What do you want?”
“I need to check the personal bank accounts of all the officers in the Villages.”
“Why would I do that for you?”
YF could not tell her the real reason was because he wanted to investigate the circumstances surrounding the Kamakura Boulevard bombing from his childhood. But he had already thought this through before. “You know I’m working Division Four cases now. And you know about the proliferation of arms after the Villages were annexed into the Ward.”
“You’re helping on Division Four cases. Not working them. But sure,” said Honda.
“I have good reason to believe Kita was not the only person involved. Other Village, maybe even Ward officers are using their privileges to transfer law enforcement and military weapons to the sectarians.” He swiped through his receiver at the results from his and Kita’s investigations — the results he still had. “Have you seen weapons like this?”
Honda frowned. “Even the Special Assault Team doesn’t have these.”
“What are these?”
“Don’t know much about firearms do you?” asked Honda.
“Only the basics,” YF admitted.
“These are Sumida guns. New models.”
“Sumida Arms, the section acquired by Aoshima. Or rather, acquired by Reina.”
“You’re sure there’s no ties to the other Big Three zaibatsu?” asked YF.
“Takei’s weapons division isn’t doing that well. And this does not look like an Aritomo design.” Honda shook her head. “I’m fairly certain this is Sumida.”
YF nodded slowly. “I see. But you see the gravity of the situation.”
“So you want me to launch an IA investigation on your own Office,” said Honda.
“In my opinion you should’ve been head of IA at the capital. Maybe this will bring you one step closer?”
“Who says I want to go back?”
“You could prove you always had a knack for this thing. Become head of IA here at the Ward then.”
“I don’t think my status at the Ward will change if I become head of IA.”
YF thought it was a diplomatic way of saying that since Uraga trusted her completely, she was probably de facto above IA. He folded his arms. “I think it’s a waste for you not to use your talents for what you were always meant to do: ensure discipline in the ranks. Help me with the case and you’ll be helping yourself. Trust me. It’ll be a formal investigation into the Town Office over recent events.”
YF could see in her eyes that she probably didn’t care about what rewards she could get out of such a case. She was going to do it.
“I’ll think it over Sakai,” she said with a smirk. She raised the coffee in the air — still unopened — as she turned and walked off down the hall back to her office space. “Thanks, I’ll save it for a rainy day.”