Enid finally got back to her apartment and dumped the cooler out and put the beers in the refrigerator. She was about to turn off her lights before laying down and staring at a wall all night when her phone rang. She looked at her watch.

Midnight? This can’t be good.

She stared at her phone for two more rings then sighed and picked it up.

“Melanie speaking.”

“Melanie-chan, we, have a problem.”

“What’s up Edo?”

“Boss is out of town and guys are well, we had a…well we had a client beat up one of the girls.”

“So, you know what to do, beat him up and blacklist him, that’s what is done isn’t it?”

“Well, a couple of guys did try, and he kicked their asses.”

“I don’t do day to day Edo, you know that.”

“I know but, I have no one else who can take him. And the Boss left me in charge.”

Enid sighed.

“How bad is she?”

“Pretty bad, she should be in the hospital.”

“Where is she now?”

“She’s here, doc’s looking at her, it doesn’t look good.”

Enid sighed again.

“I’ll be there in five.”

She hung up her phone and leaped off her balcony and flew low over the ocean before landing behind the pachinko parlor that seconded as the Yakuza’s actual headquarters. She nodded to the back door man and without knocking shoved her way into the street doctor’s clinic room. He was about to yell at her then noticed it was her and backed away from the girl. She was a gaijin and so black and blue it was hard to tell. Enid glared at the doctor then reached out her hands and took the injuries onto herself then after several minutes of intense pain and discomfort she healed.

“You know innocents who get hurt bad you call me, why didn’t you?”

“I did but you didn’t answer.”

Enid sighed and nodded.

“I’m sorry. She’ll be fine now.”

The girl started to wake up, she had blue eyes and blonde hair. Enid recognized her now that her face wasn’t so swollen, her name was Kim. Enid spoke in English.

“Kim, who did this?”

Kim was touching herself and looking up at Enid and grabbed her hand.

“I didn’t believe it, you…you are an angel like the girls said.”

“Shh Kim, shh, I need to know if you know who did this? Was it a new client? Soldier? Japanese? Was he a regular?”

“Soldier, saw his wallet, name was Koenig. Dark hair, light eyes. He…he…”

“It is alright Kim, you don’t need to tell me. I just needed his name. I will ensure he knows the error of his ways. Don’t worry.”

Enid turned to leave, and Kim grabbed her hand tightly.

“Thank you, Melanie, thank you.”

“You’re welcome, now I’m sure Edo will agree with me, go take a couple of days off, okay? Treat yourself to a spa day.”

Enid pulled Kim into a tight hug, on the one hand it would comfort her, on the other hand it would let her pull the scent of the man off of her. With a name and his scent, he was fucked.

“Melanie, I’m so glad Itashi brought you on. They don’t understand.”

“Nobuyuki-san is a good man. So are his boys, but they have a certain, decorum they have to keep. Showing too much emotion is not something they are comfortable with. As gaijin I’m allowed. Now go get some rest.”

“Melanie, be careful, he’s a big guy.”

“Its okay I have a big dick.”

Enid winked at Kim and she smiled at her. Enid walked out still wearing her tank top and shorts. It was night, it was a humid night and was in no way cold. She walked into the bar and felt a hand on her ass. When the person who owned looked up and saw her tattoo the hand snapped away and the owner a drunken Japanese businessman began apologizing profusely. If this had been four years ago he likely would be in the market for a prosthetic arm, but four years of having Miko for a best friend and dealing with teenage boys had mellowed Enid’s someone violent response to men touching her inappropriately. She put a hand on his friends shoulder.

“It appears Tana-san has had too much to drink tonight. We value your patronage, I’ll have someone send over a coffee and some water.”

The friend who was also intoxicated but less so stood and bowed because Tana was not able too. Yakuza talked freely in the bar and based on the looks the men were giving, Enid had a reputation that had gotten around. The look of relief on the mans face was very apparent. Enid went to the bar.

“Tagashi-San, could you please send a coffee to table three, and some water, on the house. One of them has had too much to drink.”

“Sure, think Melanie-chan. Can I get you anything?”

“Set a side a bottle of the good sake for me.”

Enid pulled out a pile of yen and put it on the bar.

“Nobuyuki-san says your money is no good here.”

“He’s in Tokyo, so I say it is.”

Enid winked at him, he took it and put it in the cashbox. She was about to leave and she heard him say: ‘Hey’. Enid turned back to him.

“Is Kim going to be alright? She looked pretty beat up.”

“She’s fine, I took care of it.”

He nodded while wiping glasses down.

“If it wasn’t for my leg I’d go kick his ass. Gaijin come down here think they can treat girls like that.”

“If it wasn’t for your leg Nobuyuki-san wouldn’t have the best bartender on the island. Don’t worry, Edo is on it.”

He chuckled.

“By the look in your eyes, I’d say you’re on it. You always said you don’t help with the business. Are you changing your mind. By the look in them, someone’s hurt you and you’re seeing his face. Does Nobuyuki-san know?”

Enid sighed and nodded. She sat at the bar.

“He’s long dead.”

“I feel like that was a mercy for him.”

“It probably was, I guarantee I would make him suffer. He did many things to me while I was a child and too weak to fight back.”

“This man isn’t him, Melanie-chan, remember, we don’t want to kill business, just make sure they understand not to mess with our girls.”

He poured a glass of coke for her and put it down.

“There is nothing in that.”

“That is because you are only eighteen Melanie-chan.”

“But you’ll sell me sake?”

“Because I know you take it home for your neighbor. Very nice of you to deliver for him and us.”

He glanced at a man down the bar who was looking at the pair. Enid smiled at him. She recognized him as a police officer. She frowned and downed the coke. And spoke a little louder.

“I have class early tomorrow. Thank you for the coke Tagashi-san. Could I get the bottle of sake for Nishahara-san?”

He reached down and pulled out the bottle and put it on the bar. She took it and put it in her pack with another glance to the police officer and walked out of the back door. She glanced back when she heard footsteps, not obvious ones they were obviously trying to shadow her. But with her enhanced senses and night vision a mortal had little chance of that. It was the cop. She frowned and paused at the edge of the alleyway.

“What is it Inspector? I have an early morning, so if you’re trying to find out where I’m going, I’m going home, if you want to talk can we walk and talk?”

He stood there in the shadows she could see him caught between disbelief and panic. He finally stepped out and hurried to catch up. He was young and new. She had seen him sniffing around Nobuyuki’s businesses, but the Police on Okinawa knew to leave them be. She had never heard him speak before and he had an American sounding English accent.

“Did they kidnap you when you were young? I can help.”

“No, they did not.”

“How does a young woman who for all appearances is a kind, respectful girl who helps care for her elderly neighbors get tangled up in the schemes of organized crime?”

Enid laughed.

“Oh Inspector. You think this is like the Mafia in the US? The drug dealers?”

“I find the fact my fellow officers just let this go on under their noses offensive.”

“Inspector, the Yakuza have been working this way for the centuries.”

“We live in the shadows, and as part of that fight things in shadows, that the police want no part of. In exchange we do business respectfully of course. Keep the other criminals in line and maintain a balance. Have you seen a crime rate this low in the United States?”

He shook his head.

“That is because we run the crime and we understand respect and decorum, we do not have gun battles in the streets. Mug random strangers. The girls are paid, the drugs if they are handled are free of dangerous substances, and we ensure that the more violent organized crime of the US does not come to this Island. Yes some of the Yakuza, are, violent and ruthless, on the mainland, but not here.”

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“A girl came in beat up tonight. I saw her. Why was it not reported to the police?”

“Because she is fine, and this is a Yakuza matter.”

“I notice people fear you, is it a matter you will deal with?”

“I’m a university student. I have class tomorrow at 7:30 am. If you believe I would not sleep tonight so I could go punish someone for beating up one of our girls, you are should probably turn in your badge.”

“I notice you have scars. It is a dangerous life you’re choosing. I can help.”

Enid laughed.

“My father gave me these scars, he was not Yakuza.”

“You just seem so innocent in all this. I checked your school records, perfect attendance, no disciplinary actions, you volunteer, I asked your neighbors about you. They have nothing but good things to say.”

“I am Yakuza, do you think they will not say whatever I want them to say?”

He shook his head.

“I have seen people who have been intimidated into submission before. They like you. Neighborhood says it’s never been safer. Your neighbor, Nishahara, he seems to think you’re the second coming or something. Why are you getting involved with organized crime?”

“Because, I have a job to do, they make it easier. And they have treated me like family since I’ve been here, which is more then I can say for most.”

“That is how gangs work, kid, they lure you in like that, then next thing you know you’re in prison.”

“Once again, this is not the US. I don’t work in their organization. I am a specialist.”

“What do you do for them then?”

Enid frowned.

“Case numbers: 1985-03-09-3A,B,C,D,E,F, 1985-06-24-1A Through ZZ, 1987-12-22-6B. Look at those, that is what I do for them and you.”

He blinked at her.

“You do not need to save me Inspector. I am quite capable of defending myself, or leaving the Yakuza as I wish. I assure you. Nobuyuki-san has treated me like his daughter, if I wish to leave, he will make it happen. My relationship with them is one of family and an alliance of convenience for both sides.”

He continued to walk with her right up until her building. He kept glancing at her tattoo as if it were going to come alive and devour him. She opened the building door.

“Does your landlord know he has a Yakuza member living in the building.”

“She actually does. Is happy to have me here, says it keeps the garbage out.”

He blinked at her as she walked inside without another word. She went upstairs and let the shadows engulf her and flew off again, this time towards the US military base nearest Naha. She knew the base well for no other reason than it was good hunting grounds. She landed behind two Marine MP’s on patrol and picked his pocket stealing the keys to the buildings and then casually strolled to the CO’s building. She guess he’d have a list of personal assigned to the base, there were a substantial amount and so many bases on Okinawa it might take a while to find this Koenig fellow. She unlocked the door and walked in. And after a few tries found the key to the personal officers filing room and started with the K’s. She found the file and looked at the picture. All things considered she was glad they had paper still. He looked young, matched the description. She checked his age, nineteen.

“Kid is already hitting women?”

She took the folder to their photocopier and made a duplicate of the file and put the original back. She retraced her steps and found the MP’s searching the grass near the building they had been by.

“I swear they were right here.”

Enid forced her appearance to change. Taking on a brunette hair color and brown eyes. She pulled her glasses off and slid them into her pack, swept her hand along the side of it, turning off the extradimensional space leaving a purse full of normal feminine sundries and make up. then walked back around a corner let the shadows of night fall away and walked out holding up the keys, trying her best to sound like a Russian native speaker.

“Looking for these?”

To say the two marines were shocked would be an understatement one was fumbling for his gun. The other already had his out.

“Drop them!”

She dropped the keys.

“Am I not supposed to be here?”

“God damn it she’s a Russian spy.”

“I think the technical term is soviet spy, American pig dog.”

She let them put her in cuffs amused by the whole thing.

“You’re going to wish you hadn’t gotten caught.”

“I’ll tell your base commander exactly why I’m here. But only if I see him in the next fifteen minutes. Or I mean you could spend the next week searching all over the base for any explosive devices I may have planted.”

She smirked. They shoved her along roughly. And put her in a room. She was impressed when an older man wearing one star showed up. Looking a combination of perplexed and angry. He was flanked by two marines who looked a lot bigger then the two MP’s she’d been brought in by. She had her hands behind her back. She flicked her fingers under them and used her TK to pop the lock open. They fell to the ground, and she put her hands on the table.

“That feels better.”

The guards and the general stepped back.

“What? Never seen someone pick a lock before?”

She dropped the Russian accent and went for southern US.

“General your security is terrible. I was on this base for an hour doing whatever I pleased. I actually picked your MP’s pocket, took his keys and he and his partner spent half an hour searching for them on a lawn instead of calling it in. Pathetic. If I really was a soviet spy your base would be fucked. I could have planted enough explosives to incapacitate you. Not to mention the nuclear launch silos. You need to do better.”

“Why are you here? Who are you?”

Enid pointed to her back.

“This tattoo, its Yakuza, you know who they are right?”

“Yes, criminals.”

She looked him in the eyes and she saw the subtle lean close, the slight gasp as he became obsessed with her eyes.

“General, have them bring me my pack, I’ll tell you exactly why I am here.”

He looked to his left.

“Bring her pack in, give it to her.”

“But General.”

“That’s an order soldier. You know you follow those right?”

He saluted.

“Yes sir.”

He returned shortly with Enid’s pack and handed to her. She could tell the contents had been rifled through. She swept her hand along it and pulled out the front sheet of the personal file. She swept her hand along it again and slung it over her shoulders. She looked the General in the eyes again forcing her will onto him. He stared at her hanging on her every word.

“This man assaulted a woman in Naha. We would like him to pay restitution to her and have him banned from our establishments. If you don’t arrange this its best he not leave the base, ever.”

One of the soldiers beside the general got pissed.

“You can’t come on this base and threaten one of ours.”

The general still staring in Enid’s eyes held up his hand and held the soldier back.

“No, you bring him in, bring him up on charges. Go. I want you to throw the book at him.”

“Sir?”

“You heard me. We can’t have our men causing a ruckus with the locals.”

“She’s part of the mafia sir, we can’t make deals with them.”

Enid maintained eye contact with the general.

“Now, thank me for bringing your security inadequacies and your man’s abhorrent behavior to light and send me on my way with an escort to the gates.”

“Thank you, ma’am, for bringing our security issues and the crimes of this soldier to our attention. I hope you have a good evening.”

He turned to the soldier beside him who was looking at her like he wanted to strangle her and spoke.

“Escort her to the gate, make sure she gets off the base safely.”

“Sir?”

“Are you going def corporal?”

“No sir. Then make sure she gets off the base safely. Then report to medical to have your hearing checked.”

The marine corporal grabbed her arm and tugged her along she didn’t resist. She passed the two MPs who were in the midst of being debriefed by two men in suits. They looked shocked to see her escorted past.

“Where are you going with her?”

“General’s orders, sir, get her off the base.”

“He can’t do that…”

Enid feeling bratty, spoke in Russian.

“Better luck next time, Comrades.”

She winked while the two men in suits rushed into see the General. Once she was outside, she looked up in the marine corporal’s eyes.

“That’s fine, you got me to the gate, you politely wished me good night and went to your barracks to get some sleep.”

He nodded.

“Have a good night ma’am. Next time just ask for a meeting with the CO, would you?”

Enid nodded when he turned away, she pulled the shadows around herself and watched the marine trying to explain he had already taken her to the gate and was heading back to his barracks to go back to bed to the two military intelligence agents. She stifled a laugh as the agents looked at each other in frustration.

“Who the fuck was she?”

“I donno, but whoever it is she’s got fucking balls, comes in here and walks out of here like she owned the place.”

They sighed and turned to the Marine.

“Call the gate and tell them to try and follow her.”

He called the gate.

“Corporal, you didn’t come here tonight.”

Enid stifled another laugh and flew away letting her form shift back to her nineteen-year-old version of Melanie Stuart whose hair had gone to a shade of auburn her skin was less pale and she just looked more mousy in general. She found a couple of soldiers out smoking and she drank from both refreshing all the blood she had used that night and landed on her balcony and let the shadows fall away. Her phone was ringing when she arrived she rolled her eyes and went to it.

“What?”

“Melanie-chan?”

“Yes Edo, you know it is three am and I have to be up for school in like three hours right?”

“I’m sorry Melanie-chan, but some men came asking about a woman with a dragon tattoo who broke into the base, they were upset, said asked if we were working with the Russians.”

“And what did you say?”

“I said we don’t know any Russians.”

“Good answer.”

“What did you do?”

“Nothing I assure you, I’ve been here sleeping all night after the Inspector dropped me off.”

“They asked around the bar, I didn’t feel comfortable kicking them out, people know you have the tattoo Raijin.”

“So, they do, but I assure you I was sleeping here.”

Enid was pulling her clothes off and getting ready to lay in bed staring at the wall for a couple hours letting her mind wander.

“Okay, okay.”

“Can I go back to bed Edo?”

“Yes, yes, I’m sorry to have bothered you.”

“Good night Edo, get some sleep, I’m sure this will blow over in the morning.”

Enid hung up the phone and fell into her bed face down smacked her head into the pillow a few times.

“Impulsive, stupid impulsive Enid.”

She sighed rolled over staring at her ceiling.

This not being able to sleep without sleeping for decades is bullshit.

She groaned when she heard a loud knocking at her door. She tugged her night robe on since she tended to lay naked in bed and pulled her glasses on. She walked to the door and opened it and she was face to face with the two US agents. She heard Nishahara open his door and glare at them. He spoke in angry, but broken English. He still sounded quite drunk from their night of sake.

“Who do you think you are? Knocking so loudly at this hour, she has school.”

The agent showed his badge.

“Just go inside.”

“You Americans, you have no place here.”

Nishahara shook his cane.

Enid peaked out of her door.

“I apologize Nishahara-san, I will make sure we’re quiet.”

He nodded to her and closed his door. She looked at the two agents, pulling her robe tighter. She chose a Scottish accent this time.

“You should come in, before he gets his rifle, he still thinks we should have won the war.”

“We?”

“Well, I am a dual Scottish-Japanese citizen. Neither of which falls under US jurisdiction, unless something has changed.”

She narrowed her eyes and backed into the apartment motioning for them to enter. She closed the door after them.

“Forgive me for being cranky, people keep disturbing my sleep tonight.”

She turned on the lights and adjusted her glasses.

“We’re told you’re close with the Yakuza and have a dragon tattoo.”

“Both are true statements.”

“Its it odd for a westerner to be accepted?”

“Yes, yes it is, but I saved one of their boss’s lives. I invited you in as a curtesy, but I have to be up for school in 2-3 hours so lets just get to the point shall we before I toss you out on your asses.”

They looked at each other, the had obviously done enough investigation in the last two hours to realize how scared people were of her.

“Are you a soviet agent?”

Enid laughed.

“No, I’m a university student.”

They looked at each other.

“Could we see your tattoo?”

“I sleep naked, so no, you can’t see my naked teenage body, creep.”

“Where were you tonight between the hours of eight pm and one am?”

“Not that is any of your business, but I had dinner with my neighbor, we got drunk on sake, a girl got hurt and the Yakuza asked me to look at her because I’m in medicine at school and then I replaced my sake and came home and went to bed, so I could sleep off the sake before school.”

“How much sake did you have?”

She reached into her basked with the empty sake bottle and tossed it at them.

“Enough that if you’d bothered me two hours ago I’d be slurring as much is my neighbor.”

“They let you look at the girl while you were drunk?”

“We’re criminals, we don’t exactly have ethical debates when someone is hurt, and they can’t go to the hospital. Use some common sense.”

“So why are you asking about a girl with a dragon tattoo?”

“Well, if you want to know where I was at ten pm, I was walking home with an Inspector from the Naha Police. I’m sure he watched the door for a while because he thought I was going to go do something terribly criminal and violent. As much as I have a rep, I patch people up, and I make sure the bar doesn’t go wild when the boss is out of town. I don’t enforce Yakuza justice. Look at me. Do I look like a mafia enforcer? Really? Or a spy? I am about done with this. I have school and karate lessons to teach right afterwards I am in no mood to lose more sleep because of your paranoia.”

They didn’t look like they were moving. Enid was starting to get annoyed, more at herself for the prank then anything else.

“Just, could we see your ID please?”

“You American’s really do think you’re the world police don’t you? Fine.”

She went over to her wallet and pulled out her Japanese passport, drives license and her student ID. She handed them to them.

“The only association I have with the United States, or its military is that I teach kids from the base at my Sensei’s dojo. You are welcome to come watch the classes all you want, Junpei-sensei believes parents should be able to see their children growing in the art.”

The first agent looked through all of them, then passed it to his partner and then he passed them back to her.

“So you’re eighteen years old, and graduated high school this year and are going to university for medicine.”

“That’s me in a nutshell. Ask around, the worst thing I do is help out at my adoptive father’s bar. That being said if you bother me again without Japanese authorities I’ll complain to your consulate, the Scottish consulate and the Japanese authorities. What is it you American’s say in your movies, ‘I’ll cause an international incident.’ I am quite sure they will appreciate two American agents bothering a teenage girl at three thirty in the morning, a naked, barely of age, teenage girl.”

They muttered some apologies and walked towards her apartment door. She closed it and locked it and leaned against it.

Going to have to be on my best behavior god damn it.