Botan

‘I should have known better. I fucking should’ve..’.

This was the thought running through my head as I made my way stealthily towards the Sin’s den. I knew that Fuji was bad news. I should never have invited him to come with me when I went to visit Hana. But then again, I was always walking on eggshells around that guy, trying not to offend him. His connections had helped a lot with my business, but it also made him very dangerous to offend. He’d come to me a few days ago saying that Sin’s den had mistreated him and that his uncle was involved now. I could do little better than stand there and nod as he told me that I shouldn’t visit the place or take my business partners there.

If his uncle, boss Kuro was involved, it was only a matter of time before retribution was meted out. I’d initially hoped that this would mean that their business would be shut down for a while, but tonight that fucker had come around boasting about how dishonour would be repaid in blood. My insides squirmed at the thought of something terrible happening to Hana. And worst of all, I would be the reason for her misfortune. I got Fuji out of my shop as fast as I could before closing up shop early and going home. I changed into a costume that covered my head and face and took the long way around to reach Sin’s den. I had to warn Hana of the impending danger.

I reached the place to find out that the bar was already shut and there were edgy looking guards standing at the entrances. I felt my dread redouble as I feared that I’d been too late. I prayed that nothing had happened to Hana. I was walking around in a state of panic when I remembered that Hana told me her room had a view of the canal. I located her room’s window and started throwing pebbles on her window. There was no response as I waited impatiently at the embankment of the canal for god knew how long. At long last, I saw the light come on in her room and I tried again.

I let out a breath I didn’t realise that I’d been holding when I saw her beautiful face in the window. She signalled me to say that she was coming down. I was surprised to see her emerge from the shadows from the opposite direction that I was expecting. I had never known that Sin’s den had an exit there.

She came to a stop a few feet away from me before removing her hood.

“What do you want, Botan?” She asked.

I was taken aback by the expression on her face. There was none of her usual cheerfulness or smile on her face as she addressed me. She might have been physically fine, but I felt that something irreparable had already happened. I felt a pang of guilt flare up over the relief that I’d been feeling as I remembered that as far as she knew, Fuji was my close friend.

“I.. I’m sorry Hana. I’m sorry that I brought Fiji into your and your friend’s life.” I said as I bowed my head in apology in front of her.

She seemed to consider me for a moment before answering.

“You aren’t going to defend your friend?” She asked.

“No..No.. God no. And you should know that Fuji is less of a friend and more of an acquaintance I’ve had to keep close for my business interests. I’ll admit that I turned a blind eye to the foul rumours that followed him because I didn’t want to end up losing favour with his uncle. In this town that would mean that I’d be out of business faster than you could snap your fingers”

“His uncle?” She asked.

“Boss Kuro” I saw her eyes widen slightly at the mention of his name.

“Who is he?” She asked.

“Boss Kuro pretty much runs this town, although he’s careful to keep out of the public eye. He’s a powerful man. A former shinobi of hidden leaf village. That’s why I came over tonight. To warn you about him. Fuji told me that they plan on doing something. I don’t know the details, but Fuji implied that it involved spilling blood.”

I had expected her to freak out once I gave this information. But there was no change in her expression other than the clenching of her jaw.

“I’m afraid your warning came a little too late, Botan,” She said.

“Why? What happened?”

“Blood has already been spilled here tonight.” She said in a grim tone.

“Oh my god. Is it…Is it Nezu? Is she okay?”.

“Nezu’s fine. It was our guard Jin. He’s in the hospital right now.”

“Is he okay?” I asked. I had to admit that I was a little relieved that Kuro’s wrath hadn’t fallen on Hana or Nezu yet.

“I don’t know Botan. I hope he will pull through, but the chances of him coming out of this unscathed is slim.” She said with a tired sigh.

I couldn’t help but feel that this was a different person standing in front of me now. The confident, energetic girl that I knew seemed to have been replaced by someone else. Her eyes had a sad depth to it that shouldn’t have been there in someone who’d lived a sheltered village life. At that moment, I was struck by how little I really knew of Hana. But still, I needed to help her.

“Hana, you may or may not have realised this yet, but your life is in acute danger. And it will stay that way as long as you’re affiliated with Sin’s den. I know that you probably have a debt to repay with the owner of this place. Please allow me to clear that debt so you can go free,”I said.

Hana looked up at me and smiled for the first time that night. It was a sad smile. She stepped forward and took my hands. I was mesmerised as I stared into her violet eyes.

“Thank you Botan. It means a lot to me that you would offer to do this for me. But, debts aren’t the only thing that is binding me to this place. I won’t abandon my friends.” She said, as she leaned in and planted a soft kiss on my lips. Somehow, that simple kiss felt more tender and meaningful than anything we’d ever done before.

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Her eyes were steely and resolute and I knew that she would not waver. As she walked away from me and disappeared into the darkness, I was sad that she wouldn’t accept my help. But I knew that I admired her more than anyone I’d ever known.

Old lady Matsumoto

I'd maintained the outward appearance of calm around my employees through all that had happened, but inside, I was anything but. Jin was badly hurt. They'd rushed him straight into surgery at the hospital. I had to stay behind for a while to arrange protection for the girls before I could head over there. I called on a favour with boss Renji and offered to pay handsomely for him to send able men for the job.

The surgery lasted till early morning and it took a few more hours after that for me to finally be able to see him. It took everything I had in me to not break down there as I saw his battered body infront of me. He was a 300 pound bulk of a man, but for me, he was still the same sweet toddler who loved to spend time with me when his mother was working. I'd foolishly thought that I could keep him from harm by keeping him close to me. I gripped the bed frame to keep myself upright as nausea threatened to overtake me. I couldn't keep doing this anymore. Eventually, I was a failure. I just hadn't been able to admit that to myself. The time when I could make any meaningful changes to the town of Kurashiko was long gone and it was never coming back. I had to focus on salvaging whatever I could. Sin's den was just a building after all. It was the people that truly mattered.

I got back home after posting a couple of people to stay with Jin. I sent Nezu and Hana away to stay in an empty house nearby Mina's residence. I sent some money and assigned a guard to watch them from a distance. Mina's house was well removed from the town near the woods. It wasn't an area that the city bosses usually bothered with. They should be safe there for a while until things settled down. As soon as I arranged for the safety of my people and rested for a bit, I asked for a meeting with boss Renji.

Renji operated the second most powerful organisation in the city. His father was the top man back when I first came here. His father was a good man and a long time patron of mine. Renji should have been the top man of Kurashiko, but his position had been usurped by Kuro. Renji's continued support even after his father's death was one of the main reasons why I was able to keep my doors open for this long.

We met on the top floor of one of the funeral parlours that Renji owned. I liked the flower arrangement they had there. If things were gonna keep on going as shitty as they’d been going, soon I’d be giving them my own business. I was called into Renji’s office without much of a wait. Renji was sitting behind his desk with two of his bodyguards flanking him. I was a bit surprised to see that his hair and moustache were completely grey now. God, that made me feel really old.

“Matsumoto san, It’s been a while since we met face to face,” Renji said with a smile as he gestured towards a chair.

“Yes, It’s been too long boss Renji” I replied with a smile as I took the seat that was offered.

“No need to stand on ceremony, Matsumoto san. We’ve known each other for way too long for that. You can just call me Renji”.

I smiled and nodded at him. He really had inherited his father’s skill at making people feel at ease. Renji had more statesmanship in his little finger than Kuro did in his entire ruthless body.

“I wish we were meeting under better circumstances, Renji,” I said. His smile morphed into a serious expression as he nodded.

“Yes, so do I Matsumoto san. I had sent word to Kuro’s people after what happened to Jin last night. It was just as I suspected. They were stalling the negotiation last week so that they could send you a strong message. Today morning, they were more than willing to send over their terms.” Renji said.

This was perfectly in line with what I’d expected from Kuro. It was just that I’d never imagined they’d go so far as to hurt Jin as badly as they did.

“What does he want?” I asked.

“He’s really playing up the dishonour to the family name angle for you chucking out that useless nephew of his. It’s a clever ploy, as he can use this reason to keep myself and any of the other bosses from interfering. He can justify using any kind of force to defend his family honour, as if that ruthless son of a bitch and his family had any honour to begin with” Renji spat before composing himself and continuing.

“What I suspect he really wants is to have a toehold in your part of town. His organisation is like a shark. They have to keep moving and growing or they’ll die out. They use and destroy too many resources. Kuro already has most of the prosperous part of the town. I think he and his cronies now want to make a move to newer pastures. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he sent his nephew to your establishment to elicit a response he knew he could use as a pretext for his takeover.”, Renji said.

So, I was just a pawn that was being used in a greater power play. But, in the end, it didn’t really matter why he was doing this. What was important was that I needed them to stop targeting my people.

“What are the terms they’re offering?” I asked.

Renji’s face twisted into an ugly expression before he answered me.

“Those bastards want you to turn over Sin’s den and it’s employees to them. They want the girls to sign a contract that says they’ll continue working at Sin’s den for at least a year after the change of ownership. Defaulting on this contract carries an exorbitant monetary penalty. They also want any of the debts the girls owe to you transferred to them. They also had the audacity to say that, out of respect for your age and standing in the community, they’ll offer you 50000 yon as compensation”.

“50000 yon?” I asked incredulously.

“I know, just the land that the property’s sitting on is worth 10 times that amount. But, these are the terms they’ve offered”.

To be honest, that wasn’t the part of the deal that scared me. If I handed over the girl’s debts to them and had them sign a one year contract, they’d become slaves in all but name. Their organisation would go through my girls like a scythe through a field. It was practically a death sentence rigged with a debt trap to make it slow and painful. There was no way I could agree to this.

I composed myself before looking at Renji.

“Is there any way I could get out of this Renji? I am willing to give them the Sin’s den for nothing as long as they leave my girls out of this. And if it’s blood they want, I’m willing to shed mine.” This would essentially leave me broke and on the street or dead, but I didn’t really care at this point.

Renji grimaced as he answered me “I’ll take your counter offer to them Matsumoto san. But I doubt that they’ll go for it.

I wish I was in a position to help you. I wish we were strong enough to go up against Kuro’s organisation, but we’re not.”

Renji reclined back into his chair looking tired before continuing “I feel like I’m failing my father’s memory every day. That bastard chips away at something that my father cherished every single day. And today, sadly, I have to watch that happen to you.”

“It’s not your fault Renji. You’ve always been a diligent and responsible son to your father. He used to speak often about how proud he was of you. Even if he were alive today, I doubt he’d be able to do a better job than you, Renji” I said sincerely.

“Thank you for saying that Matsumoto san. It means a lot coming from you” Renji said with a genuine smile.

“How long do I have Renji?” I asked.

“They’ve given you 10 days to decide before they start to go after you again.”

10 days, I had ten days to figure out a way to save my girls. I was determined to find a way even if it was the last thing I ever did.