Chapter Thirteen: I’ll Be Going Now. I’ll Come Back When This Is All Over.

“You could say that I am in the music business, but I fear that would be a massive oversimplification.”

Hibiki was pouring more tea to warm up everyone’s cups.

“I am simply a record store owner. All I need to do is anticipate the demand, procure the product, and maintain my establishment, and I have succeeded. But the music industry is far more complicated than just retail stores. You need to innovate, explore, and create new markets, inspire young artists, and captivate your audience. There is no right and wrong, and the results can never be predicted in advance.”

Trash tried to understand what the old man was talking about. It seemed like a business discussion, but he knew nothing about the higher aspects of business. He was a trader by nature, barely managing to survive in the world of bartering. His English was also being tested. It required so much concentration just to keep up with the quickly moving conversation, and fatigue was already starting to cause him to lose focus.

“Despite being a more simple operation, many, if not most, record shops fail. Despite being far more complex, many music corporations succeed. Mr. Landis, what do you suppose the difference is?”

Danny, who initially seemed almost annoyed by the odd manner of their host, thought about the question for a moment and, as though entertained by the question, answered it as if he had been given a riddle.

“While there is a connection, the core business is completely different. The inputs and outputs are different. The thresholds for success and failure are entirely different. It’s like comparing apples and… airplanes.”

Hibiki chuckled.

“That is a very astute answer, Mr. Landis. As expected from a man once hailed as a Wunderkind.”

Trash saw Danny’s smile petrify with that last compliment. He wasn’t sure what a wunderkind was, but it was likely less of a compliment than it sounded.

“Many, many people have come to this country to find their fortune, from the Khan, to the Qin, to the Tzars, to Perry and his Black Ships. Many still come every day. Now, they bring financial instruments, and trade contracts, and currency swaps. Just as those early invaders, nearly all of them leave disappointed. Carrying away less than they came with.”

To his credit, Danny still seemed to be interested in the impromptu lesson.

“That is what I would like to know about. There have been so few wins, but considering the size of the market and the strong interdependence of Japan and the US, there should have been so many more. I don’t buy all that crap of market protectionism and isolationism. That shouldn’t keep innovators from breaking through and wrecking the place. Look at Apple.”

Another chuckle from Hibiki, and an appreciative nod.

“Why didn’t you ever try and take a crack at it, then?”

“I wanted to. Actually, it was one of my first ideas… before iCONNector. But… I was warned off. A mentor of mine. He told me to go to Japan only if I needed to get more practice failing. Heh, I forgot about that.”

“That sounds like something Marvin Jensen might say.”

“How did you…?”

“Oh, he’s out there on that wall somewhere. He made many attempts. Did better than many, but never quite made the splash he had hoped for.”

“You knew-”

* “Yes, though not well. He once sat where you sit now.”

Danny sat with a very thoughtful look, leaned forward in his seat, and took a sip of tea.

“The reason that so many attempts to take Japan fail, is a secret that is as well known as it is completely ignored. It is because the fundamental goals and structure of business in Japan are as different from the West as playing checkers is from playing the piano.”

Trash was completely lost, but Danny was energized. He could care less about the deal now. He was bursting with curiosity about where this lesson was going.

“Japan is not trying to keep foreign business out, far from it. But so many people come over thinking that the language is the only thing that needs to be translated. That, I’m afraid, is failing to see the forest for the trees. This brings me back to our misunderstanding. As I said before, I am not a bank or a loan shark.”

Danny was clearly thinking hard. He could tell that the man in front of him was leading him somewhere, and as a puzzle, he could not resist trying to find the solution.

“Trash said that you help people.”

“Well, I am not so altruistic that I help everyone, but that is a key service that I offer.”

Trash watched as though the two men were dueling. Danny seemed to be putting something together. He glanced back toward the doorway to the shop. Toward the wall of photos.

“You are a fixer… no, you are THE fixer.”

Trash was familiar with that term. A fixer was someone who helped foreign businesses or journalists quickly get the connections they needed when they visited from abroad. They would act as a scheduler, and sometimes a guide, or an interpreter.

“As expected from you, Mr. Landis. Your reputation for unrestrained thinking is well deserved.”

Danny smiled a self satisfied grin, but even Trash could see the wheels in the man’s head turning.

“The biggest mistake most of those Western companies make is that they arrive, still thinking that business is transactional in nature. It is that way in America, and most of the world for that matter. Everyone wants the best deal. Goods and services are evaluated, contracts are made, trades are reconciled, people are happy or unhappy based on the visible, tangible results.”

As he spoke, the old man took on a sad look as though he had given this warning countless times before, only to be ignored.

“But business in this country is, at its core, relationship-based. It is still adorned with all the same cladding that you see elsewhere; profit statements, budget projections, partnership agreements. The true structure, however, continues to be based on trust and familiarity. Success here is not only judged by profits, but it can also come from building connections that can be relied on when needed. The greatest leaders in Japanese history are not known for their courage or intelligence, but for their strategic minds, and political acumen.”

Danny was now nodding along. Trash was well beyond his depth, so he just tried to rest his mind. At least it looked like things were moving in a positive direction.

“If you try and play the game without knowing the rules, then how can you expect to win?”

“Then… you don’t want money?” Danny asked with a confused look, as if testing a hypothesis he was not confident in.

“HA!” Hibiki laughed out loud, then smiled with the tight-lipped grin of a snake about to devour its prey.

“Of course, I want money. What kind of fool would I be if I didn’t?”

“…You don’t only want money.”

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“Very, very sharp… Danny.”

Trash just realized the Hibiki had stopped calling Danny by his first name, but now had suddenly started again. He was sure there was meaning behind that. Perhaps there was meaning behind calling him by his nickname as well. It was so confounding and frustrating to think about. He really wanted to be back in Akiba. At Charon with Pazu, or playing the retro game cabinets at Super Potato. Anywhere but here.

He wondered if this was some kind of Geek God purgatory, for coveting the steak of Capricieux. He should stick to his lane, and venturing out leads to nightmares like this. Both Akihabara and Shibuya lay on the outer ring of central Tokyo. By most respects, they were very close together, but right now he felt as though he had been kidnapped and brought to a foreign country. Or perhaps the truck did hit him yesterday, and this was a bad dream while he was lying in a coma in the hospital. Or maybe this was hell? Or a different world altogether…

“Trash.”

How could he go back to his old world? His comfortable… well, familiar old life atop the factory.

“Trash!”

“Huh?”

Trash realized that both Danny and Hibiki were staring at him intently.

“You okay? We seemed to have lost you for a minute.”

“Sorry, it’s very complicated. So much English…”

“Ah yes… perhaps that is enough for today… Danny, I believe we have an agreement?”

“Yes, I’ll contact my people in Singapore and have them send me the confirmations as soon as the banks open tomorrow.”

“That is fine. I hope you have a pleasant stay in Japan, Danny. How much longer are you planning to stay?”

“My flight is booked out of Narita tomorrow night.”

“Then I suppose this will be the last time we will be meeting this time. Please have a safe trip.”

Then Hibiki turned to Trash. There was a cold edge to the look that gave him chills.

「It was interesting to meet you as well, Trash. Please give my regards to young master Hiroyuki. Let him know he should stop by sometime so that we can catch up.」

That statement, spoken in Japanese, sent an even colder chill up and down his spine. He worried that somehow he had gotten his friend in trouble.

Trash wasn’t sure what was going on. He had spaced out the last part of the conversation, but it looked like the old man and Danny had made some kind of agreement. He hoped it left something for him, but he realized that Danny might be upset if the commission to Hibiki was more than he expected.

Realizing that he had failed, at least partially, Trash felt that whatever happened now, he had played every card he had. He just had to wait and see where things landed.

「Thank you for your time.」

That was all he could say. The large butler escorted Trash and Danny out of the store and they were soon standing in the middle of the park in front. Agbor was, again, sitting on his chair, looking as though he had been there all day.

The last hour felt like a dream to Trash. It had no sense of reality. Turning to look back at the store, it hadn’t disappeared like in a storybook. The butler, or whatever he was, sat there ignoring them, he could still hear the music from the jukebox wafting out the open double doors.

He slowly turned to look at Danny, afraid of what he would see.

Danny was looking back at Trash. It was an inscrutable expression that made Trash want to run away.

“I’m torn, Trash,” Danny spoke after a few seconds.

“Part of me wants to beat the shit out of you; the other part wants to kiss you. I’d do both, but to be perfectly honest, the part that wants to kick your ass is kinda winning me over.”

“D-Danny… Lancelet… I’m sorry.”

“What the hell?” Danny shook his head, then looked over at the store and the man, still sitting there ignoring them.

“Let’s move somewhere else.”

Danny walked back down the steps to Takeshita Street. After a few seconds, Trash slowly followed him down.

They walked back up the hill until they reached the main road. There was another entrance to the train station here that Trash didn’t even know existed. There must be an underground exit to the platform. He thought everyone always used the main exit, so he guessed this one was a secret for the Takeshita street crowd.

“Okay, let me say this first. What the fuck were you thinking? Who authorized you to bargain?”

Trash trembled.

“You almost screwed up big time. Where the hell did ten percent come from? Were you going to give up your entire cut of the deal?”

Actually, Trash was willing to give up most of it as long as he got something. That was what he thought at the time, at least.

Trash looked again at the tall American. He realized that this time, he wasn’t really angry. He was blustering a bit, but already, Trash was able to tell when he was actually angry, and when he was just raising his voice to make a point. The Danny who stood in front of him right now was one hundred percent in control of his emotions. If anything, he seemed more in control than at any point since he had first met him.

“That was stupid. Really stupid Trash. You pretty much cut yourself out of the deal, you know?”

He knew. He felt his shoulders sag a bit,

“How much?”

“Huh?”

“How much is it going to cost you to get the money for Ryo?”

Danny looked surprised, then he smiled an evil-looking grin.

“You really blacked out there, huh? Well, it’s a bit weird now, but end of the day, I’ll have to boost the budget by another fifty, I guess.”

“F-fifty?”

“Fifty thousand.”

Trash’s heart stopped. He was stunned. In just a few moments… just like that. The deal he had brokered had collapsed completely. Another fifty thousand dollars, and Danny would blame him. His entire cut wouldn’t even cover one-third of the increase, even after Danny had agreed to bump it up to fifteen percent.

“Don’t shit yourself. Yeah, it was more than I was expecting. But… well, it might be worth it. Let’s just say I’m still evaluating it.”

“But Danny… I’m sorry. I really screwed this all up.”

“Yes, my friend. You really did. But you know what they say; when life gives you lemons…”

“You make lemonade?”

Of course, Trash had heard the saying before, although he really didn’t know what it meant.

“Fuck no. All you have is a bunch of lemons. So when life gives you lemons, all you can do is to learn how to suck on lemons and learn to enjoy it like you’re sucking on a-“

“Danny! …I’m sorry,” Trash was sincerely regretful that he had failed. He lowered his head in apology.

“Look, you screwed up, but…”

Trash looked up.

“But, you screwed up in an amazingly interesting way. You brought me into contact with someone I didn’t even know existed. Someone who… If I had met him just five years… no, even three years ago, it would have changed my whole life’s trajectory. Even now, new possibilities abound. For that… well, I guess I owe you one.”

Trash cocked his head to the side. Danny, was that happy to meet that old goat? Pazu really picked a perfect name for the man. He was odd, and intimidating, and… just so weird.

“Tell you what. I don’t know for sure what is going to happen with Ryo. Maybe I can work something out with the scary guy up there. I gotta talk to some people first.”

Danny pointed back towards the hill where the record store was.

“If it works out, it’s gonna cost me big, but that’s okay. I’ll still pay you the original commission. Eight percent. Sound good?”

Trash shot to attention. Was he hearing correctly? Did he somehow fall asleep in the middle of the race and wake up at the finish line?

“Of course, I’ll subtracting out the expense money… so let’s call it five big ones. Right to your account?”

“Uhh, but… why? What?”

“No matter what happens, when I get back to the States, I’ll wire you the money. 5K is no big deal. Regardless of how things go.”

“Really? But… what about Ryo?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll work something out. Your part is done, You are a free man now.”

Just like that. He was free. He’d get the money, he could afford to move out and maybe buy a few months of leeway. It was exactly what he had been hoping for.

Just like that.

“Just like that,” Danny said it, like he was reading the thoughts right from Trash’s mind.

“Why?”

He knew it was a stupid question. He shouldn’t tempt the Gods by picking at a loose thread like that, but it just… didn’t feel finished.

“Hmm. Let’s just say something that freak up there said made sense to me. Relationships are important. I’m gonna need to meditate on that. But who knows, someday, I may need to ask for your help on something, and I’d like for you to at least take the call, you know?”

Trash thought about it for a moment, then he nodded. Still unsure, but knowing that things were finally moving back outside of his sphere of influence. Like it or not, this adventure was ending.

“Well, I gotta say, it’s been an interesting couple of days, Trash. I’ve got to run. I have about a billion phone calls to make before tomorrow, but thanks for the tour guiding and whatever this all was.”

Danny waved back down the hill at Takeshita Street. Then he stuck out his hand.

Trash reached out and, in a daze, shook the man’s outstretched hand.

He stood there at the intersection, trying to grasp what was going on. Then he realized where he was and what he was doing.

He was standing like a fool in the heart of the enemy. Some teenage girls walking by gave him a sour look. He looked around. Danny had disappeared. He must have already gone into the lower train entrance across the street.

Realizing that he must look like an idiot, Trash walked over to the corner. There was a western hamburger place there. Trash suddenly realized how hungry he was.

It was called Wolfgang Puck. It sounded strange, like some kind of RPG theme cafe, which would have been interesting, but the prices were outrageous. Instead, he went into the Yoshinoya next door and sat at the counter.

Realizing that the money in his wallet was now his, free and clear, he ordered a beef bowl, double meat, with pork soup. This lavish meal still came under 1,000 yen, but it was his go-to splurging order when he had some extra coin.

Trash had money in his wallet, and money in the bank. Even more money was on the way, although he wasn’t sure when that would come in. Somehow, he had pulled it off. The feeling left him numb.

Things still felt off. That weird old man. Danny was acting very strange, too, even for a foreigner. He needed to go back and talk to Pazu. Hopefully, that would reassure him that things were looking better.

That reminded him he hadn’t checked his phone since he had arrived in Harajuku. Sure enough, there was a stack of new messages from Pazu waiting for him.

PAZU [Howd it go? Everything OK?]

PAZU [Stop by. Making wings(HOT).]

PAZU [WARNING! Saki brought Satsuki]

PAZU [MOGRA ALERT! RUN!]

PAZU [4REALZ. SAVE ME!]

Shit.