Chapter Twenty Six: INSERT COIN TO CONTINUE
JNN News Alert:
July 5, 2010
A Japanese national was arrested today at Changi International Airport in Singapore. Ryoichi Sakamoto (45), a company employee, was arrested on multiple charges, including intellectual property theft, embezzlement, and numerous economic protection statutes. He is accused of attempting to sell corporate secrets and technology to an unnamed foreign company for two hundred thousand US dollars. Bank accounts and assets in his name have been seized and the investigation is ongoing.
A joint cooperative effort between the Tokyo Metropolitan Police white collar crimes division and the Singapore National Police Agency resulted in Sakamoto’s arrest upon his arrival at Singapore’s Changi Airport early this morning.
It is unclear if he will be tried in Singapore or extradited back to Japan, where additional charges are being considered.
----------------------------------------
JHK World Business News
July 11, 2010
Hansa Electronics Corporation has announced a 37 trillion yen (USD 400 million) investment in the Singapore-based Castrum Technologies startup founded by American tech entrepreneur Daniel Landis. The new company will focus on developing Hansa proprietary technologies to create AI-powered wearable technology solutions for the next generation of cell phones and mobile devices.
Hansa CEO, Toshio Shimizu, met Mr. Landis today in the Hansa corporate headquarters building in Kachidoki to sign the agreement. He declared that Hansa, with its new partnership with Castrum, would become the global leader in mobile technology solutions, meeting the growing demands of global customers, by providing answers based on traditional Japanese values and human-centric, innovative design.
Castum had announced that they will soon be opening an office in Japan to develop new products and service the Japanese market.
----------------------------------------
Trash only took a single step into the store before the manager waved him to come over. He must have been keeping an eye out.
Feeling a quick rush of panic, it took a moment before he remembered that it was still too early for the rent on his boxes to be due. That was the fifteenth of every month, and Trash was always careful to keep it paid up. Luckily, he still had enough cash from the traveler’s checks to cover his expenses for a couple more months at least.
If it wasn’t the rent, then what did the manager want to talk to him about?
「Your boxes are empty.」
「What? Why? I am sure I paid the rent.」
「No, not like that. Someone came in the other day. They bought everything in every one of your boxes.」
「Huh?」
That statement was so nonsensical, that his brain rejected it. Trash turned around to look toward the rows of big boxes, quickly finding his, the closest one to the front of the store.
It was indeed empty.
「Hey! Where’s my stuff? How can you just empty my box like that? I know I paid the rent.」
「Listen to me. You aren’t paying attention. We didn’t remove your things. Someone bought it. All of it.」
Trash blinked a few times. The words were like a rice cake that was too big. He could fit it in his mouth, but simply could not find a way to swallow it.
「Hey! Listen to me. Someone came in. Figured out which boxes were yours, then came over and bought every single thing in each one of your boxes.」
「All of it?」
「Yes. Every last piece.」
「All of it?」
「YES!」
「Why?」
「How should I know? Not my business. Anyway, we can’t pay you that much in cash, so you need to give us your bank details so that we can transfer everything to you.」
「So all my boxes are empty?」
「Yes! Why are you such an idiot? Your boxes are sold out. All of them. Every single item in every single box. Look, we need your bank details to forward you the money. Anything over 100,000 yen needs to be paid via bank transfer. You know that, right?」
「How much…?」
The manager went over to the register and pulled out a thin binder.
「856,253 yen.」
Trash coughed/choked like he had swallowed a fly.
「What!?」
「856,253 yen. What’s wrong with you? You are starting to get annoying.」
Trash had known this manager for years, and though they rarely spoke about anything but his boxes status, they were familiar enough that Trash knew he was joking. Probably.
「Yeah, sorry. Thanks. I’ll fill in my bank info. Thanks. No, wait. Who bought it?」
「Some tourist. A foreigner. He had this weird phone app and spoke into it to translate since it looked like he didn’t understand a word of Japanese. Also, he laughed like a donkey that was kicked in the throat,」the manager added with a wince.
Danny? It had to be him. Why would Danny buy out his boxes? Danny had all his stuff?
「Where is all the stuff? No way he carried it all out, right?」
「No, he had us ship it. Paid extra for that.」
「Do you still have the shipping receipt?」
「Yeah. Just a second.」
The manager went back and got another binder from under the counter. He leafed through it and pulled out several thin half sheets of paper.
「Oh, wait. I don’t think I’m supposed to share this with anyone.」
「Huh? Really?」
「Nah, I honestly don’t care. Just stop being so annoying. Here you go, but I’ll need them back.」
The manager handed the receipts to Trash.
Each was for a package delivery company. Right at the top of each receipt, under recipient, written in English, was his name and address. The boxes with his stuff were shipped to… himself?
He looked again. That was his name. His real name. Danny didn’t know…
Hibiki, again. That’s the only way.
Trash had seen the news. Actually, it had been Meg who forwarded him the article about Danny.
As for Sakamoto, it would have been hard to miss the news story about a Japanese national arrested overseas for corporate espionage. The story had been all over the news for several days.
Trash had been trying to figure out what had happened. Still, the pieces didn’t quite fit.
The reason that Sakamoto stopped returning his messages seemed to be easy enough. At first, Trash had been worried that the police might show up and question him, but it appeared that they hadn’t connected them. Not yet, at least.
Sakamoto going to Singapore to get caught was also strange. Especially after he had been so adamant about not going. Maybe the extra money had something to do with it. He had been arrested for taking twice the amount that Danny had initially offered. Was that all it had taken? If that was all it was, it made Trash want to smack both of those guys for what they put him through.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
It bothered him to think that after everything, Sakamoto and Danny worked out a new deal without him involved. Sakamoto giving in after getting the better offer, and Danny using his commission to bump up the amount seemed cruel.
If that was true, it pissed him off a bit. They both just cut him out. Especially Sakamoto, who suddenly stopped responding to his messages after they got to Harajuku. If that was the case, then he must have already known that Danny wasn’t there. He knew Trash was wasting his time and the whole thing with the ledge…
Well, it was hard to get too angry at a guy who was now sitting in a Singaporean jail.
But what about Danny? How had he managed to make a deal to get Hansa to fund his company? That smelled worse than week-old fish. It seemed obvious that Danny sold out Sakamoto, but there was no way he put a deal like that together in just a couple of days.
That meant Danny was planning to sell out Sakamoto from the beginning. The whole thing must have been a trap. A deal he made with Hansa to get his funding. He just needed to set up Sakamoto and get him to go to Singapore…
And what about Hibiki? Did he know? Is that why that whole meeting was so strange? If Danny had the backing of Hansa, there’s no reason he couldn’t get unlimited amounts of cash if he wanted it. But if he gave Sakamoto the cash, then he’d never get on the plane.
Trash wondered if the CEO of Hansa had his picture up on Hibiki’s wall. He probably did.
Danny had cut him off. Blocked him on Twitter. Then he left that weird note with Harold. Now he was paying him by buying up his stock and returning everything? Was Danny… protecting him?
He wondered if he would ever find out the whole story.
「Yours weren’t the only boxes that the guy bought out.」
「Huh?」
「He also bought a bunch of animation cells too, and a couple of Suppon’s custom figures. Days like that make me want to convince the owner we need to get sales commissions.」
「Did he ship those, too?」
「Nah. He had those wrapped up and took them with him. Also one of the models from your boxes.」
「Really? Which one?」
「I don’t know. What does it matter? You are really getting on my nerves. Why do you keep making me repeat myself?」
The manager gave him a wry smile.
「Anyway, congratulations. This gives us hope, you know. If customers are happy, maybe we can survive the move.」
「So it’s really happening?」
「Yeah. Next year sometime. Probably.」
「Damn. That sucks.」
「Tell me about it. Anyway, what do you want to do with your boxes?」
「I’ll keep them. I’ll come back and restock. Maybe need a day or two.」
「Really? That’s great. I’m not sure you’ll get another whale like that, though.」
「Probably not. Anyway, Why don’t you switch me to the six-month plan? I’ll get a discount, right?」
「Yeah. 15%.」
「Great. Take the rent out of the sales. Then, transfer the balance. We’ll figure out what to do after your new location is locked in. Maybe I can get some better box locations if I buy-in early.」
「Sure. We’ll keep you updated. Want me to add your phone number to your account? Then we can call you instead of email.」
「Sure.」
Trash finished the paperwork and left the rental box store in a daze. He checked the first floor store and got a similar story. Between the two stores, Danny had figured out a way to send him more than 1.2 million yen in cash anonymously.
By the time he got back to his apartment, there was a delivery slip already on his door.
Trash realized that Danny was probably still here in Japan. Staying at the Victoria most likely. He was tempted to go there. He could send a message to Harold, though he was sure the manager would protect the privacy of his golden goose guest.
He set the redelivery time for the next morning. Then spent the rest of the night going through his collection to figure out how to restock all those boxes. This was a great chance to reorganize and reprice everything. He could clear out the junk, and make sure the priority stuff was positioned to move. There was no way he was going to fall into the same pit he had fallen into over the last year. He was going to need more space to organize his stuff.
When the boxes were delivered the next morning, Trash found another letter inside one of them.
Identical to the one he had received from Harold weeks earlier, this one was also written on Victoria Hotel stationery.
----------------------------------------
Hi Trash,
Hope everything is going well. Heard you had a bit of a rough time. Glad to hear it wasn’t too serious.
By now, you probably know most of what happened. Sorry, I can’t explain more at this time. Maybe someday. For now, I just hope you aren’t too upset with me.
I want you to know you were more helpful than you probably realize. Let’s just say I owe you a couple more favors. Hope the money makes up for some of it. I should be able to start posting again soon and will unblock my Twitter. If you ever need something from me, just drop me a line. Though we should avoid talking about the stuff from before, deal?
Oh, I took one of your Gundams. I hope you don’t mind. They are really well made. If you stock more in the future, I might pick up some more.
As you might have heard, I should be around from time to time. Like I said before, I hope that in the future, you can be one of those people who will pick up the phone when I call asking for a favor. Judging by the way I seem to be living my life, I fear I will always be short of that kind of friend.
I will try to do the same for you.
-Lancelet
(090)-XXX-1977
----------------------------------------
Trash and Pazu were busy trying to figure out how to install a soundproofed interviewing booth in the restaurant.
After doing more research, Pazu had to adjust his original plan. Rather than serving the food directly to people, it appeared that it would work better if he just distributed the lunch boxes he made during his videos through a food security NPO that someone had mentioned in the comments of one of his videos.
It turned out that the organization was actually based in a building just a block from the French bistro, Capricieux. That made it easy as they could hand deliver the food.
In exchange for the food, they agreed to let him advertise his offer. This made it easier to reach out to people who needed it, especially if they didn’t have access to the internet, or the time to watch YouTube videos. For anyone who agreed to be interviewed, Pazu would give them ten free lunches at the restaurant.
The interviews would be recut as audio only, and played over pre-recorded video of him cooking. This way, he could reuse a lot of his old leftover video clips.
Also, for every 10,000 views any of the videos received, that person could come back and get an additional ten free meals. Meals could be saved and used one at a time, or shared with others.
Trash was a bit worried. He anticipated that there might be so many people willing to go through with it that the restaurant would get swamped, all while not bringing in any revenue at all.
「Don’t worry about it. That just means a lot of people would get fed who need it. What’s wrong with that? Besides, If that happens, it would also mean I am getting a lot of views on my videos. The ad revenue alone should be enough to pay for everything, even if every meal I serve here is free. I’ve also received a few contacts from sponsors. Mostly cooking equipment companies.」
That didn’t quite reassure Trash, who promised to donate as much time as he could. Besides helping set up the recording equipment, and helping with the translations, he promised to help staff the restaurant when it got busy.
As reckless as Pazu’s plan was, it sounded a lot like the kind of thing Hibiki had been talking about. Young people are trying to find ways to make the world better, doing what they love instead of what society tells them is the correct way to live.
If Trash ever found a way to make his business successful, he wanted to support ideas like this. People who defied the normie paradigm. Not just selling toys to selfish geeks and wealthy collectors.
Akihabara was one of the undisputed centers of culture in Japan, though not everyone recognized the value that the geeks, the gadget hounds, and maids brought to the country.
There were artists and creators and the armies of fans who supported them. Innovators, who grew up on fictional and fantastic tales of technology and fantasy, and dedicated their lives to bringing those ideas into the real world.
Trash couldn’t create things like they did. He wasn’t an artist, or a programmer. He didn’t know how to design a robot, or craft a digital avatar. He needed another way to contribute.
Hibiki had given him a hint. Not a plan, but an idea.
He wanted there to be a purpose. Something that the normies may not understand, but that a true comrade would recognize as a noble cause.
But something else that Hibiki had shown him was that he still had a long way to go. He had a base of operations for now, but that was a trifle compared to what he would need to run a successful business, let alone leave any kind of a mark on the world.
Maybe he could get there eventually, as long as he still had others willing to pick him up when he fell off the ledge.
「Hey, this is for you.」 Pazu handed Trash a garment bag.
「What is it?」
「Saki made this. Well, originally, it was for Satsuki. They were working on a new costume for the summer Comiket festival in Odaiba. After you gave us that engagement present, though… she felt bad about the other jacket, so she adjusted this to fit you. Luckily, Satsuki is almost as tall as you.」
「She Gerbera Tetra’d it for me? What about Meg? She’s not going to be pissed at me, is she?」
「Nah, you know those guys. They already had a couple of backup costumes in the works. Meg said to give this to you as a congratulations gift for becoming a CEO.」
In the end, Trash had decided to keep Ooba Industries and the factory. Pazu’s mother had indeed found another small legal office that could take over the management of the trust in his name. She had vouched for their trustworthiness.
The trust was set up simply, so there wasn’t much he needed to do. Through it, he had inherited Ooba Industries, a joint-stock company. Technically, the company owned the building, but he was named as CEO of the company and all assets it contained. It seems that this had been the case ever since his father had passed away, and he had inherited it from his father. For some reason, his grandfather had never changed his will. Now that he was an adult, he had full control.
The trust maintained an account where all the liquid assets were held. This was set up and managed by an investment company, which ensured that the fund didn’t dry up, accounting was done, and taxes were paid. As advertised, there wasn’t much in the account, beyond what was needed to keep it up to date on its obligations.
Provided Trash didn’t touch the trust, the company and building would take care of themselves for decades to come. As a bonus, he could use the corporation to turn his informal business into a legitimate company. Still, as Pazu had noted, for now he was effectively broke unless he sold off the building.
Trash wanted to try and use the familiar place as a base of operations to launch his new goal. It might take years, but now he had that time. He could focus on building his network, refining his products, and learning more about what it takes to truly stand on his own. All this had been put into motion when he became a legal adult. Now, it was time for him to become a true adult.
「When I showed her the voucher, she freaked out, you know? She’s been locked away for days now, designing clothes for us to wear. I just hope I don’t have to dress up like some maiden-game prince, you know? With pantaloons and ruffles and all that. If that happens, I’m going to blame you.」
Trash smirked as he unzipped the bag and pulled out a heavy leather jacket.
It was very… red.
He knew that anything Saki made would be amazing, but his first reaction was a bit of a letdown. The whole jacket was the same color. Still, it was stylish and well-made. Kind of like that one Michael Jackson wore in the zombie music video.
Pazu had a twisted grin on his face, obviously looking forward to seeing his reaction. He would need to make sure to rave about it-
Trash turned over the jacket and immediately recognized the large emblem embossed on the back of the jacket.
“NO WAY! ARE YOU FUCKIN KIDDING ME?!?”
End Part III: