Rin awoke the next morning, almost imagining last night as a dream. The hound was nowhere to be seen, yet she was so incredibly toasty warm she knew it could not have been her mind playing tricks. She'd had the best sleep she had experienced in a long time, and her soul glowed with a strange warmth despite her circumstances. Rin said aloud:
'I need to get a big collar and leash to keep him with me next time'
Of course, she knew that she could never restrain such a regal beast.
Checking her phone for the time Rin was slightly shocked to see the time read 12:35pm. Yet she did not regret the sleep in as it was the most refreshed she'd felt for a long time; more often than not whenever Rin woke in the mornings she felt like a dead weight.
There was only 19 hours until she had to go to the address marked on the card given her. Finally having the courage to read the address, Rin went over to the folder lying in her suit case once she had put the kettle on.
Picking it up, Rin turned the small rectangular card in her hand and read:
302 Hakai Street
Maranoshi, Tokyo
Japan
The smile on Rin's lips was not from a positive feeling – she was imagining how much she would ensure the Emperor received his due censure on her part for sending her on such a quest. How would her spending three months with the Yakuza change the effectiveness of her proposed laws? Was she meant to so drastically change her beliefs on the criminal underbelly and its iniquity by being thrust amidst their gross cohort?
It made no sense to Rin – and unless she was about to astounded by some hidden morality within the gangsters' code, she highly doubted there would be much point to the whole exercise. And what lay in the balance was her own safety and possibly life, if they found out she really worked with the government.
It begged the question; had the Emperor placed any safety net in place for her? How was he going to ensure she did not end up in a body bag? Unless he had disliked her that much that it was the actual goal of the situation. Rin laughed grimly at herself and was feeling quite sick. She made herself a cup of tea to try and calm her stomach and nerves.
Rin gathered there was something deeply mysterious about the Emperor immediately from his lack of public appearance, and hidden identity.
She imagined if he did reveal himself publicly – there would probably be far too many murderously passionate fan groups that would instantaneously appear, outdoing any other idol fandom no doubt. Such an incredibly beautiful male would catch national and international attention.
Maybe that reason alone was good enough for him to remain hidden; yet at the same time Rin knew he was a proud person and public adoration would no doubt appeal to his personality. Rin almost wished she was a journalist, so she could interview him and ask all the questions that burned in her mind.
Surely it was her anger toward his arrogant self, and all the questions he provoked that kept him on Rin's mind so prominently. She compared the grand Emperor to the humble Kohaku and found herself listing all the good qualities that her high school friend exhibited in comparison to the tall ruler.
There was zero competition. After a few moments, Rin wondered why she was even comparing the two in the first place – she would never want to be involved with either of them anyway; not that even if she had wanted to, that she would have any chance with an Emperor of Japan. Rin blushed and shook herself. She obviously needed to eat some food – her brain was getting foggy.
Rin could barely sleep that night; tossing and turning she eventually gave up and put on the light. Something within her had snapped and she had a look of deadpan determination. Putting on the irezumi body suit, she tossed the clothes in her suit case around until she found a tight black skirt and crop top that showed her midriff that she used to wear clubbing. Putting a massive warm jacket over the top of those, she took the resume, I.D and address card with her. Looking briefly around her tiny room she closed and locked the door and took off in to the very early hours of the morning.
She had to take a taxi to the address as there was no train running at this time of night. It was only a ten-minute ride, and Rin was deposited in front of a very respectable fronted non-descript business building, typical of the area.
Clutching her jacket around her, Rin approached the sliding glass doors. They slid apart and Rin was hit with a comforting gust of heated air. Inside was dimly lit, and there was a desk in front of her. However, before she could approach, she was restrained by two men either side of her.
'Who are you?'
Rin pulled out her false I.D and handed it to the man on her right. He studied the card and looked from her to the credentials a few times before handing it back; he nodded to his colleague and Rin was released and allowed to approach the desk.
'I am here for work' Rin passed over her resume and identity to the person behind the desk.
Flipping through her resume brusquely, the woman rang a bell and a man came from a wide corridor to the left of the desk. He was handed Rin's resume and the man glanced at it, looked Rin up and down with a dead stare.
'Remove' he inclined his head, and after a few seconds Rin realised he meant to take off her jacket.
She took it off and stood there in her tiny skirt and top. Feeling as though she was certainly a hunk of meat, the man's eyes seemed to spark with a hunger. He motioned for her to follow him. Rin gulped, shivering. Was she going to be plunged straight in to service? She began to panic, wondering how she would stop advances that were too intimate.
Rin was led down the corridor, and the sounds of faint voices came to her ears. There was a set of two large doors that appeared at the end of the corridor and the man went through them, holding them open for her. She stepped in to a massive room that held many people.
The air was thick with smoke and incense, the sultry laughter of women mingling with the acrid smell of hard liquor.
Tables were set up around the room where men played poker and black jack; a bar was in the far end of the room, and from this room many others branched off. To all intents and purposes, this place just looked like a gentleman's club with the typical illegal gambling scenario.
Her guide took her to a small round table of poker players after traversing the expansive carpeted floor, navigating past some other tables and lounges with people sprawled on them, and finally he bowed to a large man who sat at the table he had been aiming for, gaining his attention.
'This lady Hisakawa Yui requests an audience, Saishu-sama'
The large man scanned Rin and grunted, waving his hand, looking back at his cards considering for a few moments – taking a big mouthful of the spirit at his elbow - and folded his hand. Grunting, he stood and towered before Rin.
'This way' he told her in a baritone, raspy voice. Rin was taken to an ante chamber room that had far less people in it, then from there in to a private smaller room that had a desk and chairs – one behind the table and the other in front.
The big man motioned for Rin to sit before him as he took the seat behind the desk.
Rin tried with all her might to not show fear or innocence in her eyes – only calculation, but she couldn't help but stare a bit longer than was normal at this burly man in front of her, suited yet somehow crass and frightening – who she supposed to be the leader of none other than the Yamaguchi-gumi. She wished she could wear her jacket – even though the heating was very effective, she felt naked in her scanty clothes.
Before the large man could even speak, there was a knock at the door.
'Come in' the leader sounded annoyed.
A different man entered and delivered a note to the other bowing as he left again.
Rin watched the scarred face of the man briefly read the contents of the note. He met Rin's eyes and she dropped them, not wanting to provoke him in any way.
'You are lucky' purred the deep speaking gangster.
Rin stilled with some surprise, ears pricked for what he was going to say.
'The Leader has seen you and wants you for himself' the man eventually said.
Rin's eyes flew to his and she said 'you are not the Leader, sir?'
His thin lips crooked in to a humourless smile 'I am high ranking, but no. Now we cannot touch you unless we want to cut off our own fingers' as he spoke, Rin watched in horror as the man raised his left hand and effortlessly pulled off his entire pinky finger. The man's smile glinted with gold as he watched the unveiled silent shock on the little woman's face.
'Silicone' he said, popping the prosthetic finger back on. 'I've done my misdemeanour, and this was the result. I will not be touching you, that's certain. It seems you do not require interviewing as the Leader has already laid claim on you. Feel very lucky Hisakawa – this is an honour to a whore'
Rin gulped back her retort and could only let her eyes fall on his left hand, trying to see where the seam of the prosthetic lay to distract herself.
'The Leader will come for you when it suits him. I will read the rules to you before you have the chance to piss him off' Saisha-sama pulled out a file and opened it.
'You cannot be with any other man for the duration of your time as a Yakuza whore.
You shall not refer to yourself or your line of work as prostitution but merely as an employee.
You will only receive payment via the Leader and be given what he sees fit.
You will not address any of us unless spoken to first.
Under no circumstances are you to go nosing in to any other business than your own, on the risk of death.
If you're seen seducing any other person you will be killed.
You will not refer to any of us by name outside of these walls.'
Saisha continued on in this vain for a while, listing so many things Rin felt her head would explode.
'Here's a copy, learn them' Saisha slid another file towards Rin and stood.
'That will be all. Feel free to play cards or drink'
Saisha left and Rin sat for a moment, overwhelmed by the amount of orders she had to abide by; not to mention she felt plagued by questions - what type of a man must this Leader be? How had he seen her to 'lay claim' on her?
She must have passed him as she had walked through the main hall filled with people. The idea that the beady eyes of the Yamaguchi-gumi leader had spied her and eyed her the entire time without her knowledge made her cringe. What sort of designs must such a fiend have on her, and now she was to wait with baited breath for when he chose to approach her and 'demanded' her. Rin had absolutely no defence against such a man – how was he to be denied? Rin shivered, pulling her jacket back on.
Looking at her phone Rin saw it was now 3:40am. Exhaustion lay behind her eyes and she wondered what the next day would hold for her; so far, her mind had not changed regarding her beliefs on gangster crime and life style. They were every bit as murderous, mercenary, malicious and misogynistic as she had first imagined.
Rin almost jumped out of her skin as the door behind her creaked open.
'The new favourite' purred a silken voice and Rin turned in her chair to see a woman dressed in a tight satin dress leaning against the wall, her arms folded. Her golden hair shone, and her skin was so wonderfully clear Rin immediately wanted to ask what routine she used.
'My name is Kasumi – don't bother with the formalities. Ironic, isn't it – a name meaning purity for a girl like me' the woman seemed to glide across the floor as she sat in the same chair Saisha-sama had been in.
Rin turned with the movements of Kasumi and watched as the woman inhaled from a sleek silver tube-like device and blew out a copious amount of thick white smoke. It smelt of candies and extravagant garden flowers.
'You're wondering who the hell I am' Kasumi purred 'looking at me with those big dark doe eyes of yours. No wonder the Leader liked you – innocence is always preyed on after all. I've been told to show you the ropes' Kasumi sucked on the inhaler again. 'So just how long you been in the business for young lady? Not long, by the looks of you. Reek of virgin'
Rin blushed and felt a surge of anger 'I know how to choose who gets under my skin' she replied defiantly.
'Be that as it may' said Kasumi with a humorous curl to her red lips 'men may have been under your skin but not under your sheets so much you know what I mean' the bleach blonde girl winked at Rin through her thick smoke cloud.
Rin could not let on that she was indeed a virgin. Maybe humble 'honesty' under the guise of Yui would be her best course of action with this very worldly wise and perceptive woman.
'I am only 21, but I've slept with fifteen clients. I am quite new, yes – but I want to see what it's like working in the Yakuza world.'
'Fifteen men?' Kasumi laughed 'So you are a virgin' she concluded as she breathed in more sickly-sweet smoke. Rin inwardly dared herself to guess just how many men Kasumi had entertained but didn't ask such a forward question.
'How many clients have you been with Kasumi-san?'
'Ha! You think I've enough fingers and toes to keep count? Last time that was possible was long over a decade ago' her chuckle was decadent 'Don't worry little lamb, soon it will feel as normal as waking up in the morning. Though sometimes the sex feels more normal than waking up' Kasumi seemed to speak in constant ironic jest peppered with sultry chuckles and wise-cracking sneers.
'I don't doubt it' Rin answered slowly, watching as the woman pushed back the cuticles on her red painted fingers.
'That's not all we'll be doing though' Kasumi said, engrossed in her nail care. 'Pole, burlesque, stripping, private shows – all of these we also do. But as you are the Leader's girl, you will only need to know the sex that pleases him alone. Beyond that, you will merely be a Yakuza show girl. Your chastity will be largely intact' Kasumi spoke archly, as though she was vaguely envious of Rin.
'And do we all abide by these?' Rin placed the file in her lap back up on the table.
'Oh that. Yes of course unless you do want to die, which some have done in their time' Kasumi said casually. 'Though I wouldn't go pissing off the Leader. I haven't personally seen the guy but apparently, he is especially cut throat. Watch your pretty little back Hisakawa – that's all the warning I can give. Now, let's show you your room and I'll give you a key. Welcome to the Yakuza' Kasumi rose, holding out a slim be-jewelled hand, and Rin took it with slight hesitation, barely knowing what she was in for.
