Chapter 22: So, Other Than That, How Was Your Day?
"No!" Shinobu said firmly. "That's not going to happen." She folded her arms.
In the teahouse, Naru looked mildly concerned. The other people in the teahouse—Kitsune, Hyun-Sil, and Kanako—looked disappointed. "Come on, Shinobu," Kitsune pleaded. "We have reason to think that Motoko's boyfriend is a sleaze, and we need your help because Motoko is in denial over it."
When they had gotten back from 5-ban—Naru had blushed and avoided their eyes—Kanako had grabbed Kitsune with her laptop and guided her inside. The others had wound up swept along with them. Inside, Kanako called up her browser to search for information. "Okay… I recognize him from the time I saw him with Motoko at one of the campus restaurants. Yuto Gotanja, heir to the Gotanja publishing company, divorced twice, lives at…" she rattled off the details of his life. "I wonder if Motoko did any of the due diligence or whether she was just desperate because this guy acted nice, and she was vulnerable."
"It's possible," Naru said. "She had a mistrust of men, but that doesn't mean she turned that part of her off. Everyone needs love, and some unfortunately think that one opportunity is their last chance." She hugged Keitaro. I'm glad that wasn't my experience.
"We just need someone that might serve as bait, and we can run a test." Kanako continued.
They all—except Naru—turned to Shinobu, expectantly, and that's when the argument had begun.
"Look! If it's anything like what you did when you thought Takane-kun was a sleaze, I want nothing to do with it!" Shinobu growled. "And since I have a boyfriend, I'm not going to do anything that would be unfaithful to him! Besides, after practically having a fight with Motoko over her making trouble with him, I'm not going to be so low as to do what I was mad at her over!"
Kitsune reddened. "Yeah, I was half in the bag and bored when I got recruited for that. It sounded like fun. But I'm not drinking now and I'm not doing it because I'm bored—"
Kanako gave her a dirty look.
"Well, yeah I am bored, but that's not why I'm doing it. I'm kinda worried that Motoko might be making the same kind of mistakes I did, thinking I'd lose my chance at love… and believe me, I hafta regret many mistakes."
The others shifted uncomfortably. Now that the reason for Kitsune's self-destructive behavior was out, they didn't want to trigger anything by an insensitive remark.
"Shinobu-yah," Hyun-Sil said gently. "Of course, you are not acting for their motives. I do not know Motoko-yah and have no desire to harm her life. But some things she said worry me."
"Okay, so you said he visited a district that you thought was seedy?"
Naru cleared her throat. "Shinobu, the reason I am worried for Motoko is apparently, this district is infamous as the Korean equivalent of the water trade. You know, like Kabuki-chō?"
"Why the hell would I know anything about Kabuki-chō?" Shinobu asked recoiling, beet red.
Naru rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I don't mean know it personally. I mean how you recoiled when I mentioned the name. Apparently, this place has the same kind of reputation."
Shinobu sighed. That was a good point. She trusted Takane not to go to places like that and would find it hard to accept if he ever did. "But Takane wouldn't want me to do the things you guys did to him… and I wouldn't want to do it either."
Naru nodded. "I wouldn't want you to do anything stupid, and I don't want you to anything you think is wrong either. I'm mainly worried that Eomeoni will get dragged into something dangerous or Kitsune will do something that gets her sentence reinstated… err, no offense Kitsune."
"Nah, none taken," Kitsune said, waving her hand dismissively.
"So, anyway, since I'm not as mobile as I was…" she gestured to her (rather large at this point) baby bump, "I need someone I can rely on to keep them in line."
"Well, when you put it that way…" Shinobu said, happy to hear Naru was thinking of her as someone reliable again after the recent missteps she had.
"Besides," Kanako said. "You don't have to do anything that might look compromising. I have this." She held up a mask of Shinobu's face.
"Don't you dare!" Shinobu and Naru snapped simultaneously.
"I'm not going to do anything like that or let you use my face for it either!" Shinobu continued.
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"Hmm, it sounds like subject Maehara is in a rift with the rest of her cell and doesn't want to take part in a honey trap," Lieutenant Shikishima reported from the surveillance van.
"Hmm," Agent Karakuri replied. "This could be a wedge we can use to crack this cell open."
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"Look," Shinobu said patiently. "It's one thing if you want to keep an eye on him for things he does on his own initiative. But I'm not going to take part in an entrapment scheme!"
"But what if we were close by?" Kanako asked.
Shinobu glared at her, then turned to Naru. "Was this what it looked like when they were plotting around Takane?"
"I wouldn't know," Naru replied, sweatdropping. "They kept me out of their plans."
"Well, yeah," Kitsune grinned. "We knew you'd put your foot down."
Naru fumbled for an antacid, before realizing she had left them in her room to prevent her from abusing them.
"I don't think you should do anything you think is wrong," Hyun-Sil said, reassuringly. "We should respect your concerns and your morals, especially if the plan would put you in danger. I don't want to trap or endanger anybody, only to find evidence one way or the other." She pulled a bundle of leeks out of her shopping bag and glared a warning at the others.
"Evidence for what?" Su asked cheerfully, wandering into the room, causing Naru to blush deeply.
Kanako sighed. "Su, you remind me of a software update. Whenever I see you, I want to click 'not now.'"
"We're gonna find out if Motoko's boyfriend is a pervo!" Kitsune said cheerfully.
"Sounds like fun, I'm in!" Su said, cheerfully. "It'll give me an alib— I mean, I've got nothing better to do."
Shinobu looked worriedly at Naru who, looking up from trying to rub her feet, shrugged.
"At this point, I've given up trying to control them. Just try to keep them out of jail, will you?"
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And so, Shinobu found herself on the streetcar with Kitsune, Su, Hyun-Sil and Kanako, beginning the early afternoon trip to Tokyo. Kanako carried her laptop and disguise kit, and Shinobu wound up carrying Kitsune's supplies in case they couldn't find anything for her to eat that didn't trigger her Antabuse. Seems kind of heavy on the junk food, she thought. She didn't want to say anything about it, but it did look like Kitsune was putting on weight since her accident.
She was dressed plainly, having made it clear she was only going as Naru's representative and had no intention of being "bait" for any trap.
Fortunately, Hyun-Sil did seem to be serious about not wanting to do any entrapment or dangerous schemes. Surprisingly, Kitsune, Su, and Kanako seemed willing to listen… mostly.
"No, Kitsune-yah," Hyun-Sil was saying patiently, "throwing yourself braless at this Gotanja person is a bad idea if you want to convince Motoko. Any man might react before he thinks it through. We need to see what he does of his own accord. Besides, if he's worse than I fear, it could put you in danger."
"No problem!" Su said. "I need a live target for my next Mechatama test anyway!"
There was a chorus of "No, Su!" from the girls and an "Ani, Su!" from Hyun-Sil.
Well, she's fitting in, Shinobu thought.
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"So, let me get this straight," Keitaro said, massaging his wife's feet. "You turned them loose in Tokyo with Hyun-Sil? Do you really think Shinobu can handle them?"
Naru wearily raised her head to look at him. "At this point, if it means I don't have to go along, I'll happy if they don't burn anything down." She sighed, looking down at her swollen abdomen. "Five, maybe six weeks to go."
"What's going on?" Motoko asked, walking into the kitchen. She was dressed professionally, which was a bit unusual for a weekend.
"You're going out?" Naru replied, sidestepping the question. If she finds out I didn't stop them….
"My, erm, publisher," Motoko said. "Apparently nobody at Gotanja books noticed my contract was near expiration. "They want me to sign a renewal so publishing my new book doesn't get delayed." And maybe I can spend uninterrupted time with Yuto for once in the process. I'm not getting any younger.
"Is that serious?" Keitaro asked.
"Potentially, yes." Motoko nodded. "If I don't get it renewed, they'll have to stop publishing my works until I do sign, or else I'd have to find another publisher, which would be a hassle." She looked at her watch. "I should go catch that streetcar."
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The neighborhood was upscale but not the mansion level. That meant that while the Hibiya subway station was at least in the general vicinity, it was still close to a ten-minute walk to find the right area… which meant it would have been difficult for Naru. It turned out to be a block of condominium apartments. This building was eight floors and was surrounded by trees and shrubs.
"If only we didn't miss our stop and have to go back," Su said cheerfully.
"That was your fault, Su!" Shinobu grumbled.
Hyun-Sil nodded emphatically.
"Good money in publishing," Kanako muttered estimating the cost per unit to be well over ¥750,000,000.
"Yeah… I figure I shoulda dressed up more," Kitsune agreed. I guess I have kinda let myself go. "I wonder if they'll even let us in lobby." She slipped a Pocky wrapper in the bushes.
"I sure wouldn't," Kanako muttered looking over the group with a glare.
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As it turned out, they could easily walk into the lobby (impressively tiled). It was the doorman inside that was a problem.
"Excuse me," he said politely but in a firm You people obviously aren't from around here tone. "Are you visiting somebody?"
"Umm, yes!" Kanako said with a forced cheerfulness. "If you can buzz us through, we'll just head up." She hoped he'd buy it.
He didn't. "Who are you visiting? I will call up to confirm they are expecting you."
"Sorry, Shinomu!" Su whispered, suddenly elbowing Kitsune's bag out of her hands. Pocky, cigarettes and squid jerky went scattering across the lobby.
"AUUU!" Shinobu sighed, instinctively kneeling to start scooping it up.
Kanako nudged Hyun-Sil towards the doors leading to the elevator, hoping to take advantage of the distraction.
Kitsune moved forward. "So," she said, smiling vampishly. "I bet this job is an important one, looking after the privacy of the tenants, right?" Her tone was one of a seasoned innocent.
"Please step back, Miss," the doorman replied, his tone was one of a seasoned professional. He pressed a button on his desk.
Kanako heard a bolt lock on the door she was trying to open.
"I'm going to have to ask you to leave," the doorman said in a no more nonsense tone.
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Outside, they gathered around a bench in front of the building.
"Did you get any clues?" Kanako asked Kitsune. "If we knew where he lived in the building, we could sneak in." She pulled out a set of lockpicks.
"No, there was a computer, but I couldn't see the screen," Kitsune replied.
"I could have a Mechatama fly around and look in the windows," Su suggested.
"You guys!" Shinobu protested softly. "Naru said not to do that stuff!" She looked around anxiously. She put me in charge! What will she think if I can't control them?
The others continued as if she hadn't spoken.
"Maybe," Kitsune said. "But what if the drapes are down?"
Shinobu looked at Hyun-Sil helplessly.
"Knock it off, babo ya!" Hyun-Sil snapped in a tone that cut through the over-loud squabbling and silenced everyone. "You think Naru wants to deal with you going to prison?"
Su, Kanako, and Kitsune instinctively stopped what they were doing. Shinobu looked impressed at how quickly she restored order.
"How did you do that?" she whispered.
"Eh?" Hyun-Sil said matter-of-factly. "During the June Democratic Struggle, it helped if you learned to speak through the tear-gas canister launches. Those things are loud."
What kind of things did you have to live through? She cleared her throat. "Umm, do we have any backup plan?"
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I'm probably being foolish, Motoko thought as she walked. There was no guarantee she'd actually catch up with Yuto before he traveled to his office. But if she did, it might be a good chance for some personal time together after signing the contract. I hope he doesn't have the wrong ideas, she thought, blushing slightly. While Tsuruko was right that she wasn't experienced about these things, the concept was slightly alluring… and alarming.
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"Well, I guess we can try the offices," Kitsune said, pulling out another Pocky. With the craving for a cigarette, she was digging into her stash frequently. But she was trying to take Dr. Juse's advice regarding body behavior associating drinking with smoking.
"2-12-21 Otowa, Bunkyo-ku…" Kanako muttered, trying to calculate the distance and route. "That's going to be a 35-minute trip from the station, plus the walk time to there."
The rest of them grumbled softly… except Su.
"We can do a hiking song!" Su said cheerfully.
The rest of them grumbled louder. "Su," Kitsune sighed. "The Aestivalis March doesn't really count as a hiking song."
"What a fine place we have here!" A woman standing in the doorway snapped to a man who's back was to them. "Common riffraff and foreigners in the front. We should be living better than this! But I'm stuck here while you go driving off to the city."
"Now, now Michi…" the man said. "We'll be moving up soon. But I have to take care of this."
"Fine!" the woman apparently named Michi snapped, turning to go back inside.
"We might as well go," Kanako sighed. "We're disturbing the locals."
"Just a minute," Shinobu sighed. "Let me tie my shoe first." She put her foot up on the stone wall surrounding the grass and leaned over to retie it.
A firm hand clamped onto her rear end and squeezed. She froze in horror, the silence broken only by a series of horrified gasps… and one click from a cellphone camera.
The horror and humiliation welling up inside her, Shinobu let loose with a loud KYAAA! and swung at her assailant with all her might, wishing she had a frying pan.
The metallic clang and sub-orbital launch told her she—somehow—did bring a frying pan with her.
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Motoko strode with determination. This was the address, according to Yuto's office. She hoped that the two of them might have time for a date before or after signing the contract renewal. Maybe I shouldn't be so uptight… men like him don't fall from the sky after a—.
Yuto fell from the sky, landing at her feet.
"Yuto! What happened?" she gasped. That kind of trajectory looked like a Naru punch… but she's back at Hinata House. How…?
With a sense of foreboding, she looked further down the path. There was Kitsune, Kanako, Su, Shinobu and… Hyun-Sil? Shinobu was in the middle of the group, crying while the others comforted her. Hauling Yuto to his feet, she began to help him towards the building. He slipped his arm around her waist.
"Unbelievable!" Motoko snapped. "Were you all spying on me?"
Startled, the others turned.
She suddenly remembered Hyun-Sil's suspicions. «Are you behind this?» Motoko demanded.
«If we were spying on you, wouldn't we be following you instead of already being here?» Hyun-Sil replied, curtly.
"Oh…" Motoko said, feeling like an idiot. She's a foreigner here. Probably the others dragged her along. Turning to the rest of them, she glared. "Are you all trying to wreck my potential relationship?" She steadied Yuto, whose arm was around her upper torso.
Shinobu glared through her tears, while Kanako coughed "Takane!"
Motoko cringed, realizing she had no right to complain here. She turned to face Yuto, pushing his hand down from the edge of her breasts. "What happened?"
Yuto groaned. "That girl hit me without warning," he said gesturing to Shinobu.
Motoko whirled. "What the hell, Shinobu? I never tre-"
"Before you say anything you might regret," Kanako said coolly, "here's something for you to consider." She clicked a button on her phone.
Motoko's phone signaled she had mail. Sighing, she took it out of her pocket and opened it… and stared, her face reddening and her eyes widening in shock. "W- what…?" she began.
"Oh, sorry," Kanako said. "That was from a Loli-goth party I attended. This is what I meant to send."
Well, there's a hidden part of Kanako that… probably should have stayed hidden, Motoko thought, sweatdropping. I should have guessed that about her from her clothing. She opened the next email attachment. This can't be real! she thought. It can't! Her eyelid began to twitch.
"Motoko…" Yuto said, "let's get away from these crazies and head back to my office… we can sign the contract and then go find a nice restaurant."
Motoko jammed the phone in his face. "Explain this first, bastard! Shinobu is like a little sister to me!"
The picture was a clear shot of Yuto, his face clearly visible with his hand clamped on Shinobu's rear. Shinobu's expression was one of surprise, fear, and shame.
Yuto cringed. "Ah well, I tripped on the pavement and accidentally…." He stopped as Motoko folded her arms for a minute. "Ah, so if we could sign the contract…?" He held up the papers.
"Sign this, bakayaro!" With a sudden swing of her shinai that caught Yuto off guard—though everyone else expected it—she let fly with a Zankūsen strike that sent him flying off until he impacted into the side of the building at about the third floor before sliding down to the ground.
I need to practice more, she thought rubbing her arm. Then she sighed as the crackling ozone faded. "How could this day get any worse…."
"What did you do to my fiancé?" the woman called Michi shrieked, leaning out the window.
"I had to ask," Motoko muttered. She saw the papers lying on the ground, fluttering slightly in the breeze. She bent over and picked them up. "I don't even want to be associated with what you make your company stand for."
She tore the contract into pieces and let them scatter in the breeze… which might have looked more dramatic if the wind hadn't stopped blowing. Walking over to Shinobu, she placed her hand on the younger woman's shoulder. "I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions. Are you all right?"
"I think so… but I just want to get out of here," Shinobu replied.
"What the hell was that all about?" Michi asked after she emerged from the building.
"I don't know," Yuto lied, staggering to his feet. "But I hope I never have to deal with them again."
"Excuse me," Lieutenant Shikishima said, flashing his PSIA badge to Yuto. "We want to talk to you about what services you were providing to a known associate of a suspected terrorist."
Agent Karakuri produced a pair of handcuffs.
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Author's Notes
"The water trade" In Japanese: Mizu-shōbai (水商売). We might say "Red light district" or "Adult entertainment." Kabuki-chō is notorious for it. (In 2007, Roppongi was diminishing in comparison).
"She pulled a bundle of leeks out of her shopping bag." A bundle of leeks in KDrama often serves the same purpose as the harisen does in anime.
"Ani, Su!" (아니, 스!) "No, Su!"
"Estimating the cost to be well over ¥750,000,000." About $6,850,000. The unit I based this on (Gotta love Google for research) is being sold for ¥800,000,000. And that wasn't even the highest price on the site I looked at.
"Babo ya!" "You idiots!"
"2-12-21 Otowa, Bunkyo-ku" is the address of Kodansha books, of which "Gotanja" is a parody. 35 minutes by train and 20 minutes' drive is how long it takes from the address of the condo building I used to the offices.
"I should have guessed that about her from her clothing" Guessed what about her? Consider this the equivalent of the "Noodle Incident" from Calvin and Hobbes.