To Lyger 0: A final showdown between Ronin and Ishii-san could be pretty incredible!
Swallowing nervously, Kanako stared at the unassuming storefront at the end of the block. "Tanoshi Endingu," the sign over the door read: "Pleasant Endings." Her jaw clenched. Perhaps for some, this building could boast a "pleasant" experience. But when she had stayed here, all it had held had been torment and shame. Even the sight of the lotus flower painted on the side of the building nearly caused her to vomit on the sidewalk. How could the people who lived in this neighborhood stand to look at this building, knowing what it represented? Kanako wanted nothing more than to turn around and run as far as she could in the opposite direction.
And yet, she couldn't stay away.
Trudging stiffly down the street of an otherwise ordinary neighborhood toward the accursed building, Kanako could already feel her heartrate starting to rise, the blood pounding in her ears. A pair of men exited the building, laughing raucously. In her mind, she could hear the jeering laughter, the strangled sobs of the other girls piled into the truck with her. She could smell the incense they had burned in the back, which had placed her into a stupor for the duration of the ride. The men had half-dragged her from the truck and prodded her through the front door, where Chiba-san had inspected them. Some, he had sent to a different facility. Some, he had merely nodded to be brought to rooms. A couple, he had sent to his own office. That was when the humiliation had begun. Her face still burned at her foolishness, at having been caught up in this. The man had come to their village to offer them an opportunity in the big city – an opportunity that had sounded almost too good to be true. And then they had arrived in Tokyo, and it had been too good to be true. They had ended up as little more than slaves, to be used and abused as the Yakuza saw fit. Even now, despite escaping from this life years ago, she still could not escape the memory.
The simple wooden door of the brothel stared back at her, offering a final opportunity to turn back. Kanako's breathing came fast and shallow. Her thoughts were jumbling, her vision going white. She couldn't – no. She was no longer the weak, terrified girl who had been humiliated and broken and had lost the will to fight back. She was Kamimizu, and her of her Chikara made her strong. She had stood up against the Turtle. She had fought the Tarasque. She could master herself here… or at least enough to walk through the door. Gritting her teeth and steeling her resolve, Kanako pushed the door open. At once, the too-familiar overpowering scent of incense assaulted her nostrils and invaded her mouth, nearly causing her to gag as it filled her lungs. Resisting the urge to cover her nose and mouth, Kanako stepped inside and looked around at the empty waiting area.
"Hello," the girl at the desk, Minami, greeted her with a small bow. "How can I help you?"
Kanako pursed her lips. "Are Chiba-san or Saijo-san here?"
Minami furrowed her brows, her head cocked to one side. "Chiba-san is away at present," she began slowly. "Saijo-san is in a meeting with a client. I can–"
"No, that is okay," Kanako interrupted her quickly, letting out a relieved breath. A tiny bit of the tension in her chest released. "No, I actually came to see my sister, Ayaka."
Minami nodded in recognition before consulting her computer. "I see. Very well. She is available at the moment. Her room is–"
"I can find it on my own," Kanako assured her, passing the desk and making her way down the hallway, following the too-familiar path. Her old room had been right next to Ayaka's; walking the hallway pulled her back to any of the hundreds of times they had returned together, only to be pulled apart by "clients." A hazy fog filled the hallway, dancing ominously in the ceiling light. Her nose curled. Powerful though it was, the incense could not quite cover all the other smells permeating the hallway. In the stillness, soft voices could be heard behind several of the doors she passed, punctuated by moans. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to breathe… but still the incense stung her nose. This was the life her sister had been forced into. It was a life that she had only barely managed to escape.
Sometimes Kanako wondered if she truly was better off now than she had been when she had been nothing more than another girl in a brothel full of them. She had been forced into selling her body – no, into giving it away. She had not received a single yen for her time here; it had all gone to the brothel, to repaying the "debt" she owed them for having brought her here. Now, she had her own apartment in the city. She could come and go as she pleased. But her body and life still were not her own. Even though she was no longer living and working at Tanoshi Endingu, she was still serving at the behest of Kamisenshi and Ishii-san. She still had to please Chiba-san. Perhaps she was not giving her body away in that same way… but she was still giving her body in service of Ishii-san, all to keep Ayaka safe.
Or at least saf er…
Swallowing anxiously, she started to knock on the door but froze, her knuckles just barely touching the wood. The sound of rustling around came through the closed door, of fabric sliding off a hangar. Someone moved slowly around the room. It was only a moment later when the door slid open.
"I apologize for the delay," Ayaka began, staring down at the floor and bowing stiffly. "I wished to make myself rea–" She froze, her eyes finally moving up to stare at Kanako's face. Her mouth fell open. "O–oneesan?"
Kanako gulped and placed a hand on Ayaka's shoulder hesitantly. "H–hello, imoto," she whispered, sniffling. "I–I'm sorry I was away for so long."
Ayaka's eyes narrowed a fraction before her expression smoothed and she stepped back. "Come in."
Following her sister into the room, Kanako took in her appearance at a glance. Ayaka had clearly applied a quick coating of makeup only a few minutes before; the oshiroi container sat open on the vanity, the lipstick uncapped next to it. The white oshiroi half-covered most of her face, mingling with the red of her lipstick and only accentuating the darkening bruise on her left cheek. Her hair had been pulled back into a messy bun, several strands hanging loose around her face. As Ayaka moved to close the door, the sleeve of her robe slid up, revealing a hand-sized bruise wrapping around her arm. Kanako's breathing hitched.
Ayaka finally turned to face her and folded her arms. "Why did you come?"
Kanako sat stiffly on the simple chair pushed up against the far wall. Ayaka remained standing for a brief moment before collapsing onto her bed, her robe slipping slightly to reveal a yellowing welt on her shoulder. Swallowing guiltily, Kanako turned away from the sight, taking in the simply-furnished room at a glance. Apart from the bed, chair, and vanity, the only piece of furniture to be seen was an old dresser. A kimono had been thrown haphazardly into one corner of the room; the single visible sleeve had been torn from the shoulder down to the elbow. Finally, Kanako returned her gaze to Ayaka, who stared back unblinkingly. Looking more closely, Ayaka's lower lip puffed out in one spot. Kanako's eyes narrowed. "They hurt you."
Ayaka frowned, looking away. "Komatsu-sama sometimes forgets his own strength."
Kanako's nostrils flared. So it had been Kamisenshi… A memory sprang unbidden to her mind of her first night here, when Kamisenshi – "Komatsu-sama," he had insisted that she call him – came to her room to… inspect her. She had tried to resist, had tried to stop him. But he had been too strong. He had held her wrists so tightly she had thought they would break, and bitten her hard enough to draw blood. The next morning, not a centimeter of her body had not screamed in pain. Bruises had covered her arms and chest. And that had not been the last time he showed her his attention, or the last time she had woken up in agony after a night with him. And since she had escaped the brothel, his target had shifted to her sister! "That sick bastard enjoys causing pain," she growled darkly, clenching her fist. The pitcher sitting on the nightstand shuddered.
Ayaka pursed her lips, glaring at Kanako. Her robe slipped even further off her shoulders, revealing deep bruising along the top of her chest. "He only paid me such… special attention… because you disappeared for two months," she pointed out acidly. "Do you have any idea what those two months were like, oneesan?" She spat the word out. "I did not know if you were alive or dead – and I was not sure which I preferred! If you were dead, then I was alone – alone to suffer this dishonor and humiliation alone! If you were dead, then I was going to die, too… but that would have meant a release from this place. Where if you were alive, it meant that you had escaped from them, but you hadn't brought me with you." She scoffed. "I almost would have preferred for you to have been dead: then my suffering would soon be over. Not that Chiba-sama would have made it so simple…" She folded her arms. "After you disappeared, Saijo-san said she had received special orders from Chiba-sama. Whenever I did not have another client, Komatsu-sama was here – twice even it was that other man, Ishii-sama." She glared at Kanako, pulling her sleeve down lower to reveal a row of hand-shaped bruises running all the way up her arm. "Where were you?"
"No! That–that can't be! He said he hadn't hurt you!" Kanako protested, her stomach churning.
"Oh, Komatsu-sama never hit me…" Ayaka retorted, pulling her robe up to hide the bruises. "But he didn't have to."
Kanako's shoulders slumped, and she looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry, imoto–"
"You don't get to call me 'little sister'," Ayaka interrupted, holding her finger out accusingly. "I wouldn't be in this position if it weren't for you! It was your absence that prompted this! It was your idea to come here in the first place!"
"What!?" Kanako scoffed incredulously. "You wanted to come here just as much as I did! You listened to Oguri-san just like I did! I may have been the one who suggested it, but you came along willingly!"
Ayaka's mouth set in a thin line. "You were my big sister," she told her quietly. "I was looking for you to protect me, to keep me safe – then and now."
Kanako's jaw clenched. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry for being gone so long; I'm sorry for even suggesting this hell! Believe me, if I had known what awaited us, I would never have even considered coming here. And this time…" She let out a breath. "This time, I was trying to do the right thing, to help people! I didn't think I would be away so long! Please, Ayaka," she begged. "I will make it up to you. I promise: I will make this right. Ishii-san promised that if I finish one last job, he will consider half your debt paid off. Then you will be free."
Ayaka frowned, folding her arms and glaring at Kanako. "I would be free?" She blinked, staring at the wall behind Kanako. "You had better be right about this, oneesan."
