Prologue
It was a cool spring night in Tokyo Harbor, the faint noises of the metropolis in the distance were muffled by the splashing of the waves against the rust covered hull of the cargo ship George. On the deck Daniel was finishing off the last of the whiskey he bought before leaving Los Angeles a week ago. The burning sensation of the liquor traveling down his throat gave Dan a small feeling of satisfaction. That of successfully getting out of the U.S. There was too much heat from law enforcement to stay in America, plus some distance between him and the emotional baggage back home was a pleasant thought as well. The wind swept through his blonde hair as his dark blue eyes surveyed the glow of the city.
It's been bit of a rock ride across the Pacific, due to the fact that the George was an accident waiting to happen. Calling the George a floating hunk of junk would be a grave understatement, under normal circumstances this ship should've been scraped for metal a decade ago. However the company that owned the cargo ship was a real miser that wanted squeeze every single penny out of the old vessel, even if that meant risking the lives of its workers. Though Dan would be lying if he said that he hated the experience. The crew had been quite easy to get along with, providing him a good deal of hospitality. Which included sharing their beer stash with Dan and telling a bunch of really raunchy jokes. All of which endeared him with the gang, which made it harder for him to leave them once they docked.
"Hey Dan mind if I had a swig of that?" Dan turned to see the ship's cook Hector walking towards him. The cook was a Hispanic man in his mid-twenties with jet black hair and hazel eyes. He quickly check to see how much whiskey was left in his bottle. Seeing about fifth of the liquor was remained. Which was more than enough to share with his friend.
"Of course Hector, it'd be criminal not to. Besides I owe you for drinking the last of the beer last night." Dan passed the bottle to his new drinking buddy, who promptly took a swig of whiskey. Hector stood to the side of Dan and observed the site of Japan in the distance. He had been Dan's closest friend over the past year and helped get a job on the George. On the ship the two had been almost inseparable always seating together at meals and laughing up a storm. He was also the only one Dan confided his secrets to, which made it all the more important to the pair that they dock as soon as possibly
"This is some good whiskey man, beats the hell out of that sake piss they got here in Japan. Speaking of which are you still planning on staying here?"
"Yea I'm going to travel around Japan and find a nice quiet spot to settle down in. Hopefully if I keep quiet the feds back home won't know I'm here. How about you still going work on the George?"
"Nope my transfer finally went through, you're looking at the new cook of the Elmira. It may not be the best ship, but it's still a hell of a lot better than this scrap heap. I just need wait in Tokyo a few weeks then I'm off to Hong Kong and beyond." Hector declared triumphantly
Dan smiled at his friend's jubilation he knew that Hector had worked hard for that job. For Hector there were only two passions in his life, the open sea and cooking. While not the most glamorous job in the world Hector loved being cook on a ship. It gave the young Latino a sense of adventure mixed with the nostalgic scents from his childhood in his cooking. His skills were good enough to land him a job on the top of the line cruise ships before he was twenty. But Hector disliked the tourist environment of cruise ships and signed up with the nearest cargo ship he could. Which was the good old George, though he never had the ingredients he wanted or the best equipment. Hector loved the job despite the ship's limitation's, at least here he got more real sense of modern day sailing across the seas that he craved for.
"Nice, no one deserves that job more than you buddy. I'm certainly going to miss your cooking, though less spices in my diet is probably for the best. By the way I know you've been in Japan before. Do you know any quiet spots I can go to?"
"Well I don't know many place here, but there's this one city that just might be what you're looking for. It's called Kamakura a small city with little crime, you can probably get there by train."
Kamakura, Dan never heard of the place. Then again he'd never been in Japan before, so familiarity wasn't on his side. But that's exactly what he need right now, a fresh start. Somewhere no one knew him or the things that he's done. More importantly no one will care if he drank himself to an early grave. At least for convenience sake he learned enough Japanese over the past few months were can find his way around without looking too much like an idiot.
"Attention crew we will be docking in exactly ten minutes all non-essential personal be prepared to disembark immediately." The PA system announced to the ship.
"Shit I lost track of time, well better go pack are thing before we dock." Hector commented which Dan replied with a simple nod in agreement. He rushed back to his room passing other crew members along the way. In less than a few minutes he was back in his quarters getting his stuff together. His room was not far from the deck so he could take his time with packing his things. Luckily he didn't have whole lot of stuff his possessions included three change of clothes, a cellphone, a laptop, a 44. Revolver, 50 bullets for said revolver, a wallet, and some pictures of his family that dared not to look at. Dan packed them all in his backpack. Then he closed the door, locking it as he did. Carefully he removed the locker from its place revealing a hole in the wall. Dan reached in and pulled a heavy duffle bag, placing it on his cot. He open the bag revealing the reason behind his secrecy, stacks of dollar bills exposed. He did a rapid check to see if anyone had taken any. Dan sighed in relieve to see all three million dollars present and accounted for, enough for that fresh he craved for.
"Attention crew we have reach the dock. All non-essential personal are to disembark immediately for customs check." Dan grab two bundles of bills and stuffed them in his coat pocket. Zipping up his bag opened the door. He rushed back up to the deck were he saw everyone ready to get back onto dry land. He spotted the captain of the ship and walked over to him. Getting his attention Dan pulled the money from his pocket, covertly handing it to the old man.
"One hundred thousand for the trip and an additional twenty-five thousand to avoid customs. Of course I expect that you'll keep your word on not saying anything about me." Dan stated in a matter of fact fashion.
"Don't worry kid you can trust me to keep quiet, you're not the first criminal I smuggled out of the country." The captain replied showing his missing teeth.
"You'd better because if I find out that you talked to anyone, I rip out you own tough out and fed it to you." Dan threatened under his breath, displaying how deadly serious he was. Which the old man nervously nodded in reply. Among the gathered crew he saw Hector at the front of the group. Dan deftly passed the crowd to his friend in order to say good bye.
"So this is it Hector, I'm heading out. Hopefully I'll see you again before you leave." Dan stated with reservations"
"Of course Dan, but listen whatever happens remember to control yourself and keep your head down. I really care for you and I don't to see the feds track you down like an animal. Anyway good luck with your new life and remember to keep in touch. Who knows maybe you'll find a nice girl to settle down with." Hector replied showing the same care since the day they met. The two men hugged each other in farewell and Dan proceeded down the walkway onto the dock. He then made his into the nearest alleyway and walked a brisk pace towards the city.
"So this is Japan, I was expecting something a little different. First I need to convert this cash into Yuen, then find directions to the train station. If Hector is right then Kamakura is the place I need to go." Dan thought to himself as he enter an unfamiliar territory in the hope that he can find a semblance of peace in his life.
A/N: Hello readers and thank you for taking the time to read my story. As heads up this story will revolve around the story of the anime instead of the manga. Also I won't be writing author's notes in every chapter, but it should be every other chapter. I use to write fanfiction in the past but for personal reason I had to stop. But now I want get back into it and what better way that a story about Elfen lied. It's one my favorite anime and I encourage you to watch it or read the manga before reading my story. Don't forget to leave a review to tell what you thought and what I can do to improve the quality of the story. So enjoy the fanfic and have a wonderful day.