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"Rika, you stay here and look pretty. That shouldn't be too hard for you," Yamada winked and laughed. "You'll help me attract more customers." He guided me to the wall just behind the front counter. "And this'll be your second job," he said, presenting the soda guns. "Take this," he grabbed one. "Squeeze this," he pointed to the trigger. "Into those things," he motioned to a couple stacks of glass cups. "Easy!" A small group of women and men started trickling in through the front door as soon as Yamada had unlocked it. "Yamada, the usual!" They shouted to him and greeted him with a wave. A few hesitated as their eyes traveled over to me. Some nodded their head quickly and continued on, some gave me a small wave, as well. A couple of them shuffled their way to a table in the back and started dealing cards. Yamada hesitated, "Now, don't go flirting with anyone tonight, Rika." He leaned down and said, in a hushed tone, "I wanna keep Miss Rika all to myself if that's okay."

I had been actively avoiding the gaze of anyone who made eye contact with me. "I, uh, w- wouldn't..." I must not have been in my right mind when agreeing to this. That would be the only reason I, someone who initially intended to move through this village quickly and silently like a ghost, would be willingly presenting myself to half the townspeople.

Yamada placed a quick kiss on my cheek. "Thatta girl," he snickered as he began walking to the other end of the bar to make drinks. "Get ready to earn your dinner!" he yelled back to me.

Quickly I realized that Yamada's customers did not drink soda. They drank beer and liquor. And they huffed and puffed when drinking water after being cut off by Yamada. The bar was filled to the brim with guffawing and shouting, sobbing and singing. Yamada drank alongside his customers. He concocted any excuse to do so.

"To cute blondes!" He yelled.

"Hoorah!" The crowd cheered. Clink! And they drank.

"To good fortune and good friends!"

"Hoorah!" The crowd cheered again. Clink! And, again, they drank.

"Ah, just for the hell of it!"

A cheer followed by a clink! And another round was poured.

Hours after the sun had fully disappeared, Yamada dragged a stool over to where I stood. "You must be tired," he furrowed his brow. "Sorry for not bringing this sooner. I'm gonna close up early tonight. Not many people in here, anyway." The crowd had certainly died down. There were just a handful of drunk and content customers, left to entertain themselves. I sat on the stool after he placed it against the wall behind me. Yamada leaned his body against the wall next to me. He took a sip of his drink, one of many that night, and gave a small chuckle. "These idiots have no clue I just use this place as an excuse to drink."

I thought back to every time I noticed Yamada's eyes light up as a customer walked in. I thought about how he naturally leaned in when having a conversation with someone. How he knew everyone by their first names and knew to ask about their sick mothers, or how their trip away had gone. He congratulated them on their accomplishments before they could even announce them. Consoled them about their losses when given only a look as a hint. "They like being around you."

Yamada took a second to ponder the observation and then gave a shrug. "Yeah, maybe. But right now I'm more interested in whether Miss Rika likes being around me." He faced the counter, away from me, but his hand landed on top of my head with a thud.

"Ah, uh," I mumbled. Yamada's company was easy to be mesmerized by. It was easy to get caught up in as well, I was learning first-hand.

"I thought maybe you'd run off the second I let you out of my sight." Yamada directed his gaze to the ground now. "But you're still here." His hand stroked my hair softly. "Can I take that to mean, maybe, that Rika enjoys my company as much as I enjoy hers?"

"Barkeep, fill 'er up!" A woman bellowed from the other end of the counter.

"Hope so. That'd be real nice." Yamada grinned at me with a flushed pink face. His expression showed the haze of intoxication. "One sec, Saki!" he yelled back at the woman, his eyes still on me. "I'd kiss you right now, but Saki's a nasty gossip," he whispered before turning and heading back to the serving end of the counter.

I opened my eyes, although I never remembered closing them. "Oh, hey," a man smiled down at me. "I'm just about done here. Wanna put that back," he pointed to the stool, "and wait for me upstairs?" I nodded, now slowly remembering who this man was and where we were. "Oh!" He gasped, "Right! We got sidetracked and I didn't get to explain my good deed!"

"Good deed?" I asked, rubbing my eyes awake and then hopping off of the stool.

Yamada walked to the front door of the bar. I followed him, pulling the stool behind me. "Yeah, yeah. That girl I helped," he answered.

"Oh, right," I responded. Yamada stopped at the door and I continued down the other end of the counter behind him, dragging the stool.

"So she was hanging around this guy named Laito," Yamada went on as I slid the stool back under the counter ledge. My legs turned to stone. Had it been the squeak from the stool? He couldn't have said... He fumbled around in his pocket for a second before retrieving a small ring of keys from it. "She came to me for advice, 'cuz Laito was putting some moves on her and she was feeling uncomfortable."

"Does Laito," I spoke louder than intended. My knuckles turned white from gripping the stool. "Do you know-" My voice got caught in my throat. I cleared it and tried again. "Are you and this man close?"

"Hell no," Yamada answered flatly. I exhaled a deep sigh of relief. "I told her not to trust him. Make it a clean break, I said. I can't stand when he saunters here around like he owns the place." Yamada shoved one of his keys into the lock, then continued, "Just 'cause he's rich doesn't mean he can lead all those women on." After a few failed attempts at working, Yamada pulled the key out and tried another. I leaned forward, resting my forehead and arms against the top of the cool counter. Out of all the people in the world, I ended up being saved by a man who knows Laito. "My guess is it runs in the family," Yamada continued. "Never met his father, but word of mouth is that he's got three wives." He successfully locked the door with a click and turned to me, holding up three fingers, "Three!" he repeated. I focused on the chill against my skin. I would sleep and then leave in the morning, I decided. But leave to where? The thought made me nauseous. The calming chill I had originally felt morphed into a fever as the question repeated itself in my mind. "Rika, if you were my wife-" Yamada's shouting was cut short as he noticed my legs give out. After that, all I could remember was hearing the sound of keys hitting the ground and then feeling warm.

Feeling safe.

But I would never be safe.

My eyes were open for a while before I realized I was awake. The room I awoke in was pitch black. A thick quilted comforter covered me from neck to toe. I felt my same dress with my hands. As my eyes started to adjust to the dark, I could see my scarf folded and sitting neatly on a bedside table next to me. I could make out the general figures of a dresser and mirror and a chair with a pile of crumpled clothes sitting in it. I untucked myself out of the covers and sat up at the edge of the bed. A dim light escaped through the cracks along the lines of the bedroom door. I could hear the faint sound of snoring seeping through. My hands pressed against the quilt. This must be Yamada's bed. I felt my cheeks grow hot.

I slowly turned the knob of the bedroom door and pushed just enough to see through the crack. There he was. Sound asleep on the couch. I opened the door fully, but still slowly. Yamada fell asleep in his work outfit, but his shoes were kicked off near the front door. In front of him sat an empty beer bottle. I knelt down to the floor next to his head. His brows furrowed, "Hrrm muh," he muttered as he shuffled slightly. I held my breath, hoping not to wake him. I waited to continue breathing until after he resumed snoring. My heart thumped. Looking at Yamada made me nervous. In the same way one would be nervous of a fire's warmth growing too hot, knowing that it would only result in burns.

"I can't stay, Yamada," I spoke as quietly as I could, hoping my voice would only reach his dreams. "I can't put you in danger." I moved his hair out of his face. It made my heart ache, but I would have to leave before he woke up. "Goodbye, Yamada," I whispered. Staying would only make it harder. I leaned forward and kissed him, just barely brushing his lips. Before standing, I reached for the knitted blanket still draped across the back of the couch and pulled it over him like he had done for me. Before I could let go of it, a hand grabbed my arm.

"Mrhh, C'mere," Yamada murmured sleepily as he tugged me down onto the couch. "Cute girl..." he mumbled, moving his arm to wrap around me.

Maybe I would leave tomorrow instead.