Chapter 2
Tsuki
Running a bar in Tokyo's red-light district meant that on most days her daily schedule was turned upside down. By the time she reached her apartment on the outskirts of Kamurocho, dawn had already begun to break. Exhausted, she took off her boots in the entrance, not giving a damn about lining them up neatly, then threw her leather jacket and bag onto the living room couch. She felt an urge to simply undress and collapse onto the bed, but forced herself towards the bathroom to shower first. Having changed into a loose t-shirt and shorts, she finally headed to the bedroom. She closed the blinds to block out the morning light and crawled under the covers, ready to call it a day. She would sleep until around noon, then start getting ready for another night of work.
She had expected to pass out the moment her head hit the pillow, but it did not happen. She could not stop thinking about the stranger she had invited to Stray that night. She had seen many odd guys in her time as a bartender, but there was something unique about that one, she thought. Uniquely sad, too. She was glad that she had managed to persuade him to come off the street — from the way he looked when she first noticed him, he could have been planning to off himself, for all she knew. Whatever had been eating him must have been heavy. She had offered him an alternative, but no matter how curious she might have been, it was not her place to pry.
Rolling over, she cuddled the duvet under her arm. No matter what she did, she could not get the bizarre stranger out of her mind. His demeanor, his clothes, the fact he wore an eyepatch in this day and age and strolled around town with a bare chest — it was outrageous at first glance and yet comprised a surprisingly matching whole. She had tried not to scrutinize his appearance too much — after all, her patrons' fashion choices were none of her business — but even so, it was hard for her to rid her thoughts of him. Even with all that brooding and the wild get-up, for some reason she still found him weirdly attractive — at least as far as random strangers met in the street went. Maybe there was something wrong with her, after all? She decided it was best not to dwell too long on such matters. She would probably never cross paths with him again anyway — and still, there she was, losing sleep over wondering who he was and what had happened to him. Any way she looked at it, it was silly.
Raindrops continuing to tap against her bedroom's window, she eventually drifted off to deep, dreamless sleep.
The following several days passed uneventfully, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Business as usual was what she would call it. Her chance encounter with the eccentric stranger seemed to have been just that. She found it embarrassing to admit, but a part of her still hoped she would see him again. He intrigued her — more than any other patron so far. That evening, she could not stop herself from glancing towards the entrance every now and then when she had a moment to spare, as if her doing so would somehow make him materialize at the doorstep.
"Expecting someone?"
She turned abruptly, like a child caught red-handed stealing from the cookie jar. Her employee and close friend, who had been on sick leave, was finally back and carrying drinks around the room like usual, so she could wholly focus on tending the bar and whatever other issues that might arise. The girl must have approached her when she was looking at the entrance again.
"Aki! Don't creep up on me like that. And no, I'm not expecting anyone," she said, doing her best not to let it show that she had just been found out. "Just making sure we don't get more people in than we have room for. It's getting close to our rush hour, after all."
"Oh yeah? Could've fooled me," Aki raised an eyebrow, making her doubt known.
If there was one thing that could be said about Aki, it was that she was perceptive. And that she loved rumors. Done with delivering all the drinks for the time being, the brown-haired girl put the tray down, handed the note with the fresh orders to her boss, then busied herself with helping organize the glassware and utensils behind the counter.
"I heard you picked up another stray while I was gone," Aki broached the subject.
She had made calling newcomers 'strays' her thing a few months earlier — while her boss had not been too keen on it for some time, as long as Aki kept it limited to their private conversations, she would turn a blind eye to it. The intended pun was not lost on her, and might have been a part of the reason for her lenience.
"I did, actually. Pure chance, too. I came across him while I was out having a smoke."
Aki met her words with an intrigued look.
"Since when do you go out to smoke?"
"I needed to catch a break, to be honest. I can handle running the bar by myself two days a week, but when you're gone for longer and I have to give up my off days, it can get pretty exhausting. Sorry if it sounds like I'm complaining — but I'm really happy you're back. And I'm glad you got the rest you needed."
"Thanks. Feels good to be back on my feet, I admit. And to know I'm not just a decoration around here," Aki giggled. "So, what's your take? You think the guy will be a regular?"
She considered her friend's question for a moment.
"I doubt it, to tell you the truth. Haven't seen him since and it's been almost a week already. Didn't really strike me as a one-club kind of guy, you know? Not a rock or metal buff either, at least going by his clothes."
"Yeah, speaking of clothes..." Aki's expression suddenly turned serious. "I overheard some of the folks say he was a yakuza. That true?"
"Beats me. I didn't ask, and he didn't say. And you know I don't give a crap about that stuff." She paused, trying to recall something. "Now that I think about it, though, he did have a golden chain around his neck — you know, like the ones yakuza usually wear? Some fancy tattoos, too. So, maybe?"
"Shit, that figures," Aki frowned. "Why'd you invite him, Tsuki? Don't we already have enough trouble with those goons trying to extort money from us on the regular?"
"Yes, and I take care of them every time, don't I? If the guy I picked up wanted to start shit, I'd just kick his ass too. Besides, he was so miserable I just couldn't help myself, yakuza or not."
Aki breathed out a long sigh.
"You're too nice for your own good, you know? Just don't come crying to me when that nicety bites you in the ass someday."
"Don't worry, I won't," Tsuki gave her a confident smile. "Anyway, here's the next round, so off you go."
Just like Tsuki had predicted, the stream of customers was picking up, until eventually the bar was practically full. All the seats at the counter were taken as well, and she found herself as busy as ever preparing drinks and conversing with the patrons closest to her. Aki, too, was zooming around the venue as fast as she could, gathering orders and delivering drinks to those seated on the couches both in the main room and the one farther in the back.
Might have to think about hiring another person if this keeps up, Tsuki thought. Usually, the two of them were comfortable enough as it was — only times like these tended to give them a bit of an exercise. But if they could manage like this in the end, then why change anything? It wasn't like they could house more patrons anyway, even if they hired more help. They would need to relocate to a larger venue and that was a bigger pain in the neck than she wanted to deal with right now. They kept in the black and, while they weren't exactly rich, they made decent wages, which was a lot to say for two women running a bar in a place as saturated as Kamurocho.
When Aki came back not long after, Tsuki was taking out a fresh lime fruit from the small fridge under the counter.
"We need to restock on limes after today. I'll add them to the list in a bit," she noted.
With hurried steps, empty tray in hand like a shield, Aki made her way behind the counter and leaned in close. Tsuki noticed she was distraught, and when she spoke her voice was quiet, as though she did not want anyone to overhear her.
"Forget about the limes for now, Tsuki! We've got trouble."
"Trouble? What happened?"
Aki gestured with her head towards the door and Tsuki's gaze followed. Her eyes widened in surprise — she had been so busy that she had not even noticed the man with the eyepatch she had reached out to the other day was back. He was hovering around the entrance, scanning the room for an open seat.
"Do you know who that is?" Aki asked nervously, bringing her friend's attention back to her.
"Uh, yeah. That's the guy I picked up last time, the one I told you about," Tsuki replied, confused by her friend's sudden agitation.
"What?!" Aki almost shouted. "THAT'S the guy you found when I wasn't here?!"
"Yeah. Though, he looks a lot less miserable today than back then. Guess it all worked out for him," Tsuki smiled warmly.
"You've gotta be shitting me..."
Tsuki crossed her arms and faced Aki, who looked like she had just seen a ghost.
"Okay, what's this about? You said there was trouble. What's he got to do with it?"
"He's the trouble, Tsuki! You seriously have no idea who he is?"
Tsuki shook her head in response.
"That's Majima Goro, a.k.a. the Mad Dog of Shimano. Ring any bells?"
So that's his name, huh? Tsuki considered it for a moment.
"Nope, nothing," she answered. "Also, 'mad dog'? Really?"
Aki appeared genuinely shocked.
"I can't believe this. How can you live and work around here and be totally oblivious to stuff like this? You know what, never mind that—"
"What, and you have some kind of yakuza encyclopedia in your head?" Tsuki interjected.
"No, but I do have the internet," Aki rebuffed her immediately. "Running a bar in Kamurocho, you, as the owner, should at least know who we could be dealing with down the line!"
"You can't expect me to know every yakuza in town by name," Tsuki sighed. "And I still don't exactly see why him coming here would be trouble. As far as I know, he's just a sad guy with an eyepatch and flashy clothes who needs a stiff drink."
"And to think you picked him up from the street..." Aki mumbled to herself before turning to Tsuki again. She seemed frantic. "Right — let me spell it out for you. His clan, the Tojo, is the biggest yakuza organization in Kanto — that much you know at least, right? What you clearly don't realize is that he's apparently pretty close with the boss of the whole thing, not to mention a legend of the criminal underworld in his own right who currently runs the biggest family in the clan. What that means is either one of us looks at him funny or says something that rubs him the wrong way and the next thing you know Stray goes up in flames and we end up as fish fodder at the bottom of the river, or worse!"
"That guy?" Tsuki frowned. She recalled what a gloomy picture he had painted that night, soaking wet, hair out of whack after she had given him a towel to dry off, sitting at the bar in brooding silence. "Aki, I can buy that he may be some big shot yakuza, even if he doesn't look the part, but I really don't think he'd do all those other things to us."
"How can you be so sure? What if he decides to shake us down for money? Or sends his goons after us? Shit, those guys harassing us could be from his family for all we know!"
Tsuki could not deny that Aki was making a good point. They did not know any details about the men who had been making themselves a nuisance for the last few months, but with Kamurocho being the Tojo Clan's turf, this scenario was not out of the realm of possibility.
"Okay, okay, I get it already. If it makes you feel better, I'll try to find out what his deal is, but I really think you're panicking right now. Would a guy wanting to shake down a bar be standing in the door waiting for a seat to open? Wouldn't he just barge in with a bunch of lackeys and throw everyone out instead? I mean — look at him."
Tsuki glanced at the entrance again, hoping Aki would do the same. He was still there and, for a brief moment, their eyes met. She felt a knot forming inside her stomach and she cursed under her breath. Did Aki manage to get into her head already?
Meanwhile, the girl next to her let out a sharp gasp.
"Shit, he's looking at us!"
"For crying out loud, would you calm down?" Tsuki reprimanded her. She was unsure whether she was more annoyed with her or at the fact that she was now starting to feel anxious as well. That must have been it — Aki's distress was rubbing off on her for no reason. "We've had all sorts come here and you know that. As long as they don't start shit, everyone's welcome to stay. That's always been our policy and I'm not about to go back on it."
"It's your funeral. I'll be over there, thinking about getting better life insurance so my mom at least gets some money after they fish out our bodies."
"Seriously, what's with you and rivers? Do the yakuza even still do that kind of shit?"
Aki shrugged.
"No idea, but that's what people always say, and I hope I never have to find out for myself. Anyway, I'm back to making rounds, so you have fun handling this mess — and please try not to give him a reason to torch us while you're at it."
Tsuki growled in exasperation, covering her face with her palm. This was becoming far more of a headache than she would have ever expected. To her, he was a customer like any other and she was not one to deny him service on grounds of her employee reading urban rumors on some website or forum.
Shortly after she had gone back to preparing new drinks and washing up, a patron in front of her stood up from his seat, leaving money on the counter.
"Thanks for the drinks, Tsuki. I'll see you around," he said, his red face a telltale sign that it was a good moment to call it a night.
"Thank you, too. Give my regards to the missus," Tsuki smiled, swiping the banknotes and change from the counter. "Tell her we miss her, would you? Haven't seen her in ages."
"Will do," the man grinned in return. "She's been running herself ragged working on a project. Should have more time soon, though, so hopefully we'll drop by together next time."
"I'm looking forward to it, then. Take care!"
"One more round over here, please!" a different patron called out to her from the far end of the counter.
"Coming up!" she responded eagerly, already placing ice in a fresh glass. Once she was done and was coming back to put the few empty glasses she had picked up along the way into the dishwasher, she was greeted by a familiar voice.
"Busy night, huh?"
The man with the eyepatch had taken the empty seat right in front of her. On one hand, she was happy to see him again — on the other, Aki's words came rushing back into her head, making her more wary than she otherwise would be. She pushed them away, desperate not to give in to unfounded nervousness. She would play it cool; she had handled yakuza before, after all. In this place, she was the one who made the rules. She would not let her reputation be tarnished because of someone else's boogeyman.
"Well, look who the cat dragged in," she said in lieu of a greeting. "I was beginning to think I ended up scaring you off last time."
He gave her a smug smile in response.
"Quite the opposite, actually."
"Is that so? Glad to hear it. So, what can I get you?"
"The same as last time, if ya would."
She pretended to be trying to recall what that was. In reality, she remembered it perfectly.
"Our oldest Yamazaki on the rocks, wasn't it? Won't be free this time, though."
"That's fine."
Not many of those who frequented Stray chose to order such expensive whisky unless it was for a special occasion, she noted. He seemed not to have any issue with the price, however, so, without another word, she went about preparing his drink. All the while, she could feel his gaze on her. There was something different about him this time. Maybe she was imagining it, influenced as she was by her friend's paranoia, but there was an air of danger around him now. As she was pouring the whisky into the glass next to his gloved fingers, they locked eyes. It was as if a dark fire was burning behind his single good eye — an entirely different look than the last time she had seen him. He was eyeing her like a wolf eyes its prey.
Tsuki felt a shiver run down her back — not of fear, but excitement. Was he testing her? If so, then she would gladly show him that she was anything but prey. She had had a feeling he was no ordinary man the moment they had exchanged words for the first time. Good, she thought. Against her better judgment, deep inside she had been sorely missing a thrill in her life, and this was shaping up to be interesting.
"I've been thinkin', y'know," he said in a low voice, taking a sip of the whisky. "Did someone put ya up to it?"
She met his suspecting gaze with a single raised eyebrow.
"Put me up to what, exactly?"
"Reachin' out to me like ya did that night."
She studied his face for a few moments. Judging by his expression, he was serious about this.
"Hell no," she answered curtly. "Truth be told, you looked to be in such a sorry state that I'm actually surprised I was the only one who did reach out." She made a short pause. "In my experience, guys who decide to just stand in the street spacing out while it's pouring down in this town, the way you were, are a hair's breadth away from doing something stupid. And, usually, it's because they just lost a lot of money or a woman. Sometimes both. Am I close?"
"No."
"Huh, okay. I get the feeling you wouldn't tell me even if I was," she smirked.
"Ya got that right."
Not the talkative type, for sure, she surmised. She had seen his kind before — people with rows upon rows of walls around them. She suspected that the glimpse of despair she had witnessed in him that night was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. It felt familiar. Perhaps they were more alike in that regard than she had anticipated.
"In any case, you looked like a right mess," she added. "I felt like I had to do something before you went and did something you'd regret."
"That's mighty noble of ya."
She was unsure whether or not that was supposed to be sarcastic. She let it slide.
"I'd say it's more about simply looking out for your fellow man. It's my best and worst quality, I've been told."
"Not many out there brave enough to do that for someone like me, y'know? Weren't ya afraid?"
"Hmm," she considered his words for a moment. "When someone needs help, I tend to act first, think later. Besides, I'm pretty confident in my abilities, so it always works out in the end, one way or another. And if I can potentially get another regular customer out of it down the line, then all the more reason to do it, right?"
"Oh, so I'm a regular now?"
"Not yet — but you did come back, didn't you? So I must've done something right. You look like you're feeling better now, too, in comparison."
Majima lowered his gaze, a bitter smile on his lips.
"Yeah, 'bout that... My head wasn't in the right place that day. Guess I needed a 'lil kick to get me back on track. 'Ppreciate it."
The sudden change in his tone took her by surprise.
"Don't mention it. That's what Stray is for," she smiled. "You know… When I was starting out, I hoped I could one day turn it into a place where people could feel welcome no matter who they were — somewhere no-one would judge them, where they could freely drink and talk about what's eating them, if they wanted to. So, if you're saying it helped you, even a little, it means it was worth it."
Now that she looked at him, the formidable aura she had sensed before was gone. It seemed that she had managed to convince him she had had no ulterior motive — maybe apart from the prospect of gaining a new patron. Something was telling her that for him to be so distrustful of her intentions he must have experienced a lot of hurt in the past.
"Where'd you even get the idea from? That I was put up to it, I mean," she asked, trying to probe a little deeper now that the tension in the air seemed to have dissipated.
He did not answer right away.
"Not used to people holdin' out a helpin' hand my way, is all. Never really needed it, either."
"Never needed it or convinced yourself of that because hardly anyone ever offered it to you without expecting something in return?"
He looked straight at her, his eye wide in what seemed like realization. It appeared she had hit the nail on the head. He parted his lips, but said nothing — she suspected what his unspoken question was.
"You could say I know something about how it works. Let's leave it at that."
At this point, Tsuki noticed Aki approaching with a tray full of empty glasses. Noticing Majima seated in front of her boss, the girl stopped in her tracks at the far end of the counter. It appeared that was as close as she would dare to come. Tsuki let out a long sigh.
"Excuse me for a sec."
She walked over to Aki, who looked as if there was a tiger in front of her ready to pounce at any moment.
"I am so not okay with this," Aki remarked quietly. When she glanced at her boss, she noticed the displeasure now apparent on her face.
"Get your shit together, would you?" Tsuki admonished her in a hushed voice. "I'm not asking you to interact with him in any way if you don't want to, but at least do your job without making a scene, okay? I can handle the bar by myself, so you just focus on making the rounds and calming down."
Aki seemed embarrassed for forcing her boss-and-friend-in-one to put up with her misgivings. Tsuki practically never criticized her at work unless she had a good reason to do so.
"I-I'll try," she stuttered, handing Tsuki a page from her small notepad. "Here are the new orders. Wave me over when they're ready for pickup."
Tsuki took the tray from where Aki had put it on the counter and proceeded to place the dirty glasses into the dishwasher before looking at the note and starting on the new batch of drinks. The other girl remained near the far edge of the counter, visibly dejected.
"I can't believe this…" Tsuki complained under her breath.
"That the help ya mentioned last time?" Majima asked, giving Aki a sidelong glance. "What's her deal?"
Tsuki considered coming up with an ambiguous answer to why Aki was acting so strangely, but she was slowly losing her patience, and decided against it in the end.
"No offense, but… She's afraid of you."
"Oh?" He actually seemed pleased, as if she had just complimented him. "Looks like she's got a good head on her shoulders. Unlike a certain someone here."
The way he said it suggested it was half in jest and not a genuine threat, but she instinctively took him up on the challenge. She gave him a bold smile.
"See, you saying that just shows you know nothing about me."
To her surprise, he seemed impressed by her defiance. Whatever hole she was digging herself into, it was too late to back out now, she thought. Not that she would, anyway — the only way left was forward. She decided it was her turn to try to determine his intentions.
"You're a yakuza, aren't you?" she pried, throwing whatever caution she had left to the wind. It was as good a time as any.
For a split second, he appeared to have been caught off guard by the question.
"So what if I am?" he bristled. It was astounding how quickly his expression had darkened when she mentioned the yakuza. "Didn't ya say this place was for everyone, no matter who they were?"
"That's right. Yakuza or not, I serve drinks to everyone just the same, as long as they don't start trouble. But we've been having some minor problems with the mob for some time now, you see, and some folks are getting wary, my friend there included."
That figured. Assuming the place was relatively new, it was sure to attract attention as a yet unclaimed territory, ripe for extortion. Majima suspected where this was going.
"Lemme guess. They want ya to pay 'em protection money?"
"Yeah. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" It was her turn to give him a suspecting look.
"Can't say I do. Didn't even know this place existed 'fore last week," he replied. From his voice, Tsuki was fairly certain he was telling the truth. "Any idea what family they're from?"
"I don't think they ever mentioned it. And I don't know enough about the Tojo for their badges to tell me anything, even if I cared to look close enough."
"Right. I could find out for ya, if ya want. Pull some strings, an' so on," he offered.
"I appreciate the sentiment, but no," she refused immediately. "They might be persistent, but at least they serve as a passable workout every now and then."
That, and getting rid of one group of yakuza by indebting herself to another was the last thing she wanted right now.
Majima's eyebrows arched up.
"That's what ya meant when ya said you've put guys like me on the ground before?"
"In part, yeah."
"I can assure ya, I'm nothin' like whoever ya had to deal with so far," he chuckled.
Before he could push the subject further, however, their conversation was interrupted.
"Tsuki-chaaan!" A single voice rang out over the hum of others and the sound of the music. "Hit me up with another round, will ya?"
It was a burly fellow farther to the back of the room. Despite his appearance, he painted a pretty mellow picture, even more so after a few deeper ones.
"I told you to drop the 'chan'!" Tsuki yelled across the room in response. "Or do I have to knock it into that thick skull of yours?"
She sounded miffed, but the threat had a playful undertone, which Majima picked up on immediately. Only then did he realize he had not yet asked her about her name. It wasn't as though it was a priority for him at that point, but the situation unfolding the way it had saved him the trouble of finding it out on his own.
"Tsuki-chan, huh?"
She glared at him.
"Oh, not you, too."
He did not know many women who disliked being addressed this way. Something was definitely going on with her. It piqued his interest even more.
"What's so bad 'bout 'Tsuki-chan'?"
"I've got my reasons. Maybe I'll tell you one day."
"Full of secrets, ain't ya?"
"Well… If I wanted everyone to know my life story, I'd have written a book," she snickered. "Who knows? Maybe it would even turn a profit if I sold it here," she joked.
All throughout their back-and-forth that evening, Majima had been watching her work. While most of what she was preparing seemed to be straightforward drinks, every now and again a more complex order would come in. In spite of this, her movements were confident and swift, showing her skill and experience.
"Ya been doin' this for long, then?"
"Not that long by industry standards, but it's been a few years," she replied, giving him only a passing glance.
"Ya seem pretty good at it."
"Huh, thanks. I still have a ways to go, but I make do, and the customers don't complain, so that's something."
"Goin' by the stuff ya say, you'd probably punch 'em if they did."
His comment made her laugh.
"Good try, but I actually have a policy of not punching customers." Placing the last glass on the tray, she motioned for Aki to come pick it up. "You feel like another one, by the way?" she asked, having noticed her newest acquaintance's glass was nearly empty. She hoped that having him focus his attention on her would put Aki more at ease, at least temporarily. The girl picked the tray up from as far away as she physically could, then was gone in a flash. Under different circumstances, Tsuki would have found it hilarious.
Meanwhile, Majima considered her offer much longer than she would have expected, as though he was fighting with himself.
"Not today. I should probably get outta yer hair for now. Give yer friend some breathin' room, too."
"Oh, if it's about Aki, then don't worry. I'll have a talk with her later."
"Don't be too hard on her. Not her fault my rep seems to precede me wherever I go."
"Rep, huh?"
"Ya really know nothin' 'bout me, do ya?" he frowned, still amazed that in the age of the internet, where local yakuza gossip was ubiquitous, there was someone in Kamurocho's nightlife industry who knew so little about him.
"I know your name, thanks to a certain someone," she looked over at Aki, who was making her way around the room again. "As for anything else, unlike her, I choose not to stick my nose where it doesn't belong. I prefer to form my opinions of people based on what I see for myself and not what others think of them."
"That's a pretty open-minded way of treatin' people. Dangerously so, if ya ask me."
"So I've been told, but it hasn't bitten me in the ass yet. If anything, it brings in more customers," she smiled, but then her expression turned serious. "We all have our demons, on top of a few skeletons in the closet. That doesn't always mean someone's a bad person at heart, though."
"I'm sure whatever skeletons ya have in yer closet ain't much worse than an average joe's," Majima scoffed.
"You would be surprised... And no, I'm not telling you about it, so don't even ask," she said, meeting his curious gaze.
"Right. I'll leave ya and yer skeletons alone for now, then," he shrugged, standing up to reach for his wallet. "Thanks for today."
"And thank you, too. Don't be a stranger."
Having taken a few steps, he turned his head and gave her a long look, as though there was still something he wanted to say, but remained silent, a small, mysterious smile playing in the corners of his mouth. There was something about it that drew her in, like a moth to a flame. If there was one thing she was certain of at that moment, it was that she wanted to know more about him.
During that time, the empty seat was filled by a new arrival, whose appearance drew her attention away from the bizarrely drawn-out goodbye with its previous occupant. By the time she was done with taking the patron's order, Majima was gone.
Gradually, the influx of patrons slowed, the bar still lively, but not nearly as crowded as before, and Tsuki finally found herself able to sit down and enjoy some well-earned rest. She watched as Aki returned behind the counter, as tired as she was, if not more. Pulling up a second low-back chair for herself, she sat down next to her boss.
"He's gone, then?" she asked, glancing around the room to make sure.
"Been for a while now, so you can finally stop acting like a panicked schoolgirl."
Aki ignored the snarky comment and moved straight to what interested her most.
"Did you manage to learn anything?"
"Seems it's pretty much like I told you. The goons harassing us aren't his, either."
"Or so he says," Aki remained skeptical. "Never thought we'd one day have to deal with a veritable street legend..."
"We? So far, all you've been doing is avoid him like the plague," Tsuki scoffed. "You'd better get used to it quick, 'cause I have a feeling he'll be back."
"Great…" Aki groaned, visibly unhappy with the prospect that this could become the new norm for them. "We're really treading on thin ice here, Tsuki. Did he say why he came back?"
"You mean apart from quality liquor and my irresistible charm?" Tsuki jested in response, making the other girl snort with laughter. "He wanted to know why I took him off the street that time. Apparently, he suspected someone had me do it, so I told him the truth and it seemed to be enough. He even thanked me."
"He… thanked you?" Aki looked taken aback. "Hmm… Maybe that's all there was to it then, and today was the last we've seen of him."
"Maybe, but if I were you, I wouldn't get my hopes up. Besides, he could be good business for us down the line, if nothing else. If all it takes for him to keep buying the expensive kind of whisky he does is me talking with him, then I'm fine with that. He doesn't seem like such a bad guy."
Aki gave her an exasperated sigh in response.
"I don't know what it is with you… I know you want to be kind to everyone, and I know it's proven good for us so far, but… You should really be careful about this one," she said with concern in her eyes. "He may seem nice, but people say he's one of the most unpredictable and violent yakuza out there. You don't get a reputation like that by being a nice guy, you know?"
"And you read all that on the web?"
"Yes, and I think you should do the same. Perhaps it would open your eyes a little. Besides, aren't you even a little curious?"
"Even if I was… First of all, it doesn't feel right. Don't some of our patrons come here exactly because they feel they can be themselves, no matter who they might be outside? And if a rumor spreads that we're looking up shit about our customers, what do you reckon people will think of us?"
"Alright, I get it, but we're talking about the yakuza here. It's not like they're regular people," Aki argued. "And sure, people can say the wildest stuff on the internet, but some of it is bound to be true. You should see what you find for yourself. I mean it."
"Okay, enough about this already," Tsuki sighed. "I'll think about it — but I make no promises. In the meantime, we still have work to do, so how about we get back to it?"
"Have it your way," Aki shrugged.
With that, they each went back to handling their respective tasks, the remainder of the night peaceful and uneventful, like most days.
Returning home that morning, Tsuki was in two minds about Aki's suggestion. She was exhausted — the commute back not being much help in that regard — and wanted nothing more than to crawl into a warm bed and rest. But Majima's second visit to Stray, as well as her friend's insistence on her reading up on him, had fuelled her curiosity more than she would have liked.
Having poured herself a glass of water, she sat down on the couch and took her laptop from the low coffee table in front. With no idea whatsoever what she would find, she opened the browser and typed his name into the search bar, using characters she thought most likely to be the correct ones. The moment she did it, something inside her cried out in protest, keeping her finger from pressing the return key. The next thing she knew, she closed her fist and rested it to her side, looking at the characters on the screen. Why was she hesitating now? Was she afraid of what she would find? She could not decide, but following through with it was making her increasingly uncomfortable.
She remembered the sadness she had glimpsed in his eye. In her mind, she could also still feel his piercing gaze after they had said their goodbyes that night. He was a mystery to her — one she realized she preferred to unravel on her own terms instead of being fed hearsay. After all, they were nothing more than bartender and patron, and she had always strived to maintain a policy of anonymity at her bar. Unless her customers volunteered personal information or showed signs of wanting a more cordial relationship, she tried not to pry too much. She was never one for gossip and she did not trust rumors — at the very least not as much as Aki did. What she cared about first and foremost was who her patrons were while at the bar. As long as they did not cause problems for Aki and her, she would treat them with kindness, regardless of who they might be beyond its walls. Undoubtedly, it was a risky approach, but it was one of the things that drew so many people to her bar and, in turn, made business as good as it was. She did not want to lose that.
On the other hand, if her friend was to be believed, the man was notorious both in the criminal underworld and among the Kamurocho townsfolk. With how wide-spread his reputation supposedly was, Tsuki was becoming annoyed that she knew virtually nothing about him. For a fact, she had almost gone out of her way to avoid any talk of Kamurocho's seedy underbelly in recent years. However, as if their all too frequent run-ins with the yakuza were not enough, Majima's return to Stray seemed like a sign that she would not be able to avoid dealing, in one way or another, with the world she had been trying to distance herself from for much longer.
Perhaps calling out to him and inviting him to Stray that night was a mistake after all, she thought. But what was done was done, and the only thing she could do now was to live with the consequences of her choice. Wherever this road would lead her, she would not bend her own rules for a reason as trivial as sating her curiosity, no matter how great it could be. Some would probably say she was being irresponsible, but she felt confident that she could handle whatever would come out of it.
"Screw it," she spat the words into the silence surrounding her.
In the end, she could not do it. Letting out a heavy sigh, she closed the browser window and turned the laptop off.
Some time later, as she lay in bed stretched out on her back, staring absently at the ceiling, she tried to make sense of the mixture of emotions swirling inside her. She recalled the joy she felt when she saw him that night at Stray. The thrill of their back-and-forth. The uncanny feeling having his gaze on her gave her. Things she had not felt in years. As addictive as they were, she hated herself for feeling them. What was it about him in particular that caused her to be this drawn to him? Whatever was happening with her, she needed to get it under control. He intrigued her, that much she was sure of, and though their time together had been short, he was already starting to grow on her. Against her better judgment, she could not deny that she hoped she would see him again. She wished to learn more about him — not as a notorious yakuza, but as a man — and Stray seemed like the perfect place to facilitate that, given its highly informal atmosphere.
Falling asleep to the sounds of the world waking up outside her apartment's window, little did she know that the events which she had unknowingly set in motion that rainy night would change her life in ways she never would have thought possible.