by Kat Cotton
“Of course.” He nodded.
Hell, what did I have that was suitable for meeting a conservative old man?
I hunted through my suitcase, wishing I’d made the effort to unpack last night. Was he conservative like I had to wear a business suit? Because I’d packed nothing like that. I grabbed a long black skirt and a black and white striped sweater and chucked them on. That’d have to do. My suitcase looked like it’d exploded, vomiting clothes and other stuff all over the floor but I’d deal with that later.
I popped my head outside to tell Shun I was ready. He came into my apartment instead of waiting for me to go outside.
“I just got a message from Yamaguchi. He’s on his way to a business meeting so he’ll meet us here instead of us going to his place. It’s strange. He doesn’t often leave his house nowadays.”
“Is Yamaguchi...” I wasn’t sure how to phrase it. Special? Strange? “Does he have powers?”
Shun shook his head and grinned. I tried not to grin back but couldn’t help myself. No one would be able to resist returning that grin, but I didn’t want to start having feelings for Shun. There’s no way someone so stylish and cool would ever look at me.
“Yamaguchi’s power is a massive bank account,” Shun said. “And a lot of actual power, in human terms. He owns many magical items but he’s not magical himself. He’s spent a lifetime collecting and trading in rare, paranormal artifacts. He has many people working for him. We aren’t his only team, not by a long shot. And he has muscle. If you cross Yamaguchi, you might end up in Tokyo Bay, as they say ‘sleeping with the fishes’.”
Yikes. My parents could’ve warned me about that instead of giving the impression of a kindly old man helping us out.
And he was coming here?
I rushed around, stuffing my clothes back in my suitcase.
Shun picked up a pile. I really hoped I didn’t have any knickers in that pile.
“It might be easier to stuff them in the wardrobe,” he said.
Yeah, that made sense. I shut my case and put it in the bottom of the wardrobe then threw the remaining clothes on top of it. Luckily, it was a huge wardrobe. It went back forever although it had a shelf across the middle that would make it difficult to hang dresses.
Shun picked up another pile of clothes.
“Really, you don’t have to help me with this,” I said, my skin prickling with embarrassment.
“Ah, Molly, most of your clothes seem normal. Why the Lolita dress? You don’t seem really into that kind of look.”
“My friend Ashley told me that’s how everyone dresses in Harajuku. She loaned me the dress.”
Shun burst into laughter, doubling over with his hands on his knees.
“Your friend has never been to Japan, right?”
I nodded.
“She watches a lot of anime?”
I nodded again. Then I laughed with him.
“I understand,” he said. “I think you are better being Molly, not Ashley.”
My eyes prickled. Was I an idiot? An emotional idiot? Just because he’d said something kind of nice to me, not even a real compliment.
The thing was, while I’d never been one of those super popular types, people liked me. Even the people in my hometown who thought I was a weirdo were nice enough. I had this whole self-image of being likable. I mean, what wasn’t to like? I might be quite average but it was an affable average. And I rocked at finding cheap beer nights. Sure, sometimes I’d been ignored or treated with disinterest but until today, I’d never met anyone who actively hated me on first meeting.
But Shun was right. I was better being Molly.
With the clothes cleared, the apartment looked a lot cleaner. Shun sunk down into a graceful seating position on the floor. I kind of slumped onto the futon pile. I wasn’t sure what to do until Yamaguchi arrived. I straightened my skirt and hoped my hair looked okay. Maybe I should’ve thrown on some makeup. Where was my makeup? Somewhere under that clothes pile, probably.
Then I gave Shun the once over.
“You don’t have to dress conservatively?” I asked.
“He’s used to me,” Shun said, with a laugh. “You should’ve seen him the first time he met Yuki. He gave her a lecture on being more ladylike. That was a long time ago, though.”
That made me think. “Just how old are you?” I asked him.
“Very old in human years. But I’ve only been working with Yamaguchi for the past twenty years.”
Twenty years! He only looked twenty years old to me.
“Do I look okay?” I asked him. Since Shun had mentioned all that sleeping with the fishes stuff, my palms had been sweating even in the cold room.
“You look great,” he said. Then he reached over and touched my hair. “Is this it’s natural color?”
“Of course.”
My face was far from its natural color, though, and getting all hot and bothered at the way he stroked my hair.
“In China, people believe red heads are witches,” he said.
I stretched my legs out, trying to find a comfortable way to sit.
“Not just in China,” I replied.
“But you can’t be a witch, I think. You’d know before now. Still, it’s worth considering.”
“What are the signs of being a witch?”
“We could try to drown you and see if you float,” he said.
I sat bolt upright. “No way!”
When he laughed, I realized he’d been joking. There’d been way too much talk of me ending up at the bottom of the ocean and, while I didn’t believe it, I had to wonder what would happen if I just disappeared here. I’d already posted that I had limited internet access. That meant no one would even notice for days.
“Do you feel close to nature?” Shun asked.
I screwed up my face. Nature. Ick. Even though I’d grown up in a country town, nature wasn’t my thing. Nature has no shops, no cafes, just trees and dirt.
“Do you sense energy around you? Like you know people’s moods without them saying anything?”
I laughed so hard that I snorted. As if.
“I am literally the worst at that. One time I hung around with my friend for two days without cluing in that her boyfriend had dumped her. People should just blurt that stuff out, not leave it for you to figure out on your own. You could pretty much call me Oblivious Molly.”
I wondered if I should offer Shun a cup of tea or something while we waited. I think I’d seen some tea bags in the cupboard. But then we’d just had drinks at the cafe.
“What about animals?” he asked.
“I had some pets when I was younger. A dog called Skittles. Skittles the dwerp.” I grinned just thinking about that goofy dog.
“But animals you’ve felt a special connection with? Beyond just pet ownership?”
“Not really.”
Then I remembered the crows but that wasn’t even worth mentioning. So, some crows had helped me out, that didn’t mean anything. From what Shun said, I should’ve been noticing strange things all my life.
But then, the crows had happened after the stone got stolen. Was that connected?
Shun didn’t speak for a while. I wondered if he was processing what I’d said or if he was just bored. He laid back on the floor, the beam of sunlight shining through the curtains hitting him on the belly. I’d began thinking he’d dozed off when he sat up again.
“You’re nervous about meeting Yamaguchi?”
“You can sense that?”
“I can see how your hands are clutching the sides of that futon. It’s nothing mystical.”
I looked down, not realizing what I’d been doing until he pointed it out.
“A bit nervous, yeah.”
“Just nod and grin,” he said. “That’s the best way to handle him. I’ll translate for you but don’t think he doesn’t understand English. He just pretends not to. It gives him an advantage. He’s a sly dog like that.”
I nodded. Then I grinned. Good practice for
what was to come.
Shun stared at the floor for a moment then looked up. “Even if Yuki doesn’t want you on the team, she has no say in the matter.”
“I don’t even understand what this team thing is about,” I said. “I’m just here to...”
Then I wondered if it was wise to mention the stone. I’d only just met Shun and even if he was nice to me, I didn’t know if I should trust him. The stone might be valuable. If he was going to translate for us, he’d have to find out but I didn’t want to blurt out too much.
Before I could decide one way or another, someone knocked at the door. Yamaguchi.
Chapter 9
I expected Yamaguchi to be alone but the guy accompanying him almost filled my apartment. A bodyguard? Or hired goon?
The goon lingered in the entranceway while Yamaguchi came in.
While the goon might be pure muscle, there was something about this wizened old man with his leathery face that scared me more. He smiled but that was no reassuring smile. His gold tooth twinkled and his eyes said he never missed a thing. He would burrow into your soul and ferret out the secrets you wanted to hide. Suddenly, being dumped in Tokyo Bay didn’t seem like such a joke.
He looked around with a very judgey expression then he said something to Shun.
“He says you should put the futon out to air during the day. There is a futon beater in the cupboard. You should beat it, too.”
I grimaced, trying to resist belting out a bit of Michael Jackson. Beating a futon sounded like hard work, though.
Yamaguchi paced around the room instead of sitting. It didn’t help me feel comfortable with him, and I didn’t want to sit back down until he did.
“Thanks for the apartment,” I said.
Before Shun could translate that, Yamaguchi waved his hand as though to say it was nothing. My chest tightened. He could wave his hand but I had a feeling that “nothing” meant more than that to this guy. I owed him.
He walked to the window and opened the curtains. Sure, he owned the apartment but that didn’t mean he could act like he owned the place. I didn’t like sunshine too much.
A bunch of crows sat on the balcony railing as though they wanted to pry into this meeting. I thought about opening the door and shooing them away but maybe they had their own reasons for hanging around. The crows had been good to me lately.
Yamaguchi said something to Shun and Shun turned to me. “He wants to make sure you know how to separate your garbage properly.”
I began to say that I’d read through the information but Yamaguchi interrupted me.
“You need to make sure you do it properly or it will cause a lot of inconvenience,” Shun told me. “Tuesdays and Saturdays are for burnables. You have to put the rubbish out in the morning before 9am.”
Shun explained about the garbage, with frequent interruptions from Yamaguchi but it was nothing I hadn’t read in the notes. I hadn’t come all the way to Japan to talk garbage separation. I wanted to know about the stone.
Yamaguchi kept talking and I got the feeling that, because I was a foreigner, he thought I didn’t understand basic common sense. I balled my fists, willing myself to smile and nod like Shun had said but inside I screamed “shut up, you crazy old man.” I mean even a fool could work out those garbage instructions. With each sentence, my smile shrunk and my nods got smaller until they’d just become a tiny flick of my head.
“If you don’t put the bags under the net, you’ll attract crows,” Shun said.
At least crows were good to me and their cawing was a lot less annoying than this talk. Also, crows had those pointy beaks. They could peck through a net. Rats could probably chew through one too. This whole system of leaving bags of garbage on the street with just a net to cover them seemed mighty flawed to me.
Finally, Yamaguchi sat down on the floor with his legs crossed, surprisingly agile for a man his age. He gestured for me to sit too. I began to sink onto the futon pile but thought that might spark another lecture so I sat on the floor like he did. Sitting cross legged proved difficult in my skirt though, and there was no way I could kneel for more than a couple of minutes.
Yamaguchi looked me over in an appraising way.
“Ask him about this team thing,” I said to Shun. “Why does he think I’m joining you?”
“I can’t ask him directly,” Shun said. “It’s not the Japanese way. First, small talk.”
Surely that garbage talk had been enough small talk for anyone to endure. What other small talk did we have? I’m pretty sure asking his opinion on the latest Taylor Swift album wouldn’t be the way to go.
“He asks how your parents are.”
I looked at Yamaguchi to answer him rather than looking at Shun, against my better judgment. I didn’t want to make eye contact with that old man but I needed to emphasis my point.
“They’re well. But stressed, as you can imagine.”
Yamaguchi nodded slowly, thinking that over. He mumbled something to Shun so quietly that even if I’d spoken Japanese, I wouldn’t have got it.
“In order to help you, he needs something in exchange.”
I twisted the ring off my finger and sat it on the floor in front of Yamaguchi. He gave it a brief glance but didn’t pick it up. Mum had said to exchange the ring for information so that’s all I had. If Yamaguchi didn’t like it, I’d get on the next plane out of here. As soon as I found somewhere with Wi-Fi to book a ticket.
For some reason, Shun nodded at my leg. I looked down. My leg bounced.
I did that sometimes and I knew it annoyed the hell out of people. I put my hand on my knee to stop myself.
Yamaguchi looked directly at me, not Shun, and said something. I had no idea what he said but the tone of his words sent a shiver down my spine. Those words didn’t bode well, whatever he’d said.
“He doesn’t want the ring, he wants you.” Shun’s voice had turned flat like he didn’t want to influence the conversation in any way.
“Huh?” I wasn’t sure how he’d meant that. It sounded dodgy as hell and I wouldn’t pimp myself out to that old man for anything.
Yamaguchi went into a rant to Shun while Shun nodded. Then Shun turned to me.
“You are to work on this case with us. Just this case. I’m not sure why but he thinks we need your help. Then he will give the information you seek.”
From the way Shun said that, I wasn’t sure how much he knew about the stone.
Every instinct in me screamed to run. I didn’t like Yamaguchi and I wanted to know how deep I’d be getting in before agreeing to anything.
“What does this work involve?” I asked. “Is it dangerous?”
The discussion that went on involved a lot of head shaking then Yamaguchi smiled at me. That smile did nothing to settle my nerves.
“It’s a simple job. Looking after something for a short while, that’s all he’ll tell me. There’s no danger. Just that it’ll be easier with three of us.”
“We have no idea what it is?”
Shun shook his head. “Maybe something he’s selling that he needs to store out of his home. Yuki and I do work like this all time but he wants a third person on the team.”
Shun smiled then sat back so that Yamaguchi couldn’t see him. Behind Yamaguchi’s back, Shun shook his head. Was he telling me not to do this?
But, if I wanted the information, I had no other choice and it didn’t sound too difficult. Shun didn’t know how much I needed this information.
“How long?” I asked. I did need to get home some time soon. Hopefully in time to get back into uni for the rest of the semester without any issues.
“A few days,” Shun said.
I mentally calculated the census cut-off date for my course. I’d have no problem at all, doing this then returning to my real life. I’d even have time to get all that annoying paperwork done.
Outside, the cawing of the crows seemed to get deafening. Damn birds.
I nodded.
With that, Yamaguchi stood up
. The goon in the entranceway shuffled around. I’d forgotten he was there.
That was it? I didn’t have to sign anything? We didn’t even shake on it. But I had a feeling that my nod tied me to Yamaguchi as strongly as any legal paperwork.
Yamaguchi turned before he left. “Welcome to my crows,” he said, making a sweeping gesture with his hand. Then he smiled.
I recoiled. His crows? What did he mean by that?
When he left, I exhaled a whole bunch of air I hadn’t realized I’d been holding in my lungs.
“That seemed to go well,” I said.
Shun didn’t smile. He held my gaze for a while, twisting his lips like he wanted to say something. A very distracting twist of his full lips.
“Be careful about trusting that man,” he said very quietly, as though Yamaguchi might be outside listening in on the door.
Chapter 10
Shun took me to the ATM, although it ended up being in the convenience store. I could’ve easily gone on my own if he’d told me that.
“Can I buy a SIM card here?” I asked him.
He shook his head.
“How will you contact me if you need me?”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. If Yamaguchi wants something, he’ll make sure you know.”
I didn’t doubt that but I still needed a phone.
“Why did he call us crows?” I asked.
“That’s what he calls us. His Harajuku Crows. Because Yuki and I dress in black.”
That made sense but I wondered if there was more to it than that. Something about Yamaguchi’s sly grin had made me think he knew more about me than I knew myself.
I was about to ask Shun if he wanted to go get something to eat or maybe a drink. After all, it was way past lunch time. Almost happy hour. But, before I could do that, he gave a little wave.
“You know how to get home from here?” he asked.
Yep, I did and I couldn’t exactly say “please hang out with me because I don’t know anyone else in this entire country and I feel a little lonely” without sounding like a pathetic loser. I couldn’t expect us to be instant friends but it would be nice to have someone to hang out with.
