by Kat Cotton
Because of that, I went to extreme measures. I did something so degrading that I disgusted myself.
Before we left the hotel, I took selfies in all my outfits and sent them to Nic to get his opinion.
“Well, none of them are great, but the second one isn’t too bad. Wear it with the belt from the third photo, though.”
Then he sent me a strange message.
“Don’t worry about Kisho, Clem. He’s like a stray cat. He’ll be affectionate to anyone who pays him attention, but in the end, he’ll be loyal to you.”
It almost seemed like Nic was trying to be nice. To me. Nic. Was it opposite day?
Kisho had been to see Yamaguchi, and I’d spent the previous day watching more television. The only thing he got out of the old man was that the treasure was some kind of potion. Potions scared me. In this life, you didn’t want to mess with the black arts. That never ended well.
Unless he meant potion like a skin cream. That was just plain cosmetics, not evil.
We caught the train to Shimo Kitazawa and waited at the station. Hana lived nearby. Still, she kept us waiting.
“I thought punctuality was really important here,” I said to Kisho.
“But this isn’t business, it’s just meeting with friends. And I’m sure she won’t be long.”
“You know if you had sex with her, it’d be bestiality.”
“Huh?”
He looked all innocent, but he’d heard what I’d said. He just looked away from me.
“Hey, with the virginity, thing... bestiality...”
“Not done it, but then you’re not an animal, so it doesn’t count.”
At least he had a line somewhere.
At least it wasn’t cold or raining for once. Shit, it was a clear day and I’d not even opened the blinds to see if we could see Mount Fuji. Damn shit. I’d leave Japan without ever seeing that mountain.
“Here she is,” Kisho said.
I grimaced, then made myself think of the money.
We trailed her around, getting introduced to a ton of friends and acquaintances who all adored her.
We went into one tiny shop, and Hana was all kissy-kissy huggy-huggy with the owner. Then she leaned on the counter, chatting, while Kisho and I looked around.
Kisho pulled a leather jacket from the rack. “Can I try this on?” he asked.
The owner went over to help him.
There wasn’t anything in the store that interested me, but watching Kisho try on clothes was always visually appealing.
I glanced around to Hana, still leaning on the shop counter. She reached into a bowl on the counter. It held earrings and other bits and pieces. Then she took one of the cards of earrings out of the bowl and slipped it into her pocket.
Was she stealing it?
Of course she was. That chick was so light-fingered.
What a lousy thing to do, especially when she acted like the owner was her best friend. A small shop like this would have tiny profit margins. A few stolen things would screw them right over.
“Does this suit me?” Kisho asked.
“It looks fantastic,” I replied.
I turned back to Hana, but she just smiled.
“Really hot,” she said.
I rolled my eyes.
“Maybe a size smaller would be better,” he said, grabbing another one off the rack.
“I’m just slipping outside for a cigarette,” Hana said. “Meet you when you’re done.”
More like she wanted to flee the scene of the crime.
While Kisho tried on another jacket, I slipped outside. I couldn’t let this pass without saying something. Screw getting her trust. She’d never trust me anyway, and I’d never trust her. We had to get her star ball or she’d lie and steal from us as easily as she did everyone else.
I looked down the street but couldn’t see her. Strange. I hadn’t thought she’d wander that far away. She had to be around somewhere. I wandered down the street a little, then spotted the glow of her cigarette in a dark alley off the main strip. She was leaning against the wall, her head back and one leg bent.
“What the hell were you playing at back there?”
She shrugged. “No idea what you’re talking about.”
“You think? What about those earrings in your pocket?”
She gave a low laugh. She put her hand in her pocket and pulled the earrings out. “Cheap junk. They won’t miss them.”
“You’d steal from your friend’s shop?” I didn’t know why I was surprised. This chick had nothing she wouldn’t stoop to.
She threw the earrings at me. “Here. Gift from me.”
I threw them back. I didn’t want her stolen goods, and it’d be too hard to explain to the shop owner.
“You’re just pissy because your friend wants a piece of me. I could’ve had him last night, but I figured I’d draw the fun out a little longer. I’ll destroy you. I can’t trick you, but I can trick everyone around you to make you look depraved.”
So, she couldn’t thrall me. I saw the truth.
Before I could say anything, someone on the street yelled out.
“Hachi! Hachi!”
I spun around. A fluffy little puppy ran into the alleyway with a dumpy little woman following him. I grabbed the dog’s collar. He’d obviously run away from her, and she was trying to catch him.
Hana snarled, an evil noise that made the puppy shy away. She was no longer standing in the alley. Well, her human form wasn’t.
Fox!
She’d turned into her fox form. You’d have thought she’d be more likeable as a fox, but no, she remained just as snarly and mean.
The dumpy woman gasped and quickly clipped the lead back onto her dog’s collar before running off.
Something sparkled on Hana’s tail. Was that the star ball?
It looked so beautiful, glittery and glowing. All purple and silver.
I could grab it. I could totally grab that ball and have control of her. But as quickly as she’d turned, she turned back. Fully in human form, clothed, with the cigarette still in her mouth.
Shit. I’d missed my chance.
Well, if there had been any doubt that she was the kitsune, that had disappeared now that I’d seen her shift with my own eyes. She was no different from any of the other creatures I’d slain. The only thing stopping me from fighting her was that Kisho wanted to try this the nice way.
“Did you want anything else?” she asked. She threw the cigarette away and ground the butt with her heel.
I shrugged. As much as she put on the cool front, there was a nervousness about her that hadn’t been there before. I’d seen her vulnerability, and she didn’t like it.
Nic wanted me to use my sexual thrall to get control of Hana. Even if it was back in full working order, it wouldn’t work. The woman obviously despised me. The feeling was mutual. Killing her was the best way. Killing her and setting free the poor human girl she possessed before that girl’s body ended up with lung cancer or a sexually transmitted disease.
“I guess I should get back,” she said.
As she walked past me, she paused.
“You might act all goody two-shoes, but you have evil in you. I can smell it,” she said. “Evil so strong.”
Chapter 24 Nic: Monopoly
Vlad was bored. I could sense it without him even saying anything. I’d been bored too. Without Kisho around, I never got to do anything fun. I figured I’d teach Vlad how to play Monopoly. I didn’t need Kisho. He wasn’t the only Monopoly player in the world.
Except it didn’t go that well.
“No, Vlad, we don’t eat the dice.” I pulled the dice from him.
“Tasty?”
“Not tasty.”
I packed up the board. I might need to wait until his linguistic skills improved before we played this. Monopoly was a bit too high-level. I’d try something simpler next time.
“Do you want to watch the gymnastics?” I asked him.
I’d downloaded Olym
pic gymnastics performances for him to watch. Not only did he watch them, but he could replicate the routines perfectly.
“Yes!”
I sat down with him to watch. Hellhound crawled up on Vlad’s knee. He softly stroked the dog as he watched the performance.
Most of the videos we’d watched had been on the bars, but I’d run out of stuff to show him, so today we watched that event where people flip around the floor whirling ribbons and things.
“Can you do that?” I asked Vlad.
He nodded. “Of course.”
The next minute, he got up and did a series of flips and twirls across the floor. I clapped. I needed to get him a ribbon thing, and maybe a cute gymnastics outfit to go with it.
“How long did you train for?” I asked him.
He put his head on the side and looked at me quizzically. I guessed that question was a little advanced. He might not even understand concepts like years any more.
“Forget it,” I told him.
“Ten years,” he answered.
My jaw dropped. He’d understood that and had answered. Maybe I had underestimated him.
“You were four years old when you started?”
He nodded again.
“It must’ve been hard work.”
“For Stockholm.”
That made no sense at all. Stockholm? What did he mean?
I did a quick Google search. He’d been training for the Stockholm Olympics? But that had been a few years before he’d been turned. But he’d obviously not competed. If he had, there’d be records of it.
“Why didn’t you go to Stockholm?” I asked him. I wasn’t sure he’d be able to articulate the answer, though.
His face screwed up. I wasn’t sure if he was thinking or if the question confused him. Then I realized what I saw on his face. Pain. I’d asked him something he didn’t want to think about. A pain struck me in the belly. Not a physical pain but a deep, emotional one.
“Sleepy time now,” he said.
He picked up Hellhound, and the two of them curled up in his nest. I’d given up trying to make him sleep in his bed. No matter what I did, he ended up in that blanket nest anyway.
I went upstairs, angry with myself. I’d actually had a decent breakthrough in talking to him but screwed it up with that question. Of course, if he’d been training for Stockholm but hadn’t made it, there’d been some reason. He was good enough to qualify; I had no doubt about that. That meant it had to be something much more personal.
If he’d been in a normal country growing up, I might’ve been able to find newspaper reports or other information, but the kid had grown up in Russia. It seemed unlikely there’d be anything I could get my hands on. I did know a few people who’d lived in the area at the time, so I might be able to ask if I could track them down.
How had the kid got out of Russia? Had that happened before he turned or after? There was so much I didn’t know about him. There had to be some kind of records somewhere. He had a real name and a real history.
I’d just put the Monopoly set back on the shelf when the door rang.
It was the mayor again. I hoped he didn’t think he could just drop in and play best buddies with me any time he liked.
“Yes?” I said, opening the door.
“I’ve got a lead. Can I come in?”
“I guess so.”
He handed me a latte and another box from that cake shop. That made him a lot more welcome. Then he sat down on the sofa.
“How are things going?”
Not so good, but I wasn’t going to tell the mayor that, not with a regular supply of blood donors being dropped off at the house. In a few weeks, Vlad might have feeding control and I could ditch the mayor, but not yet.
“This isn’t the best coffee I’ve ever had. That place is slipping.”
“There’s two cakes in that box. I thought we could share them,” the mayor said.
I could handle two cakes myself, but I went into the kitchen and got two plates.
“You said you had a tip-off?”
“Yes, there’s a new restaurant opening in town. Very high class. Word is, this gang are going to put in an appearance.”
“I’m surprised they could get reservations if it’s all that fancy.”
The mayor laughed. “One of them has been snooping around the back alleys. Not many businesses are opening up around here lately, a lot closing down, so I don’t want this opening to be a disaster.”
“You sure this is a real tip? Remember what happened last time?”
I wasn’t sure if I trusted the mayor, but he had sent me the details of his tailor, which I really appreciated. And he always seemed like such a swell guy.
“This time, it’s totally legit. So, we turn up tonight and take the gang down,” the mayor said.
“We?”
“Sure. I want to be seen playing an active part in this.”
“I’m not denying your mayoring skills or any of that, but this will be a fight. It’ll get dirty. Maybe you could just stay out of it. If you want to turn up with the media once the gang are taken out, that’s fine, but otherwise you’ll just be in the way.”
“Nic. Nic. Really? You almost sound like you don’t want me there.”
I smiled at him. Wasn’t that exactly what I’d just said? Fighting the gang would be difficult enough without having to babysit the mayor at the same time.
“Mayor, you’re such a valuable asset to this city that it’d be a shame if you got injured.”
The mayor grinned. “True facts, but still, sometimes you need to get involved.”
Hell, the guy was serious.
“Don’t you have trained forces to deal with this kind of thing?”
Having backup would be handy. I could take the entire gang down if it was a man-on-man fight, but those guys fought dirty. I’d need someone to literally watch my back.
“We do. But I want them there to protect the civilians.”
The mayor had certainly changed his tune. Not so long ago, he’d had no qualms about a few innocents getting killed or injured if it furthered his cause.
I raised an eyebrow.
“Apparently, civilian deaths are not a winner for your popularity rating.”
“Tell me about it. You have no idea how much my business has suffered since that last disaster. DVD sales are even down.”
“You got what you wanted, though.”
That was true.
My main concern was making sure my unicorn baby was okay. If the mayor got injured, well, he was a grown man making his own decisions.
As I pondered that, the mayor got up and walked around the room.
He picked up the Monopoly set I’d sat on the shelf.
“Monopoly? I haven’t played this for years. Want a game?”
The mayor smiled at me. I smiled back. He might be the mayor, but no one beat me at Monopoly.
“Don’t you have mayor work to do?”
“Delegation, my old buddy. That’s the true sign of leadership. You set the machine in motion and oil the cogs, and then anyone can drive it.”
I grabbed the board from him and started setting the game up.
He might be the mayor, but when it came to Monopoly, he’d be my bitch.
Chapter 25 Clem: Donki
After spending the day trailing Hana, we finally got back to the hotel. I slumped on the sofa, exhausted.
“That was a waste of time,” I said. “Well, apart from finding out that Hana is terrified of dogs and they make her turn back to her fox form. That’ll come in handy. And I got this awesome necklace. But other than that, it was a complete washout.”
I’d also found out where she kept her star ball, but I didn’t want to open that whole discussion with Kisho.
He walked out of his bedroom. “I got a new jacket.”
“Also good.”
“Hey, what’s this slip of paper?” Kisho picked up something off the floor. “It looks like someone put it under our door.”
“I dunno. You can’t get onto this floor unless you have the swipe card. But I bet you could get up the fire stairs pretty easily. It’s not like this place is super-secure. Although chances are it’s from the hotel management.”
I bet that old man hadn’t paid our hotel bill. We’d be kicked out on the streets. I didn’t like the look of this.
Kisho unfolded the paper. “There’s no name. It just says to meet them tonight in the rice cooker section of Don Quixote.”
“Don Quixote?”
“Donki. It’s a department store. We have to meet them at 2:00 a.m. tonight.”
“Is the store even open?”
“Yeah, it’s 24-hour. But this doesn’t feel right. It could be a trap. Who’d leave a note like this for us?”
“Who knows, but, hey, if they try to attack us, we can brain them with a rice cooker. Meanwhile, I’m going to have a nap. No way can I sit up that late without a quick kip.”
I went into my room and set my alarm. Kisho was right. The note was dodgy as hell, but if someone tried to take us, we’d be ready.
“Clem, wake up! It’s time to go.”
What was Kisho on about? I’d only been asleep for five minutes.
I picked up my phone. Hell, I’d slept for hours. I threw on some clothes. And damn, I’d skipped dinner.
Kisho handed me some snacks. “I know how angry you get when you’re hungry.”
“Okay, rice cooker section, here we come.”
Kisho had said this place was a department store, but it was the most chaotic store I’d ever seen. Weird souvenirs and wacky dress-up costumes cramped into tiny little aisles you could barely squeeze down.
“Hey, one of those horse head masks would really come in handy.”
“Handy for what?” Kisho asked.
“You never know. And, hey, this maid costume is heaps cheaper than the one we bought.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the stairs at the back of the store before I could spend too long looking at random stuff.
“Who actually goes shopping at this time of night?” I asked him.
“People just finishing work at a bar or club. Insomniacs. Weird sex freaks.”
