by Sekina Mayu
Chapter 4
I’m the kind of person who takes everything with a pinch of salt, even if there are individuals who are being rude to me. Well, why should I even care about the strangers who are being rude to me? I’m pretty sure that I won’t bump into them anymore. While I can brush things off just like that, it doesn’t seem that way when it involves someone who is a public figure. What Momoko Sugita did to us the other day left a bitter taste in our mouth.
When I arrive at school, I bump into Shiori at the school entrance. She avoids me like a plug whenever our eyes meet. Even Yuuto finds it odd because Shiori had never behaved like this before. Have we done something that offended her? I’m pretty sure that I don’t. I suspect that Yuuto must have done something to her, but he denies it.
I sigh because I have no idea what’s going on with Shiori. The only thing I can do right now is to confront her. As I enter the class, Shiori still avoids looking at me. This will be difficult for me if things keep on going like this. This will leave me no choice but to confront her before the class starts. I’m okay with confronting people during the covert mission. But I don’t feel comfortable facing Shiori like this. It will only make her feel intimidated if I do it this way.
Shiori still avoids me even when I’m standing right in front of her desk. “What’s going on with you? You’ve been avoiding me since we’ve arrived. Just tell me if I’ve done something that offended you,” I say to her as I’m slamming my hands on her desk. The loud slam on her desk somehow attracts the whole class to stare at us. Seeing the whole class stares at us, Shiori blushes and leave the class.
Darn, I’ve made a terrible mistake. I don’t mean to slam on her desk, though. I just did it because I was angry. I chase after Shiori right away after she leaves the class. Before she can go anywhere further, I grab her arm. She still doesn’t even look at me even when I grab her arm tightly. “Touka, let me go! It hurts,” she cries. “Not until you tell me what’s going on with you,” I say to her.
“I’m sorry,” she cries, “I still feel guilty for what have happened last weekend. I couldn’t believe it myself that the person that I always looked up to treated you and Yuuto badly. I feel so embarrassed about it that I don’t even dare to look at you.” This is what she’s been bugging about? I thought that Yuuto and I must have done something to her. It turns out to be that it’s none of those.
“So, that’s it? I thought that it was something major,” I say to her, sighing. Shiori nods. “I know that you won’t have a hard feeling about that. But I do! I’m scared that you will say that she’s a bad person only because of that. She was only having a bad day. That’s all.” I’m amazed that she’s still defending Momoko Sugita even though she had treated us poorly. If Shiori has a boyfriend, she will protect him even though he has made a grave mistake.
“Okay, I know that she had a bad day. I never even thought that she was a bad person only because of that. I know that she’s a nice person. Otherwise, you’ll never look up to her all this time,” I say to Shiori. To be honest, she was rude to us. But I don’t feel like saying anything bad because I don’t know anything about her. Maybe she did have a bad day. Still, I have to lie to Shiori so she doesn’t have to worry too much about it.
Shiori smiles at me. She feels relieved that I don’t think anything bad about Momoko Sugita. “I’m glad to hear that you don’t think her as a bad person. I shouldn’t have assumed that,” Shiori says to me. After that, she heads back to class as if nothing happens between us. For some reason, I feel like Shiori must have been obsessed with Momoko Sugita. Despite her nasty attitude toward us, she still defended her. She looks more like she’s in denial to me.
During the break, Shiori behaves like her usual, cheerful self. I’m glad that Momoko Sugita’s issue is no longer bugging her. But now, I’m worried about her huge obsession with Momoko Sugita and her denial in certain issues. I hate listening to people talking non-stop about their obsession with female idols. But I have to give this time an exception. I need to find out more about Momoko Sugita. For me, her sudden change in her behavior is not normal to me.
I understand that young women like Momoko Sugita can be prone to a mood swing. But it doesn’t even look like a mood swing at all to me. Even if she does, her voice and her behavior don’t need to change to reflect that. Even Mr. Ayatsuji also said that it wasn’t the usual Momoko he always knew. What’s going on here?
“Shiori, can you tell me everything you know about Momoko Sugita?” I ask her during the break. Shiori looks excited when I’m asking her about Momoko Sugita. She knows that I’m not into this idol stuffs. So for her, that seems like good news. “Wow, what makes you have a keen interest in her? Whatever it is, I’m happy that you’ve started to like her. She’s amazing, isn’t she?” I should have guessed her response. Now I feel regret for asking her that.
“Yeah, her last performance was…splendid. I felt like I’ve become her fan ever since then,” I say to Shiori. Damn, I have to lie to her just to confirm my hunch. I bet that she must be thinking that she’s finally converting me into Momoko Sugita’s fan. Thinking about it annoys the hell out of me. “Aww, there are so many things I can talk about her. Where should I begin?” Shiori asks me. She looks like she’s on the cloud nine when she starts talking about her.
“I guess you can start off with talking about her personality, her likes and dislikes,” I answer. Shiori’s eyes sparkle when I give her suggestions on what she should be talking about. “Oh, that’s easy!” She begins to talk about everything she knows about Momoko Sugita. I’ve also recorded our conversation without her knowledge for future reference.
According to Shiori, she was nice to everyone, not just to her group members, but also to the staffs. While being nice to the staffs is important, she was also nice to the staffs that were also not related to her career. I guess that was why Mr. Ayatsuji claimed he knew what kind of person Momoko Sugita was. With such personality, I bet that the rest of the staffs were just brushing it off that she might have a bad day.
“Do you know anything about her before she became an idol? Maybe it’s about her family or her upbringing?” I ask Shiori again. Shiori pauses for a while, trying to recall if she knows anything about Momoko Sugita’s past. “Well, she did talk about her past in a magazine interview before. She only said that her parents had passed away, and she had been living with her relatives. Rather than sticking to one family, she was passed from one family to another,” Shiori says.
Based on what Shiori tells me, I begin to see her strange behavior must have a lot to do with her upbringing. Maybe it does, it’s just that I don’t know how deep it’s affecting her. Even if she had an awful upbringing, people around her are nice to her. It still doesn’t make sense why she has to be rude to us, even though she knows that we’re Shiori’s friends. And we don’t do anything rowdy like their fans.
“Touka, are you listening?” Shiori interrupts me. I don’t realize that I’m in a deep thought until Shiori knocks my senses. “Sorry about that, I really am listening to you. It’s just that…I’m trying to understand her personality more,” I reply. I don’t feel like telling her that her upbringing must be the reason why she was rude to us. Even if that’s the reason, I’m pretty sure that Shiori will deny me flat on.
“That’s alright. It must be hard for you to believe it, right?” Shiori says to me. I just smile awkwardly because it’s nothing unusual about that. Something like that usually happens, even to people who are close to us. “That’s why I’ve always looked up to her. After all, our past are similar. Just like her, I had to stay with my relatives. That was until someone had reported about me being abused while living with them.”
I know it all along that Shiori is currently living in the orphanage. But this is the first time I hear about her being abused by her foster family. “I’m not sure whether she was abused or not. But I understand the feeling of not being wanted. We were put aside because we didn’t even belong to the family. We were more lik
e the excess baggage to them. We were more like a burden to them instead of a gift from the universe.”
I’m not sure what to say to her at this moment. I’m surprised that she’s open to me about her past. I guess that she must have trusted me enough to be open about this. “But you know, I’m glad that my awful past shapes me to become a better person I am today,” Shiori says to me. She smiles when she looks at me. I just nod my head and smile at her. “You’re right. At the end of the day, something good will eventually come your way.”
She then looks away from me. Don’t tell me I’ve said something that upsets her again? “Am I saying something wrong?” I ask her. She shakes her head while smiling at me. “No, it’s just that, I feel guilty about this. I should have told you about this before my performance last weekend. But I keep putting it off. I don’t have the courage to say this to you.”
I wonder what she’s been wanted to tell me until up to the point where she needs the courage to spill it to me. She begins to tell me after she takes a deep breath. This must be such a big deal to her. “I’ll be transferring to another school starting this week,” she blurts out. It’s unexpected to hear this, but I should have expected this long time ago. This school isn’t flexible enough for an idol like her because there will be a time where she can’t attend a class.
I smile at her. “I won’t deny that I feel sad because I won’t be seeing you again. But you don’t have to worry about that. Besides, we can always see each other again whenever you’re free. So, don’t feel bad about it.” Shiori begins to cry when I say this to her. “Thank you, Touka. You’re always there for me all this time. That’s why I don’t have the guts to tell you about this. Even until now, you’re still thinking about me.”
After wiping her tears, she then takes a notebook from her bag and starts writing something. “This is my new home address. I’ve already moving out of the orphanage, so this is where I’m currently living.” I look at the address. Her new house is in Yotsuya, which is still in Shinjuku area. It’s not that far from where we live, so I think we can always come and visit her whenever she’s around. I begin to add her address to my smartwatch so then I won’t lose it.
I always assume that Shiori will attend the same school as I am until we graduate. But I do know that’s going to be impossible because of the nature of her job. We don’t have any idols in this school other than Shiori. So, there’s no way the school is going to accommodate for someone like her. I also tell this news to Yuuto. Just like me, he doesn’t expect it. But he knows that day where Shiori has to transfer to another school will eventually come.
As we reach home, we notice that Mr. Sakakibara is filling in for Hayato. “Where’s Hayato?” I ask dad. Dad signals Mr. Sakakibara to go upstairs so then he can tell us what task that dad has assigned Hayato to do. We follow Mr. Sakakibara to upstairs. I’m pretty sure that Hayato is involved in a special task. I don’t think it’s necessary for him to bring us upstairs if Hayato is going out for an errand.
“We received information that there is someone who looks like Dr. Frederick Choo. So, we’ve sent Hayato to investigate if that person is really him.” Both of us are surprised to find out that Dr. Frederick Choo is still alive. “I thought that he was already dead back then when Transhuman Development Project began?” Yuuto asks him with a puzzled look.
“Well, that’s true based on our information. So, we just want to confirm if it’s him or not. According to CIA, he might also involve in the murder of their ex-colleagues in UC Berkeley. It’s because he disappeared at the same time as Satoru Yuuya. It’s just that the CIA dropped his name because he was already dead.” He goes down to help dad after he explains the whole situation to us.
“This guy isn’t just an ordinary researcher. For someone like him who knows how to fake his death, this guy sure is something,” Yuuto says to me. I agree with what he says. We admit that Satoru Yuuya isn’t an ordinary researcher. But we’ve never thought that Dr. Frederick Choo is the same. We don’t know much about him other than him who is a specialist when it comes to physical enhancing drugs.
We help dad in the coffee shop as usual. After the customers are no longer around, we begin to close the coffee shop. As we’re about to close, Ms. Shoko comes in. She must have something urgent to tell us if she’s coming here now. I doubt that she’s here for coffee. Well, it doesn’t hurt for her to discuss something confidential while sipping a cup of coffee.
Dad serves her a cup of coffee as she takes her seat. “Oh, that cute waiter is not here. Do you send him for a top secret mission, Minoru?” She asks dad. Dad only chuckles when he hears how Ms. Shoko is calling Hayato a cutie. “Well, yup. He’s tracking Dr. Frederick Choo. But it’s not confirmed if it’s him, though. Maybe it’s someone who looks like him,” dad replies.
“There’s something I want you to do,” she says to us after she takes a sip. She then transfers the file to dad. “Saburo Matsuda? What in the world you’re thinking, Shoko?” Dad asks her as he begins to read the file. “Do you mean that Saburo Matsuda? The former minister for Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare?” Yuuto asks Ms. Shoko. She smiles while taking another sip.
“Yup, it’s that guy,” she replies. Dad sighs when he reads the report that Ms. Shoko has sent to him. “According to your report, he was the only minister who had a microchip implant. And it wasn’t even confirmed yet. Why in the world you guys from Public Security Bureau reacted to a rumor like this? Not only that, but he was also rumored to have a relationship with the late Sayaka Minami. Why it sounds like something you read in a gossip magazine?”
Everyone bursts into laughter when dad says that. “Hey, I didn’t write the report that way! It was you who misinterpret my report,” Ms. Shoko scolds dad. Dad then transfers the file to the rest of us. Everyone becomes silent as we begin to read the report that Ms. Shoko has given us. I can’t help but clench my fist when I read the report. It seems that the statement ‘the truth hurts’ is right after all. It’s hard for me to finish reading the report when I’m filled with anger.
The person who told Ms. Shoko is one of her squad members who infiltrate the agency as Muse Agency staff. According to him, Saburo Matsuda already knew about Satoru Yuuya’s background. He was willing to shield Satoru Yuuya from the government threat. That was as long as he would get the final version of the microchip implant that was free from the side effects. He wouldn’t mind if there were a few test subjects who died along the process as long as the project was completed.
What surprises me the most is Saburo Matsuda’s relationship with Shinya Fukuyama. We all know that he’s the Muse Agency founder. And Saburo Matsuda happened to be one of the few high-ranking officials who are invited to his private party. This private party isn’t an ordinary party, though. It’s actually a sex party where the idols are forced to have sex with these guests. And these idols are popular and have a huge fan base.
The private party was held in Shinya Fukuyama’s private mansion in Karuizawa. The party will be held a few times a year. And only those who have attended the previous private party will be notified for the next one. If they want to take part in the party, then they need a referral from those who have attended the party before. And it doesn’t matter if they only attended the party just once. Saburo Matsuda has been attending the private party a few times already.
The idol industry is about preserving their virginity and their naive thought about men. But it doesn’t seem that way for the idols in Muse Agency. If they refused to have sex with these guests, the agency will end their contract. The agency will also use their influence to create a bad reputation for the said idol. This will mean that none of the idol agencies will want to take them because of their tainted reputation.
As an idol, I doubt that they’re willing to risk this for their future’s sake. The report feels like what I usually read in Tako forum, but I don’t find anything surprising about this. Shinya Fukuyama is one of the influential people in the idol industry. So, if he says that thi
s said idol is a bad apple in his agency, the other idol agencies will follow suit. It can be tough to survive in the showbiz if you’re a woman with a tainted reputation.
Now, it’s true that Shinya Fukuyama is using his idol agency for sex trafficking conduct. What’s even worst, none of the newbies know about this. Only idols who have gotten their major debut know about this. None of them lodge a police report. It’s because they don’t want people to know about the shameful things they have to go through. This is the last thing they want to do if they want to protect their own reputation.
Dad sighs after he has finished reading the report. “I don’t think that you’re here just to hand us this report. I’m pretty sure that you’re here with a request,” dad says to her. Ms. Shoko takes another sip before she starts talking. “You’re sharp as usual, Minoru. It’s no wonder that you’re the head of the special activities division. You seem to know what I have in mind.”
Dad looks annoyed when Ms. Shoko is saying something like that to him. It looks more like Ms. Shoko is making fun of him instead of complimenting him. “You’re right. I do have a request,” she replies. Everyone listens to her attentively as she begins to tell us about her request. “Saburo Matsuda wants to meet the idol from Muse Agency in Le Gardenia Hotel tonight. This is what my squad member told me.”
Mr. Sakakibara only chuckles when he hears that. “Wow, I’m pretty sure that he wants to get hot and steamy with that idol. He must have paid a lot to Shinya Fukuyama to quench his desire for sex with a popular idol.” Ms. Shoko nods, agreeing with what Mr. Sakakibara is saying. “You’re right. What he’s doing right now is no different than hiring a prostitute. On top of that, no one knows about his meeting with a Muse Agency idol.”
“Who is he going to see tonight?” I ask her. Ms. Shoko pauses for a while. I do hope that she’s not telling me that Saburo Matsuda wants to see Shiori tonight. Shiori is an idol who has just gotten her major debut recently. I know that the chances for Saburo Matsuda to choose her are slim. But I still hope that she’s not the one who Saburo Matsuda wants. “It’s Momoko Sugita,” Ms. Shoko replies.
Both Yuuto and I become surprised when we find out that Saburo Matsuda wants to see her tonight. “So, you want us to save her? Why do you want to go all the way just to save her?” Yuuto asks her. “It’s simple. Public Security Bureau has been keeping an eye on Shinya Fukuyama for so long. Since they have no proof to convict him, saving Momoko Sugita allows them to have a proof for arresting him. As for us, we can interrogate Saburo Matsuda. Maybe he knows about Satoru Yuuya’s current whereabouts,” dad answers.
Ms. Shoko looks at us. “In other words, we both benefit in this mission. You guys get to arrest Saburo Matsuda and ask him about Satoru Yuuya. As for us, we can use Momoko Sugita to prove Shinya Fukuyama’s crime. Isn’t that great?” She says to us with enthusiasm. We only smile sheepishly at her. Somehow, we feel like she’s using us instead. She can always order her squad to save Momoko Sugita and arrest Saburo Matsuda for us. But she doesn’t.
We begin our meeting for the next mission once Ms. Shoko leaves. “In this mission, I’ll be assigning you guys to save Momoko Sugita and capture Saburo Matsuda. I know that it won’t be good for us to interrogate someone like him. But be sure to do this without letting anyone knows about our involvement,” dad says to us.
“Will he be a huge threat to us since he also possesses a microchip implant?” I ask dad. Dad laughs when I ask him that. “Do you think the microchip implant will help someone like him? If he desires to have such things, then he should turn himself into a cyborg.” Everyone laughs when he tells us that. “Don’t worry about it. I doubt that he’ll be a threat to us,” dad convinces us.
After the meeting is over, Yuuto and I are getting ready for our mission. Saburo Matsuda will meet Momoko Sugita in his suite by 9. So, we have plenty of time to get ready. Once our preparation is complete, we begin to head to Le Gardenia Hotel. Yuuto and I are heading to the hotel on a separate way. Even though it’s a simple plan, I can’t brush the feeling something bad is bound to happen.
As I reach the hotel compound, I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. This isn’t the first time I’m getting involved in a mission like this. But my heart is beating so fast, and my instinct keeps on telling me that something bad is about to happen to me. I hate it when the feeling is so strong that I can’t shake it off no matter how hard I try.
Both Yuuto and I arrive at the designated area at 8.55 p.m. There’s still 5 minutes left before we can begin our operation. As I’m waiting for the signal to get started, Yuuto starts to talk to me through my earpiece. “Sis, this is bad,” he says to me. Yuuto seems alarmed when he tells me that. “What’s wrong?” I ask him. “Saburo Matsuda’s bodyguards are there, and they’re a few meters away from his suite. But they’re all dead.”
What? How can that be possible? “Did you see anyone nearby?” I ask him again. “I don’t see anyone. I can’t even spot Momoko Sugita either. Are we that late to arrive here?” No, I don’t think we’re late. If Yuuto can’t see Momoko Sugita anywhere, then there are only two possibilities. It’s either Momoko Sugita is late, or she’s already inside. “Yuuto, I’m heading straight to the suite. So, please back me up. Even if the bodyguards are already dead, maybe someone else will come after me,” I say to him.
After I cut off my communication with Yuuto, I make a quick dash to the suite. “Touka, I’ve already turned off the security camera on every floor. But somehow, the security camera on the top floor has been turned off before I even intercept. I’m currently accessing the footage in the security camera. Whatever it is, be careful,” Ms. Chiyo says to me.
My instinct becomes even stronger as I’m getting near to the top floor. What in the world is going on here? Don’t tell me that someone is here to assassinate Saburo Matsuda instead? Once I reach the top floor, I don’t see any of his bodyguards who are still alive. The scene looks and feels like I’m in a warzone, with dead bodies are all over the place. These people are brutally murdered. It seems like a serial killer who did this.
The smell of the blood is so strong, which means that they were killed a while ago. As I’m reaching Saburo Matsuda’s suite, I smell something pungent. Wait, this is the smell of the blood. Don’t tell me that Saburo Matsuda has been murdered as well. Without wasting time, I barge into the room. That’s when I see Momoko Sugita, with her holding a knife which is tainted with blood in her hand. It’s hard to believe that she’s cutting Saburo Matsuda’s neck.
“We meet again, girl,” she says to me as our eyes meet. I grit my teeth as I look at her. Is she really Momoko Sugita? I don’t know if I should feel amazed or not. But she doesn’t even look terrified at all when she’s cutting Saburo Matsuda’s neck. She looks more like she has been doing this for a long time. For some reason, I feel like she’s not the Momoko Sugita that we know. The Momoko Sugita that we know won’t do something like this.
“I can tell from your reaction. You find it hard to believe that the popular idol, Momoko Sugita is a murderer here. Well, fret not. The real Momoko Sugita will never do such thing. She can’t even kill a fly, let alone kill a human being,” she says to me. She’s sharp for an idol. She seems to know what I’m thinking. My eyes widen when I realize that it’s the same voice who was scolding us when we were in the backstage. What’s going on here?
“If you’re not Momoko Sugita, then who are you? How come you look like Momoko Sugita?” I ask her. I’m glad that I still sound calm even though I’m trembling in fear right now. She smirks at me when I ask her that. Is she already expecting me to ask her this? “I guess that it doesn’t hurt for me to let you know who I am. In fact, Master Yuuya doesn’t tell me anything not to reveal my identity to anyone,” she replies.
Master Yuuya? Don’t tell me she comes here under Satoru Yuuya’s order? She throws away Saburo Matsuda’s body to the floor when she begins to introduce herself. “My name is Mika. Momoko Sugita and I are the same people. It’s just tha
t Mika is her alter ego. The real Momoko Sugita doesn’t even know that she has committed murder here. And she’s not even aware of my existence. I will only resurface when Master Yuuya wants me to assassinate someone.”
So, she really is here under Satoru Yuuya’s order. “What’s your relationship with Satoru Yuuya? And why do you have to kill someone like Saburo Matsuda? You don’t have any reason to kill him anyway. Does it have anything to do with him having a microchip implant?” I ask her again.
She smiles at me, as if she finds my questions rather amusing. “You seem to know a lot, little girl,” she says to me, “It’s true. Satoru Yuuya is the one who orders me to assassinate Saburo Matsuda. He hates greedy people like him, so my master thinks that someone like him deserves to die. So, I’m here to execute his order. That’s what I’m here for.”
The atmosphere around me becomes intense. She maybe an idol, but I can sense that her killing intent is so strong that I’ll be dead meat if I’m not prepared. It looks like I have to face her even though I don’t want to. At a first glance, I know that she’s not an ordinary person. I don’t think an average person can kill Saburo Matsuda’s bodyguards without getting injured. I don’t see any injuries at all. It means that she kills them with just a single strike.
Before I can do anything, she launches a quick attack on me. Unlike my previous fight, Mika is on the different level. As soon as she lands a hit on me, I can feel that my rib cage is about to explode. It is so painful until up to the point that I barely stand up. Not only that, I end up coughing blood because of the internal bleeding. Her strength is the same as Hayato. I doubt that I can win against her even if I use my full strength.
“I’ll let you into another secret,” she says to me, “I did tell you that Momoko Sugita doesn’t realize about my existence, didn’t I? Well, it’s possible now because of the microchip implant inside her body. This is the thing that makes it easier for me to resurface when I need to. And yes, my extraordinary strength is also because of the microchip as well. The microchip implant makes it easier for Master Yuuya to manipulate her in any way he wants.”
So, this is another level for the microchip implant? This kind of mind control device is a lot different than the one Dr. Hayama has. “Do the other idols have microchip implant too?” I ask her. She doesn’t look hesitate at all to answer my questions. Does Satoru Yuuya give her this much freedom? “Well, they do. Even the new talent has one. But the microchip implant is exclusive to the Muse Agency idols, though. Among us, I’m the only one who has the ability to become an assassin.”
I’m glad to know that the other idols won’t turn into an assassin. But it’s still not good news that all idols have a microchip implant within them. “Why does Shinya Fukuyama have to play alongside Satoru Yuuya? I thought that he has everything he needs?” I ask her again. She shakes her head when I ask her that. “Little girl, you know nothing about the man’s desire. All he ever wants is to have sex with each of us with no strings attached.”
It’s hard to believe that an old man like Shinya Fukuyama is willing to sacrifice his own idols for his own desire. This is sickening, but I have to stop him no matter what. Otherwise, Shiori will be his next victim. Mika then launches her counterattack after the conversation is over. With me who barely stands up, I can’t dodge her attack quickly enough. She already hits my vital point, so it won’t be easy for me to evade her attack this time. This is the end of me.
Because of her counterattack, I’m too weak to fight her back and just lands on the floor. I can always grab my gun and shoot her. But I’m way too weak to do such thing. She smirks at me when she sees me lying on the floor, unable to fight back. “You know, I wish I can kill you right now because you already know a lot about me. But my master won’t allow me to do that. He says that he has something waiting for you. I don’t know what it is, but you should look forward to it.”
She leaves me just like that, knowing that I barely survive. I’m lucky that she decides not to kill me because Satoru Yuuya doesn’t allow her to do that. But I’m not sure if I’ll be able to win the fight against her. I doubt that I’ll be lucky the next time I see her again.
