novelVolume 6, (4)
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Volume 6, Chapter 4
Hiro started plying his trade of fooling girls ever since he was in Middle School, and that the number of girls he caused to cry was in triple digits, so I heard. Of course, this number was going to increase, but it seemed there were a few exceptions. In other words, though they were rare in numbers, a few women would make amends with him again.
Like for example, Yi Ling-san.
"Seriously, I never thought you would actually do such a stupid thing, Hiro. What if there's a scar left on your face? Your livelihood depends on your face!"
Yi Ling-san continued to grumble, but she continued to change the bandages of Hiro, lying flat on the bed, and applied ointment on his wounds.
"Ow ow ow! Be gentle, Yi Ling. I was always being gentle to you on the bed!"
The swelling on Hiro's face never subsided, yet he was already joking.
"After I'm done with your wounds, shall I stitch your mouth?" Yi Ling-san narrowed her eyes.
"Then I won't be able to kiss you!"
"A light one will do. That's fine, right?"
It seemed they were playing slap and kiss. Also inside this cramped bedroom was my existence, so I really hoped that they show some restrain. It was a little old-fashioned, but I cleared my throat to remind the duo that I was present.
"So, can we have Hiro stay here under your care, Yi Ling-san?" I said as I scanned this apartment of two bedrooms and one living room. This was one of the rooms located beside the Embassy, called the Hello Palace, and the owner Yi Ling-san was a hostess from China, Hiro's ex-girlfriend. After some questioning, I heard that Hiro had been here recently, asking everyone to investigate on the Hong Kong mafia, so naturally, he often ended up dating Yi Ling-san and living in her house. Looks like these two haven't learned anything...
"Didn't I just start a fight with Huang Hong Lei?" Hiro muttered."After such a tough situation, you're the only one I can rely on, Yi Ling."
Hiro nonchalantly touched the back of Yi Ling-san's arm as he said this, and she, who showed an impatient look, couldn't help but be flustered. This guy's a natural gigolo after all!
"Oh yeah, I heard that...Min-san, made a request to Alice?"
Hiro aside. I glanced aside at Yi Ling-san, and nodded without any doubt. Was it really fine to mention this in front of his ex?
"Speaking of whihc, Hiro, I heard you proposed to her?"
Right when I was feeling skeptical, Yi Ling-san suddenly took the initiative and attacked Hiro first.
"Hm? But when I propose to you, I'll definitely book a classy restaurant in Hilton beforehand!"
Ah, so this can be resolved just like this...I really learned quite a bit. No, I don't think this is necessary! "Enough already, you're always being so cheeky!" Yi Ling-san said as she stuck another gauss on Hiro's face, before wrapping up his naked chest with bandage again.
"So, what happened during the two days I passed out?"
Hiro exhaled, and asked me. Yi Ling-san too was sitting by the pillow on the bed, giving me a look that practically says, I have the right to know too, right? Of course, I didn't come here just to visit Hiro, but to brief him on the situation. However, where do I begin?
It had been two days since Hiro barged into Huang Hong Lei's house and got beaten up. Actually, a lot of things happened during two days.
First off, the detective agency began talking action because of Min-san's request. Tetsu-senpai and Major were going around in an unusually active manner, but at this moment, I had yet to hear of any specific plan.
Ultimately, Min-san decided to participate on the first day of our culture festival. November 3rd, the day Huang Hong Lei planned to hold the wedding."Since Hong Lei intended to pull a fast one on me, I have no obligation to help him now, right?" so Min-san said. For Hiro, this was good news.
However, the biggest news would probably be that we received contact from Umeda Kouji.
"Umeda...that thug of a boyfriend?" Hiro asked.
The biggest cause to this incident was because Huang Hong Lei's actual fiancee—Huang Xiang Yu had a Japanese boyfriend, the man called Umeda Kouji.
"So he's still alive?"
"Yeah. I heard he went to Kobe."
Hanada Masaru pretended to kill Umeda Kouji, but in fact, had him escape to Kansai. It was said that the latter had been looking for a place to elope to, and just the previous day, he gave a call to Xiao Ling-san. Rather, it would be more precise to say that he gave a call to Huang Xiang Yu, who was audaciously hidden by Xiao Ling-san in the Zodiac Entertainment Company.
"From what Xiao Ling-san said, Umeda said something to the line of 'I'll be picking up Xiang Yu soon'."
"What do they intend to do after they elope? Have they found jobs?" Hiro folded his arms, feeling quizzical. At this moment, Yi Ling-san, who remained silent the entire time, suddenly interrupted.
"That girl called Xiang Yu will go out to earn a living, right? There's a soapland in Fukuhara at Kobe."
"Ehhh...then wouldn't that be a gigolo? That Xiang Yu is the princess of the Huangs. Ah, no, I don't have any intention to criticise you, Yi Ling-san."
"I'm born in a poor family and background anyway."
Yi Ling-san spat a tongue out at me, and then reverted back to a serious look.
"But, it doesn't matter even if she's a princess. Women are often a lot stronger than men when it comes to being in an environment of no support. Even the Huang Coalition had to rely on the women to send their men over to Japan, and finally establishing their territory."
"Is that so?"
Speaking of which, if I recalled correctly, she's from Hong Kong, right?
"These creatures called men will just die by the roadside if they sudden move to a place without any support, right? Women can continue living on even when alone. All men are just leechers."
These words certainly seemed convincing, coming from Yi Ling-san.
"Even now, the situation remains the same. The Chinese women in Kabukicho outnumber men 5 to one!" Hiro said so proudly for some reason."Most of them do all kinds of businesses, and have unstable incomes, so that's why they would work together and form a trust fund together."
"Ahh, I heard about that from Min-san."
The trust fund itself is a civilian style of financial system, a pool of money with contributions from everyone, that could be used by anyone in times of need. It's said that many Chinese ladies living in Japan participate in such funds. This fund itself was managed by the Huang Coalition, and was said to rival the major banks.
"I participate in one too!" Xiao Ling-san said."I'm thinking that if I get married one day, I'll open a shop."
So she intended to work in all kinds of professions to earn enough money to open a shop. That's dedicated of her. Why would such a firm-willed person be attracted by a scumbag like Hiro? This is really unbelievable. Hiro himself showed a perfect smile, answering,
"It's love!"
"What love?" Don't you talk to me about love! And you have the cheek to freeload here all you want. Yi Ling-san shot him a cold look.
However, Huang Xiang Yu really had no hesitation in betraying her mafia family just to elope with the man she loved. Maybe, like Yi Ling-san, she was prepared to live on in a city of night life?
In any case, these aren't things I should be worrying about.
I walked out of Yi Ling-san's room, and heard quick footsteps coming from the other end of the corridor.
"Mr. Assistant, Mr Assistant!"
The voice of a girl of tender age reached me, and I found a brown shadow flinging at me.
"Wah!"
It was Meo, the Thai girl who lived in an apartment here together with her dad.
"This is bad this is bad! A lot of girls are trying to enter! It looks like they know that Hiro's here!"
"Ehh?"
Meo pointed at the outer corridor handrail, and I hurriedly poked my head out to look. There were a few cars parked in front of the apartment, forming a human sea of vibrant colors. I guess that's almost 20 of them? They're all females, and of different ages and profile. The only common point I had a bad feeling about, was that they were all finely dressed, holding paper bags and carriers. The chatter was mostly Chinese, it seemed, and I could only identify Yi Ling-san and Hiro's names.
"Meo told them already! Meo said that Hiro wanted Meo to keep it a secret and not let anyone know he's here! But they definitely wouldn't leave!"
If you say that, they're definitely not going back...
Finally, the many ladies finally become impatient and broke through the doors. I clearly heard a rash of fierce footsteps passing by below up, and they scaled the staircase, closing in on us. Seeing the massive army appearing on the other end of the corridor, Meo ducked behind me, cowering in fear.
"Hiro! Where's Hiro?"
"He's definitely hiding in Yi Ling's room, right? I head that he's hurt!"
"Why did he come over to Yi Ling's place? Didn't Hiro break up with her?"
"We're just here to visit him. Why chase him away?"
After observing from up close, I noticed that most of the furious looking ladies closing in seemed to be rich wives, and I nearly blurted, If he hides in your houses, you'll get caught by your husbands!
Hearing the conversations of mixed Japanese and Chinese, I could vaguely hear that a girl working in the same shop as Yi Ling-san leaked the news about Hiro. In other words, amongst the hundreds of lovers Hiro had, only the Chinese girls knew of his whereabouts. Guess this really is a silver lining. If everyone knew that he was here, Hello palace would end up in an endless hell.
"Well, Hiro's hiding here and told Meo not to say anything, so he's not here!" Meo said as she hid behind my back. I put a hand on my forehead, sighing. You should have just kept quiet.
"He doesn't spare such a young girl either?"
One of the madames was huffing her shoulders in fury, while Meo clung to my back tightly, swaying her twintails.
"That's not it! The only ones able to get Meo to confess are dad and Mr. Assistant!"
"Stop talking, Meo! This will only make things more complicated!"
I took a step forward, racking my brain at full speed as I thought of what I wanted to say. All I could do was pray that saying some logical words would convince them.
"Eh actually, Hiro's really injured badly. I guess he'll be very happy that everyone's here to visit him, but you know, he really has a sense of responsibility. He'll definitely hear you out when he meets you, and might say that he'll take you out without caring about his own injuries. So, erm, if you really care about Hiro, can you please wait until his condition improves?"
I said as I looked up at the madames expressions. Their agitated looks obviously looked a lot more relaxed, and I discreetly heaved a sigh of relief.
"...Alright, I understand."
"Well, I can relax if he's in Yi Ling's care."
"Then, can we hand over our gifts to you?"
"Ah, sure."
Hiro's lovers left a large pile of gifts even I couldn't handle fully, and finally returned back. It's common to see melons and Muscat grapes, but there were also Asian Ginseng, Cordyceps, snake gallbladder, fois gras and crab oil. Rather than have him recover, I wonder--
"Mr Assistant, Mr Assistant. How do I read these words?"
Meo pointed at the box of Chinese medicine with the words 'peerless vitality', asking me,
"Meo, it's alright for you not to know how to read this..."
I got the feeling that handling these matters alone were tiring me out.
I turned around to nudge the door slightly, seeing Yi Ling-san put her hands together and telling me, 'thank you'.
Outside the back door of 'Ramen Hanamaru' was an unapproachable atmosphere.
The gap between the buildings was narrow enough, and at this point, there were massive 3-4 figures clad in T-shirts, members of the Hirasaka-gumi;
"Aniki, good work!"
"Good work!"
Upon seeing me approach the shop, the few of of them came to me and greeted me. The shop was yet to begin business at 4pm; Ayaka and the other girls from my class were wearing the school sailor uniforms like usual, with aprons on, happily making ice cream. The atmosphere inside and outside the shop was really different; it felt that my left eye was seeing a different world altogether.
"Nothing strange at the moment!"
"With the few of us over here, we're like an iron wall."
"If anyone approaches the shop, we'll beat them all up and shoo them off!"
Now no customers will die to approach.
"Ah, erm, have the guys from the Huang Coalition been watching this stretch?"
I had the Hirasaka-gumi send a few over to avoid anyone from obstructing the business. The few guys in black T-shirts nodded.
"Haven't seen anyone today."
"But they did come by yesterday."
"Their faces were obviously Chinese."
"In that case, please continue to be on the lookout."
I stepped on the emergency staircase, and suddenly, light footsteps were running up to me.
"Fujishima-kun!"
Ayaka caught up to me at the stairwell.
"Min-san said that she'll be coming on the first day of the culture festival, but is that fine? Does she have any issues with her family?"
"Ah, yeah"
I was a little hesitant, not knowing how much I should explain to Ayaka.
"It's fine! She definitely won't cause our classmates much trouble."
"That's not what I'm worried about! I'm worried about Min-san and you, Fujishima-kun."
I shrank my neck back.
"Sorry, but I'm really fine..."
I wasn't confident at all, but this was all I could only answer.
"Is there anything you need my help with?"
Ayaka was being so close, her knees were practically touching mine as she earnestly said this.
"No, Ayaka. There's nothing you can—" I was about to reply this, but was startled by Ayaka's serious expression, and suddenly thought of something."Ah, right, there seems to be something. Well, about the one in charge of food hygiene, does the person need to be present all day?"
"Eh? Probably not? Right now, I'm not too sure..."
Min-san just needed to show up if someone was to inspect, and at other times, it's safer to hide her. Nobody knew whether the Huang Coalition would take action.
"I'll clarify with the committee. Anything else?'
"Anything, erm..." There's nothing I thought of, so I said half-jokingly, "Personally, I hope that we can have tiramisu in the menu."
"Got it!" Ayaka flipped her apron as she teetered down the stairs lightly.
Obviously, Alice was being unhappy.
"I never thought that everyone would be so focusing on breaking up; where have we abandoned our pride as NEET detectives at?"
The tapping at the keyboard sounded like an ice block being shaved. We were entering late October, and the temperature had decreased quite a bit. Even if it was to match the temperature outside the room, the air conditioning in the detective agency was a lot colder than usual. Only recently did I realize this, that when Alice was feeling moody, she would set the air conditioning temperature to a very low level.
"Tetsu and Major said that they wanted to forge proof of Master's divorce, or that they'll throw tear gas at the ceremony. They were even planning this so seriously that they went off to scout the location! This is too unbecoming of them!"
"But you're now working for Min-san's now, aren't you, Alice?'
"It's not for Master. Shouldn't I have just rejected that kind of request straight away?" Alice continued to turn her back on me."What I'm investigating now is for Hiro's request."
I sighed.
Alice's definition of a NEET detective was one who dug for the truth, to be the speaker of the dead. That was why she would not accept requests a private investigator would take up, like wrecking marriages. Despite this, Alice continued tapping at the keyboard, all for the sake of Hiro's request... No, to be precise, for the request she asked Hiro to make.
This strange girl really had all kinds of self-restraining rules in her lives. She wouldn't take action until there was a request, and that itself was another shackle she placed on herself. The truth a detective finds would dig up, decipher and sculpt a certain person's life, and create a fatal change.
Furthermore, Alice had an obsessive concept—though I didn't know if this was the right way to put it—anyway, she had a strong fear of the unknown. Sometimes, this would sink her into despair, and she might even crumble.
That was why Alice had to beg Hiro to make a request to her.
"Alice, do you really just want to know what's up with Hanada Masaru?"
"Haven't I said this countless times already?"
Alice dejectedly noted.
"I have no interest in such a stupid wedding commotion. The only thing that attracts me is Hanada Masaru. I have no idea of that man's intentions, his whereabouts. What does he intend to do? I really have no idea."
And I didn't know why Alice was so obsessed with Hanada Masaru. It was infuriating that he created this unavoidable mess, and I couldn't agree with him dragging his own daughter down even if it's to help someone else elope. However, it appeared Alice wasn't obsessed about that.
But that there was a firmer discord.
The crux to this issue was likely to be Xiao Ling-san.
I too felt that she had some unspeakable doubt to her. She was not a party involved, yet was so closely involved in this, and I couldn't determine her actual objective, or how did she intend to direct this scenario to a certain outcome. Furthermore, she didn't seem to have any malice to her, which made things more uncomfortable.
"The fact Huang Xiao Ling's hiding is likely to be the crux to this incident. However, it appeared she already knew that this hacker here exists. As to be expected of the Zodiac system developer. I couldn't investigate on news about Hanada Masaru no matter where I struck. Even the call log Hanada Masaru made was hidden by her with some unknown method..."
This too was another reason why Alice was frustrated. The NEET detective had always been invincible in the ocean of electronics, only to be on her back foot in the face of a network security specialist.
Alice suddenly lifted her head to look at a monitor high up a rack, and on it was the simple Zodiac portal site. Every month, the site logo would switch constellations, and at this point, it changed from Libra to Scorpio. October would be over, and soon after, the culture festival.
"However, I do have some clues on Hanada Masaru's whereabouts." Alice muttered.
"Eh?"
I inadvertently leaned my upper body forward while holding the frame of the bed. This was the first time on this day that Alice turned back to look at me, the faint smile on her face clearly showing reluctance and fatigue.
"Do you remember the doctor Hanada Masaru went to on that night? The family name's Choi, a Korean doctor without a license. I tracked down his whereabouts."
"You're amazing..."
"Found it in a jiffy. He booked a ticker on the internet, and two days after the incident, flew to Hong Kong."
Hong Kong. Why Hong Kong?'
"Back to the Huangs' headquarters."
"That's not the Huangs' headquarters, or it can be said that it's the most suitable place on Earth to hide from the Huangs. The Huang Coalition lost territory in the clan wars, and was finally removed from the Hong Kong Triad, chased out of their hometown... This means that practically all of them moved to Japan. The territory, headquarters and houses were practically taken over by an enemy force called the Bengya Association."
Right, I believe Huang Hong Lei said something similar too, that he wanted to expand the Huang Coalition in Japan several times before counter attacking on Hong Kong again.
"So Hanada Masaru went to Hong Kong as well?"
"That's a likely possibility."
Alice again turned back to face the screen.
And then? I swallowed those words.
If he really flew to Hong Kong, then not only would the Huang Coalition be unable to do anything, but the NEETs who could only grumble in a corner of Tokyo couldn't do anything either, and it was pointless to inform anyone of this. Even if we were to tell Min-san, you can relax now, your dad is in Hong Kong where nobody can catch him, I didn't think she would be happy about that either.
No matter how unbearable the truth might be, Alice had no qualms in digging it out.
"I know..."
Alice muttered. It seemed her voice was unable to withstand the cold air too, and was about to be snapped apart.
"Actually, I know very well in my heart that this fact is just firewood for a cremation. A detective can't possibly do anything for the living."
I merely shook my head. Alice could not see. Even though she denied it, I had no choice but to admit, till this point, Alice saved me several times, but no matter how much I tried to express it, it was useless. In fact, I mentioned it to her several times, but my feelings probably never touched the inner most part of her heart.
Why was that?
I did not speak up, and merely stared at the petite figure under the black hair, quietly asking,
Why must she lock herself in this cramped, cold glass shoe-like place? Why must you always wait so bitterly for the dawn that would never come? What exactly robbed the rhythm of life from her petite body, and swapped it for the premonition of death?
I counted my pulse in the breeze blown by the air conditioning, seeking the suitable words.
"Alice, that's..."
The shoulders beneath the blue pajamas shook beyond the curtain of black hair.
"Can you think of Min-san's request as being accepted by me? Besides, I'm a member of the agency..."
I uttered these words one by one, peering at Alice's back.
"...And also, when we have lots of cases in the future, we can work together. Won't that be convenient? Maybe you can leave some of the work to this subordinate of yours."
Alice shook her head slightly.
"Whatever!"
This isn't it, Alice, , I didn't mean that. It'll be meaningless. If I'm to do anything by myself, nothing will change. Even if it's a little trick. I hoped to be the link between Alice and this world.
"Can't just let me do whatever I want. You need to command me as the leader."
"You're too noisy!"
Alice shook her long hair as she turned her head around.
"Speaking of which, didn't you say that! I rejected this request already, so now—"
Once Alice's eyes met mine, she was suddenly at a loss of words. Her large eyes reflected my earnest expression, and I knew that a certain truth behind my lousy lie was figured out. Her pale face was like a brand new candlestick, and at this moment, it was slightly reddened. She seemed a little sorry as she lowered her head.
I hesitated slightly for a while, and continued,
"If it's not work you ordered us to do, the payment Min-san gives will be split equally between Major, Tetsu-senpai and me. Is that okay?"
Alice grabbed the doll lying beside her, one, another, and another one. She hugged the dolls in front of her chest, blocking her reddened face as she answered,
"Didn't I tell you not to taunt me in such a stupid manner? Now I'm embarrassed!"
"Hm...then shall I be a little more honest? I think you're important to me, Alice, so, even if it's just to encourage you, I hope—"
Alice continued to flail her legs, and grabbed another two dolls to hug.
"Argh, I'm getting embarrassed here as well..."
I guess...even I'm starting to be embarrassed too.
"Whatever. You only pay attention to such details in such unnecessary places, and careless in important moments. Since you're going to handle it as a job the agency accepted, all the reward goes to me, and you all will just accept your meager pay that's lesser than alms! Explain this to Tetsu and Major!"
I held in the urge to broke out a grin, and nodded before I stood up.
"Got it. Thanks."
"Why are you thanking me?"
Alice again turned her back on me in a huff, and through her long hair, I could only see her reddened ears. However, right when I got up and was about to exit the door, Alice again called me with a stern tone,
"About that Doctor Choi..."
"Hm?" I turned my back back. What about that?
"Go tell Huang Hong Lei about that."
"Er, eh, why?"
Wouldn't that basically be telling the Huangs about the clues to Hanada Masaru? Maybe Huang Hong Lei would have secretly agreed to have his fiancee elope on him, but he might not let Hanada Masaru go, right? This concerned the Huangs' pride after all.
"The Huangs can't do anything in Hong Kong right now. I think I have a rough gauge on Hanada Masaru's intentions too."
Surprised, I walked back to the bed.
"...What do you mean? Didn't you say that you don't understand his objectives at all?"
"I don't know what he's intending to do! But I know what he wants us to do. Think about what happened in April. That guy had plastic surgery to alter his appearance, and even avoided all the surveillance cameras around and in the building so that we couldn't catch him. He was so cautious interacting with us, and yet there are too many signs in this case."
"Uu..."
Speaking of which, that certainly seemed to be the case...
"He didn't just give a phone call to Huang Xiao Ling, but also called you and had you record his voice. He abandoned the bloodied car after escaping to that hospital, and left records when he booked the plane ticket for the doctor. Even if it was carelessness due to the suddenness of the situation, these acts were too careless of him. It's almost unnatural. I feel that it was deliberate of him."
"Deliberate?"
'"Hanada Masaru's is making use of us through Huang Xiao Ling, so we can just reveal any filtered information to the Huang Coalition."
"Erm..."
Was it possible to really do that?
It was true that we managed to track down Hanada Masaru a little earlier, and knew of the truth that happened that night, so we managed to avoid the worst case scenario, that of the Huangs knowing that Huang Xiang Yu was still alive. It wasn't implausible however. As long as we report, the only one knowing the truth would be Huang Hong Lei himself. But this was just a guess.
"I can't eliminate the possibility that it's just a guess. A man as amazing as Hanada Masaru probably wouldn't have to spend so much effort to escape to Hong Kong and manipulate the information from afar. Even if he stayed in Tokyo, there's a while to help others to elope and protect 'Hanamaru'. In any case however, reality's reality. He's not here now. It's an unpleasant feeling to be moving and controlled on his end however."
"If we tell Hong Lei that the doctor flew to Hong Kong, what'll happen next?"
"At the very least, the Huang Coalition will divert its attention to Hong Kong, and the watch here will be relaxed."
The problem was that even if they turned their attention away, they couldn't send so many people back to Hong Kong just to find Hanada Masaru, right? That wouldn't be too meaningful, would it? Or did he have another objective to this?
Seriously, this was really troublesome. Why did Hanada Masaru run away! He's an amazing mercenary, so in that case, he should at least take some risk to come back and explain to Min-san, right? It's because he wouldn't show that that we're being stifled here!
My impatience wilted in the stiff winds of the air conditioning.
Finally, Alice lifted her head and looked at me with a stoic look.
"Anyway, it's your choice as to whether you want to inform them. This is your case now."
I boldly declared that I was going to accept Min-san's request, but I didn't know whether to inform Huang Hong Lei of the doctor's whereabouts, even until the next day after school. In that end, i had to discuss this with Tetsu-senpai and Major at the back door of the shop, which made me feel helpless.
"It's doesn't matter, right? Just tell him! Masaru-san will definitely be able to do something. Even if a hundred of those mafia goons are to go find him, they'll definitely just be sent back all shaved and packed in containers."
Tetsu-senpai answered with a relaxed tone.
"Haa..."
Senpai spent the longest time here at 'Hanamaru'. It seemed he knew best how amazing Hanada Masaru was.
"I agree." Major chimed in too."As Alice said, the Huang Coalition will divert their attention. Even if there are people staying behind to investigate that hospital or keep watch there, there'll be fewer numbers. It'll be easier for us to begin our operation."
"Begin operation...what do you mean?"
With a beaming smile on his face, Major opened a small notebook computer. The screen showed the blueprint of a certain building or something.
"Right now, we're still investigating any possible entry routes and target locations..."
"W-wait wait wait, what do you mean by entry? What building is this?"
Why are you asking such a question? Major's face was practically crying this out.
"We're checking on all the companies under the Huangs and the Zodiac! Won't things be settled if we steal the documents that proved Master's loan?"
"That definitely won't work!"
We don't know where they're hidden, and furthermore, this is criminal, isn't it?
"You're right..." Senpai nodded. I was about to say that it's a good thing this guy wasn't as immoral as Major, but he unexpectedly followed up with, "I'm still able to handle opponents wielding Qinglong swords, but facing handguns will be a little problematic..."
"Both are tough to deal with! Anyway, that's not the problem!"
I slammed Major's computer hard, and he curled his lips like an elementary school kid.
"It's fine as long as we aren't found out!"
"You idiot, you'll definitely be found out!"
A voice suddenly rang from the kitchen's back door, and Major nearly rolled over from the old tire he was sitting on. Unbeknownst to us, Min-san opened the door and poked her head out.
"Say, I did make the request, but I'm not telling you to do anything criminal."
"No, but that's the easiest way." Major was about to say, only to be smacked by Min-san.
"I want to continue running 'Hanamaru'! I prefer my current lifestyle now. What can you do when you steal and forge documents? That'll make the Huangs more unwilling to let me go, right?"
Min-san's proper words were right on the money, and I thoroughly realized we need people like her around us to remind us.
"What do you intend to do, Narumi?"
Tetsu-senpai asked, and Major too turned towards me. Even Min-san did.
"Alice doesn't want to handle the request, so you're now taking over, Narumi? I heard from Alice yesterday. How are we going to take action anyway?"
I leaned my back on the wall, and slowly slid down, before squatting on the damp dirt, sagging my shoulders. My boastful words from before left me with no choice but to think of a solution. I didn't have that kind of time on hand, but I spent an entire day just thinking of whether I should provide the information to Hong Lei.
In the end, I didn't think of anything.
"So Min-san, let's give up on the plan A to steal the document, and go with plan B, right?" Major. said.
"What's the plan B?"
"Get married with Hiro as soon as possible. Then you won't be able to get married with Huang Hong Lei, right?"
"Are those all the stupid ideas you can think of? Hong Lei will just add another request for me to 'get a divorce'. Think harder."
"I thought it was a good plan..."
Tetsu-senpai too felt dejected.
"Oh yeah, where did Hiro go?" Min-san suddenly asked."After that incident, I handed him over for Sou to handle, and now he's playing dumb with me. Which hospital is he at now? He should be fine, right? Did he get hammered in the head too much?"
"Ahh..."
Tetsu-senpai and I exchanged glances. We had to keep Hiro's current whereabouts a secret from Min-san; this was something we realized we didn't have to talk about. That guy went to propose to Min-san, and now he's hiding in another woman's house...
After seeing us give ignorant looks, Min-san said.
"Haa, I guess he's probably staying at some woman's place."
"Eh? N-no, that's not true...Hiro didn't go to any woman's place, and well, Yondaime had him at a doctor he knew. That doctor has a complicated background, so we kept it a secret and didn't tell you..."
"Narumi, you really can't lie. Mind realizing that?"
Min-san shot me down with that one line. Major and Tetsu-senpai gave up on trying to lie and cover this up as they reined back their necks.
"Whatever. His wounds aren't that serious, right?"
"...Eh? Ah, yeah...he's a lot better now."
So much better that he's able to say some cheesy lines to his ex, I nearly blurted.
"Good enough then. Next time, when I see him, I'm going to beat him up good."
Min-san lectured everyone, but as she returned to the kitchen, she looked over her shoulder, saying,
"I'll leave it to you guys think of some way to get me out of this."
The ice cream making lessons our class 2-4 girls were participating in finally ended yesterday, and the preparations for the ramen shop finally gained some peace. The school festival loomed, and everyone was in the classroom, helping to decorate. On this day, Ayaka had to stay till late at school, so I had to come and help open the shop.
And because of that, when business started at 5pm, a rare customer came.
"Welcome—"
I greeted the figure ducking under the curtain and into the shop, and at the next second, I was rooted in shock.
Walking in was Huang Hong Lei, with slick hair, sharp eyes, a dark colored suit under his suite coat, and a bright opened sleeved shirt. Furthermore, what was surprising, or if I thought hard about it, wasn't really surprising, was the other person behind Hong Lei—Xiao Ling-san. The latter was holding what appeared to be a large, flat box.
"What? You came to this shop..."
Min-san walked out from the corridor, asking in confusion, Xiao Ling-san stood behind a stoic looking Hong lei, glanced aside at me, and whispered to Min-san."Sorry for coming uninvited..."
Hong Lei took the box from Xiao Ling-san's hands, and opened the lid slightly.
"This is the custom made dress. Just made today."
Min-san merely glanced at the box.
"Sorry, but I don't need to wear this. Didn't I say that I'm attending the school festival on that day?"
Was that the dress to be worn at the wedding ceremony? I noticed it slightly. Speaking of which, back then, when Min-san was called over by Hong Lei, did they have it custom tailored back then? Back when Min-san was in the dark, naively thinking that she was just a substitute.
"I don't care what you intend to do on that day. I'll be picking you up at 11."
Min-san had already stated it so clearly, yet Hong Lei placed the box on the counter, and showed the content within. As he was pinching the side and pulling it out slightly, I only see the shoulders and the torso part, but I could immediately tell that the purple dress was of top notch quality.
"Why not a Chinese dress..."
"Even though we're Chinese, we don't have to be wearing that, right?"
"But is that able to support Master's huge breasts?"
"I think she needs to wear a cosette underneath."
Tetsu-senpai and Major peeked in from the gap in the backdoor, and Min-san heard their chatter, looking furious as she slammed the back door hard, and turned back to Hong Lei.
"How did you explain it to the guests? Nobody had anything to say when you said you're going to bring me along?"
"It was originally a ceremony where I am announced as the Hong Lord. The wedding's just a side event."
The Hong Lord here would refer to the leader of a Chinese mafia. In a larger organization, there's the Dragon Head who's higher ranked than the Hong Lord, and at this point, the Hong Lord is the equivalent of a Japanese yakuza lord. Because of this case, I learned a lot of unnecessary knowledge.
"I'll just introduce you to the guests as the granddaughter of the Dragon head, since that's a fact. Practically nobody in Japan knows your background, or Xiang Yu, so there's no real need to explain."
"What about grandfather and the others?"
"The Dragon Head was really positive about it, especially since he never took a particular liking to Xiang Yu, and preferred you instead. My father and grandfather weren't too willing, but since only I can take over the Huang Coalition, nobody can grumble. Once lunch's over, it'll be a meeting with the relatives, and you'll have to show up. I'll make sure everyone accepts you at the wedding."
"But I'll grumble!"
"At that moment, you won't."
Xiao Ling-san appeared to be sighing. Min-san merely shrugged.
"Whatever. You got nothing else for me, right? If so, hurry up and scram. Don't stop me from opening my shop and doing business."
"No..."
Hong Lei kept the clothing back in the box, closed the box, and sat down by the counter.
"Serve something. I'm here as a customer."
I inadvertently widened my eyes, yet Min-san pretended to remain calm as she asked,
"What are you planning exactly?"
"This shop's going to close because of me. Thus, I have an obligation to taste the flavor here?"
Min-san turned her eyes to the entrance of the ramen shop.
"You too, Xiao Ling?"
"...yeah, it's a rare chance."
A conflicted look remained on Xiao Ling-san's face, and she sat down beside Hong Lei.
The next 20 minutes was likely the most surreal time I ever experienced working in 'Hanamaru'. The siblings who were to inherit a mafia were seated on relatively unclean, cramped counter seats, and Min-san was opposite them, watching the noodle strands fly in the boiling water, while I was beside her, tentatively preparing the roasted pork, the boiled onions, and chopped green onions.
"Kept you waiting."
Min-san served two bowls of soy sauce ramen, and Hong Lei practically finished one entire bowl in one shot. Beside him, Xiao Ling-san was slowly moving her chopsticks, yet he finished even the stock in the soup, down to the very last bit.
"The flavor now feels different from Masaru's."
Hong Lei muttered as he put down the bowl. I stared at Min-san face from the side in shock.
"You ate my dad's ramen before?" Min-san asked.
"Xiao Ling and I knew him for a longer time than you do. I ate the ramen he cooked a few times when I was a brat."
"...I see."
"If he's to eat this, he'll definitely be happy. Such a fool."
Hong Lei waited for Xiao Ling-san to finish, and get up, put a few notes and coins on the counter, and put on his coat.
I simply felt some unknown heat burning deep within my heart. Huang Hong Lei was supposed to be a man who would kill anyone if he found it to be necessary, yet I saw something so clear and transparent in his heart. If I were to express it in a word, it could only be described as 'sincerity'. Maybe, on the other end of the sea, there's a better term that would describe this unique characteristic.
So I hesitated.
Just this current situation alone cornered me, and in fact, I didn't have the time to worry about the man who was supposed to be our enemy. However, I couldn't help but think, if we're to wreck Min-san's wedding, this guy will be utterly humiliated, right? I'm an idiot. Got to pull myself together. How can I be worried about the enemy?
But right when I peeked at Min-san from the corner of my eye, I found that she seemed to be thinking the same things as I did, for she was staring at the back of the coat that was holding the curtain up, about to leave the shop.
"Erm..."
I called out without thinking. Xiao Ling-san, who was about to get up, looked and me, and Hong Lei too turned his head back.
"...Ah, ahh, erm."
I was so nervous, the words that were stuck in my throat were finally squeezed out.
"We might be able to find out where Masaru-san is. That doctor flew to Hong Kong."
Hong Lei's response was unexpectedly calm, and I could clearly hear Min-san gulp.
"Hong Kong? Humph..."
I ducked under the counter, and chased after Hong Lei out of the shop.
"Aren't you going to send people after him?"
"I'll do that without you telling me to do it. I don't know what you're planning, but my plans won't change."
I lowered my shoulders dejectedly. He's right; it'll definitely take a lot of time if he couldn't send lots of people back to Hong Kong. By then, even if they did find Hanada Masaru, Hong Lei would have gotten married with Min-san, and 'Hanamaru' would close down.
So, what was the purpose of that?
As Alice had said, it was a mean Hanada Masaru was using to manipulate information, but what was he—
The answer soon came. Huang Hong Lei was about to drive the car off, only to reach for his cellphone in the inner pocket of his suit, giving a perturbed expression.
"Yes...Huang Hong Lei speaking...Masaru? Is that you, Masaru?"
I was taken aback, or rather, I felt something a bit off about it. Hanada Masaru? Did that man really call? Why would Hanada Masaru choose to contact Huang Hong Lei at such a moment? Did he really have an eye on everything, and was watching us from the opposite coast?
"Why are you calling from the main family's phone...oh...I see. The Bengya Association? You're thinking that I won't be able to take action in Hong Kong?"
I heard some footsteps, and turned back to look. Min-san came running out of the shop.
"Hey! Did my dad call? Hey! Hong Lei!"
Hong Lei glanced aside at Min-san, nodding as he continued to talk on the phone.
"...Ha. I understand. I'll let you do whatever you want for the time being. However, I won't be staying in Japan forever. Remember, once I land on Kowloon again, that day will be your day!"
Min-san snatched the cellphone from Hong Lei's hands, and placed it by her ear.
"Dad! Where are you? In Hong Kong!?...I know that. Stop joking around. Are you an idiot? You're still worrying about others...for such a stupid reason! Hey, , hey! What nonsense are you saying? Dad! ...dad!"
Gasping, Min-san reigned in her urge to yell, and once the phone call was over, she stuffed the phone back into Hong Lei's hands.
"I give up. Forget about that guy. Just think of him as dead already."
Min-san muttered with an utterly repressed voice.
"This is my shop, and it got nothing to do with that man now. I'm definitely not going to let this shop close."
The frown on Hong Lei's forehead eased slightly, and he continued,
"The wife of the Hong Lord is very busy, but if you insist to continue keeping the ramen shop running, just hire people. Your ramen tastes won't vanish completely."
"You really don't understand me."
Min-san showed a faint smile.
At this moment, two construction workers and a few tired looking salarymen in suits were chatting and laughing as they crossed the road.
"Oh? What now? Still busy?"
"You haven't opened the shop yet, Min-san?"
"I'm so hungry that I'm all weak here!"
"It's fine, come in and wait. I'll get ready immediately." Min-san ushered the customers into the shop, and merely turned back to look at Hong Lei.
"To be honest, if you had said that you wanted to run the ramen shop with me, I would have considered it a little."
Leaving those words, Min-san's ponytail vanished behind the curtain, and Xiao Ling-san walked out.
"...Let's go, Hong Lei, ." Xiao Ling-san grabbed her older brother's arm to prompt him to drive. She passed by me, and again glanced at me, seemingly intent on wanting to say something.
It was later that night when I was briefed by Alice of the contents of that phone call. Alice hacked into Hong Lei's phone, and extracted the call record.
After the audio was played, Alice and I never recovered for a while as we heard the sound of the air-conditioner buzzing. All I felt was the fatigue seemingly about to trickle out for my ears along with my blood.
"The call log definitely originate from Hong Kong..."
Alice muttered, breaking the deadlock.
"It was called from the Huangs' old residence in Kowloon Tasi. But...this kind of phone call is easy to fake."
"In other words...Hanada Masaru betrayed the Huangs and defected to the enemy?"
"If we believe what he says, then yes..."
The Huangs' house in Hong Kong was occupied by a rival group called the Bengya Association, and Hanada Masaru called Huang Hong Lei from the phone there.
Hanada Masaru was a mercenary, and had relationships with mafias everywhere. He probably defected to the enemy with intel on the Huang Coalition, and served under them. Truly, this was an unscrupulous betrayal.
"The truth doesn't matter now."
Alice's wavering eyes turned towards me.
"Anyway, there's only one thing he wants to tell the Huangs, and he has already escaped to a place they can't get to him."
Alice revealed that the whereabouts of the doctor who flew to Hong Kong, and that made things much more convincing.
"But here's the problem."
Alice suddenly said, and I, pondering deeply, lifted my head.
"...Where?"
"This is the strangest part to me. Don't you find the timing to be too coincidental?"
"Timing?"
"You informed Huang Hong Lei of the news that the doctor went to Hong Kong, and then Hanada Masaru, who was supposed to be in Hong Kong, called immediately, right in front of Master..."
I folded my arms, and groaned. Speaking of which, that certainly seemed to be the case.
"There might be another catch to this. The timing's too coincidental, it's intriguing."
"You're saying that...Hanada Masaru might still be in Japan?"
"That's a possibility."
Not only in Japan, but even observing the actions of Min-san and the Huangs, and calling occasionally to control the entire situation? If that really was the case, then it's a bigger question mark as to what Hanada Masaru was really planning.
"Well, whatever. Huang Xiao Ling continues to remain clammed up, but Huang Hong Lei has a few weaknesses to capitalize on. I'll continue investigating, and you just need to do your work."
My work...
I cupped my legs as I stayed by the side of the bed. Alice suddenly stopped typing and turned her head back to look at me, looking a little displeased as she narrowed her eyes.
"I guess you still have no idea of the work you took responsibility for."
"Eh?"
"If we can't finish the request and receive the payment from Min-san, we still need to pay Tetsu and Major their salaries. That money is going to come from you since you agreed to it so brazenly! Once you understand, get up. And throw the empty cans outside!"
I was given a verbal lashing, and I hurriedly stood up, cleaned up the empty cans of Dr Pepper scattered all over the bed and carried them in my clutches. I left the agency, and leaned on the door, sighing.
It seemed senpai and Major were serious in trying to use illegal means to get rid of the loan evidence. Even Hiro too was going around, trying to amass money when he just recovered a little. I wanted to say, stop, these ideas won't work! But I couldn't think of any alternatives. Did I really have the right to stop them?
3 days later, Umeda Kouji returned to Tokyo. It was early in the morning on a holiday, and I was woken up by Yondaime on the phone, so I could only move out to the Hirasaka-gumi office.
"Morning, aniki!"
"Goodwork!"
Almost all the members were squeezed inside the small room, and Yondaime to stood up from the desk.
"Things are as how I explained to you on the phone just now. Who do you think is most suitable as bait?"
I did a rough scan of the black T-shirted guys, and chose someone most similar to Min-san in body size, and another two as smokescreen.
Yondaime nodded, and brought the 3 chosen people out of the office along with me.
"Where's Min-san?" I asked as I went down the stairs.
"I gave her a call."
"Is there a need to protect her with that much effort?"
"It's possible that there are mafia members keeping watch on 'Hanamaru'."
I see. If they realized what was going on and tailed us, there would be a chance of the news being leaked. Better be careful just in case.
The 5 of us sat in a wagon car, and we drove off to 'Hanamaru'.
It was a bright morning, and the slightly dirtied buildings and concrete bridge looked so dazzling. The rare few pedestrians had their hands on the front of their coat, their backs arched as they walked down the street. The car windows became foggy in an instant. October was about to end, and Autumn was about to descend into Winter.
We reached the ramen shop, and didn't enter from the front entrance, but to the residence entrance at the back of the building. I brought the 3 guys in black T-shirts into Min-san's house, and she too walked out from the corridor.
"Good morning, Master!"
"Good morning!"
"Be quiet, you idiot! Where's my T-shirt?"
I handed a black Hirasaka-gumi T-shirt over to Min-san. On that day, Min-san had her sarashi tied really tightly, and the busty chest really left large lumps on the shirt. She put down her hair into the collar, and put on the gang's baseball cap. In other words, she was disguising herself as one of the members. I wonder if this disguise could work.
The remaining two members flanked Min-san in the middle, and the trio walked out at the same time. We quickly sat in the wagon car at the parking lots in the back, and Yondaime immediately drove off.
Yondaime's preparation was more cautious than usual. Once we approached the boutique he ran, he had everyone switch over to another car he had prepared beforehand in the basement parking lots. After lots of this troublesome process, we arrived at a certain building that was a little away from the office area in Shinjuku.
We entered the basement parking lots, and Xiao Ling-san immediately came out to greet us. It was a holiday, but she was still dressed in a tidy business suit. There were two people behind her. I couldn't see the faces clearly under the dazzling sunlight, but I could barely make out a man and a woman.
Min-san was the first to get off the passenger seats, and I followed suit.
"Thank you for coming all the way here, Ming Li. Xiang Yu said that she wanted to meet you no matter what, so..."
Min-san shoved aside Xiao Ling-san who approached her, and went right at the duo, grabbing the baseball cap on her head.
I once saw the duo on the photos. The woman was wearing a cheap half-coat and faded jeans, and didn't have the princess-like presence seen on the photo, but I could tell that it was her.
"...You're Xiang Yu."
Min-san's voice and face showed utter impatience.
"Yes, I'm really sorry that we're meeting in such a situation."
The woman who started this entire chain of events lowered her head, answering this.
The man beside her held her by the shoulders. This unimpressionable looking man had eyebags filled with fatigue, and looked as though he wanted to say something to Min-san, only to hold back as he bit his lips.
This guy was Umeda Kouji, right?
Once he saw Yondaime in the driver seat, he immediately left Xiang Yu and went over to bow deeply towards the latter.
"Sorry to cause you trouble, Hinamura-san."
"It's fine. I just brought them along."
I heard their conversation. So the friend taking care of Umeda Kouji (probably another yakuza) was a friend of Yondaime in Kansai.
"I told you not to mention the past, right?" Yondaime told me."Don't ask me anything."
I gulped, and nodded before turning back to Min-san. The latter continued to stare at Huang Xiang Yu with wide eyes, the expression on her face not of utter fury or reproach, but more like despair or of one who gave up.
Huang Xiang Yu looked at Xiao Ling-san, and then at Min-san, timidly asking,
"Erm, what happened about that, between Hong Lei and me?"
Min-san let out a long sigh, and shrugged.
"Nothing much. It's still not confirmed, but this isn't something you should worry about."
"But, but! Masaru-san—!"
It appeared Xiang Yu wanted to continue saying something, but Xiao Ling-san grabbed her shoulders firmly, showing an unbelievably vicious expression as she shook her head. Xiang Yu remained teary as she muttered,
"I think I should just return to the Huangs once, and explain everything to grandfather and everyone else to avoid causing you trouble, Ming Li."
Xiang Yu's voice stopped as her throat let out a whimper, for Min-san grabbed her by the collar.
"Hey, you got to be kidding!"
Min-san brought herself close to Xiang Yu as she glared, saying with an axe-like voice. Even Xiao Ling-san, who wanted to step forward and stop Min-san, was terrified by the beast-like face, and stood rooted there.
"You're dead! You're killed by my dad! I know that my dad's always been thinking about you, and he did everything for you sake! Now you're saying that you're going to show up and ruin all his hard work? Enough with that nonsense! If you really feel sorry for me, play your role as a dead person! And then forget all the Huangs and live a new life!
Min-san vented, and shoved Xiang Yu over to Umeda Kouji. She picked up the baseball cap on the floor, put it on, and went back to the car. Xiang Yu continued to whimper in Umeda Kouji's clutches, thank you, muttering over and over again.
When I recalled this incident a long time later, I realized that Min-san might have realized the truth at that moment. She's a smart one, but so smart that it was sad.
Back then, I didn't realize this.
Until the very end.
On the car ride back, Min-san showed what could be described as a look of despair, and she merely stuck her cheeks by the windowside. I was seated beside her, staring at my own knees, not knowing what I should think.
The next day, Hiro finally returned to 'Hanamaru'. Min-san and I were preparing the ingredients in the kitchen, and the back door sudden opened, followed by a familiar, carefree grinning face.
"Sorry to make everyone worry."
| ← Ch. 43 | Ch. 45 → |