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When we went to pay for our drinks, the cafe didn’t take my card. I hadn’t brought my Japanese cash with me so Shun had to pay. I had no concept of places not taking a card.
“We’ll go by the ATM so you can get some cash out,” he said.
“I don’t want you to feel like you’re babysitting me,” I replied.
Some of those things Yuki had said really stung.
He gave me one of those dimple smiles again. “It’d be easier for me if you have cash and some ATMs here don’t take foreign cards. I’ll show you where to go.”
Couldn’t argue with that logic.
He paid up. I noticed Yuki hadn’t paid for her drink either.
When we walked out of the cafe, Shun studied me so intently, I blushed.
“Maybe you should change before this meeting,” he said. “For me, it doesn’t matter what kind of fashion you are into but Yamaguchi is a conservative kind of guy.”
I’d forgotten I still had the damn dress on. I’d be glad to put on something a bit less conspicuous.
“Sure. My place isn’t far.”
We walked back to my apartment. Shun seemed to know the way. I guess that wasn’t so strange if Yamaguchi owned the building.
“You’ll have to wait outside,” I said, remembering the place was basically one open room.
“Of course.” He nodded.
Hell, what did I have that was suitable for meeting a conservative old man?
I hunted through my suitcase, wishing I’d made the effort to unpack last night. Was he conservative like I had to wear a business suit? Because I’d packed nothing like that. I grabbed a long black skirt and a black and white striped sweater and chucked them on. That’d have to do. My suitcase looked like it’d exploded, vomiting clothes and other stuff all over the floor but I’d deal with that later.
I popped my head outside to tell Shun I was ready. He came into my apartment instead of waiting for me to go outside.
“I just got a message from Yamaguchi. He’s on his way to a business meeting so he’ll meet us here instead of us going to his place. It’s strange. He doesn’t often leave his house nowadays.”
“Is Yamaguchi...” I wasn’t sure how to phrase it. Special? Strange? “Does he have powers?”
Shun shook his head and grinned. I tried not to grin back but couldn’t help myself. No one would be able to resist returning that grin, but I didn’t want to start having feelings for Shun. There’s no way someone so stylish and cool would ever look at me.
“Yamaguchi’s power is a massive bank account,” Shun said. “And a lot of actual power, in human terms. He owns many magical items but he’s not magical himself. He’s spent a lifetime collecting and trading in rare, paranormal artifacts. He has many people working for him. We aren’t his only team, not by a long shot. And he has muscle. If you cross Yamaguchi, you might end up in Tokyo Bay, as they say ‘sleeping with the fishes’.”
Yikes. My parents could’ve warned me about that instead of giving the impression of a kindly old man helping us out.
And he was coming here?
I rushed around, stuffing my clothes back in my suitcase.
Shun picked up a pile. I really hoped I didn’t have any knickers in that pile.
“It might be easier to stuff them in the wardrobe,” he said.
Yeah, that made sense. I shut my case and put it in the bottom of the wardrobe then threw the remaining clothes on top of it. Luckily, it was a huge wardrobe. It went back forever although it had a shelf across the middle that would make it difficult to hang dresses.
Shun picked up another pile of clothes.
“Really, you don’t have to help me with this,” I said, my skin prickling with embarrassment.
“Ah, Molly, most of your clothes seem normal. Why the Lolita dress? You don’t seem really into that kind of look.”
“My friend Ashley told me that’s how everyone dresses in Harajuku. She loaned me the dress.”
Shun burst into laughter, doubling over with his hands on his knees.
“Your friend has never been to Japan, right?”
I nodded.
“She watches a lot of anime?”
I nodded again. Then I laughed with him.
“I understand,” he said. “I think you are better being Molly, not Ashley.”
My eyes prickled. Was I an idiot? An emotional idiot? Just because he’d said something kind of nice to me, not even a real compliment.
The thing was, while I’d never been one of those super popular types, people liked me. Even the people in my hometown who thought I was a weirdo were nice enough. I had this whole self-image of being likable. I mean, what wasn’t to like? I might be quite average but it was an affable average. And I rocked at finding cheap beer nights. Sure, sometimes I’d been ignored or treated with disinterest but until today, I’d never met anyone who actively hated me on first meeting.
But Shun was right. I was better being Molly.
With the clothes cleared, the apartment looked a lot cleaner. Shun sunk down into a graceful seating position on the floor. I kind of slumped onto the futon pile. I wasn’t sure what to do until Yamaguchi arrived. I straightened my skirt and hoped my hair looked okay. Maybe I should’ve thrown on some makeup. Where was my makeup? Somewhere under that clothes pile, probably.
Then I gave Shun the once over.
“You don’t have to dress conservatively?” I asked.
“He’s used to me,” Shun said, with a laugh. “You should’ve seen him the first time he met Yuki. He gave her a lecture on being more ladylike. That was a long time ago, though.”
That made me think. “Just how old are you?” I asked him.
“Very old in human years. But I’ve only been working with Yamaguchi for the past twenty years.”
Twenty years! He only looked twenty years old to me.
“Do I look okay?” I asked him. Since Shun had mentioned all that sleeping with the fishes stuff, my palms had been sweating even in the cold room.
“You look great,” he said. Then he reached over and touched my hair. “Is this it’s natural color?”
“Of course.”
My face was far from its natural color, though, and getting all hot and bothered at the way he stroked my hair.
“In China, people believe red heads are witches,” he said.
I stretched my legs out, trying to find a comfortable way to sit.
“Not just in China,” I replied.
“But you can’t be a witch, I think. You’d know before now. Still, it’s worth considering.”
“What are the signs of being a witch?”
“We could try to drown you and see if you float,” he said.
I sat bolt upright. “No way!”
When he laughed, I realized he’d been joking. There’d been way too much talk of me ending up at the bottom of the ocean and, while I didn’t believe it, I had to wonder what would happen if I just disappeared here. I’d already posted that I had limited internet access. That meant no one would even notice for days.
“Do you feel close to nature?” Shun asked.
I screwed up my face. Nature. Ick. Even though I’d grown up in a country town, nature wasn’t my thing. Nature has no shops, no cafes, just trees and dirt.
“Do you sense energy around you? Like you know people’s moods without them saying anything?”
I laughed so hard that I snorted. As if.
“I am literally the worst at that. One time I hung around with my friend for two days without cluing in that her boyfriend had dumped her. People should just blurt that stuff out, not leave it for you to figure out on your own. You could pretty much call me Oblivious Molly.”
I wondered if I should offer Shun a cup of tea or something while we waited. I think I’d seen some tea bags in the cupboard. But then we’d just had drinks at the cafe.
“What about animals?” he asked.
“I had some pets when I was younger. A dog called Skittles. Skittles the dwerp.” I grinned just thinking about that goofy dog.
“But animals you’ve felt a special connection with? Beyond just pet ownership?”
“Not really.”
Then I remembered the crows but that wasn’t even worth mentioning. So, some crows had helped me out, that didn’t mean anything. From what Shun said, I should’ve been noticing strange things all my life.
But then, the crows had happened after the stone got stolen. Was that connected?
Shun didn’t speak for a while. I wondered if he was processing what I’d said or if he was just bored. He laid back on the floor, the beam of sunlight shining through the curtains hitting him on the belly. I’d began thinking he’d dozed off when he sat up again.
“You’re nervous about meeting Yamaguchi?”
“You can sense that?”
“I can see how your hands are clutching the sides of that futon. It’s nothing mystical.”
I looked down, not realizing what I’d been doing until he pointed it out.
“A bit nervous, yeah.”
“Just nod and grin,” he said. “That’s the best way to handle him. I’ll translate for you but don’t think he doesn’t understand English. He just pretends not to. It gives him an advantage. He’s a sly dog like that.”
I nodded. Then I grinned. Good practice for what was to come.
Shun stared at the floor for a moment then looked up. “Even if Yuki doesn’t want you on the team, she has no say in the matter.”
“I don’t even understand what this team thing is about,” I said. “I’m just here to...”
Then I wondered if it was wise to mention the stone. I’d only just met Shun and even if he was nice to me, I didn’t know if I should trust him. The stone might be valuable. If he was going to translate for us, he’d have to find out but I didn’t want to blurt out too much.
Before I could decide one way or another, someone knocked at the door. Yamaguchi.