Hypnagogia

“Where-”

“Where are you? How generic of an answer. It should be obvious what kind of place this is. What more do you need? Tits hanging out? I swear…”

“Well, sorry. I’m not really here for that kind of thing.”

“That’s what they all say at first. You know, bashfulness isn’t becoming of those seeking such a place as this. There’s no shame here. Let out your inner ikemen and go balls deep!” said with equal parts understanding and equal parts disgust.

Ryuji’s hand was snatched by a strangely strong grip, pulling him into the district. He was at a loss as to how exactly to deal with such force, coming from gender unknown. Fortunately, a blur of pink hair whizzed by to save him.

“Megu!”

Grace flew right past him, dressed in a period-style yukata and hair done up with decorative sticks. A forceful tackle by her had taken the ‘Server of Rye’ off guard. They both crashed to the ground, Grace continuing to rub her face against the other’s.

“Wah, Grace! If you’re here, then…”

A set of narrowed eyes looked back toward Ryuji. The Server of Rye slowly got up, the air from before shifting as Grace clung onto the familiar face. A hand reached up to stroke her pink hair and a gentle smile was flashed.

“I see. Come with me.”

The ‘Server of Rye’ snapped some fingers, and suddenly, the ground beneath them descended like they were in an elevator. It didn’t take long for the pleasure district to change into a cavern of computer screens and hardware that made the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department look like a hub in the boonies. The disconnect between the two areas was obvious on Ryuji’s flabbergasted expression.

“I guess you were telling the truth. I would find it hard-pressed for you to savor your jollies while towing the ever-innocent Miss Fairy in your company. That means what you seek is the real face of Hypnagogia, the information center of black market thought processing.”

“Black market whatzit now? And how the heck do you know the Doc, erm, Dr. Higashi.”

“Ah, so I have him to blame for the surprise visit. Not that I didn’t guess, but it is nice to have confirmation. We are, well, buddies from our school days.”

“Megu was all jelly-jelly because of Haru taking his best girl, Kasumi. But that’s okay, Megu took a shine to Haru eventually.”

Ryuji stared at Grace, trying to make sense of the names being thrown around. It was obvious though that there was an entire history behind that statement as a forced cough interrupted that train of thought. Meanwhile, the ‘Server of Rye’ walked over to what looked like a captain’s chair in front of the display. Spinning it, he plopped into the seat and propped up his legs, revealing a pair of boxers underneath the kimono.

“Let me introduce myself, Yamaoka Ryuji, or rather, the Yama Ryu. I am Nakamura Megu, the Server of Rye, and this is my domain as an information dealer. Still seeking, ikemen preferred.”

“Well, that explains the weird vibe I got from you.” Ryuji had a balled fist the entire time since they first met. “I guess I’ll have no regrets now if you do something questionable.”

“This is why I meet my clients in the space between reality and the dream world.”

Megu scoffed at the blatant warning, waving his hand forward to call upon something. A set of chains immediately shot out from the ground and ensnared Ryuji’s body. With his wrists and ankles shackled, he found it nearly impossible to move.

For a moment, Ryuji forgot that he had been drugged asleep. His body was still sitting in the bar in the Road of Gold. Yet, hardly any of this felt like a dream.

“That look on your face says it all. It’s your first time here, isn’t it? Hypnagogia exists in a space not quite in reality and not quite in dreams. It is a part of consciousness where humans can still perceive quite well, but still experience subconscious fantasies. Technology is grand, isn’t it? To be able to connect people together in this state. However, it can leave all sorts of desirable or undesirable effects.”

“Pretty fancy schmancy. But if I was sent to you, that means there’s something special about this whole place, right? I came here for information, not to be bashed over the head with something way over my head.”

Megu walked over and tilted Ryuji’s chin up, like showing dominance to a chained slave. The way he was stared at kind of invoked chills.

“In regards to what? Your little civil war among clan members, or the fact that you are carrying around the person responsible for dream tech?”

“From your tone, I take it that you’re not happy about the latter.”

“Would you be if one of your dear friends was stomping around with a legendary gangster?”

“Depends on whose side he’s on.”

“Well, I’m waiting…”

Ryuji and Megu locked eyes, unwilling to budge. Ryuji could tell from a glance that his opponent possessed a strength that was hard to ignore. His instincts told him that making an enemy of the Server of Rye was not something he could afford.

“Megu Megu, can you please let him go? I’ll vouch for him already. He’s just a big teddy bear if you don’t antagonize him!”

Grace had climbed on top of Megu from behind, arms wrapped around him and tugging backwards. Her wings flapped vigorously to try to create distance between them. It seemed that not even Grace had enough power in this domain to move this person. But then, Megu stood back on his own, his aura changing suddenly.

“Fine, it’s not like I don’t trust Haru’s judgment. I just wanted to test him myself. Men are ever more appealing when they are a bit stubborn and predictable.”

With a wave of the hand, the chains crumbled into pixie dust and disappeared. Ryuji shook his limbs afterward, numb from him pulling hard against his shackles. He wondered if such a feeling transferred to his body in the real world. Unfortunately, it seemed that his thoughts were way too expressive on his face.

“Yes, a lingering pain would be felt if you woke up right away. That’s the nature of how nerves work. A shadow feeling can exist even when the cause of it isn’t real.” Megu’s smile curled up. “I would say that you could test out other feelings up above, but you’d probably need a change of underwear.”

Megu glided back over to his chair. With a few shakes of the hand aimed at the computer displays, the scenes on them changed into ones that Ryuji was quite familiar with – the Shindou Family getting utterly destroyed by Ryuji and his gang in front of Club Elegant.

“Heh, didn’t know that there were hidden cameras aimed at the streets in my turf.”

“There aren’t. At least, none that you would refer to as a normal camera.”

“Then how?”

“Straight from the eyes of those boys you stomped into the ground.”

Ryuji’s gaze darted back toward the screens. Certainly, the viewpoint of each one didn’t look like they came from a fixed position. The scenes swiveled and zoomed with the action, as if it was carried by a moving target. A fist to the face of one caused the scene to instantly go dark, further confirming Megu’s point.

He looked back at the Server of Rye, who covered a smug grin with an opened fan. Yet, Ryuji could tell from the eyes peeking above it that there was much more going on than he had imagined.

“Each one of these boys has been a customer of the Hypnagogia brothels. What they don’t know while dipping into the digital honeys of their dreams is that such an interaction opens a connection into their subconscious, a direct link for stray experiences to leak out of their minds and into the network, where I hold onto it for safe keeping… and occasionally, the right price.”

Ryuji looked on dumbly until Grace came to his aid.

“Megu found out that people who spend a lot of time here formed lingering connections between their mind and Hypnagogia. Haru called Megu a ‘voyeur’ or something. Megu called it an ‘opportunity’.”

That explanation made things click in place for Ryuji. The fact that the three of them knew each other since school days suggested that they were likely involved with the dream-like research since the beginning. And looking at the current state of the Server of Rye, an entire empire had been built upon harnessing secret information that was likely inaccessible otherwise.

Ryuji questioned Megu about that fact, to which he only got a wink in acknowledgement. Of course, an information broker’s methods of gathering intel were his livelihood. But in this case, Ryuji wondered if anyone could even do the same. He gave it barely any thought as that wasn’t why he was here in the first place.

“I want to know. Who is backing the Shindou Family? What gives them the idea that starting a conflict in the Tenjou Clan is in their best interests?”

“Is that all? That’s a pretty easy request, given how many spies I’ve planted there.”

The screens started scrolling backwards through the memories of the Shindou thugs, giving a look at their daily lives. It wasn’t long until their boss, Shindou Yasafumi, came into view on one of them, in which Megu highlighted and played back. He was in some kind of hostess club, lounged back and chatting with someone across from him. Wearing a suit that looked too tight, he fit the bill as someone that rarely stepped into the role of fancy settings.

Carrying a sheathed katana on his shoulder, he was intent on imposing his family’s might to whoever he was talking to. Although Ryuji could see his movements played back, there was a lack of audio to tell what was going on.

“Unfortunately, the quality of experiences leaked by my sources can be a bit hit or miss. Just like how you can forget a dream upon waking, details are quickly lost before they are captured. But… I can do something about our mysterious guest.”

Megu paused the playback, zooming into the person across from Shindou. With another few flicks of the wrist, the lighting changed and the shadows that masked the person disappeared. What resulted was a slimy grin that was recognizable from a mile away for Ryuji.

“Takashima Godo.”

Ryuji had an inkling that the Azumito officer had something to do with it. He doubted that his confrontation with him was the last that he’d see of him. Not to mention, he had witnessed first-hand at the Yama Ryu’s critical injury. It was easy enough for him to spread around that Tenjou’s mighty spear had chipped and become dull.

Megu added on to the suspicion that grew in Ryuji’s mind.

“The Azumito Alliance numbers quite a few, particularly under Takashima’s influence. I would daresay that their combined numbers would be enough to overrun the Tenjou Clan in the event of a sudden invasion during any major internal strife.”

“Figures that my former patriarch would want to seize power for himself, but getting the blessing of a rival clan is stooping low. Knowing Takashima, he’s taking advantage of Shindou’s violent tendencies and goading him into making the Tenjou Clan weaker in the long run. The grudge from long ago is finally starting to rear its head.”

Ryuji cracked his knuckles, now fully prepared to take down the traitors. The memories that he skimmed through showed him exactly where he needed to go to return the favor. But before leaving, he turned back to Megu.

“Thanks for the info. What do I owe you?”

“Don’t worry about it. That’s already covered.”

Ryuji raised an eyebrow. Information such as this was never free. He couldn’t imagine what compensation he would have given already. Seeing this confusion, Megu covered his chuckling with a fan.

“It’s not every day that I get to see the personal experiences of a street legend. Since you entered this place, you have volunteered to become one of my spies in the process. I look forward to the adventures you’ll leak during your struggles.”

“I take it that there’s no way for me to back out on this?”

“Not without my approval. And you’ll never find me if I don’t want you to.”

“Wonderful.”

“Take good care of Grace. I’ll be watching.”

Ryuji eyed the pink-haired fairy girl, who seemed content with hovering around, lost in thought. He reminded himself to never have any impure thoughts, lest they leak out and become unwanted blackmail.

“I’ll be back after I give you some juicy scoops. How about ‘Shindou gets an ass whooping and gets booted out of the Tenjou Clan’? But first, tell me how to get out of here.”

Megu simply walked over and reached around him. Before he could wonder what that was about, he felt a tight pinch on his butt, causing him to jump. The shock of it shot him straight out of Hypnagogia and back to the room where he was strapped in the chair. He noticed a strange contraption obstructing his view, which he promptly tore off. As it clattered on the ground, he noted how it looked like a bulkier version of the headpiece that allowed him to connect with Grace.

“Did you have a good trip?” the bar mama asked, looking down at his crotch. Unfortunately, she had no way of knowing that Ryuji had gone there purely for information.

“Huh, what- no! I didn’t-, never mind, just let me out!”

“As you wish, Master.”

With the restraints off, Ryuji bolted out of the place, crashing through the door and ducking into some empty alley. He made sure to check his pants before leaving the Road of Gold.