Mental Battles In Akihabara

Mika turned her head, frantic and directionless. She could see the distant crowd reforming a barrier around the culprit she had been chasing. Her instincts compelled her to sprint toward the last known location of the thief. She quickly dialed Kazuya's number on her cell phone, holding it up to her ear as she ran.

"Talk to me, puppy. I'm all ears."
Kazuya's voice on the other end was calm and collected, putting Mika in a less panicked state.

"The money... someone stole it... a gambler..."
Mika managed to muster a few words through her heavy panting. The brutal summer sun beat down on her, causing her to sweat profusely.

"What?! Shit... Charlotte's not going to be happy-"
Kazuya was interrupted by Mika on the other line

"Screw Charlotte! What do I do?!"
Mika leaned against the wall of a building, wiping the dripping sweat from her forehead.

"Stay calm, puppy. Describe the man who stole the money, and I may know where he's hiding."
Kazuya could be heard lighting a cigarette through the phone speaker.

"The man? Um, right. Short, black hair. Green eyes and stubble on his chin. He was wearing a long, brown coat."
Mika jumped slightly at the loud, pinging noise coming from her phone. She checked her notifications, noticing that Kazuya had sent her a new GPS location on her messenger app.

"His name is Wang Xianshi. He's a Chinese immigrant living in Akihabara. Better hop on a train, kid."
Kazuya hung up the phone, knowing Mika would more than likely keep asking questions rather than attending her business.

"That idiot! With what money?!"
Her hands patted against her skirt pockets, feeling the crumpled bills from the convenience store she had visited earlier. She felt eternally grateful that she had purchased so many packs of gum earlier, leaving her with just enough money for a train fare to Akihabara. The crowded streets of Shibuya seemed to taunt her with people flooding every inch of exposed concrete and road , as if the universe were telling her to give up. Using her small stature to her advantage, Mika made a beeline for the train station, sifting through various bodies amidst the lunch rush.

Mika hesitantly spent the rest of her cash on a train fare. Her eyes shifted left and right as she stepped inside. No signs of Wang Xianshi. Taking a moment to relax, Mika found a seat in the corner of the train car, placing an earbud in her ear and pressing play on her favorite album. The crisp, cool air of the train's air conditioning unit soothed her aching muscles, causing her to fight off impending sleep. With thirty whole minutes ahead of her, she could do nothing but wait. The stress began to claw at her mind.

The train from Shibuya finally arrived at Akihabara Station, and Mika was thoroughly unprepared for what she was about to witness. The city, known as Akihabara, was disgustingly slathered in a dangerous amount of Japanese anime and manga merchandise. Mika sneered at the cutesy display of characters and colors before her.

She began to walk through the streets filled with cosplayers and young, attractive girls in revealing maid outfits, offering flyers to passersby regarding some sort of café.

"Wang Xianshi... you picked quite a grotesque place to live."
Mika whispered as she checked her GPS coordinates. Her eyes trailed to the red battery symbol in the top right of her phone screen, noticing that she was about to be stranded in an unfamiliar city with not a single way to contact Kazuya. Her heart sank in her chest. Quickly, she darted to the young girl in the maid outfit.

"Excuse me? Do you have a phone charger?"
Mika held her phone up to the curious woman, showing her the charging port located on the bottom of her device.

"Nya~ If you head inside the café, Master, there are tables with all sorts of phone chargers~"
The girl wearing the maid outfit made a pawing motion at Mika, acting like a feline.
"Great! I really need to get a hold of somebody. Where is the free charging table once I'm inside?"
Mika smiled, looking expectantly at the maid girl with bright, beautiful eyes.

"Nya~ Master, you have to pay for a table, jeez! I recommend our special neko omurice with a biiiiig ketchup heart~"
The cat maid playfully swatted toward Mika.

Mika's eyes widened. She hadn't realized she would need to purchase a table in order to use the phone chargers that the café offered.
"But... I don't have any money. I really need to charge my phone!"

"Nya~ I'm so sorry, Master, but no money means no chargey~ Maybe, you can try the manga café lobby~ But be careful, Master, there are all sorts of wicked lolita ghosts at the entrance~"
The cat maid returned to her work, handing out flyers as she spoke in that irritating voice.

"What the hell is a lolita ghost? Ugh, I just need to call Kazuya!"
Mika stormed down the street, heading directly toward the manga café, covered in decals of various cute, little anime girls wearing ghastly attire. She stepped inside the unfamiliar territory, studying the hundreds of cardboard cutouts of lolita characters wearing overly revealing vampire and demon themed lingerie.

"Welcome, to Café Vampli! Akihabara's first and only entirely horror themed manga café! Would you like our ghost loli room, or our succubus loli room?"
The overly energetic cashier gave off a creepy vibe, and it wasn't due to the horror decorations surrounding the front desk either.

Mika clicked her tongue in defiance, showing her phone to the man behind the counter.
"I just want to charge my phone. The girl in the maid outfit said I could use your lobby's charger; and what the hell is a succubus loli?"

The man flashed an excited grin.
"Of course! You can charge your phone for free over by those benches. A succubus loli is a-"

"Don't care... it sounds gross. Thanks for the charger."
Mika definitely didn't want to stick around for his depraved lecture.

She plugged her phone into the charger, taking a seat on the cushioned bench beneath her bottom. Her mind was racing with possibilities. Had Wang Xianshi already escaped Akihabara? Would she ever be able to return to the Bara-gumi's apartment? Her rampant thoughts were cut short as a couple in their late teens exited the ghost loli room and headed toward the lobby.

"Whoa! Look at that girl in the suit, Aki! Doesn't she look like the character from Nishi's manga? Is it cosplay?!"
The random red-haired girl clung to the handsome boy's arm, seemingly fascinated by Mika's presence.

"Chill out, Minami. There's no way anyone is cosplaying such an obscure manga. Don't give Nishi any credit for actually inspiring someone to dress up."
The tall, handsome boy dragged his girlfriend away from Mika, silently raising a hand as an apology as he exited the café.

"Still, we should have asked for a picture. I bet Tan-Tan-chan would have loved to see that!"

The couple disappeared. Mika crossed her arms and tilted her head, seemingly dumbfounded by the carefree attitude plaguing Akihabara.
"These otaku types are... confusing."