Toward The Electric City

My tiny fingers flew across the screen of my cellphone, tapping against the call button under Kazuya's contact multiple times. I held the phone close to my ear, running around Tokyo completely directionless as I searched for Wang Xianshi.

Finally, I heard a voice on the other end say,
"Talk to me, puppy."

"Kazuya! I fucked up!"
I shouted, taking a moment to catch my breath before resuming my sprint.

"Slow down! Explain to me what happened."
Kazuya sounded calm on the other line, and I could hear the familiar sound of his cigar being puffed between his handsome, scarred lips.

"Right, um..."
I pondered my next words carefully.
"I was helping Takeshi's crew, and it was going fine, but some Chinese prick by the name of Wang Xianshi snatched the money reserve bag and took off with it! There must have been half a billion yen in that bag!"

Kazuya let out a long sigh, and I could hear him fidgeting with the phone he was using.
"Wang Xianshi, huh? Yeah, I know the guy. We all know him. I'll go ahead and send you his probable location. Make sure you get that money back, puppy, or Takeshi will have your head mounted on his wall."

A loud ping chimed from my phone, startling me out of my daze. Before I could ask Kazuya any further questions, he hung up. I knew it must have been to urge me to take care of this screw-up with haste, but I had so many lingering thoughts.

I inputted the location he had sent me into my GPS, noticing that Wang Xianshi was heading to a place called "Akihabara."
I had no clue what kind of place Akihabara was, but I had a job to fulfill, and I wasn't about to let myself accept any more punishment than absolutely necessary. I couldn't afford another screw-up; I had to kill Ninagawa Charlotte before I, myself, was killed.

Quickly, I counted the few thousand yen in my breast pocket, making a beeline toward the nearest train station. I used my small size to my advantage, easily slipping through crowds as the hustle and bustle of Tokyo swarmed around me. Much like when I got into a fight, I was eternally grateful for being so small and petite, giving me an advantage in speed and agility. Whoever my parents were must have been quite small themselves, so I silently thanked them for blessing me with the ideal body for stealth.

* * *

I traversed the train station at an alarming rate, some security guards even shouting at me for running so quickly, but of course, they couldn't catch up to me even if they tried. I was just barely late enough to miss the first train but only had to wait a few minutes for the next one to arrive, which I immediately hopped on and scanned each train car on the off chance Wang Xianshi had also been aboard. He wasn't.

I settled down onto an open seat, which I heard was quite rare to obtain in a large city like Tokyo. These civilians were giving me a wide berth, practically trembling as they urged me to take their seat. It might have been due to the sheathed tanto blade I was gripping in my left hand, or perhaps the rose-patterned suit I was wearing. I was certain they only provided me with such gratitude because they knew I was yakuza.

One lady in particular, who had been sitting next to me with her young daughter, began to get up and change train cars when something fell from her pocket and landed near my shoe. I gazed down at the small colorful box, unable to decipher what the word on its surface meant: "Gamu."

"Gamu?"
I whispered, picking up the small box and offering it to the woman's daughter.

The woman nearly shrieked, pulling the little girl away at frightening speed and standing before me trembling.

I tilted my head in pure, innocent confusion.

This box was theirs, right? Why is she so afraid to take it back from me?

"S-stay back, Bara-gumi! I'm not interested in a loan!"
The woman exclaimed, seemingly ready to fight.

"A loan?"
I asked, puzzled. I stood up, offering her the box of "Gamu," one more time.
"Why would I give you a loan? You dropped this, so I'm giving it back."

"I don't want it back! Just... stay away from me and my daughter!"
She shouted in a quiet voice.

I was confused and a bit upset. I thought that I would teach this ungrateful adult a lesson in manners, but when a small, timid voice caught my attention, I refrained from my lecture.

"Mommy? I want my bubblegum back. Can I take it from the kind lady?"

I looked downward at the girl behind this woman. It was her daughter, who couldn't have been older than five, tugging gently at her mother's skirt with pleading eyes.

"No, Koyomi! This girl is a bad person!"
The mother explained, not allowing her daughter, Koyomi, to take even a single step toward me.

The train car was full of uninviting stares; a few people in the background even whispering,
"Stupid yakuza,"
or,
"It must be some recruitment tactic."

I felt a bit saddened. This young girl simply wanted her pack of "Gamu" back, which I had learned was actually just bubblegum, and her mother wouldn't let me return it. I was being looked at in the same way as when I used to steal from supermarkets as a young girl. People gave me disgusted glares, even calling me bad names that I hadn't heard before. While I was by no means an innocent girl, I still had feelings.

Enough was enough, and I decided that I wouldn't allow this mother's assumption of me to be tainted just because of my attire and profession. I was nothing like the other members of the Bara-gumi and took extreme offense that she thought I was trying to harm her or the little Koyomi in any way whatsoever.

I stormed over to her, ignoring the fear plastered on her face when I bent down and gave Koyomi a big smile, handing her the pack of bubblegum gently.

"Here, enjoy your treat, Koyomi-chan,"
I said.

Koyomi's eyes lit up, and she beamed as she hugged the small pack of bubblegum adorably to her chest. She exclaimed,
"Thank you, kind lady!"

I smiled, giving her hair a playful ruffle before saying,
"No problem, Koyomi-chan, but I'm no lady. You can call me... Makeinu-chan."

Koyomi let out a sweet giggle, her voice ringing as if she were singing a hymn.
"Makeinu-chan! That's a funny name!"

I laughed with her, straightening my posture before giving her mother an almost smug grin.
"Before you call me a wicked yakuza, you should really change that attitude of yours. I may be in the Bara-gumi, but I'm nothing like those evil men. I go by 'Bara-gumi no Makeinu,' and I'll be the girl who single-handedly destroys that horrible organization. Remember my name."

The woman looked absolutely stunned. Her trembling had ceased, and it seemed the entire train car was now listening intently to my speech. Before long, she nodded her head, even offering me a low bow of gratitude.

Right before my last stop, Koyomi reached up to me, handing me a piece of pink bubblegum, wrapped delicately in cellophane. She said,
"Here you go, Makeinu-chan! This is my favorite treat! But don't swallow it! Mommy says that if you swallow bubblegum, it will stay in your tummy forever and ever!"

Without hesitation, I took the delicious-looking gum and unwrapped it, popping it into my mouth and smiling.
"Thanks, Koyomi-chan! I've never had gum before. Wow, this flavor is super yummy, huh?"

Koyomi nodded vigorously, her small twin tails bouncing up and down with the force of her head movement.
"It's the best! Next time, I'll even teach you how to blow a bubble!"

I extended my pinky finger down to her, locking it with her own much smaller little finger.
"It's a promise, then. Make sure you keep your promises."

I stepped off the train as the announcer overhead said,
"Akihabara station. This is... Akihabara Station."

I turned my head one last time to wave at Koyomi, when I heard something that made my heart flutter. Koyomi asked her mother,
"Mommy? Is Makeinu-chan really a bad person?"

"No, sweetie. Makeinu-chan is the future of Japan. Let's say a prayer for her tonight at dinner, okay?"
The mother said, giving me a small wink before the doors finally separated us.