Mental Battles In Akihabara

Gazing down at my GPS, I noticed the destination time from the train station to the location Kazuya sent me had increased significantly due to foot traffic. What my captain, Kazuya, had most importantly forgotten to mention was that today in Akihabara there would be an absurd number of cosplayers attending many of the nearby anime and game expos, as well as girls from the local maid cafés dressed in frilly outfits complemented by cat ears and tails, handing out flyers and coupons to entice customers.

"Wang Xianshi, you've certainly picked quite a grotesque place to live,"
I muttered to nobody but myself as I stood absent-mindedly in the heart of the Electric Town.

I made my way through the sea of people, occasionally getting stuck behind a literal wave of cosplayers lining up to take photos, some of whom invited me into their group, thinking that my rose-patterned suit was from a niche anime series or something.

Doing my best to ignore them, and having posed with a little peace sign just to hasten my progress, I ran head-first into one of the many maid girls.

"Oof! Sorry, I didn't mean to-"
I was cut short when she smiled at me.

She made a cutesy pawing motion toward me, and slipped a flyer into my hand, saying,
"Nya~ You must be in quite a hurry, master~"

"That's right! I am in a hurry! Do you know where I can find Otomo Stitching?!"
I nearly shoved my phone into her hand, showing her the displayed location I was in such a hurry to reach.

She looked at it with a posed expression, then handed me my phone and said,
"Meow~ If you want to go to Otomo Stitching, you must fight your way through the crowd of Zeons threatening to destroy the Earth Federation! But be careful, master~ The Zeon's ruthless leader pilots the Red Comet!"

I nodded and smiled, feeling like she was about to tell me a shortcut.
"Thanks! What do the Zeons look like? I really need to get to Otomo Stitching!"

"Nya~"
The girl furrowed her brow, making another pawing motion toward the street performance blocking an alleyway. The men, dressed in some sort of space army cosplay, were shouting and making a scene as children cheered around them.

"Those are the Zeons? Is it okay if I slip past them?"
I asked her.

"Meow~ Sorry, master! But the children will be sad if you interrupt the show~ Instead, how about you come to Café Neko Neko Nya for some delicious omurice with a biiig ketchup heart~ Moe Moe Kyuuuun!"
She struck a dramatic pose, holding her hands in the shape of a heart close to her chest.

"I don't have time for that! I really need to..."
I stopped mid sentence, my eyes growing extremely wide as I noticed the battery symbol flashing red at the top corner of my cellphone. I was about to run out of battery with no way to find Otomo Stitching, Wang Xianshi's supposed hideout.

"Nya? Is your phone dying, master? If you head into the café, you can charge your phone while you wait for your omurice~"
The girl winked at me, gesturing toward the nearby café.

"I don't have any money! Plus, I really need to get to Otomo Stitching before it's too late!"
I felt like my words weren't getting through to her.

"Nya~ Sorry, master, but no money means no chargey~"
The girl made a soft pouting noise, puffing her cheeks and stepping away from me in my time of crisis.

Screw this! If there's any chance of me recovering the Bara-gumi's funds, then I suppose I have no choice but to rely on old methods!

I darted toward the street performance near the alleyway, sprinting at full speed before locating the most unsuspecting target I could find. In the blink of an eye, I snatched one of the adult's cellphones they had been using to record the Zeon's performance. The man shouted at me,
"Hey, thief! Someone stop her!"

I turned my head over my shoulder, not bothering to stop as I was already halfway down the alley. I shouted back,
"Sorry! I'll return it later, I promise!"
And made a beeline into the street.

I typed "Otomo Stitching" into the GPS without stopping my sprint, practically pushing my way through the line of cosplayers waiting outside a local game store. When the location finally loaded, I saw the red thread of fate show itself in all of its glory on the screen; though in this case, the thread was a blue squiggle that read, "Three minute walk," from my current location. Knowing my own speed, I would make it there in less than thirty seconds if I kept up my pace.

* * *

I approached Otomo Stitching with two minutes to spare, bursting through the glass door and sending clear shards all over the unsuspecting customers. Shrieks flooded the room, and I unsheathed the tanto blade from my breast pocket, squatting confidently on the wooden counter as I held the woman in charge of the register at knifepoint. The remaining customers quickly fled the scene, screaming and hollering as the store became eerily silent.

"Wang Xianshi! Tell me where he is!"
I shouted at the woman in her late thirties.

Her eyes squinted fearfully, and her gaze never leaving the tip of my blade that was hovering mere centimeters from her eye.
"W-who is that?! I've never heard that name in my life!"
she said, tremble breaking her soft voice.

"Bullshit! Wang Xianshi, the Chinese asshole in the brown coat! I know he's here; he has to be!"
I inched even closer, my blade now resting dangerously near her cornea.

With a terrified whimper, the lady pointed to the staircase behind the fresh dry cleaning near the back of the store.
"Please, don't hurt him!"
she whispered.

Leaping off the counter, I dashed full speed up the stairs, kicking open the door at the end of the hallway with all of my strength. What I saw before me was indeed Wang Xianshi, clad in his brown knuckleduster and messy hair. What I hadn't expected was for him to be cradling a small, fragile infant boy.

My eyes went wide, and I took a very uncertain step closer to him. I could see the shock on his face. He let out an audible gulp, looking down at the baby boy in his strong arms.

"Please, just let me put my son down."
He pleaded with me.

I nodded my head slowly, not wanting to involve an innocent baby in our affair.

How could things end up like this? I never wanted to bring another child into this stupid line of work ever again, let alone a fucking baby! How on earth would I be able to retrieve the funds while Wang Xianshi had an infant present in the room?!

I gripped my tanto blade harder, my skin dripping profusely with a thick layer of sweat. It was the middle of summer, after all, and I had just been sprinting moments prior. My throat grew increasingly dry as I licked my lips, tasting the salty perspiration.

"Wang Xianshi... I'm here to take back what's ours."
I said in a quiet voice.

"You're talking about the money... I see, so the Bara-gumi is sending little girls to do their dirty work now."
He adjusted the sleeves of his coat, widening his stance slightly at my intense tone.

"I'm not some weak little girl... I'm a member of Kazuya's crew. I'm not leaving here without that cash."
I readied myself, balling my hands into small, lethal fists. I dropped the tanto blade, not wanting to risk the chance of me losing my grip on it and hurting the baby boy.

"So, be it. I'm not giving you that money, Princess."
Wang Xianshi dropped low into a bizarre stance, his eyes gleaming with a dangerous aura.