Last Chance at Ueno Park

Akito Yamamoto listened to his phone as the gang members called in. "...managed to follow him all the way to Omote-Sando station. He then got on the northeast bound bus on route 246."

Akito silently cursed; his quarry would be passing through Chiyoda City and the Imperial Palace, arguably some of the most secure parts of Tokyo. Ordering his men to do anything in that part town that even remotely went outside of proper behavior would have been folly. What's worse, there were train and bus stations littered throughout the loop around the middle of town. Kyosuke was a trained soldier who probably knew how to spot a tail and if his men tried anything, all he had to do would be to walk right through one of the many high security areas and they'd be caught. "Fine... come on back. We'll need to figure out another way."

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Kyosuke Sakurai got off the bus as it arrived in the San'ya district on the north side of Asakusa and got his bearings. Of all the districts of Tokyo, this was one that didn't show up in most tourist guides or shiny pamphlets. Compared to the shiny towers of the wealthy districts, this would be considered the "bad" parts of the city, but to its credit, compared to virtually every other large city in the world, it was still far cleaner and safer than any other equivalent country's poorer districts.

Kyosuke had rented an apartment here back when he first returned from the United States, being one of the cheapest places to live. Even after he got set up with Yoriyoshi's place in Shibuya, he had held on to this place as a backup, especially once he got involved with General Tanaka. As part of his plan, he purchased a pair of burner phones, kept a set of forged identification papers and a small amount of cash as a "go bag" if he ever had to leave town quickly.

Upon reaching the correct apartment, Kyosuke opened the door and carefully looked inside and sighed with relief when he saw the three occupants inside. "Kid, you made it," Yoriyoshi was the first to greet him as he closed the door as the two men embraced.

"Yeah, they gave up once I made it to Chiyoda City. Even the syndicates can only bribe so many people and the wealthy part of town wouldn't be on that list." He turned to the two ladies. "Are you two, OK?"

"Oh yeah, sure, just swell," Kimoko offered sarcastically. "Now that it's a full party, can I get that interview?"

"You're late," Kyoko sighed, coming close to Kyosuke, who reciprocated after a momentary pause. "We were all worried."

"Listen... I know things haven't been entirely straight, but I can explain..." Kyosuke started, leading Kyoko to sit on the couch together.

Kyoko nodded. "Yoroyoshi told us about some of it. I have to ask... did you actually... kill people?"

Kyosuke took a long moment before answering. "In the service... yeah... they asked us to do some... questionable things. In the line of duty, of course. That's what they always tell you. After the first few times, you stop questioning it. Eventually, it gets harder to even tell where the line gets drawn, even after you leave the service. Still, I got out when I could... tried to get as far away as I could. Figured if I could come back to Japan, I could just disappear... try and start over..." He turned to Yoriyoshi. "He apparently told you the rest."

"He said you were doing it to help him out of a difficult situation," Kyoko nodded. "I guess, you're just the kind of person who does that for people when you see someone in trouble... like the night we met."

Kyosuke nodded and sighed, "The reason I didn't tell you this... well... that part of my life isn't something I'm proud of. I've made mistakes, but more important than that, I didn't want that part of my life to spill into yours. You have something special... a life worth living, people who look up to you, a father who loves you. I'm not going to do anything that would jeopardize that."

Kyoko looked at Kyosuke for several seconds of silence. For a moment, they began to drift closer together in silent mutual attraction before they both abruptly realized they were being watched.

"Ooh... this is gold...!" Kimiko gleefully recited with awe while pointing her phone at the couple. "Could we do this from another angle where the light from the window gives a better contrast against the...?"

Yoriyoshi snatched the phone from Kimiko's hands and examined the display. "You better not be transmitting your location," he warned, checking to see which apps were running.

"Give me some credit," Kimiko scoffed, "It's on incognito mode; I'm saving the stream for later broadcast!"

Kyosuke and Kyoko both looked at Kimiko with mixed feelings of disdain and resignation. Kyosuke sighed and looked at Kyoko. "Let's go back to our original plan... having your dad coming is still our best play. Especially with Yamamoto-san compromised, there's no telling how many of his subordinates he brought along into his little plan. General Tanaka was offering a pretty hefty bounty for your capture; more than enough to spread the wealth around."

"I-I can't believe he would do such a thing... after all these years," Kyoko whispered. "What could have driven him...?"

"Money? Jealousy? Who knows?" Yoriyoshi speculated. "Either way, we contact your dad, only this time, we tell him he has to come directly, and not to go through his security detail. That's probably what happened last time."

Kyoko nodded, "V-very well... I'll call him." She looked around. "What's the address here?"

"Not here," Kyosuke warned. "Security in this complex is nonexistent. If for whatever reason, Tanaka or even worse, Oyama's people get wind of this plan, maybe by just watching a bunch of limos leaving his building, they could reach this place first, and we'd have no way to deal with a dedicated force. We want a location where there's enough defensive depth and trustworthy protection, so they don't dare even make the attempt at foul play. That way, your dad can just roll up in his limos, pick you up, and you'll be home safe and sound and can put all this behind you."