Shindig

As the man went up to collect his living spoils, the whole place stayed silent. Such a massive bet even impressed the higher end clientele, all of which were giving him dirty looks.

But he didn’t seem to care. He simply took the little girl's hand and began marching her to the exit.

The way he walked with her looked experienced, like he knew exactly how to set a good pace for someone so small to keep up. I could have almost mistook them for father and daughter.

The rich guys weren’t the only ones eyeing him, I gave a few mean glares myself as he passed.

He stopped beside us, not leaving just yet.

“I’d suggest you keep your voices down. Never know who might hear you.”

His dry and lifeless voice seemed to be warning us, but not threatening. I can’t say for sure he heard everything, but I had to assume he did. He was sitting awfully close to us compared to everyone else after all.

The peak of his eyes I got while staring at his mask was a cold gaze into hell. He was lifeless under all that plastic.

“What are you going to do with her?” I held back as much of my anger as I could, asking calmly.

“Not sure. I consider her a replacement for a child I lost very recently.”

He’d lost a child?

“Kishimoto-san, you shouldn’t bother the man.” Ekko said, using my cover name. “I’m sorry, sir. He’s been under a lot of stress recently. You see, we have a daughter of our own, and he tends to get a little overprotective when he sees one up on stage.

The man looked down to see my sister watching him. They both had an intense stare down. Their eyes were like daggers, striking each other’s souls while the invisible sparks kept us at bay.

“Can I help you, little girl?”

“I hope you find your daughter,” Ko replied to him. “I’d be scared if my daddy lost me.”

“I’m sure your father would be just as scared. But thankfully he knows where you are now.”

What was this all about?

Ko clung to my leg, then buried her face into my cloths. “I’m sleepy. I want to go to bed.”

That was her signal that she’d seen everything she needed to here. I felt the same way. This place was terrible, and it showed us a lot of what the higher class lived like.

“I assume you’re all going to the party tomorrow night. What family are you with?”

“Yamazaki,” I replied.

“Yamazaki, huh?” he uttered. “Here’s some advice. If you hate it here, don’t go there.”

“Excuse me?” I questioned.

“Look around you. These are the people who’ll populate that gathering. A hive of those who think very little of human life besides their own. Can you tell me you’ll fit in with the crowd?

He certainly was one to talk, buying that little girl.

“If you want my advice, head for the hills. Live a quiet life while you still can, before you won’t have the chance to escape.”

Ekko’s brow furrowed, like she was sensing hidden meaning to his words. I picked up on it as well.

“Can’t do that,” I replied. “A lot of people are counting on us to show up.”

The man let out a snide scoff, then continued walking.

“Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you, ‘Yamazaki-san.’”

He then continued to walk out with the poor girl he’d just bought for 50 billion yen.

“Man, what a creep,” Ekko commented.

Something about him was different. We could all feel it. If he heard what we were talking about, and even decided to come talk to us, with a warning no less, he seemed of different stock from the rest. I almost felt like he was on his pills with the way he was talking, but that couldn’t have been the case.

***

The next day finally came, and with it, the party we were about to crash.

All the guests at this hotel were snuck into the neighboring building through an underground tunnel. Then a big elevator took us all the way up to the top floor. That’s where the party was being held.

It was fancy with its red and gold furniture and decorations inside of a lavish foyer and ballroom. Gaudy, but more subdued than anything we saw at the casino.

The party had its own microcosm of social class within. Those with servants were celebrated as popular among their peers, while those who either had a slim amount or none at all were considered “Peasants.”

If you had too many servants though, usually more than five or six, you were considered a show off for swelling the crowd. The balancing act for how many people you were allowed to bring was a very fine scale.

Hardly anyone had that many servants to show off. Men and women alike would mostly walk in alone or with one servant at all to their name, usually purchased the night before at the casino. The few who stood above them would tease and scold behind their backs as if it were some club to own the most people.

Ekko and I clearly didn’t bring anyone besides Ko with us. The less people we had, the less we stood out. The crowed made it even easier to blend in while we traversed about.

Our plan here was to swipe a scan of an ID card from someone who worked at the factory in Tokyo. It could either be a scientist or worker. It would also help to know the times they’d usually work so we could avoid going in at the same time.

The problem was, we didn't have a clue who was involved in that line of work. That's where our social skills came into play. There were so many people around here servant or otherwise, and one of them would be bound to have some sort of connection we could exploit to find the right ID.