Falling From the Floating World

by Nick Hurst

  His taunt worked too well.

  ‘Don’t blame me for your girlfriend’s profession,’ he said, flinching as I sprang to my feet. ‘I only slept with her. It wasn’t down to me.’

  It was a strange choice of words but they only jarred later.

  ‘But she didn’t want to sleep with you, did she?’ I said, my lip curling. ‘You’ve got all these starlets and groupies after you, but deep down you know it’s for what they can get from your fame. Then you met someone who had no need for it, the kind of person whose response would tell you whether you have any meaningful appeal. And she didn’t want you, did she? The only way you could maintain your self-pretence was to take advantage of her when she was desperate.’

  ‘You don’t know anything. It wasn’t the—’

  He stopped himself.

  ‘No, go on, finish what you were going to say. Surely you’re not scared of me?’

  He sneered. ‘Look at you. What, you think you’re some kind of big-shot because you’ve got the Takata name? Good luck. See how long that lasts. The gaijin-gumi are on their last legs. Takata’s even started running to the police. So no, I’m not scared of you.’

  I saw him give a faint nod towards the doorway, presumably at the maid. I didn’t pay it much attention because I’d sat down and was unravelling the bandage on my hand.

  ‘You see that,’ I said, holding it up. ‘I did it to myself. I’m not the first and I won’t be the last, but until you’ve cut off your own finger you can’t appreciate what it does to the way that you think.’

  I felt something cold spread through me. It took the fire from my temper but made my anger more clinical.

  ‘I’ve never been in the slightest bit violent – I even used to get squeamish watching films. But when you take a knife to your own finger, when you cut through your own flesh and bone, it does something to the way you see things and the way that you act. Now it wouldn’t bother me to see someone get hurt. I honestly think if I had to, I could grab something like that pen there and stab a person right in the eye.’

  I don’t know who was more chilled by what I said, him or me. But before either of us could react his mobile went, its ringtone repelling the electrified air. It seemed to activate something in him. He pulled it from his pocket and bolted from the room.

  I was much slower to react and when I did it was to curse. His nod to the maid and then the phone call moments later – they weren’t likely coincidence. The last time I’d been in a meeting similarly interrupted, I’d ended up flying out the window of a moving car.

  It was only when I reached the front that I realised an unconventional departure might have its complications, but the thought of the man-monster from last time gave me the boost I needed and I hurled myself over the gate. As I hurried down the alley I tried to work out which way to go at its end. I assumed they’d come the same way I had so I decided to turn left. A glance to the right affirmed the decision – a car with blacked-out windows was parked fifty metres away.

  It was hard to believe they could have got there that quickly but I wasn’t going to leave it to chance. I kicked into a sprint up a small winding road, then kept going straight where it curved away. I vaulted the walls of the apartment building’s garden, rejoining the street on the other side.

  I paused to work out my position. If I followed the same line I thought I’d be on course for Gaien-nishi Dōri. I took off again and before long the sound of cars in the distance suggested I was right. But the triumph of my bearings was short-lived – the street narrowed to a path that ended in small steps abutted by a high wire fence. I looked back. I couldn’t see anyone following, but if they were, running towards them didn’t seem a great idea. I turned back to the fence, swore at it once and started to clamber up.

  On the other side it was just a short jog to the main road, which wasn’t too bad even with the ankle I turned on the drop down. But despite it looking like I’d made good on my escape, my instincts were yet to be convinced. When a taxi pulled up, I pushed my way in almost before the passengers had a chance to get out.

  I ducked below the line of the window. The driver gave me a quizzical look.

  ‘Yoyogi, please.’

  If I was being tracked I assumed they’d look for me in Takadanobaba rather than at Tomoe’s place.

  When the car had gone a few hundred yards I felt confident enough to sit up. I was tempted to close my eyes and revel in temporary safety, but I couldn’t afford to relax. I needed to fit the new information into place.

  The third man was Onishi, the Education Minister, but I could see no reason for him being involved. He clearly was though, and possibly more than he would have liked due to the death of Kōda, the kuromaku who’d passed away.

  I googled the term. Originally, it had referred to the wirepuller who manipulated the kabuki stage with a black curtain. Now it meant a fixer, the link between the yakuza, business and politics.

  So the normal balance of power had been skewed. Without a middleman, Onishi had met Takata in person, evidently not to the most cohesive effect. Considering Onishi’s apparent relationship with the Ginzo-kai, this shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise.

  But Takata was so wily I remained suspicious. One had to be ready for double-deals and manipulation whenever he was involved. Perhaps he had aligned with the Ginzo-kai against Onishi, or maybe he was trying to turn Onishi against them.

  It still didn’t answer the question of why Onishi was involved.

  I stared out of the window at some of Tokyo’s less picturesque streets, their drab grey and the autumn drizzle at one with my mood. My mind jumped to what Fujiwara had said about Takata going turncoat. It surely couldn’t be true. But if he had, and everyone knew, he’d be in trouble. And if he was in trouble my situation would turn sticky pretty fast too.

  It was unrelenting. Anytime I found anything out it only revealed a lot more I didn’t know. Every time I spilt my blood for an answer, more questions and the probability of more punishment arose.

  The taxi let me out at Tomoe’s. I went up to her flat thinking it would comfort me, but her scent was fading and that depressed me instead. I curled up on the sofa and held one of her jumpers to my face. I needed to be with her, to feel her body tight against mine.

  I thought of the times I’d lain on this spot and stroked her calf as she walked by; kissed the nape of her neck as she cooked; or shared the gentlest embrace as we drifted to post-coital sleep. I had to believe I’d do those things again.

  But I knew if I was going to, it wouldn’t be without a fight. And I knew I wasn’t up to it alone. Even if she wasn’t here I was going to need Tomoe’s help. I would have to borrow her passion, her fire and her strength.

  TWELVE

  I couldn’t help but stare at his hands.

  ‘You want another drink?’ he asked, misreading my preoccupation.

  ‘No, I’m fine. Thank you.’ I took a sip from my glass to make the point.

  ‘You’ve been busy for a resting man,’ he said.

  ‘I have?’

  ‘I thought so. Haven’t you?’

  This would get silly if neither of us committed. I tried to think what Takata was most likely to know. Sakura. I felt a stab of irritation. It was all very well her making big sympathetic eyes, but it wasn’t much good if she betrayed me straight afterwards.

  ‘Well, I did remember a detail I thought I should check on in Senzoku—’

  ‘And you thought your easy charm and your way with the flowers of the floating world would outweigh my influence? That she’d help you and not report back?’

  That pretty much summed it up.

  ‘Well, no, I just thought it was something I should follow up on in case it could be helpful to us.’

  He didn’t say anything, he just kept looking at me, waiting for me to reveal something else he already knew. I tried to decide what it was. It had to be Fujiwara – I’d taken too much care when meeting Tatsuzan. I wished I’d been more consistent in my subterfu
ge.

  ‘I spoke to Fujiwara Daisuke the actor as well. Tomoe once told me they were acquainted so I thought I’d see if there was anything I could find out from him.’

  ‘And was there?’

  ‘A little, but I think I got less than you already know. We had a slight falling-out – I had to leave more suddenly than I’d planned.’

  ‘I heard. You were better at escaping your protectors than you were at covering your tracks on the way. But your haste was judicious – Ginzo-kai men turned up shortly after you left.’

  The thought of being caught by them felt like a stone dropped in my stomach.

  ‘Was there anything else?’ he asked, maintaining his eliciting gaze. I decided I wouldn’t bite this time.

  ‘No, that’s it – I had to get some rest in after all.’

  His eyes danced. He didn’t believe me, but I don’t think he knew about Tatsuzan. I also think he quite enjoyed the fact. It was a challenge, something different from his day-to-day.

  ‘You’re becoming quite enigmatic, Clarence-san,’ he said with a slight smile before becoming serious again. ‘But we need to get down to business – your role in the KanEnCo AGM. You’ll find there will be sōkaiya at the meeting. That’s not something for you to be concerned about. They’re affiliates of ours and have been advised of your presence.’

  I appreciated the fact I wouldn’t get a beating but I recoiled at the thought of being on the same side. My mind went to Eriko’s mother. How could I turn up with her enemies after she’d taken me into her trust?

  ‘I don’t believe it will be a particularly long meeting,’ Takata continued, and as he would be determining its length there seemed a good chance he was right. ‘And I think the protest groups may find it difficult to have their voices heard. I would like you to put a question to the board, however.’

  He paused a moment and took a sip from his glass.

  ‘I’d like you to ask the president for the Ishikawa Report.’

  I waited for further instructions. He took another sip.

  ‘Is that all?’

  ‘That’s it.’

  ‘What is the Ishikawa Report? Is it something to do with the planning process behind the plant?’

  The point of my investigations, I didn’t say. The source of much of my pain.

  He looked at me, his eyes probing.

  ‘Why do you want to know?’

  ‘It’s at the centre of everything. It unravels the whole affair.’

  ‘Maybe,’ he said. ‘Or maybe just some of it. But you haven’t answered the question. Why do you want to know? Do you intend to do something with the information? Or is it just curiosity that’s making you ask?’

  I hadn’t thought of it in those terms. I’d focused on getting to the heart of things. I didn’t have a plan of what I would do when I arrived.

  ‘I can only answer that when I have an answer to my question,’ I said. ‘I can’t plan for what I don’t know.’

  Something else came to mind.

  ‘Why did you have Kurotaki stop the plant chairman from showing it to me?’

  ‘It works to both our benefits for others to see you as a loose cannon I’m trying to rein in.’

  I’m sure it benefited him but I didn’t see how it worked well for me – it sounded more like I was being used in a dangerous game. He didn’t offer anything else so I returned to his question.

  ‘Well, anyway, if it led me to Tomoe then yes, I’d do whatever I have to do.’

  ‘Of course, Chōshi-san,’ he said with a faint smile. I took it as wistful.

  ‘You weren’t … ?’

  I blurted it out without thinking. He looked at me with sharp eyes.

  ‘I have a wife.’

  ‘Of course, I didn’t mean to suggest … It’s just … I’d heard that sometimes it isn’t considered cheating if it’s paid for.’

  ‘That’s not how I feel.’

  His eyes were black stones. Any warmth or charm had disappeared from his voice.

  ‘To be frank you dishonour your girlfriend with your doubts. You make yourself unworthy of her.’

  Had my fear allowed it, I would have felt piqued at the rebuke for doubting my girlfriend – the one who had sold herself for sex.

  ‘Your girlfriend was in a position that was not of her choosing. Yet she excelled in its cultural aspects and took only the most limited clientele in its more personal side.’

  The words chimed with something I’d heard before.

  ‘What do you mean, “not of her choosing”?’

  He looked surprised.

  ‘She didn’t tell you?’

  ‘Tell me what? We didn’t have much of an opportunity to discuss her job before she disappeared.’

  He refilled my glass.

  ‘You’ll need to remain calm while we discuss this – no matter the provocation. I won’t accept any outbursts.’

  It wasn’t a good way to start.

  ‘You know, of course, that your girlfriend is a lady of outstanding beauty.’

  I nodded.

  ‘From the start of her career she was just as well regarded for her work in the arts. But there are shadows even in the floating world. Those who lurk in its dark corners were drawn to her light.

  ‘Tanzen was still new then and while the idea of reviving the tayūs was a good one, finding the right calibre of employee was hard. That isn’t to say that they hadn’t taken on some illustrious figures, but Chōshi-san was special and they were desperate to get her on board. However, as you are aware, she is a strong-willed young lady. She refused their offers however much money they dangled in her face.’

  He looked at me carefully. I sensed there was something horrible to come.

  ‘Now her father—’

  ‘Her father’s involved in this?’

  I still imagined him as a whistle-blower or some such.

  ‘Her father’s business abilities were at the opposite end of the scale to Chōshi-san’s gift for the arts. He borrowed money to make good on the losses he made, but good went after bad. If you follow the trail from moneylenders, you’ll find there aren’t too many degrees of separation from men like us.’

  I had my qualms about being included in the grouping but I wasn’t about to interrupt.

  ‘The trail of money in Chōshi-san’s father’s case led to the Ginzo-kai, and as you know, the Ginzo-kai were backers of Tanzen.

  ‘You must realise it’s impossible for debts in our industry to be forfeited or else everyone would default and that would lead to the system’s collapse. But as a yakuza, one can benefit from being open to creative settlement. It was clear to the Ginzo-kai that in this case they owned a debt they couldn’t recoup. At the same time they were chasing an asset they were unable to gain. By bringing the two together they thought they could do the impossible and achieve two seemingly unachievable aims. So they offered Chōshi-san’s father a choice.’

  I didn’t want to hear it.

  ‘If he didn’t make up the difference within a week he would be stripped of every asset he owned down to his last set of clothes. He’d be left to live his life in destitution, and at a random point in the future he would be killed. And it wouldn’t be a quick death. Alternatively, he could persuade his daughter to enter Tanzen’s employment.’

  ‘He sold Tomoe out?’

  I couldn’t believe it. She was his daughter. She was all that remained of his dead wife. My mind jumped to the abuse I’d heaped upon her. She’d only been doing it to save her dad.

  ‘Yes,’ said Takata. ‘But it’s a bit more complicated than that.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  The question was instinctive. I wasn’t sure I could handle anything else.

  ‘Chōshi-san’s father was a weak man – I can only think her virtues come from her mother. He didn’t refuse the Ginzo-kai as a father should. But he didn’t have the mettle to tell his daughter of the price he was to make her pay for his own mistakes.’

  ‘I don’t understand.�
��

  ‘He went through with the deal. But he didn’t speak to Chōshi-san – he left her recruitment to the Ginzo-kai.’

  ‘But she’d already turned them down. Why would she suddenly accept their offer without a reason?’

  ‘She’d refused Tanzen. The Ginzo-kai employ more robust methods of recruitment. They persuaded her to join in the end.’

  I closed my eyes. I had a horrible idea of what was coming next.

  ‘How did they “persuade” her?’

  ‘Ray-san, I think you know. I’m not sure the details will help.’

  ‘I need to hear them.’

  ‘They raped her.’

  Visions of Tomoe I didn’t want to see forced themselves in front of my eyes.

  ‘They told her that if she didn’t work for Tanzen they’d send the pictures to her father, her employers, her friends – anyone she’d ever met and anyone she ever would. And they told her there was a threat to her father’s life, a threat she could negate.

  ‘But Chōshi-san’s father was a proud man, which is ironic considering how few of his life’s endeavours warranted pride. He insisted they didn’t tell her he’d agreed to it. But he was disgusted by what he’d done and what she’d become. His way of dealing with it was to cut her out of his life.’

  His eyes became bottomless again.

  ‘There’s no need to mourn his passing.’

  I sat without moving.

  ‘Dignity and rape aren’t concepts that can sit together,’ Takata went on. ‘But they were as respectful as it’s possible to be. The girls tricked over from Asia are gang-raped to break them in. With Chōshi-san there were no goons. I don’t know who was responsible for her initiation but I’m told he was more refined. She was to be their most valuable employee. They did what they had to to have her sign up, but they did it in a way that would cause the least harm.

  ‘But there was obviously a limit. They needed her to have sex with someone not of her choosing and they needed to have it on film.’

  The clinically planned precision of a business rape.

  ‘Your Chōshi-san did her ancestry proud. She had to be subdued in the end. When she came back to her senses she bit off the man’s nipple. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to escape the consequences of the day.’