Chapter Sixteen: Kabukicho Spreading:
-Kabukicho,
12:45 p.m.-
Ah, Kabukicho.
Felt strange to be back here. How long had it been? A year, maybe? Anna shook
her head.
“We’re here,”
she said. Jotaro didn’t speak. His laser focus only grew stronger.
“Where is this
bathhouse?” Anna asked.
“It’s downtown,”
he said. “I have the address here.” He pulled out a piece of paper out of his
pocket. Anna took a look.
“Isn’t that in a
bad neighborhood?” she asked.
“Yes,” Jotaro
said. He saw the worried look on her face.
“We won’t be
there long,” the boy said. “We’ll be careful, I promise.”
“Right… Right,”
Anna said. She tried to look positive.
“You want that
lunch now?” Jotaro asked.
“Yes,” she said.
“Okay,” he said.
“Follow me.” He led her down the street. They ended up at a small Chinese
restaurant. Anna whistled at the red and gold exterior.
“Okay,” she
said. “Looks nice.”
“I came here
when I was eleven,” Jotaro said. “The food is really good here.” He sure so sure
of himself. The boy walked up to the door and pushed it open.
“After you,” he
said.
“Oh thank you,”
Anna said. She went inside. Jotaro followed behind her.
--------
-1:18 p.m.-
Jotaro raised
his arms above his head.
“That was a good
lunch,” he said. “Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Yeah,” Anna
said, nodding. “You did good.” The waitress came by with the bill. Anna reached
for her wallet.
“Ant,” Jotaro
said. “I got this. I’m treating you, remember?”
“Oh, right,” she
said. Anna put away her wallet. Jotaro pulled out a handful of cash. Once the
tab was paid, the pair left the restaurant.
“Where to now?”
Anna asked. Jotaro glanced over his shoulder.
“The bathhouse,”
he said.
“Of course,” she
said. Anna put on her brace face. Jotaro took her hand.
“It’s okay,” he
said. “We’re so close.”
“Yeah. So
close,” Anna repeated. They resumed their trip to the seedy downtown part of
Kabukicho. Anna held her breath.
Buzz.
“What was that?”
Jotaro asked.
“Calm down, it’s
my phone,” she said.
“Huh?” he asked.
Anna pulled out her phone.
“It’s
Asato-kun,” she said. Jotaro looked so confused.
“What? Your
husband?” he asked. Anna looked at his text.
Where are you?
Are you okay? Talk to me.
Anna cut off her
phone screen. “It’s nothing.” She forced herself to smile.
“Shall we get
going?” she asked. Jotaro gave her a strange look.
“Go on!” Anna
said. “Let’s go! We have to get moving.”
“Right… right…”
he said. The boy took the lead again. Anna followed behind. She would need to be
more careful. Knowing Tsuzuki, he will keep texting her until she replied. She
would have reply back when Jotaro wasn’t looking. Anna rubbed her forehead.
“Is something
wrong?” the former heir asked.
“No,” she lied.
“Everything is fine.” Jotaro said nothing.
--------
-Ju-Oh-Cho-
Tsuzuki stared
at his phone. No answer. He tried not to fear the worst, but his mind couldn’t
help it.
“Hisoka!”
Tsuzuki wailed.
“I know,” his
partner said. The older shinigami sighed, He held his finger over the keys. It
felt too early to send the next text. But this felt like an emergency.
“Go on, text her
again,” Hisoka said. Tsuzuki whipped his head around. The younger shinigami
looked so calm.
“It will help us
pinpoint her exact location in Kabukicho,” he said.
“But what if
she’s in a dead zone?” Tsuzuki asked.
“It’s worth a
try,” Hisoka said.
“Okay,” the
older shinigami said. He started typing.
--------
-Kabukicho-
Kabukicho being
crowded made things easier. The drill didn’t change. Head down and don’t stand
out. Anna had her phone on silent. One more buzz would put everything in
jeopardy.
“Does he know
where you are?” Jotaro asked.
“Huh?” Anna
asked.
“Your husband.
He doesn’t, does he?” he asked. The woman thought about it for a moment.
“Kind of…” she
said. He whipped his head around, eyes narrowed.
“What does that
mean?” the boy asked.
“I told him I
was I running an errand and I would be back soon,” Anna said. “It should be
fine.” All a lie, of course. She still had to sell it for now. Jotaro’s face was
hard to read.
“Really?” he
asked.
“Yes,” Anna said, nodding. The former heir didn’t
speak. Instead, he turned his head and walked forwards. The sounds of people and
traffic swallowed up the silence. Anna’s tightrope became thinner under her
feet. When would she fall? She held her breath. Boy, this felt like a long walk.
Tsuzuki probably sent her another text by now. At least this walk would help
give her time to think about how to get out of this one.