Residences

Chapter 6
Residences

18:05

Kujo drove Himura back to his apartment in order to collect what he needed for what they agreed would be a three day-two night trip. The atmosphere had eased up, but this was likely down to the fact there had been little conversation beside Himura giving directions to his residence. The building itself was new and imposing with its gleaming glass facade. Nothing like the original Himura clan's tradional compound, but it still flaunted the fact he had money.

Riding the elevator to the tenth floor and unlocking the apartment door with high tech security, Himura stepped inside the pale wooden foyer and gestured for the female to follow. The place was practically a sleek showroom in shades of cream; there was a minimal signs of being lived in, and it had a slight twinge of disinfectant. The colour scheme consisted of beige's, blond woods, and silver metal fixtures, and the air was cool despite the late afternoon sun spilling through the open blinds of the floor-to-ceiling spanning windows boasting an impressive panorama of Tokyo City. Kujo supposed it suited his tastes.

"Make yourself at home. I'm going to pack some stuff and get changed."

The woman nodded without saying a word and went to inspecting the generous, airy space with very few personal things. Just when she was getting into looking at the pictures housed on the sideboard at the far end of the sitting room, there was a beep and the front door opened with an electronic clic to reveal a petite woman.

Apparently more startled than the blonde, the newly arrived female clasped her chest. "Who're you?"

Staring straight back at her, taking in the sight of the slender frame in an expensive looking sun dress, the blonde spoke. "You're supposed to give your name before asking for someone else's." Clearly, she had forgotten that she was in somebody else’s home.

The woman with fluffy, curled coal hair down to her elbows choked at the remark. Throwing her purse and wide-brimmed hat down on the sofa, she advanced for the stranger. "I'm surprised a person like you knows manners like that." An obvious expression of loathing painted her face as she eyed the blonde from head to toe, and then back again.

Before the one sided argument could brew any further, Himura emerged from the bedroom. Both women glanced to the man pulling the hem of his t-shirt down with one hand, and a holdall in the other.

The shorter woman looked like she was on the verge of having a fit. "What have you been doing! Who is she?"

"I got changed." He told honestly, oblivious as to why the woman was so angry. Kujo caught onto what the woman could be thinking but kept her mouth shut.

Turning around and glaring at the blonde, the brunette pointed in her direction viciously. "You better keep your hands to yourself."

Puffing her cheeks out briefly, Kujo's better judgement told her to reassure the angry brunette that there was nothing suspicious going on. The blonde, never being one to yeild to that side of her personality once prodded, spoke in jest. "Are you feeling threatened?"

Eyes widening and chest filling with air as if she was about to show some kind of anime superpower, the petite female bellowed. "W-what?"

Waving her hand, the outer corners of Kujo's lids turned up as she smiled. "Don't worry so much, or you'll age quicker. That's bad news for someone with only their appearance as collateral."

"You bitch, do you know who I am?" The shorter woman stomped her foot in irritation.

The guest turned away and picked up one of the pictures with a mumble. "No, but I'm sure you're going to tell me."

"Listen to me when I'm talking." The woman lurched forward and slapped the frame out of the blonde’s hands, sending it crashing to the floor.

"Stop it, Maya!" Himura reached out for the brunette but it was too late.

Snatching the shorter girl's wrist and twisting it as she held it above her head, the blonde glowered down on her. Ragging the female within a couple of inches of her face, the taller woman snarled. "You might have got your way so far by throwing tantrums and bullying people with your status, but don't make the mistake of thinking that will work with me."  Shoving the horrified woman away, the blonde crouched down to collect the picture which had broke.

Gasping like a fish out of water between the crouching female and the man, Maya screamed. "Are you just going to stand there, Anata?"

Himura held his hands up, not wanting to get involved in such a situation. "I tried to warn you."

"Is that all you have to say?" Huffing, the brunette advanced for him. Taking a hold of the handle of his bag, she tried to pull it out of his grip. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going seeing some old school mates from my hometown for a few days.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me?” Scoffing, she rolled her eyes. “It better not be that stupid ghost hunting thing.”

Himura subconsciously glanced to the blonde with her back to the pair. Following his line of sight, Maya pulled at his bag harder. “We have wedding preparations to take care of. My father is waiting to make payments.” Side-eying him, she pouted. “If you ever decide to agree on the date...”

“Your father’s money isn’t going anywhere any time soon.”

“Is that what you think this is? Am I just a meal ticket?”

“You know that's definitely not what I meant. I’ve had enough of being dogged today, Maya.” He shrugged off her grip. “Drop it.”

Eyes wide at the unheard of turn in attitude, the short brunette backed away. Shocked by the tone which was nothing more than stern, the woman snatched her belongings off the couch and stormed off out of the apartment, slamming the heavy duty door behind her.

Waiting until he was sure Maya had left, Himura sighed. "Why did it take you so long to snap?"

“Did you want me to do it sooner?” Nicking herself on a splinter of glass, Kujo watched the sanguine pearl on the pad of her ring finger. "Or are you trying to say I have no self-control?" She glanced up from her crouched position with the end of her finger between her lips.

"N..." He held his breath and then chose to be honest. "Yes, that's what I'm saying."

Standing up with the broken frame, the blonde nodded towards the foyer. "I saw the ring on her finger. That, and her having a key...I gathered that she’s your fiancée."

Himura's eyes became downcast. "I take it you won't be coming to the wedding?"

"I don't think even you should be going to the wedding, and that's not just because I'm a cunt and I hate to see you happy. Because that's not true. We scrap like a bag of cats and probably always will, but I would never wish you ill, Kae. Even I can see you deserve better than what she would give you." Shrugging at the morbid expression her friend was making at the honest words, the blonde placed the framed picture of the members of the Ghost Hunting Club back on the counter, a trickle of her blood still on the cracked glass. "Are you ready to go?"

Without a word, Himura walked to the front door. Shuffling two paces behind him, she watched the back which had grown so much in the last ten years. It reminded her of one of the uncountable walks to school, or every hunting excursions they took part in; Himura and their absent friend walking just ahead as the leader gave his routine pep-talk to the then-reserved posh kid. Except, he wasn't there anymore. Sucking in the stuffy air of the communal hallway, Kujo rolled her eyes. 'I suppose you left me a wonderful job, Mako.' The blonde's head-voice was even more sarcastic than her audible one.

The pair travelled down to the car park in silence. Once Himura had thrown his bag over the front seat and into the back of the van, he sat beside the door to his left, making sure to leave a gap between them on the couch-like bench. Watching the woman fish her umpteenth smoke from her pocket, he was beginning to think that her pocket multiplied cigarettes . Fastening his belt, the brunet sat back in his seat stiffly. Soon enough, she noticed the unusual attention.

"What?"

"Do you mind?" He held out his hand in a strange gesture.

Taken aback, the blonde verified. "Seriously?"

"I started after high school, but then quit when I got engaged to Maya. Her father told me it was a horrible habit." Himura quirked his brow with closed eyes and a weak shoulder shrug. "Everyone told me it was a bad habit."

Faking seriousness, the blonde shook her head. "So, you want me to be the terrible friend that knocks you back off the rails."

"Let's be honest, I was never really on the rails."

Chuckling, the blonde offered her passenger a cigarette. "That's true." Starting the engine, the driver commanded a similar reckless manoeuvre as earlier and sweved out of the car lot, onto the main road.

Lighting the vice and inhaling the first drag, Himura stared out of his window wistfully. "Say, Taka..." The driver hummed in acknowledgement. "I'm..." There was a pause, and then he turned to face her. He inspected her profile for a second as she continued to stare ahead, as if she knew that he wanted to say something important. Looking away, he inhaled a lungful of smoke and smiled with a lighter change in tone. "I'm hungry."

Sure that there was something else he wanted to say, she opened her mouth to call him out. Turning to her right, she was hit by what she saw. His whole attitude had changed to a happier one - One that Kujo knew wasn't quite as genuine as he was trying to sell. Pulling back with a deep inhalation of breath, the blonde took on the busy spider web of Tokyo streets.

“Pick a place.”

 

19:50

The Ghost Hunters Club had regrouped at Kurosawa’s home. Aside from devising their plan for tomorrow - which consisted of meeting up at 7:30 and setting off after gathering supplies - the pair of Seniors didn’t stay too long. Other than some teasing coming from Shibata and Tsukino about Himura and Kujo spending the day alone together, the shortest man had told them that he'd asked his father about a place for them to stay. It turned out that his father's friend owned a modest sized inn on the outskirts of town. Tsukino’s father had informed that it wasn’t going to be a five star hotel, but it would be okay for the night.

 

20:35

Both Himura and Kujo had made it to the place where they were supposed to be staying. It seemed decent enough: a typical style structure for the time it was built, which looked like it was sometime just after the Edo period. At least it had somewhere to park her van despite it being off the main street, which was a miracle considering it had taken the pair of their brains over half an hour to manoeuvre around the narrow streets filled with oddbobs of buildings out of a period drama. That’s not to say it didn’t appear a little worse for wear when it came to the outer façade with its wooden structure and old fashioned plaque reading ‘Ishikawa Ryokan’ worn down to the point it was almost unreadable until you were stood right by it.

Parking on sparse grit beside a stream which ran around the side of the inn, Kujo shuffled down the unkempt path towards the main entrance. Hold-all in the grip of her left hand, she didn't even waiting for her company. Upon entering thedimly lit establishment, she was met by a man in his late forties to early fifties sat behind the counter of the surprisingly large, open foyer. He was wearing a rolled up bandana around his forehead and a khaki yukata with its sleeves rolled up to his shoulders: he looked like the mentor of the main character of an 80's Seinen manga, with strong, war-torn masculine features and tattoos covering the majority of skin below his neck. Sniffing up to clear her nose of pollen, the blonde advanced for the reception. "Excuse me?"

The presumed owner looked up from his magazine. "What can I do for you, Oujo San?"

"Tsukino Ji San recommended this place to us. Do you have any rooms for just the night?"

"Ah, Gen Kun?" Easing up off the stool he'd been sat on, the owner turned around and unhooked one of the keys off the rack on the wall. "He called ahead and said you’re going back there tomorrow. Can you give him a message for me?" As she received the key, the blonde nodded. "Tell him I need some more of the 5mm drill bits; tell him not to forget this time. The man has a brain like a sieve." Sitting back down, the worker pointed down the hall from the opposite way they'd come from. "When you get to the stairway at the end, follow it up and turn left."

"What about the fee?" The woman asked.

Waving his hand as he smiled, the gruff owner spoke. "Don't worry about it. Just pass that message on and we'll be even."

"Thanks, Oji San." Returning the smile, Kujo skipped off in the direction she'd been told only to pause and gain another eye-ful of the broad man. With her company following behind her at a much more normal pace, Kujo trotted up the stairs with a pep to her step.

Once out of earshot from the reception, Himura frowned at the female's back. "Why didn't you offer to pay?"

Making a start on the stairs, the woman huffed. "I did. I asked about the fee, which is the same as offering."

"You're so frugal."

"That's not true. I splash out on alcohol."

"I'm sure." He rolled his eyes.

“Not everyone comes from an upstanding clan, Bocchan.”

Shuffling along through the growing darkness, Himura mumbled. "And were you checking him out?"

"What if I was?"

"He's probably close to twice your age."

"So, what? I like men who can take care of themselves in a bad situation."

"They'd have to, being around you."

"Do you want me to kick you down the stairs?" By this point, the pair had made it to their room: number 12. Kujo fitted the key in its designated slot and unlocked the door. Pushing open the barrier with her hip, the pair waddled in through the narrow doorway with their bags and Himura patted the wall for a light switch. Hitting the plastic nub, the pair got a view of the shoebox room which was not traditional in any sense. Standing at the threshold, horror covered their faces.

"What is this?" The blonde gawked at the design of the room.

"You're asking me?" The police officer asked, completely bewildered. Himura's lips twisted a little as he allowed himself a smirk at the flip in situation. "Still like men who can take care of themselves, but decorate like it's a 1970's European porn set?"

"I'm not enthused to know that you know what that looks like." Kujo blinked as her eyes refused to focus on on single thing. "Are we really staying here?"

"You make it sound like this is the worst place we've stayed." Kujo gave him a skeptical look, prompting him to elaborate. "Do you not remember when we went on our first job out of town, down to Chichibu and we crashed at that shrine? I think the damp and draft are worse than this." He picked up a red sequin throw cushion and gave it a scrutinizing glare before tossing it aside.

Going around the space, examining the odd disco ball hanging from the mirrored ceiling and then the lamp, which had a red bulb, the woman hummed as her eyes refused to focus on one gaudy object alone. "Haven't you noticed something important, Mister Detective?"

"What?" Himura glanced back over his shoulder with a fur leopard print throw in his hands.

"There's only one bed."

His face dropped slightly as his eyes landed on the red satin sheets. "O-oh..."

"Now you're bothered by it?" She asked, and just as she did, giggling from the next room along turned into full-blown thumping.

Not knowing where to look, Himura kept his eyes on the floor as a wave of heavy grunts and feminine mewls broke past the thin walls. "Sorry, the first thing I looked at wasn't the bed."

Raising an eyebrow and then contorting her face, Kujo spoke in an obvious tone. "Hm, well, there are plenty of things that steal your attention in here." It was true. The tones of obnoxious scarlet really competed with the mirrored ceiling and assortment of feather and leather toys in the open trunk across the room.

"I hope the food's okay."

"Let's not chance it.” Closing the chest lid, she pinched the closed lace voiles and peeked out of the small window which overlooked the front of the building. For such a quiet area, there were a fair few people beginning to pass on the old street below, the majority wearing yukata and other traditional items. “I noticed a restaurant on the way here."

Flopping back on the satin sheets, Himura stared up at the ceiling and gurgled at his own reflection. "What are we waiting for? I could do with a drink."

Blinking a few times, Kujo stuck her hand underneath her hair and scratched the back of her neck tacky with sweat. "I didn't expect you to say that."

Sitting up and wobbling his head mockingly, Himura hummed. "Some of us change, you know."

Throwing her nose up in pretend anger at the statement, Kujo only had to stride thrice before she was back at the door. "Whatever. I'm going; lock up." The comment and the thrown key made Himura flail in an attempt to get up from the cushy bed and chase after the woman.

 

Updated: 13th May 2018 - 16:18