My name is Don Granberry and I am a newbie all though a little less of
one than before. Many thanks to those who have been so kind to offer
words of encourage and criticism.
Most of the characters in this piece and the setting for it, were
conceived of by Rumiko Takahashi for her Ranma1/2 series of Manga. All
such characters and the setting are the property of Takahashi-san and
her licensees. All other characters in the piece are purely fictional
and any resemblences to actual persons living or dead are purely
coincidental.
Spreading Wings
Part I: The Burning Ring of Fire
Scenes 5 thru 8
�What�ll it be, sugar?� Ukyo asked the man standing at her counter as
she tried with difficulty to ignore his elaborate tattoos.
�Three seafood specials and beer!� The man said in a nettling voice,
�I�ll take the beer now.�
�Already at your table, hon.�
The man turned and looked back at the table where his two companinons
were sitting. Both of them were staring in alarm at the three bottles of
beer on their table. Both had their right hands inside their jackets.
�Where did that come from?� One of them asked nervously.
�I don�t know!� The other man answered, equally alarmed.
The tattooed man whipped back around to face Ukyo but she just smiled
to herself as she busily went to work on their food. Having no desire to
appear impressed or intimidated the man stalked back over to the table
where his companions were seated. He turned the chair around so that its
back faced Ukyo and sat down facing her, then he draped his arms of the
chair�s back.
His beer appeared in his hand without his having reached for it. A
glance over his shoulder confirmed his expectations. His companions had
their hands in their jackets again and were staring nervously around the
room. He motioned for them to calm down. Obviously the girl had a ninja
waiting on the tables for her. It was probably just part of the gimmick
that brought customers to the little joint, which meant that the young
woman had sound business sense. He found himself doing something he
almost never did. He was beginning to like his prey. He studied the
room, trying to catch a hint of movement or a shadow out of place but he
saw nothing, not even after their okonomiyaki magically appeared on the
table along with the tab.
Tattoos turned around in his chair and picked up the tab. Then twisted
to his left slightly so that he could see Ukyo.
�Hey, girlie!�
�Whatcha need, sugar?�
�You shouldn�t be billing us! We are your protectors!�
�Protectors?�
�Yeah! Bad things happen to nice girls like you, you know. Unless you
have protection.�
�Oh!� Ukyo said gritting her teeth, �And how much is this protection
going to cost me?�
�Not much!� Tattoos said with a nasty grin, �Just five percent.�
He paused for a moment to let the news sink in.
�Of your gross,� Tattoos added.
Ukyo blanched but carefully controlled her ire.
�When...?�
�I like you,� Tattoos cut her off before she could finish her question,
�We�ll let you have the first two weeks for free.�
�You�re very kind,� Ukyo stammered. Yakuza! She thought to herself.
They were the main reason she left Kyoto. It was hard to make money
whenever these bastards moved into a neighborhood. They bled you dry but
if you did not pay, they did things that were much, much worse.
�I knew you would understand,� Tattoos said with a slightly less nasty
grin.
The check disappeared from his hand as if by magic. He turned back
around to face his friends with a very satisfied look on his face. They
said nothing but returned his look with an admiring glance before
digging into their okonomiyaki.
The bastards hung around for the better part of two hours drinking up a
sizeable portion of Ukyo�s stock of beer. She wondered if her restaurant
might become one of their favorite haunts. Such an event would have more
bad points than good ones. She would have to close shop and move if they
decided they really liked her place. She had no desire whatsoever to
become part of that lifestyle.
---------
Ko Lon sat down at the table with the three men that had walked into
the Nekkohanten and demanded to see the boss.
�What can I do for you gentlemen?� She asked in the mildest tones she
could muster.
�We just wanted to talk with you about your security needs, Oba-san�
the oldest of the three men said in a reasonable tone of voice.
�I see,� Ko Lon said making sure to keep her voice very calm, �And how
much does security cost in this part of the world?�
�Oh it�s not all that expensive,� The Man said with a tiny, little
smile. �Just five-percent of your gross.�
�One.� Ko Lon said, making her voice hard.
�You really need protection you stupid old witch!� One of the Man�s
companions said with a sneer in his voice, �Don�t you get it?�
The interloper suddenly had trouble breathing and fell onto the floor.
He silently writhed in pain for a moment, then passed out.
�It�s rude to interrupt your elders!� Ko Lon said to the inert form on
the floor.
�Four percent,� The Man said as though nothing untoward had happened,
�Plus you buy your noodles from us and use our linen service.�
�Two percent,� Ko Lon said calmly, �I already have a good noodle
supplier and we do our own linens.�
�Okay, three percent.� The Man said, �But you will buy noodles from us
and start using our linen service.�
�Two and a half percent,� Ko Lon countered, �But only if the noodles
are really good and the linen is new.�
The Man burst out with a hearty laugh then said, �Deal Oba-san.�
Ko Lon nodded and the two men who were still able got up and started
walking towards the door.
�What about this?� Ko Lon called after them and pointing at the
unconscious man still lying on the floor.
�We don�t handle garbage,� The Man said with a shrug as he turned to
walk out the door, �That sort of thing is your problem.�
After the two men left, Xian Pu rushed over to Ko Lon.
�Great grandmother, what we do?� She asked.
�You and Mu Suu take this body out and throw it into the canal.�
�You kill him?� Xian Pu asked, only slightly surprised.
�He�s dying and nothing can change that,� Ko Lon said grimly, �His sort
of fool isn�t worth saving anyway.�
She and Mu Suu picked the man up and carried him away, leaving Ko Lon
alone with grim thoughts. Dammit! Can�t go anywhere without this kind
scum showing up. Nerima had long been a haven from this sort of thing
for a long time, but now there were serpents in paradise. Oh, well she
shrugged to herself, it had to happen sooner or later. Running to the
authorities about them would be both useless and dangerous. Still, it
could not have come at a worse time. They needed every last yen they
could raise just now. Things were not going all that well in China.
After Xian Pu and Mu Suu returned she explained how important their
silence would be.
�This kind of scum is found in every major city on earth. There is no
avoiding them. If you start fighting with them, it becomes a never
ending war. The best thing to do is to grit your teeth and make the best
deal you can. In this case, we are making a better deal than anyone else
in Nerima is likely to make, so we will be better off. Say nothing to
anyone about this. Especially say nothing about how much squeeze we are
paying. It�s our business, no one else�s.�
The two young people nodded their ascent. After all, they could always
flee back to China if it things got too rough.
�How come this kind not here before, great grandmother?�
�I don�t know child. Perhaps Nerima just didn�t have enough money to
make it worth their while before now.�
�Aiyaa!�
�Let�s get this place cleaned up and get some rest!� Ko Lon said in the
tone of an order, �There�ll be hungry customers here again tomorrow and
I want them to have clean place to eat.�
---------
Inspector Yoshida walked into the morgue to have a look at the body
that was the basis for his latest case. He was not impressed with it nor
was he all that pleased with the new coroner. The boy obviously did not
understand the facts of life.
�So? he�s just some dumb drunk that fell into the canal. What�s the big
deal?� Yoshida irritably demanded of the coroner.
�Nope,� The young coroner said, �He didn�t drown. No water in his
lungs.�
�So what did he die from?�
�I can�t find a single logical cause for him to be dead,� the coroner
replied, �The only mark on him is this little bruise, here above the
groin. I think it was made with stick or something.�
Yoshida was not surprised. He had seen it all before. Many such men had
died in Nerima. Most with only a single bruise or no marks at all. One
was found without a head but as far as Yoshida knew, that one body had
been the sole exception.
�Any idea of an approximate time of death?�
�About ten last night I think. My guess is that he died in Nerima and
someone dumped his body in the canal.�
Well, Yoshida thought to himself, at least this kid does his homework.
�What makes you think that?�
�Time of death, the tide table and the fact there have been something
like a hundred such cases off and on for the last twenty-years.�
�Mmm!� Yoshida grunted non-committedly.
�You already know who did it, don�t you?�
�No, I don�t,� Yoshida said to the younger man, �And I don�t want to
know.�
�Why?� The younger man was alarmed, �This is murder.�
�How do you know it was murder?� Yoshida asked with more than a little
heat in his voice, �I�d say it was more than likely a case of
self-defense .�
�If it were self-defense why wouldn�t it have been reported?�
�If you killed one of these apes in self-defense would you call the
cops?�
The younger man froze in his tracks for a moment.
�But there have been so many cases over the years I ....�
�There have been so many cases that Nerima has the lowest crime rate in
Tokyo aside from these mysterious deaths,� Yoshida said wryly. �Don�t
let�s look a gift-horse in the mouth.�
�But what will you do? Reports have to be filed?�
�Easy. This and ten or fifteen other such cases remain open on the
books until I retire. I�ll get every one of them assigned to me until
then. After I retire, an official letter of reprimand will be entered
into my folder. That�s the way we�ve handled it for years. Yamada got
the last batch, now it�s my turn. No big deal.�
�It doesn�t seem right, somehow.�
�We live in an imperfect world,� Yoshida said tiredly, �Call me when
the next one shows up. I�ll take care of it.�
He left before the younger man could say anything else or ask any more
questions. Yoshida really was tired of police work and was eagerly
looking forward to his retirement. Not only did he not care about dead
yakuza, he was actually pleased that Nerima had eliminated another one.
No doubt several more dead hoods would drift into the bay over the next
few months. He smiled at the thought of it. He really did not know how
it happened and he truly did not want to know the details. Nerima had a
habit of taking care of itsef and that was all that mattered.
�Just let the bastards die,� Yoshida muttered to himself as he left the
building, �Let them all sleep in the sewers of Nerima and good
riddance.�