Tokyo Girl

[Bjorn]

Bjorn simply slides open the door and steps in.

[Brian]

Bjorn -- followed almost immediately by Tetsuo -- finds himself ... in an entry way.  A large, black coat is hanging from a coatrack.  There's a pair of shoes sitting in a shoe locker.  And there's another door leading further in, where faint giggling and splashing can be heard.  Overhead is nothing but florescent lights and cieling panels, though the lights are flickering occasionally.

Tetsuo looks nervous, and keeps one hand on his box-cutter, and his box-cutter in his pocket.

[Bjorn]

You've never been on a shake-down before? Bjorn's dream asks Tetsuo curiously.  Walk and talk like you own the place.

As he makes his way to the second door, not bothering to stop and change shoes, he continues, conversationally, In a place like this they never lock the doors -- in case the place's security needs to rush in suddenly to deal with the customers.  Of course, in this place, with this woman, that might not be the case... but if so, then we've definitely got something interesting on our hands, so we make sure we get whoever else is in there, too.  If it's just a usual business transaction, though, let the customer go.

And with that last piece of advice, he opens the door onto the (presumed) bath.

[Brian]

The next room is split in two, and one half of it is a palatial bath.  The other half is a bed and a television, basically a stripped-down hotel room, at a glance.  In the bath-half, a startled-looking woman wearing nothing more than body lotion is sitting on the tile outside of the furo, next to a man wearing even less of the lotion.  He sits up in alarm, face coloring.  "What the hell?" he barks.

The man is, at a glance, unarmed.  He looks Asian, though he is tall and very stout.

Father told me such work was beneath me, Tetsuo replies vaguely, distracted by the naked girl who's staring at the newcomers in surprise.

"Hey, more than one, and you each pay double," she says with a frown.

[Bjorn]

Bjorn walks over to the bed, and hauls the sheet up and away from the mattress.  Judging with a critical eye, he takes Shinmyouken and slices free a section of appropriate size, and then he walks over to toss it to the customer.  "Here," he says, softly.  "Take it.  Leave.  Forget."

[Brian]

The businessman clutches the sheet to himself and grabs the fallen clothing from the floor.  He quickly leaves, yelling something about a refund.  The woman's eyes narrow.  She doesn't seem to be the slightest bit concerned with the fact that she's naked, and after a minute of staring, Tetsuo turns around to watch the door.  "What do you want?"

[Bjorn]

"To talk, Michiko," Bjorn says affably.  "Perhaps you recognize my young friend?"

[Brian]

She squints, then shakes her head and says, "I know a lot of boys, he could have been any five of them.  So could you."

[Bjorn]

That just makes Bjorn smile briefly.  "Easy to confused; he had many brothers," Bjorn agrees.  "Kishimoto."

[Brian]

Her casual disinterest vanishes.  "I think we're done here," she says, climbing to her feet and scowling.  "The Kishimoto are dead."

[Bjorn]

Bjorn does not move, and Michiko's movement has brought them close enough for her to feel the cold chill of his Waking Dream even through the steam of the bath.  "That is indeed the matter we wish to discuss," he says softly.

[Brian]

Michiko backs up until she hits the tile walls, shivering.  "Leave me alone!" she protests.  "This was justice -- they killed my father!"

"It is a fool who mistakes vengeance for justice," Tetsuo says quietly, still watching the door.  The salaryman is gone.  I do not know how much more time we might have here.

[Bjorn]

"I don't really care about you, Michiko," Bjorn murmurs.  "I want to know who planned it.  I want to know about the outsiders.  You will tell me."

He pauses, head tilted as if listening.  "Already there are people on their way to help you.  So soon after I came here.  Somone thinks you are important."  He shrugs.  "And so you are, aren't you, Michiko?  And they're coming to help, but they can't."  With one hand, he reaches out to take Michiko's chin, making her meet his eyes; with the other, he takes off the sunglasses, and gazes at her with writhing pits of Dream mist, a small smile on his face.  "Tell me everything, Michiko."

[Brian]

The girl is trembling, obviously frightened despite her attempt at pretending calm.  But at the same time, she doesn't crumble, instead she just spits in Bjorn's face.  "Go to hell!"

[Bjorn]

The touch was enough to feel Michiko within the Waking Dream, and Bjorn chooses not to speak aloud. They lied to you, Michiko, he whispers.  They used you.  Why protect them?  Give me the answers I want and I will leave you, no retribution for your actions to ever be taken.