The thing looked like a gun. Flustered, I grabbed it and shoved it into my backpack. The ominous chill of the metal lingered on my hand as I scanned the area. I was in a late-night McDonald’s, sandwiched between a private railway station and a pachinko parlor. This place was familiar; it was close to the manga café where I’d been staying, and I’d already been there several times. The trains had stopped running for the night, and there weren’t many people in the restaurant. Most of them were silently focused on their smartphones, and the only ones talking were a pair of women. “I just keep falling for him harder and harder, but I’m the only one… He mostly ignores my messages…” The women’s conversation came to me in very serious whispers. Nobody was looking my way. I exhaled in relief. “It’s gotta be a toy,” I said aloud, trying to convince myself. After I’d cleaned up the empty cans, I’d washed my hands thoroughly in a public restroom, then remembered this place and came here. They probably wouldn’t let me stay until morning on one order of potage, but I wanted to be somewhere that felt safe until I’d recovered enough to walk around outside, at least. Pulling myself together, I sat back down in my chair. I rummaged through the pocket of my jeans, then set a crumpled slip of paper on the table. K&A Planning (Ltd.) CEO Keisuke Suga The business card I’d gotten from Red Shirt on the ferry had an address written on it in tiny letters. Tokyo, Shinjuku Ward, Yamabuki-cho. Shinjuku Ward? I punched the address into Google Maps. It was twenty-one minutes from here by city bus. Closer than I’d expected. Wrapping my hands around the paper cup of soup, I slowly sipped the last mouthful. Outside the window was a bright, enormous outdoor TV, blurred by the rain. The bustle of Kabuki-cho came to me faintly through the window glass, like sound leaking from headphones. If I go to this address…, I thought. What are the possibilities? CEO means “company president,” doesn’t it? Would he point me toward a job? But if he’s the kinda guy who’d sponge a meal off a high schooler, his company probably isn’t on the up and up. And— Hang on. If he’s got his own company, he probably has enough money to get by. And he made me pay 2,180 yen for his food! It was too late to get mad over this, but I did anyway. So I’d been picking up the tab for a Page 17 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com