The Light of my Life

Out of Sight

Back in Kanagawa, Japan Liu was hard at work. Though relatively young he was the heir to his family's business and was expected to shoulder some of the responsibilities. With Tamotsu out and about today with Lily,  Liu was meeting with some of his father's work associates. 

A small group of semi-formal dressed men arrive at Tamotsu's minka at about nine in the morning. By this time Tamotsu is headed to Illyana's second gig at a game shop in Akihabara. The man had sent a message to Liu, informing him of such. The men were led by Liu to the minka's tatami room where a traditional low table was set out with tea and sweets. Only one of the five men sat at the table,  Liu sitting directly across from him. 

"My good friend! I am glad you arrived safely. Many of the officials in this neighborhood are unyielding in their suspicions of outsiders."

And nothing was more outside the standard of normalcy than five Chinese businessmen visiting a small town. The men sitting across from Liu looked to be in his mid thirties. His long,  black hair was pulled back in a ponytail. He wrote a white button down, collared shirt that was nearly tucked in his tan slacks. On top of the shirt he wore a deep green silk vest. Beneath the vest he had a small holster hidden against his side with a knife sheathed. 

The other men were all dressed in varying ranges of styles but all semi-formal in one way or the other. They too appeared to be carrying hidden arms.

"No problem. Your dad helped us out. How's Jinguo Xie anyway? Can't believe he's letting you handle this deal." It wasn't that he didn't think Liu was capable, but the boy had seemed to be living a leisurely life up until now. 

Liu smiled. "You needn't worry Zan Li Lin! You can rest assured that I have spent my time here learning from grandfather Bingwen."

Can arched a brow, showing an amused smirk. "That's rather intense training for one so young. Alright. I'm convinced, but I still see you as my younger brother, so turn to me when you need help."

Liu laughed. "Come, come! No need for such sentimentality! You will always be big brother Zan in my heart. But now it is time to speak of business..."

A serious air picked up in the room as the men settled into their talks. Liu was to begin.

"As you are aware grandfather has amassed over 500 kilos of product and is seeking to move it across into Hong Kong. I will have already secured the required paperwork, all we need is your group to pick it up from the warehouse here in Kanagawa."

Zan leaned forward, elbow resting on the table as he grabbed a cake to start munching on.  "Why is it here in Kanagawa and not like Tokyo or leave it in Akihabara?"

"Grandfather Bingwen wanted to check everything going out and doesn't trust the security in Tokyo." Liu noted. "He desires out its leaf because there are too many people, but here it is hard for someone to break into our storage and abscond with that much product and not be noticed."

"So," Zan began. "That means Zuxian Zei caught wind of the move?"

Liu nodded. "Grandfather Bingwen suggested the possibility of a mole."

As the men spoke of their illicit activities a certain, rotund creature ambled through the mansion. It was Tamotsu's tanuki. He had deep brown fur, with a creme collar. Their fore and hind limbs were a deep ash and an ash mask over its tan and creme face. Around its body it wore a reflective harness with a shining gold plated medallion that had his address and the beast's name: Nuki.

It had caught the scent of a yummy treat in the tatami room. As it ambled through the manor it came to a room that had its door wide opened. It looked to be a storeroom that was stacked to the ceiling with boxes, crates of all different kinds of packages. The tanuki's rounded ears twitched as he padded into the room, appraising its contents with a hungry belly. Something in here smelled just as nice, if not better, than the sweets Liu had.

Chittering the little canid would pad around the room. Using its strong nose to sniff out its target. Blinking his round, black eyes it would cant its head, peering up to the top of the pile where a package lay precariously perched amidst the vault of goods. Licking his lips the domesticated hunter knew exactly what it was. 

Dried fish!

It made a mad dash up the shaky tower of treasure, paws assured of their steps. Once he reached the top he placed his bottom on the crate and used his forepaws to grab the pack of fish, which looked to be some medicine grade goods. 

"Of course!" Nuki could hear Liu's voice rounding the bend. 

Now the Japanese dog knew he should be pilfering treats. Looking around in panic he'd shove the box in his muzzle and dive across the abyss of stored materials before landing on another trembling tower. A few more jumps and the tanuki quickly climbed down a slope of rolled up tatami before landing.

~pat pat~ 

His paws touched down with the expertise of a ninja. Looking up there appeared to be another door. It was likely a salvation to freedom! Nuki stood up on his hind legs and reached for the handle, tiny digits wiggling. But before he could make a break for freedom a pair of hands wrapped around his midsection.

"Nuki, there you are!" Liu picked up the raccoon dog who still had the heisted herring. "Ah, Nuki, if Tamotsu finds you've been eating outside your mealtimes I will be scolded." He took the box from Nuki and set it aside. "Come, Zan and our brothers have departed. We shall have lunch!"

The tanuki looked back to the storeroom with longing. He eventually gave up and let Liu carry him off. Being set down at the table Liu laid down a plate of fruits, mushrooms and some whitefish for the fluffy fellow. Nuki stared at the plate, but realizing food was food he stuffed his muzzle into the plate and ate. 

"Good. Now I need to let aniki know..."

Back in Tokyo Tamotsu was driving Illyana downtown to the cinema for a signing event. She was going to not only be promoting a new anime, but one in which she starred as a voice actress. It was exciting for Illyana because it was the first time she played a cute character. 

Tamotsu pushed for that role because they were trying to typecast her as the villain. She was thankful to have someone like Tamotsu because there were some managers that took advantage of their partners. Tamotsu peered up at the rear view mirror to Lily. 

"Hey, don't forget we have to stay in character for the event."

"Huh?" Lily was unsure what Momo was talking about. "My character?"

He'd laugh. Honestly this girl was too pure. She's so excited by the signing she forgot their dilemma. 

"No, Lily. Though if you want to do that too I wouldn't stop you because it'll be good for the fans." He motioned his hand slightly, making sure to hold on to the wheel and maintain his focus on traffic. "Did you forget already? We're pretending to date." His words made her heart skip a beat. "So you have to remember to be lovey-dovey with me."

"R-right!" What did Tamotsu think was lovey-dovey? 

He would smile at her answer. "Alright and if you start to get hot let me know. I packed you some cold juice from breakfast."

She nodded, seeing as it was nearly 32°C and it was only nine in the morning. A brutal day. 

Down at the theater where the signing was happening the crowds were already gathering. There was a palatable excitement in the air as the soft murmur of voices filled the vicinity with the clamor of life. Given it was downtown Tokyo in Shinjuku, it was a given that this much noise would be present, but it wasn't an uncomfortable amount of noise at least.

Among the crowd there was a certain young man. He looked like any in the crowd with bandanas displaying kana of their favorite character or printed shirts and posters with the same. But this fellow had a device in his ear, communicating with his home base.

"Right..." He murmured in a whisper, the noisy crowd hiding his dubious chatter. "They hardly have any security near the table. Most of the security are watching the crowds and keeping them calm."

["Good. I'll need you to take the image up close or the device won't do its job. A bonus will be waiting for you if you can also get one of that manager of hers in the shot as well. You have only one chance."] 

["Understood..."]