“You really couldn’t have left this alone could you?” I hiss as I take her by the arm, away from the temple.
“How can I? When you tell me it’s -him- you’re going after.” She sets her lips into a thin line.
After we were far enough I finally let her go. “I can’t believe this.” I say, shaking my head. “Do you understand that now you’ve set me back at least another week?” This wasn’t what I planned for. I wanted to get back to Tokyo soon with so many things waiting for my attention there.
“Well if you would’ve told me, I wouldn’t have had to ask Yuunosuke-san to help me find out what you were up to!”
I spit the cigarette stub to the ground. “You involved him too?” I growled back at her.
“Only because I couldn’t catch up to you. What were you doing in the mountains anyway?”
I sigh and try to find some calm, so I lit up another cigarette. So that was her too. I -knew- something seemed off the past couple of days when it seemed like she didn’t come home from work.
“I was looking for alternate routes.” I slam my palm into my forehead. I’m getting a headache. “You can’t do this again Saya. You especially can’t get any of her brothers involved got it?” Didn’t I just tell her before that the situation with her brothers were difficult?
“That’s why I didn’t ask him to come this time!” She huffs, “Even if he wanted to. I -lied- to him just to make sure he didn’t get involved. I knew it might be dangerous.”
I slow down a little when I noticed she’s hardly keeping up with my pace. “Do you understand how many months I had tracked this man? Did anyone see you today? How about yesterday?”
“No one did. Not tonight.” Her tone finally ebbs, “I’m sorry okay? It was that man who did this to me. And then I heard he was taking girls from the brothels regularly. It became personal for me too.”
“That’s why I didn’t want you involved.” I sigh and take a long drag on my cigarette as we keep walking. “I should not have even told you it was him. My mistake.” I shake my head. “I don’t know if I’m getting sloppy or… But you can’t be involved. Got it?”
“Someone has to help you.” She turns to me, “Earlier today I found out that there’s only one mansion hidden by a lakeside forest in Ogoto, I’m told by one of the townsfolk it’s guarded by a private army.”
“I know that. I’ve already surveyed the area and found two escape routes near the lake.” I close my eyes frustrated. She spoke to someone? Doesn’t she remember snooping around can tip him off? She’s better than this but then again, it’s been a long time for her. “Look I appreciate your concern and I understand your reasons for wanting to get involved, but let me do this for us.”
“Not a scratch.”
“Always.”
“You’re a liar as always.” She’s quiet for a long time, which I thought would be the end of it but…
“I still don’t think it’s a good idea to go alone and what about the girls? We can’t have girls being delivered to clients here in Kyoto. The Meiji might be lax in that regard in Tokyo to get more “revenue” but here… If you just go and kill Tanaka – it won’t fix that problem.”
I stop for a moment and look at her. She’s right of course. I didn’t think about that. I merely thought about Tanaka and his evil. If I kill him quietly, a much larger evil remains. But is it really evil if these women do so willingly? I look at Saya and then think of Aioi.
“I know what you’re thinking. Are they worth it.” She moves away from me and goes on ahead.
“Something like that.” I say watching her back.
“Well do you think I’m worth it?” She looks back over her shoulder before opening the gates. “Because if you insist on doing it your way, then I got my answer.”
I’d tell her that I’d think about it, but the truth was I have no choice but to change my plans. At the very least, now there’s more time. Time I didn’t want.