45. Haisui no jin
「Mayumi」
Hazy through the low lights and creeping shadows, the burning scent of cigarette smoke and desperation wafts along as an unnatural fog. It clings to everything. The long fingers of a silent phantom. I sit alone, in a secluded booth, yet it's whispers flit through the narrow slats of wood that graciously separate me from the rest of the place. Promises spoken of in low, sultry tones. You are not unseen, you are important, you matter.
Lies, bought and paid for. Told to the men that cram themselves into these booths, around narrow tables, like baying livestock in a luxury barn. In a world where all is but a tool to be used, they pay a premium for a pretty girl to take them in, and with honeyed words and careful whispers, make them forget that fact. Even as those very same girls close the doors of their pen and drain them for what little value they can provide.
It just had to be a hostess club.
Ikushima had called ahead, set up the appointment days ago. Upon my arrival, I crossed the threshold with barely a muttered word to the woman at the door. Early for my meeting with the one Madame Izanami, Mama Ikushima's dear sister. I sat myself and have since been ignored. I am not the thing to be consumed here, the product. I'm invisible in this place.
The thought brings little comfort.
My fingers stiffly fumble for the pocket of my long jacket, the one I wore over my more formal top and skirt. The cigarette trembles between them when I bring it to my mouth and withdraw my lighter.
Click.
Nothing.
Click-click.
Its dead.
Fuck.
The back of my head hits the wall with a dull sound; the ceiling greats my eyes. From deep within me a sigh oozes out, carrying with it coiled tension. This is not a mistake. This is a necessity. One which I will overcome. No one will take my girls from me.
I close my eyes shut against the tightness in my chest. In the darkness behind my eyelids Ikushima's face lurks. The memory comes easily once more.
'Do you even know what you are asking me?' she'd said to my initial request. My reply was biting.
'I wouldn't be asking if I didn't.'
Ikushima had frowned. 'So you know what she is. And still you would go into her den?'
'I have to.'
She had studied me for a very long time. Eventually, she'd asked me why, and I told her of my predicament. The precarious situation me and my girls were in and our need to become independent were I to keep them safe.
Ikushima had agreed, reluctantly, but she had agreed. She, despite her high ranking, runs quite the small operation compared to the other demons that are known to hunt passively. It's an open secret that powerful demons often run businesses, many of them the more illicit type. And that cabal of older demons are always trying to secure their territory against younger demons, as well as compete for territory amongst themselves. Where it is needed, at least.
What's followed is a fucked up system of sorts for high-ranking hunters. High-class demons are often well hidden, but other demons know them well. So one of the most surefire ways to get new tips is to sign on as a powerful demon's personal hitwoman. Rumor is, the rich ones pay their hunters bonuses on top of the guild rate.
A quiet snarl leaves me.
The idea of attaching myself and my girls to a demon is disgusting, but beggars can't be choosers. Besides, Izanami has a reputation. She and Ikushima are as close to 'allies' as demons can be, and many of Ikushima's patrons find employment with Izanami. Since she feeds on unrequited attraction, there is no incentive for the girls here to perform the more… unsavory parts of hostessing.
How is a demon a better employer than most humans? Its fucking comical. Comically sad.
I shove the thought from my mind. Focus. There is a litany of things one must do when formally meeting a powerful demon in their den. I go over the list Ikushima prepared for me again. No matter what, I won't be tripped up by fucking forma-
"Heh, hey there."
A rough voice interrupts my thoughts. To my immense displeasure, a man is standing at the entrance to my claimed booth.
"Fuck off."
I wave him off with a dismissive hand, not even looking at him.
He chuckles. "Oh is this a new bit? Angry goth chick to insult me instead'a buttering me up? Nice, finally something new around here." He steps closer, and my skin crawls. "How much for you to step on me with those boots a'yours?"
Ugh, what the fuck…
A girl is passing outside the booth, and for a split second glances inside. It's all I need. Raising my hand, I snap and point at her before making a 'come here' motion with my finger. Slowly, she steps inside with a curious expression. I pat the seat beside me.
"Keep me company, will you?" I finally spare the man a withering look. "Lotta pests around here."
The newcomer glances between me and the man with a wry smile, and with an elegant movement, sits beside me.
"Of course," she says in a voice like velvet.
A flick of her hand and the flame of her lighter brightens the dark booth. The cigarette in my mouth catches. My inhale is deep and greedy and acrid. I breathe the cloud of fetid smoke his way.
"Booth's taken," I say, turning away from him to focus on my savior.
It's hard to tell in the low light, but she's pretty, though young—possibly Katsumi's age—and wearing the typical hostess uniform of an elegant black dress that I've seen on all the other girls. The thought of a girl her age around these men makes me uneasy, but Madame Izanami's reputation for protecting her employees keeps me from following that thought. Who would'a thought that one day I would respect a demon's business practices? The fuck…
An angry huff signals the man's exit, and with his departure my bravado fades. I slump in my seat, wishing I had a drink right about now.
"Thank you," I tell the girl.
"Anytime," she replies casually, settling back against the seat with an arm draped behind me. "You know, when Mimi told me that we had a girl in, I almost didn't believe it. You aren't our usual customer, you know."
I breathe a haughty breath.
"Just… treat me like any other girl, please. Like, I'm your friend or whatever. I'm not here for the…" I spin my hand in a circle. "Experience."
She chuckles. "Not into paying girls to hang on your arm and laugh at your obviously terrible jokes?"
I snort. "Fuck no. I can get that at home. For free."
"Oh? You have a girl waiting for you back home?" She's grinning, and it sets me at ease.
"Two actually. But only one would laugh if I made a bad joke."
Chie would love that shit, but Haruki would raise an eyebrow and ask who the fuck replaced her girlfriend with an alien. Which… fair reaction.
That makes the girl's brows raise and her grin widen. "Two? Well then, you definitely aren't our type. Tell me about them."
"One's named Haruki," I say, smiling fondly. "Tall woman built like a house, but the most gentle person I know." Mostly. Demons don't count. "The other is Chie. Small, nerdy type, and kinda timid. Both are fierce as fuck tho when it counts. We hunt together."
The girl seems to be even more intrigued, leaning into my space.
"You're hunters?"
"Yeah, us and two other girls. We aren't hotshots or anything. We just do what we can to keep people safe. And no, I'm not here for your boss." I watch the cigarette tremble in my fingers again. "I'm here to talk with her, actually."
"Oh really?" she purrs, eyes alight with mischief, even in the dark of the booth. "Whatever for?"
"It's personal. But I have an… appointment, kinda. Her sister set it up for me."
"Her sister?"
"Yeah, Ikushima? You might'a heard of her. So… can ya let her know I'm here? Or take me to her? Please?"
A sly smirk plays at the corner's of the girl's twitching lips, as if she wants to laugh again.
"Of course, follow me, Miss Mayumi."
She stands with her carefree grace, slinking out of the booth.
I'm left blinking. How the fuck does she know my name? There isn't any time to linger on the thought though. She's already gone. I leap up to follow her, dropping the cigarette in the ashtray. She's a few meters down the hallway when I catch up, heading towards the back of the house where the bar is.
Maybe they were told to look out for me. Would explain her amused expression.
When we reach the back, we pass through some curtains into a much more comfortable looking space. Instead of hard wooden furniture its all soft chairs and couches here. Rugs cover the floor.
"VIP and event space," the girl explains with a wave of her hand. "Companies like to rent it out. Teambuilding exercises or what not."
She sits in a velvet chair, one of two huddled into a corner of the room. I remain standing, looking about for an… office or something, but no, it's just her.
What is this?
"Sorry, I uhh, didn't ask for your name."
Maybe she'll message her boss and we'll just wait for her to get here here?
"My girls call me Izanami."
Every muscle in me goes stiff. The girl—the demon—tilts her head, that playful smirk still on her face. But in this much brighter place its easy to see. There's no reflection in her eyes.
"I…" Everything Ikushima drilled into me has fled my mind. Its just blank. Nothing. I hurriedly give her a formal bow. The only think I can think of. "It is an honor to meet you. Thank you for accepting me into your home."
"Manners now?" she says with a smile in her voice. "Sit, girl. You've already proffered me a meal. The sheer revulsion emanating off you in response to that boy was like being dropped into a buffet. A worthy offering."
She licks her lips, humming happily.
I rise slowly from my bow, watching her for any sign of danger, but she only looks at me with that same carefree ease. I sit beside her.
"S-sorry, I expected you to look older, like…"
Another, heartier chuckle escapes her.
"Ikushima appears the way she does for a reason, Miss Mayumi. As do I. Sapphics love an older woman, while men…" She gestures at her youthful appearance. I have to suppress the urge to gag.
"It is these demarcations," Izanami continues, "these lines in the sand, which are the foundation of all me and my siblings have built. As long as they are respected and there is a clear separation of roles, we have peace. But when crossed, and worse, blurred… therein danger arises."
She leans towards me, all humor gone from her face. I lurch as something slimy wraps around my ankle. A… tentacle. One leading to her seat where her legs and have become…
I look away with a shiver, meeting her cold eyes once more.
"Ikushima has her girls, and I have my boys. We do not step on each other's toes. Yet now she sends one of her girls into my den. Why?"
My heartbeat roars in my ears. One misstep and I'm dead. It's a struggle to control my breathing. I grip the armrests tightly.
"Because…" I wet my lips. "I asked her to."
Izanami's head tilts.
"You asked for me?"
I nod. Here it goes…
"The girls I mentioned? We're a team, a good one. But… We're new to the scene, and we don't have the resources and connections that others have. We need work. Ikushima's been givin us tips, but it isn't enough. She isn't as… prolific as you."
She hums.
"The queer scene has always been quite small, no matter the medium we speak of. But I already have several boys in my employ. What makes you think you would be of any use to me?"
The tentacle around my ankle tightens. My breath hitches.
"Because we've already helped you."
A raised eyebrow. "Oh?"
"Yeah, a few weeks ago. Mama sent us to a love hotel next to the beach. It was a desire demon, just like you, and just like her. A competitor for your territories. So bothof you organized the hit on it. And my team took care of it. Easily."
Her reflectionless eyes are unwavering, boring into me for what feels like an eternity. Then, the tightness around my ankle loosens. A wet slithering noise signaling it's departure. A breath of relief leaves me.
"So that was you," Izanami says. "The owner was very pleased with the arrangement, and with the professionalism of your team."
I relax a bit. "So, do you think-"
"Perhaps." She cuts me off with a wave of a hand. "But Miss Mayumi, know that my… competitors are far above that of a single middling upstart in a second-rate hotel. Are you sure your girls measure up?"
Her playful tone is back, but it's not relaxing anymore. This is her mask, the monster hiding behind the face of an innocent girl. My answer is quick and firm.
"Yes. We faced an A-Class a few months ago. We didn't do more than piss it off but we weren't trying to kill, only buy some time for some others to escape. We lived. Obviously."
"Impressive that you managed to avoid becoming a bloody smear across pavement," she muses, finger tapping her chin. "Not even my boys could manage that."
"Yeah. Won't say that we didn't get a little lucky, but we did hold our own."
"Doubly impressive as D-ranked hunters," she says.
"What? How did you-"
"Come now, you really think I don't do my homework prior to my meetings?" she teases.
"I suppose not," I mutter.
A nod.
"So your team has great potential. One that would benefit from a benevolent investor?"
"More or less."
She steeples her fingers. "I see. In that case, if you plan to work for me, there is another matter. One of trust."
"Trust?" I ask incredulously. "What does that have to do with anything?"
That question earns me a laugh. The kind a parent gives a child when they ask a particularly dumb question.
"Oh child, to a being of hunger, trust is our most valuable possession. Me and Ikushima entered this world together, you know? It had to be…" She glances at the ceiling. "Oh, centuries now. From lowly younglings we rose and grew strong through one common idea: mutual self interest."
My brows lower. Being called 'child' by someone that looks younger than me is strange.
"Unlike the others of our kind," she continues. "We watched and learned from you humans. And while each and every one of you is as greedy as ourselves in one way or another, there was one glaring difference-"
"Let me guess, mutual self interest?"
She smirks.
"Humans, especially the queer ones, support each other. They will sacrifice short term satisfaction for long term stability. As you might imagine, to an immortal demon, stability is an attractive thing. So me and Ikushima made a pact. To support one another and ensure that both of our needs are met, sometimes at the expense of ourselves. And lo and behold, we are not the most powerful demons, but we are well fed and well protected, and thus are among the most enduring in this world."
"What are you getting at?" I ask, tapping my nails against the armrest.
She leans into my space with another serious stare.
"For us to work together, we must establish mutual self-interest."
"And how-"
"What do you want, Miss Mayumi?" Her fingers slowly trail over my hand and up my arm. I clench the armrest tight. "My hunger is of desire. Which some may say is hunger itself. Everyone desires something, whether they be human or yokai or kami. Tell me then what you desire, and I will tell you if I may provide."
"I told you, we need work."
With a click of her tongue she admonishes me. "But why, child?"
I remain silent, hands still tight on the armrest. I can't tell her anything with no guarantees, that would be giving up too much, making us vulnerable. To a demon no less. The silence stretches long.
Disappointment flits across Izanami's face.
"I see. Thank you for your time, Miss Mayumi. You can see yourself out, I trust?"
She rises in a graceful motion and steps away.
"Wait."
Surprisingly, she does. Then, ever so slowly, her head turns. And then keeps turning. Like some fucked up owl. Stretched at an inhuman angle, a single eye looks over her shoulder, sticking me in place, almost as if to say, 'well?'
"I… I want my girls to be… happy and safe."
Saying that much is a struggle.
The rest of Izanami turns, her youthful face bright with glee.
"A worthy desire. One we share. I keep the women in my employ safe, because without them I would be… greatly diminished. They nourish me so in turn I nourish them. I understand you."
Somehow I doubt that.
"But how can I help you?" Izanami continues. "What will the odd contract here and there do for you?"
"We need money." I just said this. Is she listening?
"Everyone needs money, even me. Question is, why do you need it?"
Fuck… She won't deal with us if I don't tell her, will she?
"Fine," I growl. "Me and another girl have wealthy families. The evil bastard kind. We want stability, like you, but we won't get it without independence."
"And independence requires wealth in this world."
"Yes."
"And without it I am to assume that your little band will meet an unfortunate end? Just one of many tragedies?"
I grit my teeth. "Yes."
"And what would you be willing to do to ensure their future?"
I answer through my teeth,
"Anything."
Izanami giggles like a schoolgirl, making me clench my jaw harder. "Ah! So that's what this is, desperation. I so love the desperate. No haggling. Just an easy, equivalent exchange." At my sour look she adds, "But do not worry, Miss Mayumi. I would never take advantage of you in such a state."
"Hard to believe, given your glee."
"Oh, my dear. You are my sister's. Harming you would be harming her. You are safe with me."
I huff through my nose.
"So we're good? You'll send some tips our way?"
"I will." She leans over me. "If you prove yourselves."
Of course. I didn't expect to walk in here and walk out swimming in jobs. It only natural that she would test us.
"Whatever you need, we're up for it."
Izanami's smile becomes wicked. Looks like that was the right answer. Her hands go on either side of the armrests, boxing me in as she leers over me. I have to press myself back against the seat to keep away.
"Then listen well, child. There is a certain demon that has been a thorn in my side for years. A being of greed, he presents himself to the world as a real-estate developer, and has been buying up property in my neighborhood. While he hasn't been so bold to as to come for me, it is only a matter of time before we clash. So you and your team will be my preemptive strike."
"Understood," I nod. Finally, were onto real business.
"Do you? He is as powerful as I, and keeps a retainer of lower ranking demons with him as well. My boys have never managed to touch him, but they never worked in such a large team as you. Succeed in killing him, and your girls will never want for work again."
"Quite the challenge."
Powerful as Izanami? Must be a B-class with C or D-Class lackeys. It'll be our toughest fight yet, and we'll need to prep for this, more than we ever have before.
"It is, which is why I am giving it to you. If you succeed, I will match the rate your Guild pays. I also have it on good authority that he has several magical artifacts. They're yours if you can find them."
"Seriously? That's a fucking gold mine. And double rate? This is… generous."
Too generous.
Izanami straightens and shrugs. "Sister vouched for you, and that has never happened. Besides, I won't have her thinking I'm mistreating her girls. So?"
I rise, meeting her.
"We'll do it."
Her answering smile is sly.
"Good." From the folds of her dress she produces a folded slip of paper. I take and open it, finding the demon's name, address, and company written on it. "Until next time, Miss Mayumi."
Without further fanfare she turns and leaves. My eyes are unable to leave her until she passes through the gauzy curtains that separate the VIP section from the front. And just like that, I'm alone.
My knees wobble, and I collapse into the chair. The relief is so strong it feels like my fingertips are vibrating. I could just… float away. And… I did it. I fucking did it! This is everything we needed! A setup like this… It could keep us going for a while. Enough for us to make a name for ourselves, and by that point nothing my mother could do would matter. We'll be okay.
I stare at the slip of paper between my fingers.
But first… we have a job to do.