Chapter 29: 29. Stroked Under the Table

They reached Sochi Bay just before noon. Along the waterside were various souvenir shops and restaurants. They chose the cheapest one—a chain restaurant serving western-style food—and found a quiet table with a view of the ocean. It was time for a strategy meeting.

After he ordered his food from the touch tablet, Jiro sat gazing through the glass at the sea. Sochi Bay was different from Koko Town. There was no beach here: beyond the shops and waterside road, the land turned abruptly into sea. Everything seemed quiet, peaceful, orderly. It didn’t look like a place where fishing vessels were suddenly pulled underwater.

But then again, Koko Town had looked just as peaceful, and look at what kind of trouble he had gotten into there. He thought about Sheena’s fleshy tongue and upturned breasts. About Tae’s muscular ass covered with grey fur. What kind of strange monsters would they find here?

“Jiro, are you listening?” said Kaori from across the table.

“Huh?”

“There’s no point in having a strategy meeting if you’re going to be daydreaming.”

“Jiro can’t help it,” said Aya from next to him. “His eyes are magnetically attracted to female  bodies.”

Just that moment a trio of young college-age girls walked by outside the restaurant. When they caught Jiro looking, they covered their mouths and giggled.

“I wasn’t—”

“But don’t worry,” Aya said, “I’ll make sure he looks this way.” Before they arrived, she had changed into a spaghetti top that showed off her tanned skin and muscular shoulders. She adjusted the top, pulling it down to reveal more of her cleavage. Jiro stared with his mouth open.

“Aya,” said Kaori with an amused look, “I think that might have the reverse effect. Show him any more and his brain will turn to mashed potatoes.”

Jiro was saved from more teasing by the arrival of their food. As expected, Yui had ordered more calories than the three of them combined: a jumbo plate of pasta, an entire loaf of cheese bread, and three large links of Italian sausage. Then, as if this was not enough, the waiter returned a few minutes later and brought Yui a sizzling platter. On it were not one but two cuts of premium-grade sirloin steak.

“As you can see Jiro,” said Kaori, “if you don’t get the bathhouse profitable soon, we’re going to have to start eating the paper off the doors to stay alive.”

Yui gave Kaori a hurt look. Her little cheeks were already full of steak. A streak of red juice trickled from the edge of her dainty mouth.

“I’m just joking,” said Kaori, stroking Yui’s hair affectionately. “Everybody at the bathhouse loves you. Eat as much as you like.” She speared a forkful of seaweed salad. “Now what do you think we should do about the Hinomaru? This is your mission, Jiro.”

“Well …” Jiro said. “From what we know, there’s a good chance that the Hinomaru’s disappearance is related to the other problems the fishermen are facing. So if we want to figure out what happened to Aya’s boat, then we need to—whoa!”

“Whoa?” said Kaori, raising an eyebrow.

Jiro swallowed. Under the table, Aya had reached over a put a hand on his thigh. He could feel her fingers through the fabric of his jeans. With her free hand, she picked up some fries and ate them, licking up the oil and salt one finger at a time. “Mmm,” she said. “Finger food.” She glanced at him with an innocent expression. “Go on, Jiro. Tell us your plan.”

Jiro cleared his throat. This girl must have an exhibitionist streak. “Uh … yes. We need to, um, find out why the fish have disappeared from the ocean.” Jiro squeezed his legs together. Aya had started running her fingers up and down his thigh. He looked around. None of the other diners seemed to have noticed.  

“After the Hinomaru sank,” Aya said innocently, “I came back out here to try to ask for information. After all, that boat was my father’s whole life before he injured his leg. I spoke to the local fishermen I knew. I have family around here, so I asked them to help me search. But all of them advised me the same thing: leave it alone. Go home.”

“Why would they do that?” asked Kaori. “Why tell you to give up on your own boat?”

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Aya’s hand paused on Jiro’s thigh. “They … they all said the disappearance was related to something supernatural. That the Hinomaru disappeared for a reason.” She frowned. “Since then I’ve had to pick up odd jobs to support my father … I guess I couldn’t really let the idea go, because here I am again.” She squeezed Jiro’s leg through his jeans and gave him a hopeful look. “But this time I think I have a better chance. You’re experts on spiritual stuff, right? Everyone in Koko Town says that you are. That the bathhouse is haunted. That lustful male spirits go there to … ravage the maidens.”

At these words, Yui nearly choked on a mouthful of cheese bread.

“Well, I suppose you have it half right.” Kaori gave Jiro an amused look. “Except it’s not the maidens that tend to get ravaged. But we do know a thing or two about the spiritual. And maybe we can help you.”

“Still …” said Aya, rubbing Jiro pensively. “Fishermen are a superstitious bunch, and who knows how much of this is made up …”

“Trust us,” said Kaori. “A lot more of it is fact than fiction. Now tell us what you know.”

“Well … it started a few months ago. Now that I think about it, it was about the time when the fishing spots started drying up. There were the disappearances of the ship, but there were other strange happenings too.”

“Like what?” asked Jiro, trying to keep his breathing steady. Was it his imagination, or was Aya’s hand moving higher and higher?

“Oh all sorts of things. Someone broke into a clothing factory and stole all the rolls of cloth. The steel shutters were torn apart as if they were paper. A chicken coop had its roof lifted off in the night. All the chickens escaped and the owner, last I heard, still hasn’t recovered half of them. And …” Aya hesitated. Her hand stopped.

“Go on,” said Kaori.

“Well this will sound silly, but another retired fisherman, told me … He told me his mother saw a giant hoofprint in the mud near her house.”

“A giant hoofprint?”

Aya nodded. “She was going on her daily walk when she slipped and fell into a giant puddle …” Aya spread her arms for emphasis, nearly hitting Jiro in the face. Freed from her touch, Jiro could not help feeling a bit disappointed. None of them had showered last night. He could smell the scent of sweat and lotion coming from Aya’s armpits. It smelled heavenly. “But,” Aya said with a shrug, “The old woman is half-blind and probably senile, so …”

“No,” said Kaori. “This is something we can work with … Even the wildest of superstitions is usually at least half true.” Kaori slid her tongue up the tines of her fork, licked off a bit of ham, and chewed on it thoughtfully. “With Sheena involved, we can rule out any kaiju attacks. And with the extent of the physical damage, I think we can rule out spirits as well. What do you think, Yui?”

Yui had finished her second steak and was working on the Italian sausage. Jiro watched as she slid an oily sausage between her tiny lips. He could see the spot where the head of the sausage pressed against the inside of her cheek. Then, suddenly, Yui chomped down on the sausage, tore it in half, and swallowed. Jiro winced. How can she be so oblivious? Or … is she?

Yui leaned over and whispered something in Kaori’s ear.

“What did she say?” asked Aya.

“She thinks we are likely dealing with some kind of yokai.”

“Yokai …” said Aya. “I see.” Jiro looked at her. Aya did not seem doubtful at all. Once Jiro would have thought such spiritual beliefs to be stupid. But now he knew better … He tried to think of what he knew about yokai. Not very much. They were Japanese spirits, he knew that. Ones that had real physical forms. Not all of them were bad. Some were just mischievous, others even kind. But if this yokai had sunk Aya’s boat … then it was certainly an evil one. He gulped. What trouble was he getting into now?

“I say we split up and search for more clues,” Kaori said. “We can meet back here in the evening and find a place to stay.”

“I call dibs on Jiro!” said Aya. She slid her hand down and squeezed him again under the table. “We have some unfinished business to attend to.”

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