Post by Deleted on May 23, 2012 10:48:56 GMT -6
Not her problem. Right. That was all well and good for Ling, but Katsumi wouldn’t get off so easily, and would probably be on the receiving end of a lecture before the night was over. The saloon might have a reputation for being rowdy—and really, what could you expect from a place that got people as drunk as they could afford—but fights were not appreciated by the owner, who wanted to make sure that anyone who wanted could visit the bar without fear of getting punched in the face. Whenever brawls broke out, all of the saloon’s employees got slaps on the wrist. It was never anything major for the dancers—the bouncers got the worst of it—but it was still an annoyance she’d prefer to avoid.
Luckily, there was a ray of sunshine to brighten up what had turned into a less-than-stellar evening. The dancer smiled as Ling split the money and gave her half. A thousand and a half yuans. Not a bad haul, and much more money than she would have made tonight without her friend’s assistance. It was difficult for Katsumi to stay mad at Ling when the other woman was earning her money. As stressful as some of their collaborations were, there was always a good payoff. Surely that was worth a little trouble every once in a while. Of course, there was still the matter of Ling’s as of yet unspoken thought concerning her…
As her friend began speaking, Katsumi wasn’t sure where she was going. She did nod at Ling’s assessment of waitressing jobs, which in her mind were just a very small step above dancing for a living. It was sounding like her friend was thinking of ways to get more money to help her mother. A noble goal, but how would it be accomplished? Was Ling suggesting bringing Mei into their games? No, of course not. Her worries about the fight proved that incorrect. What, then?
What? Katsumi shook her head, making sure that she was hearing correctly. A detective agency? Seriously? What was Ling on about? She knew her friend wasn’t drunk—at best she could only be considered tipsy, considering that her drinks had been watered down—so she must be serious. The dancer was silent as the other woman explained. More corruption than the cops knew? If that was so, how did Ling know about it? Better not to ask, she told herself. The less trouble she was aware of, the better.
So Ling and Mei were going to start up a detective agency—just the image was enough to make her chuckle—and she was being offered a place in it? That was, quite frankly, one of the strangest offers she’d ever received, and drunk men could be very imaginative. She sank back into her chair, her mind buzzing. Ling asked her to consider the offer, and Katsumi barely heard her. “Yeah…” she muttered, not paying much attention.
This was an opportunity. If she wanted to, she could quit her job at the saloon and go to work with the sisters at their agency. Their legitimate detective agency. The phrase was strange, even as just a thought. She’d read plenty of detective stories as a child, but had never imagined living that kind of life. Imagine! Her, a dancer and part-time waitress, solving crimes. It was ridiculous.
But who was to say that she didn’t need a little ridiculous in her life? At the moment her existence consisted of going to work, coming home, and sleeping. Her job had a modicum of excitement, but nothing she was particularly happy about. It would be nice to have a job where drunk men weren’t constantly leering at her or calling out lewd things in slurred speech. There was likely to be a lot less of that when working at a detective agency.
But, might she be trading a life of mild discomfort for something worse? In the stories she’d read, detectives were always getting lured into traps or getting ambushed by people who didn’t want their secrets exposed. Yes, that was fiction, but with the many gangs that claimed ownership of Republic City’s streets, the potential for danger in the investigative line of work was higher than she’d like. And while Ling could handle herself in a fight, the same could not be said for her, and she had no idea what Mei’s combat capabilities were. If things got heated on one of their…missions, or assignments, or whatever they were called…what guarantee was there that they would be safe? Katsumi knew that if she asked Ling about that, her friend would probably tell her that she could kick enough butt for all three of them, and not to worry about it. As nice as that was, it wasn’t exactly reassuring, or realistic.
Ling had given her a lot to think about, and Katsumi was doing her best to weigh pros and cons of the offer. Eventually, though, she knew she had to make a decision. Give up her current life, even just part of it, or stay with what she knew? Sighing, the dancer closed her eyes, shutting out all outside stimulus as best she could. When she opened them about a minute later, she had made her decision. Now there was nothing to do but wait for Ling to come back. Katsumi turned her eyes to the door, drumming her fingers on the table. What was taking her friend so long?
After a few minutes, Katsumi grew a little worried. While it was certainly possible that Ling was just taking a long walk, it was weird that she would drop a major offer like this and then disappear. Sure, it had given her much-needed time to think, but now that she had made her decision she wanted to tell her friend. Sighing, Katsumi stood, making her way toward the door. She’d go outside and look around the saloon for Ling. If her search proved fruitless she’d go back and continue waiting at the table. Besides, the idea of fresh air appealed to her as well after the brawl earlier.
The dancer stepped outside, calling, “Ling, I—” She cut herself off when she saw her friend, bruised and bloody, with one of the men from the card game—the angry one Ling had warned her about—standing over her cursing. It was obvious that he was the one who’d hurt Ling, and Katsumi hoped that her friend had managed to some serious damage, because he definitely deserved it. Looking around, she spotted Ling’s sister, who had apparently left the man they’d been drinking with. “What’s going on?” She mostly addressed the question to Mei, but kept her gaze on Ling, hoping that one of the two might make sense of the terrible situation.
Luckily, there was a ray of sunshine to brighten up what had turned into a less-than-stellar evening. The dancer smiled as Ling split the money and gave her half. A thousand and a half yuans. Not a bad haul, and much more money than she would have made tonight without her friend’s assistance. It was difficult for Katsumi to stay mad at Ling when the other woman was earning her money. As stressful as some of their collaborations were, there was always a good payoff. Surely that was worth a little trouble every once in a while. Of course, there was still the matter of Ling’s as of yet unspoken thought concerning her…
As her friend began speaking, Katsumi wasn’t sure where she was going. She did nod at Ling’s assessment of waitressing jobs, which in her mind were just a very small step above dancing for a living. It was sounding like her friend was thinking of ways to get more money to help her mother. A noble goal, but how would it be accomplished? Was Ling suggesting bringing Mei into their games? No, of course not. Her worries about the fight proved that incorrect. What, then?
What? Katsumi shook her head, making sure that she was hearing correctly. A detective agency? Seriously? What was Ling on about? She knew her friend wasn’t drunk—at best she could only be considered tipsy, considering that her drinks had been watered down—so she must be serious. The dancer was silent as the other woman explained. More corruption than the cops knew? If that was so, how did Ling know about it? Better not to ask, she told herself. The less trouble she was aware of, the better.
So Ling and Mei were going to start up a detective agency—just the image was enough to make her chuckle—and she was being offered a place in it? That was, quite frankly, one of the strangest offers she’d ever received, and drunk men could be very imaginative. She sank back into her chair, her mind buzzing. Ling asked her to consider the offer, and Katsumi barely heard her. “Yeah…” she muttered, not paying much attention.
This was an opportunity. If she wanted to, she could quit her job at the saloon and go to work with the sisters at their agency. Their legitimate detective agency. The phrase was strange, even as just a thought. She’d read plenty of detective stories as a child, but had never imagined living that kind of life. Imagine! Her, a dancer and part-time waitress, solving crimes. It was ridiculous.
But who was to say that she didn’t need a little ridiculous in her life? At the moment her existence consisted of going to work, coming home, and sleeping. Her job had a modicum of excitement, but nothing she was particularly happy about. It would be nice to have a job where drunk men weren’t constantly leering at her or calling out lewd things in slurred speech. There was likely to be a lot less of that when working at a detective agency.
But, might she be trading a life of mild discomfort for something worse? In the stories she’d read, detectives were always getting lured into traps or getting ambushed by people who didn’t want their secrets exposed. Yes, that was fiction, but with the many gangs that claimed ownership of Republic City’s streets, the potential for danger in the investigative line of work was higher than she’d like. And while Ling could handle herself in a fight, the same could not be said for her, and she had no idea what Mei’s combat capabilities were. If things got heated on one of their…missions, or assignments, or whatever they were called…what guarantee was there that they would be safe? Katsumi knew that if she asked Ling about that, her friend would probably tell her that she could kick enough butt for all three of them, and not to worry about it. As nice as that was, it wasn’t exactly reassuring, or realistic.
Ling had given her a lot to think about, and Katsumi was doing her best to weigh pros and cons of the offer. Eventually, though, she knew she had to make a decision. Give up her current life, even just part of it, or stay with what she knew? Sighing, the dancer closed her eyes, shutting out all outside stimulus as best she could. When she opened them about a minute later, she had made her decision. Now there was nothing to do but wait for Ling to come back. Katsumi turned her eyes to the door, drumming her fingers on the table. What was taking her friend so long?
After a few minutes, Katsumi grew a little worried. While it was certainly possible that Ling was just taking a long walk, it was weird that she would drop a major offer like this and then disappear. Sure, it had given her much-needed time to think, but now that she had made her decision she wanted to tell her friend. Sighing, Katsumi stood, making her way toward the door. She’d go outside and look around the saloon for Ling. If her search proved fruitless she’d go back and continue waiting at the table. Besides, the idea of fresh air appealed to her as well after the brawl earlier.
The dancer stepped outside, calling, “Ling, I—” She cut herself off when she saw her friend, bruised and bloody, with one of the men from the card game—the angry one Ling had warned her about—standing over her cursing. It was obvious that he was the one who’d hurt Ling, and Katsumi hoped that her friend had managed to some serious damage, because he definitely deserved it. Looking around, she spotted Ling’s sister, who had apparently left the man they’d been drinking with. “What’s going on?” She mostly addressed the question to Mei, but kept her gaze on Ling, hoping that one of the two might make sense of the terrible situation.
