Cash Cash Finance

Saturday, 6th July
13:25
 

The atmosphere of the small office space on the corner of a busy street buzzed as three employees went about their work. A young woman in Harajuku street-wear moved over to the sitting area and placed a cup of coffee on the low table separating two parallel sofa's, all of her manners pretending she'd been in the service business all of her life. On one side of the facing couches, a handsome man in his early thirties with a thin mustache and chin stubble looked over the Manila folder in his grasp. On the other side, a middle-aged woman with a wiry perm wrung her hands as she ogled the figure across from her. His toned thighs strained the fabric of his suit trousers as he crossed one leg over the other, his broad shoulders filling out a lilac dress shirt which, with each long breath due to the crippling summer heat, pinched at his strong arms.

"Hanada San, you've been refused loans previously, am I correct?"

Of course, the speaker already knew the guest had but as it was part of the business policy, he had to ask. The middle-aged woman opened her mouth to run some kind of lie like when trying to play coy at every other small-time moneylender's office before arriving at her current site. However, before she had the chance to plan a spiel, the ikemen locked eyes with hers and gave a gentle smile. Just like that, the debtor was enamoured by long lashes and the come-hither gaze which had been perfected due to his previous job.

Over the other side of the room, another man at the set of three of desks pushed back to back, this one with scruffy hair and sleepy eyes, looked from his slightly younger male colleague and to a woman watching the exchange behind the couches. Unlike the one who had served refreshments, this woman was tall, filled out in all the right places, and wearing a long-sleeve turtleneck despite the radio stations mentioning highs of 39°C repeatedly since the prior evening news. The pair shared knowing glances before the woman went back to writing something on a clipboard as she inspected the employee fridge just around the corner from the main space.

The main door to the office burst open and slammed into the stack of filing cabinets behind it. Hair askew and scraggy t-shirt hanging off his shoulders, a heavily perspiring man in his early twenties pushed past the female who'd made coffee. Almost knocking her off her feet and into the empty desk as he advanced into the humid space, the intruder garbled his words loudly above the office noise.

"It's not even my debt, how can you do this to me?" His voice cut through the dismal summer heat and above the whir of the knock-off desk fans. "I'll kill you all!"

The man at the desk sat up, his lazy stare clearly irritating the intruder, but not almost as much as the threat bothered the employee. Stomping further inside the space, the intruder stopped beside the sofa and threw his arms about in a temper as he eyed the speaker and the guest looking for a loan. Crowbar swinging in one hand, the envelope he had in the other and its contents went flying into the air when he flapped like a mad-man.

"Which one of you pricks is Saionji Akito?"

"This one."

Turning at the words coming from behind him, the end of a wooden bat sparked him where his brows and nose met. Hitting the rough carpet with a thud, the metal tool left a clunk beside his body as the trouble-causer sprawled the ground on his back, his mouth ajar and the whites of his eyes taking up where beady pinballs had been.

Leaning a little to the side of the sofa, the man talking with a customer grinned when he peered up at the woman who had been stood just around the corner, behind the couch and out of sight from the majority of the room. "I call that a home run, Boss."

The attacker, the tall female rested her weapon beside the water dispenser, where it had been prior. Where it always was. Hooking her finger around the top of her turtleneck, she wafted the material to circulate air over her neck and chest. "People who run around in this weather are morons." Sweat clear on what little bare skin there was, and marking the deep crimson fabric stretched over her plump figure, she nodded upwards at the scruffy employee lounging back with his arms behind his head. "Help me with him, Kyohei." By the time she had grabbed the body under his armpits, the man who had been sat at the desk was already at the scene and taking his legs at the crook of his knees.

Returning his attention to the guest, the sleek-styled ikemen took in the expression of horror he was so used to seeing since working there. "Hanada San, I'm sorry you had to witness such an unsightly performance, but it is common sense to pay back a debt, right?" Getting up quickly, the suited man sat beside the worried woman and gave her a reassuring, gentle caress on the top of her hand. "The boss will lend even those with the worst credit money; she doesn't care what you want it for, but she does expect to be paid back."

"She's your boss?" Her hands reached for the coffee cup and brought it to her lips, her fingers trembling. "Reo Chan, you should have stayed a host. Doing work like this is going to get you hit in the face."

"Mah, Hanada San~ you know that is impossible."

 

"Uh, he's waking up already." Half-shut eyes looked down on the body at their feet. Scratching the side of his mop, the tall man glanced to the female attacker. "I guess he has a healthy skull; ah~ to be young..."

Without averting the attention to her task, the female frowned as black-lined eyes scanned the details of the plastic slip in her left hand. "Why are you looking at me while sayin' that? Are you trying to say something, you shit-head? Don't forget that you're older than me, fool." Finishing reading her victim's ID card, Akito dashed the solid plastic card at her victim's head with the flick of her fingers. "Kobayashi Daichi...I don't recall him having an account. 'You know him?" She asked and her employee shrugged.

"Could be a relative of one of the runners. We've been hitting them hard recently."

Dropping the end of her cigarette onto the heated metal platform they were sharing, a bloom of smoke was forced out of her mouth when she bent over. "Come on; I don't want to be out here any longer than I have to be."

Heaving the body up onto its feet and leaning its weight against the waist-height barrier with his shoulder, Kyohei leaned over to grab the younger man's ankle. "Heave hohhh~" The drawn-out, monotonous cave-voice was almost funny as the pair threw the intruder backwards over the second-floor balcony. Keeping hold of his legs at either ankle, the pair peered over the barrier to see the pest waking from his daze.

As anyone would imagine, coming out of unconsciousness and realizing you were dangling upside down, your head several meters from concrete, was not a pleasant experience. Eyes wide as they focused on the cracked tarmac and a communal dumpster filled with god knows what below, the intruder flailed and screamed. "You stupid bitch, I'm going to burn this whole building down with you in it!"

Body sticky with sweat and mood ruined by that fact since waking before the sun did, the woman grumbled. "Then I guess there's no reason in keeping hold of you." Her fingers loosened and the man jilted down a few centimetres.

"Wait-no-no-don't let go!"

"289,406.71 yen is now 361,758.39."

Caught between his imminent doom and the expanding debt, the man's stomach muscles tensed when he tried to raise his head in order to see the pair with his literal life in their hands. "W-what?"

Peering down at the swaying meat-sack, eyes lined with black locked with the those of the man's. "Interest for the days missed, plus costs for the time I spent looking for the initial debt-holder during that time: 361,758.39 yen. Maybe I should add another Mil as compensation for the fact you assaulted one of my employees; women these days are very sensitive." Akito played with the thought of squeezing the victim partly for pushing her assistant - partly because he had pissed her off.

"This is daylight robbery!" His body jolted when the grip of the pair holding him slipped a fraction. Head jolting towards the ground, the victim wind-milled his arms. "Ple-please bring me up! I'll pay, Goddamn it just let me up!" His eyes rolled back, and then scrunched shut, his body going stiff then limp within a matter of a few seconds.

Kyohei glanced at the woman beside him and she inhaled a deep breath with a nod. Reaching for his knees, the pair began pulling the debtor up.

"Hurry u-"

The man's words were cut short when his right leg slipped out of Akito's grip. Ribs hitting the railing when he was left to bear the weight by himself, Kyohei struggled to hold on to the now-flailing body screaming bloody murder. Akito's arm reached out to regain her grip but all she grasped was a tattered sneaker.

"Ah, shit," the lazy hum of her company was met by the debtor falling to the floor. Or rather, into an overflowing dumpster in the alleyway below.

Muffled screaming came from underneath plump bin liners and broken wood. The pair on the balcony two floors above went to hold the railing only to recoil at the burn of heated metal. Careful not to touch the barrier again, the pair looked over the edge to see the condition of their victim. In no time at all, a pair of hands gripped the rim of the bin and displayed the same reaction the pair two floors up had given when the heated metal seared his grip. Flapping around while spitting out every curse he knew and then some made up on the spot, a head emerged. Groaning and coughing his lungs up, the man in his early twenties clambered out of the rubbish, flopping onto the hot concrete when he managed to fight his way out of the garbage.

Akito lobbed the shoe in her grasp at the pest in his attempt to hobble out of the alleyway and as far away from the maniacs as possible. The article hit him on the hip, causing him to jolt when it connected. "Don't forget, I want you here on Monday with the amount in full, you little shit. Or else the next time we drop you, it'll be from the roof of a high-rise. Don't make me chase you again, Kobayashi Daichi - I know where you live now." The end of the woman's rough yap was cut off by a young OL squealing when the debtor bumped into her in his panic to get away.

Eyes wide, the victim scuttled onto the main street, not even bothering to collect his flung shoe. Looking back quickly at the pair on the balcony to make sure they weren't following, the young man gave it legs down the busy sidewalk which turned off onto the main street. He looked like a broken fairground ride, one side dipping lower than the other as his bare foot hit hot concreted and the sense of his wounds kicking in while the adrenaline wore off. Up and down, up and down, wobble, wobble. It was quite a laugh. For Akito, not the assaulted.

Running his hand over the back of his neck underneath his hair, calloused fingers wiping sweat, Kyohei straightened up with a quirked brow. Eyes sliding from the scene of the intruder pushing people out of the way and then to the woman, the same bored look on his face, the tall man craned his neck to look her in the face. "'We' will drop you?"

"What?"

"It was you who dropped him."

Tilting her head, Akito gave an incredulous look. "Way to be a team, Kyo." Pouting and seeming as affected by the turn in events as she had the fact her horse had dropped at the second hurdle in the morning race, the woman sparked the end of a fresh cigarette.

"It's a good job it's not garbage day until tomorrow, or you would have been in trouble."

Snorting, the woman knocked her employee's bicep with the back of her knuckles as she went back inside. "Not as much trouble as him."

Arms behind his head as he stretched, the taller man followed his boss inside the cool hallway. "You're a really terrible woman, ya know?"

"Hai, hai~" Making it into the office, Akito dropped down on the chair at her desk which overlooked the rest of the space, her back to large glass windows with draw-binds pulled shut. Just as she expected, the younger woman was rushing around with papers in her hand, a cell phone glued between her ear and shoulder as she put on her best sweet voice; the pretty-boy had finished signing yellow sheets and was now half-crawling between the sofas and her desk.

"Where's the wacko?" The assistant asked curiously while a customer was on a mandatory music-time wait.

"We dropped him off." The blonde snorted and Kyohei shook his head at the turn of phrase as he returned to his own seat.

Throwing himself back into the worn-in swivel chair, Kyohei jabbed the 'Enter' button and logged into his computer. "You're never going to get married at this rate."

Tweaking the leaf of her desk plant losing the battle with the freak heat-spike, the business owner peeked up with her brows raised. "Perfect." She pinched the tips of her index finger and thumb together, making a circle as she exhaled a bloom of smoke in the taller man's direction. "I share the money we make with two men already. Do wanna lose part of your cut?"

"Let him take it out of your cut," Kyohei snipped, not even looking away from his screen.

Adjusting the fan on her desk, the bleach-blonde nodded upwards at the ex-host. "Do I even need to ask if she signed on the dotted line?"

The suited man lulled on the couch, mumbling complaints about the weather before answering. "I'm a closer, Boss."

"Of course you are; I didn't hire you just because you're a pretty face." Finishing scribbling her signatures on a few sheets of paper, she passed them to the female assistant.

Using all of his energy to flip onto his front, the man in question cupped his face with his palms and batted his lashes at her. "You think I have a pretty face, boss?" He thought he had caught her out.

Scribbling her signature with her left hand and tossing the piece of paper onto the stack beside her, the blonde with heavy black eyeliner wet her lips without looking up. "I know looks sell, but not everyone is a salesman. I'm not blind b-"

"-Pft-"

"-Shut the fuck up, Kyohei." Halfway through taking a pair of spectacles out of her drawer, the boss sneered at the distinct condescending sound which followed her first remark. Still, the man sniggered as the woman placed her prescription glasses on her face. "I'll break your ribs. Again."

"I heard Hanada San mention that you were a host before working here, Reo Senpai." The small girl put a stack of papers in the filing cabinet beside the water dispenser but quickly looked up to make sure she hadn't offended him by bringing up a past most would consider sordid. "It's a big jump going from that to this, but it's not surprising you excel at your work." Eyes on the metal casing, she locked the device as an excuse to avoid confrontation.

"Selling dreams is the same no matter the job title, Princess."

Kyohei gagged at the facetious nickname from his desk. "You're a dog, Reo. Don't involve this new girl in your antics. You know what happens."

Eyes checking the clock on the wall next to the door, a throaty groan escaped Akito as her hands blindly gathered up the rest of the papers in front of her. "14:07. That fuck-head ran me into lunchtime." Clicking her tongue off her teeth, the woman tossed the documents into the drawer of her desk and locked it. "I have so much shit to do today. I don't even want to..." Her voice ran off as she dashed from one side of the room to the other. Each time, the distinct frown line between her brows growing deeper and the incoherent mumbles becoming more manic.

Pausing from collecting the empty cups scattered around the space, the assistant looked to the woman hunched over, glaring at the filing cabinet to the side of her desk as she twitched. "Well, you are the boss, so you can eat any time you want."

Reo waved his hand near his face as his head fell back onto the edge of the sofa. "Yeah, you would think, but this lady likes to keep time like she's-"

A hand knocked his temple as the woman in question passed behind the couch. Although it was nothing more than a tap, the ex-host threw himself forward and held his skull as if he'd been jabbed by a boxing champion.

"Stop screwing around; it's too hot." Pausing by her employees' desks, she held her hand out. "Nomura, you can take an extended lunch, we're going to be out for a while and I want to lock up."

"I can hold down the fort here, or go with you if you need-"

The older female frowned. "I told you when you started that you're not the type for fieldwork. And like Hell I'd leave you here alone. It's been four months already, so take the hint and stop asking."

"Can you at least call me by my given name?"

Akito looked to the young woman in puffy mini-shorts paired with suspenders and a thin, cropped blouse donning rabbit ears on the hood. Eyes surrounded by black slid to the two men. The ex-host was grinning in anticipation, the lout's expression bordering on something similar. Placing her vice to her lips, Akito lowered the corners of her mouth. "No." She shook her head twice and handed over a few slips of paper money and a small sheet of folded paper.

The trio of employees let out varying sighs of dejection at the reply cold enough to chill the humid air. Swinging his legs and using the motion to throw himself up into a standing position, Reo patted the assistant on her shoulder as he made for his desk. "Don't mind, Kirari Chan~"

The man using her name right after the rejection left a strange sting. Putting her tongue out at his back, the younger female blew air into her cheeks. "Don't tease me, Reo Senpai."

"We've got a busy day today, so I'll call you when we're on our way back." The taller woman headed for the door. "Dinner's on me. Please pick up the stuff on the list before coming back. Thanks." Before a remark or question could be made, Akito stepped out into the hallway of the shared building, waiting for the others to exit the office space.

Nomura looked at the amount in her hands and her brain restarted. "I don't need this much." She held up the ten ten-thousand Yen notes and Reo leaned over her shoulder, plucking them from her grasp with a huff without a beat passing.

"Don't walk around flashing money, or else it'll be taken from you before you can breathe, Ri-Ri Chan."

"There's a bit of a list." Once the other three had made it onto the cool landing, Akito pressed the alarm code into the little box just inside the door. Stepping backwards, she locked the door and shoved the keys into her purse. "We're going west, 'ya want dropping off somewhere?"

The petite girl shook her head. "I'll meet a friend nearby."

"I see." Skipping down the steps with her company in tow, the business-owner turned left as she exited the building. "Stay safe and keep your phone on." Holding her free hand up in farewell, the other dangled a set of car keys between the men she was with despite being shorter than both. "Who's driving?"

"Me." Reo reached for the keys but was beat to it by his scruffy counterpart.

"We want to get there today; I'll drive." Kyohei snatched the bundle of keyrings and hid them in his fist as the ex-host bitched.

Watching the woman walk away, the two taller men at opposite ends of the scale bicker at either of her shoulders, Nomura bowed her head regardless of none of them being able to see her. She had seen many different kinds of people come and go through the doors of her new job. Everyone from drug-addicted single mothers and politicians with hobbies only taken care of in the underworld; highly esteemed public servants wanting financial backing with their smear campaigns and yakuza Captains in need of cash to escape the lives they'd made for themselves came asking for help at one point or another.

Everyone you could think of had shown up in that small second-floor office in her short time working there, and her boss had accommodated all of them exactly the same. With nothing but a few questions and a warning, she would set herself as the balance between wealth and eternal poverty, happiness and devastation, life and death. Nomura wouldn't be surprised if it came to light that the older woman was the Goddess of divine order came down to earth to tempt people with tough choices in order to get her kicks out of enacting retribution on those silly enough to think money solved everything. All she questioned a person on was,

'1, Do you have any way of repaying? In not, and what collateral you have?
2, If not, who will co-sign, and what collateral?
3, 50K maximum first lend - It's 50% interest after ten days.
4, Don't make me chase you, or-'

A businessman knocked Nomura's shoulder as he passed. He gave her the stink-eye and continued on his way, his phone glued to his ear as he clicked his tongue off his teeth and called her a bitch under his breath.

Nomura wondered what would have happened if she had been her boss at that point. Would she have hit him; would he have recognized her and prostrated himself for all to see. If nothing else, it made for fun imagination and kept her from being too mad at the assholes which writhed like maggots in that shitty city filled with corruption, poverty, a dire lack of humility, and sickly desperation for wealth.

Nomura Kirara had just turned twenty when she was introduced to her current boss. She was struggling with everything in her life from her country-bumpkin parents nagging her to find a husband from the big city who would take care of her, her university lifestyle of living off a pot of instant ramen a day, sharing a dorm with a party girl who brought back a different guy every night, and her own vehement need to visit the host clubs which she'd only ever read about before arriving in the metropolis. Before she had even turned twenty years old, she was disowned by her family, was practically homeless, abandoned by the first guy who told her he loved her after making off with her bank-book and her virginity, and she had racked up five hundred grand in debt. In a stroke of luck that night when she was contemplating ending it all, she had met Saionji Akito when she was drinking away her last five thousand yen at a host club in Kabukichō.

Unlike one would imagine, Nomura did not stumble upon Cash Cash Finance and beg for a loan. Although the events from that night were still a little fuzzy in her head, Nomura recalled standing up, drunk out of her gourd, and telling one of Saionji's debtor's that he was wrong after the man had tried to pull a fast-one over a discrepancy in mathematics. Long story short, she had garnered the attention of the older woman - and the rest of the host club they were in after she called out the liar and she fell through a glass table...face first. The following morning, she woke up on CCFin's office sofa with a cup of hot coffee and a toasted sandwich on the table in front of her. Her nose back in its rightful place thanks to a very proficient but extremely shady doctor who she somewhat remembered groping her through inebriated flashes. But it was still there, at least. That was the point. Right?

Nomura thought she had made another drunken friend but those thoughts went out of the window when she read the papers underneath her breakfast. Her heart stopped at that moment and the urge to jump out of the window was stronger than ever. However, the look she received when she sat up in the dim office, her face bandaged, her hair clotted with dry blood, changed it all. Instead of being met by a look of dejection or regret for holding out a helping hand, all she got was something she'd never seen before.

No matter what despicable words she heard people call that woman, her boss, Saionji Akito was fair. Even when she wasn't. And if she could never remember anything else, from that night or any other, Nomura Kirari would remember that and never forget it.



 

Updated: 12th January 2020 - 17:11