Selina Kyle was in her minka, her own home within the compound of the Hasigawa estate - a large cluster of big and small buildings around a stately mansion, which was clearly the main house where the Hasigawas lived. There were even some vending machines on the premises and a few vendors who sold snacks, flowers, incense etc. The compound was like it's own title town. The flower gardens, the ones that Selina had seen as she was escorted to her living quarters, were breathtaking. The minka of varying sizes, surely in accordance with the rank of the people inhabiting them, were beautifully constructed. She was sure that the rest of this place was just as magnificent. The home she had been allotted had two rooms, a kitchenette a bathroom and a washroom. Furnished and quite luxurious. Certainly way better what she was used to.
Selina was unpacking the few things she had brought with her from Gotham, some books and some jewellery she liked, when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in" she said, not knowing what to expect.
An old woman entered, she looked in her mid sixties. She was followed by two younger women carrying baskets. The younger ones put down the baskets and walked out. The older woman turned to Selina bowed, and spoke softly in mildly accented English. "Konbanwa Selina-san. My name is Sakura Sato. I'm the Head Housekeeper of the Hasigawa Estate."
"Hey! Nice to meet you." Selina greeted her, causing the old woman to smile.
"No no child!", she said kindly, "when you greet someone this time of the day, you stand up, bow and say 'Konbanwa'. Which means 'good evening'."
"Oh! Ummm.... Sorry..." Selina felt a little embarrassed.
She stood up, bowed just like Sakura had done and said "Kobanwa Sakura, it's nice to meet you."
"Konbanwa, Selina-san", Sakura corrected her.
"Oh! Konbanwa!", she added, smiling sheepishly, "sorry, I don't know much about your culture."
"Apology is quite unnecessary, dear. You will learn soon enough. I shall help you. In fact...."
Sakura reached into her Kimono sleeve and took out a small booklet. Handing it to Selina she said "....I have brought you this little book of common Japanese phrases and greetings. Learn it's contents properly before you try to gain fluency in our language. Ok Selina-san?"
"Ok." Selina immediately opened the booklet and looked up the Japanese word for "thank you" and said, "Arigatou".
Sakura laughed indulgently.
"Yes. Very good! You will learn quickly. Now listen. One of these baskets contains some toiletries and cosmetics, and the other, some books and stationary."
She reached into her other sleeve and pulled out an envelope.
"And here is an amount of one hundred and fifty thousand Yen. You may go to the market tomorrow and buy some clothes or anything else you may need. It is your salary for the month."
"ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND?"
"I assure you it isn't as exorbitant an amount as you might think. Not here in Japan. But it is more than enough to cover your personal expenses."
Selina looked at the currency notes in her hands. Regardless of how much it was actually worth, hundred and fifty K a month did sound nice.
"Dinner will be served in the staff cafeteria in twenty five minutes. Make yourself presentable and be there on time. It is the apāto* on the other side of the central fountain. Then get some sleep. Obayun will see you tomorrow."
As Sakura walked out, Selina noticed how gracefully she walked in her Kimono. She looked as though she was floating. The woman was also very beautiful. She must have been an absolute stunner in her youth, Selina thought.
The next morning, Selina was escorted to the main house by one of Sakura's assistants. Boss Hasigawa had summoned her. The inside of the palatial home was as splendid as Selina had imagined, and more. Under different circumstances, she would have been planning a heist, but not now. She planned to play the long game, and get into the big leagues.
"Come, sit down Selina-chan." Boss Hasigawa said, gesturing towards a futon.
"Do you have everything you need?"
"I do. Thanks."
"Good. Let's get down to business. Over the next few days, you are going to get a good look at Tokyo. You need to know this city as well as you knew Gotham. If you're going to work for us efficiently, you need to know every alley, every street, every major building. You should be able to walk around the city blind folded and still know where you are going. Understand?"
"Yes, Boss"
"Good. But right now, it is time for you to meet my daughter."
"Right. Eiko."
"Yes, Selina-chan. I trust that you will be a loyal friend to her and have her best interest in your heart at all times. I want her to enjoy her youth but not in a way that may put her life or our family's honour in any danger. I hope you understand."
"I understand, Boss." Selina said, even though she wasn't entirely sure about this "friendship". A friendship that would be far from organic, and was basically just a job. She did realise that this job would open many doors for her and decided she would play her part.
Eiko's bedroom suite was up on the fifth floor. Selina could hear the sound of a piano as they approached. She could tell it wasn't being played by a professional, as the notes seemed a bit off. Not that she was an expert, but it sounded like someone still learning.
Her suspicion was confirmed when Boss said, "she is in the midst of her piano lessons, it seems. Should be done soon."
They waited in the sitting room before the lesson was finished and Eiko came out to greet her father. She wasn't in a Kimono this time, but in jeans and a shirt. She bowed to her father deeply. Even though Selina didn't understand what they said to each other, Hasigawa's affection for his daughter, and her respect for him was obvious. Selina knew she needed to keep this girl happy.
Finally Selina was asked to come closer and was introduced.
"This is Selina Kyle. She's from Gotham City, United States. She will be working for us and will spend time with you as well. Isn't this what you wanted? Someone your own age?"
"Yes Oto-San", Eiko smiled "Thank you so much."
Hasigawa kissed his daughter on her forehead and left.
"Ummm... why don't you sit down?" Eiko said after a moment of awkward silence.
"Yeah, sure"
"So, uh... what happens in America?"
"Oh boy! Where do I even start?"
Eiko laughed and said "I'm sorry, it was a silly question. I watch American movies and TV shows. I have some idea of what it's like."
"Have you ever been there?"
"Once. Oto-San took me to Disneyland in California on my eleventh birthday. Have you been to Japan before?"
"No, but unlike most of my fellow Americans, I can find Japan on the map."
Eiko laughed again.
"You're funny Selina. Listen, how about we go shopping later today? I've been meaning to buy some new clothes and I could show you around Tokyo."
And shopping they went, after asking the Boss's permission and accompanied by several bodyguards, of course.
Eiko took Selina to the finest stores in Tokyo. Every major designer label that Selina has and hadn't heard of.
While Eiko spent money as if it was going out of fashion, but Selina had to restrain herself. She needed something that was withing her price range. She asked Eiko to take her to a mall or a less glitzy store. Eiko looked confused and told Selina to get anything she wanted and she would pay for it.
Selina however, refused.
"Eiko, I don't like other people paying for me."
"But Selina I thought you were my friend."
"I am. But I don't accept handouts. I'll only take what I've earned."
Eiko was truly shocked at Selina's response. The few other girls she had been friends with, before her father banished them, would jump at the offer of a shopping spree. But here was this girl, a thief as her father had told her, who refused to accept anything.
Eiko was intrigued.
"Here's your shoulder phone*, Selina-san." Sakura said, handing Selins what looked like a big, chunky purse. It was actually a mobile phone. A shoulder phone, as Sakura said. Selina had heard of this new invention but was seeing one of these things for the first time.
"Sakura, you expect me to drag that thing all over town? No way!"
"Not drag, Selina-san. You will carry it all over town." Sakura replied, her tone a mix of subtle sarcasm and sophistication that Selina longed to be able to imitate, "and Oyabun Hasigawa is the one who expects it. He has noticed that his daughter is growing fond of you and wants you safe. You must have the phone with you anytime you leave the premises of this estate, unless stated otherwise. Answer it when it rings and use it to call my number if you need to be picked up, or if you are in any danger at all."
"Yeah, well the boss may as well attach a ball and chain to my ankle. This thing is heavy!"
"You need to understand something very clearly Selina-san." Sakura's tone turned serious, almost foreboding. "Oyabun Hasigawa's word is law. You simply do not question his orders. And he must never have to repeat them. I hope you thrive here. And in order to thrive and rise in the Hasigawa clan you need to keep this in mind at all times."
"I... I understand Sakura." Selina told her, "I'll be off now. I might have lunch in a restaurant if I find something nice."
"That's ok, dear. Just let me know." And just like that Sakura returned to her warm and kindly demeanor.
Tokyo was even more beautiful than TV screens and magazine covers had led Selina to believe. The combination of modern technology and cultural traditions made the city quite the sight to behold. She took in everything. The sights, sounds, the smells of scrumptious street food. One of the first things she noticed were the enormous pedestrian walkways. Very different from what they had in the States. She saw some women in bright colourful Kimonos and wearing, what she thought was, some kind of face paint. Sakura would later tell her that those ladies were Maiko. Selina was lost in admiration when one of them looked at her, smiled and waved. The lovely lady didn't seem offended that Selina was staring, but the latter was a bit embarrassed. She waved back and quickly went about her business.
Selina had to remind herself what that business was to get to know Tokyo, memorize all it's streets and alleys and make a map of it in her mind. A map she should be able to recall at any time. However, there was no harm in having a little fun. If only she could put down the heavy shoulder phone. The thing weighed around 7 pounds. It wasn't exactly difficult for her to carry, but was certainly a nuisance. Someone needed to develop a lighter, smaller version of these things. Otherwise they'd never catch on.
After covering the entire Greater Tokyo Area, Selina was tired and hungry. She stepped into a trendy looking restaurant. The place had many non Japanese faces. Selina enjoyed her meal, silently congratulating herself on being able to use chopsticks efficiently. Eiko had shown her how, just the day before. She didn't understand why the waiter looked offended when she tipped him. It was again Sakura who explained it to her, that tipping in Japan is frowned on by the wait staff themselves. As it suggests that you are implying that their employer doesn't pay them enough. Selina thought of all those who worked as waitresses and waiters in the East End and how they needed tips to make ends meet. And it was because restaurants, even nice ones, paid them less than minimum wage. She decided she much preferred a system where employees are paid enough to live comfortably without relying on the kindness of complete strangers.
As she had covered quite a vast area for one day, she decided it was time to go home. As she took a cab back to the estate, Selina determined Tokyo as being "beautifully chaotic". She reckoned she was going to like it here.
"Eiko seems happy." Boss Hasigawa remarked, as he and Selina sat down opposite each other. He had invited her over for tea. And to discuss certain matters. "I haven't seen her laugh this way ever since her mother passed away."
"She's really nice." Selina meant what she said. In spite of her misgivings about her being this girl's companion, she was starting to genuinely like Eiko. She wasn't snobbish or elitist like she had expected. Spoiled rotten and naive, but not intolerable. In the one month that she had known the Boss's daughter, Selina had grown fond of her. And she could tell that the feeling really was mutual. Selina was also being homeschooled by Eiko's tutors. And Selina was now bring taught by them too. Eiko had insisted on it.
On this day, Selina intended to breach the subject of expanding her areas of learning. The Boss seemed to be in a good mood, so this was the ideal time.
"I'm told that you did very well on the Kiyama mansion job" Hasigawa said to her, leisurely sipping his tea.
The Kiyama were a rival Yakuza clan. From what Selina heard, the Kiyama Oyabun, Yoshi Kiyama was negotiating some kind of a deal with the Colombian Mafia. The details weren't known to her, but she was tasked to accompany a group of Hasigawa members and steal some documents from Kiyama's bedroom suite. It was Selina's job to crawl through the air vents, crack the safe and then get the documents back.
The job was exciting, no doubt about that. But Selina was beyond impressed by the skills of one of the other members. Akira Suga - the electrical engineer who disabled all the alarms and the security cameras, thereby giving Selina easy access. What fascinated Selina the most was the ease with which Akira did her job. As if it was a game. Selina had heard whispers of how skilled she really was. She could rewire a building in minutes, she could make the security systems of the most elite banks go awry, she once rewired a car so that it got progressively slower over a long distance. This allowed the man driving it to be captured miles away from Tokyo and no one suspected Hasigawa family. If only Selina could do what Akira could. She could, if Akira taught her.
"It wasn't anything I haven't done before." Selina said, replying to Hasigawa's comment, "just a simple grab and go type job."
She took a sip of her tea before saying what she really wanted too.
"Boss, I can do a lot more. If I had the right kind of training."
"Do not be coy, Selina-chan. Beating around the bush is a waste of time. Say what you mean clearly."
"Ok. I want to learn electrical engineering. And I want Akira Suga to teach me. I know what she can do. And I wanna be able to do the same. I'll prove to be a good investment Boss. With my current skill set, combined with Akira's tutelage, I can be a real asset to your organisation."
"Hmmm...." Hasigawa put down his empty cup and regarded Selina, "you want to improve your skill set so you can rise higher. Good. That is good. All right. I will ask Akira to teach you all she knows."
"Thanks Boss" Selina said, concealing her excitement.
"Keep in mind that you are not to ignore my daughter in favour of these lessons. You must be there for her whenever she needs you. I hate to see her disappointed, as I'm sure you know."
"Don't worry, Boss. I love spending time with Eiko" Selina said, once again reminded that she was brought here as a "friend for hire".
Akira Suga was a Japanese woman in her mid thirties. At five feet four inches, she was shorter than Selina. She spoke with a British accent. And when asked about it, she told Selina that she had spent her childhood and attended university in England. She had a master's degree in Electrical Engineering and a bachelor's in International Business from the University of Cambridge.
Lessons with Akira were challenging. The woman was a rather strict tutor. Though she didn't seem to mind teaching Selina, she had little patience for mistakes and would often scold her. Selina had to constantly bite her tongue to keep from making one of her trademark snarky retorts. She wasn't going to mess this up. She had always found physics rather interesting and had read several high school level books on it, so she wasn't a complete novice and most of the time was able to follow Akira's teachings quite well.
Akira did throw in a few compliments here and there. And when it came from her, praise actually meant something.
"You do have good critical thinking skills. However you seem to have trouble focussing on one thing at a time. Especially during longer lessons.Your mind wanders. I'd suggest you meditate to keep it still."
"I did start meditating about a year ago" Selina told her, recalling Ted Grant giving her the same advice, "but then certain eventualities occurred in my life and I just ignored meditation." Selina was starting to notice that in the short time she had been in Japan, she had adopted a more sophisticated way of speaking.
"Well you should start again."
Apart from urging her to continue practicing Udgeeth Pranayama, that is the changing of the word "Om" while sitting cross legged with your back straight, Akira also taught Selina another form of meditation. It was from Siddha Yoga and required her to envision a small flame burning where her pituitary gland was located. At first Selina found it impossible to do. She couldn't see any flame no matter how hard she concentrated. It was frustrating. But Akira would not let her slack off. It took her three months, but finally the said flame did appear in Selina's mind's eye. She was able to focus on it and felt that she could draw a kind of strength from this imaginary flame. This newfound focus was also helping her become a better gymnast. Her ability to aim with her whip had also improved greatly.
In these five months, Selina had learned a lot of other things as well. Akira was happy with her progress. She now had a working knowledge of Japanese and was able to hold simple conversations. She was doing well with her lessons with Akira's tutors as well, vastly improving her knowledge of history, geography, literature, sociology, mathematics and economics. She continued to read books on philosophy and learn important lessons from them.
Selina had also made some new friends. Four legged friends. There were a few stray cats and dogs outside the estate. While Boss Hasigawa disliked animals and didn't allow anyone living there to keep pets, Selina could step out of the main gate a few times and day and feed her new friends. Three stray cats she named Ginger who looked like a ginger tabby mix, Diana who had white fur and Salem who was all black and reminded her of the cat owned by Sabrina The Teenage Witch. And them there were the two dogs whom she called Max and Hector. She would often speak to them in hushed whispers, telling them her secrets and plans for the future. Selina also enjoyed feeding the many birds who visited the beautiful gardens.
As for Eiko, she and Selina became inseparable. Selina had figured out how to keep her smiling. Though she didn't always agree with Eiko, she did always reinforced her beliefs, providing the girl with much needed validation. Validation that came from someone she considered her equal, and not from one of her father's sycophants. Eiko saw Selina as a girl far more mature, experienced and possessing greater worldly wisdom than her. Her opinions mattered. This validation made Eiko even more emotionally dependent on Selina. To the point that she would share every single thing about her life with her new "best friend". From her opinions on her father's many employees to famous celebrities who caught her fancy. Selina Kyle was her valued confidant.
Eiko had seen Selina practice boxing and martial arts. She was even more impressed now and urged Selina to teach her. So she agreed and showed Eiko how to throw some kicks and punches.
One evening, they were sitting by Eiko's rooftop pool as they often did and Eiko was telling Selina about her mother's passing. She mentioned that it was pancreatic cancer that took her. She also confided that she didn't know how her father truly felt about her mother's death.
"He is just so closed off, Selina. I really can't tell if he misses her", Eiko said as she stared into the water.
"Maybe he doesn't want you to worry."
"I suppose. And I know he loved her. I remember what they were like together. He was always so good to her. I just wish...." Eiko trailed off.
"That he would open up to you more." Selina finished her sentence.
"Yes, exactly." Selina put her arm around Eiko. While she did feel genuinely sorry for the lonely girl. But at the same time, she stored this valuable information in her mind. Knowing that it could come it handy at a later time.
"Selina, can I ask you something?" Eiko said, interrupting her thoughts.
"Of course"
"You've been here for almost six months and.... well.... don't you ever want to call someone back home? Or visit them? I mean your family. Don't you miss them?"
"I don't have anyone." Selina told her with a shrug.
"You don't? What about your parents?"
"They both died when I was ten."
"I'm really sorry." Eiko looked genuinely regretful and hesitated before asking, "Selina..... where did you live? Was it in an orphanage?"
"Eiko, it's fine. You can ask", Selina told her with a laugh, "I lived at an orphanage for a couple of months, but the people running it used to beat the kids. So I had to escape."
"Good god!" Eiko exclaimed, she had thought that orphanages were places filled with kind people who helped orphaned children. This was quite the revelation. "Did you go to the police?"
"No Eiko. The police in Gotham are corrupt. You have no idea how corrupt."
"That's awful! So where did you live?"
"On the streets at first, then in abandonment buildings." Selina decided not to reveal the full extent of the abuse she had suffered. No point in traumatizing the poor girl.
"Selina I've heard that there's a lot of crime in Gotham. Weren't you afraid? Wasn't it dangerous?"
"Oh it was dangerous. And I did get in trouble. This one time, I was stealing from a nice house and a bunch of guys, who were also thieves and were looking to steal from the same place, chased me down. I tried to fight them off but it was four of them and they were way stronger than me. They beat me so badly, a cop had to take me to the hospital."
Eiko gasped.
"Selina I'm so sorry to hear this."
"Hey don't worry! You see, this cop gave me the address of Ted Grant and told me he could teach me how to fight. So after I recovered, I actually went to see Ted and he did. All the combat skills I know, I learned from him."
"Oh my god! Ted Grant? THE Ted Grant? The former boxing world champion! He trained you?"
"Yep! That's him."
"Oh I'm such a big fan of his!" Eiko was clearly excited, "I've seen so many of his fights on TV. You know, two years ago just before he announced his retirement, I asked Oto-San to take me to see his last fight. But he was too busy. Anyway, tell me about Ted. He's handsome, isn't he?"
"Oh yeah! He's really good looking", Selina recalled the admiration and attraction she had felt towards her mentor, and had developed what people call a crush, "believe me, cameras do not do him justice."
"Wow! You've lived quite a life Selina." Eiko remarked, before her brow furrowed and she asked "how come you haven't told me any of this until now?"
"It never came up." Selina told her matter of factly.
"Does something have to "come up" for you to share it with me?" Eiko looked slightly hurt, "I thought we were friends."
"We are" Selina said, but before she could go further Eiko interrupted her.
"Well friends don't keep secrets! And from now on you won't keep any from me."
"Ok, fine" Selina laughed.
"No! Promise me." To secure a promise from Selina, Eiko began playfully splashing her with water from the pool.
"Okay, okay! I promise!" Selina said as they both laughed.
Selina was telling Eiko more about the legendary Ted Grant when Sakura walked up to them.
"Eiko-san, I believe you should start getting ready now. It's almost seven-thirty."
"Of right! I forgot. We're going to the Palace." Eiko said, hurriedly getting up and pulling Selina up by her arm.
"The Palace?" Selina asked, confused.
"Yes, it a luxury hotel. Oto-San is celebrating the closure of some deal. We're expected to leave at eight."
"We?"
"Yes, we. I told Oto-San that you're coming with us."
"Okay....just let me go change." Selina said.
As Selina would later find out, the Hasigawa family co owned the Palace Hotel. And went there to celebrate ever so often.
As she put on a pencil dress she had bought with her bonus, Sakura knocked on the door. She had a distinct knock that Selina recognized quite well by now.
"You look very pretty Selina-San." Sakura said smiling, "but what's this? You haven't put on any make up."
"Well, I don't really know how to do that."
"No matter. I'll help you with that." Sakura told one of her assistants, who was standing right outside to fetch something from her minka. The young woman came back with a small black case. Sakura asked Selina to sit at the dressing table and opened the case. It contained various kinds of make up products.
"You have such beautiful, full lips, my dear." Sakura said putting some lipstick on Selina. She then bronzed her cheeks, before putting mascara and eyeliner on her eyes.
"And your eyes! I have never seen eyes that are as green as yours. If you bring them out even a little, you can create magic with them."
When Selina looked in the mirror, she couldn't help but smile. She did indeed look stunning and glamorous.
"See? Look how lovely you are", Sakura was smiling rather proudly. It was hard to tell is she was proud of how good Selina looked ot her own handy work.
She made Selina turn towards her and told her, "Selina-San, your beauty is a gift from nature. And it is your duty to do justice to it. To take care of it."
"Yeah, thanks Sakura."
"Now go on. Eiko-San must be waiting. You are to be driven in the same car."
As they were being driven to the Palace Hotel in a limo, Eiko told Selina that her last visit there was six months ago, just before Selina had arrived. On her fourteenth birthday. Her father wasn't there so she celebrated with Sakura and other staff members.
"Selina when is your birthday?" Eiko suddenly asked.
"March Fourteenth", Selina replied.
"Why that's only a month away! You'll turn sixteen, right?"
"Yeah...." Selina said, trying not to make her discomfort with her birthday become obvious. In the Kyle household birthdays weren't exactly a joyous occasion. Brian made sure of that. Even after her parents' deaths, her subsequent birthdays hadn't really been happy. Except for her thirteenth, which she had celebrated with Del Halperm and the other circus employees. People she had loved and had lost. Selina was thinking of that brief period of happiness in her life, when they arrived at the Palace.
The hotel was aptly named as it looked fit for royalty. And the Hasigawas were royalty in a way.
The family and some selected staff, including Sakura and Akira, sat in an exclusive area on the roof of the building. Boss Hasigawa was sitting at the centre of the area, was busy talking to his "executives". Selina and Eiko were sitting by the parapet, chatting merely and enjoying the view while they waited for their dinner to arrive. The serenity was shattered by a small popping sound, followed by the sound of Sakura screaming. Selina turned around in time to see that one of Hasigawa's men was bleeding. From his chest, where his heart would be located. A bullet wound.
The waiters, or those pretending to be, had guns drawn and were firing at the Hasigawa family.
"EIKO!!" Selina heard the Boss's anguished cry as one of the men pointed his gun at his daughter and fired.
