Black Flower: Asylum

Linda struggled with every step through the neon lit back alley. The icy November rain made her hands shake. It wasn't the best moment for this as she continued to hold her hand over the gunshot wound in her side. The signs above her were all in Japanese and she cursed under her breath. How was she going to find the Sushi shop if she didn't even understand the names?

"Look for the cat on the blade... Look for the cat on the blade." She repeated to herself, using the sides of the alley to keep her up and walking.

The fact that she knew it would happen and let it was the worst part. Her husband of only a year was responsible for this. Maybe he hadn't shot her but it was done on his orders. She should have fled right then as soon as she saw his ex round the corner at the bottom of the stairs in their own house. They probably never stopped fucking right under her nose. It was fitting. If she hadn't had the will to live, she should've died in a gutter for her stupidity alone. At least, that's what she thought about it.

Luckily for her, the weak wristed bitch couldn't even buy a proper handgun so it must have been a small caliber that hit her. It shocked her but she didn't fall. Maybe it was survival instincts or maybe just sheer rage strength but she punched and clawed that whore's face until she was the one on the ground and escaped out the front door.

To be a part of a rival gang, her house was idiotically close to Little Tokyo where the Yakuza had their headquarters. If anything popped off, they could have just strolled over and started a firefight. Gangs... She spat on the ground with distaste. She hated gangs now.

Her life had been simple before gangs: empty, lonely, but simple. Her mother and father died when she was eighteen and she had no one else. She was an only child of only children with dead parents. What they left her in the will she used to go to college and majored in business. She was smart and hard working. With no family to go home to, she went to school year round and got her MBA in 4 years. At 22 she entered the workforce: book smart but inexperienced and naïve.

A company she didn't know shit about hired her and her illegal life began. It started simply enough. Something like a shell game with small companies but things got more complicated as time went by. In her heart she knew what she was doing was against the law but who else would hire her after this? His entrance couldn't have been better timed.

Martin Cole was a beautiful sociopath, the King of Uncanny Valley. He just seemed off but so desperate she was for any affection after nearly five years without, she married him in a week. He got bored easily and saw violence as natural as blinking. She never took a hit, quick feet and good reflexes kept her safe but others, be they man or beast, were never safe. Linda personally removed every dog from the premises just because she couldn't watch them being tortured anymore. He didn't even hate dogs, simply always looking for a reaction from something, anything.

His crazy ass wouldn't choose divorce, she knew it. She saw him getting bored with her, not even using his stinging criticism and sharp insults to torture her in the only way he could: emotionally. He avoided their bedroom, which was a relief for her because he was a selfish lover, and stopped eating dinner with her. It made so much sense for Lola to be waiting for her. He'd chosen her because it confirmed the suspicion she'd always had. It was a last torture before death. He'd never been faithful.

A Cheshire cat gleamed happily on a knife blade underneath Japanese characters. It looked exactly like one of Tomiko's sketches. She was so talented. A tear of thanks rolled down Linda's cheek as she stumbled and nearly fell down the steps. She caught herself with a cry and entered the restaurant.

It was nearly empty; most would be at this hellish hour on Thursday before dawn. There was a young man mopping, another cleaning and sanitizing the bar counter and about 4 big men in nice suits drinking coffee in the corner. They all turned to stare at her and who wouldn't when there's a bleeding black woman coming in from the rain.

She was thankful for the hard plastic chairs and tile floor so she'd feel less guilty about bleeding all over the place. With all the dignity she could muster, she eased forth, pulled up a chair and sat down.

"Please get Tomiko and tell her that Pom Poko is on and we should watch it together."

All the suited men were up and gathered around her. She hadn't even heard them move. Their hands were on their guns and they watched her with unflinching eyes.

"There is no Tomiko here."

"Please get Tomiko and tell her that Pom Poko is on and we should watch it together."

She could hear running but didn't know from where.

An older man, possible the oldest in the group squatted beside her and cupped her face. He was late forties or good looking 50's. He took care of himself and had good skin. A long scar ran from the corner of his mouth to his temple and it was like the cherry on top. He was a good looking man who could look scary but right now he wasn't trying to.

"If you are going to survive this, you must stay awake. Do you hear me?"

"Yes sir." Linda liked him immediately.

"Not 'Sir'. Kuro-sama." He took off his jacket and rolled up his nice white sleeves before easing her hand aside of the wound.

"Yes, Kuro-sama." Linda let him move her hand. She didn't have enough energy to jump when she heard a woman shriek.

Tomiko was at her side and touching her face and hair. "Oh no... No no no! What the fuck Lin? If you die on me, I swear."

"Hey girl..." Linda chuckled weakly. "You look nice."

Tomiko stared at her incredulously but it was true. Her hair was now in big beach waves and she wore one of the new styled kimonos, floral with tassels on the end over black skinny jeans and a shirt with a winking girl on it. Linda was still in the grey cotton romper she was wearing in the house.

Kuro was barking orders at the men and gently lifted the still bleeding young woman off the chair. He'd wrapped his jacket around her and tied it tight to ease the blood flow. The fact that she'd made it there seemed a miracle in itself but it was a whole other animal to keep her alive through surgery and after. And he absolutely did not want to disappoint the boss's daughter.

Tomiko followed, holding her friend's hand tightly. She wouldn't let go, even through the surgery when the family doctor had to knock her out. He said it was simply amazing. The bullet lodged in but didn't knick a damn thing. It was an easy extraction as well. He was floored.

"Lucky, lucky," He spoke in deep, hoarse, Japanese. "She got here just in time. If it had moved a few millimeters in any way she might not have made it. And you said she walked here? Remarkable."

"She is." Kuro nodded and carried her to prayer room that Tomiko set up. Linda was laid on the palette in the incense filled room and Tomiko thanked him before kneeling at the top. She put her forehead to her friend's and began to pray in earnest. She would stay there all night, whatever was necessary.

Meeting Linda was the closest thing to falling in love at first sight in the most platonic sense. They didn't know who each other were but their souls seemed to recognize each other immediately. After that first lunch together, she knew she wanted to grow old with this woman, keep her in her life, have their children or grandchildren marry to unite their families. She was the sister she always wanted but never had.

For three months they met, up to four times a week to just eat and talk and laugh. They went to the movies and to plays, shopping and sightseeing. She wished it could last forever but she was married to that glorified drug lord Martin Cole. What a bastard he was to her. It was too dangerous to continue so they stopped seeing each other with safety in mind but on their last meeting she told her to come and give a code if she needed a place to stay. She knew Martin was a ticking time bomb but she never honestly thought he'd shoot her.

Shouichi arrived at the restaurant his sister owned with a sigh. Kuro had only said it was an emergency and not what it was about. He stepped through the front door and closed the Burberry umbrella, happy to get out of the rain. He stopped and stared at the busboys hurriedly cleaning a pool of blood off the floor.

"Tomiko?" His voice was more of a shout than a question. She could be an artsy little bother from time to time but she was still his only sister and if that was her blood he'd be out for vengeance.

Kuro appeared behind him and gripped his shoulder. "She's fine. That's not hers. Please come with me."

His eyes were still glued to the busboys before he followed his sister's head bodyguard down the hall. Kuro was trusted family friend who was more like an Uncle to him that his father's own brothers. He led him to the makeshift prayer room where he saw Tomiko kneeled over a black woman he'd never seen before.

She was beautiful. Smooth dark skin with hints of red like spiced chocolate, long curvy body with most of her weight beneath her waist. She had to be around Tomiko's height, maybe 5'9 but larger likely a 10 to Tomi's 4/6. Her hair was long drenched twists that spread out around her like reaching tendrils. He couldn't make much of her breasts; they'd been bandaged down for modesty as her only other clothing were a pair of pink briefs.

"Kuro... who's this?"

Kuro nodded his head. "I think it would be best to ask your sister."