Chapter 15: Food Wars – I – The Shadowy Menace

Rin plopped onto the couch in the studio lounge, sipping on a water bottle.

It was a very… interesting past few hours practicing with Mister John.

First of all, he was an incredibly good singer and dancer. Despite doing the intense upbeat dance number to that song, he sang perfectly on pitch without even missing a beat in his dancing.

Even though Rin had practiced hard and loved singing and dancing since she was little, she couldn’t hold a candle to Mister John.

And when she asked him how he was so good…

‘Hm? Singing and dancing? Compared to chanting sutras while fighting for your life, this is nothing.’

…She got back a weird response.

Considering how she didn’t really know much about Mister John, Rin couldn’t tell if that was a joke to get her to relax… or if he was telling the truth.

Rin sighed and leaned back, staring at the ceiling, idly sipping on her water bottle. “Mister John is really something else, huh?”

A successful businessman, a dancer and singer skilled enough to act on Broadway in America with the looks that could make it big in Hollywood… It made Rin wonder what Mister John was even doing here.

That person was someone that could probably make an impact no matter where he went, so why Japan? And why help her?

“Haah… I don’t get it.” Rin finished her water bottle and then jumped to her feet. “Well… I just have to not disappoint him, right?”

That was right. She didn’t know why Mister John was doing all of this, but if he was putting in the work, then she just had to work twice as hard to not disappoint him!

Though…

Rin blinked and looked around the room. “Where did Mister John go, anyway?”

He said that he was just going to step outside for a bit to grab lunch for the two, but he had been gone for a while now.

…Oh well. He was probably fine. Someone like Mister John could handle whatever life threw at him.

In the meantime…

Rin pulled out her phone and opened up MirAIZ. Seeing Hana looking back, she smiled and said, “Let’s get to work, Hana!”

John was not having a good time.

“What do you mean you’re closed?!”

“We are very sorry, Mister Smith. But our head chef resigned the other day.”

A middle-aged man with a sharp suit and neat haircut bowed.

Since Rin had worked so hard over the past few hours practicing with him and working on the number for her debut stream, he wanted to treat her to something special for lunch. Because of that, he went around to the nearby restaurants, intended to order the best food from each and have it delivered, or at the least deliver it himself. But…

“You guys are the tenth place I’ve gone to today! What, did all the chefs in Tokyo decide to resign over night?!”

…That was the problem.

No matter which place he went to, he was turned away at the door.

Either there was an issue due to health code violations, the chefs suddenly deciding to pick up different career paths, or the workers all suddenly caught the flu.

Ridiculous! Absurd! Things like that didn’t happen out of coincidence!

The manager of the restaurant bowed his head. “Again, I sincerely apologize, Mister Smith. But… as strange as it may be, that is the case. While we are quickly looking for replacements for our staff, I am afraid that it may be weeks before we are in business again…”

John sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “No, I understand. I apologize for scolding you. It is just… ridiculous.”

The manager raised his head, smiling. “Thank you for your understanding.” He paused and then frowned. “And I agree. It is quite strange… Master Miyamoto, our head chef was not one to leave without a moment’s notice, and yet this morning he entered my office and quietly turned in the resignation slip.”

“…Hm?” John frowned. “You mean that it was out of character for the guy?”

The manager nodded. “Very much so, Mister Smith. Master Miyamoto took pride in working at our restaurant and enjoyed interacting with the clientele. The fact that he departed so suddenly… I am afraid that something may have occurred to him- Ah.” He blinked, suddenly realizing that he was talking to John and bowed his head. “My apologies. I did not mean to burden you with my own worries.”

“It’s fine. More importantly…”

A faint ripple. The emanations of karma resulting from his presence. 

“…Could you tell me more about Master Miyamoto?”

Minato Miyamoto. A master chef that studied the top cuisines from all over the world and built up a reputation for being the best of the best, even by famous overseas chefs, like Golden Ramses.

An elderly gentleman with a kind demeanor that loved to interact with customers and take on protegees in his youth. Of course, in recent years he had pared that back due to his age and focused on his family.

According to the manager of the restaurant, Mister Miyamoto doted on his high school granddaughter, who he took in after her parents died in a plane crash when she was just a toddler.

Apparently, he lived around Shinjuku and usually left home early to wait for his granddaughter to return from school before heading back out for the evening.

…In short, it was a typical set up for a tragedy.

John had experiences with situations like this before… though usually with Divine Doctors and their beautiful granddaughters.

While he wasn’t sure how all the restaurants being closed factored into the matter, he was sure that the old man was being pressured somehow and that the granddaughter was being held captive.

Paired with the suspicious circumstances on why that Kai guy sold the building to John…

“Hah. No matter where I go, things like these keep springing up, huh?”

John stepped off the train and pulled out his phone to make a call.

A few ringtones later, Rin answered. “Mister John?”

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Rin, but something came up. I might be back a bit late.”

“It’s fine, Mister John! Um… but should I head home then?”

“Just make yourself comfortable. I should have some food in my office on the fifth floor…” John quietly added some quick dishes into the refrigerator there. “…If you’re hungry. I’ll send some trustworthy guys to keep you safe, alright?”

“Um… Alright? But how do I know who to let in?”

“Don’t worry about that and just have fun playing with Hana or practicing… Oh, I should have some games installed with Steem too on the computers. Maybe see what you’d like to stream later. Sound good?”

“Okay, Mister John!”

John smiled and hung up. After that, he ducked into an alleyway and rummaged around for some automatons in his Heavenly Realm.

Grabbing the first pair he could find, he tossed them out and said, “You two. Go back to the office and keep an eye on Rin. Help her out if she needs it and then keep out any shady guys with extreme prejudice. Understood?”

A pair of blank nods and then a monotone, “Understood, Master.”

“Alright. Now…” John spread his spiritual sense and muttered, “…I suppose it’s time to get acquainted with the local clans.” He snapped his fingers and changed his clothes into a black suit and tie outfit. At the same time, he flicked his wrist, causing dark figures to show up behind him before coalescing into men with shades and matching suits, all with scarred and battle-honed bodies. 

Staring at their fierce and intimidating presence, John nodded and then walked off.