Chapter 2: A Shady Deal

A private apartment on the top floor of a complex in Roppongi Hills. The interior was well furnished and modern. There was an updated electronic suite, ranging from dishwashers to ovens. Even the refrigerator was a ‘smart’ one that could be connected from the internet.

There, John lay slumped into the sofa next to the table and staring at the ceiling.

“…This is how it will be now, huh?”

A mistake. Despite his calculations and efforts, he was a step too short. Although ‘Earth’, this world wasn’t the same one that he left. It was similar, but one where ‘he’ didn’t exist.

There were plenty of ‘John Smiths’ that lived on Earth, but his exact identity, the person who ‘he’ was did not exist. There were no records of his family, his past, his trip to China… Nothing.

But most importantly of all…

His video games! His light novels! His Anime! None of them existed!

Sure, while there were equivalents, like UTube and Fony and Nitrosoft… everything had been changed by cheap knock-offs.

In fact, it seemed like the universe went out of its way to spite him, letting him head back to an Earth that was basically the same but with his specific interests wiped out.

John sighed and then rolled over, grabbing the remote on the table and flipping on the television.

Japanese headlines. Recent events about ongoings in Tokyo and the nationwide. A few more headlines about world events like the U.S. president and other things.

All in all, the usual mundane affairs.

After mindlessly staring at the television for a while, John shook his head and turned the television off. That done, he stood up and stretched, taking another look around his new home.

It was a simple apartment. A central living room, a bedroom in the back as well as a bathroom across from it. A connected kitchen to the living room. Basic furnishings, like the table, TV, sofa… the bare essentials to live in.

“Should I go shopping?” John muttered to himself and then glanced at his fridge.

As someone who transcended the Three Realms, the mundane necessities of a human being were unnecessary. But it would look suspicious if he had any visitors and didn’t have any food in his fridge.

Well, maybe not. Considering his cobbled together identity of a young businessman, it wouldn’t be too odd. Still, the whole point of returning was to enjoy life on Earth again, so keeping suspicion low would help in preventing troublesome events.

John took out the smartphone he bought on the way to his apartment and then checked the time. “Hm…”

It was a Friday. November 1st. As for the year… 2024? A few years in the future from the place he left, but apparently not much different. And at the moment, it was close to noon.

“I should still have some money left over…”

A bit of quick trading and stock manipulation had given John all the funds he would need. Barring that, he still had access to his treasury in his private Heavenly Realm, so there was no concern about money.

Since he had nothing else to do, John decided to go wander around the city and explore a bit.

—–AI|IA—–

John tucked his hands into his pockets and strolled down the sidewalk. He had changed into a simple outfit to try and avoid attention. A yellow scarf, beige coat, jeans, gray winter boots… In short, a typical outfit of a foreign tourist.

But probably because of that he was drawing eyes. The people passing by were mostly Japanese. He noticed a few other foreigners around, mostly younger folk in their early twenties, probably drawn in by the immigration drive passed in Japan recently, but other than that, everyone else was Japanese.

“This is a bit unfortunate…” John muttered.

Another slight miscalculation. He had gotten used to being the center of attention, but he had been hoping to get out of that.

…Maybe he should have used a disguise technique? But then again that would defeat the purpose of being himself… Hah.

John shook his head and then kept walking, ignoring the stares. Pulling out his phone to avoid the gazes, he muttered, “At least they’re tactful enough to not bother me.”

One of the benefits of Japanese culture, he supposed. Here at least they wouldn’t go out of their way to confront him, unlike some other parts in the world.

Now, there should be a grocery store nearby according to the locations app on his phone-

“Hey. You there.” A gruff voice called out. Masculine and gravely.

John paused and looked up to see a middle-aged man pointing at him.

He was Japanese, as expected. But he was also different from the usual Japanese citizen. Although he was dressed in a suit and slacks like the average businessman, the man that called out had the body of an athlete with honed muscles and a stern face. A few faint scars marred the man’s face while his hair was slightly graying.

The man nodded and said, “You’re a foreigner, right?”

“…Perhaps. What’s it to you?” The man was shady. John didn’t pry, but he was certain that the man belonged to the Yakuza… or at least had dealings in the criminal underworld. But because of that it would be even more troubling to ignore him.

The stern man walked forward and said, “I have a business proposal. One that requires a foreigner to complete.”

John shook his head. “I refuse.”

Dangerous- No. Troublesome. John’s intuition told him that his life would get ‘interesting’ if he continued to associate with that person.

Deciding that, John immediately turned away and started walking.

But it seemed the man was determined.

Before John could take more than a few steps, the man had moved in front of him, physically blocking John’s path.

John narrowed his eyes. “I thought the Japanese were supposed to be polite?”

The man nodded. “We are. And I am politely insisting that you listen to my proposal.”

Dark eyes that held a firm resolve.

Seeing those, John sighed and said, “Fine. I suppose I have time.”

He was still depressed about his favorite games, shows, and Anime being missing. And he *did* need a new past-time…

At those words, the man’s stern face cracked with a thin smile. “Good. Then follow me. At the least, I will treat you to lunch for troubling you.”

—–AI|IA—–

A high class sushi restaurant with private booths and sleek modern interior design.

After the waiter dropped off the menus, bound in leather backs and golden trimmings, the man pushed one to John. “Here,” he said. “Choose whatever you want.”

John picked up the menu and opened it. “Generous, are we?”

The man didn’t respond, simply waiting for John to decide.

John didn’t know what was good so he just chose some tuna rolls and sashimi.

After the waiter came back and took their orders, the man put his arms on the table and crossed his fingers.

“So. Where are you from?”

John took a sip from his glass of water and said, “Does it matter?”

“…I suppose it doesn’t.” The man muttered and shook his head. “Well, I guess we should start with introductions.” The man lowered his arms again and bowed his head. “My name is Jin Kai- Ah. I suppose to you it would be ‘Kai Jin.’ Yours?”

“John Smith.”

The man, Kai, blinked and then said, “A fake name?”

John took another sip from his water and said, “A bit generic, but it is what it is.”

“Hm.” Kai gave John an evaluating glance and then said, “Well Mister Smith. As I said, I have a business proposal to present to you.”

John set his glass down and nodded. “Right. You mentioned something that only a foreigner could do?”

“That would be ideal, yes. But what matters the most is the appearance rather than the origin.” Kai stared at John and said, “From your excellent Japanese, I assume you aren’t a mere tourist.”

“Mm. Something like that.”

“Secretive, I see. Well, that’s fair.”

The waiter came back with the men’s orders. Kai had a simple miso soup and some unagi. As for John, he had a platter of red and white tuna meat, as well as some hand rolls.

John stared at the food for a bit and then glanced at Kai.

The man waved his hand and said, “Go ahead. No need to be polite.”

“Then I’ll start.” John took a pair of chopsticks and then picked up a piece of tuna.

“I’ll cut it short,” Kai said. “I want you to be the manager of an idol company.”

John froze, causing the piece of tuna in his chopsticks to fall back to his plate. “Pardon?”

Kai took a piece of his unagi and ate it. After, he said, “You heard me correctly. I have an idol company that I want to hand over- Well, the facilities needed to run an idol company at least. The studio, computers, recording equipment and the like.”

“And you want me to run it?”

A shady man like that owning an idol company… John’s mind could only jump to conclusions. It had been a while ago, but he heard of rumors about those abusive idol practices.

John shook his head and said, “I’m not getting involved with anything like that.”

Kai took a sip from his soup and said, “If you’re concerned about the legality, I can assure you that it was all proper. Admittedly a few of the talents were placed in… stressful situations, but there was never any criminal marks against our company.”

“Uh-huh.” That was what all shady businessman said. “And why do you want to pass off your business then? And to a ‘foreigner’ no less?”

Kai was quiet and then said, “Let’s just say I had a change of heart recently. That and I need money as quickly as I can get it.”

“And you think I have the funds to do so?”

“Yes. Otherwise I wouldn’t have called out to you.” Kai smiled and said, “Call it the experience of age. You hide it well, but there’s no mistaking your aura of business acumen.”

John doubted that.

Kai hid it well and had sound reasonings… but John could detect faint traces of desperation behind his words.

At the least, it seemed that he truly needed to turn over the business.

“An idol company, huh?” John muttered.

He didn’t know the least thing about idols. Well, that wasn’t true. He had an inkling about it from his faint memories before his departure, but only so much as remembering they were singers and dancers and usually attractive young women.

Kai nodded. “That’s right. Although you would be free to change it if you desired. All that I am offering is the facilities and office space. There isn’t anything binding you to continue that sort of business.”

John nodded.

It shouldn’t be too hard. And he *was* wondering what to do with his time on Earth.

“In that case…”

“Will you do it?”

John sighed. “If you’re that insistent about it, I might as well.”

In the worst case scenario, he could turn time back… Or send a message to his past self to not go through with it.

Kai’s stern face cracked with a smile again. At the same time, the faint tension in his body faded, clearly relieved. “Good. In that case…” He leaned over to the side and pulled out a briefcase.

John blinked and then let out a bitter laugh. “You came prepared, I see.”

Kai stacked some papers on the table and said, “It’s necessary to strike while the iron is hot. Now, if you would just sign here and here…”