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Majima headed to Cafe Alps. He’d been invited by a hand-written letter, ironically, on his birthday, although the letter mentioned nothing about that. He was intrigued, to be honest, about who would have bothered to reach out to him that way. He wasn’t the kind of man who received many letters, and this one had found him at home, so it had to have been completely unrelated to the Tojo Clan and his position there.
He wondered if he’d been followed by a PI, he’d been extra uneasy for a little while recently and that would have made sense. It didn’t matter, he was certain that he could deal with anything life decided to throw at him, and the writing wasn’t Mirei’s, so he didn’t need to worry about that coming back to kick his dick off on his birthday.
Although, he had to admit, it would be her style.
He’d dressed up, eschewing his usual snakeskin jacket and leather pants for something nicer, and more normal. A black suit and black shirt, no tie, and his usual shoes and gloves. He had an image to keep up after all.
Cafe Alps was surprisingly quiet for the afternoon, and he’d arrived early for his meeting. The waitress on duty recognized him and smiled brightly, waving demurely as she spotted him and Majima grinned back. She was cute, and sweet and they’d talked a lot when he’d come in for lunch. Cafe Alps was his second favourite place to eat, and was where he’d usually bring Nishida for lunch when they were working. He’d gotten friendly with a lot of the staff, and had more than once stopped the place from getting shaken down. It wasn’t his turf, but he wasn’t about to let some shithead ruin his favourite restaurant with bullshit protection money rackets.
The letter had said that the person wanted to meet him there, and that they’d be there by two. Majima was half an hour early, so he could catch up on local gossip and make sure things were okay before his mystery companion arrived. He sat quietly and waited, declining to order until his companion arrived. Things had been running smoothly at Cafe Alps, at least, and Majima was thankful for that. It seemed like his influence was reaching new points and he’d become a bit of a name in the city. He definitely didn’t mind that.
A shadow fell across the table and Majima looked up to see a young woman standing in front of him. She was dressed modestly, in a blazer and skirt, and she smiled brightly when she saw him, putting a hand over her mouth to hide her laughter.
“Oh my god it really is you!”
Majima's eye went wide, a look of confusion on his face. “It’s me?”
She nodded and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Can I sit?”
“Oh, shit, yeah, sorry,” Majima said, standing up to pull her chair out for her. “I didn’t know who I was expecting to show up.”
“Oh, I wanted you to be surprised,” the girl said with a laugh, holding up her paper bag. “I know it’s a weird day to call you out of the blue like this, and I wasn’t sure if you’d really show up if I didn’t tell you who I was, so I’m really glad that you did. This is for you.”
Majima took the gift bag hesitantly and set it on the floor next to him as he sat back down. “Well, to be honest, I’m happy that it’s you an’ not some ugly Omi Alliance thug lookin’ for revenge.”
“You have no idea who I am do you?” the girl asked.
“Sorry, but I don’t recognize you, no,” Majima admitted. “Should I?”
Before the girl could answer, the waitress came to the table. “I’m sorry to interrupt, Majima-san, but I wanted to let you know that whatever you and your companion order today is on the house because it’s your birthday.”
“Ah,” Majima said, embarrassed. “Okay, thanks, Saki-chan.”
“Can we have a few minutes?” the girl asked. “I don’t know the menu.”
“Sure thing,” Saki said. “Just call when you’re ready.”
Majima nodded and swallowed, his throat clicking slightly as he did. He hated anyone knowing it was his birthday, and he didn’t know how Cafe Alps had found out, but someone had told them a couple of years ago. It was probably Nishida, he surmised, and it was okay. He wasn’t used to getting special treatment, however.
“Happy Birthday, Majima-han,” the girl said with a bright smile. “Thank you for meeting with me.”
“You’re welcome, darlin’,” Majima replied. “Funny that you found me today of all days, too, miss.”
“Rikako,” the girl said.
“That’s a pretty name,” Majima said with a smile. “Please order somethin’ and then we can talk.”
“You sure?” Rikako asked.
“Well, I ain’t payin’,” Majima teased. “But yeah, I’d have said as much no matter what. An’ I feel like you’d have known that anyway.”
Rikako smiled and nodded. “Yeah, I had a feeling that you might offer, even though you clearly don’t know who I am.”
“And we’ll get to that in a minute, but let’s have a coffee and a cake or somethin’ first,” Majima said gently. “It’s my birthday after all.”
Rikako giggled and picked up the menu, looking it over briefly. “You know what?”
“Hm?”
“You can pick something for me, I’m sure you know the menu off by heart.”
“Strawberry parfait it is,” Majima said with another smile. He raised his hand to call the waitress over and he placed their order, but let Rikako pick her drink. He stared at her over the table as he tried to place her. She was so familiar but Majima swore he’d never seen her before.
“You look like you’re confused.”
“I am,” Majima admitted. “So you hired a PI to track me down or somethin’?”
Rikako nodded. “Something like that. I came to school in Tokyo and I heard your name in the bar where I wait tables. I thought it couldn’t be the same guy, so I asked around, and eventually, I found you.”
Majima opened his mouth, but closed it again as their desserts came to the table. There was a small candle on top of Majima’s parfait and he chuckled quietly, thanking the server before blowing it out in front of her.
“You spoil me,” he said with a smile. Rikako had already taken a bite of hers, a blissful look of content on her face and Majima’s heart skipped a beat. That damn smile, he knew that smile. It was a memory trapped somewhere in the depths of his mind, something he’d tried to forget, but it hovered there, right below the surface and he frowned as he tried, desperately to place it.
“You have quite a reputation,” Rikako continued. “I had no idea back then, but it doesn’t surprise me now. Mom never had a bad word to say about you, either. I don’t know if she knew who you really were, or if she just didn’t want to know, but you really changed both of our lives for the better.”
“Back then?” Majima asked, shaking his head. “Ya mean Sotenbori? In the eighties?”
Rikako nodded and giggled. “I feel bad for making you guess, I thought maybe you’d have figured it out when you saw me.”
Majima shook his head. “I’m sorry, Rikako-chan. I haven’t got a clue who ya are.”
“Maybe you ought to open the gift, then?”
Majima looked at the bag on the floor. His hands were trembling as he picked it up. He pushed aside the tissue paper and revealed a telltale green hat. They still had the goddamn little bird plushes in the UFO catcher machines to this day, they were a dime a dozen. It took all his willpower not to break down as he removed the Bunchan from the bag, turning it over in his hands and staring at it, his mouth agape. He looked at it, and up at the young woman sitting across from him, back to the Bunchan in his hands. It seemed so small now. His fingers brushed over the rough stitches where it had been hastily sewn back together, and over the missing eye. He shook his head, refusing to let the tears fall as he finally pieced together who Rikako was. There was no denying it, either, this Bunchan, broken and repaired, proved that she wasn’t lying.
“You know, I didn’t stop calling you ‘daddy’ until I was in my teens,” Rikako said quietly. “I had pretty much forgotten your name, and mom stopped correcting me until I asked.”
Majima put the Bunchan back in the bag. He thought he might throw up, not because he was upset, but because he was overwhelmed. How she had managed to find him after all this time was beyond him. He’d never gotten her name, she was always just Doll Girl to him.
“I… can’t believe you’re sittin’ here in front a’ me,” Majima managed. “After all this time… An’ how’s yer mom?”
“Mom’s doing great!” Rikako said. “She’s a Cabaret manager now, she doesn’t wait tables anymore, but you really did change our lives! She’s putting me through college, can you believe that? We went from having practically nothing, and having that horrible debt, to this. All because of you!”
“Ain’t because of me,” Majima mumbled. “Your mom is smart as hell, and she loved you so much she’d have done anythin’ for you.”
“But you stopped those loan sharks from hurting her, or selling me, remember?”
“I do,” Majima said quietly. “I never forgot ya, for what it’s worth.”
“You disappeared so suddenly, we thought maybe they’d come back and got you, too.”
“I’m sorry about that,” Majima said.
“Were you always a yakuza?” Rikako asked. “Even then?”
Majima shook his head. “It’s complicated. I wasn’t a yakuza then, I was kind of on hiatus for reasons that I can’t really talk about.”
“I see,” Rikako said, disappointed, as she took another bite of her dessert. “But I found you now, and I can thank you properly for everything that you did for us!”
Majima shook his head, smiling. “Ain’t no need to thank me. I just did what was right. A coupla dolls from the UFO catcher was worth it to see ya smile.”
Rikako smiled brightly. “You always were really sweet, and good with words. I’m glad that I got to see you again. You haven’t aged a day, you know.”
“Ya don’t think so?” Majima asked with a laugh. “Well, that’s sweet of you to say, considerin’ it’s my birthday an’ all.”
“That wasn’t intentional,” Rikako said with another laugh. “I’m glad I was able to see you on such an important day. You can keep Bunchan, too. I think you’ll give him a good home.”
Majima nodded. “Yeah, I’d be honoured to.” He hesitated, watching Rikako take another bite of her parfait. He couldn’t believe that she was sitting here, all grown up, eating sweets with him in a cafe halfway across the country from where they’d met almost twenty years ago. “Ya said you’re in college here in Tokyo?”
Rikako nodded. “Mm-hmm. It’s my first year.”
“That’s awesome,” Majima said with a smile. “I know it might not be appropriate fer me to ask, but since you’re here, an’ I’m here, would ya be willin’ to get dinner with this old man once in a while? To catch up?”
“Hell yeah!” Rikako said with a laugh. “I was hoping you’d offer! I have so much that I want to tell you, but I didn’t know if you’d be willing to even talk to me after all this time!” She shook her head. “I won’t call you daddy though, I think I’m a little too grown for that.”
Majima laughed. “I mean… If you wanted to, I never could say no to you, could I?” He sighed and reached for his coffee, taking a sip. “An’ if you’re ever in trouble while you’re here, you know to call me, right?”
Rikako nodded. “I do now.”
“I mean it,” Majima said. “Any trouble. Even if it’s just some punk ass kid not takin’ no for an answer or somethin’, you call me.” He fished a business card from his pocket and put it on the table between them. “An’ tell your mom you found me. An’ that I’m sorry for disappearin’ like that.”
Rikako smiled and picked up the business card. “I can do that.” She shifted in her seat. “Majima-han?”
“Yeah?”
“I know this is really weird to ask, but since it’s your birthday and everything, if you don’t have plans later, do you want to go get dinner and hit up the arcade? For old times’ sake?”
Majima smiled. “On one condition.”
Rikako stopped with her spoon halfway into her parfait. She looked up at Majima with those big doe eyes that had won him over back in ‘88. “Okay?”
“You let me pay for dinner, an’ you let me win ya a new Bunchan.”
Rikako visibly relaxed and nodded. “Yeah, Majima-han, I think that would be lovely.”