I had my fill of Bangkok the first time I was around it. I didn't care for it very much, plus it was blazing hot when we went. The people that we were now fighting with were not exactly looking to having a meeting with us and speak kindly. They wanted Jia to die. And if they had to get through all of us, they would try. We waited around for a while, Jia not wanting to leave Tokyo though he hated to bring problems to his homeland. Nishiki pleaded with us for him to return to New York, it would be better that way but Jia did not want to run. I admired that about him a lot. Even though he didn't want to stay here and make problems for his land, he refused to go. But we had to wait for the Teo Chiu to come into our land. Jia was not foolish enough to go into their territory and if they wanted him, they would have to come in here and get him. The barrier of the lower heads standing around Tokyo was put up. The next thing that happened was the top heads circled around Jia. Including me. He never went anywhere now with just Toki. Someone else always had to be around. So that meant, besides the business heads, the rest of us where now busy. I didn't mind. It kept me from doing jack shit. Jia didn't assign us to be around him too much since there was no word the Teo Chiu had come into Tokyo or even Japan. Every city was on alert and aware of the problem. Nishiki came in one afternoon to speak to Jia. He sat down, opening his suit coat as he said,

"Jia, are you aware the Teo Chiu arrived today?"

"What? When today?"

"Early this morning. About five in the morning."

"Why wasn't I let know?"

"Relax Jia. Your lower heads and a lot of my own people didn't find out till just now. They were on their way up but I stopped them, telling them I would tell you since I was coming here anyway."

"Fuck...so they got in."

"Hai. They're not happy people. But the strange thing is, there's only about five of them."

"Five? Just five?"

"Hai. I can do some background checks if you want."

"No need to Nishiki. It's been taking care of."

I turned my head slightly since I was standing beside Nishiki's chair to see Tai walking in. He wore his full length leather coat, a folder in his hand as he ran his fingers through his hair. He then said,

"The first, the senior of the group following Sung Xi Yu, his name is So Ming. He's the oldest of the Teo Chiu aside from Sung and has more respect for Sung then anyone else. He's also the second in command and probably the one that we'll do the final battle with since he'll battle to death for Sung. The second is the strong man. Been in jail for some of his triad crimes such as assault and battery, distributing drugs and being overseer of a prostitution ring. Sprung each time by technicalities and pay offs. Only goes by the name Red."

He stopped at Jia's desk as he set the folder down and began taking off his coat before he continued.

"The third is the field worker known as Mei. He's got a record for having a violent temper and the best aim in Bangkok. He's also never been known to miss. His record is about as dirty as Aoki's going in and out of jail constantly since his early teens. The fourth has not been around the Teo Chiu too long but knows enough to make him qualified enough to run with Sung. He's known for strength more. Also a dirty fighter. He holds a few titles in some martial art of some sort but he rather pull a switch blade on you. Supposedly, his name stands for something. The last one appears to be a business type and a field worker. He has a bit of a nerve problem from a previous gun shot wound in his back so he has a tendency to have twitches at some point. That's all that's known about him and his name is Wo Shien."

Jia nodded as he said,

"So five including Sung are all here. They sound pretty difficult to deal with."

"Yes, but aside from Sung and So Ming, these others have problems that could be our loopholes. Wo Shien's nerves cause him to take sedatives so he can't drink. The sedatives also make him slower. Mei shoots up heroin which is his major down fall, Red's left hand is missing two fingers from an old battle and has a taste for the finer things in life and spoils himself just a little. All these could be points we could attack."

Nishiki then said,

"How did you do this so quickly?"

"I heard of the five AM arrival from Sapporo heads. I got to work right away."

"How did Sapporo know before us?"

"The Teo Chiu thought it best to come in with little attention to them as possible. As they skipped out of Sapporo one of the heads called and said they may have seen the Teo Chiu. It wasn't clarified it was them until recently."

"I see." Said Jia.

He then leaned back in his chair as he said,

"So...they're in Tokyo."

"Hai." Said Tai.

He held his coat in his hands as Jia started rocking in his chair. He then said,

" I hate being guarded like this."

"You don't really have a choice Jia."

"I know."

Nishiki then said,

"Well, you have your warning. What you do now is up to you."

"I already know what I'm doing Nishiki. If they want me, they'll have to come get me."

Jia stood up as he went into his pockets and got out his cigarette case. He then took out a cigarette as he put it in his mouth then patted down his pockets as he said,

"Fuck..."

I went into my pockets as I took out my lighter and went over to Jia as I lit the cigarette for him. He then inhaled and said,

"Okay. I'm going to lunch. Jo you coming?"

"I'm not hungry. But I'll accompany you."

"You? Not hungry?"

"Hai."

He looked at me strangely as he said,

"Tai take care of things while I'm gone. Nishiki you coming?"

"Sure."

Jia then took out his cell phone as Tai helped him get his coat on as Jia called Toki. We then left and went to the lobby and then I drove us to the Dragon Leaf.

No one really came in contact with the heads of the Teo Chiu. We weren't sure of what they were planning so we couldn't jump to any conclusions. During one of the nights I was guarding Jia, he and Toki were arguing as always. They were like a married couple too many times. Jia was urging Toki to go out because he knew Toki wanted to. Toki however, claimed he wouldn't go anywhere as long as shit from the Teo Chiu is still around. They argued back and forth, over and over again and finally, Jia just took a deep breath and said,

"You are such a child. If anything, you always end up getting hurt if anything happens!"

"Better me then you damnit."

Jia rolled his eyes as he then leaned his head on Toki's shoulder. He sighed as he said,

"I hate this shit."

"So do I. But it's gonna happen you know?"

"I know."

Once I got to their apartment, they got out and I parked the car. I was on guard until three that morning so I had to stand outside their door. I looked around once we got outside and seeing nothing was wrong, they went ahead. They went inside their apartment as I stood outside and sat down in the hallway. I hated standing guard. It's the most boring thing in the world. Unless something happens then it just sucks. I had a cigarette, looking up and down the dim hallway, my gun never too far from my hand as I stood outside. I was awake until about three that morning when Jun came to take over.

The next afternoon, after I woke up I went back to Jia's building. I didn't have watch that night, someone else did, but I had to work anyway. Jia sent Akio and Aoki along with me to go through some clubs to see if anything could be heard or found on the Teo Chiu. Jia was growing impatient on waiting for the Teo Chiu. So that night, once the clubbing hour was at it's prime, we traveled into the Kabuki-Cho and went into one of the more seedier clubs known as the Liquid Room. It was known for it's free drug use and whores that ran around offering it up to anyone who had money. The three of us walked in, Aoki separating from us as Akio and I sat at the bar. They served us a drink as Akio shook off and dismissed whores or some other club patron, one right after the other. I just had to tell them to go away once and gave a glare before they left me alone. I had my drink as Akio said,

"This should be easy to spot at least one of them."

I nodded, lighting a cigarette and then pushing my hair back. As I took a glance around the room I figured it would be easiest to spot the Teo Chiu's people here. I ordered another drink as Akio lit a cigarette and turned around and looked around the bar. He and I didn't notice anything for a while and we were about to run over to another club but we had lost sight of Aoki for the moment. Akio sighed in annoyance as he said,

"Come on, let's find him and get out of here."

I followed him as we traveled through the club crowd, everyone staring at us, latching onto us as we brushed everyone away and finally found Aoki. He was having a cigarette with some guy and a couple of girls. One of the guys held a cigarette in his left hand, but he held it strangely, as if he wasn't use to it. Aoki tucked his hair behind his ear as he said,

"These are the two I told you about. Thas Phoenix, the shorter on is Akui."

The one holding the cigarette strangely said,

"Hey...I'm Red."

I then realized why he held a cigarette strangely, because he lacked two fingers. Aoki had found one of the Teo Chiu. Akio and I played it off as if we didn't know who Red was and sat down. Aoki seemed as if he was mad cool with this guy, a long lost friend. They laughed and had drinks and smoked all while females hung around us. Red then said,

"You two want a drink?"

"Nah I'm good thanks." I said.

Akio accepted the offer as he then said,

"So, where you from? I don't usually see you around here."

"I'm on a business trip from Bangkok man."

Akio nodded as Aoki then said,

"How long you in town for?"

"Just long enough to take care of some shit then go back home."

Aoki nodded as he finished his cigarette then rubbed the rest out in the provided ash tray. He took a drink from the glass in front of him as he then said,

"Well, Red thanks for the drink."

"You leavin? It's early still."

"No, I'm not leaving. You are."

Red looked at him confused as Aoki reached into his coat, pulled out his gun and reached over to Red, grabbing him by the back of the neck and slamming him face first into the table. The girls screamed and began to clear out as Red's associates started coming towards us. Akio and I got up as we drew our guns and backed them off. They weren't Teo Chiu, just people Red hired. Aoki then brought him back up as blood trickled from Red's nose and a huge mark was on his forehead as Aoki said,

"What shit do you have to take care of Red?"

"Some...shit...."

"What shit?"

"Fuck off."

Aoki slammed his head against the table again, shaking it, making glasses and bottles fall off. Aoki then put his gun under Red's chin as he said,

"Say that again and I'll splatter what remains of your brains on this table."

Red was now having a hard time concentrating or focusing on anything Aoki was saying. Having your face slammed against anything that hard would make anyone disoriented. When he finally did come too somewhat, he said,

"The....36 Moons."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Well Red, you just met three of them."

He then pulled the trigger and without even turning away, killed Red. He then dropped his head back down on the table, the loud music covering the noise from the gun shot as Aoki got up and we left the club. Once outside, Aoki took out his cell phone and called Jia.

"We got one. That's four left."

The next one that would be an easy target would be Mei who was a junkie. The lower heads of ours kept tabs on the drug dealers and other gangs and street thugs that sold drugs under the cover of night while Jia was smirking in the face of Sung. One of his men was down and dead already, another one because of his habits would be dead as well. But Sung didn't hesitate after Red's death. As I drove Jia home, Toki in back with him, Aya in the passenger side since it was his night to stand as guard before Gabriel took over at three, we stopped at a light. Aya checked his hair in the vanity mirror as I waited for the light to change. Jia was falling asleep in the back, his head on Toki's shoulder as Toki had a cigarette, the window rolled down slightly. A car pulled up beside us as Aya and I both looked over. The passenger and then two in the back leaned across, rolling down windows as Aya said,

"Shit! Jo drive!"

I pressed my foot down as I sped through the light. That jolted Jia up as he said,

"What happened?"

The car pulled up beside us again as the Teo Chiu tried to start taking shots. Toki moved Jia behind him, taking out his nine as Aya took out his gun as well. I just kept driving as fast as I could as I made a sharp turn to loose them. They stayed on us and Toki rolled down the window as he took a shot, shooting out the front tire. They kept after us just not as close. Jia stayed down the whole time as Aya kept looking over his shoulder to check how far they were. Toki was ready if they took any shots and soon they did. Aya slouched down as I did, as much as I could anyway, while Toki covered Jia, the back window breaking as I cursed. Fuck...I loved this car. Once the shooting stopped Toki peered over carefully, and took another couple of shots. The car only sped up to us and rammed the back. Toki almost fell back but the got pissed off as he took another shot, holding his wrist as steady as he could as he fired. The car behind us started swerving all over the road before it hit a street post and came to a stop. I just kept driving. Toki brushed out the glass from his hair as he said,

"Li, you okay?"

"I'm fine. Not like I had a chance to do anything."

I looked at Aya as I said,

"You okay?"

"I'm fine."

I took a few more turns just in case before I finally got to Jia's apartment. The stepped out. Aya followed them as he said,

"Jo, be careful going home."

"I will."

I waited until the three of them got inside and then I went off.

The Teo Chiu was pissed. If one thing was getting one of theirs killed, another thing to really piss them off was not being able to retaliate. So now, the Teo Chiu was really, really pissed.

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Definitions

Kabuki-Cho: The red light district located in Shinjuku, a district in Tokyo

Liquid Room: A real club located in the Kabuki-Cho