The Ink That Remains

In Shinjuku, a ward in Tokyo popular for its nightlife. There was a small bar that wasn't popular at all. In fact, not even a lot of people knew about it. Tourists and locals alike, the bar was tucked away in some back alley in the area, and very few people frequented it.

Renji sat alone in the corner booth, his coat slightly loose, with a glass of something cheap and amber swirling in his hand. He took a sip of it and checked his watch. It was 9:20 p.m.

"Where the hell is that bastard?" He muttered under his breath while taking a sip of the drink in his hand.

While he was seemingly waiting for someone, A tall man wearing a dark coat and black hat entered the bar. The man was wearing some dark glasses that hid his eyes pretty well. He quickly found his place and sat right in front of Renji at the corner booth in the bar.

"You're almost half an hour late, you know that, right?" Renji spoke to him in an annoyed tone.

"Sorry for being late- I had some work to do as well." The man chuckled and replied.

Suddenly, Renji and the man started laughing; they continued this for an entire minute until they realized that some other people in the bar and even the staff were giving them both some weird stares. After noticing this, the man coughed and awkwardly asked him.

"Ahem, so. How's life, Renji?" The man asked

"Well, everything's going fine in Kyoto. Been working as a Private Investigator there for a few years now. What about you, Naoya?" Renji asked him

The man, Naoya, first signaled to a waitress, and when she came over, he ordered a drink. After his drink was served, he replied.

"Well, you know how it is working as a cop. Everything's the same as it was before you left.", he chucked while saying. He had a somber tone in his voice when he said that, though.

"So? You coming back and joining us again?" Naoya asked in anticipation.

"Maybe I will? I don't know. Anyways, today's a night for us to meet again and enjoy ourselves. Isn't it?" Renji chuckled and replied.

After Renji said this, both of them took a sip of their drinks and started chatting for a while. They were getting to speak to each other after a while, and both of them were really enjoying their time together. After a few drinks, Renji spoke to him

"Hey, I n-need some help from you." Renji chuckled and said a bit drunkenly

"Yeah, what do you want? Don't tell me you want my help in finding a girl for you?", Naoya smirked while drunkenly saying this.

"What? No. I want some information about that suicide case recently... The guy who jumped off Shibuya 109? I want everything. Autopsy report, security camera footage, internal docs. Everything." Renji said this and, unbeknownst to Naoya, touched something in his pocket.

"Ugh, I knew you wanted something from me when you asked me to meet.", Naoya sighed and said.

He then put his left hand on the desk, seemingly motioning something to Renji. Renji glanced around and then took out an envelope from his coat pocket and put it in his hand.

"There, that's what you wanted. Right?" Renji said to him.

"How much?" Naoya asked.

"70,000 Yen." He replied.

"Well, looks like you came prepared.", Naoya chuckled and said to him as he took the envelope and put it in his coat's pocket.

"There's a phone number written inside as well. Send everything on it. Okay? " Renji said.

"Okay, good. I'll get you everything you need by tomorrow.", Naoya replied.

"Well, I'll get going now. You should go home as well." Renji said to him and got up from the table, and while walking to the door, he heard Naoya call out to him

"Wait! It was fun tonight. Best of luck with whatever you plan on doing, Renji."

Hearing this, Renji looked back at his friend with a slight smile and then walked out of the bar. It was snowing again tonight. Renji took out his phone, seemingly clicked some buttons, and then glanced at the time. It was 11:45 p.m.

"I should get back to the hotel soon and sleep. It's a bad idea for me to wander out here this late. Who knows what I'll get myself involved in?" Renji chuckled and spoke to himself.

As light snow fell on the ground and the cold air bit into his face, Renji walked out of the alley where the bar was situated and started walking. The neon signs flickered overhead. He adjusted his coat and raised his hand. Soon enough, a cab slowed to a stop beside him

"Yotsuya, Hotel Kurashina. Just take the fastest route", Renji said to the driver and slid into the backseat of the cab.

As the cab took off, He leaned his head back against the seat. He was tired and a little drunk after the whole meeting with his friend, Naoya.

"Why does he think I'll join the police force again? I left all that shit a while ago." Renji muttered to himself in a low voice.

During the drive back to his hotel, his phone started ringing. He took it out of his pocket and saw that it was Shun calling him. He answered the call.

"Hello?" Renji said

"Yo Renji, listen", Shun replied in a kind of excited tone

"Yeah? Go on. I'm listening."

"Yeah, so I found enough proof about the case you gave me. Found information and even some pictures of him with some other woman. I got enough proof to confidently say he's cheating on his wife."

"So? Why did you call me?" Renji asked.

"What now? What am I supposed to do now? " Shun asked him.

"Are you an idiot? You just solved the case. Go and compile everything and give the client their information tomorrow morning. Take the money as well. Keep half of it for yourself and send the rest to me. Okay?" Renji said to Shun, pretty annoyed that he had called him at this time

"Oh. Okay then. Just asking, how much money is the client paying us?" Shun asked him curiously.

"Uhh, 200,000 Yen.", Renji replied.

After hearing this, Shun almost choked on the ramen he was eating and immediately replied to Renji.

"And, yo-you want me to have half of it?" Shun replied, still stunned that Renji would offer him that much money.

"Yeah, why not? You basically worked on this case and finished it by yourself. So don't you deserve half of it at least?" Renji said.

"Oh- Okay. Thank you so much, Renji!" Shun said to him, obviously happy that he was getting paid for the work he had done for him.

As soon as Renji noticed that his cab had almost reached the destination, he said to Shun

"Listen, I have to go now. I'll speak to you later." After saying this, Renji hung up on Shun and looked outside the cab's window. He had reached Hotel Kurashina. After the cab came to a stop, the driver looked back and said

"That will be 3,000 Yen." The driver said to Renji.

Hearing this, Renji took his wallet out of his coat's inner pocket and grabbed a 2,000 and a 1,000 note each, and handed them to the driver and exited the cab.

In front of him stood a building with a neon sign saying "Hotel Kurashina". It was located on the side of a peaceful street in Yotsuya, an area in Shinjuku. Renji walked forward and entered the hotel through the sliding glass doors, and made his way to the reception. All around him, there were only a few people. Mostly, the staff and some guests staying there having conversations with each other. A lady sat there in the reception, seemingly typing something on a computer in front of her.

"Could I get the keycard for room 407? " Renji asked her.

The lady looked up at Renji, and after recognizing him as the man she had seen a few hours ago handing her his room keycard and leaving the hotel, reached into a drawer on her desk, and after removing the keycard, handed it to him with a smile on her face.

"Welcome back, Sir." She said to him.

Renji nodded, and after turning to his right, started walking towards the elevator. He tapped the button to call the elevator, and after a few seconds, the doors opened. He stepped inside and pressed the button for the 4th floor.

"Guess, I'll have to wait until he sends me all the information. I'll just sleep. No point in staying up late tonight." Renji muttered to himself while glancing at the keycard in his hand. It had his room number, 407, written on it.

After a minute of waiting inside the elevator, Renji heard a bell ding and the doors in front of him opened. He stepped outside the elevator and walked to his room's front door. He glanced at the room number and, after confirming it was the correct room, unlocked the door using his keycard.

He walked in, turned his lights on, took off his coat, and hung it on the hanger on the front door. His hotel room was a bit luxurious, but he honestly didn't care much about it right now. All he wanted was to sleep. After taking off his clothes and changing into something much more comfortable, Renji climbed into his bed and went to sleep.