When Preordering isn't Enough
Walking towards the corridor of Ami's apartment, Makoto was holding a large box with a smile on her face knowing that it was something important. She knocked on the door and opened with the handle.
"Hey Ami, I got you this."
Makoto walked into the living room and put the box down onto the table then carefully by her heavy handed standards opened the brown box to reveal something. A PS5!
"Thank you Mako-chan", softly smiled Ami as she sat on the couch, "You must have been lucky to get a pre-ordered machine."
"I didn't just buy it for you but for Haruka when she comes around, she can't wait to beat me at Gran Turismo 7 and the next BlazBlue game", chuckled Makoto while closing her eyes in happiness.
Ami stared at that PS5 box and was still surprised that she saw a physical real model in her eyes. That white, space age style of the console with a bulge where the disc drive was as both of them believe that physical is the better option due to more options, the sleek tri-coloured controller mixing the white and black segments with the blue strips. There was also a physical copy of Assassin's Creed Valhalla as it was the only game that Makoto was able to purchase at the time as the other games were either not out yet, sold out or couldn't afford it. On top of which, there was a printed receipt from the UK mentioning their preorder of Overcooked: All You Can Eat that is a more suitable game that they can both play. At least they had some PS4 games that they could play with Makoto playing all the action single player games or the fighting games while Ami preferred the RPGs and the platformers, nearly half of them were imported from the US or Europe with only the Like a Dragon games, the BlazBlue and the Musou games being in native Japanese.
Ami wondered, "How did you manage to get the money to buy that and the game? Even if you bought the games physically and got them imported, the games are roughly 16,000 yen each."
Looking up to the ceiling, Makoto pulled her mouth as far back as she could as she didn't want to tell Ami how she got the money. She would have told her bluntly as she believes in the truth however in this occasion, she felt embarrassed and she was sweating at the thought to tell innocent Ami any of it.
"Well... uh... eh..."
A few weeks ago, Makoto had managed to pre-order the PS5 and the Assassin's Creed Valhalla game except she looked at the total cost that she would have paid. While she was lucky to get the console at 49,980 yen as she preordered directly rather than a reseller, a shifty character that Makoto would beat up for their dishonest profit gaining venture, she sighed as she didn't earn that kind of money.
She had to think of something, she didn't want to ask for a loan as many of them are attached to criminal gangs and she felt disheartened if she asked Rei for the money as she was the only one who could afford it without question. Makoto didn't get the console for herself otherwise she would have bought a Xbox Series X due to the power, she got it for her friends but even with that reason, there was a chance that Rei would still turn it down as the last console she bought was a PS2. Usagi and Minako were out of the question as they both have Switches and they had to beg their parents for it.
As she was walking down the street, she had managed to bump into Haruka. She knows that the blonde has money, she's a racing car driver after all and the more well known ones get quiet a bit in terms of sponsors. Sadly as Makoto discovers with a frown, Haruka is not a well paid driver due to that she is female and are still considered a novelty in the racing world despite her skill.
"You want money fast kitten? I know just the place."
Haruka had taken Makoto to the Red Light District in Tokyo, Kabukiko to be exact. A rundown grotty backstreet alley full of old pre-World War II buildings, they stood outside a strip club that said "Burning Passion" and looked like a dive.
Makoto yelled while looking at Haruka, "I don't want to strip!"
"Relax Mako, I work here sometimes at a night", smiled Haruka as she put her hand on Makoto's shoulder, "I've seen Minako perform here, she also likes it in here and she's actually known throughout the hostess clubs."
Straight away, Makoto shook her head and thought of cancelling the preorder but she wasn't doing it for herself.
Makoto growled, "I don't want some gangster owning me!"
"Yeah, most are run by the yakuza but not this one, I know because I know the owner", nodded Haruka as she was annoyed by gangsters herself.
Still reluctant to go ahead with the strip club, Haruka pushed Makoto into the building and inside was an elderly bald Japanese man wearing a white gown, he wasn't very tall but looked seedy.
Makoto gasped as she recognised him, "Wait? Rei's Grandfather owns this place?"
Haruka nodded and he also nodded in agreement, Makoto found it strange that he would own a place like this but she knew that he was perverted, she thought that it made sense.
"Oh you must be Mako, my granddaughter talks about you all the time", cheekily smiled Rei's grandfather, "I wish you was my granddaughter, your assets are more delightful."
At that moment Makoto felt like kicking the man right in the crotch as she snarled to herself but Haruka went next to him and did a cheeky grin as he returned the same expression. She was given the stage name Sailor Jupiter that coincidentally is her Sailor Senshi name.
At first Makoto felt uncomfortable, she would rather beat the men up for wooing and intimidating her but as she performed more stripteases, she felt more relaxed. Due to her height, she was often rejected by guests however some did take a chance as they wanted a strong woman, the breasts appealed to them or actually did find her pretty enough. She was only there for two weeks and while both Haruka and Rei's grandfather wanted her to stay, she just wanted it over and done with in a professional way.
It wasn't what Makoto expected, she expected her pole dancing in a club but most of the clients she had, well the ones who wanted to choose her were actually pleasant. They respected Makoto and she respected them back whether it was providing them with a good show or just providing them with company. One of them who was an American even said that getting the PS5 was tough and understand what she had to go through to get the console, he had to refresh 5000 times at Walmart's website hoping to get a slot and had to get a loan as he was fired by the company last week. Most of them just wanted to see her without touching, some just wanted a snuggle and go to a hotel. Not a love hotel, just a regular one as they were willing to pay. A couple of them didn't even want to see Makoto strip and only came in because they were lonely and they didn't want to go to a hostess club to get conned, she smiled the most and talked to them for her allotted hour.
There was a man who came in and he didn't want the girls to strip at all thinking that it was disgraceful, while it gave Rei's grandfather a raised eyebrow he still let him in. Most of the women refused to serve him but Makoto nodded. He just wanted a hug and she delivered him the biggest most heartfelt hug that he ever had. He wasn't strange and happened to be the last guest that Makoto got as it was her last day, he cried when he heard as he would have missed out on what he considered to be an amazing woman as she was talking about cooking and baking with him nodding and writing down her recipes. They happened to left together holding hands and went away from the seedy Kabukicho to the nearest blight and warm supermarket as they shopped together in happiness before he went back home to his apartment alone.
She did get two notorious guests, one had a white jacket with hair that was just like Mamoru's and was friendly but sadly he was just too perverted for his own good and had mokkori phases. It was the only time that Makoto punched and kicked the man, he was still happy when he left the strip club while he was wobbling as he never had a woman who would fight like that before and wish that there were more women like her. The other was a red jacketed man who for some reason called her Fujiko...