[ Next Morning ]
The next morning, Mariko arrived with the sunrise and a gentle smile, politely inviting Daisy to breakfast. The table was a serene spread of traditional Japanese dishes, from grilled fish and tamagoyaki to miso soup and perfectly sliced seasonal fruits. Daisy, still shaking off jet lag and political theatre, offered Mariko a grateful smile.
"Do you always wake up looking this graceful, or is this part of the Yashida hospitality package?" Daisy teased gently, taking a sip of her tea.
Mariko blinked in surprise, then chuckled. "Discipline starts at dawn in this house. Grace is optional."
After breakfast, Mariko proposed a trip to the famous Sensō-ji Temple. Daisy, never one to pass up a mix of cultural immersion and tactical recon, agreed. The temple grounds buzzed with locals and tourists alike. Daisy admired the architecture, lit incense with Mariko, and even bought a fortune slip that predicted something cryptic and vaguely threatening. Typical.
In the afternoon, they headed to Shinjuku for a quick tour. Daisy noted the constant contrast in Tokyo—ancient rituals woven between glowing skyscrapers and blaring vending machines. It was like watching time perform ballet with a tech rave.
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[ Yashida Mansion, Tokyo, Japan ]
When the city lights began flickering on, they returned to the Yashida estate for dinner. This time, the atmosphere had changed. It was denser. More formal. Shingen Yashida was waiting in a quieter room away from the dining hall, posture stiff and lips tight. Clearly, dessert would be a conversation with thorns.
He waited until they sat before speaking. "Ms. Johnson is someone that Director Fury values greatly. I wonder what you think about the current situation of Yashida Enterprises?" His English was clipped, serious. A performance, perhaps.
Daisy raised an eyebrow. I'm valued by Nick Fury? Since when? Someone better update me.
Still, she didn't let her inner snark show. Instead, she leaned back, cool and composed. "The problem with Yashida Enterprises is very big."
Shingen's brows arched. "Oh? And what would that problem be?"
Daisy studied him for a moment. Did he truly believe she was just some polite foreigner passing through? Rookie mistake. She lowered her voice, injecting just enough weight to imply dangerous insight. "There are internal and external issues. Deep ones."
Shingen sighed heavily, an act for a man rarely caught off-guard. "Is it that obvious now? Even outsiders can see our weaknesses?"
Interesting, Daisy thought. She'd pieced that conclusion together with memory, data scrapes, and a few SHIELD crumbs. But to hear it confirmed from the source? That was a bonus.
Shingen's mind went to darker places. If Daisy saw this much, maybe she really was Fury's confidant. Maybe SHIELD had eyes embedded deep within his board. It wasn't paranoia if it was true.
"I hope SHIELD can help me through this difficult time," he said, tone shifting from distant noble to pragmatic survivor.
Daisy tilted her head. She didn't want this man dragging her into his dynastic drama, but she couldn't just laugh in his face either. Time to tap-dance.
"Forgive me, but it seems the head of the family can't exactly steer the ship right now?" she said, sweet but sharp.
"Exactly," Shingen said without flinching. "That's why I need SHIELD's help. Help me take control. Security, funding, political support. Just until the company stabilizes."
Daisy laughed, openly now, her voice like silk over broken glass. "That's quite a shopping list. What are you offering in return? Because from where I'm standing, you're holding Monopoly money."
"I can transfer part of the company's shares to SHIELD."
She snorted. "You're drowning in debt. What would we even do with shares? Collect dividends from bankruptcy court?"
"All the adamantium," he said, changing his pitch.
Daisy's smile vanished. "That's not yours to give. Your father controls that vault, doesn't he? This whole proposal sounds like a backdoor coup."
Her words stung, but Shingen didn't back down. He adjusted his collar, choosing a new angle.
"You, SHIELD, and I—we have a common enemy."
"SHIELD doesn't have enemies," Daisy replied smoothly, lying so fast it almost surprised herself.
"You do," he said. "And they're in Japan."
He leaned in. "Someone is bleeding our accounts dry. I've tracked the drain multiple times. Every trail leads nowhere. I believe it's my father. He's hiding the funds, preparing something. Not for this family—for something else."
The venom in his tone was unmistakable. Shingen didn't just hate his father—he felt betrayed by a ghost.
Daisy, meanwhile, began connecting dots. Old man Yashida bankrolling Hydra? It tracked. In a world where even toothpaste companies were tightening their belts, Hydra—with its endless bunkers and robotic soldiers—was probably begging at the global market's doorstep.
With the subprime crisis rolling in like a dirty tsunami, every dollar mattered. Governments were inflating. Real estate bubbles were popping. And in the middle of it, Hydra was probably swapping Nazi gold for rice and ramen.
Maybe the old fossil was just trying to keep Hydra on life support.
But Shingen, blissfully unaware, saw only personal treachery.
"He's draining everything, and when it all comes crashing down, I will be the one holding the bag," Shingen hissed.
Daisy let him ramble for five solid minutes. She'd heard better drama on Japanese soap operas, but at least this one came with receipts.
"They bought a ridiculous amount of supplies," he finally said. "Daily goods, machines, chemical components, fuel. A whole warehouse empire's worth. All bought using my accounts!"
Daisy sat up straighter. "Where did it all go? How much are we talking?"
He retrieved a USB drive, offered it like a peace treaty. Daisy took it, plugged it into a laptop nearby, and scanned through the files.
Her eyes narrowed.
There were lists. Spreadsheets. Receipts. Inventory stretching back thirty years. The volume was insane—enough supplies to support a small country or a large cult. It didn't scream "family business." It screamed "shadow operation."
And yet... it didn't scream Hydra either.
The supply route skipped Japan completely. It curved south, slipping into open ocean and vanishing. That was unexpected.
Not Kyoto's "Crown" base. Not the underwater city, "Ichor."
Where the hell was all this stuff going?
She mentally flipped through SHIELD's Hydra base catalog. The Southern Hemisphere held a few likely suspects:
"Purgatory" in New Zealand
"Wolf Spider" somewhere in Australia
And the mystery island outpost known as "Beehive" in the Indian Ocean
Still, Daisy thought, this could be anything. A deep-sea vault, an eco-terrorist commune, a retired supervillain retirement village...
She didn't like betting on half-formed data.
Sensing her hesitation, Shingen lowered his voice. "You can take the USB. I have the originals. If you want, I can show you where it all is."
Daisy didn't answer right away. She replayed the details in her head, weighed the risk of being played versus the opportunity of getting ahead of something big.
"I won't act on just your word," she said finally. "I need to investigate this myself."
"Understandable," Shingen nodded. "If our roles were reversed, I would do the same."
Daisy pocketed the USB. Politely declined any assistance.
And left Yashida Manor alone, her boots clicking softly against stone.
To be continued...
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[ POWER STONES AND REVIEWS PLS ]