“Now that makes more sense,” Perry said. “I would have thought he was too ‘rustic’ for her... or, at least, for her family.”
“Doesn’t it occur to you… I mean, maybe that’s why he is such a crank.”
“Wait a second.” It had finally dawned on Durant who they were talking about. “His girlfriend was one of the chief coup-plotters? No wonder Kano didn’t trust him. But, then, how did he get anywhere near the little princess?”
“Yeah,” Perry said. “That was you’re doing, wasn’t it? What were you thinking?”
“I don’t know.” Emily rested her face in her hands. “I guess, when we saw her at the party in Sasebo, you know, just before that freighter was sunk… it seemed like I could understand her.”
“And did you… understand her?”
“I saw the pain she was in, but beyond that, no, I didn’t.”
“Tenno-san, may I have a word.” Unexpected as it was, Kano’s voice seemed both familiar and unfamiliar. They hadn’t noticed when he entered, but when she turned and saw him in civilian clothes, she thought she knew why.
“Shouldn’t you be in Tokyo? Aren’t you the talk of the town, and the guest of honor at every party?” She glanced at Perry and Durant as she spoke, and found herself worrying about excluding them from a conversation that would have to be conducted in Japanese.
“I am here as a favor to a… friend. I need you to come with me.”
“Come with you? Where do mean to take me?”
“What’s he doing in civvies?” Durant whispered.
“Tottori. We’ll need to fly to Yonago, but I have already arranged that.”
“Why are you out of uniform?” she asked, finally responding to the quizzical expression on Durant’s face.
“I have a new assignment.”
“Can you tell me what this is all about? Who are we going to see?”
“Not here. I can tell you on the plane.”
“What’s going on?” Perry protested, when she stood up abruptly, as if she meant to leave without any explanation.
“We’re going for a ride,” she said, in English. Then turning to Kano, she added in Japanese, “Hankinson-san is coming, too.” Kano nodded, and she looked at Perry, and said, “I need you to come along. Don’t ask too many questions. Okay?”
“What am I, chopped liver?” Durant muttered to no one in particular, except maybe the bartender, as his erstwhile companions left him in the relative quiet of a Sailor Town bar.
* * *
“We’re going to have to stay here for today,” Michael said, once they entered the waiting area of the main hangar at the Marine Corps Air Station at Futenma on Okinawa. “If all goes well, we can fly to Nagasaki or Kansai tomorrow morning, but it looks like the Tokyo airports will still be closed.”
“Do we have a place to stay on base?” Andie asked.
“It’s not that bad. We’ve got rooms at a hotel in Naha. In the meantime, maybe you and Yuki can work on getting us into the Officer’s Club, while I make a couple of calls.”
Andie grunted a weary assent, and turned to look for Yuki, whom she found glued to a TV monitor hanging from the ceiling a few steps away.
“Are you seeing this?” Yuki said, when Andie placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’s the Crown Prince, and that’s his brother.”
“It looks amicable… sort of. What’s the brother saying?”
“He’s announcing the death of their father. The Empress… his mother, the Dowager, I suppose, has retired… gone into seclusion. Now he’s saying something about a period of mourning… he regrets the turmoil of the last few weeks, and… there, he says his brother, the Crown Prince, is the rightful heir to the Chrysanthemum Throne. He is stepping aside, to clear away any confusion that may remain.”
“That’s big of him.”
“Now the Crown Prince is calling for a period of forgiveness and atonement, and recommends that only the principal figures in the coup should be punished.”
“Aren’t they all dead by now?”
“Probably.” Yuki sighed and considered this prospect. “Now he’s introducing the former Prime Minister, and endorsing him to lead an interim government while the country prepares for new elections in three months.”
“They’re all so polite,” Andie said, watching as the Prime Minister bowed to the Crown Prince. “What are they saying now?”
By this time, more people had crowded around the TV, and all of them looked to Yuki to translate.
“The Prime Minister is expressing the nation’s gratitude to the heroic Jietai soldiers who rescued Princess Akane.”
“Jietai soldiers… didn’t Emily have a hand in the rescue?”
Yuki ignored this comment and continued translating. “He thinks this deed brought the nation back from the brink of self-destruction… Now they are going to introduce the heroes to the nation.”
The camera pulled back to show several men in uniform waiting to step up to the dais to receive some sort of military commendation, as well as a commendation from the nation. The procession seemed rather involved and slow-moving, as each man heard a word from the Crown Prince before bowing and moving offstage.
Michael returned a moment later and gestured to the two women. “What’s the word on the Officer’s Club?”
“Oh, sorry,” Andie said. “We got preoccupied by the news.”
“It’s just as well. We can have lunch at the hotel. I have a taxi outside, and there’s more news.”
Once they’d arranged the luggage in the trunk of the cab, and settled into the back seat, Michael showed them the feed on his secure tablet.
“General Diao’s forces have capitulated. Once he learned his son was dead, he seems to have lost the will to fight on. The loyalists are rounding up his chief associates, and his troops have been disarmed. We expect to see a massive purge of the armed forces in the coming weeks.”
“What about that one prisoner?” Andie asked. “You know, the fellow who exposed the role of the Chinese in the attack on the Imperial family… what’s going to happen to him?”
“It’s bigger than that,” Michael said. “We now think they colluded in the sinking of the Chinese cruiser, and maybe even that freighter a few weeks back. Apparently, this conspiracy has a much longer history.”
“But what’s going to happen to that one man? Are the Japanese going to hang on to him, or will he be sent back to China?”
“There are ongoing negotiations at State over him. The Chinese will probably throw him in some deep, dark hole if he goes back. But the Japanese welcome won’t be much warmer.”
“Don’t we want him?” Yuki asked. “He must be some sort of intelligence asset, right?”
“He’s a low-level operative. I doubt there’s much anyone’s gonna want to do for him.”
* * *
“Just how safe is this?”
Perry glanced around the terminal at Yonago Airport, newly sensitive to the way people looked at the three of them, two American sailors and Kano, who looked more like a Japanese salaryman in his grey suit than an Airborne Ranger. To be precise, he looked like an exceptionally fit salaryman, though that did nothing to assuage Perry’s anxieties. Even with Emily at something less than full strength – and he certainly didn’t dare ask her how she felt again – he was fully capable of taking care of himself, and her, if things turned ugly. But he really didn’t want to have to.
“How safe is what?” Emily turned to look at him with that expression he’d seen often enough in the last few days, as if he’d said something too stupid for comment.
“Everyone here is staring at us. Don’t you feel it? They resent our presence.”
“You’re being too sensitive.”
“And are there normally this many uniformed cops patrolling a sleepy, regional airport?”
Kano gestured to her, and placed a finger to his lips. “As you may have noticed, anti-American sentiment is still strong in the rural areas. Let’s just move quickly and try not to dra
w too much attention.”
“By not speaking English… is that what you mean?” she said, in Japanese.
Kano nodded, and led them toward the ‘departures’ side of the terminal. “Traffic is usually lighter at this end,” he said.
“I think it’s something else.” Emily spoke in Japanese as she watched an elderly couple speaking to a uniformed officer. “Look at the expression on that woman’s face. They’re irritated with the police, not us.”
Kano stopped to look around him, to gauge the sentiments of the locals, while Emily spoke to Perry.
“If we’re not the problem here, who is?” Perry asked.
“Exactly who is it we’ve come here to see?” Emily pulled Kano around by the arm. When he didn’t answer right away, she glowered at him. “Something strange is going on here. What aren’t you telling us?”
“Not here,” Kano said, in a hushed voice. He nudged them through a sliding glass door facing the parking lot and access road. “Please, Tenno-san, be patient.”
An older-model station wagon idled by the curb, with an elderly gentleman behind the wheel and a small child in a booster seat in back.
“Thank you, Okamoto-san,” Kano said, once they’d deposited what little luggage they’d brought in the rear hatch and clicked seatbelts. “These are friends of Tsukino-san. They are here to help.”
“May I ask, who is this pretty, young lady?” Emily asked, as she held a small hand in her fingers. The girl blushed and turned away, but turned back a moment later with a silly smile.
“That is my granddaughter, Haru-chan.”
“Is it wise to bring her?” Kano asked.
“I could not say no,” the old man said. “Who else does she have left besides her aunt? My wife and I are too old to be all she has.”
“Oh, crap,” Emily said, in English.
“What are they saying?” Perry asked.
“Oh, nothing important. But I think this young lady is Heiji Gyoshin’s niece.”
“What?”
“Is that who we are going to see, Kano-san?”
“Yes, Tenno-san.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Perry said, having guessed the gist of the last exchange. “Isn’t there like a nationwide manhunt going on for her?”
Emily turned to the little girl, and tried to change the tone of the conversation. She stroked her hair and kissed her hand. “Watakushi no namae wa Michiko desu. Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu, Haru-chan.”
“Hajimemashite,” the girl said with a giggle.
Emily gestured at Perry, and touched his hand. “Haru-chan, tomodachi no Perry desu.”
Haru-chan responded politely once more, “Hajimemashite.”
When Perry did not reciprocate, Emily nudged him and whispered the proper phrase in his ear. “Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu.”
“I can’t believe how dangerous this is,” Perry said, after he’d complied. “Am I the only one who’s noticed all the police cars with flashing lights and sirens passing us?”
“Fortunately, they all seem to be going the other way.”
Emily conveyed Perry’s concern to Kano, who turned to the old man. “Okamoto-san, is it safe to meet Heiji-san in this way?”
“The police have already searched the estate several times in the last day or so. They will not think to search there again, at least for a few hours.”
“What can we possibly do for her… or should we even interfere at all?” Perry asked.
“I imagine the only person we can do anything for is little Haru-chan here.” Emily kissed her hand again, and then released it to allow the girl to touch her face and hair, tug on the insignia pinned to her uniform, examine her eyes, and ask where she came from.
“Watashi wa Amerikajin desu,” Emily replied.
* * *
The long drive to the main house was impressive enough, even if it had begun to show signs of neglect. Emily couldn’t identify the trees that formed an avenue – they resembled maples in their habit of growth, though the leaves seemed more tropical. A few branches drooped down as if they would brush the top of the car. Around one bend, a fallen bough had blocked the road, and when the old man got out to pull it to the side, Emily elbowed Perry to help.
“Do you play in these woods?” Emily asked Haru-chan, but she was too nervous to answer. “I used to run all day in the woods behind my house. There were birds and squirrels, and snakes and loads of bugs… and sometimes I would even see bears.”
Haru-chan’s eyes widened at this news. “Where are your woods?”
“They are in Virginia.” It took a moment to figure out how to pronounce this name so it would make sense to the girl in Japanese. “My woods look a lot like your woods.”
“There’s a dragon in my woods.”
“Does he breathe fire and fly across the sky at night?”
“Not anymore. His fire went out, and Auntie Go-Go and Jiji-san had to dig a hole for him.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. But, you know, sometimes you can hear old dragons snoring under the ground.”
Once the way had been cleared, Okamoto-san pulled the car the rest of the way up the drive. Around the last bend, the house emerged from concealment behind a stand of bamboo. It was a sprawling, wooden structure, probably four or five centuries old, with a curving, pagoda-style roof gracing the two-story central section, and wings that fanned out on either side, suggesting an enclosed courtyard.
A lawn rolled off to the west, not as well-manicured as it must once have been, but an ornamental garden to the left of the main approach seemed to have been tended more recently. Haru-chan’s woods stood close by on the other three sides. The trees may even have crept closer to the house in recent years, and Emily recognized the invitation they offered to the old, wooden structure to rejoin them.
Raised voices came from the house, discernable as they approached the front entrance. Emily had to remind Perry to remove his shoes in the portico, which took him longer than the others because of all the laces. She waited for him, and listened as the mood lightened when Haru-chan entered the house. Emily noticed how she’d approached the door with some trepidation at first, as if not knowing what to expect inside, until a woman’s voice called to her.
“You should have worn slip-ons,” Emily said to needle Perry. She craned her head to hear what would happen inside. Tears were audible, in that tone of bittersweet sorrow peculiar to last words. Could Haru-chan understand what the future must hold in store for her family? Emily charged up the steps and slipped in through the front entrance, too impatient to wait for Perry any longer.
“You remind me so much of your mother.” Gyoshin pressed Haru-chan’s head against her chest, crouching to be able to kiss her hair. She held the girl away from her body to look into her face, then leaned close again to kiss her eyes. “I have to go away for awhile. Will you take care of Jiji-san and Obaa-san for me?”
Tsukino paced across the room, unable to find a suitable place for himself in the mansion. He moved as if to enclose both Gyoshin and Haru-chan in his arms, but then pulled back. When his eyes found Emily, they were on fire with sorrow and frustration. If he could have allowed himself the liberty, he’d have wept by now.
“Okamoto-san,” Gyoshin said. “Will you take Haru-chan outside? I need to discuss some things with these people.” But she couldn’t quite let the girl go, clutching at her hand, and then reaching for her head, she kissed her again on the eyes.
The old man took the girl’s hand and led her past Emily just as Perry entered. “Will you show my friend, Perry-san, your woods?” she asked, taking his hand and placing it in Haru-chan’s. “Let her show you around outside.”
Perry craned his neck to catch a glimpse of the fugitive, and Haru-chan tugged on his hand until he followed her out more obediently.
“Tenno-san, you must tell her,” Tsukino blurted out, once the girl was out of earshot. “She doesn’t have to do this.”
“What would you have her do?” Kano asked. “It’s o
nly a matter of time before the police find her.”
“I’m not hiding,” Gyoshin said. “Then can have me whenever they get here, if there’s anything left of me.”
Emily found it difficult to imagine what someone like Heiji Gyoshin would make of life in prison. A public execution would be preferable… and was perhaps more likely, given the circumstances. Soga Jin had taken her own life. What would she do?
“It doesn’t have to be like this,” Tsukino wailed. “It’s not right.”
“It’s tradition,” Kano said.
“Not like this. She doesn’t just mean to swallow a handful of pills, or open a vein in her neck.”
“There is no one left in my family to do the right thing. My brother took the pills, as you say, and Ojii-san is already dead. Who’s left to salvage the dignity of the family? What else can I leave for Takako’s daughter? She deserves better from me.”
The nature of the conversation she was hearing left Emily feeling almost dizzy. Were they actually discussing the appropriate way for Gyoshin to kill herself… and was she thinking of it as a gift to her little niece? A glance around the room confirmed it: a white robe, and a dagger had already been set out on a nearby table. Did she have a sword somewhere in the house? Tsukino was right – for her to take her life in the old way, slicing open her abdomen with a tanto was definitely not traditional. Samurai wives had recourse to gentler methods.
Kano cleared his throat and glanced at Emily, the same doubts reflected in his eyes. “Tsukino is right, Gyoshin-san.”
“Do not shame me with talk of tradition. Perhaps you would prefer to see me dangling at the end of a rope. The only question for you is whether you will help me or not. Shall I ask the old man to be my kaishakunin?” The question silenced the men. Would they continue harrying her until the police arrived, bearing a decidedly less honorable fate in their shackles? “Tenno-san, I must speak with you in private.” Emily would not resist, of course, but the depth of sorrow in Gyoshin’s face shocked her.
Upstairs, in a little room overlooking the courtyard, Gyoshin explained her dilemma. “I don’t have the right…”
Girl Rides the Wind Page 32