“Who am I to argue with a scion of the famous Matsumoto swordsmiths?” David said, waiting for her to unfold the rest of her plan for him. Her smile widened in appreciation of the fact he was willing to play along. Under the early spring sun, they walked together through the buildings and fields around Nakano.
‘Don’t overdo it. You…’ Kou began inside David’s head.
‘Shhh,’ David said cutting him off. ‘Let me have some fun. It’s not like I’m going to make her summon a demon.’
“I have to say, you’re a bad kidnapper. Not only am I free, but you’re kidnapping me back to where I live,” David said as they passed behind the police station. In answer, Rie gave him her most daunting grin, the kind she used before she gave him a sound beating in sparring matches.
With lightning reflexes, she had him in an arm lock that brought them uncomfortably close together before thrusting him forward and around a corner. They stood before the Nakano train station.
“Come on, we’ll miss it.” Rie ran forward, punched a few buttons on the ticket machine, threw some coins in, and retrieved two tickets. Nonplussed, David tried to look at the tickets, but Rie pushed him through an electronic turnstile and onto a waiting local train.
“Do I get to know where we’re going?” he asked as they sat down.
“West.”
They got off after only three stops, but since the area was so rural and mountainous, it took over half an hour to arrive. Still, since it was a short day of school it was early. Without a word, Rie led David up a steep, narrow, and winding country road.
‘Okay, stop pouting. I’m sorry I told you to be quiet. It’s just nice to be able to talk like a human once in a while.’
‘I shall consider your apology after I find out where we are going. I like this place, but I do not think I’ve stalked here before. Remember, we must stay on guard in case any more snacks… I mean attacks come our way.’
With Kou awake within him again, David’s body released the tension that had built up throughout his absence. The change was not lost on Rie, though David would not have noticed even then, except for her reaction.
“You already know about it?” she said turning on him, a bit of fire behind her brown contacts.
“What? No, it’s Kou. I uh, insulted him earlier and now he’s back,” David replied, quick to reassure her.
“Oh, good. Hi Kou. Don’t give anything away to him. It’s a surprise.” Again, Rie walked off.
‘Do not bother. I know about as much as you, if that,’ he thought. ‘Humans…’
‘Girls,’ David agreed.
They arrived before an unassuming wooden gate and high fence. Gesturing to David, she bowed and entered the grounds through a sliding door. On the other side stood an old man with a shaved head wearing a brown, somber robe. The monk’s ready smile jolted David with memories of Masato Matsumoto, the man David had known as Grandpa.
“Welcome Rie-chan, David-kun. Please come in,” he said with a slight but graceful bow. He led them on a path between tall bamboo to a small, but well-built, house. There, the monk invited them to sit while he brought out an ancient tea set and poured scalding green tea. “Now, I’m always happy for a visit, but you have never brought any of your friends.”
“Sorry, but are you a Matsumoto?” David asked confused by the old man and his similarity to Grandpa. David was so distracted he slipped into the casual form of Japanese used among friends. The slip got him an elbow from Rie.
Laughing, the monk waved Rie away, saying, “No, it’s quite alright. I’m surprised he was doing so well. My name is Mikio, but you may call me Mickey if you like. I am not a Matsumoto but an old friend of the family. I went to school with Masato-kun. Nowadays though, I mostly sit up here in the mountains and observe life as best I can. And now, it’s time for me to go and do some observing down in my vegetable garden. Enjoy yourselves.”
With that, Mickey the monk was gone. It took David a few heartbeats to accept the fact he had left, so quietly had he moved.
“There’s a lot more to him than you might think,” Rie said. “Hopefully, we can come back again soon and spend some more time with him, but for now…” Rie’s eyes twinkled as she stood. Unsure of what to expect, David followed her as she led him out a back door. There, two pairs of hand-made sandals were waiting for them. With a nudge, Rie guided David around a bamboo screen.
Behind the house was a Japanese garden that put the Matsumotos’ to shame. Every needle of every miniature tree had been shaped into perfection. Water flowed from a natural spring into a bit of bamboo and then spilled when the bamboo tipped over, filling the area with the intermittent sound of a low knock. The air was fresh and clean, as if washed in the purity of the surrounding mountains. In the center of a small pond, a single island of stone supported a single elegant bonsai tree. Past the garden, the ground fell away, revealing green-shrouded mountains around them and Nakano valley in the distance.
“I know how much you like the garden back home. This is one of my favorite spots to disappear to. I come here sometimes when I’m ‘off training in the mountains.’ I thought you might like to get away from Nakano for a little bit since we had the time,” Rie said sitting down against a tree. A light breeze brushed past, making her hair dance along with the leaves. “And here we can relax. Thanks to Mikio-san’s skills, we’re likely safe from any possessed stuff.”
They sat together, in Mikio the monk’s yard, enjoying the rare freedom from the ever-watchful eyes at school and on the Estate. They spoke no words, but David felt a peace and comfort he had yet to find since that horrible night Grandpa had died. There was a constant pressure from knowing ōkami and other monsters were lurking in his future. Everything he did had to be better, he had to be better.
‘I always figured my own life was forfeit anyway, since the day you possessed me,’ David thought as the sun moved over the mountains. ‘But I can’t think of only myself, can I?’
‘Even before you came to Japan, you worried. I can see it in your memories. You worry about Jessica, about the Matsumotos, and about what Chul Soon might one day do. Plan. Do. Think about the future even, but do not worry,’ Kou thought, then withdrew deep into their combined subconscious.
Despite Kou’s words, David felt the responsibilities that had hung over him since Jahangir had stolen Rie away. Every second of every day, there were reminders that he had to try harder, to do better, lest he fail Japan.
‘No, that’s too big an idea. I don’t train for Japan. I’m a Jitsugen Samurai because of the Matsumotos. Grandpa died, Rie was taken, and Takumi killed. Even Ryohei is proof of the sacrifices they’ve made over the centuries. And you. I remember what the Zodiac Tiger told me.’
Even when on their own in the Matsumoto forest, Kou’s animalistic senses kept them from becoming completely relaxed, yet sitting next to Rie in a stranger’s garden with Kou withdrawn the tension ebbed from his body. Kou left just enough of a connection between them, that David could tell the young kami was delving into his own memories of the Zodiac Tiger. It reminded him that Kou was still very, very young.
David sighed and let all his worries, all his responsibilities fade from his mind. For a few long minutes, he lost himself among the raw nature of the mountains and sculpted garden trees. A dragonfly caught his attention and he watched as it flew over the water. It curved in low over a bit of grass, and then landed on Rie’s knee.
With his host-sister, David had rarely found it difficult to talk. Even when there had been a language barrier, she had worked hard to understand him. Communication was an essential aspect of their training, and David had learned to read much in the small things she did, but words failed him as he watched the dragonfly’s slow-moving wings. Rie smiled, and the dragonfly flew on, bobbing along the pond.
When they rose, neither consciously deciding it was time, they found Mikio waiting for them in the house. With a few words of poetry and an invitation to return whenever they wished, David and Rie left for the station.
It was not until they were riding back along the two-car train that David spoke again.
“So where did Natsuki want to take Takumi?” David asked.
“What? No fifty questions about Mikio-san?” Rie said with feigned shock.
“Well of course I want to know more about him, but I was also trying to figure out the real reason you brought me out here. Certainly not just so I could see the view.”
‘Don’t make assumptions,’ Kou thought as a bit of the old familiar shadow crossed her face.
“Anyway, was it just me or did Mikio-san have on Hello Kitty socks?” David asked to cover.
Rie giggled and the change in her struck him. His first impressions of his host-sister had been a giggly schoolgirl, yet now her laugh seemed a jarring contrast to the Rie he had saved. It was as if he was seeing a memory of her old self, and David wondered which would fade away.
“He has a whole room of Hello Kitty memorabilia,” she said from behind her hand. She covered her mouth in a way common among his female classmates. “He loves Kitty-chan, collects anything and everything to do with her. Of course, he wouldn’t let it interfere with his other… duties. I assume you noticed the precision of just about everything there?”
“Not to mention how quiet he was,” David added, smiling, but not sure why.
“Where do you think I learned how to be better at tracking than Takumi?” Rie said with a sly grin. “To answer your other question, Natsu wanted to have Takumi over for dinner. Her parents were home, and I needed to get away for a bit. I thought it would be fun to hangout, you know, like real kids for a change.” The teenagers shared a sober look for the barest instant, and then both laughed at the absurdity of their lives. The lack of reaction from the other passengers confused David for a moment, until he realized they were purposely ignoring him and Rie. It made him laugh even harder as the train returned them to Nakano valley.
The others were waiting for David and Rie at the Estate. Together they worked to build their skills under Masao’s strict tutelage while Yukiko dealt with a sword inquiry. After their usual practices, Masao surprised them all by agreeing to let Takumi and Kou spar.
Despite Takumi’s armor, Kou’s claws still found openings, requiring frequent breaks for Takumi to heal. Takumi took the slew of new scars enigmatically, and after he learned to counter Kou’s power attacks, it soon became apparent the tiger had a lot to learn about fighting an opponent that fought back. David had better luck anticipating Takumi when he took over Kou’s body, but his imperfect control gave Takumi the upper hand. They ended their bout early so that both would have time to recover before school.
The day after graduation was one that David had been afraid of for weeks, yet it was one that he was also excited about as well. White Day was the day where boys in Japan gave gifts back to the girls who had given them chocolate. He was limited in time and resources, but he also wanted to thank Rie for taking him to her favorite spot, even if she had never given him anything for Valentine’s Day. He begged use of the kitchen from Yukiko and set to work baking his favorite cookies.
Jessica had emailed the recipes the three of them had baked every year in December. She did extract the reason first, much to his embarrassment. After mixing a big bowl of dough, he realized the Matsumotos’ oven was about a quarter the size of an American one. He found an old toaster oven and used that as well.
For the classmates who had given him chocolate, he made each a small bag of cookies. For Natsuki he made one giant cookie as a way to get her back for the token chocolate and her joke in class. For Rie, he made a chocolate chip cookie, and then shaped it into a likeness of Kou, using icing in an attempt to match Kou’s features. Though he offered two days of hunting, Kou was so indignant at being made into food that he refused to go look in a mirror or share his perfect memories. David left the orange, white, and black cookie with a note in Rie’s room. When he returned from an abbreviated hunt with Kou that night, he found a large box of chocolates waiting on his floor.
ANOTHER NEW YEAR
Going west proved too difficult, and south was dangerous. We lost plenty of what Chul Soon considered precious time backtracking. The only advantage was that our trip had given us access to new identities that would get us to our destination if we took the right route. Of course, Okinawa would have to be our next stop…
The turn of the year might take place in January, but in Japan, beginnings had their roots in spring. It was a surreal moment for David when he looked into a mirror on the one-year anniversary of his arrival in Japan. A different person looked back, if you could call a once-dead and possessed boy a person. He was far taller. The excess childhood fat he had carried so long had melted into coiled muscle, and he was slowly gaining the balance and lithe steps he had envied so much in the twins. His mind was clear, and above all, Kou was there with him. The young tiger was a second perspective for every instant. He looked through the same eyes and yet saw things so differently. The extra opinion was a useful tool for a boy who still had much to learn about the foreign country that had become his home.
‘It makes perfect sense to me,’ Kou thought when David questioned him about all the variations in food and culture that accompanied the change in season. ‘Your months are arbitrary anyway.’
David sat with the other new third years in the gym for the opening ceremony. The second years were beside them, happy they would soon have kohai of their own. David was sure they looked forward to the first years calling them senpai.
After a bit of last minute scrambling by the student council, the vice-principal started things off with greetings and bows. It was awkward, as no one knew the new teacher, but the introductions were not until after the traditional opening speeches.
‘Most of them seem decent enough. I don’t know about Aramoto-sensei, though. I might go nuts in class if I have to listen to him insert twenty useless words for every sentence. I, uh, think, hmm, we should, ah, maybe fall asleep, right, in ah, his class.’
‘He does seem a bit tedious. I could bite him… Maybe stalk him through a dark alley.’
David laughed along with Kou at the dark image both knew would never happen. Kou and David had enough rouge spirits, ghosts, demons, and gods to worry about without getting involved with annoying teachers.
With the introductions complete, the entire staff stood at the front of the gym while Principal Yogi announced each teacher’s position for the new school year, including subjects and homerooms. The new vice-principal, a stern looking woman with a twenty-year-old dress and hawk-like stare, announced the most critical information. With the loss of so many students the previous year, rumors had been flying that they would change the way the third years’ classes were organized, which meant David could end up in a different division than his friends. To their great relief, she announced the ABC divisions would remain the same since they were expecting a few new student transfers after the summer.
Together, Class 3B gathered to meet their homeroom teacher. Although Moriyama-sensei was still at the school, as a more senior teacher he had managed to escape the extra work of being a homeroom teacher as well. Kou growled within as David spotted a tall man who looked like he had barely made it into his tight-fitting suit.
‘I wonder if he’s the new P.E. teacher. He looks like someone tried to stick a young Arnold Schwarzenegger in a suit made for Tsubasa.’
‘That one is dangerous. Everything about him speaks of a life spent cutting others’ short.’
David observed the man’s stiff stride, close-cropped hair, and set jaw as he approached. His manner as he walked toward them was intense enough to cause his classmates to pull closer together, as if being in a group could protect them.
“Hello.” His voice was smooth and soft, belying his stiff presence and the edge around his jaw. Mizuki and her friends relaxed at the light tone in the man’s voice, yet a quick look at the twins revealed they noticed the strain behind his words. “I am Takaeishi Nakamura. From now on, I will be your home-room
and shop teacher. Go to the classroom. I will meet you there.”
His words were formal, but if David had just heard his voice, he would not have been concerned. Kou was so perturbed by the forty-something man, however, that David had trouble keeping his eyes from turning color.
“Something wrong Mr. Matthews?” Takaeishi asked. Although his words were like honey, his stance was a challenge, and David had a sinking feeling that his school life was going to change. With someone so observant, he would have to be on constant guard to keep the Matsumotos’ secrets intact. “No? Very well. Get going.”
Halfway through settling into their new classroom, Takaeishi joined them. He waved away Mizuki as she tried to give a welcome speech.
“Mizuki-san, the class representatives will limit their role to the student council forum,” Takaeishi said. “Elections for this year’s new class rep will be next week.”
His words caused immediate murmurs throughout the class that were stopped by the look he gave them. Over the next hour, he displayed an intimate knowledge of each of them. Already he knew their names, and seemed to have some insights into the student’s personalities and club activities.
‘I wonder how much he knows about us. It could be trouble if he starts asking too many questions about some of last year’s events,’ David thought as Takeishi went through their schedule for the year.
Compared to the other teachers David had met, Takaeishisensei was by far the most distant. He was even quiet about his background, ignoring questions about which schools he had taught at. David was sure he was not the only student wondering about Takaeishi Nakamura as they began preparations for the first year’s entrance ceremony.
“It’s such a relief to be done,” Takumi said on their walk home. “That was almost more difficult than a morning practice. I’ve never had anyone make me so tense for so long.”
Revenge of the Akuma Clan Page 14