by Alex Ko
“Hey, Shini,” Kiki said softly, stepping into the room. “Are you all right? What was all that about?”
“Oh...nothing,” Shini said, shrugging. He looked uncomfortable, but then he gave Kiki a welcoming smile. “He was just a fan. A bit...intense. They ask you very odd things sometimes. But you know all about that.”
“I do,” Kiki laughed, and it seemed to brighten Shini’s mood. He grinned at her, then at Josh and Jessica. Josh beamed back.
“That was amazing!” he blurted out. “The match, I mean. You were great.”
“Dōmō arigatō,” said Shini. “Thank you.”
“Shini,” Kiki said, “these are my friends, Josh and Jessica Murata. They’re half English, visiting from London.”
“Oh really?” said Shini, still smiling. “Who will you be cheering for at the weekend? England or Japan?”
Josh threw a glance at his sister. “Er...well, England’s our team really,” he admitted.
“But you know, we’re half Japanese too, so I think...the best team should win,” Jessica said.
Shini laughed. “Good answer! England will be tough. Neil Ash’s right foot is my personal worst enemy this week.”
“But England’s weaker in defence now that Nick Johnson’s got a leg injury,” Josh pointed out.
Kiki’s head dropped, and she made a loud snoring sound. Everyone laughed. “Sorry, Kiki,” Shini said, patting her shoulder. His hand lingered there and she flashed him a smile, her cheeks colouring.
Even Josh could smell romance in the air. Jessica was staring straight at Kiki and Shini.
“Soooo,” she said. “Is there something you two want to tell us? Are you guys maybe...more than just friends?”
Kiki blushed a little more and looked at Shini, who shrugged and nodded. “It’s a big secret,” she said. “You have to promise not to put it in any of your articles for the school paper – the tabloids would go crazy for this news! The paparazzi already follow us wherever we go, but we don’t want to give them confirmation just yet.”
“But how did you first meet?” Jessica asked. “When did you first clap eyes on each other?”
“Shini came to the first Banzai Banzai Benzaiten show,” said Kiki. “We met afterwards and, well...”
“Let us just say...we have seen a lot of each other since then,” Shini said.
Josh smiled at them, and at the ecstatic look on Jessica’s face. He knew what she was thinking: if it hadn’t been for Team O, Kiki would never have made it to the first episode of Banzai Banzai Benzaiten, her new live music show. It was as if they’d brought Kiki and Shini together!
“In fact,” said Shini, “Kiki’s coming to dinner at my parents’ restaurant tonight. You should join us.”
“Oh,” Josh said, heart sinking. “We would love to. But we’re staying with our granny, and I think she’s taking us out to eat tonight.”
“Bring her to Shini’s place!” Kiki clapped her hands together. “Dinner’s on me – after all, I owe you for what you did for me.”
“What was that?” Shini asked.
Jessica’s eyebrows shot up. Josh caught Kiki’s eye and tried to beam a message silently into her mind: Don’t break Granny’s cover, Kiki! Don’t tell Shini about Team O!
Kiki blushed. “Er...hai, of course, for not telling the papers about me and you, Shini...obviously!” Shini laughed, and Kiki turned a secret “oops” face to Josh.
Josh decided he wouldn’t tell Granny that their nice quiet afternoon at the football had nearly ended with Kiki revealing their big secret. That wouldn’t go down well at all.
The Hanzos’ sushi restaurant was a large, upmarket place in Marunouchi, the centre of the Tokyo business district. The area was full of posh restaurants, upmarket hotels and swanky shops. The Hanzos’ restaurant was no exception. Josh plucked a maki roll from his plate with his chopsticks and swallowed it nearly whole. He wasn’t a big fan of sushi usually, too much slimy fish and chewy rice, but this was incredible – from the way the fish practically melted on his tongue, to the intricate platters that were laid out to look like gardens, with flower beds of sushi rolls and little ponds of soy sauce. He grabbed another roll.
Beside him, Jessica stared around at the walls. They were lined with tanks of colourful fish that sparkled and shimmered as they swam.
Kiki leaned over to fill Josh’s cup with green tea, and he remembered that in Japanese restaurants everyone was supposed to fill each other’s cups, so he took the square porcelain teapot from her and filled up Kiki’s. She gave him a dazzling smile. “Isn’t this place great?” she said.
Granny nodded her approval. “It is most civilized,” she said.
“And what do you think of the waiter?” Kiki asked, grinning at Jessica as Shini approached their table. He was dressed in a waiter’s outfit that was half traditional Japanese and half Western: a white shirt with a black silk jacket and shiny gold buttons.
“Oh, he’s okay, I suppose,” said Jessica, teasing.
Shini bowed to them all. “May I ask, how do you find your dishes?”
“They’re great!” Josh said.
“Indeed, oishii,” said Granny.
“I hope you didn’t mind the photographers outside,” Shini said. Josh glanced towards the front of the restaurant. Through the curtain veiling the glass panels in the door and the large, tinted windows, he could make out the shadowy silhouettes of men and women with camera equipment camping on the street outside. They had been there a while. “They are very persistent, especially when Kiki and I are in the same place – they suspect we are an item, but have yet to get the proof. They understand they shouldn’t bother people inside my family’s restaurant, though.”
“A football star working as a waiter,” said Jessica. “That would be an amazing photo spread.”
“I like to keep my feet on the ground,” Shini said. “My parents have supported my career, and out of respect I like to return the favour.”
“That is very honourable of you, Shinichiro-san,” Granny said with another nod. Josh hoped that Shini knew how much of a compliment that little nod was from stern, serious Granny Murata. She had dressed up for the occasion, though that had only meant exchanging her flowery, light-coloured traditional kimono for a darker one printed with a pattern of golden cranes.
A movement caught his eye at the front door, and he glanced up.
CRASH!
Jessica let out a gasp, and Josh’s heart leaped into his throat and seemed to stick there. Shards of glass rained down around them, glinting in the light. The pieces scattered across the floor of the restaurant and Josh felt some striking his head and shoulders.
The large front windows of the restaurant had shattered, and now eight huge men stepped through, their eyes covered by dark glasses. They pulled back their long black coats and drew out aluminium baseball bats.
Diners leaped from their tables, overturning chairs and scattering cushions.
“Hey!” Shini yelled. “What is this?”
“A warning,” one of the men growled. The thugs brandished their bats at the diners. Some screamed and threw their arms over their heads, others grabbed their friends’ hands and backed away. Granny, Josh and Jessica all sprang to their feet as Kiki dived under one of the tables.
“All of you, get through to the back!” Shini called to the diners, and started to herd the terrified crowd into the kitchen. “I’ll call the police!”
As the diners fled, the thugs began to swing their baseball bats wildly, cracking tables and sending shards of glass and china spiralling through the air. One of the goons approached Granny, smacking his bat tauntingly against the palm of his hand. Josh and Jessica took half a step back and Josh watched Granny carefully, waiting for her to take the lead. Whatever she did, they’d be there to back her up.
“Go with the others, old woman,” rasped the thug. “This doesn’t concern you.”
Granny glanced over her shoulder to check that Shini and the waiters were out of the dining roo
m, and then turned back to the grinning goon. “Are you deaf?” he barked. “I told you—”
Granny’s hand was so quick, Josh wasn’t sure that she’d actually moved at all. But when he saw the thug drop to his knees, clutching his face, he knew what had happened. Granny had broken his nose with a single blow.
Another thug gave a shout and pointed towards them, and two of his friends thumped across the wooden floor in their direction. One of them tried to tackle Jessica. Josh saw her dodge and turn to plant a hard kick in the middle of his back.
Josh leaped forward, catching the other man on the shoulder with a spinning back kick, but the guy was so solid he barely stumbled. He grabbed Josh by his elbow and swung him against the wall.
“You pathetic weed,” the man hissed.
Josh struggled, reaching for the weak point in the thug’s grip. It was the first move Granny had taught them, and it always worked – well, almost always. He fumbled it once, before seizing the man’s little finger and pulling with all his strength. The thug let go, and Josh pulled his opponent’s face down onto his rising knee. The man smacked into his kneecap hard and fell back, crumpling to the floor with his eyes shut.
“Not so pathetic now,” Josh muttered. Granny had taught him that good fighting had little to do with strength.
“Josh!” Granny called. He looked round and saw her seize a wooden chair and snap off the legs. She threw one to him, and the other to his sister. Without pausing, Jessica snatched up the weapon, simultaneously punching a goon between the shoulder blades with her other fist. Josh grasped his own chair leg and swung it around, hitting another of the thugs on the side of his head and sending him crashing to the ground.
Kiki’s muffled voice sounded from beneath the table. “Yeah, go guys, go!”
Josh dodged between the shattered tables to avoid a thug’s lunge, then jabbed his chair leg into his attacker’s ribs.
“Oof!” The man doubled over, clutching his side. It was a move Josh had practised in the dojo with a retractable baton, but had never got completely right – until now. He allowed himself a quick fist-pump before the thug was on him again like an enraged gorilla, swinging his baseball bat at Josh’s face. Josh backed up, nearly tripping over the splintered remains of a table. He ducked and hopped to avoid another strike, finding himself back-to-back with Jessica, who was aiming a volley of high kicks at another thug.
Josh looked for Granny, and saw her grab one of the men by his shirt collar. She threw him over her shoulder. “Go, Gran—”
“Josh, look out!” Kiki shrieked.
Josh ducked, feeling a whoosh as another aluminium bat passed over his head. His foot slipped on the wet, glass-covered floor and he fell backwards. All the breath exploded out of him as his back struck the ground. He gasped and tried to sit up, but before he could, a thug was leaning over him, both hands reaching out to grip his neck.
“Stupid kids!” the thug growled. “I’m going to teach you a lesson!”
Josh flung his arms up over his face, and the thug’s hands closed over his wrists. He brought his knee up into the man’s belly, with all the force he could manage.
“Oof!” the thug moaned again, and Josh pressed his advantage, getting in a few rapid kicks to the man’s legs. The thug’s knees buckled and his grip loosened. Josh managed to slide out from under his opponent and get to his feet. He spun, swinging his foot into a roundhouse kick that caught the man on the side of the head with a hard thwack. The thug half-collapsed, his eyes rolling back in his head, stunned. Josh could almost see the little cartoon birds circling his head, tweeting in scrawled kanji.
The kitchen door banged open and Shini rushed in, brandishing a huge, heavy-looking soup ladle with both hands. A flood of cooks and waiters streamed out, armed with meat cleavers and frying pans. A man and a woman in late middle age stood behind them, looking fierce.
All the thugs were getting to their feet, groaning and glancing warily in the direction of Granny Murata. She was standing demurely to one side, an innocent old lady once more. The thugs turned and rushed out of the door.
A cheer went up from the cooks and waiters.
“And stay out!” shouted the middle-aged man.
Shini was bending down to help Kiki climb out from underneath her table.
“Are you all right?” he asked. “We managed to get all the customers out through the back, but then I noticed none of you were with them... I worried you might all be...”
“I’m fine!” Kiki said brightly. She threw her arms around him. “Thank goodness you came, we were in real trouble!” she added, giving Josh a wink over Shini’s shoulder.
“Quick!” Jessica elbowed Josh, thrusting a vase full of water into his hands. “Help me finish rescuing the fish!”
Josh saw that the thugs had smashed one of the fish tanks. He sprang into action, scooping up a large koi that writhed in his hands, and dropping it into the vase. Soon all the wriggling, flapping fish were safe – if a little bit crowded – and the head waiter took the vases from the twins with a grateful bow.
“Murata-sama, Josh, Jessica,” Shini said. He gestured towards the middle-aged couple. “These are my parents, Yoshiro and Chiyoko Hanzo.”
Mr. Hanzo came back from the front door and bowed. His hair was grey and he had a large, drooping white moustache. Mrs. Hanzo was a small lady in a black kimono. She wrung her hands together as Granny, Josh and Jessica returned the bow.
“Hanzo-san,” Granny said, “Hajimemashite – I only wish our meeting could have been a little more peaceful.”
Shini’s father nodded, frowning. “I too, Murata-sama,” he said. His face was red with anger. “What could those thugs want with us?”
“Come on,” Jessica said to Josh. “Let’s help clear up.”
Kiki was already collecting wet, scattered cushions and piling them into a laundry bin. Josh set to checking the furniture for breakages and stacking up chairs. Whenever he crossed the middle of the room he could hear Granny comforting the Hanzos, and he tried to listen in without being noticed.
“They didn’t chase after Shini and the guests, or try to make their way to you,” Granny was saying. “Frightening as it was, they seemed to be interested only in breaking up the place. I think they wanted to scare you. Has anything like this happened before?”
Josh’s Japanese was just about good enough to keep up with the conversation. He may have misheard the odd word, but his granny definitely sounded frightened. No way was she scared in that attack! he thought. What plan was she hatching?
“Never!” Shini’s father said.
“Who would want to scare us?” Shini’s mother wondered. “For what purpose?”
“Indeed,” Granny said. “I am reminded of a time when the Yakuza used tactics just like these to extort money from honest businesses, to ‘prevent anything bad happening’. I remember a particularly vile gangster by the name of Yoshida...”
Josh remembered Yoshida, too – in fact, it hadn’t been more than two weeks since he’d seen the silver-haired Yakuza boss escaping across the Tokyo rooftops after they’d rescued Kiki from his clutches. Granny had plenty of history with Yoshida, but did she think that this was his doing? Why would he target the Hanzos?
“My grandfather opened this place,” said Shini’s mother. “He told me a few stories about the Yakuza in his day. But nothing like that has happened here for decades. We’ve had no threats, and no demands for money.” Her husband took her hand and nodded his agreement.
Josh stacked a side table on top of another at the front of the restaurant so that the floor could be cleared of broken glass. When he looked up there was a gathering crowd on the other side of the smashed windows. A few flashbulbs went off and he reached up to draw the curtains, angrily. The paparazzi had disappeared at the first sign of trouble, but now the thugs had gone they were back for some close-ups. This was bound to make it into the papers, but at least he could stop the paparazzi from getting shots of the Hanzos’ upset faces.
&nbs
p; As he crossed the restaurant again he met Shini bringing over a mop and bucket. To Josh’s surprise, his face crumpled a little.
“I am so sorry about this, Josh,” he said quietly.
“Hey, it’s not your fault!” Josh reassured him. “Nobody got hurt – and that was down to you getting them out quickly.” When this didn’t seem to cheer Shini up, he carried on. “We’ll come back for another meal when you re-open. So will everyone,” he added, wondering if Shini was worried for his parents’ business.
“I guess so.” Shini shook his head for a second. When he looked up again, he smiled. “Anyway, thank you so much for your help,” he said.
“We must repay you,” said his father, who had come and taken Shini’s mop and bucket from him. “You will all eat for free here any time you wish.”
“Oh, thank you!” Jessica said, beaming as she picked her way across the floor, carrying handfuls of chopsticks.
“I think there is something else you might enjoy, too,” Shini said, his face lighting up again. “How would you two like to come with me tomorrow to greet the England football team? There is a photo shoot in Ameyoko in the morning, and a welcome reception in the evening.”
“Wow!” Josh gasped. He looked at Jessica, who was standing with her mouth open. “That would be amazing!”
“Yes please!” Jessica echoed. “Do...do you think I could interview one or two of the players?” Jessica was a roving reporter for her school newspaper back home, and constantly on the lookout for a fresh story.
Shini grinned at Jessica. “I’m sure I can talk some of my teammates into giving you five minutes.”
“Thank you so much for your help,” said Mrs. Hanzo, walking up to the twins and bowing low. “We can finish cleaning up now.”
“We didn’t mind at all,” said Jessica. Mrs. Hanzo gave her a thin, strained smile.
“Indeed, we must be returning home,” said Granny. “After all this excitement it will be straight to bed for you two.”