by Carrie Asai
Hiro and I continued to work together, spinning and ducking and kicking like clockwork. I didn’t execute too many strategic fighting movements unless it was absolutely necessary to ward them off—my skills were still clumsy and a little slow. But what I lacked in technique I made up in stealth. Once I got the hang of it, it was incredible. I became a mere wisp of the shadows. Half the time the guys were swinging at thin air so far from where I was that it felt like I truly had become invisible, a shape shifter. Hiro managed to fell six of them. They all sat on the ground, stunned, swearing to themselves in Japanese. One phrase was repeated over and over: Why didn’t we bring a gun?
Because, I thought. You didn’t think the little Kogo girl could fight.
The seventh guy had become so tired that we didn’t even have to do the shadow trick with him. Hiro just managed to catch him clumsily off guard and sent a blinding side kick to his jaw. The man ricocheted backward, his body forming a perfect arc in the air. He landed with a horrendous thud on the garage floor. I could hear the crack of bone. He also landed on one of the guys’ legs. There was screaming, confusion.
Hiro grabbed my hand and pulled me to the front of the garage, where the door was. I stared back at the men, all lying on the ground, groaning. The car with the door open still sat there, motionless. It would not be taking me anywhere tonight.
I couldn’t believe it. We’d actually pulled it off.
“Come on,” Hiro said in a whisper. “Let’s go before they get up.”
But for a moment I was transfixed. I had seen Ohiko. In the flesh. It had definitely been him, standing there, staring at me, with his sword, in the corner. Could it have been an illusion? A trick of the brain when I was losing oxygen? Or was he real? Could he really have found me when I most needed him?
He’d said he’d be watching me.
I stared at that corner, looking for a trick of the light. But it looked like the rest of the garage. Nothing unusual. Dust rose up from the floor and danced around. One of the Yukemura men let out a very large groan. The smell of blood and sweat filled the air.
“Come on,” Hiro said through his teeth. He grabbed my wrist. I whipped my head around and saw two of the men delicately standing. Were they coming for more? We started to run, our shoes clattering against the pavement. I looked back, expecting them to follow. But they didn’t. The two that stood just remained there, motionless, shaking their heads. They almost looked at us with a sense of respect. I felt transcendent. I had become a vapor.
“I have to say, Heaven, I was amazed that you had them in the position you did once I managed to get inside,” Hiro said as we rushed away. “You had four of them down. And in pain!”
“I used the shadow trick,” I said excitedly.
“I know—over and over again!” He beamed at me. “It was incredible!”
“It was definitely the Yukemuras,” I said breathlessly. “They wanted to complete the wedding.”
We ran down the empty sidewalks of lower L.A. Hiro didn’t break stride. I decided not to explain anything about seeing Ohiko. I wanted it to be my own private memory. “They mean business.”
“They do,” Hiro said. “I’m glad you and Karen are safe.”
“Did the exchange go okay? Were there any guys out front that you had to deal with guarding the garage?”
“There was one guy, but I freaked him out just by hitting him. I didn’t even hit him hard, really. He ran off.” I could see, even while running, a look of concern cross his face. “I hope everything’s okay with the car and Karen. I left it pretty far away—it’s about ten blocks still. I didn’t think anyone would follow us when we left. I didn’t see anyone, and I drove pretty slow, keeping a lookout.”
“Is Karen okay?”
“She seems to be,” Hiro said. “She seems tired and confused, really. She didn’t say much. She was very understanding about the fact that I had to go back for you. Getting that door open was tough.” He stared at his hands. “I sliced my finger open.”
“I guess they didn’t want anyone to get in,” I said. “And—” I started to say something else, but I stopped. I saw the car parked alone on a small side street. It was ensconced in darkness. From our vantage point, we couldn’t see if anyone was inside.
“Is she there?” I whispered. My heart began to race. Were other Yukemuras staked out here?
But then we saw the outline of a dark ponytail and Karen’s profile. “Karen!” Hiro called. It looked like she was fine. Hiro turned to me with a gracious look in his eyes. All of a sudden he threw his arms around me. I was surrounded by Hiro’s body, and it felt so good. Just as warm as in my dream. “Thank you,” he said. “Thank you so much.”
“Thank you,” I whispered against his shoulder. At that moment I wanted to tell him everything. That I’d been near death before he came in. That Ohiko had inspired me—enlightened me, maybe. Given me superhuman strength. I don’t know. That I had fallen so hard for him. That I would do anything for him. But instead I just wrapped my arms around him and sighed.
We rushed into the car. Karen was sitting in the front seat, and she immediately sat up and burst into tears. “You guys are okay!” she wailed. She stretched her arms out to hug Hiro and then pulled me in from the backseat with her other arm. Her body shook with sobs. I reached over and patted her shoulder, and she shot me a grateful look through a veil of tears. With Karen’s arms still wrapped around us, Hiro quickly started the car and drove us away. I hugged Karen back and felt a pang of horrible guilt. It must have been a nightmare for Karen over the last couple of days. And again, all because of me.
When Hiro braked for a light, he and Karen embraced passionately. Karen kissed him on the ear, tears still washing down her face. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” she said over and over again.
“Yeah, Heaven had them all down for the count by the time I got there,” Hiro said. We both laughed. Karen looked at us with wide eyes, then went back to hugging Hiro. Things would be different now. Karen would need to know something. Details about my life, sketchy as they might be. I would have to tell her. I couldn’t expect her to be kidnapped and not ask questions. I couldn’t expect her to sit in the car, waiting, without wondering what the deal was. She had probably seen all sorts of things in the presence of the Yukemuras. Even if they’d spoken in Japanese around her, she still must have some memories burned into the innermost part of her brain.
I bit my lip, thinking about revealing my story to Karen. To anyone. What would happen. And what would happen to me, anyway? Was this over, done for? I didn’t know.
I directed my eyes to the sky. Somewhere off in Hollywood searchlights danced around, announcing something wonderful, perhaps a film premiere. But I had been given something more wonderful right here with my amazing, angelic sighting of Ohiko. What could that have been? Thank you, I thought. Thank you, Ohiko. Wherever you are.
Hiro and Karen continued to embrace. I leaned back against my seat, exhausted. At a stoplight I saw them kiss. Desperately. As they should. My heart pounded and my brain swam with my breakthrough of becoming invisible. But in all, it felt a little bittersweet. Tinged with disappointment. The drama of the kidnapping had brought Karen and Hiro even closer together. I really was a vapor. In more ways than one.
16
Three days after the exchange, my body still ached from my attackers’ blows. Strange images haunted me—images of being immersed in the one’s body, kicked from all sides. But I made peace with them. After all, moments later I’d managed to hurt them more than they’d hurt me.
I was trying to lay low. It had been a quiet few days. Hiro and I had resumed practice at the dojo, at least for now. We figured the Yukemuras would be hesitant to try to kidnap me again so soon. They knew that we were a force to contend with. Still, I felt a little on edge. I knew that I had the strength to defend myself if I happened to meet Yoji Yukemura in a dark corner some night, but I didn’t like the idea of it actually happening.
I sat at the dojo after practice,
massaging my arms and legs. I could hear Karen’s shouts to her class in the other room. Apparently the kidnappers hadn’t treated her very well. She’d stayed for those three days in a small room of an office building, most of the time blindfolded. She couldn’t remember where it was. There’d been only two men, she remembered, but they only spoke in Japanese. It had been a very confusing and stressful time. I was amazed that she’d resumed teaching so quickly. “She just wants to get past it,” Hiro said. “She’s pretty amazing that way.”
Hiro came and sat next to me while I was giving my legs a rubdown. He put his hands on my shoulders and massaged them. I felt the usual tingles. They weren’t even surprising anymore. “What have you told Karen about all of this?” I asked him.
“Not much,” he said. “I told her the basics—that you were arranged to marry someone from Japan, someone in a very prestigious family, but that you had refused, so they decided they would kidnap you. Karen didn’t ask any questions. I think she’s too mentally exhausted or overwhelmed right now to ask.”
“Well, she must think that my family is awfully weird if people are going around kidnapping brides-to-be,” I said, laughing despite the situation. It was so awful, it was almost funny. But sad, too. It was the sort of laugh that could easily turn into a cry.
“She may want to know things later on, though,” Hiro said. “We’ll have to figure out what to tell her.”
I looked at him. “Thank you so much,” I said. “For everything. For putting up with me. For keeping my situation a secret. For allowing Teddy to beat you up. For…everything.”
“It’s nothing,” Hiro said. “It’s my obligation. And I didn’t tell you the other day—you have mastered a skill that some never master in their lives. You have learned to use your body to become a shadow. You have made the mind-body connection. It’s amazing. And you learned it so quickly. I am completely floored by your talent, Heaven.”
I ducked my head. “I can’t even explain how it came along,” I said. “It just…happened.”
“That’s just it,” Hiro said. “This is a skill that you can practice and practice and practice and still maybe not get. You might feel like you’ve got it, but in fact you haven’t. I think you learned that when one of the yakuza kobun saw you on the street.”
I nodded.
“You have amazing natural talent. Honestly. I didn’t know how it would go in the beginning. I’ve told you that. And we haven’t been as close as usual since you moved out. I know you’ve had to make some hard transitions, some difficult decisions. But Heaven, I am honored to be your sensei. I think eventually your talent will outrank mine. And then you will have to be my teacher.”
I blushed.
Hiro went on. “I think, actually, that is why you thought you achieved your mission so quickly. Because your natural talent and sense for things is so strong that you felt that you really had gotten there. But you must learn, Heaven, that your missions are to be accomplished when they’re really ready to be accomplished. You cannot force them. They must find you.”
I shifted in my seat. “You know, when I talked to Teddy before the exchange, he told me the kidnapping was just so he could marry me. Do you think that’s true? When I was in there with them, alone, that’s what they told me. And I recognized a few of them as members of the yakuza. Some of them were at our wedding.”
“It sounds like that could have been it,” Hiro said.
“But I have a theory…. What if they just wanted to kill meand be done with it?” I said. “Make up a fake marriage certificate. Have me married, have Teddy get the company, do whatever it is they intend to do, and I’m dead, so I can’t protest.” Shivers went up my back just thinking about it. “Do you think that’s possible?”
“It could be,” Hiro said. “You still have to be very careful. I’m sure you’re still going to be followed. We need to figure out some of the big questions, though. And figure out how to stop the yakuza.”
“I really think it’s the Yukemuras who are behind all of this,” I said. “Everything. And maybe even the attack at the wedding. Some of those guys in there looked so familiar, like the same guys who attacked me on the street. But why would they be after me? And Ohiko? And…everyone?” I sighed. The world definitely wasn’t safe. “Although,” I said, “there is one thing: At least I know that it’s not my father who is trying to end my life.” I thought about my father for a moment. In all of the strangeness of the last few days I hadn’t thought of him much. I’d thought more about Ohiko, the strange apparition who had helped me escape marriage or pain or…worse. I thought again of what my father had told me at our last meeting—that Ohiko had betrayed our family. Now I realized that he must have believed Ohiko was working for a rival gang. But I knew in my heart, just as I’d been sure from the minute he told me this, that it couldn’t be true. Ohiko would never be part of the yakuza, not even to please my father. Which meant someone had lied to my father. Who? The Yukemuras? What could they possibly gain?
I wondered if my father had recovered. Or if he was still in the same state. My poor father. What was happening to him right now?
I thought about Teddy and how he’d helped us. If it hadn’t been for Teddy, things would be incredibly different now. I shuddered to think how. But that didn’t make sense either. If, say, Teddy had lied to us, and we’d met at another location, one we hadn’t planned on. If, then, the attackers had managed to knock me out and Hiro hadn’t made it back to help me. Then I would have married Teddy. Wasn’t that what Teddy wanted? Or didn’t he? Then what had he been talking about on the bus?
“It’s pretty amazing that Teddy actually gave us the right information,” I said to Hiro.
Hiro nodded. “I’d meant to talk to you about that, too. What do you think made him do such a thing?”
I shook my head. “I have no idea. Honestly. The more I think about it, the stranger it seems. Why would he allow us to escape?”
I began to get angry again, the same kind of anger I’d felt a few times before. I had to get answers. Teddy had steered me in the right direction once before; was it possible he could help me again?
“I think I’m going to try and reach him again,” I said to Hiro. “To find out about his family’s motives.”
To my surprise, Hiro didn’t tell me not to. He just looked up at the ceiling, his eyes closed. Karen’s shouts drifted in from the other room. “Do what you have to do,” he said. It almost seemed like he was beginning to trust my instincts over his own.
I rushed to my bag to find the last remaining disposable cell phone. I found Teddy’s number as well. It was definitely the Yukemuras who’d planned the kidnapping. They’d all but admitted it freely. But what else were they behind? Would Teddy help me? What if he really was an ally? What if he was just a pawn in this strange game, like me?
Punching in the number, I thought of something else. Isn’t Teddy in big trouble with the Colombians? Surely his father wouldn’t help him now that something had gone wrong with kidnapping me. Why? I shakily punched in the last two digits. The phone waited a few seconds, then started ringing. And ringing. And ringing.
Finally an automated voice picked up. “We’re sorry. The number you are trying to call has been disconnected. There is no further information on this number. Thank you.” Then the angry buzzing of the dial tone.
I stared at the phone. Somehow I just knew.
Teddy was gone.
I guess it’s night. I’m totally stuck here. No outside contact. No Ojo. Don’t know where he is. No television. No way out. I’ve gone through the scenarios in my head. Did I do the right thing? I don’t know.
I can hear the sound of a leaky faucet. I lie here in the darkness of day or night—I don’t know what time it is. I stare and can’t do anything really except deal with my thoughts and what I’ve done wrong.
I wish I could tell her. Get an e-mail out to her and tell her something. A mental message. Wish I could tell her something. Somehow. The dripping sink just won’t st
op. I told the truth. Does she realize what I went through? After? The mental anguish, even before? I knew what would happen. I knew they’d find out. It wasn’t a stealth operation. People know. But Heaven’s a smart girl. She knew about the yakuza. She knew about my life. She might be able to figure it out. Day, night, whatever it is right now, she’s there, somewhere, hopefully alive, hopefully free. If she weren’t, I guess I’d be married to her now, is that right? Is that really what they were going to do? I don’t even know. I’d be married to her if I had lied. So why didn’t I?
But I didn’t lie, Heaven. I didn’t lie to you. Why? I’ve been wrestling with that question here in the dark. Wrestling about you. I told you because…I told you because…something. I told you, I think, Heaven, Heaven Kogo, because I think…maybe…I love you.
Teddy