Temper: Deference: Book One of the TEMPER Saga

by Lila Mina

  “No, but my husband is in Kyoto for a two-day business trip. We were supposed to wait for him here before flying back home…”

  Right then, dozens of phone alarms went off. “Jishin desu! Jishin desu!” The recorded voice blared from everywhere, turning even more frightening.

  People screamed, and everyone dropped to their knees. Lana covered Leo’s head as best as she could. The building shook again, and she tried to calm the boy with shushing sounds. The poor kid shivered and whimpered. She gritted her teeth. It was going to be a hard trip down the stairs, with sensitive buttocks on top of it.

  The stairways were packed with guests heading for the lobby floor. Most were Japanese and knew how to behave and what to do, to Lana’s great relief.

  “Lana san, don’t wait for us. Go as fast as you can with the boy; we will be behind,” Honda ordered.

  Over his cries of protestation, Lana moved the boy to her back and winced as his small legs dug into her bruised buttocks. “Okay, let’s do this together, big boy.” Not looking back, she started their long trek. “I’m sorry, coming through… please step aside… this is a medical emergency… please let me through… thank you… so sorry, we can’t wait… this boy needs help…”. On and on, Lana blurted out apologies as she scrambled down the stairs, trying to keep it civil.

  Soon, this became one the most harrowing experiences in her life. After six or seven flights of stairs, her legs started to protest and couldn’t stop shaking. It was now next to impossible for her to stop without crumbling to the ground. After ten floors, her lungs screamed for more oxygen.

  Admit it, girl: he was right. You’ve got to work on this lousy stamina of yours...

  Her back and arm muscles burned under Leo’s weight, and her bruises acted up. She lost count of how many times she cursed Honda, while at the same time praying nothing serious would happen to him. She had to focus on each step in front of her.

  Phone alarms kept blaring as aftershocks rocked the building, eliciting more and more shouts of fear from the hundreds of people in the darkened stairs around them. Leo couldn’t stop crying and moaning in her ear, making the whole ordeal even more strenuous. 17th floor… 13th floor…

  On the 4th floor, a door was open, and hotel staff were calling out to the guests with flashlights. “Come here! This is the lobby! Please be careful and follow us!”

  With a big sigh of relief, Lana stepped out and limped to the nearest staff member. “Please! Help me! This boy has a nasty wound!”

  “Go over there—we have a small first-aid zone set up over there.”

  Lana cried out in pain and relief when she put Leo on the floor. Her trembling legs gave way, and she fell on the floor, unable to move anymore and panting hard. Reclining against the wall, she extended her limbs with a grimace, keeping an eye on the boy as the staff cleaned his wound and put a bandage on his head. Her muscles were twitching on their own. Guests kept coming out from the emergency exit, but Honda and Maya were still nowhere to be seen. Anxiety and exhaustion made her nauseous. Hurry up already!

  While the 4G network was out of service, the hotel’s Wi-Fi was still accessible. Facebook had wasted no time activating its emergency location service, and like other friends and colleagues, she was identified as being affected. She checked the box confirming she was fine. To her dismay, Gabriella hadn’t been online since the previous evening. Tim, Yukari, Naomi… her closest dojo friends were still unaccounted for, too.

  Lana switched to Line, a Japanese IM app also used for placing calls. The company had also reacted right away and made their phone service free of charge in the affected zones. Come on, Gabriella, come on! Pick up!

  Her friend didn’t answer. Lana rubbed her eyes as tears threatened to spill. She sent messages on her accounts, asking her to poke her back as soon as possible. Her thoughts snapped back to Honda, and then to Yuki. She had no way to contact her. How can I even face her if her husband dies on my watch? What can I tell her if–

  Her spiraling train of thoughts screeched to a halt when Honda and Maya came out the door. Lana tried to get up, but her legs didn’t obey. “Leo, see? Here comes your Mamma!” His head wound now patched, the little boy rested at her side in shock.

  “Oh, Leo!” Maya walked the final meters on her own and sat next to her son. “Thank you, thank you both so much” She squeezed Lana’s hand with tears in her eyes.

  Lana smiled, eyes blurry with her own tears of relief. “I’m so happy everyone is safe. It was scary,” she added, looking at Honda who had plopped down on her other side.

  He nodded in agreement, eyes closed. His breathing was shallower than usual. “Are you all right, Lana san?”

  “Yes. My legs and other places are killing me, but it’s okay. You?”

  “I need to work on my endurance as well. I am unharmed, however.”

  “Have… have you heard from Yuki sama?”

  Honda opened his eyes and took out his old-fashioned mobile phone. “Nothing for now, networks are out.”

  “Is she on any social network?”

  “No, we have keitai phones and don’t use those.”

  “Ah, too bad.” Lana hesitated. “I can’t reach Gabriella, either…”

  “I imagine she is as connected as you?”

  “Yes, precisely. I mean, she could be outside Wifi range or something…”

  “Yes, it is too soon to draw any conclusion.” His head rested against the wall. “Try to sleep for a while. We will leave at dawn, about one hour from now.”

  “Leave?”

  “Yes, we will walk back to my home. We will collect water bottles and depart as soon as possible before it gets too hot.”

  “But I should try to get home…”

  Honda shook his head, his face set in his now familiar stern mask. “We will first go to my home and when the traffic conditions allow it, we will take my car and drive to your place. But if you think for one second that I will let you walk home on your own, you are mistaken. As for me, I need to get back to check on Yuki.”

  “I… It’s true I can’t see myself trekking to Mitaka on my own, but… where do you live?”

  “South of Mitaka in Setagaya ward, twenty minutes by car from our dojo and near Soshigaya park—about fifteen kilometers from here. In normal conditions, it would take us about three hours. But we are tired, it will be hot and humid, and there is no guessing the road conditions. So it will take us twice the time, a little less if we make good speed. Mitaka is even farther from here.”

  Lana sighed. “All right then, let’s go back to your house. But do you have any idea of the way? We can check on my smartphone and make some kind of rough itinerary.”

  “This will not be necessary. It is almost on a straight line westward if we take Tokyo Tower as the starting point. After Roppongi, we will aim at Shibuya and then advise. Have some rest now.” Lana didn’t argue. One more check of her various apps told her Gabriella was still offline. She turned off her phone and closed her eyes, hoping she wouldn’t slump against him and drool on his shoulder.

  It seemed like she had only slept five minutes when a solid grip shook her shoulder. “Wake up, Lana san. The sun is up. We should be on our way.” At that time of the year, sun rose before 5 am. Honda handed her two PET bottles of water. “They are rationing water, and I could only get one for each of us. Put them in your bag. Can you stand?”

  Lana tried to hide a yawn and pushed herself up, grimacing. “Hm, it’s going to be tough, but we don’t have a choice, do we?” She turned toward Maya who was half asleep, holding Leo tight. “Maya, we are leaving now. Please stay here where it’s safe. I’m sure your husband will soon be with you. Try to get in touch with your embassy, okay?”

  “Thank you so much again, Lana.” Maya struggled not to cry. “Please be careful. God bless you.”

  Lana gave her an encouraging smile and patted Leo’s head. It was tough leaving them alone, but they were in no condition to travel with them. A glance at her phone informed her Gabriella had
checked in on Facebook, and the other members of their dojo had done the same. That was enough for now. Lana shared the good news with Honda who nodded in satisfaction.

  They stepped outside the hotel. Lana stopped in her tracks, stunned by the scene around them. Glass and debris littered the empty road, but overall the damage wasn’t as severe as she would have expected. No car drove around. The noise level was deafening though: firetruck and ambulance sirens blared in the distance and helicopters hovered in the sky. In this business neighborhood, with new skyscrapers all around, it didn’t surprise her that every building still stood.

  Many people were already walking home. As the day advanced, the streets would be packed. From what Lana remembered of the footages from 2011, it would turn the city into a low-key remake of a zombie movie.

  “Lana san!” Lana spotted Honda on the other side of the street. “Come on now, let’s keep together!” Lana jogged to join him. “Let’s head this way,” he added, pointing west.

  16

  Burnt Bridges

  After walking a few hundred meters, Lana shook her head in relief. Thank goodness I’m not alone in this.

  The crowds around them were subdued and for now kept their wits. On such a large scale as this, catastrophes brought out the worst in people, not to mention the worst people out. Her body hurt everywhere, so she focused on putting one foot in front of the other. When they reached Shibuya crossing, they had gone a meager five kilometers in more than an hour and half.

  As they moved to a smaller street, away from the main lanes, Lana grabbed Honda’s arm and pointed at a convenience store. “The conbini over there is open. Can we stop to buy something to eat?”

  “Good idea. If we are lucky, they have a few onigiri left.”

  The store was designated as a safe place for those walking home during an emergency. A dozen people stood around, drinking water and eating plain onigiri rice balls handed out by staff. They could also use the Wi-Fi access point or queue for the green NTT phone outside the shop. The ISSN line made it possible to leave and listen to safety confirmation messages on landline numbers through the national disaster emergency number. They were lucky; as this was a side street, fewer than ten people waited in line.

  “I’ll buy a couple of things, enough to give us energy,” Lana said.

  Honda glanced at the line of people with a sigh resignation. “Go ahead. I will call Yuki in the meantime. Do you have cash? Take no free products if we can pay for them. These should be for people in need.”

  There wasn’t much left on the shelves, but Lana grabbed three onigiri filled with dried salmon, two bottles of orange juice and two chocolate and cereal bars. She also picked up hand soap sheets, two pairs of socks and the last pack of band-aids. Without socks, bloody blisters already covered her feet; her borrowed sneakers were a bit too tight and rubbed on her naked feet. The shop’s restrooms were out of order, but a sign said the staff had installed chemical toilets outside.

  Outside, Honda was already fourth in line. “Could you please hold everything for me for a moment? I need to use the toilets set up over there.”

  A glance at the narrow street along the shop made Honda frown. “Hm, all right, but hurry.”

  Lana hastened toward the designated area. Her business done, she found herself alone in the dark alley. Her spine tingled as she headed back to the main street, and goosebumps covered her arms. Glancing over her shoulder, she inhaled sharply. Oh shit, way to go. Did you forget all you learned back in Italy?

  She was no longer alone. Three men with bleached hair and leather clothes were creeping up on her. Yakuza. On normal days, she would never care about those criminals. Messing with foreigners meant more trouble than it was worth for the organized crime. Thugs left them alone as the police would be hard pressed not to do a serious inquest with a foreign embassy breathing down their neck. Still, her relative immunity didn’t mean much in a time of crisis. Police were busy and had no time for the fate of a lone businesswoman.

  “So, pretty blond, where’re you goin’?”

  “Come and say hello to my big friend down here!”

  “Come on, don’t be shy, let’s have fun! I’ll make you forget all those puny Western boys...”

  Lana kept moving and quirked an eyebrow. “What’s the matter, boys? Are you lost or what? Looking for your mamma?” she sneered, staring straight ahead of her. Playing the hapless victim wasn’t in her habits. Her unexpected language proficiency and aggressive behavior stopped the men in their tracks. It gave Lana the opportunity to continue, so she quickened her pace.

  She was almost out of the backstreet when one of them grabbed her arm from behind. “Bitch, look at me when I’m talking to you,” he snarled, furious.

  Recoiling in disgust at the animalistic lust distorting his face, Lana didn’t stop in her tracks. Her training kicked in and she went with shiho nage. Using his momentum, she caught his wrist and led him away, made a cutting movement across his hips, twisted on herself and brought him on his back. She pulled hard enough on his hand to hurt his shoulder. To her dark satisfaction, he crumbled at her feet with a scream of pain. Right when she was about to dart, the second guy blocked her path, and put a blade under her nose.

  “Oh, feisty, aren’t we? Even better! You’ll pay for that, cunt!”

  Determined, Lana reached out to seize the hand holding the knife. Right then, the man flew back and crashed against the opposite wall.

  In front of her stood Honda, his face a mask of cold fury. He disposed of the third guy who thought it was a good idea to jump him. Thanks to a version of kotegaeshi where Honda didn’t hold back, the thug collapsed, in tears, his hand and wrist broken in two different places and his shoulder and elbow dislocated.

  Honda’s pure killer look, total control over his body and fluid moves were a gloriously arousing sight. Lana understood why he had chosen aikido over other kinds of budo. Even though aikidoka could maim and kill, any martial arts not giving priority to self-defense would have made him a mortal danger for anyone else. Looking at the three men on the ground, cradling their limbs, she couldn’t help a satisfied grin. What a great team we make!

  Adrenaline pumped through her system, mixing with an unexpected rush of arousal. They were in public, so it was a bad idea. Still, she took two steps toward him, and before he could even ask her if she was unharmed, molded herself against his frame. A hard kiss landed on his lips.

  Then, just as quickly, she stepped back. “That’s how you say thank you in French,” she whispered, her voice a little too rough.

  Honda snatched her chin in a tight grip. Lana held her ground and didn’t blink, delighted by the dark energy flowing from him, pressing against her. His eyes were heavy, lust for blood battled with lust for her; to her surprise, her reaction was stronger than expected. Blood rushing to her head, the sound that passed her lips was more a groan than a gasp.

  “I would love to teach you a lesson on self-control in public, but we have no time for playing games,” Honda grumbled. “We need to be on our way.”

  Lana remained in his grasp for two more breaths, enjoying the moment in all its danger and promises. Then she lowered her eyes and submitted; she still couldn’t believe how easy it was to do with him. What kind of spell had he cast on her?

  “Of course, goshujin sama.” Honda waited a few more seconds before releasing her, his own temper once again under control.

  He handed her the bags; incredibly enough, he had kept them in his hand during the short-lived fight. “Have a onigiri and something to drink.”

  Lana marveled at how easily they switched back to a normal conversation; with any luck, she was getting the hang of the compartmentalization thing. “Could you let Yuki sama know about our situation?” She took the pair of socks and band-aids out, followed by the food and drink.

  “Yes, and she also left a message. She is unharmed, our house suffered no clear damage, and thanks to our well, we are not experiencing any water shortage. Electricity is still out i
n our neighborhood, but we are not affected thanks to our generator.”

  “You’re very well prepared.”

  “It is a large estate,” Honda explained, “and we have enough space to store what we need. Let’s go now.”

  Lana gulped down her rice ball and her orange juice but stopped in her tracks. “Oh, before we leave, please give me five minutes to use the conbini’s Wi-Fi. Let me try to contact Gabriella.”

  This time, her friend picked up right away. “Oh, Lana! It’s such a relief to hear you, are you okay, cara mia?”

  “Yes, don’t worry! And you?”

  “Scared like hell. A few glasses fell over and crashed on the floor, but nothing serious. Electricity was out for a few hours, but now it’s back on. I’ve got bad news though. You’ll want to sit down, darling”

  “What? What is it?”

  “I passed in front your building on my way to the supermarket to stock up basic goods… A fire broke out in your condo wing. Most of it is gone and still smoking. I’ve got pics, I’ll send them to you in a sec.”

  Lana leaned against the CVS wall and slouched down to the ground, stunned. Of course, it was replaceable stuff, and she was not invested in the unit itself. But what about…?

  Squeezing her eyes shut, she pushed the thought back, bile rising in her throat. Then she took a deep breath. If that was lost as well, there wasn’t nothing she could do, and perhaps it was even for the best.

  “Ahhh… shit… oh my... that’s tough. Well, I’m glad I wasn’t there…”

  “Yeah, I wept in relief knowing you were out last night!” Gabriella sighed. “All right, I sent you the pics. It’s bad, but you know I have a copy of all your papers.”

  “Yes, thank goodness we planned for it.” Lana grunted.

  The pics made her ill. Gabriella hadn’t exaggerated: soot blackened four or five floors of her nine-story high condo block, right in the section hosting her unit. Talk about no luck. Even if by some miracle her apartment wasn’t burned to crisp, moving back in right away would be impossible. She’d have to throw out everything.