"My poor little heart is racing, Mr. Izumo." Seraphine laid her delicate hand between her large bosoms.
Earlier, Hirohira hadn't been able to stop looking at her cleavage in the low-cut dress. "Uh, why don't you sit down." Hirohira politely gestured to the chair by the desk.
Seraphine shut the door and leaned her umbrella against it. She turned and walked for the bed and sat beside his holster. Seraphine looked at him with pouty lips and her arms akimbo. She bent over and unhooked the laces on her shoes then removed them and revealed her bare feet. She massaged them and looked up at him through lowered thick eyebrows.
"My feet hurt," Seraphine said. "I hope you don't mind. I could use a good massage."
It was clear she was trying to seduce him. Strangely though he still found himself aroused. "Really?" Hirohira said.
Hirohira walked towards her still holding his revolver. Hirohira picked up his belt and holster from beside her. Seraphine took the holster from his fingers and held it suggestively as he pushed the gun into it. Oh you are hot. She released the holster and let out a soft moan. Oh yeah! She’s burning up. Hirohira set it on the desk and returned to her. Hirohira stroked the side of her cheek with the back of his gun hand. His finger then moved across her warm lips. They’re so wet.
"Your lips appear to be in need of a...massage. And maybe other parts of your body," his left hand brushed one of her breasts, "also need a massage. Do you agree?"
"Yes!" Seraphine said with pleading eyes. "They do!"
Hirohira kissed her lips and she responded with passion of her own. Hirohira’s hands squeezed her breasts that were hidden behind a corset.
“Help me take it off!” Seraphine shouted. “Everything!”
Their hands intermingled as they moved to pull, yank or release various parts of European and Japanese clothes. Hirohira enjoyed the sweet taste of sweaty spot between her breasts and enjoyed feeling her belly tremble as he went down lower.
Hirohira rose and entered her. She’s burning and wants more and I will give it! He could hear the bed rattling and groaning with their own lovemaking noises.
Hirohira heard her shout, “Harder, my Hero! Harder!”
As you wish! Hirohira made the western bed shake and moan even louder than before. Much as you want, Seraphine!
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The Morning After.
Hirohira woke to loud knocking on his door. He had the strangest feeling of déjà vu, but couldn't figure out why at first. He started to sit up in bed and noticed the pale arm of a woman lying on his chest. It fell to his groin as he sat up. The sleeping woman--the white woman--moaned and rolled over pointing her lovely backside towards him. There was a wedding ring on the hand of the arm that had been across him. For a few seconds, he feared that he had gotten married, but the knocking started again and he remembered who she was.
Seraphine Julie Le Trosne, the wife of a French ambassador. Hirohira reached for his revolver on the desk. Was that the ambassador and other French men coming to kill him? How could he be so dumb?
Seraphine sat up in bed, raised her arms and stretched like a happy cat. Hirohira remembered the callous on her thumb and decided it would be wiser to think of her as a tigress rather than a little domestic cat.
"Are you going to answer that damn door before he or she knocks it down, my hero?" Seraphine said.
Hirohira got up with his gun in his hand and wrapped a robe around himself. He opened the door as he had the night before. Doctor Sukasa Momiji entered with Ensign Wendy Montgomery behind her. Doctor Sakusa looked at Seraphine with her mouth open and turned to look at Hirohira, who tried to think of something to say, but couldn't. She looked at Seraphine and then back at Hirohira. Montgomery was doing about the same thing. After a minute, she giggled with a hand over her mouth like a little schoolgirl. Sakusa pointed at the door. The ensign shut the door.
Doctor Sakusa wore a wicked grin on her face and turned to Seraphine. "Mrs. Seraphine Julie Le Trosne, I presume? I believe we met last night. How is your dear husband? Well, I hope."
"Oh, yes." Seraphine stood to reveal her nakedness. She bowed politely. "You're Miss Sakusa Momiji, correct?"
"Yes. I am. I was going to apologize to Mr. Izumo for the 'noise' my friend and I must have made last night. But--"
"Oh, I don't think we noticed, Miss Sakusa." Seraphine began putting on her underwear. "I’m sure we were making our own noise. Isn't that right, my hero?"
"Uh-huh." Hirohira couldn't think of what to say, but he noticed that Seraphine was calling him by the English word, hero and not a shortened version of his name. This annoyed and bewildered him.
Seraphine, with amazing speed, got her dress and shoes back on. She obviously must have had plenty of practice. She picked up her umbrella and gave Hiroshima a kiss on the cheek. "Until we meet again. I shall always remember this 'first' night, my hero."Seraphine left.
"Could you be careful where you're aiming that gun, Hirohira-kun?" Doctor Sakusa gestured at his revolver.
"Sorry." Hirohira placed the revolver on the desk.
"What happened?" Doctor Sakusa said.
"I--she came to my room and..." Hirohira tried to remember everything that happened last night before the sex, but embarrassment was making it difficult. "Ahoka."
"Yes. Well, I don't want to embarrass you anymore in front of the ensign, Hirohira-kun," Doctor Sakusa said. Hirohira was glade that she hadn’t used the -chan honorary suffix. "We've already had a bath, so why don't you call down for a bathtub. We will go downstairs to allow you to bathe and collect your thoughts before you join us."
"Uh, thank you, Sakusa-san." Hirohira bowed low. She returned it with a higher bow and the two women left him alone with his confused thoughts.
"Get control of yourself, Hero-Hirohira," he said to himself.
Hirohira relieved himself in the piss pot that had been pointed out to him the night before by the bellboy. He buckled on his gun belt and checked his weapons.
He needed to be relaxed, so he took out his gun cleaning kit and went to work. Once he was done he put the kit away. He quickly did some light stretching. Then he used the hotel's telephone to call for a bathtub with water and soap to be brought to his room.
Then he knelt and practiced the Teppo Iaijutsu katas that he had been taught by his sensei. They were based on the sword iaijutsu katas. Many were fairly simple in appearance, but complex once you actually practiced them and learned their meaning. Draw, cock, aim to the front, pull trigger, and sheathe the gun. Draw, cock, aim to the left side, pull the trigger, and sheathe the gun. There were katas for the kneeling position, for the standing position, and from horseback. There were also katas for in close fighting like he had done in Santa Barbara where you actually block your attacker's gun before firing. After a while, he felt calm. He certainly needed to be at the moment.
Someone knocked on the door. "Hello, I have your bathtub, sir," said the voice.
Hirohira let two young men in. They filled it for him. They brought soap and towels. He bathed in the odd western manner that he had learned of in military school then dressed in a black hakama, white undershirt, blue jacket, brown tabi socks, and sandals. He had left his pair of getas in his bag because it wasn't muddy or rainy in Toronto like it had been in Santa Barbara. It was chillier.
#
Downstairs Hirohira found Doctor Sakusa Momiji and Ensign Wendy Montgomery waiting in the lobby. They greeted him politely.
"Sorry about that, Doctor Sakusa," Hirohira said. "I know we are not supposed to do anything to attract unneeded attention. I have no excuse that is worth anything."
"I know," Doctor Sakusa said. "I take it she is very persuasive."
"Yes. Very."
"Well, I'm not going to blame you, Hirohira-san," Doctor Sakusa said. "I just want you to be careful. We don't know who she is. She maybe what she appears to be, or she might be a spy."
"Yes, ma'am," Hirohira said.
"Well, anyway. I wish to go to the local Shinto/Buddhi
st temple in Toronto to pray and Wendy is coming with me. We'll drop her off at the airship."
"There's a temple in Toronto?" Hirohira said.
"Yes. A small one. Many of the large cities in the colonies of the British Remnant now have at least one temple for their Japanese friends now that we are all one united nation."
"Really?" Montgomery said. "I can imagine that there would be some bigots who would like the idea."
"I never said there weren’t a number of angry fools." Doctor Sakusa shrugged. "But that is the way it goes and things are no different in Japan. Some new Christian churches have also been built and number of fools violently protested, but the troops put it down."
"Good," Montgomery said. "We need to make this union of ours work for real and not just halfheartedly."
"I agree completely, Ensign," Hirohira said.
Montgomery blushed and then bowed. "Thank you, Lieutenant."
Hirohira bowed in return.
"But first we need a little breakfast," Doctor Sakusa said. "There is a pleasant looking café next door to the hotel that I have been told by the hotel staff has wonderful food. So, how about that?"
They went next door to eat breakfast.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Problems at the Temple.
Outside in the light, Hirohira walked with the two women, but kept his eyes and other senses alert for attacks. He must always be on the job as Doctor Sakusa's bodyguard, but not in a crazed way. One had to be relaxed and calm, but not asleep. One must have a balance between the extremes--this was what he had been taught.
The breakfast was a nice warm little meal to have in the morning. He enjoyed it.
They walked away from the city streets and nearer the surrounding forest. Hirohira saw a charming temple at the city limits but not inside the forest. A number of people were walking towards it as they were doing. Most were Japanese merchants, lumberjacks, and others. There were also Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese worshipers too. There were even a couple of local Indios or Indians, as the English called them.
Doctor Sakusa gestured to two stones in front of the temple’s entrance.
"That stone represents the male genitals and the other represents the female genitals. When you enter the temple you step your right foot on them and later when you leave you step your left foot on them. Go ahead. Try it."
Hirohira thought Montgomery looked embarrassed.
"Are you sure?" Montgomery tried to change the subject. "What are the arches for?"
"They are torii. Sort of like a gateway to the spirit world. As you pass through you should leave your impure thoughts behind."
"Oh."
They passed through the gateways and walked up stone steps to enter the main gate they came to a place with a large container of water with a cup.
"You purify yourself in this manner before going on." Doctor Sakusa dipped some water and poured it into her left hand. She took it with her left hand and poured it into the right. She then poured water into her cupped hand, washed out her mouth and spit on the ground. She filled the dipper again and held it upside down and let the water flow over the handle. She set the dipper on a hook. "When you wash your mouth out you spit out the water for it is considered rude to drink with this sacred water. Now Hirohira will do it so you can see it before trying it."
Hirohira went through the ritual and then Montgomery carefully did too.
"Now we come to the shrines." Doctor Sakusa pointed at an image of a man in a cross-legged position. "This represents The Buddha." She gestured to a walkway past the Buddha. The walkway led to a small building. "That is where a sacred relic is held. Only the priest or priestess of the temple is permitted to enter. In larger temples, it's the senior priest or priestess."
"Who is there?" Montgomery said.
"I don't know," Doctor Sakusa said. "I've never been here."
They found a spot to pray and then listened to an elderly Buddhist monk speak of stories of the Buddha and Buddhist saints. He also told a few Shinto tales. A Shinto priest told a number of Shinto tales and gave blessings to the various worshipers who wanted it.
Hirohira noticed was a young Shinto priestess standing nearby. This surprised him for many reasons. For one, the Shinto priest and Buddhist monk both had a several of young apprentices to help and learn from them. Why have a second member of the Shinto priesthood with so few worshipers? She seemed to have an apprentice of her own. Most importantly, he recognized her from his past in Japan.
How did she get here? Hirohira remembered the times they had together. The talks, walks, kisses, and sweet lovemaking. He suddenly felt guilty about having sex with that French woman. He even felt like he missed her now more than ever. He had thought he was over her, but now the feelings came tumbling back.
He realized she was staring at him in much the same way that he guessed that he was gazing at her.
As his trio left the temple and were about to start their journey to the airship the priestess appeared in all her flowing and multi-color robes. "Hirohira?"
"Yes, priestess?" he said.
"I thought you went to California? At least that is what you said in your letter."
"Uh, well. I am still based there. It's just that we came here. I'm not really supposed to talk about it."
"Top secret and all of that?" She poked him with her wand. "Why don't you call me by my name and then tell me who these ladies are. Should I be jealous?"
"Jealous?" Doctor Sakusa said. "Of what, and for what reason?"
"What?" Hirohira said. "She...this is...she. I mean this is Tokugawa Sheiko-san and we are--were--are lovers or friends or..."
"Oh, I see. Hello, I'm Dr. Sakusa Momiji. He works for me. I own inherited a cattle ranch from my father and I’m also a scientist/inventor, who works a little for the government every once in a while. Don't worry, he's just my secretary and bodyguard. I'm already taken. This is my lover, Wendy Montgomery."
"Eek," Montgomery said. "Do you have to tell everyone?"
"What? Sorry. Sorry. I shouldn't have said that."
"I do have to go with them," Hirohira said. "Because of my job, but maybe I could come back later to see, Sheiko-san…chan."
"That would be great, Hirohira-kun," Sheiko said. "I'll be here."
Sheiko left and the three of them continued on to the airship.
"You shouldn't just go and open your mouth about things like that," Montgomery said.
"I said that I'm sorry," Doctor Sakusa said. "I wish I hadn't, but I did."
"Fine, we'll talk about it later.”
The three of them continued on in silence on their way to the airport. The little hairs on the back of Hirohira’s rose up. He glanced behind them a dozen times but saw no one. Are we being watched? Suddenly the world went upside down for him, literally, as his foot was jerked out from under him by a powerful force. He found himself hanging from a tree by a rope.
"Look out!" Hirohira struggled to get the rope loose. He heard women screaming, men shouting, and the sound of horse hooves. What is going on?
Ahoka! How could I be so stupid as to let this happen? I'm supposed to be a samurai. My ancestors were great warriors! What's wrong with me?
"I need that, Hirohira,” Doctor Sakusa shouted at him as she took his gun from his holster.
My gun! Wait! My knife! He got his knife out of the sheath on his arm and heard familiar gunshots going off. He pulled up and cut himself free, holding on to the rope, so he didn't fall on his head. He landed on the ground with his knife in his hand.
"Noooooo!" Doctor Sakusa screamed with tears in her eyes and holding Hirohira's Colt Katana. She threw his gun on the ground, much to his annoyance.
"What happened?" Hirohira picked up his precious pistol.
"What happened?" Doctor Sakusa screamed. "Tsukaene yatsu dana! That bastard son of an ugly cow Jeremiah Klein, and another bastard just ran off with Wendy! While-while you were hanging in the damn tree!"
"I guess they were following us," Hirohira said.
"I guess so!" She was still crying.
"How did they know we would be going this way? They must have had someone watching us." Hirohira walked to where he could see the hoofprints the horses had made. He could see where they were going in a general way, but he was no tracker.
#
Momiji and Hirohira walked to the airport and to the Kaede. They found Commander Matsuo in her office. She wasn't happy learning one of her officers had been kidnapped, especially one of the females. The captain was pretty angry too once the commander led them to Captain Parsons.
"What kind of numbskull are you, Lieutenant!" Commander Matsuo shouted at him in a way that made the fat under her chin quiver. Her eyes didn't look as gentle as when they first met.
"Now calm down, Commander," Momiji said. "That isn't going to help anything. We need to find out where they went and what they want."
"I could think of some bad things that they want," Commander Matsuo said, but she took a breath and sat in a chair beside a table/desk that was used for eating meals and having private officer meetings.
Captain Parsons was at the head of the table with Commander Matsuo on his right, Mojiji on his left with Hirohira beside her.
"Okay, what do we have here?" Momiji said. "First, Wendy is attacked by a strange man and saved by Jeremiah Klein. Next Jeremiah Klein and another man kidnap her."
"So, was the first attacker also the man with Klein when he kidnapped her the first time?" Captain Parsons said. "What would be the motive? Why not kidnap her first and be done with it? Why does Klein have to be a tale teller?"
"I don't know," Momiji said. "There must be a reason."
"H-he seemed tensed when he saw me," Hirohira said. "It seemed like he wanted to pull his gun on me right then and there, but didn't for some reason."
"Why?" Captain Parsons said.
"I don't know, sir. I never heard of him before we met at the hotel."
"Does anyone on the Kaede know about tracking people or animals?" Momiji said.
The Mighty Airship Kaede. (The Mighty Airships of Earth. Book 1) Page 7
