‘My sister is alive. They will bring her to me. I need to be stronger.’
“I’m sorry to have intruded,” David said, standing. “I need to get back to the Estate.”
“You don’t want to see if the Americans track down your sister?” the woman asked.
“No. It doesn’t matter anymore. They will come for me. I need to be visible, vulnerable. That is when they will attack.”
“That may be true, but we cannot risk you so openly,” Nakahito said. “The media will want to interview you as well, not to mention your relatives. They will likely attempt to bring you back to America.”
“I have no other family,” David said, his voice cracked as he realized he was alone. His mother had died so long ago that he could not remember much of her. Although he had been away, his father had stayed with him through the videos of his show he sent every week. Now he was so close to death and David could do nothing to help.
‘Everything I’ve learned. Every broken bone, every shaped tree, and I cannot help my father.’
‘Not alone. I am still a part of you. I understand your pain.’
‘What do you understand? You have the Zodiac Memories. You’re a part of him and he is still stalking around out there somewhere.’
‘No David. He is dying out there. His sacrifice… for us.’
David shuddered, and before he could stop himself, he began to cry.
He awoke in a dark room that reminded him of the first hotel on his school trip. The room was much larger, but decked out in the same kind of neutral design and furniture a hotel might have.
‘What are we going to do? They have her. I have to be stronger. I have to lure them in before they change her. If I go hunting and miss them, they might turn her rather than come for me.’
‘You are already strong enough to face the Jeong brothers. Takumi, Rie, Natsuki, and even Tsubasa will all be there for you. The Matsumotos will fight with you again. They have all met your sister. They have fought the Jeongs. They are as much a part of this fight as we are.’
David sighed. Part of him wanted to crawl into a little hole, a much bigger part wanted to wrap his hands around one particular wolf’s neck. Instead, he crawled out the bed and slipped into his freshly laundered clothes. Despite the very early hour, outside his room he found the boy from the hallway waiting for him.
“I can’t believe they picked you,” he said. “Such a whiney baby. They should let me train with the Matsumotos. It’s my right after all.”
Before David could respond, one of the house guards came into view. The boy took off down a corridor. The guard bowed at the empty hallway then beckoned to David. After ensuring he was not one of Takaeishi’s group from the kidnapping, he followed him back to the conference room. The man halted David outside the door, but he was still able to make out the tired voices inside.
“Crown Prince, if you remember, I suggested something along those lines,” the woman said. “It could help us take care of that pesky citizenship issue of his as well.”
“Yes, I think we should go ahead with that,” Nakahito said. “But based on Takaeishi’s most recent reports, I don’t think the Matsumotos will be the best choice. I know the other way will cause a great commotion, but it might help us with the press, and will make their education more discreet.”
“It is only for another few months, after all,” said a third voice. A few moments later, they ushered David in again. Even as he sat, a new determination rushed through him.
“David, once again, we are so very sorry for your losses,” the woman said. “Unfortunately, I have to inform you that while your father’s condition is uncertain. Even if he wakes, he will likely never be able to walk. His legs were badly injured before the fire. In addition there has been no luck in tracking down your sister or her abductors.”
“I do not know if you remember, David, but I once promised you would never have to worry about a place to live. That has not changed,” Nakahito said. “For now it would be best for you to stay here.”
David straightened in his chair. He had already decided his course, and it was not comprised of hiding behind the Imperial Household while Chul Soon had control of his sister.
“If I do that, then Chul Soon will know I am protected. He might just kill Jess if he thinks the Imperial House will start hunting him too. If I go back, even get on the news, make it easy for him to attack, we can be ready for him. We can save my sister. I would humbly request the Crown Prince’s people observe all ships and planes going to and from the Japanese mainland. If you can give me a hint when they arrive, I might be able to figure out when they will attack.”
The Crown Prince stared at David for a long moment. His eyes, intelligent and probing searched David’s face. For his part, David reached out to Kou. They had come to an uneasy agreement in the night, but there was still a lot to talk about.
“Very well. Takaeishi will escort you back to the Matsumoto Estate. He will continue to be my father’s observer. On that note, the esteemed Emperor wants to meet you, but will not intrude at such a difficult time. Please return during the summer. By then our plans should be in place for your future.”
“Thank you,” David said with the lowest bow the table would allow. “I have two more requests. Will you fire Takaeishi?” This elicited a few laughs from around the room. Nakahito smiled, but it was clear from the way he stared back that it was not an option. “OK, then can we at least take the train back?”
“I don’t do helicopters,” Kou said.
THE POSTER CHILD
With Jessica under my control, we slipped out of Phoenix with minimal difficulty. The border between the States and Mexico was easy enough to cross. By the time the news noticed there was more to the incident than yet another fire, we were long gone. With his prize in sight, however, Chul Soon was that much more determined, controlling, and insistent…
Masao met them at the Nakano station. David threw a final glare at his teacher, one of many during the long trip, before walking over to his host-father. David bowed low. Tensing as he anticipated a verbal barrage from the strict man.
“We can talk in the car,” Masao said. David kept his head lowered but could not resist glancing up at his host-father’s kindly tone. David followed Masao to the car. “I noticed you began repairing the damage to the forest. I expect you will continue with your work?”
“Of course Masao-shihan,” David said as he entered the family car. “Look, I’m-”
“No need to apologize,” he said. “I know how you must have felt. I am of course disappointed you felt the need to seek out the Crown Prince’s advice before ours, and as for the forest, well, after destroying that table with the ōkami statue, I should not lecture on losing one’s temper, should I?” His chuckle made David smile, despite the hairpin turns Masao was putting them through. His smile turned a little more genuine as he realized they were taking the long way back to the Estate.
“Do you have a strategy? You were not gone for very long,” he said.
“I’m going to be bait,” David said with a grin very similar to an oni’s when anticipating a particularly destructive afternoon.
“Your plan is to be bait?”
“Nakahito, I mean the Crown Prince, did not like it either,” he said. “I’m sure they have Jess, they are either going to kill her or turn her. Either way Chul Soon is going to want me to see what they do to her. They will come here. My plan is to make myself as visible as possible. Hopefully, the Imperial Household will be able to figure out when they make it to the mainland so that we can be ready with an ambush.”
“You will need a lot of help to pull off an ambush,” Masao said, slowing the car fractionally to turn onto the unpaved drive into the Matsumoto Estate.
“Yes. We are going to need everyone’s help.”
David spent the next ten days repairing the damage he had caused in the forest. Every night after his regular training and homework, he summoned his Seikaku and helped the trees and plants grow ba
ck to their original ancient splendor. Kou’s indelible memory was the only thing that made it possible. With a perfect picture of every tree from Kou’s memory of their times slinking around the forest, he was able to guide the branches and bark back to their original configuration. The task left David exhausted each night, but he welcomed the fatigue as a reminder of the potential within him.
‘There’s so much power in the Seikaku. I’ve just started to learn its secrets,’ David thought after his second night of restoration.
‘It will become as much a part of you as my claws are to me. We must both be careful not to scratch the wrong things.’
‘Evil classmates, check. Trees, no. Got it.’ David yawned. ‘I just hope the TV cameras assume my exhaustion is pain and grief rather than me practicing an ancient martial art and fixing trees I blew apart with a magic sword.’
The Japanese news, NHK, had called the Estate the day after the news about the fire. Although as wary as Nakahito, Masao and Yukiko had relented at David’s insistence, and allowed the reporters to interview him.
“If they get their fill then the news shows will be over and done with soon enough,” David had argued over breakfast. Yukiko had frowned over her tea. “If we refuse, they will start looking at why we won’t talk. Besides, it will help lull the Jeong brothers into a sense of security. They will think they have already won.”
After NHK, one of the Phoenix news shows picked up the story and had an affiliate in Kobe travel all the way to Nakano. They caught him after school. It was like magic. The twins, Natsuki, and Tsubasa were gone before the camera was even level.
“David! Can we have a word?” an eager dark-haired woman asked in perfect English. She looked like a new reporter trying to make her first big story. David put on the most pained face he could manage. It was easy. The responsibility he felt for the damage done to his father was an icepick in his side, painful, cold, and his own fault. His work in the forest was not just to fix the damage, but was a cathartic process, helping him to avoid thinking over much about his father and sister. David had spent so much time with his father among the trees in northern Arizona, however, that they served as their own painful form of absolution as well. He gave a slight nod and walked over so the cameraman could frame him with the school behind.
“I’m here with David Matthews, the young son of Dr. Matthews, star of the popular public access television show Crazy Science, who remains in critical condition after last week’s fire in his Phoenix, Arizona home. David, we have learned that Phoenix Fire Investigators are not ruling out arson as the cause of the fire and that your younger sister is still missing. There are whispers your sister might be a suspect, but like the boys last seen at the scene, she cannot be found.” That surprised him. It was the first he had heard about his sister being a suspect. “Your reaction?”
“It is very difficult. Of course, my host-family has been as supportive as possible. I never thought I would be so separated from him, my dad.” David’s eyes hardened a little as he looked up to the reporter. It was obvious from her eager expression she had been the one to suspect Jessica. “I was contacted by the US embassy, there is no way my sister could have been involved in the fire. I only hope the Phoenix police can find the boys who took her. There is no doubt in my mind they are responsible for both my father’s injuries and the disappearance of my little sister.”
If she was annoyed, the woman covered it. She continued to ask inane questions about his old life, which he answered with appropriate reluctance and difficulty.
“Is there anything you would say to the criminals who have taken away so much from you?”
“Yes. My sister is Jessica Matthews. My father will never walk and may never wake up. He may die. Isn’t that enough? Bring her back to me.” He did not have to fake the tears, even though his emotions ran closer to a slow burning anger.
‘I will get her back, and no wood chips are going to keep us from destroying the dogs this time,’ David thought.
NHK dubbed the interview and played it in the slight lull between breaths as people tried to comprehend the bombshell announced the next afternoon. David had all of thirty minutes to contemplate the information in a letter hand-delivered from the Imperial Household before it rocked Japan.
Crown Prince Nakahito planned to adopt David.
After the formal letter was a separate, more personal note explaining the reasoning behind the Prince’s move to David and the Matsumotos. It was a very long note.
They had decided to take David’s strategy to an extreme. While the story of Dr. Matthews’s and the disappearance of his daughter were still playing on national news shows in America, the news in Japan had run the highly edited interview with David only once. Even the notion of having a foreigner adopted by the Crown Prince was already causing a huge stir. They hoped that the ignited debate would be intense but burn out quickly. It would also mean an in-depth investigation into everything David Matthews. Everyone would know where he was and what he was doing.
The Imperial Household thwarted the first round of dis-tractors by painting a tale of heartbreak by the Princess at seeing the news of such a young boy, the same age as her own nephew, essentially orphaned and with his sister still missing. She was a picture of motherly concern as she answered questions.
“Of course, young David will stay with his host-parents for the time being,” she said, sitting opposite an attentive and appropriately senior journalist. She was composed in a smart suit that seemed to balance tradition and modernity. “The Matsumoto family has been a wonderful support for the young man, but I just could not let the boy get caught up in citizenship issues during his time of need. By adopting David ourselves, we can ensure he has a home. Our lawyers assure us, of course, that as long as necessary declarations are made affirming he has no right to enter the Imperial Household itself, he can stay with us. Of course, he will spend most of his time in school, but what an opportunity to show modern Japan’s hospitality to the world.”
The anchor was, of course, sympathetic. Then they showed the new dubbed clip again, a lonely boy asking for the return of his sister, complete with Japanese translations. The opposition was fierce, but the loudest arguments came from those who were against the Imperial House in the first place. Their arguments solidified David’s place as a narrow majority rallied behind the establishment.
The Crown Prince finalized his public stance with an interview for the major papers. Most of Nakahito’s words focused on Japan’s past, on the role adoption played in Japanese history, of the spirit of inclusion that had kept Japan strong in difficult times. He spoke of how Japan had become so withdrawn as a society that they had forgotten one of their greatest strengths.
“Being Japanese is not, nor has it ever been, about blood or the way we look,” he said. “It is time to acknowledge that to be Japanese is…” The article was accompanied by criticism, analysis, and comments on Japan’s growing geriatric populations in various proportions depending on the bent of the newspaper, but overall David realized the tone of all of them were subtly guiding the issue away from that of a lone boy. The Prince, or one of his advisors, had made it into yet another political question, one that could fade into the background of discussion and almost certain obscurity.
Nakahito’s note also sparked David’s suspicions as it expressed the various political, legal, and social reasons behind the adoption. It was long enough that David questioned just whom the note was supposed to convince.
‘There still seems to be something missing, why not just ask the Matsumotos to adopt me?’
‘The answer is in that envelope the courier gave to Masao. I think Nakahito liked the way this is going to make the constitution’s limitations on the size, scope, and role of the Imperial Household look like a crude and outdated bit of legislation. You cannot escape the irony behind the fact that America wrote it, and yet it causes the only question to whether they can go ahead with it.’
‘But why didn’t they just have someone else
adopt me. They said I’d stay with the Matsumotos already. The bit about it being a perfect cover for my summer in Tokyo seems a bit short sighted.’
‘Yes, there is more at play, but it is working to our advantage. Chul Soon will see you as weak, needing rescue, and relying on help. I doubt he will realize our resolve. As long as no one uncovers the true historical ties between the Matsumotos and Imperial House we should be fine.’
For David, the hardest thing to deal with after his sister’s disappearance was school. At first, there was sympathy, then, when the news broke about the pending adoption, it all went to hell. Most of his classmates were only vaguely aware of the Imperial Family. Instead of seeing them as the symbol of Japanese nationalism, most of his friends gave them the same attention as pop stars. The gossip hounds followed what little news leaked about the ins and outs of the family.
David went from the resident gaijin to someone of national renown. It was as if he was doing his first day all over again, for the third time. Even Naoto and Shou watched him as if they did not know him. Every girl who had given him chocolate on Valentine’s Day was suddenly there again, waiting to talk to him. Most smiled sadly, as they asked again about his sister and father, hanging on every word he muttered. Fewer asked if he had met the Emperor. Twice David had to get Takumi’s help to escape from a girl that had started a rumor they were dating. A few came to him to tell him they did not care about his adoption, but hoped he found his sister soon.
Most of the time David was floundering in awkward social situations, Rie was off to the side in conversation with Natsuki, often with a smirk that had become a new trademark for her.
‘I’m not sure why, but I’m beginning to suspect she is happy about the adoption news. I know she cares, but she is also enjoying herself.’
As the Crown Prince had suggested in his letter, the story peaked after a few days and died off as NHK returned to the usual game shows and celebrities eating various foods and shouting some variation of “Delicious” for the audience. At school too, things quickly quieted down after a few days of nothing changing. David continued coming to school with the twins every day, no one but media arrived in Nakano and spot nor speck of the Imperial Family was seen.
Revenge of the Akuma Clan Page 24
