The Book of the Sword

by Carrie Asai

  “I’ve got to work. Then I have some errands to run,” Hiro told me. He grabbed his messenger bag off the floor and pulled out his wallet. He handed me some money. I stared at it, feeling ashamed.

  “Thank you,” I said, wishing that I didn’t have to be dependent on him for this, too. “Hiro…”

  He looked down at me. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m sorry. I mean, I’m sorry that you have to spend your money on me. I just want you to know how much I appreciate it. I know I’m a burden to you, and I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t absolutely necessary.” Even though I knew that Hiro came from the same privileged background that I did, it didn’t make me feel any better. He wasn’t living on his family’s money now. He’d chosen to go out on his own, to make his own way in the world. If I was serious about being independent, I couldn’t keep relying on him for everything.

  “It’s okay, Heaven. I understand. It’s just money. You’ll have a job someday.” He grinned. “Let me hear you practice. I want to see if you can say it.”

  “Say what?” I asked.

  “Would you like fries with that?”

  I whacked Hiro on the arm. “I’m not going to dish out burgers and fries.”

  “Oh, so what are you going to be doing to earn underwear money?” Hiro asked.

  He had me there. I could see myself going to an interview and proudly saying that I’d just learned to wash dishes and sweep. I lifted my chin. “I’m going to serve tacos from a cart. That’s much cooler,” I told him. And I got another smile.

  “Take my cell.” Hiro handed it to me. It was a big, chunky one. Clearly old. “You can call the dispatcher at my job and leave a message if you need me. And don’t forget, be careful.”

  “I will,” I promised, heading for the showers. I took an extra-long time getting ready, brushing my hair until it shone. I was going shopping. I was going out among the humans. And I wanted to look good.

  I left the dojo and followed Hiro’s directions to Hollywood Boulevard. For a second I didn’t realize that I was actually standing in front of the mall. I was expecting a huge building. But this mall was all outdoors. There was as much open space as shops. I breathed in the wonderful smells as I wandered—gourmet chocolates, pizza from the California Pizza Kitchen, mint body lotion from Aveda.

  The walkway was paved with little murals spelling out quotes from actors and musicians. All stories about how they came to L.A. and made it big. I promised myself I’d have a great story to tell someday, too. But first I needed fresh underwear.

  I took my time walking through the mall, wanting to explore every store and make sure I saw all of the newest American fashions. I knew I was shopping on a budget, though, so I had to be a little less choosy about my clothes than I would have been back home. I found some cute, inexpensive cotton underwear (thongs were so not training-friendly) with the days of the week printed on them in a funky store that specialized in stuff from the seventies, like rainbow socks with toes. I also grabbed a cheap pair of jeans and a couple of basic tees on sale at the Gap. I walked around with my bags and stared in shop windows. I’d never felt more American. Now all I wanted was to get back to Hiro’s little Hollywood bungalow, back home.

  “Hey, watch it!” A blond woman (sometimes it felt like all the women in L.A. were blond) looked at me angrily, picking up her purse from the ground—I’d knocked it out of her hands when I pushed past her.

  “Sorry,” I muttered. Blondie snorted and flounced away. I kept going but forced myself to walk a little slower. Soon I passed a window filled with colorful pairs of Converse All-Stars. Hmmm. I counted my money: just enough for one pair and maybe some socks, if they weren’t too expensive. What color? I was leaning toward red, but something about the purple pair was intriguing, too.

  That’s when I heard it.

  A laugh I would have recognized anywhere. A laugh I’d been hearing in nightmares for what felt like a long time but really wasn’t so long at all.

  Teddy Yukemura’s laugh.

  I froze for a second, unable to move. What was he doing here? I’d been pretty sure that he would go back to Japan after what happened, if only to take care of the house we were supposed to move into after the wedding. Did his being here mean they were still looking for me? Had he trailed me here?

  Still facing the window, I shifted my focus so that I could see the reflection of the people moving behind me. I picked out Teddy immediately. His outfit was typically over the top. He wore a green leather jacket that was buttoned all the way to his chin and baggy black pants that tapered down to his ankles. His shoes were also leather, pointy, with a retro black-and-white pattern. Huge, yellow-tinted sunglasses completed the outfit. He looked like a cross between someone from the sixties and a very dangerous clown. His hair was dyed back to that liony blond color, and he stood with three or four other Japanese hipsters in similar dress. I couldn’t tell what they thought was so funny, but I could tell they hadn’t seen me yet. My heart was beating faster than the Tokyo bullet train, and when Teddy laughed again, it sent chills up my spine. I dashed into the shoe store.

  “Can I help you?” a salesgirl asked me. Her hair was twisted into a dozen little tufts.

  “Uh…not just yet, thanks.” I started picking up sneakers and pretended to study them while I racked my brains to figure out how to get out of there unnoticed. Running out of the mall and into the street would be no good—I had a feeling that Teddy would find it pretty easy to recognize a tall Japanese chick who was at one point his fiancée. It was also possible that one or more of the guys with him might recognize me. I’d met a bunch of Teddy’s so-called friends during the engagement, and they were all despicable. They kissed Teddy’s butt because his father was rich and powerful; they laughed at his jokes and made themselves just about as useless as Teddy did. And they spent a lot of time looking at me. No, I definitely could not risk it. I’d have to wait them out. I stared out the window of the store, hiding between the rows of shoe displays.

  They were coming toward me.

  I whirled around and grabbed the salesgirl’s arm. “I think I need help now. Please.”

  “Of course.” She goggled at me like I was insane, then looked pointedly down to where my hand was clutching her upper arm.

  “Sorry.” I snatched my hand away.

  “No problem.” She rubbed the spot on her arm as if she felt a bruise forming.

  I glanced out the window again. They were closer. That laugh again. They were headed for the store.

  “Could I see a couple of the ones back here?” I led the way to the rear of the store, looking over my shoulder every few seconds to check on Teddy’s approach. Horrified, I saw him standing in front of the window and gazing at the Converse display just as I had a few minutes before.

  I turned my back and prayed, tensing for the moment when I would hear Teddy’s voice in the store itself. The salesgirl was talking about the benefits of a certain kind of walking shoe, and I couldn’t concentrate on a word she said. After a few moments I steeled myself to look over my shoulder again.

  They were gone.

  Teddy hadn’t wanted Converse after all.

  I sent up a prayer of thanks to the sneaker gods, the taco gods, and any other gods who had decided to smile on me.

  By now the salesgirl was clearly trying to get rid of me, but I quizzed her on several more styles so that I could buy more time. Then I tried on four different colors of Converse before opting for purple low tops, which I wore out of the store with one of the new pairs of socks from my three pack. It had been twenty minutes since I’d entered the store, and if I stayed any longer, I was pretty sure the salesgirl would pull out her cute little hair tufts and start screaming at me. I didn’t feel like I could give her any more aggravation.

  I slipped out of the store as stealthily as possible, trying to use all my senses to make sure that I wouldn’t cross paths with Teddy again. Before I stepped back out onto Hollywood Boulevard, I checked left, right, and across the street.
No Teddy.

  I broke out in a sweat. He could still be out there. He could be sitting in Hamburger Harry’s. Or he could be in that pizza place. Or he could have decided to do a little shopping in Frederick’s of Hollywood for lingerie for the extra girls I knew he saw when he was supposed to be courting me. What if he looked out the window of one of those places—or any of a dozen others—and saw me walking home? Or what if he ended up driving right by me?

  You can’t stand here all day, I told myself. I took a deep breath and stepped out onto the sidewalk, keeping my head down, my heart pounding violently. I knew I’d be less noticeable if I kept myself to a walk. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t. I started running.

  I had the sickening feeling that I’d never be able to run fast enough to escape my past.

  11

  My hands shook as I poured boiling water over the green tea leaves in the pot. I set the kettle down on the table, took a deep breath, and tried again, willing my hands to steady themselves. Now that I was safe in Hiro’s house, it was hard not to wonder if I’d just imagined the Teddy sighting. But that laugh belonged to no one else. That green leather jacket and dyed yellow hair definitely belonged to Teddy.

  My whole body felt tense and shaky, like I had just drunk about a dozen espressos. What if he saw me? Oh, come on, Heaven, you know he didn’t. But what if he did and he was trying to hide it? What if he’s on the phone right now—with whoever’s trying to kill me?

  My heart pounded even harder. I was a mess. All right, so Teddy Yukemura was still in L.A. Did that mean the whole Yukemura family was still here? Weren’t they scared—I mean, shouldn’t they have been? After what happened at the wedding? How did they know they weren’t the target of the attack?

  Unless. My breath caught in my throat: it was a thought that at once frightened me and filled me with relief. What if the Yukemuras really were behind the attack on me and Ohiko? That would explain why Teddy was still here—maybe he was looking for me. It did seem, after all, like the ninja wanted me—not my brother. Which would mean…Oh God, what a sweet thought. It would mean that my father wasn’t behind the attack. That made more sense, anyway, right? Why would my father want to kill his own children?

  It just didn’t make any sense. Konishi could be a little cold sometimes, but not cold-blooded-killer cold.

  And that meant I could call Konishi, ask him to pick me up. I could feel okay about returning to my life of overprotected luxury. I wouldn’t have to fight anymore, and I could stop being so afraid.

  I picked up Hiro’s phone and dialed the coded cell phone number that Konishi allowed only family members to use before I could change my mind.

  Konishi’s voice mail message. In Japanese, then in English: “Leave me your phone number and I’ll call back immediately—”

  I hung up, my heart pounding. What had I been thinking? As soon as I heard Konishi’s voice, memories of the wedding flooded back to me. My father turning away from my pleading. The sword passing through Ohiko, so fast and so smooth, like a sharp blade cutting through a helpless fish. The blood on my kimono and my brother’s life over in an instant. I knew I was wrong. The home, the father I’d been longing for—it was all a dream. This was the same father who’d wanted me to marry someone I despised, who ruled over my life as though it were his own to do with as he pleased! The father who had watched his son die and done nothing. How could I ever go back to him? I didn’t even know who he was.

  As I hung up the phone, I had a frightening thought: What if Hiro’s number showed up on my father’s voice mail? What if he called back or, worse, ran the number through a reverse search engine and got Hiro’s name and address? What if he came here? Oh God—I sat down at the table, thinking grimly that I had been scared when I saw Teddy, and then I’d come home and immediately made things about a hundred times worse. I tried to convince myself that if the number did show, my father would just ignore the hang-up. He had better things to do than track down stray phone calls, didn’t he? But I’d called the family line.

  Rrrrrrrrrring. Rrrrring. Hiro had one of those clunky old phones, and the sound of the bell reverberated through the whole room. My heart thumped loudly in my chest. I knew he wouldn’t give up if I ignored his call. Probably his men would show up on the doorstep in an hour, and they wouldn’t exactly let me tell them to go away. My stomach gave a sickening twist. Stumbling on jelly legs, I walked over to the phone and picked up the receiver with trembling fingers.

  “Hello?” I squeaked.

  “Heaven?” Konishi’s voice went right through me, familiar and warm and somehow frightening all at the same time. My knees shook, and I sat down at the table.

  “Yes,” I said softly, “it’s me.”

  “Where are you? Are you hurt?” Konishi’s voice was stern but concerned. Listening to him made my heart ache. I felt myself weakening. I wanted to trust him so badly, but memories of my brother kept rushing through me, and they made me strong.

  “I…I can’t tell you, Father. But I’m fine. I’m well.”

  “What do you mean you can’t tell me? I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. I’m in Los Angeles.”

  I struggled with the words. “It’s just that it’s not safe.” Disobeying my father was an unfamiliar and scary feeling. What now? Would he disown me? Would that be a good thing or a bad thing?

  “I realize that,” Konishi replied. “But I can protect you. I’m the only one who can.” His words sounded a little like a threat.

  “Father, listen, I have to go. I just…wanted to let you know I’m okay.” I had to hang up. If I talked to him for a minute more, I’d cave. I could feel it.

  “Let’s meet, then,” he coaxed, voice softening. “Wherever you choose. There are things I must tell you in person.”

  “I can’t, I can’t.” I closed my eyes and steeled myself against his voice.

  “Heaven—”

  I hung up the phone. It was too much. I just couldn’t trust myself. For fifteen minutes I sat at the table in torment, praying that the phone wouldn’t ring again, that no car would come hurtling down the street filled with men who would take me away.

  But everything remained quiet. I was left alone.

  Los Angeles is everything I expected and more. Look at this club, dog. I’m surrounded by half-naked girls begging me to buy them a drink. No father to tell me what to do, no going home to my mother’s accusing looks. If I don’t find Heaven, there will be trouble, it’s true, but…

  What a stupid girl! Why run away when there’s so much to be gained from this marriage? When my father first told me about the wedding, I refused to go through with it. Why should I be married at twenty-three, tied down to some little wifey? But then my father told me it was to Heaven Kogo, and I was like, “Awright.” She’s gorgeous—I’ve always thought so, even though I’d never met her in person, only seen her picture in the papers. We would unite the families and cement the Kogo-Yukemura alliance. I’d always wanted to get more involved in the family business, and this arrangement meant I could eventually leave Japan. I was tired of the Tokyo scene, the same old clubs, the same girls night after night. And tired of my father’s constant nagging. “Do this, do that. What kind of son are you, anyway? It’s time to be serious. Accept your responsibilities.”

  Forget about it. I’m gonna enjoy this moment. Enjoy the honeys. That’s right, baby, work it! And when I find Heaven Kogo, it only gets better. Damn, I can’t wait to get my hands on her. The sweetest girl I’ve ever seen, truth be told—perfect wife material. And it’s not like I couldn’t always have a little sumthin’-sumthin’ on the side, like always. I’d have the woman every last sucker in Japan fantasized about. And is she rich, ooh, man, is she ever rich.

  She’s cold, though. Cold as ice. Every time I talked to her, I was like, damn, why you gotta be like that? We could have something good going on.

  If I don’t find her, there will be hell to pay. But she can’t hide for long, my little fiancée. And once we’re married, she’ll have to ob
ey me. She’ll be my wife, and then she’ll do as she’s told.

  She’s close, man. I can feel it. This time I’m gonna seal the deal. Go all the way.

  Heaven will be mine.

  Teddy

  12

  I tensed at the sound of a key slipping into the front door lock.

  Hiro.

  “Hi,” I said, trying to keep the relief out of my voice. I’d already decided not to tell him about Konishi. I knew he’d be furious after all he’d done for me.

  “Hi.” Hiro took off his shoes before coming into the kitchen to pour himself some tea. “How’d it go? Did you have fun?”

  “Uh-huh.” I looked down at my teacup so Hiro wouldn’t be able to see my red eyes and puffy face. I’d dissolved into a crying jag when I hung up with Konishi.

  “Heaven? Is something wrong?” He sat down across from me, and when I looked up, his dark eyes searched my face. “Tell me,” he said.

  “I saw Teddy Yukemura.”

  Hiro’s eyes widened, and his lips tightened. “At the mall?”

  “Yes.” I hadn’t been sure if I was going to tell Hiro that or not, since I didn’t want to be more of a pain in the butt than I already was, but now I was glad that I had. I had to tell him something.

  “Did he see you?”

  I shook my head. “No, I don’t think so. Actually, I know he didn’t. I came home as soon as I could get out safely.”

  “Tell me.”

  I told Hiro the story in as much detail as possible. He listened quietly, his strong, angular face growing more and more serious.

  “Why is Teddy still in the States?” I asked, thinking aloud. “And those guys he was with. They must have come over specifically for the wedding. What are they still doing here? Do you think Teddy was involved in something that’s keeping him in town? Like—maybe his family was involved in the attack?”