Blood Oaths

by Stein Willard

  She was sent to Kyushu Island, where she had undergone rigorous training that would make her the syndicate’s only and most prolific female assassin.

  The tube slowed and Lulu noticed that her stop was coming up. She pulled out her cell phone and made a fake phone call, while she covertly studied the young men. They were better trained than most and were not even looking her way at all. Well, she would have to see what happened when she exited at her destination. The tube continued and Lulu moved closer to the doors. She caught the boys’ reflection in an adjacent window and found them looking at her.

  Bingo!

  She waited for the doors to open when the tube came to a stop and stepped out, not once looking back. Lulu made for the stairs hearing hurried footsteps behind her. This was what she missed when she had to do jobs in other parts of the world. Japan, especially Tokyo, was a congested city. Trying to chase someone down on the street was near impossible with almost every square meter occupied by a human body. In the open now, she used a shop window to see how far behind they were. Her phone peeped, signalling that a message had come through. She flipped her phone open and read the short message.

  Dinner will be late tonight.

  Bring something home with you.

  Love you.

  Lulu swore under her breath. Their house was being watched. She would have to shake off her shadows and find her safe house. There she would find cash, clean clothes and weapons. Once she had all these, she would engage in the deadliest battle of her life. First, she had to find out who set her up and why and then she would kill all of them. Taking out these guys who were following her would be the first step in her great battle.

  She turned around and made eye contact with one of them, letting them know she knew she was being followed before she ducked into an alley setting the trap.

  +++

  Choko closed her phone and reached for her tea cup. The thing they feared the most was happening. Three years ago, she had known who and what Lulu was when the assassin entered the restaurant where Choko was having dinner with her colleagues. Lulu immediately drew attention because of her height. She was not overly tall, but still tall by Japanese standards. Her short spiky hair was combed into an attractive Mohawk, which combined with her black leather outfit made her look amazingly sexy. Unblinking dark eyes had met hers and held her gaze until Choko was forced to look away before her colleagues started asking uncomfortable questions.

  Homosexuality was not prohibited in Japan, but society still frowned upon it and discrimination still occurred. Choko was used to hiding the truth from a very young age. Being the daughter of a crime lord and the granddaughter of a legendary crime boss, she always had to watch what she said and to whom. When she turned eighteen she had asked her father to send her to a university out of the country. It was there that she could, for the first time, live as freely as she wanted. She had dated on and off and took many female lovers. She knew that once she was back home, she was expected to conform to society’s expectations and live the life of a pious Japanese woman, waiting to find Mr Right or probably even be married off to a rival crime boss.

  Lulu had grabbed her attention and Choko decided then and there she was not going to hide anymore. Even before they had officially met, she had called a meeting with her family and disclosed her sexuality. That night she had feared her father’s wrath for the first time in twenty-five years. He had gone berserk. Japanese people believed that raising a lesbian was largely the fault of the parents and Hitero Nakamura placed the blame squarely at her mother’s feet. Choko could still remember the accusation in Keiko’s eyes for placing her in such a position where her beloved husband had doubted the morals with which she had raised their only child.

  It had taken many hours that night to prove her father otherwise and even longer to explain that her situation was not a deviance that could be fixed. At their question of whether she was seeing anyone, she had been scared to mention Lulu’s name, lest her father would have the woman killed.

  Her parents had left without giving her any indication as to what they planned to do with the knowledge. Since she did not live at home anymore, she felt uncertain whether she was still allowed at home and had stayed away. A week later she had come home to find her father waiting for her in her flat.

  “Your mother misses you,” he had said, avoiding eye contact. She had carefully placed herself before him, looking at his feet.

  “And you, father. Do you miss your daughter too?”

  The silence stretched for so long that she had thought he would not answer her.

  “I will always miss you, my child.” She raised her eyes to look at him and found his eyes were soft as he looked at her. “I have realized that I do not care much of what other people will say. As long as you are happy, I am happy. It just hurts to think that your life would always be an uphill battle, always having to fight for social rights and recognition. You did not want to be part of the family business and I respected that. This situation could put you more in the spotlight.”

  Hitero had taken a quiet moment and she had indulged him. When he continued, she felt her eyes fill with tears.

  “I promise you that anyone who ever says anything derogatory to you in the presence of any of my men will pay for it. You are Yoshi Nakamura’s granddaughter and everyone in the business respected him and I will make sure they respect you too. I have one condition though.”

  She had lowered her head, waiting for her father to deliver the bad news she had expected all week. Everything he said up to now was good but nothing could come so easy.

  “I will comply with your wish, Father.”

  “I expect you to find the right woman and bring her to me. Then I want you two to fly to wherever it is legal to do so and get married.”

  Her head had jerked up to stare at her father in shock. A small smile played over his lips.

  “I am not done yet.”

  But by then she was already rejoicing inside. Getting to choose her partner and marry her was more than she hoped for and she doubted anything would dim that brilliant light in her heart.

  “I promise again to comply, Father.”

  “Your mother wants grandchildren.” He cleared his throat. “I would like to have a successor too, even though I know you want nothing to do with the family business.”

  She slowly looked up at her father. He had managed to dim her light slightly. How would she be able to allow her child to take up the reins of the one thing she despised more than anything? Hitero had studied her coolly.

  “You promised, daughter, and I will hold you to that. I have made a sacrifice and I believe I deserve one in return.” He got to his feet and helped her up to hold her in his arms. “It will be okay. That, I promise you.” With a brief kiss to her forehead he stepped away. “Your mother wanted to know when you will come by the house again. You should give her a call.”

  It was a month later that she bumped into the mysterious assassin again. This time it was in a lesbian club. Lulu was having a drink with a beautiful woman who was basically sitting in her lap, her face buried in her neck. She had calmly walked over to them and waited patiently until the assassin had spotted her. The dark eyes did not give away anything, but Choko could tell that Lulu was intrigued by her presence.

  “May I buy you a drink?”

  The girl sitting with Lulu shot to her feet. “Can’t you see we are here together? Or are you blind?”

  Choko had ignored the woman and only looked at Lulu. The assassin had an amused smile on her face.

  “I would be honoured.”

  The girl had swung around to give Lulu an accusing stare. “What’s this?”

  Lulu simply shrugged. “I was offered a drink and I accepted. Is that against the law?”

  “Yes, especially when you are already with someone.”

  Choko had watched the interaction keenly. This was a great opportunity to see what type of woman Lulu Chen really was. Growing up around the Yakuza she had seen the wors
t kinds of violence directed at women.

  “You should probably stop there before you cause an even bigger scene,” Lulu had said quietly, her eyes boring into the woman. “You found me here and offered to buy me a drink. I accepted and I bought you one later because I did not want you to assume anything more. I obviously failed.” The black eyes met hers. “I was supposed to meet her here and she was simply running late.”

  The girl turned to give her a scathing look before she grabbed her purse from the counter and left. Choko had called over the bartender and placed her order. While waiting for their drinks, they were checking out each other.

  “I am eager to know why the Sumiyoshi-kai princess would buy me a drink.”

  She had waited for the bartender to place their drinks before them and then she took a sip.

  “Because I wanted to, assassin,” she had said softly, seeing shock register in the dark eyes. “Ah, you thought I didn’t know who you were?”

  “Well, I don’t go around telling everyone what I do for a living, but since you know the industry well, I actually shouldn’t be shocked.” The assassin drained her glass and leaned back. “So, why?”

  “Why what?”

  “Why are you here—with me?”

  Choko had looked at the strong, handsome face, taking in the dark clothing and the slender body. The woman was a delight to her senses. She took another sip from her drink. “At the risk of sounding too forward, I will be honest. I would like to get to know you better.”

  A strange light had formed in the dark eyes as Lulu signalled for the bartender to bring another round.

  “Your honesty is refreshing. I wish more people could be so upfront about what they want even at the risk of sounding forward.” A small smile pulled at the corners of her lips. “I feel honoured, but I have to say no.”

  Choko had felt her pain of rejection hitting hard and deep. She was sure about her feelings for the dangerous woman. A month was enough time to analyse them. She was head over heels in love with Lulu Chen. Choko had always admired the woman from afar, but that first time their eyes had met in the restaurant had been the deciding factor. She wanted Lulu Chen and nobody else.

  “May I ask why?”

  Lulu had shaken her head. “Your father will have me killed simply for having wayward thoughts about you. You know how society feels about our situation. I can’t imagine what your father’s opinions are about it.”

  “Is that it? You’re worried about what my father would do to you?”

  “You’re a gorgeous woman, princess, and I admit that I’m more than a little attracted to you. But your father’s not someone I would want to tangle with.”

  Choko had finished her drink and had leaned back in her chair to look at the assassin. It was now or never. “If I were to tell you not to be worried about my father, will you come home with me tonight?”

  Lulu’s head turned to her slowly, her eyes eerily big. She had once again taken the woman by surprise. Lulu looked away. “You can have any woman you want, Ms. Nakamura. You’re not only well-connected, but rich and very beautiful, too. I don’t think it wise to put my life and career on the line for a simple one-night stand.”

  Choko was rattled by the woman’s resistance. What had made her think it would be easy to seduce her in the first place? She had simply acted on impulse when she had seen the woman at the bar.

  “First of all, my name is Choko and secondly, who said anything about a one-night stand?”

  Lulu had looked downright confused. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I was hoping you could show me what you bring to the table and then I return the favour. After that we decide if we want to see each other again. I take you to meet my parents. If…no…when they give their blessing, we get married and live happily ever after.”

  This time the assassin’s mouth fell open as she stared at her. Choko had to lean over to push her mouth shut. She came to her feet and called for the bill. All the while Lulu had been staring at her. When she had settled the bill, she placed a business card next to Lulu’s hand.

  “My address and phone number are on there. I’ll wait until midnight. If you do not show by then, it means you’re not interested.”

  She had left the bar on shaky legs, with a heart that thumped so hard, it blocked out the music and traffic sounds as she drove home. The three hours that she sat and waited for the doorbell to ring, were the longest three hours of her life. She had cleaned up her flat a little, tried reading a book, made herself a snack and watched some silly game show. But still the minutes unhurriedly ticked on. When the clock read a quarter to twelve, she left the lounge with a disappointed sigh and went about her nightly ritual. She had crawled into bed and switched off the lights. It was already midnight by then.

  She had tried.

  She turned on her side and closed her eyes tightly to stop the tears which threatened to slip out. This was not the first time she had been disappointed. Next time she would have to make sure that the other party was genuinely interested before she made a fool of herself. A sob escaped her lips, followed by twin tears running down her cheeks. She angrily reached up to wipe them away when her hand was caught mid-air.

  “No need for that. I’m here now.”

  At the sound of that familiar voice, she sat up and threw her arms around Lulu’s neck. She was surprised to find the woman was completely naked. “You’re naked.”

  A husky chuckle sounded. “Your invitation implied that clothes would be optional. And you are also naked.”

  Choko placed a soft kiss in Lulu’s neck. “Did you drive over here naked? What if you had been pulled over?”

  Lulu held her away from her and in the glow of the streetlight shining into the room Choko could make out the tattoos on Lulu’s body. From the sheer number of them, Choko knew she was dealing with a very dangerous individual. But so was her father and his father before him and yet she loved them all. It would be the same with this woman.

  “I was sitting on your balcony for more than an hour. I came through there and undressed as I came to your room.”

  “Oh my…You…you were watching me all that time?”

  “Yes. I wanted to know if you were serious about the offer.”

  Choko cupped the handsome face. “And?”

  “I saw enough that led me to believe that you were.” Lulu leaned closer and Choko almost wept at the gentleness of the kiss. They broke away to look at each other. “Can we switch on the light? I want to see you while I make love to you.”

  “You can do anything you want tonight,” Choko whispered as her fingers combed through Lulu’s hair.

  The older woman fixed her with a burning stare. “Then tonight I will spoil your desire for anyone else.”

  Choko’s lips moved over one nipple. She pulled it deep into her mouth, while the tip of her tongue flickered over it.

  Lulu kept her promise and spoiled her for anyone else. After a short courtship of three months, she took Lulu home. Her father was pleasantly surprised by her choice and had his secretary make arrangements for their wedding and honeymoon. Three weeks later they were on a plane to Canada.

  The ringing of her cell phone pulled her out of her reverie. She looked at the caller ID which showed an unknown number.

  “Yes.”

  “It’s me.”

  Choko came to her feet at hearing her wife’s voice. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, I’m okay. And you? Are you alone?”

  “My mother sent someone over to stay with me while you were away. I would rather have you here.” It was not her intention to add to Lulu’s problems by whining, but to have their lives disrupted at such an important time in their relationship was just plain unfair. “What about the appointment on Wednesday?”

  The silence in the other side of the line was deafening. There was a clearing of the throat and Choko felt her heart lurch.

  “Please don’t cry, my love. We will get through this.”

  “I am not so sure this
time, Choko. I was sent to America to die by my own people. I don’t know whom to trust.”

  Choko sank down on the sofa, her hand over her heart. Before her flight out of New York, Lulu had told her there were some unexpected complication to the job and that she was coming home. The only thing that gave her reason to worry was when Lulu asked her to keep her eyes open. When Choko noticed an unusual amount of activity at the café opposite their flat, she called her father. He immediately sent men to check out the situation. But if someone in the organisation wanted her wife dead, it meant Lulu was in grave danger.

  “Should I let my father know?”

  “No, aiko, I don’t want him involved in this. As my father-in-law, they might suspect him of aiding me.” Lulu sounded more in control of her emotions. “I was looking forward to seeing you again.”

  This time it was Choko who had to keep the tears at bay, “Me too, my love. I’ve been looking forward to it for the whole week.” She looked at the slender golden watch on her wrist. “I have to see for myself that you’re okay. Give me a few hours to arrange things at work. I will take leave for a few days and move into the guesthouse at my parents’ estate. Whoever is behind this will not be so stupid to try and attack you there. Will you come to me?”

  “Nothing will keep me away. I will come and visit you, but I can’t stay there. It could be too dangerous for your parents.”

  Choko smiled. Lulu was crazy about her parents and the feeling was mutual. Keiko loved the fact that she and Lulu were both avid bonsai enthusiasts. Hitero was simply ecstatic to have the most celebrated Yakuza assassin for a daughter-in-law as well as someone to talk ‘business’ with.

  “I know, but just as long as I can see you.”