Released – Chapter 26

We’ve celebrated Sakai and Lucy, and now the real fun begins at Izakaya Tanaka — a night of endless drinking. It’s such a happy occasion for me. Anytime we can all get together, I try and soak in as much of everyone as possible. To top off this fabulous evening, I don’t drink when I’m at home alone, so my tolerance is low again.

Sitting with Sakai at the bar, he sips on his Scotch that Miko keeps for him, and Sono dispenses with a heavy hand. I have saké.

“Can I try your Scotch?”

“Of course,” he says handing me the glass. I’ve never had Scotch before. The sip fills my nose with alcohol, vanilla, and a hint of orange. My first instinct is to inhale when the Scotch hits my tongue, and my breath makes the flavors even more intense. With the little bit of water from the ice, it’s smooth, and, well, I like it, too.

“Mmmm. I could get used to that.”

“You surprise me. But you do love saké, and I’ve never seen you drink a sweet alcoholic beverage before.”

Nope. I don’t like the sweet drinks. I change the subject.

“Mark, why are you the only one in your family with a Western name?”

“Ah,” he says, turning his glass around a few times. “I get this question a lot, and no I’m not the only one with a Western name. I have cousins named Jon, Sara, and Gina. My mother studied theology. If she had had more children, we would have all had Western, Christian names.”

“Mark is from the Bible, right?”

“Yes, have you read it?” he asks.

“No. I have no interest in religion, to be honest. I just follow the customs from my family.”

I’m a science girl, and Sakai knows this.

“The Gospel according to Mark is the part of the Bible that tells the story of Jesus’s life before he died. My mother loved it. I wanted to change my name when I was growing up to something more Japanese, but being Mark has served me well. As the leader of Sakai clan, I deal with more than just the Japanese every day and having a Western name that’s easy to remember comes in handy. It was a good choice.”

“Is that why you chose the name Sanaa for your child?”

He smiles at me. “I’m so glad you carry the name and like it. Yes, Sanaa is a name that is easily remembered and also written in katakana. If I had married Charlotte maybe my daughter would have been Sanaa Sakai. I don’t know. Regardless, Sanaa Itami is also a good name.”

I had always wanted to learn more about our names. I’m glad I asked even though this topic makes Sakai melancholy.

“I never want to be Sanaa Griffin again. I’ve avoided going to visit Aunt Sharon, because I feel like a reunion is a lost cause.”

He puts his hand on my shoulder. “It may be, but I’m going to change my opinion on this and say you should go see her before you leave. You should know and understand it’s not your fault they left you.”

It is my fault, like so much of what’s happened lately is.

“Will you do me a favor?” I ask, resting my head on my propped hand.

“Anything.”

“Change my name legally, please. It would mean a lot to me if you took care of this for me.”

“Sure.”

“Thanks.”

Excusing myself from Sakai so he can sit with Mariko and Lucy, I join Jiro and Kentaro in a booth. They’re talking about Risa and cursing the heat from keeping Helena’s attackers indoors and undercover.

“I feel useless. I swear I’ve followed that stupid girl all over Ku 6, and she’s done absolutely nothing except go to the damned salon.” Kentaro throws back a shot of saké and slams the cup down on the table. “Do you have any idea how many massages she gets? Pampered, spoiled little rich girl.”

Jiro and I burst into a laugh that causes everyone’s head to spin around from the bar. Usagi sits down with us, and we all fill up our cups. Usagi has been so quiet lately, more than usual, and his somber face lacks any uplifting emotions. I dip my head a little to meet his eyes with a smile, and he smiles quickly back at me before turning his attention on Kentaro.

“I don’t know what else to do for now. I guess we’ll just have to wait. The weather is cooling off so I think they’ll all be at it again soon, whoever they are.” Kentaro turns his cup around a few times before sipping this time.

“I hate waiting,” I say, sitting back and closing my eyes for a moment. I’m already drunk.

“Well, we could figure out what the hell we’re going to do with Maeda,” Jiro says, and I sigh, deflating into a lump. “No really. It’s getting ridiculous. He’s just going to keep pushing you off until we all board the ships and leave.”

“What can we do? I can’t force him to meet with me.”

“Of course you can,” Kentaro says, leaning back and propping his foot up next to him on the booth bench. “Who says you have to be proper about this? Maeda’s not. He’s the most improper of all the clan heads. He doesn’t bank on loyalty or honor because he bases everything on money.”

I blink my eyes at Kentaro. “Are you actually advising me on something?”

“Isn’t that what you asked me to do?” He smiles and pokes himself in the chest. “I’ve got intuition, and my gut says he’s waiting for you to make a decisive move.”

“Like what?” Jiro sits forward, hanging on Kentaro’s every word.

“Ambush him. Don’t give him any reason to say no to seeing you.”

“Hmmm, I like this idea a lot.” Jiro sits back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest and letting his eyes take me in from head to toe. I swear he’s undressing me with his mind when he does that.

“Here you go.” A plate of onigiri rice balls hits the table, and I look up at the waitress confused. “From Miko,” she says, shrugging her shoulders as if she has no idea why.

I crane my head to peer past Jiro and silent Usagi, and Miko’s nowhere to be seen.

“Thanks, but have you seen the big guy? Oyama?”

She shakes her head and walks away.

“I can always eat.” Kentaro’s hand snaps out, but I smack it away.

Where’s Oyama? He’s always within eyesight when I get food, even snacks, and his absence now is suspicious. And where’s Miko? Since I’m so small, I get up on my knees in the booth and scan the izakaya, but the dining area is virtually empty, only a couple sitting in the front booth, a private party in the room at the back, and all of our family at the bar.

“What’s wrong, Sanaa?” Usagi turns around as well, and when my eyes land on the waitress again, she’s dropped her apron by the door and all I see is her bag as she ducks out under the noren curtains and exits the izakaya.

“Find your brother. Now.” I pick up the plate, and Jiro jumps out of the booth next to me, running for the bar.

“Nobody eat anything!” Jiro grabs another plate of onigiri from the bar and pulls it away. Sakai, Mariko, and Yoichi back away quickly, and Beni drops the onigiri she had in her hand. My instincts are screaming at me something is really horribly wrong so I leave the plate with Jiro and head straight for Miko’s office in the back.

Opening the door, I find Miko, passed out at her desk with a pool of vomit next to her on the floor.