Removed – Chapter 34

Six-forty-five in the morning and I can’t fall back to sleep. Even lying here listening to Jiro’s rhythmic breathing, all I can think about is the meeting we had last night, and the pros and cons list I’ve been making in my head for and against running away from all of this nonsense. I need to get up and get the day started. I’ll nap later.

While I’m standing in the kitchen in my pajamas measuring coffee grounds, the door softly chimes and the read-out says it’s Mark Sakai. He’s up early, too.

I open the door to let him in, and he’s the most dressed down I’ve ever seen him, black t-shirt and gray pants. My eyes are immediately drawn to his neck and upper arms, the glimpse of the tattoos I’ve been waiting to see for months. The edge of a traditional samurai warrior design?

“I received news this morning and couldn’t go back to sleep. Can I come in?”

“Of course. I’m making coffee. Do you want some tea? Jiro has some.”

“Is he awake?”

“No. Not yet. I’m sure he’ll be up soon, though. He said he doesn’t sleep late.” I let him in and close the door.

“Yes, tea sounds good.”

He watches me while he sits down at the kitchen table. “Up late?”

“No, actually. We went to bed early after the meeting. Well, after some saké. Just a rough night of sleep.” Jiro and I decided to sit and play drinking games last night, and we had a lot of fun. We were loud and obnoxious, though. It’s a good thing neither of my neighbors are going to complain.

“Did you walk over here like that?” I point to his shirt. Only his hair is put together. I wonder if he ever takes it out of his ponytail.

“Sanaa,” he says with a laugh, “I don’t think you realize I live three floors above you in the penthouse.”

“Really? Oh, sorry. I never thought to ask where you live.” I’ve often wondered where he sleeps at night, what his place looks like, what he does when he’s not with me. He has a whole other life outside of what we do every day, but I never wanted to pry.

I pour hot water from the electric kettle for him and put the canister of tea bags on the table so he can choose.

“This building is home base for everyone in my clan. Basically, everything in a five block radius on either side of here is Sakai territory. Nobody comes within a block of this building unless they’re being watched by our security. The Itō dōjō is barely on the outskirts of our territory which is why Matsuda often spies on you without getting caught… though not anymore. You didn’t know this?”

“No,” I say, sitting down with my cup of coffee. “I’ve been concentrating on other things. I spent my time in Ku 1 watching who you told me to. I gave Sakai clan a wide berth. Did you say you have news?”

“This morning at five…” He sighs and rubs his face. “I swear they interrupt my sleep on purpose to throw me off. Anyway, all three heads are demanding proof of your lineage so that’s a good sign. If they had just denied your birthright then we’d be back to square one.”

“What did you do? I told them we could provide proof, but I had no idea what the proof was.”

“DNA and medical records, of course. I had them all archived when you were little and the new ones created in their place. I sent both over to them, and it’s enough to prove it.”

It’s begun. Soon, they will be plotting.

“I think we’ll hear something right away — within twenty-four hours. There’s no way they’re going to drag this out. One of them will act fast before the other one can, but our plans remain in effect.”

“The concert tomorrow?” I ask, glancing at the coffee maker.

“Yes. No one but family knows you’ll be there until you arrive. But once you’re at the concert, word will spread. I hear you’ve taken Beni as your jihi,” he says with an ironic smile. The way one side of his face is more elevated than the other, I can tell he’s amused.

“Are you making fun of me?” I huff a brief laugh. “I know it’s ridiculous, but I’ve never had a staff before. I thought it might be nice to have help since it’s what’s expected of me anyway.”

“No, no. Beni is a good choice. I… I didn’t know what to expect when I finally got you here. I didn’t watch you grow up except to follow your schooling and work. I only knew your mother and Kimie and how they were. I wasn’t sure how you were going to handle any of this.”

I get up and cross over to the coffee maker to pour myself a cup.

“I watched that video of my mother, and the only word that popped into my brain was ‘accept.’ Then I talked to Helena and her advice stuck. I have to accept what happened to me, what’s going to happen to me, and accept what you have to offer that will keep me alive. My mother made my duty absolutely clear, but I want to do things my way, on my terms. So I’m taking what I can.”

“That frightens me a little,” he says with a chuckle.

“It should.” A loud laugh escapes my mouth, and I clamp my hand down over my lips quickly. I’m going to wake Jiro if I’m not careful.

“Do you remember the afternoon we spent in Ku 8 together?”

I nod my head. Remember it? I’ll never forget it.

“We walked through the artifacts section and the scientists working on the genomes. Then we got to spend time with all those wonderful animals.” A smile breaches the confines of his somber face. “I saw your face when you put on the hazmat suit and when we were on our tour. You know how important it is to continue that work here and on Yūsei.”

I nod again.

“We have to keep our eyes on the goal,” he continues. “The goal is to keep the peace amongst us so we can concentrate on rebuilding all we’ve lost. Let’s never forget that.”

The bedroom door opens, and Jiro emerges with a yawn.

“Morning, Sakai. I was wondering who Sanaa was out here laughing at.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.” I laugh again, this time at myself for being so happy amidst all this crazy drama. I should probably be more afraid for my life right now, but I’m not.

Jiro walks over and pats the top of my head. “You’re so loud. I swear you could wake the dead.”

We spent all last night joking around, and I really love Jiro’s sense of humor. He certainly can make me laugh.

Sakai stands up. “I’m going to go home now and go back to sleep.”

“No. Stay for breakfast. I’ll call Oyama and have him cook something up.”

He looks at each of us. “No, that’s okay. I’ll leave you two alone,” he says with a smile. At the door, he stops and turns around. “I hear you have a tattoo appointment for later today. Please say hello to Manami for me.”

I have many fears these days but fear of needles isn’t one of them. Jiro introduces me to Manami, and she is super sweet, if a little on the wild side. Her chin length hair has a bright blue streak, and she’s covered with the most colorful tattoos I have ever seen. She’s a bit surprised that for my first tattoo I want something so large, but she’s also happy to accommodate me once Jiro starts talking about me. I’m doing my best to put all thought of duties and negotiations aside so I can enjoy this, my first tattoo.

While she and Jiro go over his initial illustrations and her interpretations, I sit with Beni and flip through the photos of Manami’s work. Jiro has been coming to her for years, and I find photos of his upper back and shoulders in her collection. Whenever I get to one of him, I tip the tablet to him, and he nods. I think he’s a little embarrassed by the attention.

“Beni, where are yours?”

She takes the tablet from me and swipes through. “Here.” Beni’s slim back is covered from her shoulders straight down to her lower waist with cherry blossom petals. The tattoos are definitely many year’s worth of work.

“Beni,” I gasp. “That’s gorgeous.”

“Thank you, Sanaa.” She is so quiet and matter-of-fact. I think we’re going to get along nicely.

Manami comes to me with a print-out of the design, and the flowers are going to be huge on my tiny back. But once I stand up and she holds the template up to me, I know it’ll be perfect.

“Let’s begin,” Manami says as she grabs a long, length of fabric to wrap me up in. I step behind a screen to take off my shirt and undershirt and come out covered up except for my shoulders. She lightly shaves my upper back, transfers the design, and gets to work.

The scratching, itching, burning sensation being etched into my skin as each petal comes to life is annoying at first, and then the endorphins kick in. I alternate between feeling nothing and pain so intense I almost black out. I ask Manami to give me a few seconds to pause for a deep breath, and then push through it.

It’s easy to become bored though. Jiro sits patiently in the chair opposite me, reading from his tablet, and holding my hand when I reach out for him. I let my eyes go fuzzy and stare at Oninoten and Kazenoho propped up next to him while listening to the buzz and hum of Manami working away.

Once every so often, I glance around the screen to the door and either Usagi or Beni are outside. They must be taking turns watching the parlor. Both have been here before and talk with everyone coming and going.

Choosing only the barest hint of purple and green in the tattoo was probably a wise decision because past the three hour mark when Manami starts to shade in color, I become light headed. She’s done by the four hour mark, and I am so pleased I decided on something beautiful but not too intricate for my first tattoo even if the design is rather large.

“All finished!” Manami says as she leans back from me. “We’ll just spray it, and you’ll be done.”

“Ah, the meds are the best part,” Jiro says as he gets up and comes around to see my back. “It’ll feel cool and take the pain away. Tomorrow, you be all healed up.”

“Modern medicine is wonderful.” The spray hits my back, and I sigh. Wow, that’s nice. No more pain but I’m so tired now. How will I make it through the rest of this day? I don’t dare get up from the chair yet. I just let them both stand and admire.

“Excellent work, Manami.”

“Simply gorgeous, Jiro. Do you want to see it, Sanaa, before I cover up your back? Bandage stays on for twelve hours and then you’ll be as right as rain.” Funny how these sayings that mean nothing to us living in a bubble stick around for thousands of years.

When I stand, I’m glad I’m not going to topple over. What I see in the mirror takes my breath away. Manami’s a master especially with color.

“What do you think? Happy?” Jiro asks, peeking around the corner.

I turn to him with a smile. “Very.”

“Now you are nogiku in every way.”

Sanaa, the wild chrysanthemum.