Revealed – Chapter 21

Waiting in the dōjō the next day for Sanaa to arrive, Jiro checks the time over and over. It’s 1:00… then 1:01. Still 1:01. Gods! Why can’t time move faster?

He sent her an apology last night and asked for her forgiveness. Then he boldly sent the drawing he did of her without any other explanation and was met with silence. He keeps having to tell himself over and over that Sanaa is a strong woman. She’s only ever been honest and forthright with him. If he completely screwed up, he’s pretty sure he’ll know the moment he sees her… If she even shows up.

At 1:03 the door opens and Jiro’s heart leaps into his throat.

It’s his father.

“Jiro, I got your progress report last night, but you weren’t around.” Koichi sets his bag down next to Jiro’s and squeezes his son’s shoulders. “So is Sanaa ready for more defensive moves? I thought I’d come today, and we could both work on her together.”

Jiro blinks his eyes for a moment, the abrupt change in subject throwing him sideways. “Um, okay. That would be fine.”

His pulse quickens. What if she doesn’t meet with his father’s expectations? Will they both get grilled for not being up to snuff? If it’s anyone’s fault, it would be Jiro’s for being a horrible teacher. Now he’s not only nervous for Sanaa but nervous for himself. What if he’s a bad teacher?

“Good!” Koichi nods and lets go of Jiro. “How was your date?” He smiles and crosses his arms, awaiting a full report.

Jiro’s nervousness skyrockets, his mouth drying out. Why didn’t he get the water jug out here earlier? This is much more complicated than he was expecting it to be. Everyone will want to know his business, and Sanaa’s, from here on out. He doesn’t want to admit to his own father he may have messed it up, especially after they warned him he shouldn’t get involved with Sanaa in the first place.

“Um, honestly? I’m waiting for her to show up so I can find out.”

Koichi’s eyebrows draw together and he tilts his head to the side. “You don’t know already? It shouldn’t be that difficult to figure out. You went on a date with her, right?”

“Don’t give me a hard time. Please. The night ended abruptly. Don’t ask me any more.”

“Okay, okay. It’s none of my business. But you’re both coming to the okiya tonight, right? Your mother is dying to meet her. Again.”

“I hope so…”

“You hope so? You were supposed to tell her about it last night.” Koichi throws his arms up in the air.

Jiro groans. “Screw it. You tell her, and I’ll play dumb —”

Jiro is cut off by the door opening and Sanaa steps through, shutting it quietly behind her like she always does.

“Sanaa,” Koichi exclaims. His smile is bright and wide, and Jiro inwardly scowls. If only the old man had given him space. “Jiro was telling me last night that you’re ready to work on advanced defense. I thought I would come and pretend to attack you.”

“How exciting,” Sanaa says lightly with a hint of sarcasm. Jiro’s heart grows by two sizes. He adores dry wit and sarcasm. “It must be the highlight of your day.”

“Indeed, it is. I enjoy putting the moves on pretty girls.”

Jiro laughs. His father is too much sometimes. Koichi turns away to stretch his arms, and Jiro nervously follows Sanaa as she walks to the wall and places her bag next to the rack of swords.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispers to her. Sanaa’s eyes were cold and hard for a moment but soften at his words. Perhaps she thought he was going to backpedal on his apology, and her reaction shows how battered she is — tired, stressed, and distrusting of guys, especially after what happened to her. Jiro is thankful Miko spoke to him about it.

Sanaa is going to take work. She requires chasing, a true display of affection, for her to open up. Otherwise, she’ll keep her walls up. Getting hurt again is not an option for her.

“I’m the one that’s sorry, sorry I overreacted.”

“Later?”

She nods, quickly looking to Jiro’s father. Yes. No intimate conversations in front of others.

The practice goes well with Koichi helping out. Jiro and Sanaa stand side-by-side, like a team, and let Koichi take the offensive. She gets the chance to mimic Jiro’s moves and watch where his instincts take him, then use his moves for her own practice. She makes a lot of mistakes but she also learns and improves from them instead of becoming discouraged. He prompts her again and again to defend herself until she doesn’t need it anymore.

Now with Koichi here lavishing praise on Sanaa, Jiro is angry with himself for being so hard on her all the time. This is their daily routine, and he’s always correcting her, pushing her to the limits, but never giving her the positive feedback she needs. No wonder she’s always so closed up in here. It’s his own fault. He has to change this immediately.

“Sanaa, you’ve made excellent progress.” Koichi exclaims looking at the clock and dropping his guard. Practice is over, and the old man is pleased. Jiro lets out a long breath, his nervousness for Sanaa fading away along with the suspicion he’s bad at his job.

“Thank you,” she says, bowing low to Koichi.

Koichi smiles warmly at her. “So, we’re stopping practice now because I have a surprise. We’re all going to the Hana okiya tonight for dinner.”

“Wow, thank you. I’ve never been to an okiya.”

Sanaa’s obvious excitement over something so mundane and boring to him reminds him again of her upbringing. She never had access to okiyas and geishas, never went to the festivals, and has barely seen any of Ku 6.

Now he knows exactly what he’ll do to make up for last night.

“You’ll enjoy it for sure. You have plenty of time to go home, rest, and get ready for dinner, so we’re stopping now.” Koichi turns to Jiro and hands his sword to him. “Jiro, I’m going in the back. Please lock up after Sanaa leaves.”

Jiro takes Sanaa’s sword as well and puts them away in the rack.

“Thank you,” she says, her voice low, as she steps up next to him. “Thank you for the drawing. It was perfect in every way.”

“It’s perfect because it’s you.” His honesty surprises even himself.

Miko said, “Go in strong and don’t give her a moment to think with her head,” so he reaches out and touches the length of her forearm, light and playful, how he would touch her if she were lying in his bed. There’s nothing business about the gesture. It’s intimate and unprecedented. He steels his eyes to be firm and confident that he has every right to be so close to her. Goosebumps follow his fingers down her arm and they make him smile. Her instincts show her true feelings.

“I’m glad you’re looking forward to the party later. It’s always a good time at the okiya.” A little lie. The last time he was at an actual party at the okiya he spent the entire time wasted and thinking about Sanaa. He imagined everything about her and most of his guesses were wrong. My, how times change.

“You went on New Year’s Eve, right?” Sanaa’s voice hiccups past a catch in her throat and her cheeks are red with a deep blush. “Do you go often?”

He grabs two towels from the rack, handing one to her. “Yes, of course. Sakai family does a lot of business there.”

“And the geisha, are they as pretty and sweet as everyone says?”

Oh, wow. She’s jealous of the geisha? She’s probably only ever heard stories and never met one, though. Maybe she even suspects that because he goes all the time, he has a favorite, which couldn’t be further from the truth. His favorite girl is standing right next to him.

“They do their job well. You’ll see.”

—-

At home, Jiro wakes from a power nap to find his brother around for the first time in ages.

“Hey. I just finished in the shower, so it’s all yours.” Yoichi sits at the kitchen table in a shirt and boxer shorts, popping rice snacks in his mouth.

“Thanks. Tea?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Jiro fills up the electric kettle and sets the water to boil while yawning and scratching at his head. He came in from the dōjō and fell right to sleep despite being sweaty and gross. He should remember to stuff his sheets into the auto-hamper tonight before he leaves. Maybe he’ll get lucky and bring Sanaa home later. Sex is all he can think about lately, and he should probably think about kissing her first. She seems like the kind of girl who takes things one step at a time.

“I’m glad you’re home.” Yoichi nods at him as Jiro pulls two mugs from the auto-washer. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in weeks outside of the izakaya.”

“I know,” Jiro says with a smile, pouring hot water and dipping in two tea bags. “You’ve been busy.”

Yoichi leans back and studies his brother. “So, you like Miko, right?”

“Of course.” Jiro slides into the seat across from Yoichi, inhaling over his cup. “Miko’s a great girl. She’s pretty, smart, responsible. As our mother would say, a good match for you.”

Both brothers smile at each other, Yoichi letting out a little huff of laughter.

“I think I’m going to propose to her. We’ll see how tonight goes. It’ll be the first extended amount of time she’s going to spend with our parents. I hope the evening goes well. You know how Mother can be.”

Jiro nods, his stomach twisting. He just realized tonight will be the first time Sanaa meets his mother. Is she nervous? She’s asked about his mother many times, probably sizing her up based on Jiro’s answers. It didn’t occur to him they may be dating now, and meeting someone’s mother is a big deal. Right? Wait. They went out on a date, but are they dating? He’s not even sure of that. Maybe tonight, he can make it happen for real.

“So, I need to ask a favor.” Yoichi turns his mug in his hand, avoiding eye contact. “The old man said that you’re bringing a girl with you tonight. Miko’s friend, Sanaa, right?”

“Yes.” Jiro takes a long scalding sip.

“I saw her run out of the izakaya last night, and really, I would like the night to go as smoothly as possible for Miko. I was wondering if you could ask Sanaa not to come? Just so we can keep things easy. She seems like she’s prone to drama and throwing fits if she doesn’t get her way, and I don’t want her ruining the evening.”

Jiro pushes back from the table. “What? Do you think she’ll cause a scene or something? She’s not like that at all, I promise.”

Yoichi stands up and faces him, his nose flaring. “I think you can do this for me. You owe me. Just message her and tell her plans have changed.”

“Absolutely not! I don’t owe you anything. Sanaa is a sweet girl and loves Miko to pieces. She’d never do anything to ruin your night. Besides, I didn’t even invite her. Sakai did. I’m just lucky she’s going to be there. She’s been looking forward to this, and I won’t take it away from her.”

Jiro sets his tea down and stares at his brother. Sometimes he forgets how selfish and bossy Yoichi can be, and it’s infuriating that Jiro always comes second.

“Your own wants and needs don’t trump everyone else’s, Yoichi. I don’t care how serious things are with you and Miko. I bet Sanaa is just as nervous about tonight as Miko is. Now,” he says, stepping away from the table, “I’m going to shower and get dressed because I plan on meeting her and escorting her there so she doesn’t have to walk into the lion’s den alone.”

He ducks into his room and grabs his towel, pulling it so hard the holder bangs against the wall.

“I’ll call the old man myself if I have to,” Yoichi says, heading towards his bedroom.

“Go right ahead. We’ll see how far that gets you.”