Enid pulled off her shoes and kicked her feet up on top of the balcony. She used the armrest of her chair to pop the cap off her beer. She took a long swig. She wiggled her toes while looking out over the Pacific Ocean.
I will never get used to being able to do this, or this view.
She took another long drink from her beer. She reached over and grabbed her remote and pressed play on her cd player. Music started playing. American pop. Her feet started moving in sync with the beat. She took another long drink from her beer and tossed the bottle in the clothes basket she used to collect the empties. She opened the cooler and sighed. All the ice was melted.
Warm Japanese beer, worse than cold blood.
She grabbed her heels and tossed them in a pile of her other shoes. She pulled off her blouse and dress skirt and pulled on a tank top and a pair of short. She tugged on her sneakers and found herself skipping down the building’s stairs a short time later. She passed one of her neighbors who was slowly making his way up the stairs. He was an older man she had no idea what his first name was, just that he’d lived in the building since it was built in the fifties. She spun around.
“Nishahara-San, I forgot something in my apartment, all this schoolwork I haven’t gotten to the dojo as much and could use some exercise, may I carry your bags up?”
Enid smiled and adjusted her fake glasses up her nose. As usual he frowned at her in his cranky old Japanese man way. Then nodded she took the bags and with some effort began to climb the stairs beside him. Sun was shining through windows in the stairwell, so her vampiric strength was of no help. Her pulled himself up with the railing.
“You started at University, Stuart-san?”
“Yes, I did.”
His foot slipped, she balanced herself with the bags and caught his arm. He looked up at her she could see the embarrassment in his eyes. Once his footing was solid again, she released it. She sighed.
“They need to fix that stair.”
He nodded. He got to the top of the stairs and opened the door for Enid. And shuffled down the hallway to his door which he unlocked and motioned her to follow. Enid had always marveled at how his apartment was stuck in fifties. She put his bag down on the counter and gave a small, polite bow.
“Thank you letting me use your groceries to get exercise, Nishahara-san”
He returned the bow.
“Stuart-San, you must be thirsty after that hard work. Would you like see tea?”
Enid glanced out at the sun which was still high in the sky. She would have plenty of time to eat and drink before it set. She looked at her poor exhausted friend and bowed.
“Thank you for your hospitality Nishahara-San. Please as your guest, will you honor me with your permission to prepare it for you?”
He gave a small bow to her his face still a mask of stoic Japanese man.
“Please.”
Enid bowed slightly again and went about gathering supplies for her tea making. She had marveled at the intricate dance of Japanese honor and pride. She had been here for three years and Nishahara’s condition had been declining steadily. He was in his nineties, she knew that much, no wife, children or grandchildren so she had taken to helping him where she could. Of course, it couldn’t ever sound like she was trying to help him. They both knew she was helping him; They played this intricate game where she always made it sound like he was helping her. Many times, she would pretend the noodle restaurant she enjoyed messed up her order and she ended up with extra. He would pretend to be annoyed by the teenage girl pestering him and begrudgingly take the offered food.
Enid brought a tray out with the makings for a traditional tea ceremony. She wasn’t dressed for it but Nishahara looked more depressed today then usual. She had never done it for Nishahara before but he was of a very traditional background so she was certain he would appreciate it as the gesture of respect it was meant to be. He watched her with his typical stoic face. She was sure she caught the hint of a smile when he realized she was about to perform a very authentic tea ceremony for him. She went through the motions and poured a bowl for him bowing deeply as she moved it forward and placed it in front of him. He bowed and took a sip.
“Thank you, Stuart-San. Will you share this with me?”
Enid bowed again and waited as Nishahara poured her a bowl of tea. She took a sip. The pair drank their tea slowly, in silence. His dark mood seemed to be alleviated somewhat. He always seemed like wanted to say more during their shared tea, or meals but was too embarrassed. So instead, she would just tell him about her day. The trial and tribulations of a high school aged girl. Enid found it therapeutic, and it seemed to make Nishahara happy, in his own way. Today he seemed especially on the cusp of talking but did not. Enid had a thought suddenly. He could open up if he was drinking.
“Nishahara-san, I wish not to impose on you further, but I was going to celebrate my first day of University, but Nobuyuki-san had to attend a funeral in Tokyo with his family. Would you do me the honor of sharing my celebration dinner?”
He thought for a few minutes, as usual with their social game. He had to appear to not be excited, though she could see he was in his eyes. He bowed.
“Stuart-San, I will do this for you.”
Enid bowed to him.
“I will go get noodles, hopefully they don’t give me double this time, I do not think the pair of us could eat four meals.”
*****
When Enid returned, she had their meals and one of her many bottles of Sake she had laying around her apartment. She knocked on his door and after a spell he answered it.
“Nishahara-san, thank you for allowing me to impose on your evening.”
“Come in Stuart-San”
He closed the door behind her and shuffled after her. She set the places for their meals and then pulled the bottle of Sake out of her bag. She had picked one of the expensive ones. She had long ago decided to enjoy the hell out of being a human during the day. She popped the top and placed the bottle on the table. Nishahara blinked at the sake, and looked at Enid who bowed slightly.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“I apologize Nishahara-san, my sister bought this for me when she was here and I wanted to drink it on a special occasion, I will put it away.”
“No, we are celebrating, it is the proper time for sake. Your sister has very good taste Stuart-san.”
Enid bowed and poured sake into his bowl and he did the same for her. He lifted his bowl.
“To new experiences.”
Enid did the same. They both drank it down. She saw him shiver slightly. She felt the alcohol hit her as well. She smiled out at the sun then back to her host. They shared another few drinks and started to eat. Nishahara seemed to be relaxing just by his body language.
“I have not had sake in many years.”
“I probably drink too much of it, if I’m being honest.”
“At your age?”
“I feel older than I look.”
He laughed, for the first time since she had met him, he laughed in her presence.
“Stuart-san, you are a good neighbor.”
“Please Nishahara-san, call me Melanie.”
“Yes, of course Melanie-chan, always helping this old man. I am sorry, I thought very bad things of you before we met, strange men coming and going at all hours, then I saw you out on your balcony in your bathing suit and saw that Yakuza tattoo and I thought you were going to be a terrible neighbor. But you have been nothing but nice and well behaved.”
Enid nodded.
“I wondered what kind of strange world I was living in when schoolgirls worked for the Yakuza. But things have been quieter with you around. Safer. Does Nobuyuki have people watching the area?”
Enid laughed.
“Knowing him, probably, yes, but I will tell you a secret, and only because of the Sake. They’re more scared of me then the Yakuza.”
He laughed.
“Junpei-san is that good of a teacher.”
Enid laughed again.
“No, I’m just that scary.”
He took another drink of his sake and made a dismissive motion.
“I do not believe you. The girl who studies on her balcony, helps the old people in the building with their groceries and makes it seem like they are helping her, and teaches children Karate, is scary?”
Enid nodded.
“Junpei-sensei is a great teacher though. He has taught me much, things like service to my elders and community is my duty.”
“If I was a blind man, I would assume you were Japanese.”
Enid smiled and took another drink of her own sake. His face grew serious again.
“Did the man come and threaten you too about the increased rent?”
Enid nodded.
“Is that why he has not been back.”
Enid blushed slightly and nodded.
“He was not Yakuza then?”
“No, he was not, his employer purchased the building and was going to tear it down and replace it with a bigger building for more money. So, they were trying to scare people out of their apartments.”
“So, the Yakuza stopped them?”
Enid shook her head. Nishahara looked at her quizzically. Enid shrugged.
“I invited him in, broke his arm and suggested that he tell me who his boss was. Then I visited his boss and dangled him upside down over the edge of his roof until he agreed to sell me the building, for the amount he paid for it, of course.”
Nishahara finished his bowl of sake and Enid poured him another.
“I am not interested in real estate, but I like my view. Also, many of the people who live here are old and to ask them to move for greed seems like a crime.”
“Is that why our rents have gone down.”
Enid nodded.
“I only charge enough for utilities, taxes and building upkeep.”
“That seems like bad business. Perhaps I was in the wrong job when I was younger if the Yakuza pays so well. Some people might not appreciate benefiting from their crimes.”
“Actually, it pays very well, but I do not get involved with their criminal activities. There are things in the darkness in Japan, that the Yakuza fear, and I am the one that the things in the darkness fear. So, the Yakuza pays me very well to deal with them. Because people pay the Yakuza for protection. So, people are getting what they pay for.”
He looked serious again.
“Are you one of the pale ones?”
Enid blinked.
“What do you mean pale ones?”
“Soldiers from the war would tell stories of these pale westerners that would sweep over them at night leaving many bodies drained of blood in their wake.”
“No, I am not one of those. I hunt them.”
Enid pointed at the sun that was still shining through the windows.
“If I were one of those, I would be a pile of ashes right now.”
“You truly hunt them?”
Enid nodded.
“I saw one once, it looked me in the eyes but then it swept away like a shadow, but blown by the wind. I felt like I should have died that night.”
He took another drink of his sake.
“I have killed many of them. They have rules, the ones that break them don’t last long because people like me find them. The ones you describe were likely emboldened by the war. So many people dying every day, it was easy to take what they wanted. They are opportunists.”
“Are the many of them?”
Enid nodded.
“They are like cockroaches and rats. You kill one, but you know there are another thousand of them where that one came from, hiding. They were almost wiped out. Thousands of years ago someone killed a million of them in one day. They call it the night of blood. The Japanese vampires believe that it was Haha Ketsueki Megami. The mother blood goddess who woke up after a long sleep and was hungry. They’re scared she’s awake again. Mostly because they think I’m her.”
He laughed.
“That’s exactly what I thought when they said it. But if think I’m her they behave better.”
“Why do they think this?”
“Probably because I destroyed twelve of them in one night and staked their elder with a chopstick.”
She held up one of her chopsticks. He coughed on his sake.
“It is what I had on hand. They attacked Nobuyuki’s family, I wanted to send a very strongly worded message. They got the wrong message, but they have abandoned Okinawa so, I see it as win. I’m good at what I do.”
He continued to cough until he cleared his throat.
“And that is probably why it seems safer around here, them not being here.”
“Please tell me about yourself Nishahara-san. I know you have no family left; I would like to make sure you are remembered.”
He laughed.
“Am I that close to the grave?”
Enid looked down at her sake and back to him. Her gift told her he was not long for this world. After he loosened up his future had become clearer. His shoulders slumped when he looked into her eyes.
“I’m sorry Nishahara-san. I see things others do not.”
He nodded, looking more somber now. She poured him the last of the sake.
“I was a soldier in the war. I was an officer. I watched many men die but was not taken myself. I was ordered back to Japan to mount an all-out defense. Then the bombs dropped, and the war was over, and suddenly we soldiers were men without honor. Hated and despised by the victors. Our government was embarrassed by us, so, we faded into obscurity. All the medals, and the honors piled on us are so much sand blown away by the east wind.”
Enid nodded.
“You know, it has always been like that. Soldiers are heroes until what they’re leadership told them to do becomes inconvenient and then they soldiers take the blame, for following orders.”
He drunkenly shuffled to a drawer and pulled out his medals and an old katana put them on the table.
“This is all I have left of my life. After the war I could not get a job, we did such terrible things.”
Enid put her hand on Nishahara’s.
“We have all done terrible things Nishahara-san. Me more then most. Atrocities because we believed them to be right, or it what was ordered of us. You are not the sum of those things.”
He had tears on his face now he squeezed her offered hand.
“You speak as if you have known war.”
“My whole life up until I moved to Japan has been war. And when I leave Japan, it will be war again. This is my brief reprieve. I will earn no medals, gain no glory, Ours is not to question why, ours is to do or die. Tennyson was no fool. You did what you were ordered too. I will never fault someone for that.”
He squeezed her hand tightly.
“We thought we were right, that the westerners were sub-human. It made it easy too…”
“Nishahara-san, I know it is hard to imagine, but I know exactly how you felt at that moment. It is easy to get lost, but you have found your way back and you have lived a decent and good life since then. No less can be expected of a man of war.”
She moved around the table and hugged him close and he cried himself to sleep in her arms as night was falling. She picked him up and laid him in his bed, then cleaned up after their meal and the drinks. She looked at his medals and his katana. It wasn’t some cheap mass produced katana, it was one of the originals. She looked at its tarnished blade and with a glance at the moon pulled out her tools and began to polish it so the engravings in this blade could be seen. It had belonged to a Samurai that much was obvious, and it was passed down and somehow not confiscated after the war. With that work done she took the blade and put it on the dresser with its sheath. She then polished the medals and cleaned the dust off of the glass display case and placed them by the katana. She looked down at his sleeping form.
Poor man. Never really left the war.