The last two chapters was really dedicated to a number of my friends and family. A lot of them have been dealing with problems they've had for a few months on top of deeply imbedded issues they've had for years. Life is really fucking hard. But we have to keep moving. We have to learn to take care of ourselves first and wait for them to be ready to accept help. You can't save someone who isn't ready to be saved.
I also added a general outline of Saito and Yui's relationship at the end before the appendix.
Chapter 4: Connection
It was Friday. Four days since the first day of class. Saito was doing his best to ignore his classmates as usual. Most were only too happy to oblige him. Some seemed to be attracted to the 'mysterious, dangerous, brooding, anti-social, foreigner' motif. Saito kicked himself knowing that he had walked into that one. It was true that he was most of those things, but the girls had romanticized it. Yui was the only girl he really allowed to come remotely close insofar he could control. That too had it own set of problems. Yui was a cute girl. Her figure was not as well developed as Mugi or Mio, but she still had attractive curves and acted the adorable bubbly airhead. So she had a few admirers. One had threatened Saito and even took a swing at him before the poor kid's friends could warn him who Saito was. Saito hadn't been in a good mood that day and broke the kid's arm.
Yui had her own problems too. She was still acting like bubblehead for the benefit of the world, but it wasn't as forced as it had been. She was starting to become more like her old self. Nishimoto was still harassing her. Yui had had her lunch stolen and her notes destroyed once. Nishimoto stopped going into Yui's desk when she found a mysterious and very threatening note in her desk.
Still not strong enough to stand up to her, thought Yui. Some people disapproved that she hung out with a foreigner and others because they were jealous that Saito was 'friends' with her. Yui would say that Saito tolerated her and Shawn was his only real friend here.
"They seem awfully close," said one boy.
"Yeah," agreed another. "But at least it's not Kotobuki-chan."
"I disagreed," interjected an otaku-looking girl that had overheard the conversation.
"And what would you know?" asked a fourth person.
"Look at them. She follows him around, but doesn't really engage him in conversation that much. He allows her come closer than anyone else, but doesn't really interact with her much. When you look at that they don't appear to be that close," said Ikari Natsuko, 2-2's resident female otaku. Her thick glasses and braided hair seemed almost seemed like something out of a manga. Saito had instantly grabbed her attention from his harsh appearance to his anti-social behavior. Yui hadn't interested her that much until she saw her interactions with Saito and saw a very different personality underneath. Yui when she sat next to him was quiet. Her words could be gentle, but occationally demonstrated a sharp wit no one knew she possessed and Ikari doubted Yui herself had known either. She spoke with polite distance, but used language she would never use with her friends.
"Still, she is a lot more comfortable around him than any other boy in this school and she is the only he will talk to most of the time."
Nishimoto Ai who sat next to Ikari pretended not to listen.
"What do you think, Nishimoto-chan?" asked Ikari smirking.
"She's some little bubble-headed tramp taking up with a gaijin," she said spitefully.
"Ne, Ai-chan, I think you're taking that a little far," said one of her friends.
"Whatever," she spat. She looked out the window, or so it seemed. She was actually watching Saito via the reflection. What makes her so special?
The note had been a shock and she knew it had come from him. It was short and to the point. What was it that she did that he found tolerable? Saito didn't seem to have any interest in her. She saw Yui ask Saito a question. He sighed, as he was prone to doing when someone broke his concentration, but he didn't tell her to go away as he did with most people. He did keep her at a distance emotionally, but there was some small measure of kindness he didn't normally show for anyone.
The other American, Shawn, was the only person that Saito seem to genuinely like. It was clear they were old friends for years and the other students learned that he too was Kotobuki's bodyguard. Of all the students Shawn stood out the most because of his height and obvious Western ancestry. He was 6 ft 5 in with short light brown hair and green eyes.
"I actually found this picture online last night," said Ikari showing them her laptop.
Nishimoto looked at the picture and was surprised to see Saito and several others. There had to be more than 20 people and Saito was in the middle with another boy who appeared to be the group's leader. They were standing in front of a destroyed tank. Each person was armed and covered in dirt, oil, and grime. Even more surprising was the broad smile Saito had one on his face too like all the others. There were comments at the bottom of the picture, but it was all in English. All they could read was a caption under the photo that read: Kazakhstan – June 1, 2008.
"From what I read this was taken after a shootout with a guerilla force that had been harassing the Russians near the Kazakhstan-Russian border area. The Russians had hired them to take down the guerillas. There isn't much chatter about him online. Just some chatter about a group of young mercenaries wreaking havoc."
The others, especially the boys, absorbed this information. Saito had a bandage wrapped around his arm and blood had soaked through it a little, just enough that it could be seen in the photo. He clearly had not come through the battle unscathed, but it didn't seem the bother him at all. In fact he looked happy being amongst this ragtag unit.
Lunch
Yui opened the lid of her bento and examined its contents. Today's lunch was extra special. She had cooked, albeit under the close and nervous supervision of Ui, but Yui herself had made it with relatively little help. As proud of herself as she was, Yui was a little doubtful of whether it was safe to eat or not.
"You made that, didn't you?" asked Saito looking at her.
"Hai," said Yui a little defensively. "I did my best."
To her total surprise Yui patted her on the head and ruffled her hair a little. "Good for you."
Yui looked away from him. She hated how he would give her kindness occasionally. She basked in the warmth of his simple smile and the softness that overtook his eyes, but it left her empty when he pulled back into his shell. It was like a drug and when he pulled back she felt hurt like some kind of withdrawal symptom. She wondered if Saito even understood his own actions towards her. He probably didn't. Saito probably only understood a small amount of empathy or affection, albeit platonic, that he felt for this girl. Perhaps it was because he found Yui the most tolerable person in this school.
"You think it's safe?" asked Yui speculatively.
"It can't be that bad," said Saito taking another bite of his sandwich. "I've lived off military rations, strange foods from the third world. Once I lived for three days off muddy creek water, wild onions, and maggots."
"Then you try it first," said Yui holding up a piece of chicken on her chopstick.
"No," said Saito trying to smacking it away, but Yui dodge the blow without losing the food. Yui loved to eat and was very skilled with chopsticks.
"You just said you could eat pretty much anything," said Yui.
"When given no other choice. It was that or starve," said Saito now trying to dodge Yui. "A little help here."
"Nah, I think you're good," said Ritsu watching the whole scene play out before her with her hands behind her head. She was enjoying this way too much. It was nice to see Yui acting something close to herself and to see Saito like this was just icing on top of the cake. Now if she could do something to Mio when she got to the classroom then her whole day would be perfect.
"Come on, Kamisaka-kun, think of this as a good deed," said Yui.
"I'm a mercenary. We live by a strict code of quid pro quo," said Saito. Saito wasn't so heartless and most mercenaries weren't either, but they're jobs did generally mean that Quid Pro Quo was the main code they had to live by. It wasn't even money always, having people owe a favor was often as good as a paycheck and could be better if it was the right person at the right time.
"Then let me say sorry in advance," said Yui with a sly grin.
"Huh?"
Saito barely spoke when Yui kicked him in the shin causing Saito to gasp in pain. The second his mouth opened was all Yui needed. The blow to the shin also prevented Saito reacting as fast as he would have. It was mixed martial arts fighting 101, the shin had a long and very sensitive nerve and most people seized up for a split second, generally all that was needed to strike them down.
Recognizing he had been beaten he chewed the piece of chicken. It was a Japanese fried chicken called Karaage that were cut up into small piece so they could be eaten if chopsticks and then fried in oil much like fried chicken in the United States.
"It's not the best, but for your first try this is pretty good," said Saito thoughtfully. Saito had a weakness for fried foods and BBQ, he knew good ones when he had them. Yui's still needed some work.
"Now try the rice," said Yui brightly.
"Just eat your damn lunch," said Saito. "I'm not going to play Russian Roulette with your food."
"Fine," said Yui taking a bite of her own food. "What's Russian Roulette? And what's quid pro quo?"
Saito sighed. "Russian Roulette is a game played with a revolver. You put one bullet in the gun and then take turns shooting yourself in the head. Whoever gets the bullet loses."
"That's sick."
"You've never met the Russians, have you?"
"I read about them," said Yui. Her parents had written many articles on them.
"Okay, moving on. Quid Pro Quo is Latin for 'what for what'. You ever seen Fullmetal Alchemist?"
"I've read the manga," said Yui. She wasn't an otaku, but Yui enjoyed a good manga.
"The Law of Equivalent Exchange is similar to that. You give something for something equal. We all live it to an extent. You go to a store and they provide products for a price. You go to a restaurant and they provide service for a price. I just have to be better at it than you do because I provide a very dangerous service and I need to be paid."
"So desu ka?" said Yui.
"So you two done fighting?" asked Ritsu.
"Hai, I'm sorry to disappoint you," said Saito glaring at her. Ritsu gulped.
"How is your lunch, Yui-chan?" asked Mugi who had been watching the conversation quietly up to this point. She was happy that Yui seemed to at least warm up to Saito… or so she thought. The relationship between the brunette and the mercenary was still not that simple.
Yui smiled radiantly in full glory of her former self. Unlike the half fake, half sincere façade, this one was completely real. "It's good."
In truth Yui had eaten much better food at restaurants and from Ui, but this was the product of her own hard work. Saito could see she must have failed a few times judging by the bandages on her fingers covering burns and cuts. She seemed so proud of herself.
Good for her, he thought approvingly. "Where did you learn to do that?"
"Do what?" asked Yui innocently.
"Attack like that."
"Oh that," said Yui rubbing the back of her head and a smile. "I saw you do that to Sumoto-kun and I thought it looked like a way to bring down an opponent bigger than you."
Saito had not seen Yui smile this time with such sincerity. So this is the pre-traumatized Hirasawa Yui.
It struck him how sad it was that this poor girl had been robbed of her emotional innocence. That had angered Saito in how savage and sinister people robbed people of such things in life. The worst was however those who robbed people of their sexual innocence. Those monsters Saito had put into shallow graves without remorse.
Yui's smile faltered a little. Saito's face was losing its unfeeling disciplined appearance and his eyes were looking her pityingly. Yui looked away. So did Saito. It pissed him off that this girl was drawing out emotions he had thought he had buried long ago and was coping with, but his fleeting moments of feeling empathy had brought very unpleasant memories to the surface. Memories of moments no one should have ever experienced.
"They are an interesting couple," said Mugi very quietly to Ritsu.
"Eh?" said Ritsu with a very skeptical look. In all honesty Ritsu didn't believe they were romantically interested in each other. Saito less than Yui. She in fact couldn't imagine two less compatible people. Under other circumstances Ritsu would have been game to put two people together, but she wasn't sure Yui was emotionally ready and was very sure that Saito would kill them in their sleep slowly and painfully if they tried.
She decided to leave it alone. Yui and Saito had settled into a comfortable silence that neither seemed willing to break.
I wonder where Mio is? thought Ritsu.
School Field
PE came and Saito was seated on a bench reading a newspaper. He didn't like being in the open and had to trust that Shawn had him covered. The alternative was that Saito stayed in the shadows where he would be too far away to respond to an incident.
Okawa was shouting out instructions. He didn't like that Saito wasn't participating in his class however he wasn't in a position to do anything about it. He also knew that Saito had a weapon.
"See anything?" asked Saito speaking into the radio mic.
"That girl with the glasses and braid could stand to get a little more exercise," commented Shawn. She wasn't overweight, but she was clearly not psychically active. "Big Guy is glaring daggers at you again."
Big Guy was the code name that had assigned Sumoto. It wasn't creative, but it amused them.
"I'm so scared," snorted Saito. Sumoto had attempted attacking Saito at random moments. It hadn't gone well so far.
"Our little princess isn't even breaking a sweat," said Shawn. Princess was Mugi.
"It's only jumping-jacks."
"Yeah, but most people would so a little sign of exhaustion after 50 of them," said Shawn fairly.
"True enough. How's Little Red?" asked Saito. He wasn't sure what had made him think of Little Red Riding Hood when it came to Yui, but code names were supposed to be random and not have any relation to the actual person to prevent people inferring what the speakers were talking about. That was why Princess was a very bad code name for Mugi and it would probably have to be changed soon.
"Better now that she can see you, Wrathborn," said Shawn with a grin.
"You want me to come up there and kick your ass?" asked Saito reading about the state of economic panic in Ireland. Another country Germany would have to bail out. Saito had joked once that this was how the Germans would take over Europe again by having to bail out the EU countries and effectively owning them.
Shawn laughed, but stopped dead. "Standby Wrathborn, I think my OP (Observation Post) has been compromised. Out."
Saito clicked his Saito transmitter once to show he acknowledged.
Shawn set down the M16 and placed a hand on his SIG as the door opened. It was hard to say who was more surprised, Shawn or Mio and Nodoka. Both had left Classroom 2-1 in search of a quiet place to study and had decided on the deserted classroom that Shawn was using as his sniper perch.
"Callahan-kun," said Nodoka. Manabe Nodoka was Shawn's class representative. She was a studious girl with glasses and short hair. She also wasn't a bad looking girl. "What are you doing here?"
"Nothing," said Shawn lazily. He tried to appear that he had been sleeping in this room and not watching Class 2-2 through the sight of a rifle.
"Is that a gun?" asked Mio alarmed.
"No," said Shawn pushing the rifle to the side with his foot.
"Callahan-kun," said Nodoka crossing her arms. Shawn hadn't talked to her much, but he knew she wasn't easily fooled. And his attempt to push a rifle out of sight wasn't exactly foolproof.
"Fine, this is a perch I'm using. During Kotobuki-san's PE class I use my free period to watch over the class," said Shawn picking up the M16A3 again.
"You don't use it to study?" asked Mio skeptically.
"Akiyama-san, I've study most of that shit before," said Shawn scanning the tree line again.
"Then what's the answer to question 18 from chemistry?"
"B. All hydrocarbons are defined as being organic because all hydrocarbons are defined as having carbon," said Shawn as if reciting a textbook. "I could do that one in my sleep."
"Well what makes you so sure they have carbon?" asked Mio.
"It's called a hydrocarbon," said Shawn looking at Mio like she was retarded.
"Dallahan, you still there?" asked Saito.
"Copy. I'm here. It was just Akiyama and Manabe," said Shawn.
Nodoka walked to the window Shawn was watching Class 2-2 from. She could see Yui. Nodoka had immediately seen that Yui was having a problem after the kidnapping. She placed a hand on the window as if trying to reach out to her and take away the girl's pain.
"How is she?" asked Nodoka with deep concern.
"Bob could answer that better than me," said Shawn. He wasn't really sure how to answer the question since Saito didn't talk much about her. He knew something had transpired.
"Kamisaka-kun?" Nodoka wasn't sure if Bob was the same person.
"Hai," said Shawn. "Wrathborn you have two contacts approaching you from the north, both appear to be unarmed."
Saito looked out of the corner of his eye and saw indeed two boys from his class approaching him.
"That looks bad," said Nodoka seeing the boys. "You should warn him."
"Already did." Nodoka didn't speak English.
"Will he be okay?" she asked concerned. Nodoka was very much a motherly type, especially around Yui.
"He could beat them to death with that newspaper," laughed Shawn. Saito had in fact disarmed an opponent with a magazine twice. When rolled up tightly they were thick enough to stun an attacker. Saito had once written a book on the uses of commonly found items in a home or office and how they could be used as improvised weapons for self-defense. It was never published, but it was passed around various teams in ASI. Shawn's personal favorite was how to use a T-shirt or dishrag to disarm someone and kill them with it.
"You, Kamisaka," said one of the boys. Saito noted they didn't use an honorific like san or kun. They were being purposely rude to intimidate him. Like that would work. Saito knew them as Saekawa Sokichi and Tanibachi Haruo, two members of the Kotobuki Tsumugi Fan Club.
"Whatever it is, can it wait?" asked Saito not looking up from his newspaper. It was smacked out of his hands. Okay, now I'm pissed.
Yui had seen Saekawa and Tanibachi approached Saito. She was stunned to see them knock the paper out of his hand. She had no particular feelings as she watched Saito slowly get to his feet. Saito could take care of himself and didn't need her help.
"I see this is important," said Saito indifferently.
"We want to know things," said Saekawa.
"Hai, we want answers," said Tanibachi. They sounded very proud of themselves, but Saito knew that wouldn't last when it become very clear that neither had thought what to do beyond getting his attention. Saito crossed his arms and looked annoyed. The smiles did falter a little.
"Now what?" Tanibachi whispered.
"This was your idea," said Saekawa.
"You ahou (morons) interrupted me for this shit?" asked Saito dangerously. "You better have something to say and I better be impressed or I'll bust your heads in."
"Uh, we want to know things about Kotobuki-hime," said Saekawa.
"Hai," nodded Tanibachi.
Saito face-palmed.
"Want me to shot 'em?" asked Shawn. Saito clicked his radio twice to say no.
"What's going on down there?" asked Nodoka.
"Apparently they interrupted Saito's quiet time to interrogate him about Kotobuki-san," said Shawn with a grin. "This could get ugly right quick."
"Shouldn't you do something?" asked Nodoka dully.
"I asked if he wanted me to shoot them."
"No, I me protect them from him," said Nodoka. "Then again that might save them from a more painful death."
Shawn was slightly impressed by how perceptive Nodoka was.
Saito reached into his blazer and both boys cringed thinking they were going to be shot. When nothing happened they looked up to see a piece of paper being held out to them.
"The Kotobuki Family Security Staff does not share or release any information on members of the Kotobuki Family, their employees, or corporations, without the explicit written permission of the Kotobuki Family members," said Saito showing them the legal document. "Now get out of her or I will be drawing a weapon next."
"We're not scared of you," said Tanibachi.
"We aren't?" asked Saekawa sounding less sure.
Saito grabbed Tanibachi's wrist and wristed it into a submission hold. "Explain to me why I shouldn't break your arm. And don't lie to me. We know about your website and have monitored your chat rooms. The staff all are very fond of Kotobuki-san and were incensed by some of the things you said you like to do to her."
Saito used the pronoun we to make it clear he wasn't allow. It was one thing to stand up to one or two bodyguards, but another thing entirely to stand up to a massive faceless organization that could reach from the shadows to strike a person down. That was the power of mystique that the CIA loved to use.
"Get out of here," said Saito releasing him. Both boys ran.
"Looks like he didn't hurt them," said Shawn.
"Perverts," said Nodoka. It was not an angry statement, but more of an observation. "They really are pathetic. Still, Kamisaka-kun handled them well."
"I'd say so," said Shawn.
"Dallahan, class is wrapping up. Keep an eye out for threats. Never know what could get miss in the shuffle," said Saito.
"Hey, Wrathborn, might want to check your 8," said Shawn.
Saito looked to his 8 O'clock, behind him to his left, to see Nishimoto. She was quietly advancing on an unsuspecting Yui.
"I got eyes, keep me advised on Princess. I'll take care of this," said Saito.
"Wilco," said Shawn.
"Who's that?" asked Nodoka noticing a girl that seemed to be heading for Yui. She didn't like the way that looked.
"Nishimoto Ai, she seems to have taken a strong dislike to Hirasawa-san. We're not sure why yet," said Shawn.
"Nani?" said Mio now rushing to the window. "She's being bullied."
Shawn was quiet looking into the faces of the two girls now looking very concerned. He nodded.
"I have to get down there," said Mio.
"Akiyama," said Shawn. Mio stopped to look at him. "Don't go starting a fight. Bullies pick on individuals that are unprotected. Your presence alone should be enough."
Mio smiled a little. "Arigato gozaimasu."
"Thank, Bob. He seems to have taken her under his wing," said Shawn.
Mio nodded and left at a trot. Now that she thought about it Yui was usually near Saito. He would normally move away from people that came too close to him or encourage them to leave with glares or terse words, but not Yui.
Maybe he's not so scary, thought Mio.
She saw him standing outside the girls locker room.
"You have a plan?" he asked her. She wasn't sure how he knew what she was here to do, but Mio shook her head. Saito nodded and said, "Just say you're concerned about her performance in class or club. That's a believable enough excuse for being there. If it's about club if it would force Tainaka-san to be involved which would increase the numbers at your side. Numbers are what you want here."
Mio nodded. "Arigato gozaimasu, Kamisaka-kun."
She paused at the door.
"You wanted to ask something else?" he said cocking his head to the side.
"Why are you helping, Yui?"
Saito shrugged. "She needs help. Besides, I a personal hate of bullies."
"But you kinda are one," said Mio in her mature voice. She expected an angry response.
Saito laughed a little. "That's fair. But I work for a purpose. Bullies are weak little fucks who need to feel strong and pick on the weaker. It's like a drug and the more they do it the more they need. I am a guy who uses some bullying tactics to scare people off so I don't have to actually hurt them."
"So you scare people for show?" asked Mio a little confused. She hear strong distain he had for bullies.
Saito scratched his head in thought. "My favorite writer is a man named Tom Clancy. He wrote in his first book The Hunt for Red October that 'rattling a saber makes noise, drawing one does not.' Do you understand?"
"Sort of."
"Hai, it might need a little explaining. People like me use threats to scare people away. That doesn't work on people who are actually a problem. You don't threaten them, you just strike 'em down without warning. Fights are messy. I can finish them quickly, but the aftermath is the problem with damage control and public relations. It's better not to start them at all."
"What if I have to fight her?"
"Protect yourself," he said simply.
"I'm scared," she confessed.
Saito sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You wouldn't be here if you didn't care about your friends. Listen to your fear, it will tell you when things are dangerous, but don't let it paralyze you. Chances are nothing will happen, but if it does… hit her in the face and run. Don't forget to drag the others out with you."
Mio nodded. Saito pushed towards the door. Mio took a deep breath and looked back at Saito who gave her a two-finer salute.
Mio stepped into the locker room. She quickly walked through the room to locate Yui.
"Yui," said Mio walking up to Yui. She walked with grace and an air of maturity while her insides trembled.
"Ah, Mio-chan, what a surprise," said Yui cheerfully.
Mio cleared her throat and said, "Yui, I was wondering if you have practiced your guitar at all lately. I haven't seen you play lately."
"Eh, gomen, Mio-chan. I haven't practiced for a while," said Yui with her eyes wide like a puppy.
Mio sighed. "I guess that's not your fault. It's Ritsu's."
"Nani?" sputtered Ritsu. Mio smirked. She knew how to provoke her best friend. Mio caught a glimpse of Nishimoto.
"Ritsu, we haven't played in weeks. Who can you expect us to recruit anyone if we can't play," scolded Mio.
"Well, you see-"
"We're practicing today!" said Mio. "And finish changing. You can't go prancing around in your underwear like that. You want to get a cold? You too Yui."
Yui nodded. In actuality Mio wanted to get Yui out as soon as possible. Yui had barely finished tucking her blouse into her skirt when Mio dragged her out of the locker room.
Saito was a little surprised to see Yui being hauled out of the locker room. She fell to the floor when Mio had let go of her. Mio doubled over and was appeared to be hyperventilating. Saito rushed to Mio.
"Just breath. Relax and breath," said Saito in a commanding, but comforting tone patting Mio on the back.
"Don't worry Kamisaka-kun, she gets like this a lot," said Yui. Saito held out a hand to help her up which she accepted. Saito fed the ribbon under her collar and tied it for her while Yui was dusting off her blazer.
Mio was a little surprised at his treatment of Yui. He seemed concerned about her. What surprised her more was him rushing to her aid. Most people ignored her or took advantage, but Saito was genuinely worried she was having a problem.
The Light Music Club
"I don't get it," whined Ritsu. Yui was face down in her notebook and Mugi was scratching her head.
"Hey, who said you could do your homework anyways?" demanded Mio.
"But I can't practice if I have to worry about homework," protested Ritsu.
Mio snatched Ritsu's notebook and then whacked her over the head with it. "That's precisely why it's call homework!"
"Bob-kun," pleaded Ritsu.
"Don't look at me," said Saito who had already finished the assignment. "She's right and I seem to remember saying not to call me Bob without my permission."
"You're doing your homework," said Ritsu.
"I'm not actually in this club. Also I did my homework," said Saito emphasizing the past-tense.
"Wait, you're not in this club?" said Mio. "I saw you sign a form. So did Car-rahan-kun."
Like most Japanese, Mio couldn't say Shawn's name right because they couldn't say the letter L. They tended to replace the L with an R which was the closest sound in the Japanese spoken language (1).
"Tainaka-san never turned it in," said Saito now reading a novel, Killer Angels by Michael Shaara.
"Ritsu," growled Mio who appeared to releasing a purple aura of wrath.
"This ought to be good," said Shawn.
"Now, now," said Ritsu who was backing away from Mio.
"Ritsu you're the club president and you haven't turn in that form?" snarled Mio advancing on Ritsu.
"I thought you were the club president, Akiyama-san," said Shawn perplexed.
"No, it's this idiot!" bellowed Mio smacking Ritsu.
"That's a kill," said Saito half amused. Ritsu was now on all fours begging for forgiveness while Mio, who was the tallest female in the room, towered above her whimpering friend.
"My, my, my, my, my, my," said Mugi who picked Ritsu off the floor. Saito and Shawn once again noted that Mugi was unusual strong for someone her size. "Let's not fight amongst ourselves. Let's have some tea and a little cake."
"Cake?" said Yui groggily.
"Hai, Yui-chan, cake," said Mugi placing an empty cup and saucer in front of each of them. She then poured steaming liquid into the each cup. Yui immediately reached for the sugar while Mugi added milk to her tea.
Saito and Shawn sat at their own table by the window. Having lived in the UK they learned to like tea to some extent. It was not Saito's drink of choice. Still it reminded him of the British and their tea time.
"We should do a BBQ sometime," said Saito. "Get Anya and Jack together. I hear Berman has moved most of the other teams here too."
"Oh, so Tom's Ghost Team is in Japan too?"
"So is Anarchy Team, Angel of Death Team, Firefly Team, Polaris Team, and a few others," said Saito. They were all the times composed of mercenaries between the ages of 14-17.
Anarchy Team was a light attack team of four of the most aggressive women Saito had ever met. Angels of Death Team was a six man sniper team with two shooters, two spotters, and two sentries. Firefly Team was a heavy assault team much like Saito's Hitokiri Team with four riflemen. Polaris Team was an eight man assault team that specialized in mountain and winter warfare. Tom's Ghost Team was a small four man infiltration that relied on sound suppressed weapons. Then there was Red Dead Team, the command unit of the task force. The leader of Red Dead was task force's commander. Saito was the XO (Executive Officer).
They all were loosely called Task Force Garm, named for the Norse demon dog of hell. Saito was second in command of the unit and senior planning officer.
"Sounds good, but we'll need a big place," said Shawn. "Probably take forever to pick a day when we're not all working."
Saito nodded sadly. Task Force Garm was practically their family and all of their best friends. Like the soldiers of Hitokiri they were all young. The oldest members were in their early 20s and the younger newer members were 14.
"Pass the cream, dude," said Shawn.
"Right," said Saito.
"I wouldn't have thought you'd like your tea sweet," observed Ritsu.
"What, is that a sign of unmanliness in this country or something?" asked Saito with a raised eyebrow. That was at least the impression manga and anime had given him. Saito just didn't like bitter tasting food.
"Just assumed you like things that are as bitter as you," said Ritsu.
"Maybe you should consider practicing your instruments instead of delving into my personal life," said Saito.
Mio spat out some tea realizing she had been pulled into tea time… again. "Ritsu, get on the drums! Yui, guitar! No excuses!"
"You don't have to yell," said Ritsu.
"How come you didn't yell at me?" asked Mugi. She sounded as if she felt left out.
"I didn't think I had to," said Mio hanging her head wearily.
"Poor girl," observed Shawn.
"Welcome to my life with you idiots," said Saito. In many ways Shawn, Jack, and Anya were as unfocused and difficult to motivate as these girls. Saito could actually leave them alone for a few hours, but after a day or two… Saito wondered if he should check in on Anya and Jack.
Yui pulled out her guitar. Saito noted it was a Gibson Les Paul Standard with cherry sunburst finish. It was a pretty nice guitar for someone who had only learned to play last year. Expensive too. Mio had a slightly worn like she bought it second hand, but well cared for Fender Jazz Bass. Shawn who played bass was pleased to see she had taken such good care of it. Saito felt an eye twitch at the state of Yui's Les Paul. It was actually fine, but Saito was a little obsessive-compulsive, his friends called him as anal-compulsive the way he took care of everything he owned from his weapons to clothes.
"This is Gitah," said Yui showing her guitar proudly to Saito and Shawn.
"Gitah?" asked Shawn.
"I know, she named it," said Ritsu rolling her eyes.
"Not that weird," said Saito. "Some pretty famous people have named their guitars."
"Even Saito."
"Shut up, Shawn."
Yui stuck her tongue out at Ritsu. Saito wanted to cry now he saw the guitar this closely. It clearly had never been cleaned, the neck was bent a little, and the a few things looked loose around the pickup.
"Let it go, Bob," whispered Shawn. "She can still play it just fine."
"That is a piece of art that does not deserve that kind of treatment," responded Saito.
They were speaking in Spanish. They had learned that Yui could understand their conversations in English somewhat and it was indicated that she might understand a little German. Mugi was known to speak English, some Scandinavian languages, and French.
"Just let it go."
"Fine," said Saito crossing his arms.
It only took a second before Yui rubbed the back of her head and confessed she had forgotten how to play… again. There was a collective sigh from the other girls.
"Not again," said Mio rubbing her temple. Saito wondered if the poor girl was developing a brain tumor from all the stress.
Ritsu pointed a drum stick at Saito and Shawn and ordered, "One of you play!"
"We're not even in this club," said Shawn. "Since you didn't submit the forms we don't feel very much like we're a part of this organization."
"Ritsu, turn in the form to Nodoka-san! Yui, find Yamanaka-sensei, get her to teach you again!" ordered Mio.
"I'll go with Yui-chan," said Mugi perking up at the mention of Sawako.
"Fine, then I'll make sure Ritsu turns in the forms," said Mio grabbing her friend by the collar.
Naturally, Saito and Shawn had to follow Mugi. Saito noticed that Yui was skipping a little. Her day had gone pretty well without incident. Yui had been pretty good today. She had made her own lunch and had outmaneuvered Saito for once. He'd even complimented her. It was almost perfect.
She knocked on the door for the teacher's office.
"Yo, Sawa-chan," greeted Yui.
"Sawa-chan?" whispered Shawn. Saito shrugged. While the two could be pretty informal they had a certain fondness for structure and hierarchy for providing order in an otherwise confusing business. Soldiers didn't question order since a clear chain-of-command saved lives.
"Ah, Yui," said Sawako smiling pleasantly at student. "What can I help you with today?"
"Well," said Yui drawing out the word.
Sawako's smile fell instantly. "You didn't. Not so soon."
Yui giggled nervously. Sawako sighed. "Fine. I assume there is still tea up there."
"Of course, Sensei," said Mugi almost breathlessly. Saito and Shawn raised eyebrows simultaneously at the way Mugi responded to their homeroom teacher/club advisor.
"Is she-?"
"Don't ask, don't tell," said Saito. Besides, Japan had a different culture from the US and maybe this was not what it looked like to them.
Saito followed their teacher and the girls back to the club room. Mugi seemed dazzled by her teacher. When they reached the third floor in the old building Saito noticed something was wrong. Shawn had been the last person out and he had closed the door. It was open ajar. Saito looked through the crack and singled to Shawn he didn't see anyone inside. Saito drew out his P-229, but kept it under his blazer to be concealed. Shawn opened the door and Saito moved in quickly with Shawn right behind him. Saito went right and Shawn left. It was a textbook breach and clear.
"Clear," said Saito.
"Clear," concurred Shawn.
"Probably noth-" started Saito when his voice died. Fuck. Hirasawa is going to be destroyed by this.
Yui entered the room with Mugi and Sawako. She had the same happy expression. She had been doing so well. This was going to set her back. Yui saw her guitar left on the ground. All of the strings had been cut and the word 'baka' had been written on it in permanent marker.
"What kind o' sick fuck do das'," said Shawn angrily. He sometimes settled into his old Irish accent when he was pissed.
Yui dropped to her knees in front of her guitar. Blood was draining from her face. She felt as if a friend had been ripped from her and savagely attacked. Sure she had been neglecting to play her beloved Gitah, but still…
"This can be fixed, Hirasawa-san," said Saito crouching down next to her. She looked at him. There was fire in his eyes. "You just wait here. When I come back we'll make arrangements for Gitah to be fixed. Things will be set right. Okay?"
Yui nodded.
"Where the hell are you going?" asked Shawn.
"To teach someone a lesson about destroying works of art," said Saito. "You're in charge."
"Shit," cursed Shawn. He would have liked to have help.
Saito had left the Light Music Club Room stomping angrily, but now he walked soundlessly. His target wouldn't hear his approach. He found his target.
"We need to have a talk," said Saito grabbing the person by the collar and throwing her into an unoccupied classroom.
"Kamisa-" sputtered Nishimoto Ai. She froze unable to speak upon seeing the business end of the 9 mm SIG Sauer leveled between her eyes.
"Do you have any idea the kind of care and craftsmanship that goes into making a guitar of that quality?" demanded Saito. "I don't know why shits like you bully others. You probably get off at it. What'd you do? Make Hirasawa cry and then jerk off over it later?"
Nishimoto was completely terrified by the tirade of Saito's irate words or the utter vulgarity of them. Saito was cursing at her like the ex-marines, commandos, rangers, ex-KGB, and former spetznas that he had grown up around.
"It was…" her voice died.
This only seemed to make him angrier.
"It was what? You have a fucking excuse? I'd better be fucking impressed!"
"She… deserved it," said Nishimoto.
Nishimoto was shoved into a wall and the cold steel of the pistol placed into her temple. Saito's hand had a powerful grip around her throat.
"Kicking a person when they are down," said Saito quietly. His voice seemed to shake with rage so great that it was beyond direction. "You probably don't know what that girl has been through. But that doesn't make you any less of a fuck-face shit. You think you're all so clever making us cry and destroying things we hold dear."
Saito then realized his mistake. He had said 'we' and 'us' instead of 'her'. Fortunately Nishimoto was too terrified to notice. He released her.
"Get out. Now," he said walking away from her.
Nishimoto couldn't move. It started with a sniffle and then she broke out into hysterical tears. It's not fair! Why was she special to him? Why couldn't it be me?
Saito walked back to the old building. His hand was turning purple. He had punched a wall with sufficient force to put a hole in it. He felt his anger dying out as shame took over from his loss of control. He'd allowed himself to be unprofessional. He returned to the Light Music Club.
"Where's Kotobuki-san?" asked Saito immediately.
"He took Mugi-chan home," said Yui. She hadn't left the spot Saito had left her in.
"Come with me," said Saito. Yui nodded and picked up Gitah delicately.
"What happened to your hand?" asked Yui. Her voice was hoarse.
"Punch a wall."
Yui didn't believe him.
"You won't be bothered for a while."
"It was Nishimoto-san, wasn't it," said Yui.
"… hai," answered Saito. "Let's go. I have tools to fix this. It won't be hard."
Yui nodded. "She really doesn't like me."
"She's a bully."
"She likes you," said Yui.
Saito stopped dead in his tracks. Yui bumped into him. "What?"
He had accidently said it in English, but Yui understood him. She responded in Japanese, "She likes you. That's why she hates me."
"Why that hell would anyone like me?" muttered Saito to himself.
"You're not bad looking," said Yui with a shrugged and a pitiful smile.
"Well, I don't need someone like that around," scowled Saito.
"That's kinda' sad for both of you," said Yui.
"She's a teenager. She doesn't know me. I don't know her. Her feelings are probably superficial and probably blown out of proportion as something deep like all teens. And that doesn't make this anymore acceptable."
"Maybe," conceited Yui.
They took the train to Saito's apartment. There was a note from Shawn indicating he was going out for a while. He was probably in a bad mood too.
Yui dropped down on the couch and hugged her legs against her. She rested her head on her knees while Saito went into his room. He returned with a tool box. Saito had laid Gitah on the coffee table. Yui was staring at the TV screen.
"It would probably be more enjoyable if you turn it on," said Saito.
"Oh, right."
"This will be fine. Really," he said. "I promise you."
"Okay," said Yui. Saito turned on the TV and set to work. He liked having background noise and being alone with Yui made him uncomfortable. The hard part about fixing the guitar was getting the marker off without taking off the finish or destroying the quality of the wood it protected. Saito had a cleaner for that. He applied it carefully and precisely rubbing it with a cloth for over an hour. He then pulled out another bottle and a clean cloth to apply new polish.
"You need to clean this thing, Hirasawa-san," said Saito scolded her.
"It bothers you too," said Yui with a smile. She was feeling a lot better seeing that the marker had been removed completely. There was also something relaxing watching Saito at work. He seemed more relaxed too. There was just something therapeutic in doing maintenance.
"I don't mind clutter or being a little lazy when it comes to maintenance, but it looks like you haven't cleaned it in over a year."
"You're supposed to?" asked Yui cocking her head to the side.
"Hai!" barked Saito. He then said more gently when he saw her cringe, "I do it every month. You could probably get away with it every two or three months, but this is a pretty nice guitar. A lot of love and care went into its making. You should consider that."
"I'd make Gitah's parents sad," said Yui wryly. She had never really thought how much work could go into the guitar, even if they were probably made in a factory. Someone had had to design it and perfect it with careful loving attention to detail.
"Something like that," said Saito smiling. "In a month or two you should take this in to a shop to have the neck straightened out. It will affect the sound."
"Okay," said Yui. Something had occurred to Yui and she had been thinking about it since Saito had left to confront Nishimoto. "Kamisaka-kun, have you been bullied?"
Saito didn't answer at first. "When I was little. I owned a Paganini Violin. It was one of the best types of violins, second only to a Stradivarius. Some kids thought it would be funny to smash it to pieces."
"What happened?"
"My parents sued their families. It was valued for over quarter-million US Dollars," said Saito. "My grandfather once showed me how to make a violin... that was when I still had parents. I helped a little, but he did most of the work. I learned how much love and attention goes into making crafting things. There are so many elements you have to consider from materials to shape of the instrument."
Yui admired the how his eyes seemed to light up when he talked on these subjects. He finished up and handed her Gitah. She also noted that Saito had at one time been much weaker than he was now. Circumstances had really changed him.
Gitah was better than before now. It was clean and had new strings of a much higher quality. Yui let out a gasp of delight. "It's beautiful, you're amazing."
"Yeah, it's probably better than when you bought it," said Saito.
"I know you're not going to like this," said Yui. She hugged him. Saito went rigid, but relax a little. He looked around the room awkwardly and then patted her on the head lightly. "Hug me back or I'm not letting go."
Saito sighed and rubbed his temple. He was feeling one of his migrants coming on. He loosely wrapped his arms around the brunette.
"Do it like you mean it," said Yui.
"Don't make me pry you off," said Saito.
"You wouldn't. It would be too much trouble for you."
"I hate you," said Saito narrowing his eyes. Yui giggled and Saito reluctantly smiled sheepishly.
"Where did all these tools come from?" asked Yui as Saito put them away. He signaled for her to follow him into his room. Yui was a little nervous for the first time. She had never been in a boy's bedroom before, but she decided that if she couldn't trust Saito, she couldn't trust any boy. This also struck Yui as odd because she was pretty sure Saito would lie without blinking.
Saito's room was neat and orderly, like him. Yui noticed rows of books. Many appeared to be books about history or politics, but there were also many novels. She saw names like John Steinbeck, George Orwell, Tom Clancy, Jeff Shaara, Michael Shaara, Sir Walter Scott, and many more.
There were also guns on a display shelf with model airplanes, ships, and gundams. In a corner was an acoustic guitar on a stand, a violin case, and a guitar case. Saito opened the guitar case to reveal a Fender Telecaster.
"This is a Fender American Series Ash Telecaster. A classic. The Telecaster was one of the first electrical guitars made commonly available. People like Elvis and Ricky Nelson used them when they were first made. Other legends used them like Bob Dylan, Keith Richards from the Rolling Stones, Jimmy Page… you don't have a clue who I'm talking about do you?"
"No," laughed Yui. Saito rolled his eyes and gave her a friendly push. Unfortunately for Yui that was almost enough to knock her off her feet.
"For a guitarist you don't know a lot about music," said Saito. "Come on. You need to learn something about music."
For the next two hours Yui was exposed to a century of American music from Saito's laptop. Saito played recordings of a man named Robert Johnson. Saito called him the King of Delta Blues. According to Saito rock music derived from several American genres of music, but blues was one of the most influential. She listened to a song called Sweet Home Chicago. Although Yui didn't have a lot of expertise she could tell there was a different level of skill between her and the long dead African-American that Saito thought of as the greatest guitar player of the early 20th century. Yui let the sound of an acoustic guitar wash over her body and into her soul. Saito sat in his chair with his eyes closed. He wanted Yui to understand this, Americans created rock music and she needed to understand a few things about American music.
"It's not so say that other countries aren't important. The British were instrumental in some key areas and some of the greatest bands came from the UK like the Beatles," said Saito. "Probably also wouldn't hurt if you heard some American folk."
American folk music was nothing like Japanese. The sounds and energy were completely different. "A lot of the famous stuff comes from the American Civil War, that's the mid-19th century. Our country is made up of immigrants, Hirasawa-san. The majority of these guys are coming from Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, France, Holland, and various places in Germany. There isn't a Germany yet."
"Even I know that," said Yui rolling her eyes. She had learned from her parents that there wasn't a unified Germany until 1871.
"Good," said Saito. He pulled out an atlas and turned to the eastern United States. "The mid-eastern seaboard is this place on the Chesapeake Bay. Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia. This area was first founded by the British. So is this area up here that we call New England. In between are New York and Pennsylvania. Both were founded by Dutch settlers. This area north is French Canada. That was seized by the British in the 18th century. Out here along the Mississippi River was the French colony, we bought that from them in the early 19th century. Florida and the southwest was all Spanish colonies. Each brought their own culture, customs, and music. So they all had their own unique influence on modern music."
"You know a lot," said Yui.
"History is a passion of mine."
"It shows," said Yui.
"The United States by the time of the Civil War are mostly of British decent. There have been plenty of Dutch settlers that remained and people from various German kingdoms are arriving in mass. Also by the Civil War is a large exodus from Ireland. Additionally, there are thousands of slaves that have been brought from Africa since the colonies were first established. Each group had their own influence on American folk," said Saito.
Yui listened to songs called Battlecry of Freedom, Dixie, Home Sweet Home, Garryowen, and Cumberland Gap. Yui had never heard a banjo before, but she noticed it appeared a lot in these songs after Saito explained what the instrument was. The accordion was also a new instrument to her. They weren't traditional Japanese instruments and weren't generally used in rock or pop.
"Blues has some roots in folk. But folk mostly turned into blue grass music and eventually became country music, a uniquely American sound."
Yui was next introduced to Elvis and Buddy Holly, two early rock stars.
"Elvis is called the King of Rock n' Roll. A lot of people debate that now, but that's the title he's traditionally held. The 1950s is the birth of rock so they are just figuring it out. It probably sounds really simple and the lyrics are the same. The 60s saw more development as they started to experiment more."
Yui was introduced to the Beach Boys who's music Saito described as probably similar to what the Light Music Club would play.
"They were a pop band of their time. They probably still have the best harmonies of any band in the last century."
Then the Beatles.
"This is where the British really cut into rock. The Beatles are regarded as one of the best bands who ever existed."
"My English isn't that good, but I don't understand what they are saying," commented Yui. It was like nothing she had ever heard before. She recognized the sound of a guitar, but she had never heard it produce such odd sounds.
"The song is called I am the Walrus. It doesn't make sense to us either. I think they were completely wasted when they wrote this. A lot of musicians are known or suspected of being on drugs and it shows in places," said Saito wryly.
"So it's the song, not my English?"
"Hirasawa-san, I'm a native speaker of English. And I still don't know what it means."
The Rolling Stones was a band Yui had heard of, but not listened to before.
"A classic American band."
"Do you know a man named Jimi Hendrix?" asked Yui remembering something from her first day in the Light Music Club. She remembered trying to tell them she had never played a guitar when they asked who her favorite guitarist was.
"One of the greatest guitarist to have ever lived. Here, listen to this. It's called All Along the Watchtower. It's my favorite by him."
Yui closed her eyes and let the music wash over her. She could tell Jimi Hendrix was in a league kilometers beyond her. She drank it in. It was beautiful. He was an amazing guitarist. Yui wondered if this is what it meant to be an artist.
"Is he your favorite?"
"Robert Johnson I think is my favorite guitarist," said Saito thoughtfully.
"I personally think there was a decline in rock music starting in the 1970s. AC/DC was pretty good. The 1980s there was an explosion of metal music like Kiss and Metallica. I'm not really a fan. The 1990s, when I was born, came Green Day. If there is one rock band from our generation that will be remembered I'd put money on Green Day. But that's really the general history. Rock music got exported to American soldiers based here and it started to catch on, but it wasn't the first time. Jazz was pretty popular before the war."
"Does Japan influence anyone?"
"Music wise? Traditional elements have some influence. Mostly the Japanese music Americans know come from soundtracks in video games or anime."
"Do we have any influence?"
"Oh yeah, lots. Americans love the Japanese and a bunch of things come over from here," he said. "Americans don't make TVs anymore. Everything comes from here or Korea. A lot Americans are pretty fascinated by karate. Sushi and other Japanese foods are extremely popular, but expensive. Some of your words are now used in English."
"Like what?"
"Taifuu," he said. "We pronounce it as typhoon though. Tsunami is another word we borrowed."
"What else?" asked Yui. She was surprised by all this. She never knew the world regard Japan so well. Why a superpower like the United States would be so enamored by the Japanese.
"Kurosawa Akira."
"The director?"
"He basically popularized Japan. There has always been a fascination of Asia in the west, but he really brought to the modern audiences. His movies heavily influenced some of our most famous directors and he is a recognizable name in the west. So is Miyazaki Hayao."
They talked for another hour as Yui asked questions. He was extremely knowledgeable and Yui found Saito loved to teach. Yui remembered Shawn had said he was one of the best instructors. Maybe he would make a great teacher.
Downtown
Shawn had left Mugi in the care of the gate guards and left. He boarded a commuter train to another part of the city.
Shawn at 6' 5", his pale Irish skin, and his short messy light brown hair stood out a lot in a country where he towered over most of the male population. He didn't know what he was looking for and realized he really didn't know Fukuoka that well. He figured that he could look for the American Consulate. There would probably be shops that catered to Americans there.
"Car-ahan-kun?"
Shawn emerging from a book store was Nodoka, his class representative.
Shawn smiled at her. "You can call me Shawn, Manabe-san."
"Oh, I couldn't say that," she laughed.
"Well you certainly can't say Callahan," laughed Shawn.
"Why are you here?" she asked.
"Just needed a walk," said Shawn. "Buying books?"
"Need to study," said Nodoka holding up a plastic bag. "Did something happen in club today?"
Shawn saw her eyes narrow, but the polite smile didn't leave her face. She was very sharp Shawn noted. Much more so than any of his classmates.
"You will probably want to hear this," said Shawn indicating she should follow.
30 Minutes Later
"Who would do that?" asked Nodoka sinking in her seat.
"No idea, but Bob seemed to. He probably is taking care of your friend," said Shawn taking a sip from his drink. The two of them were in a family restaurant that was like the millions of other ones that covered Japan from the Ryukyu Islands in the south to the La Perouse Strait on Japan's northern sea border.
"Yui has been through so much. She's changed a lot and I can tell she's suffering," said Nodoka. She was fidgeting. "It's like this silent scream has been coming from her and I don't know what to do."
"I think you were the only one to notice," said Shawn. "Bob doesn't tell me much about Hirasawa-san, but I have been under the impression that even her sister doesn't know."
"Ui wouldn't. She loves her sister and she is too close. Besides, would you want to believe that your sister having her soul ripped from the inside out."
"Probably not," said Shawn. He didn't have a sister, but he'd seen that situation before.
"Tell me about Kamisaka-kun," said Nodoka linking her hands together and resting her chin on them. Shawn could tell she wasn't going to take any bullshit from him.
"He's from Virginia. Down south of where I was born. Doesn't have a lot of family around. Talks about them even less. He's not close to a lot of people. Bob believes you really just need a handful of good solid friends. He's not closed to making new ones, but we relocate a lot and others have died in our business. Our closest friends are in a unit we call Task Force Garm," said Shawn. "I'm probably his closest friend in the world. I've known him the longest."
"What's he like?" asked Nodoka. She wanted to know about this boy that she would have to trust Yui to.
"Why so interested in him?" asked Shawn with a lazy grin.
"I need to know Yui is in good hands. You said she's with him now and I have a good idea of how upset she is right now. She loves that guitar. I need to know," said Nodoka sharply. She saw his grin disappear and for the first time Shawn looked offended.
"There's no one better you can trust a person with," he said coldly. "Bob has taken care of us for a long time."
"You're as protective of him as I am of her," observed Nodoka.
Shawn looked down at his coffee. "I've always been at loose ends. Bob has this inner strength that we all rally around. I have followed that nutcase into one god forsaken place to another. He works hard to make sure we all come back alive and takes it personally when he fails. Bob's like family to me and the others. We'd lay our lives out for him as quickly as he would for us."
"I sure you've done just that too."
"Many times. It's a bond like nothing you can imagine. Bob says in the death and darkness humans will always find life."
"He's a smart man."
"The smartest," said Shawn.
"Yui isn't the smartest, but she is full of so much potential," said Nodoka leaning her head back. Her face was awash with a motherly happiness. "Yui I believe can do anything she seriously puts her mind to. I have seen her do great things. She can't seem to retain information, but once she can I think she will outshine me."
"You really love her, don't you?"
"I'm an only child. Yui and Ui are like sisters to me, especially Yui," Nodoka smiling fondly at all the times she has spent with the Hirasawa sisters. Nodoka probably closer to a mother.
"Wish I had family like you," said Shawn scowling a little.
"Tell me about yourself," said Nodoka.
"Me? Dunno what would interest you."
"You're a mercenary. I'm sure you've lived a very exciting life," said Nodoka laughing. She could also tell Shawn had tried to avoid the question.
"Touché," said Shawn. "I was born into an Irish-American family in Boston, Massachusetts. That's in the American northeast. I was taken by Social Services and sent to live with my grandfather who was an instructor with ASI, the company I work for now. I met Bob in Afghanistan. He'd just come out of Bosnia. He didn't talk much. I think something bad happened there. He was numb, he cried a lot, and he was full of rage."
"Doesn't sound like him now."
"No. It isn't. One day we came under attack when most of the mercs were out. Bob had a knife and stabbed an Afghani with it. We killed the man together."
"How old were you?" asked Nodoka in shock.
"12. It was just before out 13th birthdays," said Shawn. "We took rifles. I remember we were barely big enough to fire them. Both of us had started training before then, but not live fire training yet. It was mostly classroom lessons and exercising. It all started there in Afghanistan. We found purpose together and that's what kept us both going. We found the will to survive."
"What was your favorite country that you've been to?" asked Nodoka.
"America," said Shawn with a grin. "I loved England and Germany, Russia isn't so bad when you get use to it, but nothing beats your own homeland. The UK is fun and the people are great, but they can't cook. The Germans are a pretty friendly bunch once you get to know them and hardworking. They also know what a good meal is."
"What's your least favorite?"
"France," answered Shawn at once. "The French can't get their shit together. They're disorganized and riot over everything."
"I've always wanted to visit France," said Nodoka quietly.
"Nice place to visit. I don't deny they haven't done things. France made big contributions to science, philosophy, and art, but they have been a joke since the World Wars."
"What do you do for fun thought?" asked Nodoka. Shawn had struck her a lazy and laid back, but Nodoka was starting to see he was hiding behind the mask of a simple Irishman. Shawn was considerably smarter and more thoughtful than Nodoka had expected. Perhaps his nonchalant attitude was meant to kept people at a distance. If so, then we was a lot more successful than Saito.
"I listen to music. I sometimes go to batting cages when I'm in a country that plays baseball… I draw some," admitted Shawn.
"I'd love to see your drawings sometime," said Nodoka.
Shawn pulled over the paper place mat and pulled a pen from an inside pocket. In a few minutes he drew Nodoka's from the shoulders up.
"That's amazing," said Nodoka looking stunned. It was simple drawing, but impressive for so short a time. It was enough to get a likeness of her in an anime-like appearance. Shawn had drawn details like the way her hair parted.
"This pen isn't really for drawing though. Given more time and my supplies at home I could draw sometime much better from memory," said Shawn. "When we had down time I'd be drawing pictures of places we were. Anya would be working on her latest works of poetry. Jack would be doing things with a computer none of us understood. And Bob, he'd be building one of his model planes or ships or cleaning something."
"Anya and Jack?"
"Other members of our team. I haven't seen them in a while," said Shawn sadly. "They have they own jobs right now. I know Bob's more worried about them than me. Jack's mouth gets him in trouble and Anya's pride does the same."
"It's hard isn't it," said Nodoka. It wasn't a question.
"Very," said Shawn rubbing his forehead. "I'm depended on to mediate. We all have our roles and we do them. It's harder now that we've been separated. God knows I've gotten into a lot of trouble when Bob had his back turned."
"Like what?"
"Oh, that's a long story."
"I have time and nowhere to go," said Nodoka with a gentle smile.
Elsewhere
Yui was riding in Saito's car on her way back home. Yui was hugging her guitar case. For someone who rarely seemed to play it Yui seemed awfully attached to the guitar. There didn't seem to be a rational reason, but life didn't always have those anyways.
He pulled into the Hirasawa Family's driveway this time.
"Ricchan wants to have a meeting tomorrow to discuss club recruitment."
Saito sighed. That had not been planned. Fortunately Mugi's security protocols were very flexible to accommodate the teenager's irregular schedule. Good security had to be rigid enough that there was a generally plan that was clearly understood, but flexible enough to adapt.
No plan survives contact with the enemy, thought Saito. It was one of the first rules of Murphy's Law of Combat. Many armies had failed because their plans were too rigid.
"Would you like to join us for dinner?"
Speaking of plans not surviving contact…
Saito was at a loose. This was uncomfortable territory for him. But Yui seemed to be taking the decision from.
"I sent an email to Ui. She probably made dinner for three," said Yui opening her door.
Saito got out of his car. He never understood the Japanese habit of using emails instead of text messages. He'd read somewhere that Japan had been one of the first countries to use text messaging on a large scale, but improvements in mobile internet made it obsolete. In other words short emails had replaced texting in Japan. Maybe Americans were just behind the times. But he was also allowing his mind to wonder to irrelevant thoughts when he had the pressing question of whether to run or not. Yui however wasn't giving him a chance.
Saito followed Yui to the door as she pulled out her key.
"Tadaima (I'm home)!" called out Yui.
"Okari (Welcome back), Onee-chan," said Ui.
"Shitsurei-shimasu (excuse me intrusion)," muttered Saito. Ui nodded politely. She had been more than a little shocked when her sister had emailed her that Saito was coming to dinner. It also appeared this had been sprung on Saito as well.
"Please make yourself at home," said Ui placing a pair of slippers on the floor.
Saito sat on a cushion at the low coffee table in the Hirasawa's living room alone. Yui had gone upstairs to put her guitar into her room and then change out of her uniform.
"Tea?" asked Ui exiting the kitchen with a tray.
"…" Saito opened his mouth and then closed it. He didn't know what to say or do. This was just too far outside of his comfort zone and his mind was screaming to run. He wanted solitude. He wanted to just to go home.
"I can get something else," said Ui. She could see that his fingers were fidgeting a lot and he was avoiding eye contact.
"Tea is fine," said Saito slowly. The politeness was too alien and made him feel like he didn't belong all the more.
"Are you okay?" asked Ui pouring him a cup.
"Not really," said Saito. He may have read a file on Yui and Ui, but they were still strangers too him. He didn't like being alone with strangers. What was worse was they were two harmless teenage girls. They weren't a couple of ex-Red Army soldiers turned terrorists he could drop. So the fight or flight instinct was just flight.
"Why is it so hot in here?" asked Saito. He didn't like heat or humidity.
"Onee-chan is allergic to air conditioning," said Ui apolitically.
He snorted at that. "People aren't allergic to air conditioning. They just cool and circulate air. Your filters probably need to be cleaned and your sister is allergic to something in that."
"They can be cleaned?"
"… you can't be serious," said Saito.
10 minutes later Saito was staring in total horror at the Hirasawa's heating and air conditioning system. Since both parents were gone so often the elder Hirasawas rarely had time to think about things like cleaning the filters and Ui had never known how the system worked. She could unclog a toilet and change light bulbs, but that was the extent of her household repair skills.
Both sisters stood behind Saito, Ui holding a flashlight above his head.
"You're going to have to throw these out. This is beyond cleaning. It looks this stuff has congealed," said Saito poking the filter. How this had happened was beyond him.
Ui and Yui were just horrified. Dust, dirt, and mold clung to the filters. Yui began to sneeze violently. Saito who also had bad allergies felt his eyes get irritated and his nose started to clog. Ui was covering her mouth with a handkerchief, but it wasn't helping her much.
They exited the basement with the filters in carefully sealed garbage bags.
Saito picked up the collared shirt from a chair in the kitchen. He had removed his blazer, tie, vest, and buttoned shirt to prevent them from getting dirty leaving him with a short sleeve plain white T-shirt.
Both sisters were surprised at how skinny he really was. He was only 150 pounds. Yui noticed the bottom edge of a tattoo on his right arm that was concealed by the sleeve. There was also another one on his left arm on the wrist. It was four lines of words.
Sic Semper Tyrannis
Man Ist Was Man Isst
Per Aspera Ad Astra
Look Back But Don't Stare
The last one was in English so Yui could read it, but it took her longer to understand the metaphor. The second was an old German pun, Man is what man eats. The German word for is and eat were nearly pronounced almost the same. The third Yui knew from the note that she was keeping secretly in her coin purse (2). The first one had her stumped.
"Sic simper tee-ran-nes?" Yui sound trying to sound it out.
Saito snapped his head up and at her. She was standing halfway across the room and the letters were small. Was her eyesight really that good?
"Sic Semper Tyrannis. Thus always to tyrants. I don't know about Japan's prefectures, but in the United States each state has its own motto," said Saito buttoning up his shirt. He knew that the prefectures had a bird, flower, and tree like the states. Some even had a fish which made sense for an island nation like Japan.
Yui had a flashback to a small flag in a plastic stand. One with the American stars and stripes. One white with the Japanese rising sun in the middle. And then one blue with a decorative circle in the middle. It was of a person holding a spear in one hand and a sword in the other dressed in a blue toga standing triumphantly atop a person laying on his back with a crown lying on the ground beyond his head as if he was just de-crowned. The words Sic Semper Tyrannis was below them and above was one word.
"Virginia," muttered Yui.
"How did you know?" asked Saito.
"The flag you keep above your TV has those words," she answered with a shrug.
"And you remembered that?"
Saito hadn't realized that nearly the whole time he had been cleaning her guitar Yui had alternated her time staring at Gitah, him, and the objects in front of her including the miniature flags on top his TV. But that wasn't it alone. As of late Yui found herself less distracted in class. It was like someone had turned on a light switch in her head and she was able to recall things. It wasn't perfect though. Yui had never been a stupid person. Yui didn't know it, but her parents had had her tested when she was in elementary school. Yui's IQ was actually very high, but she had trouble paying attention, retaining lessons, and recalling them after a period of time. The classic hallmarks of a learning disability.
In the time he had spent with Yui, Saito felt he had made serious misjudgments… or rather the original profile he was given was wrong. There were things about her that he understood in their conversations like they had a mysterious connection. He had found it yesterday in her file. It was an on yellow sticky note.
IQ: 120
Saito's was 125. Yui's IQ was on the edge of superior. Her actually intelligence was beyond all her friends and classmates. He looked at teacher's reviews of Yui. They all said the same thing. Yui was easily distracted. She was prone to impulsive behavior and hyperactivity. She tested poorly, but when she was presented with something that interested her she hyper-focused and demonstrated outstanding academic performance. The teachers seemed to confirm that there was a massive gap between Yui's school performance and her actual intelligence.
It was like how a recovering alcoholic could always recognize an alcoholic. Saito recognized someone with a learning disability too. The difference was that Saito had been medicated to help him focus and been given skills to take a different approach to learning. His only weakness was his mind was prone to wandering and making seemingly random jumps.
"Hirasawa-san," he said to Yui who had taken a seat at the table.
"Mm?" She was totally relaxed. Saito noticed she was bouncing back from crises faster now. She seemed to be toughening up a little. Or so he thought.
He realized he didn't have a plan to discuss this with her. He often did make things up as he go along, but his discomfort being at the Hirasawa's home seemed to distract him. He probably should have held off and waited for a plan to address this delicately.
"… Hirasawa-san, I think I've mentioned before that I have read extensive files on all of Kotobuki-san's friends, correct?"
"Hai, I think you've mentioned it," she nodded. Where is he going with this?
"You don't do well in school-"
"I'm just not that smart," she laughed tapping a fist against her head. It was self mocking, but he could see her shoulders sink and her eyes sadden.
"I don't think so."
"Huh?" she looked suspicious now.
"Hirasawa-san, have you ever heard of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder?"
"No," said Yui unsurely. It sounded long and complicated.
"I think you have it," he said.
"What is it?" she asked sounding worried. I have a mental illness?
"A learning disability."
"So I'm not just stupid, I'm retarded?" Yui felt a little betrayed by Saito now. He wasn't the nicest person, but this was just plain mean.
Saito face-palmed. "Okay, maybe that was a bad choice of words. Well they are trying to come up with a better name than learning disabled. I think the PC (politically correct) term is learning difference."
"I don't understand."
"There is a gap between your actual intelligence and your ability to apply it," explained Saito. "Hirasawa-san, you're actually extremely smart."
Yui shook her head in total disbelief. "You're lying."
Ui was listening from the stairs with baited breath. Finally, someone who believes in Onee-chan.
"I'm not," he said firmly.
"Your are!" shouted Yui. Ui was shocked. She had never seen her sister angry in her life. Yui was shaking with rage. She was still emotionally unstable had she been told this earlier she probably would not have had such a loud reaction.
"Why would I?" he asked calmly.
Yui just stood and walked away. She didn't know why, but what did he know?
"You can't go around acting like you know me," she said.
"You're right that I don't know you, but I do understand things about you. We've been done this before," he said standing up himself. "I don't know you that well personally, but I can see some of the things that make you tick because I have had those experiences too."
He was struggling at reasoning with her. Yui had long ago convinced herself she was not a smart person. It was not easy to undo that. On top of that were the traumatic situations she had suffered through. So many things had happened to Yui over the years that had produced this person before him. She could have turned out very differently if someone had given her the special attention she had needed.
"You got 100-percent on an exam last year."
"A fluke. And I couldn't remember anything about guitar playing afterwards."
"You hyper-focused. That's why you aced that test. You have trouble retaining information. You have trouble sitting still sometimes. You do impulsive things. You can't pay attention." With each sentence Saito's voice got louder and firmer loosing the weariness again. He was trying to explain things again like last time, but this time Yui wasn't having it. She was only getting angrier.
"People have called me baka (idiot) and ahou (moron) my whole life," she nearly snarled at him.
Saito froze. A brief image of crying little boy being called retard by a bunch of kids flashed before his eyes before an older girl chased them away. He shook the image away. He tried not to let the hurt and the emotional scars Yui had been hiding to get to him He had just tripped over another layer of hidden emotions that Yui had hidden for even longer.
Saito's momentary silence only further angered Yui. She wondered why she had invited him into her home. It was meant to thank him for helping her so much today and he had betrayed that. She had started to trust him with some of her deeper feelings.
Ui watched the battle-hardened mercenary sinking into his own scarred past and her beloved big sister unleash her inner demons. She could feel her stomach churn in a maelstrom of emotions. Most of them were bad.
"This was more than your guitar getting destroyed," said Saito delicately. He had made a mistake. He had acted too soon without a plan and he was catching shit.
"The same is true with you," shot back Yui.
"Hirasawa-san," he said stepping towards her. Yui slapped him. The action was so unexpected that Yui managed to get the full force of the blow without Saito defending himself. Ui let out a small cry from her hidden spot. Saito was dumbfounded.
Saito felt a very strong surge of emotions pulse through him. He was reminded overwhelmingly of the days when he was weak, bullied, and…
Two very powerful instincts battled for supremacy. One was to explode. To vent all his rage from his past, his childhood, all the misfortunes after, all the things that had happen to him as a mercenary, upon this ingrate. He wanted to grab her by the throat and sent her face first through the plate glass door behind her. The second was to implode. To allow all the sadness and depression to drag him back down again. The early days when his parents were alive. The past he thought he had buried was back to haunt him along with everything else, all 17 years of his life was crashing down on him and Saito knew he wasn't going to be able to handle it. It was amazing that those things seemed to haunt him as much as unspeakable violence and war crimes committed before his eyes… or the things he had done himself.
Yui was now terrified. She could see something angry and violent surging through Saito's eyes. She had vented most of her anger was now. The darkness in his eyes frightened her telling her she was starting to cross a line. She was in real danger from him now. Rationality was a gift she had been blessed with as of late. It was something that Saito's presence seemed to inspire along with calmness and a sense of safety.
She let out a sniffle. She looked her feet only to see a tooth on the floor.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"I'm sorry too," he said weakly. He felt shaky realizing that he had just considered ramming the poor girl in front of him through a glass door. He had wanted to punish her for her being so ungrateful for his help and to make her feel full indescribable extent his pain. He hadn't had such weak thoughts in so many years. And Yui already felt enough pain.
He picked up the tooth and put back in his mouth. "The real one was knocked out when I was 5. Kids thought I was stupid too because I couldn't read."
Yui just nodded. She wasn't sure how many of these emotional ups and downs she could take. Saito seemed to invoke so many powerful emotions she had tried to bury. In turn she was having the same affect on Saito, but Yui wasn't aware. She wanted to believe there was hope. He always seemed to offer it to her. But never much kindness. When he did give it to her there was usually a cold distance between them like he kept her at arm's length.
Saito believed if it made sense then it was good enough, but he understood that most people didn't have his rationality so he relied on tricks, money, lies, threats, violence, manipulation, using powers greater than himself, and his own personality. This was how he dealt with the world. In turn if the world presented something to him that made no rational or practical sense or hadn't been proven to have any use then he wouldn't accept it. He wasn't easily fooled, tricked, or manipulated, but it made it hard for him to sometimes relate to other people. From experience he had learned how irrational thought would get him burnt. He had been attacked and nearly lost control of himself all because he had recklessly tried to help Yui in a situation when she was totally unreceptive to help.
"So there's hope." Saito didn't show any expression, but he knew this was the moment he should have waited for first. Yui was unsure of her beliefs and she was ready to listen. He could reason with her now safely.
"Hirasawa-san, I have learned from long experience that there is always hope in the darkest of times," he said trying to straighten the fake tooth, the proof of what illogical mistakes he had made and the stupidly of others can lead them to do.
"But it sounds so hard."
"Nothing is given. If you really want it you must work hard for it," said Saito sharply. He had all the scars to prove what mistakes cost.
"Like your friendship," she said.
Why did this girl always seem to say things that? What was the point? Her friendship meant little to him, but it meant something to her. She was naïve, but learning. He was experienced, but difficult to relate to.
"Trust me," she said. Her voice was earnest. "And I will trust you. Be my friend and I will be yours. That is an even trade and I will work hard to be your friend as I will expect you to be mine. Quid Pro Quo."
She was using his own words and logic against him. But it was imperfect logic. Yui was not able to reason completely on his level. But she was learning to fight him and on his terms. Saito was not an enemy she could ever hope to be physically, however he was one she was learning to corner and batter away at with words, some logic, and emotions. Yui wasn't able to beat him yet. She was showing an increasing ability to crack his defenses. Yui could hurt him and possibly destroy him one day. And worse for him she was starting to get a fuzzy feel for the power she could wield.
Yui stepped towards him. Her arms were crossed like she was cold. Her head was hung low. Saito shuffled his feet uncomfortably and bit his lip. Yui was edging closer and closer to him. Rooted to the spot Saito couldn't do anything.
Yui rested her head against his chest gently. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath relaxing. She could feel his heart beat against her forehead. Saito slowly wrapped his arms around her in a gentle hug. He was surprised how warm she felt. She was so relaxed and quiet that he wondered if she had fallen asleep. Eventually he pushed her off. Yui was friendly and liked personal contact. Saito didn't like it with people he wasn't close to. The intimacy was just too draining on him.
"Kamisaka-senpai, could you help me with something?" called Ui from the kitchen.
"Hai," he said walking away from Yui. He was relieved to escape her.
Yui contemplating what she had been told and how powerless he had just seemed.
Saito walked through the kitchen door. The Hirasawa home was two floors and a partially submerged basement with garage. As he walked by Ui he was suddenly grabbed around the waist. Ui gave her senior a quick hug.
"Thank you," she said. Stepped back and wiped a tear away.
Saito didn't speak. He thought it was misplaced. He didn't do anything. He had made mistakes. He had been sloppy. People had been hurt. He understood where Ui was coming from, but he hadn't earned any kind of reward.
Dinner was awkward for Saito. Both sisters were very nice. Saito noticed that Ui had seemed to take a liking to him now. It was a far cry from her thinking he'd assaulted Yui or some damned thing. He poked at his food. It was good and Saito rarely turned down a free meal, but it was getting to be too much.
The situation was so normal. His life had been so abnormal for so long he felt just incredibly out of place. Dinners alone when his siblings were at boarding school and his parents were out of town was his childhood memories. Then he spent many years eating in the company of soldiers, mercenaries, and all around killers. If not them then it was him eating alone at home.
His life was very isolated. There were only his three teammates and one family member he had any regular contact with.
He took a bit another bite. It was good.
The attention and warmth bubbling from the two sisters were overwhelming. He felt drained. He looked at them. Both sisters loved the other more than themselves. This was a functional family with so much mutual loyalty and caring. It was as alien as it was extraordinary to Saito.
Yui could see Saito was pulling back into himself. He had no family near him that she knew of and few friends. Yui realized he must spend every day alone in his home. In fact she wondered how much more isolated he be when Shawn eventually moved into his own place.
"Ne, Kamisaka-kun, can you help me study a little?" asked Yui.
"Onee-chan, you shouldn't take advantage of Kamisaka-senpai," said Ui. She could see Saito was not very comfortable in this environment and that he seemed awfully exhausted now.
"It's fine," he said wearily. "I'm used to not sleeping."
Yui cocked her head to the side in confusion. Saito smiled wearily and told her a story of staying awake for three days.
"I was hallucinating towards the end though," he said shaking his head. He chuckled as if the memory was mildly amusing rather than horrifying.
Yui felt a little guilty, but she wanted to test Saito and his honesty. Was he lying about her being smart? Besides she knew she would be using him like everyone else in her life until she could take care of herself. Yui wished sincerely though that she could give something back to Saito.
Yui listened to Saito as he explained tricks to retain information. He seemed to struggle at points because some things of it didn't translate very well into the Japanese language or culture. Yui's knowledge of English and experience with American culture helped considerably.
"Okay, know that we've covered word association let's trip history. It can help to try and think of things like a story. History is basically a story. I'm sure imagination is overactive to turn things into some kind of drama," said Saito smirking a little.
"Shut up," said Yui scowling a little.
"It helps to make it fun. If you enjoy it you'll focus better. Despite what you may think people generally don't remember bad things because they don't want to and don't want to remember it. If you hate a subject you'll think about something else. If you enjoy it your mind will naturally focus. Now that's true with a lot of things, but for people like us we tend to hyper-focus which gives us an edge."
"I see," said Yui nodding. It made sense. Saito was already making it fun for her. He was a natural teacher. He was just strict enough to keep her working, but encouraging enough to keep her confidence up. She liked having him teaching her. She wondered if Saito enjoyed it too.
"We're not going to fix you in one night you know. This was years of special education for me," said Saito. Saito was recalling as much as he could from his past to help Yui. While many unpleasant memories were coming with them he did enjoy seeing others learning from him. Saito was often accused of being a hard-ass, but many thanked him later for giving them the skills that kept them alive. Saito had also tutored his teammates through school. He liked watching people grow under his supervision. It made him feel like he accomplished something good. And Yui was a girl with a lot of potential that had yet to be unleashed.
"I understand," she said.
Saito pulled out his pocket watch. It was past 10 pm.
"It's pretty late," said Yui. She didn't meet his eyes.
"It's fine," he said getting up.
"It is really?" asked Yui skeptically.
"You'll just have to trust me," Saito said walking to the door with Yui in tow.
She walked him to his car in the driveway.
"Was it a bother today?"
"Hai," he said. "But maybe not for the reasons you think."
"Eating with us was hard for you."
"That obvious, huh?" he asked. Yui nodded. He looked up at the sky. He still couldn't see that stars. The sky was a purple color from all the city lights. Saito had grown up in a city too, but he looked to the sky anyways. "I just feel like I didn't belong."
Yui wanted to hug him. To tell him that he wasn't alone and would always be welcome in their home. But she didn't do any of that. She would have to build slowly to that. She had also emotionally exhausted herself too.
"You said I have to keep going to be better off. Then you should do the same," said Yui.
"We'll see," said Saito.
At home Saito found the apartment dark. Shawn wasn't home. He checked his phone for any calls or messages. It was eerily quiet and he turned on the TV, just for some noise. He could see the happy faces of both sisters. Yui was faking a little at times to cover moments when painful memories stirred, but she was genuinely happy to eat dinner with her sister. She had a family to take refuge in. Saito walked into his room and took a seat at his desk. He looked at his "family". All were so young. They were people from broken homes and miserable lives that had found themselves together. It was the miracle of the human condition to always find life and hope in the darkness. That bond was unbreakable.
He opened a locked desk drawer. Inside was his passport, bank books, some encrypted hard drives, and a few personal things. He looked at his 6th birthday. Both parents were out of the country. His grandfather had come and they spent the day together. He was the only one who took care of him. He had never felt so betrayed when all his family for one reason or another turned their backs on him leaving that one uncle. But his grandfather and sister had hurt the most. In the end only his brother seemed to talk to him. He probably should call him soon. They had been estranged for a while, but they were at least talking.
He entered a name into his computer. A home phone number was available for the old Japanese-American still living in Virginia.
Saito stared down at his cell phone with the number entered in for the next hour.
If I had to say Saito is based on anyone it's probably on a character called A-No. 1, the protagonist from a novel later adapted into a movie called Emperor of the North Pole. A-No. 1 is a hobo riding the rails in Oregon during the Great Depression. He's just a little more caring than A-No. 1.
Saito does not fear any of his classmates. His male classmates confront multiple times with tricks, threats, and physical violence. He lays back and relaxes. Notice most of the time he's reading something or has his back turned on them when they engage him. They boast their about their strength and pound their chests at him. Saito just snarls at them and they run away because he doesn't have to use violence most of the time. Fights are easy for him to end, but the clean up and aftermath is another story. He knows this and avoids them. When he does use violence it's usually only the exact amount necessary. Saito is experienced and he doesn't have to fear them because he's better prepared. He is always in control. What you see with this chapter however is when he does lose control there are consequences.
Yui on the other hand is naïve and innocent most of her life. Like her classmates she had not understood her own weaknesses, but now she has had a taste. But Yui is turning into a stronger person now. She attempts to confront Saito intentionally and unconsciously. Unlike her classmates Yui has some success. She relies more on emotions than him, but now that she has some experience she has enough rational thought to start to meet Saito on his terms.
Saito is emotionally weak compared to Yui. She can handle continued social interaction and welcomes new people into her life. She desires having friends. Yui is physically weaker and lacks the rationality Saito has. Keep in mind Saito is not born this way. He was once like Yui, but the circumstances of his life and very hard taught lessons turned him into what he is.
In a fight, Saito can beat Yui physically or with his superior practical knowledge. Yui however is not helpless and becoming a seriously threat to him. You saw that Yui provoked very powerful emotions from Saito. She is hitting nerves and vulnerable spots. They are now entering a friendship based on Mutually Assured Destruction. Like the United States and Soviet Union, Saito and Yui can either learn to get along or rip each other apart with the emotional equivalent of nuclear war. This is their unorthodox relationship. They do not love each other though. They are simply too weary of each other to even entertain the idea of romantic involvement for now.
Respectfully
J. H. Kamiya
Appendix
1. The Japanese spoken language is an Altaic language. This places it in Turkic-Tungusic language part of the same language family as Mongolian and Korean. Japanese is NOT a Chinese language. Japanese's origin is not entirely clear, but we do not it's not related to any Chinese spoken language because Chinese uses tones in its language and Japanese and Korean do not. Most people agree that Japanese and Korean are related languages (but not all Japanese and Koreans). The written language is Chinese based. The Qin and later Zhou Dynasty had the first written language in East Asia. It was brought to Japan by Korean monks during the Yamato Period. Uniquely Japanese writing systems, Katakana and Hiragana, were introduced much later during the Heian Period. Most of the Japanese pronunciations do derive from Chinese pronunciations such as the words for numbers, hachi (the number eight) is the same word in Japanese and Mandarin Chinese. Strangely Japanese cannot pronounce the letter L when Koreans and Chinese can pronounce this sound. Also all Japanese words end with a vowel or the letter N. None of these languages can pronounce the 'TH' sound.
2. Many Japanese, both men and women, carry a small bag either held closed by a drawstring or zipper to hold change. Many men also carry wallets like in the West.
