''Well at least their hiring better-looking people these days.''
Mr Takamoto almost entirely filled the cramped space of the doorway. The ashy grey of his remaining hair and sag of his skin were the most prevalent of the few indicators that the man was indeed a senior citizen; let alone well into his ninth decade. Even at his proud old age, he held strength in his hand and unnatural straightness to his posture.
He held one strong arm extended across the narrow gap of the doorway barring his unwanted visitors from the view of his homestead. He regarded them with quick and intelligent eyes, his expression neither stern nor enthusiastic. The aura that surrounded him was a serious one; he demanded a definite respect even as he stood there in his casual loose vest and faded aubergine trousers. Mei could tell immediately the guise of army doctor was not all there was to be said about his past, undoubtedly, the man had been an elite soldier - special forces perhaps.
The man spoke again, his voice rusty, as though it had been a few days since he'd last used it.
''I'll be sure to pay the mooring fee tomorrow evening miss, so if that will be all…''
Mei piped up as he began to retreat into the homely lamplight.
'' No - wait, I don't think you quite understand why I'm here.''
He raised a bushy eyebrow, impatience shadowing his face.
''I have a dog here with a severe shotgun wound, the pellet may well have emb-''
''I deal with humans, not dogs.''
He raised a hand cutting her off. This irked her.
''You're dealing with me aren't you?''
He looked into her maddened eyes, amused at her annoyance and decided to heed her for the heck of it.
''I hope you're offering a pretty sum - you've just interrupted my meal, so I'd take that initiative and make it good if I were you.''
''I don't have any hard cash to offer, but - ''
''Then I'm afraid you're misinformed miss, I don't involve myself with charity, I hope you enjoy the remainder of your night.''
He shifted to shut the door. Mei stepped forward before she could consider the boldness of her actions, wedging her boot firmly between the door and its frame. She took the lighter clenched between her shaking fingers and thrust it into the free hand of the now aggravated man.
''I didn't say anything about charity, I told you before didn't I - you're dealing with me.''
She glanced over to where Harumi stood buckling under the limp animal's weight, watching the scene unfold in semi awareness.
''Harumi, bring him.''
Her steady words reflected false bravery as she made to force her way past the man knowing full well even in his old age he was more than capable of preventing her invasion into his home. To her surprise and utmost relief the arm barring her passage slid from the door and made its way tentatively to the lighter as its new owner gazed upon it with a curious scrutiny.
Mei slid through the narrow gap brushing past the elderly man's shoulder as he stood enchanted by the trinket. He stepped an inch to the right absently allowing Harumi and the width of Shinobu to stagger over the door scraper and into the mildly rocking boat.
Takamoto allowed his brief burst of anger toward the bold woman now casually entering his home, to fade to intrigue as he regarded the captivating beauty of the object in his hand. He turned it in the moonlight, regarding the steady etching as all who had owned the lighter previously had done before him. He tested its weight in his palm and soon ascertained its making was that of solid silver. Satisfied with the trade, he tucked the metal object warmed by the woman's hand into his back pocket and made his way inside to keep up his end of the bargain.
Bronze pans, steel fish hooks and copper wire among other things adorned the various shelves and hooks hanging down from the ceiling. Their assortment was, however, not random but held a sense of order; though Mei could not sit to comprehend this in the heat of her rising stress. She passed the low roofed hallway into what appeared to be a kitchen; a robust wooden table stood at its centre dotted with a myriad of thick volumes on subjects from anatomy and WW2 to seafood cooking (each book was stuffed full of greying footnotes peeping out intriguingly from random pages). The aromatic scent of baked cod rose from a tray on the hob filling the small space with its deep odour.
Takamoto appeared in the space a minute later and crossed the matted floor towards a steel sink. A metallic clang rang out as the cold water caressed his hands and then crashed down into the bowl below in a powerful jet. He turned the tap off and flicked the rivulets of water from his fingers, drying the remaining droplets on a beige dishcloth as he made his way to the table.
He scooped up a pair of frameless spectacles from the table and pushed them up onto his straight nose. He moved quickly clearing the table of all unnecessary items until only its unvarnished surface remained.
He finally acknowledged the two women who graced his kitchen. Flicking his gaze to Harumi's dishevelled appearance and then to the bleeding animal in her arms, he addressed her first.
''Are you the owner?''
She nodded.
''Set him down there.''
Harumi did as instructed.
Takamoto scrutinised the angry wound now spurting blood onto his table. He placed a mottled hand lightly onto Shinobu's damp flank and to his relief found the fur still moved gently up and down.
'No artificial respiration needed. That's good - I could do without trading saliva with a dog today.'
He moved his sensitive hand from the flank and to the short fur of the dog's chest and closed his eyes as he assessed the strength of the dog's pulse.
'Not so good, he's definitely struggling now.'
He shifted his attention back to the severity of the wound, taking one brown paw between his fingers and raising the dog's foreleg to get a better look.
''A shotgun pellet did you say?''
Mei nodded suddenly as the torturous silence was abruptly broken.
''Yes that's right- I mean, I didn't see it happen - but I think it's pretty safe to assume.''
A perplexed expression befell his features.
''Strange for one to do this much damage. In most cases, you can barely see the wound, especially under all the fur - but this one's nasty - certainly obvious. Whoever set out to shoot the fellow meant more than to just scare him off.''
Harumi let out a pained sob, internally swearing her vengeance on the long-departed couple before finally addressing the man for the first time.
''But - tell me you can do something for him.''
''I can certainly do something, whether he'll pull through or not is another matter entirely. Chest wounds are by far the most troublesome, the way this is looking, the slug may well have punctured a lung. If I go ahead, I may well end up causing more pain than the poor beast deserves to just have him die anyhow. You sure you don't just want me, to end it now?''
His hard eyes fell on the semi-automatic Hamada type pistol concealed on a hook between two hanging bronze pans.
''You do you sick bastard and I'll kill you right here.''
The words snaked uninvited into the quiet room, low and unnatural, dripping with intent. Mei swivelled, stunned to find they had indeed fallen from the quivering lips of Harumi.
Takamato's blunt coal eyes penetrated her fierce amber ones. The silence agonised.
''Don't forget who needs who here. Talk to me like that again, on my boat, and see if I give a shit if all three of you lay bleeding and freezing to death out on that harbour tonight.''
He enunciated each vital word with venom. He wasn't fooling around.
Harumi lowered her furious glare; her desire for Shinobu's life far greater than her animosity.
Deeming this to be her agreement of cooperation, Takamoto turned to Mei and beckoned her over, deciding she was by far the more reasonable of the two. Harumi glowered at them from the darkness.
''Grab me that necktie and a clean cloth from out of the bottom cupboard.''
Mei followed the direction in which his hand had motioned to a freestanding cabinet. Despite her current anxiety, her observant nature still pointed out random details at the inopportune time. She noted the set of cupboards were at odds with the rest of the built-in furniture, perhaps a gift. She knelt to search for the assigned items.
In her absence Takamoto started a more thorough investigation into the nature of the wound, rolling the dog slightly onto its side to investigate how far the pellet had travelled. He shook his head gravely and knelt to rummage in an open drawer built under the table. From the drawer he withdrew a small jar of petroleum jelly and a roll of plastic wrap; he tore a thin sheet from the roll and set it aside on the table.
''Are these the ones?''
Takamoto nodded, his razor focus not leaving the dog whilst Mei set the new items on a clean patch of the table next to the jar and wrap.
He leant down close to the unconscious dog and put his ear close to the wound, straining to hear some minute sound. Eventually, he sighed and pushed his sliding glasses up his nose.
'' Ok. I need to ascertain whether or not the pellet went straight through the tissue or is still lodged in the shoulder.''
''Which is better?''
''Definitely the latter. If it has come straight through, your dog may well have developed a sucking chest wound.''
He paused at Mei's puzzled expression, realising she didn't quite comprehend the gravity of the term.
''In the worst-case scenario, the air will rush into the cavity and inevitably collapse the lung even if it hasn't already been punctured by the pellet. Usually, it's simple enough to tell as you can hear the air rushing in and out of the wound often accompanied by a visible bubbling. However my hearings not what it used to be - I'm going to need you to try listening for me. Can you do that?''
Mei nodded, nervously aware she was now an active part of this tricky operation. She held her black hair back from her ear and tilted her head towards the wound and listened. She heard nothing, though she had to be sure. She remained still for a few more seconds, holding her own breath lest it trick her straining ears. Eventually decided, she rose and regarded Takamoto's expectant expression.
She shook her head softly.
''Nothing.''
''So we can probably assume the latter scenario, though I'd prefer to be certain, especially before administering any kind of treatment.''
''Will you try to remove the pellet, if so?''
''Not necessarily, it depends.''
''Aren't the pellets lead - poisonous I mean?''
''In theory, yes, but as long as it doesn't enter the digestive tract the pellet will be as harmless to the beast as a marshmallow - wait, actually that's a bad example…''
The fluffy pink confectionery item that popped into Mei's mind seemed terribly out of place amongst the gore before her physical eyes. She shook the distracting image away, making a mental note to her future self not to feed dogs marshmallows.
''Anyway what I'm more concerned about right now is the lung, I need to find out if it's been torn.''
He cast a wary glance on the dogs shuddering form as he struggled to breathe.
Checking once more to be certain the dog was unconscious, Takamoto's hand moved to the chest wound once again, his probing fingers felt around under the tufts of fur and made their way to the source of the bleeding. With an intake of breath, he gently pushed his forefinger into the hole and felt around under the surface tissue.
Shinobu let out a shattering roar of rage. He flared to consciousness, enraged at the stranger suddenly causing him the excruciating pain in his chest. Takamoto withdrew his hand rapidly and made to step back, but he was too slow. The hand he'd used to steady himself on the table grazed the snapping jaws of the beast. A razor tooth sliced at the skin of his palm lacerating the flesh and leaving warm blood in its wake.
Shinobu made to pounce at the man, but by this point, Takamoto had already checked the shock of his unsuspecting brain and flicked his measured glare at Mei. He spoke with urgency but without panic.
Mei moved as quickly as her stunned body allowed her to and fumbled to reach the necktie the man was now requesting. She snapped her arm out to him. He whipped the tie from her trembling hand and held it taught. As Shinobu's front quarters left the table ready to savage him, he dodged to the left and jackknifed behind the beasts head. Reacting like a torpedo he lashed the strong fabric between the furious hounds snapping jaws before they could round on him, creating a makeshift muzzle.
In the chaos Mei only just registered Harumi's rapidly approaching figure a millisecond before she screamed with unchecked fury.
''Get the hell away from him you fucking senile old bastard - I knew you didn't know what the fuck you were doing from the outset!''
In a crazy act of pure instinct alone Mei felt her feet move and her body lurch forward. She shot in front of Harumi, barring her way just before she could vault the wrestling man.
The look of betrayal reflected in Harumi's eyes pierced Mei with unexpected anguish. Mei shuddered under the weight of the painful glare but didn't falter.
''Mei, get the hell out of my way!?''
Her statement held a tone that was questioning, reflecting her disbelief at the pure treason Mei was now committing.
Mei's mind absently registered a slight thrill. She realised for the first time, Harumi had ditched the humourous Prez tag and used her first name, albeit in anger. Mei questioned her sanity at her hyper-awareness over the trivial detail considering the gravity of the situation.
Mei didn't move.
Now understanding words were not going to cut it, Harumi scowled at Mei disregarding her, and lunged forwards once more to where Takamoto was now wrestling Shinobu back onto the tabletop.
Mei moved faster and caught Harumi about the waist. The pair crashed to the ground, both somewhat dazed by the collision. Harumi came to faster than Mei, clawing her way across the artificial flooring like some demonic creature from a hammer-house horror. Mei reigned in her dizziness and dived for Harumi's scrambling form. She screamed out in anger as Mei forced her weight over to the side pulling her down into a grappling roll. Mei opened her mouth to explain but was cut off as Harumi near knocked the wind out of her with a knee to the gut. They tumbled to a doorway, Harumi cursing unrelentingly as they rolled onto the blue carpeted floor of the living room.
Harumi regained her footing as Mei forced her onto her back. Mei failed to react in time as Harumi shoved her with enormous strength; she was sent crashing into the wooden frame of the sofa and fell limply to the floor. Harumi growled and flicked her anger back to Takamoto. To her horror, he had a firm hand on the door separating her from Shinobu which was now closing, shutting her off from him for good. She lurched forward screaming as she attempted to crush her body through the narrow gap. Too late. The heavy door slammed shut with a thud and the small click of a key in the lock told her all she needed to know. She was trapped.
Harumi howled with rage, battering her fists down on the robust door. It simply leered at her, as her torrent of blows rained down, silent and unmoving. Infuriated at the vanity of her efforts, Harumi flicked her rage to the thing that had prevented her from saving Shinobu in the first place.
Mei had only managed to force her dizzied self to a slight upright position, her battered skull aching in protest, before she caught sight of the wild beast that was now bearing down on her. Harumi's baleful eyes regarded her with pure malice. All their warmth had vanished; all that was left in them a predator with the intent to cause serious injury.
Mei panicked into a backwards shuffle attempting to draw herself to a standing position, but Harumi was upon her before the thought could even translate to her nervous system.
''You fucking bitch - YOU DID THIS!''
Harumi pounced on her pinning Mei down with frightening ferocity. Saliva dripped from her gritted teeth, splattering Mei's perspiring forehead. She looked into Harumi's possessed eyes, all sense had left them, her logical brain entirely disconnected. Her eyes had fogged over.
Mei felt Harumi's fingernails dig into the flesh of her forearm bringing forth warm blood.
Mei screamed out in pain, tears springing forth, but Harumi didn't release her hold. She pushed further still, to a point where Mei was screaming out in agony, her fresh blood staining the blue carpet red.
Mei's survival instinct finally kicked in and she managed to slip one of her hands free of Harumi's vice grip. She balled her sweaty hand into a fist and thrust high for Harumi's face. At the last minute, on a whim, she released her fist and instead allowed her hand to come down hard across Harumi's face in a single slap.
Time stopped.
Mei lay panting below Harumi's towering form, staring up at the hot angry tears streaming down her cheeks.
Harumi in turn, stared in disbelief at Mei below her, her silvery tears blending with her fresh blood. She released her grip on Mei's arms causing a sigh of relieved satisfaction from her victim. She looked at Mei's tear-stained face, her features contorted with agony, but worst of all - fear. Fear of her.
Harumi felt her tears begin to pool once more, this time not in anger, but sorrow - disgusted at her actions.
Mei watched, still wide-eyed, as Harumi's tears plopped gently onto her cheek and trickled slowly down her face causing an uncomfortable tickling sensation. Mei still held her hand outstretched in the same position with which it had collided hard with Harumi's now purpling cheekbone. She looked into Harumi's teary eyes and saw the disgust and the pain and the regret.
Mei felt her fear and anger fall entirely away in spite of the pain. She raised her outstretched hand to the angry bruise on Harumi's cheek, staring into her dilated pupils as she did so. All she wanted was to stop the pain. And to her shock, not her own pain, but Harumi's.
She caressed Harumi's cheek all the while not breaking contact with those pained eyes. Mei opened her mouth and found it difficult to find her voice. She struggled and the words finally broke free from her dry throat.
''I'm here''
The same words she had been told herself long ago.
Mei watched every one of Harumi's pained features as they twisted with new emotion. Her face cracked and a fresh flood of tears fell, this time unrelentingly. She sobbed and broke down completely, collapsing onto Mei's aching body burying her shivering face into Mei's shoulder.
Mei lay there stunned as the final remnants of Harumi as she knew her fell away, revealing all that lurked below. She buried her head further, her hair brushing up against the bare skin of Mei's neck, whole body convulsing, as she sobbed her entire heart out. She loaded all of her unwanted emotions onto Mei, freeing herself from their merciless torture.
Slowly, Mei lifted her painful arms, still dripping with blood, from the cold floor, raising them to Harumi's shuddering form. She hesitated at first and then allowed herself to draw her arms around Harumi's shaking body. Harumi leant further into the comfort of the embrace forcing her whole self onto this willing participant to her pain.
Mei pulled herself into a sitting position and leant against the sofa still holding Harumi to her breast. She could feel her essence completely. Smell her soft scent. She could hear her pained whimpers telling her how much it hurt, how much everything had hurt. Mei understood and found she relished in this understanding. She was right where she needed to be.
A pained bark from the room opposite set Harumi off again. She clutched Mei's body tighter struggling to catch her uneven breaths. Mei, in turn, drew her arms around her tighter still, brushing her fingers through her soft hair. It felt just as Mei had imagined, every strand. Mei closed her eyes and rested her chin on Harumi's warm head and simply remained there, offering herself completely to Harumi's need.
Harumi allowed the second round of sobs to ravage Mei's warm body through every muffled growl and whine of Shinobu. Mei accepted her pain unquestioningly.
After fifteen minutes or so Shinobu had fallen quiet and Harumi had loosened her grip around Mei, instead, she rested her head lightly on her chest comforted by the beating of her heart. It was surprisingly faster than most, but comforting nonetheless.
She still dared not to look into Mei's eyes. Instead, she kept her head buried. A minute more.
''I'm so sor-''
Mei hushed the muffled sounds coming from Harumi and placed a comforting hand on her head.
''You don't need to say anything.''
She felt a tickle on her skin as Harumi shifted her damp face in a nod. Mei understood. Mei understood all too well.
/