Chapter 6: In Search of Kendo
"Eiji, please find something cleaner to wear, I know I hung a gi up for you yesterday." I say, seeing his appearance in the living room. He rolls his eyes at me but does as he's told. He knows that if he doesn't he won't be going anywhere today.
It's been a little over a week since the rebels attacked our home, but nothing more like it has happened, and I'm very relieved for that. Eiji brought home his two good marks, getting the second one only three days ago. Though it isn't a Sunday, the schedule I have leaves me with no school to teach today. Saitou is away at work again, putting in the same long hours he always did. Sometimes I forget he even lives here. I don't want to have to drag Kari around with me today for a number of reasons, some being that she'd get tired to easily and would find the trip boring, and it's too much of a hassle to take a four year old all over Tokyo. She's staying at a neighbor's house down the street, and they have a little girl Kari's age who happens to also attend the Seishun, her name is Eshiko. They have a younger son as well, and soon he'll be old enough to come to my school as well, giving me 24 students. For now Kari sits in her little pink kimono, her hair pulled back into two pigtails, and she waits for me and Eiji to leave so we can take her to her friend's.
After I convince Eiji not to bring his sword with him, we leave. The three of us walk down the street in the late morning and drop Kari off with Eshiko, and I cannot thank them enough for watching her, and of course I offer to return the favor if they ever need it. Eiji apparently can't contain his excitement, because he gets impatient with me rather quickly.
"We're going to head further north." I tell him after picking up a small map of Tokyo at the station where we wait for a horse-drawn trolley. They're like carriages, only they fit a few more people. It's a bit more western, but it gets you around without having to take a train. I've ridden them twice before, this will be my third time. "I know of one dojo, and we'll head their first, then we'll see what else is close by."
"Okay." Eiji agrees. "Oi, Tokio."
"Hm?" I ask.
"Do you think that, ya know, since we'll be out anyway, we could stop for lunch too?" He suggests wryly.
I smile at him. "We'll see, Eiji."
The next trolley pulls around, and me, Eiji, and four other passengers get on board. Eiji and I take a seat in the front across from the door. I watch out the window as the trolley takes off. I know this one heads north, and I believe I want to get off at the third station. I tuck a piece of my dark hair behind my ear from the strands that hang down in the front; the rest of it is up, like always. I glance over at Eiji, who's watching the door of the trolley. His hands are clenched together on top of his knees. I guess I really didn't know something like being enrolled in a dojo could get him so worked up. I suppose it's one of the first steps in taking after his brother, I know they were close.
At the next stop two people get off and an older woman gets on. I watch her briefly, but then resume to looking out my window. After the trolley starts up again, I take out the card with the map on it and study over it. Eiji needs to be able to get to and from the dojo easily, whichever one I find, since he won't always have someone to go with him; though he'd most likely have to take a trolley if it's too far out.
When the bell rings for the third time, I gently nudge Eiji to alert him that we're getting off. He's quick to his feet and heads for the open door. I pay the driver and nod my thanks before getting off. I have to lift my light orange skirt up a bit to make the steps, but soon I'm level with Eiji. We step out of the way to let more passengers on.
"Where we goin' Tokio?" Eiji asks me.
I look over the card again. We really weren't too far out, but I wanted to make sure I knew where I was going nonetheless. Without answering Eiji, I step up to the gentleman manning the front of the small station. I notice that he's not Japanese.
"Sumimasen," I say before speaking, "but do you by chance know of any kendo school in this area?"
He thinks for a moment, then nods. "Yes, M'am. There's a small one right up this road..." He points, "And I pretty sure there's another down this way, if you take a right at the fabric shop. You gotta go down a good ways before you get to the next intersection, and it's do west of there."
I hold out my map. "Would it trouble you to mark it for me?"
The man smiles at me from under his mustache and takes out a pencil. He puts a dot on one of the red squares that marked the location of the trolley stations, then he circle an area near it, and then another one further away, and he hands it back to me.
I bow as I take it. "Arigatou gozaimasu." I check to make sure Eiji is still with me, and we head up the street to where the first dojo was.
"That guy had a weird accent." Eiji points out as I examine the map.
"He's western, I believe." I think for a moment. "He looked American, actually."
"What's on the map?" Eiji questions again.
I look at the markings. "That second school is a farther walk than I thought, but that's what we're here for, ne?" I hand the map to Eiji so he can look it over. "We start out early so we can hit as many spots as possible." I tuck my hands into my sleeves and bring them together.
"You ever been here before?"
I nod. "Yes, I've been all over Tokyo quite a few times. I used to live on the other side of it growing up, actually."
Eiji hands the map back to me, and as the sun starts to climb to noon the air gets noticeably warmer. We walk for about ten minutes when the wide roof of a school comes into view.
"There it is Tokio!" Eiji points when he spots it as well.
I smile at his excitement. "Hai hai. Let's hope one of the owners is available to speak with us."
The fence surrounding the dojo angled up at the entrance, and it wasn't closed off with any doors. It was fairly small, but the yard was tidy. A hung sign on the gate read "Welcome."
I look around and hear some training going on from inside.
"Should we go in?" Eiji asks.
Before I get a chance to answer him, I see a young man in short hakama pants run up to the gate. He has a towel thrown around his shoulders, and he greet us with a smile. The first thing he does is bow, and I smile at his manners.
"Hajimemashite." He says before standing up again. "Welcome to the Akatori Dojo. What can I do to help you?"
I bow back to him. "I actually came by to hear about your dojo. I'm interested in enrolling a student."
His eyes looks down at Eiji, and he bows again. "Please, come in. My sensei is in with a few students right now, but I can give you any information you need."
The man, Gure, walks me and Eiji into the back of the dojo where he lets us sit down. He offers us some tea, but I politely refuse. He pulls out a role book and begins to tell us the history of the Akatori. I listen intently, though it's not something I really care to know. Eiji, however, seems glazed to the man's words. Finally, he begins to tell us how the school is run. A student can have anywhere from one to five lessons a week, ranging from one to two hours each. Their prices are fair. Their sword style is called Akuto. First years only learn defensive moves, and they start out with a hollowed bokken, which Gure showed us. Eiji didn't seem to like that idea, but he was still entranced.
I write down all of the important information Gure told us to help Eiji decide later on. This school got my approval.
"We spent nearly an hour in there." I say once Eiji and I are back on the road. "Gure-san was very kind."
"Which one's next?" It was apparent that Eiji didn't plan on giving me his feedback.
"Well, we head to the next one on this map. After that, unless there's another nearby, we'll take the trolley and circle around to the next one or two stations." I reply.
"This is great Tokio, thanks." He comments. "How far east do we go?"
I look at the map. "Well... I want to come by this way," I point at the map with my pinky to show Eiji. "I suppose if we have enough time we can come up this route." I follow the red line that gets fairly close to the ocean.
It takes us about another hour to get to the second dojo, and I'm very grateful to sit down and remove my sandals when we get there. The head teacher of this dojo is the one who speaks with us, and we sit on the edge of the porch. He's a very tall, dark-skinned man, and I'm somewhat shocked with the size of his arms. He must have done a lot of training over the years, he was huge.
"Welcome to the Kanzakishin School of Martial Arts." He begins his sentence. His voice was very low, and slightly horse. I found him rather intimidating. The name of his school implied that it was after a sir name, unlike the Akatori.
This man started with a completely different approach from before, and I wasn't sure what to write down. He began by telling Eiji everything he will accomplish through the Kitsune-ji style. He would learn to become stronger than his enemies, defeat the modern world, and be respected above all others. I had a feeling that if I, being a woman, hadn't been sitting there, he would have continued to tell Eiji how to cut a man in half with his eyes closed or how to gut a dog. Five minutes in and I stopped writing. This may be a large, fancy dojo, but I refuse to let Eiji be instructed under someone of this brute manner. We stay and listen to the rest of the details to be polite, and as soon as he's done I quickly leave. There's no need for me to get his name.
"Wow, that guy was really tough." Eiji stated when we were back on the road to the trolley station.
"And I don't think you'll be attending there." I say, rather calmly. If I said what was really on my mind, I'd scare the boy half to death.
"You didn't like him?" Eiji turns to look at me.
I bluntly smile. "Oh, he seems like a... good man, but a little too.... headstrong. Besides, it's a long walk."
I ask a nearby shop owner if he knows of any more dojos in the area, and he shakes his head. With that, Eiji and I take a good walk back to the station and only have to wait 15 minutes before our next ride comes along, and the carriage is completely empty when we board. We ride further east and then south again, where a dojo is down a quiet rode right from the station. Several students are practicing when we're brought in. This school is called the Kin'wa, and it's a very attractive place. The price is only a few yen higher than the Akatori, and several boys Eiji's age attend there. That was a big bonus for me. I took down all the needed information. Surprisingly, that was he only dojo in that area, and the next two stops proved to be empty as well. I suppose the Meiji Restoration is making it hard for kendo masters to find work doing what they've always done.
~
I yawn at our last stop, and the station keeper gives us a negative there as well. To be sure, we venture on a little further, but the rural area shows nothing in the ways of what we're looking for. It's probably about 4:00 or 5:00 now, and after walking all day, I was fatigued.
"Would you like something to eat, Eiji?" I look down at the young boy.
Eiji smiles at me and nods his head. "I don't know what, though."
"That's all right, we'll look around." I hold his hand lightly as we walk down a rather long road. We pass by a sushi place, but Eiji shakes his head at it, so we go on. I'm really hungry myself, but I want Eiji to choose.
Finally a little down the rode Eiji points to a large sign. "Beef hot pots! Tokio, let's go here, please?"
I read the red kanji in front of the store. "Akabeko?" I repeat. "All right, Eiji, let's go in."
Eiji thrusts his fist in victory and we go inside. My first impression is a good one. Several women in striped aprons serve the customers, and each table is in a three-walled booth.
"Konnichi wa." A waitress approaches us. "Welcome to the Akabeko. Would you like a seat?"
I smile and nod, and she takes us to an empty booth. Eiji and I step in and kneel at the square table.
"You two must not be from around here." The waitress has a very friendly voice.
"We're actually looking to enroll Eiji in a Kendo school." I reply, folding my hands in my lap. "But our last three stops haven't turned up anything."
"Really?" She says. "There's a small school for that right now this road, if you follow the canal."
"There is?" Eiji's excited demeanor returned.
She nodded. "Oh, sorry. What would you like? I can get you a menu, of course."
"Actually, I saw your sign and it said you had beef hot pots."
The waitress smiled. "That we do. Two then?"
I nod.
When she leaves, I turn to Eiji. "Well, there is one more. With luck you'll have three to choose from."
Eiji nodded. "I can't wait."
"Eiji, remember, we're just looking for now." I remind him. "You'll have to keep studying if you want the classes."
"I know, I know." Eiji sighs at me.
"It will have to work in with your schedule too..." I think for a moment. "Right after this though we need to get home. I don't want Kari staying with the Mikazukis too long."
The beef hot pots arrive, and they were quite good. It's too bad a restaurant like this isn't closer to home, and I tell the waitress that as well. Eiji surprises me with quite the appetite, and I let him have a bit of food from my plate.
I leave a small tip on the table and go to the front near the door to pay. Tae tells me and I get out my purse.
"Tokio!"
I feel Eiji push me aside as a plate comes whizzing by right where my head was. It collides with the wall and shatters before hitting the floor.
"What on earth...?" The waitress looks past me. There's a bald man outside his booth, his face red from liquor. I step back a bit.
"Please calm down sir." A very young waitress, about Eiji's age, asks.
The drunkard walks towards us, and Eiji stands in front of me protectively. The waitress who I was about to pay runs up to him to try to settle him down, and he pushed her out of the way. At that point I feel my heart jump as he gets closer, and Eiji growls.
"Get gone with the change, honey." He says to me. I can't even understand what he's referring to, but I can smell the heavy scent of sake on his breath.
"Get the hell away!" Eiji shouts.
The man scowls at Eiji, and raises his hand to him.
I grab Eiji by the shoulders and pull him back. "Yamete kudasai!" Turning away for the blow. However, it doesn't come. I look back, and another man, a very tall one, holds the arm of our attacker.
"Back off." He says lowly. When the bald man tries to strike him, the second twists his arm around and throws him to the floor. The drunkard, in his condition, is too intoxicated to get back up.
I stand, amazed.
"Arigatou Sanosuke!" My waitress runs up to him.
"You got a lot of bums hangin' around here, Tae." The man, Sanosuke answers.
"A... arigatou gozaimasu..." I breathe.
Sanosuke looks over at me, and a smirk comes to his features. He's wearing all white, and his dark brown hair is held up with a red headband. "You must not be from around here."
Is it really that obvious? "Iie." I answer. "I'm sorry if we caused you any trouble." My hands are still on Eiji's shoulders.
"Are you okay?" He asks. I notice he has a strange way of rolling his r's when he talks.
"Hai." I reply. Eiji is being quiet.
Sanosuke looks back at the man on the floor, who is slowly getting up. "Get outta here." He calls to him. "Before I get angry."
I'm relieve when the man scrambles to his feet and runs from the Akabeko, the two others who had been sitting with him following suit.
"Tae-san?" I get the waitress's attention.
Tae turns back to me to see me holding my purse. "Ah!" She quickly returns to me, and I pay her the money for the food.
I turn back to Sanosuke and bow before leaving the Akabeko.
"Eiji, should we find that dojo now?" I ask.
Eiji nods. "Are you okay, Tokio?"
I nod and smile at him. "Don't let something like that discourage you. Let's go."
"Eiji, please find something cleaner to wear, I know I hung a gi up for you yesterday." I say, seeing his appearance in the living room. He rolls his eyes at me but does as he's told. He knows that if he doesn't he won't be going anywhere today.
It's been a little over a week since the rebels attacked our home, but nothing more like it has happened, and I'm very relieved for that. Eiji brought home his two good marks, getting the second one only three days ago. Though it isn't a Sunday, the schedule I have leaves me with no school to teach today. Saitou is away at work again, putting in the same long hours he always did. Sometimes I forget he even lives here. I don't want to have to drag Kari around with me today for a number of reasons, some being that she'd get tired to easily and would find the trip boring, and it's too much of a hassle to take a four year old all over Tokyo. She's staying at a neighbor's house down the street, and they have a little girl Kari's age who happens to also attend the Seishun, her name is Eshiko. They have a younger son as well, and soon he'll be old enough to come to my school as well, giving me 24 students. For now Kari sits in her little pink kimono, her hair pulled back into two pigtails, and she waits for me and Eiji to leave so we can take her to her friend's.
After I convince Eiji not to bring his sword with him, we leave. The three of us walk down the street in the late morning and drop Kari off with Eshiko, and I cannot thank them enough for watching her, and of course I offer to return the favor if they ever need it. Eiji apparently can't contain his excitement, because he gets impatient with me rather quickly.
"We're going to head further north." I tell him after picking up a small map of Tokyo at the station where we wait for a horse-drawn trolley. They're like carriages, only they fit a few more people. It's a bit more western, but it gets you around without having to take a train. I've ridden them twice before, this will be my third time. "I know of one dojo, and we'll head their first, then we'll see what else is close by."
"Okay." Eiji agrees. "Oi, Tokio."
"Hm?" I ask.
"Do you think that, ya know, since we'll be out anyway, we could stop for lunch too?" He suggests wryly.
I smile at him. "We'll see, Eiji."
The next trolley pulls around, and me, Eiji, and four other passengers get on board. Eiji and I take a seat in the front across from the door. I watch out the window as the trolley takes off. I know this one heads north, and I believe I want to get off at the third station. I tuck a piece of my dark hair behind my ear from the strands that hang down in the front; the rest of it is up, like always. I glance over at Eiji, who's watching the door of the trolley. His hands are clenched together on top of his knees. I guess I really didn't know something like being enrolled in a dojo could get him so worked up. I suppose it's one of the first steps in taking after his brother, I know they were close.
At the next stop two people get off and an older woman gets on. I watch her briefly, but then resume to looking out my window. After the trolley starts up again, I take out the card with the map on it and study over it. Eiji needs to be able to get to and from the dojo easily, whichever one I find, since he won't always have someone to go with him; though he'd most likely have to take a trolley if it's too far out.
When the bell rings for the third time, I gently nudge Eiji to alert him that we're getting off. He's quick to his feet and heads for the open door. I pay the driver and nod my thanks before getting off. I have to lift my light orange skirt up a bit to make the steps, but soon I'm level with Eiji. We step out of the way to let more passengers on.
"Where we goin' Tokio?" Eiji asks me.
I look over the card again. We really weren't too far out, but I wanted to make sure I knew where I was going nonetheless. Without answering Eiji, I step up to the gentleman manning the front of the small station. I notice that he's not Japanese.
"Sumimasen," I say before speaking, "but do you by chance know of any kendo school in this area?"
He thinks for a moment, then nods. "Yes, M'am. There's a small one right up this road..." He points, "And I pretty sure there's another down this way, if you take a right at the fabric shop. You gotta go down a good ways before you get to the next intersection, and it's do west of there."
I hold out my map. "Would it trouble you to mark it for me?"
The man smiles at me from under his mustache and takes out a pencil. He puts a dot on one of the red squares that marked the location of the trolley stations, then he circle an area near it, and then another one further away, and he hands it back to me.
I bow as I take it. "Arigatou gozaimasu." I check to make sure Eiji is still with me, and we head up the street to where the first dojo was.
"That guy had a weird accent." Eiji points out as I examine the map.
"He's western, I believe." I think for a moment. "He looked American, actually."
"What's on the map?" Eiji questions again.
I look at the markings. "That second school is a farther walk than I thought, but that's what we're here for, ne?" I hand the map to Eiji so he can look it over. "We start out early so we can hit as many spots as possible." I tuck my hands into my sleeves and bring them together.
"You ever been here before?"
I nod. "Yes, I've been all over Tokyo quite a few times. I used to live on the other side of it growing up, actually."
Eiji hands the map back to me, and as the sun starts to climb to noon the air gets noticeably warmer. We walk for about ten minutes when the wide roof of a school comes into view.
"There it is Tokio!" Eiji points when he spots it as well.
I smile at his excitement. "Hai hai. Let's hope one of the owners is available to speak with us."
The fence surrounding the dojo angled up at the entrance, and it wasn't closed off with any doors. It was fairly small, but the yard was tidy. A hung sign on the gate read "Welcome."
I look around and hear some training going on from inside.
"Should we go in?" Eiji asks.
Before I get a chance to answer him, I see a young man in short hakama pants run up to the gate. He has a towel thrown around his shoulders, and he greet us with a smile. The first thing he does is bow, and I smile at his manners.
"Hajimemashite." He says before standing up again. "Welcome to the Akatori Dojo. What can I do to help you?"
I bow back to him. "I actually came by to hear about your dojo. I'm interested in enrolling a student."
His eyes looks down at Eiji, and he bows again. "Please, come in. My sensei is in with a few students right now, but I can give you any information you need."
The man, Gure, walks me and Eiji into the back of the dojo where he lets us sit down. He offers us some tea, but I politely refuse. He pulls out a role book and begins to tell us the history of the Akatori. I listen intently, though it's not something I really care to know. Eiji, however, seems glazed to the man's words. Finally, he begins to tell us how the school is run. A student can have anywhere from one to five lessons a week, ranging from one to two hours each. Their prices are fair. Their sword style is called Akuto. First years only learn defensive moves, and they start out with a hollowed bokken, which Gure showed us. Eiji didn't seem to like that idea, but he was still entranced.
I write down all of the important information Gure told us to help Eiji decide later on. This school got my approval.
"We spent nearly an hour in there." I say once Eiji and I are back on the road. "Gure-san was very kind."
"Which one's next?" It was apparent that Eiji didn't plan on giving me his feedback.
"Well, we head to the next one on this map. After that, unless there's another nearby, we'll take the trolley and circle around to the next one or two stations." I reply.
"This is great Tokio, thanks." He comments. "How far east do we go?"
I look at the map. "Well... I want to come by this way," I point at the map with my pinky to show Eiji. "I suppose if we have enough time we can come up this route." I follow the red line that gets fairly close to the ocean.
It takes us about another hour to get to the second dojo, and I'm very grateful to sit down and remove my sandals when we get there. The head teacher of this dojo is the one who speaks with us, and we sit on the edge of the porch. He's a very tall, dark-skinned man, and I'm somewhat shocked with the size of his arms. He must have done a lot of training over the years, he was huge.
"Welcome to the Kanzakishin School of Martial Arts." He begins his sentence. His voice was very low, and slightly horse. I found him rather intimidating. The name of his school implied that it was after a sir name, unlike the Akatori.
This man started with a completely different approach from before, and I wasn't sure what to write down. He began by telling Eiji everything he will accomplish through the Kitsune-ji style. He would learn to become stronger than his enemies, defeat the modern world, and be respected above all others. I had a feeling that if I, being a woman, hadn't been sitting there, he would have continued to tell Eiji how to cut a man in half with his eyes closed or how to gut a dog. Five minutes in and I stopped writing. This may be a large, fancy dojo, but I refuse to let Eiji be instructed under someone of this brute manner. We stay and listen to the rest of the details to be polite, and as soon as he's done I quickly leave. There's no need for me to get his name.
"Wow, that guy was really tough." Eiji stated when we were back on the road to the trolley station.
"And I don't think you'll be attending there." I say, rather calmly. If I said what was really on my mind, I'd scare the boy half to death.
"You didn't like him?" Eiji turns to look at me.
I bluntly smile. "Oh, he seems like a... good man, but a little too.... headstrong. Besides, it's a long walk."
I ask a nearby shop owner if he knows of any more dojos in the area, and he shakes his head. With that, Eiji and I take a good walk back to the station and only have to wait 15 minutes before our next ride comes along, and the carriage is completely empty when we board. We ride further east and then south again, where a dojo is down a quiet rode right from the station. Several students are practicing when we're brought in. This school is called the Kin'wa, and it's a very attractive place. The price is only a few yen higher than the Akatori, and several boys Eiji's age attend there. That was a big bonus for me. I took down all the needed information. Surprisingly, that was he only dojo in that area, and the next two stops proved to be empty as well. I suppose the Meiji Restoration is making it hard for kendo masters to find work doing what they've always done.
~
I yawn at our last stop, and the station keeper gives us a negative there as well. To be sure, we venture on a little further, but the rural area shows nothing in the ways of what we're looking for. It's probably about 4:00 or 5:00 now, and after walking all day, I was fatigued.
"Would you like something to eat, Eiji?" I look down at the young boy.
Eiji smiles at me and nods his head. "I don't know what, though."
"That's all right, we'll look around." I hold his hand lightly as we walk down a rather long road. We pass by a sushi place, but Eiji shakes his head at it, so we go on. I'm really hungry myself, but I want Eiji to choose.
Finally a little down the rode Eiji points to a large sign. "Beef hot pots! Tokio, let's go here, please?"
I read the red kanji in front of the store. "Akabeko?" I repeat. "All right, Eiji, let's go in."
Eiji thrusts his fist in victory and we go inside. My first impression is a good one. Several women in striped aprons serve the customers, and each table is in a three-walled booth.
"Konnichi wa." A waitress approaches us. "Welcome to the Akabeko. Would you like a seat?"
I smile and nod, and she takes us to an empty booth. Eiji and I step in and kneel at the square table.
"You two must not be from around here." The waitress has a very friendly voice.
"We're actually looking to enroll Eiji in a Kendo school." I reply, folding my hands in my lap. "But our last three stops haven't turned up anything."
"Really?" She says. "There's a small school for that right now this road, if you follow the canal."
"There is?" Eiji's excited demeanor returned.
She nodded. "Oh, sorry. What would you like? I can get you a menu, of course."
"Actually, I saw your sign and it said you had beef hot pots."
The waitress smiled. "That we do. Two then?"
I nod.
When she leaves, I turn to Eiji. "Well, there is one more. With luck you'll have three to choose from."
Eiji nodded. "I can't wait."
"Eiji, remember, we're just looking for now." I remind him. "You'll have to keep studying if you want the classes."
"I know, I know." Eiji sighs at me.
"It will have to work in with your schedule too..." I think for a moment. "Right after this though we need to get home. I don't want Kari staying with the Mikazukis too long."
The beef hot pots arrive, and they were quite good. It's too bad a restaurant like this isn't closer to home, and I tell the waitress that as well. Eiji surprises me with quite the appetite, and I let him have a bit of food from my plate.
I leave a small tip on the table and go to the front near the door to pay. Tae tells me and I get out my purse.
"Tokio!"
I feel Eiji push me aside as a plate comes whizzing by right where my head was. It collides with the wall and shatters before hitting the floor.
"What on earth...?" The waitress looks past me. There's a bald man outside his booth, his face red from liquor. I step back a bit.
"Please calm down sir." A very young waitress, about Eiji's age, asks.
The drunkard walks towards us, and Eiji stands in front of me protectively. The waitress who I was about to pay runs up to him to try to settle him down, and he pushed her out of the way. At that point I feel my heart jump as he gets closer, and Eiji growls.
"Get gone with the change, honey." He says to me. I can't even understand what he's referring to, but I can smell the heavy scent of sake on his breath.
"Get the hell away!" Eiji shouts.
The man scowls at Eiji, and raises his hand to him.
I grab Eiji by the shoulders and pull him back. "Yamete kudasai!" Turning away for the blow. However, it doesn't come. I look back, and another man, a very tall one, holds the arm of our attacker.
"Back off." He says lowly. When the bald man tries to strike him, the second twists his arm around and throws him to the floor. The drunkard, in his condition, is too intoxicated to get back up.
I stand, amazed.
"Arigatou Sanosuke!" My waitress runs up to him.
"You got a lot of bums hangin' around here, Tae." The man, Sanosuke answers.
"A... arigatou gozaimasu..." I breathe.
Sanosuke looks over at me, and a smirk comes to his features. He's wearing all white, and his dark brown hair is held up with a red headband. "You must not be from around here."
Is it really that obvious? "Iie." I answer. "I'm sorry if we caused you any trouble." My hands are still on Eiji's shoulders.
"Are you okay?" He asks. I notice he has a strange way of rolling his r's when he talks.
"Hai." I reply. Eiji is being quiet.
Sanosuke looks back at the man on the floor, who is slowly getting up. "Get outta here." He calls to him. "Before I get angry."
I'm relieve when the man scrambles to his feet and runs from the Akabeko, the two others who had been sitting with him following suit.
"Tae-san?" I get the waitress's attention.
Tae turns back to me to see me holding my purse. "Ah!" She quickly returns to me, and I pay her the money for the food.
I turn back to Sanosuke and bow before leaving the Akabeko.
"Eiji, should we find that dojo now?" I ask.
Eiji nods. "Are you okay, Tokio?"
I nod and smile at him. "Don't let something like that discourage you. Let's go."