disclaimer: I own none of these characters.
iii. Tenten's head pounds as she follows Neji onto the bus. Her sunglasses are doing little to diminish the sunshine; it feels like knives are stabbing her eyeballs every time she blinks.
It is around one in the afternoon. Tenten had spent their almost four-hour flight sleeping—she had not even made it through take-off before passing out. The bus from the Iwami Airport would take a little over an hour to reach Hamada. (1)
She sits down next to Neji, grateful that he took the window seat. He has been checking his phone constantly since landing, looking for news on the freighter's position which he charged some other analyst to keep him updated on.
About a minute after the bus pulls onto the highway, Neji puts his phone back into his pocket.
"Still out to sea?" Tenten asks, barely above a whisper. She winces at the hoarseness of her voice.
"Yes," Neji replies. He turns his head and looks at her, his eyes narrowed. "Late night? You passed out right before the plane took off."
Tenten shrugs. "I guess so."
Neji stares at her, but Tenten changes the subject, "What's the plan when we get to the port?"
"We're just gathering intel. We'll figure out where the freighter is supposed to dock and then watch what happens."
"What if there is illegal cargo in there?" Tenten asks, lowering her voice.
"Then we will report it to headquarters."
Tenten glances up at him. She is still wearing her sunglasses, and Neji appears a shade darker. She whispers, "But what if it's people?"
Neji blinks. Tenten notices that he really does have lovely eyes, even if they are an unnatural color.
"Then we will report it to headquarters."
Tenten does not like this answer. Neji notices.
"This is not a sting operation. We are gathering information to prosecute. Interfering now would be premature."
Tenten supposes he is right. But she also knows that if there are trafficking victims in that freighter, she will do everything she can to prevent them from being placed on North Korean soil. Besides, she is going to lose her job anyway, right?
Thirty minutes before arriving in Hamada, Tenten asks Neji a question she has been wondering since the day before.
"Why did you request my help for this? You didn't need me to come to Hamada. I could have stayed behind and monitored the freighter's movements and done more research on our suspect."
Neji takes a long time to answer, staring at his hands that are folded in his lap.
"You're fluent in Mandarin," he finally says.
Tenten scoffs. "Is that the only reason?"
Neji pauses and looks at her seriously. "Lee spoke of your good reputation. He said that you were always a better translator, a better analyst than he. After he died, I wondered if that was true."
Tenten's headache feels worse suddenly. She rubs her temples with the tips of her fingers.
"Well," she replies slowly, "it was bad timing on your part. I'm as good as unemployed."
Silence stretches between them for a moment.
"What happened that day?" Neji asks.
"I'm sure you've heard plenty of rumors," Tenten rebuffs.
"Rumors are rumors."
Tenten sighs and picks at some lint sticking to her black slacks. "We were working on some intel about a group we suspected were attempting to send poisoned letters to the ministers of state and the prime minister. Lee went to meet someone I believed was an informant for the group. He was not."
After a moment, Neji says, "So you had bad intel."
"Yes. But I should have known it was bad. Looking back on it, I should have known—it didn't follow the pattern of any of our other informers. It was too inclusive and in-line with what we knew about the group at the time. I never should have let Lee go by himself. I should have gotten approval from Gai before we tried to make contact."
"You weren't responsible for his death," Neji murmurs.
"I know that," Tenten sharply replies. "The bastard who killed him is the one responsible. But it doesn't mean that my hands are clean. My supposed 'good reputation' means nothing. I made a mistake that cost a life."
The bus pulls into the station, and passengers begin filing off. Tenten and Neji stand and join the throng to exit.
Tenten feels a hand squeeze her shoulder, and she blushes, thankful that he can't see her face.
Outside, Neji leads the way to the street to hail a taxi. When one pulls up, Neji instructs the driver to take them to Hamada's harbor.
The ride is quick, and when they exit the taxi the air is sharp with the smell of salt.
Neji appraises her. "Where do you think is the likeliest place for them to refuel?"
Tenten looks around them before pulling out her phone, looking at the points that she had marked on her mobile map.
"We should head towards the Coast Guard office near Hodojiyama Park. Some of the other docks would be too small for a freighter."
Neji nods, and they fall into step as they begin following the map.
"You know," Tenten begins after a few minutes of walking, "I don't think I'm satisfied with the answer you gave on the bus. Why would my reputation matter to you? You've known me since grade school—or have you forgotten?"
"Are you saying you're the same person since grade school?" Before she can respond, Neji goes on, "I guess I've already answered my own question. You do still wear braids after all. So, are you the same person?"
"Is anyone the same after twenty years?" Tenten retorts, somewhat frustrated. "No."
"I didn't forget you," Neji says after a beat. "I was surprised when you didn't follow me to university."
Tenten rolls her eyes. "Like I would follow you anywhere." She winces as the words leave her mouth. Maybe she isn't all that different from ten years ago.
For his part, Neji doesn't seem offended. He smirks down at her.
"I was surprised when you were in PSIA orientation that day," Neji says. "You were the last person I expected to see there."
"Why?"
Neji slides his hands into his pockets, thinking. "You always seemed very focused. I figured you would go into law or something like that."
"You thought I wanted to be a lawyer?"
"You were always very adamant during debates," Neji says, shrugging.
"It was debate club. You were supposed to be adamant," Tenten replies, glancing up at him.
Another beat passes. Tenten can see the curve of the road, the green hill of Hodojiyama Park.
"Why did you go to Tokyo Tech anyway? You had the scores to go to UTokyo."
Tenten raises her eyebrows. "How did you remember that I went to Tokyo Tech? That was ten years ago."
Neji shrugs again, shaking his head slightly.
Tenten blinks at him, then grins. "Neji Hyuga, did you have a crush on me in high school?"
Neji treats her to a level gaze. He is mature enough not to blush. "And if I did?"
Tenten flushes bright red and mutters something under her breath about keeping tabs on people.
Smoothly, Neji says, "I haven't kept tabs on you if that's what you're wondering. Like you said, it was years ago. I asked you to help me with this because you do have a good reputation in your department and you're one of the best analysts in the PSIA. I didn't need Lee to convince me of that."
They are almost to the long stretch of dock where bigger ships might moor. (2) Tenten does not reply.
Neji checks his phone again for any new messages. "They should dock in around an hour. We should find somewhere that accesses the dock easy to surveil."
Tenten nods and they begin their search for cover. She checks her saved map.
"There's a small shrine at the tip of the mainland. If they don't want to land too close inland, they might use this dock." Tenten shows him on her phone.
"Let's go," Neji agrees, and they set off.
The afternoon is waning. It is almost four by the time they reach the small tree-clustered shrine by the sea. The sun will set in about three hours.
Tenten hopes their surveillance will be over long before then.
They decide to explore the stone path up to the shrine. The trees are densely packed, and it is nice to feel some shade after walking for a while.
Their feet end abruptly on the path—it is a very small plot of land. (3) The shrine itself is small. It is dusty with leaves, the faded paper shide swaying in the breeze from the sea. (4)
Moved by the simplicity of this shrine, hidden away at the edge of the sea, Tenten says, "This reminds me of Lee's grave. Did you know that the PSIA is making me see a therapist? Was that in the rumor mill?"
Neji looks over at her through the afternoon light, but Tenten keeps staring at the shrine. "Whatever she tells them, the PSIA will use it to get me fired. Which is probably for the best. But what I'm trying to say is, thank you." She meets his gaze calmly. "Thank you for letting me have one last contribution."
Neji opens his mouth to say something, but his phone buzzes insistently in his hand. Tenten breaks their gaze, bowing slightly to the shrine out of respect and gratefulness.
"They're docking."
Tenten nods and turns, heading back down the stairs. Neji follows silently.
A clunky brown ship comes into view as Neji and Tenten emerge from the trees. It is holding four shipping containers on its deck.
Neji and Tenten watch as the freighter slowly slides past, heading towards the dock closer to the Coast Guard office. Tenten notes the Chinese flag and Shanghai written on the stern.
The pair follow at a distance.
As the freighter nears the dock, a handful of men emerge and begin their docking preparations. On the dock, a group of deck officers start giving instructions, waving clipboards. (5)
"Let's go," Tenten says. "They'll have to open one of the containers to check the cargo."
"Or they'll make excuses to avoid it," Neji adds.
They walk at an even pace, appearing as simple exercisers. As they get closer, they hear the beginnings of an argument. In choppy Japanese, the captain of the freighter dismisses the gangplank the deck officers try to push close to the ship, shaking his head. He repeats over and over that they just need to re-fuel.
The deck officers refuse, citing protocol.
Neji takes Tenten's arm as they turn inland, searching for a place where they can observe. They find a bench about a hundred yards from the dock and sit, straining to hear.
The deck officers continue to insist on following their protocol sheet, or they would deny fuel. The captain waves a wad of money in their faces, but the officers on land look indignant and begin shouting to let them board.
Tenten watches as the captain pockets the money and eventually shrugs. He calls over his shoulder in Chinese to his crew to get off the ship.
"They're leaving the ship," Tenten translates for Neji, her forehead creased in confusion.
The gangplank is brought and the Chinese crew head down. The captain is last and tosses the keys to one of the deck officers. In Japanese, he says something about going to get a drink with his crew and that they'll return later.
The deck officers watch them go, cursing and rolling their eyes. One by one they ascend the gangplank stairs and head towards the shipping containers.
"What is going on?" Tenten whispers to herself. "Why would they just leave like that? Should we arrest them?"
Neji shakes his head.
They watch the deck officers try different keys until they find the right one. The door swings open, but the deck officers do not exclaim or cry out.
There is an all-consuming sound of for four successive explosions.
(1) I'm sort of stretching this time frame. I couldn't find exactly how long it would be to take a bus from the airport to Hamada City, so please excuse this if I'm way off. For reference, according to Google Maps and other travel tourism sites, it would take a little less than an hour by car.
(2) I'm taking a lot of liberty here with the Hamada harbor. I don't know exactly where a freighter would dock, nor if freighters do dock at Hamada. Hamada is a well-known port and it participates in domestic and international trade. Ships carrying logs and used cars to Russia dock at Hamada, as well as cruise ships. So, make of that what you will.
(3) The shrine I'm referring to here is called Oshimatenmangu. It is a Shinto shrine, and the only pictures I could see of it were on Google Maps. I couldn't locate any other info about it on the internet. So please know everything I say about it is embellished, as I have not been there personally.
(4) Shide are zig-zag streamers hung from twisted rope above the entrance of a shrine. It is considered a way to help kami (spirits) ascend to earth, according to one article. They are used in Shinto rituals.
(5) Deck officers work both on and off ships.