Chapter 5: The Judge

Judge Isao Sanu sat at his desk in a private office within the Nerima District Court building. "Why am I here?" he questioned for the fourth time today. "Four weeks ago, I announced I was retiring from the Tokyo High Court. I had made a big speech about it, and gave several interviews. I was all set to go south with the birds and seek warmer weather. All I had to do was worry about Ryuu. Now, I'm watching over a District Court again. How did I get talked into this?" Actually, this was a very rhetorical question. He knew exactly why he was here…

Three and a half weeks ago, he had received a summons to appear at Kokyo from one you did not ignore. His old friend had sat him down and explained that things were out of hand in Nerima – the City Council was under the sway of external influences and needed to be freed. His friend was gravely concerned about possible miscarriages of justice. The Powers-That-Be were concerned that the police may be handicapped, but were afraid of the public scandal that could result if an overt investigation were carried out. His friend had asked if he could please accept an appointment there and set things to right as only he could. An opening was made recently, and Isao could fill it.

Isao had tried to beg off. He knew that his friend had no political power to order such an appointment, and that there was more to this request than met the eye. Isao protested that he was no more talented than many others. But his friend countered with examples from Isao's past – the handicapping of the Yakazu in various cities, the resolution of disputes with the Ainu political groups, and attacking discrimination of the Burakumin. All of these were delicate issues. Not to mention bringing several corporations to their knees for various wrong-doings. And, Isao had done it all quietly, almost "under-the-table" as it was. Isao winced at the memories. "Under-the-table" was right. Many of those situations had placed Isao between a rock and a hard place. It was a miracle he got out of them unscathed. Actually, he hadn't gotten away unscathed – he had made a lot of enemies. Ryuu was proof of that. At least Ryuu was accommodating.

His friend had gotten Isao to promise to "think about it." Then Isao had gone back home and received his next shock – the front door to his house had about a dozen daggers embedded to the hilt in it. Attached to each dagger, there was a note from a different Yakazu family congratulating him on his appointment to the Nerima District Court. They also advised that he might want to reject it and maybe take an extended vacation – like to the United States for the rest of his life. Ryuu had commented that he had never seen the judge so angry before. Even now, the thought of those hoodlums threatening him caused his blood pressure to skyrocket and a snarl to escape his throat. He'd get even with them all for the threat.

The final straw had been the call from a buddy at a newspaper the next day. One of his reporters had been working on a story regarding the niece of Toshio Kuno. The reporter had thought that there might have been a cover-up in the district of Akasaka regarding the trashing of several hotels. (1) After a little digging, the reporter had told the editor that there was influence peddling involved. The man said this might be the story of his career. However, a few days later, the reporter had vanished. When the man finally showed up in the hospital after being missing a week, he had no memory of anything within the last month, including Toshio Kuno. Isao knew Kuno very well. They had been adversaries many times, but Kuno was slippery and had gotten away each and every time. Kuno's mammoth corporation acted as a law onto itself. Isao knew Kuno didn't bend rules – he snapped them into pieces and burned the remains. The one key regret in Isao's career was that he never brought the CEO to justice.

When Isao had quizzed the editor on the whereabouts of Kuno's niece, the man told Isao the girl lived in Nerima. "Of course she did," he thought. Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, and thrice is the work of the enemy. Isao knew the door full of daggers was a bit of misdirection. The Government, Organized Crime (Ryuu had confirmed the daggers as authentic), and the Press all wanted Isao to go to Nerima. He had no idea why, but a challenge had been laid down.

The evening after the editor's phone call, he had a long talk with his servant. "Ryuu," Isao started. "Do you have any idea what the hell is going on?"

"Sorry, Boss," the hit man told him in that gravelly voice he always spoke in. "I'm in the dark as much as you are."

"I'm not wrong about the daggers, am I?" Isao pushed.

"No, I don't think you are. The Syndicate is laying down a challenge. They think that whatever is in Nerima will be your undoing. They are daring you to take it on," his man confirmed.

"How strong is the Yakazu in Nerima?" Isao quizzed.

"Almost non-existent," Ryuu answered.

"Excuse me?" Isao said in disbelief.

"You heard me, Boss. There's very little Yakazu activity in Nerima. Rumor has it that there is too much local activity to make it worth the while," Ryuu stated.

Isao wanted to stare at his servant in disbelief, but didn't. Ryuu was guilty of many bad habits, but he did not lie to Isao – they had too much history (and respect) between them. They were two old warhorses who had been in too many battles together (even if it was on different sides sometimes). Ryuu might hedge, or dodge, but he never lied.

"So why bother trying to trick me to Nerima to get me out of the way? I'm going to retire! I'm going to go lie in the sun for the next few years!" Isao burst out.

"Because they know you are lying to yourself," Ryuu said calmly.

"What?" Isao exclaimed.

"I've seen your profile at Headquarters, Boss. It's about 15 centimeters thick. Your friends and enemies have spent a lot of time studying you. So have I, for that matter, and we all know the same thing: You will not spend more than four days lying on that beach. If that's the only thing you have to look forward to in life, you'll beg me to kill you," Ryuu said with a flippant tone hiding in the gravel. "You have no family, no hobbies, and no strong interests other than the Endless Fight. You drink a little and enjoy a smoke twice a day, but you don't gamble or chase women. You're a cold rational empiricist, worse than the British Sherlock Holmes; at least he had the violin. The only thing you do enjoy is your food, but there's only so much a person can eat. What exactly did you think you will do all day?"

Isao had no answer to that. He had been getting tired of all the politics in his job, but the quest for justice had been his passion in life. What was he without that?

Ryuu started in again. "Face it, Boss, wherever you are in two weeks, you will have bulletin boards and white boards surrounding you. There will be pictures of the latest crimes up, and there will be a file on Toshio Kuno sitting on your desk that you copied just before your last day at this job. You'll be watching the Yakuza families again and tracking the movement up and down the hierarchy. The only difference from today is that you'll be a private citizen."

Isao sighed at the truth in that. "You make me sound hopeless," he complained to Ryuu.

"Somewhat," Ryuu agreed. "Cheer up. You also believe in rooting for the underdog and protecting the innocent. You don't appreciate happiness or understand love, but you want others to have it. There's even a crack of mercy in your make-up. These are reasons you have fans in the Yakuza. I think even Kuno respects you. I know the Charlatan did." Ryuu grinned evilly at the last statement.

"Shut. Up." Isao told his henchman crossly. The mention of that magician/mentalist always set his teeth on edge. The judge took a deep breath and then blew out his frustration. "So, 'O Wise One', what do you think I should do?" he asked Ryuu.

"You already know that, Boss," Ryuu answered. "Now if you excuse me, I need to set up this evening's trap…"

So, after a brief holiday (which he cut short because he could not lie still on the beach), Isao became Judge Sanu again. As he sat in his office staring out the window, Ryuu brought a cup of tea into him. The judge took the tea and looked at it, then he looked at the clock on the wall. "Is it really 11AM already?" the judge asked.

"Yes, Boss," Ryuu answered.

Sanu took a sniff of the tea. "Not bad, the peppermint really hides the smell of the hemlock," he told Ryuu. Then he dumped the tea into a nearby planter. "Oh, will that hurt the fig tree?" he asked.

"Nope," Ryuu told him.

"Good. I'm going to go for a walk and grab something to eat from a local stand. Anything I should avoid in the park?" the judge asked.

"No, but you may want to swing somewhere close to a fish stand at some point and time. I could use a bite to eat, and I feel like fish today," Ryuu answered.

"Fair enough," the judge agreed.

The judge walked through a large nearby park eating a sandwich and a bag of potato chips while reflecting on the past two weeks. There was something definitely odd about Nerima, but he hadn't sorted it out yet, although he and Ryuu had both spent time on the issue. He knew he and Ryuu were being handled, but he couldn't track who the lead handlers were. He knew Kuno had ninjas watching him, yet that's all they did – they watched him and reported on his movements, and they didn't interfere. But everyone knew who he was. Any time he bought something or talked to anyone in the street, they addressed him as Judge Sanu, even though he hadn't met them before.

He had ordered an inspection of various accounts attached to the Town Council, but everything was in order – Kuno was donating money (all right – a lot of money) to the city, but there was no law against that and none of the Councilors were benefiting from the funds directly. The money pretty much went where it was suppose to. The police were understaffed, but when he reviewed the police logs, he could find no justification for increasing the size of the force without the Council's approval. He went as far as asking Ryuu to take a look behind the scenes, but his henchman reported no hidden bank accounts or money sent offshore. Oh, there was a little favoritism here and there, but nothing really unexpected Ryuu had said. Actually, it was a bit lower than would be found elsewhere.

The incident at the park gates a week ago bothered him though…

He had gone for a walk one Saturday morning and noticed that the entryway to one of the numerous parks in the city had been demolished. There were two women arguing in front of the gateway wreckage covered in dust. Both women looked to be just shy of 20 years old. Both were striking – one had long purple hair and spoke with a broken accent, the other was dressed androgynously (but was obviously a woman) and spoke with a southern accent. Each of them was yelling that this (whatever 'this' was) was the other's fault. As the judge watched, a policeman strode up to them and demanded an explanation for the disturbance. Both women immediately looked shame-faced. At this point, the judge angled in for a closer look and listen.

The police officer told them that they were to cut it out and that both of them were going into the Book (the judge heard the capital letter) for this. The young women hung their heads and answered "Yes, officer." At that point, the judge decided to cut in.

"Excuse me officer, but what is going on here?" Sanu asked.

The officer turned with an annoyed look on his face until he saw who it was, and then became properly respectful. "Oh, it's you Judge Sanu. My apologies. Sometimes the local busybodies cannot help but get involved in a little street theater," the man answered. The officer threw a withering glare at the two women. The two young women looked startled to hear Sanu's title before wilting appropriately under the officer's glare. The officer continued, "These two women work at rival restaurants and can often get into heated arguments over one thing or another. I received a call about a peace disturbance and arrived to find them shouting at each other. Judging from the dust covering them, it obviously got a little physical."

"A little physical?" the judge remarked. "The park gate is in ruins!"

The officer looked surprised. "I'm sorry, sir? How could two little women knock down the gateway? The gate obviously collapsed sometime before they began shouting." The judge swore he heard flesh sizzling with the look the officer threw at the girls.

"Yes, sir," the purple-haired girl answered with a broken accent. "Gate down before we shout at each other."

"We were fighting in the dust," the other agreed.

"I'll check the Log Book and see when the accident occurred that took it down, sir" the officer followed up. "Clean up must have started already since I don't see any car or truck parts around. It will be fixed in a day or so, I'm sure. Our Department of Public Works employees are top notch. Aren't they girls?"

"Oh, yes officer," the purple-haired girl agreed.

"Extremely efficient," the other added.

Judge Sanu knew he was only hearing half of the conversation, but for the life of him, he couldn't imagine what the missing half was. In the end, he could only nod at the trio and walk away. As he left, he heard the officer address the women again: "O.K. Each of you gets one phone call, and it better be to your restaurants. If either of you calls Himself, I swear I'll make your lives a living hell…"

When the judge checked the Police Log Book later, he found a mention of the disturbance with the two girls. He also found a separate entry mentioning the fact that the gateway had been knocked down, but there were no details – only that repairs were complete. Sanu checked the gateway later and couldn't tell that it had been knocked down. Apparently, the DPW was very efficient (something else that didn't seem right). Last night, he asked Ryuu if he had heard anything about it.

"No, Boss, which is extremely unusual. I think I'm being handled," he said.

"O.K. That makes two of us," Isao said.

"What? You think I'm being handled too?" Ryuu asked.

"No, I mean I'm being handled as well," Isao corrected sourly.

"They obviously figured I work for you, Boss," his henchman said.

"All right, but who's 'they'?" Isao asked.

Ryuu held up his hands in exasperation. "The cops, the Town Council, the merchants, the ninjas, the salary men, the housewives, the school children – everyone but us! There is something here, but the town is guarding it jealously! I've never seen a town work so well together. If it wasn't for the little slip-ups, I'd swear there was nothing here."

Sanu got up and went over to the bar. Before opening it, he glanced at the clock. Ryuu caught the look and said, "It's O.K., Boss. The mayapple root in the stew was 'it' for the day."

Sanu nodded his head and replied, "That steak was good by the way." He took out two glasses and poured some whiskey into them. He handed one to Ryuu and they sat in two chairs across from each other. "Let's start there," Sanu said. "What are the 'little slip-ups'?"

Ryuu thought for a moment. "The first is 'His Lordship'. That's obviously a codeword. The police use that one the most." (2)

Sanu reflected on that. "I usually hear that one in tones of disgust. I think it's how they reference Kuno. The police don't like him, although they are alone in that attitude. I think the 'Offspring' are the brother and his family – not many like them."

"Makes sense," Ryuu agreed. They worked through a number of other phrases they heard folks referencing, matching them up to people and places. Finally, they came down to the term "Himself".

"I thought it was another one for Kuno," Sanu said, "but people seem either exasperated or amused when they use it. One phrasing I've heard was 'Good lord, not even Himself could cause this much of a mess!'"

"Or even a certain fondness," Ryuu added. "The police, the Council, and a lot of older folks use the term. I think it's one of the younger citizens. Many of them seem to have nicknames that their elders use. I think it is one particular person too, instead of a general reference. I'm sure I heard one mother say to another 'Himself is in the park today. All the kids have gone to see him.' When I looked though, I didn't see anything unusual – just kids playing."

"All right," Sanu concluded. "So, 'Himself' is likely a young male, somewhere between 14 and 19 years old. He has an ego and a penchant for mischief, but he's good natured about it – enough so that the police like him. He's also someone the local kids can count on."

"I think the adults too. I know I heard one of the merchants say that 'Himself' had lent a quick hand," Ryuu tossed out. "So, he's probably at the higher end of your age range."

Sanu nodded. "All right, we'll keep an eye out for him."

"What about the term 'Book'?" Ryuu added. (3)

"You picked up there's something not quite right there as well?" Sanu quizzed.

"Yeah," Ryuu agreed. "It sounds like the Police Log Book, and if you press a cop on the matter, that's what he says. But I know I heard one guy yell to another 'Which precinct is keeping the Book this week?' That doesn't make sense – the Police Log is at all the precincts."

"Normally I'd think it's a gambling pool ledger, but the way people reference it makes it sound like an instrument of discipline. I think we need to find it and get a hold of it. Maybe it will answer a few questions for us…" Sanu said.

Judge Sanu continued his walk, pondering the discussion with Ryuu last night until he noticed two police officers standing some distance from the path under a large tree and looking up. He approached them silently to see what was going on.

"Well, the hot water didn't work. It only pissed her off," the male officer said.

"Ah hell," the female officer said. "She's locked again."

"Locked?"

"It's happens from time to time. Any time it does happen, it means someone's been pissing around in stuff they shouldn't have, and Herself somehow ends up involved. Most of the time, it's not even her fault. It's like she's a chaos magnet – any time something goes wrong, it seeks her out."

"Well, we can't leave her here," the man said.

"She's not dangerous, but you're right; we can't leave her here. Unfortunately, her family is out of town," the female replied. She seemed to be thinking for a few moments. "Of all her circle, I think the She-Wolf is the most reliable to hold on to her for a bit."

"The She-Wolf?"

"You'll see when you meet her. She runs a dojo on the east side of town. I'd love to call the Doc, but he's at a conference right now."

At that point, Sanu decided to step forward. He didn't know the "She-Wolf's" proper name, but he had met the middle-age woman in passing. The only words she said to him were "Good morning Judge Sanu" and then she moved on before he could do more than nod. The judge had picked up more concerning her from the people talking about her as she left the store he walked into. She was a Tai Chi instructor with a stern face and a no-nonsense attitude. Rumor said she had a sharp tongue. The "Doc" probably meant Doctor Ono of the Ono clinic, but the judge had never met him. The police preferred to see him for any of their medical complaints. "Herself" was a new one though. Sanu wondered if it was any relation to "Himself."

"Excuse me, officers," Sanu broke in. "What's going on here?"

Both officers turned around and looked surprised when they saw Sanu. The female – Officer Kokawa her name tag said – clamped down on her expression and said "Hello Judge Sanu. Nothing too serious, your Honor. Just a little disturbance we need to take care of." The other officer – Officer Ueda – just nodded. (4)

Suddenly, there was a hissing sound from high up in the tree. As the judge stepped forward to take a look, he swore he saw the officers wince. The judge was expecting to see a large cat stuck up in the tree, but was shocked to see a young woman about eight meters up kneeling on a large branch. The girl looked to be about 18 or 19 years old with bright red hair and was dressed in a red Chinese shirt and brown cotton pants. She was pressing her head and shoulder hard against the tree trunk and seemed to have her eyes squeezed shut as if she was in a great deal of pain.

Sanu turned a stunned face to the officers. "What the hell is going on?" he demanded.

"Um…that's Ranko Tendo, sir," Officer Kokawa started. "She's not feeling well and we are debating the best way to take care of her, sir."

There was a sorrowful "mrrow" from high up in the tree.

"Did she just 'meow'?" the judge asked in disbelief.

Now Sanu was sure he saw Kokawa wince. The female officer let out a sigh and dropped the head a little. "Yes, sir. She thinks she is a cat right now."

"I'm sure I didn't just here you correctly," Sanu prompted.

"You did hear me correctly, your Honor. Due to a childhood trauma, she has a severe fear of cats. If she is exposed to cats too long, she suffers a psychotic break and thinks she is a cat," Kokawa answered.

"Then why isn't she confined to a hospital?" demanded the judge.

"Because most of the time, she acts normal except for an extreme tendency to bolt from cats. She is under treatment, and she isn't dangerous. Usually, she snaps out of it if you splash her with a glass of water. Failing that, a good night's sleep usually works. So, there's no need to confine her to a hospital. Unfortunately, her family is out of town right now, and the water trick didn't work, so we need to call a family friend to come get her and watch her until she snaps out of it," Kokawa told him.

Judge Sanu looked up in the tree again. He admitted to himself that the story sounded plausible. If the girl was no danger to others or herself, and she acted normal most of the time, she shouldn't be confined. The hospitals were already full of people who couldn't be treated. This girl apparently could be treated. He was amazed how cat-like she appeared to act though. He was also bothered by the pain on her face.

"Does she normally appear to be in that much pain when she has these spells?" Sanu asked.

Kokawa stepped forward and looked up into the tree. She studied the girl for a moment and a concerned look crossed her face. "Actually, sir, that's not normal. When she's stuck in the psychosis, she normally looks relaxed if there are no cats about and nobody is pestering her."

The judge pondered the expression on Kokawa's face then made up his mind. "Normally officers, I'd tell you to carry on, but I don't like to see anyone in pain. I want Nerima General to see her and make sure there's nothing physically wrong with her. I'll sign an order for them to hold her until her family comes back. I'd hate to find out later that her appendix burst."

He turned to look at the girl again. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ueda mouth to Kokawa: "He's right."

Kokawa winced again, but nodded. Out loud she said, "You're right, your Honor. We will get her to the hospital." She waited to for the judge to say something or carry on.

Sanu turned to her and motioned with his hands. "Call the ambulance. I'll help Officer Ueda keep an eye on her."

Kokawa nodded and walked a few meters away, and then spoke quietly into her radio. Shortly thereafter, Sanu's cell phone went off. "Judge Sanu," he answered.

"Stay put, Boss, and you have immunity until tomorrow," Ryuu told him. "The lady just called the precinct. She said that Himself or rather Herself was in trouble and that you and Ueda were watching her. The dispatcher held his hand too long on the mike so I heard him start to curse. There are a lot of code words flying on the securer radio channels too; some of them are new. I heard orders to find the Doc, the Smile, the Little Missy, the Swordwoman, and the Town Cryer – they are to be taken to the hospital immediately. The Bastard is to be thrown in jail and held on suspicion of assault on principle alone, but don't formally charge him. The Spy, the Pig, the Cook, the Ghoul and whoever is with them are to be interrogated were they are and ordered not to move. There was a quick debate about the She-Wolf between a Sergeant Imia and Inspector Ojima. Ojima ordered a plain-clothesman to apprise her of the situation, but give her freedom to move."

Sanu strode a few meters away from Ueda. "All right, there shouldn't be this much action. It sounds like we just found a nerve. Go into the records and pull everything you can find on Ranko Tendo."

Footnotes:

(1) Happened in "The Date – The Flip Side", Chapter 12

(2) The extensive use of nickname by the elders of Nerima was started in "To Serve and Protect in Nerima". The term "Himself" was introduced there as well.

(3) The Book is mentioned in "To Serve and Protect in Nerima". Basically, it's an accounting ledger that tracks damage a martial artist does and the police use it to make sure the martial artist fixes the damage without having to arrest anyone (and have the jail overflowing).

(4) Kokawa and Ueda are from "To Serve and Protect in Nerima". Ueda was one of the main characters in that story.

A/N: I have received a few criticisms regarding "To Serve and Protect in Nerima" complaining that I should have exposed Ueda to some of the more mystical aspects of Nerima. However, to put it bluntly, Ueda isn't that complex a fellow. He would stand around in disbelief for a bit, and then move on accepting the situation as normal - especially after witnessing the martial artists. Not a very interesting addition to the story.

Another reason is that I had already created Judge Sanu and wanted him to play the role of an outsider experiencing the weirder (non-martial artists) side of Nerima (I didn't want to tell the same story twice). Besides, the judge is a more complex fellow and his reactions should be more interesting. If you like, you can say that Ueda just said "Tag, your it," to the judge...