"Hiroko, I'm going for a walk. Hold all my calls, please." Getting in the elevator, Jinpachi pressed the button for the 40th floor and slumped against the wall. The earthquake in Kyushu had occurred a mere hour from where Kazuya had nearly been killed and being reminded of it depressed him greatly. Unable to focus on work, he decided to take a walk in the garden, hoping that it woulde brighten his mood. The twin tower headquarters of the Mishima Corporation housed a large outdoor garden between them. At 7 AM, it was still early and the garden would most likely be deserted. Walking towards the guard rails that fenced in the grounds, Jinpachi regarded the clear sky above him and sighed.
"Must be difficult to walk around carrying so much weight," a voice behind him commented. Turning around Jinpachi had missed seeing the man performing calesthetics next to a large rosebush. His Japanese was heavily accented, and if his clothing was any indication, it was because he was Chinese. His face was cheerful and he sported a neat salt and pepper beard and a brocade hat.
"Who are you?"
"The groundskeeper. I rarely see you here, Mishima-sama." He continued the slow sweeping motions as he spoke and his voice was calming, almost familiar in a way.
"How do you know who I am?"
The man chuckled. "I wouldn't be a very good employee if I didn't know who I worked for, would I?" Finishing his movements, he brought his hands together and bowed.
Jinpachi found this man's pleasant manner to be most welcome in his lonely state. "What is your name?"
"Wang Jin Rei, at your service," he said with another bow. "Care to join me for some tea?" Smiling, he motioned for Jinpachi to join him on one of the benches. Picking up a small thermos, he poured some tea into a Styrofoam cup and handed it to him. "Please," he encouraged. "Drink."
Taking a sip, he noted that it was green tea, and very good. "This is great," he remarked.
"My special blend," Jin Rei chuckled.
Holding the cup in his hands, Jinpachi observed the wiry Chinese man with interest and asked, "How long have you been working for me?"
"Oh, not too long. A few years, I think." He poured himself a serving as well.
Given the fact that he had an obvious martial arts background, it surprised him that he should choose to work as a groundskeeper. "Why would you want to work this job?"
"Why wouldn't I?" he challenged. "Gardening has been a longtime hobby of mine, and this seems to be one of the finer ones in Tokyo, the botanical gardens aside. There's so little room in this country for beautiful sprawling gardens." Jin Rei glanced around the grounds appreciatively.
"Well, you've done a lovely job with the garden," Jinpachi said with approval.
"Thank you," he smiled, inclining his head. Sipping his tea, Jin Rei continued, "What brings you to the gardens? You're not exactly a frequent visitor here, at least not since I've been working for you anyways."
"I guess I just needed to take a moment to clear my head," he reasoned.
"Well, this would be the perfect place to do it," Jin Rei agreed. "It's very peaceful here, and the sakura blossoms are now in full bloom. I like that both the Chinese and Japanese have a fondness for them." He touched one of the blossoms within his reach reverently.
"Beautiful work," Jinpachi nodded absent-mindedly.
Jin Rei smiled warmly. He smiled a great deal actually, it seemed to JInpachi. "You look like you would prefer some time alone with your thoughts." Patting him on the back lightly, he said, "I'll give you room so you can think."
"What?" Realizing that his mind had begun to wander, Jinpachi protested, "Oh, no, it's not that."
Waving his hand understandingly, Jin Rei stood up and pulled a face as his hips creaked. "Come by later if you need another break, or some more tea."
"Thank you," JInpachi said, standing up. "Maybe I will."
"Have a good day, boss," the little man grinned.
Feeling a little better, Jinpachi looked at his watch and saw that it was only 7:15 but felt slightly more motivated to begin his day. As the elevator rose, he watched Jin Rei's tiny figure putter about the garden and smiled. So colorful was his character that it was odd to think that he'd been there for two years and he'd never noticed him before.
Wheeling his gardening tools back into the storage shed, Jin Rei was about to go back outside when he saw the younger Mishima stride past him. Heihachi shot him a disdainful sidelong glance, and he ducked his head and bowed politely. As Heihachi continued walking Jin Rei distinctly heard him scoff, "Hmph," as he got into the elevator. Father and son, they were so different. The younger Mishima had a much darker soul, if it could even be said that he had one. Jin Rei had been quietly observing him as well for some time and probably knew more about his daily affairs than his father did. Shaking his head sadly, his face brightened when he entered the garden.
When it came time to have lunch, Jinpachi was curious to see if his gardener was still working and decided to pop in before getting something to eat. Seeing him bent over some yew bushes, he quietly approached Jin Rei and was shocked when he greeted, "Afternoon, Boss," without even turning around.
"How did you know it was me?" he wondered aloud.
"You cast a really big shadow, Boss," Jin Rei laughed, pointing the sun overhead. "Only other person who could do the same is your son, and his hairstyle is very different from yours."
Jinpachi touched his long, pointed sideburns and joined in his laughter. "Nothing gets past you, does it? I should hire you to be my spy."
"Does that count as overtime?" he joked.
Surprised at how his groundskeeper could make him laugh, Jinpachi chuckled merrily at his friendly and easygoing manner. "I suppose it would have to." He suddenly became serious. "Speaking of my son, what have you been able to discern about him?" Noticing Jin Rei's obvious hesitation, he added, "You can speak plainly without fear of retaliation."
Shaking his head, Jin Rei clucked, "A troubled young man, the young Mishima-sama. His mind is very…dark."
"What have you seen?"
"It's not so much what I have seen," he countered. "It is more what I sense when he is nearby – a powerful but malevolent life energy. Another way that I distinguish your shadow from your son's."
This Wang Jin Rei was becoming more interesting by the minute. "I'm curious, Jin Rei. If you're Chinese, why are you here in Japan?"
Jin Rei smiled again, but this time it was a sad smile. "I wanted to understand the Japanese people better – to see what they were like firsthand."
"What made you curious about that?"
Patting some peat moss into a flowerbed, Jin Rei's voice was quiet as he recounted, "I was in Nanking when the Japanese came through in '37. My family was visiting relatives when they ravaged the capital – well, it was the capital back then anyway. I was seventeen at the time and I watched the soldiers shoot helpless civilians, sparing neither women or children." He gave an ironic laugh. "Some even used samurai swords to behead their victims. Strange how the samurai's sword was meant to be a symbol of his honor, because there was no honor in what they did. Animals would think twice about attempting what they did so easily. They forced the men to watch as their female family members were brutally raped. Some even had contests between themselves to see who could kill the most people in a single day. I have a nice little souvenir of that experience." Lifting up his top, he showed Jinpachi a long, cruel-looking scar that ran from his right shoulder across his chest and abdomen, stopping just shy of his left hip. "They cut me and left me for dead." He lowered his shirt. "I was trying to save my sister from being violated. She was only twelve." Jinpachi couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Every morning when I get dressed, I look at it and I feel like it's 1937 all over again."
Having been so angry at the belligerent American troops, Jinpachi had never considered that his own countrymen could be capable of such horrible acts. Though the Americans were rude and a rogue GI here and there committed acts of violence, they had never engaged in senseless mass murder. "Why – why have I never heard of this before?"
Jin Rei shook his head. "I imagine that it would be a bit of a national embarrassment to acknowledge that such atrocities happened, to say the least. How do you think the current generation would feel to know that such a period of violence was part of their ancestors' legacy? I had some Chinese relatives who were living in Korea as well during the occupation. Many of the women were kidnapped and transported along with thousands of native Korean girls to Japan to serve as…I believe the euphemism coined was 'Comfort Women'. For the few who survived, living was almost a fate worse than death. They returned to their homeland as pariahs, rejected by their families, unable to marry or bear children. The last shred of dignity they felt entitled to was to at least have their tribulations acknowledged in Japanese history texts, but the government has seen to it that their sufferings were not made public. Essentially, they're saying that the nightmare these women had to endure never existed. Can you imagine how that feels? To be told that a lifetime of such hardship was a complete fiction? Even now, I know some of the grannies that sit in front of the Japanese consulate in Seoul protesting the censorship." Looking down at the ground, he muttered, "Still, there are fewer grannies every day as they are getting older and older."
Disgusted with the stories he had heard, Jinpachi asked him, "Why on earth would you want to live in the country whose soldiers wronged you and your people so?"
"Because I knew that the men who committed those war crimes were not indicative of the Japanese people as a whole. I did not wish to live with hate. For a long time I did, and it was awful, and in the end, hate accomplishes nothing. It can only destroy. So, in order to cleanse myself of the hate, I moved here a ten years ago and have gotten to know and respect the Japanese people, people such as yourself, Mishima-sama," he explained with a kind smile.
"Call me Jinpachi," he insisted.
"Oh, that wouldn't be appropriate," Jin Rei demurred.
"No, please." Jinpachi bowed respectfully to his gardener. "I insist."
Warmed by the compliment, Jin Rei replied, "Okay, but I'm still going to call you Boss when I'm on the clock."
"Wakata," JInpachi laughed. "We will chat again soon, Jin Rei, and thank you, for opening my eyes."
"Try not to work too hard, Boss," his employee cautioned with a wink. Feeling less depressed, Jinpachi suddenly realized how hungry he was and decided it was time to get something to eat.
wakata: I understand
