by Thief » Fri Dec 08, 2017 8:10 pm
December 8th 1986
I thought I was close. At least I thought I was getting close. But that jerk Charlie just turned out to be another liar! There was never any plan to introduce me to anyone. All Charlie wanted was a chance to ambush me. Except he’s too weak to fight me alone so he had to call some friends of his. It didn’t matter though, they all went down easily. Except now I’m no longer close. Now I’m back to grasping at straws and following small threads.
I woke up this morning and prepared myself in the dojo. Fuku-san ran into me there and we sparred for a bit. It wouldn’t be wise to go out with my limbs cold. I didn’t know what I might expect today. Fuku-san is a good opponent. He’s a bit hard on himself, probably because my father was a hard teacher, but he’s improved greatly. It’s likely because my father was such a hard teacher that Fuku-san is as proficient as he is now. After we sparred, Fuku-san pleaded with me that I don’t get involved with the circumstances surrounding my father’s death. He’s been insistent that I don’t go, that I continue on as if nothing happened, but he knows that I will do no such thing—I’ve told him as much. Ine-san, however, when she confronted me it broke my heart to have to lie to her. She made me promise that I wouldn’t get involved, and I agreed. I have no intention of letting this go but I also have no intention of hurting Ine-san. As long as I am able to avenge my father, Ine-san is bound to forgive me. It’s all I can hope.
Ine-san gave me a letter that she had been withholding from me until now. A letter, addressed to my father, and written entirely in Chinese. Had I not been duped by Charlie, I likely would have put the letter in the back of my mind, but Charlie had turned out to be a fake and now I needed any bit of information I could find.
When Charlie ambushed me, he had lured me into a trap by stealing a young boy’s soccer ball. When I took care of Charlie, the young boy thanked me in Chinese. His name is Gao Wen Xia. He ended up eventually telling me that his grandmother can read Chinese and that I should go pay a visit if I want to learn the contents of my father’s letter. I had originally planned to speak to either Yamagishi-san, since he once told me that he was forced to study Chinese when he was in the military, or Tao-san, since he works at the Chinese restaurant. But I figured that I ought to take Gao Wen’s suggestion and pay his grandmother a visit.
Her name is Xiu Yu and she’s a very kind woman. As it turns out, the letter was written in a special style. The Kanji characters were reversed, but they were not simply reversed left to right. There seemed to be something else to how they were written. Anyway, she translated the letter and it reads as follows: “Beware of those who pursue the mirror. If you ever need help, seek the aid of Master Chen. Zhu Yuan Da”. There was also a note on the back which said: “Father’s Earth, Nine Dragons, Mother’s Earth, Comrades”. Lastly, the letter contained a phone number. I took note of the phone number and thanked Xiu Yu on my way out.
I’m already familiar with the saying that was written on the back of the letter. I had seen it written before back at the dojo. I have no idea what it means. But even still, I just had to call the number and see if I could get through. I hurried to the tobacco shop and made a quick phone call. It rang a few times before I was prompted with the phrase “Father’s Earth” by a man on the line. I almost panicked and didn’t say anything, but quickly spurted out the words “Nine Dragons”. The man on the other side of the phone call said “Mother’s Earth”, and I immediately responded with “Comrades”. After completing the apparent password, I was told to meet at Warehouse #8. I asked if this was the Chen residence, but I was hung up on. I have no idea where Warehouse #8 could be, but I was sure that somebody in Dobuita must know. I almost stopped at Smiley Flower Shop to ask Yuriko. But I’ve been going to Smiley Flower Shop a lot lately and Nozomi doesn’t seem to like it too much that I chat with Yuriko so often. It must be because she works for her competition, but I don’t usually buy any flowers so she shouldn’t mind. Regardless, I decided to go to Nozomi’s store instead and ask her if she knew anything about a Warehouse #8.
As soon as I approached her I immediately regretted attempting to ask her about the warehouse. I’ve been making her worry and I didn’t want to make her worry any further. I could have easily asked anyone else. I started to retract the conversation, but Nozomi insisted that I speak with her and she mentioned that I might be able to find some information about the warehouse’s location by looking up information about the phone number. It never even occurred to me that this was something I might be able to do. I guess Nozomi really can be helpful sometimes. I thanked her, ran back to the payphone at the Tobacco Store, and called Number Assistance. The lady on the other line mentioned that I can’t look up an address from just a phone number, but she did manage to tell me that the area code was located in Amihama. That’s where the New Yokosuka Harbor is located! There was bound to be a Warehouse #8 there! Since I was right next to the bus stop, I figured I’d check it out before it got too late.
As soon as I arrived in the harbor there was trouble. That kid Goro was trying to beat some money out of somebody. He’s worse than even Enoki, but he goes down just as easily. After he was down, he told me where to find Warehouse #8, but the information was a dud. The warehouse was not the right warehouse. Apparently there are two warehouse districts at the Yokosuka Harbor. The one I was I was directed towards was in the new warehouse district.
I had intended to go check out the old warehouse district, if I could find it, but I instead ran into a homeless man. He’s been living at the harbor for three years and asked if I could buy him a coffee. I’ve been avoiding Guang Ji, who works at Ajiichi, because he’s always trying to hint that I buy him something to drink. He’s got a job and I am not interested in giving him my money, but I suppose I can afford to buy a coffee for this homeless man. It is very cold at the harbor. By the time I had gotten him the coffee I realized that it’s gotten much too late. I don’t want to make Ine-san worry any more than she has to, so I decided I’d head home for the day. I called her on the payphone near the bus stop and told her not to worry, and then I headed home. By the time I got home the phone was ringing for me. Nozomi had called and she wanted to meet me at Sakuragaoka Park to talk.
Her parents want her to move back to Canada. All this time I had wondered if Nozomi might be happier living in Canada, but I’ve forgotten that she’s made a life for herself here. I’ve lived in Japan my whole life, and I can’t understand what it must be like sharing relationships across the globe. She’s grown to like the people in Japan. She has friends. She’s my friend. But her family is in Canada. I know she wants me to ask her to stay, but I don’t know if she should. I don’t know if she even really wants to stay. I’m not in a position to make that decision for her. Whatever choice she makes, it must be her own choice. I will miss her, if she leaves. And if she happens to go… I hope she’ll remember to say goodbye.
Thief has received a thanks from: VukBZ2005