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The apartment provided little relief from the summer heat. Inside, Genjiro did his best to ignore both it and the intense soreness in his legs. From the moment his daughter left, time passed at an agonizing pace. To his luck, he encountered a group of passersby kind enough to share supplies with him. This gave him time to figure out what to do next. Genjiro wanted to believe the decades of hardship he’d endured prepared him for many things. However, the loss of his only child left him with an emptiness that was unparalleled.
He recalled their last moments together. As a soldier, Genjiro gained a reputation for his stern, unchanging face. During that time, he witnessed a variety of grotesqueries; nothing phased him. Yet for all that, he couldn’t bear to look at Kaori’s tearful eyes, nor listen to the crack in her voice as she explained what happened, as she begged his forgiveness, and as she urged him to run away. Whenever Kaori wept, Genjiro held her closely. She was a delicate girl. When Kaori was small, he worried his calloused hands would offend her. To compensate, he developed a firm, yet gentle touch - one that imparted a promise of comfort and protection. Despite the hopelessness of their situation, Genjiro delivered his final words to her calmly and with conviction. “If we’re meant to see each other in this life again, Kaori, we will. No matter what happens, I want you to remember that you are my heart and my soul. I will always love you.”
Kaori was now gone, but Genjiro wasn’t alone that afternoon. Instead, the old man found himself in the company of two strangers whom he believed to be his daughter’s captors. After a brief introduction, he invited them in. Through worn eyes Genjiro observed them, comparing their appearances to Kaori’s descriptions. To his right was a tall man with dark hair styled in a pompadour. Average build. Based on his features, he figured the man was in his late 20s or early 30s. He wore a miraculously well-tailored suit. Genjiro offered the man a seat on the couch; he declined. The old man turned his attention to the other figure in the room -the man’s...master. A boy, barely older than Kaori. His dark, unruly hair went down to his shoulders. He was short and dressed in all white. A long, bright red cape draped the left side of his body. The boy took his seat in the middle of the couch. He hid both hands in his pockets. The ball of his foot bounced against the coffee table. A smug smile was plastered on his face. What intrigued Genjiro the most were his eyes. His pupils were abnormally dilated. They reminded him of the kids who regularly stole medicine from the hospital he went to for physical therapy.
“Nice place,” the boy said. He tugged on the collar of his shirt. “Shame about the humidity.”
Genjiro nodded. Carefully, he began, “So, Mister Te-”
“ Master Tetsuo.” The man interjected.
“Yes. I heard you,” he assured him. Genjiro pushed a few stray hairs back before he continued. “Pardon my asking, but how did you know my name? I believe this is the first time I’ve met either of you.”
Tetsuo looked idly around the room. “You want to take this?” he asked as he focused on a random spot on the ceiling.
The man bowed his head. “Of course, sir.” He cleared his throat, then fancily explained, “You see, Genjiro, my master is an incredibly talented individual. By the divine grace of our ever-merciful Lord Akira - praise and glory be to his name - Master Tetsuo was granted a bevy of extraordinary powers. Among those is the ability to learn a person’s name just by looking at their face.” The man then drew a circle around his own face with his index finger.
Genjiro blinked and curtly replied, “I see. That must be very convenient.” He looked back at the boy. “Now, to what do I owe the pleasure, Mister Tetsuo?”
Before the aide could correct him, the master spoke. “I got it.” Tetsuo then violently kicked the edge of the table with his foot. The force nearly caused it to crash into Genjiro’s legs. The old man didn’t flinch. Meanwhile, Tetsuo leaned forward. “Let me put it to you like this. We came here because we wanted to do you a favor, yeah? But if you keep this attitude up things are going to get ugly. I don’t want to have to do something you’ll regret later. So you know, I can put you down just like this.” Tetsuo snapped his fingers. “You won’t even notice.”
“Well then, what’s stopping you?” To Genjiro, it was more a matter of curiosity than doubt.
Tetsuo moved back and scoffed. “What, you in a rush? We’ve got time.” He called out to his aide. “Give it to him.”
“Yes, Master.” The aide approached Genjiro while he reached into his jacket. From his pocket, he withdrew a small, clear plastic pouch. The pouch was filled with brightly colored capsules. He undid the ties and handed Genjiro a single pill.
The old man rolled the pill between his fingers while Tetsuo talked. “Must be hard getting around with those, right? What if I told you we could make your little problem go away? It’s pretty simple. Just swallow it, then wait a couple minutes. Next thing you know, you’ll be walking around the room like you never needed them.”
No words. Only a quiet sigh and narrowed eyes. Genjiro switched to pinching the capsule.
The master’s patience ran thin. “The hell’s the matter with you?,” he snapped. “Make up your mind, damn it! I don’t have all day, so what’s your answer?”
Genjiro clenched his fist around the pill and raised his eyes to meet Tetsuo’s. “Your offer is very generous.” He then placed the cap on the table, adding, “I thank you both for coming to see me; I’m afraid I’ll pass.”
To the old man’s surprise, his answer angered the boy further. “Not even for Kaori?” he teased. “Some loving father you must be.”
Compared to Tetsuo, Genjiro had an overabundance of patience. Although it upset him to hear Kaori’s name blurted out so spuriously, his response bore no malice. He simply rebutted with, “She means nothing to you, anyway.”
The two stared at each other. Tetsuo scowled; Genjiro frowned. The boy broke their gaze when he rose from his seat. He grumbled, “Whatever…’s your funeral,” under his breath and headed for the door. As he walked past the drawer, the capsule flew off the table - apparently of its own accord. The aide caught it seamlessly.
Genjiro watched them both. When they were at the door he asked, “Anything else, gentlemen?”
The aide stood still with his hand around the doorknob. “Sir?”
Tetsuo turned back, glared at the old man and shook his head. “We’re done here.”
They slammed the door shut. Genjiro was alone once more. Silently, he placed his hands together, lowered his head, and prayed.
Once they were outside, Tetsuo paused to raise one hand at a building across the street. Meanwhile, he shoved his other hand back into his pocket.
The aide raised his eyebrows at the signal. “That’s charitable of you. Do you pity him? ”
“Nah,” Tetsuo said. “It’d be a waste. Plus, I bet anything he’ll be a carcass by the end of the week.” He began walking faster.
The aide’s casual gait turned into a steady stride as he followed behind. Confused, he stated, “With all respect, sir, I don’t quite understand what the point of this was. You said it yourself, the man’s in bad shape. Even if he was lucky to survive the pill, I don’t think he’d make it through any of our traini-”
“Get off my ass, will you?” Tetsuo shouted. “I don’t have to explain myself to you! We did what we came to do. It’s over. Stop asking questions! Is that clear?” Tetsuo huffed, then went back to walking.
The man’s eyebrow twitched. While his master’s back was turned, a speck of dirt flew into the aide’s eye. He wiped off the dust with his middle finger. “Yes, sir. I understand.”
Bored and exhausted, Tetsuo sank back into the throne. He’d hoped to catch a break before he had to resume training with his guards. At any rate, the sound of somebody sobbing close by distracted him. In spite of his annoyance, Tetsuo listened intently. It came from the second floor. He got up and quickly popped into Akira’s room. The kid was alone, asleep in his bed.
He glanced at the curtains. As Tetsuo neared them, the weeping became louder. He walked ahead. His eyes rolled immediately - it was the girl. He’d forgotten it was her turn to watch Akira. She was huddled up against the wall. Tetsuo watched as she sort of rocked back and forth. The girl hid her face in her knees. He moved to stand over her. Poor sap wouldn’t even look him in the eyes. “I’m sorry,” she sniveled. “I know I’m not supposed to leave him alone, but...I didn’t want-,” she stopped to catch her breath. “I didn’t want him to see me like this if he woke up.”
“What’s wrong?” Tetsuo didn’t care; he just needed this to stop.
Rather than make his life easy, the girl kept crying. Eventually, she answered, “Nothing.”
Oh , bullshit . Tetsuo figured if she wouldn’t tell him, he’d find out the other way. While he stared at her his synapses went to work. After getting through all the superfluous shit, an image started to form. An old man - a little taller than Tetsuo, stocky frame. His slicked back hair was mostly brown. He wore square glasses. His bristly face had wrinkles here and there. Were it not for the clothes, he’d fit right in with those self-righteous pricks from the lab. The man was on elbow crutches. He and the girl hugged outside a rundown apartment. He whispered to her in a gruff, but caring voice. “I’ll be alright, Kaori. Please, I don’t want you to be late.”
She refused to let go, burying her face in his shoulder. “ Papa… ”
That was it. Tetsuo scratched the back of his head and groaned. An idea percolated in his mind. He hated it, but the thought refused to go away. It gave him a way to kill time, at least. He scrounged her mind for some details - name, whereabouts. He squatted down until they were at eye level with each other. Tetsuo got a tissue from his pocket and tapped her knee with the back of his hand. “Here.”
The girl lifted her head. Her eyes were red and watery. She took the tissue and gently wiped her tears. “Thank you.”
Tetsuo looked to the side. “Listen, Akira’s power is very sensitive,” he told her. “It reacts to a lot of things - strong emotions, especially. So-” It got hard to find the right words all of a sudden. Damn it . He wasn’t cut out for this. “...so, you know, wrap it up.”
She shook her head. “Yes, Master Tetsuo.”
He checked to make sure she wouldn’t cry anymore. Once he was certain of that, Tetsuo got up and turned away from her. “I have to go.”
Before Kaori could get a word in, a small whirlwind interrupted her as Tetsuo left to find his aide.
Kaori sat on the foot of Akira’s bed. She hadn’t expected to doze off for that long. Fortunately, Akira was still asleep. While she waited for him, Kaori examined the pair of badges in her hands. The longer she looked at them, the more she remained dumbfounded. Everything from the chips and scratches to the indentations matched perfectly with her father’s tags. It turned her stomach to think about how they appeared next to her. Regardless, having them in her possession gave her some solace. With a small smile, Kaori brought the tags close to her chest, shut her eyes, and reminisced.