Chapter 4:

Reality

Sanctuary


The sushi place was actually very good. They kept a good authenticity even though they were run by foreigners. My guess was they had enough Tokyo natives on board to make their establishment look legitimate; another reason why building a business with American dollars could get some serious profit. That was one of the first things Dad taught me about business outside of the US. American money, as much as their own economy might fluctuate, was always more valuable than the Yen.
“So, Risa,” I said, looking over at my apparently arranged date. “Are you a student too?”
Risa nodded. “Mm-hmm. I’m off right now but I’ll be going to Hokkaido starting next semester.”
“What’s your focus? Have any ideas?” I asked.
“I actually want to work in banking, and maybe work in the United States.”
I smiled at Risa. “My dad is in the United States as a business man.”
“Ah!” Risa said, clearly interested. Already she was looking like she was opening to me.
“My mother is Japanese, so I’m an American native but fluent in Japanese speech and culture.”
“Wow,” Risa said, clearly impressed, “so what are you pursuing at Hokkaido?”
“I’m a business major, hoping to maybe work somewhere in Tokyo, but my real passion is art.”
“Really?” Risa said, her eyes widening. I smiled a bit wider; something told me we had artistic talent, or at least appreciation, in common.
“Yeah, Tamaki,” Hikaru said from across the table, “Risa is a really good artist. You’ll have to look at her stuff sometime.”
I nodded at Risa. “I’ll have to do that.”
“I actually have some sketches here,” Risa said, turning to her bag, and soon brought out a drawing pad, which she opened. I was surprised at how much Risa was already talking around me. Risa leafed through her pad before finding something, which she flipped over and handed to me. I looked over it and realized it was a self portrait.
“You do portraits?” I asked.
“Yes, they’re more my primary focus.”
I nodded, looking over the portrait. Everything looked perfect, like it was a photograph cut and pasted onto this sketch pad.
“I am very impressed. This is very good.”
Risa smiled. “Thank you.”

I noticed the clock showed 7:45, and I figured it was time to go.
“You know, guys,” I said, standing up with the rest of the group, “I’d love to go to the movie, but I have some things I need to do at home. I better get going.”
“Aww, man! Always has something else to do.” Hikaru said, looking disappointed.
Risa looked over at me, looking a little downhearted but spoke up anyway.
“It was nice to meet you, Jōnzu Tamaki.”
“Please, ma’am,” I said, “call me Tamaki.”
Risa smiled. “Alright, Tamaki.”
That was one of the only things that was hard for me to remember sometimes. In Japanese culture, you addressed someone with their last name first, their given name second. Sometimes you only called people by their last name, and if you called someone by their first name, that was usually a sign of closeness like siblings or lovers. Had to remember that; didn’t want Risa to get the wrong idea.
From the restaurant I jogged back into the drizzle and made my way towards Birch Street. I passed by a few people, all of whom either had their coats on or umbrellas. I kept going, focusing more on the destination and that I arrived on time. Soon, after only waiting long enough to cross a side street, I came up towards Birch Street. I looked around me and noticed a few people loitering around, either for an opportunity to cross the street or waiting up for people, but I didn’t immediately see anyone that struck me as the strange woman from the other night. As I stood around waiting for a bit, trying to look inconspicuous, I felt a hand grab my arm. It felt like a softer hand, someone my age or a woman’s. I wasn’t immediately worried that the authorities had found me, since the person started to lead with a bit of a strain in their guidance. The mystery figure was trying to keep it cool, though, so I went with the flow. I noticed he was wearing a cloak with a hood, which was pretty inconspicuous, actually. Once we got nearly all the way back to the restaurant the person turned me towards an alley and we stopped there.
“So you read the message on the dumpster?”
The voice sounded like the speaker was faking a deep voice. I had no doubt it was Meeshee.
“Yeah, very well done with that clue, by the way.” I said with a smirk.
“I take it the authorities found you.”
“Yeah, but I don’t know anything so what could I have told them?”
“You might not know why I’m about to do this,” the woman said, pushing me into the dark of the alley, “but I ask in advance for your forgiveness, I’m sorry.”
“Um, wait, what are you talking about-?”
I couldn’t say anything afterwards, because my jaw slammed shut and wouldn’t budge. The woman had stuck something up to my chest and what felt like an electrical current was coursing through my body. Was this woman tazing me?! After what felt like several minutes, the woman stopped and I fell to my knees, shaking like I was still being electrocuted but no longer in any pain.
“I’m sorry I had to do that,” the woman said, pulling off her hood and revealing her face, “but I had reason to believe you were being monitored, and I had to check for a bug.”
I lay there, twitching, unable to form words, as my vision started to fade. It felt like some of the water around me was electrified, which continued to shock me a little as I grew tired and sleepy.
“Go to sleep,” I heard the woman say, “we will meet there again.”
What was she talking about? Did she somehow have a hand in the dreams I was having? I guess it wasn’t just coincidence then, right? I couldn’t wonder too much longer after that, because I found myself slipping into unconsciousness.