Order of the Lost Samurai Ch. 01

Chapter One

Nicky Devore woke with a snort. He lay face down on the small mat that did little to allow him a comfortable night's sleep. He peeled his face off of the small pillow that was all but saturated with his drool. That, combined with the massive jet lag from the almost fifteen hour flight from New York to Tokyo and the added four hour drive and boat ride to get to his friend's house, made him feel like a dog toy chewed up and left to rot on a rug by a Pitt Bull.

He went to the bathroom to wash his face and make himself presentable before taking in the sights of the small Japanese village he was visiting. At six foot two inches tall, he towered over a majority of the Japanese population like a mega-tower over a sea of low-rise buildings. The ceiling in his friend's house was so short that he kept bumping his head on things as he walked around, making him feel like a giant in a dollhouse. He had a slightly curly mop of short, dirty blonde hair, piercing blue eyes above a ski-slope of a nose, and a wide mouth. He had a chiseled jaw above an average size neck, which sat atop his wide, muscular shoulders and lean torso.

Looking at his watch to check the time, he realized he was going to be late meeting his friend for lunch if he didn't hurry up. He quickly pulled on a loose t-shirt and blue jeans, grabbed his phone, and made his way to the shoji that led to the backyard. He pulled on his pre-tied shoes and took off at a jog. His head and stomach protested the sudden violence inflicted on them but soon settled down with the added blood pumping through his veins. He didn't take the time to take in the sights on the ten-minute jog to the eatery they were meeting at. There'd be plenty of time for sightseeing in the coming weeks he was here in Japan.

His buddy, Kiyoshi Saito, a Japanese native, spent his high school years as a foreign exchange student in New York. He was a small man compared to Nicky, only topping out at five foot eight on a good day. He had short, black hair and angular facial features typical of the majority of the Japanese. While he may have appeared thin, the slightly too-large clothes he wore hid a rigidly muscular physique on his small frame.

Nicky made it to the small cafe in town just as Kai, that's what Nicky called him, was sitting down at a table. Kai waived him over.

"Glad you could make it," Kai said in his slightly Japanese-accented English.

"Yeah," Nicky said in his thick New Yorker accent. "I only just woke up. The time difference is fucking with my head something fierce. Not only that, jet lag has my stomach roiling like a tsunami on steroids."

"You will get used to it, my friend," Kai replied. "It's only your first day."

"Sure," Nicky agreed. "What are we having?"

"I ordered the Bento for you, and the Teishoku for me," Kai said. "But I don't mind sharing if there is something you want on my plate."

"Thanks, man," Nicky replied. "And I know I've said this already, but I'm extremely grateful to your parents for bringing me out here. I've always wanted to come to Japan, but with my financial background, it was always a pipe dream."

"Our meeting was fortuitous indeed," Kai said. "So, what do you want to do today?"

Nicky shrugged. "I don't know. Just show me around, I guess. Maybe teach me a little Japanese?"

Kai laughed. "I have tried to teach you basic Japanese, Nicky, but it's as if you are incapable of learning the language."

"Areegayto," Nicky replied with a wink, knowing the improper pronunciation grated good-naturedly on his friend's nerves.

Kai rolled his eyes. "Maybe I can sign you up for some classes. A few are starting later this week."

"Sure," Nicky said with a grin. "Sounds like fun."

Nicky eyed the petite server as she delivered their food. She wasn't tall, but neither was she short. He guessed that she was only about five-foot-six. She had short, spiky black hair over a heart-shaped face. Her eyes were dark brown and she had smooth, creamy, yet porcelain-white skin. A small sloping nose sat just above her thin, yet puffy pink lips. She had a slender neck that sat atop a small torso with modest breasts. Despite her stature, she sported wide hips and long, thick-thighed legs.

She was wearing a black tank top over a black sports bra with matching tight, black denim shorts that ended just below her luscious round butt. She had a single, large, gold hoop in her left ear and a dark purple septum stud ring in her nose. Completing the stunning look, for Nicky anyway, she was rocking a pair of solid black Chuck Taylor All-Star boots. She had an unidentifiable small tattoo on the inside of her left wrist and when she turned around, Nicky caught sight of some more ink along her lower back.

He gave her a toothy smile as she placed his food in front of him. She smiled shyly at him, meeting his gaze for slightly longer than was proper, before heading back to the kitchen. Kai eyed him from across the table.

"What?" Nicky said as he took a bite of food.

"Will you never change?" Kai asked with a grin.

"God, I hope not."

They ate the rest of their meal in relative silence, only exchanging words here and there about the food. When they were done, the waitress came back and began to clear their table. She eyed Nicky with a smile before leaning in and whispering something into Kai's ear. He spluttered and nearly choked on the drink he had just taken.

Nicky looked at the dark-haired cutie. "You speak English?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No enough," she said in broken English.

Kai managed to compose himself enough to act as a translator for her. Despite his efforts, his face was flushed with embarrassment, and Nicky suspected that it wasn't just from the near choking incident. Knowing Kai's shyness about sexual matters, Nicky anticipated that the topic of discussion was likely to be related to that particular sensitive subject.

"She said she's never seen an American cock before and wants to know if they're as big as they say," Kai translated, his face beet red.

Nicky grinned and winked at the cute waitress. "Tell her I don't mind showing her if she wants. You know where we live."

"No," Kai said. "It would be disrespectful to my parents."

"Okay, her place then," Nicky said.

Kai relayed the message and the goth girl blushed scarlet. She mumbled something then darted to the back room again. Kai chuckled to himself.

"She changed her mind," Kai said.

"Pity," Nicky said. "She's cute."

"But also deadly," Kai said with a grin. "Come on. I'll show you around town, as you Americans like to call it."

"Deadly, huh?" Nicky said. "Now I'm intrigued."

"Leave it, Nick," Kai said. "I saw the tattoo on the inside of her left wrist. Trust me. She's more trouble than your raging libido can handle."

"Fine, fine," Nicky replied. "So, you all done with school?"

"For today," Kai said as they got up and headed out the door.

"I still can't believe you guys go to school all year round," Nicky said. "That's nuts."

"Imagine my surprise when I learned that you don't," Kai replied with a grin. "It's a wonder you learn anything at all."

"So, what? Because you didn't go to school throughout the summer in America you have to make up for a year's worth of playing hooky?"

"It's not as bad as you might think."

"Tell that to my mother," Nicky said with a grumble.

"Your mother struggles through life because she works all day, every day, literally, and barely gets any sleep," Kai explained. "We don't do that here."

"Oh, yeah?" Nicky asked. "How so?"

"I will see if my father can take you to work with him one day this week," Kai said. "That way, you can get an idea of why it is so different here. But every day my dad goes to work, the first thing they do is exercise."

"You're shitting me," Nicky said.

"I am not," Kai replied. "The whole company exercises together. Exercise in the morning gets the blood flowing, wakes the body up, and gets those creative juices flowing, as Mr. Collins is so fond of saying. Then, after lunch, if they are tired, they take a short nap."

"What??" Nicky protested. "Now you're pulling my leg. They let you sleep at work?"

"Yes," Kai said. "If you are tired and forced to work, your productivity falters. So you take a short nap and wake up refreshed enough to be productive through to the end of the day."

"Dude, I like you," Nicky said. "But I don't believe you."

"You will see," Kai said. "Come. Let me get you signed up to learn Japanese."

They walked through the door of a place that looked, for lack of a better term, like somebody's house. Kai spoke in rapid-fire Japanese to the proprietor for a moment. He was a squat, older man, with wrinkly skin, but bright, knowing eyes. Nicky got the feeling this was a man you couldn't bullshit.

"Ah," the old man said, looking Nicky up and down. "So, you want to learn Japanese?"

"Uh," Nicky said. "Yes, sir. Kiyoshi has tried to teach me over the last four years when he was in America, but I just can't pick it up."

"Do you know any words?" the old man asked and it startled Nicky that the old man spoke perfect English as if he were raised in America.

Nicky nodded. "Hai, Arigato, and Kon'nichiwa."

"Well, your pronunciation is surprisingly well," the old man said. "But we have an old tried and true method here I think will help you learn."

"Oh yeah?" Nicky asked, curious. "What method is that?"

The man rattled something off in Japanese. When Nicky didn't reply, he just looked at Kai dumbfounded. The old man grabbed a sturdy-looking stick and popped him upside the head with it.

"OW!!" Nicky complained, rubbing his head. "What the fuck was that for?"

"Now you know the method," the old man said, cackling with laughter. "See you the day after tomorrow, eight AM sharp." With that, he walked back into a back room.

"Seriously dude, what the fuck?" Nicky asked Kai.

Kai laughed. "It's not that bad."

"Not that bad?" Nicky asked. "The old geezer is gonna give me brain damage."

"You can't damage what you do not have!" the old man called from the back room and cackled again. Kai followed suit as they left.

"Not cool, man," Nicky said. "Good thing you started rubbing off on me or I would have had to put the old guy in the hospital."

"Good luck with that," Kai said. "Anyway, he will give you multiple opportunities to learn before he starts bringing out the stick."

"How do you know that?" Nicky asked.

"How do you think I learned English?" Kai asked with a smirk.

"Fuck me," Nicky whispered.

"No thanks," Kai said with a grin. "You're not my type."

Nicky laughed. "As if you have a type."

"No, that's you."

"Right," Nicky said as she snapped his fingers and pointed at his friend.

They spent the rest of the day with Kai showing his friend around. It was a quaint little village and Nicky found he liked the laid-back atmosphere. More than once he ooh'd or aah'd about one thing or another.

"It's really beautiful here," Nicky commented as they made their way back to Kai's house. "Nothing like New York."

"Imagine the culture shock I got when I arrived at Penn Station for the first time," Kai explained. "I've never been to Tokyo or any of the other big cities in Japan, besides the airport, so I was quickly overwhelmed by the atmosphere of New York City."

"Yeah, even tourists from America get overwhelmed at the underbelly that is NYC," Nicky explained.

~ ~ ~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~ ~ ~

The next day went by far too fast for Nicky, and before he knew it, he had to get up early to make his Japanese class. He was on his way there when his life inadvertently, drastically changed. What happened, whatever it was, wasn't even his fault. He had just been enjoying the morning walk while listening to music on his iPhone when he was suddenly accosted by three older men.

Nicky had eclectic taste in music. He had hard rock, classic rock, R&B, some rap, country, pop, alternative, and even some classical music all in his playlist. It had been while he was listening to one of his favorite eighties hard rock bands and singing along that the three men stopped him in the street not two blocks from the old teacher's house, because what else could it be? It certainly wasn't a school.

Nicky pulled his AirPods out of his ears when the men started yelling at him in Japanese. Though he didn't understand what the older guys were saying, their body language signaled their intent in an all too familiar threatening manner. He was stunned momentarily that this could be happening in this quaint little Japanese town. These are the kinds of things that happen in dark alleys in the Big Apple, not during broad daylight in Pleasantville, Japan. He looked around, wondering if anyone else was seeing this. Yup, people were starting to flock to their location, their phones in their hands and up as if recording the encounter.

"What?" Nicky tried to say, backing up with his hands in a non-threatening manner. "I don't understand. What's going on?"

The man in the middle of the three, apparently the ring leader, threw a punch, a quick jab that Nicky barely had time to dodge before it caved in his teeth.

"What the fuck, dude!?" Nicky cried out. "What's wrong with you!?"

Suddenly, a constable was at his side. Immediately the commotion died down and the men and the constable started talking back and forth. The constable looked at, then pointed at Nicky as he looked back at the men and said something else that sounded like a question. The men nodded as one. The constable looked at Nicky.

"You walk, uh, sing. No more?" the constable asked in broken English.

"Yeah," Nicky said.

"Come," the constable said and grabbed Nicky's elbow.

"But, I didn't do anything," Nicky protested, but he allowed himself to be pulled along. He noticed the three older men following close behind. "Do I get a phone call, at least?"

The constable looked at him as they walked with a confused expression. Nicky held up his phone. The constable nodded. With his free hand, Nicky quickly tapped on Kai's number. Kai didn't answer the first time. He didn't even answer the second or third time. Nicky wasn't relenting. On the sixth try, Kai finally answered.

"What are you doing, Nicky?" Kai asked immediately. "You're going to get me into trouble!"

"Kai, man, I'm getting arrested or something right now," Nicky explained. "Some dude in a uniform is dragging me along with him to I don't know where."

Kai was silent for a moment. "Let me talk to him," he finally said.

Nicky handed the phone to the constable. Kai and the constable spoke for a few seconds before the constable handed the phone back to Nicky.

"Kai, man, what the fuck is going on?" Nicky asked.

"Just cooperate with whatever he asks you to do," Kai answered. "I will be there shortly. I have to call my parents since they are responsible for you."

"What the fuck is going on?" Nicky asked again. "I didn't do anything, man, I swear. I was just walking along and singing and three dudes just stepped up on me."

"I know," Kai said. "I'll try to explain when I get there. Please just be patient. Cooperate. Answer the questions he asks with as much honesty as you can, but don't admit to anything. I'll call Mr. Nakamura and see if he will meet you there to translate for you."

"Fuck," Nicky groaned. "Am I gonna get sent home?"

"No," Kai replied, and Nicky felt a wave of relief wash over him. However, before he could even exhale a sigh of relief, Kai's next words shattered his illusion of safety. "This is much more serious," he said, and then the line went dead, leaving Nicky with a gnawing sense of apprehension.

"Shit," Nicky said as he pocketed his phone.

He started to say something aloud but decided to take the most prudent course of action and keep his trap shut. He had been hauled into many a police station in the New York City area as a kid and knew when to raise hell and when to keep silent. This is one of those times he knew it would be infinitely better for him to keep quiet until he had more information. He was in a different country, after all; a different country with different cultural and societal rules that he didn't know. Better to wait until he knew what he did wrong before trying to defend himself.

He turned to look at the three men behind him and, for the first time, noticed that they didn't look angry. They didn't look upset. They didn't even look mildly annoyed. They looked, to Nicky, scared. Well, tow of them did. The tall, skinny one did indeed look utterly pissed.

For the life of him, though, he couldn't fathom what they would have to be scared of from him. Was there some sort of social faux pas that he violated that set these guys off? Was walking and singing out loud prohibited by the city council or something? He hoped he didn't get caned like that kid in Singapore. Admittedly though, Nicky wasn't stupid enough to try and paint graffiti all over a wall in a foreign country. He hadn't broken any laws that he was aware of.

A short time later they arrived at the constable's office. It was little more than a two-room shack with an office, a couple of folding chairs, a desk, and a filing cabinet. The constable motioned to one of the chairs opposite his desk and Nicky sat. The constable sat in his own chair behind his desk.

"You, uh, papers?" the man asked in his broken English.

Nicky held up the backpack he'd been carrying with him. "They're in here. Can I get them out for you?"

The man arched an eyebrow at Nicky. "I ask. You get," he said, looking confused.

Nicky rifled through his backpack as he pulled out his passport and his New York State ID and handed them to the constable. There was a slight commotion outside the building and Nicky looked to the door just as Mr. Nakamura ambled his way inside.

"Well, boy," the old man said, seating himself beside Nicky. "Got yourself in a spot of trouble, I see."

"Mr. Nakamura," Nicky said and tried to explain. "I don't know what I did. I was just--"

The old man held his hand up to stop him from saying anything more. "I'll be your interpreter," the old man said with a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

Nicky wondered momentarily how much he could trust the old fart, but remembered that Kai trusted him, so that had to be good enough.

"What do you need from me?" Nicky asked.

Mr. Nakamura huffed. "Sit there. Shut up. Speak only when spoken to."

Nicky bristled slightly at that. If he'd been in the states, he would have told the old man where he could stuff his orders. However, he wasn't in the states. He was in Japan and would have to curb his enthusiasm until he found out just what the fuck he was being accused of.

Mr. Nakamura engaged in a rapid exchange of Japanese with the constable for a few minutes, his expression remaining indifferent. Then, without warning, he abruptly stood up and made his way outside. Nicky heard the old man talking to the three men that had accosted him, though he still couldn't understand what they were saying. When Mr. Nakamura returned inside the building his eyes were wide as he stared at Nicky. Nicky saw fear in those eyes. Pure, unadulterated fear... mixed with a hint of awe and a dash of admiration.

"What--" Nicky started to say but was cut off again by the old man's raised hand.

This time, though, the old man waved a single finger back and forth as if to say, "Wait, I'll explain in a moment." He went back and forth with the constable again, then got to his feet. Looking at Nicky, Mr. Nakamura motioned for him to follow as he walked into the other room. The old man held the door open for Nicky as he entered. Once inside, the old man closed the door with a soft click and looked at Nicky speculatively from head to toe.

"Tell me, son," Mr. Nakamura said. "Can you fight?"

"Huh?" Nicky asked, momentarily stunned by the change in the old man's attitude. Where before, he had the disposition of a geriatric having fun at the expense of an inexperienced punk, now the old man had the look of a grandfather concerned for the well-being of his errant grandson.