Order of the Lost Samurai Ch. 02

"Any regrets?" the old man asked.

Nicky took a shuddering breath before answering without hesitation. "Yeah," he said and almost choked up. Clearing his throat again, he said, "I wish I could apologize for being a prick of a kid. That's the one thing I never did since Kai helped set me straight. Here I might die tomorrow and she'll never know how sorry I am."

Nicky felt a gentle hand on his shoulder but didn't turn to look at the old man. Mr. Nakamura gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "She knows, kid," he said. "One thing about a parent, the loving ones anyway, they always know."

Nicky nodded. "I hope you're right, Sensei. I hope you're right."

They were silent for the remainder of the trip. An hour later, they drove up to what could vaguely be described as an NBA sports arena. It was huge. Nicky gaped at the size of the building.

"Just how many people are going to be here?" Nicky asked.

"As many as will fit in the building," the old man said with a grin. "All of Japan, and much of the world, will likely be watching."

"What!?" Nicky said, turning his head so fast to look at his mentor that his neck cracked.

"Kid," Mr. Nakamura said. "This thing has gone global already. I just got word yesterday that it's going to be televised in the more liberal countries."

"Home?" Nicky asked, his face going white. He was worried his mom was going to potentially watch her son get killed on national TV.

"Naa," the old man said, waving the notion away. "America has always been too much of a pussy to show potential real-life death on television. Japan, China, Russia, and the Middle East, however..."

He trailed off as he got out of the car. Nicky followed sluggishly, feeling suddenly sick to his stomach. As they approached a set of doors that led inside, they were stopped by a guard. Mr. Nakamura and the guard exchanged a few words and the guard eyed Nicky with speculation. Remembering what he'd seen in many martial arts movies, Nicky didn't shy away from the man's gaze. The guard nodded and let them pass.

Nicky stopped in his tracks as he started to descend to the floor of the arena. The arena floor where the fighting would take place was eerily familiar. He tried and failed to remember what it reminded him of. The old man helped him out.

"Bloodsport," Mr. Nakamura said and Nicky's eyes widened.

"The Kumite!" he blurted out. "That's... whoa."

"Shit just got real, didn't it?" the old man asked.

Nicky nodded. "Shit just got real."

"Wanna keep going?" his mentor asked.

Nicky thought about it for a minute. Deciding it would do no good, he shook his head. "Na. Let's just go. I'm sure I'll get the full effects tomorrow."

"Sure, kid," Mr. Nakamura said as they turned around and headed back to his car.

"By the by, what time is the party supposed to kick off tomorrow?" Nicky asked.

The old man eyed him suspiciously. "You're a hell of a lot calmer about all of this than I expected, Nicky. You okay?"

Nicky shrugged. "I've had a couple weeks to resolve myself to the fact."

"You're not scared shirtless?" the old man asked.

"You mean shitless?" Nicky asked with a creased brow.

"No, I mean shirtless," the old man said with a grin. "I have no doubt that no matter how scared you really are, you're not going to shit your pants, kid."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Nicky replied. "I mean, yeah, I'm scared, but I've always lived my life by the motto that--"

"If you say Hakuna Matata, kid, I'll kick your ass," the old man interrupted him with a laugh.

Nicky chuckled. "No, not that. Just that, it's okay to be scared; It's okay to fear the unknown. What's not okay is to let that fear control your every action. Instead, use it to help keep your cool and decide what to do to keep yourself going."

"Wise words," his mentor said as they got in the car and took off. Then, he punched Nicky playfully in the arm. "Still sounds like Hakuna Matata, though."

Nicky laughed.

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

They spent the rest of the morning and a good part of the afternoon at the beach. They found a secluded spot and Nicky immediately plopped himself down in the sand and started to meditate. Mr. Nakamura busied himself by cleaning. He hated a messy... anything, especially a messy beach, so while Nicky meditated, he cleared all the debris from the area.

They skipped lunch and instead decided on an early dinner. The closer the sun got to setting, the more Nicky's nerves began to cord up like muscles shot through with electricity. By the time they arrived at the restaurant, which, coincidentally or not, was the same restaurant Kai took him for lunch on his first day, Nicky had worked himself up so much that he experienced a severe stomach ache. As they walked through the front door, Nicky's aching belly had unwound a bit when he saw the same server he'd had with Kai working. They smiled at each other, the server girl giving him a tentative one, while Nicky's was a broad one.

"MY BOY!!" someone screeched, causing Nicky to jump out of his skin. Turning in the direction of the noise, Nicky saw a petite blonde all of five-foot-two and ninety pounds soaking wet just before she tackled him like an NFL linebacker sacks a quarterback.

"MA!?!?" Nicky asked incredulously as he tried to fend off her multiple kisses to his face. "Ma, what are you doing here!?"

Sally Devore latched onto her son like an anaconda squeezes prey, hugging him fiercely as they lay on the cafe floor. "Oh, my baby boy!" she cried again. She lifted off of him long enough to get a good look at his face before latching onto him again. "Are you okay? What happened? Did anyone hurt you!?"

"No, Ma, I'm fine," Nicky answered, flabbergasted. "But... wha... what are you doing here!?"

With some mild difficulty, Nicky stood up, all the while his mother clung to him. He eyed his mentor, scrutinizing his expression, before coming to the conclusion that, while the old man might have known his mother would be coming, he didn't have anything to do with her being here.

"Mr. Yamamoto called me," Nicky's mother replied as she finally released him but pulled his face down to get a better look at him. "When he told me what happened I was so distraught that I wasn't going to be here for you that he took care of everything! He managed to expedite my passport and even paid for my plane ticket! Of course I'm gonna lose both of my jobs but I told them both that there was no way I was going to let my baby fight for his life alone halfway around the world so they can stick a corncob up their asses and light it on fire if they had a problem with--"

Nicky kissed his mother gently on the lips. That was the only way he knew how to shut her up when she got a full head of steam going with that mouth of hers. "It's good to see you, Ma," he said as he blinked back tears. "Wh... who is Mr. Yamamoto?"

"Maybe we should sit down?" Mr. Nakamura cut in. "Sorry to break up the reunion but we're blocking the doorway.

"Oh!" Sally said. "I'm so sorry," she apologized to the people trying to get in and out.

"Ma. This is Mr. Nakamura," Nicky said, introducing the old man. "He's been helping me train." The old man cleared his throat. "I mean, he's been training me to fight; getting me ready for tomorrow. Sensei, this is my mother, Sally Devore."

They made it to an empty table but before they could sit down, Sally wrapped the old codger in a fierce hug. He returned the embrace with a grunt of good-natured calm. "Thank you so much for taking care of my boy!" she said. "You speak English so good!"

"Yes, well, I grew up in America, after all," Mr. Nakamura replied.

"No shit!?" Sally said, wide-eyed with surprise.

"Ma," Nicky said with a roll of his eyes.

"No shit," the old man replied with a twinkle in his eye.

"So, tell me everything," Sally said to Nicky. "What's going on? How did this happen?"

"Who is Mr. Yamamoto?" Nicky asked. "That first, Ma."

"One of your opponents tomorrow," Mr. Nakamura answered.

Sally and Nicky looked shocked at this revelation. Nicky opened his mouth to say something, but his mother beat him to it.

"He's trying to kill my boy?" Sally asked. "Then why would he do what he did to get me here?"

"It's not his choice what he has to do, Mrs. Devore," Mr. Nakamura said.

"Miss," Sally corrected. "I'm not married. Actually, just Sally, if you please, Mr. Nakamura. What do you mean it's not his choice?"

"The short and long of it is this:" the old man replied. "Nicky somehow activated an ancient Japanese Lore Artifact. We're almost certain that it was a word or phrase he might have uttered while singing on his way to my house to learn Japanese. We went through the songs that he was singing, and none of them made sense as to how it would have been triggered. Therefore, we think that maybe while he was singing, he inadvertently changed a word or two of the actual song, thereby activating the artifact."

"But what does this artifact do?" she asked.

"In truth, no one knows. You have to understand that whatever this thing is, it was put into creation thousands of years ago, possibly even before the famed samurai came into existence."

"So no one knows what it does, yet somehow these men want to kill my baby?"

"Just to be clear, no one wants to kill Nicky," the old man answered. "However, by this artifact being activated, whether intentional or accidental, they are compelled to try."

"But that doesn't make any sense," Sally protested. "If they don't want to kill him, why are they trying to?"

"You would have to ask Mr. Yamamoto that," the old man answered. "He or one of the others is they only one that can answer that. Though, from what I gather from speaking with them, it's sort of like a compulsion that they are unable to ignore. That's mostly the reason why we've been keeping them out of sight of each other until tomorrow. If they see him, they'll want to kill him on the spot."

"Okay, then," Sally said. "Why just them three? Surely others must have heard Nicky singing. He's not a quiet one, that's for sure."

"Ma," Nicky groaned, embarrassed.

"They were the only ones within earshot with daughters at marrying age," Mr. Nakamura answered.

"And that means..." she said.

"Again, no one knows," Mr. Nakamura replied. "Not even the three men."

"Ma, what did Mr. Yamamoto say when he called you?" Nicky asked. "For that matter, how did he even find you?"

"That would be my fault," Kai said as he walked in the door to the cafe.

"Kai," Sally said as she rose and gave him a hug. "How are you, kiddo?"

"I am well, Miss Devore," Kai answered as they sat down. "How are you?"

"I've been better," she answered.

"So you gave one of my opponents my mother's contact information?" Nicky asked his friend, unable to keep the hint of betrayal out of his voice.

"Mr. Yamamoto is an honorable man," Kai answered. "He assured me that he wanted to be the one to contact your mother to explain what was happening before she saw it on the news."

"Still," Nicky said, grumbling slightly. "That seems... well, I don't exactly know how I feel about it."

"He got me here, baby," Sally replied. "That's got to count for something."

The server girl tentatively approached and Nicky fixed her with a wide, though clearly nervous smile. This time, she didn't smile. She barely even looked in his direction. When she did, it was to give him an intentional scowl. She took their orders and went back to the kitchen. Kai noticed her change in behavior.

"What was that about, I wonder?" Kai asked.

"No clue," Nicky said with a shrug. "It was like a switch had been flipped."

"Anyway," Mr. Nakamura cut in. "Tomorrow we have to get up before the crack of dawn to get to the arena. Nicky, you'll be tucked away in a room somewhere waiting for your first match."

"Any idea what I can expect?" Nicky asked. "Besides the obvious, that is?"

"You want the skinny on your opponents, you mean?" Mr. Nakamura asked.

"That would help, wouldn't it?" Nicky asked.

"Most likely," the old man replied. "I'll tell you tomorrow so I don't have to repeat myself in the morning. In the meantime, I will tell you this: Yamamoto will be your greatest challenge of the three. Tanaka used to be a Sumo wrestler, so there is obviously a bit of a challenge there, but he shouldn't be too difficult to overcome. Yamada is a wild card. I'll explain more about him in the morning. Yamamoto, however, is a martial arts master. If they agree to all fight you at once, I'm sorry to say, kid, you have no hope of winning."

The old man's phone rang before he could say anything further. "Speak of the devil," the old man said as he stood up and made for the door. "It's Yamamoto. I'll be right back."

"Nicky," Sally said, fighting back tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks.

"I know, Ma," Nicky said, laying his hand over hers. "I know."

They were silent until the waitress brought the food out. She carefully placed everyone's order on the table except Nicky's, whose she slammed in front of him angrily.

"Hey! What the fuck!?" Nicky exclaimed.

Kai stood up angrily and spoke in rapid-fire Japanese to the girl. She looked at Nicky and spat something out that was an obvious insult, then spoke in angered tones to Kai before stomping back toward the kitchen.

"Oh," Kai said, somewhat subdued. "Shit."

"What?" Nicky asked.

Kai looked at Nicky and sighed. "Her father is one of the men you're fighting tomorrow. She wasn't aware of who had activated the artifact until she heard Miss Devore and Mr. Nakamura talking about it earlier."

"Shit," Nicky and his mom said in unison.

Mr. Nakamura came back to the table and sat down. He had a relieved smile on his face. "Good news," he said. "No, great news. They've agreed to fight you one-on-one."

Nicky laughed the kind of laugh a man utters just before being electrocuted and the phone from the governor's office rings, offering him a pardon.

"Not only that," the old man continued, "but they've agreed that, though you're not allowed to, if you attempt a debilitating blow and don't connect, they'll consider the blow struck and agree to end the fight in your favor. Provided there is no reasonable way that they would be able to block, dodge, or parry the blow."

"Wait, what does that mean?" Sally asked.

"There are any number of blows designed to, at the very least, render an opponent unconscious, or at worst, kill," the old man explained. "Let's say during one of the fights Nicky were to attempt a hard side kick to one of his opponent's necks. That's a debilitating blow that could kill a man. Nicky, of course, because he's not allowed to kill his opponent, would stop the kick just short of connecting. His opponent, however, by what they have agreed upon, will immediately stop the fight and declare Nicky the victor."

"So, wait. What you're telling me is that they are trying to kill him but he can't kill them in return? Even accidentally?" Sally asked, almost in a panic.

Mr. Nakamura was shaking his head. "If he, even accidentally, kills or permanently maims his opponent, his life is forfeit."

"Who the fuck decided that!?" Sally almost shrieked.

"The only three men that know what's going on so far," the old man replied.

"And how do we know they're not spouting this bullshit just to save their own asses??" Sally growled.

The waitress took that moment to return and she froze in her tracks. If looks could kill, Sally Devore would be a corpse. Her face was completely red from anger. She spouted off something else in heated Japanese before storming back off toward the kitchen.

Sally looked at Mr. Nakamura but it was Kai that answered. "She said her father would never do something so dishonorable."

When the meal was over, they stood up. Mr. Nakamura went to pay for the food but the owner had come by and told them the meal was on the house, considering this could be Nicky's last. Nicky thanked the man for the kind gesture. Then, he approached the waitress as she was at another table and bowed at the waist to her.

"Gomen'nasai," Nicky said. "I'm sorry. I truly do not wish harm upon your family."

The girl snorted but nodded her acknowledgement. Nicky took that for what it was and turned to leave. She yelled, almost angrily, to his retreating back, "Watashi wa anata o seikō suru tsumoridesu, anata ga shitte iru!"

Nicky turned to look at her but she was already gone, disappearing into the kitchen again. Looking around, he noticed many of the customers had gone red in the face. He turned back to Kai, who was equally embarrassed. Even the old man's, gruff and no-nonsense as he was, cheeks were slightly colored.

"What'd she say?" Nicky asked.

"You want the literal translation?" Kai asked. "Or do you want me to clean it up for you?"

"That bad?" Nicky asked.

Kai nodded. "Could have been worse, but it was bad enough."

"Gimme the clean version, then, for mom's sake."

"She said she's never going to sleep with you."

Nicky looked confused. "Why the hell would she to begin with?" he asked. "Other than... never mind. This is no time for jokes."

No one could give him an answer, so they just left. Mr. Nakamura invited Sally to stay with him and Nicky for the night because she came straight to the cafe from the airport with Mr. Yamamoto and didn't have a chance to arrange for a hotel.

That night, Mr. Nakamura handed Nicky a teacup before sending him off to bed. "Big day tomorrow, kid," he said. "This'll help you sleep."

"Nicky?" Sally said. "Listen, I know you're not a little boy anymore, but..."

"Yeah, Ma," Nicky said, interrupting her. "It might help me get some rest if you sleep next to me. Maybe cuddle me like you used to when I was little?"

"Sure, baby," Sally agreed. "I'll even hum that little lullaby you used to like so much, though you know I've never been the best singer."

Rather than sip the cup of tea, Nicky allowed it to cool off for a bit then downed the entire contents in two large gulps. He showered, put on a pair of shorts and a shirt comfortable enough to sleep in, and headed back to his room. His mom was already laying down on the thin pallet. She had her own shorts and tank top on that she always slept in. When Nicky lay down next to her, she cradled his head to her shoulder and started to hum as she gently nudged the hair out of his face, her cheek resting on his ear.

"Ma?" Nicky asked after a few silent moments of just her soothing voice.

"Yeah, baby?" his mother replied.

"I, uh, wanted to say I'm sorry. I should have said it a long time ago, but I don't want tomorrow to go however it's going to go without apologizing."

"Sorry for what, baby?"

"For being an ass as a kid. For treating you like shit for the last few years. It wasn't your fault, and it wasn't fair of me to blame you for everything that happened to us."

"Oh baby," Sally said as she pulled his face up to look into his eyes. "You have nothing to be sorry for." She kissed his forehead before cradling his head again. "I wish things had turned out different, but I don't blame you for anything you did. I understand what you were going through."

"It was tough, though, huh?" Nicky asked.

"Baby, our life has been tough since your sperm donor got scared and took off. But we're New Yorkers. We epitomize overcoming adversity. Could things have been better? Sure. But like my Pop-pop always said, 'You take the life you've been dealt, and you don't complain when someone has it better than you. Rather, you try your hardest to make it better for yourself. If you succeed, hallelujah.'"

Nicky chuckled.

"'But if you fail,'" she continued, "'you get off your ass and get back to it, and you don't stop until you're where you want to be, or you're dead.'"

"Pop-pop didn't sugarcoat anything, did he?"

"That man didn't have an ounce of sugar in his whole body," Sally replied with a proud smile. "But he loved and taught with a fierce determination to make his children understand that they, and only they, were responsible for their futures."