The Fallen Ch. 03

Chiaki crouches down, begins to unlace her running shoes, and says, "Shoes please."

"Oh, yeah," I nod. "Of course."

Once our shoes and socks are removed, my running partner produces a key and unlocks the door. She pushes it open and motions for me to follow as she enters. I walk in behind her and look around, seeing about what I'd expect from a martial arts dojo. Chiaki places her footwear on a nearby shoe rack, and I follow suit.

I notice there's a large, framed picture above the rack. The words "Chikyū Doragon no Supiritto" are engraved in golden lettering along the frame's bottom. The picture itself must have been taken recently. It's of Chiaki decked out in a white gi with a black belt cinched around her waist, a red bar with five white stripes on the belt. There's an intense look on her face, and she's in the process of performing a hip-throw on a guy twice her size.

Thick practice mats cover much of the floor, and the walls are decorated with Japanese-themed pictures, weapons, and script-covered wall hangings. There's a door across the room labeled "storage". A rather large, wood and glass display counter is positioned in front of it. The counter contains a small stack of gi, as well as belts of many different colors rolled neatly together. There are more weapons within, these ones for sale judging by the price tags on them.

The lights are on, and someone is at the other end of the room. His back is to us, and he's using a broom to sweep an exposed section of concrete floor. The man wears simple blue jeans and a plaid, button-up shirt, but his feet are bare. He gives the floor a few more strokes with the broom before turning to face us.

He's older, early fifties I'm thinking, with a neatly trimmed beard and short-cropped hair, both in the process of becoming fully gray. His craggy, Japanese features break into a broad smile when his eyes fall upon Chiaki.

She bows deeply, bending almost ninety degrees at the waist, and says, "Ohayō gozaimasu Otōsan."

The man inclines his head in a small bow.

"Konnichiwa Chiaki-chan," the gentleman says in a deep, gravelly voice thick with Japanese accent. "There is no need to be so formal with your own father."

Ah, that explains a little, especially Chiaki having a key to the place.

Chiaki rights herself, then bows her head briefly and says, "Sumimasen deshita."

"You have brought with you a friend to visit me," he laughs lightly as he walks closer to us. "What special occasion is this?"

Cassie chooses to speak as the man's eyes turn my direction.

"Bow deeply as Chiaki did at first and repeat after me - Ohayō gozaimasu ue-sama. Moushiwake arimasen deshita."

"Ohayō gozaimasu ue-sama. Moushiwake arimasen deshita," I repeat Cassie's words with a deep and formal bow, not even sure what I'm saying.

I stand back up, and Chiaki's father gazes at me approvingly with pleasant surprise written on his features.

He says, "You honor me, young lady, but why do you apologize?"

I have no idea.

I stall, saying, "I guess..."

"Apologize for showing up unannounced."

"I guess for showing up unannounced," I tell him.

"Such manners," he says with another broad smile, one that says I've made a favorable impression. "I am Ken'ichi Shoji, and I am pleased to meet you."

He gives a deep bow before offering a hand.

I give it a firm shake and say, "Thank you, Mr. Shoji. I'm Erykah Gray."

"Forgive me for being forward, but you are like my daughter?" he asks with a knowing look.

Wow. I'm unsure how to respond to that. I think he's asking if I'm an Eternal, but his words could mean anything.

"Yes, father," Chiaki answers, saving me from my awkward silence. "She's like me, but different. She is desu enjeru no seishin."

"Then I am doubly honored, Erykah Gray. You may call me Ken, though if you are uncomfortable with that Mr. Shoji will do. Come. Please allow me to make you girls some tea."

"Thank you...Ken," I reply with my patented cheesy grin.

Huh. Chiaki's dad is kinda cool.

* * * * * *

After sharing tea with Ken'ichi, who turns out to be a very funny and interesting man, Chiaki and I bid him our goodbyes. Cassie tutors me in the proper Japanese phrases and etiquette for the occasion, helping to cement my good impression upon Chiaki's father.

As we leave the dojo behind I can't help but wonder how I knew all those Japanese words.

"We seem to recall living in Japan once, long ago. We believe we may have been a samurai. It is quite hazy, though."

Huh. It's weird to think that knocking around somewhere in my brain-pan might be the memories of one of those noble warriors.

We two women are jogging up another of the small town's streets again, Chiaki leading me somewhere else this time. She seems unusually solemn and silent, so I try to make small talk.

"Your dad," I begin, "he owns the dojo?"

"Yeah," Chiaki nods.

"He's pretty awesome," I smile.

"More than you know," she answers.

"He teaches?"

"Uh-huh. Shotokan Karate."

"How long have you trained?" I ask.

"Since I was old enough to stand."

I suppose that explains Chiaki's rep around school. She's probably got umpteen black belts. The other woman's mind seems burdened by something heavy, however. Normally, when you hit upon a subject in which the other person has a keen interest it can be hard to shut them up. Chiaki lets the conversation die, though.

We jog on in silence. Chiaki stops at a small flower shop and buys a bundle of yellow calla lilies. I'm a little baffled by this act, but I follow along in silence as we exit the store and continue up the road. Chiaki holds the pretty flowers carefully under one arm as we jog and turn down a different street.

"Are you taking me to meet your mom now?" I ask, taking a shot in the dark.

Chiaki looks a little surprised and tells me, "Yeah."

"Cool," I smile.

If her mom is even half as awesome as her dad then I'm sure I'll like her, too. We travel on in silence once more, and Chiaki leads us down an alley. At the end we swing onto a sidewalk, a tall stone wall up ahead. The wall seems to surround a huge property, and I wonder if this is Chiaki's family home.

Sure enough, we turn and pass through an open gate. My breath hitches in my throat when I see row upon row of headstones, and I come to a rather ungraceful, grinding halt. Chiaki slows to a walk as we enter the cemetery. After a few seconds of shocked realization I follow, and she leads me across the grass and in between graves, making a beeline for somewhere specific.

I know there's a tiny chance her mother could be the cemetery caretaker or something, but I somehow doubt that given Chiaki's heavy silence plus the flowers. She kneels before a large, ornate headstone, laying the flowers at it's base.

The inscription upon the stone's surface reads: "Sophie Devon Shoji / Loving wife and mother / 1968-2014".

"Hi, mom," Chiaki says, "I brought your favorite flowers."

She begins to sob softly, and my heart goes out to her. I know that pain. I still feel that pain, like a raw wound inside where something important has been ripped away. I kneel beside Chiaki, the other woman turning to look at me with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I-I'm sorry," she bawls, her whole body shaking with her grief, "I thought...I was stronger...than this..."

"It's okay," I tell Chiaki, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her close.

She cries on my shoulder and hugs me in return. I don't think for a second that she's weak. Quite the contrary. It must have taken a lot for Chiaki to bring me here knowing she might break down like this. Perhaps Chiaki saw within me a kindred spirit, and she knew I would understand. I do understand and there's no judgment in me. Rather, I feel privileged that she's willing to show me this vulnerable side of herself.

I'm not sure how long I sit here silently comforting Chiaki with my presence.

Eventually her tears taper off and she leans back, wipes at her cheeks, and says, "Thank you, Erykah."

"What are friends for?" I smile.

"I brought you here to tell a story I thought would make you feel better, but you're the one making me feel better."

I reach out to stroke the side of Chiaki's face, my palm coming to rest against her cheek as I reveal, "You did make me feel better, believe it or not. Trust me, it's not every day someone let's little old me into their world, and I'm really glad you let me into yours."

I allow my hand to drop back to my lap as I continue, "You didn't know me before my awakening. I was a geeky, extremely introverted girl with some pretty bad social anxiety. I was never able to make friends, so my mom was my only true friend. When she died I was completely alone. You have no idea how much I cherish the friends I've made since I got here."

"I think I understand," Chiaki nods slowly. "Real friends are hard to come by."

She launches into the story she brought me here to share.

"Before I was born my father worked as a liaison and translator between the Japanese government and the American military, and my mother worked as a school teacher on a US military base. That's how my parents first met, fell in love, and started a family. When I was a kid I used to live in Japan with my mother, father, and Phoebe, my older sister.

"Anyway, fast forward, and I'm fourteen. Phoebe has already graduated high school and moved on to University, so I didn't see her nearly as much as I used to since she attended in Tokyo. Back then my parents and I lived in Misawa, way to the north. Father worked at the American air force base there, and mom had retired about four years back, about the time my sister graduated high school.

"I was always athletic and outgoing, so I never had issues making friends. My problem was making the wrong friends. At fourteen I made some really bad friends, but at the time I thought it was so cool to be hanging out with those older bad-boys. I got into drinking, drugs, sex, and committing petty crimes like shoplifting and pick pocketing to feed my habits.

"I was such a horrible shit to my parents. I'd get in trouble and they'd forgive me. I'd promise to change my ways only to turn around and go back to those same bad friends. After about six months of me putting them through hell my father had had enough of bailing me out of trouble and struggling to clean up my messes.

"I know it hurt them a lot to leave Japan, but for my own good mom and dad decided to move here," Chiaki says, waving a hand at the town surrounding us. "My mom was born here."

My intuition nags me about something, and I ask, "So the old guy in the truck who honked at us earlier..."

"Is my mom's father, my grandpa."

"No kidding?" I laugh with a shake of my head. "I never would've thought exotic Chiaki's granddad would turn out to be a hayseed from small-town, USA."

"Small world, eh?" Chiaki says with a smile at my amusement. "I'm glad you find it funny."

"Sorry," I say, trying to paste a serious expression on my face. "Please, continue your story."

"Well now I can't remember where I was," Chiaki laughs, giving me a very soft punch on the arm.

"You mom was born here?"

"Oh yeah...So anyway, dad moved us here, and I was pissed. I threw tantrums. I rebelled any way I could. I tried going back to my old ways, but I quickly found out in a town this small it doesn't take long for everyone to know who you are and what you're all about. Since I couldn't get the drinking and drugs I wanted I ended up turning my anger into something a little more violent. I picked a lot of fights, and with my training I beat the living hell out of quite a few boys a lot older and bigger than me."

Oh. That really explains her rep around school. Apparently it's well-deserved.

"It took a while, but about the time I turned fifteen I finally chilled the hell out and started acting human again. Mostly it was my parents' patience. I can't believe they stuck out those bad times with me and never gave up. Attending Bay Ridge Academy helped, but with all the bad influences gone from my life and replaced by good ones, I just sort of...got better, I guess.

"But then...mom got sick. Less than a year later she was gone."

Chiaki pauses and casts a long gaze at the headstone of her dead mother.

"I still miss her so much," Chiaki confides.

Seeing the loss etched within the other woman's eyes, I wonder if the pain of my own loss will ever fade. Two years later and it obviously still eats at Chiaki. Maybe it never does get better? Maybe we just learn to live with it.

"But that's not why I brought you here," Chiaki says firmly with a shake of her head before looking back to me. "Look, Erykah, I guess what I'm getting at with all of this...is..."

Chiaki purses her lips, and I can tell she's thinking careful of how to phrase her next words.

"Despite everything I did, and even though I forced them to leave the land they loved, my parents always forgave me. They ended up needing to use firm hands to steer me back onto the right course, but they always forgave me and never gave up on me."

"Family is precious, Erykah. You may have lost your mother, but you've gained a brother and a father. Whatever you think of Thomas...please find it in your heart to try and forgive him. Trust me when I say he had damn good reasons for splitting up you and your brother. At least give him a chance to explain."

"Okay," I nod, resolving to do so if for no other reason than it's Chiaki who's asking. "I do have one question, though."

"Shoot."

"How come you can't just tell me why?"

Chiaki explains, "I wouldn't feel right about it. You should hear it firsthand from Thomas."

I can respect that, so I reply, "Alright. I'll let him explain, I promise. I'll even try not to pop him in the chops again."

"That's good," Chiaki laughs. "You actually got him pretty good."

"Yeah. I did, didn't I?"

"You've got some extra power going on, don't you?" Chiaki asks.

"Yup," I nod. "Courtesy of Cassie."

"Cassie?" Chiaki asks, confused momentarily. "Oh, you mean Cassandriel. You know...you should let me teach you. Father has been nagging me like forever to take on a student. I'd love for it to be you."

I think about it, but it only takes a split-second to reach my decision.

"Hell, yeah!" I agree enthusiastically. "That would be bad ass!"

"Karate isn't about being a 'bad ass'," Chiaki informs me, waggling a finger in my direction and taking on a Japanese accent. "You have much to learn grasshoppah."

"I know," I giggle. "That's just a figure of speech for me. You'll find I use it a lot."

Chiaki hooks an arm around my shoulders, turns toward her mother's headstone with a big grin, and says, "You hear that, mom? I got my first student!"

* * * * * *

"This is amazing!"

It's called a chicken-bacon-ranch sandwich.

"It's really good! Keep eating!"

I chuckle a little at Cassie's reaction as I chew. Chiaki had insisted on buying me lunch. Having skipped breakfast I was famished and readily agreed, so we stopped at the Subway on our way out of town. Currently we sit at a table inside, eating our food.

"Something funny?" Chiaki asks at my laugh.

"Cassie likes the sandwich," I explain.

"Yeah, it's kind of weird how stuff like that works. I'm still getting used to it."

"How long?"

"About two months," Chiaki reveals.

That makes sense. Chiaki's dad isn't that old so I'd figured a year or two maybe, but apparently Seraphinus has only recently awakened. I suppose that would be about right since Chiaki looks 19 or 20, and she's a senior like me. I am curious about something else, though.

"Are you really dating my dad?"

"Ewww no," Chiaki shakes her head. "Not that he isn't super cute, but he's like a hundred-and-twenty-something. That would be like going out with my great-great-grandfather."

"So...why...?"

Chiaki shrugs.

"I was tired of guys hitting on me and asking me out. After two years I was running out of ways to politely turn them down. Kids even started calling me names behind my back, like "lezzie" or "muff-diver". Not that I really cared, but the idiots didn't seem to realize I wasn't dating anyone, guy or girl. I asked, and Thomas agreed to be my pretend boyfriend. Funny thing is, this was at the beginning of junior year, before Seraphinus had awakened."

"Why my dad, then?"

Chiaki shrugs and says, "He was always so serious and mature, always such a gentleman and genuinely kind to people. I mean, I understand why he's that way now, but back then he just seemed like a guy I could really trust. Thomas and Chris were always close friends...like really close...so I may have also thought Thomas was gay. Boy was I way off. Anyway, we all sort of turned into the three musketeers over my junior year."

"Huh. Not ready for love yet, eh?" I tease a bit.

Chiaki shakes her head and says, "Not really. After my hellion phase I sort of wanted to slow down on stuff like that. Well, stop really. First I needed to get a grip on my own life. Now I feel like I've got to get a handle on the whole 'Sera in my head' thing."

"Hah! So I'm not the only one to give 'em a nickname?"

"Nope," Chiaki grins, leaning closer and lowering her voice. "Do you make yours talk in a woman's voice too?"

"Yes!" I say and start giggling.

Chiaki laughs along with me, and we go back to eating. I consider sharing something mildly embarrassing with her, but then change my mind. Then I change it again. I flip-flop back and forth a few times before deciding Chiaki would get a laugh out of it, so what the hell why not?

"When I first got to Bay Ridge," I begin, "my brother was supposed to meet me at the front gate and help me find my way around and get set up."

"Oh yeah?" Chiaki asks as she raises her eyebrows.

"Yeah, but he never showed. Turns out he'd sprained his wrist and had to go to the infirmary. So, instead of Chris meeting me it was Thomas. Now keep in mind this was before I knew he was my dad. There I was, awkward little me, with this really nice guy helping me out...this guy I thought was super hot."

"Oh my god!" Chiaki laughs out loud before lowering her voice. "You were crushing on your dad? That's hilarious!"

"Looking back I kind of shudder when I think about it."

"I bet," Chiaki giggles.

We continue chit-chatting as we eat, indulging in small talk. As we do I get the sense there's something on Chiaki's mind, something she's curious about but can't bring herself to ask.

Finally I say, "If you want to know something, Chiaki, just ask. I won't get butt hurt, I promise."

The other woman sighs and hesitantly begins, "I don't usually...ah, what I mean is...this isn't the sort of thing...it's just I..."

"Oh, spit it out already," I giggle at her hesitation.

"So you and Danni, huh?" she blurts suddenly, her cheeks turning a little bit red.

"Yeah," I nod, reading between the lines. "How did you know? Rumors?"

"No. No rumors. It's just the way the two of you are together. You really love her, don't you?"

"We're soul mates," I state simply. "You know...from way way back."

"Oh," she nods, her eyes widening. "Wow. What are the odds?"

"About one in seven-point-something billion, I guess. Unless you believe in fate."

"Do you? Believe?"

"I'd be a fool not to," I tell Chiaki. "Coincidence can only account for so much. I mean, think about it. Both me and my twin brother are Eternals. So is our father, and then Jophiel and I reunite just as we're both awakening. You seem to be the only random occurrence, Chiaki. One I'm very glad for, by the way."