Chapter Text
The gentle waves rocked Nishiki's body up and down like a cradle. His wounds had long since healed, and the sea water no longer stung, though the scars were still easily visible, not old enough to have faded.
This was his first time in Okinawa, and it was just as he had imagined it: a paradise on Earth. The parties were not as good as in Tokyo, but it won in terms of peace and quiet, as well as scenic beauty.
And it was no coincidence that he was there. Somehow Nishiki was compelled to go wherever Kiryu was, almost like in the old days, even though he didn't have the courage to go introduce himself or even approach him. For all intents and purposes, Nishiki was dead. He had taken on a new name and a new look, leaving the old Nishiki to die so that a new man could sprout from him.
The most obvious thing about his physical change was the absence of his right arm, but the differences went beyond that. He now wore his hair a little longer, and when it wasn't wet, he didn't pin it all the way back but let a section on the right side fall next to his face, disguising some of his scars and white fake eye. His clothing, while still carefully chosen, was much more austere than before due to his low income working part-time for the Honest Living Association that Kashiwagi had founded shortly after what had happened in the Millennium Tower. In a way, Nishiki had been the first to benefit from it, perhaps even the one who had inspired Kashiwagi to form the association to help even more people in a similar situation.
Another big difference was the tattoo on his back, which had also suffered the consequences of the explosion. Part of it had disappeared under the scars that ran down his back, especially on the right side. It was a damaged koi, broken like him, but still alive and able to swim up the waterfall.
Nishiki swam towards the shore, propelling himself with one arm and the paddle of his feet. The sun had tanned his skin over the past few days, when he had used any free time he had to sneak off to the beach. But he was not there for leisure; he could not forget what he had gone to Okinawa to do, even if he had to settle for staying on a slightly remote beach from which he could barely see the Morning Glory orphanage.
He was not too surprised. It was not at all typical for a man with Kiryu's background to run an orphanage, but Kiryu was not a typical man. He had always been drawn to and felt the most compassion for the people he saw himself reflected in, orphans were just one of those types of people. And if he could put his mind to something, he would do it, no matter what anyone else said. That was Kiryu, his brother.
Ever since Nishiki learned that Kiryu was running his own orphanage, he had been donating money anonymously, as he used to do with the Sunflower. It had crossed his mind many times to return to his old home, the Sunflower, thinking that probably no one there would recognize him anymore. But that place reminded him of things he preferred not to think about too often, plus it was already very generously funded by Kashiwagi, even if the old man wouldn’t admit it to him.
Now that Kiryu was not in Okinawa, Nishiki was concerned about the situation of the children at the orphanage. Kiryu was a good guardian for those children, but Nishiki knew firsthand how clueless and terribly naive he could be. It was not for nothing that he had been the victim of so many scams over the years. Nishiki's worries only increased when he learned that Kiryu had left the orphanage in charge of none other than the local yakuza family. That was something only Kiryu would do.
From what he had been able to gather, the Ryudo family was tiny, and, according to the neighbors, its members were good people. Nishiki didn't know how much truth there was in those statements, perhaps he was prejudging these men too much, but it was clear to him that Kiryu's leaving for Kamurocho was not in the best interest of the children, especially knowing that some were still very young and that it would cause the older ones to take on more responsibility than they should at their age.
In any case, Nishiki had set out to get to know the Ryudo family personally, and what better way to prepare for that than by meeting a hostess at a club under their protection? Perhaps, at worst, his charisma wouldn't get the woman talking, but surely if Nishiki asked too many questions, the hostess would let the Ryudo family know that a customer was a bit too interested in them. That was also a good outcome because, on better or worse terms, some member of the family would eventually approach him. Nishiki was confident that his seductive skills were still on point, though.
After changing out of his bathing trunks into a colorful shirt and black pants, Nishiki walked into town on his way to the pawnshop. If he wanted to make a good impression, he couldn't show up for that night's date empty-handed. A purse or a watch would be nice gifts, but he couldn't afford to spend too much, so he would have to get creative.
On his way to the pawnshop, he was browsing the windows of the stores he passed in case he found something that caught his eye, but no luck until he found himself stopping in front of an M Store. There was nothing special catching his eye, as it was just a convenience store, so he assumed he wouldn't find anything there for his date, but he decided to go in anyway to buy a refreshing drink to cool off from the heat.
There weren't too many people in the store; during the hottest hours most people stayed at home, but some made use of the air conditioning in places like M Store to save money. Nishiki walked down the aisles, brushing his left hand over the half-empty shelves on either side. Whether it was because the workers had been busy doing other things or because the heat was getting the better of them, the shelves were not well stocked, many products were missing and there were many empty gaps between those that were there. That didn't look good for them.
Nishiki walked straight to the cold drinks cabinet, only stopping to grab a bag of corn puffs along the way. He went through them all. There were the more classic drinks, such as cola or orange soda, assorted juices, water and beer, but there were also stranger ones that Nishiki hadn't tried. It didn't take him long to decide on a pineapple-flavored alcoholic drink that, although he hadn't tried it, he knew he would like because he had already tried other similar drinks of the same brand and he adored pineapple. Or at least that was part of the reason for choosing that particular drink, because the first thing that had caught his eye was the unique shape of the bottle and how sophisticated yet eye-catching the label was.
As he turned around to finish looking around the store before going to pay, Nishiki bumped into someone else, barely saving the bottle and bag of corn puffs from hitting the floor.
“Excuse me, sir, I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking.” Said a young girl who bowed to him apologetically.
The girl was wearing a white tank top over another red tank top and short jeans. In the tote bag hanging from her shoulder she carried several products, and from it protruded a worn straw hat.
“Don't worry, little one, no harm done.” Nishiki told her, smiling.
The child couldn't have been more than about twelve or thirteen years old and wore her dark hair loose. She looked a little nervous, but when she finally raised her head, Nishiki's breath stopped.
That little girl looked exactly like Yumi when she was her age. The eyes, the nose, even the mannerisms, everything reminded him of her. Haruka also looked at him curiously, as if studying his every feature. Nishiki turned his head to the left with a start, as if hiding behind the scars on the right side of his face.
“Do I know you, sir?” Asked Haruka.
“I’m afraid not.”
Nishiki gave an awkward smile before he finished turning left, walking at a brisk pace to reach the cashier as soon as possible. Haruka followed, walking right behind him. Didn't she get the hint that Nishiki didn't want to continue the conversation, or perhaps she didn't care?
“Excuse me, but it's just that you really do remind me a lot of someone.”
Nishiki stopped dead in his tracks to look directly at Haruka.
“Oh, yeah? Who do I remind you of?”
“Of my uncle's brother.”
“Wouldn't that make him your uncle too? Or your father?”
Haruka tilted her head to one side, thinking.
“I'm not sure. I didn't get to know him as well as I would have liked, he died a few years ago.”
“Wow, I'm... I'm so sorry.” Said Nishiki, trying to act surprised and sad. “I know some deaths are not easy to deal with. Especially for someone your age, I guess. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to…”
Nishiki pointed to the cashier, a young man who watched the scene with a bored look on his face. However, Haruka did not give up.
“Sir! I know this is going to sound weird, but please come with me.”
Nishiki looked at her with a mixture of puzzlement and shock, raising an eyebrow.
“I mean, could we talk for a while? I'll buy you a coffee!” Haruka explained. “I'd be very grateful if you could do that for me, even if it's a bit of an odd request. Talking to you is the closest thing I could do to talking to him, since he was always very important to my mom, but I barely got to know him.”
Nishiki felt a whirlwind inside him, a mixture of nervousness, fear and happiness. It was a surprise to him that Haruka knew that he and his mother had once been a positive influence in each other's lives. Did that mean that Yumi had spoken well of him? Until then, he had thought that Yumi had come to hate him and had never wanted to hear from him again. That changed things, it gave him a new perspective.
The girl was looking at him with intensity, shifting her weight from one leg to the other nervously, and Nishiki didn't know how to react. He wasn't prepared for that, coming face to face with Yumi's daughter was something he thought impossible, but it had happened. Even worse: not only had they met, but she had recognized his appearance. But, now that she had seen him, what harm could there be in having a little more extensive talk with her? At best, maybe he could convince her that he wasn't the person she thought he was. Either way, he couldn't say no to her with those pleading eyes that glittered with hope, awaiting his answer.
“All right, but I don't have much time, so we'll keep it short. And there's no need for a child to invite me to anything, really.”
“Thank you so so much, Mr...”
Haruka stared at him, as if looking for an answer. The response Nishiki gave her was as automatic as the other hundreds of times he had uttered that name after his fake death.
“Ichiyama. That’s my name.”
“Sawamura, Haruka Sawamura. My pleasure.”
Haruka grinned from ear to ear, and, when Nishiki had paid for his drink, a juice for Haruka and the corn puffs, they headed to a park in a quieter part of town. The two sat on the bench and Haruka began to talk as they shared the bag of corn puffs and drank their respective drinks. She talked and talked for almost two hours and Nishiki never once interrupted her, simply giving his input and asking questions when he felt Haruka was inviting him to do so. Never before had he spent so much time listening attentively to someone.
Haruka told him the whole story from the time she escaped from the Sunflower to Kiryu's temporary departure from Morning Glory that same week. She explained each event to him in detail, mentioning many people Nishiki thought she wouldn't dare mention, such as Jingu, Lau Ka Long and Nishiki himself, but also many others he had never met. She not only mentioned the bad times, but also the good ones and how happy she was there in Okinawa.
Every word from Haruka's perspective broke his heart a little more, reliving bitter events and feeling in his own flesh the events following his supposed death. However, and somewhat contradictorily, she was also gradually mending it at the same time. In addition to being a strong young lady, Haruka was also very intelligent and spoke like someone of a much older age. It was obvious that she had grown up very fast. Yumi would have been very proud of the girl she had become and so was Nishiki in her honor. He was very glad that, despite everything, both Kiryu and her had been able to find a place to just be happy.
“And how did you lose your arm, Mr. Ichiyama?” Haruka asked once she finally finished narrating her whole life story.
“It was a work-related accident.”
And technically it was true, or at least it wasn't an outright lie, Nishiki thought.
“Oh, really? And what's your job?”
Nishiki gulped.
“Right now I work in a sort of NGO dedicated to the reintegration into society of people at risk of exclusion.”
Haruka complimented him and asked some questions about the activities of the NGO, which Nishiki answered as vaguely as possible.
“And don't you think my appearance makes me seem like a dangerous person?” Nishiki asked, still thinking of her earlier question about his missing arm.
Haruka shook her head.
“I don't think looks define a person's character. I've met a lot of people who at first glance might look like mere thugs, but when it came down to it, even if they sometimes were in the yakuza, they proved to be nice people. I have also encountered the opposite case, that's why I prefer not to judge people by their looks. And you, Mr. Ichiyama, have proven to be a good person.”
Nishiki gazed off into the horizon, trying not to let Haruka notice. Over the time after his supposed death, Nishiki had come to the conclusion that he was neither a good person nor a bad person. He had done some good things and other very bad ones, depending on the time of his life, and his goal going forward was to not make the same mistakes again and perhaps then become someone halfway decent. He simply wondered if Haruka would think the same of him if she knew that her mother's death had been partly his responsibility.
Beyond the park gates the sun had just set and the moon was already visible high in the sky. They had spent hours talking and it had become dark, even long past the time Nishiki had arranged to meet the hostess.
“It's late, shouldn't you go back home?” Said Nishiki.
Haruka raised her head with the surprise of someone who did not expect to see the moon on the horizon.
“Didn't you have something to do? I'm sorry, I've talked for far too long.”
Nishiki stood up from the bench and shook his head.
“It's ok, it wasn't important anyway.”
Haruka followed suit and they both walked in silence to the exit of the park. It was not an uncomfortable silence, quite the opposite, it was comforting and reassuring.
“I want to tell you something, Haruka.” Nishiki said, stopping to look the girl in the eyes, “After everything you've told me today I think it's clear to me that everyone around you appreciates you and feels very lucky to have you in their life. If I were your uncle or your mom I would be very proud of you, little one. And don't worry about your Uncle Kaz, I'm sure he can manage on his own, he sounds like a really strong guy. You don't need to worry so much.”
“He is, but also very shy and committed.”
Nishiki smiled, remembering the good old times with Kiryu.
“You take care of being with the other children in the orphanage, they probably need someone to lean on in these difficult times. But, and this is important, don't forget that they are also there for you and that if you need it, probably any of them will be willing to listen to you.”
“Thank you very much, I will!”
“Now I have to go.”
“Will we meet again?” Haruka asked.
Nishiki shook his head.
“I don't know. I'm leaving Okinawa tonight and I don't know if I'll have the chance of coming back.”
Even before the conversation Nishiki had decided that he had to leave Okinawa as soon as possible. He thought no one would recognize him, but he was wrong and he was taking too many risks. Perhaps that was exactly why he had agreed to the conversation with Haruka, as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But he couldn't keep up the lies forever, if he saw her again he would probably end up inadvertently revealing his identity.
Haruka nodded, but even if her face revealed disappointment Nishiki could not back down.
“It's been a pleasure talking to you. You are a very smart kid.”
“Thank you so much for talking to me, uncle, I'm so glad we were able to get to know each other a little, at least once.”
Nishiki's eyes widened, Haruka smiled and gave him a hug to which he quickly responded by holding her tightly in his arms. Did that mean that Haruka had really figured out his identity or that she considered him to be trustworthy after the conversation? Perhaps simple friendliness? Nishiki didn't dare ask, he simply savored the moment until they both parted and went their own ways, perhaps to never meet again.
