The Daughter of a Dragon

Miss-Nina

The night sky was strangely beautiful tonight. It was like a navy blue blanket concealing something secretive. There were thousands of little holes in this huge blanket, and brilliant silver light shown through them. Laying there on the dark, cold sea of grass, the huge sliver of a moon wrapped around the bare branches of the sakura tree.

“What a warm February night,” said Toru, who was casually lying on his back next to me, staring up at the stars.

“It sure is,” I said in response and closed my eyes with a sigh.

After a minute of fidgeting, Toru found himself lying on his side, his chin wresting on his palm. I didn’t dare look at him, (besides out of the corner of my eye), because I supposed he was staring right at me.

And then, a still moment of silence. “Erm... Ryuuko-Chan,” he begun in a modest voice. He cleared his throat. “There’s been something I’ve meant to tell you,” he uttered.

“Yes, what is it?” I asked. My voice suddenly sounded mean, and I didn’t mean it to. Inside myself, I wanted him to say, “I’ve loved you since the moment we met.” Perhaps he was going to say something along those lines. But even if he was, his voice returned quickly and timidly, like that of a mouse.

“Uh... um.... it’s nothing. Never mind.”

Before I’d thought of anything to reply, a door slid open behind us, and sounds of the bath house quickly filled the court yard. “Eh! Who’s there?” Belted Saitou-Sensei.

Toru almost responded but I clamped my hand over his mouth before he could say a thing. Toru had just moved in a month ago, and hadn’t yet learned all of Saitou-Sensei’s ways. Of course, I’d been there a number of countless years, since before I can remember. One of the tricks about her can be applied here. For example, she probably thought she heard talking in the court yard, but she didn’t know it for a fact.

I held my breath. She stood there for a moment, then slammed the door shut. Quickly, I took him by the wrist and darted toward the sakura tree, pressing him against the trunk. “Do you have any idea of what would have happened if we were found...?” I said breathlessly, but didn’t wait for his answer.

We darted out of the courtyard and waited behind the wall. If we turned the corner, we could enter. The only problem was that it was the main entrance. If a member of the Watanabe Bathhouse saw us coming in, they’d know we hadn’t been working, we’d been outside goofing around. The only other way in was the back way, but of course Saitou-Sensei was on guard out there.

“Listen, she knows somebody’s missing. She just has to figure out whom.” Toru stood there, his face paler then before, looking alarmed. “This has happened to me thousands of times before. We have to get in there quickly.” We pressed ourselves against the wall and waited eagerly.

After a few minutes of waiting eagerly, a large group of women came strolling in like a herd of elephants, muttering amongst themselves. “Hurry, Toru,” I said and tugged him along.

“Wait! Ryuuko-Chan! What happens if they catch us?”

I looked at the floor, then up at him. “I don’t know. ‘Never been caught myself.” Of course I was lying. “Now hurry.”

We snuck into the group of women. “We have a reservation,” said one of them. “The name’s Shizuka. We might be a bit late. Is that a problem, sir...?”

The man smiling at the front desk was my father, Ishikawa-Sensei; that’s what everybody has to call him. His face lit up in an obvious false smile. “No, it won’t be a problem at all,” he said. “Right this way.”

We had to get out of that group of women at one point. We couldn’t end up in the bath that they reserved. If Toru was caught, I don’t know what they would do. “We requested that little Ryuuko girl to serve us tonight in that larger room,” said one of the ladies. “Is she here?”

I could feel my heart skip a beat. “Toru!” I hissed, and pulled us into a separate hallway.

We sprinted down the hallways. “Toru, do you have in assignment tonight?” I panted. He shook his head no timidly. “Go help out somebody. Make sure that you’re noticed tonight, okay?” He nodded, and I think he understood.

I continued running down the halls, bumping into people here and there and apologizing my best. I used the second entrance into the room. Many of the rooms in this bathhouse have two, an employee entrance and a guest entrance. I shut the door behind me, took the broom that was leaning against the wall, and pretended to be sweeping the shiny marble floor.

A second later, the guest door slid open, and the herd of ladies walked in. My father bowed, his false smile still plastered on his face. “Thank you,” he said, and slid it shut.

“Welcome to the Watanabe Bathhouse,” I said. “Am I correct that you ordered Sulfur water tonight?” Somebody grunted to confirm. “In that case, I’ll be back with some towels,” I said, bowed and left.

On my way to the front entrance, Saku passed me by. “Saku, do you know where Toru went,” I asked putting my hand on her shoulder.

“Of course. I believe he went with Kanaye-Kun. A party of four or five in that tiny room near the front entrance. Why?”

I swallowed to stall for an answer. “Oh... uh, I was just wondering because I haven’t seen him all night. That’s all...” She continued walking to her destination and left me there wondering what I’d been doing.

I flinched and scampered onward, to retrieve the towels. Quickly I arrived at my father’s front desk. “Ishikawa-Sensei,” I said. “Do you know how many ladies were in that party that just now arrived? It seems I’ve forgotten.” He rolled his eyes at me, and handed me eight clean fresh towels. “Arigato.”

I hurried back to their room and set their towels on the bench. “Soap and buckets for washing hair are on that side of the room. Do you need anything else,” I asked in the most polite manor that I knew.

“No, thank you,” said a smooth voice. I bowed at the door and vanished.

“Of course I expect rewards from you. For keeping such a secret.”

I licked my lips with the quick dart of my tongue. “Yes, of course Keichi-Kun,” I retorted nervously. “To an extent.”

His hand was on my shoulder, pressing me against the wall. It’d been two hours since the Watanabe Bathhouse had closed. “You’re daddy’s the co-owner of this bathhouse. I’m talking financial.”

“My father’s the rich one, not me.”

Keichi rolled his black eyes and grinned. “You’ll find your ways,” he said. “I want 2,000 yen (200 American dollars) in one week.”

I felt the breath drain from me. “W-What...?”

“I told you, you’ll find a way.”