“Cut it out. How can you mock me at a time like this?”
“I’m not mocking you. I’m serious . . . I’m genuinely appreciative . . . I didn’t realize until now, how much . . . I’ll shut up, if you want me to.”
Shindo reached out through the numbness and touched one of Shoko’s trembling fists.
“Must have been scary for you, too.”
She could feel Shoko’s little fist clench even tighter in her hand.
“It wasn’t scary at all. I’m the daughter of the boss. Those guys all work for Father. I’m not remotely scared.”
She laughed to prove how little it affected her. For a minute, they just sat there.
Shindo wondered if the men might come back. The house was still. The smells of Shoko’s shampoo, her detergent, drove the foul odors from the room. They smelled sweet. Womanly smells. It was getting easier to breathe.
“How did you . . . know they were in here?”
Shoko smiled.
“I guess you learn to sense the footsteps, just before you hear them.”
Shindo stared at her, trying to stay awake. Miss Shoko couldn’t have been older than eighteen. How could her smile be so sad?
THE NEXT MORNING, when she went down to pick up Shoko’s breakfast, nobody was around. A change was evident. As if the air was finally circulating. Or maybe it was just that there were fewer people. They were missing four, five, six . . . six of the men, including Nishi. No sign of them.
Sumida, who she had felt like she’d established a rapport with, didn’t say a word, just gave her a tense look and handed her the tray. The other white shirts acted almost like she wasn’t there. Just like the sentinels had on the first day, posted in each corner of the study, desperately avoiding eye contact with Shoko.
Her schedule for the day was oddly sparse, just table etiquette that afternoon. Shoko should have been at horseback riding for the morning, but her lesson had been canceled on account of rain. This meant Shindo was off, too, for the first half of the day, with no idea of how to use the time. It wasn’t the right weather for a drive. Her only options were to do some sit-ups in the storage room or take a nap.
When she arrived with breakfast, she found Shoko dressed and ready for the day, as usual.
“Good morning,” Shindo said, setting the tray down on the table. “Hungry?”
“. . . Are you doing okay?” Shoko asked her.
Shindo pretended not to notice, but Shoko’s eyes were still a little puffy.
“It’s not like they actually put it in.”
“Enough!”
Shoko slammed the table with her fist. Her face was pale and trembling.
“Nothing, absolutely nothing could be worse. For a woman, this is the worst . . . the worst thing imaginable.”
Shindo wasn’t sure how to react. Her shoulder muscles tensed.
“You stopped them before the worst could happen, though.”
“Unacceptable. I refuse to accept this.”
“It’s not like it happened to you.”
“But I . . .” said Shoko. Her lips opened and closed, like a goldfish robbed of oxygen. It was like watching TV with the sound off. She scowled, making fists, as if her body were communicating something that she couldn’t put in words.
“But I—”
Watching her behave like this was confusing for Shindo. She was the one who’d had a shitty night, while Shoko was the one who saved her, though from the look of things right now, you’d think it was the other way around.
“It’s okay. I’m okay. Your kindness means a lot. I owe you one. Okay? Trust me, I’ll make it up to you . . . you have my word.”
Shindo nudged the tray of breakfast an inch closer to Shoko. Cold toast, cold fruit, cold tea. She hurried from the room.
The interaction was unsettling. For a woman her size, like a little bird, Shoko was scary.
ON HER WAY down to the annex for her breakfast, Shindo saw Yanagi’s black Ford pull into the compound.
“This doesn’t look good.”
A minute later, she was standing at the kitchen counter, working on a bowl of rice flooded with miso soup and raw eggs, when Yanagi came in grinning like crazy.
“What’s up?”
“Don’t gimme that. Nothing gets past me. I hear they took a stab at you last night. Everybody’s got a type, I guess. Your ass okay?”
When his hand reached out to touch her waist, she whacked it with the rice paddle. Shindo figured he would punch her back, but Yanagi only rubbed his hand, grinning away.
“Look, I was seriously worried. We can’t tolerate that kind of behavior. Not to mention drugs. You okay physically?”
