Chapter 35 Measuring Time #2
But right now, with the children laughing below me and my man somewhere in Tokyo walking into God knows what. . .none of that mattered.
I wanted to give him a child.
The feeling hit me so hard my hands went still in my lap. I wanted to carry something of his inside me. I wanted to watch him hold a tiny-mixed version of us and see the Dragon disappear from his eyes.
My mind tried to build the picture. Him in a doorway. Me in a bed. A tiny hand wrapped around his finger.
I shut it down.
Don't. Not right now.
I wouldn’t dare imagine it. Because if I built that world in my head and he didn’t come home, it wouldn’t just be him I lost. It would be every version of the future I let myself believe in.
I swallowed hard, glanced at Satoshi, and frowned.
He'd been scratching through the entire movie. His hand kept going to his neck, his arms, his chest. The angry red bumps had spread, and his skin looked raw and inflamed.
Nika came over and whispered to me, "What the hell is wrong with him? He got that shit?"
"What shit?" I whispered back.
"I don't know. That shit."
"No, he don't have that shit. He has an allergy."
Nika pulled back slightly. "Shit, I don't know if he should be around here, man. Might be COVID all over again."
"It's not the coronavirus. He's allergic to water."
“I don’t know about that.” Nika gestured to the staff. “I need a face mask. I’m not trying to pay some crazy medical bill this month.”
Someone knocked at the door.
Yoichi rose and opened it.
Two servers stepped inside carrying a large pot filled with a thick, creamy mixture.
Oh, thank God. Grandma's remedy.
Satoshi looked up from where he was sitting. "Take it down to my room. I'll use it later tonight."
"Hell no." I wagged my finger. "You need to use that shit now."
“I’m not sure the Dragon would approve—”
“Satoshi, I am the Dragon’s Heart and I am officially ordering you to put that on your skin now so we can see if this helps. Because if it doesn’t we will try something else.”
Satoshi parted his lips.
“I am fully dedicated right now to getting you some relief.”
“Thank you.” He pursed his lips together.
Deja stopped braiding and looked at him. "Me too. I thought he was going to scratch his skin off his body. Whatever that is, please give it to him. He looks like he is in absolute pain."
Satoshi hesitated. “Okay. I’ll just put a little on.”
Zo stood up. "Let me help you out."
Say what?
Nika and I exchanged a look.
I’d seen Zo glancing at Satoshi a lot since we’d been in here but I hadn’t thought nothing much of it.
Is Zo trying to holler at Satoshi?
I mean, if one forgot about the allergy stuff and looked past all the red bumps and dry patches. . .Satoshi was a really good-looking guy. Muscular. Strong jawline. But right now, with the scratching, he just looked miserable to me.
Zo walked over to Satoshi. "Come on. Let me help you out of this shirt."
I blinked.
Satoshi frowned. "I don't really have a lot of itching on my chest."
"We should still take care of everything," Zo gestured.
Satoshi sighed and stood up. Zo helped him pull his shirt over his head, and I immediately realized Satoshi had lied.
Yikes!
Angry crimson welts covered his torso like a topographical map of hell, some weeping clear fluid where his nails had torn through the skin.
The flesh between the red bumps had turned an unnatural shade of purple-red, swollen tight as if something writhed just beneath the surface.
Where he'd scratched most viciously, the skin had begun to slough off in papery flakes, revealing raw meat underneath that glistened wetly in the light.
"Damn," Nika muttered. “He does have that shit. I’m going to need two face masks.”
Deja sighed. “Be quiet, Nika.”
But underneath the horror, Satoshi had a nice muscular body, defined abs, and broad shoulders.
Yoichi frowned and gestured to the staff. “Get tons of towel and a warm glass of milk for him.”
“And those face masks,” Nika added.
They rushed off.
When they returned minutes later, they held even more supplies and Yoichi was over there re-reading my Grandma’s instructions as Nika put on two new face masks.
God, please let this work.
One of the servers handed Zo a pair of plastic gloves, and Zo snapped them on. Then he dipped his fingers into the mixture and started applying it to Satoshi's back.
And I swear on everything. . .the moment the mixture touched his skin, Satoshi's entire body relaxed.
He even groaned, "Oh my God."
I quirked my brows. “How does it feel?”
“It’s warm but. . .the itching stopped instantly unless. . .I’m just imagining but. . .” His shoulders dropped. His face softened. He stopped scratching.
Zo kept spreading the mixture over the red patches. Satoshi's neck. His shoulders. His chest. Anywhere the bumps had appeared.
"Dear God. . .just put it everywhere," Satoshi shivered. "Put it all over the place."
Zo worked quickly, covering every inch of inflamed skin.
Then Satoshi reached for his belt. "I'm about to take my pants off."
"Oh. Hold up now." Nika raised her hand.
Kaoru raised an eyebrow. "That might be too much, Satoshi."
"No." I frowned. "Let him take his pants off. I’m sure he has on boxer briefs. Let his legs get relief too."
Yoichi looked amused. "But, definitely keep your boxer briefs on. This is already going to be an odd report to the Dragon. We don’t need to push this further."
“I can’t believe it’s working.” Satoshi unbuckled his belt and stepped out of his pants.
Zo kept applying the mixture to his legs, his calves, anywhere the bumps had spread.
Satoshi was sighing with relief. His whole body seemed to melt under the cooling touch of the remedy.
I smiled.
Grandma knew what she was talking about.
The door opened again, and three more servants stepped inside. Two of them had measuring tape in their hands. The third one was carrying something that looked like fabric swatches. Small squares of silk in different colors.
Hmmm. What are they here for?
The three looked at Rin.
Huh?
He nodded and gestured toward Deja.
Quickly, the servants walked over to where Deja was standing behind me. She had taken a break from braiding to watch Satoshi and Zo.
What the hell are these three going to Deja for?
Fast, one of the servants stepped forward with the measuring tape and measured the top of her head, just did a quick wrap around like they had the authority to do so.
Deja shoved at her.
I blinked. “Eh.”
"What the hell are y'all doing? Don’t touch my hair." Deja stepped back.
The servant inched away and then wrote something down on a notepad, he’d gotten out his pocket.
What the fuck?!
Then, like some ninja on a mission, the second servant slipped behind Deja with the tape and quickly measured her shoulders.
"Hey!" I pointed at him. “Stop that. What are you doing?”
I turned to Kaoru and Yoichi who had their eyes wide, yet were completely silent. “Stop them. This is crazy.”
Rin snapped his finger.
The two servants left.
Deja watched them rush away. "What was that about?"
The third servant stepped forward and held up the fabric swatches near Deja's face. They were different colors of silk. Deep red. Gold. Black. Bronze. Copper.
Then, the servant looked at Rin.
“What are you doing?” Deja pushed the swatches out of her face. “Am I going to have to fight these people?”
Rin pointed to the copper swatch.
The same copper Deja had just woven into my hair. He'd been watching. He'd been listening to her every word about undertones and saturation and what color made brown skin glow. And he'd clearly remembered.
The third servant bowed at him and then rushed away.
Oh no.
Horror hit me as I finally realized what Rin was doing.
I know he doesn’t think he’s going to get a silk bag made for Deja and put over her head!
Nika headed over to Deja. "Are they making you a dress or what? I know shit is different in Japan but that was crazy."
I looked back at Rin and pointed. “Don’t have them come in again. Okay? These are my guests.”
Silent, Rin watched me with a wicked smirk on his face. It was so devilish, I actually yearned for him to look bored again.
Kaoru cleared his throat. “It’s all handled, Nyomi. We apologize, Deja. That won’t happen again. Trust me. That’s the end of it.”
“But what were they doing?” Deja held out her hands.
“Yeah.” Nika nodded. “Is my cousin getting a dress or not? Or is it a fur coat? Because I’ve got measurements too.”
I glared at Rin. “I will be telling the Dragon about this.”
“Hell yeah.” Nika bobbed her head. “We sure are telling the. . .Dragon. And tell him too that we like diamonds with our fur coats.”
“Girl, no one is getting a fur coat.” Deja sucked her teeth and picked up a comb. “Alright, Nyomi. Let’s get back to your hair, before people rush in here and start measuring my legs and waist.”
Before I turned in my chair, I pointed at Rin again. "I don't want any more servants coming in here with any measurements or anything like that."
Rin just looked at me and his expression returned to bored.
Alright, buddy. Fuck around and find out.
I turned to Kaoru. "Like I said, these are my friends and guests. We're not going to have measurements or whatever y'all are doing over here."
Kaoru nodded, but I could see the shock in his eyes. He was clearly surprised at Rin’s actions too.
Deja had no idea what was going on. She just went back to braiding my hair and muttering about how weird rich people were.
Sighing, I pulled out my phone and checked it.
No messages.
I'd been checking every few minutes, hoping Kenji would send something. Anything. Just to let me know he was okay.
But there was nothing.
I tried to tell myself that was a good sign. My stomach was twisted in knots.
All I could do was sit here and wait.
And hope that they were safe and still alive.
What’s going on in Tokyo?