Chapter 5 #2
Speaking.
Moving.
In the next, they were absent.
Silent.
Severed.
And the sun still rose. The ocean still breathed. People still laughed in the distance. And that was the violence of it.
The worst truth.
Life did not stop to honor the dead. It went on, forcing those left behind to carry the sorrow of what had been cut away.
I trembled. “Zo. . .”
"She was. . .killed?”
“Yes.”
“By who?"
"The other side—”
"How?"
"They didn't tell me."
"Where's her body?"
"Here. On the island."
"I want to see her."
"I'll ask Kenji."
A light breeze blew more petals down.
The little girls laughed, telling me that one had caught the other.
Zo closed his eyes. "How are we going to bury her?"
"I don't know." My voice cracked. "Maybe we’ll. . .ask someone to help us. . .”
“We have to do it. She has no family.”
“I know.”
“But. . .she has so many friends and. . .they deserve to say goodbye.”
“I agree.”
He opened his eyes. “Are you sure she’s dead?”
“Yes.”
“Did you see the body? It could be someone else—”
“She died right in front of Kenji and Hiro. They were fucked up about it.”
"Maybe this is some sort of plot where they're trying to find a spy or something and she's really in Tokyo hiding too. . ."
I shook my head.
"Or she got out. People get out. I've seen it happen on TV. Someone gets reported dead and then they turn up three weeks later in a hospital somewhere with no ID and—"
"Zo."
He stopped. "She's. . .really dead?"
"Yes."
He went quiet again, and the silence stretched between us, filled with wind, petals, and distant laughter.
My guards backed up a few feet, giving us more space.
Then Zo’s tears came, sliding down his face in two clean lines, inch by inch. "I don't know what to do."
I stepped toward him.
"I've never had someone so close to me die." His voice broke apart. "I don't even know how to act. I just saw her yesterday, Nyomi. I don't. . .I don't understand."
“I know. . .”
“Like there’s so many other people that could have died yesterday. Ethan in the fabrics department of Oshino is a narcissistic asshole. He should have died yesterday.”
“Uh. Okay.”
“Bob.”
“What?”
“You don’t know him, but Bob should have been killed. He’s a racist misogynist and his name is boring. Why is he still alive and Hiroko is dead?” More tears fell.
I walked over to him.
“Why?” Zo’s face crumpled.
I reached for him and his long arms wrapped around me.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Damn it.” Zo buried his face on my shoulder.
“I’m so sorry.” I pressed my hands flat against his back and held him as tight as I could. “I’m so fucking sorry.”
“It’s not fair.”
“It’s not.”
He left my hold and wiped his face. His pale skin was now blotchy and red. "I don’t know what to do. I can’t stay in that villa now with her gone. Will her ghost be in there?”
"You can stay in the main house. I'll make sure there's a room for you."
"Good. I can’t be alone. I'm so sad. I don't know what to do, Nyomi. I don't know what to do with this."
"Don't worry. I'll set it up."
We started walking again.
Slower now.
His shoulders were low and his eyes were fixed on the ground and every few steps he'd shake his head. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand. "What am I going to do without Hiroko? After you, she’s my closest friend."
“We’ll. . .deal with this together.”
He pursed his lips and kept walking.
Minutes later, we reached the villa.
Zo stopped in front of the steps and just looked at the door. "Oh, fuck."
“What?”
"What are we going to do with her slave?"
“Free him.”
“That’s not how it works. He won’t just go away. Someone has to take him.”
“One of Hiroko’s friends?”
“They would never.”
"Well, until we know what to do, you could—”
"Fuck no." He turned to me. "I don't want him. He creeps me out. He's yours."
"Zo, I am not keeping Hiroko's slave."
“Why not?”
“You think the Dragon would be cool with some guy sitting in a cage by our bed? Kenji would lose his fucking mind.”
Zo shrugged. "He's your slave now."
"Maybe we can get the assistants to figure something out—"
"Her assistants! Oh my God." He pressed his hands to his temples. "You don't even understand. Their whole life has been serving her. That's all they know. Who’s going to tell them?”
“You are.”
“No—”
“If I have to deal with the damn slave, you can at least break this horrible news to her assistants.”
“Oh God.” He rubbed his temples. “Is this my karma for all that good dick from last night? Am I being punished?”
“It’s going to be okay.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re not going to do it. They’re going to be devastated—”
"You’ve got to because I have a lot of shit to do today, Zo. I have a party to finish."
"I know, I know." He held up his hands. "I'm so sad, but don't worry. I'm still coming to the party."
"I know you are."
"Like, don't even question that. I'm devastated, but I'm not missing this. Hiroko would kill me if I didn’t dress you into some lethal dominatrix.”
“Yeah. . .” I thought about her and did my best to hold my tears. “She would uh. . .treat this party as another moment to dominate.”
“Because it is.”
“Yeah. . .”
He took a breath and steadied himself. "Okay. I'm going in and. . .I’m going to tell them. It's going to be horrible and I'm going to cry again and they're going to cry and it's going to be a whole thing."
"See if the assistants want to move into the house too and even. . .I don’t know. . .come to the party too."
He raised an eyebrow. "And the slave? Where will he live?"
“Fuck. Will he get out of that cage?”
“Never.”
“Damn. Then. . .I’ll have someone put him in my office?”
“And will he be at the party?”
I considered how Hiro and Kenji would react. “Oh God, no. I’ll just have someone stand by to help him with his needs. How does he sleep, eat, and go to the bathroom?”
“Hiroko would tell him when to do those things.”
“Oh God. What the fuck? Has he been holding his urine the whole time?”
“Probably.”
“Jesus Christ! Tell him to go to the bathroom and eat please.”
“I will.”
“This is too much.”
“It’s a whole shit show of mega proportions. Hopefully, she has a will and he’s in it.” Zo looked at the door one more time, squared his shoulders, and sighed. “We’re going to be okay.”
“We are.”
“But. . .we are going to be miserable for a while without her too.”
“Facts.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll tell them and then get back to you.”
“Alright. I’ll see you soon.”
He headed off, and I remained, watching him disappear into the villa.
The door closed.
For a moment, I could almost see Hiroko’s ghost lingering in the threshold, dressed in leather and smirking down at me.
I’m going to write that book for you, Hiroko. Trust me.
Now that Zo knew, Hiroko’s death became more real.
Carrying it alone, I could still move around it, still outpace it when I had to.
But saying it out loud to someone who loved her too and watching it land in Zo’s body, watching his face change.
. .that was the moment it stopped being a distant truth and became a permanent fact.
I can’t believe she’s gone.
I felt it now in a way I hadn't let myself feel it yet. My palms prickled. My throat cinched tight as the skin of my neck drew into the point of bruising.
Pressure gathered behind my eyes.
Nope. Don’t cry. You’re the Heart. And even Hiroko would tell you not to let everyone on the island see you cry. We are at war. Look strong.
I turned and started walking back toward the house.
Again, my guards fell into formation around me.
The path stretched ahead.
A minute later, three figures walked toward me on the path. I recognized the one in front before I could truly see his face due to the bandage wrapped around the side of his head where his ear used to be.
Kiko's cousin.
The maybe-baby mama’s cousin.
The one who'd been so disrespectful to Reo and me.
The one whose ear Kenji sliced because he couldn’t harm Kiko.
He better not be walking to me? This is not the day.
Two women flanked Kiko’s cousin. I didn't know their names, but I recognized them from her little entourage when they were laughing at me.
Both women looked at me the way someone gazed at a person they wanted to hurt. Like if my guards weren't standing between us, they would love nothing more than to slice my neck open and watch me bleed out on the pretty stone path.
I glared.
You two better fix your fucking faces. I’m not even in the mood.
Whatever my expression showed, it was enough to relay the message because their faces did indeed turn neutral.
And then the three got closer, stepping directly in front of me.
Yep. They want to talk.
I sucked my teeth.
My guards noticed too. Their energy shifted and their hands moved closer to weapons as their bodies angled.
The first time I'd seen these people, I was out of place. I was new. I was an outsider from America who didn't understand the rules, didn't know the language, didn't know how to stand in a room full of killers without shaking.
That woman was gone.
I was a queen now and this was my motherfucking island.
And they were going to come correct.
My guards and I stopped.
The three idiots reached us and got in front.
I looked at the cousin and his bandage over that missing ear.
I don't know what you’re about to say, but it better be respectful. Or I'll have Kenji take your other fucking ear.
The cousin cleared his throat. “I would like to speak with you today.”
I stared at him and remained silent.
“I need to relay a message from the mother of the Dragon's heirs.
" His voice grew tight as if sore from rehearsing this in a mirror over and over.
"Kiko heard that you are hosting a celebration tonight for the Dragon's inner circle.
She believes that as the mother of the Dragon's children, it is only appropriate and expected that she attend.
She would like the time for the event and to RSVP her team as well—"
“No.”
The two women exchanged awkward glances.
Kiko’s cousin raised his eyebrows. “No?”
I turned and walked away.
My guards moved with me, smooth, synchronized, and forming a wall of bodies around me.
He called after me, “Excuse me! What does no mean?!”
I could have given him more of an explanation. Could have broken it down and listed the reasons as well as explained the politics. I could have even been diplomatic, polite, and careful.
But I didn't have time to stand on a garden path and justify my decisions to a man who was missing an ear because he couldn't keep his mouth shut the first time.
I had a party to build. I had a chef waiting for me. I had oxtails and macaroni and cheese and a ballroom to transform and cocktails to taste-test and a dress code to finalize.
I had a best friend in a villa grieving and a man I loved in a war room planning the next battle and a whole crew of his men counting on tonight to feel like something good in the middle of something terrible.
I didn't owe Kiko's cousin a single word beyond the one I gave him. And if he showed up at the party tonight, he better cover his good ear and pray because I wouldn’t be dealing with him. It would be Hiro and the Claws.
About ten steps down the path, I looked back.
They were still standing right there. All three of them. Frozen. The cousin's mouth hung open. One of the two women scratched her head.
The other scowled at me and I could see the sentence in her head, ‘Who the hell does she think she is?’
I turned back around and kept on walking.
I’m the Tiger, bitch. That’s who I am. And if you don’t understand that, then call me the Heart and watch your fucking mouth.