On the train home, I considered my options again, thinking through the steps I had taken, having mentioned the incident to several coworkers. My boss had overheard me when I called the police on lunch break and had offered to testify for me if it went that far.
The police gave me some sympathy and told me to call immediately as soon as I knew that the package was something illegal, but they said that was about all they could do. They did say they would send an alert to the local police box, so that the soonest available officer could be assigned, if necessary. And they suggested I also let them know if it wasn't illegal.
Which, really, was not unreasonable.
I didn't think to call the congregation leader at church then. Not sure why.
Jun was nowhere in sight as I punched the passcode at the lobby entrance.
Useless passcode. If you walked around from the parking area, you didn't need to pass through the common entryway to get to the apartments. Although, unless you knew to look for the back way in, you wouldn't necessarily see it.
I climbed the stairs to my one-room flat on the 5th floor and put the cardkey to the door lock. The lock clicked and I opened the door, and an unwelcome sight greeted me through the entryway.
Jun and his little sister were lounging on the tatami in my combination living/dining/bed room. A small suitcase was leaning against the wall behind Teru, who was wearing some of my exercise gear, and a suddenly very unhappy expression.
"You lied to me!"
"Did not."
"Did too!"
"What lie?"
I watched the exchange with more than a little dismay.
"But you didn't tell me it would be Ryō!"
"Didn't tell you it wouldn't."
I interrupted. "It won't. I was wondering what kind of contraband I was going to have to refuse, but --"
"Contraband? I'm contraband?"
I fixed Jun with a stare before turning to Teru. "I could probably make a case with the police that he in effect kidnapped you and is engaged in child trafficking."
"No, no, that's not the way it is at all."
"Wait. I'm sixteen. I'm not a child."
"See, things've got really bad at home. I moved out 'n Angel got a new boyfriend. And the new guy can't keep away from Tet-chan when Angel is at work, which is most nights. She has to sleep with the bedroom door locked, and Angel just laughs."
Angel is their step-step-mother. Their natural parents had split when they were young, and then both parents died. Then Jun and Teru got passed around in messy divorce proceedings afterwards.
"I'm sorry to hear that. I really am. But --"
"And Jun didn't kidnap me."
I looked at Teru with raised eyebrows. "You're here willingly?"
"No. Yes. No. Uhm," She pouted. "Not-fair question."
"Well, considering you're wearing my shorts and Tee, maybe I'd have a hard time convincing the police you were against the idea."
Her looks darkened, then she grinned an evil grin. "I guess I could fix that." And she began to lift the T.
I rolled my eyes. "Never mind. I have an extra pair. You can keep them."
She smiled happily and dropped her hands in her lap. "Why, thank you!"
I turned to Jun. "But this is not going to happen. Your kid sister just pointed out why it's a really bad idea. Why can't she stay with you?"
"You know why."
"Why don't you get yourself loose from that crowd?"
"That's easy fer you to say. Tet-chan's not the only one with no place to go. I up'n drop out of the kumi, and they're likely to go lookin' for revenge against anyone close to me. And Angel is part of the kumi. And I don't trust the police protection."
He paused to give me time to consider his words. Then he continued, dropping his usual slang. "I'm planning on making a break, but I have to put some space between me and Teru first. We'll have a public argument, and then in a couple of years they'll forget about her and I can just disappear."
I shook my head. "I'm not sure that's going to work, but how about if I call the people at church? I'm sure we could find a family willing to let her stay while she finishes school."
"You're planning on not telling them about her connection to the mob?
"It's worth a try, anyway."
"Where does she stay in the meantime?"
"This apartment has only one room. No room for privacy, and definitely no room for a man and a woman who aren't married to each other to get a decent night's rest. I'm going to have a hard time paying the rent if I spend my nights avoiding rolling over on top of your sister in my sleep."
"Now I'm a woman?"
"Well, yeah."
"But I'm too ugly to touch?"
I sighed. "Remember, Teru, what my mom used to say about beauty?"
"She said beauty is as beauty does. I'm beautful if I decide I'm beautiful. It's hard to believe."
"How about what my dad said?"
Jun laughed. "Beauty is skin deep, but ugly is to the bone. That's a lot of comfort to my sister."
"What it means is that what Youtube videos call beauty has nothing to do with real beauty. Real beauty is when people get to know each other deeply and still care about each other."
"See? And that's why I trust you to treat Tet-chan right."
For a minute or two, we were all three silent.
"How did you get in?"
"Told the apartment owner I had brought your girlfriend for a visit. She was only too happy to let your girlfriend in."
"Well, I'm going to have to have a talk with her. You know, I called the police."
Jun sat up with a start. "No."
"I wanted to make sure there was evidence that I wasn't involved with whatever you had planned. They said they couldn't do anything until I knew that the package was contraband."
Jun stood up, his guard raised. "Are they coming?"
"Not unless I ask them to, but I'll need to tell them it wasn't exactly something illegal." I stopped and thought. "Uhm, let me check your suitcase, Teru."
"Open it up, Tet-chan."
I didn't really think about why Jun was suddenly cooperative.
Teru sullenly pulled the suitcase out into the middle of the room and opened it, and showing me what precious little it contained.
While I was occupied with apologizing for having to examine her underthings, I didn't notice Jun edging toward the door. Suddenly he bolted through, leaving his shoes in the entryway. I moved as fast as I could and ran barefoot down the stairs behind him while Teru yelled at him from the doorway, cursing him for abandoning her.
He had clearly scouted the alternate route out ahead of time, and was through it and gone by the time I got to ground level.
Climbing the stairs back up to my apartment, I pulled my phone out and called the congregation leader. She had just answered the phone when I got to the aprartment door, where Teru was watching me distrustfully.
Sister Asatsuki was sympathetic, and said she'd call around, but she thought the mob connection was going to be problematic. When Teru heard that, she smiled sardonically and said something about not being surprised.
I called the police, and they were also sympathetic. They even sent a couple of female officers to talk with Teru while I waited downstairs, so that they could be sure she was answering freely.
I ordered pizza while I was downstairs, since my cooking schedule was long-since shot.
Then we had a discussion with the officers about where she could stay. But there wasn't that much they could do until the morning, and, since Teru said she trusted me, they asked me if I wouldn't be so kind as to put her up for the night?
And that left me to deal with the valuable but unexpected package.
"How's the pizza?"
"I usually like mine without tōfu, but it's okay."
"Tōfu is good protein."
"Yes, Mom."
I chuckled, and Teru lightened up a bit.
"Hey, if you promise to finish before nine, you can have the ofuro first. I'll step outside while you change."
Teru's face was unreadable, but she nodded. "Thanks. I'll step outside for you, too, if you promise not to lock me out."
"Deal."
"Got any plans while I'm at work tomorrow?"
"Jun helped me get a job at a local supermarket. We were living out of capsule hotels for a week, and I've been going to work from there. So I'll be working in the morning."
"What address did you give them?"
"Yours."
"Jun really planned ahead on this."
"Yeah."
While Teru took her turn in the bath, I went back downstairs and across the street to explain to the apartment owner. She smiled knowingly and gave me a spare key-card and some free advice about love while I protested that this was just a temporary situation, a favor to a friend. She would not be convinced, and I gave up protesting.
When I got back, she had finished and was wearing my other pair of shorts and Tee-shirt.
"I was planning on running in the morning."
"You don't want me to sleep in my undies, do you?"
I set my jaw and pulled the pair she had been wearing out of the washer where she had tossed them. "So why did you decide to go through my stuff and wear some of it?"
"My clothes were a mess from working a whole week in."
So we ran a load of laundry, and I timed my fresh hot water use for when the washer was not monopolizing the water pressure. She stepped outside when I came out of the bath, and I changed to pajamas quickly. Then I drained the tub and turned on the dehumidifier, and we hung the clean clothes in the bath as I usually do when the sun isn't out during the day.
Then I rolled out the only futon I had. I was glad I had splurged and bought a double. The late spring night was not too warm, so I got out my summer kakebuton and put it between us while Teru laughed. There was just enough room for me to stretch full length, but not to roll over.
I said my prayers while she listened, and then we shut off the lights and lay down with the mound of kakebuton between us.
"Remember when you come to sleep over that once?"
"You were seven, and Jun and I were twelve, and my mom was rather upset that your step-mom let you sleep in the same room with us."
"I wish it could be the same."
"Yeah, sometimes it would be nice to be able to go back to being children again, without having to worry about all the dangers in the world."
"Ryō, sometimes you can be so thick."
I had to think about that for a few minutes, listening to her breathing deepen on the other side of the kakebuton.
"There are just too many dangers."
She didn't answer, leaving me to wonder whether she were already asleep or just put out with me again.
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