Chapter 5

A fancy black BWM accelerated through the streets of Tokyo. Taking several turns, the car stopped at a red light. The wave of vehicles started to pass, lasting for 65 seconds according to the stoplight. Shidehara Tatsuya checked his phone. There wasn`t any new messages, however, that was not what Tatsuya wanted to see. Tapping the floating Facebook Messenger icon, a lengthy conversation popped up. The subject was generic talk with any returning family member, if not discussed in an overly dramatic way. Green appeared on the lamp post, and the car zoomed past the intersection.

Tatsuya arrived at some fancy restaurant on the higher floor of a random Tokyo skyscraper. Sweeping his gaze around, his eye caught a familiar face. She was blonde, around 35, and beautiful. Her table was at the side of the building, next to the transparent wall of glass. The dim light of dusk glared through it, partly effacing her appearance, leaving half a look of melancholy.

She saw him coming. Joy flashed through her eyes, as she welcomed Tatsuya with a weak smile. After a few greeting lines, she looked outside the window while Tatsuya was making his order. Above most buildings, Narumi frowned at the aerial vision she had. The setting sun was not obscured behind buildings, and crimson red, as it has been ever since that day.

When the waitress left, she reached inside her purse. Taking out a piece of paper, she slid it across the table. Her husky voice spoke:

“This is all the money I have. I wrote the cheque yesterday, although I`d wanted to give you this long ago. Twice as much at what I… You know, took that day.”

Tatsuya was met with a moment of surprise. Probably trying to get some bitter memories out of the way, he brought his eyes up at hers after a good pause.

“No… I … don`t need this. If it`s financial I`m perfectly fine… Is this the reason why you wanted to meet?”

“I don`t dare to dream of any other reasons, Tatsuya… Not after all I`ve done, to Emiko and you.”

His gaze flickered before it was shifted, away from her remorseful eyes. Looking down on his hands, he noticed his fingertips had habitually connected, hovering above the table. Surprisingly, he placed his hands down, and looked at Narumi in the eyes, straight.

“I forgive you. I want us to start over.”

“What? But… Why?”

“Because we`re in love. Love makes people do crazy things.”

“But… What about that girl? She`s your current wife…”

“I will explain things to her. You met me again. That was not easy. Now it`s my turn to face Kura, and apologize to her.”

“Are you sure?” Narumi`s voice was mixed with sobs

“I am. This is our love, and I`ll do anything for it. Will you?”

“Y-yes… Anything… Anything.”

Tears rolled down her elegant face as Narumi`s throat was filled with happiness. Dusk was almost over, but the few remains of its radiance shone pure gold. At least, in Tatsuya`s vision.

Just a few stations away, a couple was also looking at that same sunset. A middle-aged male, wearing a tracksuit, and a shounen [male teenager], around 15, were sitting together on a random park bench. Drenched in sweat, Kyoya recited today`s session.

“… D-zero movements includes clinch, pendulum back-dash, spinning escape. D-1 movements includes stepping backwards, dashing backwards, or charge in for a clinch. D-2 movements includes stepping forward or backward, dashing backwards. D-3 to D-4 movements includes inching forward with your toes, dashing forward or backward, spin forward. D-5 movements includes running at the opponent or away from him, and tornado step forward.”

“Good. You`ve finally memorized all of it. And let me repeat once more just to be sure: D-zero is the distance when your torso is touching your opponent`s. D1 is when your torso is half the length of your leg away from him. Plus half a leg length to every other distance category, and you`ll know how to position in TKD style.”

Pausing for water, Kenichi continued

“Remember to never fall or get surrounded on the streets. Align multiple opponents, while moving constantly and try to look for terrain to your advantage. The ideal distance for our style is at D-4, since it`s far enough to use long, slower movements but still close enough to be hard to predict. For starters, the tornado step is a very simple yet effective way to confuse your opponent.”

“Hai.”

“Well after learning it by heart, you need to learn it by [with] your body [insert lenny face]. Footwork is what needed to be remembered with muscle memory, as it must flow smoothly in a dangerous situation. Next week we`ll learn about the different types of attack you should use in each distance category.”

“Hai” Kyoya answered with an empty expression. He looked at the sky again, to see no sign of the sun but a crimson patch of color. His eyes were hollow.