My eyes widened as the man stepped out of the shadows and into the light of the roaring fire behind me. He was dressed in white overalls with his black hair tied neatly into a bun. One of the Junior Yakuza members sneered at him over his shoulder as the rest circled around, leaving me lying on the ground.
“You’re in the wrong place fat boy, you better disappear before we get nasty.” The Yakuza were arrogant and over confident, laughing and high fiving each other like silly children.
“Leave the girl alone.” He replied calmly in Japanese, flexing the muscles in his fingers.
“Or what?” Shouted another one and placed the barrel of his pistol on the man’s forehead. The foolish youth was barely eighteen, cocky and brash in his demeanor as he laughed hysterically in the face of the immovable man standing in front of him. Slowly, he quieted down as the fear painted itself in swathes across his eyes. He starred into an abyss, into an unforbidding well of darkness that swirled and crashed inside. He retreated backwards and wanted to shout at the others but it was too late. A massive palm strike turning his face into a bloody mess, driving his nasal bone into his brain. The man must easily have weighed at least two hundred kilograms but he moved like a dancer. There was an unbelievable elegance and gracefulness to his movements that belied his size as he moved shadow like between his attackers.
One by one, they fell at his feet, a combination of open palms and judo throws that left the Yakuza members reeling from the shock of his power. Gun shots screamed off into the night but to no affect, it was like the Yakuza were shooting at thin air, never even grazing the man. The bloody and mangled corpses of the gangsters lay sprawling on the tarmac of the car park till there was only one left standing. Breathing heavily as the blood flowed from his mouth, his hands fumbled clumsily with the pistol in his hands, fingers desperately searching for the trigger.
“Get away from me!” The Yakuza shouted hoarsely and raised the pistol. The man looked at him calmly, then slapped the weapon from his grasp. What happened next was beyond belief- in an incredible move, he hit the gangster in a split second with what must have been twenty to thirty palm strikes to the chest as the man rag dolled backwards, hitting the wall with a sickening thud. He lay in a bloody pile, mere inches away from death as the man stood over him, quickly regaining his composure.
“I said, leave the girl alone.” His words were as precise and elegant as his movements. I picked myself, grabbed a nearby pistol and ran over to the stricken Yakuza, holding the gun steadily on his trembling body. I wanted him to pay with everything he had inside him, even if he was only an innocent youth. The man placed his big, steady hands on the weapon and pushed it firmly away.
“That’s enough, let it go.” He said, turning and leaving the fallen Yakuza behind. I stood aghast with my mouth hanging open at what I just heard. The man who had single handedly decimated a group of hardened criminals, now showed mercy to one. It was beyond my understanding as I watched him walk away from the smoldering wreckage of the factory. He stopped for a moment, smiled and looked over his shoulder at me.
“You must be hungry, come and I will make you something to eat.” He said nothing and promptly carried on his way.
“Stop, wait!” I shouted and ran after the man, taking him by the shoulder. “Who are you?”
He turned around, much akin to a living statue and bowed deeply. “My name is Mofofoku Kurosawa but you can call me Momo. Now hurry up child, before more of the Yakuza show up, this is not a place to talk.” He whistled happily and headed off into the darkness as the now familiar sounds of police sirens sounded up in the far distance. Shaking my head in wonder, I wandered after him, still not believing what I just saw.
It turns out we didn’t have to go far that night as he led me to a Sushi restaurant only a few blocks away. It was a dingy looking place, more of a hole in the wall type joint that only the locals knew about. As expected it was deserted and everyone had gone home for the evening, leaving only empty and quiet streets behind. Pausing under a red ornamental lamp, I closed my eyes and looked up to the heavens.
“What you doing Helena? You cannot keep trusting people like this but then again, your night can’t get worse now can it?” I thought to myself, running my hands through my hair and opening the door. The big man was already behind the counter, washing his hands and binding a white apron around his waist. Cautiously, I took a seat and watched with rapt fascination as he produced a large chef’s knife and some fillets of fish before carefully slicing it and placing it on a small ball of rice. It was remarkable that such a big man with such massive hands could work so delicately with the ingredients. Almost reverently, he pushed the plate towards me but I hesitated, looking down and back up to him again.
“Try it, I’m sure you will like it.” He said, smiling softly behind the counter. The taste of raw fish did not accord with me and I pulled a funny face. “Use some Soy sauce, but not too much, only tourists drown the fish like that. There you go.” His words were soothing and I soon relaxed and started to enjoy the Sushi. This seemed to please the man. When I was finished, I sat back and studied him intently before speaking.
“Why did you help me back there? You could have easily walked away.” I asked, eyes narrowing in thought.
“I was often bullied and teased because of my size when I was small and I hate it when people hurt each other. The last of my customers were just finishing up their meal when I heard the fire and smelt the smoke, so I came looking and found you surrounded by those thugs.” Replied Momo, cleaning his chef’s knife on his apron.
“I could have taken them.” I grumbled under my breath.
“Of course you could have, I just lent a hand to the lady. You seem to have a lot of anger in you Helena, would you like to talk about it? I still have a kitchen to clean up and I could do with the company.” Momo reached into a cupboard behind him and pulled out a bottle of Sake before pouring two shots of it.
“Not really,” I said, downing the shot in one gulp. “What I would love to know is how you managed to fight like that. I have seen anybody move that gracefully and quickly in all my life. It was amazing.”
The big chef blushed but said nothing, busying himself with sharpening his knife. He had a distant look in his eye before sighing and pouring another round of the Sake
“No offense but how did you manage to end up here?” Stupidly, I kept pressing him for answers when I should just have backed off.
“Life happened and I was powerless to stop it. But that’s a story for another day.” He replied, wiping the counter clean and taking the cups to the back. Regretting that I was so insensitive to someone that clearly had skeletons in his closet and was hurting inside, I stood up and headed for the exit. My hand was on the door when Momo spoke up.
“Where you heading to kid?” He asked, looking at me intently.
The truth was that I had not thought of that yet. The flat was a no go zone and the Yakuza would be out in force looking for me. Not to mention the Bratva and Natalov as well. I had no home and no place to go to. It was only the empty streets waiting for me.
“You’ve lost everything as well haven’t you?” He asked and I nodded in the affirmative.
“There’s an empty room in the back but you will have to work for your keep okay? Come, there is a pile of dishes in the back and I could do with a hand.” Momo said smiling. With the door open and the night facing me, I looked back at him and then softly closed it. I couldn’t place my finger on it but something inside told me that I could trust the big Sushi chef.
With my hands in the soap water, washing dishes and listening as Momo told dirty Japanese jokes in his resounding but comforting warm voice; I felt like I belonged somewhere again. The tiny little Sushi restaurant with the big, lovable lug behind the counter had become my home. A place of rest and sanctuary from the madness and darkness lurking outside.
And for once, I was happy.
