Beside A Burning Sea Part 19

Akira wanted to explain that he'd taken the blade to protect her, that he dreaded what would happen if his countrymen landed and found their cave. But he couldn't reveal his feelings for her in front of the others, and so he reached into his pocket and produced the scalpel.

Joshua took the instrument. "This shouldn't have happened," he said, shaking his head, his jaw tightening. "You had no reason to do this."

"Why?" Annie asked, stepping away from him. "Why betray our trust?"

Roger, who'd been ready to pounce upon Akira, decided that his adversary would suffer more if he wasn't attacked. And so Roger said, "Because he's a j.a.p. And betraying trust is what j.a.ps do best."

Annie abruptly walked from the group toward the harbor. Though Akira desperately wanted to follow her, he remained still. Joshua swatted at a sand fly and then looked at the blade. "I don't know what to do about this. I just don't."

"Make him regret it," Roger replied, reveling in the moment.

"How?"

"Easy enough. Keep his hands bound. Put him on a leash like the dog he is. If he-"

"Won't you stop?" Isabelle asked. Though she'd always tried to remain silent when Joshua gave orders, she was furious that her husband was actually listening to Roger. "You have the scalpel and the dagger and the machete and dozens of spears. He's got nothing but a little limp. What on earth is he going to do to you? What threat does he possibly pose?"

"He could escape," Roger countered, hating the nurse, wanting to squeeze her neck until her face turned purple. "Escape and tell all his Nipper friends where our cave is."

Isabelle shrugged, as if his words meant nothing to her. "Then tie him up if the j.a.panese come. But for goodness' sake, can't you leave him alone for the time being?"

"He'll run," Roger replied, his headache abruptly a.s.saulting him, his rage like a beast within him that needed to be freed.

"He won't-"

"Ever see a monkey run? They're fast."

"He took a bullet in the leg ten days ago," she said angrily. "Ever see what a bullet does to a leg?"

"I've-"

"And he's no monkey, you lunatic."

Roger's nostrils flared. "You useless-"

"That's enough!" Joshua shouted, suddenly aware that he'd thoughtlessly left Isabelle alone in her fight, that he'd waited too long to intervene. "This isn't a democracy," he said, glaring at Roger. "We don't stand around and argue. I'm taking responsibility for him. He'll do as I say, and if he doesn't he'll pay dearly for it. Understood?" When no one responded, Joshua continued, "We're leaving this beach tomorrow. A storm's coming, and we'll be much happier in the cave. So let's get to work." As Akira started to turn away, Joshua grabbed his arm. "And you and I are taking a walk."

Akira nodded, glancing down the beach toward Annie, who sat with her back to them. The sight of her alone a.s.sailed him, and it took nearly all his strength to repress his desire to go to her. Stifling the urge to call out to her, he walked in the opposite direction. Joshua quickly caught up to him.

"You promised me that I could trust you," Joshua said, his voice sharp and resolute. "And yet the first chance you got, you betrayed that trust."

Akira continued to walk, slightly favoring his wounded leg. "You have much to protect, Captain, yes? I do also."

"What do you know of protection? Your country only invades. You don't protect. You destroy and plunder, and you're no better than the motherless n.a.z.is you call friends."

Akira stopped. "I am no n.a.z.i," he said simply, though he was deeply offended.

"You think you're different?" Joshua asked. "They butcher Jews and Poles. You butcher Chinese and Koreans."

"I-".

"Did you know that? Does your precious emperor tell you such things? Did he tell you about the Bataan death march? Where your countrymen forced ten thousand American and Filipino prisoners to walk until many of them died?"

"I was not there."

"Have you heard the rumors about Hitler's death camps in Poland? About what your n.o.ble ally is doing? While you plunder Asia, that . . . that devil moves thousands of Jews by trains to distant camps. The Jews are never seen again. The trains come back empty." Joshua shook his head, his jaw clenching. "You talk of protection, but you know nothing of protection. The only things j.a.pan protects in this war are its own self-interests."

Akira briefly closed his eyes, trying to slow a sudden rage within him. "You know nothing of me."

"I know that I trusted you. That I've treated you far better than you'd any right to expect."

"Did you know, Captain, that I was at Nanking? That there I let a girl die? That I tried to protect her and failed? You Americans think you know so much. You speak of us plundering Asia. How long have your allies, the British, been the white lords of Asia? How much of the world have the British and French ruled and plundered through their military strength? Almost all of it, yes? Were they invited? Were they welcomed? No, they were not. We are only forcing them back to Europe where they belong, something that should have been done many years ago."

"And yet you attacked Pearl Harbor. You attacked America."

"You cut off our oil," Akira countered. "Your politicians knew that the emperor would see this as an act of war. And yet they did it. No one should have been surprised that we attacked. As you know, we are not a hard people to predict."

Joshua raised the scalpel into the light. "Pearl Harbor was a mistake. And this was a mistake. You've forced my hand. You've forced me to now treat you as a prisoner."

Though normally Akira would have allowed himself to be tied up, he knew that he couldn't protect Annie if he were bound. "I protected the sisters on the s.h.i.+p," he said, letting the anger fade from his voice. "When you could not. Why would I not do the same again?"

Joshua looked out at the sea to where Benevolence Benevolence rested. He hadn't yet prayed today for his crew, and he experienced a brief pang of guilt. "Why did you save them?" he asked. rested. He hadn't yet prayed today for his crew, and he experienced a brief pang of guilt. "Why did you save them?" he asked.

"Because they were good to me. Because I let a girl die. Because I am tired of war."

"But why . . . why, when I put my trust in you, did you betray me?"

"Because, Captain, I do not want to see them perish. I swear upon the honor of my ancestors that this is true."

"And you think you can protect them? That this little scalpel could save them?"

Akira remembered killing with his hands, with a helmet. "Yes," he said simply.

"And you were a teacher before all of this? A poet, even?"

"A teacher, yes."

Joshua sighed, still unsure if Akira's presence on the island was a blessing or a curse. "If you betray me again . . . if you do that I'll kill you," he said, his eyes meeting Akira's. "So help me G.o.d, I will."

"That is fine."

"Then go. And the next time you find a scalpel, tell me about it. Come to me before you try to save the world by yourself."

Akira started to leave but then stopped. "I am not trying to save the world, Captain. Much of it . . . much of it is not worth saving. But the sisters? I will protect them if I can."

AFTER LEAVING JOSHUA, Akira walked directly toward Annie. Though his upbringing told him to leave her in peace, to honor her wish to be alone, he had learned one thing from war-that leaving important words unsaid was a mistake that sometimes could never be undone. And so he sought her out, walking into the strengthening breeze. When Annie saw him, she turned away. Drawing a deep breath, he sat beside her-though respectfully distant-and for a time said nothing. He noticed that the sh.e.l.l he'd found was before her, overturned in the sand.

"I took the blade because . . . because I wanted . . . I needed to protect you," he finally said, forcing himself to talk. She made no reply and he watched her face, longing to touch it. He started to speak again and then stopped, unused to expressing his feelings so openly-after all, in j.a.pan people rarely spoke in such ways. After mustering his courage, he said softly, "You cannot give someone . . . a treasure and expect them to not protect it."

"I didn't ask you to protect me."

"This is true. But you gave me a gift. And it is natural, yes, to protect a gift?"

She looked into his eyes. "What . . . what did I give you? What did I give you that's so important that you'd deceive us?"

"Yourself."

"And this . . . this is how you see me? As a gift? A treasure?"

"Yes."

"But why?"

"Because a treasure provides. It provides hope and beauty and comfort, yes? And this is what . . . this is what you do for me."

"I'm just . . . I'm really nothing special," she said unsteadily, still angry, but also wanting to believe him, wanting to hear more.

He craved to touch her hand but held himself motionless. "May I continue?" he asked.

"Only if doing so will explain your actions."

He sighed, glancing anxiously from the sh.e.l.l to her face. "You are special."

"What does this have to do with the scalpel?"

"You fill my world . . . with color. And how could that not be special?"

Despite her irritation, his words warmed her and she picked up the sh.e.l.l, holding it between her hands. "And so you took the scalpel because you wanted to protect me?"

"Yes."

"Nothing more?"

"No. But nothing less."

"But why didn't you tell me about it?"

"I should have. And I am sorry. I am so sorry for that mistake."

She nodded, twisting the sh.e.l.l, remembering the happiness on his face when he'd given it to her. "Would you mind telling me . . . of this color?" she asked, sensing that he yearned to say more and knowing that she needed to prompt him.

He paused. "I will not dishonor you if I tell you?"

"No. Of course not."

"Are you sure? I have already said too much, yes?"

"You can tell me."

"I-".

"You need to tell me. Because if you don't, I'll never understand why you took the scalpel or why I'm so confused or why on earth I feel so torn."

Akira noted the speed with which her voice had suddenly moved. She was also fidgeting-brus.h.i.+ng sand from her sh.e.l.l, s.h.i.+fting this way and that. He watched the wind tug at her hair as he searched for the words to describe how he felt. He did not rush into trying to explain his feelings. Rather, he thought about what it was like to spend time with her, about how she opened a part of him that he hadn't known existed. "When I see you," he finally said, "when I talk with you . . . I am reminded of all that is good in the world, and of all that is good in me. Because you carry me to a place . . . to a wondrous place where I have never been. And in this place I feel as I have never felt. Everything is alive . . . almost singing . . . like a spring day. And this is how you fill my world with color."

A tear descended Annie's face and dropped to her lap. She put her hand on his knee. "Will you show me this place?" she asked, her voice thick with emotion. "Will you show me . . . tonight?"

"Yes."

"When the sun is down. Please show me when the sun is down and I can see all of the colors." She wiped a tear from her face, squeezed his knee, and left him by the sea.

THE CLIMB WAS even easier than Roger remembered. He attacked it like a leopard-staying low to the ground, moving up using his feet and hands, practically leaping to and from boulders. Despite his lingering headache and rage, he reveled in his strength, delighted in his taut muscles. Imagining himself as a samurai, he charged his foes above. He held an imaginary sword, a katana katana, and dispatched everyone who stood in his way. Heads and limbs tumbled to the bottom of the hill while he remained unscathed.

He leapt into the depression containing the radio. The earth was undisturbed, and he quickly uncovered his secret box. Within a few minutes, he was naked and his lips held a cigarette, which he sucked on as if it were the vessel of a magical elixir. As the wind bore ashes and smoke away, he set up the radio, placing the headset over his ears. A mosquito landed on his arm and he slapped at it so hard that his skin turned red. "G.o.dd.a.m.n island," he muttered, readjusting his headset.

After taking a deep breath of smoke to steady himself, he said, "Ronin to Edo. Over."

Static greeted him for a few seconds. Then he heard the metallic voice of his contact. "Edo here. How are the cherry blossoms?"

"Always best at dusk."

"Agree."

"Still in nest with eight surviving chicks."

"Stay in nest. Mother coming to roost in five to eight days. Will rendezvous on highest ground near nest, then find chicks."

"Understood. Highest ground."

For a moment, static filled Roger's headset. Then the familiar voice was back. "Expect typhoon tomorrow."

Roger's heart skipped. "Repeat?"

"Typhoon headed in your direction. Expect direct hit. Find suitable shelter. Contact me after storm."

"Understood. Over."

The static returned, and Roger looked to the sky. It did seem ominous, full of gray clouds and restless winds. After lighting a second cigarette, he started to disa.s.semble his radio, continuing to glance above. He thought of the captain's plans for the next day, thought of how the fool and a few others were going to take the lifeboat at first light and row to the cave. Knowing that a typhoon would pick up the lifeboat as if it were no more than a leaf, Roger clapped his hands. "You and your b.i.t.c.h are going to die tomorrow," he said gleefully, smoke seeping from his lips. "You couldn't save Benevolence Benevolence, and you're sure as h.e.l.l not going to save that little lifeboat."

Barely able to contain his enthusiasm for the chaos of the coming day, Roger buried his box. He then put his clothes back on and began to descend the hill. As he moved from rock to rock, he wondered what he should do with the party that journeyed overland to the cave. When the storm hit, he could lead them to the cave and would be a hero. Or he could get them lost and watch them die. Or, perhaps better yet, he could let some die and some live.