Two raps – a polite but firm way to let someone know you’re waiting at their door. I opened it to find a tall, well-built gaijin man on the other side. I recognised him instantly – champion martial artists didn’t make a habit of turning up at my flat. I looked behind me, as though the person he actually wanted might have miraculously appeared. Finding my flat still empty I turned back.
‘Are you Ray?’
‘Er, yeah.’
I continued to stand there, unsure of what else to say.
‘Do you mind if I come in?’ he said.
I ushered him into a flat that was too small for me and certainly not spacious enough to comfortably afford a martial arts fighter as well. I threw a pile of clothes from the sofa into a corner and offered him a drink.
‘A cup of tea would be nice.’
‘I’ve got English breakfast or genmai, whichever you’d prefer.’
‘Oh, if it’s from an Englishman I surely have to take the breakfast,’ he said politely.
I put the kettle on.
*
Ernesto Aerts was a fight-game legend in Japan. After winning the hugely popular K-1 championship three years in a row (think boxing with the addition of elbows and kicks), he’d decided no challenges remained and moved on to Pride, whose rules allowed fighting to continue on the mat. While it may not sound so different, it required a new set of pugilistic skills. Ernesto had much impressed the Japanese with his dedication to learning them, immersing himself in an intensive regime with a jujitsu sensei and an Olympic wrestler. A year after his last fight he stepped back into the ring and proceeded to destroy fifteen of the world’s best fighters before retiring without loss.
This wasn’t specialist knowledge on my behalf. Martial arts competitions were massive in Japan at the time and everyone knew Ernesto Aerts. What he was doing in my flat a couple of years into retirement was far less clear.
‘I’m sorry, I should really tell you what this is all about.’
‘I was wondering,’ I said, still star-struck.
‘Well, ah, it’s a bit awkward actually,’ he continued in his sing-song Netherlands lilt. ‘There are some associates of mine who feel you’ve been paying them more attention than they’d like.’
He may as well have been speaking Dutch. I knew no one in the fight game and if I had come across any of its characters, my instinct would have been to back away. I gave him his tea and sat on the floor, the coffee table between us.
‘I’m sorry, I don’t understand.’
He shifted uneasily.
‘I’ve been asked to come here by a Japanese organisation – I think they assumed it would be more comfortable for a fellow gaijin to talk to you,’ he said, looking anything but. ‘Apparently you’ve been asking questions about them. They asked me to request you stop.’
My jaw dropped.
‘You work for—’
‘I don’t work for anyone,’ he interrupted, some of the steel he was famous for in the ring edging out the warmth he was better known for outside. ‘I don’t know how much you know about me, but I suffered a couple of disappointments after I retired. There was a business venture that didn’t work out and I went through an expensive divorce.’
He paused for a second but kept me fixed in his stare.
‘I’m telling you this because it has some bearing on your situation, you understand?’
I nodded.
‘I had to find some money quickly at one point. The problem with quick money is it doesn’t come cheap and the people who lend it are linked to people you don’t want to borrow from. Before you know it, you’re in debt to them and they ask favours in return.’
He rolled his shoulders. It appeared to be habitual but it served as a reminder of his power and size.
‘Now, you seem like a nice guy, but if I don’t do the favours asked of me, all of a sudden I’m in your position.’
I didn’t like the sound of that.
‘What’s my position?’
‘They’ve allowed me discretion in what I do. If I think you’re taking me seriously, I just need your word you’ll back off. If I don’t, they suggested I give a taste of what they’ll do if they have to come knocking at your door.’
I didn’t let the roll of his R finish.
‘You have my word.’
He’d had to face down hard men in his career, fighters practised at masking their fear in the ring. He could spot a coward soiling himself in his own home.
‘And I’m confident you’ll keep it,’ he said, his eyes friendly once more. ‘So, what are you doing in Japan?’
Apparently seeing the unpleasant business as over, he relaxed on the sofa with his tea. We proceeded to have a charming conversation during which he regaled me with tales from his fighting days and stories of life as a megastar in Japan. He was every bit as likeable as his persona.
‘Well, I must be going,’ he said, getting up from the sofa.
‘Yes, of course.’ I stopped, unsure of the correct platitude. ‘Um, it was a pleasure meeting you.’
‘You too,’ he said, turning at the door and shaking my hand.
He squeezed it a little tighter.
‘Now, just to confirm, you won’t let me down?’
‘No, no, of course not,’ I shook my head. ‘We’re shaking on it, aren’t we?’
‘You’re a nice guy. I wouldn’t want to have to …’
He let the sentence drift and any bravado a braver man might have had died with it. I hadn’t been affected in the first place.
‘No,’ I insisted. ‘It was a one-off thing. I’ve got no interest in your acquaintances.’
‘I’m pleased to hear it,’ he said, brightening again.
We shuffled awkwardly.
‘Well, perhaps we could grab a beer sometime when this is all over.’
It felt ridiculous even as I said it.
‘That would be great.’
He seemed to mean it and even gave me his number. He took a step back.
‘Well, I’d better be going – things to do.’
I shuddered at the thought and closed the door.
‘That’s fantastic!’
Tomoe was delighted. She’d rushed to my place as soon as I texted, insisting I give her the details in person. She arrived, face flushed, eyes wide. Even the curls of her hair were buoyant as they cascaded from the white ribbon wrapped south-east of her crown.
‘He threatened you? He told you to back off?’
‘Yes he did,’ I said, put out. ‘He’s a good guy, but he can be scary. It wasn’t very nice.’
‘Of course not. I’m sorry,’ she said, putting on a sad face but failing to pull it off. ‘But it’s good news – it’s what we were trying to find out. They wouldn’t be threatening you if we hadn’t been right. You did it!’
She successfully played on my pride.
‘I suppose so,’ I said, my chest a little fuller. ‘But he was very careful not to mention anyone’s name. We can’t be sure.’
‘Oh, come on,’ she said, dismissing my doubts. ‘Who has the power to use Ernesto Aerts as muscle? And why would anyone who isn’t Takata threaten you for trying to find out about him?’
‘I see what you mean. But at the same time it’s not that great. It means we have to stop.’
‘Why would we do that?’
‘I told you what he said. If we keep on we’re going to get hurt.’
‘Oh, that. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful,’ she said absently, her mind already on the next stage of her grand, unexplained plan.
‘Come on, Tomo, these are serious people. We’ve got to do as they say.’
‘You worry too much,’ she said, ending the argument in a way that me feel stupid, despite the fact I could think of no way I wasn’t right.
‘But what about Ernesto? I gave him my word.’
She didn’t hear me. She had her head in the fridge looking for something to rustle up for dinner. She’d already moved on. Despite her confidence I had the feeling further probing wouldn’t end well.