HAYATO
Kristal and Norio stare at me as if I’ve lost my mind.
Actually, Norio has been staring at me in that manner ever since I returned to his doorstep and insisted he travel to San Francisco with me. The old Hayato from ten days ago wouldn’t have risked involving him.
But Kristal has truly changed me. I can now see that he deserves to know the truth about both Jae-Hyun and his younger brother. And bringing Norio along for this reckoning was the only way to ensure any chance of him actually believing me when all was revealed.
I crook my head at the ghost, standing just a few feet away from the old man’s fallen body. He is younger than I expected him to be. Also older. Much, much older. If not for the many drawn depictions of samurais that graced both my paternal and maternal ancestral homes, I might not have recognized him for what he was.
A samurai. I’m looking at a samurai.
He must’ve died in battle. He wears an intricate coat of armor crafted from iron, red leather, and fur. I cannot see his hair, hidden as it is underneath an iron flame helmet laced with gold and bronze. But I could easily imagine him sporting a chonmage, the classic shaved-on-the-top, knot-at-the-back hairstyle long favored by many historical Japanese warriors and current-day sumo wrestlers.
And as for his face, it is well sculpted with the sharp planes both Norio and I inherited from our family's Nakamura side.
I can see now why my mother might have fallen for him. On the outside, he had been a rough and uneducated servant. But his spirit was that of a classically handsome warrior.
My mother had most likely been impressed by his spirit. But I feel nothing but disdain for the ghost after all the trouble he is caused.
“Calm yourself and return to your body,” I command. “I will need your assistance to convince my brother I have not gone insane.”
As if to prove my point, Norio asks, “Who are you talking to?”
His voice is careful and highly modulated. As if he’s no longer talking to the brother he trusted implicitly just a few days ago, but to a crazy person, he doesn’t know it all.
“Now,” I command the ghost.
The ghost wavers, both figuratively and literally. As he hesitates, his image flickers in a way that I’ve only ever seen with spirits from long-ago eras.
Norio stands up from the body of the man Kristal calls Jae-Hyun. “I will call 9-1-1. This situation has obviously gone beyond anything we can handle.”
He pulls out his phone, but Jae-Hyun abruptly sits up before he can make good on that threat.
Norio jumps at his sudden recovery, and Kristal falls back on her bottom.
But then she immediately takes Jae-Hyun by the hand. “Are you okay? Did you break anything with that fall?”
It is a valid question. A normal human Jae-Hyun’s age would’ve certainly broken a hip after such an unexpected crumple.
But Jae-Hyun remains silent under her concerned gaze.
I remember how long it had taken Satomi to speak after she had assumed possession of Koyamo’s body at that fateful meeting with my father. And I conclude out loud, “Possession does not appear to be an easy feat. I believe it is taking him some time to access the body’s voice box.”
At my words, Kristal drops his hand.
“Oh my Santa,” she says, her voice breathless with shock.
I believe she is beginning to understand who Jae-Hyun really is. What he really is.
But Norio becomes so frustrated, he switches to Japanese to demand imperiously, “You will tell me what is going on here!”
He sounds much like our dead father, even though Kazuo wasn’t truly blood-related to either of us, thanks to our mother’s infidelity.
When I was younger, I had cowered at that commanding tone when Kazuo used it on me. But now, I stand up to it, “There is much to explain, Norio-oniisan. But it will take that much longer if you do not remain calm. And silent. Perhaps you should take a seat and not talk again until the explanation has concluded.”
Norio glares at me, obviously not appreciating having his imperious tone mirrored back to him, even with an older brother honorific attached to his name. But in the end, he must be more curious than insulted. He goes to sit at the table covered in drawing materials.
I wait for my brother to take his seat before turning back to Jae-Hyun.
“Are you recovered then?” I asked, my voice dripping with contempt.
Jae-Hyun regards me, his eyes glittering with amusement. “I should’ve guessed it would be you who would find me after all of these years. The younger son who was such a sensation among all those house spirits.”
He forces a smile onto the face of his host body. “You should’ve heard how they talked about you after they realized you could see them. They vied to serve you and to have conversations with you. They were so happy to be acknowledged by any human, even if you were only a small child. You see, they were weak spirits. Killed by their Nakamura masters on a whim, not like me. I was a Nakamura samurai who had died in battle, fighting for my emperor. I was a worthy male, so strong I was able to pass my seed into a woman even while using a host body.”
Jae-Hyun puffs up a bit as he speaks, sticking out his chest. But then his expression softens and his gaze falls on Norio, who’s staring at him from his seat, his mouth dropped open in shock.
“I died before I could take a wife and have children,” he tells the both of us. “You two are the greatest gifts your mother could have given me. And though you grew up unaware of who your true father was, I can see much of myself in the both of you
“So we are Nakamuras after all…” I should be surprised by this news, but I’m not. The revelation of the caretaker as our father had always seemed….odd. He was small and spry, while both Norio and I were tall and covered in lean muscle. I remember thinking that we looked more like the man we’d assumed was our father than the caretaker Kazuo executed in front of us.
But looking upon the ghost earlier, there was no mistaking our connection. I could see many of both Norio’s and my features etched across his young face.
I think of my father, who had been so proud of his samurai lineage, he’d burned with secret resentment about having to pass Norio and I off as Nakamuras. When Kazuo had married my mother, their parents had made sure to mention that both the bride and groom came from samurai lineage in the announcements.
Kazuo’s marriage to my mother had been meant as a corrective to his first one to Tetsuro’s mother, a Chinese woman he had married for love. By commanding Kazuo to take a young bride of such excellent lineage the second time around, our grandfather had decreed that his next heirs would be exemplary.
How disappointed my father had been when he found out that we were not his sons at all. Without telling us why, he had belittled, manipulated, and commanded us without mercy or regard. If not for Satomi’s possession of Koyamo during their meeting, there is no doubt I would currently be residing in Tokyo, married to the woman he had hand-picked for me.
What would he say if he were here now and could see that our birth father was not merely descended from samurais but an actual samurai himself?
I almost laugh at the notion. Perhaps after this is all said and done, I will make a special trip to our factory home. I’ll inform the ghost of my father, who is still wandering the country estate where he died, that the sons he was so secretly ashamed of were descended on both sides from samurais after all. Indeed, his own ancestor had cuckolded him.
“Yes, I am a Nakamura from the Edo period. What your generation called the ‘factory home’ was actually a house given to me by the Emperor himself as a thank you for fighting so valiantly in battle.”
His English is excellent. But his words come out thick and halting.
He lets out a weary sigh as if sensing my observation. “Speaking with the host’s voice is the hardest part of all. I tried to possess one of the Japanese attendants when I first saw your mother.”
Jae-Hyun’s gaze becomes wistful at his mention of my mother. “She was so lovely, like a waterlily with human skin. But she was also lonely. She cried after your father’s visits. He blamed her for not getting pregnant, you see. And he grew angrier and became rougher with her as the years stretched on without any heirs. It was no way to treat a flower as fragile as your mother. But Kazuo was such an arrogant husband. His original wife had been torn from him, so he believed everyone else should share in his misery, including his innocent second bride. He often ignored her protests when he took her. He would force her into compliance, bruising her beautiful skin, and damaging her soul. Then he would return to his mistress in the city, leaving her alone in the country home, confused and broken. The living servants were too scared to offer her any comfort. They simply witnessed the abuse and cleaned up around her until she finished crying. I merely wanted to talk to your mother that first time I took a host to make contact. I wished to console her after his visit. But the conversation did not go well.”
A fleeting smile crosses Jae-Hyun’s lips. “I sounded very strange to her. And I am afraid she only stopped crying because she was concerned her attendant had suffered a stroke. After that embarrassing exchange, I found taking a Korean host was the easiest way to explain my stilted and halting speech. And after that body’s death at your father’s hand, I found another Korean host. An older car designer who secretly drew manhwa at night as opposed to learning Japanese as he ought. He came to the house to show your father the latest specs on a new line of Nakamura cars. His thick accent so repelled Kazuo that he fired him on the spot. He was perfect.”
Perfect…
The ghost’s version of the story makes my blood boil.
“So you left my mother to wander our home as a ghost while you went on with your life inside your perfect host.”
Norio appears very, very confused. But Kristal regards Jae-Hyun, her eyes filled with reproach. “Is that true? After the body you possessed was killed, you came here and just left Hayato’s mother back in Japan?”
Despite his centuries-old age, the ghost has the decency to look ashamed.
He addresses Kristal but looks at me as he answers, “I was ever the brave warrior when I was among the living. But what your mother became after her death… a wraith wandering the grounds, weeping for vengeance, I could not withstand it. It was all my fault that she met her death so early. The caretaker’s wife was understandably enraged by our affair. Even more tragically, she believed your father when he said he would protect her if she did his dirty work. Of course, Kazuo had her and her husband killed for the supposed crime of murdering his wife. And your mother was forever doomed to wander without justice. I could not help her in that state. So I left. I had hoped my doing so would ease her suffering.”
“It didn’t,” I answer bluntly. “She continued to wander for years after that, shrieking for justice so loudly, I could no longer bear to visit our factory home. I did not know back then that there was a way to help ghosts in her position. So she was stuck in that state until my father’s death by one of his many victims.”
My tone is reproachful, but Jae-Hyun’s face lights up at my words. “So she is free? She has crossed over to the next realm?”
I frown, not wanting to please him. But I can think of no other answer to his question but, “Yes, she crossed over with no thanks to you.”
However, my tone doesn’t seem to matter. Jae-Hyun’s eyes fill with tears. And in the next instant, he rises from the ground. He simply lifts off the floor without bending his legs or seeming to exert any physical effort.
Kristal gasps, and Norio mutters in Japanese behind me.
“My boy! Thank you for this news!” Jae-Hyun booms, his voice much stronger than before. “Thank you for freeing the love of my life.”
I have no idea how to answer that. But Jae-Hyun doesn’t seem to expect an answer from me. After saying that, he turns his attention to Kristal. She is still sitting on the floor, taking in the many reveals from our conversation.
Despite his old age, Jae-Hyun looks very much like a hale samurai, extending his hand to a maiden when he reaches out to help her up off the floor.
“You see, you did not ruin anything,” Jae-Hyun tells her with good cheer. “In fact, you made all my dreams come true. Thank you, Kristal. You are a better daughter than I ever could have wished for or deserved.”
Kristal shakes her head mutely. I suspect that she is at a loss for words.
But Jae-Hyun does not linger long with her either. He turns to Norio. “And as for you, my oldest son...”
Norio lets out a loud “Eh!” and jumps up, knocking his chair backward when instead of walking, the ghost lifts off the ground and floats over to him.
The samurai seems amused by Norio’s reaction. “My logical son, who never questioned why the caretaker left him oranges and other treats. Do you believe your brother now?”
Norio nods slowly. And our ghost father pats him fondly on the cheek. “Good, good. How is your life now? Did you marry as you wanted, or did Kazuo get his way in that as his own father did with him?”
Norio seems too stunned to answer, so I reply for him.
“He is the one who orchestrated our father’s death,” I tell our ghost father. “Norio is very happily married now with the family he fought for until my father’s end.”
Again, I am not trying to please Jae-Hyun. But I am very proud of my brother for his bravery and everything he did to free us from our father’s iron fist. And for some reason, I want this ghost to be proud of him too.
“You fill my heart with pride, oldest son. Perhaps the next time you are in Japan, you will find my grave and clean it? I would also be very honored if you said a prayer.”
At first, Norio says nothing. I wonder if he will forever remain too stunned to speak.
But then he asks, “Is it really you? Our true father?”
Our ghost father bows in grave acknowledgment. “I am sorry for not having been a better father to you. If I could have been, I would have been. For you both have made me very proud.”
“I am sorry, too,” Norio answers. “I know it is not proper, but I have been married to an American for too long. I must do this…”
That is the only warning Jae-Hyun receives before Norio enfolds him in his arms. Jae-Hyun freezes as if he does not know what to do. But then he hugs his oldest son back just as tight. Perhaps even tighter.
After they pull back from their embrace, Jae-Hyun turns toward me. At first, I think he will hug me when he reaches out, and I am not sure how I will receive that. But he simply places a firm hand on my back and pushes until I walk forward.
Toward Kristal.
She stares wide-eyed at us both when we stop in front of her.
“Kristal, I am aware that my son is only slightly more deserving than me to have the grace of your presence in his life,” he tells her, his voice even more solemn and grave than when he was talking with Norio. “But if you would do him the honor, I would like to offer you his hand in marriage.”
Kristal’s mouth drops open. She seems more shocked by this invitation than anything that had come before it, including the announcement that her mentor was a ghost in possession of a human body.
“What? No! That’s not how these things work in the current day. You can’t just make him—”
“I will do it. I will marry her,” I say before she can finish her protest.
There’s a new feeling coursing through me now that I’ve solved the mystery of my father and revealed my true nature to my brother. For the first time, I feel free. Free to do whatever I want. Free to have whoever I want
And I want Kristal. As confusing as this situation is, that one thing is clear.
Kristal looks up at me, stunned, speechless.
Jae-Hyun takes her by the hand. “Please, daughter. My affairs here have all been settled. Now that I know that my beloved has crossed over, I can feel the tug of the next realm for the first time since I died childless and unmarried. This is my last wish. My only wish. Please send me into the eternal knowing that your true love with Hayato will not end as mine did with his mother.”
Kristal jerks at his announcement. “You’re leaving? Right now? But I have so many questions. I feel like I’m finally meeting the real you.”
“I’m afraid I have no choice in the matter, daughter,” he answers, his eyes once again glittering with amusement. “And I don’t have much time left. Please make my last moments in your realm the happiest of my entire lifetime. Say you will marry my son.”
Kristal looks from him to me, her eyes brimming with tears.
And we both wait, the dead and the living, to hear her answer.