Tadashi parked the car in front of a huge gated park. The tall metal fence encircling it was supported by an alternating white pillars with the Tanaka family emblem carved into them. We got off the car and entered the vast garden through a smaller door within the main gate. There was a wide concrete pathway leading to a traditional Japanese house. A staff had been waiting to drive us to the building in a golf cart.
The plan we had arranged was supposed to be executed right after the prayer ceremony. I silently scratched the skin of my arm under my coat anxiously. Everyone had a crucial part to play in this project, and I wouldn't want to be the one who messed it up. Our case depended on this.
"Master Tadashi, the room is ready for you. Please, this way," a worker lead the way.
We took our shoes off and made our way through a long wooden hallway with rice paper wall on one side and a view of the inner garden on another. For a split second, I saw their mom entering another room with Makoto and an escort of guards surrounding them on another side of the house.
The worker stopped before one of the doors with Shao written on it. He bowed and gestured for us to go in. The door shut as soon as we were all inside. I could see the shadows of five bodyguards shielding our entrance.
Kenji knelt before their grandpa's shrine, light an incense stick, and did his prayer. His brothers lined up behind him to wait for their turn. The shrine had three lit candles on each side and one poster-sized photograph of Shao in the middle.
The altar was decorated with miniature figurines of animals. One of them looked exactly like the eagle tattoo on Tadashi's right arm. I assumed that there was a connection between them.
The oldest sibling stood up and moved to the side as the next grandson proceeded with the ceremony. My friend turned around and gave me a sympathetic smile.
"You don't have to do this if you don't want to. Just wait on the side," he whispered.
'Phew,' I sighed in my head.
I watched the rest of the procedure standing next to the older siblings. Hiro's prayer was the shortest out of the three siblings, and I guessed that it bothered the middle child quite a bit. We bowed one last time before leaving. Kenji blew out the rest of the candles before joining us to the courtyard of the family mass grave. Tadashi nodded to signal the commencement of our real mission. Everyone dispersed to their stations.
Hiro and I made our way to one of the Zen gardens on the western front of the land. Upon closer inspection, each tree, pond, and rock were named after a deceased person. My eyes widened at the revelation as we passed a tree labeled 'Beatrice'.
"That was my father's first caretaker,' he pointed to the tree.
"Pardon?"
"We treat our staff like a family. Once they've passed, they'll be buried with the rest of the family here. But, of course, not everyone would agree to a burial. Beatrice chose to be turned into a tree."
I was honestly speechless. A chill ran down my spine and the hairs on my neck stood up at the thought of stepping on someone's buried body amongst the grass.
"Sorry if that weirded you out. It's one of those things that you thought everyone do but turns out you just had a really dark childhood. I didn't realize how weird it was until I went to my friend's funeral," his voice became shaky.
"So, where's your grandma's resting place?" I tried to change the subject and held his hand.
"Right there," he pointed to the Koi pond.
I squatted by the small waterfall, "it's so pretty."
"Yeah, so was she. I think you two would've liked each other."
"You think so?" I looked up.
"Mhm. You reminded me of her sometimes."
"Why a Koi pond?"
"She had always admired them. Unlike other fishes, a Koi would die in stagnant water,' he turned to me. "Do you believe in reincarnation?"
"Huh?" I was caught off guard by the sudden question. "Hmm… I don't personally think it exists, but if they do, I hope she gets to be reborn as a Koi. Being the head of the clan wasn't an easy task. She definitely embodied their quality."
"I hope so too. Actually, she was the one who started the tattoo ritual. It was to honor my grandfather's annual death anniversary. After every prayer ceremony, one member of the family will get a hand-poke tattoo of an animal or creature. Hers was a white carp with a black circle on its forehead. We've been doing it ever since."
"The animals on the altar…"
"Yeah, our spirit animals."
"Have you done one?"
"I– "
Suddenly our hidden mics were activated, "Hiro, Ren. Are you there?"
"Yeah, what's wrong?" my friend confirmed.
"We just received a report from the main gate. An unknown car is approaching," Tadashi informed.
"What do you want us to do?"
"Kenji's going to check on mother, I'll prepare the getaway car, you two and the rest of the team will cover the front of the house. Go!" he instructed.
We were supposed to stage a kidnapping after their mom's tattoo ritual, but our prey appeared to show himself earlier than we had expected. We were forced to double back and guard the building to prevent our uninvited guest from taking their mom. Hiro assisted his crew to guard the sides of the house from a breach while I looked out for any intruders or unauthorized personals from the main entrance.
The main gate swung open unannounced. I tried to contact the security at the main gate, but it was to no avail. Every other mics were turned off except for mine and the brothers. I became even more concerned as I heard the screeching sound of tires turning and the sound of a car engine approaching.
"Guys, someone's here," I spoke to the mic.
"Ren? Where's everyone else? Ren! Answer me!" Tadashi demanded.
"He's in a car. There was no answer from the main gate."
"Mom's gone! The whole room is empty!" Kenji ran along the house; opening every door.
"I can't contact our car either! Someone broke the GPS," the mastermind announced.
"Ren! Where are you? Stay where you are," my friend panted.
"I'm at the front door. There's a black SUV."
"Ren, hide behind a pillar and tell me what you see," Tadashi advised.
"Uh, the windows are tinted. He's about halfway here, but he's not speeding."
"That's weird."
Suddenly Hiro appeared behind me; visibly sweating and heaving, "are you okay?"
I nodded and we watched the suspicious vehicle drove closer to the house and finally stopped the car engine. The driver's door open and a man in a bronze colored Haori walked out. He was wearing a familiar theatre mask over his face and had a sheathed Katana on his fabric belt. I looked over at my friend who was trembling at the sight of his childhood fear.
"Hiro…" I whispered.
He murmured softly into the mic, "it's not Mr. Smith."
"Hiro?" Tadashi's voice was concerned.
"I think it's him."
"Hiro, don't!"