Kankei: Gray Skies, Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Kayanna
A few days later, my roomate and best friend, Ari, surprised me. "Happy Birthday!" She yelled. I was in my bedroom, at my computer, asleep on the keyboard. I opened one eye. It sat on the 'D' key. I lifted my head and sat up straight. I sniffed, and wiped my face tiredly. "What." I mumbled.
"Happy. Birthday."
I squinted at her. "Whas today?"
She pulled a calendar from my wall and put it 2 inches away from my face. "November 27th. Your day of birth."


I smiled slowly. "Hey. I'm 24 today, aren't I?!"
"That's what happens when your birthday comes around. You age one year." She said sarcastically.
I laughed easily. "So pal. What'd you get me?"
"Well. What are you working on right now?"
"Uh." I looked at the monitor. "Work. Haha."
"When's the deadline for that?"
I sighed heavily and winced. "In 3 days..."
"You've been working nonstop, at home and at work for the last 4 weeks. My present to you is a spa treatment."
I grinned. "Wow. I've never been to a spa before."
"That's what makes it even better. So get up. The appointment's in an hour." She nuged me.
*********************************************************

About seven o'clock, forty-five minutes later, we arrived at our destination. Yokohama Spa was a small one story story building, with a lush courtyard.


"These are pretty," Ari murmured, as we walked past a giant blooming bush. A large woman quickly slipped through the front doors as we approached them.


"If I get that big, you'll tell me, right?" Ari asked nervously. I snickered, opening the door. "If you do, we're sooo not friends anymore." We continued laughing as we walked into a waiting room. I automatically noticed the temperature change. It had to be 10 degrees warmer than outside, though it wasn't stifiling. It was...relaxing. Good atmosphere, I thought. Ari led the way to a desk that seperated a hallway from the waiting area. A small Japanese woman sat behind it, talking to the 'large woman' we saw come in seconds earlier.


"Oh K. You say your name is Tanya?" The Japanese woman asked, flipping through an appointment book. "Yes." Tanya replied impatiently. The receptionist looked up and looked at Tanya sternly. Then she went back to searching the book. "I no have your name. Let me check with rest of staff." She got up and went down the hall. She wore a black and white striped pantsuit with the Yokohama Spa and Sushi logo emblazoned on the jacket. Her heels clicked smartly on the marble floor. For some reason, I liked her immediately. Tanya sighed heavily and tapped a foot.


My eyes wandered to the art adorning the walls. "Oooh, Ari, look at that!" I whispered to my friend. I pointed to a picture taking up an entire wall. It was a giant cherry blossom tree with Katakana characters written beside it. A beautiful landscape loomed behind the tree.
"That's Japanese, right? Can you read those?"
We stepped closer to the huge art piece. "Uh..." I pointed to a character at the top."That's Peace." I moved lower, to the next word. "That's Chi, blood. This is Harmony, and the last one is...Hm. I don't know."


We heard the receptionist return to her desk. "Ma'am, we are one massuer short tonight."
I turned back around. Nosily.
"And what does that have to do with me?" Tanya snapped.
The Japanese woman turned to Ari patiently. "You are Ari Thomas?"
Ari nodded.
"They are on time for appointment. You are not. You wait."
"I'm not waiting!" Tanya exclaimed.
The receptionist smiled calmly. She turned on her heel and walked back down the hall.


Saiyo
Behind the waiting area and the reception desk was a hallway that led to the spa rooms, staff room, and other facilities. The light was dim. It was supposed to be relaxing. My brother and I stood there, gaping at the overweight woman arguing with our aunt. Ai turned and began walking towards us. She had her fake patient smile on. She stopped.
"I not curse her yet."
I used a hand to rub at my face, struggling to conceal a grin.
"She's Joey's client, right?" My brother asked.
Ai nodded.
"He's not sick, he ditched us! He always does this crap!" Sung whispered furiously.
Joey went home about forty-five minutes ago. He got 'sick' all of a sudden. That made my brother and I the only therapists on shift until closing. I really didn't want to take his client.
"Su, I'll give you a hundred--"
"No."
"Two hundred--"
"No."
"Sung." Ai said mildly. "Your appointment here. She bring friend."
My brother moved around the corner, looking further into the waiting area. He turned to look at me.
"What?"
"Look."
I stepped around Ai to stand beside Sung. A woman looked at the painting of the Cherry Blossom. She turned around and talked to another woman, Ari Thomas. Ari had been here last week, I remembered. I shuffled my feet.
"That's the girl from the garage."
"Yep."


I looked at her again. Coincedince...?
"Now about that fat woman," Sung began seriously. "She's as big as a house. That is not our fault. She probably won't fit on the table, she'll need 4 towels just to cover up with, and we'll have to use an entire bottle of oils for her leg." He counted off each point on his fingers. "I say we give her a refund. Tell her we can't afford to accomadate her without charging extra. That'll make her leave."
I sighed and shook my head. The woman currently leaned on Ai's desk . She rang a silver bell.
"Thas wrong." Ai murmured.
"So. Are you gonna do it?" My brother snapped at her.
"No. I will." I said, resigned. "C'mon."
We trooped into the waiting room with Ai's heels clicking on the marble floor.
"Okay, ma'am..." Ai began, picking up a pen and scribbling something in the appointment book. The fat woman stood up straight and watched my aunt.
"I would like to speak to the person in charge here." The woman said smugly. Ai looked up from her book.
"Yes, ma'am, that would be me." I piped up.
"Okay then. I want a refund."
My eyebrow raised without my consent. "Excuse me?"
"This is absolutely ridiculous. Even when I made my appointment over the phone, this woman put me through hoops. I refuse to be patient with her any longer."


I checked my aunt from the corner of my eye. She stared at the woman, her face blank.
"Ma'am, I don't know if you realize, but you haven't payed yet." I said.
The woman's face changed a bit, barely noticeable if you weren't looking for it.
"I think you're mistaken." She said slyly.
"Nobody pays for anything until after they've had their services and are completely satisfied." Sung added. "What'd you say your name was?"
I saw Ari Thomas as she crept closer to us. She looked at the fat woman intently. Her friend slapped her arm playfully and muttered something.
"Look, you...people, just give me my refund!"
Ai snapped. She lunged across the desk, reaching for the woman's neck. My brother and I rushed around the desk as the woman and my aunt fell to the floor.


"Hey, she robbed the nail shop down the street!" Ari yelled as the two women wrestled on the floor.
"Sung, call the cops!" I grabbed Ai. She flailed wildly as I tore her away, screaming at the woman in Japanese.
"Yeah, same to you midget bitch!" The fat woman shouted from the floor.
"Hey!" I snapped as I set my five foot two aunt on the floor behind me. "Where the hell are you going--" The grifter attempted to crawl at high speed to the front door. I resisted the insane urge to kick her in the head by grabbing her leg. She wiggled angrily.
"Let me go, you fuckin' Jackie Chan wannabe!"
Sung ran back into the waiting area, laughing. "Hey, Sai, I think this is that racism stuff."
I grinned and twisted her ankle.

Kayanna
The woman howled in pain as two officers ran up to the glass doors in front of her. They walked in, carefully stepping around her head as she continued to wail. I sighed internally as I recognized one of them. I'd barely had time to process the fact that the guy from the auto shop was standing in front of me, limply holding the fat woman's ankle.


"What's going on here?" An officer asked.
"I was uh...'subduing' her." Saiyo said.
"He's assaulting me!" The woman yelled.
"That's a lie," Sung snapped.
"Alright, calm down." The officer turned to look at Ari and I.
"Carter," Ari began quickly. "I saw everything, I'll provide a statement if you'd like. This is the woman who's been robbing local nail shops and spas."
He turned to look down at the woman lying on the floor.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Miss Tanya Bradshaw. The city's been looking for you." He cooed. She held up her middle finger. "No, the pleasure is all mine, Miss Bradshaw." The officer turned to me.
"Kayanna."
"Derek."
Nonchalantly, he turned to his partner. "Alright, let's arrest her."


Ari looked at me with a stern face. I shrugged calmly. Sometimes I think she's incredibly illogical for a psychologist. She wanted me to say something to my ex. What I don't get is she knows that I have violent tendencies. I'm trying really hard to restrain myself, so she's just gonna have to chill the hell out.


I stuck my hands in my jeans. I watched as Saiyo stepped back, allowing the officers to arrest Tanya. His hands slipped to his sides in a gesture I immediately identified with. His hands searched for pockets, but in his all black uniform with flat front pants and a snug shirt that was probably 95% cotton and 5% spandex, they were nowhere to be found. Then I told myself that I only knew the textile content of his shirt because I had a few that fit the same way. I wasn't convincing myself. I diverted my eyes and let out a breath.


"What?" Ari whispered.
"Nothing, nothing."
"Okay." Derek said as Tanya wiggled in her handcuffs. "Sorry about any problems she may have caused, and thanks for the call. You all have a nice night." He and his partner dragged her out into the moonlight.
The receptionist straightened out her suit jacket and smoothed her skirt. Then she sat down behind her desk.
"Now bitch is gone."
I grinned. Saiyo turned to us. "Sorry for the inconvienience. Let me give you 30% off your bill when you're ready to pay, okay?"
"Sure," Ari said quickly.
"Ai, what do they need today?" He asked the receptionist.
"Two shiatsu and stone therapy." She replied.
"Good choice." The younger brother said. "Follow me." Ari followed him just as I was wondering how this massuer-client assignment thing works. I hesitated.


Saiyo touched my elbow. "If you'd follow me to the spa room.." I let him lead the way.
We walked down a hallway decorated with more Japanese art between doors. He stopped at a door that read, "Spa Room 3"
He opened the door for me. I walked in, taking note of my surroundings. There was no artificial light, only what I believed was hundreds of candles scattered all over the room. On the wall facing me, a giant picture window revealed a real Japanese zen garden sitting under the stars. A massage table sat in the middle of the room. Counter space lined the walls, and a painted screen sat in the corner beside a large cabinet against the left wall. Saiyo walked over to this and opened it.


"You can put all your things here, and use as many of these towels as you'd like to cover up. You can change behind that screen. I'll be back when you're ready."
I wanted to ask him how he would know when I was ready, but he left, silently.
"Hm..." I murmured when the door closed. "I'll have to be naked..." I grinned at myself as I opened up the armoire. I picked up a giant white towel. It smelled like flowers. I took it and stepped behind the screen to remove my clothes. I wrapped up in the towel, sniffing blissfully. Someone knocked at the door.
"Yes?" I asked.
"Are you ready?" Saiyo's quiet voice asked.
Ah, that's how. "Yes."


He opened the door and slipped in. I sat on the massage table.
"Funny seeing you here." He murmured, going over to a counter. He washed his hands in a sink.
"Yeah, I thought the same thing. It's weird.."
"How's your car?"
"It's great, thanks again." That was another weird coincedince, I thought. He nodded as he dried his hands on a towel from his back pocket. "So you..work here too?" I asked. Obviously, my inner cynic said.
"Yes. Usually only when they need me, but I guess running it is a full time thing."
"Running it?"
"I own this place. And the restaurant next door."
"And the garage."
He grinned. "Yeah."


I was impressed. He opened a cabinet, searching for something. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail today, held by a simple rubber band. He wore another one on his right wrist. His left donned a black beaded bracelet. A polished silver charm hung from it. I couldn't make out what it was.


Wow, I thought suddenly. I never notice details. Ari always jokes about how useless I'd be to the police if I was ever a witness to a crime. I wouldn't be able to remember anything about the criminals because when people process what they see, their minds automatically discard what it thinks is unimportant. Which is always, in my case, details. For some reason I was noticing that his ears weren't pierced, his hair (even though it looked like it was) wasn't perfectly straight, he had a habit of biting his lip, and he was wearing a pair of black Addidas mat shoes for Olympic Taekwondo.


Funny. I didn't know they made any in black.


Saiyo
I had never understood being nervous. Even as a kid, nothing made me nervous or even anxious, but that was probably because I'd seen everything that would make the average person nervous before I was ten. I wasn't impatient either. So when I realized I was fumbling through the oil cabinet, I had to pause and just take a moment to compose myself.


I'm 'worried'. That's the word, I'm 'worried'.
What made it even worse was that I wasn't even worried about me. I was worried for Kay.
The lady from the auto garage and the coffee shop.
Well...technically it was me. I bit my lip.


I turned to look at her over my shoulder. She was looking at my shoes, but when I turned, she looked up at the ceiling. I was positive she'd have blushed if her skin was a bit paler. I turned back around and stared at the countertop.
There's nobody else to take over for me. Sung's the only other therapist here, and he has a client. Ai...no. She can't.
I glanced back at Kayanna.


Shit, neither can I. Blood started rushing to...body parts.
"Um, sorry, I'll be right back." I ducked out of the room, closing the door as gently as possible behind myself. And ran into Ai.
I jumped a little, pressing myself against the door.


"Whas wrong?" She asked skeptically. She stood on her tip toes and peered into the window that every spa room had.


It was for client safety. Kay was defintely gonna need it if I didn't figure something out.
I stared at her a second, wondering if I could tell her.
Hell, I could barely tell myself.


"I just..need to get something from this room." I walked into Spa Room 2, leaving Ai in the hallway. I walked to the oil cabinet in this room and took a random bottle. Then I left. Ai was gone. I wondered if I should tell Sung.
Nah. He wouldn't understand.
I'm blowing this out of proportion. Shit happens, right?


I put on my game face and walked back into the room, closing the door behind me.
She layed facedown on the table, the towel carefully wrapped.
"Sorry about that." I said.
"No problem." She murmured.
My body adjusted to the warm heat and dim light in the room. I put the bottle of oil on the countertop and picked up another one. I walked over to the table, and poured some oil into my hands. I rubbed them together to warm it up, and began the shiatsu massage on her calves.
Then I started talking.


"I almost wasn't going to do your massage." I began mysteriously.
"Why?" She asked.
"I didn't want..." How could I word this without sounding arrogant....
"To get carried away?" She finished in her silky smooth voice. I loved how it was girly without being high pitched, yet sexy without being too deep. She was beginning to relax because of the massage, and as she spoke, a purr in the back of her throat hypnotized me.
I didn't respond. I suddenly smelled chocolate. I stared at her skin. How naiive would I be to assume she smelled like chocolate because--
"Is it just me or does something smell like chocolate?" I interupted my own rambling thoughts with the question.
"Oh," she laughed. "It's me, I use real cocoa butter on my skin."
"Yeah." I said distantly.
"It wouldn't be so bad if I wondered the same thing. “She completely skipped the cocoa butter thing. I was glad.
"No."
It happened so fast, I might have blacked out. Everytime I’d seen her before now flashed in my head. Her smile, her lips, her eyes…


Restraint. It had always been something I didn't need because my lack of it gave me the edge. Back in my school days people thought they could punk me just because I was different. But I had the upper hand. I had no reason to restrain myself, I had absolutely nothing to lose. So in the end, all I did was gain.


I was controlling myself now. I wasn't going to do Kayanna's massage because I didn't want to do something crazy. I didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable, I didn't want to....do anything she didn't want to do.


As I felt the purr from her voice dissolve into my mind’s eye she had turned over on the table and sat up on her knees she layed her hands gently on my shoulders.
Then she licked my lips.


Something exploded in my head. I moved her towel, getting a head start on the massage.

Kayanna
If I was misinterpreting his signals, I stopped caring. Minutes ago when he stared at me from down the hall, the hands looking for the pockets, the lip biting, each time he seemed to lose his cool, whether he knew it or not, were clues. Not for his worry about the thief, but for me. Whatever degree of control he had earlier had been lost, as had mine. I was hungry, like some type of rabid animal, some beast that wanted him kicking and screaming...to make me kick and scream. A voice in my head chanted ‘Gimme, gimme, gimme…’


I was blinded by something, as his lips found mine. I felt his hands skim down to my thighs. He picked me up. I sat on his waist as he moved. I was surprised, and he kept it up as he sat me on the countertop.


"Let me..." he murmured randomly.
"Is this what you didn't want to do?" I asked.
"Yeah. I didn't know if you--"
I ripped his shirt.
"Now you do."