Chapter 7

Los Angeles, California

4:30 PM

The bus lurched to a stop and he hopped off the second the doors opened, eyeing the Kanji advertisements on shops and buildings.

Little Tokyo...

He ignored the glances from the people walking down the street and pushed on with a gait in his step. He slightly adjusted the collar on his Service Alphas, not really caring about the rucksack on his back as he gave a polite smile to the curious looks from the descendants of Japanese immigrants. Segregation in California had been practically eliminated by the previous decade, so even if his presence might bring discomfort to some, he knew it wasn’t enough to get him into any real trouble.

Not here, at least.

He approached the area he remembered, passing by some shops as he reached the homes.

“Kore o kireina yuka to yonde imasu ka? Watashi wa anata ni nonbiri suru tame ni okane o haratte imasen!”

He paused, turning towards the berating voice.

The shopkeeper and several other men were standing around, practically lording over, a kid that looked way too young to be wearing the shop’s apron.

The kid bowed, apologetically, causing the older man to slap the top of his head.

“Kono yōna machigai wa anata ni okane o kaseganai, anata wa rikai shimasu ka? Anata no ryōshin wa anata o oidashi, dare mo anata o tsurete ikanaideshou. Anata no shigoto o kichinto yari nasai!”

He felt some anger flare up ever so slightly, his free hand balling into a fist, his mind plotting a possible course of action if they caused trouble, but he forced it all down with a breath.

You’re a Marine, Hilaire... don’t bother with these guys... control... control...

“Huh?” the old man called suddenly.

He didn’t notice he’d been staring.

Damn...

Quickly he began to walk away.

“Hey, is that...?” the second man in the shop said a little too loudly.

Isaac Hilaire gripped the straps on his rucksack as the nearby voices changed the topic to him. He picked up the pace as he approached the home, of course, but as neighboring homes closed the doors and blinds, he knew what was about to happen.

“Hilaire? Isaac Hilaire?!”

“Hey! Come here, boy!”

Just ignore them, Marine... just ignore them...

“Don’t ignore us boy!!!”

God Damn it!

The voice was now closer. Too close. His dress shoes had just made contact with the not-yet-cut lawn when he felt the hand on his shoulder.

“How've you been, kid? What’s with the getup?”

He forced the deceptively friendly hand away, not speaking for a moment and trying not to look at them.

What do I say? What do I say? Uh...

“You have the wrong man.” He muttered, hoping his voice didn’t crack.

“Man, he says! You even seventeen yet? Why are you wearing a Navy uniform?” the Japanese man laughed just as Isaac felt the hand on his shoulder again.

He whirled around violently this time, getting loose from the man’s grip. Both were older than him by a lot, both had a threatening smile on their faces.

He didn’t have to look at the shop owner across the street to know he was armed with a bat. Isaac slowly straightened his posture, calmed down, and said “I’m just here to say hi to-”

“The Kuribayashi's aren’t here anymore. You should go back to your neighborhood.”

Isaac kept his mouth shut, not disagreeing but not budging, either.

Just as the third man began to walk across the street, the door behind him swung open and a short girl waltzed out; a wooden staff in hand. She pointed it at the men as though it were a sword and yelled at them as she took a step onto the stone pathway on the yard.

“Get off the lawn, Mister Yoshikawa, Mister Koizumi! You know my dad’s rules!”

The oldest of the two yelled back “Anata wa kono otoko o kyoka shimasuga, anata no nakama no nihonjin wa kyoka shimasen ka?”

The girl yelled back, even louder, “Watashi wa amerikahito de, anata to onajide, kare to onajidesu! Hanarete kudasai.”

The men chortled, the younger of the two saying “Her pronunciation is better than mine.”

“Oh, hush.” then, to Isaac, “Watch yourself, kid. Don’t do anything stupid, you hear?”

Isaac didn’t reply, staring as the men crossed the street. He nervously sucked in a shaky breath and turned around to the girl. Her hands were on her hips now, and he couldn’t deny she’d grown a bit since he last saw her. But her glare said this wasn’t about to be the warm welcome he’d somewhat hoped for.

Still, he tipped his cap and smiled.

She began storming over to him, her eyes on his own. Was that passion in them? Hope? Relief?

Maybe the welcome wouldn’t be as cold as he-

The wooden staff crashed into his forehead and ended the thought as she chided him.

“Dumbass.”

She poked his chest with the staff.

“Moron.”

She hit his thigh.

“Idiot.”

Forehead again, but he stopped her as she moved to hit the side of his head, taking the staff in his hand.

“Stop, you’ll ruin my-”

“Your dumb Class As? Dumb... class... As... shiny but still stupid on a stupid person like your stupid self.” she muttered.

“Service Alphas!” he corrected; a touch indignant as he added, “You’re really going to greet me that way after so long?”

“How am I supposed to greet you, exactly?”

“Well, I can think of a few ways.” He said, letting go of her weapon and eyeing her blouse.

“Pervert.”

“You know me so well.” Isaac replied, taking a step closer to her, which she quickly stopped by placing her hand up.

She groaned, muttering “Do you really want to make the older men angry? They’re not exactly happy after a black kid robbed Mister Koizumi’s shop.”

“Good thing I’m not black then.”

“You are!”

“No, I’m brown. There’s a difference. Plus, I’m not breaking any laws, am I?”

“They’re going to lynch you.”

“That’s illegal. They wouldn’t want to break the law, now, would they?”

“Baka.”

“Hey, I know that word!”

She didn’t reply, grabbing his hand and leading him inside, her frustrated expression never relaxing as she kept looking over her shoulder.