Johnny showed up right at the start of the third division. He watched each side parade around in their decorative mawashis, which apparently were called kesho-mawashi. He learned yesterday that they used to wrestle in those and wondered how big a pain in the ass that must have been.
To say that Johnny was enthralled with the whole thing was an understatement. The power, even of the lower division wrestlers, and the dedication they gave was something to be admired. While he sat and watched between matches, he messaged Harris and asked if there were any good websites for him to familiarize himself further with sumo.
Between matches, he found some YouTube channels that focused on the daily life of sumo wrestlers. There were some good videos, and while Johnny knew they must have eaten a lot, to actually see it was eye-opening. He looked up wrestlers on the channel and tried to watch their matches. He had missed most of them. One of the sumo stables was full of lower-ranked wrestlers. Despite this setback, he could still catch two, one in Juryo and one ranked in the middle of the Maegashira ranks. The videos further enthralled Johnny with their dedication to their craft and sport.
At the beginning of the Juryo matches, Harris messaged Johnny and, through a sequence of text messages, Harris could locate Johnny’s box.
“Really went all out, huh? This is a magnificent spot,” Harris said as he slipped off his shoes and sat next to Johnny.
Johnny nodded his head and didn’t look at him.
“You got the bug, huh?” Harris asked with a small laugh.
Johnny grinned and looked back at him. “I don’t even know how long I’ve been in Japan, and I’ve never really thought of coming to one of these. Now that I have it, it’s…..well….” He trailed off, not sure what to say.
Harris just nodded his head and laughed harder. “Yeah, it’s amazing. It was one of the reasons I tried to get assigned here. I’ve always loved sumo.”
Johnny raised his eyebrows and looked at him.
Harris just winked and pointed as the Juryo wrestlers started their dohyo-iri. Harris pointed one out. “That’s Nabatame from that YouTube channel I told you about. He’s a favorite with people who watch it. His performance has always been pretty good, but the last tournament was a turning point. He dominated his matches.”
Johnny watched the large, hairy man parade around the ring and do their ceremony before he walked off in the line of wrestlers.
As the matches got going, they both could hear the storm brewing outside just as Mika told Johnny. Heavy rain pounded down on the roof, and loud thunder accented the large men, slamming into each other or trying to push each other out of the ring.
“Getting pretty bad out there,” Harris commented in between a couple of the bouts.
Johnny just nodded his head and pulled out his phone once more to see if Mika had messaged him at all. She hadn’t, and he frowned. He wasn’t really sure why he thought her not texting him was a bad thing. Maybe he was hoping she'd cancel so he wouldn’t have to go through with anything? His getting the number was a moment of regret for him. He wasn’t ready for that sort of thing.
They were about halfway through the fourth division matches when Harris pulled out his phone and looked at Johnny. “Guess this storm is getting worse than it was expected to be.”
Johnny cocked his eyebrow and looked over at him.
“I've gotta go into the base. They’re worried about some weird seismic activity and want people there just in case, I guess,” Harris explained and stood. He left the box after he clapped Johnny on the shoulder.
“Hopefully, you don’t get called in too. Enjoy the sumo, watch for the new Yokozuna,” he grinned and slipped on his shoes and walked off.
Johnny nodded his head and went back to watching the matches. It didn’t take too much longer until his phone buzzed in his pocket.
‘Hey Johnny, sorry. I am going to have to cancel. This storm is getting wild, huh? Can I get a rain check? I’m free every night this week.’
Johnny smirked and shook his head and replied.
‘Yeah, looks like I might have to go into work, anyway. The government might call on us to help if something happens.’
‘Oh wow, it is getting bad then. Must explain why Cujo is getting so worked up.’
‘Yeah, I guess so. Tomorrow then?’
‘I’m looking forward to it. Stay safe if you have to go to work.’
‘Always do, thank you. Have a good night, and take care of that terror of yours.’
Her reply made Johnny grin a little despite himself. It was a simple old-school wink emoji with a semicolon and the end parenthesis.
Before he could put away his phone, it went off once more.
‘ALL PERSONNEL RETURN TO DUTY ASAP. DUE TO WEATHER PATTERNS THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT IS ASKING FOR US TO BE IN STANDBY FOR EMERGENCY PURPOSES.’
Johnny frowned and sighed before he put his phone back in his pocket. He stood and slipped his shoes on and headed towards the exit. He walked between the hulking men who guarded the exit, wearing simple blue blazers. One of them even had the topknot of the sumo wrestlers, and Johnny idly wondered who these guys were.
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He rushed through and out of the arena, fighting the people trying to get in to watch the top division matches. Johnny wanted to get home and check on Spike before he went to the base. The dog’s hip would probably be hurting, and he wanted to make sure the dog was alright. Spike would probably whine again when Johnny had to leave again, and he wished he could bring him to the base. Damn rules. Since the dog wasn’t an official US Army-trained dog, he wasn’t allowed.
As soon as he stepped outside, he almost understood Tokyo’s worry about the weather. He didn’t think it had been raining that long, but the streets were flooded. He was glad he always wore boots; otherwise, his feet would already be soaked.
A streak of lightning scorched through the sky, and Johnny looked up. It was a weird lightning bolt. It didn’t look right. Instead of the white-hot lightning bolt you were used to seeing, Johnny was reminded of the plasma rays from the Ghostbusters packs. The bolt was red and had blue streaks around it.
“What the fuck?” he muttered, but no one else really seemed to notice the weird lightning and just went about their day.
Johnny decided he didn’t have time to pussyfoot around and stuck out his thumb to call a cab. Since he wasn’t in a proper spot to hail a cab and he wasn’t in New York City, it took a few minutes for him to get one.
“That’s not a proper spot, sir.”
Was the welcome Johnny got as he ducked in and sat in the back seat of the cab. “Yeah, I know, I’m sorry,” Johnny said and then gave the driver his address. He was thankful he got a driver who spoke pretty good English. Probably the only reason this one picked him up. He was used to stupid tourists breaking protocol.
It was a quick drive, and then Johnny was walking into his building and up to his apartment. When he walked in, he found Spike in his spot and his snout nuzzled into a pillow hiding from the window.
“Yeah, it’s pretty bad out there, huh, boy? Good thing we went to the park today. From the looks of things, everything is going to be all flooded tomorrow,” Johnny said as he closed his door and walked over to sit on the couch next to Spike.
He ran a hand through Spike’s fur, and the dog gave a soft whine. This whole thing was kind of weird. Spike rarely acted like this around lightning and thunder. Spike had seen and been through a lot in his life. Maybe he was getting some PTSD? Johnny gave a bitter smirk and shook his head. It’d make sense if he had.
“It’ll be alright, boy, don’t worry. Just a storm. Nothing too bad is going to happen. Tokyo just might get flooded a little,” Johnny reassured the dog, and kept petting him calmly.
A sigh.
“I need to go into the base tonight,” Johnny told Spike, who unburied his nose and looked at Johnny.
“Yeah, I know. It sucks and you’re not having a great night, but we gotta be ready to help if we’re needed,” Johnny explained.
With a whine from the dog and Johnny nodded. He stood though and pretended not to notice how upset Spike was as he stood from the couch to go check the dogs’ food and water bowls. He wasn’t expecting Spike to get up as well and follow him with his leash in his hand.
Johnny looked at him and leaned his head back with a sigh. “God dammit.”
Another whine was the response he got.
“Alright, fuck it. What’s the point of having a bit of pull if I never use it?”
Spike barked an agreement, and Johnny bent down to put the leash on him.
“You need to put your game face on, though, buddy. We’re heading to a military base.”
Another bark of agreement, and Spike nodded his head.
The pair headed through the door, and Johnny locked his door before they went downstairs. They’d have to catch a cab, which might be hard with the dog, but they stood in the proper spot, and Johnny and Spike waited their turn for a cab under an umbrella Johnny grabbed to stop them from getting too wet.
Johnny couldn’t help but watch the sky. The lightning strikes were happening more frequently, and Spike crouched low and growled to the sky each time the paranormal colored streaks lit the sky.
“It’s alright, boy. Maybe it has something to do with climate change?” Johnny was sure that didn’t sound right, but he definitely wasn’t any kind of scientist.
He stepped up to the little cab-calling area and raised his hand. Because he was bringing Spike, he thought it might take a minute. He wasn’t sure if many drivers wanted a wet dog in their cab. While he was watching down the street, Spike went from growling to one loud bark at the sky. Johnny had just enough of a chance to look up as the red and blue streak hurdled towards him.
Thanks to years in the military, Johnny was ready for what happened after he blinked. He was no longer standing on a busy street in Tokyo. The soldier and his companion were in the middle of the woods somewhere. He crouched down and looked around with wide eyes and let his instincts take over. A deep breath in and smelled the fresh water smell of some kind of body of water.
With narrowed eyes and he looked around. Spike was still next to him, crouched down and growling. His old instincts kicked in as well. Being struck by lightning and transplanted in a forest, who knows where would do to you, Johnny guessed.
“Stop! You’re invading the land of the Cove Garden Retreat. Surrender yourselves!”
The voice came loudly from deeper in the woods, and Johnny realized he could hear footsteps running towards them. He tried to focus on the sounds and realized the sounds must have been coming from quite a distance away.
Without a word, he took off in the opposite direction, Spike close on his heels. The dog knew what the plan was. Retreat and gather intel. It’s what any soldier would do. First step, get safe. You couldn’t get any intel and use it if you were dead.
The pair ran through at speeds that Johnny didn’t think were possible before this. Maybe getting blasted by lightning gave him some kind of supernatural power, like people always said. He let go of Spike’s leash as the dog kept pace with him. Staying quiet as well, though he thought if he could the other people from so far away they might hear him too? He wasn’t sure.
Where the hell am I? He thought as he ran.
Without warning, Spike growled and leapt through the air. There was a muffled yell as Johnny heard the dog tear into someone with its titanium teeth, and all Johnny could do was wince. Quick turn and then a palm strike towards another man that was jumping through the trees towards him, and Spike was back at his side.
There was a fight now. Three men, who all wore robes that reminded Johnny of the robes the guys in Star Wars wore, attacked. One of them had blood freely running from an arm, but it didn’t seem to slow him up as they pushed their advantage. Johnny and Spike kept side by side, and Spike was almost a blur as they weaved in and out of the attacks and retaliated.
“You seem to be quite powerful, but unfortunately for you, these are my sect’s lands, and you are in an element that I call my own.”
It was a peaceful voice that, while it didn’t seem to be yelling, seemed to be loud enough to be heard throughout the forest. In a blink, Johnny saw the man in green and blue robes hovering above the trees with his arms out. The man commanded the trees, and they moved and swayed as he moved his arms around.
They fought as hard as they could, for as long as they could. Spike just ripped his teeth through any branch or vine that came near him for a while, but then they could get behind him and lift him from the ground. Johnny had been taken a few minutes before that, and he watched the dog struggle against its binds.
The trees held the pair tight and didn’t give them an inch. The vines stretched as the man came down. He was Asian and had jet-blackcould hair Johnny was used to seeing, with deep brown eyes. He had pale skin and a soft, peaceful smile.
“So, what brings you to the Cove?” he asked, still with a smile.
Johnny’s eyes went wide, and he looked around at the men below, ready to fight more. He said the first thing that came into his head. “We were looking to join,” he said with a nervous smile.
On Nov 3rd we're back to Michael and Betsy and we're gonna stay with them for a nice long while.
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What path will Johnny walk from here?
