How Ninja Brush Their Teeth

Chapter 6

Six

Tetsuo lounged on his worn leather couch, reading an old book of poetry and trying to soak up the last rays of the sun as it dipped behind a large maple outside of his apartment window. The cat also lay in the diminishing rectangle of warmth that crawled a slow path across Tetsuo’s living room floor.

The food Tetsuo had given it earlier had been devoured within minutes of him placing the bowl on the floor. He had watched the cat with its swollen belly meander out into the living room afterwards, and sit in the sun patch, licking its paws and washing its face.

Watching the cat relaxed him. He decided he would feed it and let it stay in the house when he was home, but it would be outside and on its own the rest of the time.

The book of poetry wasn’t holding his interest and he tossed it on a nearby coffee table. He should probably name the cat. Looking at it, he tried to think of a name that fit other than the obvious, Orange Cat, which was the first thing that came to his mind. Maybe, O.C.?

He smiled and tested out the name on the cat. “O.C.?” Tetsuo called in a higher octave than usual. The cat stopped licking and looked at him with questioning eyes. “O.C., come here,” he patted the couch. The cat stood up, arched its back in a luxurious stretch, slowly made its way to the couch, and sat down. Tetsuo reached out his hand and scratched the cat’s ears, the cat erupting into a deep, satisfied purr. “O.C., it is.”

 ***

 “Who got himself a cat?” Vince, the hairy, dwarf biker, interrupted, while grabbing a large handful of peanuts out of the complimentary bowl. Tetsuo was sitting, talking with Chuck, the leader of this strange group which met every Wednesday at the bar, until they were interrupted.

“Do you mind?” Chuck said, shoving Vince away and trying to continue where he had left off.”

“Hey, I’s just askin’ cause me and the wife take in strays all the time. We got lots of cats,” Vince, popped a peanut shell in his mouth, sucking off the salt off before cracking it in his teeth. Before he was done, his long goatee was covered in bits of shell and peanut. “You know, just asking. In case you needed any tips or anything,” he shrugged before he wandered off, leaving a trail of spent peanut shells along the way. “Don’t mind him. He means well.”

Tetsuo, smiled, an expression he was still getting used to. “I don’t mind. I find everyone here … refreshing.”

“Refreshing, huh? Well, I must say, that is one of the rarer comments made about our group.”

T.B., who was also sitting at the table, sniffed an armpit before making a sour face. “Gotta agree with ya there,” he grumbled, before breaking out into a childish grin.

“So, other than taking in a stray cat, how you been doing?” Chuck asked as he prepared to take a few gulps of beer from his glass. Tetsuo shrugged. He didn’t know how to answer. The whole thing was awkward for him. His only friends had been members of the White Viper clan. There simply were no outside associations. And yet, he felt like he could trust Chuck in spite of it.

Besides Kenta, he didn’t feel there were many people left to trust. However, even with him, he knew if it came down to it, Kenta would always choose the clan over him. To expect any more would be disrespectful to both Kenta and the clan. But under all the leather, tattoos, and hair, he believed Chuck was a genuinely good man. As much as Tetsuo wanted to honestly answer Chuck’s simple question, he couldn’t. It would be irresponsible and foolish to admit to anything barely resembling the truth, yet the temptation to do so was overwhelming because he felt, for the first time, the person listening genuinely cared about him; and that temptation, even for a hardened ninja assassin, was a powerful thing to resist.

          In spite of his conflicting feelings, he told his usual, well practiced cover story and hoped it would be enough before casually trying to change the subject.

Chuck sat back after Tetsuo was done talking, stroked his beard thoughtfully and shook his head.  “So, that’s your story, huh?”

Tetsuo nodded.

Chuck sighed, a wry smile spread across his deeply lined face, “Well, I may be older now, and out of touch about certain things, but I know a bullshit cover story when I hear one.”

Tetsuo blinked, “I’m sorry? What do you mean?”

Chuck reached for his beer. “Nothing. And listen, Ted, if you don’t want to tell me something, or if I’m gettin’ too nosey, just tell me to back off next time. Ask anybody here—I’m as loyal as they come. If you got a friend in me, you got a friend for your whole life, but one thing I can’t stand is when people disrespect my intelligence by lying to me. If I’m too much in your business, just let me know. But don’t lie to me.”

          Tetsuo nodded. He could respect that. And he was also beginning to respect the fact there was more to Chuck than he had realized. Maybe it was time to give up this little charade anyway. As much as he liked Chuck personally, he didn’t have anything in common with this group, and in the long run it would only endanger them.

“Okay,” he said, “I’m sorry to have offended you. I probably shouldn’t be here anyway.”

“Now, I didn’t say you had to go, Ted. I’m sure you got your reasons for things. I may have only met you once before, but there’s something about you I trust—even when my common sense is telling me otherwise.”

Tetsuo could appreciate the sentiment, because it was the way he also felt about Chuck. “Likewise,” he nodded.

“Good. That said, I’d hate to see you leave after only one of those,” Chuck nodded at Tetsuo’s empty glass. “And besides, I like your company. I guess I find you just as refreshing.” Chuck looked at T.B., “No offence to you, but you smell like a mastodon.” T.B. shrugged, as if in agreement and drained his beer glass before finishing it all off with a loud belch.