March 1947
WHEN HE FINALLY GOT BACK ASHORE AFTER A long, busy stint of minesweeping work, Koichi climbed on his motorbike and headed home to see Noriko and Akiko for the first time in what felt like ages. Slinging his laundry bag over his shoulder, he walked into the house, eager to take a load off—but was greeted by a very unexpected sight.
Noriko was waiting for him, sitting on her knees with a smile on her face, wearing a fashionable Western-style dress, much classier than anything he’d ever seen her in before. It almost looked like a clerical worker’s office uniform.
“Welcome back!” she said. “I just got home myself, actually.”
“From where?” asked Koichi. “And what’s with that outfit?”
“You like it? I started a new desk job over in Ginza.”
This was the first he’d heard of this. He didn’t understand. “But why?” he asked. “Don’t I earn enough money to support us already?”
Noriko turned her back to him—but through the mirror on the low dresser behind her, he could see that she was wearing the same forced smile he’d noticed her wearing more and more often lately. She mustered her resolve and began to explain.
“I’ve been thinking it’s high time I learned to be more independent,” she said. “Plus, you’ll never find a wife if there’s another woman living in your house forever. And have you seen Ginza lately? They’re rebuilding so fast over there its unbelievable.”
It almost looked like she was tearing up a bit—to the point that, despite her smile, she looked both sorrowful and indignant at the same time.
Koichi then had the sudden realization that a part of him was flustered by this. To be sure, he and Noriko had been coexisting in this vague, undefined pseudo-relationship for longer than was advisable. Yet he’d never imagined that she’d actually been planning to leave of her own volition. To him, seeing her so resolved to stand on her own two feet and rebuild her life made her shine more brightly than even the newly reconstructed streets of Ginza. But the thought of her leaving him alone to embark on her own journey also left him with a deeply lonesome feeling in his chest.
“Well, this is sudden,” he said, hoping she wouldn’t sense his disappointment.
“Believe me,” said Noriko, “I’ve been thinking about it for a long time.”
Had she really? For how long exactly?
Had Noriko, who’d always worn a smile as she briskly and efficiently did all of the housework, who’d raised Akiko with so much love despite their lack of relation, and who’d always seemed so happy and grateful to be living here, truly been planning to leave all along? Had this always been nothing more than a temporary nest to her, to be discarded as soon as she found her own wings?
Koichi felt slightly betrayed at the notion. But on further reflection, he recognized that it had been him who’d put her in that position—so at the very least, he had no right to hold this decision against her. But now Koichi was unsure what to do; the realization that he needed her more than she needed him left him reeling and insecure. Only now that he was faced with the threat of losing her did Koichi realize just what an important part of his life she’d been.
He’d taken her for granted, plain and simple.
Just then, however, Koichi thought of something that might just sway her resolve.
“What about Akiko?” he asked. “If you’re going to start working, then who’s going to take care of her?”
But Noriko had already prepared a perfect answer to this. “Sumiko-san offered to look after her during the workday,” she said. “She seemed rather enthused by the idea even. Said it would be no trouble at all after having raised three rambunctious boys of her own.”
The Akiko question had been his only angle of attack for potentially changing her mind, and it had been a total misfire. Noriko really had been thinking about this for quite some time; she’d left no room for argument or doubt in her mind.
“Well…if that’s really what you want, I guess,” said Koichi.
“It is,” said Noriko. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go pick up Akiko from Sumiko-san’s house.”
Noriko kept her head down as she briskly passed him by, so Koichi didn’t notice the tears welling up in her eyes as she left.
Just then, the United States National Military Establishment received a series of highly peculiar yet deeply troubling damage reports.
Pacific Fleet destroyer USS Lancaster was attacked and disabled by an unknown enemy. No further details known at this time.
Intercepted an urgent distress call from Pacific Fleet attack sub USS Redfish reporting pursuit of massive undersea organism through Pacific waters. After successfully photographing target, Redfish made contact and was destroyed.
Reconnaissance teams detected high levels of radiation emanating from residual enemy creature skin tissue remaining in vessel’s hull.
The photograph of the creature mentioned showed nothing but a few massive, spikelike dorsal fins bursting forth from the surface of the ocean. But whatever this unidentified creature was, it was wreaking havoc on the U.S. Pacific Fleet. And what’s more, it was radioactive—likely an abomination mutated by the recent nuclear tests at nearby Bikini Atoll.
By rights, this should have been a matter the U.S. Navy pursued and dealt with behind closed doors before any of this information ever became public knowledge. But it was not a time for American forces to be making any brash or sudden movements, and the creature was rapidly approaching Japanese waters besides.
Supreme Commander Douglas MacArthur issued a letter to the Japanese prime minister informing him of all of this and stating with regret that due to the recent state of unrest with the Soviets, he could offer no U.S. military support at this time, calling instead upon the Japanese government to begin strengthening its own security forces.