The Wisteria Alpha

CHAPTER 3~Tokyo~

Lotus

     We were leaving today and our plane departed at 7am. Lily had gone downstairs to let housekeeping know that we wouldn't be requiring their services for the next 4 days. Lila was packing some last-minute necessities. I walked over to our single duffel bag that held all of our prized possessions. I unzipped the main zipper and checked the contents. The potions mom had given us were secured and our several passports were ready. This wasn’t our first time going outside the states, but it was the first time we were leaving for pleasure. I grabbed the passport books and picked my favorite alias name, Sasha Stone. I slipped it into my purse and then handed the other Stone aliases to Lila. 

       Lily walked in “Are we ready?” “Almost,” I said and double checked the duffel bag. I pulled out the 3 amethyst necklaces and handed one to each sister. The necklaces were charmed and helped mask our scent, making us smell human. “You know the drill.” I said and put on a baseball cap. My sisters nodded and put theirs on too. We left the hotel room and got an uber to the airport. The girls were so excited when we boarded and gasped when we took off. I was given a window seat, peering out the window. The clouds above the city were beautiful. I wanted to show Lila and Lily, but they were already knocked out. Of course, they’d fall asleep, completely forgetting that their tickets cost close to $900 each.

       After a few hours of reading my book I closed my eyes and rested my head against the window. I hope this trip is worth it, I thought to myself before I drifted off to sleep. I woke up to the sound of the flight attendants telling us we have reached our destination. I woke up the girls, gathered our items, and prepared to leave.

        Once we departed the plane, we took a taxi to a small air bnb that was close to the Yasukuni Shrine. The girls were excited and it was starting to rub off on me. We huddled together at the window, gazing out at the night lights. The 13-hour flight from the Dallas airport to the Haneda airport went smoothly. We took turns taking showers and went to bed.

    The following morning, we woke and started to get ready for the day. There was a knock on the door and we all stared at each other. “Oh s**t, I forgot I ordered a food delivery set for this morning,” Lily said, jumping up to answer the door. “Domo arigatou gozaimasu,” she said to the delivery girl, as she bowed her head. After closing the door, she brought in the bags and started to set the containers on the counter. “What did you order?” Lila asked. She went to the table, placing plates on the table. Lily smiled, “Just a traditional-type breakfast.” I perused the table to see grilled salmon, rolled omelets, bowls of rice, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes, and miso soup. It smelled heavenly, my stomach rumbling in agreement. 

      We ate our food and laughed while making plans for the day.  We decided to go to the shrine to offer our prayers first, have a small lunch at the park, and end the day back at the shrine for the festival celebration. Mother always talked about how once a year her and her grandparents would make the trip to Tokyo and visit the Yasukuni Shrine to participate in the Mitama Matsuri Festival.

       The festival was meant to honor departed spirits, and to offer our prayers and gratitude. The festival had ritual events where traditional dances, parades of portable shires or Mikoshi, flower offerings and the lighting of the lanterns. “I’m so happy that we are able to follow in mom’s footsteps,” Lily said. “Me too, so let’s get ready and head to the shrine.” I said, and my sisters got up and helped me clear the table. We split up to go get ready to start our day.

Devlin 

     “Omedetōgozaimasu!” I bowed, sticking my hand out and shook the Kaze representatives’ hands. They were telling me that they were looking forward to working with us and I expressed my gratitude. Brantley and I were shown to the exit and were given our contract papers. Once we were alone in the elevator, we grinned at each other and embraced in a bro hug. “We f*****g did it man,” Brantley shouted and fist bumped the air. I was so relieved. My pack was finally stable and would be taken care of once I turned it over. The heaviness in my heart lifted and I could finally take in easy breaths. 

     “I'm so f*****g pumped!” B started dancing, or at least that's what I'm assuming he's doing. I busted out laughing. He was turning himself around in circles shaking his chest and flipping his hair at this same time. He looked like he was having a damn seizure. He looked over at me and started to shimmy closer, puckering his lips. “Bro, what the f**k?” I said, tears burning my eyes and I had to put my hands on my knees to brace myself, still laughing. “What? You don’t like my moves?” he said while moving his hips in the weirdest positions. 

          The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Three very stunned females stared at Brantley. He stopped his dancing and straightened out his suit, clearing his throat, he bowed to the females and stepped aside to let them in. The females were giggling and talking in hushed tones. B’s face was tomato red and he was clenching his fist. I almost had a heart attack from trying to keep my laughter in. The elevator doors opened again and we all exited, the women still giggling. “I think they liked your moves man!” I said and grabbed his shoulder. I couldn’t hide my amusement any longer. “Please… just… shut the f**k up man.” he replied and covered his face. I just laughed some more and led us to our rental car.

      The drive to the hotel was relatively short. I walked into our room with B following close behind me. I laid down on my bed, and listened to Brantley walk over to the mini fridge. The bottles clinked together as he rummaged through it. “Are you ready for tonight?” he asked, popping open a soda. “Yep, I just need some shut eye.” B nodded and jumped on to his bed, “Same.” I rolled over to my side, turning my back towards him, staring at the wall. I started thinking about the festival. My pack was finally in a good place, I deserved to have some fun tonight. I smiled to myself and drifted off to sleep.

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     The Yasukuni Shrine was beautiful in the festival lights. The towering tori gate was intimidating as it beckoned us to enter and join the festivities. I could hear the beating of the drums in the distance, mingling with the voices of the people shouting and laughing. I could smell the food and smiled. We walked down the path surrounded by thousands of votive lanterns, names of the fallen written on them. You can barely tell how dark it is with the yellow lights illuminating the way. 

      We watched the Mikoshi go by to the beat of the drums. The place was crowded with people and they all seemed to be animatedly chatting. I lead the way to a food stall selling takoyaki.  I ordered two and handed one to Brantley. I brought the fried ball of flour and octopus with bonito flakes up to my mouth, taking a bite. It was crunchy and delicious. “This is amazing!” Brantley shouted over the noise. I just grinned, taking another bite. 

     We made it down to the other stalls, absorbing in all the sights and sounds, of course eating more food than necessary. We stopped at a stall and watched some children trying to scoop up goldfish with their paper paddles. “Hey, I gotta use the restroom, are you gonna be ok if I take off for a bit?” Brantley asked. I just nodded my head and he turned, headed towards the restrooms. I continued to watch the children, a little girl made a catch, and she jumped into her mother’s arms. 

     There was more drumming coming from the path way so I turned around to see that a performance was about to start. There were several females dressed in pink summer kimonos adorned with straw hats. At the sound of the flute they started their traditional Awa dance. While I was watching their beautiful movements, my wolf, Winter, started to stir. 

     Winter, what’s wrong? Do you smell that? he asked. I stopped watching the performance and inhaled deeply. Peaches? Peaches. I inhaled again, the scent becoming clearer. It smelled like my grandmother's peach cobbler, a cobbler I haven't smelled or tasted since I was 6. My mouth started to water. 

     Weaving between the crowd I followed the scent. Winter was agitated, wanting to run, and I was struggling to keep him in check. I ended up in the front row of spectators. I looked across to the other side of the path. A woman in a white dress was laughing, holding up a giant cotton candy that was shaped like a flower. Her hair was midnight black and coily, forming a beautiful cloud around her head, falling to her shoulders. Her deep tanned skin accentuated her bright hazel eyes. Even from where I was standing, I could see the specks of green in them. She had a button nose and a tiny beauty mark under her right eye. I could see a dimple in her left cheek as tilted her head back to laugh. I wanted to see her smile every day. I growled out loud, mad at myself for thinking like that. 

     The woman turned her head, her eyes locking on mine. My heart stopped in my chest, I left dizzy and disoriented. Mate! Winter shouted, and he howled I'm my head. The woman smiled at me and I felt time freeze. I didn't know how to react. I was already hypnotized by her, I had to harden my heart or I’d be swept away. I took a deep breath and glared at her.