‘I see.’ He turned to her. ‘But why change it at all?’

She avoided his gaze. ‘I had my reasons.’

‘Were you running away from your past?’

Yoko turned to Shoji.

He looked into her eyes. ‘Am I right?’

She shook her head. ‘It’s true that I was trying to distance myself from my former life. But now I’ve learned to live with it. I came here to confront the past that was haunting me, to face it rather than avoid it.’

‘And what about me?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Why did you leave Akakawa alone? Why didn’t you wait for me?’

‘I thought it would be safer for us to go separately,’ she said. ‘Mr Sato said the same too.’

Wait a minute. ‘Did you just say Mr Sato?’

She was quiet for a moment. ‘You didn’t know?’

•

That morning had started like any other day, except that Shoji had decided to skip work so Yoko had gone alone. She was getting off the bus when a gloved hand grabbed her arm. Surprised, she turned around. Mr Sato was looking at her, his index finger over his mouth, signalling for her to keep quiet. Before Yoko could fully grasp what was happening, the older man had pulled her away from the building.

They turned into a small alley. The street was quiet and narrow, lined with small shops that were not yet open. Finally, Mr Sato let go of her.

‘Why are we here?’ Yoko asked.

‘There’s no time to explain,’ he said. ‘I need you to trust me.’

She frowned.

‘You’re Yoko’s daughter, aren’t you?’

Yoko’s heart skipped a little. ‘You knew my mother?’

‘Listen.’ Mr Sato stared into her eyes. ‘We’ve been ordered to eliminate you and Arai. You need to get away from Akakawa.’

‘But …’ Her voice was shaky. ‘Why?’

‘Arai broke the company’s code of secrecy.’

‘That must be a misunderstanding. How could he —’

‘I’ll explain later. We can’t stay here any longer. I’ll help you escape, but you must listen closely to what I say. You understand?’

•

An image of the well-dressed man in white gloves flashed into Shoji’s mind. Could Mr Sato have been the mysterious man on the phone? Shoji had always wondered why the man hadn’t come after him, but maybe he’d been on his side the whole time.

‘He told me to leave town,’ Yoko said. ‘We rushed back to the apartment. You were gone. I wanted to wait for you, but Mr Sato said we didn’t have time. He promised to get you out safely later.’

Shoji shook his head. ‘And you believed him?’