Dinner was a thrilling affair that not only had all of Hiroshi’s favorite foods but there was a legend in the sumo world sitting beside him. They mostly sat in silence while they slurped their noodles aside from Hiroshi peppering the Oyakata with questions. Sometimes Hikari would object and tell the boy to eat his dinner, but Kenjiro would always wave away the mother’s concern.
Throughout the dinner, Hiroshi was extra careful while he ate. He went to switch into the rough brown kimono that signified his rank as a junior sumotori. So now he was careful to hold the large opened sleeves back while he reached to the table with his chopsticks to get another dumpling or when he got rice. Before they had eaten, Hiroshi had apologized to the Stable master for seeing him in his regular clothes. Kenjiro just told him it was his own home and that the boy should wear whatever he felt comfortable in.
To his credit, Kenjiro was good natured about all the questions and answered the young excited boy’s questions thoughtfully. Mostly they were just as if he knew a certain rikishi or if anyone was just a rude guy. Kenjiro knew the rikishi Hiroshi asked about since he had been around for so long, and all the ones Hiroshi asked about were higher-ranking ones. There wasn’t an exceptionally rude rikishi, he informed the curious boy, who nodded and seemed relieved.
In the middle of the dinner, Hikari had noticed that her guest hadn’t really been eating.
“Is the food not acceptable Oyakata?” she asked him pensively. She had never entertained anyone of such a high rank in society before and she was sure there were far, far better cooks in the capital.
“That’s impossible. I helped!” Asami piped up defensively. Hiroshi just bobbed his head. He loved his mother’s cooking, and he especially loved when she made ramen and dumplings. Usually they didn’t get both. It was too much food for the other people in the household.
“No! No, of course not,” Kenjiro said and rubbed his stomach. “I just, I don’t eat as much as I used to. The food is delicious.”
Hikari seemed relieved that the food wasn’t off putting to the man, but she still seemed doubtful of his words. Hiroshi looked at the size of the ex rikishi and had his own doubts. The man barely fit on the small pillow he sat on at the table. They didn’t question him further, though. He said the food was good, and he ate some of it, so that was that.
After everyone finished dinner, Hiroshi and Asami cleaned the table. They worked quickly and quietly and stayed out of their mother’s way while she made tea. The air seemed to shift in the small dining room from one of excitement to one of worry. Hiroshi wouldn’t really be able to know why or where it came from, but he could feel it. It was the way his mother moved.
Making the tea, Hikari moved stiffly and methodically. She was going through the motions, but she wasn’t really there. She still poured tea in everyone’s cups around the table after Asami gave everyone one. They were small plain cups with no design or fanfare and they also didn’t have a handle, but they held tea.
She looked the legendary Oyakata right in the eyes after she sat and spoke, ignoring her tea for the time being.
“So, what brings you to my home, Oyakata?” She asked it plainly, with a small smile. If the Oyakata really looked at the woman, though, he’d be able to see some fear in the mother’s eyes.
The man was mid-sip when she spoke, and his eyes went wide for a moment behind the teacup. You didn’t see such straightforwardness typically. Although, he supposed, I am here randomly. He lowered his cup and his eyes went hard again. He had stayed an extra day after the spring tournament for a reason, and Hiroshi seemed to be what he was looking for. It was time to make it known.
“Well, one reason why I didn’t mind young Hiroshi’s questions was because it’s nice to see someone so young, so interested in sumo wrestling,” he explained.
She nodded. “Well, I’m sure that’s not why you came here. There were many boys in that tournament.”
Kenjiro nodded his head. “Yes, there were. There was only one winner, however.”
Hiroshi was on the edge of his seat, waiting to hear what was going to happen.
“So you want to take my boy away?” Hikari said the hard eyes went soft.
The large man frowned and nodded his head. “I am here to extend an offer to Hiroshi as a probationary member of the Hajima beya, yes.”
He didn’t think there was too much pent up excitement in him. Hiroshi jumped to his feet, eyes wide. “I ABSOLUTELY ACCEPT YOUR OFFER!” he screamed in a jumbled mess that Asami shied away from.
Hikari delicately lifted a napkin from the table and dabbed at each corner of her mouth. Ignoring her son’s outburst, she just stared at the Oyakata.
“I understand it might be hard, with everything your family has gone through,” Kenjiro said as he raised a hand. “Your boy shows skill and ferocity I haven’t seen in someone so young in a long time.”
Hiroshi was vibrating with excitement as he looked between the two. He tried to calm himself once Hikari gave him a sharp look. He sat, but he fidgeted in the seat, unable to constrain himself. Asami giggled at her older brother and seemed to not see the looks she now got from their mother.
After trying to get the children in line, she looked back at Kenjiro. The once hard eyes softened now that it was all on the table. She knew why the man had come as soon as Hiroshi said he was here. She knew he was going to come take away her boy.
Hikari thought back to when she first watched Jiro show Hiroshi the very basics of sumo wrestling. The boy was only ten then, but he seemed to grasp the basics fairly well. Jiro, convinced his son would be a star, immediately demanded more food for him at dinner. “He needs more weight if he’s going to be good in the ring,” he’d tell her if she asked about the cost of such a thing.
Jiro also pushed him, more than what Hikari thought he should have. Morning practices before Hiroshi could work on his studies. Pushing him to join the sumo club at his school and to join a sumo team. The boy was too young to work so hard, but he picked up the sport quickly. He felt honored to take part in the tradition and ritual.
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If she ever questioned him or asked if he thought his father was pushing him too hard, Hiroshi would insist, “Kentaro deserves honor.” Not only that, but she knew Hiroshi was happy to honor his father and wanted to do well for him.
“Don’t forget, we have tournaments here often, and as the home of sumo, we do shows and events. Your boy will be home all the time,” Kenjiro offered and snapped Hikari from her thoughts. He knew it was hard for a mother to let her son move away to train. He understood that this family was closer than some. Then there was the fact the patriarch had passed. Kenjiro had heard of the man. Knew of him as a local character and enthusiast for the sport.
Hikari looked over at Asami. She seemed disinterested with the whole thing and just sat there. The mother took a moment before she looked at Hiroshi. She knew what she’d find: excitement. He’d made his decision, he knew he wanted to go. When she finally turned, she reached out her hand for her son and he met her.
“Mama,” he said and calmed down as he looked at her. Her own eyes were soft and glassy at the prospect of losing her son, but she didn’t let a tear roll down her face. He smiled up at her and nodded his head. “This is why Papa trained me so hard, why I went to the sumo club and joined the team in school.”
The mother looked at the coach then and gave a soft smile. “My dear Jiro always wanted this for our son. Of course he can go and train.”
Hiroshi’s grip tightened on his mother’s hand, but he stayed sitting. Even the excitable boy knew how to read a room, sort of. He couldn’t hide it from his face, though. He was glowing and had the biggest smile Hikari had ever seen him wear.
Kenjiro nodded his head and smiled. “It’s not all bad news. We will feed, clothe, and care for Hiroshi well. Once he’s a full rikishi, he’ll start to make some money, and if he becomes a sekitori, he’ll make plenty of money to send home.”
Hikari frowned. She didn’t want to admit it to herself, but that was a consideration for letting him go. The boy was expensive, and without the income from Jiro, it was getting hard. She had worked a little, but what money they had squirreled away was quickly running out. Jiro was never good with finances.
Hiroshi still held his mother’s hand, and he looked over at his new master. “Does this officially mean I’m a member of the Hajima beya?”
Kenjiro held up a single finger. “Probationary. I’m not allowed to fully bring you in until you’re 15. You will live there, eat there, and train there until the summer tournament. That will decide your immediate future. If you win, you may gain favor and be allowed to enter Grand Sumo not only at a younger age, but at an elevated rank and you’ll officially be a full member of the beya.”
Hiroshi vibrated again and nodded his head quickly.
Kenjiro held up his finger to contain the boy’s excitement. “If you lose, we will all have to sit down and have another conversation. We will have to decide what you and your mother want to do. As long as you don’t lose too badly you’ll still be able to be a probationary member until you’re 15 and able to enter Grand Sumo, you’ll just start at the very bottom of the rankings, in the sixth division, Jonokuchi.”
Hiroshi still nodded his head.
“But that will be up to you and your mother,” Kenjiro said finally. “And what you both want to do.”
Asami turned her head and looked around the table. “Does this mean Hiroshi is actually a sumo wrestler now?” Without waiting for an answer, she stood and went back into her low horse stance. She walked away from the table once more, pushing and thrusting her arms out, fighting an imaginary opponent.
Hikari slapped the table when Asami got only a few steps away, which cowed the young girl back into her seat.
“It’s too bad girls aren’t allowed in Grand ranks. I’d have to try to recruit her as well,” Kenjiro said with a chuckle before he climbed to his feet. “Well, I must be going. I’m sure my driver is ready to leave me behind so he can go find himself some dinner.”
Hikari’s eyebrows went up. “You have someone else out there? He’s been waiting to eat?” She shook her head. That wasn’t acceptable. She climbed to her feet and went back into the kitchen.
“Going without food might mean I don’t have to listen to him complain, he’ll be too weak,” Kenjiro griped and shook his head.
“No, no. I wish I would have known I would have taken him out a plate,” she said as she worked on getting some leftover rice and dumpling together.
In a matter of moments, Kenjiro was at the door ready to leave with a container of food for his driver. Hiroshi and Hikari were bowing their goodbyes to the Oyakata.
“I’ll be here first thing to pick you all up to go to the award ceremony in the morning. From there, we go to Yoshino, to the beya,” Kenjiro instructed.
Hiroshi bowed in acknowledgement. “Yes, Master. I will be ready.” Saying that felt odd. Not bad, but it worked up mixed emotions in his stomach. He never had a master before, he had a sumo coach, who he called coach. He had his father who was simply papa, unless he was in trouble, then it was Father. A master was, well, it was almost both, wasn’t it? And even more than that. Hiroshi watched the man go, a feeling in his stomach that he wasn’t sure what to call or how to explain.
“So,” Hikari said once their guest was gone and they could hear the wheels of a cart rolling down the dirt road. “Who wants to make a pillow fort?” She needed to forget about the offer Hiroshi had received at dinner. She wanted to move on from it for as long as she could, keep her son close to him. Not only that, she wanted to give her son a good last night at home.
She knew he would have a very rough life once Hiroshi got to the sumo stable. He would train hard and not worry about doing the things children normally did. Not only that, but tonight was supposed to be a celebration for Hiroshi’s big win at the tournament. She just had never thought that it would have led to all of this.
“PillOOOOOOOOOW FOOOOOOORT!” both of her children yelled in unison.
Hikari smiled, able to relax and let her hair down now that Kenjiro was gone. “Asami, go collect all the pillows you can find. Hiroshi, go back and change into your house clothes.”
This was the only order she had to give. Both of the children scurried off to obey as she went into the kitchen to make treats for them.
It didn’t take the children long to build a sizable fort with the large pillows the family had in the middle of the living area. It was large enough for the three to climb in and sit and talk and joke while they ate the dango Hikari had made for them.
Hiroshi’s favorite was the red rice ball on top, made with a sweetened red bean paste. The bottom was green flavored with sugar and matcha tea powder, while the middle offered some contrast and had a more tangy flavor to it and was white. He ended up trading his mother his white ball on the skewer for her red one, craving the sweetness after the savory meal.
The family laughed and joked and told each other stories for hours, enjoying each other’s company. Asami and Hiroshi even had a couple of play sumo matches where Hiroshi had let his little sister win. There was only one time when Hikari had to remind Hiroshi that Asami was much smaller and to take care.
The youngest had fallen asleep first, right in the middle of Hikari, retelling how she and Jiro met. Hiroshi soon fell asleep next to her. He had reached for his mother just before he fell asleep, who smiled and joined her children, holding them both close to her. First she kissed Asami’s forehead, then she turned and found Hiroshi in her armpit.
He seemed to have shifted and nuzzled in when Hikari had repositioned. Now she was in a very odd position with her arm lying above her head and she just sighed and shook her head. She didn’t want to wake her little boy, for that’s how she saw him. No matter how big he was, or that he seemed to be ready to start this new adventure away from home, he would always be his little boy.
“Goodnight, my little gerbil,” she whispered and closed her eyes.
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