Page 44 of Bearly Out Loud

Suki answered on the second ring. The speakerphone on the kitchen counter broadcast her voice into the room—clear, unhurried, measured. Eighty-six years of living had taught her that most urgency was manufactured.

“Someone stole Grandpa’s work.”

Silence. Then the sound of liquid being poured. Tea. Grandmother made tea during crises the way other people took tranquilizers. It was more effective and involved better cups.

“Find the truth first. Weapons second.”

“Baa-chan. They took the Sora Nightwind materials. The gate mythology, the character designs—everything he was building before he died. They’re producing it right now as a new property.”

Another sip. Nari could picture her grandmother in the upstairs sitting room—white hair in its neat bun, Hideo’s wedding ring on the chain around her neck, the morning light falling across her face.

“And someone else may not know that.” Suki’s voice carried no anger. It carried precision. “Those are different problems.”

“They’re connected problems.”

“Connected is not identical. Your grandfather taught you that. The person who stole and the person who bought are not the same story. Find the thief first. The buyer tells you his own story, if you let him. Invite the bear for tea.”

Nari’s spine locked. “How do you KNOW about the bear?”

“Your mother tells me everything. You tell your mother everything. This family has no secrets.” Suki paused. Nari could hear the smile.

“Except from the men.”

James looked up from his notes. “I’m right here.”

“Yes, dear.” Suki’s voice was warm. “Make your daughter eat lunch. She hasn’t eaten. I can hear it in her voice.”

Nari opened her mouth to argue, then stopped. Because Suki was right. She hadn’t eaten. And two people had now told her they could tell—Dojin from scent, Suki from sound—and neither had required her confirmation. She was apparently a woman whose hunger broadcast itself without her consent.

“I’ll eat.”

“When you invite the bear,” Suki added, “make sure he brings honey. Hideo would have liked that.”

The line went dead. Suki Saito did not say goodbye. She said what needed saying and hung up, and the silence afterward always carried more weight than the words.

Akemi stood. Moved to the kitchen. Started pulling miso paste from the fridge. When Akemi cooked without asking if anyone was hungry, the situation was serious. Her hands needed to work while her mind caught up.

James was already on his phone. Texting his paralegal. On a Saturday. The paralegal would not complain, because James Wixx’s Saturday texts preceded Monday morning victories.

Nari sat at the table surrounded by evidence of her grandfather’s stolen legacy and her father’s forming counterattack and her mother’s grief transformed into miso soup, and she pulled out her phone.

Takumi:Status report. Are your parents lawyering or panicking?

Nari:Both. Simultaneously. Dad’s entered terrifying-calm mode. Mom told him he’s attractive when angry.

Takumi:In the middle of the crisis reveal??

Nari:She said she has range.

Takumi:Your mother is an icon. Protect her at all costs.

Nari:Baa-chan wants me to invite Dojin for tea.

Takumi:Did she call him the bear

Nari:Yes.

Takumi:Suki Saito is the most powerful woman in Manhattan. I’m cross-stitching “Invite the Bear for Tea” and hanging it in my studio.