Tokyo Surprise (11 page)

“Yamamoto-san, call HQ and let them know that we have found Kiki and that she is safe,” Granny ordered. Mr. Yamamoto pulled a mobile phone out of his pocket and nodded. “Kiki
– do you remember what happened to you?”

“I thought – I thought it was a bit funny,” Kiki muttered. “My agent didn’t tell me I was appearing at the
Ro Ningyokan
...they wanted me there, as soon as
I’d got off the plane, but...my agent didn’t say anything. My bodyguard took me there...and then...I don’t know what happened.”

“Your bodyguard betrayed you. You were kidnapped. They hid you in the
Ro Ningyokan
, disguised as a waxwork!” Josh said. “But now everything’s going to be
fine.”

“Yes,” said Kiki, stretching out her arms. “I think so. I feel a lot better now. But why would anybody kidnap me?”

“It was an evil Yakuza boss,” Josh said. “Yoko Yay’s grandfather. He wants her to present
Banzai Banzai Benzaiten
instead of you, so he kidnapped you and hid you
away here.”

“Oh...that
is
evil,” said Kiki.

“Nana has been pushing back the time of the live recording,” said Mr. Yamamoto, hanging up the mobile phone. “We have half an hour. We must go, right now.”

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Josh spun around. Figures were moving slowly towards them through the gloom. Six big, burly figures and one smaller, thinner one. The thin man stopped his slow clapping and stepped into the
room. Josh caught his breath. The thin face, the grey hair slicked back into a ponytail, his gold tooth glinting in the light from Granny’s torch. It was him. It was Mr. Yoshida.

“I’m really very impressed,” said Yoshida, with a smile like a shark spotting its lunch. “You figured out my little trick. Perhaps I shall have mercy on
you after all!” Suddenly he grabbed a gun from one of his goon’s hands and fired. The bullet flew harmlessly into the floor, but the gunshot exploded like the sound of a cannon. Josh
and Jessica both jumped and clenched their fists, and Kiki cringed away with a shriek. “Or perhaps not.” Yoshida grinned.

“Yoshida-san,” Granny Murata said, her voice perfectly calm, stepping forwards. “It is admirable that a grandfather should help his granddaughter achieve her dreams. But, like
everything you do, you have gone about this the wrong way. Now, you will let Kiki go and take her rightful place at the recording.” Yoshida and Granny Murata locked eyes. Then Yoshida walked
up to her, getting much too close for Josh’s liking.

“Mimi Murata,” he said. “I should have guessed I would run into you again someday. How long has it been?”

“Not long enough, Noboru,” said Granny.

Josh realized that these two must have a history. He wondered what secrets lay in Granny Murata’s hidden ninja past.

“What a shame our reunion, like your friends, will be so very short-lived.” Yoshida turned and walked back to his goons. “We need the singer alive for now,” he said,
strolling to the back of the group. “Her death must be made to look like an accident. Kill the rest how you like.”

“Kiki, stay back,” Granny ordered. “We will deal with this.” Josh glanced back at Kiki. She nodded and backed up against the wall, half-hiding behind the waxwork of a
famous girl band.

The goons moved forwards, drawing samurai swords from their belts. There was a deathly hush. Josh half-saw, half-felt Jessica tense beside him.

With a flourish, Granny Murata threw her arms out and two gleaming lengths of steel unfolded from her sleeves, clicking together to form two samurai swords. She threw them into the air in front
of the twins – Josh caught one, Jessica the other.

“A present from Mimasu-san,” she said, a grin spreading across her face. “Stay close, and watch your back!” Then with a cry she somersaulted into the middle of the group
of Yakuza and caught two of them under the chin with her elbows. Mr. Yamamoto leaped after her, pulling a pair of nunchackus from the pocket of his overalls. They made a
whum whum whum
noise
as he twirled them over his head, and then a satisfying
thunk
as they connected with one of the goons’ knees.

“Josh, look out!” Kiki cried, as a thug with a jagged scar over his cheek raised his sword and sliced it through the air towards him. Josh brought his sword up just in time to block
it.

“Split up,” he said to Jessica. “Now!” He and Jessica threw themselves aside, one to the man’s left and one to his right. The thug hesitated, not sure which of them
to follow. Josh and Jessica dropped to the ground and rolled, coming up behind the man’s back, and then spun into their twin-kick move and got a good blow in on the back of his head. He
stumbled into the Britney Spears waxwork and they both crashed to the floor in a pile of cracked wax and blonde wig.

“He’ll have another nasty scar,” Jessica grinned.

Josh looked around. Granny was leaping from shoulder to shoulder across Yoshida’s minions, avoiding swiping sword blades, while Mr. Yamamoto’s nunchackus swung and smacked into the
head of a man with bright blue hair, knocking him unconscious.

Josh grinned and turned to see how Kiki was doing, only to come face-to-face with the giant fist of a Yakuza thug coming straight towards him. He ducked, and as he came back up, Josh spotted a
flash of grey out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see Yoshida dart past him and grab Kiki’s arm, dragging her out from behind the waxwork.

“Granny, watc—
argk
!” A giant arm wrapped around Josh’s throat and pulled tight across his windpipe. Bright white dots flashed in front of his face as he watched
Yoshida drag Kiki towards the door. The thug was going to pull his head right off his shoulders! Josh reached for his little finger and tried to pull it...but it didn’t work. His grip
didn’t loosen a millimetre. What had Granny said?
There is always a slack place...
Josh felt all along the goon’s arm. Desperately, he grabbed at the man’s wrist and
pulled.

“Argh!” the thug yelped. His arm fell away, and Josh grabbed the closest heavy object, a waxwork singer’s microphone stand, and swung it at the man’s head as hard as he
could.

“You...little...” he began to say. Then his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed.

“Granny!” Josh yelled, sprinting after the disappearing Yoshida and Kiki. “He’s got Kiki!”

Granny Murata looked around, placed a spinning high kick into the chest of a minion who had raised his sword to cut her in two, and followed.

Josh ran down the corridor and into the room of presidents and nearly stumbled over President Lincoln, who had fallen across the doorway. Yoshida and Kiki were at the other end of the room.
Yoshida chuckled and placed a spinning kick to the neck of the nearest waxwork, sending its head flying one way and its body another. The pieces cannoned into others and one by one, like dominoes,
the waxworks started to topple. Through the flurry, Josh saw Yoshida haul Kiki away.

He took a run-up and vaulted over Lincoln, weaving through the room, ducking and jumping as heavy wax statues fell all around him. He threw himself into a handstand to avoid a tumbling President
Washington and sprang back onto his feet. He sprinted to the end of the room.

In the doorway he paused, looking back at the devastation. Granny appeared at the other side of the room.

“Keep going,” she called, leaping up onto President Lincoln’s back. “I will be just behind you!”

Josh turned and ran after Yoshida, getting to the lobby just in time to see the door to the stairwell bang shut.

Oh good
, thought Josh.
Stairs again
.

He threw open the door to the stairwell and looked down, but there was no sign of them. He heard a scuffle above him and Kiki gave a little cry. Josh looked up and realized Yoshida wasn’t
going down and out – he was taking Kiki up, towards the roof.

“Stop!” Josh called, but Yoshida only laughed. Josh headed up after them, taking the stairs two at a time. After a few seconds he heard the stairwell door bang open again. He really
hoped it was Granny.

At last, with his legs aching and his knees screaming, he reached the door to the roof and threw it open. A gust of cold wind ruffled his hair and he heard the sounds of traffic carrying up from
the street below.

The roof of the building at the foot of Tokyo Tower had been converted into a giant playground. Massive metal statues of animals and cartoon characters loomed over swings and see-saws, and above
it all sat the orange and white metal beams of the Tokyo Tower, lit by floodlights from below. Josh spotted Kiki’s flailing arms disappearing behind a towering purple crocodile and sprinted
after her. As he rounded the crocodile, Granny caught up to him and overtook – and then stopped so suddenly that Josh almost ran into her.

“Ah-ah-ah – I wouldn’t come any closer if I were you, Mimi.”

Yoshida had Kiki balanced precariously on the edge of the roof, holding her by the wrists so she couldn’t grab onto him to stop herself from falling. His gun was trained on Granny. Kiki
was sobbing, eyeliner running down her cheeks.

“Help me!” she cried. Josh’s stomach turned over at the sight of Kiki in danger. He couldn’t just stand there. He nearly started forwards but Granny put a firm hand on
his shoulder.

“You won’t do this, Noboru,” said Granny. She started walking towards him, very slowly but very calmly.

“Oh, you think not?”

“I think not. It’s not your style,” Granny said. “Everything was always about money with you. Where is the benefit for you in killing an innocent singer?”

“Perhaps I’m branching out in my old age,” Yoshida grinned. Granny kept on walking towards him. Yoshida glanced at Kiki, and Granny took the opportunity to look at Josh and nod slightly. Josh started to inch forwards, sure that Granny
was about to make her move – whatever that was going to be. “I can drop her,” Yoshida continued, pleasantly. “It’ll look like she jumped – probably depressed
because she was beaten to the TV show job by my granddaughter.”

“You won’t get away with this,” Granny said. She was nearly within reach now. Yoshida laughed.

“Come now, Mimi, you know how this goes. This isn’t one of those Hollywood movies. I am the most powerful businessman in all Japan. The police can’t and won’t touch a
hair on my head.”

“I have never liked your hair,” said Granny.

“What—?” Yoshida began, confused, and Granny chose that moment to strike, feinting to the right and reaching around with her left hand to snatch the gun from Yoshida’s
hand and throw it off the roof. Josh moved forwards, but it was too late – Kiki let out an ear-piercing scream as Yoshida let go of her wrists. She was falling!

Josh sprang across the roof and grabbed for Kiki, missing her arms, but catching her by the edge of one of her long, silky sleeves. The fabric started to rip but it hit a seam
and held just long enough for him to grab her hand. She was screaming with fear and her flailing limbs didn’t make Josh’s task any easier.

“Keep still!” he urged her, as his muscles trembled with the effort of holding her weight. Kiki let out a final, muffled sob and managed to calm herself. Josh reached hand over hand,
grasping her arm, then hooking a hand under an armpit until – yes! She collapsed onto the tarmacked roof beside him.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yes, I think so,” Kiki replied, her face pale.

“Give up, Mimi!” Yoshida cried. Josh spun around to see Granny and Mr. Yoshida fighting hand to hand. Their arms and legs were moving so fast they were almost a blur. As Josh
watched, neither of them looked like they’d managed to actually hit the other at all – it was punch, block, elbow, block, block, block, block. Granny lashed out and grabbed one of
Yoshida’s wrists, holding it in an iron grip, but his other hand seemed to move twice as fast throwing more and more punches, and now Granny couldn’t dodge as easily. She tried to throw
him over her shoulder, but he just used the force of her throw against her, rolling as he hit the floor and sending her flying.

“I tire of this,” Yoshida said. Granny was up again in seconds, but Yoshida was too fast for her, and he was off, sprinting along the edge of the roof and leaping up onto the orange
metal struts of the tower. Despite the constraints of his shiny suit and slippery brogues, he was soon scrambling up them like a ladder. He sprang across to the next building.