After the quake blind willow, sleeping woman dance dance dance

CHAPTER 14 
Tengo 
THINGS THAT MOST READERS 
HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE
Komatsu and Tengo had arranged to meet in the usual place, the café near Shinjuku 
Station. Komatsu arrived twenty minutes late as always. Komatsu never came on 
time, and Tengo was never late. This was standard practice for them. Komatsu was 
carrying his leather briefcase and wearing his usual tweed jacket over a navy-blue 
polo shirt. 
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Komatsu said, but he didn’t seem at all sorry. He 
appeared to be in an especially good mood, his smile like a crescent moon at dawn. 
Tengo merely nodded without answering. 
Komatsu took the chair across from him and said, “Sorry to hurry you. I’m sure it 
was tough.” 
“I don’t mean to exaggerate, but I didn’t know whether I was alive or dead these 
past ten days,” Tengo said. 
“You did great, though. You got permission from Fuka-Eri’s guardian, and you 
finished rewriting the story. It’s an amazing accomplishment for somebody who lives 
in his own little world. Now I see you in a whole new light.” 
Tengo ignored Komatsu’s praise. “Did you read the report-thing I wrote on Fuka-
Eri’s background? The long one.” 
“I sure did. Of course. Every word. Thanks for writing it. She’s got a—what 
should I say?—a complicated history. It could be part of a roman-fleuve. But what 
really surprised me was to learn that Professor Ebisuno is her guardian. What a small 
world! Did he say anything about me?” 
“About you?” 
“Yes, did the Professor say anything about me?” 
“No, nothing special.” 
“That’s strange,” Komatsu said, evidently quite puzzled by this. “Professor 
Ebisuno and I once worked together. I used to go to his university office to pick up 
his manuscripts. It was a 
really
long time ago, of course, when I was just getting 
started as an editor.” 
“Maybe he forgot, if it was such a long time ago. He asked me to tell him about 
you—what sort of person you are.” 
“No way,” Komatsu said with a frown and a shake of the head. “That’s impossible. 
He never forgets a thing. His memory is so good it’s almost frightening. He and I 
talked about all kinds of stuff, I’m sure he remembers.… Anyway, he’s not an easy 

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guy to deal with. And according to your report, the situation surrounding Fuka-Eri is 
not going to be easy to deal with, either.” 
“That’s putting it mildly. It’s like we’re holding a time bomb. Fuka-Eri is in no 
way ordinary. She’s not just another pretty seventeen-year-old. If the novella makes a 
big splash, the media are going to pounce on this and reveal all kinds of tasty facts. 
It’ll be terrible.” 
“True, it could be a real Pandora’s box,” Komatsu said, but he was still smiling. 
“So should we cancel the plan?” 
“Cancel the plan?!” 
“Yes, it’ll be too big a deal, and too dangerous. Let’s put the original manuscript 
back in the pile.” 
“It’s not that easy, I’m afraid. Your 
Air Chrysalis
rewrite has already gone out to 
the printers. They’re making the galleys. As soon as it’s printed it’ll go to the editor in 
chief and the head of publications and the four members of the selection committee. 
It’s too late to say, ‘Excuse me, that was a mistake. Please give it back and pretend 
you never saw it.’ ” 
Tengo sighed. 
“What’s done is done. We can’t turn the clock back,” Komatsu said. He put a 
Marlboro between his lips, narrowed his eyes, and lit the cigarette with the café’s 
matches. “I’ll think about what to do next. You don’t have to think about anything, 
Tengo. Even if 
Air Chrysalis
takes the prize, we’ll keep Fuka-Eri under wraps. She’ll 
be the enigmatic girl writer who doesn’t want to appear in public. I can pull it off. As 
the editor in charge of the story, I’ll be her spokesman. Don’t worry, I’ve got it all 
figured out.” 
“I don’t doubt your abilities, but Fuka-Eri is no ordinary girl. She’s not the type to 
shut up and do as she’s told. If she makes up her mind to do something, she’ll do it. 
She doesn’t hear what she doesn’t want to hear. That’s how she’s made. It’s not going 
to be as easy as you seem to think.” 
Komatsu kept silent and went on turning over the matchbox in his hand. Then he 
said, “In any case, Tengo, we’ve come this far. All we can do now is make up our 
minds to keep going. First of all, your rewrite of