“Hello! Welcome to Karuma Sushi!”
The moment I walked in, I was greeted with a faint floral scent and the fresh scent of rice straw mats. The restaurant was small and cosy, decorated in a simple, minimalistic way that reminded you of a real Japanese home. In the middle of the restaurant was a chef station, with glass cabinets showcasing various fresh catches. An elderly Japanese chef in a clean, white uniform smiled and nodded at me, while a younger girl in a green apron led me to the wooden counter just in front of the chef station. The restaurant appeared to be family-run, the girl was no older than fifteen and so I guessed she was probably the chef’s daughter helping out in her spare time.
There were no other customers besides myself. The restaurant was quiet, with no music playing. There was only a constant low hum of the air conditioner running in the background. Seeing how empty it was, I was a bit hesitant to sit down. I had never been a big fan of Japanese food growing up.
But for some reason, I really craved sushi tonight.
“You’re the first customer for tonight.” The girl said excitedly as she laid down the dish and chopsticks in front of me. She seemed to be a bubbly, bright young girl full of energy. “In fact, you’re the first customer at our humble restaurant! We just opened today. Oh! My mom would be ecstatic!”
“Well, I’m just happy there’s finally an authentic Japanese place around here.” I looked around with curiousity. Although everything was clean, the furniture was not brand new. Judging from how worn-out the wooden chairs were, I would guess the restaurant was up and running for many years already, instead of literally opening tonight. “I’m excited already. Do you have any recommendations?”
“Our restaurant is a little special, mister.” The girl smiled. “We do omakase style dining. Have you ever heard of omakase?”
“Oma…? What?”
“Omakase,” the girl repeated. “It means ‘I will leave it to you’, the chef will select and prepare the dishes based on the special or seasonal ingredients. At Karuma Sushi, we offer you a 20 dishes course. I guarantee that it will be a very fun experience for you!”
“So every dish is a surprise?” I laughed, feeling adventurous. “This is great. I’m very indecisive, so it’s nice to have someone decide for me.”
“I promise you won’t regret it.” The girl said, as the chef started to prepare the first dish. “My name is Kioku, and I will be telling you interesting stories for each and every dish we serve. That’s the charm of omakase. We don’t only sell sushi, but stories as well. My dad would be happy to tell the stories himself but his English is not very good, so please don’t mind him.”
The chef worked quickly and professionally. The first dish was a thinly sliced scallop sashimi served with a weird looking leaf and some brown sauce. Kioku seemed proud as she laid the dish in front of me. “This is hotate sashimi, served with homemade ponzu and fresh shiso leaf. Hotate are very delicate and sweet, this one was delivered straight from Hokkaido!”
The scallop was indeed sweet and refreshing. Kioku continued to watch me in anticipation. It was a little awkward to have someone standing there, watching you eat. Kioku may have noticed this too, so when our eyes met briefly, she said in her usual, cheery voice, as if she was trying to break down the awkward silence.
“Another fun fact about hotate: my mom craved hotate all the time when she was pregnant with me. Sometimes she craved it in the middle of the night, and my dad had to run to the supermarket to buy some frozen scallops and grill them for her.”
“Sounds like a big effort from your dad.” I glanced at the elderly chef.
“It’s the thing he did for love.”
Kioku turned to her father, who nodded agreeingly. Although he didn’t speak much English, it seemed he was still able to understand her.
The second dish looked a little scary and unappetizing. To be honest, it looked like spam being cut into thick round pieces. Kioku laughed as she set down the dish. “Mister, don’t be fooled by how it looks! This is ankimo, steamed monkfish liver. Some say it’s the foei gras of the sea.”
Her description didn’t make it sound better. I tried a small bite, it was salty but also unexpectedly tasty. Kioku continued to blabber as I finished the plate. “The way you prepare ankimo is you first rub it with salt, then rinsed with sake. Speaking of sake, I’ve never been drunk before. You know, I’m still underaged and all. Have you been drunk before, mister?”
“Huh?” I looked up to her awkwardly as my mouth was full of food. “Yeah, I’ve been drunk before.”
“I wonder if you were as drunk as the guy that broke into our house that night.”
Her sudden calm delivery of that sentence almost made me choke. “W-What did you just say just now?”
“Hmm?” Kioku tilted her head. “Oh! Your tea almost ran out. Here, let me refill that for you.”
Kioku took my ceramic tea cup and disappeared into the back kitchen. Confused, I looked at the chef, but the elderly man just briefly smiled at me before continuing to prepare the next dish. Rows of dead fish looking up to me with their empty eyes from behind the glass cabinet started to make me feel a little unsettled.
Kioku came back with my tea just as the chef finished preparing the third dish. The dish was the first familiar-looking sushi dish in the course, white fish on top, rice on the bottom. The fish were lightly burnt with a burn torch, and topped with thinly sliced scallion.
“Most people call this engawa nigiri, but actually engawa is not the name of the fish, but a fatty part near the tail where the meat comes from.” Kioku explained. “This fish is called hirame, it’s a type of flatfish. When they turn to their side, these ugly fish can hide in the sand pretty well, just like how that robber hid from my mom.”
I paused my eating. “Why… are you telling me this?”
“I’m telling you interesting tidbits about the dishes.” Kioku giggled. Her manner didn’t change, but it became clear she was not the innocent teenager I had assumed. “That robber was really drunk that night! He didn’t even notice that my mom was there. He saw my dad leave for the supermarket and thought it was his chance to steal from our old, humble home.”
Her words sent shivers down my spine. I was frozen in place as Kioku continued her morbid story in a casual manner, as if she was talking about the weather.
“I bet he must have been really surprised to see my mom. But why should he be afraid of a small pregnant lady, right? Can you imagine what he did next?”
I heard a loud clang as the chef placed the next dish on the glass cabinet. He didn’t say anything, just smiled at me. Kioku glanced at her father and laughed. “Ah! I was occupied by the story, the next dish is here. This is one of dad’s signatures, and also a very popular dish.”
I shifted in my seat, considering the possibility of leaving this weird place.
“You may be familiar with the red meat tuna they sell everywhere, that’s called akami and it’s the biggest part of the tuna. This part, however, is found only near the belly of the tuna. We call this part chutoro, look how pink and fatty it is.” She took the dish from the glass cabinet and almost slammed it in front of me. “Bluefin tunas are pretty impressive, mister. They can dive deeper than 3,000 feet. Unlike my mom, she wasn’t a very good swimmer. Although, I didn’t think she would try to swim when she jumped off that cliff. Me being inside her belly must have also weighed her down pretty hard.”
Leaning down, Kioku whispered into my ear.
“I guess she didn’t want to live after what you did to her.”
The doorbell rang. Kioku jolted up in excitement.
“Hi, mom. You’re just in time!”
I tried to get up and turned around, but a pair of hands grabbed my shoulder and pushed, forcing me to sit back down. The hands were skin over bones, and I could feel the sharp nails digging into my shoulder through my shirt like animal’s claws. Cold saltwater dripped down on my skin as her long wet hair tickled my cheek.
I dared not turn and face her. All I could do was look up at Kioku in panic and fear.
How was that possible? The woman had killed herself fifteen years ago. Was this some kind of fucked up prank? Or perhaps a revenge by her vengeful family? But how did they even find me? I had been careful not to let a single soul know about what happened that night for all these years.
“This isn’t funny.” I tried to stand up again, but it was no use.
Ignoring my protest, Kioku acted like nothing had happened. She proudly presented the next dish that her father had created. “Oh mister, you’re gonna love this one. This madai sashimi is to die for. Did you know that Japanese people call madai the king of fish?”
“What do you want from me?” Any struggle was futile at this point. Whatever was standing behind me, it was not letting me go.
“The red sea bream is associated with good luck and is generally used in Japanese celebrations because of its beautiful vivid red colour…”
I looked up in horror. The chef was still smiling, holding a sushi knife in his hand, while blood was gushing out from a deep slit on his throat. The blood dyed his white uniform red as it continued pouring down onto the chopping board. Kioku looked at her father, with a strange expression that I could only describe as amazement.
“What the fuck!?” I screamed, trying to get away. As he bled out, the chef never stopped smiling. He just wiped down the counter with a rag and continued to slice blood-soaked fish with his trembling pale hands.
“Don’t be so surprised, mister. After mom died, dad was really upset. The police brushed him off because he couldn’t speak English well. Poor daddy, he resorted to ending his life.” Kioku said. “After all, what’s the point in living without your wife and child?”
I had never felt so much fear before in my life. My entire body was shaking, and I felt like throwing up. The hands on my shoulder tightened their grip, and I could hear faint breathing next to my ears. “W-Why are you doing this to me?” I stammered.
Kioku sat down on the counter, casting her shadow over me as she leaned over and gently touched her mother’s hand that was resting on my shoulder. As she smiled at me, I felt like her deep brown eyes were staring into my soul.
“Is that really something you have to ask?”
“I-I…” I trailed off, unable to form coherent words.
“Bet you thought you got away with it, huh?”
“Please… I’m really… sorry.” I whispered.
Kioku giggled as she jumped down from the counter. “You don’t need to force yourself to be sorry, mister, because you will have a long, long time to repent after this. Meanwhile, I’ll personally make sure that you enjoy the remainder of our special omakase course. After all, you did say that you would leave it to us!”
“Please, just… let me go.” I pleaded, desperate for an escape.
“The next dish is my favourite! And it will probably be yours too. Have you ever heard of uni? People call it sea urchin roe, but it’s actually a sex organ! How fitting, right?” Kioku laughed. “I used to help dad prepare tons of them. It’s actually very easy and satisfying, just crack it open and scoop it out.”
My body wouldn’t move. No matter how much my brain told me to run, there was no escape. And I could only wonder if Kioku’s mother had felt the same way fifteen years ago.
Kioku smiled.
“Since you’re our special customer, we’d be happy to demonstrate how to cut open the uni for you. But I will need my special knife for this. Don’t worry, mister. You won’t have to wait for long! After all, our omakase course had just begun!”
She disappeared into the back kitchen again. It had been fifteen minutes already, and I could hear her rummaging through the kitchen looking for the sharpest knife. I tried to plead with her father, saying how sorry I was and promising that if he let me go, I would turn myself in. But he wouldn’t utter a single word. On the contrary, I started to hear a faint giggle from behind. Kioku’s mother was enjoying the show. My torment would soon become her entertainment.
I’m typing this now as my last effort to warn all of you. I hope it can be sent through. If you ever pass the Karuma Sushi, never, ever go in. Although, if you happen to see it, it’s probably too late for you already.