Amanda Sun - Rain

Hold still, Yuki said, threading the thick obi ribbon through the back of the bow. She pulled the loops tight. Okay, now breathe in.

I took a deep breath as Yuki shifted the bow to the center of my back, but didnt look up from my phone.

Hows that?

No messages in my inbox. Looks great.

You didnt even look.

Mmm-hmm. Yuki snatched the keitai out of my hands. Hey!

Ano ne, she said, an expression which meant we needed to talk. That didnt surprise me. Youre starting to look obsessed. Yuu will call you; Im sure of it. You dont want to be the needy girlfriend, right?

I didnt say anything. How could I? Yuki didnt know that not being able to get ahold of Tomohiro could mean the Yakuza had him, or the Kami had kidnapped him, or that Tomo had drowned in an ocean of his own sketching. The Kami, descendants of the Shinto goddess Amaterasu, could make ink come alive on the page, although the power came with its own cursea plague of nightmares and threats, scars carved by the claws and talons of their own feral drawings.

It had been two weeks since Id almost left Japan, since the revelation that Tomo was one of the most dangerous Kami alive. Takahashi Jun, Tomos kendo rival and the leader of the Kami in Shizuoka, said he hadnt seen anyone as powerful in a long time and wanted him as a weapon to help destroy the Yakuza. He also said that somehow, I was making it worse. I was making the ink in the sketches do strange and deadly things. Tomo lost control when I was around, his eyes vacant and his nightmares worse.

How? I couldnt be a Kami. I was blond...and more importantly, not Japanese. But whether Jun was right or not, after watching Tomos sketched gun go off and put his best friend, Ishikawa, in the hospital, I knew the ink wasnt something to play around with.

It couldve been Tomo in the hospital.

It couldve been me.

Yuki grinned and sidestepped, pulling the sleeves of my yukata straight. Now look, she commanded.

I looked.

The summer kimono made me look elegant, the soft yellow fabric draped around me like an origami dress. Pink cherry blossoms floated down the woven material, which Yuki had complemented by lending me her pink obi belt to tie around my waist.

Dou?

Its beautiful, I said. Thank you.

She grinned, smoothing her soft blue yukata with her hands.

Yuu is a jerk for not calling, she said. But lets forget about that. Its Abekawa Hanabi festival, and youre still here with us. So lets go celebrate!

Was he being a jerk? I hadnt been able to get ahold of him since deciding to stay. It didnt make sense, unless he was in trouble. Or avoiding me, in which case hed clearly learned nothing from the first attempt to scare me away and I would pound him into tomorrow.

But it didnt matter if he was avoiding me. Sooner or later, Id have to get in touch with him. Because as much as Id wanted to stay in Japan to be with him, the real reason was that I wanted control of my life. I was connected to the ink, and I belonged here. If Jun was right, Tomohiro was a ticking time bomb, and I was the only one who could defuse him.

It was hard to believe Jun was a Kami, too, one of the many secret descendants of the goddess Amaterasu. Most werent powerful enough to bring their sketches to life off the page, but Jun and Tomo could. I remembered how cold Juns eyes had been as hed talked about using Tomohiro as a weapon to wage war on the Yakuza, the Japanese gangsters whod tried to force Tomo into their ranks. Jun had wanted Tomo to kill the Yakuza boss, Hanchi, and had talked about ruling the country the way the ancient kami once had. Did he really mean all that? Hed seemed so normal beforecharming evenwhen wed walked to school together. And hed saved us from the Yakuza with his sketched army of snakes. Sometimes it was hard to know what lay beneath the surface of someone you thought you knew.

Which I guess was the case with Tomohiro, too.

My aunt Diane entered my room, carrying a tray of glasses filled with cold black-bean tea. The ice clinked against the sides as she set them down. A pink spray of flowers unfurled in a corner of the tray.

Dont you girls look beautiful? she said. Katie, here. I picked this up for you on my way home. She lifted the spray of pink flowers off the tray, the little plastic buds swaying back and forth on pink strings. She tucked it into the twist of blond hair Yuki had helped me pin into place.

Kawaii, Yuki grinned. You look so cute! I turned a little red. They were fussing too much.

You, too, I said, trying to get the focus off me. I was the wrong shape for the yukatatoo tall, too blonde, too awkward. Yuki looked stunning in hers. We should get going.

You should, Diane said. I think Tanakas starting to sweat a little out there.

Yuki took a gulp of tea and slid the door to my room open to find Tanaka waiting in shorts and a T-shirt.

You guys are taking forever, he said. Can we go now?

Lets go, I said, the long yellow sleeves tangling around my wrists as I slipped on flip-flopsno chance of finding geta sandals for my American-size feetand shoved my phone into a drawstring bag.

You look cute, Tanaka said.

So do you, Yuki said, and she stuck her tongue out at him while he turned red. She grabbed my hand and we headed out the door.

Itterasshai! Diane called after us.

Go and come back safely.

The only word Tomo had written in the farewell note hed pressed into my hands, the one with the moving ink rose that had sent me tripping over my own feet to catch Diane at the Narita Express platform before she left the airport. The goodbye that had made me stay in Japan.

Tanaka pushed the button for the elevator.

Jun had said we didnt know what Tomohiro was capable of. Well find out together, Tomo had answered.

It didnt make sense. Why would he push me away again now, when I was so determined to help?

The light was fading outside as we stepped into the heat. It was the last week of summer holidays, before school started for the second semester, and the hot weather wasnt going to give up easily. We clattered down the street in our geta and flip-flops, hopping onto the local train for Abekawa Station.

Were gonna be late, whined Tanaka.

Its fine, Yuki said. Well still make good time for the fireworks.

The train lurched around the corner and I tried not to press into Tanakas side.

If the takoyakis all gone by the time we get there, Ill blame you.

How would that even happen? I said. They wont run out.

Right? Yuki agreed. Tan-kun, you and your stomach.

By the time the train pulled into Abekawa the sun had blinked off the horizon. We stumbled through the musty train air toward the music and sounds of crowds.

It felt like all of Shizuoka was here, the sidewalks packed with festivalgoers while dancers in happi coats paraded down the street. Lanterns swung from floats and street signs glowed, and over everything we could hear about three different songs competing for attention above the crowded roads. It was a little claustrophobic, sure, but filled with life.

What should we do first? Yuki shouted, but I could barely hear her. She grabbed my hand and we pressed through the thick crowd toward a takoyaki stand. Tanaka rubbed his hands together as the vendor doused the battered balls of octopus meat with mayonnaise.

Anythings fine with me, I said. Translation: no idea.

Im good, too, now that I have my takoyaki, Tanaka said. Want one? The bonito flakes on the hot batter shriveled as if they were alive.