Chapter 4

CHAPTER THREE A Reunion, a Rooftop, and a Shining City “Oh, there it is.” I took a small box off the chaotic shelves of Don Quijote. The red package was printed with a picture of a gold dragon zooming up into the sky and the words Dynamic Middle Age! Pit Viper Drink. “Why would he be drinking this stuff…?” Natsumi’s face surfaced in my mind like a manga speech balloon, and I blushed, shaking my head to clear it. I put other stuff from the note—Maca Clincher and Turtle for Tomorrow and Ginseng Mega MAX—into the shopping basket, got a receipt the way Mr. Suga had told me to (because he was stingy), paid, and left the store. He was shameless enough to ask other people to pick this stuff up for him, and yet he wanted something from his youth back badly enough to actually use it? Maybe aging hurts more than I thought. I remembered the gray in Mr. Suga’s hair. What was he, forty-two? I didn’t have enough of a feel for adults’ ages to know what stage of life that put him in yet. I’d finished my errand, but instead of heading back to the bus stop, I ducked into an alley in Kabuki-cho. It was so narrow that I had to close my umbrella to walk down it; exterior equipment and electric meters and drainpipes clung to the walls on both sides like some kind of vegetation. I couldn’t sense anyone else around, but the ground was littered with cigarette butts, and the walls and distribution boards were covered thickly with stickers and graffiti. “Hey, there you are!” A skinny kitten came walking toward me, mewing scratchily. “Rain! How’ve you been?” I took a CalorieMate out of my pocket, crouched down, and held it out. Rain took it with his front paws as dexterously as if they were hands. “Good job!” I said as he turned away and wolfed it down. Every time I came to Shinjuku to shop or do interviews, I stopped by to see Rain. Before I knew it, over a month had passed since the night I’d first met him, and Rain was no longer the size of a half-pint plastic bottle. July would be over soon. As always, it was a summer of never-ending rain. “C’mon, it’ll be fine! It’s hardly even a job!” When I stepped out of the alley and opened my umbrella, I heard a guy’s voice. The group went right past me: a girl in a sleeveless shirt who was walking quickly, eyes lowered, and two big men who seemed to be covering her back. “Just give it a try. We can pay you starting today. We’re right over there, see?” The guy had blond hair and a voice with a note of cold laughter behind it. The girl wore her hair in two ponytails, and she had big eyes with large pupils. I recognized both of them. A little beyond the row of hotels in the back alley, there was a string of connected buildings with low eaves. It was the place where I’d fallen asleep a month ago. The girl with the ponytails, the blond guy with the piercing, and his buddy were talking about something in front of the establishment. The girl looked bewildered, and the men seemed to be trying to talk her into something. I’d followed them in spite of myself, and I was watching the scene play out from the shadows. What should I do? Should I talk to them? Should I help her? I remembered that day at McDonald’s. “You’ve had that for dinner three days in a row.” Back then, her voice and her smile had seemed to be scolding me, encouraging me. “But—” Maybe she was fine. Maybe they all knew one another. Maybe they were only talking about work. “Huh? Wait…!” Suddenly, I heard the girl’s muted shriek. The blond guy with the piercing had an arm around her shoulders and was trying to walk her into the shop by force. I threw my umbrella down, and before I even had time to think, I was running. “Whoa, what the hell?!” I shoved my way in between the blond guy and the girl. “C’mon!” “Huh?!” I grabbed her hand and took off without looking back. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, where do you think you’re going, loser?!” I heard the guys yelling behind us as I ran for all I was worth through the unfamiliar streets. “Listen,” the girl said, sounding confused, “wait just a…!” “It’s fine; just run!” I was too focused to offer any reassurances like I’ll explain later or Don’t worry; you can trust me. My hair and T-shirt were getting heavier with rain. I’d thought we were out of the hotel street, but the next thing I knew, we were running down a different street of hotels. “Waugh!” One of the two guys burst out of the alley right in front of us. Crap, they’re going to box us in— And an instant later, somebody grabbed the collar of my shirt from behind and hauled me back. “You little punk!” I fell faceup onto the wet asphalt, and the blond guy straddled me. Once he’d caught his breath, he smacked my cheeks lightly. “Yo, yo, yo, yo, hey, kid—” His voice was low and full of laughter. He raised his right hand. “What the hell are you trying to pull, huh?!” This time, he slapped my cheek with everything he had. Desperately choking down the pain and fear, I shouted back at him. “She didn’t want to go with you!” “…Huh?” he said in disbelief. “Hey, dumbass, we’d already talked it over with her and worked everything out. Right?” Startled, I looked at the girl. The other guy was standing right next to her. She looked down uncomfortably. “…!” No way. My mind went blank. Then what I’d just done was— “Huh? Hey, aren’t you the kid from back then? The one who was sleeping in front of our door?” It seemed kind of late to be bringing this up now, but the blond guy smiled knowingly. “What, is this payback?!” My cheekbone thudded. This time, he’d punched me. The pain burst deep behind my eyes, and my whole body started to go numb as the taste of iron spread through my mouth. “Please, no, stop it—” I could hear the girl’s tearful screams. You’re pathetic—the feeling spread through me from head to toe, followed by fury. The fingers of my right hand found the toy gun I’d stuck in my waistband as a sort of protective amulet. “Dammit…!” My voice was shaking. “Get off me!!” Impulsively, I pulled the gun out and pointed it at the blond guy. The men were startled for a moment, but then they looked at each other and laughed. “Huh? What’s that, a toy? This kid really is a moron.” As I glared desperately at the blond, a large raindrop hit my eye. I don’t know when the shower started. The water blurred my vision. My heart was jumping around in a wild rhythm. The guys’ laughter seemed distant, melting into the rain. Bang! I’d pulled the trigger. A heavy roar thundered into my ears, followed by the ping of a cartridge hitting the ground. The smell of gunpowder drifted into my nose. Behind the blond guy, a streetlamp had shattered. The gun was real. All of us stared at the muzzle of the weapon in wide-eyed shock. The girl was the first one to pull herself together. “Get up!” she said, grabbing my hand. The blond guy was sitting on his rear, his mouth hanging open, and I scrambled out from under him. We made a break for it. Our ragged breathing echoed off the concrete walls. There was a deep puddle on the floor at our feet, and the rain blowing in through the broken windows was sending rings of ripples through it. The girl had pulled me into an abandoned building near Yoyogi Station, just across the tracks from Shinjuku. In the midst of the busy traffic, the mixed-use building stood alone, brown and decrepit. Almost none of the noise from the street reached us inside; only the faint sound of the Yamanote Line came to us, as if from another world. The room we were in might have been some sort of restaurant, once upon a time; rusted stools and tables and dishes and cookware were scattered among the weeds. After we’d spent a little while getting our breathing and our heart rates back to normal, the girl broke the silence. “…What kind of stunt was that?! Were you trying to thank me for the hamburger?” Her voice echoed in the gloom, tinged with fear and anger. She was glaring at me. I couldn’t find the words to answer, and she pressed me harder. “What was that gun? Who are you?!” “That was… I found it. I thought it was a toy—” Unbelievable, her expression seemed to say. I tried again, desperately. “I was just carrying it around to, like, help me feel safer. I was only trying to scare him; I never thought it would actually—” “What are you talking about?! Pointing one of those at somebody and firing— You could have killed him!” I gulped. “I don’t believe this. You’re disgusting. You’re horrible!” she fumed, striding toward the exit. Her wet footsteps echoed roughly off the walls and ceiling, and then she was gone. I just stared after her, stunned. Every receding footfall was a reminder of the reality of what I’d done. She was right. Carrying this thing around as a protective charm, I’d started to feel tough; I’d made a misguided attempt at playing hero, had pointed it at someone and pulled the trigger—and I could have killed him. Almost on reflex, I threw the gun away. I didn’t want to have it another second. It struck the wall with a clatter, and I sank to my knees, unable to stand any longer. I squeezed my eyes shut. This escape to Tokyo, and the few thoughtless weeks I’d spent just having fun, were all starting to feel like a ridiculous mistake. The pain in my cheek returned as if it had just remembered to, throbbing stronger and stronger with each heartbeat. I couldn’t think about anything anymore, and I just stayed huddled where I was. After a little while, I heard footsteps again. When I lifted my head, the girl was standing in front of me. Both of her hands were shoved into the pockets of her parka, and her eyes were lowered glumly. I started talking before I could stop myself. “Why—?” “…I got fired from my job.” “Huh? Was it because I—?” Took that hamburger, I thought. “It wasn’t your fault or anything.” The girl’s voice suddenly grew smaller, as if she was making excuses. “But that’s what happened, so I needed a job that would pay.” “I’m so sorry! I…” Words failed me again. Of course, everybody has their own reasons, and yet… The backs of my eyes grew hot, and I hurried to fight the sensation. I looked down, squeezing my eyes tight. “Heh-heh.” Startled, I raised my head. The girl was peering at my face, and her round eyes had squinched up into friendly crescents. “Hey, does it hurt?” She touched my bruised cheek with her fingertips. “Huh? Oh— No, not that much…!” The girl laughed again. “You’re a runaway, aren’t you?” “Huh?!” “It’s pretty obvious. Did you come far?” “Um, yeah, well…” As I tried to answer, her smile turned mischievous. “Hey, you came all the way to Tokyo, but it’s been raining the whole time, hasn’t it?” “Huh?” “Come here a second!” She took my hand as naturally as a small child. After climbing up the rusty iron emergency stairs, we came out onto the roof of the building. The floor tiles were cracked and covered with green weeds, and a fine, misty rain was falling down over everything. In the distance were the gray silhouettes of various high-rise buildings whose names I didn’t yet know. “Watch. The sun’s going to come back now.” “Huh?” I glanced at the sky and saw gray clouds and the same rain as ever. When I turned back to the girl, her hands were clasped and her eyes were closed, as if in prayer. “Um, what do you mean…?” I started to say, then broke off. She was glowing faintly. No, that wasn’t it; a pale light was shining on her. The wind had begun to blow, softly lifting her twin ponytails. The light was getting brighter and brighter, and the girl’s skin and hair shone golden. It can’t be— I looked up at the sky. “Whoa…!” Above us, the clouds had split to reveal dazzling sunlight. The sparkling raindrops grew fewer and farther between, and the rain slowly stopped, as though someone had turned off a faucet. The next thing I knew, the world around us had been repainted in vivid color. Blue window glass, pure-white walls, signs in red and yellow and blue, silver rails, and colorful cars like scattered candies—Tokyo was overflowing with different hues. A vibrant green scent had filled the air. “A sunshine girl…?” The word slipped stupidly from my mouth before I could stop it, and the girl laughed. “I’m Hina. Who are you?” “…Hodaka.” “How old are you?” “Huh…? Sixteen.” “Hmm.” The girl cocked her head, looking up at me through her lashes. Another brilliant smile. “So you’re younger than me.” “What?” “You see, I’ll be, um…eighteen next month!” “Huh?! You totally don’t look like it!” I replied, more honestly than I meant to. She looked young, so I’d figured she was my age at the oldest, maybe a year or two younger. She smiled proudly this time. All her smiles reminded me a little of sunshine. “Respect your elders!” “Huh?!” “Heh-heh!” She lifted her face to the sky, enjoying this moment, and reached up, stretching her arm out overhead. Her palm cast a dark shadow across her face. “It’s nice to meet you, Hodaka,” Hina said, meeting my eyes with a brilliant smile, and I knew something was about to begin. She held her right hand out to me. When I shook it, her palm held the warmth of the sun.