by Kat Cotton
I stared at Dad, hoping he’d give me some kind of rational explanation.
“Are we safe now?” I asked.
Dad nodded but my hands still gripped the table, white knuckled.
“This is why you have to go to Tokyo,” Dad said. “We’re susceptible to attack until we find that stone.”
“So why don’t we all go to Tokyo, out of harm’s way until this stone thing gets sorted?”
“We’re needed here. People, well creatures, rely on us. We’re supposed to be the guardians but without the Guardian stone, we’ve made everyone vulnerable. So, we have to fight in whatever way we can. If you go to Tokyo, you can get the information we need and not be a target.”
I nodded, not trusting myself to talk. If it wasn’t for those two dust piles on the floor, I’d swear it’d been a hallucination. Oh, and the gouge marks on the tiles. Those were physical things my mind couldn’t fight against.
“I could just go back to uni,” I said.
Dad shook his head. “That’s not far enough. We want you safe.”
I wanted me safe too but I also wanted my parents safe.
“Are you and Mum going to be okay?”
“Sure, love. We still have some tricks up our sleeves. You saw me with that sword.”
Mum mopped her brow with the back of her hand then opened the cupboard and got out a dust pan and swept up the demon possum dust.
Dad put on the kettle.
“Looks like I’ll have to fix that door, love,” he said to Mum.
“It can wait until tomorrow.”
Just like that, they’d returned to their calm selves. It couldn’t be drugs but, if it wasn’t, what the hell was it?
I picked up the sword Dad had set on the table. The glow had dimmed but it still glimmered.
“Can I take a selfie with this?” I asked.
Dad snatched the sword from my hands. “Some things should be kept secret, not posted all over social media,” he said.
He could say that but I’d get a zillion likes if I had that sword in my hands.
“What is this sword anyway?” I asked him.
“Just a trinket I picked up.”
I screwed up my face. That sword was more than a trinket.
Dad handed me a cup of tea. My mind swam with what had happened. Those things had attacked us. My heart rate still wasn’t back to normal and I’m pretty sure my hair had turned completely white.
Maybe there had been some truth in what Mum and Dad had said, even if it did seem farfetched. After all, giant mutant possums weren’t exactly normal but I’d seen them with my own eyes.
“So, you’ll go to Tokyo?” Dad asked.
“Ah, I guess so,” I said, not really believing what I was saying. “But I don’t really understand why.”
“The stone disappeared last night. Whoever took it left no trace. We had no idea that anyone knew it existed, let alone wanted to steal it. We had powerful protections around it so they had to be strong to break them. With no clues to go on, our best bet to get it back is to go to the expert.”
“Mr. Yamaguchi is the expert,” Mum added. “He trades in special objects. He won’t give us any information over the phone, though. He’s an old-fashioned kind of guy. And we can’t just take off. So that leaves you.”
I sipped my tea, trying to take this in.
“You want me to go to Tokyo and meet with this guy. You know I can’t speak Japanese, right?”
“You took classes in high school,” Dad said.
I scoffed. Yeah, I took classes, and that might get me through the basics like konnichiwa and arigatou and “where is the train station?” but I didn’t think it’d be much use in any kind of serious situation. I hadn’t exactly paid much attention beyond what’d get me through exams.
“He has people working for him who speak English,” Mum said. “That’s one of the reasons he doesn’t want to use the phone, because it’d be difficult to do with a translator.”
“Are you sure you can afford it?” I asked. “It’s not going to be cheap.”
“We can’t afford not to send you,” Dad said. “Anyway, we can get a flight on a budget airline and Yamaguchi said he can put you up for a while. Just don’t go crazy, buying that expensive fruit and things like that.”
I kissed my “Best Year Ever” list goodbye. It looked like I’d be going to Tokyo.
Chapter 5
I spent most of the next day preparing for my flight. I’d need to get back to the city but there was no point taking my car. Not only could I not afford the repairs, long term airport parking would ruin me.
I complained to Mum while I ate breakfast.
“The bus isn’t so bad,” Mum said. “I’ll make you some sandwiches.”
Spoken like someone who’d never actually taken the bus.
“Can’t you or Dad drive me?” I asked.
“You know we can’t get away at the moment.”
I guess I’d have to tolerate the bus then but it’d take noise-canceling headphones and a lot of booze, which would be way more useful than sandwiches.
“While you’re here, tell me more about this stone,” I said
Mum looked around then smiled. “I’ll leave that for later. I’ve got to do some jobs in the yard.”
With that, she rushed off. I went to my room to get organized. I unpacked my case then repacked it. It might be the middle of summer in Australia but I’d be headed slap-bang into the Tokyo winter. I needed winter woollies and boots.
Halfway through packing, I heard Mum’s footsteps in the hallway.
“How long am I going to be there for anyway?” I called to her.
“Not sure. You can book your return flight after you’re done.”
“You didn’t book me a return?”
She popped her head in my room. “We didn’t want to get the date wrong on a non-refundable ticket. It should only take a few days, hopefully. Don’t pack too much. But make sure you have plenty of warm clothes.”
“I have but I only have to meet with this guy, right. He’ll give me the info and I’ll be on the next flight home.”
“You might want to take some time for sightseeing. Make the most of it.”
Sightseeing sounded fun. Shopping would be fun too but I had no money for that. How long did it take to get approved for a credit card?
“You really didn’t have to defer my entire year.”
Mum just shrugged. I didn’t really like the vagueness but hey, if this guy was putting me up for free and I had the deferment, I didn’t need to rush back. I might even have a fling with a hot Japanese guy. That’d be fun. I’d never had an international fling before. But then I’d never traveled overseas before except for a short trip to Bali.
“You got time to talk now?” I asked. “I need to know more about this stone.”
“Ah... I’ve got something on the stove,” she said and rushed off again.
You’d think she was trying to avoid my questions.
I went through my clothes then wondered if they’d do. The Japanese were super fashionable, right? I didn’t want to look like a yokel but I didn’t have the time and money to go shopping.
Last year, I’d planned to become a social media star and score all kinds of cool clothes but that had fallen flat. Maybe once I started posting all kinds of awesome Tokyo pics, my followers would blossom then I’d get all those lovely freebies. But I needed the fashionable clothes first or I’d never get any followers.
I needed advice.
I got out my phone. Ashley from high school had been into all that Japanese stuff. Manga and anime. She’d always got top marks in Japanese class, too. I gave her a call.
“You’re going to Tokyo?” she shrieked when I told her. “Sugoi, ne. That means awesome in Japanese. Of course, I’ll help you pack. I’ll come straight over. And I’ll make you a list of places to visit. Wow, Molly, I’m so jealous.”
Five minutes later, she arrived with a pile of bags. She held up a dress. Well, I assume
d there was a dress under all those ruffles. I almost laughed but checked Ashley’s face. She wasn’t joking around. That dress so wasn’t me. Ruffles and pastel and bows were about as far from my style as you can get.
“Umm... it’s cute but I’m not sure...”
“It’s how girls dress in Tokyo.” She got out her phone and showed me a ton of photos of girls wearing similar dresses.
“Surely they don’t dress like that every day?” I asked. “I mean, look at that girl’s nails. You’d never get anything done with nails like that. You’d injure yourself just wiping your butt on the toilet.”
Ashley rolled her eyes. “They have butt-washing toilets for that kind of thing.”
I really was going to a whole new world.
“Still, I’m not convinced people dress like that.”
“It’s how they dress in Harajuku.”
“Harajuku? That’s where I’m staying.”
Ashley shrieked so loud I couldn’t say anything more. “Harajuku. My dream. You have to wear my dress. If I can’t wear it in Harajuku, at least you can. Seriously, as soon as I get a job, I’m out of this town. Imagine wearing this down to the local shops.”
I couldn’t even imagine. In this town if you wore anything other than regulation jeans and t-shirt, or maybe a hoodie in winter, you got mocked mercilessly. Maybe, if you wanted to really break out, you’d wear patterned socks instead of plain colored ones but even that was risky.
“Okay, I’ll take the dress,” I said. If that’s how people dressed then I could fit in. It might make my job easier if I dressed like everybody else.
Then Ashley pulled out the petticoat. That’s where I drew the line.
“I can’t fit all that frou-frou in my case,” I said. “Sorry.”
“It looks so much better with the petticoat.”
I gave her an apologetic smile. Then she got out the white knee socks and the shoes.
“Those shoes aren’t going to fit me,” I said. And judging by those platform heels, I wouldn’t be able to walk two steps in them. “I’ve got my boots.”
Ashley pursed her lips. “I guess the boots will do but they are going to look a bit strange.”
I could live with that.
“Make sure you take a ton of selfies and send them to me,” she said. “I need to live vicariously through you.”
Poor Ashley. Finding a job in this town proved near on impossible. I’d done farm work over the summer to get some extra cash but that was seasonal and not well paid. I had no idea why she hung around here. I’d be out of this place to somewhere with actual jobs and actual life if I hadn’t gotten accepted to university.
“I’ve got a list of places for you to visit too,” she said.
She began reeling off locations from anime and dramas that meant nothing to me.
“You know I’ve never watched any of these,” I said.
She sighed. “I guess that makes it difficult. If you had more time, I’d give you a list of things to watch to prepare you. You’re leaving tomorrow, right?”
I rolled my eyes. “The bus trip to the airport is going to take longer than the flight. I’m not looking forward to that.”
I put the dress in my case then sat on it to zip it closed even though I was sure Mum would give me more stuff to pack later.
“So, what exactly are you doing in Tokyo?” Ashley asked.
Damn, I’d hoped she wouldn’t ask that.
“Oh, Mum and Dad want me to see an old friend who lives there.”
“They made you drop out of uni for that? Wow, Molly, your parents are mecha kakkoi, that means cool, by the way.”
I wouldn’t exactly say that although Dad had looked pretty cool brandishing that sword last night. I didn’t know he had it in him to swing around a sword like that. The scary thing is that it didn’t sound like a one-off attack. I hoped I’d be able to recover this stone in time to prevent any more.
Sure, we’d won pretty easily last night but that didn’t mean it’d always be so easy. It would’ve only taken a scratch from those claws in the wrong place. I didn’t even want to think about it. Dad might say they’d be fine but I didn’t really believe that.
“So, the job hunting isn’t going well?” I asked before Ashley left.
“Nope. It doesn’t help that I don’t have a car so I’m restricted to jobs in town, and there are no jobs in town.”
I picked up my car keys. “Wanna borrow my car while I’m away?” I asked her. “It needs a few repairs though.”
Ashley grinned. “No problem. You know my brother Tom is a mechanic, right?”
I might’ve known that, and I might’ve had an ulterior motive for offering my car to her that involved free repairs, but that didn’t negate my kindness in the offer.
When Ashley left, I went through all the travel details again. I had my flight printout since Mum didn’t trust that I’d be able to use my phone to check-in. I had my passport. Mum had wanted me to get travelers’ checks but I fought her on that one. Japan would have ATMs just like here and had anyone used travelers’ checks in this century?
Yamaguchi said he’d send someone to meet me at the airport and take me to my apartment so I didn’t have to worry on that end. It’d be smooth sailing.
I’d loaded a bunch of books on my Kindle for the journey and had a power bank to charge everything. Ten hours in the air with no internet access seemed like torture.
I didn’t sleep well that night. Every bump and rattle had me sitting up in bed, ready to do battle.
Before I left the next morning, I asked Mum if they’d considered moving or just going away for a while. “I’m not sure if this house is safe.”
“We’re not being driven out of our home, and even if we ran, they’d find us. We’ve increased the protection on the house so we should be safe for a while.”
I assumed she meant more than just Dad fixing the back door. I hoped that kind of protection would work.
They drove me to the bus station and my friend Gabby said she would pick me up at the other end so we could get dinner before my flight.
“Remember,” I told my parents. “I loaded Skype on your phones. You can call me any time. For free.”
They nodded but I wondered if they’d actually use it, even after my tutorials.
Before I boarded the bus, Dad handed me an envelope.
“You’ll need yen,” he said. “This isn’t much but it will get you by until you can withdraw some money.”
Then Mum handed me a ring with an intricate design around the band. “It’s a family heirloom,” she said. “But Yamaguchi will want something in exchange for his services. Give him this.”
I’m pretty sure they did the last-minute gift thing to stop me questioning them too much. Just like Mum had been too busy to answer my questions. I had a horrible feeling that this trip would end up more complicated than they’d let on.
Chapter 6
I’d landed in Japan. This was it. Adventure time. I got through the airport quickly and looked for my driver. Someone held up a sign with my name on it so I gave him a little wave. He walked over and took my case then strode out of the airport. I rushed to keep in step with him. If I lost him, I’d never find my way around. I’d have liked to have stopped at one of those kiosks to buy a drink since my throat was parched from the flight, but that driver didn’t slow his pace. Some food would be great too. You had to pay for meals on my flight and the prices they charged were criminal so I’d only eaten some candy I had in the bottom of my bag. I hadn’t had a decent meal since dinner with my uni friends before heading to the airport.
We got to the car. I’d been expecting a fancy stretch limo but this was just like a nice car. Nothing too luxurious.
The driver opened the door for me then put my case in the back.
Hell, the seat backs were covered with lacy doilies. I took a selfie making sure the doilies could be clearly seen. Then the driver got in and handed me an envelope.
I’d assumed we’d go s
traight to see Yamaguchi but the instructions in the envelope said he’d arrange a meeting later. In the meantime, he’d given me the keys to my apartment and told me I had to meet with my team tomorrow.
My team? What the hell? I had no team.
I knocked on the Plexiglas screen around the driver.
“What’s this about a team?” I asked.
The driver didn’t answer. Maybe he didn’t speak English. He hadn’t spoken one word since he’d picked me up. I reread the paper. It definitely said I had to meet with a team. Maybe Yamaguchi had put a team together to help find this stone. He must be taking it seriously.
I got out my phone to message Mum about it but I had no Wi-Fi. Damn it. My phone plan didn’t include international roaming either since I figured I’d never need it. I guess I’d have to just suffer through the ride to my apartment and pick up a SIM card somewhere.
I had no idea how long it’d take to get from the airport but all around me looked like farms. Definitely not the image I had of Tokyo. My stomach rumbled but I ignored it. All my candy was long gone. Maybe I should’ve coughed up the cash for those overpriced sandwiches on the flight.
I took off my cardigan and balled it up as a pillow. If I couldn’t eat, I’d get some shuteye. I hadn’t slept all night on the flight. There’d been some idiot in the window seat beside me and every time I started dozing off, he’d yell out to his friend two rows back. I’d asked him if he wanted me to change seats with his friend but he’d said he was all right. So, I’d told him if that was the case, to shut up and let me sleep. He’d scowled at me then seemed to elbow me in the ribs every five minutes.
I didn’t really sleep on the ride but seemed to drift between dozing and not dozing. After a while, we hit the city edges. The greenery outside changed to gray concrete with bursts of neon lights flashing even in the daytime. I tried to take it all in but the scenery flashed by so fast.
Eventually the car pulled up. It seemed like we’d been driving forever. The driver opened my door and got my case out. I tried to judge what this apartment would be like from the outside. The concrete two-story building had red doors that opened out onto an open walkway with stairs at each end of the building. It wasn’t a luxury apartment but it didn’t look too shabby either, just boxy and gray.