“I have a date with Kenshin. Apparently, he has some big surprise in store for me.”
“You two are adorable,” she said, clapping her hands together. “I want to hear all about it.”
Kol made a retching sound, his face twisting in disgust. “Yuck.”
Midori biffed him upside the head then pulled her son close to hug and kiss him. He squirmed. “I’m going to remind you of this moment in a few years when your hormones kick in.” She turned to face me. “Thank you for this. It feels so good to be home.”
Midori had said something to the same effect every day since we’d returned. “That’s the last time you’re going to thank me, okay?” I said.
Midori shook her head and grinned wickedly. “Nope. Not a chance.” I was turning to continue on into the kitchen when Midori added, “When do you think you’re going back into the radiation zone? I have a growing list of items people would like to find.”
I didn’t respond right away, thinking over my meditations of the last five days. “I’m considering a new career path.”
“Oh?” asked Midori and Kol in unison.
“I thought I might teach self-defense to the women in the community and maybe volunteer at the school.”
Midori jumped out of her seat and dashed over to give me a hug. “That sounds truly fantastic. No one is better equipped to teach history than you.”
“I didn’t say anything about teaching history,” I said, hugging her back nonetheless.
“That’s what you’re going to do though,” said Midori, stepping back. “I have no doubt. We must learn from our mistakes lest we repeat them. We need this and—” Midori clapped her hands over her mouth. “Speaking of history, I forgot that Miikio dropped something off for you last night.” She held up a hand telling me to wait and disappeared into the main library.
Coming back a minute later, she gave me the old leather-bound journal I’d passed off as the second spellbinder. “Miikio wanted you to have this back. He says it holds power and is meant for you.”
I laughed. “Sometimes I wonder about that kid’s magical abilities. How much power could an old, empty journal hold?”
Midori waggled her eyebrows. “Time will tell, dear sister.”
My heart leapt at the word sister, and I remembered the Polaroid camera. It was scuffed and scratched but somehow had made it through our adventures. I’d found it among the treasures at the Mount that were removed before the burning. The same treasures that now littered the library waiting to find their perfect place. In thanks, many of Tokyo’s men were building display shelves and pedestals. Soon the building would be both a library and a museum. I told Midori and Kol to stay right where they were and dashed off to get the camera.
“We’re going to take a family photograph,” I said as I re-entered the room.
“We’re in our pajamas, and my hair is a mess,” protested Midori.
I grabbed her hand before she could smooth down her hair. “Bed head will make it more authentic.”
“Well, how are we all going to fit in the picture?” she asked, hands on hips.
“We’ll squish.”
“Or you could let me take the photo,” said Kenshin, ambling into the room looking devastatingly handsome.
“Perfect”.
Kenshin snapped three pics of our trio, one for each of us, then Midori returned the favor for Kenshin and I. Using a glue derived from fish, I pasted both photos in the journal Miikio dropped off, writing My Family over the photo of Midori and Kol, and My Love over the shot of Kenshin and I. Maybe I would use the journal now that I had a bounty of good things to report.
Kenshin followed me to my room to stow the book and camera and swept me up in his arms as soon as I placed the items safely on my shelves. In one graceful move, he had me on the bed and was nuzzling my ear. “God, you’re beautiful,” he whispered. “Inside and out.”
“Even with my bed head and morning breath?” I questioned.
“Even with.”
“And what about that other thing?”
Kenshin found my mouth for a long, deep, lingering kiss before whispering, “I can wait as long as you need.” He laughed. “We have eternity, after all.” He slid his hand down my thigh. “Besides, I’m enjoying all the build-up.”
“You’re wonderful,” I told him.
“I know,” he deadpanned before sticking out his tongue and crossing his eyes.
I giggled uncontrollably. “What about that surprise you had for me?”
Kenshin popped onto his knees and pulled me to a sitting position. “Oh, that. Don’t get too excited. It’s nothing special.”
His impish grin, however, told me the exact opposite was true.
I dragged him off the bed. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 32
“What do you think the surprise is?” Kenshin led me by the hand down the front steps of the library.
“I’m pretty sure it’s either diamonds, a kitten, or a book,” I joked.
“Wrong on all fronts.” His stride was bouncy and quick. “It’s way cooler than diamonds.”
“I should hope so after all this build-up.” I noticed Emiko, an older woman I’d fought alongside and returned her wave. She beckoned us over. “You’re looking well. Having your daughter back agrees with you.”
“It does,” replied Emiko, clapping her hands together in delight. “Wait one moment. I have something for you inside the house.” She returned a few minutes later and bowed as she presented me with a handwoven textile, showing a red-haired woman flying through the air, a dragon behind her. “My daughter and I just finished it. It is our vision of the red ghost. Please accept it with our gratitude.”
I ran my hand over the fine fabric. The gift was precious but far too much. Yet, not to accept it would be rude. “It’s gorgeous,” I replied, bowing in return. I vowed to live up to and exceed Emiko’s expectations of me.
With hugs and promises of a return visit, Kenshin and I proceeded down the street. We hadn’t gone one full block before being called over by someone else, and it kept happening—Hachi, Kirika, Jona, Kana, Hisa, Maiya. We spent time talking with each one as they gifted me a textile showing their vision of the red ghost. In some of the homemade designs, I was a sword-wielding samurai like Tomoe Gozen…in others, I was a dragon or a fox. In all, I was a warrior.
“Is this your surprise?” I asked, after leaving Maiya’s house with another beautiful tapestry, my arms precariously full.
“Nope,” said Kenshin, taking my load. “If I’d known, I would have suggested you bring your old hood. I love that you’re being embraced by the community, but I’m dying to show you my own surprise.”
We quickened our pace and turned down a side street. Upon reaching a vacant green space with nothing but grass and bare sakura trees, Kenshin wrapped my gifts in his jacket and set them on the ground.
He gently took my hand and pulled me towards the tree. “You carved our initials into a dead tree?” I asked, half joking.
“No, but I like the idea.”
“Where is it?” I spun in a circle looking for the big surprise.
Kenshin held my shoulders and positioned me back to face the tree. “Look closer.”
And that’s when I saw it. Dozens of tiny pink buds. I inched closer, lowering a branch for a better look, worried that what I might be seeing was a mirage. “It’s amazing,” I said, turning to Kenshin. I jumped into his arms and showered him with kisses. “It’s the best surprise ever. How did you know I loved the sakura trees so much?”
“Our shared visions, of course. The other trees have them, too,” he said, twirling us around.
“What do you think it means?”
“Today is a good day and tomorrow might be even better.”
“I think you might be right,” I said, lowering my lips to meet his. As I sank closer to him, into the kiss, the last part of me that had held onto the past, cracked and thawed. My fear evaporated and the weight holding me down disappeared. Poof. “I�
��m ready,” I whispered.
“Hmmm?” he questioned, nuzzling my neck.
“I’m ready.”
Finally catching on to what I was saying, Kenshin jerked back. “You’re ready, ready?”
I nodded, a girlish giggle rising from deep within.
He grinned and twirled me around again.
After one final look at the blooming sakura trees, we mostly walked, sometimes jogged, back to the library and my waiting bedroom. We traveled only side roads and alleyways. Our luck had turned. No one stopped us along the way.
Acknowledgements
Much gratitude to Rebecca Hamilton for putting together the Berkhano Vampire series and allowing me to be a part of it and to Sarah Templeton for donating her spot to me.
A huge thank you goes to Kathy Lapeyre for your awesome editing skills and to Rebecca Frank for the incredible cover.
And finally, a huge hug and thanks to my family—Mom, Dad and Zac—love you lots and thank you, thank you, thank you for being so supportive!
Tokyo's Last Vampire: Division 12: The Berkhano Vampire Collection Page 16