passed several more students on our way up the stairs, all of whom stared at me and Takeo. Chiyo appeared unconcerned. The steps continued on past the third floor landing, ending at a door that opened to a blast of broiling air and sunlight.
As the others tramped out, a squeak below made me turn. I peered down the stairwell. Empty. Just someone passing through, I guessed. I slipped out and shut the roof door behind me.
Chiyo sauntered across the concrete tiles to the wall that bordered the rooftop. She leaned back against the glass and turned the considerable dazzle of her smile on us.
“Hit me,” she said. “What’s this all about?”
Takeo cleared his throat. “It may be difficult for you to consider,” he said. “I know faith in our kind has faded, and for you to accept something so large, so quickly... I’ll be happy to answer any questions you have. The truth is, you’re more than you think yourself to be. You are a kami.”
Haru let out a short laugh. Chiyo just raised her eyebrows.
“Say what?” she said, sounding amused.
“You are a kami,” Takeo repeated.
“I heard that,” she said. “But you could at least try to make sense if you want to pull my leg. Even if all those myths about spirits in streams and trees were true, I think I’d know if I was one of them.”
“You were purposefully kept ignorant of your true nature, for your own protection,” Takeo said.
“This is pointless,” Haru said to Chiyo. “Let’s go.”
“No, wait,” she said in a playful tone. “I’m curious. Let’s see where they go with this.” She turned to us. “Very fascinating. What else have you got?”
She obviously didn’t believe Takeo in the slightest. Of course she couldn’t. This news was just as unexpected to her as Rin’s proclamation had been to me, wasn’t it?
And I hadn’t really believed until I’d seen proof my eyes couldn’t deny.
“Telling her isn’t enough,” I said to Takeo. “Show her something you can do.” We had only six days left before Obon; we didn’t have time for a long debate. And every second this conversation dragged out, the pain inside me prickled deeper.
Takeo nodded. The air shimmered as his ki whirled around him, rippling through his uniform. I thought he might raise himself into the air, or vanish into his ethereal form. But then he gathered the energy between his strong hands, guiding it into a familiar streaming shape. My stomach twisted.
A kite. He was making my kite, our kite, for her.
Chiyo gasped as the glinting shape floated up over our heads. Takeo twitched his fingers, and it drifted one way and the other. Then he dropped his hands, and the kite dissipated against the sky.
“How did you do that?” Chiyo said, a little breathless. Haru glanced at her, and I thought I saw a flash of dawning understanding cross his angular face, as if he’d almost known. Then he looked at us and his mouth flattened.
“We’re kami too,” Takeo said. “I can’t say if the tales you’ve heard are true in their specifics, but we exist all around you, keeping the world in balance with the power I just showed you. And you are one of us.”
“I don’t know,” Chiyo said. “That kite thing could have been a trick. Are you sure this isn’t a joke?”
She kept smiling even as she asked. If there was one word for Chiyo, I thought, it would probably be “cheerful.”
“Why would we show you tricks?” Takeo said, genuinely bewildered.
“What do you want with Chiyo?” Haru broke in, the uncertainty in his tone offsetting the bluntness of his words. He straightened himself up even taller.
“We’ve come from Mt. Fuji,” I said, “where the most powerful kami live, and many others as well. You know how sacred the mountain is, don’t you? We need help. Our home has been attacked.”
“Someone attacked Mt. Fuji?” Chiyo said, and turned to Haru. “Have you seen anything on TV about that?”
“It’s not something you’d have heard about,”
As the others tramped out, a squeak below made me turn. I peered down the stairwell. Empty. Just someone passing through, I guessed. I slipped out and shut the roof door behind me.
Chiyo sauntered across the concrete tiles to the wall that bordered the rooftop. She leaned back against the glass and turned the considerable dazzle of her smile on us.
“Hit me,” she said. “What’s this all about?”
Takeo cleared his throat. “It may be difficult for you to consider,” he said. “I know faith in our kind has faded, and for you to accept something so large, so quickly... I’ll be happy to answer any questions you have. The truth is, you’re more than you think yourself to be. You are a kami.”
Haru let out a short laugh. Chiyo just raised her eyebrows.
“Say what?” she said, sounding amused.
“You are a kami,” Takeo repeated.
“I heard that,” she said. “But you could at least try to make sense if you want to pull my leg. Even if all those myths about spirits in streams and trees were true, I think I’d know if I was one of them.”
“You were purposefully kept ignorant of your true nature, for your own protection,” Takeo said.
“This is pointless,” Haru said to Chiyo. “Let’s go.”
“No, wait,” she said in a playful tone. “I’m curious. Let’s see where they go with this.” She turned to us. “Very fascinating. What else have you got?”
She obviously didn’t believe Takeo in the slightest. Of course she couldn’t. This news was just as unexpected to her as Rin’s proclamation had been to me, wasn’t it?
And I hadn’t really believed until I’d seen proof my eyes couldn’t deny.
“Telling her isn’t enough,” I said to Takeo. “Show her something you can do.” We had only six days left before Obon; we didn’t have time for a long debate. And every second this conversation dragged out, the pain inside me prickled deeper.
Takeo nodded. The air shimmered as his ki whirled around him, rippling through his uniform. I thought he might raise himself into the air, or vanish into his ethereal form. But then he gathered the energy between his strong hands, guiding it into a familiar streaming shape. My stomach twisted.
A kite. He was making my kite, our kite, for her.
Chiyo gasped as the glinting shape floated up over our heads. Takeo twitched his fingers, and it drifted one way and the other. Then he dropped his hands, and the kite dissipated against the sky.
“How did you do that?” Chiyo said, a little breathless. Haru glanced at her, and I thought I saw a flash of dawning understanding cross his angular face, as if he’d almost known. Then he looked at us and his mouth flattened.
“We’re kami too,” Takeo said. “I can’t say if the tales you’ve heard are true in their specifics, but we exist all around you, keeping the world in balance with the power I just showed you. And you are one of us.”
“I don’t know,” Chiyo said. “That kite thing could have been a trick. Are you sure this isn’t a joke?”
She kept smiling even as she asked. If there was one word for Chiyo, I thought, it would probably be “cheerful.”
“Why would we show you tricks?” Takeo said, genuinely bewildered.
“What do you want with Chiyo?” Haru broke in, the uncertainty in his tone offsetting the bluntness of his words. He straightened himself up even taller.
“We’ve come from Mt. Fuji,” I said, “where the most powerful kami live, and many others as well. You know how sacred the mountain is, don’t you? We need help. Our home has been attacked.”
“Someone attacked Mt. Fuji?” Chiyo said, and turned to Haru. “Have you seen anything on TV about that?”
“It’s not something you’d have heard about,”
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