Fifty Words for Rain(15)

“No. You don’t need her permission to talk to me.”

“I know. I need yours.”

“That’s not . . . No. You’re missing the point.”

Nori felt herself beginning to panic. “I am?”

Akira did something then that she was completely unprepared for. He closed the distance between them in a few deft steps and rested his hand on her shoulder. She went stiff as a board for a split second before melting effortlessly into his touch. Right then and there, she decided that she loved him.

“You don’t need permission to talk to me. That’s stupid.”

Nori was only half listening to what he was saying. She was preoccupied with the warm, liquid-like sensation that was overtaking her body.

“Hai, Oniichan.”

“And why on earth can’t you leave your room? Are you being punished for something?”

She really didn’t know why she was surprised. Of course her grandmother hadn’t explained the rules to Akira—they didn’t apply to him. And so when Nori went down the list of rules in as dignified a manner as she could muster, she watched Akira’s reaction carefully. She watched his facial expression shift from bemusement to skepticism to pure incredulous disbelief.

“You’re telling me that that old crone hasn’t let you out of this house in nearly three years? Not at all? Not so much as two steps out the front door?”

Nori shook her head. She bit her lip as she watched him, trying to figure out what to say next.

“So is that why you came, then? To get me to do something about it?”

She shook her head again. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that this idea had been ill-fated from the start. Whatever plan she might have once had was now gone.

“No, Oniichan. I just wanted to talk to you.”

Akira’s lips curled upwards. “Talk to me?”

“Hai.”

“Well then. If you don’t mind, I’d like to get some sleep.”

Nori flushed a deep shade of mottled purple. She bowed abruptly and stammered several apologies, all of which earned her nothing but another smirk. She made her way to the door and placed her hand on the knob.

“People call you Nori, don’t they?”

She turned to look at him, taking a minute to process the question. She didn’t know what “people” he could possibly be referring to. And she didn’t know exactly what they called her, but she was quite sure that she didn’t want to know either. Her grandmother had used the nickname once or twice, but it seemed odd that she’d share this information with Akira. Rather than try to figure it out, she decided to simply answer the question.

“My . . . Our mother called me Nori.”

Akira looked at her for a brief moment before waving a hand in dismissal.

“All right, well. I just wanted to know. Good night.”

“Good night, Oniichan.”



* * *





When her grandmother decided to show up unannounced two days later, in the wee hours of the morning, Nori was positive that her disobedience had been found out.

She didn’t even bother to get upset. When she opened her eyes to the vision of the old woman standing before her in a somber black yukata, she simply climbed out of bed and bowed low. For once, she was not shaking. There was no beating on earth that would make her regret what she had done.

Her grandmother’s lips were pursed tight, and she took care not to look at Nori when she spoke. Her hands were coiled together like the knotted branches of a tree.

“It has come to my attention that a . . . child . . . of your age must be allowed a certain amount of exercise. Therefore, you will be allowed to roam the house from the hours of nine a.m. to five o’clock p.m. Akiko-san will supervise you at all times. Under no circumstance are you to touch anything without permission. Stay out of the way of the staff, they have no time for your nonsense. If you disturb things, I will discipline you. If you break anything, I will discipline you. If you attempt to leave this house, I will remove the skin from your bastard bones. Do you understand?”

Nori’s head snapped up, and she looked at her grandmother in a dumb stupor. Despite the threats, despite the pure, unadulterated spite that was admittedly quite unusual for her stoic guardian, she only really heard one thing.

“I can go?”

Yuko’s brow twitched. “Within the guidelines I have set for you. You will be informed in advance which days are acceptable for you to take your exercise.”

Translation: the days when her grandfather was away at the capital. There were many things in this house that went over her head, but she was one hundred percent certain that he was not aware of this new development.

But that didn’t matter so much. She tugged at one of her wiry curls, trying not to betray her budding sense of satisfaction. Just because she would tolerate a punishment, it didn’t mean that she was going to encourage one.

“Arigatou gozaimasu.”

Her grandmother ignored the pleasantry. She turned and left as quickly as possible. Nori had to admire how quiet her grandmother managed to be, even when she was all but bolting from a room.

A few hours later, Akiko appeared. Nori all but tossed her book on the floor in her frenzy to get across the room.

“Are we going now?”

“Yes.”