Fifty Words for Rain(49)

Nori forced herself to sit up. She pitched forward so that she was in his arms, with her head nestled in the crook of his neck.

“I’m so sorry,” she moaned. The tears began to fall heavy and free. Her whole body ached, but she was not crying for the pain. Like two ships passing in the night, they had almost missed each other. She had almost let him go. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

Akira patted the top of her head. “Hush. It’s my fault. They sent you to that horrible place because of me. I couldn’t stop it. I tried . . . I tried everything, but they threatened to hurt you if I didn’t . . . if I didn’t stop meddling and do my duty to the family.”

His voice was filled with a poisonous spite. “They told me you were somewhere safe but that I could never see you again. They told me to forget you. To go on with my schooling and my music like nothing had happened. Grandmother said she would buy me whatever I liked, Grandfather told me that he would get me a princess to marry.”

Nori lifted her face up and pulled back so she could look him in the eyes. He had grown. His face had lost what little baby fat he’d had, and his cheekbones were sharply defined. Even with him kneeling, she could tell that he was taller. And there was something else too. The shine had been taken off him. He was a lucky boy no longer.

From birth, Akira had been divinely favored. That’s what her grandmother had always told her and Nori had come to believe it herself. He had floated through life effortlessly, assured of a warm welcome everywhere he went. He had rarely known disappointment, scarcely known pain, never known what it was to be overlooked. And so he had the confidence, or, in truth, the arrogance, of someone who knew that nothing could ever go wrong for him.

But now that confidence had been badly shaken. His certainty was gone, and whatever had been left of his innocence was gone with it.

When she realized this, she had to ball up her fist and bite down on it to hold back a scream.

“You should have forgotten me like they told you,” she whispered brokenly. “I have ruined you.”

Akira tugged sharply on one of her curls. “Hush.”

“But—”

“I said shut up.”

She bowed her head against his will. Akira shifted his weight and glanced over his shoulder.

“I should fetch the doctor. It’s the middle of the night, but I’ve had him staying in one of the guest rooms.”

She did not want him to leave. She seized hold of his sleeves.

“They won’t let us get away with this,” she said, her foggy brain slowly starting to fit the pieces together. “This is to declare war against our own grandparents. They will come after us.”

Akira nodded. Of course, he knew this. He had known when he started that there was no turning back.

“We won’t be safe,” Nori breathed. She could feel her chest tightening. “We’ve humiliated them now, we’ve tainted their honor and they won’t let that go. Not ever.”

Akira nodded again. His face was grave, but he did not try to soothe her with lies. Whether she wanted it or not, he always told her the truth.

Nori went perfectly still as the full reality of the situation dawned on her. Confining her had not worked. Banishing her had not worked.

She sucked in a little breath.

“They’re going to kill me.”

Akira pressed his forehead against hers, and she could feel the determination radiating off of him.

“They’re going to try.”



* * *





Akira never left her side for more than a few moments. When the doctor came to see her, her brother retreated to the corner, but he kept his gaze on them the entire time.

After the doctor signed off on her, giving her some pills to take for the pain and strict instructions to avoid putting undue stress on her leg, a maid came with some food. A few moments later, another maid came with some water for Nori to wash and a fresh change of clothes. When the woman left, Akira turned to face the corner so she could try to wash the smell of blood off her. She brushed out her hair as best she could and winced as she pulled a clean cotton slip over her body. She did not look at the bandages. With a little cough, she let Akira know that he could turn back around.

She didn’t want to eat, but Akira’s expression made it clear she had no choice.

She picked at her rice with her chopsticks. “What happens now?”

It was nearly morning. Nori could hear the world starting to wake up.

Akira rubbed his eyes. “They’ll find us soon. They have spies everywhere, they’re little better than high-born criminals.”

Nori pushed the rice aside.

“No, tabete. Eat.”

“Should we leave Japan?” she asked.

Akira shrugged. “That’s impossible. They’ll be watching the ports. And there’s no paper trail on you, no documents for customs. Legally, you don’t exist.”

She bit her lip. “You could go without me.”

His face soured. “If you’re going to be stupid, kindly shut up. I have enough to think about.”

She wrinkled her nose. Perhaps he hadn’t changed that much.

“I’m not a child anymore. I could manage without you.”

He flicked his wrist. “Nori, I didn’t go through all of this to find you for you to speak of leaving. You cost me a small fortune.”