Tokyo Ever After: A Novel (Tokyo Ever After #1)(47)

She shakes her head. “I still have much to learn, but it is passable. It doesn’t have to be perfect, however. Kanji is an expression of the soul.”

I fiddle with the edge of the paper. “It’s overwhelming how much there is to learn.”

She nods. “I understand. When I came to Japan, it was quite intimidating.”

I inspect her, surprised at this news. “You weren’t born here?”

“No. I was born in England. My father is Japanese. My mother is Chinese. We moved here just after I turned five.”

“I didn’t know that.” How could I not know that?

Her brows draw tight. “You never asked.”

“I bet you were fluent in Japanese, though.”

“I knew some,” she says. “But my entire education had been in English. When we arrived, my parents enrolled me in St. Peter’s International School in Tokyo. I had to learn everything from scratch. Worse, I was terribly made fun of. Children can be so cruel.”

I think of Emily Billings in an almighty rush. All the nice things anyone has ever said to me are dust in comparison to that one moment in time. I gulp. “How did you manage it?”

She stares at the table. “Some things you just get through. I was near proficient by the end of kindergarten.”

My mouth quirks upward. “You really do learn everything you need to know in kindergarten.”

“And sumo. I used to watch with my nanny and practice the wrestler names.” She taps the paper. “Mountain was a personal favorite.” She sighs. “I blend in most of the time. But in some ways, I will always be a foreigner.”

“I insulted the prime minister,” I blurt. “Asked him about his sister not attending the wedding. And as I was leaving, my cousins called me gaijin.”

She has the good grace to wince. “Ouch.”

“Yeah.” I hunch over. I stare at the washi paper. Mountain was my latest attempt. But before that was sky, middle, and sun. I focus on the sun character—Japan’s national emblem. The first emperor, Jimmu, was born swaddled in golden rays. He descended from Amaterasu. How could you ever go wrong with the light at your back?

She makes a noise in the back of her throat. “Those girls. Their mother is around too little and their father gives them too much, as if material things will make up for her absence.”

“Please. Don’t make me feel bad for them.”

“I’m not. They’re terrible. Believe me. I’m not surprised they said something like that. They don’t attack unless they feel truly threatened.” I feel a smidgen better. She juts her chin at the washi paper. “I wouldn’t waste any time thinking about them. Focus on kanji instead.”

“Is this your idea of tough love?” I give her the side-eye. “Because you should know it’s my least favorite kind of love.”

Mariko doesn’t reply, only raises her eyebrows. At length, I set a new paper in front of me, dip the brush, and tap out the excess ink. I keep my hand light and patient and think only of the here and now. The line I’m making, and not the word. It only takes a second or two, but when I sit back, I grin. It’s a little wobbly at the top and too thick at the bottom. A little weak, but with a promise of strength. It definitely could be fine-tuned a bit. But I like it. It is an expression of my soul, after all—my messy, messy soul.

Mariko peruses my effort. “Still needs work, but better.”

I examine her, then brighten. “Oh my God! I just figured something out.”

She comes to attention. “What? What is it?”

My smile is sly. “You like me.”

“What?” She scowls. “I do not—”

“You like me,” I say with a firm nod.

“Stop saying that.”

“You like me and want to be my friend.”

“If anyone hears you, they’re going to think you’ve lost it.” Mariko’s lips purse. She crosses her arms and huffs out. “I respect that you are trying. It’s not easy. You’re rising to the challenge. It’s … admirable, I guess.”

“Uh-huh.” I give her a knowing look.

Mariko can’t even. Her sigh is long and drawn out, aggrieved. “Do you want help practicing your kanji or not?”

“Yes,” I say beaming, then sing, “friend.”




THE TOKYO TATTLER

The Lost Butterfly holidays in Kyoto



April 21, 2021

Despite fatigue cutting short His Imperial Majesty’s tour of Southeast Asia, preparations for his eighty-seventh birthday are well underway. All imperial family members will be present. A formal audience has been scheduled where Her Imperial Highness Princess Izumi will officially be introduced to her grandparents for the first time.

Recently, Tokyo Tattler correspondents and locals have spied HIH Princess Izumi out and about in Kyoto. Spottings have mostly occurred in the evenings (inset: Princess Izumi seen visiting a temple and geisha house last week).

While HIH Princess Izumi holidays in Kyoto, her twin cousins have been carrying the imperial workload, attending official duties on behalf of their mother, Her Imperial Highness Princess Midori, who hasn’t left imperial grounds in weeks.

And what of her second cousin, HIH Prince Yoshihito? Our palace insider said the two have grown close. In an exclusive scoop, HIH Prince Yoshihito was just seen boarding the imperial train. His destination? Kyoto.