Ink

the guy bumped his shoulder harshly into Jun.

Jun blinked his cold eyes and suddenly grabbed the guy by his shirt collar. The guy let out a cry of surprise.

“Don’t threaten her,” Jun said.

“Jun,” I said, and Ishikawa stopped walking, his mouth dropping open and his hand reaching for his pocket.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” the guy said, pulling Jun’s hand off him. “You want a fight, is that it, pretty boy?” He swaggered toward Jun.

“Hey, break it up,” Ishikawa said, looking rattled. “What the hell, Sugi? It’s broad daylight. Forget it.”

“Shut up, Satoshi,” Sugi growled.

“Jun,” I said, tugging on his arm. “Let’s go.” His eyes were frost. Ishikawa looked around, his eyes wild. So much for controlling his own goons.

“Sugi, we’re going. Right now.” Sugi raised a fist and lunged at Jun, but Jun sidestepped and pulled on the goon’s arm, spinning him around in a circle so he nearly lost his balance.

“Call your friend off, Ishikawa,” Jun warned.

And then Ishikawa pulled his closed knife out, tracing his fingers over it like he was reassuring himself he was in control. Except we all knew he wasn’t. His hands were shaking.

“Sugi! Leave them alone, damn it!” Sugi’s whole face was red, and he lunged toward Ishikawa, grabbing the knife out of his hands and snicking it open. Oh god. A scream died in my throat as he thrust the weapon toward Jun.

Jun stepped away, grabbing hold of Sugi’s shirt with one hand. In a fluid movement, he detangled the knife from the thug’s hand and pressed it against his throat. Sugi took a sharp breath, his skin touching the blade.

“Don’t ever threaten us again, got it?” Jun said coolly.

“Damn it, Sugi! I’m sorry,” Ishikawa said, his eyes flicking between Jun and me. “I just wanted to talk to her. I swear.”

“I don’t care,” Jun said. “If you can’t control your thugs, then leave them at home.” His eyes f licked to Ishikawa.

“Now, get out of here.” He closed the knife, dropping it into Ishikawa’s hand.

Ishikawa stared at me, a cross between horror and embarrassment. Then he and the two guys took off running.

I realized I was holding my breath and I let it out in a gasp.

“Close one, yes?” said Jun, bending forward and pressing his hands against his knees. “Are you okay?”

I didn’t know what to say.

He looked at me, smiling kindly.

“Jun, what the hell was that?”

“Ah,” he said. “I don’t like gangsters. And he threatened you.”

“Yeah, but—”

“You have to mean business with them,” he said, “or they won’t leave you alone.” His piercing eyes stared back as he smoothed a blond highlight behind his ear. “I’m sorry if I scared you,” he said. “You can’t take them lightly, Katie.

Those guys are dangerous.”

“If you hadn’t been here—”

“Don’t worry,” Jun said. “You’re Yuu’s friend, right? And Ishikawa and Yuu are friends. So he wouldn’t hurt you. And now that I’ve shown him his goons don’t listen, hopefully he’ll distance himself from them.”

“Maybe.”

“I didn’t mean to frighten you. Listen, could I give you my keitai number?” I opened my mouth, but he held up a hand. “I know. I’m not going to ask you for coffee again.”

He smiled. “But I’d just feel a lot better if I knew you could get ahold of me.”

He was himself again, gentle and calm and gorgeous. I wished he hadn’t let Sugi get to him with the whole bumping-into-his-shoulder thing. But it did feel nice that he’d defended me and that I could count on him.

“Okay,” I said, pulling out my keitai. He smiled, pushing a button on his phone to send through his number. My keitai beeped with his info.

And suddenly his warm fingers wrapped around my hand, which sent a shock through me.

“I think you have someone you like,” he said. “But if things change, would you consider me? I’d really like to get to know you better.”

My heart felt like it stopped.

Then he scratched the back of his head, laughing. “I’m sorry. Hazui, I’m so awkward sometimes. Forget I said it. I go this way now, so…”

“Oh. Oh, okay. Thanks.”

“Bai bai,” he said, the same as the English goodbye, and he actually winked, shaking a thumbs-up at me. Yes, really. He turned and I watched his tall frame walk around the outskirts of Sunpu Park. He walked gracefully, not the swagger Ishikawa and Tomohiro sometimes tried when others were watching, and he swung his book bag back and forth alongside him. I watched him for another minute, then raced through Sunpu Park to class.

My mind fell apart as I listened to the gravel crunch beneath my feet. I just wanted a day where no one pulled a knife or released an ancient dragon into the sky. Too much to ask, apparently.

Ishikawa had seen the dragon after all. It was harder to deny than I’d thought. I was a bad actor. Good thing school was ending for summer break soon. I wouldn’t be able to make it much longer.

Ishikawa was waiting in the courtyard after school, but it wasn’t for me. I saw him standing among the clutter of bikes, his arms folded across his chest and the sun shining off his shock of white hair. He leaned against the metal bar, eyes narrowed, watching the door of the genkan as students filed past him.

I backed up to the cubby where I’d placed my slippers and waited. I had to get to cram school, but there was no way I could go out there now.

The door to the school hallway slid open and the scraping noise made me jump. I looked over my shoulder and saw Tomohiro there. He gave me a small nod, eyes scanning over the students in the genkan. When he saw Ishikawa outside, he grimaced. He shook the slippers off his feet and shoved them into his cubby on the other side of the room. Then, without looking back, he left the school. Deny everything.

Ishikawa spotted him and walked halfway over. I watched, holding my breath. Tomohiro was acting casual, slouching over and running his hand through his hair. Ishikawa looked a little calmer than the morning, too, but he wasn’t smiling.

“Hey!” Someone clapped me on the back and I jumped a mile. Tanaka stood there grinning at me.

“Don’t do that,” I hissed.

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m just… Never mind.”

“Hey, should we go for ramen together?”

“I have cram school.”

“So skip,” he said. “It’s almost summer break. Let’s go for ice cream at least, okay? Make memories to carry us through the lonely summer, stuff like that.”

“What?”

“Come on, come on,” Tanaka said, pushing me out the door. “Yuki’s waiting outside.” The wave of afternoon humidity pressed against my face, like walking into an oven.

Tomohiro would definitely be sweltering in his blazer, just to cover up his wrist. Ishikawa looked over as I stepped out, his face pale. He put his hand on Tomohiro’s arm, pushing him away gently as he approached me.

“Greene,” he said, and I didn’t want to stop walking, but Tanaka had no idea and stopped, looking around the courtyard for Yuki. He saw her by the tennis court with her friends and waved her over. Ishikawa was in front of me now, Tomohiro a step or two behind.