A Dragon's Clutch Read online

  I had expected the train to be crowded but it wasn’t bad this time of the morning. I held onto the overhead bar and enjoyed the rhythm of a train. Then a hand grabbed my boob.

  I reached up and twisted, the girls jumping as the man shrieked. Yes, man. Not kid, an adult man had grabbed me on the train. “What in the hell do you think you are doing?” I shoved him to the floor and twisted his arm a little bit more. He shrieked again.

  Miu tugged on my arm. “Sapphire, let him go. Men act like this here.”

  “Not to me.” I shoved him a bit but let go. Glaring at him as he stumbled away.

  “During busy times they have cars for women only,” Emiko said. “But the rest of the time you have to deal with the perverts.”

  “Not while we’re here,” Taliesin said. Soon the girls were surrounded by the guys. I wasn’t sure if I should feel offended or not since they didn’t feel the need to protect me too. The train turned a corner and Emiko reached up to hold onto the bar next to me. Her wrist looked so delicate and tiny compared to mine. I moved a bit, my muscles shifting. Emiko moved and nothing, just porcelain skin over dainty bones.

  Shaking my head, I stared out the window. I refused to get a complex over my wrists.

  Chapter Four

  I was hiding. I’m not ashamed to admit it. Hiding was easy in the seemingly endless rows of bookshelves filled with manga. Not comic books—do not call them comic books if you value your life. The bottoms of the shelves had yellow track lighting which glowed against the polished wood floor. I’d walked around the store, looking at the costumes of favorite characters to cos-play, action figures, cars, movie stills, and so much more. I stopped and admired the pieces from Studio Ghibli movies that I recognized, but other than that shelves filled with manga in Japanese didn’t hold much interest for me.

  Emiko had blushed when she took Taliesin’s hand to show him around the store, her innocence drawing him in. My bracelet glowed a soft blue white for a moment as she walked by.

  Kayin had waved to me, and Shin dragged him off. Miu’s little brother Hiroshi had met us there, and offered to show Sasha around. I had ditched Miu and her friends as they cooed over the cos-play dresses. Finding a quiet, bare corner, I sat on the floor and read the next chapter in my leadership textbook on my phone. People would text me when they were finally ready to leave.

  Shiny black Doc Martens entered my vision. “Hai.”

  I looked up. Red skinny jeans tucked into the boots, a black t-shirt and a black leather jacket. His muscles moved under his tight clothes as he shifted and knelt next to me. His oval face, full pink lips, and sharp cheekbones made my breath catch for a second. “Hello.”

  He smiled, a blush pinking his golden cheeks, and said something in Japanese. If he’d had any bit of magical creature in his blood I would have been able to understand him. But unfortunately I could only shrug. He bit his lip, took a deep breath, and squared his shoulders. “I Takumi.”

  “Sapphire,” I said smiling.

  “You are much pretty.”

  Blushing, I closed my eyes. When I opened them his slender almond shaped eyes seemed to sparkle. They were so dark brown they looked black. He smiled a shy yet come-and-let’s-have-fun smile. A vision of Ramsey flashed through my head. His eyes the same shade of black-brown, his dangerous smile promising fun. His body falling into mine, a dagger sticking out of his back. Blood on my hands.

  “You want tea? With me?” Takumi asked.

  I blinked, trying to banish the vision and focus on the handsome boy in front of me. “Yes, but I can’t. My friends are waiting.”

  He nodded and held up his phone. “Number? For later?”

  God, he looked so sweet, but I couldn’t. My hands shook, they seemed to be covered in blood. I took a deep breath. Not real. Not real. “I can’t.”

  Getting up, I smiled sadly and walked away. I didn’t pay attention to where I walked. I wandered down the aisles, taking deep breaths, screams from the fight in Avalon echoing in my head.

  “Sapphire, are you okay?” Shin asked, his brow furrowed under his chin length, blue streaked, black bangs. Kayin stood behind his boyfriend, hands resting on Shin’s shoulders.

  “Oh, yeah, just lost in thought. What are you two looking at?”

  “Nothing,” Kayin said, snatching the manga from Shin’s hand and stuffing it on the shelf.

  Well, that wasn’t suspicious.

  Shin grinned and handed me a book.

  “You don’t want to see that. It’s naughty. I’m not sure I believe that people do those things.” Kayin whispered the last bit and looked around to see if anyone had heard him.

  I flipped through the book, yes going the correct way, and began to blush. So apparently manga has an X-rated, gay genre. Which is good to know, I guess. I gave the book back to Shin. “Having fun?”

  “Sapphire,” Kayin hissed. His ebony skin hid the blush I felt sure existed. Kayin’s embarrassment oozed along the floor and around my empathic shield.

  Shin’s amusement bubbled around me. “Yes, lots of fun.”

  “Maybe I should leave you two alone.”

  “No, that’s okay I think we’re done here.” Shin turned to Kayin. “Unless you wanted to get something?”

  Kayin glared at him.

  Shin laughed and picked up the basket at his feet, which held several manga with English titles. “I want to check out the Korean section and then I’ll be done.”

  “I didn’t know you read Korean.” I’d heard him speak it to his family over the phone before, but I’d known people who could speak a language but not read or write in it.

  “Yep, mom made me and my brother go to Korean school three days a week. We learned to read and write Korean, plus learned Korean history, art, dances. That’s also where I learned Hwa Rang Do.” Shin turned left. “Speaking of which we should train tomorrow.”

  “We should have time before dinner,” I said.

  “Can we use the gym or do we need to find somewhere else?”

  Shin shrugged. “I can ask Michael, but there is a park closer which should be fine. Here we are.” He scanned the section and pulled out several books. “Okay, should we find the others?”

  It turned out to be easier said than done. We found Miu and her friends first, due to the giggling. She needed a bit longer and promised to meet in the front of the store in ten minutes. Her basket had books with flowers and hearts all over them.

  Taliesin and Emiko stood close together talking. She looked up and smiled at him.

  “Are you guys ready?” I asked.

  Taliesin held up his basket. “Yeah, I think so. I’ve gotten quite a bit.”

  Emiko showed me the three manga she held. “I’m done.”

  “Miu is meeting us up front in ten minutes. I’ll go find Sasha. Why don’t you guys go check out.”

  “I’ll show them the way.” Emiko took Taliesin’s hand and Shin and Kayin followed them.

  Sasha was the next row over searching through historical manga. “Hey, are you about ready?”

  He held a stack of books against his chest. “Yes. Hiroshi went to get me a basket.”

  Reaching up I pulled a piece of fluff out of his red streaked honey blond locks, careful to not mess his stylish do. “I’m glad you found something interesting.”

  “They have historical manga, not only made up stories but actual biographies. Thanks Hiroshi.” Sasha took the basket from Hiroshi. “Aren’t you getting anything?”

  I shrugged. “I’ll read the ones you guys got once you finish with them. Unless they have Shakespeare manga, ’cause that’s my next year of English with the virtual academy.”

  Hiroshi grinned, his brown eyes warm. “They do. I can find them if you want.”

  “Really? That would be great.” I followed Miu’s younger brother around several bookshelves. “Oh, these will help so much. Let’s see. I need Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

  “Here,” said Sasha handing me Romeo and Juliet.<
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  Hiroshi passed me the other two. “Let’s go. I’m starving.”

  Sasha rubbed his stomach. “Da, lunch would be good. Do you know where we’re going?” He said, looking at Hiroshi.

  The smaller boy shrugged. “No idea. Miu and Emiko were on the phone giggling and planning today.”

  I shivered. That didn’t sound good, not good at all.

  * * *

  The towering glass buildings covered in ads and neon signs distracted me, and I couldn’t keep up with where we were going. Hiroshi began to twitch as people stared at our group. I guess he wasn’t used to the attention. With his short dark brown hair, polo shirt, and skinny jeans he’s the only one of us who appeared normal, well besides Emiko, but as a pretty girl she got stared at all the time. Are they staring because we aren’t Japanese? With all of the cos-players and girls in maid outfits it couldn’t be our clothes that attracted all the attention.

  “We’re going down here,” Miu said pointing to a dark entranceway. “It’s a ninja-themed restaurant.”

  Frowning, I followed the others. The door opened into a gray stone hallway that became darker with every step. I reached for someone, but realized I was behind everyone else. Well, that’s what I get for lagging behind. The hall opened to a room decorated with old wooden buildings along the walls with walkways above us. A women dressed as a ninja jumped out of the shadows. The girls screamed, Emiko clung to Taliesin’s arm even as she laughed. We followed the ninja to our table.

  “It’s dark in here,” I whispered to Kayin.

  “Yes, I am hoping my eyes adjust quickly.”

  “It’ll be fine. Themed restaurants are for fun,” Shin said.

  “Is that the waiter?” Kayin asked as a man dressed as a ninja with a silver mask covering his nose, mouth, and chin came to the table and began speaking in Japanese. He set down three small black vases with thin branches coming out of them and gray throwing stars hanging on the branches.

  “I guess so.”

  He passed a scroll to Miu’s friends, turned to us and bowed. “Hello honored guests, welcome to the home of the ninja. There are a few rules. You must ask before taking pictures of any of the ninjas, as we all have enemies we must hide from. Unfortunately, you can only be here for two hours, which I hope is enough time to enjoy our hospitality. And the shuriken are for eating not throwing. Only a skilled trained ninja can throw a shuriken.” He pulled three throwing stars from inside his top and threw them one after another sticking them into the wall above our heads.

  I ducked, then clapped, laughing, as our waiter bowed. He passed out scrolls and left with promises of water and tea.

  Kayin unrolled the scroll that was almost three feet long. “What should we get?”

  Shin ran a finger over his section. “What about one of the tasting menus?”

  “That sounds good.” I leaned in closer to Kayin, smiling as I read the menu, and carefully pronounced the typo I found. “Should we get the eight or ten course ‘vegetalian’ meal?”

  Kayin chuckled deep and warm. It vibrated through my body. “The ten. You eat a lot.”

  “Rude.” I pinched him in the side. Kayin jumped closer to Shin who wrapped his arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders. “Sasha, what’re you getting?”

  “The fish and vegetable tasting menu. I’m not sure what everything is but I’m willing to try new things.” Sasha smiled.

  “The crab and grapefruit dishes comes with a sword trick. That will be interesting.” Someone pulled on my braid. Turning, I saw no one. Did I imagine it, or was this some kind of trick the waiters played on customers? Miu and her two friends leaned over the menu talking. Emiko and Taliesin shared a menu. Emiko touched Taliesin’s arm before she said something.

  Hiroshi sighed as he looked at his menu, being ignored by everyone else.

  “Hiroshi, what are you going to get?” I asked.

  He smiled. “I’m not sure, Mom only gave me six thousand yen for today, so …”

  “Hey, it’s my treat, after all you helped me find the Shakespeare manga and that will help me so much.” Hiroshi pinched his lips together like he wasn’t sure. “Please, I would really like to treat you.”

  “Thank you,” he bowed his head. “I am most grateful. I shall get the Jyubei menu.”

  Our waiter did three flips before landing in front of our table. Screeching, he landed and did a few moves before bowing and taking our orders.

  “Is there anything special you wanted to see while you’re in Japan?” Hiroshi asked.

  “I’m not sure. I haven’t actually researched it very much. I think tomorrow your mom is taking us to a castle.”

  Hiroshi nodded. “Yes, to Edo Castle.”

  “Then we’re going to visit your grandparents and see Mt. Fuji. Are we going to be able to go to the top of the mountain?” I asked.

  “No, it is too early in the year to go up the mountain, too much snow.”

  “That’s okay. Miu said your grandparents had a magical being to show us. Something important.”

  “Yes, a Gaki in Aokigahara forest.”

  I started to ask for more information when the waiter returned.

  Various soups and salads were placed on the table, and from that moment on our attention focused on the meal.

  Another tug, a bit softer this time, on my braid. Looking around I saw no one, but because of how dark the restaurant was it would be easy to hide. Rubbing the back of my head I scooted forward on my chair, the crystal bead on my bracelet glowed a soft, happy, contented lavender, with a few pinkish red spots. One I assumed was for Taliesin and Emiko, and the other Sasha flirting with one of Miu’s friends. Miu scowled at our Russian flirt. I turned to hide my grin. A quick flash of gray-brown streaked through the crystal, as someone pulled my braid.

  “Are you okay?” Hiroshi asked.

  “Someone pulled on my braid.”

  He nodded. “Yes, they will play pranks here. I hope they didn’t hurt you. I could speak to someone.” Hiroshi sat straighter and pushed his almost-fifteen-year-old chest out.

  I smiled. “No, it startled me. Thank you for the offer.”

  Hiroshi nodded, his cheeks pinking.

  Our first course had been cleared and a second course of different types of sushi appeared. Each piece a work of beauty presented on a shining tantō or dagger. Using black and silver chopsticks, I picked up a pink slice of pickled ginger, placed it on the vegetable sushi and popped the whole thing in my mouth. Yum.

  “Is it good?” Hiroshi asked.

  “Yes, very. What did you get?” I wrinkled my nose at his, whatever. The outside was nori and topped with something that looked like mustard colored brains.

  “It’s sea urchin roe. Do you want to try some?”

  Roe, roe … wait that’s eggs … sea urchin eggs. “Um. No, thank you.”

  Hiroshi laughed and dipped a piece into shoyu.

  I turned away before he put it his mouth. Gross, yellow brains.

  “So, do you have a girlfriend?” I asked.

  “No. Umm, no. Not in high school.” Hiroshi blushed. “Between studying, juku, karate, and family responsibilities there isn’t time. You can date in college.”

  “Well, that’s something to look forward to,” I said.

  “Yeah, if it doesn’t kill me first.”

  “What?”

  A gray wall of sorrow and helpless need leaked from Hiroshi’s normally contained self.

  “I want you to know you can always call or text me if you're feeling upset,” I said thinking of the picture he’d drawn of his classmate.

  “Really?” he asked.

  “Yes, but you have to promise to give me at least three hours to respond to you. If I’m in a show it can take that long to get back to you.”

  He nodded. “I would. I would wait for you to get back to me.”

  “Good. Well now that that is settled, tell me something fun.”

  Hiroshi grinned, his white teeth bright in the dark restaurant.

 
; As he told me funny stories about school, his friends, and Miu, more courses were brought to the table. The tempura vegetables had a red batter, and the shoyu sauce had tiny flowers floating in it. My next dish of noodles were dark gray and coated in a shiny black sauce, so the steamed vegetables set on top seemed to glow. And the marinated tofu steak was placed on a black stone in the middle of a bowl filled with smoking dry ice. The meal ended with a red vanilla cake with black vanilla custard in the shape of a coffin.

  “I’m so full,” Hiroshi moaned as he licked his fork. “Thank you, Sapphire.”

  “You’re welcome.” It had been delicious and fun.

  “So,” Miu said clapping. “We have a few hours before we have to go to home, why don’t we go shopping?”

  “Oh, that’ll be fun,” Emiko said.

  Taliesin shrugged. “Sure.”

  “I actually need some socks,” Shin said.

  “Great, it’s settled.” Miu stood, her skirt swirling around her legs as she walked with her friends.

  I watched as everyone paired off, Sasha had managed to charm one of Miu’s friends despite her warnings that he was a scoundrel, and I followed behind.

  “Do you mind if I walk with you?” Hiroshi asked.

  “Of course not.” I slowed to match his pace.

  Once we fell behind the others Hiroshi asked, “Do you think I’ll be a powerful Child of Fire? My fifteenth birthday is soon and I am hoping I’ll be powerful enough to travel with you guys so I can escape like Miu did.”

  His sorrow and despair wrapped around me, cold and suffocating.

  I reached out and held his hand. “I can feel you’re a Child of Fire, but nothing more than that. But I will say this. When you turn eighteen you have a place with me, with the Cirque du Feu Magique, if you want it.” I loosened my grip but he tightened his. Smiling, I squeezed back.

  “What would I do?”

  I shrugged. “Who knows? We could train you for an act, or with your mad karate skills you could be security, or maybe you could create manga about the cirque to sell.”