Page 96 of Fumiko and the Finicky Nestmate
“Sure, I do. So do you.” Moon’s ears went all cockeyed. “Everyone does, really. It’s famous. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten about Kusunoki.”
The enormous tree in the courtyard of Kikusawa Shrine. Akira had been introduced back in high school. Kimiko had jokingly referred to Kusunoki as her best friend, and it had been in bloom for the first time in centuries during Quen’s and Kimi’s first televised kiss. He could remember all those tiny red flower petals drifting through the air.
They were the same.
Weren’t they?
Just then, Hallow opened the door. He closed his mouth on whatever he’d intended to say.
Moon waggled his fingers.
“Right, then. Shake a leg.” Angling his head toward the room behind him, Hallow grimly announced, “We have company.”
Akira let himself out the gate and beyond Zuzu’s barrier, cutting between the library and flower shop at a jog. It didn’t take long to spot the one he needed. “Rafter!”
With a final toss and twirl of his sign, Rafter propped it against the bike rack and turned to beam at him. “Akira, my dude! What brings you out here?”
“A list. From Antigone.” He passed along two folded slips of paper. “And a message from Diva. Plus, I’m supposed to tell you that Moon woke early.”
Rafter scanned the list and whistled softly. “Antigone is going all out.”
Akira wasn’t sure how to ask, so he went for a simple stance, identifying himself as a Betweener. “You shop for them?”
“Now and then. When they need something extra.” Rafter tucked the papers into the front pocket of his Hawaiian shirt and smoothly matched Akira’s posture. “Diva likes more in the way of meat than Antigone generally provides.”
“So you watch out for them?”
“I’m their man on the outside, so to speak.” With an arm around Akira’s shoulders, Rafter guided him through the farmer’s market. “I stick to the fringes, finetune the ambiance, if you catch my drift.”
Akira followed his gaze to the clear blue sky overhead.
“Want a peek?” The corners of Rafter’s eyes crinkled. “It’s something most tourists never see. Mind you, it’s not something you can write home about.”
With a touch, Akira promised secrecy.
Rafter’s smile widened. “You speak my language just fine.”
The change was so swift, it startled Akira into ducking and crowding against Rafter’s side. One second, the blue sky went on for days. In the next, a ceiling dropped over the whole market, casting it in shadow.
“Peace, friend. She’s been here all along. Since waaay back.” Rafter stood proud, face tipped to the sky. “Give yourself a second. Take it in.”
Though his heart was still jumping, Akira uncurled and peered around.
He’d seen Zuzu, touched her, been up among her branches, but that had been Zuzu out of context. Here, towering dramatically over the surrounding neighborhood, it was so much more obvious that she existed on the grandest scale.
The noontime sun was gone. Or rather, it filtered through her leaves, lending sparkle to the many doo-dads she and Fumiko had added to each branch. Chimes. Mirrors. Pretty rocks that were probably wardstones.
Akira offered a palm. “What clan?” he whispered.
“Ohhh, one of the trickier ones. Ever met a Glimspinnet?”
“No. Or at least, not to know it.”
Rafter flicked his fingers and the sky cleared. “That is how we roll.”
Akira shook his head. “Which animal …?”
With a sly smile, Rafter got him moving again, aiming for a food truck parked along the street. “Are you afraid of spiders?”
