Part 2

She jumped up frazzled and bewildered.

“Are you okay?” asked a voice from the ground. The ikemen slowly collected himself from the pavement, reached for his glasses, brushing off the water and dirt.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.” She stood above him bowing repeatedly. He straightened up and towered over her, as if draining all the light, leaving only neon outlines flickering like candles afar. Akari’s body froze and some force drained her breath.

“Are you okay, Ms.?”

She burst into tears.

“You are in shock.” He touched her shoulder and lowered himself, so their eyes could meet.

“You are okay.”

“I’m so sorry,” she yelped through the tears, snow falling on her face.

“You are okay. You are safe. Everything is okay.” He smiled and handed her a handkerchief. She touched the soft cloth. She never imagined a handkerchief could be so finely made. She saw embroidered initials “SB,” in its corner, and the gothic Western lettering in crimson-and-gold writhed over the fabric, moving, alive, creating an image of a castle and the moon as if the letters were possessed, cursed to tell his story over and over again: his terrible history written in blood and darkness, the history of the tall silhouette, the shadow above her overtaking all light.

“It’s okay. Let’s get you off the street. Let’s get you warm,” he said, holding her shoulders and turning to walk.

“I’m Akari,” she said.

He stopped. “You are truly right, Ms. I have fully forgotten my manners,” he said, bowed, and stepped low to face her. “My name is Sebastian Beaumont.” He extended his hand. With the image of the moon in her mind Akari suddenly felt calm. She put her small hand into his and their eyes met. His glance and his hand filled her with courage she has never felt.

“Akari. Akari Jinno. Thank you for saving my life.” She shook his hand.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Akari Jinno. You are very brave.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Sebastian Beaumont.” She repeated his name playfully as the new courage soared in her. “You have a very long name, Mr. Sebastian Beaumont.” She smiled an audacious smile while still holding his cold hand. Her back straightened, and she felt standing at eye-level with the tall Frenchman, and then suddenly above him. When she looked down, she realized she was levitating in space three feet above the ground and slowly rising. She screamed and then slowly drifted toward the pavement, landing on her feet. “Did that just happen?” she asked.

“No,” his mind came over her and she believed. She looked around.

“Many people must be stuck in the city tonight. I need to find a hotel before they run out of rooms.”

“Certainly. I think we are facing the same fate. May I walk you to the hotel?”

“Yes. I stay in capsule hotels in an emergency.”

“Of course.”

The snow continued to fall as they walked past the subway station. The soft robotic announcement repeated that the last two trains were cancelled due to snow and that the station was now closed. Sebastian saw three dark silhouettes crawling in the shadows. He heard them growl and sneer. Akari saw no one.

“I live in suburbs with my grandmother and sister, so I need to let them know I won’t be home.” She picked up her phone and dialed.

He nodded.

“It will be hard to find a room, but there is a small capsule hotel down this yokocho.” She pointed down a narrow alley of wooden storefronts adorned with white lanterns. They turned, and the snow swallowed Shibuya’s noise and neon lights. It drifted sparsely now and muted the world into soft silence that enveloped them.