Epilogue

 It was only twenty o' clock, and Tokyo was already shimmering with lights against the velvet black of the torrid evening. Behind the glass of the Shibuya Sky, Inês looked on with awe at the red-orange Iron Lady, gleaming warmly among the shorter, duller buildings. Further down, a vein of the city exposed its moving denizens; pairs of yellow lights, advancing, and red lights, backing away, all languid in the hot summer rain.

 “Ugh, I wish we could go up to the Sky Stage!” Lu moaned.

 Inês turned around to look at her, a warmhearted cast on her face. Despite the years, Lu had remained the same girl at heart, she thought.

 “It's typhoon season,” said Inês as she put an arm around her friend. “And it's raining cats and dogs. The wind alone would probably carry you all the way to Moscow.”

 Lu smiled despite herself, her green eyes sparkling with the countless reflections of the city lights.

 “¡Ya vas!” she exclaimed. “I'd find my way back, surely.”

“Of course you would,” Inês humored her. “And don't call me Shirley.”

 They laughed as she took her camera out. It was an intimidating beast, with more buttons than Inês knew what to do with if she was to be honest, but she was one of those people that actually read instruction manuals, so she had more or less gotten the hang of it—or that was what she liked to tell herself at least.

 “You can use that thing?” Lu asked as she prodded the machine with a curious finger.

 “It's not so complicated once you master it,” Inês replied as she swatted her hand away.

 And, having tweaked the machine's settings for perhaps ten minutes, she asked a host if he would take a picture of the both of them against the Tokyoite backdrop.

 “ありがとうございます！” Inês said with a bow after the flash.

 “Wow, Miss International!” Lu joked when she came back with the camera.

 “Don't make fun of me, I've been studying hard!”

 The picture was lovely. The cyberpunk mise-en-scène beyond the glass walls offered a stark contrast with the warm interior of the Sky Gallery. Inês and Lu were smiling, shining; the effervescence of the reunion's happiness still in full buzz. They hadn't planned it, but their outfits were even coordinated: Inês was wearing a cream linen button-up, with dark green pants, and black leather shoes, while Lu had on a long, pale pink skirt, with a similarly cream, short-sleeve top. Neither of them had thought to bring an extra layer just in case; the sudden downpour had taken them completely by surprise.

 “You haven't grown much in seven years, have you?” Inês asked half-jokingly as she put her camera away.

 “I... I haven't grown at all.” Lu answered with defeat, letting her shoulders down.

 Inês let out a small laugh.

 “I'm sorry, I'm sorry,” she replied. “I didn't realize that was a soar subject.”

 “How much have you grown?” Lu asked with a put-on, childish pout.

 “Since I was fourteen? Not much. Maybe five, seven centimeters.”

 “Not much?! Tsk!”

 Inês turned away from the window with an apologetic giggle.

 “Can I buy you something at the Paradise Café to make amends?”

 “Amends?” Lu asked with a puzzled look. “I don't know that word in English.”

 Inês put her arms around her and squeezed tight.

 “Food,” she said. “I'm asking if food will make you forgive me.”

 Lu lit up.

 “Well…” she began. “Oh, but we have to meet up with Jin and Marcel. It's probably best to wait until we're with them, right?”

 Inês let her arms fall to her sides, a shocked look on her face.

 “What is it?” asked Lu.

 “You... You've grown so much!” she said with an exaggerated happy cry.

 “Oh my god…” Lu pleaded as she rolled her eyes.

 Arm in arm, the pair went to the elevators, passing by the cozy café, around which smells of warm coffee and hot cocoa swirled about in the air. Lu perked up, gazing longingly at the sweets' windows, though she continued onward, resolute. Then, they passed in front of the souvenir shop, and she came to a full, abrupt stop.

 “Look!” she said, pointing at a stand.

 On a wooden dais, in the center of the luminous, inviting boutique, a neatly arranged pile of four-legged plushies called to them. The dogs, small and lightly-colored, had a fetching presence.

 “Is this Hachiko?” she asked.

 “Uh, maybe?” answered Inês. “I think his statue's in Shibuya, right?”

 She picked one of the plushies up. It was cute, with a pleated ear and charming expression. Damn, she thought, they were really soft.

 “Do you want it?” she asked Lu.

 Lu looked at her, her eyes almost welling up with tears—but not really.

 “Do you truly mean it, big sister?”

 “Ew, don't make me regret it,” responded Inês.

 She put the dog in Lu's arms and kept on browsing the shelves. There were rows upon rows of beautiful packaged boxes—omiyage, Inês thought. There were all manners of stationary, and a few t-shirts, also. There were trinkets, too: charms, handkerchiefs, bookmarks… and, alone on a dimly lit shelf: one glass dome. It was small and contained a smaller, technicolor vision of Shibuya, with cyan, and yellow, and magenta, and black buildings and signs. Circulating all around them, copper-like confetti created the illusion of snow. Inês grabbed the globe, her eyes transfixed. Shifting it in her hands under the bright store lights, the dome sent reflections of the water and glass into her eyes; blindingly white. Her vision whitened for a second; frozen. Then, her fingers let go, trembling despite herself. With a deafening toll, the globe shattered on the ground.

 “¡No manches!” exclaimed Lu, running to Inês from an aisle over, wide-eyed and alarmed. “What happened?”

 “I... I'm not sure, I think I felt dizzy for a second.”

 Looking around, Inês saw tourists staring at her with an awkward, inquisitive look.

 “Hum... I need to get someone to help,” she said.

 “I'm coming with,” said Lu.

 At the cash register, they found an employee who understood some English; with contrition and patience, Inês explained the situation. As they took the worker back to the scene of the incident, though, they saw that the remnants of the globe were gone.

 “Ah, another employee must have cleaned it up,” the hostess said with a smile.

 Inês apologized profusely, paying for the globe and the plushie. All in all, she bowed maybe a dozen times before she left the boutique, trying her best to outlast the kind employee, but Japanese people couldn't be beaten at this game of endurance, she soon came to realize.

 In the fullness of time, the duo found themselves at the Shibuya crossing. Squeezing under a translucent umbrella that they had just purchased in a packed konbini, the pair waited with countless people for the light to turn green.

 “I've never been more excited to cross the street!” said Lu, pawing at the ground impatiently.

 Inês looked at her with a devious grin.

 “Beware the ice cream trucks,” she said in a ghastly sing-song voice.

 Lu's excitement dropped for a second.

 “Trauma stirrer,” she grumbled as she pinched her cheek.

 With a glimmer, the light gave them the go-ahead. And, in one, united campaign, every line throughout the crossing moved at once, flooding the intersection with people beyond number. Lu held on to Inês as she shielded them from the pouring rain.

 “Where are we supposed to meet the boys again?” asked Inês, trying to carry her voice over the loud, urban stir.

 “Hum, let me see…” said Lu, taking her phone out. “Hm, Marcel says… Oh! You were right, the Hachiko sta-argh!”

 Lu's muffled plaint brought Inês to a screeching halt. Looking back, she watched as Lu massaged her shoulder while wincing in pain. The course of the march deviated around them as the girls stopped in their tracks.

 “What happened?!” asked Inês. “Are you good?”

 “Some guy bumped into me,” said Lu as she picked her phone up from the sodden ground. “Really hard; I think it was on purpose.”

 Inês looked behind Lu. She thought she saw a figure standing a few paces behind her, but the next second, it was gone.

 “Do you see him?” she asked as she tried to disguise the worry in her voice.

 “No,” Lu said without so much as a half glance back. “Let's just go…”

 It didn't take a minute to get to the Hachiko statue. Because it was raining so much, the plaza that surrounded it stood basically empty, safe for two young men. One was taller than Inês, his skin awash with a golden hue and his straight, jet-black hair parted down the middle. He was muscular and had dark, piercing eyes. He was wearing light blue jeans and a white t-shirt, with a bordeaux jacket to top it off. The other man was even taller—Inês thought he might have been one hundred ninety centimeters tall. His hair was light-brown and unruly in a fashionable sort of way, and he had eyes the color of the moon. He was wearing blue jeans as well, with a green polo shirt. The pair stood together under one umbrella. They looked up when they heard the girls' footsteps splashing in the puddles.

 “Inês!”

 “Lu!”

 “Jin!”

 “Marcel!”

 “Should we break into song, or…?” asked Jin.

 They shared a laugh as they greeted each other.

 “How has the land of the rising sun been treating you, girls?” asked Marcel with a rose-colored smile on his face.

 Inês and Lu exchanged a muted look.

 “Well…” started Inês, before recounting the events that had just occurred.

 “I get why you'd be shaken up about it,” said Marcel. “Maybe we should go to the Shibuya Koban and report the incident.”

 “I don't know…” said Lu. “The guy is probably long gone by now.”

 “It might help you get closure, though,” said Inês. “That's something, at least.”

 “And the koban is cool!” Jin exclaimed excitedly. “It looks like a building straight out of Blade Runner, I swear!”

 Lu smiled halfheartedly.

 “Well, if it looks like Blade Runner, I guess I have to see it.”

 “Allons-y!” exclaimed Marcel. “Oh, but wait. Let's take a picture with Hachiko first.”

 “Oh, I have a camera!” Inês said as she volunteered her mastodonte.

 "Don't worry,"said Lu. "She's a master-grapher."

 After another few minutes of rearranging the settings, she handed it to Marcel to give to a kindly passerby who agreed to play photographer. All in all, the gentleman took a good half a dozen shots of them, all differently posed, at his discretion. Then, the group set off in direction of the police box. It didn't take too long to get there; less than five minutes at a leisurely pace. Only Lu and Marcel entered the building. Jin hadn't been lying about the structure: it looked right out of a cyberpunk movie, its crisp, grey lines and red lights painting a retro-futuristic design. Inês could see inside through the large glass panels; Lu seemed nervous and uncomfortable. She promised herself that she would buy her friend something nice to eat right after.

 A few minutes passed, and, as the rain finally turned in for the night, Lu came walking out of the koban with Marcel in tow. Neither of them looked too pleased.

 “Well, how did it go?” asked Jin.

 “They can't do anything, they said,” Marcel replied with a sideways glance to Lu.

 There was a silence among the group as the metropolitan tumult hung around.

 “But... closure, right?” Inês asked after a beat.

 Disenchanted, Lu looked at her with a sulk.

 “Let's… just go get something to eat,” said Inês. “OK, guys?”

 “Sure! Come on.” said Jin, grabbing Marcel by the arm.

 Together, they all set in direction of a niche little café. It was out of the way and not frequented by tourists, Marcel told them as they entered the laid-back establishment.

 “We come here maybe two to three times a week!” he said.

 “How do you even find the time with university?” asked Inês.

 “I don't have that busy of a schedule outside of school,” he answered as they sat down.

 “That's my little book worm!” Jin teased him with a poke.

 “Stop it!” he said as he recoiled. “What about you guys? How has school been going?”

 “Great,” said Inês as she grabbed a menu. “I finished my licence this spring and I'll be starting my masters in the fall.”

 “You wanna go into publishing, right?” asked Jin.

 “Yeah,” she said. “I studied literature and languages, now I'm going for a specialization in editing.”

 “And you?” Marcel asked Lu.

 “I still have a few years to go at la Campobello,” she answered. “I'll be dancing the days away for the foreseeable future.”

 “Do you want to become a professional dancer?” asked Jin.

 “I don't know that I could be anything else.”

 The waitress arrived to take the group's order. Jin and Marcel asked for a mâcha latte, while Lu opted for a hot chocolate. Inês, for her part, asked for green tea. Pointing at the dessert section, she asked Lu to pick something out for herself; the look of pure, unfiltered gratitude she received in turn was one she didn't expect.

 “Inês, you're so good to me!” Lu sobbed as she chowed down her fluffy pancakes.

 “Close your mouth, burra.” replied Inês. “What about you guys? How have your lives been going here?”

 “School's been great,” said Marcel. “The teachers are strict, but brilliant. And the students are pretty cool. It's a different crowd than Polytechnique.”

“Me, I didn't feel too big of a shift from SNU to Todai,” said Jin. “The study and school cultures are pretty similar from South Korea to Japan.”

“It's so romantic that the both of you found each other across the world,” said Lu with a dream in her eyes (and food in her mouth).

 Inês put her hand over the girl's face.

 “Chew before you speak, please!” she implored. “I know you're studying engineering at Todai, Marcel, but what about you, Jin?”

 “Economics,” he answered. “Whatever he builds, I'll sell!”

 Among the clinking dishes and waning conversations, the four young adults reminisced about the good old days. They told stories of their adventures together and their adventures alone; they discussed their hopes and dreams for the future, too. Inês captured this moment in her eyes, smiling as she watched them talk and laugh; she didn't want to let go; Lu, and Jin, and Marcel, she would keep with her forever.

 “What time is it?” she asked Jin as he checked his phone.

 “Just a little over nine,” he answered.

 “Before we go our separate ways for the night, could we pass by the Tokyo Tower?” she asked. “I'd really like to see it all lit up.”

 “Sure thing,” said Marcel. “You can even go in, it's open until eleven.”

 “Really?! It's open at night?!”

 “Of course. Come on, let's go.”

 Waiting outside as Jin paid the bill with his phone, and Lu used the bathroom, Inês and Marcel stood in the summery heat. A cool odor emanated from the wet ground.

 “You know,” Inês started with a chuckle. “I did come to regret not agreeing to those fencing lessons.”

 Marcel let out a laugh.

 “Really?” he asked. “What made you rethink your decision?”

 “I don't know. You looked pretty cool with your sword.”

 “Ah,” he acquiesced. “Well, it was a rapier, which is a type of sword, but… thanks.”

 Inês shot him a look as she shook her head, her untamed hair flowing to the wind.

 “Well, we have some time right now, let's have our first lesson!”

 “What?!”

 “Something simple: parry and disengage.”

 Placing himself in front of her, he slowly extended his arm out.

 “As I go to grab or push you, you turn your forearm outward like a fencing parry, to make me slide off,” he directed. “Good. At the same time, you step to the side with your front foot and angle your body so you're not in front of me. You can use your free hand to keep mine away from you as you step back and make your escape. Nice!”

 “And I thought I was the dancer!” said Lu.

 She and Jin were standing in front of the café, looking at their improvised training session with a smile.

 “Ugh, it's not dance, it's the art of the sword,” said Marcel as he turned away with a dramatic flair and started walking. “It's almost half past nine, we better get going!”

 They hurried along, taking the clearing train to Minato. The ride was blissfully uneventful. The whole way through, Inês looked on outside the window at the scrolling scenery, the quiet wagon offering no music but the jerky, comforting lull of the machine.

 Before long, they made it to the tower. Awesome and dazzling, she stood in her luminous glory. Her vermilion color vibrant, but not garish. Her figure inspired, but not a copy.

 “Wow!” exclaimed Lu with stars in her eyes. “She looks just the way she does in Card Captor Sakura.”

 “She does,” Marcel agreed, amazed.

 “Does she, now?” asked Jin with a sly smile.

 “Let's go in,” said Marcel precipitately. “Come on!”

 Together, they went in. It was better than Inês had imagined it and it wasn't anything like experiencing it through the videos and pictures of other people. Being there, especially at night, was like a dream come true. She watched the infinitesimal lights twinkle on the Tokyoite skyline with longing, she braved the glass floor with a courage she didn't think she had in her, and, obviously, she documented everything.

 Outside, they looked at her pictures, joy drawing across their faces.

 “Hey, I'm pretty photogenic,” said Jin.

 “Don't let it get to your head,” said Marcel.

 “Don't let it get to yours,” he replied.

 Marcel rolled his eyes, unable to disguise a smile.

 “Is there anything else you wanted to do?” he asked. “We still have some time before the trains stop running.”

 “I don't know, it's pretty late…” said Inês.

 “But you wanted to take pictures of the Asakusa temple at nighttime, right?” asked Lu.

 “It's probably closed at this hour, though. It's past ten.”

 “No,” said Jin. “The main grounds are always open.”

 “Yeah, it's only select areas of the temple that close, as well as the shops—especially with the rain we had today, since the tourists probably all scurried away.”

 “It's about half an hour from here so we should get going now,” said Jin.

 “Let's go!” exclaimed Lu.

 After another tranquil ride on the train, during which Inês sat transported by the landscape, they made it to the ancient temple. Just like the Tokyo Tower, it was warmly inviting, its red color a glint of heat in the night. Its structure was awe-inspiring, with a large, upswept gate, followed by a larger, indomitable edifice, flanked to its right by a delicate tower. It was all beautifully illuminated with warm lighting, giving the place an other-worldly aura.

 “If you come back during the day, you can pray,” said Marcel.

 “I will,” she replied with a smile. “I think Yuki would like that.”

 Inês took a few pictures, promising herself that she would come back the next day to see the temple bathed in sunlight.

 Marcel and Jin got off at their stop. The boys gave the girls their goodbyes, promising they would see each other soon before their trip to Kyoto. With a full heart, Inês and Lu went back to their hotel, one sifting through her pictures of the day, the other hugging her Hachiko plushie, both tired, but content.

********

 The sun dawned on Kyoto, painting the heavens with the tenderness of a Turner tableau. The sky was white gold, with touches of wispy, yellowed clouds, and the Kiyomizu-dera was blissfully free of passage at this early time of day. It had been the brainchild of Marcel to come at the first flush of morning, not only to bypass the crowds and enjoy the grounds more peacefully, but also so the group could arrange their entire day around it. Inês had been all for it, of course: firstly, because it meant that the visit would be more pleasant, but also because, with a clear coast, she would be able to take every photograph her fingers could muster. Lu and Jin, on the other hand, had been more reticent.

 “It is beautiful, but…” said Lu, the bags under her eyes almost sliding of her face.

 “But nothing,” Inês replied firmly. “Stop being a baby.”

 As they stepped on to the wooden stage of the Kiyomizu, all protests ceased.

 The view was breathtaking. The luscious greenery glimmered languidly with reflections of the soft morning calm. Down below and to her left, Inês could see the Okuno-in Hall, nestled under the Japanese maple trees and among the serried bushes of evergreens, overlooking the Otowa waterfall. Inês took out her camera and began to take pictures at every angle. The vast warren of paths was still completely unburdened. Someone at the entrance had told them that they had maybe half an hour before the usual whir of visitors flocked to the Kyotoite wonder.

 “You didn't take a pic' of that building,” said Lu, pointing as Inês put her camera away.

 “Hum, that's the bathroom, Lu.”

 “Oh, right,” she said. “I knew that, I thought you might want something to remember it by.”

 “Japanese toilets are pretty memorable as is,” said Jin.

 “Ugh, let's go,” said Marcel. “I think I see a group of British tourists coming up,”

 “Oh, no!” exclaimed Lu. “The British are coming! The British are coming!”

 Giggling to themselves, they passed a group of burly men, all adorned in football jerseys and cargo shorts. From under wide-brimmed sun hats, their red faces seemed already exhausted as they complained unreservedly about the many hills of Kyoto, advancing laboriously in their sandals and socks.

 Back in the city, the group walked to the song of the cicadas, the sweltering heat of Kyoto rising bit by bit with the accompanying sun. As they stopped by a konbini to get some fresh, air-conditioned air, Inês almost wished she was wearing a sundress like Lu, but it just wasn't her style.

 “Do you know what you're getting her?” Inês asked her.

 “Food," she said.

 “Figures.”

 Inês had been thinking about it for the last few days, but she still wasn't sure what to bring their friend. If Lu was bringing food, then maybe… a beverage?

 “Do you know what you're bringing?” asked Jin. “I'm getting this Asahi beer I think she'd like it, right?”

 Inês let her shoulders fall. Not a beverage, then, she thought. Continuing to browse the store's selection, she arrived at the newsstand. The magazine rack displayed a variety of publications, everything from manga, to more risqué material. She looked to the manga, trying to decide which one might be the most appropriate choice.

 “Oh, nice choice,” said Marcel. “Great minds think alike!”

 Smiling, he held up a copy of Asuka, his right hand in a thumbs-up.

 “Think she'll like it?” he asked.

 “Ugh!” Inês grumbled before leaving the konbini empty-handed.

 “What?” asked Marcel from behind. “Too girly?”

 A few minutes later, the trio came out, bag in hand. They found Inês chagrined, sat in front of the konbini on a vacant bicycle mount. She twirled her mother's golden pendant in her fingers absentmindedly as she stared at her shoes.

 “Are you OK?” asked Lu.

 “Yeah,” she answered in a whisper. “It's not you guys, I'm just mad at myself. After everything she's done for us, I feel like I should know what to get her, you know? Instead I'm running around like a chicken without a head.”

 Lu put an arm around her and squeezed tight, hanging her head on Inês' shoulder.

 “Maybe the gift you brought was the friends we made along the way,” Jin said in a half joking, half hopeful voice.

 “Jin, I swear to god,” Inês said with a glower.

 “Yeah, Jin, how about a bit of class and situational awareness?” said Lu.

 “미안, 친구야…” Jin apologized with a short bow as Marcel patted him on the shoulder, shaking his head from side to side in reproach.

 “Wait, I think I have an idea,” said Inês as she pulled her phone out. “Jin, you're a genius! Let me just check something.”

 It was now ten o' clock in the morning, and the sun beat hard on Kyoto, sending dreams of deformed dimensions rippling through the atmosphere. The incessant song of the cicadas ringed plangent through the vast expanse of the cemetery, which was cornered around the back by a lush sylvan block. In silence, they advanced among the tombstones, looking to Marcel for guidance. There wasn't anyone but them in the whole place, though the smell of incense lingered through the air in gossamer veils. At the turn of an alley, Marcel stopped, kneeling down.

 “It's this one,” he said solemnly. “This is the tomb of the Fujikawa family.”

 The gravestone was tall and grey, with kanji that Inês couldn't comprehend on it. On either side of a small pedestal, there were fresh, purple flowers, under which a round crest was engraved: hanging wisteria clusters inside of a roundel; graceful and dignified.

 Jin opened the konbini bag for Marcel to grab the copy of Asuka, which he had carefully wrapped in plastic. He bowed, before placing it flat on a small space at the base of the stone. Then, he let Lu go. She took out a bright summer orange; it was big and round—it looked heavy, too. After a bow and a time of reflection, she left it next to the magazine. Finally, Jin grabbed the can of beer from the empty bag and bowed, situating it next to Lu's offering. The trio looked back at Inês as tears welled up in her eyes. She took off her mother's locket and squeezed it tight in her fist. She opened it to look at the picture inside: it was she, and Lu, and Jin, and Marcel, together at the Kiyomizu-dera that very morning. The tears streamed down, she couldn't hold them back, nor did she want to. Crouching down, she bowed and shared a moment with Yuki before leaving her a part of herself. This would be the last time, she thought. Then, she lit the incense. The soft curl of sandalwood smoke mixed with the chrysanthemums and the oppressive summer air. She sighed.

 “Well, we better get going, or we're gonna get cooked out here!” she joked as she wiped the tears away.

 Marcel poured water carefully on the stone.

 “What do you want to do?” he asked. “It's too early to…”

 “Eat?” asked Lu.

 “While we were here, I was thinking of buying a kimono,” said Inês. “Do you think we might have the time before lunch?”

 “I have absolutely no idea,” said Marcel. “I've never done it.”

 “We had talked about getting them as well, actually,” said Jin.

 “What do you think?” she asked Lu.

 “Well… if we must!”

 And on they went.

 Inês had already pinpointed the stores to visit, so, thankfully for Lu, her ordeal wouldn't be needlessly prolonged. In the midst of Kyoto's spoils of choice, they quickly found their favorite boutique, a textile house with a storied history and a vast selection of fabrics, in every tasteful hue and motif imaginable. They were all more beautiful and regal than the next, but Inês' wandering eye found a particular pattern that she loved and couldn't take her mind off. It was a vibrant ivory color, with silver accents and transversal, honeyed swashes that showcased summery flowers and white cranes. The obi was silver as well, with a geometrical motif, tied on top with a yellow belt. For her part, Lu decided to go with a coral number, ornate with cherry blossoms and sea green leaves in the shape of clouds. It also sported sporadic clusters of vericolor chrysanthemums. A gold obi, tied with a red-orange ribbon completed the garment. Marcel and Jin opted for much more sober, masculine affairs with Marcel's kimono being charcoal gray, and Jin's being a deep forest green.

 “Wow,” said Marcel. “Don't we look debonair!”

 "Nothing beats Kyotoite craftsmanship," said Lu as she gave the mirror a twirl.

 “Wait,” started Inês. “Let me get…”

 “... my camera!” the other three finished in chorus.

 The shopkeeper kindly took a picture of them inside, as there was no way for them to survive the blistering heat under those suffocating layers.

 Back on the street, they each carried a giant bag. Having spent more than a couple hours inside of the store it was well past lunchtime, now, and Lu wanted to eat; she wouldn't take no for an answer. Not far from the store, they found a cozy ramen shop, the thought of which seemed to alleviate her frustrations.

 After Inês and Jin found them a table, Marcel and Lu excused themselves to go put the bags away in a coin locker.

 “So,” said Jin. “How have you been holding up?”

 Inês let out a tense exhale.

 “You know,” she said, shrugging her shoulders with a halfhearted smile.

 “Yeah...” he answered, looking out at the passerby.

 The restaurant was half full, with what seemed like a healthy mix of locals and tourists. Jin touched his phone, activating the lock-screen; a picture of Marcel smiled back at him.

 “They gave us a second chance at life,” he said. “Now it's up to us to do everything we can with it. I'm doing my part.”

 He looked up at her and smiled as the waiter came to take their order. Inês looked back for Marcel, but Jin jumped into what sounded to her like a fluent response.

 “Since when did you start learning Japanese?” she asked, surprised.

 “Since I came back, basically. I knew he already spoke it, read it, wrote it,” he chuckled. “I didn't wanna be left behind,” he said with a snarky smile.

 Lu and Marcel came back into the ramen shop, their arms lighter. They sat down, tired and hungry.

 “I already ordered the appetizers,” said Jin. “Look at the menu to see what else you want.”

 “Our savior!” exclaimed Marcel.

 “Hum, how about one of everything?!” said Lu as she smacked her lips.

 Looking at the menu with a chuckle, Inês understood Lu's plight; everything did look tasty. Although the heat constricted her stomach a bit, she might go for the kistune udon, she thought to herself.

 “Oh, before I forget,” said Marcel as he slid a paper bag across the table.

 “What's that?” asked Inês.

 “For your face,” said Jin.

 “It's her research,” said Marcel as he shook his head. “Yuki's work; it was published posthumously. It's in Japanese, but I thought you might want to have it.”

 She grabbed the bag and peeked inside as Lu looked over with a dejected expression.

 “There are two copies, by the way; one for each of you.”

 Inês took the small volume out. The cover, a proper Ukiyo-e tableau, featured various yokai, spread across a snowy, mountainous landscape. She passed her hand over it, smiling wistfully as she did.

 “It reads Japanese Folklore Since Time Immemorial,” said Marcel.

 “I'll be able to read it someday,” she said.

 She put the book back away as the waiter sat the gyoza and edamame down on the table.

 “ありがとうございます！” she said with a short bow.

 And, after the server had departed with a smile, the group dug in.

 “いただきます！“ they exclaimed together.

********

 The yellow river boat trolled gently along the Dotonbori canal, traversing the flashy neon signs' passing reflections under the blue night sky. On the busy streets of Osaka, hundreds of people busied themselves with the preparations of that night's festival; dressed in heian costumes, some carried the portable shrines at arms' length, while others lion danced to frenzied drum beats. In late July, the weather was still hot, but not as rainy as it was in June, back in Tokyo, and much less blistering than it had been in Kyoto just a week before.

 “Yeah,” Marcel had told them. “Apparently, since Kyoto is surrounded by mountains, it traps the hot air and humidity in, that's why it always feels ultra hot in the summer.”

 “Wow... Japanese technology, I tell you,” Lu had responded in awe. “I just wonder why they don't use that in the winter instead.”

 Inês, for her part, had been much too occupied to concern herself with the weather. Making sure to document every publicity and storefront with her camera, from the Glico Man, to an Asahi ad, and even a giant, bright red octopus, she hadn't missed any of it. Osaka had too much cool to offer.

 “Hey, what do you think that's an advertisement for?” she asked Lu, pointing up above.

 “Which one? The one who looks like an Indian Pokémon or the one that's eating a kid?”

 “What? No… Well… the Indian Pokémon I guess.”

 “Beats me,” she said with a casual shrug. “Vacuums?”

 Inês looked back at her with the cold gaze of contempt.

 “What?! It's carrying a blow thingy!” she said on the defensive. Before adding in a low grumble: “Ask Marcel next time.”

 “I would, but I don't wanna disturb the lovebirds,” said Inês as she took a picture of the overlooking bridge.

 Marcel and Jin, seated to the right of the pair, were engaged in what was probably a very fascinating, heart-eyed discussion, that neither Inês nor Lu would ever to dare interrupt. Thankfully, the final half of the voyage transpired without a hitch—and without an explanation as to the nature of the infamous Indian Pocket Monster. The group disembarked, stretching their legs amidst the festive tumult.

 “Ah, good, old, solid ground!” said Marcel with a satisfied groan.

 “Guys, let's take a picture in front of this big crab!” Inês exclaimed excitedly.

 Big was an understatement. Towering over the sidewalk, a giant, animated, quasi-kaijuesque figure of a crab stood over a restaurant front, in equal parts intriguing and intimidating.

 “Fine, but then, we get to eating!” said Lu as she rubbed her hands.

 Inês had been more than a little misleading about her intentions; instead of just one picture with the crab, she also wanted a Glico Man picture, a picture with a disembodied hand, holding a monster-sized piece of sushi, a picture with a floating, puffed-out fugu fish, and a picture with an animatronic of a boy in an arlequin costume, holding a tambourine.

 “This one reminds me of you,” Inês told Lu as she pointed to the Kuidaore Taro.

 “Because of the drums?” she asked, tired of walking without eating.

 “No, because I read that it's supposed to symbolize the financial ruin of the people who come to Osaka and boorishly spend all of their money on food.”

 “¡Canija!” Lu exclaimed with a shocked smile.

 “Allons, allons,” said Marcel as he stepped in between the play-fighting pair. “Come on, girls, why don't we finally go get something to eat before we go watch the fireworks, uh?”

 Walking out with a girl under each arm, Marcel followed Jin to a takoyaki stand that was said to be the best in the game. The scents that lingered in the air as they approached were titillating, not to mention that, this part of the city had a charming, gritty atmosphere. Osakans had been as nice as anyone else in Japan, but they had an added je ne sais quoi, Inês thought, that made them more approachable and easier to get along with.

 “Here it is!” said Marcel as Jin went to order. “We liked it so much last year that we came back for seconds.”

 “And thirds,” added Jin after he came back with a buzzer. “It'll bip when it's ready.”

 The shop was packed with clients, so it would probably be some time, Inês pondered. Looking around, she decided to take a few more pictures of the urban scenery. There was an alley, adjacent to the street they stood in, filled with steam and merchandise crates. Squeezing through the tight space, she found herself on the other side of nowhere. The metropolitan hustle and bustle had muted completely. And it was safe to say that there wasn't much to photograph there, but for a dilapidated ice machine, some dirt, and what she realized was a truck that she had had to slip by. She still decided to snap some shots before heading out. She was calibrating a very impactful tableau, consisting of a plastic bag and a cherry tree leaf, when she heard a soft call coming from down at the ground level. Looking from behind her camera, she came face to machine with a lovely calico cat. Gazing up at her, the feline had two differently colored eyes: one green and one yellow. Setting her camera back into her bag, she picked the kitty up carefully, who meowed faintly.

 “And who might you be?” she asked. “Hm, you don't have a tag, but… yes, you're a girl.”

 With one last look around, she squeezed past toward the city again. When she came into the joyous pandemonium, she was instantly accosted.

 “Inês! Where have you been?!” Marcel asked in a panic. “Your food's cold.”

 “Huh? Already? How is that possible?”

 “Well, you've been gone for like fifteen minutes,” said Lu as she dug through her teeth with a toothpick.

 “Hum, what are you holding?” asked Jin, pointing to the cat.

 “I... honestly don't know,” she said. “I found her, or rather she found me.”

 She sat the cat on the ground, who rolled at the feet of the group. Then, perking her nose up in the air, she looked at the tray in Jin's hands with attention, her ears straight and her tail whipping from side to side.

 “You think she might be hungry?” he asked.

 “Maybe,” answered Inês. “I'll give her my share.”

 The cat didn't need to be asked twice. Tearing into the takoyaki with her carnivorous teeth, she ate through the dough and the octopus in seconds, with hair-rising, eldritch noises.

 “That's kinda cute,” Jin said with a smile.

 Marcel looked up at him and back at the cat.

 “I mean, yeah,” he said.

 Then, turning to Inês, he added: “Have you thought about what you're gonna do with her?”

 “No, I mean, I just found her a minute or… so ago and I brought her here.”

 “It would be difficult to bring her on the plane, but…” Jin started.

 “You can keep her if you want,” Inês said with a smile.

 Jin's face lit up and he looked at Marcel who nodded in approval. Then, picking up the cat, he let her curl up in his arms. She purred as he petted her head.

 “What will you name her?” asked Lu.

 “Outkast,” Jin answered without hesitation.

 “Aw, Outcast,” Lu repeated with a goo goo ga ga voice. “That's cute. To remind ourselves that we are all someone's outcast, and to not treat people unkindly?”

 “Hum, I was thinking more like the band? You know, Hey Ya!?”

 “Oh.”

 “She's so cute, I don't even care that we're about to miss the entire show,” said Marcel with a blissful smile.

 “What?! Right, the show!” cried Jin.

 “The food stands!” cried Lu.

 “The picture opportunities!” cried Inês.

 And so, together, they ran to the Okawa river in one, united movement. There, Marcel had reserved seating so they could watch the passing processions of boats and hovering fireworks. There would still be innumerable people, but much less so than in the park and around the Tenmabashi area. As they neared their destination, they separated into two groups, since Lu wanted to buy food at the stands and bring it with her; Jin accompanied her, and Inês took Outkast, and followed Marcel to the seats. As the three of them arrived, boats were already gracing the river, charged with people dressed in all white and carrying lanterns that made the stream glow with a warm, golden hue. Festival music resonated loudly, with drums and dancers performing to the delight of the wooing crowd.

“Hey,” said Lu as she sat beside Inês. “Here's for you.”

 She handed her a cup of colorful, shaved ice.

 “I don't remember the name, but it's some thing to with a certain Cathy Gorey.”

 “Kakigori,” Jin corrected her as he sat down.

 “You,” she pointed to Jin. “Have been spending too much time with him.” she pointed to Marcel.

 "Oh, before I forget, I got you these," said Marcel.

 He pulled out four charms. The pouches, small enough to fit in the palm of Lu's hand, shimmered softly with woven threads of pink and white. Across the front, and outlined in gold, there was a kanji Inês couldn't read, its streaks flowing like the strings of fate that bind people together.

 "These are kizuna mamori," he added lovingly. "For strengthening bonds between friends, family, and loved ones."

 They each grabbed one as Outkast watched intently, sniffing Marcel's hand and headbutting him.

 "Thank you," said Inês. "Really, thank you."

 "I'm sorry to cut this tender moment," said Lu. "And I know this is really random, but I just realized who you to remind me of: the couple from Monster!"

 "The... What couple?" Jin said incredulously. "Those guys are practically trying to kill each other!"

 "Wow, really? I mean, I've never read the thing," she continued. "I just know that they have chemistry and that a lot of people ship them. And guess what: you look like them!"

 Inês laughed as she bit into the frozen dessert, her head lighter and her heart content. The fireworks began with a thunderous impulsion, permeating the sky and the river with their fierce, fiery colors. Looking around, Inês watched on as Lu rattled on and enjoyed her treat, beaming; the incandescence reflected in her big, green eyes; she saw Marcel and Jin, side by side, laughing and whispering to each other, Outkast curled up on their lap; and she saw herself, too, reflected in the riverbed, smiling back at herself, in Japan.