SIX

 

"Guys!" Aiba squeals as they sit back down. "I convinced Ninomiya-kun to do a magic show for us tomorrow!"

 

This is big. "Really!" Sho says, sounding entirely too hopeful. Sakurai Sho, Ohno thinks, I know you. You play it all tough, but you're a kid at heart. You cannot deny it.

 

"Yeah, why not?" Ninomiya laughs. "No point in coming to a new place and not spreading my name a little bit, ne."

 

"Let's go to the town centre! Then everyone can come see!"

 

"Okay, sounds good."

 

"Yay!" Aiba cheers.

 

Ohno's excited. A whole show by Ninomiya? He's seen three tricks by Ninomiya so far: turning a coin into a chick, then clapping his hands around the chick to turn it back into the coin, and the purple flower just now. Each one had been amazing enough to make Ohno lose breath. A whole show might actually kill him, but Ohno thinks that's probably a good way to go.

 

"It'd better be impressive, Ninomiya," Jun says.

 

Ninomiya smiles, quick and sharp. "Don't you worry your pretty little head about it. It'll be the most incredible thing you've ever seen, Jun-chan."

 

Jun sputters.

 

"Jun-chan?!" Sho roars with laughter.

 

"Jun-chan!" Aiba crows. Jun smacks him on the head.

 

"Then I'm looking forward to it, Nino-chan," Jun returns, lips twitching.

 

"Actually, Nino's fine," the other boy says, unbothered. "It's the nickname my parents gave me."

 

Nino, Ohno thinks. A short, loud-mouthed, sixteen year old travelling magician called Nino. Ohno can't think of a more perfect name.

 

 

SEVEN

 

At night, Ohno finds himself constantly waking up just as he's about to fall asleep. It's not his fault. Every time he closes his eyes, the day's events play across his mind, seeming too wondrous to seem real. Suppose it wasn't real, then? Suppose Ohno never left his bed at all and the day had never happened? Suppose Ohno had dreamt the whole thing? The fear is so great that it seizes his whole body and wakes him up with a pounding heart and sweaty palms. His heartbeat doesn't slow until he registers the steady breathing of other occupant in the room. Ohno turns his head, and there's Ninomiya, curled up on the old cot they'd pulled out of the storage room. He looks tiny under the thick covers; Ohno can only see the top of his head and a single hand poking out to the edge of the mattress.

 

The cot is older than Ohno and lumpy in all the wrong places, but as soon as they'd set it up, Nino had flopped on it with a long drawn out sigh of contentment.

 

"Don't look at me like that," Nino had said. "It's plenty comfortable. I slept in a tree once. I woke up with splinters all over my back, it was pretty sucky."

 

"A tree?" Ohno asked.

 

Nino yawned. "You know, dogs can't climb trees. Not even rabid ones."

 

Sometimes the things Nino said were so farfetched Ohno had a hard time believing them. It doesn't matter though, because Nino's funny and his stories are entertaining and Ohno's laughed more today than he has in ages. What was something else Nino had said that was funny that day? Right, that time he'd had to travel across a huge lake and got seasick all over the captain of the ship's shoes. "I'd eaten only vegetables the day before," Nino had said, "so the puke was multicoloured and really chunky. The captain looked like he wanted to throw me overboard!" Ohno can picture the scene clearly in his mind, even though he's never seen any body of water beside the town's small creek. If he could imagine that, then, maybe the whole story was all just a figment of Ohno's overactive imagination, maybe Nino hadn't said that all, maybe Ohno had imagined Ninomiya entirely, maybe --

 

Ohno's eyes snap open.

 

Nino is still beside him, breathing deeply in, out. In, out. Ohno's room is so cramped that Nino's cot is pushed almost right up to Ohno's bed, with Nino only a breath away from Ohno. Nino's lying on his side, facing him, and the hand peeking out from blankets is close enough that Ohno can touch it, if he wanted to. He wants to. He tentatively reaches out and touches his fingertips to Nino's and slowly, so slowly, flattens his palm so his fingers are very lightly interlaced with the other boy's. Nino sleeps on, oblivious.

 

His fingers are much shorter than Ohno's own. But they're nice fingers, they can do magic and illustrate stories and slap a mean high-five. See, Ohno thinks, his hand is warm. I'm touching a real person. Nino's real. He will be here when I wake up.

 

Ohno sleeps.

 

 

EIGHT

 

Nino wants to scope out the town centre since apparently all magicians require an in-depth knowledge of their stage before they perform on it. They walk though town slowly; Ohno tries to be a good tour guide. He points out their ramen stand, Sho's favourite tree to read under, the curb where Aiba once tripped and twisted his ankle, the only clothing store in town, run by Jun's family. They peek in but Jun's not there, which seems to both please and annoy Nino.

 

They are still getting stares from the villagers but Ohno, surprisingly, finds himself able to ignore the attention quite easily. And if it bothers Nino, he doesn't let on. He chats happily, telling Ohno more stories ("Oh, the maid stint? Well, long story short, I got caught when I was in the washroom and then got fired. But thinking back, it was definitely a little suspicious. What kind of person goes into a washroom when the door's obviously closed? Anyway, they let me keep the pay I’d earned." Ohno had wondered how it had taken Nino so long to get caught; Nino had laughed, “I’m a pretty good actor, you know. You’d be surprised.”) and asking about Ohno's town too. No one's ever asked Ohno about this little area where he lives because everyone he knows lives here too, has always lived here, but Ohno answers the best he can.

 

"We used to be an agricultural town. We still are, sort of. I mean, that's where the food comes from. But recently we started exporting things to earn money to make more buildings. Minerals. Over by the mountains, we have a small mine and we dig out the nice rocks that grow in there. My mom says the town never used to care about the rocks, they were just something pretty for the children to play with, but when our mayor saw them he got the idea that we could sell them. So we do that, now. They're not worth very much, but they helped pay for a lot of stuff. We were really a farming village, before."

 

"Are you telling me all these houses were recently built?" Nino asks, now looking around with new eyes.

 

"Yeah. Like, just a bit over ten years? Construction started when I was ten."

 

Nino takes a step closer to the nearest building and examines it. "Hm," he says. "It looks dingy from a distance, but that's because most of the wood you've used is pretty darkly coloured. Your materials are all pretty mismatched, too. Lots of scrap metal and patches of badly mixed cement. I guess you guys just used what you could, ne." He raps twice on the wall. "It's solid, though! That's good. Looks like your builders knew what they were doing, at least. On a nice sunny day this place might actually look presentable!"

 

"It's not often sunny here."

 

"I noticed, actually." Nino stays still for a little while longer, running his palm up and down the gritty surface of the wall. There's a soft look on his face, almost peaceful.

 

"You know a lot about building, huh?" Ohno says.

 

Nino starts, abruptly dropping his arm. He hurries back to Ohno's side. "Oh, no, not really. I was just thinking that, uh, I --" he pauses, "my parents were architects. So I grew up with that sort of background."

 

"Oh," Ohno says. The question forms in the back of his throat: what happened to your parents? Ohno’s mind wanders: maybe they were in an accident? Maybe something collapsed on them, when they were building something new in their own home and the whole structure fell, and maybe Nino was at school at that time, and so he was okay? Ohno's dad died like that, when the new tunnel in the mine collapsed on him. Maybe Nino travels because he has no home to return to. Ohno wants to know more about Nino, but he's never been good with words, so he doesn't know how to phrase such a question, and doesn’t know if he has the right to ask. He hopes Nino will talk more about it on his own, then he can get to know Nino better.

 

Because Ohno's starting to notice that while Nino is willing to talk about his adventures as a magician without the slightest hesitation, he doesn't say a single word about his life before he started travelling. Ohno doesn't know where Nino was born, doesn't know about Nino's family, doesn't know why Nino embarked on this solo journey across the world, never staying put in one place for longer than a few months. He doesn't know where Nino learned his magic. He doesn't know Nino's full name, or if he even has one. It's like Ohno's able to see his very surface at every angle, but everything underneath remains in mystery; the core of Nino completely covered by layers and layers of Ninomiya the Magician.

 

“The town isn’t the most pretty,” Ohno admits easily. “We’re kind of poor, ne. We can’t afford to –“ Ohno stops because his companion has stopped. “Nino?”

 

Nino has gone deathly pale, his posture rigid and his lips thin. He is staring at something not far in front of them.

 

“Who’s that?” The object of his gaze is the only monument this town has: their mayor in bronze, in the middle of the tiny town courtyard.

 

“That’s Kitagawa-san,” Ohno says. “He’s the town founder. He’s the one who thought to start selling the stones from the mountains and use the money to built better houses and stuff. He lives at the edge of town, over there.” He points.

 

There’s something very cold on Nino’s face as marches closer to the statue to take a better look. “Is Kitagawa-san a native citizen of this village?” he asks abruptly.

 

“Eh?” Ohno says. “Um. No. I don’t think any native citizen would have bothered to push so hard to make the village into what it is today. Johnny-san did that.”

 

“Did he now,” Nino murmurs, his eyes half slit in thought.

 

“Nino?”

 

There is no answer from the other boy for a long moment. Then, “I’m fine,” Nino says, and shakes his head a little. He brightens. “I’m fine!” he repeats. “It’s just that your mayor reminded me of someone.” With some effort, he wrenches his gaze away from the statue. He grabs Ohno’s wrist and starts pulling him away.

 

Ohno’s about to ask, “who?” but Nino’s fingers and warm on his skin and he forgets, caught up in Nino’s smile and Nino’s laughter.

 

 

NINE

 

Ohno takes Nino to the mine. Nino makes the appropriate oohs and aahs as they peer into the murky darkness (no one is working because it’s lunch time) and Ohno feels proud of himself for doing an okay job showing off the pride of the town.

 

“So when the stones are collected,” Ohno explains, “they’re taken to the stream; here, let’s go see it, maybe the others will be there. The older kids take the stones and wash them, ne. That’s our job. So they’re nice and shiny when Johnny-san packs them up and sells them.”

 

“Oh, your mayor leaves town alone and sells the stones?”

 

“Yeah. He’s an expert, you know! He knows the best markets to visit to get a good price for our stones. That’s where he is now. Sometimes he leaves for weeks.”

 

“Is that so,” Nino says, sounding bored. He squints. “There’s someone waving. Is that Aiba?”

It is. Aiba and Jun and Sho are all by the stream, hard at work.

 

Aiba greets Nino enthusiastically as they approach. “Nino-chan! Are you going to be helping out today?”

 

Nino doesn’t look particularly opposed to the idea and lets himself be pulled by Aiba to Aiba’s usual spot by the stream, the two of them chatting lively.

 

As they pass Jun, Jun hits Nino’s legs with his pail. “Mind the rules, hot shot,” he warns. “No littering. No urinating. No stealing.”

 

Nino feigns shock. “Jun-kun, just what are you implying?” But by half-turning, he catches sight of the freshly cleaned stones in Jun’s bucket. He takes one out and holds it up to the light, eyes widening.

 

“This is –“ Nino says, stunned. “This is Aspar!”

 

“Oh, you know the fancy name!” Aiba laughs. “Did Oh-chan tell you that? You can just call them stones here; everyone will still know what you’re talking about.”

 

“I’ve seen it at marketplaces!” Nino goes on. “It’s so rare, I can’t believe your town is a source of it. These rocks are really popular, you know!”

 

“Really?” Sho asks. “I guess I could see why. They’re extremely hard and dense, these rocks. And though it’s darkly coloured, when you hold it in the sun it’s completely transparent, so they’re pretty. We don’t have much use for them here, but I suppose people buy them as jewelry and things.”

 

“How much are you getting for them?” Nino says, still running his fingers over the edges of the stone in his hand. “This one is huge, it’s like half the size of my palm.”

 

Sho scratches his chin, thinking. “I think my father mentioned once said … maybe 500 diits for something that size?”

 

Nino looks floored. “Five … hundred … diits?”

 

“Yeah, it’s quite a lot to pay for some rocks, eh?” Sho laughs. “It’s thanks to Johnny-san and his bartering skills. Oh, he’s the mayor. I’m sure Satoshi-kun has told you all about him.”

 

Nino stares blankly at Sho for a second, before slowly, very slowly, letting out a very strange smile. “He did. But he sounds like an amazing person, I’d love to know more.”

 

Sho’s whole face lights up. Ohno pouts. Now Sho will be in academic mode for the rest of the day. Wasn’t Nino just bored, a minute ago, when Ohno had been talking about the mayor? Geez, was he that bad at speaking? He sighs, sitting down beside Jun.

 

“Am I terrible at talking, Jun-kun?”

 

“Yes,” Jun says comfortingly, patting Ohno on the back.

 

 

TEN

 

Contrary to what Ohno expected, Nino seems to be most interested in the mayor’s private life.

 

“Does he have family?”

 

“Yeah,” Sho tells him. “Or he did. When he moved here, he brought his son and daughter-in-law and their daughter with him. They only stayed for the first few years, though. The little girl was sick, and she was taken to better facilities in another town. While she was here though, she was always around Johnny-san. He loved taking her everywhere he went.”

 

“And the parents were okay with that?” Nino asks nonchalantly.

 

“Ah, well, he was her grandfather, so,” Sho answers. “Actually, to tell the truth, I never saw much of the parents while they were here. They hung around the house a lot. I think they were responsible for a lot of the new construction going on at the time, so it kept them very busy. Whenever they walked around town, they always looked preoccupied and quite tired.”

 

“What was that girl’s name? Do you remember?”

 

“Eh?” Sho is surprised. “No, it was a long time ago, and she didn’t really play with the rest of the kids.” He looks at Ohno, who shakes his head. “Her grandfather was very strict with her, I think, due to her poor health. It’s too bad the hospital here couldn’t take care of her well enough. Well, here, it’s more of a clinic, really. We don’t have the best supplies. This town really is quite simple. I’ve always wanted to travel abroad, to see other places, but we’re too poor for that. You’re lucky, Nino.”

 

Nino shrugs. “If you want to look at it that way.”

 

“No, really!” Aiba joins in. “We’ve all lived in this place our whole lives, you know! Johnny-san says that the town’s getting richer, but it’s slow, ne. He has to take a lot of trips to sell our rocks in order to keep the town running!”

 

“You guys really look up to Johnny-san, huh,” Nino says, but it doesn’t sound like a compliment.

 

“He did a lot for this village,” Jun says, not looking up from the piece of rock he’s polishing. “He’s not the most involved mayor, but then he’s often out of town. Still, look at what he’s helped accomplished in less than a decade.”

 

Nino’s gaze on them is curious, like he’s slowly beginning to understand something. “Huh,” he says, and decides to change the subject. The rest of the afternoon passes quickly, under the spell of Nino’s stories and jokes. In no time at all, it’s time to go home for dinner, and then Ohno is watching Nino put on his cape and top hat and don a pair of white gloves, finishing the transformation into Ninomiya the magician, and then they’re off, headed towards the town centre for Nino’s show.

 

 

ELEVEN

 

A large crowd has gathered. News spreads fast in this place; and there’s rarely such a spectacular form of entertainment available, so the townsfolk are visibly excited. There’s an energy to the people that Ohno hasn’t seen for a long time.

 

But something’s missing. Nino had asked them to stand by the statue so people would know where to start congregating, and had promptly run off somewhere else to “prepare.” Well, the people had congregated, but the main attraction is still absent. As the minutes pass, the crowd grows more agitated, as does Ohno.

 

“He ran off,” Jun states like a fact, brow furrowed. “I knew that guy was up to no good. If everyone is here, he has free reign to do whatever he wants elsewhere, Ohno, you shouldn’t have –“

 

“Ladies and gentlemen!!” Nino’s voice booms out suddenly. “Good evening! Good evening! Welcome to the show!” Heads swivel around madly, Ohno’s included, but still there’s no sign of Nino. The voice sounds like it’s coming from Johnny-san’s statue.

 

“I’m sure many of you have been wondering,” Nino’s voice floats through the air, “just who is that devilishly handsome young man who’s recently stepped into your humble town? Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ninomiya and I,” there is a pregnant pause; Ohno holds his breath, “am a magician.” On cue, an explosion at the base of the statue and everyone gasps. The smoke rises up and up, thick and white, and a shadow appears behind it, gradually growing less fuzzy as the smoke dissipates. Nino steps out dramatically, in full costume, and balances on the edge of the stone base of the statue. His eyes scan the crowd and he grins as he catches sight of Ohno’s face.

 

“Well,” Nino says, taking off his top hat, “Let’s get started.”