It was Hinamatsuri – dolls were everywhere, beautiful and stoic, reminding the world of Japanese tradition. Even in our Americanized abode, we kept a touristy equivalent (a single doll bought in a gift shop) and in my room the mark of Japan was a tiny omaneki neko that greeted me everyday. My family and I had been brought to Japan by chance when my father's company had suddenly gone bankrupt and my mom was transferred to a branch of her company out on The Islands.
The afternoon was hot and lazy and I was tired from the long week I had suffered at school. I sighed and stretched my legs. My world had been turned completely upside down in the past few months. I couldn't believe my rotten luck; things had just started to work out with a guy I liked back in the states but here I was – yanked away from the glittering lights of the U.S. to the dull gleam that I saw Japan to be.
In addition to having to deal with the sudden uprooting and transfer to the Land of the Rising Sun, I also had to take a crash course in Japanese language and culture. My Japanese was terrible and I was seriously struggling. At that point my only hope was to make some friends at the American school I attended. Little did I know that making friends would become the least of my worries, and my discomfort was actually fate placing me into a strategic position.
That night I had plans to go out around town shopping. One thing I did love about Japan was the shopping. Everything was charming, cute, and had the mark of skilled handiwork. Still in my school uniform, but a bit dressed down, I went from window to window at dusk waiting for a light to come on in one of them. Above me the sky was starting to turn a rusty blue and the stars looked unusually clean and bright. Across the street I heard the sound of a trashcan being overturned. I jumped and looked around to see a black cat streaking by. Following directly behind it was another cat, speckled gray and white. It suddenly stopped and looked me in the eyes. It had the most striking bright blue eyes I'd ever seen and looking into its huge sapphire orbs gave me a chill. Then, it bolted off, following the other cat.
At that moment a light turned on in one of the jewelry boutiques and I walked over to check it out. In the window I saw lots of perfectly nice jewelry, but nothing really caught my eye until I saw a certain pin. It was round and pink, covered with tiny stars and a black stripe across it; in the middle was a raised crescent moon. I was compelled! It wasn't that I thought it was particularly beautiful or cute; I was just uncontrollably drawn to it. In a matter of moments I was in the jewelry shop with the brooch bought and in hand. I pinned it onto my collar as soon as I was outside and continued to window shop.
The sparkle of the stars on my pin kept diverting my eyes from the path so that I took a few wrong turns in my attempts to find another place to shop. Before I knew what had happened, I was in an alleyway leading to a dead end. I looked around before realizing what I'd done. I felt clueless, but strangely I didn't feel lost. I felt like I was supposed to be there at that moment and I was supposed to have walked there. It was the same compulsion that drew me into the store, and chance had guided my feet to this place. Suddenly lucid, I turned around ready to leave. I was taken aback to see a silhouette blocking the lights of the street. It wasn't a tall one – about the same height as I was – but it was more than a little shocking. I opened my mouth to begin to speak, but the figure raised its hand to me, pointing straight at my head. I took a step back, feeling the cold wall behind me. Panic was starting to grip at my heart, but I tried to stay calm. I tried to speak in Japanese, saying, "Excuse me, what do you want?" But it came out a bit wrong, I'm sure.
The voice replied in fractured English, "Tonight the stars will fall and you will become a hero." It was a bit difficult to understand at first, but all I could do was nod and gulp. The figure lowered its hand and then turned around, walking slowly away. As soon as it was out of sight, I ran as fast as I could back out onto the street. I wanted to get home now because the encounter had seriously alarmed me.
Back on the street, I relaxed, floating along in the crowd like a raft at sea. Girls dressed up in kimono were walking to and from celebrating girl's day and seemed out of place to me in the urban setting. All of them were very excited-looking, though, and full of energy. I nervously walked towards home, being very careful to follow the right route. The throng of people wasn't very thick that night, but the air was filled with music and the sky was filled with stars. I looked up at the blue blob above me, which was almost glowing that night. It was as if the stars were multiplying, or the moon was doubling in size from its cradle where it was held it still somewhere beyond sight. At the time I thought it was a bit peculiar, but you can't stand alone staring at the sky too long or people will start thinking you're crazy. Just as I was about to lower my head something streaked across the sky. Things just kept getting weirder and weirder. It was as if I had stepped into Neverland or accidentally tripped through a mirror.
I continued my walk home, watching my feet carefully. As I was watching the ground, I started to hear the murmur of people around me rise in volume. Unexpectedly, something hit the ground in front of me. Remembering the unusually clear sky from earlier, I looked straight up. Shooting stars had woven a spider web of stardust across the dark blue night and everyone was staring at the spectacle. Another drop of liquid hit the ground. It was as if the stars were falling out of the sky, like the figure in the alleyway had told me. I looked down to see that the ground was beginning to be covered with sticky, sparkling stars. I scratched my head in confusion, continuing to look up at the sky. People were starting to take pictures, but I decided I wanted none of it and quickly finished the walk home.
When I arrived at the house, my mom was standing outside looking up at the stars falling, too, and the drops had covered her hands and were starting to drip onto her feet. My dad was working late, I assumed, because he would be the first to start tape-recording something like this. I went inside, eager to get away from the strange happenings outside. I walked to my room and fell down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling and wondering what the hell was going on outside. Logically speaking, this sort of thing just wasn't possible. Stars didn't fall out of the sky like that and even if they did, they'd be meteorites and not goop hitting the ground. People would be in a panic, not put under some strange spell.
Sitting up, I wondered if maybe there was a connection between the strange happenings of the day. The stars, the pin, the cat, the stranger in the alleyway – they all seemed to be adding up to something. However, I hardly knew what it could be. Something extraordinary was going on; there could be no doubt of that. I turned my head to look out the window, but sitting there on my windowsill was a cat. Not just any cat – but the same one from before that had passed me in the street. Those piercing blue eyes seemed to violate my thoughts. Still shocked by its sudden appearance, I watched as the cat bounded into my room and over to my desk.
I'd been working on a calligraphy gift for my mother, so a bottle of ink sat corked next to piles of paper. The cat took soft, padded steps over to the container and pulled the cork out with its mouth. Then it very deftly dipped its tail into the ink and began to write…! Amazed, I walked over to see what it was writing. Unfortunately, it was in Japanese, so I had to grab a dictionary to decipher it. Word by word, I slowly understood.
"Everyone is in danger. You have got to help. You can do it." I looked at the cat in puzzlement.
"What? I've got to help? How?" I half laughed because I was talking to a cat. Then again, the cat did write to me in plain Japanese…
"Ok, it is a bit silly, despite that, please trust me. Say 'Moon Sparkler Power, Make-up!'"
I cocked an eyebrow at the cat. "What is this, Power Rangers?" It gave me a stern look with its scary azure eyes so I obeyed. In Power Ranger style I put my hand above my head and stood in a battle stance. "Moon Sparkler Power, Make-up!" I said loudly. It happened all at once – there was light twinkling everywhere – and before I knew it, I was standing in my room wearing a strange sailor uniform. I could tell I was wearing a metal band around my head, high heels on my feet, and a black skirt. Feeling that perhaps bigger things than me were happening around me, I ran out of my room and throughout the house looking for signs of my family. No one was inside. Thundering down the tiny Japanese halls much more vehemently than any gangly American should, I ran back outside. What I saw shocked me.
My mom was still frozen in the same position she had been when I entered the house and she was covered in the shiny goopy stars. I looked up to see the sky that had once been charged with light was now black and dark as ever. I reached out to touch my mom when another star shot at my hand. Even though I had a glove on, the star was disgustingly goopy and gross. It also seemed to be anesthetic; it was numbing the part of my hand exposed by my unusual glove. "Looks like there's something a little more sinister going on here than I suspected," I said to myself.
I started walking in the direction that the star had been shot from, feeling a little more scared with every step. Every few seconds I felt like turning around and running away, but each time I would take a few deep breaths and continue. Shaking my hand to free it from the goop, I tried walking with a bit more confidence towards the local square. Distant noise came from the streets that were normally bustling with activity – the sounds of music and televisions were the only things audible. There was no speech, no sound of feet moving, and no camera clicking. Soon I saw why – everyone was frozen like my mother had been. People staring up at the dark sky, completely frozen, holding their cameras or passing by in kimono, were all around. The entire city was trapped in motionless quiet and I was the only one spared from the spell.
As the buckets of ice going down my spine got more and more intense, a voice at last broke the silence. "What are you doing moving around?" It asked in silvery Japanese. I turned around to see someone standing on top of the fountain in the square that was now covered in goop. The person was androgynous and had white hair standing straight up, looking like a snow pixie or elf. Though it had Asian features, its eyes were glowing yellow as if it were a demon.
"I could ask you the same question!" I yelled back, to my surprise, in smooth, clear Japanese as well. "What the hell…" I murmured to myself in my own language. "Why did I…?" It was as if I had had no control over what I was saying when I spoke to the monster.
"Well, I can get rid of you soon enough," it said sleekly.
"Why are you doing this?" I yelled, cutting it off.
"Why? Because it was what I was instructed to do, I am doing it! Now, I'll complete my goal as soon as I finish capturing you."
At that moment, my life flashed before my eyes. A goopy star flew towards me, thrown by the shining figure. I dropped and rolled to the right, getting covered in star gel in the process, but saw next to me a huge glowing rock. I grabbed and stood up, sending it hurtling through the air towards the gleaming beast. "Take that!" I yelled as it sailed through the air. The monster threw some of the star slush at it to defer it and then grabbed the rock, sending it right back at me. I managed to dodge it again, but only by a little bit. The goop was beginning to take its effect – I was getting numb all over and moving more sluggishly. "Damn it!" I yelled. "What am I supposed to do? How do I kill this thing?"
It shot another star at me, hitting me right in the face. I spat the goop out and wiped off the sludge with my arm. "Give up! It won't cost you much – I just need all of the energy in your body. Then I'll leave you and the rest of this miserable city lifeless to do as you please."
"Are you kidding? I'm not going to stand by and watch you drain the soul out of this city!" I yelled back. There had to be something I could do. The literate cat had told me so, as had the figure in the alley. Suddenly, moonlight struck my eyes as a sliver of the huge white orb creeping over the tops of the buildings in the square rose slowly in the night sky. Blinking, I looked to see a shadow against the moon on a rooftop. At that moment it struck me – the strip of metal around my head wasn't just for show. I raised my hands, which were getting heavy and fat-feeling, to my head, took the band off and pulled it apart. It effortlessly broke into two pieces and became tiny wing-shaped throwing knives. I was drawing them back to release them at the demon, but just then I began to dip from side to side. The starry gel was making me tipsy and my whole body felt heavy. Suddenly, a rose the color of dawn shot out of the dark, sparkling with the magic you find in a sunrise. Color and intense scent leaked from it and filled my nostrils, waking my whole body up. I looked to see who had thrown it and a dashing hero wearing what could only be described as an urban knight's costume gave an elegant wave of his hand in my direction. Shoulder pads of leather were on his strong shoulders, a cape with red lining whipped behind him as he strode stalwartly towards us. His costume reflected true Japanese street fashion with all of the attitude and twice the style.
"Hey there sailor soldier," he said with a voice that rumbled and stirred my heart with its pitch. "I thought you could use a little help."
"So good to have you," I said, nodding, "Tokyo Knight." Despite my fascination with my savior, I turned back to the monster after the short exchange we'd had. Thinking quickly, I came up with a battle cry to make me feel a bit more powerful, "Moonlight Wings!"
I drew back my weapon and let it fly at her. Surprisingly, my aim wasn't bad and the wings seemed to glow with energy as they cut through the demon's middle. It shrieked, and then disappeared in a flash of light. The wings returned to my hands like a boomerang, then became my decorative headband again.
I looked around as everyone began to shake loose of the spell and the starry gel melted away. When I tried to find my hero, he'd already gone or melted into the crowd. Dreamily, I lifted the rose from the ground before me and held it close to my heart. I decided to get away before everyone saw me, and snuck off in my goop-covered sailor outfit.
I ran home and eased my way in the back door and eventually into my room, where the cat was waiting for me. "Ok, cat, I'm home, and I'm not happy," I said crossly, placing the rose delicately on my bookshelf.
The cat flinched, then dipped its tail into the ink and wrote again. "Sorry, but admit it – don't you feel good knowing that you saved the whole city?" I smiled sheepishly and nodded, to which the response was "It was worth it then. Not just for your sake, but for everyone's. It's up to you to protect this city from the threatening forces that are trying to assault it."
I nodded again, but this time my nod was solemn. "I understand."
"However, there is a bit more to it…" the cat wrote, "The stars fell tonight and the five elements of the sky that fell with them need to be gathered and replaced."
"What?" I cried. "You can't be serious! I don't have time for this… Wait a minute," I shut my mouth quickly as I thought of something – I would probably get to see Tokyo Knight again. "Well, I guess… I can make time for it."
So that was how it all began – how fate entwined me in a dangerous dance to protect the city just like the superheroes of comic books and Saturday morning cartoons. I had become a sailor soldier and it was now my mission to return the stars to the sky… And I would have to find the confidence to do it for those who would be threatened by evil.