‘Come, ladies. Your seats await you.’

Two days have passed since the attack in Aunt Azumi’s garden, two days in which much has happened. Osamu’s nose has started healing; it wasn’t broken after all. Hotaka’s ribs are fine, though still sore. Uncle Yori has mended his nets and his runabout. Work is well underway on Aunt Azumi’s garden, and she loves her new walking stick. But most important of all is the news that has spread across the nation about the little town of Omori-wan.

There is a gathering at Hotaka’s house to view a special report prepared by a Tokyo television station. Uncle Yori is there, as well as Sakura with her aunt and uncle. is there, too, along with his car-driving cousin, plus Tarou and his pals who helped capture the thugs.

Those thugs revealed all. In detailed interviews carefully recorded by Osamu, and later with the police, they told how much they’d been paid by the mayor of Omori-wan, and what they were meant to do for their fee: end the anti-seawall protest by any means – scare tactics, violence, whatever. With that in hand, plus the video evidence filmed by Aunt Azumi, Osamu contacted the News Channel in Tokyo. They grabbed the story and whipped up a national news item.

‘We’re ready to start,’ Hotaka calls.

The women appear. ‘You are recording this, aren’t you, son?’ Mrs Yamato asks as they enter.

‘Of course, Okāsan.’ He presses the pause button while everyone gets ready. ‘I bet the whole of Omori-wan is recording this. It’s the biggest thing that’s happened here since the tsunami.’

‘This way, ladies.’ Uncle Yori beckons the women to places directly in front of the television, between him and Sakura’s uncle.

Uncle Hideo bows to the women as they sit, and then turns to Sakura who is standing further back. ‘You too, niece. Come. I’ve kept this spot for you.’

She shakes her head, but Osamu pushes her forward.

‘Do as you’re told, Princess Blossom. Your uncle is proud of you, as we all are. He wants to show you off.’

‘That’s right.’ Uncle Hideo beckons to Sakura. ‘You’ve done something very courageous, my dear. I know that your father and your mother – my dear sister – would both be immensely proud of you. Please.’

Sakura accepts, but turns to everyone before sitting.

‘You are far too kind, Uncle. If I have been courageous, I am not alone. My friends have also shown courage and given me support. Hotaka, Osamu, Tarou. Uncle Yori. Aunty Azumi. Yamato-san. You all gave me the strength to keep going.’

‘Thank heavens you did keep going,’ Osamu says. ‘It’s because of you that Omori-wan can hold its head high – the tiny town that took on the giants! Come on, Hotaka, let’s have it.’

Hotaka presses the remote and the screen opens to a slow pan across the bay of Omori-wan, complete with voice-over.

‘Not far from the city of Rikuzentakata, in one of the region’s most picturesque areas, lies Omori-wan. A once-prosperous fishing community, the little town was devastated by the 3/11 tsunami, like much of the Tōhoku coast. Since then Omori-wan has been gradually rebuilding itself at the edge of its beautiful bay, with its forested hills reaching down to the water, and a tranquillity all of its own.

‘That tranquillity was shattered last week in what has become a battle between a young teenage girl and powerful forces organised by the corrupt town mayor and his cronies within both the construction industry and the shady world of the yakuza.’

The view cuts to a reporter walking along the marina.

‘Miss Tsukino’s campaign touched a nerve in the town, with a massive show of support when she spoke two days ago at a spontaneous anti-seawall protest. But the impact of her message has spread much further, due to a well-organised social media campaign that has captured the attention and imagination of people everywhere. As her campaign manager – Osamu Fujita – explained.’

Osamu appears on the screen.

‘Messages of support and solidarity have been pouring in,’ he explains. ‘Not only from up and down the Tōhoku coast, but from all over Japan and internationally. For example: the number of tweets coming in on Hashtag OurCallNoWall has gone from a modest flow to a virtual tsunami. Only a few days ago Mayor Nakano and Engineer Oshita tried to silence Miss Tsukino, first by having her expelled from school, then with threats of legal action, and even workplace harassment of her uncle. But their heavy-handed tactics failed, and these men have been left embarrassingly exposed. The cat, as they say, is out of the bag.’

‘How true,’ the reporter continues. ‘The cat is most certainly out of the bag, for there has been an astonishing development in this saga. The attempted intimidation of the anti-seawall movement escalated into extreme violence. Miss Tsukino and her physically disabled aunt, as well as two friends, were viciously attacked by thugs. We have exclusive footage of the attack, of which for legal reasons we can only show brief extracts. And a warning: some viewers may find these scenes confronting.’

Hotaka appears on the screen, narrowly escaping a blow from the bamboo rod of the small thug, fending off a second attack with a garden stake, only to be cracked across the ribs by a third blow. His mother shrieks at this.

The next scene shows Sakura being pushed over, knocked to the ground and stamped on by the big thug, who then lifts his bamboo rod above his head. The whole room gasps.

‘Pause it there,’ Osamu says, and strides out in front of everyone. ‘There’s something you all should know. This great footage was shot by none other than Sakura’s aunt.’ He walks over to Aunt Azumi and gets her to stand up. ‘Thank you, Kita-san. Thank you from all of us. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. I mean it, because what you did here made all the difference. It turned the tide our way.’

The room bursts into applause. Aunt Azumi bows, blushing, and sits. Hotaka resumes the news item.

‘The shocking revelation here,’ says the reporter, ‘is that both Mayor Nakano and Engineer Oshita are behind this violence. The three gangsters involved confessed last night, and I quote: “We were told to shut her up for good. Whatever it takes to silence her, they said.”

‘Well, they haven’t silenced her at all. In fact they’ve given Miss Tsukino a louder voice than ever. And in a neat irony, the mayor and the engineer are now the silent ones. Both have gone into hiding. We believe that Mayor Nakano was caught by police near Tokyo this morning, but Engineer Oshita is still at large. The head office for Capitol Constructions in Tokyo has terminated his employment, fiercely denying any involvement in the whole affair. It has also put out a press release stating that the construction of the Omori-wan seawall will be shelved pending a referendum, and pledging that funds from the project will be redirected to a housing program worked out in consultation with local residents.’

The camera cuts to a shot of Sakura walking along the harbourfront, her voice in the background.

‘This is a victory for the small people, the ordinary folk of Omori-wan. They will not be denied their right to enjoy the beauty of Nature.’

Sakura stops and stares across the bay, the camera following her view.

‘It is also a victory for common sense. Like it or not, we are part of Nature, and we ignore that fact at our peril.’

It’s a surprise. I can’t tell you any more.

Hotaka is lying in bed later that night, trying to sleep. He thought he would nod off as soon as his head hit the pillow. But Sakura’s words are still with him. He can’t stop wondering about what she said.

Everybody clapped and cheered when the news item was over. They replayed it twice, clapping again when Sakura spoke, laughing at Osamu’s hugely swollen nose, gasping when Hotaka was attacked, and cheering at the end. There would have been a third replay, but Sakura said she simply couldn’t bear to see or hear any more of herself.

After all the excitement and action of the last few days, everyone was tired and agreed it was time to go home. As they walked out to Uncle Yori’s minibus, Sakura drew Hotaka aside.

‘There’s still something we have to do, you know? Some unfinished business.’

‘What is it?’

‘It won’t take long, I promise. But we have to do it. And tomorrow is our best chance.’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘Just be ready. Midday.’

‘Why all the secrecy? I don’t understand.’

‘You will.’ She smiles, gives him a friendly thump and pulls away.

What could she possibly mean? In bed Hotaka trawls his brain. What was it they still needed to do? He rolls over and punches his pillow. Why couldn’t she just spell it out?

There’s a tap at the door. It opens slightly and his mother pokes her head through.

‘What is it?’ Hotaka props himself on his elbow.

‘I forgot to tell you. Principal Hashimoto telephoned this afternoon when you were out.’

‘The principal?’ Hotaka sits up. ‘What did he want?’

‘He wanted to speak to you. Personally. He asked if he could come here tomorrow morning.’

‘Did he say anything else?’

‘Nothing else, only it sounded important. So I told him it would be fine.’

‘Of course, Okāsan.’

Hotaka remains sitting after his mother slides the door closed. It’s going to be a long night.