by Nancy Krulik
“Whatever,” Kaito replies. He stares at the statue of Hachiko. His tail gets stiff. He grits his teeth.
Kaito sees something, and he doesn’t like what he sees. While the Ninja Dogs were busy talking to Yoshi, a two-leg has started to climb on the Hachiko statue.
“Hey, you!” Kaito barks at the two-leg.
“Get down!” Saya shouts angrily.
“Now!” Takito jumps up and bares his teeth.
“What they said,” Yoshi adds.
The two-leg looks down. She spots the three Ninja Dogs and Yoshi jumping up and down. She sees their bared teeth. She hears their barks. And she gets down. Fast. I don’t blame the girl. When the Ninja Dogs get angry, they can be plenty scary.
“No one climbs on Hachiko,” Takito growls.
“We weren’t fast enough,” Kaito says. “Nanami would have been on her before she even got one leg on that statue.”
“We did okay,” Saya assures Kaito. “But we do need Nanami back.”
“We never got to the fish market,” Takito says. “We could go look for her there.”
Saya shakes her head. “We were only going to look for Nanami at the fish market because we thought a wizard dog had taken her there,” Saya reminds him. “Sparky’s not a wizard. And there’s no reason Nanami would have gone to the fish market. No one there ever gives us food.”
“True,” Kaito agrees. “We need to search places where Nanami might have gone today. And only one of us knows where she was . . .”
The three Ninja Dogs all turn and stare at me.
“Come on, Sparky, think,” Saya says. “Where did you and Nanami go after you left the park this morning?”
I thinkety, think, think way back to this morning. But it’s hard with Kaito glaring at me and scratching himself. Every time he scratches, my bone moves up and down in his collar.
“I just don’t get it,” Takito groans. “Who would want to hurt Nanami?”
Hurt. Hurt. Something hurt me today. What was it? Oh yeah. My ears!
“When I was with Nanami, some two-leg hurt my ears really bad,” I tell the Ninja Dogs. “She was squeaking and squawking. It was awful.”
The Ninja Dogs all look at me strangely.
“What are you talking about?” Takito asks me.
“It was at the place where the two-leg gave us squishy fishy,” I tell him.
Kaito rolls his eyes. “Here we go again with the squishy fishy,” he says angrily. “How can sashimi hurt your ears?”
“It wasn’t the fish,” I tell him. “It was the howling. It was awful.”
“Howling?” Takito repeats.
“Yes,” I insist. “And after the two-leg finished howling, the other two-legs hit their paws together. Their paws made noise. Mine didn’t.”
I hit my paws together. They still don’t make any noise.
“He must mean the karaoke club,” Saya says. “The one near Yoyogi Park.”
“Yes! Yes!” I bark excitedly. “That’s what Nanami called it. Karaoke!”
“It’s worth checking out,” Takito says.
“Let’s get moving,” Kaito announces. “Yoshi, you stay here. And this time, don’t leave the statue alone. Get someone else to stand guard if you need to . . . well . . . you know.”
We all know.
“Come on, Sparky,” Saya says. “We’ve got to hurry.”
“We’re not going back on that Metro thing again, are we?” I ask her nervously.
Saya shakes her head. “Not this time. It’ll be faster by paw.”
Phew. That’s good. Because I don’t want to be squishy Sparky ever again.
CHAPTER 9
Squeak! Squawk!
Ow, ow, owie! My ears are hurting.
“See, I told you,” I say to the Ninja Dogs as we get closer to the karaoke club. “Two-leg howls really hurt.”
“You’re not kidding,” Takito moans. He covers his ears.
“We have to go in,” Saya says. “If Nanami is there, we need to find her. No matter how much it hurts.”
“We can take the pain,” Kaito adds. “We’re Ninja Dogs.”
No. They’re Ninja Dogs. I’m just a puppy. I don’t think I can take the pain.
“You guys go ahead,” I say. “I’ll wait out here.”
Kaito turns and sneers at me. “Remember, I’ve got the bone.”
He’s right. I’m going to have to head into the karaoke club. Because where my bone goes, I go.
Squeak. Squawk. Screeeeeech!
Ow! Ow! Owie-ow! The two-leg sounds even worse inside the karaoke club.
“Stop!” My mouth shouts before I can stop it. “Stop howling.”
The two-legs inside the karaoke club turn around and stare at me.
Uh-oh. It’s never good when two-legs stare like that.
Suddenly, I hear a familiar voice. A dog voice. It doesn’t owie my ears at all. “Sparky! You came back!”
“Nanami!” I bark. “You’re here!”
Nanami pads over. She has a big smile on her face. “I didn’t think I’d see you again,” she tells me. Then she looks behind me. Her smile gets bigger. “I didn’t think I’d see you guys again, either,” she tells the Ninja Dogs.
Nanami starts to walk outside. The Ninja Dogs follow behind her. I follow behind them.
I’m happy that Nanami wants to be outside. The squeaking and squawking is quieter out here.
“It was hard to find you,” Saya tells Nanami. “But we didn’t give up.”
“We’re here to rescue you,” Takito says.
Nanami gives us a strange look. “Rescue me?” she asks. “From what?”
“From this place,” Takito tells her. “From the two-legs holding you prisoner.”
“I’m not a prisoner,” Nanami tells him. “I’m here because I want to be.”
The Ninja Dogs stare at Nanami. Their eyes open wide. Their tails drop. They are definitely surprised.
“That’s not true!” Kaito barks. “You are our queen. You don’t belong with two-legs. You belong with us. Because Ninja Dogs are family. Now and forever.”
“You don’t need me,” Nanami tells him. “You have one another. Masato had no one, until now.”
“Masato?” Takito asks.
“My two-leg,” Nanami says. “I’ve been visiting him for a while now. He always gives me water and food. Today he gave Sparky and me sashimi.”
“I remember,” I say. “The nice two-leg with the squishy fishy.”
“That’s him,” Nanami tells us. “He owns this karaoke club. We live upstairs.”
“This isn’t making any sense,” Kaito says. “That two-leg isn’t alone. Look at all the other two-legs in this club.”
“They’re his friends,” Nanami explains. “And they’re nice. But they come and go. They’re not family. Masato was lonely. He needed love. So today, I adopted him.”
I know what Nanami means. Sophie is a friend. But she comes and goes. I’m always there for Josh, because Josh and I are family.
But what if Kaito refuses to give me back my bone? What if I can’t get home? Josh would be lonely. Will Sophie adopt Josh, just like Nanami adopted her two-leg?
“You’re going to stay here with him?” Takito asks.
“Yes,” Nanami tells him. “I will be loyal to him, just like Hachiko was loyal to his two-leg. And Masato will be loyal to me. He will feed me, pet me, and love me. And I will protect him and be by his side. That’s how it works.”
“It actually sounds kind of nice,” Takito says.
“It is,” I tell him. Because I know.
“It would be wonderful to not have to wander around looking for food,” Saya adds.
“It’s also great to be petted and scratched,” I tell her. “And it’s fun to play ball, too.”
&n
bsp; Takito and Saya both seem to understand why Nanami wants to live with her new two-leg. But Kaito still looks mad.
“I guess that whole thing about us being family, now and forever, wasn’t really forever,” he barks angrily. “I thought we were your family.”
And with that, Kaito turns and starts to leave.
“No, Kaito!” I shout. “You can’t go.”
But Kaito keeps walking away . . . with my bone!
CHAPTER 10
“Kaito! Wait!” Nanami shouts. “Come back here.”
Kaito stops. Phew.
“Why?” Kaito asks Nanami. “There’s nothing else for us to say, is there?”
“Sure there is,” Nanami assures Kaito. “We’re still a family.”
“If you’re living in here, and we’re living out there, how are we supposed to stay together?” Kaito asks.
Before Nanami can answer, a two-leg walks outside. He’s the same two-leg I saw this morning.
When the two-leg spots all us dogs, he stops right in his place. His eyes open wide. Is he scared of the Ninja Dogs, too?
No, he’s not. The two-leg is smiling and laughing. He reaches over to pet Saya on the head.
Saya is shy at first. But then she rubs against his leg.
“Masato loves dogs,” Nanami says. “Maybe you could all live here with us.”
“Really?” Saya asks. “Live with a two-leg indoors?”
Nanami nods.
“Would he feed us, too?” Takito wonders.
“Of course,” Nanami replies.
“Maybe he’ll give you squishy fishy,” I say. “It’s delishy.”
Nanami looks at Kaito. “What about you?”
“What about me?” Kaito asks her gruffly.
“Do you want to stay?” Nanami asks.
“I don’t have a choice,” he says. “I gotta stay. Ninja Dogs are family. Now and forever. Except . . .”
“Except what?” Saya asks him.
“Except who is going to guard Hachiko if we aren’t there?” Kaito points out.
“Yoshi and his friends could do it,” Takito suggests.
“Yeah,” Saya agrees. “Yoshi was guarding the statue most of today.”
“He did a terrible job,” Kaito replies.
“Not so terrible,” Takito argues. “And remember, we weren’t great when we started, either. He’ll grow into being a Ninja Dog.”
“Yoshi and his friends can’t be the Ninja Dogs,” Kaito insists. “We’re the Ninja Dogs.”
“About that . . . ,” Nanami begins.
“What?” Kaito barks angrily. “You get us all to say we’re gonna live here, and then you tell us we’re not family?”
“Oh, we’re still family,” Nanami assures him. “But maybe we should change our name now that we’re living here at the karaoke club.”
“What about the Karaoke Dogs?” I suggest.
Nanami, Saya, Takito, and Kaito thinkety, think, think for a minute.
“I like it,” Saya says.
“It has a nice ring,” Takito adds.
“The Karaoke Dogs,” Nanami repeats slowly. She looks at Kaito. “What do you think?”
Kaito shrugs. “It works.”
“Then we’re the Karaoke Dogs,” Nanami says. “And we’re family.”
“Now and forever,” Kaito, Saya, and Takito add.
Good. I’m glad that’s settled.
“I want my bone back,” I tell Kaito. “We had a deal.”
Kaito stares at me. “What’s so special about this bone?” he demands. “It’s all you’ve been talking about all day.” He turns to the other Ninja . . . I mean, Karaoke Dogs.
“You know, we never did find out how Sparky got here. Maybe there’s something about this bone . . .”
Kaito scratches at his collar until my bone falls to the ground with a clunk.
“I don’t think I’m going to give this bone back after all,” he says. “It smells too good. Maybe I’ll just take a little bite . . .”
“No!” I bark. Loud. Louder than I’ve ever barked before.
My body begins to shake.
My tail tucks between my legs. A puddle starts forming under my feet. He can’t bite my bone. He’ll kaboom away. And I’ll be stuck here in Tokyo forever.
“Kaito!” Nanami barks suddenly. “If you made a deal with Sparky, you made a deal. The Ninja Dogs didn’t break deals. And neither do the Karaoke Dogs.”
Kaito grumbles something under his breath. He sniffs at the bone. He looks at me.
The puddle under my feet is getting bigger.
“Fine,” Kaito says finally. He kicks the bone toward me. “Take your silly bone.”
He doesn’t have to tell me twice. I stop the bone between my paws.
“I’m going home now,” I say. I smile at the Karaoke Dogs and Masato. “I’m glad you are still a family.”
“Me too,” Nanami says.
I look down at my bone. Sniffety, sniff, sniff. It smells amazing. Like beef, chicken, and squishy fishy all rolled into one. I open my mouth to take a bite and . . .
“WAIT!” Saya suddenly shouts out.
Oh no! What now?
Saya brings something over to me. It’s a piece of paper. Only it’s folded to look like a little dog.
“Take this home with you, so you’ll always remember us,” she says.
I don’t think I’ll ever forget the Karaoke Dogs. Especially Kaito. He’s one scary dog. But I take the gift, anyway.
“Thank you,” I tell Saya.
Kaito is eyeing my bone. Any second now, he’s just going to leap out and grab it. I can’t let that happen.
So I open my mouth wide and chomp!
Wiggle, waggle, whew. I feel dizzy—like my insides are spinning all around—but my outsides are standing still. Stars are twinkling in front of my eyes—even though it’s daytime! All around me I smell food—fried chicken, salmon, roast beef. But there isn’t any food in sight.
Kaboom! Kaboom! Kaboom!
CHAPTER 11
Wiggle, waggle, yippee!
A minute later, I’m back in my yard. There’s my tree! And my fence! And my flowers! And the big hole I duggety, dug, dug this morning!
I’d better bury my bone again right away. I almost lost it today. I don’t want that to happen again.
I place the paper dog Saya gave me on the grass. Then I look around to make sure there are no Ninja Dogs hiding in my yard.
No one is hiding behind the tree.
There’s no one on the other side of my fence. I’m alone.
Quickly, I drop my bone into the giant hole. Then I push the dirt back over the bone. It’s hidden. No one will find it this time.
Suddenly, I hear something outside the yard. It’s Josh’s metal machine—the one with four round paws. Josh is home!
Josh! Josh! Josh! My paws race to him. Fast, faster, fastest!
My fur falls down in my eyes. I can’t see where I’m running. But my paws keep going. Fast. Faster . . .
Boom!
My paws run right into Josh! But he doesn’t get angry at me. He just smiles and scratches my ears.
Just then, Josh spots something on the ground near him. He stops scratching and picks up the little paper dog that Saya gave me.
Josh looks at the paper dog. Then he looks at me, his real dog.
I wish I could tell Josh that the paper dog is a gift from a friend in Tokyo. I wish I could tell him about the squishy fishy, and the sumo wrestlers, and Hachiko, and the Ninja Dogs who are now the Karaoke Dogs.
But I don’t speak two-leg. And Josh doesn’t speak dog. So I roll over onto my back and smile.
Josh laughs. He bends down, and starts scratching my belly. Scratchity, scratch, scratch! Josh is the best scratcher in th
e world.
Sometimes dogs and two-legs don’t need words. There are lots of ways to say I love you. And if you ask me, scratchity, scratch, scratching is one of the best.
I’m happy to be back with Josh. This is where I belong. Because he and I are family. Now and forever.
Fun Facts about Sparky’s Adventures in Tokyo
Yoyogi Park
Yoyogi Park is one of the largest parks in Tokyo. It has lawns, ponds, and forests. Back in 1964, it was the site of the Olympic village where athletes from all over the world gathered for the Olympic Games. Today, Japanese teens like to gather at Yoyogi park to sing, dance, and hang out with friends.
Karaoke
Karaoke comes from the Japanese words kara, which means “empty,” and oke, short for okesutora, which means “orchestra.” Tokyo has many karaoke clubs where people gather to sing their favorite songs onstage while using recorded background music. Singing in a karaoke club lets people pretend to be just like their favorite performers.
Sumo Wrestlers
Japanese sumo wrestlers have been competing against one another for more than one thousand years. That makes sumo wrestling Japan’s oldest sport. Today’s sumo wrestlers dress a lot like wrestlers did centuries ago, with their hair in a knot at the top of their heads and a simple cloth tied around their waists. Sumo matches take place in a wrestling ring called a dohyo. During a match, the wrestlers try to throw or tackle each other. The one who forces his opponent out of the ring or down onto the mat is the winner.
Japanese Tea Ceremony
Japanese people have been serving tea and treats to honored guests for hundreds of years. During a tea ceremony, bitter green tea and sweet rice cakes called mochi are served. Not just anyone can serve tea and treats at a Japanese tea ceremony. People go to school to learn how to make and serve the tea correctly.
Origami
The traditional Japanese art of paper folding began centuries ago. Origami sculptures are made by folding a flat sheet of paper into a design. Cutting and gluing are not allowed. While origami can be done with any sheet of paper, the traditional paper, called washi, is made from bark from the gampi tree or the mulberry bush. It also can be made from hemp, rice, or wheat.
