Volume Nineteen: Blow The Morning of 9/11 Written by Kashiwae Masato Illustrated by Chayamachi Suguro Summary by Amparo Bertram September 11, 2001

Young Nobuyuki learned how to make a paper airplane at his kindergarten for Japanese students, so he shows his new skill to Sidney. Sidney doesn't believe at first that it will fly. He does, however, recall hearing something from a friend about Japanese kamikaze pilots. He doesn't understand why his parents get upset when he mentions it; Ted promises to teach him about history. Sidney is amazed when the little paper triangle actually takes flight.

[Note: Yes, the author actually seems to believe that American children don't know about paper airplanes.]

Sidney and Nobuyuki leave for work together the morning of September 11. They're not in the best of moods. Sidney has been grumpy since the previous night, when Nobuyuki mentioned he had gone to a junkyard with Steve to get an old seatbelt, which firefighters use to hold flashlights and other equipment. Nobuyuki doesn't realize that Sidney is jealous when he spends time with Steve, and it frustrates him that Sidney won't explain what's wrong. They part still bickering.

As Sidney walks to work, he happens to look up and spot an airplane. He watches in disbelief as it crashes into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Knowing that no commercial aircraft should be in the air over Manhattan, he draws upon his military background and immediately concludes that it was no accident, it was an act of terrorism. At once, he calls Nobuyuki on his cell phone and tells him to turn on the TV in the Sky Travel office...and not to budge from there. Sidney then hangs up, musing that phones will probably soon be useless, and runs to police headquarters.

Steve's shift is just ending, but as soon as he hears about the fire, he and his friend Andy rush to the scene to join the other firefighters helping to evacuate people. He witnesses the second airplane crash into the South Tower. Meanwhile, Nobuyuki and the others at Sky Travel office worry about the tourists in their care. They cancel all of the scheduled tours and work to gather everyone at their hotel. Sidney's order not to leave the office makes Nobuyuki suspect that the disaster may not be accidental, and he wonders if Sidney is remembering his time in the Gulf War.

Sidney, Henry, and other police officers go to assist with evactuating the affected area. They feel helpless that there isn't much they can do other than pass out scraps of cloth for people to use as masks to block the smoke and ash. Sidney reflects that the U.S. mainland hasn't been the site of a war since the Revolution.

[Note: Ted must not have done a very good job teaching Sidney about history. The U.S. mainland has been attacked several times since then, not to mention a little thing we call the Civil War.]

Steve is in the North Tower when the South Tower collapses. He and Andy continue helping people evacuate, particularly an injured businessman named Sam who has to be carried down the stairs. They make it out of the building moments before it, too, falls. Unfortunately, Andy is hit on the head by debris and loses consciousness. Steve ignores his own injured foot and hunts down an ambulance to take the three of them to Saint Vincent's Hospital.

The Sky Travel employees manage to gather everyone together, but they are missing three tourists--two women and a man. A friend of Sidney's discovers that phones where she is in Orange County can get through, so she sets herself up as a phone relay. She introduces herself to Nobuyuki by playing a recorded message from Sidney. Thanks to her efforts, the tourists are able to record messages to play for their families in Japan, assuring them of their safety. Also, Nobuyuki is able to locate the two missing women, who are at a hospital with minor injuries.

Nobuyuki goes to Saint Vincent's to see them. He asks about Steve, but Steve has already left to go back to doing what he can to help the other firefighters. Nobuyuki had been worried about him all morning, so he's relieved to hear that Steve is relatively well. Steve's friend Andy, on the other hand, dies from his head wound.

Sidney and Henry do what they can to patrol the streets. They manage to stop an attempted robbery, disgusted that people take advantage of even such tragic situations for personal gain. Sidney meets up with Rod and is glad that he's okay. Back at Sky Travel, the last tourist finally reports back. He had been trapped in the station beneath the World Trade Center and just barely got out before the collapse. The tourists can't go back to Japan because all planes have been grounded, but at least they're all safe.

[Note: Sadly, there were no moments worthy of a cuteness alert in this book. However, Sam might have a crush on Steve.]