Spring

A mild breeze stirs bits of sand and plastic through the air.

At this hour, the sun hasn't yet turned harsh, so although they're sweating, it's no worse than what he endured back home.

They stand in an orange desert scattered with scraps.

Hoshina leans on his shoulder for support, but each of her steps on the shifting sand wobbles.

"Brother, look." She points into the distance at a colossal silhouette. "That must be the one uncle mentioned."

Because the ships are so massive, Ge's friends barely explored half the wreckage before they left. There's still so much here that even amateurs like them should find plenty of resources.

They aren't looking for anything specific — just exploring and getting used to the outside. If they spot something useful, they'll take it, but it's no problem if they come back empty-handed.

Climbing the remains of the island would be much harder if the ship weren't half-buried and tilted toward them.

Getting onto it feels like stepping into a different world. There's actual greenery here, and the air seems cleaner, though he has no intention of removing his mask.

Ge told them the gem on this ship still works, so most of the "ecosystem" functions are still active — though Kaji didn't catch most of the explanation.

What he did understand is that the ship can still sustain life on its island.

"Hard ground!" Hoshina digs her feet into the earth, leaving two clear footprints, as if marking territory. "Where do you want to go, brother? We have the tilted dense forest to the left, the uphill less dense forest in front and the tilted dense forest to the right."

He smiles wryly. "Is that your attempt at a joke?"

She peeks out her tongue, yet the rest of her face stays the same. "You know me so well, dearest brother. But why aren't you laughing?"

"Let's leave the laughs for later. We are in no hurry but I'd rather go back before the sun starts getting annoying." He marches to the left, but doesn't get five steps before...

"Brother look."

"What is it now?"

"Locals."

"What!?" He spins so fast he nearly loses his balance — and finds a dozen eyes staring at them. "Hoshina—"

"Hoshi."

He groans. "Hoshi, get your cane ready, we might need to defend ourselves."

"Against macaques?"

"We don't know what… wait, you recognize these things?"

"Yes, they are common on my island."

"Are they dangerous?"

"The ones I know are pretty chill. We often bathed together."

"Umm, maybe what you are saying makes sense in your head, but to me it sounds… weird."

"Ey! It's not weird. Everyone in my clan uses the hot springs, so you are the weird one since you've never bathed with macaques."

"Stop acting like your perspective is the only one that exists. None of my people know of these creatures, so from my point of view—"

"Eek! Eek!"

Kaji draws his metal bar and stays alert, since Hoshina's carrying their only cane.

"What did they say? Is it good or bad?"

"I can't speak with them." Her tone sounds... annoyed? "But it didn't sound like a threat. I think they are just amused at our bickering."

"You've got to be kidding me."

༻──⋆༺𓆩⋆𓆪༻⋆──༺

Followed by curious eyes, Hoshina and her brother explore the island. There are plenty of fruits here, likely the reason for the macaque population.

Kaji plans to harvest a few on the way back, and since there are also oranges and lemons, Hoshina agrees.

Then an idea strikes her. If these macaques are anything like the ones back home, then that means...

"Let's follow them."

Her brother takes a deliberate pause before responding. "Why?"

"You'll understand soon." She quickens her pace, heading toward the direction where the macaques retreat when approached.

"Take care not to trip." The disdain in his voice suggests he isn't actually worried.

The air and ground grow damper, and small streams of water trickle down from uphill. After navigating a particularly steep stretch, they come upon an opening in the forest.

Steaming ponds of all sizes and shapes dot the area, with a few dozen macaques nearby, though most are not in the water.

"I knew it." She offers her brother a fist bump, and he takes it hesitantly.

"So what now? You want to bathe in steaming water? You look very hot already." He then stutters. "T-that came out wrong, I didn't mean it as in… you know."

"I do, don't worry." Of course he wouldn't mean it that way. "Uncle says nights get pretty cold outside, so if we come back after dawn it will feel great to take a dip."

"Whatever, if you really want to then be my guest."

"I will then."

"Though I'm not staying here until night." His face gets redder than a macaque's. "What are you doing!?"

"Huh? I'm undressing."

He covers his eyes. "I can see that! Why?"

"Do your people bathe dressed or something?"

"Are you shitting me!? I don't believe you are this oblivious. Would you still undress if your family or strangers were here?"

"Yes, we usually go to the baths together." As if an off switch was pressed on him, Kaji lowers his whole posture.

"I give up trying to understand it." He turns around. "I'll be nearby, call me when you're done."

Hoshina resumes her undressing.

She feels like she hasn't had a proper bath in ages.

Her parents stopped going with her after Grandpa passed, thus she only went with Jogi from time to time.

No use dwelling in the past. She can still enjoy this like she used to, and next time she could come with her new family and…

Hoshina notices a pond right next to her, so clear it reflects back what it sees.

༻──⋆༺𓆩⋆𓆪༻⋆──༺

Kaji doesn't have time to decide on what to do for the time being before Hoshina comes back from the spring area.

"Weren't you going to take a bath."

"I changed my mind. The water may carry diseases, and my wounds haven't fully scarred yet."

He shrugs. "I guess it's better to be cautious. You can always come back another time."

"I can, yes." There is a small, almost imperceptible flicker in her eyes as she moves away a strand of hair.

Kaji is surprised he noticed it, but now he can't get it out of his mind.

She seemed very eager to take a bath.

Hoshina's often impossible to read, yet Kaji is starting to see a certain pattern to her actions.

He knows he'll still get caught off guard a million more times by unexpected turns he could never begin to guess.

But this time, this particular shift in her actions... feels off, for some reason.