Let Us Cling Together

Smoke billowed into the sky all across the world as the mass cremations continued well into the week. No headstones were created, as there would soon be no one there to mourn the lost. Charred remains were bulldozed into deep holes on the edges of forgotten towns. Services were held. Tears were shed. Dwindling supply constraints felt the first loosening of strain, even if only for a moment. However, none of that mattered within the quiet ryokan bedroom in Ichinoseki.

Exposed limbs lay on top of one another with sheets haphazardly strewn across the half-dozen bodies that were asleep together across the beds. Kureha woke to find herself between Kai and Rin, with Rin’s thin arm around her waist. Kureha’s leg was resting on Kai’s hips, and it did not take her long to realize none of them were dressed, or that Arata’s hand was draped across Rin’s shoulders and onto Kureha’s exposed chest. Shiona’s head was nestled against Kai’s back, with Riku pressed closely against hers with his arm over her and Kai’s waist.

A soft sigh of realization escaped from Kureha’s lips as the intensity and complexity of what had transpired washed over her. It was a welcome feeling of passionate reflection after days of moving through the world as a husk. Remembrances of kisses and gentle breathing between inquisitive questions and requests made her heart flutter. As she lay in the unkempt embrace of the friends she had grown up with, she did not feel embarrassment or regret, and hoped that they felt the same. Rin’s lips pressed against her shoulder in half-asleep recognition, and Kureha’s hand came to rest on the smooth curve of her thigh.

“Good morning,” Arata whispered as he kissed Rin’s neck.

His hand stayed on Kureha’s chest without realization, and after a moment, Kureha noticed that she did not mind. His hand was firm, heavier than she expected, yet soft. Kai’s defined shoulder and arm caught the diffused light of the morning sun as it draped onto her stomach, and Kureha found her fingers tracing the veins in his forearm. Eventually, consciousness returned to Arata enough for him to sheepishly realize where his hand was, and where it had been hours earlier. He recoiled very slightly in embarrassment, causing Kureha and Rin to smile.

“Sorry, Kureha,” he said as his face turned red.

“It’s okay. It was nice,” she replied

Rin turned to kiss him, and Kureha felt the muscles of Rin’s leg shift and flex ever so subtly as Rin turned her body towards her husband. Kai’s eyes opened and slowly welcomed consciousness. Kureha turned to him to see his kind, thoughtful gaze already upon her, causing her to blush. His lips turned upwards in a small smile of acknowledgment.

“Good morning,” he said as his fingers ran through Kureha’s hair and down Rin’s back.

“Good morning,” Kureha replied as she brushed his bangs from his eyes.

His lips were full and parted as he slowly inhaled and exhaled through his nose. Their color was dark and pleasant. Kureha’s body played memories of their touch against her skin the night before, and she felt herself desiring their sensation once again. She leaned forward slightly then stopped.

“Can I? Do you want to?” she asked.

“Yes, certainly,” he replied quietly.

Her lips found his, and a current of something not unlike joy, though more foreign these days, washed over her. His hips shifted beneath her leg, and she memorized the feeling of his body pressing into hers as her leg slid between his. Kai inhaled slowly as though to stop himself from becoming any more excited. The feeling of something pressing against Kureha’s hips told her why.

She pulled away slightly and found his eyes once more. An urge was driving her now. It was strange and new, but it felt as though it was always there deep inside her, craving and desiring. Laying there in the sea of skin of those closest to her, she wanted to let that urge overtake her for the remainder of her days. Instead, she accepted that this moment would be enough, and she let her fingers trace his lips before closing her eyes.

“You taste amazing,” he whispered.

With that, the urge exploded. Thankfully, Shiona heard him.

“Heeeeey!!” she groaned from her sleep as she held up a drowsy hand for a high-five.

Kureha chuckled and slapped Shiona’s palm with hers.

“You do taste amazing, though, Kureha. You too, Kai,” said Riku from the end of the bed as he held up a thumbs-up.

“Riku, you little flirt. You too, Arata! You two are always acting so quiet, then you pounced on literally the entire group last night!” laughed Shiona as she fondly remembered certain explicit images of the two boys moving among everyone the night before.

“Not my fault you’re all attractive,” yawned Riku.

“Yeah, I mean, to Kureha’s point yesterday. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to kiss all of you. Eeeeeevery one of ya. Thank you for indulging me,” said Arata as he held out his hand to Riku for another high-five, who haphazardly obliged.

Rin’s finger was tracing the curve of Kureha’s stomach now.

“Can we have some girl talk shower time?” she asked.

“Ohhhhh yes, please. We need a debrief,” said Shiona as she sat up to stretch, fully removing the blanket to expose herself.

It was an action that was done without thought, but as she did, a flinch of embarrassment overtook her and she covered her chest.

“Sorry,” she said with a blush.

“Oh, do not apologize, please,” smiled Kai as he rubbed her back.

“Let me just say, pictures were one thing. In person, divine,” he added with a laugh.

“Agreed,” said Arata and Riku in unison.

The three girls made their way to the shower in various degrees of modesty. Once behind the door and beneath the warm water’s stream, the three of them began to nervously laugh. It built until they were all laughing full-bodied bursts of joy and release. In the bedroom, the three boys had all huddled together on one bed and were leaning against each other.

“What an insane life. Yesterday I’d only ever kissed Arata and one other boy. Now I’ve kissed and done waaaaaaaay more with my closest friends. Are we insane?” Rin asked as she wiped her eyes.

“No, the world’s just ending,” Shiona said with a shrug, to which they all burst out laughing once more.

“Soooooo, did we really all?...” asked Kai.

“Yep!” snorted Arata.

“Okay, but quickly, Rin, how did you not tell us Arata was an amazing kisser? His lips?” squeaked Kureha as she thought back to a moment between him, her, and Rin.

“I knooooow! His tongue! What?!” agreed Shiona.

“Okay, um Arata, you and Rin are maybe the most attractive couple I’ve ever seen. You seem so in sync,” said Riku.

“I know. He was just naturally that good, even when we started dating,” admitted Rin as shampoo ran down her back, to which the other girls sighed.

“Kureha’s entire body is soft on another note,” remarked Kai.

“Like, literally everywhere,” said Arata in agreement as he stared at his hand.

“But Kai. That body?! What is he, like two percent body fat?!” said Kureha as she scrubbed her face.

“For being her first time, Kureha was amazing. I mean, I'm not experienced, but for me, wow,” Kai sighed, to which Riku nodded.

“But Riku! I’ve never felt like that. He was so attentive and eager to please,” sighed Shiona as Kureha nodded.

“I think he was more focused on us than he was himself,” agreed Kureha.

“Shiona might be the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen,” Riku said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“I mean, I thought she was even when she was clothed, but holy hell,” Arata stated as his eyebrows raised and he shook his head.

“You really do taste amazing,” said Rin as she touched Kureha’s stomach once more.

“You do too,” said Kureha.

“I’ll never forget last night, for as long as I have left,” said Kai.

“Agreed,” said Riku and Arata as the three boys sighed in gratitude for the erotic awakening they had been allowed to experience even once.

“Let’s do this again,” laughed Shiona.

“Agreed!” said Kureha and Rin as they stepped out of the shower and wrapped themselves in towels.

Minutes later, they returned to the bedroom with nervous steps, curious what might await them. Kureha’s urges seemed to have spread to the other two girls, as they seemed to have a heightened sense of longing as well. Still, it was a slight relief when they opened the bathroom door and exited only to find that the three boys were once again asleep, still undressed, now holding one another on a single bed.

Kureha’s urges pivoted to a different sort of urge, and she held up a finger to keep Rin and Shiona silent as she held up her camera to capture the intimate moment before them. Looking at Arata, Kai, and Riku lying fully exposed and vulnerable, yet so at peace together and with the three girls, Kureha found herself now wishing that moment would never end.

“Do you think the world would still end if we stayed here like this forever?” Kureha asked as tears returned for their daily visit.

Shiona nodded in agreement.

“If we hid away, where nobody could find us, maybe death couldn’t either,” she agreed.

“Even if we were the only souls left on earth, as long as I was with him, and with you all, I would be okay,” said Rin as she wiped her eyes.

The three girls embraced as they looked at their boys.

“Riku…” Kureha whimpered as she began to cry.

Shiona held her in understanding.

“Shhhhh, don’t think about it right now. Just be here,” she said as she held Kureha’s head against her shoulder.

Eventually, the friend group did leave that room and that ryokan. Time’s neverending onslaught couldn’t be stopped, and they had miles to go before their souls slept. Iwate Prefecture bid them farewell. Kai was driving, with Arata on map duty. Shiona and Rin were sleeping in the middle seats. In the back row, Riku and Kureha held hands as they watched the trees pass by the window.

Kureha’s urges had faded now, and in the cold reality of the world, she found herself wanting to say so much, but against her own wishes for full honesty, she found herself pausing. Truth could wait. For now, the joy of being surrounded and embraced by the love and release she had experienced was more than enough.

Still, as Riku’s knuckles grazed along Kureha’s arm and she remembered seeing his shoulders tensed and eyes closed in passion only hours ago, Kureha found it hard to think of much else. She resigned herself to resting her head on his shoulder.

Riku’s choice was their next destination. It had previously been a simple temple tour. Now, in the face of lingering decisions and recent experiences, Kureha found herself dreading those stops. If that was enough, Riku’s mind might be set. Her days with him may have been reaching their end, and there in that van, after a lifetime living next door to one another, Kureha found herself begging the universe for more time. 

Unfortunately, the universe had recently seemed quite indifferent to the begging of humans.