Departure

Asuka and Hotaru spend the next few days planning. They try to determine the best times, routes, and contingency plans for the coming days ahead. Hotaru is especially good at it. Ideas come to her like she’d been planning her escape since before Asuka even came. They did most of the work in Hotaru’s room. Making sure to whisper everything they said out loud to prevent anyone from listening in. Occasionally they were interrupted by Hotaru’s little sister, who didn’t want to be left out of any fun to be had.

Yukiko is pleased to see the two of them interacting more and asks them what sparked their newfound friendship. Hotaru plays it off by revealing they had gone to the same high school together when they lived in Shikoku. Asuka learned that the Nishimura family had moved to Saitama for work reasons sometime after she had gotten expelled.

In the middle of a discussion about the potential need for life jackets, something prompts Hotaru to ask Asuka why she was so adamant about leaving the house herself despite how much she preached about the dangers of the outside world. Asuka reluctantly tells her about Kyo’s bucket list. “It’s all I could think of to try to make it up to him other than throwing myself off a bridge.” Hotaru thinks she’s joking about that last part and snorts.

Despite Hotaru’s enthusiasm, any time Asuka thinks about the idea of stealing the Nishimuras’ daughter away from them, her chest constricts. She was certain their “overprotectiveness”, as Hotaru called it, came from a place of love. The young girl losing her older sister was particularly devastating to her. But there was nothing she could do to stop her at this point. Hotaru was like a bullet train with how quickly she was pushing them to leave.

On the last night they planned to stay, Asuka asked Hotaru one more time if she was sure about leaving her family behind. Any other time she asked, Hotaru would act dismissive and tell Asuka she’s not getting rid of her. But this time she actually gives it some thought. Maybe because of the way Asuka had phrased it, as though she didn’t care about her family in the first place. “Of course, I’ll miss them,” she keeps her eyes focused on the notebook she is writing in. “But like I said, I’ve just never gotten the chance to do anything on my own.”

“What kind of ‘things’ are you talking about anyways?” Asuka asks, slightly skeptical.

Hotaru looks up at her. Wordlessly, she gets up and lifts up the mattress on her bed. After rummaging around for a bit, she pulls something out and tosses it to her like a shuriken, hitting her in the face. “Hey, that could’ve hit my eye!” Hotaru shrugs. Asuka picks it up from her lap, glaring at her, and examines it. It was a lavender colored journal; the covering was soft and smooth. Asuka removed the elastic band that kept it closed and turned to the first page. "Things I want to do" was titled at the top of a very long numbered list. Asuka looks at Hotaru and feels her eyes widen in recognition. The list ranged from things like “Go to Brazil” to “Write a book” etc. 

Hotaru’s own bucket list. “That’s the same thing you’re risking your life to complete for your brother, right?” Asuka nods. She no longer feels like there's anything more to say without sounding hypocritical. "Fine," she sighs, "I won't say anything about it anymore." Hotaru takes the notebook back from her and stuffs it back under her mattress. “How far along are you with yours, anyways?” Asuka tells her she only has two more tasks to finish before she’s completed everything on his list. Hotaru asks to see it.

Going back to the room to retrieve the notebook, she grudgingly hands it to her, feeling slightly possessive over the fact that only a select few people have held it up to this point: her and Misaki. Hotaru flips through it, reading what Asuka has written for each entry. Reaching the end, she gives back to her. “You’ve really done a lot,” she says, visibly impressed.” Asuka shrugs. “Hey, since I’m helping you get out of here without leaving completely empty-handed, you should help me with what I wanna do, too.” Asuka had already assumed that would be the case, but she feels like teasing her. “Well, going to Brazil is definitely a long-shot, but we’ll see about the other stuff.”

That night, Asuka shifts restlessly in her futon. Tomorrow night is when they plan to make their escape. It would be one thing if it was just her but taking Hotaru with her feels like a slap in the face to the people who helped her and brought her back to life. In that case, she decides she’ll put her life on the line for Hotaru as well. Asuka figures she does still owe Hotaru for not saving her back in high school.

Rolling onto her back, Asuka peers into the dark. Something shifts to her right, and she follows the movement, turning her head. A small shadow stands in the doorway, and she feels a jolt in her heart—until the figure speaks. “Asu-chan, are you still awake?”

It just was the little sister, Kyoko. Asuka sighs in relief as her heart returns to a normal speed. “Yeah, what’s up, kiddo?” Kyoko walks into the room. As she got closer, Asuka could see she was holding a Happímon plush that she’d cheerily introduced to Asuka as “Perkychu” on multiple occasions. Kyoko sits by her bed and lays her head on Asuka’s lap. Looking up at her, she suddenly asks if she’s going to leave soon. This time Asuka feels as though her heart seizes. “Where did you hear that from?” Kyoko reveals she’d heard the two of them talking in Hotaru’s room.

Asuka sweats. However, instead of threatening to tell her parents, Kyoko asks Asuka to take her sister with her. Asuka he’s confused and asked her why. She talks about how gloomy and sad her older sister has been for a long time. But these past few days, she’d seen Hotaru with more energy than she had in a while. Kyoko thinks Asuka might be the friend she’s always needed and wants her sister to be happy. Asuka is shocked, but her expression melts into a smile. Kids are more observant than people give them credit for, huh. She gently brings a hand to the girl’s forehead, reassuring her she’ll do just that.

The next morning makes 8 full weeks since Asuka’s arm had been broken in the hot air balloon incident. The Nishimura family gathers as Kenta gingerly saws at the cast from her arm. It was too risky to go to another hospital, so they were improvising with tools from the garage. Kenta was no doctor, but he did happen to be a pharmacist. Unfortunately this added no “cast removing” credentials to his name, though.

After carefully makes controlled cuts along the edges of the cast, he carefully pries it open and remove the layers. Within 30 minutes, the operation is completed without further injury and everyone cheers. Asuka happily washes her arm for the first time in 2+ months.

Hotaru and Asuka decide now it the time to put their plans into action. The next day, they spend all morning preparing food for their journey. It’s hard to do it without Yukiko catching on, but they manage to pack enough food to last the both of them a good while.

Asuka also makes sure to force Hotaru to spend the rest of the day with her family, knowing it would likely be the last time she ever saw them. “You’ll regret not being with them now,” she says ominously. Hotaru rolls her eyes, but participates in the card games, hide and seek, and even joins in the conversation during dinner time. Asuka catches her hugging each of them individually when she thinks they were alone.

Night rolls in quicker than it ever has before. The two girls are already packed, and their rooms are tidied up, making sure not to create extra work for those they are leaving behind. At around 2 am when they’re sure everyone is deep asleep, Hotaru sneaks down to meet Asuka by the front door. Hotaru takes one final look around her home, reminding Asuka of when she’d first made the decision to start traveling to complete the list. “Okay,” she whispers, “let’s go.”

Earlier in the day, Hotaru made sure to leave their transportation out in the driveway, so that the sound of the garage would not wake anyone. They’d decided that they would use Hotaru’s bikes. Hotaru of course called dibs on the new one, but she assured Asuka she’d only stopped using the old one because she didn’t like the shape of the handlebars.

They put all their luggage into the basket of their bikes and get into position on the road. With a nod to each other, they kick off, finally on their way. Hotaru glances at the house briefly as a disappears into the distance and turns back ahead.

Hotaru’s new bike is equipped with a light to illuminate the way there. “Y’know,” Hotaru breathes as they pedal, “my little sister asked if she could sleep in my bed the other night. The timing was suspicious.”

“Did you let her?” She felt this was the most pressing bit of information.

“…Yeah, I figured why not since….” She trailed off, not wanting to make abandoning her family seem so final just yet.

Even though nighttime is the most dangerous time of the day, they made it without any trouble. They pedal until they reach a line of freight trains. Hotaru led them there using the knowledge she has of the area. Asuka remembers hearing the horn of trains at night while living with the Nishimura family.

They wait until they are startled by the deafening horn and run towards a train that suddenly starts chugging. They swing their bikes up into a suitable looking cart, making sure no cargo is stacked inside first. Asuka manages to catch up with the train in time and drags Hotaru up with her before it starts going too fast. They land in a heap on the floor, breathless and excited.

That’s another objective completed for Kyo. After this, she only has one last item to finish, and what she decided for her atonement to him will be accomplished.

Hotaru takes out some food from her bag and prompts her to do the same. They sit next to each other, rattled by the movement of the train as it clicks against the rails into the starless night.