Second Kiss

It felt as though time had begun to slow for Oto as he watched the stream of bullets cutting through the water towards them. They drew near as Hayami glanced his way, terror covering her beautiful face. He could see in her eyes the thoughts she processed in that instant. The moment of hesitation as she debated rushing and pushing him overboard, but also the temptation of doing the same herself.

But there was nothing they could do. Even Oto knew the bullets that were tearing through the air towards their boat, threatening to impact at any moment, would be enough to cut through him and Hayami like a tailor’s shears at the edges of fine silk. His life and maybe hers would be over in a moment.

And so, Oto’s life flashed before his eyes. A sad life, of being alone in his room. Locked away with his paper and pencils, with nothing to do but draw and dress himself. He saw brief moments of happiness or, at least, what he thought was joy. Times when friends would treat him 'kindly', with their tasteless jokes, crude remarks, and both physical and psychological jabs. The countless times he knocked on his father’s study, asking him, begging him, bartering for him to come out and spend time. Pleas that were left unheard, leaving Oto even more alone in the large house.

Then, he saw Hayami. The grey figure on the train. Her amber eyes. Rosy cheeks. Her beauty. Strength. Perfection.

Oto couldn’t let Hayami die. She was the only one besides Giles that ever made him feel anything.

So, he charged forward before she could act, pulling her into his arms and pushing her to the side of the boat.

If I use my body, she may live. He thought to himself as he turned his back to the bullets, cradling her tightly. Her beauty must live on.

For Hayami, the shock of Oto charging caused her body to freeze. She had indeed been thinking of saving him, of pushing him from the boat in the hopes of sparing him from the pain of being torn apart by bullets. But then, in an act of stupid bravery, he had done the unexpected.

The idiot boy, a coward in many situations prior, had pinned her down with his body as a shield.

She looked up at him as he winced, his blue eyes hidden between pinched eyelids. She knew the bullets of the machine gun would easily rip through him and take her as well, but the fact that he didn’t know that and was still willing to sacrifice himself for her only made Hayami’s heart swell even more. 

Never had someone tried to sacrifice themselves for her. Nor had anyone ever thrown themselves before a bullet or knife, let alone a minigun fixed to a helicopter.

Stupid idiot. She thought, pain surging through her ribs as she tumbled against the side of the boat, her body once again pressed against his.

Hayami would only have seconds before the bullets reached them. But she would make the most of her final moments alive.

Reaching a hand up, she grabbed at the side of Oto’s face. His cheeks, wet with sea water and sweat, were warm in her embrace. For a brief moment, his eyes opened, and theirs met, giving each other their final goodbyes. 

Sweet, scared farewells.

And then she lifted herself, her lips touching his. She’d never have the time to say she was sorry for everything she had done to upend his life, but the least she could do was show him that he was cared for in his final moments. That she cared for him.

That she loved him. And that she was sorry.

Oto’s heart picked up in speed as the time that had slowed now came to a stop. He was once again against Hayami. The sweet taste of her lips overwhelmed his senses as the gentle touch of her hands chilled his body. For the boy, in his final moments of life, he had already experienced heaven as his body melted into hers.

If Oto were to die, he could think of no better way than to be locked in the tender embrace of the person he loved.

Then, as the two were engaged in their final moments, an explosion rocked the air. Seconds later, the stream of bullets that had been approaching impacted the bow of the boat, tearing through the wooden decking as though it were nothing, stopping short of the pair.

“Yeeh!” Oto audibly winced into Hayami’s lips before detaching himself from the embrace and looking down at his legs.

The final bullet had stopped just short of putting a hole in his leg, instead, tearing through the fabric of his hakama. With the round passing close enough for Oto to feel the heat against his skin, he quickly panicked and pulled himself off of his companion to check his calf.

“Oh dear, oh my!” He cried out, more focused on his own body in that moment than on what had happened before him. “I—I’m alive! And we kissed!”

Hayami, frozen by the experience, felt her racing heart.

She had enjoyed the kiss. The first kiss in her life that she had actually found pleasure in.

“Hayami!” Oto spoke excitedly, glancing to the front of the boat before looking back down to her. “Look! Our love stopped the helicopter!”

Hayami began to blush. Even though she secretly felt the same, she was not ready to have the boy so openly declare it. So, in her typical fashion, she placed a hand on his chest and shoved him off of her.

“Gyah! Oww—Hayami?”

“Love doesn’t stop bullets, idio—” Turning in the direction of the helicopter, she could see the flaming wreckage floating atop the water and quickly approaching. “Oto, steer the boat!”

“I told you, I don’t speak Portuguese!” He replied as he scrambled to his feet and back to the helm.

Steering the vessel, they pulled out towards the open water, and that was when they saw it. The approaching yacht, coming towards them fast, and at the bow, Giles holding a surface-to-air missile launcher. Or at least, that was what Hayami knew it to be as she gawked.

And, as though a flash of genius had struck her like lightning, she rushed over to the seats that Giles had recommended for a quick escape. Throwing the storage open, she excitedly inspected the contents while gathering what Giles had planned for them.

“That Butler…” She mumbled to herself, withdrawing a harness and tossing it to Oto. “Hey, dummy, put this on, quick.”

“Dummy is not much better than an idiot!” He hissed in reply. “But since we recently kissed and I'm still smote, I’ll allow it. What is this, anyway? Some of that lecherous E-D-M clothing, you pervert?”

“What?!” Hayami shot back as she strapped her harness into place. “E-D—no, Oto. First of all, that’s B-D-S-M! And this isn't that. This will help us get back on the yacht.”

“I hardly see how this strap-on will help.”

“Put on the damn harness!”

Bullets began to ping off the back of their boat as the pursuing speedboats began to catch up once more, now firing on them. As Hayami strapped the next part of her escape plan onto her back, she turned and fired her weapon in the direction of the approaching threats. She knew they needed more time, and she was going to get it.

“Hayami! We’re going to overshoot, Giles!” Oto eventually called out, drawing her attention.

“Cross in front of it,” She barked, turning to see the ship quickly approaching. “And then come here!”

As the vessel neared two hundred feet, she threw her weapon down and pulled a new device from the storage. Shouldering the odd rifle with a drum attached to its underside, she aimed for the railing. A hundred feet came and went, then fifty, and finally, as they narrowly dodged the front of the yacht, she fired the line thrower and watched as it snagged onto the prow.

The cord began to quickly unravel as their boat moved away from the floating barricade that now separated them from the approaching goons.

“Oto, here!”

“Not a dog!”

The boy quickly approached, allowing Hayami to handle him aggressively. Snapping their harnesses together, she hooked the line into place on them before pulling the ripcord of her backpack. In an instant, a pilot chute launched from the top. It immediately caught the wind of the speeding boat, pulling the canopy of a glider out from the backpack and filling it with air.

“Hayami?!” Oto began to panic.

“Hang on!”

As the paraglider reached out fully and their feet began to lift from the deck, the line she had connected to the yacht pulled taut and ripped them up and into the air. Hayami gripped the steering lines firmly, keeping them balanced as they quickly ascended hundreds of feet above the speeding yacht.

“YEAAAAA!” Oto screamed, kicking and flailing against the sudden flight. “I don’t like this! I don’t like it!”

But Hayami, enjoying the moment, couldn’t help but feel a sense of joy from the experience. She had always wanted to escape a dangerous situation with a parasail, and having experienced it, there was nothing she wanted more than to sit back and enjoy the moment. So, as Oto continued to flail and scream, she stared down at the world beneath, observing as figures on the top deck of the yacht fired their guns at the pursuing speedboats.

They had done it. They had managed to escape the gunmen once again.

Then, she remembered the kiss and, glancing at Oto before her, revealed a pleased smile. All things considered, it had been a good day.