31. Haruka and Kazuki

Haruka and Kazuki entered the brumes riding the motorcycle. It was a matter of a minute for the slight mist to turn into a deep white fog. Kazuki turned on the headlights at maximum power and rode slowly through the highway.

The duo were tense, with the possibility of facing spectres, of finding issues on the road, and with their tiredness. They felt each other were feeling down, but didn't know what to do. Suddenly the stones on the fish's eyes of Haruka's necklace started shining. Haruka lifted her visor to say:
- "The pendant is shining. I guess it is keeping a spectre away from us" - Kazuki also lifted his visor and replied:
- "Let's hope for that" - more than half an hour passed. Surrounded by the white fog, they started feeling a soothing loneliness. At the same time that they were surrounded by the unknown and the risk of spectres, they were in complete silence, and the road was perfectly smooth. It felt like time did not pass inside the brumes.

As her pendant shone and time passed, Haruka gave in to her instinct, leaned forward and hugged Kazuki. This time however, he did not reject her. On the contrary, he adjusted his position to make her more comfortable and enjoyed her embrace.

For now, the brumes were paradoxically unsettling and soothing, but not lonely any more.

They rode for hours, making an effort not to make any stop. When the pendant's light started fading. Haruka said:
- "Kaa-chan, time to take a risk and accelerate, the pendant is getting weak."
- "Count on me." - Kazuki accelerated and rode on a fast pace. He made a series of tight maneuvers on the winding road that forced Haruka to hold strongly to the motorcycle. Suddenly the mist turned from white to a pale orange. The pendant still had a faint light and Kazuki accelerated even more. At the same time that the pendant's light faded, the mists gave in, turning white and thin. Kazuki continued on a fast pace and after two more minutes, they made it out of the brumes.

- "We made it!" - Haruka shouted. Kazuki decelerated to a slow pace. Outside of the mists, they were met by lush vegetation on both sides of the highway, green hills on the horizon and the towering Mount Fuji presiding over the land with its beautiful clear white snow peak. After letting the new environment sink in, Kazuki accelerated again.

Leaving the highway behind, Haruka and Kazuki made their way to the once big city of Shizuoka. It used to be the bustling capital of the Shizuoka Prefecture, but now, after the brume disaster, it turned into a modest town by the beach, where a small community was able to thrive, with agriculture, fishing and small manufactures, isolated from Nouveau Nippon. The urban area was intertwined by the beach and the green hills. Kazuki felt relieved, realizing the stories he had heard were true.

Both ex-agents rode to a street running parallel to the sea. There, they stopped on a layby, removed their helmets and left the motorcycle. They took some steps and then laid on the beach, looking at the horizon. The sand extended until the wavy blue sea, which was painted orange by the sun setting on it, and above it was the pale orange and then pinkish sky with a few scattered thin clouds.

- "Well, looks like we made it." - said Haruka.
- "I guess so" - Kazuki replied - "but what now, I wonder?"
- "We will find out. Kaa-chan, don't worry." - Haruka was comfortable in the sand. Kazuki however, was restless.
- "Well, we have no house, no place to stay the night, just a bit of water and food, we have lots of things to sort out, and we have no job, and we know no one and..." - Kazuki was silenced by Haruka's index finger on his lips. She turned towards him and said:
- "Hey hey, calm down. We will sort things out one at a time." - she paused - "instead of worrying about all those things, why don't you think about our new name?"
- "New name?" - Haruka replied with an inquiring smile:
- "Yes, they called us Shocking Blue, but we aren't even agents anymore. What do you think?"
- "Um" - Kazuki touched his chin - "I thought about this once, after I learned to use pyromancy, Red Spark came to mind. But..." - Kazuki got up - "I have an idea I think" - he was excitingly gesticulating - "why not Lightning Purple?! We have created plasma today! Isn't it amazing?!" - Haruka also got up, gazed at him and said:
- "Well, I agree that the things we do together are amazing" - Haruka paused and stared at the horizon - "But, more than ice, fire, lightning, or even plasma, there is a name I like even more" - she turned to him and next pointed at him - "Haruka and Kazuki, what do you think? I can't name a better duo."
- "Well, I" - he was a bit flustered - "I agree. I like the sound of it. Haruka and Kazuki. Haruka and Kazuki, Haruka and Kazuki. I am a bit unsure of one thing, however" - Kazuki got closer to her - "If I prefer the sound of my voice saying 'Haruka'" - he stared at her - "or the sound of your voice saying 'Kaa-chan'."
- "Kaa-chan I" - she smiled looking at his lips - "I do love the sound of 'Haruka', but I can say Kaa-chan more" - Kazuki grabbed Haruka by her waist - "Kaa-chan" - then he kissed her. They closed their eyes, and for a moment, time stopped, and the beach, the sea, the wind, and the sunset were all for them.

When their kiss turned into a hug, Kazuki whispered, slowly:
- "Haruka, I think I love you, but I" - he hesitated - "I admit I am afraid of the future..."
- "So am I, Kaa-chan. I love you and I am also afraid of the future" - she paused, then continued before they kissed again - "but don't worry, Kaa-chan..."

- "We have all the time in the world."