A Good Day?

They make their way through the woods in silence. When they reach the dirt road, Shouma can clearly see the glimmer of the town, with no trace of mist to obscure the soft, tremulous light below.

He walks just behind her when she suddenly stops and ruffles her own hair, showing signs of internal distress.

“Ah, damn it. I must’ve dropped ’em.”

“What’s wrong, Araya-san?”

“I lost some of ma tools. Prolly drop ’em when I was runin’ an’ jumpin’ back then.”

“Should we go back?”

She snorts, showing clear irritation. “It’s too dark now. Les just go home.” She continues to walk, now at a much quicker pace.

“I brought a flashlight.”

“Nah, ye don’t need ta waste dem batteries fer it. ‘sides it’ll be a pain if we’re runnin’ ta some patrol guard.”

Shouma follows her, uneasy. The remark vexes him, choking him with both anger and guilt. The flashlight in his hand feels slimy, as if he’s holding something gross. His mind beats itself, thinking she wouldn’t have lost her tools if it weren't because of him.

But what is she doing out there? He somehow can’t help but wonder.

“Um, Araya-san, was there some work underway over there? I mean, it was near the fence, and I don’t hear about any work being done around that place.”

“…walkin’ around,” she answers vaguely.

“Araya-san, will you—”

“Riyu. Jus’ call me Riyu.”

Shouma thinks she might have thought it sounded far too rigid to call her by her last name. “Are you going to school tomorrow? I can help search for the tools early in the morning.”

“And what about ’cha? An honor student skippin’ classes.”

“It’s alright,” Shouma says in a low voice, as he never likes that title.

“Hmm. We don’t talk much ta each other, though I see yer dad quite of’n on construction sites. Guess yer not as much a stickler as him, huh?”

“Well, let’s just say we’re never fully alike, my father and I,” he answers, staring up into the distant moon above.

“Yeah… chasin’ a little girl thru the woods at night, an’ with all the creepy mist and shit… I won’t be catchin’ yer dad doin’ somethin’ like that anytime soon,” Riyu says with a wide smile and a sudden giggle.

Somehow Shouma can’t help but follow along and smile. “I know… I must’ve seemed like a complete dumbass walking straight into some cheesy horror’s trap.”

“And ya still did it.”

Shouma pauses before saying more. “Well, I don’t know. I think I just want to make sure.”

“Make sure?”

“If they’re really a lost kid, at least there’s someone out there looking for them,” he now thinks he is being far too serious. “Or if they’re actually some creepy ghost, then, I guess you can run away.”

Riyu doesn’t say anything back. In the heavy silence, Shouma realizes perhaps he said too much, being too weird.

“Yeah, unless ya don’t even know it’s a ghost an’ needa kick ta put some sense back atcha.” She breaks the stillness with a loud laugh. There’s a sudden wave of genuine tenderness hiding in her tone of rough speech.

Shouma turns to her and sees her looking up at the glimmering sky, smiling. Somehow he feels the chaotic, burning knots inside his stomach start to loosen.

“You know, with your kick you could even send the ghosts back into the afterlife,” Shouma notes dryly. “I know I almost did.”

“Ooh, I see. Guess y’need ‘nother one ta finish da trip. Maybe we can stop getting those horrors’ cheesy endings with my ghostbuster’s kicks!”

“Now you sound scarier than the ghost.”

“Gettin’ bold, eh? Sounds like yer ready fer a second. I’ll score me some home run by kickin’ yer ass outta da park!~” Riyu swings a playful kick into his back.

They both laugh. Shouma can feel quite a bit of force behind the impact, but no pain. Behind her outer aggressiveness, there’s a charm of blunt honesty and simplicity to her that makes him feel entirely at ease and open up a bit.

While walking side by side, Shouma thinks this is truly the first time he has shared a genuine laugh with someone else in a very long while.

***

They leave the dirt road for a while and enter the paved one, lined with unlit streetlights standing dead at their side like grim relics. When they begin to see the outlines of the town, Shouma turns off the flashlight.

The streets and buildings are bathed in a warm, orange glow from flickering gas lamps and the dancing flames of charcoal braziers. The slight acrid smells, the colors, and the occasional low hiss of pressurized gas, interspersed with the noise of people strolling, offer an ambiance of rustic coziness. Shouma thinks this is a pleasant hue, unlike the orange of the dusk.

You don’t see white LED lights that often anymore, but he likes this town’s nighttime color better. It is a bustling night. Crowds move in every direction; some head to the mess hall, others carry bathing items to the bathhouse, or carry cell boxes to the charging hub.

It is time for people to unwind after the day and round off whatever needs to be done before the night roll-out of the restriction curfew, implemented to save resources and energy.

CLANK!

He is admiring the atmosphere and nearing an intersection when someone yanks him from behind.

“Hey! Watch out where you’re going!”

A charcoal-powered truck clanks and roars right past, its boiler hissing and sputtering black smoke and tiny, glowing embers. Shouma meets the grumbling driver’s scowl, and the truck keeps moving past to his right until it disappears out of sight.

Before he can barely regain his senses, Shouma notices a softness all over his back and side. He looks to his right and finds Riyu's intense and piercing glare on him; her face is a breath away from his own.

“Oi, git out’f yer head, will ya?!” Her left hand is wrapped around his back, pressing his body tightly into her. She lets out a sigh and releases her hold before continuing. “Honestly, ya talkin' and laughin’ an’ then gon’ mute alluva sudden like some broken record…”

He stares incredulously at Riyu. That is the first time he is that physically close to someone. Still unable to get words out, he begins rubbing the side of his neck in silent awkwardness before finally managing to string some words together.

“I’m sorry.” He pauses; her eyes now meet his. “I have a bad habit of getting stuck in my own head. I guess you just saved me again. Twice in a day.”

“Sure, dude. Perhaps next time I should start chargin’ you fer some stamped tokens each time I save yer ass, yeah?”

Hearing that, Shouma can’t help but smile. Her brusque comment passes him by as lighthearted, without guile. He recalls something, and the smile turns to a laugh.

“Dude, what…?” Her mouth twists in confusion.

“No, sorry, it’s just that I remember someone told me to be careful so I don’t get run over by a wagon today.”

Riyu then giggles; her seemingly abrupt flips from sharp-tongued reproach to jovial uproar are like a fiery torrent of overflowing vitality. “Well, either that guy’s a psychic, or ye jus have one hell of a bad luck!”