Chapter Five - Saturday I

An inn, located in the north-central region of the city that recently played host to a mysterious gang disruption operation, according to the local news outlets.

A woman with an orange lock of hair trailing along the left lens of her glasses sat up in her bed.

Well, I’ve no concrete plans for the day ahead, aside from sifting through the contact information that we picked from the phone of the associated gang leader last night.

‘No sunrise for us this morning, huh?’ she quietly mused, eyes firmly fixed on the bedroom’s window. She pulled on her skirt and buttoned up her shirt, occasionally stealing glances at Kasumi; still laying asleep in her bed across the room.

With a small frown, she pondered. That expansive layer of cloud is separating me from what could have been a splendid view of a sunrise over the city’s horizon, or at least a blue sky. So much for hopes of a fun day in the sun...

Sitting back down at the edge of her bed after getting dressed, I can’t imagine she’d say much if she came with me, so it’s probably best I let her rest for a bit longer while I talk to the inn-keeper, she considered, whilst keeping her gaze fixed across the room.

The captain ripped a leaf from the notebook freshly-retrieved from her backpack and promptly set her pen to it. “I’ve gone to have a chat with the inn-keeper about our current objective; I’ll be back soon, I promise (°◡° )”

After Renka descended through the building to the ground floor, she stopped in the entrance lobby, at the large, wood front desk.

Enjoying the morning quiet by peacefully listening to the radio, I see. Energetically and cheerfully Renka greeted, with a smile, ‘Good morning, Grandma!’ prompting a warm smile and gentle wave from the old woman seated behind the desk.

I like the floral-pattern dress that she’s wearing; colourful, yet gentle appearance. Despite having wrinkles that I’d normally associate with old age, her hair’s still got a fair amount of its original black colour. It looks pretty elegant, tied into a single bun behind her head, with the unmissable hair stick poking out.

‘Good morning dear, is everything alright?’ she greeted, still affording the captain a friendly smile.

I thought the same last night; her voice is remarkably strong, though I think she’s in her seventies or eighties. Maybe my view of old folks is flawed? ‘Great, thanks for asking. My friend is still up there sleeping like a log, heh. How about yourself?’ Renka replied. Friendly chatter might be the easiest route to getting the information that we need, so I might as well try shaking that tree first.

‘Not bad, thank you, dear. Just drifting along, praying that things will return to normal soon and hoping that they’ll at least not get too much worse,’ she replied, expression becoming increasingly pensive as she spoke. At that particular moment, during the news bulletin a brief passage concerning the gang incident could be heard on the inn-keeper’s little radio, partially drawn into focus by the silence after the woman had finished her statement.

Following the radio statement, she continued, ‘You know; I heard from a few of the locals that it was a couple of outsiders that knocked them all down and left them on a silver platter for the police to deal with.’ Smiling as she continued, ‘As much as I want to believe in the rule of law and law enforcement, there’s only so much that they can handle. I don’t know if it was an off-duty officer or something, but I honestly don’t mind that they’re helping clean up the riff-raff without major bloodshed and chaos.’

Great to know that you approve of our little training exercise, heh, Renka internally jested, with a smile appearing.

There’s nobody else in earshot of this lobby, so, now’s as good a time as any, I guess…

The captain drew closer to the lady and leaned in. With her voice quietened, ‘Between you and I, grandma, I heard that it was a pair of women; one glasses-wearing SDF officer with an orange highlight and ponytail and one tall archer, with black hair and pink highlights.’ I hid my armour vest during the amble here, but Kasumi’s longbow doesn’t stow so easily, unfortunately…

‘Ah youth; so, this is what you kids get up to in your free time these days? I guess SDF training would explain why that scene didn’t turn into a bloodbath then,’ the old lady remarked, with a little smile. Resuming after a short pause, ‘I don’t know how much peace that will bring to the area and for how long, but the removal of yet another small gang is something at least.’

Still leaned in, towards the inn-keeper, she’s probably thinking ahead, to what might happen in response to last night; this might be my one opportunity to indirectly ask for assistance. Renka quietly interjected, ‘You know, Grandma, I suspect there’s still one gang leader at large around here, which could be a problem. I’m sure my friend and I could get them to spend some time with the police, if we knew where to find them.’

Friend? With how cold she generally is, I’d never thought of her as a friend before saying it out loud just now, so that felt a bit weird. I wonder if she’d call me the same?...

‘News does travel around here quite fast and most of the people do want to keep this beautiful little town peaceful, so I can ask around during the day and hopefully have something useful for you tonight, my dear,’ she offered, with a friendly smile.

‘Ah, thank you, grandma!’

‘Well, dear, in the meantime, as thanks for your little routine last night, how about I make you two breakfast, once your friend wakes up?’ the old lady proposed, calmly and with as friendly a smile as when she greeted Renka.

❀

The woman with short, choppy, black and pink hair woke up and stealthily rolled over, to find her travel companion sitting upright on her bed, back against the bed head and pillows.

Checking the info that you collected from the phone you examined last night, I’m guessing? I can’t imagine your face would paint the picture of fairly intense concentration for any other reason. Intense concentration which disintegrated, as the rustling coming from one bed disrupted the peaceful silence.

Renka instantly blasted across, ‘Good morning, sleeping beauty!’ with a teasing smile. ‘Here I was thinking that you’d wake up in the space of time that I went to have a chat with our host.’

As she sat up in her bed, Kasumi wearily asked, ‘Did you even attempt to wake me up?’

Hehe; her voice modulator still hasn’t loaded up yet, it seems. I never knew she came equipped with anything other than her normal tone of voice.

Dear Kasumi, you do have a good point, but I don’t feel like being conciliatory or accepting defeat, so you’ll have to accept my honesty instead… ‘Nope; I figured you’d be bored by me having a conversation with the inn-keeper while you just watched,’ flashing an innocent smile.

That’s a bit rude, surely? But it’s probably true, to be honest. Rather than agree and concede, it’s probably best to reboot the conversation. ‘Good morning to you too,’ she replied, with her voice steadied as she got out of bed.

After Kasumi had finished putting her clothes on, the pair of women headed down to the dining hall. After taking their seats at one of the large, dark, wooden picnic benches, Renka explained the lack of need to order breakfast that morning. She then informed Kasumi that they were about to essentially have a day off, until the evening at least.

After a few minutes had passed, Renka’s face lit up, her eyes fixing on the old lady that emerged from an adjoining room, carefully carrying two plates, heading directly towards where she and Kasumi were seated.

She sat the plates down and the captain quickly remarked, ‘Thank you very much, Grandma; they look and smell amazing!’ In a much more measured manner, Kasumi echoed Renka’s sentiments.

The inn-keeper smiled at the pair of women, before accepting, ‘You’re welcome, dear. I’ll be out in a minute with the rice and tea.’ She promptly turned and disappeared back into the adjacent room. In the interval that their host vanished for, Renka admired the food that alluringly sat before them. Hmm; toasted egg sandwiches, stood upright, so that the filling’s displayed. Neatly presented with lettuce leaves and the filling featuring a sprinkling of black pepper and a boiled egg, quartered and placed neatly in the middle of the cooked egg mixture of each sandwich.

After receiving the remainder of their meal, both Renka and Kasumi repeated their thanks, prompting their host to return a friendly smile before again retreating to the kitchen. The inn-keeper had brought the women a pair of near-perfectly shaped rounded-triangle rice balls each, along with cups of green tea.

‘I’m almost jealous that you made me miss out on talking to her,’ Kasumi commented, gaze flitting between the food and Renka’s eyes.

‘I know right; it’s been a long time since I’ve had a toasted egg sandwich, let alone one that looks and smells as good as this,’ Renka replied, with a friendly smile. After the pair had said their grace and began eating, the captain retrieved and studied a pamphlet. This little travel guide for the city that I picked up from the front desk earlier should help with planning out places to visit during the day. Who knows; even if she doesn’t want to talk much, a day of sightseeing should at least make her more comfortable around me, I hope…

❀

Thanks to the inconvenience of many checkpoints and roadblocks, having to use an alternate route being faster, and the need to pause for a while, to recharge the bike’s batteries, the journey north west took the doctor and her injured passenger far longer than it would have under normal circumstances.

The journey took so long in fact, that the pair of women arrived at the injured woman’s destination with the sun well into the process of asserting its dominance over the sky behind them, imparting a bright orange glow on the horizon.

Tsubaki had been directed to a relatively quiet village west of the island’s longitudinal centre.

Despite the house having a healthy amount of space around it, why am I still finding it difficult to decide where to park??

I love the garden though; it’s huge! Brimming with a plethora of different plants, small and large, with almost every colour available under the sun observable from a short glance around. It’s like a botanist’s or a horticulturist’s dream.

Surely this couldn’t be Hikari’s place; she can barely take care of herself, let alone a beautiful garden like this, the doctor thought as her eyes continued to leisurely scan the garden.

After wrestling with her conscience for a short while, Tsubaki elected to park on a small area of lawn that hosted no plants. She must be really tired, or something must be wrong if I can get away with being so wishy-washy about parking without her commenting. Almost instantly after the thought had crossed her mind, the sensation of Hikari’s chest pressing into her back forced her to turn around.

So, you’re choosing now to go to sleep? Realistically, I’m not surprised if you’re drained though. You look like how I feel right now, heh.

Still, that doesn’t excuse you from your duties, you’re supposed to be my host, after all. Forcefully, but not loudly, she asserted, ‘Oi; if you’re going to fall asleep or unconscious, at least do it inside.’ She flicked her passenger’s forehead whilst speaking, which prompted the black and purple-haired woman’s eyelids to snap open.

‘Huwah!? Yes, Commander!’ she hurriedly responded with a serious expression on her face, prompting a derisive look from the doctor. Settling down, she continued, more softly, ‘Ah, right; I have to lead the way, heh, sorry,’ with an awkward smile, as she dismounted. She led the doctor along the pathway up to the front of the house and knocked on the door a few times.

After about fifteen seconds of waiting, the door unlocked, revealing a familiar-looking woman.

‘Oh; what a pleasant surprise!’ the woman enthusiastically greeted, upon sight of Hikari.

Before the amethyst-eyed woman could respond, the older woman reeled her in and continued, ‘It’s been so long; how have you been? Is everything alright? What brings you here?’ The barrage of questions came while Hikari became firmly ensnared by the woman’s embrace. In return, she embraced the woman as much as her body would allow. Having drawn the black and purple-haired woman towards her and resting her head on her left shoulder, however, brought the doctor into focus for the older lady.

Uwah; she looks almost exactly like Hikari, though a bit taller and a bit older. The only other difference is the hair; though similar in being shoulder-length, this woman has natural, shiny, black hair, not livened up with any highlights, dying, braids, ties or accessories, unlike the case with Hikari, who ticked “all of the above” on the hair-styling options list.

Hikari’s relative briefly made eye contact with the doctor, who reflexively averted her eyes, sensing the intensity of the older woman’s actions and stare. Inevitably it came, with sincere interest; ‘Oh my, and she’s brought home an adorable friend as well??’ The response painted the doctor’s cheeks red and set her off fidgeting and quietly mumbling incoherently.

‘Okay, mother, please; before I die from affection overdose,’ Hikari insisted, trying to press herself away from the clutches of her older counterpart. She continued, after managing to break free, ‘And here, we have Tsubaki; a good friend of mine,’ drifting from eye contact with her mother, to giving the doctor an affectionate gaze.

The doctor’s whole face effectively glowed in response. Heh; she’s lit up, bright red, like a Chinese lantern, Hikari thought, lightly giggling.

“Friend!?” What dream are you living in? That’s not even the most terrifying prospect here; I’m effectively seeing two Hikaris smiling at me from the corner of my eye.

AARRGGHH!

Somebody, please rescue me, quickly!! One doting Hikari is already too much, there’s no way I can survive two of them!!!

Ugh; I swear the weight of this awkwardness bearing down on me is increasing the longer that I delay introducing myself as well. Tsubaki eventually forced out a wobbly response, with inconsistent loudness, ‘Pleased to meet you!’

‘Yeah; this one’s pretty shy, so please go easy on her, mother,’ Hikari suggested, turning back to her mother, with a friendly smile.

Her mother chimed in again, softly, attempting (and only briefly succeeding) to make eye-contact with the doctor, ‘Thank you for looking after my daughter; it’s much appreciated,’ beaming a friendly and welcoming smile. She quickly continued, ‘It looks like you could both use a rest. Are you hungry? I could make you something to eat and then you can use the spare bedroom to get some sleep.’

Following the warm invitation, the pair of ladies removed their shoes and entered the house.

Like a mother duck leading her ducklings, Hikari’s mother led the women toward the kitchen, where they found a middle-aged man sat at the dining table, reading a newspaper. The sound of multiple pairs of footsteps entering the kitchen drew his attention, more so, the two youngsters being towed along.

The man, though sitting down, displayed a dominant presence, with short, black hair, dark brown eyes and a blank expression which could control any situation, matched to a strong jawline and equally imposing shoulders. He introduced, with a much more measured tone of voice than what Hikari’s mother greeted the women with, ‘Long time, no see, Hikari. I hope you’re well?’

The doctor fixed the pair with a studying gaze. There’s no way get a good image of their relationship through that greeting.

No hostility; I guess we’re okay, for now at least. ‘I’m fine, thank you, father. I hope you’ve been well also?’ Hikari returned in a friendly tone.

Still yet to use anything other than a neutral facial expression, her father’s gaze briefly glossed over the young lady that stood next to Hikari. ‘And who might this be?’ he quizzed, which caused the doctor to stiffen and stifle a yelp, despite Hikari’s father not particularly intending to be intimidating.

‘This is Doctor Tsubaki; a friend of mine,’ Hikari explained, keeping her eyes trained on her father. Don’t think I didn’t see that instant sparkle and eye widening, old man; so, you’re pleased that I’ve brought home a doctor, I see…

Only then did his gaze settle on the doctor, at which point he greeted, ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you; thank you for looking after my daughter,’ with a neutral tone,

He really doesn’t make his impression of the person he’s talking to known, does he? Panicked, almost involuntarily Tsubaki bowed and blurted, ‘Pleased to meet you sir, thank you for having me!’

Hikari’s father calmly responded, ‘Now, now; there’s no need to be so afraid; you’ve already been welcomed in, have you not?’

This question eased some of Tsubaki’s tension and prompted her to straighten up and force a ‘Yes, sorry!’ as the flushing of her face calmed down.

Hikari’s mother set about preparing breakfast for the visitors as they prepared the spare bedroom, trying to avoid the temptation to settle down and fall fast asleep before breakfast.

Aside from proper introductions, where Hikari’s mother and father informed the doctor of their names (Yuri 佑凛 and Michisato 導智). Hikari and Tsubaki’s paying the parents a visit formed the mainstay of the meal conversation. Hikari explained that the doctor’s clinic ended up caught in the crossfire of an armed conflict involving high-calibre weapons and explosives. Rather than explaining much else in detail, she steered the conversation in the direction of the general state of decline and how things were for her parents, delivering nothing more than the most basic and nondescript of responses when she herself became the topic of discussion.

Tsubaki spectated as she ate and the family continued on with their catching up, nervously delivering short answers when questioned. I should join in on the family discussion, but I’m not really one to barge in on conversations in unfamiliar settings, Hikari’s father is pretty scary and I get the impression that Hikari hasn’t been in contact with her parents for quite some time, or at least she hasn’t seen them in person for a lengthy period. It might be rude to interrupt their family affair…

After breakfast concluded, the two younger women aided Hikari’s mother with the clearing away and cleaning up, jesting lightly as they finished and prepared to head off, ‘Thank you dears; for a brief moment it was like I had two daughters,’ with a smile on her face; prompting odd quiet mumbling along with awkward and embarrassed expressions from both Hikari and Tsubaki respectively.

Both women released sighs of relief as they settled into their futons.

Hikari however used what little will-power she had remaining to study something on her phone briefly, before she drifted off.

That assignment invitation that the section delivered to me before we left the capital; a follow-up to that little excursion from last night. Yeah; I’m gonna sleep on it and decide later.

❀

‘That old woman is pretty awesome, right? Making us breakfast and lunch boxes to carry with us too,’ Renka gleefully asked, with a smile, her face turned to Kasumi, as the pair of women set off. ‘We’ll not be doing much today, in terms of tracking down that remaining gang leader, though, if we’re lucky, maybe we’ll hear something helpful while we’re out and about,’ she added, practically bouncing, while the pair exited the inn.

‘Let me guess; you’ve planned for us to go sightseeing?’ Kasumi blankly quizzed, half holding Renka’s eye contact.

‘Bing bong! That’s exactly right,’ she replied enthusiastically, ‘I don’t want to give it all away, but; we’ll be visiting a historic landmark, and spending most of the day on a scenic route through the city. Seeing as there aren’t any blue skies and sunshine to wallow in, I figured having a look around and enjoying things down here on the ground would be a better idea.’

Leisurely walking to their first location, the women reached their first stop after about half an hour.

Hmm; a huge garden? There doesn’t seem to be much here though…

…or not. Those were only the outer regions of what appears to be a palace dating back hundreds of years.

‘Seeing as this city used to be the island’s capital, I figured we should check out at least one thing that we won’t find anywhere else; so here we are,’ Renka explained, spreading her arms out, as if presenting the place that they were passing through. The pair proceeded deeper into the grounds, where for a good while they (assisted by a tour guide) admired the traditional-style architecture of the mammoth main palace, the history associated with the imposing structure as well as the fancy and lavish decorum of the nearby mansion, which played host to nobles of the land in bygone eras.

Grand and unique as this imperial palace is, its charm is kind of lost on me, to be honest… Though I will admit; it is entertaining, watching you behave like a puppy that’s excited to be taken on an outing. Honestly; where do you get so much energy and curiosity from?? Aside from your size, right now it’s almost as if you never progressed beyond the age of four or five.

‘Dear Kasumi, I can practically feel your boredom lingering in the air, threatening to permeate my skin. I think I’ve seen enough now, so, next up, we’re heading north, to our next stop,’ Renka playfully advised.

The emergence from the palace grounds once again prompted a delighted smile from the woman with the orange lock of hair, as the pair unhurriedly approached the nearby riverfront.

Although it’s cloudy today, the sight of the river confluence here and the tributaries diverging off into the distance is great; the tranquil surface shimmering while it reflects the fairly plain skies above. It’s nice that they’ve lined the entire length of the city riverside with a neat park that has healthy lawns and good tree cover as well; it’s like an odd (but welcome) slice of nature among the urban surroundings.

As the pair approached one of the bridges further north, while they progressed along the river , Renka remarked internally, Now I see why the area is still recommended as a tourist spot; the police have a station located next to the bridge. Eh? What’s this? Anti-firearms operators retreating into the station, in full uniform, equipped with plate-carrier armour vests similar to mine, along with shoulder and upper arm protection, MP5A5 SMGs, USP sidearms and riot helmets with balaclavas too.

If only I could be so lucky as to scavenge one of those; that’d be handy, the captain thought, briefly fixing her attention on one of the submachine guns. Keep fighting the good fight, guys, she internally concluded with, reverting her attention to alternating between Kasumi and the nearby river.

Less than ten more minutes of strolling north later, it looks like this is the widest area of the park; the perfect spot for us to pause for lunch I think. ‘Tell me, Kasumi; when was the last time you had a picnic?’ Renka enquired, peering directly into her eyes, with sincere curiosity.

After a short period of thought, ‘Maybe ten or so years ago; up in the mountains with my grandparents.’

Hmm; you’ve done an awful lot with your grandparents, but I’ve not heard all that much about your own mother and father.... ‘Well, we’re gonna have one now! The sun may be hiding behind a thick blanket of clouds, but at least it’s sort of warm and dry,’ the captain commented, with a friendly smile.

After revealing her intention, she led Kasumi by the wrist to an area under the trees and after setting down her backpack, she gently set herself down on the grass, before looking directly into her partner’s eyes, smiling and patting an area beside her.

Renka rummaged around in her backpack; a relatively quick process, thanks to her journeying for the day with a lighter backpack than the much larger, regular option that she usually wore.

After extracting a pair of lunchboxes, completing the usual formalities and opening hers, ‘At this rate, I’m beginning to think we should invite granny to join us on our travels to be honest,’ Renka began, sounding impressed, as she inspected the contents of her small plastic container.

Along with another round of egg sandwiches and rice balls, she’s also loaded in tempura prawns and fried chicken, along with a pot of dressed salad, roasted with nuts and seeds, all neatly arranged, to create a colourful yet organised picture within the boxes.

‘Maybe you should ask her for some recipes and cooking advice before you leave,’ Kasumi remarked, while alternating between assessing her meal and watching Renka’s reaction.

‘I might just do that actually, although you’re on cooking duty next time, I think,’ Renka replied, directing a playful smile at her companion.

Casually, Kasumi remarked, ‘I can’t promise anything as good as the grandma’s cooking, but I’ll still try my best. Old folks are kind of overpowered when it comes to cooking, so there’s no way I could match them.’

Once the mealtime concluded, Renka retrieved both her phone and the travel guide from her backpack. ‘Here,’ she offered, holding out her phone in Kasumi’s direction, triggering a puzzled expression to appear.

‘I feel like I’ve already looked over everything related to our current target more than enough, maybe you’ll find something that I didn’t,’ she continued with a friendly smile.

Huh? You’re allowing me to have a free roam of your phone? Surely that’s not normal?

Renka disrupted Kasumi’s wandering thinking, ‘Don’t worry; there aren’t any embarrassing photos, sexting conversations or military secrets on there. For the past few years, I’ve only really used it to keep in touch with my parents, in the rare bits of downtime where the reception’s been good enough for it.’

Accepting the phone, Kasumi continued to think. Is it because she has nothing to hide and just doesn’t care that much, or is this her weird way of saying that she trusts me? For someone who talks straight pretty much all the time, she can be pretty enigmatic sometimes… The pair of women spent the next fifteen or so minutes studying in silence; a period which concluded with them reviewing their findings from the phone as if they had just taken a mock exam and were comparing their thought process and answers.

Renka packed up and stowed away all of the picnic gear, zipped up her backpack and climbed to her feet. ‘Well, that was a nice little picnic, wasn’t it? She posed, flashing Kasumi a delighted smile, as she offered her hand, to aid her with lifting herself off the grass.

Despite the offer, the black and rose-haired woman hoisted herself off the floor without assistance, prompting a brief forced smile from the captain. Renka opted for simply walking beside her as the pair continued through the park for almost another kilometre, all the while, admiring the river as they strolled along.

As the edge of the park came into view, the women crossed over the river, using one of the many pedestrian bridges. Once across, they directly faced a luscious scene provided by a more conventionally-shaped garden.

The trees here are tall and wide enough to shroud whatever lies beyond. The pale pink wash of cherry blossoms dominates the scene, though a healthy, bright layer of green floor fills the remainder of the scape. I can just about see it now; there are some glass-roofed buildings hiding behind the tree barrier and intense layer of pink, Kasumi assessed.

‘Beautiful as this is, our last stop for today is actually inside the greenhouses over there,’ Renka excitedly informed, pointing off into the distance.

As the two strolled through the large garden, Renka softly suggested, ‘It’s almost poetic; seeing the blossom as we head toward the end of our first week together.’

She then turned to Kasumi and eyed her, with a peaceful smile on her face. ‘I’d like to think that the beauty of the Sakura around us is similar to how you and I are; with the budding of something wonderful, though hopefully something longer-lasting than a season or two.’

Where did that come from?? Normally, you’re all playful and silly, or super serious and methodical!? Is this you trying to be romantic? I will admit, it was pretty nice, but you could have at least given me a warning, before surprising me like this. Then again, I can’t really complain; it was only a short while ago that I was wishing you’d be less enigmatic. ‘You might be right, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see,’ Kasumi replied, keeping her voice and facial expression as neutral as possible, met by Renka continuing to smile as the pair headed out from under the cover of the trees.

When the women entered one of the large curvy-roofed glass buildings, an intense flurry of colour greeted them.

In comparison with the pink that gently accentuated the stroll through the garden, in here it’s dominated by deeper shades of green, almost giving a forest feel. In addition, the flowers and plants in this building are nearly all very bright and vivid; there’s nearly every colour under the rainbow in some directions that I look in.

The two journeyed through the greenhouse at a pace as relaxed as the stroll through the area of the outer Sakura tree garden, thanks partly to regular pauses.

Yeah; if I’m honest, I don’t have much of a clue what I’m looking at, so I’ve been spending most of the time simply admiring the colours and the wide variety of weird and wonderful forms of the plants and flowers that we drift by.

Occasionally, an outburst ruptured the silence, when the women happened upon anything that presented itself with a burning orange or bright rose colour, matching either the captain or her stoic partner’s hair accents.

Renka was also treated to the occasional explanation as to what she was looking at by Kasumi, drawing on her mountain experiences to help the captain where she could.

Although I’ve spent a lot of time outdoors over the years while serving here and abroad, now that I think about it, I’ve never before spent any time admiring the beauty of nature. The natural beauty in here is fascinating, to an impressive extent; makes me wonder how I’d never visited or happened upon a place like this before…

While the captain focused on the plant life, Kasumi spent a fair while spectating her. There she goes again, I don’t think she even realises how peaceful she’s looked while we saunter through this forest-like space.

The perambulation through the greenhouse took the women roughly ninety minutes altogether, after which, the captain led the pair’s exit closely followed by a large pond welcoming the pair back outside.

After a brief pause, the duo proceeded north east, through the outdoor gardens.

Very cosy setup, despite being open-air; it’s richly decorated, with large bushes; all of which have colourful flower bunches nestled in them. Even without the direct sunshine and blue skies, it’s wonderful, Renka mused.

The pair of women slowly advanced towards the larger pond areas, whose cherry blossom trees shrouded a shrine; almost as if it were trying to hide behind them.

Nice as the shrine is, I’m more interested in admiring the pond plant life; the only reason we spent so little time at the pond beside the greenhouse was because the map suggested that this one’s wayyy bigger.

Kasumi eyed her travel partner as the pair arrived at the large, tranquil body of water. I guess this will be yet another slow trundle, I can already see how immersed you are in admiring the assortment of lilies lining the edges of, or peacefully floating on the surface of the pond.

Lilies! Lilies everywhere!! Varying from white and gentle, soothing shades of yellow, pink and purple, through to more vivid shades. ‘What a perfect place to finish up our tour of the gardens,’ Renka suggested, with a satisfied smile, as she fumbled around in her backpack. ‘Naturally, we’re also getting photos together here as well,’ she insisted, emphatically waving her phone about, gazing directly into her companion’s eyes, beaming a warm smile.

Maybe she’s not entirely clueless about plants and flowers then, or am I just reading too much into this situation? Kasumi thought, as she complied with her energetic partner’s insistence, before helping her seek out a photographer.

The time of day had reached almost 14:30, and once the short photography session had concluded, Renka reluctantly unlinked her arm from Kasumi and collected her phone before revealing, ‘You know how I said this garden was the final stop? Yeah; I kinda lied, heh. We still have one stop left for the day, which I was really hoping you’d enjoy,’ with a mischievous smile spread across her face.

Renka decisively took her black and pink-haired partner’s hand and led her towards the final destination. ‘We need to be settled in before 15:00 and I was hoping you’d get a bit of time to look around before then, so let’s hurry!’

It took the pair of ladies less than two minutes to cover the hundred or so metres east, which led them to Renka’s actual final stop for the day.

‘Ah; the concert hall,’ Kasumi murmured. I probably should have seen that coming; it is well-known across the island, in the orchestral/ acoustic performance music world at least.

I was actually more planning to have a look at any performance hall that wasn’t in use, but my attention’s been hopelessly captured by the arrangement of the entrance hall; elegantly decorated and featuring twelve pillars (representing the twelve zodiac symbols of ancient eastern chronology) in the centre. Snapping out of her trance, ‘Um, let’s find a map, quickly!’ Renka hurriedly insisted, triggering a surprised jolt from her companion.

What’s gotten into you?!? Yes; you’re often like an excited puppy, but this is something else.

Wait a second; thinking back, you did say that you were really hoping I’d enjoy this.

Are you really getting this worked up over trying to get me to have a good time?? I appreciate the sentiment, but it’s a bit alarming how fired up you are right now, Kasumi internally debated, before yanking Renka back by the hand until their gazes harshly snapped together. She calmly requested, ‘Hey; please calm down. I’m sure you’d make better progress if you approached things as you normally do,’ with a little reassuring smile, which froze the captain in place.

Eep!?!

Those greyish-blue eyes.

Chilly, harsh and all-encompassing, like an intense winter snowstorm, yet so absolutely mesmerising when they ensnare you.

You probably can’t tell, but in this particular moment, it’s more than just my hand that you’re holding; your grip is firm, yet oddly reassuring and warm, conducted all the way to my core; all of my emotions and thoughts are at the mercy of your touch. Any more excitement might make me erupt like a cinder cone volcano though.

How on earth am I supposed to calm down when you’re so close to me and that commanding gaze and smooth voice of yours pushes all of my buttons at once?!? Even my ability to manipulate thermal energy is no match for the fiery sensation currently surging through my body.

Renka’s cheeks rapidly reddened. She hastily turned away, meekly nodded and accepted Kasumi’s suggestion, with the slightly wobbly mumbling of ‘Right,’ as she set off towards a large map display, still leading Kasumi by the hand, though more gently than before.

Renka had located her preliminary destination and made a note of the main destination as well, prompting the pair to swiftly proceed towards a small performance hall.

‘The hall isn’t being used for performances today, so it’s free for us to admire,’ Renka informed, surprisingly gently, with a little smile.

It is a pretty lavish setup for a small hall. The black grand piano looks majestic as it rests in the middle of the main stage at the front of the hall. Although the wood furnishings and grand chandelier that hang above them are certainly eye catching and create an almost cosy feel in the space.

‘Do you think they allow visitors to play it?’ Renka quizzed, with her eyes fixed on the piano.

‘No idea, so it’s probably best not to touch it,’ Kasumi responded with little hesitation. ‘We can still head down and take a look at it though.’

When the pair reached the stage, Kasumi broke away from holding Renka’s hand, and slowly circled around the piano and inspect its features. While the captain may have initially been intent on inspecting the piano, she spent half of the time admiring Kasumi instead.

Look at you, Miss Enthusiastic. I’m almost certain this is the most interested I’ve seen you be about anything since we met. Although quiet and not giving any obvious signs of pleasure, I’m guessing your interest is a good sign…

Totally worth it! Renka celebrated internally, though on the outside, she happily smiled while continuing to observe Kasumi’s movements around the piano. Extending a hand in Kasumi’s direction, Renka invited, ‘Now, madam; if you’d like to follow me? The main event awaits…’ with a playful smile.

Still somewhat hastily, the captain led Kasumi to the main hall of the concert venue.

The black and pink-haired woman’s eyes slowly panned the space. Now this is a concert hall. While the smaller hall had a cosy feel to it, this main hall screams grand, even somebody not particularly acquainted with the arts, like myself, has no doubt about it.

We have nothing quite as swanky or sophisticated as this back in the west. Seating and observation platforms line all sides of the stage, on various levels, aside from the main theatre seating which stretches out in front of the stage. Grand pillars, placed at regular intervals along the side walls, with spot lighting clustered between them. The ceiling however, is something else, beautifully lit up with a large array of lighting consisting of many miniature parts, which look almost like an illuminated pattern from nature. As was the case with the small hall, wood furniture is abundant here and when looking at the large, rectangular stage from the theatre seating, the various audience areas to the sides and behind the stage are all lined with a mildly dark wood too. The wood accents also extend to the organ array, looming large behind the stage, occupying an area almost half the width of the stage and around two-thirds of the entire hall height.

Renka peppily led Kasumi to the seats that she had booked. ‘As luck would have it, this particular Saturday, a school’s brass band ensemble performance was scheduled for this evening. Maybe not your calibre of performance, but hopefully it’s still good.’ You’ve probably already performed in one of these, but I thought it might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, given how things are going.

As the lights faded away, ushering in darkness for everywhere besides the stage, Kasumi’s thoughts drifted.

This brings back memories; my parents used to perform in places like this fairly regularly. Although I’m here with you, Renka and I know that you really wanted me to enjoy this performance, it’s going to be a rough ride, balancing memories of the past with the somewhat confusing feelings of the present….

Before Kasumi could drift into deep thought, Renka pondered aloud, ‘You know; one day it would be nice to see you perform on a stage like that,’ with a relatively soft and warm tone of voice, along with a comforting smile, as she peered through her glasses directly into Kasumi’s eyes.

❀

Mid-afternoon arrived and looking across at the sleeping doctor who she had met at the head of the week, Hikari held an admiration-driven smile on her face in contrast to eyes awash with sorrow. A chance to move forward… Rather than waking her, it’s probably best I use the time to study the assignment invitation that came in.

The inspection itself won’t even take that long; planning out how to complete the assignment will be the time-consuming element, given that I’m certain there aren’t any section headquarters or supplies facility nearby…

After unlocking her phone and studying for a short period, she internally discussed. Yup; as ever, I can’t tell if they want me dead or think the world of my abilities.

They want me to halt an armed convoy transporting weapons. The convoy is linked to the arms cache that I hit last night, which partly explains why the invitation come in so soon, I guess.

Reportedly, the lorry carrying weapons will be heading south-east tomorrow and the client wants the weapons not to reach their intended destination.

Oddly, the organisation itself is offering an added bonus if I’m able recover the lorry and its cargo without destroying it, allowing it to be passed into their custody. As ever, the assignment information has almost every specific detail that I’ll need as well; vehicles to expect, level of armament, equipment and number of enemies to expect, along with scheduled times for travel.

Normally, dropping some spike strips for any escort vehicles and neutralising the hostile occupants with a silenced weapon would probably be the easiest way to recover the cargo and dispatch all of the associated enemies without drawing any undue attention to myself, but alas, this isn’t an ideal situation. More importantly; what am I gonna drive? I highly doubt father’s car will cut it and even if it did, I don’t think I’d be able to bring myself to actually use it, Hikari internally discussed, before playfully musing, ‘Well, this should be fun.’

‘What will be fun?’ a soft voice from nearby asked up to her.

‘Huh? When did you wake up?’ Hikari turned and replied, her face frozen in a startled expression. As much as I love conversing with you, Hon, that was supposed to be an unobserved monologue.

❀

Darkness had almost fully overtaken the light and nightfall awaited nearby as Renka and Kasumi arrived back at the inn, to be greeted by the same inn-keeper that had prepared their meals and sent them off in the morning. The host sat with a little peaceful smile at the entrance lobby desk, as she did in the morning and welcomingly waved at the pair as they arrived.

‘Good evening grandma!’ Renka blurted. She quickly reduced her voice to a sensible volume before continuing, ‘Thank you for the lunches; they were delicious. Like, the best food I’ve had in a long while,’ with a satisfied smile.

The old lady’s voice returned, cheerfully, ‘You’re welcome dear. Also, it turns out the townsfolk know about that thing you were looking for earlier. I’ll tell you about it over dinner.’

After the pair set their things down in their room, they descended to the cafeteria, to find that their dinner had already been prepared and invitingly sat atop one of the picnic benches, on two plates, opposite from the inn-keeper.

She’s prepared a meal consisting of cooked salmon, fried noodles and seasoned rice balls, with herbs sprinkled over them, Kasumi observed.

As soon as the pair of women sat down, Renka insisted, playful but also serious, ‘Grandma, you have to give us some of your recipes before you leave and tell us how to make food that’s this good.’

In response, the inn-keeper smiled warmly and replied, ‘I’ll write some down, for you to take with you tomorrow. As you’d expect, some of the wisdom you seek is a family secret, however, dear,’ maintaining a friendly tone, despite pouring cold water on the prospect of them receiving any culinary secrets.

The pair of women said their grace and began eating, giving the inn-keeper a silent period, in which she passed on the information gathered throughout the day.

‘The man you are looking for is rumoured to frequent a particular bar every Sunday evening, without fail, so in theory, if you were to observe the bar, you should find your target. The locals say that on the few occasions where they have spotted him, he was being driven around in a black Altezza and always accompanied by others. If you give me a map, I can mark down where the bar is for you.’

❀

After sharing a fairly quiet dinner with her parents and Tsubaki, Hikari ventured out through the back garden, under the night sky, straight toward the rear garage, rather than the main one, adjoined to the house. Come to think of it; it hasn’t even come up in any conversation yet, then again, I highly doubt that he’d ever part ways with it anyway, she internally debated, as she traversed the garden.

When Hikari reached the small building and slipped through a gap in the carefully-shuffled regular door, she paused instantly with her eyes fixed in place, soon adding a pleased smile to her expression.

The old girl is still here; nice.

Same old silver four door Skyline 2000-GTR with the same old black RS Watanabe wheels.

‘Did you miss me, Honey?’ she asked, affectionately, as she slowly and lightly ran her right hand along the bonnet, beginning to make her way to the rear of the car, inspecting the wheels, tyres, interior and the mixture of smooth and sharp lines of the body panelling.

After completing a full lap of the car, she opened up the driver’s door and delicately sat in the driver’s seat.

I wonder if he still keeps the keys in the same place? She fumbled around, her memory hazy on where the keys used to be stashed. There aren’t many storage spaces, so I don’t think he kept them anywhere so accessible or obvious. Hikari ran her left hand around under the driver’s seat and the sensation of cold metal sparked a joyful smile.

The black and purple-haired woman swiftly proceeded to put the keys in the ignition and use them to kick the S20 engine into life, with a rough growl. She quickly skipped across to open up the rear door of the garage. Can’t have those fumes filling up the garage now, can we? After spending a minute or so around the rear of the car, taking in the exhaust note, as her view panned the garage and the various family possessions, before she returned to the driver’s seat.

Yeah; there’s no way I can use this; if I even so much as scratched it, father would probably kill me, well that and I’d probably never be able to live down the shame of breaking a collector’s item; supposedly, they made not even 850 of them. With the driver’s door open and her right foot outside, on the ground, Hikari reclined in the seat.

It’d be nice to give the S20 a little exercise, but I guess it’d be a nuisance to the neighbours given the time of night. I’ll settle for allowing the sound of the idling engine and exhaust to soothe me for a little while though, the black and purple-haired woman concluded.