A/N: A slow, warm and breezy KyouSaya in-timeline fic, with a dash of poignancy. In the vein of Kawabata. Well, technically a good number of my stuff is already Kawabata-esque, so I guess this will just be a further extension of that, hopefully. (Though I suppose that appellation will be more befitting Fuyugusa) Essentially a haiku novel. A bit Ghibli-esque, it seems.

A pair with Fuyugusa. 3 parts. Enjoy.

Part One
confessio

夏草や
兵どもが
夢の跡

the summer grass
is all that remains
of warriors' dreams

.

ゴトンゴトン、

.

ゴトンゴトン、

.

ゴトンゴトン、

Inside it is still dark.

"…"

Sayaka leans her head to the side, away from the light. It looks like she's looking out the window. Kyouko can't be too sure. In times like this, Sayaka never really says anything. It's boring.

All that can be heard now was the sound of faint humming, their shadows smoothly echoing from one place to another.

In times like this, sometimes it gets a bit boring sometimes. But it's alright. There's nothing to complain about. Boring is peace, and peace is good, and good means that there's nothing to complain about.

"Right then," she says with a little harrumph.

With a takeaway bento and some frozen tangerines placed on the folding table before her, Kyouko wordlessly claps her hands and breaks her chopsticks open.

"…"

After giving thanks under her breath, Kyouko scoops up large mouthfuls of rice and stuffs her mouth. But very soon, she begins to lose her appetite. Her pace slows, and now she chews each mouthful with an air of contemplation.

She looks at Sayaka. Sayaka is looking outside again, as always. Or is she really looking? Sayaka would never say. Kyouko could never tell. One of them must have been to blame for how things had come to be. A long time ago, or at least what felt like a long time ago, that's what she thought.

Now there is no one who needs to be blamed. It is boring this way. But maybe it is better this way. Kyouko stops thinking to herself for a bit.

"…"

And she turns her head to look outside. She can barely tell if they are moving or not.

There is nothing outside the window, not yet. Surely this window must have seen at least a hundred different sceneries. But for now, outside, everything is dark. It was still charming to look at though.

Over there, near to where Sayaka is sitting, there is a little boy inside the window, reading a picture book on stag beetles. He looks excited. He's travelling with his sister and his parents, probably. Probably going to visit relatives.

The boy looks excited. Or perhaps it's just her emotion colouring her own sense of judgement. Kyouko wonders. On one hand, there was too much fatigue built up within her to feel anything much. But Kyouko wanted to be excited, without a doubt. Perhaps that is why the boy looks so excited.

Suddenly a blank face floats in.

"…"

It's Sayaka. Sayaka looks excited too.

The lights from within reflected against the window, transforming it into a mirror. Seeing Sayaka's face superimpose with the figure of the young boy seated on the opposite aisle, Kyouko thought she alone was standing still in a moving scene.

In the depths of the mirror, every now and then, Kyouko could glimpse out moments of darkness from the background. The figures and the background were unrelated, yet they melted together into a sort of symbolic world not of this world. Particularly when the young boy smiled or turned to talk with his family, Kyouko would feel her chest rise at some inexplicable feeling of kindness.

Propping her arms flat against the armrests, Kyouko looks at Sayaka. Sayaka looks excited. Her eyes are gazing out, somewhere. Kyouko wondered if maybe Sayaka was actually looking at her. Somehow. But she can't be too sure. She knows it's not really true, but she can't be too sure. Maybe Sayaka's hungry.

"Oi, Sayaka, want some?"
"…"

"I know you want it."
"…"

"C'mon, c'mon, don't be shy. You want some, don'tcha?"

Kyouko waits for a while before sighing. The chopsticks move from the bento to her mouth. She chews slowly.

Meanwhile, the bottle of mineral water beside Sayaka trembles slightly. It's probably feeling a little cold.

"Guess not huh. You ain't hungry?"

Sayaka looks excited. Maybe she really isn't hungry.

"…"
"More for me then."

Every now and then, the cool draft of the air-conditioner bends downwards, sweeping a few stray strands of hair to the side. Kyouko's fringe dangles a small, faint shadow down below her eyebrows. Her arms are too lazy to move, so she tries to blow her hair back up. She only succeeds in irritating both her temper and her nose. It's about time to get her hair trimmed.

Come to think of it, Sayaka's hair has been growing a bit long too. The last time Kyouko tried to cut Sayaka's hair, she accidentally lopped off half of Sayaka's bangs. When Hitomi saw the end-result, she gave many compliments, saying how in-character it was for Sayaka. "You've done your best. I guess that's what matters most in the end, isn't it?" But if Sayaka could see how she looked, she would definitely flare up at Kyouko. This much was clear.

Now the bangs have all grown back, thought they might be a bit too long. Hitomi helped trim them a bit just last weekend, thankfully. Maybe they really do need to visit a proper barber. There's one at Kamihama-shi that's quite cheap apparently. Or maybe she ought to just haggle a little with the old man back in Kazamino. He won't be too glad to see her again probably. Or maybe he will. Old men are all like that anyways.

Even now Sayaka's bangs are waving about with the wind. Sometimes they pass over her eyes. Darkness clouds her pupils and, for that one fleeting moment, a twinkle of light seems to shine through. It disappears just before Kyouko can fully appreciate it.

"Hora hora, you've gotta eat something at least."
"…"

Her hands lay limp on her lap as usual, but Kyouko can tell that there's something just a bit different about them today. Sayaka looks excited, almost alive.

"You're a real handful, y'know that? C'mere, say aah – "

Kyouko picks up a slice of pickled carrot and brings the chopsticks up to Sayaka's mouth. She makes sure Sayaka chews well before swallowing.

"There we go."

Kyouko smiles.

Her eyes stray away, turning to look at her own reflection in the mirror.

Kyouko looks excited.

And the train, it was going.

Going from beyond the border, out the long tunnel ― into the summer country.

Listening to the faint rumble of the engine roar, Kyouko set down her chopsticks and, leaning back into the comfort of her seat, closed her eyes, tired out from a long journey, and she

ドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドン
ゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトン
ドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドン
ゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトンゴトン
ドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドンドン

In an instant, Kyouko's skin began to tingle in warmth. She opened her eyes a slit and looked.

ゴトンゴトン、

The bottom of the day turned white.

ゴトンゴトン、

The sun was smiling down.

ゴトンゴトン、

Light flutters in.

ゴトンゴトン、ゴトンゴトン、ゴトンゴトン、ゴトンゴトン、ゴトンゴトン、ゴトンゴトン、ゴトンゴトン、ゴトンゴトン、ゴトンゴトン、ゴトンゴトン、ゴトンゴトン、ゴトンゴトン、

～夏草 summer grass～