They slept that night in an empty parking lot at the edge of town; with the lights out in the Behemoth They didn't come near the vehicle. Without asking Kurumi drove north, into the less populated part of Honshu, where she hoped They'd be less numerous.
Even though she'd been raised as a city girl - they all had - getting out into the countryside had some real advantages. The highways were far more open, with fewer wrecked and abandoned cars, and the scenery was much prettier, so much so that they almost fell into a collective trance looking at distant green fields and mountains as the road rushed by.
They stopped for lunch by a particularly prominent hill. Kurumi drove the Behemoth off the road, to the crest of the mound, where they were surrounded by green grass and could see for kilometers in every direction. Yuri broke out a picnic blanket and prepared a ramen lunch on a cook stove while Yuki chased Miki in circles around the hill; Kurumi climbed up on top of the truck and lay back, staring up at the sky, which was filled with gentle cumulus clouds drifting slowly towards a crystalline blue horizon.
"It's ready," Yuri called, handing up a warm bowl and climbing up on top of the Behemoth herself. "Yuki-chan, Miki, the food is ready!" she yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth and shaking her head as the two distant figures kept running down the hill, oblivious.
"Don't worry about it," Kurumi said, slurping down noodles. "They'll be back soon; let's just enjoy the peace and quiet while we can."
"Ok," Yuri nodded, smiling and looking down before daintily staring work on her own noodle bowl. They spent a few minutes in silence, eating, before Yuri spoke up again. "I think... the sky may be bluer out here than in the city."
Kurumi laughed, nodding. "Yeah," she said, putting down her empty bowl and lying back on top of The Behemoth after spending a moment to make sure she could see Miki and Yuki, but not any of Them. "I noticed that back at the school, but it's even more obvious out here. I guess there's no more factories, or cars, or planes dumping pollution into the atmosphere anymore." She paused a moment. "So maybe it's not all good news..."
Yuri put her own bowl down and lay next to her, looking up at the clouds. "I know what you mean. Still, it's nice to see the clouds so white and the sky so blue..." She sighed. "I don't think I can remember the last time we were so relaxed, not having to worry about... anything."
"Rii-san..." Kurumi looked over in concern, and Yuri looked back, smiling, but with tears in her eyes. She reached out and took Kurumi's hand, shaking her head. "It's OK, it's OK. I just... it comes to you all at once sometimes, you know? I'm just happy to be here, right now, with you. Thanks for driving us out here, Ebisuzawa-san. This was a good place to go, you have taken good care of us."
Kurumi looked away, blushing. "It's no problem. Thanks for lunch, Rii-san, it was delicious."
"My pleasure," said Yuri, and they spent a few minutes holding hands, not talking, just looking up at the heavens before Yuki's complaints about cold ramen for lunch brought them back to earth.