Saturday morning, August 7 – Central Street Market
Yukine walked through the old market with a wistful smile as if she were fondly remembering a place that wasn't gone yet. That was how it felt too. The announcement had been made that one of those huge gleaming supermarkets was going to be built practically across the street and everyone knew what that meant. Sure, the Supermarket's prices would be a little lower and it wouldn't be as crowded, but it would be entirely lacking in personality.
"Sunohara-sama!" a friendly voice called out from the flower shop, "Where is Yoichi-kun? I always enjoy seeing that darling little boy of yours."
"Good morning!" Yukine walked over to the elderly woman who had run the little flower shop since Yukine had been a little girl. "I left him with some friends to play. Although, if he knew that I was coming to the flower shop, he might have insisted on coming with me."
"It's a shame he didn't come with you this time. I got something in that I know he would like." the old woman held up an overflowing basket of blue and purple hydrangeas. "He used to only look at the bright red flowers, but recently he's been interested in anything that is blue and purple. I wonder why?"
"Hmmmm, I wonder." Yukine thought she had a pretty good idea. The Okazaki girl, Michiko, had her father's blue eyes and her mother's purple hair. She had been a shy little thing when they had first arrived. But that hadn't been a problem for Yoichi; her son had been able to cut through all of the little girl's fears from the first moment they met. Now, the two of them were nearly inseparable. They weren't even five years old yet and no-one could foretell if their friendship would last… or if it would develop into something more in years to come. But Yukine secretly hoped that it would. The idea of her son marrying the Okazaki's daughter was a fairy tale she hoped could come true some day. The thought of it did make her smile.
"It looks like you have some idea why." the old woman prodded with a knowing look in here eyes.
"I'm pretty sure it's the usual reason." Yukine told the shop keeper.
"Oh my! Interested in a girl at his age? My granddaughter didn't even know what a boy was, until she got to middle-school." the old woman laughed.
"Obāsan!" a voice from back inside the flower shop cried out in exasperation.
"Hee hee hee." the old woman laughed at her grand-daughter's ire and embarrassment.
"I think I'll take the hydrangeas." Yukine smiled and started to walk into the store.
"Oh, I can take care of that for you." the old woman offered. "It's just nine hundred yen… do you need a receipt?"
"Just nine hundred?" Yukine was surprised, "It seems like an awfully nice arrangement for only that much."
"Well, they were originally ordered for a wedding and… well… the wedding got canceled and so they're on sale, you see?" the old shopkeeper explained.
"All right, although it sounds like you're hiding something… that is a pretty good price for such lovely flowers." Yukine handed over the money and took the basket of flowers.
"Thank you, please come again!" the grandmother and granddaughter both said at the same time as Yukine turned to leave.
.
"Is she gone yet?" a stocky man in work overalls said from his hiding place inside the flower shop.
"Yes, she's gone now." the granddaughter said from behind the register at the flower shop's arrangement counter.
"I thought she liked the yellow flowers. Do we need to get different flowers for her now?" another stocky man in work overalls said as he crawled out from his hiding place under a table full of brightly colored foliage.
"No, you're fine son." the grandmother assured him, "Yukine loves the little yellow flowers the most. She got the hydrangeas for her little boy."
"What's this all about anyways?" the granddaughter demanded. "Who are you guys and why are you buying flowers for somebody else's wife?" She didn't personally know the Sunohara family, but she clearly saw a wedding ring on Yukine's finger.
"Today is Yukine-sama's birthday and were picking up the flowers for her birthday party."
"Now that's enough questions from you." the grandmother told the teenage girl, "You just ring them up and give them a discount since it's Yukine-chan's birthday."
"Okaaaay!" it was clear that the teenager wasn't satisfied with the workmen's answer and also wasn't thrilled with the discount that her grandmother gave away much to freely. But she did as she was told.
"Thank you, very much." both of the workmen opened their tool boxes to get to their wallets.
As the teenager rang up the charges, she gazed into the open toolboxes and saw something odd. As dumb as these guys sounded, she had expected them to be carrying nothing more than boxes full of hammers. But what she saw was a lot more complex than a hammer. There was a large and very rugged looking thing that looked like an old style cell phone. There were also several electronic gadgets that had a home-made or hobbyist look to them. She was about to ask them what the weird looking devices were for when they hurriedly gathered their things and left.
.
Yukine had for some time felt that she was being watched, or even followed. At first, it was just a strange feeling. The kind that you get when someone is idly staring at you. You see them and they suddenly catch themselves and look away – and then it is over. But Yukine had looked around several times and found no-one staring her way. Rather than dispel the uncomfortable feeling, Yukine was more certain that she was being watched with every passing minute. To put this to rest, she took an unexpected turn down a seldom trod aisle of luggage and leather goods and waited.
As before, the sensation was back. Within a minute or two of putting herself in the secluded area, she felt the presence yet again. And yet again, when she turned around there was no-one to be seen. Either this was the world's greatest stalker, or…
"Fuko?" Yukine called out to the emptiness and suddenly, it wasn't so empty. As soon as the name left her mouth, the short girl was there. Long brown hair tied in a bright blue bow. The Yellow jacketed winter uniform from Yukine's old high school. But Yukine couldn't see the eyes. Fuko's face was downcast and she was fidgeting.
"Fuko is sorry for following you around. Fuko just didn't want to be alone… Are you… are you upset with Fuko?" Yukine's short ikiryo friend asked in a quavering voice.
"Fu-chan…" Yukine answered by wrapping the short girl into a close hug and stroking her hair. "Don't you ever think that I don't want to see you again. Even if I am upset with you, it doesn't mean that we aren't friends anymore. I love you like a younger sister, you know?"
"No…" Fuko stayed in the comfortable hug with her close friend, but pouted, "Fuko is older than Yu-chan. So, Fuko should be the Onee-chan."
"Oh no." Yukine dismissed the short girl's claim, "We both know that you are the ikiryo of a girl that went into a coma on her first day of high school. So, until the girl in the hospital wakes up, you will always be fifteen, but I will keep getting older. Someday, my son may even think of you as his imouto-chan."
"Ah!" the ikiryo gasped, "Fuko is losing a race that Fuko didn't even know she was running. Does that mean that you are losing respect in Fuko as a mature woman?"
"I don't know that I've ever thought of you as a mature woman." Yukine answered honestly.
"Ack! That wounds Fuko to the core!" the short girl paled.
"Fu-chan," Yukine held her friend tightly, "the last time I asked you to be more mature, you disappeared for almost a month. I do want you to mature. I want you to be more responsible and more reliable. But it doesn't have to happen all at once. Take your time and work at it little by little. I promise I will be patient with you."
"Hah… you really do sound like an Onee-chan." Fuko admitted.
.
Sunday afternoon, August 15 – Ichinose House
Yukine's birthday party had been nice, but it had also been quick. As a special gift, many arrangements had been made without Yukine's or even Youhei's knowledge. With Tomoyo's help, they had managed to arrange for Youhei to get a few days off from work so that he could take Yukine on a short vacation to a mountain Onsen resort a few hours away.
Contrary to being upset at getting left behind, little Yoichi was thrilled to be able to stay over with the Okazaki family. When Youhei and Yukine came back from their relaxing trip, they were entertained with dozens of pictures of her son playing with the Okazaki children and occasionally Kouko and Yusuke's children as well. But the pictures she treasured most were the ones of her little Yoichi holding hands with Michiko.
From the sly smile on her lavender haired friend's face, Yukine discovered that Kyou-chan was a co-conspirator in the hopes for Yoichi and Michiko's future together. Kyou carefully handed a picture to Yukine under the table like a couple of school girls passing notes in class. Yukine's trademark calm was momentarily lost when she glanced at the picture and saw a heartwarming shot of little purple haired Michiko asleep on a couch with her head in Yoichi's lap. Her son wore a contented smile while he was brushing a few strands of hair out of the sleeping girl's face. The whole scene was highlighted by the last rays of the setting sun in the background.
Kyou had let her keep that picture and Yukine thought of it as the most treasured of all of her birthday presents.
.
But now it was time to pay the piper… Or at least, that was how Youhei was putting it. He was carrying on, acting like it was a huge imposition to watch the Okazaki children for a while. Only ten days after Yukine's birthday would be August 17th, the seventh anniversary of Tomoya and Kotomi's wedding. Since Tomoya and Kotomi had never had a proper honeymoon, Kobayashi had prepared a very nice anniversary gift for them. But, to make the anniversary gift work, Kobayashi had just mentioned that Sunohara-san would be needed to help watch the Okazaki children for a week.
"So that's it then?" Youhei was fishing for sympathy as he pointedly asked Tomoya, "Just because we got a few nights away at a mountain onsen, we have to watch your kids for a week?"
"Hey, I don't know anything about this deal." Tomoya threw up his hands.
"Not to fear, Youhei-san!" Kobayashi-hakase laughed, "Tomoyo-chan has already told me that your job is far too important for you to take another vacation right on the heels of the last one. You won't be involved in this at all."
"Oh… well, I guess…" Youhei was trying to figure out where the misunderstanding occurred. He also had the distinct feeling that he had just been left out of something fun.
"The Sunohara-san I was referring to is your wife. Allow me to explain," the old gentleman outlined the plan. "While Tomoya-kun and Kotomi-chan go on their anniversary trip, Yukine-chan, Kouko-chan, Kyou-chan, and Yuki-chan, will be taking all six of the children on a vacation to Hokkaido where they will visit wonderful places like the Asahiyama Zoo, the Shiroi Koibito Park and Chocolate Factory, and Jigokudani, and… the Okazaki farm. So you see, you won't be inconvenienced at all."
Jigokudani? I've always wanted to see Jigokudani! Youhei was about to grumble about being left out while his wife and child got to go have fun, when another voice objected.
"No..." Kotomi's eyes were opened wide as if in fear. Her shaking hands held onto Kyou's arm as if it was a lifeline that was in danger of slipping away. "Kyou-chan has to come with us."
"Kotomi-chan," Kouko offered, "this is supposed to be the anniversary present for you and Tomoya-kun."
"I know that, but… Kyou-chan was with me before I got married. She stood beside me at my wedding, and she has been with me ever since. I don't know if I can… if I can…" Kotomi was starting to panic at the though of being separated from Kyou for such a long time. Surely, they had been apart before – but never for so long as this.
"Kotomi-chan." Kyou held Kotomi's hands as she looked into the purple eyes of her dearest friend.
"Kyou-chan?" Kotomi automatically responded to the conversation handshake. She looked up into Kyou's steady gaze and took some comfort from the stability she found there.
"Do you remember what you told me was the principal reason for me to be a part of your family?" Kyou asked.
Because I love you. No, I never told you that. Of course… "It is because I don't want the children to grow up without parents when… in case… something happens." Kotomi said haltingly.
"Use your own logic now." Kyou said softly, "If that is the principal reason, does it make any sense for the three of us to go off together for a week and send the children away without any of us with them?"
Kotomi thought fast and hard. There had to be a solution where the three of them did not have to take different paths. She knew that eventually the day would come when… Kotomi's calculations ended, unfinished. Her scrambling for a justification dropped. It almost felt like her heart had stopped. Soon, the time will come when I will have to make a choice that is currently impossible for me. The only way I will be able to choose is if I know that Kyou-chan is there for… the children. But I need to be ready too. This is… something… I must do.
Checkmate.
"I agree, Kyou-chan." Kotomi bowed her head onto Kyou's shoulder.
Kyou was surprised that she had won the argument, but Tomoya was thunderstruck. His jaw hung slack from his face and he stared at Kyou in shock.
"Did… did you just win a debate with Kotomi-chan?" Yuki gaped at what she saw too.
"No, I cheated." Kyou gave a wan smile back to Yuki, "I handed both sides of the argument over to her and let her come to the only logical conclusion."
"Couldn't she have come to any conclusion she wanted then?" Kouko asked.
"Not Kotomi," Kyou almost felt sorry for what she just did to her friend, but the purple haired genius needed to have a taste of what it felt like to loose that way. "Kotomi is far too honest, and sincere to avoid the logical outcome."
Tomoya was still impressed. Kyou had accomplished what he never had, and she had used a tactic that Kotomi was famous for. She had used her opponents own firmly held beliefs against them. Tomoya was more impressed with Kyou now than he had been when he went to her Masters Confirmation Ceremony at the university.
"Are all of you okay with this?" Tomoya asked the other girls in the room.
"Well..." Yuki started to say something but suddenly looked at the floor.
"Um…" Kouko looked like she was trying to find the right words.
"We were in on this from the beginning." Yukine replied with a smile.
"Well then, I guess it's settled." Tomoya said as he pulled Kotomi into his arms and mischievously asked her, "It looks like it will be just you and me, on a far away tropical island, vacationing with only each other, for a whole week. Whatever shall we do?"
"I imagine that we will visit the tourist places, play on the beach, and make love." Kotomi answered his question.
"Kotomi!" all the girls in the room cried out as Tomoya smacked his face with the palm of his hand.
"What?" Kotomi seemed completely mystified by the reaction from all of her friends and asked them, "Isn't that what adults do on a vacation?"
All of them looked at her in stunned silence. They couldn't argue that she was right, but still… Kotomi!
.
Monday afternoon, August 16 – Nishinoomote Harbor, Tanegashima
The Hydrofoil from Kagoshima had been a blast. Or at least Tomoya thought so. Kotomi probably had a different opinion but she wasn't talking much at the moment. Sitting on the bench outside the ferry office, she had her head down between her knees and she was trying to take long deep breaths and calm down. Tomoya rubbed her back and sympathized with her as he thought back to how the day had gone so far.
It almost seemed like her Guardian, Kobayashi-hakase, had arranged the travel plans to be a personal test of courage for Kotomi. The first leg of the journey shouldn't have been that difficult for his wife. Taking the train into Tokyo was something she had done many times before. The problem was in the timing. The tickets they were handed meant that they had to journey into Tokyo, on a Monday… in the morning… during the most congested part of the day. Kotomi had been crushed by the throng of people all around her. Before the train was so full it needed pushers to get everyone in the door, she was already on the verge of hyperventilating. By the time they got to Tokyo's Haneda airport, she was a mess.
As if getting her calmed down after the crowded train ride wasn't enough of a challenge, Tomoya had to get his wife calmed down enough to get on an airplane. An airplane! Kotomi begged Tomoya to change the plans and take the Shinkansen down to Kagoshima, but the airline tickets were non-refundable and the train wouldn't get them there in time for their next connection. Dreading every step, Kotomi let Tomoya guide her into the airport, through the ticket scan, and onto the airplane. Fortunately, the flight from Tokyo to Kagoshima wasn't a long one and Tomoya had most of the feeling back in his arm back by the time their bus arrived.
The bus ride wasn't too bad and before they knew it, they were at the ferry terminal in Kagoshima. At first, Tomoya didn't notice anything special about the ferry boat. It looked like it was designed for speed, but he had learned some time ago that how something looks and how it performs are often two entirely different things. It wasn't when the ferry pulled away from the docks or even when they cleared the harbor barrier. But a few minutes later he felt the engine ramp up and a tremor go through the vessel that meant something exciting was about to happen.
Kotomi latched onto Tomoya's arm in fear that something was wrong, but Tomoya had a smile on his face that reminded her of their trips to Astroworld and how he looked when he got to ride one of the big roller-coasters. She rarely ever rode those rides with him. There was too much vibration… too much noise… just too much! The only saving grace those rides had was that they were over in two or three minutes. But this ride…
The massive hull of the ferry rose up out of the water to run on just the stubby hydrofoil wings as it sped toward it's destination at an outlandish eighty kilometers per hour. A display panel in the passenger area showed a map of where they were and how much time it would be until they reached their destination. When Kotomi saw that this ride wouldn't be over for an hour an a half, she almost cried.
.
But that had been almost two hours ago and her feet were safely on dry land and nothing was moving any more. She felt calm enough to sit up now but the feel of Tomoya-kun's hand rubbing her back was wonderful. If only the air didn't have that foul harbor odor of machine oil and dead fish, she could truly relax like this.
"Are you Okazaki-san?" She heard a man's voice speaking with Tomoya.
"We are." Tomoya said without getting up. It was pretty obvious that his wife wasn't feeling well, so there shouldn't be any perceived offense.
"Ah, your things were taken ahead but I've got your ride right over here." the man explained.
Kotomi wondered why their things were taken ahead. Wouldn't it have made sense to have us take our luggage with us in the same vehicle? Kotomi looked up and saw a nondescript white passenger van in the parking lot behind the man. A vehicle like that could easily have taken us and all our luggage to the bungalow where we will be staying. How odd.
"Kotomi-chan, are you okay to get up now?" Tomoya asked her cautiously.
"I'm much better now, Tomoya-kun. I should be able to handle this much." Kotomi looked forward to sitting back in the comfort of the passenger van's seat and letting Tomoya drive her the rest of the way to their destination in peaceful comfort. She held her Tomoya-kun's hand and they walked together into the parking lot.
Strangely, the man walked past the white passenger van to another vehicle on the other side of it. To Kotomi's horror and utter dismay, they stopped walking when they got to… a motorcycle.
To Tomoya it was like another birthday present. The big bright red motorcycle gleamed in the summer sun and just begged to be taken out on the road. Like the bike he had ridden in college, this one had the built in saddlebags, but it also had the trunk and padded backrest for the passenger.
"You're qualified to drive this, right?" the man sounded doubtful as he held out a clipboard for Tomoya to sign.
"She's not, but I am." Tomoya gave the bike a quick glance and confidently told the man, "I rode something like it for about six years, so it shouldn't be a problem."
"I've never seen a motorcycle this big before. What did you ride that was like this?" the man asked dubiously.
"A Road King." Tomoya smiled when he caught the man's surprise.
"Well then, I guess you got this." he handed the keys over to Tomoya and told him,
"Your destination is already set up in the GPS. Helmets are hanging from the back. Boots and gloves are in the saddlebags."
Kotomi had a sudden urge to call out to the man as he turned toward the nice big white van… but he walked around it and headed into the Ferry terminal building.
"Here," Tomoya held out the smaller set of boots to his wife, "You've seen Kyou and me get ready to ride before, right?"
"Um… yes." Kotomi didn't want Tomoya to know how terrified she was to get on one of those things, but she had an idea that he had figured it out already anyway.
This isn't so bad. I rode in an airplane and a hydrofoil today. I will not be scared of this motorcycle. Kotomi told herself as she watched Tomoya lock her shoes into the saddlebags and check her helmet to make sure it was on correctly. I will not be scared of this motorcycle. Tomoya is driving it and he has lots of experience so I should be comforted. I will not be scared of this motorcycle.
"I will get on first and hold the bike steady for you to get on." Tomoya told her as he indicated the passenger running board, "When you do, you will step here, grab my shoulders, and throw your leg over to the other side. Your feet will rest on these pads and you can hold onto me as tight as you want."
"As tight as I want?" Kotomi gasped out the words. She hadn't realized that she had been holding her breath until now.
"As tight as you want." Tomoya confirmed with a smile.
"I… I might hurt you." Kotomi admitted as she bit her lip. It was too late to try and hide her fear from him. She could tell that he already knew everything that she was going through.
"You won't hurt me, and..." Tomoya lifted her chin and kissed her on the lips, "I have been looking forward to this for a long, long time."
"You… you have?" Kotomi was stunned. She knew he had asked her to ride with him many times in the past, but she had always refused. There had always been an alternative or some kind of reason why she wasn't able to ride with him before. But there were no more excuses now. Tomoya was finally going to get his wish.
Without another word, he climbed aboard the bike and started up the powerful engine.
I will not be scared of this motorcycle!
Tomoya looked so strong as he sat there with his hands on the grips. Once he was satisfied with everything, he looked over his shoulder to Kotomi and gave her the nod to climb on as well.
I will not be scared of this motorcycle!
Kotomi put her foot on the pad he had indicated. She grabbed him by the shoulders and… before she knew it, she was astride the beast and still holding onto Tomoya's shoulders. She heard Tomoya put the transmission in gear, and rev the engine.
I will not be scared of this motorcycle!
The big bike moved forward and Kotomi squealed over the noise of the engine. Her thighs clamped down on Tomoya's hips and her arms wrapped around his broad back in a fierce hug.
I will not be scared of this motorcycle!
The noise from the tires went from a gravelly crunch to a smooth nothingness as they left the parking lot and got on the paved road. Kotomi was just starting to loosen up when they got to their first turn. She felt the bike leaning over and panicked that they might fall. Her grip on Tomoya became tighter and she closed her eyes in anticipation of her soft body meeting the hard road.
I will not be scared of this motorcycle!
I will not be scared of this motorcycle!
I will not be scared of this motorcycle!
But the bike leveled out again and Tomoya was deftly accelerating down the island road. Huh? But we were falling over? I felt it! With wonderment replacing fear, Kotomi's prodigious brain sprang into action. Of course, we were also in forward motion! With the inertia of the rider, the passenger, and the bike itself – a successful turn would have required… Kotomi's mind was soon ablaze with calculating values of inertia, determining roll moments and gyroscopic forces.
Tomoya cold feel a difference as well. Kotomi was no longer shaking. At first, she was deathly still but soon she started moving on her own. Her legs squeezed and rubbed against his hips. Her breasts were pressed into his back. Her arms started to wander up and down his chest.
Whoah, I wish I knew what kind of sexy things Kotomi is thinking of right now! Tomoya erroneously wondered.
.
Tuesday morning, August 17 – Kobayashi Vacation House on Tanegashima
Kotomi had been exhausted when they arrived at the Vacation House. Tomoya had helped her off the motorcycle and had carried her into the house the previous evening. She had been so out-of-it, that she didn't even wake up when he took off her clothes and covered her with a soft sheet.
Tomoya hadn't been as tired though, and had wandered around the place a bit. Kobayashi had called this place a bungalow. To Tomoya, that word conjured images of a mud walled hovel with thatched palm fronds for a roof. But that wasn't this place at all. He wondered if Kobayashi remembered visiting his dad and seeing first hand, the house Tomoya had grown up in… This 'bungalow' was nicer and bigger than his childhood house had been. Tomoya decided not to be offended by it. After all, to Kobayashi the word 'bungalow' might mean something completely different – like 'home away from home.'
The bathroom was modern, so this place was either new or had been updated. The kitchen was nice, but there wasn't any food in it. The back door was a big sliding glass thing that opened half the room to the the breeze sweeping in from the Pacific ocean. There was a deck on the other side of that door that had a few chairs around a table, a hot bath sunken into the deck, and the most incredible view.
It had been impossible to see this view from the front of the house, although the sound of waves and the smell of the salt air did give it away a bit. But this house backed up to a cliff directly above the sound of the threshing waters down below. Even in the gathering darkness, he could see that there was a beach down there and he hoped it would look as good as it sounded from the cliff top.
Tomoya hadn't thought he would be able to sleep at all from the excitement and anticipation of seeing this place in it's sunlit glory. But the stresses of the day weighed heavier on him than he had imagined and he was soon asleep with Kotomi at his side.
.
Both Tomoya and Kotomi slept fitfully that night. Kotomi ended up cuddled up to Tomoya's side as she always did, but something was missing. Her hand searched for the hand of the other. As she did every night, Kotomi wanted to reach out and touch the warm and ever-present companion that was always just on the other side of Tomoya's chest from her. But the pale light of the half-moon outside the window illuminated more than the fact that she was in an unfamiliar bedroom.
There was no Kyou. No lavender haired beauty to smile in her sleep when Kotomi took her hand. No friendly purple eyes to wink at her in the darkness to let her know that everything was okay and she could go back to sleep.
Her guardian thought he was doing the best he could for them with this gift. He had made sure that Kotomi had Tomoya all to herself for once. But, this was not something she would have chosen for herself. She knew she was being selfish and that Kyou may not feel the same way… indeed, even Tomoya might not feel the same way. The feeling of guilt began to build as she wondered if she was dragging both of them along – against their wills, into this relationship she had forged.
But her feelings were clear to her. She loved them both and didn't like to be separated from them, even for a while. When she was… when she had to be away from them for a while, she missed them with the same sadness and intensity that she still missed her parents. Some day…
Tomoya awoke feeling something warm and wet on his chest where Kotomi's head lay. He could feel her body jerk in surprise, when he started to sooth her by stroking her hair.
"Tomoya-kun?" Kotomi wanted to explain why she was crying but he already knew.
"Kotomi-chan, it's okay. I know." Tomoya said softly, "I miss her too."
Knowing they both felt the same way, and that they would soon be reunited with their missing partner was enough. Soon they were both able to retreat from their sorrow back into the escape of dreams.
.
Tomoya found himself suddenly wide awake when the first rays of light shone through the window. And with the morning came an incredible eagerness and excitement. Letting Kotomi sleep in, he had to see if the view from the deck was as incredible as what his imagination had promised. Quickly throwing on a robe, he ran out the big sliding glass door to the deck rails and let it all hit him at once.
From the edge of the deck where he was standing he could now see that off to the right, a wooden stair descended the cliff face to a sandy beach below. That beach curved like a quarter moon around the base of the cliff and was surrounded by great rocks and trees everywhere. The water that gently lapped the beach was the clearest blue water he had ever seen. It was certainly nothing like the muddy looking water from the Gulf of Mexico, that he had seen back when he was in college. No, this water was completely different. From where he stood, high atop the cliff, he could see fish swimming amongst the few rocks in the water down below. Gazing out from that beautiful beach, but not too far away, were the whitecaps where the waves were breaking into foam, and beyond that… Beyond those whitecaps was the deep blue of the Pacific ocean that sparkled in the morning sun like a flowing blue gemstone with billions of facets to reflect the light of the sun.
The whole place was bordered in a cove with nothing but rocks, trees, and the clear ocean water all the way out to the horizon. Basking in the glorious isolation of this incredible place, Tomoya threw his arms wide open and embraced the fresh sea air that came to meet him on this wonderful morning.
Kotomi! He suddenly decided that she could sleep later. This sight was something she had to see with him. It was something she had to see now!
Rushing back into the house, he stopped dead in his tracks when he heard a girl scream.
"EEEEEEEK! What are you doing in Koba-san's house?" demanded a frightened young girl. Wearing cut-off shorts and a festively colored t-shirt, she was defensively standing at the entrance to the kitchen and clutching a spatula as if it were a weapon to be feared.
"Err… If you're talking about Kobayashi-hakase, he is letting us stay at his house for our anniversary. But more importantly, why did you come into this house and start threating people with… a spatula?" Now that his eyes had adjusted to the light inside the house, Tomoya had a better look at the girl. She was short, black haired, and well tanned. She seemed athletic and he wondered if she might be on her high school's swim or track team.
"Huh?" the girl looked at what was in her hands and seemed shocked that there was a spatula there. "I… I was just surprised when you came running in all naked like that!"
"I'm not naked. I'm wearing a robe." Tomoya challenged.
"It's open!" the girl cried out and turned her face away from the full frontal Tomoya in front of her.
"I heard a girl scream!" Kotomi came running into the room holding a hairbrush in front of her… but not wearing even an open robe.
"Ah! You're naked too!" the girl cried out and turned her face away from the new arrival in the room.
"For the record, she is naked. I am wearing a robe." Tomoya droned as he retied his robe so as to be less offensive to the scandalized trespasser.
"Ah!" Kotomi ran back into the bedroom and re-appeared a moment later tying a robe around her.
"And…" Tomoya said with confidence, "you still haven't answered the question of why you are here."
"Ah… um… my mom and I take care of Koba-san's house and we take care of him when he come out here." the girl sounded less frightened but still clung to her spatula.
"Are you relatives of his?" Tomoya asked.
"No, he pays us to look after things." she answered. "So you… you know him too?"
"He is my Godfather and guardian." Kotomi replied.
"And... you are still threatening us with that dangerous… spatula." Tomoya tried to sound serious, but it was difficult.
"Oh, sorry. It's just that… I've never met a gangster before." the girl still looked scared, but no longer terrified.
"Tomoya-kun is a lawyer and I am a scientist. Neither one of us are gangsters." Kotomi told the girl.
"Oh… I saw the motorcycle and… um…" the girl fidgeted.
"Don't worry about it." Tomoya told the girl as he reached for Kotomi's hand, "I need to show my wife the amazing view from the back porch so we'll be out of your hair for now. But, you should do yourself a favor and not make assumptions like that in the future."
"Okay." the girl watched as the couple walked out the back door and left her alone in the kitchen. Now that she knew they were supposed to be here, she saw them in a completely different light. He was so handsome and she was so pretty. And they were both so tall. To the girl's limited experience, they looked like visiting royalty. And I called them gangsters… I'm such an idiot!
.
Out on the porch, Kotomi's eyes got wider and wider as they approached the rail at the edge of the deck… and at the edge of the cliff. In the distance, a few white puffy clouds were hurrying along in the constant Pacific coast wind. The sky was a luminous light blue and the ocean beneath it was a darker and richer hue of blue underneath a shimmering blanket of millions of droplets of reflected sunlight.
Kotomi leaned on the deck railing and let the stiff ocean breeze waft her long purple hair. It was already warm, but not terribly so. This mid-August day would warm up to be quite hot by the afternoon, but for now, the warm humid wind felt wonderful on her skin.
Kotomi's eyes opened when she felt something else on her skin. She was looking down at the white sand of the beach and the blue-green swirls of clear water that relentlessly pushed far up onto the beach, then receded back only rush onto the beach again. But it was the feel of Tomoya's hands on her body that was making her heart race.
While she was leaning over the rail, he had placed his hands on her creamy white thighs. The robe she was wearing would fall to the knees, if she were standing up. But bent over at the waist with her arms outstretched on the deck rail had caused the hem of her robe to ride up high on her legs. Tomoya's hands ran up, underneath the fluffy material of the robe to feel the gentle swelling of her hips, followed by the narrowing of her waist.
Tomoya had taken the preemptive step to make sure the delivery girl was gone before he started anything, but once he knew they were alone again, he didn't hold back. He could feel her body trembling as his hands climbed higher and he knew that she too was in the mood.
Kotomi stood up and raised her arms above her head so that Tomoya's hands pushed the bunched up robe completely off of her. Then she wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her in the air and lowered her down his body. Her legs kicked his robe open then wrapped around his back as she settled into place. She moaned as she felt his strong hands holding onto her hips.
"Tomoya-kun." Kotomi said softly into his ear.
"Kotomi-chan?" Tomoya replied.
"I love you." Kotomi said the words and kissed her husband on the lips in the passionately energetic way that Tomoya had become accustomed to getting from his wife. Demure and unassuming everywhere else, but when it came to 'making out' the shy Kotomi turned into a hungry lioness.
.
Thursday morning, August 19 – Okazaki House (where Youhei lives)
Youhei awoke to the smell of breakfast cooking. He started to get up but grumpily remembered, That can't be… Yukine and Yoichi are gone on their vacation trip… without me. And yet, I definitely smell breakfast cooking.
Throwing on some clothes, he opened his bedroom door and immediately heard voices from down the short hall. Eh? Either this place is haunted or someone broke in to my house… and made breakfast? It must be Thursday. Nothing ever makes sense on Thursdays. Just then he heard a familiar voice in the conversation. Tomoyo?
.
Tomoyo had finished serving up several plates of rice and eggs when she saw Youhei's stunned face in the doorway. He was stunned because there were eight rather stocky men in working clothes in his dining and living room areas. They were all enjoying a hot breakfast while they listened to Tomoyo.
"What?" Youhei was shocked at the unexpected visitors, but felt somewhat better when Tomoyo handed him a plate of hot breakfast food, and a cup of coffee.
"Tell that story again Mikio." Tomoyo called out to the guy in gray-green overalls sitting at the kitchen table. "I want Sunohara to hear this. He may have an idea that could help."
"Uh, yes boss." Mikio turned to face Youhei and repeated the story he had just told everyone else, "It was the day of Yukine-sama's birthday party. We went to that florist in the market to get her the yellow flowers that she likes so much."
Youhei felt like he should thank the boys again for all the flowers. It had really meant a lot to Yukine, but he could tell that this wasn't the crux of the story. Instead he nodded for Mikio to continue.
"It was when we went to pay for the flowers is when it happened. Ya see, we keep our wallets in the tool boxes like we were told and when we opened them up to pay, the girl at the register could see the special tools we was carrying." Mikio told him.
"Special tools?" Youhei asked.
"They are devices that Kotomi and her technicians put together." Tomoyo told Youhei, "One looks like a satellite telephone, the others look like small projects a high school electronics club might build."
"Can I see them?" Youhei asked.
"Sure." Mikio opened his tool box and Youhei could quickly see the strange devices on top of more ordinary looking tools like wrenches, pliers, and hammers.
"So, what's the problem?" Youhei asked.
"We're not supposed to attract attention but these gadgets…" Isamu shook his head, "As soon as the tool box opens up, people always get curious about the gadgets."
"So, put them underneath all the normal looking tools." Youhei suggested.
"Theys too frajil." Iwao grunted.
"We've already broken a couple of them while they were on the top." Isamu admitted, "Those tech boys weren't happy about that at all."
"Can I see this?" Youhei reached for Mikio's toolbox.
"Sure. You got an idea?" Mikio handed the toolbox over to Youhei.
"I think so…" Youhei walked over to the dining table and set the box down. He carefully pulled out the three sensitive looking devices then dumped everything else out on the table.
Several of the guys in the room flinched from the sudden noise of the tools spilling out onto the wooden surface. But they all watched in silence as Youhei picked up one thing after another and looked at it carefully. Eventually, he concentrated on the thickest of the three devices. It was a project box on one side, but had a glass dome held in place by a dozen small brackets on the other side. He put the thing in the bottom of the tool box and then studied the tray. The toolbox came with a top tray but the weird device was too thick and there was no way to store it underneath the tray without breaking the glass piece.
"These tech guys have the tools to fabricate these gadgets… so they might be able to do this." Youhei looked up and was a bit startled to see that he was the center of attention. "They need to either modify the toolboxes so that the tray sits higher, or they need to rebuild these… things so that they fit under the shelf."
"Yeah… that might work." Isamu agreed while Tomoyo was already on her cell phone – calling the tech team.
"Whoa, she looks like she's in a hurry." Youhei observed.
"She kinda is." Kenta sounded a bit worried, "Our first mission is in five days."
"Five days?" Youhei was shocked. He had thought it was still a month away.
"Yeah… and they're still arguing about how much money we should take with us." Takeo laughed.
"You can't take any money with you." Youhei said in surprise that they hadn't already figured that out.
"Huh, why not?" Isamu asked.
"It's supposed to be a parallel world like ours, right?" Youhei said to the full room, "I don't know all the details on how this parallel universe stuff works, but from what I understood from Kotomi, the place you go could be almost identical or it could be similar but not all that close, right?"
"Yes." Tomoyo answered warily. She still had the phone in her hand from the previous call, but she had finished talking to them and was wanting to hear what Youhei was talking about.
"If the world is enough like ours, then the money you take with you will already exist there… and it will be counterfeit… which is illegal. If the world is more different, then their money might be more different and any money you take with you will be useless or seen as counterfeit… which is again illegal. Isn't one of the goals to avoid the authorities?"
"He's right." Tomoyo agreed. "Thank you Sunohara."
"Right, well I have to go get ready for work. Feel free to… wait a minute! Why is everyone in my house?" Youhei blustered.
"Sunohara, may I have a word?" Tomoyo cut through his anger with her plea and he followed her back up the hallway to the entrance to his bedroom. "I need your help, Sunohara."
"Um…" Youhei could see the distress in her eyes. He hadn't seen her look this concerned since she thought she might lose the student council president election.
"I'm too worried about everything and I'm not thinking right." Tomoyo confessed, "I should have been able to come up with that solution for the toolboxes and I certainly should have seen the problem with taking money to another world."
"Hey, you're probably just a little stressed out." Youhei tried to reassure her.
"I'm sure that I am stressed out. If I make a mistake, one of them might not make it back alive… they could all be lost." Tomoyo kept her chin up, but Youhei could see a single tear run down her left cheek.
"All right… I'll do what I can." Youhei thought for a moment like joking with her or telling her that she would owe him one… but no.
"Thank you Sunohara." Tomoyo gave him a slight bow and turned away to let him start getting ready for work. As he was going back into his room, he heard Tomoyo make an announcement to her boys.
"Good news guys, Sunohara will be helping out too, so we'll be meeting here every morning until Kotomi gets back from her vacation." Tomoyo tried to sound as positive as she could.
Youhei was about to yell out that he never said they could all meet here every morning. But the guys started hollering their thanks and appreciation to him and he just… couldn't.
"Oh well," he consoled himself as he stepped into the bathroom and stripped off his clothes, "At least she makes a good breakfast."
