Breaking the law
Harumi was staring hard into Eiji's face. Her eyes shook with emotion as she unconsciously drew rubbing circles on the wet grass with the point of her shoe.
I can't believe... I can't believe Oishi did this...
After Eiji had told her his part of the story, they had quickly pieced the information together to come to the conclusion that Oishi had lied about the emails that Harumi supposedly sent to Amaya in which she said she didn't want to talk to Eiji anymore. The second clear conclusion resulting from all this was that Eiji had spent two years in grief and resentment over nothing.
Eiji marched to a nearby tree and grabbed one of the lower branches till his knuckles turned white. Harumi looked at his broad back, trying to understand how betrayed he must feel at what his supposedly best friend had done. If Amaya had done something like this to her, she didn't know what she would have done.
Harumi took in a deep breath when she arrived to the third clear conclusion.
She walked towards Eiji, her shoes paddling silently on the ground. Eiji still heard her come, because he turned around to face her, his face a mixture of different emotions.
"So you never said you wanted to cut ties with me?" he asked shakily.
Harumi shook her head gently as she looked at him with bright eyes.
"And you said you still want to be friends?"
Harumi nodded just as gently.
"So..."
He couldn't continue and looked down, letting strands of red hair fall over his eyes, suddenly looking like the young boy that she remembered. Before Harumi could think of what to say, he suddenly let out a laugh, which quickly escalated into pearls of laughter that resonated in the trees around them. He laughed till tears peaked at the corner of his eyes.
Harumi watched him, twisting her hands together nervously.
"Eiji..."
"Harumi!" he cut her off. "Do you know what this means?"
Even in the darkness of night, she could see the whiteness of his teeth as he smiled broadly back at her.
"Uh... no?" she staggered at the sudden lightness in his voice.
"It was all a misunderstanding! Now I can say what I truly want to say, and I can do what I want to do."
He approached her, his familiar cat-grin smile in place. "Harumi, one glance at you in that parking lot outside the airport, and I had even forgiven you about wanting to cut ties with me. I was just so happy to see you again! But my mind told me: "no, Eiji, you can't forgive her so easily. Remember, she wants nothing to do with you!" After repeating that enough times to myself, I managed to keep it cool. But truth be told, I just wanted to welcome you back with open arms! I wanted to talk to you like before! I wanted to joke around with you like before! I wanted to forget about all our drama and go back in time to when our biggest worry was to complete the next English essay on time! I just wanted to be your friend again."
Harumi's heart started pounding slowly and loudly. She could count the beats in her head: boum...boum...boum...
She stared up at him helplessly through wide purple eyes, trying to convince herself that this was really happening. She forgot about Oishi's betrayal, stopped worrying about hurt feelings and the guilt she had carried within her for the past three years. She even forgot they were lost in the goddamn woods at night! All she could see was Eiji's semi-hidden face and all she could hear was his cheerful voice saying things that she hadn't even dared dream he'd say again.
While her mind was in ebullition, Eiji was now looking around owlishly. "Well," he was pursuing. "This is no airport, but let's just pretend that those trees over there are the gates to the airport. And this... - he pointed at the boulder he was now leaning against - is my awesome car. Let's go back to that moment at the airport, and let's do our reunion right this time, what do you say?"
Harumi blinked in shock at first, but then her lips stretched into a smile. Slowly, she made her way towards him, her feet shuffling silently on the damp grass.
This really... is happening right?
Eiji stood upright as she stopped in front of him. Then, he opened his arms wide.
"Welcome back, Harumi!" he stated enthusiastically.
Harumi bit her lower lip, suddenly feeling tears pick at her eyes, and thanked the night for being so dark around them.
"I'm home," she whispered as she hesitantly stepped into his embrace.
Eiji closed his arms easily around her smaller frame, and she was struck by the scent of his shampoo. He was using the same he always used. The familiar scent suddenly triggered memories of when they were together, of them smearing each other's faces with ice cream as they sat in the cafe two streets down from Seigaku; of them playing footsies under the library table, their homework forgotten on the table in front of them; of them sitting on Eiji's container as snow fell around them; of Eiji kissing her in the storage room beside Atobe's pool...
She squeezed her eyes shut and tears left wet trails on her cheeks. She didn't know why she was crying; she should have been happy that she had finally gotten Eiji back as a friend. But instead, it felt as though her heart was breaking. Her chest hurt like hell.
Eiji, seeming oblivious to whatever conflicting emotions were assaulting her, tightened his hold on her and rocked her a little from side to side.
"You grew taller, but you are still as light as ever," he stated teasingly.
He frowned, however, when he felt her shaking. "Harumi, you okay?"
He meant to push away from her to peer at her face, but she clung to his back strongly and pressed her tear-stricken face against his chest anxiously.
"I'm just cold," she lied in a whisper. "I missed you, Eiji. A lot. I'm glad... so glad..."
A strange expression crossed Eiji's eyes for a second. "Me too, I missed you."
"Is this going to be okay?" she heard herself ask in an uncertain voice. "I want to put the past behind us as well, but can we really be friends again like before? When you look at me, won't you be reminded of..."
Won't you be reminded of what we used to share, and what we have lost? Why are you asking this, Harumi? Goddamnit. Stop... you will ruin everything.
Eiji did grow silent in response to her words. This time, it was Harumi who tried to push away to look at his face, and it was him who tightened the embrace again, locking her against his shoulder.
"Of course, don't be silly nya!" he stated cheerfully. "That's all in the past. I understand that you are with Fujiko now, and I don't mind it anymore. I have been a little bit resentful over the misunderstanding, but that has been cleared up!"
He laughed a little and finally put an end to the hug and started walking back towards the cave. Harumi dried her tears with the back of her hand and hastily ran after him till she was at his level. When they left the cover of the trees, moonlight fell on them both. Eiji smiled at Harumi knowingly. "Don't worry, Harumi, we can be friends again no problem! I don't have those fuzzy feelings for you anymore."
Harumi stopped advancing at that. She didn't know why, but she felt as though someone had punched her in the stomach.
It's better this way, obviously. We can go back to being just friends now. That's what I wanted... that's exactly what I wanted.
Eiji stopped as well at the entrance of the cave and tilted his head in confusion when he saw her planted there. "Harumi? You coming?"
She studied his confused expression, searched his dark blue eyes, the lines of his mouth and the creases in his brow for... a sign... but a sign of what she didn't know. Finally, she shook her head at herself a little and smiled: "Let's catch up! I want to know everything about the past three years!"
She winked at him. "You haven't forgotten that you promised me answers about Kirihara, have you?"
Eiji crossed his arms across his chest. "I will start with the questions, you owe me that at least!"
Harumi huffed indulgently and stepped into the cave, kneeling down against one of the walls and throwing pebbles away as she mumbled about how dirty their temporary sleeping place was.
When she was satisfied with the lack of pebbles against the cave wall, she sat down with her back to the humid wall and sighed. She opened one eye and caught Eiji staring at the ripped tissue of her tshirt with a somewhat forlorn expression.
"Go ahead," she said. "Ask me anything."
Eiji scooted down in front of her, sitting cross legged with an elbow on his thigh and his face resting on his fist. He seemed pensive for awhile.
"I read your books," he finally said. "I'm not into reading usually, but I had to since you wrote them."
A light came into her eyes. "And?"
"They suck," he mocked with a grin.
She scowled and hit his shoulder. "Hey!"
Eiji lifted both hands playfully. "I'm just kidding. They are great. I love how realistic the characters act even though they are in a fantasy setting."
She blushed a little at the compliment; he could see how happy she was to hear that.
"I'm doing a majors in creative writing and Japanese literature at Tokyo U starting this fall," she announced happily. Then she leaned forward suggestively. "It's my turn now! Are you going to Tokyo U in the fall?"
Eiji twisted his bandaged hand and looked away uncomfortably.
"Ah!" Harumi yelled as she pointed an accusing finger his way. "Before you answer, let me just state that this has turned into a you-must-tell-the-truth game!"
"I didn't agree to that!" he retorted petulantly.
"Too bad! It's too late! Now answer me with the truth, and only the truth."
"Fine! The answer is I don't know."
She blinked. "You don't know? But the school has issued all the answers to the applications already!"
Eiji sighed and ruffled his hair with his good hand. "I'm accepted," he mumbled. "But I don't know if I'm going yet."
Harumi's congratulatory smile morphed into a frown. "What's there to hesitate about? This is Tokyo U we are talking about. Tokyo U!"
A defiant glint had come into Eiji's dark blue eyes. "Precisely because it's Tokyo U! Do you know how expensive the tuition is?"
Harumi was shocked. So this was what was going on? Eiji had money issues? She knew he lived by himself, but she thought at least his parents would provide for his tuition. Eiji seemed to guess her thoughts.
"My parents are going through a lot right now. They spent quite a bit for the funeral, and for my grandma's hospital bills. I don't want to burden them any further."
Before she could find anything comforting to say, Eiji pursued: "The good thing is, my tuition can be waived with a tennis scholarship. There is a game next month that will decide everything."
"Is that why you've been practicing like crazy lately?" she murmured softly.
The redhead nodded.
"Why with Kirihara though?"
Eiji looked up sharply. "Hey, that's a lot of questions! It's my turn!"
"Why Kirihara?" Harumi pressed.
They stared at each other, and to Eiji's surprise, she was the one who backed off first. She looked away as her cheeks flushed a little, and then she whispered: "Fine, it's your turn."
Eiji leaned back, putting some distance between them, feeling fidgety.
"I've gone to the preliminary games of Tokyo U, and they told me my style of tennis is not appropriate for the championship in August. They called it... what was it again? Oh yes, gimmicky."
Harumi felt her eyes popping out of her head. "Are you freaking kidding me? They told you you can't play with acrobatics? But that's who you are, Eiji!"
Eiji shrugged. "They told me to play like everyone else. That a tennis court was not a gymnasium. I don't like it either, Harumi. But I have to, for the scholarship."
Harumi put two and two together. "So you are training to be "normal" with Kirihara. Because you know that no one from Seigaku would allow you to stop your acrobatics!"
Eiji had a side smile. "When did you become so smart?"
"When did you become so stupid?" she exclaimed as she started pacing. "No, Eiji, no! What's the point..."
"I know what you are going to say," he interrupted her calmly. "Not doing my acrobatics is... scary to me. But I tell myself it's only this time, for the scholarship. It's not a big deal."
Harumi knelt in front of him with narrowed eyes. "Are you sure they are not doing this to screw you over? I've never heard of such ridiculous rules. I mean you played with acrobatics at the Nationals, dammit! And now a petty school competition is forbidding you?"
Eiji was confused. "You think they are doing this to me on purpose?"
Harumi thought about it again and sighed. "It's true that I don't see why they would do that. It's just all so strange to me."
Her eyes fell on his sprained wrist. "I don't want you to play with Kirihara anymore, though. I know how he plays... he keeps hurting his opponents."
Eiji gave her his famous cat-grin. "Thanks for worrying about me, Harumi, but Kirihara is really not a bad fellow at heart. He's not full of anger anymore like he was at the Nationals. If he were really trying to hurt me, I wouldn't play with him anymore. You have to trust me on this."
She looked into his eyes and he grinned warmly at her. She found herself nodding. She did trust in his better judgement. Even though he was playful and innocent, sometimes he was the most level-headed out of the two of them, even more so now that he seemed to have matured more than any of her other friends.
She leaned back. "Can I at least watch when you practice?"
Eiji closed an eye. "You might have to apologize to Kirihara first. Last time, you said some not so nice things."
Her cheeks flushed. "Same about him," she groaned. "He called me a female specimen."
Eiji laughed out loud, earning him a hit on the shoulder. Her eyes widened exponentially. "Oh my God, I can't believe it...you found it funny when he said that, didn't you?"
Eiji clamped a hand to his mouth, but his eyes betrayed his hilarity. Harumi's eyes narrowed till they were only a thin line. The redhead took that as his cue to scurry to his feet. It was a good move because she pounced after him and started chasing him in the cave.
"Come back here, you!"
"Catch me if you can, nya!"
"Don't nya me!"
"Nya!" He stuck out his tongue.
"Aren't you too old to say that?"
"Nya!"
She managed to grab a handful of his shirt, and then tried to jump on him by passing her arms around his neck. However, her attempt failed miserably.
Holy shit, how tall has he gotten?
Eiji eluded her easily and went to stand in front of the opening of the cave. The moonlit night behind him made his hair glow redder than usual. Her eyes glided down to his face and his muscled chest, and she jerked her gaze away from him in a rush.
"I'm tired now," she said, feeling troubled.
"I win!" Eiji declared triumphantly.
"Yes, you win," she conceded as she sat down with her back to the cave wall, feeling the humidity quickly seep through her thin shirt to reach her skin, making her shiver.
Eiji sat down against the opposite wall and looked around the cave, seeming to realize for the first time where they were.
"I've always wanted to sleep in a cave! This is exciting!" His voice echoed against the walls a little.
She arched an eyebrow. "Well this has never been on my bucket list."
She yawned, and rested more comfortably against the wall. "Well good night, Eiji."
"Good night, Harumi."
And then: "I'm glad we got to talk."
Her eyes slid open a bit. "Me too."
Eiji watched her eyes flutter close again. For someone who has been showing so much distaste about their sleeping place, she had fallen asleep awfully fast.
Slowly, the euphoria he had been displaying all night slowly faded from his features. He doubted he was going to sleep with all those thoughts running through his head. He couldn't believe what Oishi had done; it simply didn't fit with what he knew of his friend. He wanted to reserve judgement till he had a good talk with Oishi.
His eyes glided to Harumi's huddled form, and his fingers caressed the bandage around his wrist made from her ripped shirt. He could still feel her fingers tightly locked around his wrist as they fell from the cliff. It was hard being around her. Really hard. But he preferred this state to the awkward silence they used to share up till now. But really, what was he thinking back there? He shouldn't have held her like that. It just made all those memories come back with a vengeance. He couldn't get over how perfectly she still fitted in his arms, like she had never left at all.
"No more of this, Eiji. No more," he whispered to himself.
Harumi sipped on her ice tea slowly, sitting in front of Fuji at the coffee shop.
"This is for you," he said as he laid down two colorful train tickets on the table between them.
The straw glided out of Harumi's mouth and the brown liquid in it slowly receded back into the depths of the cup. She raised a questioning glance to his face, and he smiled his trademark smile.
"We are going to the airport, and then to whatever place in the world you feel like going."
This scene is familiar.
"Except not really," she stated impishly. "We are just going to the mountains, aren't we?"
Fuji's smile became a desolate frown at seeing his joke spoiled. He crossed his arms. "You are too bright, Harumi-chan."
Harumi stuck out her tongue, pleased. She placed a strand of hair behind her ear, and caught something from the corner of her eye. She spun her head in that direction slightly. The other tables and chairs between them and the front door had faded. Instead, there was Eiji standing there looking at them both, at the tickets on the table.
Harumi stood up so fast that she knocked her chair to the ground with a squeak.
"Eiji..."
"I'm letting you go, Harumi," Eiji said and then walked away.
Harumi dashed after him, but something pulled her back. Her eyes fell down on the hand gripping her forearm.
Fuji.
She knew it was him, but she couldn't turn around to face him. She screamed out Eiji's name, but nothing came out. Instead, she watched as his back got smaller and smaller, and all the while Fuji's grip was hard as steel on her arm.
Her eyes snapped open and the sight of the brown cave roof filled her sight. For a second, she just lay there with her mind working at top speed trying to reconcile dream with reality. Pale rays of sunlight created luminous patterns on the walls surrounding her, and birds were chirping from the trees outside.
That's right... we fell... the cave... Eiji...
She turned on her left side and then sat up groggily, rubbing her eyes and leaving streaks of dirt on her cheeks.
A moan came from behind her, and she turned around vividly. Eiji was lying on the ground in fetal position with his left wrist clenched to his chest. He was still asleep, but a pale sheet of transpiration covered his creased forehead. He moaned again, clearly in pain.
Harumi crouched down beside him worriedly and gasped when she saw how swollen his wrist had become.
She placed a hand on his feverish shoulder and shook him gently. "Eiji! Wake up! Eiji!"
Slowly, Eiji's eyes creaked open. Harumi's face floated in front of his eyes.
"What's up...?" he mumbled.
A burst of pain from his wrist made him grimace. "It hurts," he stated plaintively and sat up to examine his wrist.
Harumi nodded worriedly. "Your wrist is all swollen now. We better get down the mountain and find a nearby hospital."
They both walked out of the cave and started their descent down the slope. With the light of day, they soon found a hikable trail winding downwards. Unlike the previous night, Eiji was silent as he marched behind Harumi with his wrist clenched to his chest. Harumi threw him a worried glance now and then, but Eiji always sent a reassuring smile her way and continue on his way.
Soon, the vegetation became thinner and thinner and the trail wider and more stable. They even encountered several hikers going the opposite way. Finally, they came out of the mountains and into the parking lot.
Harumi let out a cry of joy as she spotted their three cars still stationed there.
"Wait here," she told Eiji and she ran to the information desk to ask where the nearest hospital was. Once she got the information she needed, she ran back into the parking lot, looking for Eiji.
She found him leaning against the side of the red Dodge Viper and her feet shuffled to a stop. The way he looked then reminded her of the way he looked that day at the airport. She remembered how intimidated she had felt back then.
But Eiji and I, we are good now!
Feeling lighter, she ran to him.
"Eiji, I know where to go! Give me the keys to the car!"
Eiji still had enough energy left to look reluctant. However, Harumi's purple eyes were severe and she had one hand on her hip while the other was extended towards him palm up, waiting for the keys. With a sigh, Eiji relented and let them drop on her hand.
She opened the door and sat down on the driver's seat. Eiji went to sit on the passenger side. However, instead of turning on the engine, Harumi sat there staring at the dashboard and the wheel with wide eyes. Finally, when Eiji was about to say something, she rubbed both palms on her jeans nervously and ignited the motor.
The sudden vrooomm that filled the space inside the car made her jump a little. Eiji put a hand on her arm.
"Uhh... Harumi, are you sure you know how to drive?"
Two indignant purple eyes fixed on him. "Of course! Just watch!"
Seconds later the Dodge lunged forward, out of the parking lot and into the grass while knocking over a garbage can. Harumi screamed and stepped on the brake with all her might. The car jerked to a sudden stop and both passengers lurched forward a little.
Eiji's face was even paler than before. "H-Harumi! I think I just died a little!"
Harumi let out a nervous laugh. "T-the engine is more powerful than I thought."
"I've never been so scared during a car ride before," Eiji breathed out with a hand to his chest. "Let me drive instead."
Harumi clenched the wheel hard. "I can do this! I just... I need some time to get used to it."
"When will you get used to it? I hope it won't be ten overturned garbage cans, five uprooted trees and two run-over old ladies later!"
She shot him an annoyed glance. "Ha-ha. Since when are you so cynical?"
"Since I almost saw my entire life flash in front of my eyes in the space of two seconds," he exclaimed. "Just let me drive Harumi! I want to!"
"How can you drive with one hand, Eiji? Stop being ridiculous! I can do this... just... help me out, all right?"
Eiji was about to protest some more when he saw the look on her face. Her eyes were a little moist and she was biting her lower lip hard. He knew she didn't want to drive if she could help it, but she was doing this for him.
He sat back against his seat with a sigh.
"I guess there's no choice! Very well Harumi, don't you worry, you are going to become the best driver in Japan after our little lesson!"
He was harboring an enthusiastic grin, and she felt her nerves ease a little. She smiled back less tightly. "Let's do this!"
Thirty minutes later, the Doge Viper was parking in front of a small clinic near the mountains. The pedestrians and drivers they passed by all stared at the car in awe and envy.
It was still fairly early in the morning, so the clinic was deserted. There was a receptionist at the front desk whose face was hidden behind a cup of extra large coffee.
"Ohayo! Is there a doctor here?" Harumi asked as cheerfully as she could.
The blonde receptionist rang a bell without looking up, and said: "Take a seat."
Eiji and Harumi did as told. The redhead was back to being silent. Teaching Harumi how to drive and freaking out over their impending crash had kept his mind away from the pain, but now that they were waiting in an antiseptic smelling room, there was nothing else to focus on.
Harumi balanced her legs a little against the edge of the seat.
Ten minutes later, an old man stepped out from one of the rooms and motioned at them to go inside. He led them into a space containing a small bed, separated from other such cubicles by a white curtain.
He presented himself as Sasaki Sensei. As he examined Eiji's wrist, Harumi wandered around the tiny cubicle. There was a small mirror hung over the sink. She caught her own reflection and let out a shriek that made the doctor drop his roll of bandages.
"What's wrong?" he deadpanned.
Harumi turned around with both hands covering her face; only two purple eyes peaked between the fingers. "I look horrible!" came her muffled voice.
The doctor sweatdropped. "Mah, here I thought you two youngsters knew you looked like total savages."
Harumi uncovered her face and stared in bewilderment at her messy hair and the streaks of mud and something green on her face. Letting out a cry of frustration, she seized a nearby towel, drenched it and started wiping off the mud diligently. Eiji laughed loudly at her consternation, which earned him a dark glower.
When Sasaki Sensei was done applying the anti-inflammatory cream and the bandages to Eiji's left wrist, Harumi was finally satisfied with her appearance. She couldn't believe she had already been seen by so many people while looking like a female Tarzan!
When they stepped out of the clinic, the morning was well underway.
"You feel better?" Harumi asked Eiji.
The redhead nodded emphatically and twisted his wrist to show it off to her.
"Be careful with it!" she exclaimed. "You play tennis with both hands."
Eiji stopped his antics with a chastised expression. "Yes mom." Then he quickly dove to escape the slap in the head intended his way.
They returned to the Dodge and Harumi ran ahead of him to sit on the driver's seat. Now that she had remembered the basics of driving, she found it quite exhilarating. This time Eiji didn't protest; he glided graciously into the passenger seat and watched in glee as Harumi stepped on the gas pedal teasingly, making the engine roar.
Harumi was surprised at herself. She liked the speed of the Dogde, and she loved the feeling of potency she had when she sat behind the wheel with the whole car vibrating around her with the power of the motor.
"Here we go!" she exclaimed as she pushed down the hand break. The car lurched out of its slot in the parking lot with all tires squeaking on the cement.
Eiji pressed on a button near the radio and the roof of the convertible glided backwards. Harumi let out a cry of joy when she felt the wind blowing fiercely against her face, making her hair fly. Eiji hooted in exhilaration, pumping a fist in the air.
As she drove into the highway, Eiji half stood on his seat with one hand gripping the roof of the car and started screaming salutes to the cars passing them by.
"Hooooiii, how are you today?" "Our car is awesome right?" "The wind feels nice! Lower your windows too!"
Harumi laughed at his antics, and made the car zigzag among the others on the highway. The feeling reminded her of being on a dangerous ride at the amusement park, except that this time she had absolute control over where she wanted to go.
Eiji and Harumi's hilarity decreased by a couple notches when a police car started chasing after them all sirens blazing. Eiji immediately retreated back onto his seat and fumbled to buckle his seat belt.
"You have your license, right?" he asked nervously.
Harumi nodded. "But still, let's not get caught."
"What do you mean? We are already caught! The cops are right behind us, and getting closer," he exclaimed as he followed the progress of the police from his side mirror.
Harumi's jaw hardened and a dangerous glint passed through her purple eyes. A voice came over to them from the police car. "Pull over! Pull over now!"
"We are screwed!" Eiji cried as he pulled on his red hair.
Harumi licked her lips nervously, and then took in a big and determined gulp of air. Ignoring the orders to pull over, she pressed on the gas pedal instead and the Dodge lurched forward, going at 120km/hr. Eiji let out a yelp.
The Dogde cut in front of several other cars and made a forced change of lanes at the last second to take the nearest exit out of the highway. The other drivers all screamed obscenities as they tried not to collide their car against each other's or against the highway fence. The police car wanted to go after them, but the exit was now blocked by the line of disturbed cars.
Harumi saw all this from the rear view mirror and hurried to get the Dodge out of view of the highway by engaging it into smaller streets. She slowed down her speed gradually until they finally stopped near the port. The wind that blew over their faces now carried the scent of salt.
The young girl finally allowed herself to breathe, which she had forgotten to do during the whole chase.
What did I just do? I just drove away from the police like a criminal! Oh my God...
"Harumi..." Eiji started.
"I didn't want to get points taken off my license," she muttered quickly in guise of excuse.
"Harumi..."
"But if they catch us now, I will still have points taken off! I will probably even get a black mark on my file!"
"Hoi, Harumi..."
"No, what am I talking about? They are going to take away my license, period! And ask me to pay something exorbitant!" she screamed as she pulled on her hair.
Eiji put both hands on her shoulders and turned her towards him. "Harumi!" he called out loudly, finally capturing her whole attention. "That...was... amazing!"
Two purple eyes blinked back at him incomprehensibly. She was expecting him to scold her, to ask her what she was thinking. But...
Eiji shook her excitedly, a broad grin on his face and a sparkle in his eyes. "I didn't know you could drive like that when you only re-learned how to do it this morning!" He shook his head like he had trouble believing she was real. "That was the most exciting car ride I've ever had! It felt like we were in an action movie during one of those car chase scenes! Woah, sugoi!"
Harumi wanted to laugh but restrained herself. "Now is not the time to be saying that!" she chided. "What if the police saw the license plate of the car? They are going to trace it back to me!"
"Nani, nani," Eiji waved it off nonchalantly with one finger. "You went so fast they probably only saw a blur of red."
"But..."
"No more buts! What just happened was epic! It will forever remain in Kikumaru Eiji's memories as one of the best moments of his youth. Now..." he unbuckled her seat belt. "Get off. I'm starved, and I smell seafood around here!"
Harumi gave up on trying to argue with him and let him pull her away from the car and in the direction of a little restaurant by the port. The smell of grilled salmon drifted to her nose, and she heard her stomach grumble for food.
We haven't eaten anything since last night. Might as well...
When she caught up with Eiji, the redhead was already devouring the menu stapled to the walls. A kind-looking obasan greeted them at the door.
"Table for two?" she asked.
"Yes please," Harumi replied, because Eiji was too busy drooling.
They sat at a table on the porch for the weather was nice, and the obasan brought them two glasses of orange juice. They both gulped down the fresh cool juice in two seconds flat and ordered another glass right away.
"I feel more alive already," Harumi sighed.
"Mada, mada," Eiji exclaimed, patting his stomach. "Not until I get some food. I'm starving so much I could eat a bear."
She giggled. "I know how you feel."
She sat back on her chair, her hand unconsciously fiddling with the torn part of her tshirt.
Too bad, I liked this shirt. But Eiji's wrist was more important...
She looked up at him sitting across from her; he was polishing his chopsticks with one hand with a concentrated frown, seemingly ready to tackle his grilled salmon and grilled chicken when they would arrive. She had missed them hanging out together like this. It felt so natural, as though the animosity of the last couple of weeks - heck, of the last couple years - had been nothing but a bad dream. As soon as everything was forgiven between them, they had fallen back into this natural rhythm of friendship.
"I really missed you," she blurted out before she could think.
Eiji stopped polishing his chopsticks. She didn't know why, but the look he gave her then made her jiggle nervously.
"Yeah, I missed you too, you dork."
She looked up from her fiddling fingers and saw him grinning delightfully at her, as though what she just said had made his day. She slowly relaxed again.
Soon Eiji's grilled chicken and grilled salmon arrived, as well as Harumi's seafood ramen. They stopped talking and dug in voraciously, finishing up everything in record time. After drinking the last drop of ramen soup, Harumi sank back into her chair, feeling like a balloon.
"Soon I'll float up into the sky..." she mumbled.
"Like Harry's aunt in Harry Potter 3?" he asked with a straight face.
She almost spat out her drink. She didn't know what was funnier, the fact that he knew exactly how she was feeling, or the fact that he had connected that to Harry Potter.
"What?" he asked petulantly. "It was so funny how she just flew up in the air!"
Harumi wiped away a tear. "I know... that was priceless. My favorite Harry Potter movie is probably the last two. They were so action packed, and the special effects were awesome. It was great to see the characters mature too."
Eiji nodded frantically. "I loved that scene where the Forbidden Room caught fire and they had to escape on their brooms!"
They spent a moment talking more about the movie, and Harumi told him how she got to take a picture beside a giant poster of Voldemort at the movie premiere in France.
"Hold on, it's on my phone. I'll show you."
She took out her cellphone from her pocket and saw that it was turned off.
"Oh yeah, I turned it off at the beginning of the hike because I knew we'd have no connection."
Eiji took out his cellphone as well. "I did the same thing, nya. Now gotta turn it back off. A turned off cellphone is like a dead heart."
Harumi shook her head at him but deep down she agreed.
The moment her phone turned on, she was assaulted by beeps, and rings and vibrations. She yelped and dropped her phone on the table, where it continued vibrating and twirling on itself. Eiji's phone did the same thing, and Eiji threw it on the table as well.
Harumi ignored Eiji's scream of "our phones are possessed!", and quickly picked up hers again. What she saw was like a slap in the face. There were 58 messages - FIFTY EIGHT - and 40 missed calls.
She had completely forgotten about their friends who must be worrying about whether they were dead or alive.
"We didn't die from falling down that cliff, but I have a feeling we will soon be," Eiji said in a small voice, staring at his own missed calls list.
Harumi skimmed through her list of messages rapidly and saw that most of them started with different variations of "where the hell are you?".
She thought about Fuji and felt a pulse of guilt; he must be worried sick, and here she was, enjoying seafood ramen and talking about Harry Potter!
"If they have connection, they must be back to the parking lot, so they know we are alive, since the Dodge is missing," Eiji reasoned calmly.
"Ahhh!" Harumi screamed. "But that only makes it worse! It means we were all right all this time but didn't deign give them a call to let them know what exactly happened!"
Eiji blinked slowly as that reality sank in. "That's it, we are dead meat for sure."
"We better go back now,' she announced darkly.
Eiji rummaged in his pockets. "By any chance - he started slowly, hopefully - did you have your wallet on you when you fell down the cliff?"
"No? Why?"
Then she eyed the empty plates in front of her and paled. "Oh shit."
"That's right," Eiji deadpanned.
Five minutes later found them running breathlessly to the Dodge as an angry obasan chased after them brandishing a kitchen knife.
"You scoundrels! You thieves!' she was screaming at the top of her lungs. "Come back here and pay what you owe me! Stop running!"
"How can an old lady run so fast?" Eiji managed to squeeze out between two pants.
"I don't know... she's scary!"
"Like those ghosts from horror movies that always end up catching up to you!"
"Stop..." she whined.
"Curse you!" the angry obasan screamed. "I will find you wherever you are! Ungrateful brats!"
Harumi and Eiji finally reached the car. She unlocked the doors from afar and then rushed into the driver's seat. She ignited the engine and started backing up the vehicle. She removed the roof of the convertible and Eiji jumped over the door and directly into his seat while the car was already in motion.
"Nice teamwork!" he exclaimed as Harumi drove away in a cloud of dust.
"We will pay you back next time, obasan!" she screamed back at the figure of the old lady still brandishing her kitchen knife.
"We broke the law twice today. What is going on here?" she complained.
Eiji lifted himself off his seat on one hand. "I haven't had this much fun in forever! Neh, neh, Harumi! I just remembered there is an amusement park near here! Let's go there instead! Let's call the others and tell them we are fine, and they can join us there!"
Harumi almost stepped on the brake. "What are you talking about? No, we need to go back immediately and appease the storm."
Eiji sat back on his seat silently and stared out the window. Harumi threw a glance his way.
"You don't... want to go back?"
"I don't want to deal with Oishi," came Eiji's voice, almost blown away by the wind.
Harumi reported her attention to the road. She had forgotten about Oishi. Damn.
Twenty minutes later they were engaging into the parking lot down the Rokko Mountains. They saw their friends right away, assembled near the other two cars. When they saw the Dodge coming into the parking lot, they started running towards it.
"Here comes the angry mob," Harumi whispered under her breath before stepping out of the car to face them.
"Hey, it's gonna be all right," Eiji tried reassuring her.
Before she could answer, Fuji was in front of her, a look of worry and anger in his stormy blue eyes.
Oh boy...
Voila, new chapter! hehe the Eiji fans must be happy :p I had lots of fun writing this chapter. It was a nice little break from the rest of the stuff happening :) hope you enjoyed. Reviews plzzzz :) xoxo
