Chapter Fifty-Two
When Kyo woke up, he felt a weight on his chest. Not a metaphorical one, and he wasn't sick; Saya had placed her head on top of his chest sometime during the night. It didn't bother him, but he wondered how she could sleep while his chest rose and fell with each breath. She suddenly moved further up his body, placing her hand up near his neck. Kyo was starting to feel uncomfortable about how comfortable he felt like this. He put a hand on Saya's back, feeling it fall against her hair. He began to softly pull his fingers through the strands, enjoying the feel of the curls as they wrapped gently around and in between them. He had stopped playing with her hair just in time to pretend to be sleeping as Saya opened her eyes and looked up to find herself asleep on Kyo's chest. If she had been nervous when she woke up two days ago to find Kyo sleeping next to her in only his boxers, she was terrified to realize she had gotten on top of him in the middle of the night. She could barely move, because one of his arms rested on her back. This was going to take a lot of maneuvering, and yet, part of her didn't want to try. This would be the last morning she would wake up to Kyo, and she wished she could have it last for a while longer.
-
Kyo had waited until Saya had left before he "woke up." He had expected her to leave immediately upon realizing the situation she was in, but instead she had lingered in bed awhile. He could feel her staring at him, and remembered the morning when he thought she had touched his face. He almost wished she would do it again, but he figured she would avoid touching him at all costs after what had happened then.
-
As they all headed out, Ichiro and Saya in the truck, Juri and the kids in the van, and Kyo leading the way on his motorcycle, Saya looked down. Kyo remembered the previous night, when she had asked him if he was leaving them today. He wondered if that was what had her down, but he didn't let the thought linger long. After all, how vain would he have to be to think that he affected her as much as the reality of leaving her home.
It was a nice day as they drove quickly over the mountain roads. Indeed, they had passed the hills and were now definitely in the mountains, where the air felt cooler and crisper. Kyo liked the feel of it, especially since he was wearing his leather jacket, which held in a lot of heat. They stopped a little after noon for a break to eat. They had made good time, but they would still need to travel until late, stopping to sleep only a few hours, then getting up to drive again in the early morning. Kyo had decided not to split off yet.
-
Saya said little to anyone that entire day, responding only to questions that were asked directly of her and staying completely silent while sitting in the truck with Ichiro. She helped Juri get some food together to feed everyone that didn't need to be cooked. They had a few apples and some jerky. Not much, but they weren't exactly being very active right now. Besides, Kentaro and Hotaro loved the jerky, and keeping them happy was high on the list of priorities if they were going to get anywhere. As the group ate, they watched the clouds collect into a mass and darken in the west. It was probably another thunderstorm working its way through the mountains. It wasn't long before Kentaro and Hotaro had burned enough energy running in circles playing tag, allowing them to start their journey again. As Kyo had watched the boys play, he wondered why in the world they didn't run into some of the undergrowth or hide behind some nearby trees. It would certainly make the game more interesting since they were only chasing each other.
-
On the road again, the sky became completely overcast. It was a little muggy, but not really hot. Kyo still led the pack, sliding smoothly over the black asphalt. The sky was tinted a brownish-grey that looked even more menacing through the visor on his helmet. But there was a stillness about the day that excited Kyo; the speed of his bike seemed augmented by the slow-moving world about him, as if he were traveling through an empty world alone. As the sun began to sink down in the west, the brownish clouds turned brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows, offsetting the dark blue-purples of the rain clouds threatening to pour down their contents on them at any minute. As Kyo reached the crest of one of the foothills he saw off to the left that the horizon was already being rained down upon. The slanted sheet of blue falling from the sky to the ground was a wall of water. Kyo liked this feeling, that he was the only one alive, racing through the world against no one in particular.
As the first large drops began to fall, Kyo slowed down, not wanting another accident like he had had on that mountain road several weeks ago now. Ichiro caught up with him quickly; Juri wasn't far behind. Then the sky opened and the water came down in thick sheets like he had seen on the horizon. Kyo continued on, hoping to make a few more miles before it got too bad to drive, but the wind began to blow harder as the rain continued in its downpour. He could feel his jeans grow heavy with water, and even the inside of his collar and sleeves were beginning to be invaded by the driving rain. It also became harder to see; his helmet didn't exactly come with windshield wipers. He heard a honk and, looking behind him, saw Ichiro's truck slow. Kyo doubled back to stop next to Ichiro's window.
"We have to stop, its too difficult to see." Kyo nodded, looking for a clearing somewhere. He yelled out to Ichiro so he could hear him through all the noise.
"We should get off the road." Ichiro agreed and Kyo quickly turned around, driving slowly while searching the roadside for an area big enough to hold the two large vehicles. It wasn't far until he found a dirt turn out that was blocked by many trees that would do nicely. Kyo pulled in as far as he could go, making room for the other cars. He pulled a tarp out of a pocket on his duffel bag and began to cover the motorcycle, which was parked some ways off the road behind some trees, not bothering to remove his helmet which was the only thing keeping his head even remotely dry. He heard Ichiro yell out his name but couldn't make out what he said, so he was forced to remove the helmet. Walking back to the cars he listened again as he heard Ichiro call out to him. He walked up to Saya's passenger window, which was closer. She opened the door.
"Get in boy," Ichiro yelled at him as he stepped out of the driver's side door. Kyo quickly climbed in and shut the door as Saya scooted over on the bench seat. Ichiro was returning from the van with what looked like blankets in his hands, running so as not to get very wet. His effort was more or less a failure.
Saya opened the door and took them as Ichiro ran back to the van to be with his wife and all the kids. Kyo and Saya were left alone again. Kyo was starting to suspect that all these nights they spent alone together were part of some master plan of Ichiro's. He wasn't sure why; Kyo had never expressed a desire to take a woman into his life and he was sure as hell that Saya hadn't either. Kyo realized Saya had been trying to hand him a towel for about the last two minutes. He took it and placed it in his lap as he began to shed all clothing that was soaked. This more or less meant his leather jacket. His shirt was ok, but his jeans would need to come off. He waited to do that, hesitating while he picked up the towel and rubbed his hair dry. He didn't bother to put on sunglasses. It was practically too dark to see his features anyway.
He stole a glimpse of Saya, who wasn't wet at all, unfolding a blanket. There was a pillow placed in between them.
'Of course Ichiro grabs one pillow and one blanket,' Kyo thought, but did admit to himself that this wasn't exactly the largest truck ever; had he have given them more comfort items, there would be no room to be comfortable in. Besides, Kyo was fairly used to sleeping sitting up or in otherwise uncomfortable positions; Saya could have the pillow and blanket. Kyo began to undo the button on his jeans, then trying to unzip the fly as quietly as possible; it was more than a challenge, and he still hadn't figured how to remove the wet, clingy fabric from his legs in such a small area without looking completely ridiculous.
