Makoto 6: Relaxation

Hiroshima; August 11th, 1994

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The next morning after breakfast, a small search party started up to look for Chiaki some more once again; Makoto, Sayaka, Hifumi, Leon, and Kaede. After four hours they had twelve more people helping, then by the early evening hours they had close to the whole community searching; taking a break as a thunderstorm blew in but quickly resuming afterwards. They had at first accepted Chiaki's disappearance because she was still how they saw her in dreams; beautiful and regal; nearly a queen. But a queen was nothing if she had no kingdom to rule, and if she was beloved enough, then her subjects would grow frantic and search for her.

Their thoughts on the matter became more realistic. She may indeed be divine and regal and queen-like and whatever else, but she was still a young girl who had never been out on her own before. Not only that, but she was blind. A blind girl was out on her own for nearly a night and it was about to become two. Everyone in the community had seen the horrors of trying to survive in such a harsh world and most were perfectly fine. They dreaded what such a world would do to a girl like her.

"Most of these people will be fine. They're perfectly rational people! They aren't going to let this go to their head!" Yasuhiro declared after the darkness made continuing the search impossible. "In most people, superstitions take time to grow. It's like that old sayin' about a horseshoe. You build a barn and hang the horseshoe up-right for good luck. But if a nail falls and takes the horseshoe with it, you don't just abandon the barn! And maybe a day really will come when our children or grandchildren do, but that day is far away from us. We'll be just fine, just a bit uneasy and scared."

But Miss Chiaki was put here to even out the scores. She's our answer to The Fashionista. If she's truly gone... Chihiro anxiously tapped his pen against his paper.

"Don't remind me of that, dude! I don't want to think about it either...!" He panicked.

"Are our children really going to grow up and become superstitious like that? Avoiding school because their stomachs feel cold and never writing in red ink and not stepping on the edge of a tatami mat?" Sayaka demanded. "Tradition is important and all, but..."

"For once, my crystal ball is silent on that issue. I don't know! The point is, two things brought us here; the rational and the irrational. The rational part was the crazies. It doesn't matter if our government released them or the Chinese or the Americans or whoever else. It's been done. And honestly, I think something like that would've happened anyway at some other time. It just happened to be now; Great Plague of '94. And the irrational are obviously our dreams. The council can't talk about it but we aren't in a meeting right now! And come on, none of us can make any sense of those dreams. We just know they all beckoned us forward here to fulfill some sort of goal bigger than we can possibly comprehend."

"We all have our superstitions though," Makoto said very slowly. "No resting after eating, stay away from school if your stomach feels cold...I nod at every Maneki-Neko that I come across and threw salt over my shoulder after my family returned from my grandparents' funeral. Sacrificing people to appease a god though, or pouring water on trees to comfort spirits? That sort of thing seems like...overkill,"

Where I'm from, the locals said you had to urinate on a tree, Chihiro held his notebook in front of his face. The tree would come to life and help you out as a thanks for giving it water.

"What? Where does that belief come from?" Makoto asked in disbelief.

"It doesn't matter where it comes from, because none of that is actually true," Sayaka said. "They might have basis in truth, but ultimately aren't,"

"But what if they aren't? Yet another Age of Rationalism has passed. The last time that happened was in our Edo Period. America had quite a few close calls too, like thirty years ago or so. But maybe when rationalism leaves, something else takes its place. We become more aware of...certain things," Yasuhiro continued.

"Like what?" Sayaka asked curiously, feeling a bit frightened. Yasuhiro's eyes seemed to glow in the dark when he looked into hers.

"Spooky things, man! Spooky things like dark magic...like fantasy. Dragons and goblins and fairies and spirits and maybe even the gods themselves..." He paused. "The girl with the bear in her hair is definitely black magic, dark magic, everything evil. That is how she manages to manipulate people into joining her side. But we at least have white magic on our side, everything that's good and kind and just. No amount of actual science will help us there...but the only girl in our whole community who can even stand a chance against the girl with the bear in her hair is still out there somewhere, wandering all alone, probably lost..." He finally trailed off.

It started raining heavily again, splattering against the windows as the wind blew it. Makoto lit a fire as they all took a sudden chill. Yasuhiro looked aimlessly out the window while Sayaka and Makoto stared into the fire, holding their hands. Chihiro silently studied them, endlessly writing out binary codes onto his pad to try and relax himself. He suddenly looked up as he heard a voice in his head-yes, he heard the voice-whisper cruelly:

She's coming for you. You're next. She's coming for you next, mutie. It won't take her long at all to get to you.

He shivered as he saw the emptied streets of Osaka in his mind.

Once Chihiro and Yasuhiro left, Sayaka pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on them and just continued to watch the fire. The rain had lessened up a tiny bit. Their shadows were long on the walls; she briefly looked at the candle and had a sudden wish for electric lights again, those warm bright lights that hurt your eyes if left on for too long that happened just because you flicked a switch up or down. She sighed and bit her lip, not wishing to start crying.

"Oh, I almost forgot! I got something for you!" Makoto announced, running from the room. She straightened herself up, suddenly feeling curious. A present? For her?

"What is it?" She asked, getting off the couch and following after him. He was rummaging around in their bedroom closet, finally pulling something out.

"Here you go!"

She gasped. "Makoto-kun, this is a..." She carefully took the brown washboard in her hands, running her fingers along it. "But where did you find it?"

"A clothing store, of all places. There's one near the outskirts that was selling a whole mess of them. And washtubs too. Practically enough for every girl in this community," Makoto laughed.

"Oh, that's great news! I'll see if I can get a group of girls together and we can have a wash day or something. It'll help us relax," She smiled. "Can you help me relax now though?"

"Uh, I can certainly try," He very gently and carefully picked her up and carried her up the stairs.

A day later, Kaito roused his other housemates up with a collection of VHS tapes in his hands. "Look what I found!"

"Don't tell me those are..." Maki started.

"Exercise tapes!" Aoi gasped happily.

"But they won't work,"

"Our house has that generator, remember? We can play them as long as we have a player, and we do!" Kaito dashed from the room. "Go get changed!"

"He is so stupid," Maki sighed and left the room to go get changed. Chihiro just stared at Aoi curiously.

"Huh? Oh, I'm sure you'll be able to follow along too!" Aoi reassured him before she left to go get changed too.

Once everyone changed into their tracksuits, they joined Kaito in the living room, who was in the middle of rewinding a tape. Chihiro watched the images rapidly move backwards in fascination; clad in a blue tracksuit.

"What sort of exercise will we be doing?" Aoi asked curiously, wearing a red tracksuit with a matching scrunchie in her hair.

"Just basic stuff like jumping jacks and things like that!" Kaito answered, wearing a purple tracksuit.

"Thankfully nobody will be able to see us," Maki sighed, wearing a black tracksuit with light green scrunchies in her hair.

Kaito finished rewinding the video and started to play it, getting in the middle of their group. Chihiro stood on one end shyly, and Maki stood on the other with Aoi by Chihiro's side.

"Um, I think maybe we should spread out! So we don't accidentally hit someone in the face," Aoi suggested, and they all took several steps apart from each other.

"Let's get ready to exercise! To get fit!" The trainer on the video announced happily, leading them in a few stretches before moving onto the jumping jacks. "Do twenty!"

"Why are we doing this again? We got lots of exercise on the trip here and all of the reconstruction work we do," Maki demanded as they finished the jumping jacks and moved onto twenty sit-ups.

"For motivation! To have fun! To get your spirits up!" Kaito laughed.

Chihiro kept to himself, occasionally putting a hand on his chest, waiting for the labored breathing that hadn't come yet. Even after thirty push-ups; he was breathing heavily, but not dangerously. His chest felt fine, in fact. He marveled at that as he started to jog in place. Prior to the apocalypse, he had trouble walking up a flight of stairs or running a few blocks without dissolving into a panting, sweaty mess. He was like that a few weeks ago, even. It had something to do with his weak immune system. But now, he was feeling stronger.

They did more jumping jacks and curl-ups and push-ups and sprinting before the video finally ended; they were all breathing heavily.

"Put the next one on! Don't keep us waiting!" Aoi commanded, pumping the air with her fist. "I feel all fired-up now!"

"How are you doing though, Chihiro-kun?" Kaito gently tapped Chihiro's shoulder to get him to look over, and he gave an energetic nod. He jokingly flexed his arm, making Kaito laugh. "Starting to develop some muscle, huh? That's great!

"Yeah, he was practically a shrimp when we first came across him," Maki remembered.

"Oh, this volume is about aerobics!" Kaito gasped, and Aoi cheered.

"Put it on, put it on!"

He laughed and did indeed put it on, and they all continued their routine.

Kaede watched Mukuro curiously as she picked up a brush, stared at it for a very long time, set it down, then picked it up again, repeating the routine for the fourth time. Mukuro seemed tense around the suggestion of anything remotely girly, yet still seemed fascinated with Kaede's own beauty routine. Well, maybe she was just awkward about such things and as a result, didn't know how to ask. She gasped a bit, getting an idea and running to Mukuro.

"I know what we should do! Let's have a girls' day! Just you and me!" She suggested eagerly, startling Mukuro. The brush fell from her hands.

"I don't really like things like that," She mumbled lamely.

"It doesn't have to be all makeup and hair styles and things like that. It can just be a relaxing time spent unwinding in the shower. Things like that can be enjoyable to everyone!" She gently took Mukuro's hand and helped her up. "Besides, you have not taken a single shower since we arrived! I thought the idea of a hot steamy shower after months of cold river water would be enticing,"

"On the battlefield, you don't really get much of a choice. You either don't shower or take what you're given," Mukuro explained with a shrug.

"But we're not on the battlefield! And besides...um...you might fit in a bit better if you...cleaned up some," Kaede led her into the tiny bathroom in their house that just had a shower and cabinet. "Kuwata-kun might notice you more if you did!"

That made Mukuro perk up a bit and she started to unbutton her jacket and blouse, letting them fall to the floor and revealing her plain black bra. As she moved to untie the bow in her hair, however, she paused and stared a bit at Kaede, who was pulling off her own dress.

"Hm? Oh, well I feel a bit dirty too, so why not? Besides, showering is a lot more fun with two people!" She smiled and finished undressing. She then left the room and came back a few minutes later with two buckets filled with steaming water, two sponges, and a blue bottle. Mukuro stood back a few feet, feeling awkward.

It wasn't the naked situation; she never cared about that sort of thing because she found it petty, it was the whole 'Kaede being genuinely kind' situation. Even when others ignored her, Kaede was always there to pick her right back up with a smile. And why? It was clear Leon still had a tiny bit of a thing for Mukuro, or perhaps that was just her hope. Either way, he clearly still liked her when they first met and took a long time to get over that.

"Just because it's a sponge bath doesn't mean we can't have some fun with it," Kaede explained, placing the buckets in the empty shower, pouring the blue solution in and swishing her hand around. "It's bubble-bath solution," She then grabbed Mukuro's wrist and pulled her into the shower with her. The bathroom door was shut and Kaede slid shut the see-through shower door as well. "Let's wash our hair first, actually," She took out a bottle of pink shampoo, rubbing a large lather gently through her locks. "You too!"

Mukuro started to reach for the same bottle, hesitatingly rubbing up a small lather and rubbing it on top of her head. She took the sponge and squeezed the extra water out over her head, feeling the hot water pour down her body and take the shampoo with it.

"Oh, you look so much better already!" Kaede praised, gently running her own sponge down her curls to help wash the shampoo out. "Both of us have a head full of shiny locks now!" She then grabbed the yellow soap and worked up a big lather, running the soapy bubbles down her body. She did it quickly but still caressed all of her important areas, such as her large breasts. Mukuro stared at that specifically. They were a little bit like Junko's...

She tried to grab the soap herself but gasped lightly as it accidentally slipped right out of her fingers and spun around on the floor. She watched it carefully. Kaede laughed easily and scooped it up, gathering a big lather and pulling Mukuro over to her, slowly running the lather down her body.

"Be careful," She demanded a bit.

"I will, don't worry," Kaede reassured Mukuro, also pouring a bit of conditioner into her hair and rubbing it in deeply. "Now, time to wash you off!" She beamed and gently squeezed out the sponge, gently rubbing it around on Mukuro's back first.

Mukuro's eyes widened, somehow just then registering the softness of the sponge and tensed, feeling comforted by it. Kaede continued to gently scrub her, the drops gently rolling down her body.

"How long does that conditioner stuff stay in for?" She asked.

"Just a few minutes more. Why don't you rub some into my hair while we wait?" She suggested nicely, and Mukuro nodded and rubbed a lather up, noticing it smelled like kiwis. She gently ran her hands through Kaede's hair, trying to scrub the conditioner in as deeply as she did with her. "Wow, you're good!"

"Sometimes my sister and I...took baths together when we were young. Since I was older I was practically required to help wash her hair and things," Mukuro shrugged.

"Awww, that sounds so sweet!" Kaede continued to smile and grabbed her own bucket, dumping it over her head. The bubble-bath solution pooled up in her hair and formed little bubble piles on her skin. She then put her hand on Mukuro's hip for slight balance as she started to rinse the conditioner out. Mukuro relaxed a bit into her touch, feeling relaxed by the attention and the conditioner's scent.

"Hey, who's in here?" Leon asked, throwing open the bathroom door. Mukuro dashed away from Kaede, trying to hide in a corner of the shower. All was silent as Kaede and Leon stood there, staring at each other, processing. "Whoa, sorry. Didn't know chicks actually bathed together, ya know?" He teased.

Kaede laughed. "You're welcome to join us!"

Mukuro's relaxed side suddenly wore off and she threw open the shower door in annoyance, treading out of the bathroom and leaving soaking footprints everywhere.

"Mukuro-chan? Don't you want a towel?" Kaede called after her in confusion.

"Your bed will get soaked if you lay in it like that!" Leon tried, but they both got a door slam in reply. Mukuro's bucket was still filled with water.

"No sense in letting all this water go to waste...would you like to join me?" Kaede said breezily, making Leon laugh as he shut the bathroom door again.

"Why not?"

Kyoko was sitting at the kitchen island, sipping some coffee when Yasuhiro suddenly burst into their shared home, clearly in a frenzy. She briefly glanced over at him before she continued to calmly sip her drink. His face was pale and his eyes were wide, and he rushed over to her.

"Kirigiri-chi! I'm so glad you're here, dude! Well, I honestly would've preferred Naegi-chi, but I think he's at the power plant again and Maizono-chi is over at Akamatsu-chi's place, making cupcakes or something. I just had to tell someone, okay?!" He spilled out in a rush. "You aren't going to believe this,"

"Did someone find her?" Kyoko asked calmly, setting her drink down, referring to Chiaki.

"No...it's...it's a good thing, but it's weird. Oh, you're probably going to laugh at me, but...Blavatsky came back. I found him asleep in the entrance of a parking garage. He's so beat-up, but...it's most definitely him. I'd know him anywhere." He was almost in tears. Kyoko's eyes widened. "I just feel so horrible about leaving him behind...he's an innocent, you know? And the motorcycles...yeah it'd have been a challenge. When I found that van for you girls my first thought was 'I really wish Blavatsky would come back so we could drive him around too',"

"Are you sure? It could be any dog,"

"But it's not, Kirigiri-chi! Sure, he's lost an eye and has some really bad scrapes, but who doesn't at this point? He's got that reddish colour and that distinct blue collar...it's him. He came back to me. It's like fate, dude! Fate!"

"And how do you think he followed you all this way?" Kyoko challenged, amused.

"Well...hey, we all came here because of those dreams, right? So what if he did too? What if he had dreams about this place and followed us here?" Yasuhiro suggested.

"Do dogs dream?"

"Met a guy on my travels once before the world ended who said they could. You can tell because if it's a good dream, their paws twitch, and if it's a bad dream, they growl. That's what he said, dude!"

"Maybe they do, but it'd be about simple things. Things they can process and understand," Kyoko shot back.

"Do we dream about anything we can understand? Or are many of our own dreams cryptic and filled with mysterious meanings we're never supposed to figure out?" He asked.

Kyoko angrily slammed her coffee down and stared at him.

"Want to go take a look at him? Kimura-chi is trying to help patch him up. She was overjoyed at the thought of caring for a dog,"

"Sure."

Blavatsky was laying outside on the porch of the community's makeshift clinic; an actual clinic without much of the necessary staff or equipment. Upon sensing them, he looked up, and Kyoko hesitantly reached out a hand, letting him sniff her.

"I'll have to show Naegi-chi later, he'd love this. He used to have a dog himself as a kid," Yasuhiro added from behind her.

"Yes, he said the same to me," Kyoko said, bending down slightly to pat the retriever's head. His tail thumped eagerly on the ground, happy at receiving attention again. She started to run her hand along his body, feeling deep cuts that were patched-up under his belly. "I wonder what got him...did she say? Was it a wolf-pack?"

"I think it was just another dog," Yasuhiro suggested. Kyoko motioned for Blavatsky to roll over and ran her hand along the cuts again, pointing them out to Yasuhiro.

"A dog would go for the muzzle or throat. No dog would try to attack the innards." She explained in a serious tone. "Still, I wonder why a group of wolves ganged up on him like that. Surely there are much better things in the wilderness to hunt now,"

"Guess we'll never know. Why did the disease take almost all of the dogs and pigs but left the other animals behind and take almost all of the humans but leave us behind? Isn't that a mystery to ponder," He got a thoughtful expression on his features. "Ah well. Least I don't ever have to worry about dog food being sold out,"

"Indeed," Kyoko stood up and brushed her hand off on her tan slacks, watching Blavatsky eyeing her happily. "Not to mention, he is still intact. It would do our community good if we kept our eyes out for a female of the same breed," She caught Yasuhuro staring at her and stared right back. "What? We are so focused on repopulation for ourselves, forgetting others took a hit as well. Even the score,"

"Whatever you say," He sighed wearily. "Let's leave him here for now, Kimura-chi might come back later and do another examination. And I'm sure you got a coffee at home that's getting cold,"

The two of them walked off together while Blavatsky started to close his eyes.

To anyone who walked past him, he'd look asleep, but he wasn't; he was merely in the same place all others with severe injuries went when they weren't quite dead. He had a bad burn in his belly and thus was content to remain in that place for some time more. Sometimes he still thought of himself as 'Takoyaki', the name his original owners had given him as they were Americans and found the name funny despite not really understanding it. Wolves did indeed come after him, different wolves, wolves with a bad scent and piercing blue eyes and the aura of her. The bad girl. That very bad girl. The wolves put up a good fight with him, driving him under the porch of Lady Nanami's old home and scratching his belly up deeply. He fought back though, snapping and biting and tearing. He got the leader's eye in one gnash but instantly repaid the price.

Once the wolves left, Blavatsky slept under the porch for several days, eventually being driven out by hunger and thirst. He drank from the tiny well and munched on the remaining rice paddies; also finding lots of cooked rice and fish leftover in the house from when Chiaki cooked for Chihiro's group. He wanted to stay there forever, but there was a feeling in him that told him to keep going.

Not a scent for once, just a feeling. He had to keep going, to keep heading northward, then to the west. And so he did, limping along on three legs with his wounds bleeding heavily. He never felt the presence that those wolves had, and he was grateful. And once he arrived at the place he was supposed to, he felt immense joy. He recognized the scent of his man, that man who took care of him, and the scent of food as well. Limping along still, he collapsed into a garage and fell asleep.

He slept then as well, having a good dream. He was Takoyaki again, and the grass was freshly-cut and bright green and juicy; unlike the dead and dry brown blades present now. There was pizza too; the leftovers of a greasy crust. There were lots of rabbits as well, rabbits and deer to chase after that his owners always happily encouraged. And so he would run out into that big green field and spot a barely-hidden brown rabbit and start chasing after it, barking happily.

His paws were twitching in the real world.