The cove would have looked mystical bathed in moonlight, but the clouds were too thick to allow anything but the rain to pass through their endless grey rolls. The waves nudged against the shore painted as black as the night that surrounded them, only their soft crashes blessed them with the treasured gift of existence. If the clouds were to have parted by some minute chance, darkness would have resumed nonetheless. This night was as moonless as it was sleepless.
Mei sat in concentrated silence, leant comfortably against the thick tyre of the Hellcat while it slumbered; a well-deserved rest after an escape well done. The cars interior lamps bathed the area where she sat in a pool of mellow light, the road atlas between her hands illuminated gratefully by the yellow hue. Mei squinted at the numerous routes moving north from Osaka to Sakata, her eyes now well trained to avoid the major roads where she could, not a particularly easy feat when one sat on the outskirts of the second-largest city in Japan.
''Any luck?''
Mei glanced up from the page. Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the pale darkness as Harumi slipped inside the dimly lit cave. Harumi's voice continued to echo for a time before she slipped from the shadow and into the projected light. She was wearing a fresh change of clothes now, a towel poking from the rucksack she carried over one shoulder. Mei's own second set of clothes were warm against her cold skin, a chilly reminder of the black waters she herself had gratefully bathed in half an hour prior.
Mei shuffled to her left a little so Harumi could sit down next to her; she smelled vaguely of sea salt. Supposing the scent clung to her own skin too, Mei shifted the atlas back into the pool of light.
''Perhaps a little. I want to avoid going through Kyoto altogether. Though it's a little out of the way, if we go around like this, it should be possible.''
Harumi gave a small nod as she followed the arc Mei made on the map with her finger.
''The way you have it figured, looks like about a ten-hour drive, am I right?''
''Yes, that's about the size of it.''
Both women fell under the sway of reflective silence as they dwelled in the realisation Sakata was now a concrete reality they'd likely hit in less than twelve hours.
''How're your cuts?''
Mei raised her bruised arms which were now covered with the assortment of plasters she'd procured from the car's mini first aid kit.
''They burned a lot when they touched the sea, but that said, I can barely feel them now,'' she said, lowering her arms back to her lap,'' so they're nothing to worry about.''
Harumi's gaze settled on the slim red cut trailing Mei's cheek. It was almost identical to the older wound just above it, a memory of where the spooked pigeon from the hill had scratched her earlier that same day.
Harumi's eyes traced the twin wounds with sadness, ''I would have helped you with that, but…''
''I know. If you would have helped, I'd have spent twice the effort fixing the screw-up.''
She smiled softly, dismissing Mei's condescending look, ''Yeah, exactly.''
The waves crashed softly against the distant shore.
''Pretty crazy night so far, huh?''
''That's a bit of an understatement.''
''Yeah, I guess you could say that.''
Their voices, audible just above a whisper echoed off the limestone walls. The rain was easing off now, its presence only a slight patter against the cave roof.
''It all seems - pretty real, now…'' Mei began
''...Now, she's only ten hours away?'' Harumi finished.
Mei barely inclined her head, staring intensely into the far off darkness.
''These two weeks, without her, have been long; too long. I can only imagine what seven years must be like.''
Mei didn't react, but Harumi could tell she was listening. She shifted her weight as she leant further back onto the tyre and brought her knees up so her arms could rest comfortably on top of them.
''Now I can see why you so easily agreed to become a bargaining chip.''
Mei spoke numbly, ''I almost forgot about that - in all this.''
''Well, you can just as well forget.''
Mei didn't turn but twitched ever so slightly in response.
''The horde we have in the car; I'm sure it'll be enough to sate their appetite. At least for a little while. You're more than free to do as you please.''
''Am I though?''
''I guess not.''
Rain.
''You know in the end, I figured something like this would happen one way or another.''
''Like this?''
''I mean, a way to get the money other than selling you out. In truth, back at the Inn, the second the words left my mouth I knew I couldn't have gone through with it.''
She gave a small, sad laugh as her hands flopped down between her knees, '' If you hadn't accepted so damn readily, I probably would have crumbled right then and there. Even for Yuzu's sake.''
Mei finally turned to regard Harumi staring at her feet. Her lips moved slowly and deliberately as she spoke.
''Looks like I got to know that pig after all. Now it's impossible to take it to the slaughterhouse. Some shitty farmer I am.''
Mei exhaled softly, finally catching the mellow light reflected in Harumi's eyes, ''You know if I one day thought of myself gracing a recurring metaphor, I'd at least believe I would be gifted a better role than a pig.''
Harumi's lips quivered, and yet Mei was the first to release her building laughter. They smiled long, sad smiles after, dropping their mutual gaze again once they recovered.
''Are you worried about seeing - her, again?''
''Yes, '' Mei looked down and tugged at her shoelace, ''Though she's probably forgotten me by now.''
''I seriously doubt that,'' Harumi began, tilting her head back on her shoulder blades. She watched lost rainwater trickle down a stalactite protruding from the cave ceiling as she went on.
''Back at the academy, she'd talk nonstop about you and only you. This was even before I started to get suspicious of what your relationship as 'just sisters' really entailed. Mei this and Mei that- ''
Harumi paused to indulge in a smile at the flicker of self-consciousness that flashed across Mei's face.
''Honestly, at some point, it got so bad, we couldn't even watch a movie straight through without your name cropping up between some crucial plot point.
God, I really hated you. I could probably write a biography of your highschool years with how much useless crap she'd tell me.''
Mei couldn't help but smile in spite of herself.
''She was the same with you.''
Now it was Harumi's turn to be caught out as she cast her wistful gaze on Mei, finding to her surprise, no flicker of dishonesty.
''You don't believe me? I'm serious, on those days when I'd end up successful in my battle to feign ignorance, she'd often give up trying to talk to me altogether and collapse onto the bed in a mood. I'd think good, now I can finally get this tonne of work finished. And just like that, before I'd even gotten pen to paper, her temper would suddenly flip, and she'd get started on some convoluted tale of what she and the oh so hilarious Harumin had done that day. She could go on for the better part of an hour without even so much as a word from me, laughing like a maniac the whole way through.''
Mei smiled herself as Harumi's mouth gave way to a sudden uncontainable grin.
''Believe me, when I say, I hated your guts too,'' Mei continued, '' mainly because half listening to her, I'd accidentally write your name down between the lines of my essay's. The worst day was when I forgot to proofread my work before submitting it. I will never live down that week full of suspicious stares and questions about the mysterious girl in class 2b.''
Harumi found Mei's eye, flashing another unwitting grin, ''I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble.''
''I'm sorry you could never follow the plot of a movie,'' Mei replied, again replicating Harumi's infectious smile.
Mei dropped her gaze as she found she had unconsciously settled her attention on Harumi's lips again.
''And I'm sorry. For that. Too,'' she began, '' I have trouble with-''
Mei twitched as she felt Harumi's fingers lightly touch her chin. The memory of Harumi's mouth on hers was a reality again before she could even consider reacting.
The kiss was sweet and tender, lingering on her unsuspecting lips like a sudden spark of warmth in a sheet of icy winter.
Mei felt Harumi gently move away after a fleeting few seconds of bliss. She found Mei's gaze again, hovering barely an inch from her warm nose as she whispered, ''Calm down. I'm not Yuzu - I won't fall head over heels in love with you just because you kissed me.''
Harumi winked at Mei's flushed face before slipping her hand from her tingling skin. She then resumed her original position against the tyre and returned her attention to the dripping stalactite without another word.
Mei's stomach doubled over itself in a hampered rush of firing nerves as she fought the sudden flood of heat that assaulted her body. She stared at the sandy floor.
''Good to know.''
/
''We should probably get going in about an hour and a half.''
Harumi looked up from nothingness at Mei's sudden words.
''The time. We should go soon. Naturally, I'd like to leave it longer to be safe, but we don't have that luxury at the moment.''
''No, you're right, I'll check the clock.''
Harumi rose slowly from where she had sat quietly in the sand for the past ten minutes and made her way over to the slumbering car. Mei watched her as she opened the passenger door and poked her head inside, the red hue of the dashboard clock reflected across her squinting features.
''Ten twenty-three. So, we should set off at midnight.''
''Eleven fifty-three actually. There's no reason to lose precious minutes over dramatic effect.''
''That's not entirely true,'' Harumi replied shutting the door with an echo,'' we need to factor in those seven minutes for a dinner break.''
''We already ate.''
''Well, after that drive I think I lost half of it to adrenaline, so we should probably eat again.''
Mei started as a sudden avalanche of rustling packets fell by her feet. Harumi dropped the last custard cream packet to the sand with a flourish and then threw herself back down into a sitting position opposite Mei.
Mei couldn't help but lose a smile.
''Is this what you call dinner?''
''When you're on the run, you can't be picky.''
''I suppose not.''
Dispensing with her qyestioning as the hunger initially unbeknownst to her suddenly made itself known, Mei selected the packet that had fallen closest to her.
''So you're a fan of digestive creams?''
''Not necessarily, I thought they were all the same.''
''No way,'' Harumi replied with humorous exasperation, drawing the scattered packets into neat lines as she went, '' You've got your bog-standard custard creams of course. But you also have the luxury of digestive creams, chocolate, strawberry and even orange.''
Mei sarcastically gave a broad nod in reply, fixing Harumi with a dumbstruck expression as though she had just been told something as groundbreaking as the earth was round.
Harumi grinned almost breaking character as she continued, '' For one night only, this cove in the middle of nowhere has just become the best biscuit bar in all of Japan.''
She gave a final flourish over her lines of stock to finish.
Mei replaced the packet she had initially chosen. Harumi promptly returned it to her neat line while Mei made a better-researched decision.
''Are you sure they even taste any different?''
Harumi slipped an expression of horror at the prospect of Mei's absolute lack of pallet.
''What kind of tasteless monster are you? Of course they do.''
Mei stared hard at the row of identical packets before her. After a few moments of further consideration, she again selected the pack she had initially chosen. Harumi watched her expectantly as she neatly tore a line down the side of the packet and slipped out a digestive cream. She placed it tentatively into her mouth, closed her eyes and crunched down as quietly as politely possible.
''It tastes exactly like a custard cream,'' she said flatly.
''What?! This is hilarious, you actually have no taste buds.''
''And what makes you so much better?'' She asked dismissively, dropping the packet back down with amused annoyance.
Harumi shifted herself onto her knees and looked straight at Mei with daring eyes, ''Try me.''
Mei was taken aback as Harumi closed her eyes and extended a hand.
She cracked open an eye and grinned stupidly at Mei's lack of reaction, '' C'mon, I dare you, or is your smart ass too scared of getting shown up?''
Irked, Mei rose to the challenge.
''Fine then, but let me tell you now; you won't be able to tell the difference from one tasteless dust brick to the next.''
Harumi sat on her heels, eyes closed, still grinning.
Mei scoured the line intensely and selected a new packet. Tearing the plastic wrapping open badly, the first biscuit slipped out of its own accord and found its way to the ground after a valiant battle with Mei's clumsy fingers. Not one to put much stock in the five-second rule, she pulled out a second biscuit and made to place it into Harumi's outstretched hand.
Harumi's hand twitched as she tried to get a hold on it, her blind fingers almost knocking the second biscuit from Mei's hand as she attempted to place it in her palm.
''Jesus, what are you doing, that tickles like hell, '' Harumi whined, cracking open an eye so she could finally get a hold on the biscuit and end the torture.
Mei withdrew the biscuit behind her back at the first sign of Harumi's rule-bending, ''You have to keep your eyes closed, or it won't be an accurate test.''
''God, I apologise, Dr Aihara,'' she replied, reluctantly closing her eyes once more, '' How do you propose we go about your strict scientific procedure then?''
''Open your mouth.''
Harumi had no choice but to do as she was told, opening her mouth being the only way to mask the quiver of embarrassment that flickered across her lips.
''Like this?'' she inquired, her speech distorted through inability to close her mouth.
Mei finally let herself smile at the amusing sight now Harumi could no longer see her. She leant forward, shifting the sand as she placed her weight on her supporting hand and placed the biscuit on Harumi's tongue. Harumi's hot breath tickled her hand as she waited patiently for Mei to remove her fingers from harm's way.
Finally drawing back, Mei rested both her hands on the pleasantly cold sand as she watched Harumi finally crunch down. It didn't take her more than two seconds.
''Strawberry cream.''
Astonishment swept Mei as Harumi got it dead on.
She grinned triumphantly at Mei's stunned silence, eventually sending a cocky flash of amber her way to boot, ''Told you, didn't I?''
Mei found herself offset at Harumi's sudden scrutiny, trying in vain to conceal her expression which she knew was clearly enjoying this too much.
''Eyes closed. Again. Now.''
Harumi was caught off guard by Mei's sudden animosity, '' I did it, didn't I-''
''If I am to be an accredited scientist, as you put it,'' Mei began, deftly converting her self-consciousness into intimidation,'' then, I'm not going to get my name into any well-regarded journals if I don't enforce a strict standard on the reliability of my results. Repeat tests are a must.''
Harumi could do nothing but give in to her merciless grin and close her eyes without another whisper of protest.
Having won that battle, Mei combed the broken line once more as she set about crafting her strategy to win the war. She smiled, amused at her cunning as she selected another biscuit from the same packet.
Harumi was faster this time; Mei had barely withdrawn her hand before she had reached her verdict.
''Strawberry cream.''
''Is that your final answer?''
''Were you trying to trip me up? That's playing dirty, you know?''
''Shut up.''
This was serious now. Mei swiftly opened all the packets before her, convincing herself as she went that Harumi could only have gotten the answer due to the lack of rustling plastic.
She chose more wisely this time.
Crunch.
''Digestive.''
Again; hand; tongue; crunch.
''Chocolate cream.''
Again; hand; hot breath; expectancy.
''You really like those strawberry ones, huh?''
Mei was exasperated now as she held a custard cream tentatively by Harumi's mouth. If this didn't seal the deal, nothing would. She placed the biscuit on Harumi's tongue with gravity and withdrew her hand slowly. Too slowly, she found, as Harumi's eager lip brushed her finger in the act.
Mei fell back onto her haunches, quickly drawing her hand to her chest at the sudden contact. She felt a near-crippling thrill as her nerves noted her finger was slightly wet with Harumi's saliva. She barely registered Harumi's voice as she stated the correct answer a mere second later, the heat pounding up her neck consuming her attention almost entirely. She felt childish getting so worked up over something so small and yet her body didn't seem to want to heed her mind's humiliation.
''You good now, Prez? I really think you should eat some before you end up using them all up on me.''
No! '' Mei suddenly exclaimed as Harumi began to open her eyes, she stammered for an explanation.'' Just keep your eyes closed a little longer. One more, if you get that right - then you win.''
Mei exhaled relief as Harumi appeared to heed her words, knowing full well her current state of dishevelment was more than visibly evident. She stared down hard at the packets, willing herself to calm down as she feigned deep consideration.
Finally, she reached for the only pack left untouched.
Harumi waited patiently. After a moment of Mei's silence, she caught the echo of tiny sounds.
Straining her ears at her loss of sight, she found the noise was barely perceptible, as though someone was moving as quietly as humanly possible.
After another few seconds realisation dawned on her. She smiled, '' Get hungry after all, Pre-''
Harumi's words were lost as Mei's lips met hers, her tongue brushing lightly up against her closed lips.
Mei opened her eyes slowly after little more than a second of contact and drew back, struggling to look Harumi directly in the eye as she spoke.
'' And the last one?''
Though utterly stunned, Harumi automatically drew her own tongue over her own lips. She held Mei's desirous gaze as she detected the unmistakable flavour.
''Orange cream.'' She could barely whisper.
''Well, that's that then, you win'' Mei scarcely smiled, ''I suppose I really am just a tasteless monster after all.''
Mei looked deep into Harumi's reddened face, settling profoundly on her charged glare as she finished speaking. There was an undeniable something dwelling in her brilliant cat-like eyes. Mei dared herself to believe it was that something just for her. She gambled on her chance.
She leaned the last inch forward and caught Harumi's soft top lip between her own two trembling ones. Mei begged her not to resist.
She didn't. She couldn't even hesitate. Mei reeled as she felt the sliver of caution present last time had even dissipated as Harumi kissed her back earnestly. Mei unwittingly smiled through the kiss, breaking it prematurely, her mind unwilling to relate her impossible reality to her body fast enough. Every tingle and chill that throttled her unsuspecting frame was delayed as Harumi sought out her renewed contact with unexpected intensity.
Mei felt cold rubber contact her back as Harumi forced her up against the tyre, her body crushing up against Harumi's with nowhere else to go. Harumi's hand ghosted her hot ear as she slipped it through Mei's dishevelled hair. Mei didn't even have time to find her gaze before Harumi was upon her again, kissing her far more deeply this time. Mei's body staggered under the riveting sensation. Had she wanted this as much as her?
The undulations were rushing her body again, though far more merciless now as they trailed her lithe frame from chest to stomach, threatening to slip further as Harumi leant further into her.
Either it had been too long, or Harumi's lips on hers were something else entirely.
Finally, Harumi broke the kiss and looked directly at Mei. Her eyes were full of lust and guilt, her lips slightly parted as she caught her breath.
''God, Mei, I'm sorry.''
Mei couldn't bear that response; not after that. Harumi's words faded out. Mei had grown so used over the years to initiating every spontaneous act, that having someone assault her body in the same way was - it drove her crazy. The thoughts possessed her mind while her physical self watched Harumi pulling back. A few more seconds and she would be gone.
Mei scattered stray grains of sand as she caught Harumi's retreating shoulder. She took advantage of Harumi's sudden loss of balance and forced her helpless form roughly to the ground. Amber eyes found hers. Mei collapsed internally as she discovered they were still full of desire, so undeniably full of desire; desire for her. That was enough for Mei. Any longer and she probably would have done this without mutuality. After all, she had before.
Mei closed the distance in a deep kiss, forcing Harumi's quivering mouth open so her tongue could slip inside. She was through with Harumi's innocent advances. She felt Harumi jerk beneath her at the sudden invasion of her vulnerability. The inconsistent twitches of Harumi's body sent Mei's mind reeling with excitement; she was so deliciously warm. Mei allowed their tongues to find one another. She moved her well-controlled flesh against Harumi's, relaying to her how much she could offer her by way of pleasure, and how much she needed her to, and soon.
Mei could only break each nerve-stunning kiss for a fleeting moment before she was deep into the next, her appetite growing more insatiable by the second. Before she knew it, Harumi's lips weren't enough.
Mei allowed the hand tracing rings on Harumi's abdomen to trail upwards and settle on her warm breast. She could feel Harumi almost entirely through the thin cloth, realising with utter ecstasy she had failed to don her bra after her short dip in the sea. Mei tensed her hand about the irresistibly soft tissue. Harumi broke the kiss at the sudden sensation, pleasure escaping her lips. That was it for Mei.
She had Harumi on the hood of the car before she could consider the implications. They were in the middle of nowhere, no one knew, and no one ever had to. She had no reason to stop anymore.
The car's suspension groaned as Mei placed her bent leg on the hood, her knee neatly finding the gap between Harumi's thighs. Harumi gave another irresistible whimper at the sudden contact through her clothes. Mei couldn't help but steal a glance at Harumi's face; she was flushed beyond belief already.
The image of Harumi splayed out before her, eyes screwed closed with embarrassment and entirely gifted to her whimsical mercy sent a ruthless thrill straight down to Mei's own throbbing arousal. She had no idea she could have such a ridiculous effect on this woman, no idea she would give in to her so damn easily. She couldn't dwell on the thought alone too long, her hunger was spiralling out of control now. She needed Harumi's touch beneath her fingers again.
The car protested again as she leaned in, the scent of the sea mingling with Harumi's own soft scent. Mei kissed the skin of her exposed neck, Harumi's body craning further at the electricity of Mei's touch. She could feel her trembling like mad now, flashing her between breaths with those gorgeous amber eyes; amber eyes thirsty for something only she could provide. Mei relished.
She moved up, this time daring enough to slip her hand beneath the unwanted cloth separating her from Harumi's supple breast. Mei heard Harumi's back arch against the car, her hips crashing into hers as Mei began to brush her left nipple slowly. Mei felt a furious heat cascade through her own body. Her throbbing pleasure now ruthless in her body at the sound of Harumi's building whines and moans as she teased the hardening flesh again and again.
For someone who usually showed so much restraint, Harumi made a surprising amount of noise as she positively reeled in the pleasure Mei gave her. Finally satisfied with a job well done, Mei slipped her hands further down, trailing the smooth skin of Harumi's abdomen with an almost tentative zeal. Every trembling abdominal muscle that slipped beneath her sensitive fingers gifted her with anticipation greater than the last.
Mei kissed Harumi again as she went, licking her lip and trailing her nose down her chin as her hands wandered further. She dared her fingers further down, Harumi's hot skin like velvet as she finally nudged the rim of her trousers. Mei could feel Harumi's shuddering body tense beneath her as she registered her almost debilitating proximity to absolute pleasure.
She craned her neck as she felt Mei slip her other hand from her breast, both now focused on this new area by which they could offer so much more. Mei looked deep into Harumi's flushed face, her visceral, cat-like eyes fogged with such crippling want it almost hurt to look into them.
Mei didn't drop her irresistible gaze, utterly transfixed as her hand automatically found the top button of her trousers.
Harumi was forced to break the gaze first, head hitting the bonnet of the car with a thud as her neck finally gave out. Mei seized the loss in scrutiny to finally undo the final clasp and hitch the interfering garment down to the middle of Harumi's thighs. Mei felt Harumi's knee nudge her elbow as she unconsciously spread herself further as Mei's fingers ghosted the band of her underwear. Mei's patience teetered at some unseen edge as she regarded Harumi utterly broken, underwear clinging damply to her arousal, so vulnerable before her.
Mei ignored her crushing desire to throw everything to the wind and take her immediately. She was going to take her time, no matter how unbearable it was. She had waited too long for it to be over that quickly. Mei slipped her fingers beneath the elastane rim as she formed each honeyed thought in her mind. She was going to take it so achingly slow. She would make Harumi beg, just as she had fantasised it a hundred times over.
Mei's slim fingers barely found their way to Harumi's burning flesh when her hand finally shot out and gripped her, her fingers were feverishly warm about Mei's shuddering wrist.
Mei knew it was over even before she found Harumi's eyes.
She knew she wasn't strong enough to bear the image that would meet her weak vision, but she looked anyway.
Harumi's eyes were still clouded with unforgettable lust, her plum hair stuck to her forehead with sweat, but now a sliver of resolve dwelled within their gorgeous heat. And to Mei's crippling despair, she found its dominance was building with every ebbing second.
''Mei,'' Harumi near choked the name; it was pain for her. ''We can't do this. You know, we can't do this.''
Mei stopped dead. She felt Harumi's hand move up and across her cheekbone, her thumb brushing past her most recent wound. Mei grimaced; Harumi's touch was pain.
Harumi raised her hand slightly at the injured expression, she hovered an inch from Mei's hot skin as she forced the words through her dry throat. Mei wouldn't look at her.
''You still love Yuzu, don't you?''
Mei heard Harumi's words but chose not to register them immediately. Even against the close of her eyes, her mind was constantly throttling her with the image of Harumi beneath her, beneath her and hurting because of her. She was so certain, after so many years, she'd never find herself in the same situation again. She'd sworn it. She hesitated, the words caught in her throat as she stared at the black metal of the hood.
''Of course, I do.''
''And so do I, more than anything in the world.''
Mei finally allowed Harumi's gentle hand to guide her reluctant vision from the hood to her. Mei looked at Harumi. She was still so vulnerable in her plum haired dishevelment and obviously struggling immensely. Mei couldn't stop her thoughts; if she wanted her, it would be too damn easy.
''Mei, listen to me.''
She was listening.
''You're her sister, and I'm her best friend. We're two opposite poles, separated by thousands of miles and-, '' Harumi pushed past the sensation of Mei's trembling skin,'' and for her world to work- our world, we need to fulfil our roles or else it'll crumble.''
The tears were already falling, salty and wet, plopping down onto Harumi's forehead. Mei was embarrassed she couldn't stop them, but it hurt too much to try. She pressed Harumi's warm hand up against her cheek, clinging to it for dear life as she waited for the finale to her own personal tragedy.
''We live in two different worlds, and those worlds should never meet, Mei. This was just a fluke state of circumstance, our centre has been threatened, so we need each other, just this once, to save it.'' Harumi made no attempt to wipe away Mei's tears as they fell lightly on to her cheek, ''
If we kill that centre, by doing this, we'll finish up killing ourselves too.
Something like this, '' Mei could feel Harumi's hand shuddering against her face, '' is, and will always be, just a means to an end. We exist for Yuzu, and that's it.''
Mei released Harumi's hand. It slipped from her fingers and hit the hood with a dull thud. Harumi had spent her strength.
It would have been easy.
Mei slid her knee from between Harumi's legs and slipped gently off the car. Harumi raised herself to a sitting position shortly after, her gazing purposefully avoiding Mei's. She was shaking. It was over.
''Times like these, I could really do with a smoke."
It occurred to Mei on a flimsy breeze of thought that she hadn't seen Harumi smoke a single cigarette in a some time. The weak relevance of the notion solidified as Mei realised another strike against her building list of fault, her sudden advance on Harumi clearly triggering some latent symptom of withdrawal.
Mei looked at Harumi's anguished face. She hated the expression on her. Slowly, she reached inside her pocket and withdrew the two items she had immediately hidden upon her discovery of them.
The sound of the cigarettes shifting against their cardboard home echoed dimly off the limestone walls. Mei pulled out a stick. She looked into Harumi's amber eyes as she very softly and deliberately placed the cigarette between her slightly parted lips.
She struck the match. It hissed into existence, throwing their shadows into a devil's waltz across the cave walls.
Mei held the naked flame to the tip extending from Harumi's lips. The paper caught and crumpled as it began to burn.
Mei stamped the sensation of Harumi's breath against her skin firmly in her memory. She bathed in her last hope and then with finality, blew the flame into extinguishment. The world fell once more back to darkness.
The brief flame had died.
Mei looked away from the reflected gold of the burning cigarette that dwelled in Harumi's apologetic eyes.
''It's incredible what you can find in the chaos of a glove compartment when you're searching for something else entirely.''
''Yeah, I guess it is.''
''Wake me up in an hour,'' she said as she forced herself to step away, '' I'll drive the first half while you sleep.''
Harumi nodded, ash falling to the sand below as she listened to Mei's retreating footsteps and the slam of the car door.
/
Mei sat in cold silence, staring into nothingness. Twenty minutes passed. Eventually, the passenger door opened, and Mei felt the car dip as Harumi slipped into the adjacent seat. Her cigarette was gone and with it, the shaking. The scent of sea salt mingled with the memory of tobacco.
''It's cold out.''
''I find it's often cold near the sea.''
''Yeah, I suppose so, '' Harumi shifted to a more comfortable position in her seat, ''Night's like this, I was always glad of Shinobu's company.''
Mei continued to stare into nothingness for a minute more; Harumi was silent throughout.
Mei waited a moment more then finally rose from her seat. She crawled quietly over the handbrake and across to the passenger side of the car. She waited again, then settled softly onto Harumi's lap. Dispensing with her last remnant of hesitation she leant her head against Harumi's warm breast. Drawing her arms up to her own chest, she didn't protest as Harumi wrapped an arm around her back.
Mei pushed back against the growing disease of her mind. Guilt was hers. It hurt. But it was bliss too. She convinced herself she could only focus on one at a time.
The waves crashed.
''Yuzu was right, you are like a living pillow.''
''Shut up, Prez," Harumi whispered, resting her chin softly on Mei's head.
/
Harumi remained awake for the first hour of the drive. The early night held a river of fear and anticipation alive in its deep basin, but nonetheless, was never disturbed. The Challenger hummed uninterrupted around the outskirts of Osaka and Kyoto before returning gratefully unscathed to the water's edge. Mei relaxed a little as she drove down the quiet road, Lake Biwa sparkling in the reflected lamplight adjacent as she allowed her tethered thoughts to finally wander freely. The shifting black waters and low rumble of reality crossed into the dreamscape as Harumi's body finally gave in to restless sleep.
Three hours rolled by.
By the fourth hour, Mei was beginning to find the drive therapeutic. She didn't wake Harumi but instead allowed the darkened mountains to shunt by. The colossal forms of the mountainous hills dotted with the thousands of evergreen lives that swayed upon them swept her up in their stride. Their hulking bodies began to make her feel incredibly small as she slipped by them, travelling to somewhere and at the same time nowhere inside her rumbling metal box.
She found herself pleasantly surprised that the advancing feeling was not one of inferiority but rather pleasant in every aspect. Its vast tide placed her life and its thousand dimming problems further into perspective with every passing stone. She allowed herself to be swept along with it.
The sloping roads gave way to flat plains and gorgeous farmland by the seventh hour, the sky beginning to redden as she dipped onto a walkway bisecting two opposing paddy fields. The horizon was clearly visible across the endless landscape; the air cold and clear felt crisp against her throat. Mei watched the world dazed as she slid down the straight, the red sun rising to a bloody orange across the dewy fields. The scent of morning hung thick and cloying in the air of the brilliant dawn.
Harumi finally awoke just as the sun had climbed to its most vivid yellow. The welcoming scent of salt had returned, the sea of Japan crashing against unseen shores far below. Mei's higher attention found Harumi as she heard her straighten herself out of the nest of leather she had slumbered in for the past nine hours.
The stark red lines of the dashboard clock demanded 10:07am had finally come to claim her.
Mei's tentative hand rested near the handbrake, a habit not undone despite the cars automatic transmission.
Harumi's warm fingers found hers as she turned her vision back on the yellow-lit road before her. She swallowed profoundly, noting the cars long flickering shadow as any remaining abstraction of negative energy was obliterated under the solidity of Harumi's touch.
She blacked out all her fear as the weatherbeaten sign of Sakata finally hurtled by.
/