The noise of Coastal Nishiura was but a murmur at this time of the evening; the distant lights in You's field of vision were unmoving, and the bay was mostly empty. The shops across the street were shut, and just under half the neighbourhood beyond seemed awake; even as she listened for nearby cars, she heard nothing between the occasional fluttering of the nearby fabric signs, the gentle wind from the ocean, and its steady waves less than ten metres away. The smell was familiar as ever - one half night air, one half ocean air.
She caught herself almost internally commenting on how lonely Uchiura felt right now, but refrained, reminding herself that at this moment, she was not.
Kanan stepped outside, still buttoning her jacket. A slight tension in her cheeks suggested she was primed to say something.
"Well, this was fun~ I should probably get home now. I've still got work tomorrow, you know?" She said, coming to a stop in front of her side of the car door.
"The ferry isn't operating at this time...How are you going to get home?"
"Not to worry! There's an inn near the ferry terminal I book for these days."
Ah, I see...
"Doesn't that get, um...expensive?"
"It's only a few thousand yen or so", Kanan replied, pre-emptively hunching over to reach the car door handle, "So it doesn't hurt too much in the grand scheme of it all. It's only once a month, usually."
You broke eye contact to locate the car keys on her keyring, and unlocked the car; Kanan was the first to enter. You followed suit, and the noise of Numazu ceased. The waves, the breeze, the fluttering of the signs - silenced. The car engine hummed to life shortly afterwards, and You once more turned her GPS screen to Kanan, absentmindedly turning on the car's heating as her arm returned to the gear stick. She didn't look at the time on the 24-hour display, but she could see out of the corner of her eye that the first digit was a two.
"I think I'll have to...go to this restaurant again. who knew that place was so close to Uranohoshi?"
"...Well, um. Kind of close?" You continued. "But I never really crossed the river this side."
"Really?" Kanan said. "I guess for most people, Nishiura is quite the walk when you've just finished school, anyway. And plus, the cafe was closer."
"The one we went to a few times that overlooked the bay? The, um...what's the name..."
"Mm! I know the one. There were plenty more on the bus route home, though."
The route to the inn kept them close to the coastline on one side and close to the hills on the other. The roads were mostly empty, and most non-residential buildings were dark; Numazu had already gone to sleep.
Should I turn the radio on...? Actually, no...I'd rather talk to Kanan.
Over the bridge; Nishiura became Uchiura, and the mikan orchards passed by quickly as the hills of Uchiura beckoned.
"Hey, Kanan?"
"Mmm?"
"I haven't kept you up too late, have I...? I...I know you always woke up earlier than the rest of us, and I thought...I thought usually you'd be getting ready to sleep around this time...my apologies."
"It's fine, it's fine!" Kanan said, waving one hand in front of her face in gesture. "I got to hang out with you, so it's no trouble at all."
"I'm glad to hear it, ehehe~"
Kanan rested her head back on her seat, and inhaled.
"It's nice to see Numazu again, though..."
"How do you mean?"
"Hm?"
"You said it's nice to see Numazu again?"
"Ah! Well, I mean...I was away for a while getting my instructor's certification, you know?"
"Where did you go?"
"Okinawa!"
Okinawa...? That far away? I was expecting her to say something like Osaka but that's so much further...weren't there other courses here in the Izu Peninsula? Numazu, even...
"That's...so far away..."
"Yep! It's where a lot of certification courses are. It was beautiful...do your ferries go to Okinawa?"
"I don't think any of them go that far...even Kagoshima's out of our reach..."
"Hey, Kanan...", You asked, "do you miss Okinawa?"
"Well..."
The car entered a tunnel - it was empty, and the sound of the car on the road echoed. The lights on the tunnel's roof passed by in an uneven blur, and streaks of light passed over the both of them rapidly.
"Maybe a little, but, I don't know...I'm happy here in Numazu, too."
Kanan?
"I've spent a long time away from this place...and every time I come back, everything's different, you know?"
"Different...?"
"Mmm. After a year in Okinawa, Numazu feels so different now. And plus, nobody really prepared me for how different Ryukyuan culture is from what we're used to. I felt like such a city girl there~"
Kanan laughed a little, and while You was unsure of whether it was genuine or not, she enjoyed the sound of it regardless.
"Ah, I see...and you had to come back here to help with the family business, right?"
"Yeah! Though, there's more to Numazu than just work. After all, this is where..."
The road opened up to the sight of Uchiura Bay. Boats bobbed quietly on the water's surface, and the hills of Uchiura continued to sleep in the distance.
"This is the place I know. It might not be the same Numazu as three years ago, and I may not be a student anymore, but..."
Kanan paused once more.
"But as Aqours, we helped boost tourism to this place, and I loved the feeling of showing people the place I know, and seeing them love it the way I do..."
You said nothing, choosing to let Kanan continue. For a moment, the hills and the ocean fell out of view, and a gauntlet of trees hung over the road.
"Even if everyone forgets Aqours, I won't forget this town and everyone in it!"
Kanan smiled - You couldn't see it, but she could hear it.
"Ah, I sound like Chika right now, don't I..."
Chika...
Uchiura Bay came back into view, and the moment passed. It was a sight they'd seen a thousand times: the same collection of buildings along the coast, the distant view of Awa Island, the watching hills of Numazu, the faint outline of Mt. Fuji...and the ocean that had been there long before anything else. You turned off the heating, realising the temperature in the car was slightly too comfortable. Kanan's gaze wandered to Uchiura Bay, and You stifled a yawn; a moment of comfortable quiet fell over both Kanan and You as the day's fatigue set in.
This used to be the route I took every day...we used to be students taking this route home every evening, seeing this same wonderful sight. Aqours, Chika, Mari, the others...it all feels so far away now.
I miss it.
The ocean fell out of view again as the road strayed from the coast, and You felt it; the sensation that, for better or worse, they were almost there. The car passed Mito Beach, and for a moment, You felt an ache rise in her throat.
Kanan...you stayed this close, but you really still don't know anything?
You pressed on, and Kanan sat up in anticipation, taking a moment to neaten her hair.
"Anywhere in this area is fine." Kanan said.
"It's fine! I'll get you as close as I can."
The car came to a stop in an empty car park opposite the inn. The moment You turned off the engine was the moment she knew that was it, and she fought the urge to sigh audibly, the engine's hum no longer present to cover her.
"Well, You...I had fun tonight. I'm glad I got to see you again."
"Me too! I hope we get to do this again..."
Meaning...I hope we do.
"Are you going to be around again anytime soon, You?"
"U-um, yeah, sometimes!"
I really have to find an excuse to be down here again...
Kanan smiled.
"I'm glad. Are you going to be okay getting home?"
"I am, I am! I know it's a long drive but I'll be fine."
You tried to stall, yet...nothing came to mind.
Kanan waited on words that never formed, and another moment passed.
"Thank you for driving me all this way," Kanan said, "and goodnight. Rest well tonight, okay?"
"Mm! It's my pleasure."
Kanan got out of the car, and You saw her ponytail swaying gently in the wind. She felt regret; a vague sense of regret, not about any one thing in particular. Almost compelled by some higher force to do so, she unbuckled her own seatbelt and exited the car. Kanan turned around, and the quizzical expression on her face was clear to see; acting on impulse alone, You approached Kanan and hugged her.
"Stay in touch, okay? You know where to find me. And thank you for tonight." You murmured.
Meaning...please don't disappear again.
Kanan didn't respond, though didn't pull away early in response, either.
Eventually, they both slowly let go and smiled; You got back into her car and continued north. Kanan raised one hand to wave You goodbye, and watched the car vanish from view.
Covering a yawn with her mouth, Kanan sauntered towards the inn, feeling the weight of her bag on her shoulder. She crossed the road, and did the same thing she did once a month: Enter inn, take off shoes, set shoes on shelf. Obtain slippers, don slippers, head upstairs quietly. Open door, enter room, turn lights on, set down bag, take off jacket, set down jacket.
She was familiar enough with the end of the night after a diving session that she could picture herself acting it out at a Bon Odori sometime; sometimes she'd throw in the occasional sigh on reflex. A "nothing" sigh; not for anything, not about anything.
It was the same ritual, only two hours ahead. The silence was nothing new, nor the dark sky or the dim lighting of the room.
Kanan walked to the window, and took in Numazu.
The distant crashing waves of the sea.
The silence of night-time Uchiura.
The ambivalent ocean winds.
The still night sky.
The hanging crescent moon.
Her shoulders felt heavy still.
She walked away from the window, turned her back on the ocean, and thought about the evening.
What was left unsaid.
What You Watanabe might know.
Kanan sighed heavily, and it wasn't a "nothing" sigh.
