Naoto closed his eyes and inhaled deeply through his nose. The tangy salt air smelled wonderful. He gave a slight smile and opened his eyes back up, looking across gentle ocean swells to the islands slowly sliding by. His artist's eye appreciated the lush, emerald green foliage of the islands set against the blue sky above, all of it smothered like honey by the golden morning sunlight. He opened his awareness and returned to his place at the railing of the ferry. The low sound of the big marine diesel engines underlay the excited buzz of classmate's chatter. At the same time, the sheets of spray shoved skyward from the ferry's bow created an intermittent sizzling sound as they fell back into the sea, as the ferry pushed its way through the swells. Around him on deck, his fellow students talked with one another, the exciting novelty of being together but not in the school building galvanizing them. He watched as the wind toyed with the girls' long hair, gently whipping it across their faces. The way they unconsciously pushed the hair back behind an ear was cute in a way he was sure they didn't intend. As soon as this thought struck him, he glanced around for Nagatoro. His eyes sought her out and found her where she stood near the stern, laughing with her friends.
Though he wished she was there beside him, he was glad for the chance to observe her without her notice. He smiled at how she laughed and spoke animatedly with her friends, arms sometimes flying to emphasize her speech. Seeing her across the deck, and being unaware of his observation, made his heart ache for her. A little bit.
"Just a little bit of longing is OK, I suppose." He whispered to himself.
As if she had heard him, or perhaps she had felt his eyes on her, Nagatoro's gaze found his. Her smile widened, and she stuck out her tongue at him. Despite the playful rudeness of the gesture, he returned the smile before quickly turning again to gaze across the water.
He remembered his excitement upon learning that this year's field trip would be to the Surinochi Island Nature Preserve, a 2000 hectare island dedicated to maintaining a wild space. There were hiking trails, a rustic amphitheater, a restroom area, and a bonfire area. Still, aside from those concessions to convenience, every effort had been made to minimize human impact on the island. The visit today would be his second to the island. His first visit had been two years ago with a wildlife art club. That trip had filled his sketchbook with Sika deer, squirrels, hares, and sea lions. Though he painted still life pieces while in school, he loved drawing in nature. He had even convinced his parents on several occasions to plan some family vacations near wilderness areas to better hone his technique.
A non-too-gentle shove from behind pushed him into the ferry railing.
"Are you thinking about going for a swim, Senpai?" came the familiar giggle from behind him. Nagatoro. Of course. She grabbed his shoulder and pulled him away from the railing slightly. "I can't let you do that. I've seen how you swim. I'd just have to jump in and rescue you, and I didn't bring my swimsuit."
"Ah…No…I wasn't…." Damn it. Whenever she was around, his tongue turned to stone, and he sounded like…like an idiot.
"It's a good thing, too," she purred while smiling up at him. "Imagine being rescued by a little girl kohai in front of all these people."
"Ah, Paisen! I see Hayachi stopped you before you jumped."
Without turning, Naoto thought, "Of course, again. Gamo-chan. Which means…"
As though she read his mind, Yoshi's voice sounded behind him as well, "No jumping!"
Sighing inwardly, Naoto thought to himself, "so that just leaves…."
"But if you did jump in, maybe someone would give you mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, Senpai!" And there was the last of the Nagatoro family, Sakura.
Privately, he had always appreciated Sakura. At least she wasn't cruel, and her disposition was usually sweet. She didn't unnerve him as much as the rest of Nagatoro's friends.
He turned to face them. They had cleared a small space around him on the crowded deck as if by magic. Their exuberant and sometimes loud nature -as well as the widespread knowledge of their judo acumen- tended to cause their classmates and even upperclassmen to give them a bit more space than they would to other students. They were all smiling at him, and he again thought himself a mole among the jaguars.
"You hadn't thought of mouth-to-mouth, had you, Senpai? You really want to jump in now, don't you?" Nagatoro gave his shoulder another pull. "I guess it's up to me to keep the rest of the girls safe from your lewd plans. You're staying right here."
Naoto felt his face flush as he thought, "This is so stupid. Why do I still let myself get worked up by these idiotic jabs? This is grade-school level teasing."
"Uh…" He said, desperately seeking a change of subject, "Did you see the orcas earlier?"
A general squeal of pleasure erupted. "They were so cute, but kind of scary too," gushed Sakura. "I took a few photos and sent them to my boyfriend before we lost cell reception."
"I was on the other side of the boat," pouted Yoshi. "They didn't stay very long after I finally got to where I could see them."
"We might see more." Consoled Gamo-chan. "I hope so. They're so cool! I'd hate to be a seal, though!"
"How much longer before we get there?" asked Yoshi.
"Another half-hour. I think." Replied Naoto, glancing toward the bow. "We're supposed to be there from 9 am to 5 pm."
"Oh! Time enough to go get a hot tea inside! Come on!" said Nagatoro and started moving for the stairs that led below decks. Her friends moved to follow. Nagatoro turned and spotted Naoto still at the railing after a few steps.
"Senpai! Aren't you coming?" She called.
"N-No, I'm going to keep looking for more orcas." He replied. Though he would not have minded having some hot tea, the interior of the small ferry was crowded by students avoiding the morning chill. The prospect of being surrounded by all of the noise and people, along with the rise and fall of the ferry's hull, sounded like a recipe for seasickness. He could imagine the torment arising from his pale, sweaty, nauseous condition, should anyone notice.
"OK, but remember," she scolded, "No jumping in!"
"Later, Paisen," Said Gamo-chan as she turned for the stairs.
"Bye-bye! "Added Yoshi, while Sakura smiled and gave a small wave. He lifted his hand to wave back, but they were already gone.
.
The excitement on the ferry increased as the island preserve loomed larger ahead. With agonizing slowness, the island grew in the students' vision until the tone of the ferry's engines changed, and the craft slowed, bow settling lower into the ocean and the great wash of its wake catching up to the hull and flowing by. The dock extended out into the sea, its terminus adorned with colorful vertical banners welcoming visitors. Slowing further, the ferry gently pulled alongside, then gently nudged the dock, crewmembers leaping down with lines to tie her fast to the cleats. Soon the gangway was extended, and energized students began to stream off like army ants on the march. Onshore, teachers directed them immediately to the amphitheater.
Naoto saw that little had changed since he had been here last as he proceeded down the dock. A short walk from the pier led visitors to a forest clearing on the shore that contained the only facilities on the island. The amphitheater filled a shallow depression, with a small raised speakers platform on one side. Sizeable logs split lengthways to form benches filled the remaining space. It appeared as though there was room for a hundred or so visitors to be seated, and the log benches were very nearly all filled. Several portable toilets were tucked in the woodline at the edge of the clearing. A fire pit with several benches surrounding it was also near the edge of the forest.
After roll call, the nature preserve director welcomed them and reminded them of the rules. He encouraged them to take photos, but nothing else. He explained that they were beyond the range of cell phone reception and warned them to stay on the trails or the observation areas, as help would be delayed in case of a serious injury. They were to gather back at the amphitheater for a midday meal and another roll call, then return for the 5 pm departure.
Naoto had lost Nagatoro and her friends in the chaos of disembarkation but noted their replies on the opposite side of the amphitheater as they replied to the roll call. The director's dismissal caused pandemonium as students headed for the several different paths into the preserve. Naoto remained seated and hefted his daypack onto his lap, unzipping the main compartment as he let the crowd of students and teachers dissipate. He peered inside the pack and inspected its contents for the fourth time since he left home that morning. Sketch pads, assorted pencils, sharpener, his bento box, a couple bottles of green tea, and one of water. Two snack bars leftover from late-night study sessions at the library lay battered but intact at the bottom of his pack. He toyed with the pencil case, checking the tips of his beloved drawing instruments for want of anything else to do to kill time. His brief and redundant inventory complete, he stood with a sigh.
Few students remained in the clearing, and with enough space to suit him, he slowly walked toward the path he remembered from last time. A few meters down the trail, he crossed a tiny rivulet of water on a diminutive wooden bridge, no more than a pace end to end. He stopped to peer down into the little trickle of water, cheerfully bouncing from stone to stone on its way to the sea. He set his knapsack down on the bridge railing and retrieved his sketch pad and a selection of pencils.
"This is gonna be a great day," he thought, turning the sketch pad to a clean sheet.
.
"Hey Hayacchi," Called Gamo-chan. "Where's Paisen?" She had come to a stop at the top of a small rise in the trail.
"I thought he'd have caught up to us by now," Nagatoro replied, with a glance back down the path in the direction of the clearing.
"Did you tell him which trail to take?" asked Sakura, panting slightly from keeping up the pace Gamo-chan had set.
"Um… No. I didn't think of it." Said Nagatoro, mentally kicking herself. She had been keen to spend some time with Senpai today, but in all the excitement, she had charged off down the trail following Gamo-chan. "I'll go back and find him."
"You could just switch off at lunch," Gamo-chan offered. "Spend the rest of the morning with us, then go hang out with Paisen in the afternoon. Even though we won't have as much fun, and we'll miss you terribly!"
"Boyfriend!" Agreed Yoshi.
"You guys are so cute together. He's like an adorable little baby tiger cub." Sakura gave a dramatic sigh. She turned away but looked at Nagatoro out of the corner of her eye. "Maybe I shouldn't have given him up so easily. I was his first, after all. Remember?"
Even in the bright sunlight, Nagatoro's reddened cheeks became evident. "Let's just keep moving, shall we?" She brushed by Gamo-chan, starting a brisk pace up the trail. "Maybe we'll see some squirrels or something."
Gamo-chan turned to Yoshi, "Squirrels, huh?" she asked skeptically.
"She's nuts," agreed Yoshi, as she began to trot after Nagatoro.
.
Lunchtime proved to be another chaotic affair, though somewhat tempered by the exertion of the morning. Many students spent the morning bolting up and down the kilometers of trails, calling to one another in the exuberance of being outdoors, and now displayed markedly flagging energy levels. Naoto smiled to himself. "Everybody got excited and headed out on the trails fast and far, while I stayed close to the beginning of the trails. There was hardly anybody around to disturb me as I sketched. After lunch, everybody is going to be tired and stick close to the dock, so that's when I'll go to the far end of the island."
"Senpai! Hello, Senpai! Pay attention! Your kohai is talking to you!" He blinked and turned to Nagatoro.
"What?" He paused, hashi full of yakisoba noodles from his bento box hovering halfway to his mouth. After a few beats, he slowly returned the noodles to their compartment.
"I said, 'where were you all morning?'" asked Nagatoro accusingly. "We were looking for you."
"Nagatoro was looking for you," corrected Gamo-chan. "But we were looking for squirrels."
"I uh, was drawing." He shared. "Close by here."
"Why close by here? Are you afraid of the forest? Or were you afraid of us?" inquired Gamo-chan. "Nagatoro promised me she wouldn't try to bite you anymore."
Yoshi added, "Nibble nibble!"
"Hey! It's broad daylight! I don't hunger for blood until a full moon." protested Nagatoro.
"That's werewolves, not vampires, I think." Sakura supplied helpfully, then turned to Naoto. "Can I see your sketches?"
Naoto carefully set his bento aside and pulled the sketch pad from his pack, handing it to Sakura. "I think… I think I have a pretty good one of a turtle. He was a good model. Only moved a little."
He turned to look at Nagatoro. "What? So I move around a bit." She said defensively.
"Mmm," replied Naoto.
"Yeah. Just a bit." She asserted. Her lips then formed a wicked grin. "Besides, I look way better in a swimsuit than any turtle.
Yoshi giggled, "True, Senpai!"
Naoto said nothing but resumed eating his lunch while the girls leafed through the sketchbook, looking at the drawings. Going backward through the pages, they came to some of the previous illustrations of Nagatoro.
"Hey, Paisen. When are you going to start doing nudes of Nagatoro?" called Gamo-chan, looking over to him with a grin.
He began to cough violently as the girls laughed. He turned, ostensibly out of politeness, but really so they could not see his cheeks burn at the thought of Nagatoro nude. He had enough trouble enough keeping what he had seen of Nagatoro in the bath out of his mind. Sometimes he wasn't very successful in preventing those images from filling his vision. It had lead to all sorts of interesting feelings.
.
Lunch had concluded, and the students again took to the trails, this time slower than they had that morning. As Naoto lifted his bag to his shoulder, he noticed Nagatoro saying goodbye to her friends.
"See you later! Don't wait up for us! Senpai is going to take me into the woods and try to have his way with me, and it may take me a while to beat him senseless." She turned to face Naoto with a wicked grin. "You pervert. That's what you were thinking about, isn't it? You're so nasty, Senpai. So, so nasty."
"No…I…I didn't even know you were going with me, I guess." He stuttered.
"After you getting lost this morning? Somebody's got to keep you from getting eaten by tigers, and I guess it's got to be me."
"Tigers?" He furrowed his brow. "There aren't any ti.."
"Come on!" Nagatoro shouted as she grabbed him by the sleeve and began pulling him toward the direct trail to the far side of the preserve. "Let's go see some animals!"
As they walked briskly down the trail, Nagatoro asked, "Senpai, you saw quite a few animals this morning, huh? It's really beautiful here."
Naoto replied in a soft voice, "It took a while. After everybody went up the trails, and it got quiet again, the animals eventually came back out. That many people and that much noise made them hide."
"I bet you can relate." She said.
He glanced at her, inwardly bracing for another ration of abuse regarding his reserved nature. Instead, she had a small but genuine smile with -perhaps- a tiny amount of affection. He returned her smile with a brief, hesitant one of his own.
"You do remind me of a forest creature sometimes, Senpai." She continued. "But you know what? Even the littlest creature will fight back if you push it hard enough." Nagatoro looked hard at him for a moment, then turned to continue to pad up the trail.
.
They continued to make their way to the distant end of the preserve. Their careful and quiet progress paid dividends as they observed many of the creatures that lived in the woodlands. Naoto would sometimes pull the sketch pad from his day pack and quickly draw in the shapes of the creature and its surroundings. Nagatoro frequently watched over his shoulder, watching as a few hand movements produced a recognizable drawing, and a few more pencil strokes brought the image to life.
Finally, they came to the end of the trail. A wooden observation deck was built on a small cliff looking over the ocean. A breeze with a chill caressed them as they both leaned on the railing to watch the gentle waves break onto the rocks below. Naoto lifted his eyes to the horizon where the sun was low in the sky.
"That's just beautiful." He murmured. He glanced to Nagatoro at the rail beside him, gazing out over the water. She nodded. A thought occurred to him. "Hey, umm…Can you stay like that for a few minutes?"
"What?" she looked to him, then at his sketchbook held expectantly in his arms and smiled. "Oh. Sure! How do you want me?" She winked at him.
"Uh… just like that is fine." He said, stepping back several paces and setting his hand to flying over the sketch pad. After several minutes of glancing between Nagatoro and the pad, he smiled slightly.
"What's that pervy smile for? You aren't drawing me nude, are you? Let me see!" She left her place at the railing and crossed to him. He gave an exasperated sigh and turned the pad toward her.
"See? Fully clothed."
"Hmmm… I think I see a nipple. You creep, Senpai."
"What?" He quickly turned the pad back and peered at it.
"Now you're staring at my cartoon boobs! Ew! Gross!"
Despite her absurdity, he felt his face flush. Again. He thought, "Damn it, Naoto, you have got to quit letting her get to you like that."
To change the subject, he asked, "What time is it? It must be getting pretty late." He turned to glance at the sun low in the sky.
"We've got about 45 minutes before they start loading the ferry. And besides, they won't leave without us."
Naoto nodded and put his sketch pad away. "Let's head back to the boat." He said. "With the sun going down, it's getting kind of cool."
.
They made their way down the path, this time more briskly than before. The forest was darker this late in the day, and the chill was more definite under the canopy. They had not seen any of their classmates for more than an hour, and the feeling of isolation from the outside world settled over them even as they made their way toward their classmates and teachers.
Their feet thudded over a wooden bridge that spanned a grassy ravine. The few trees to seaward were even further down the slope, affording them another view of the ocean.
"Senpai! Let's get a picture!" Nagatoro grabbed Naoto's arm, pulling him to the bridge railing, turning him, and putting the sea behind him. She then ran across to the railing on the other side and propped her phone up carefully. After making Naoto move left, then right, then left again, she explained, "I want all of us in the picture!"
"Why do you want a picture? We're going to be late." He protested.
"Shhh." She replied, not even turning to look at him.
She selected the timer function, then scampered back to stand beside him. She faced the camera and spoke without moving her lips, "Remember to smile, Senpai."
Nagatoro's phone beeped three times, and as the third beep sounded, he felt her hand brush the hair on the back of his head. "Of course," he thought, "Bunny ears."
She laughed delightedly. " Another one! I'll be quick!" She darted across the width of the bridge to her phone. She stumbled on a loose board, and instead of grasping her phone, she clung to the railing to prevent a fall. The handrail swayed as she grabbed it, and she watched helplessly as her phone tumbled over the edge, falling into the ravine below.
"My phone!" she cried. "Oh no!"
Looking over the edge, she could not see where it landed. "I can't see it!"
Naoto crossed over and peered down, too. He did not spot it among the foliage either.
"I need to go get it!" She wailed, sprinting for the end of the bridge.
"Nagatoro, we're going to be late! They're going to yell at us!" He called to her.
"I don't care! My life is on that phone!"
"Just wait for a second! I have an idea!"
She did pause at that, one leg over the bridge railing on the upslope closest to the phone. "What?"
He took his backpack off his shoulder, opened the flap, removed his sketchbooks, pencils, and several other items, then hefted the pack experimentally. "Shouldn't be too light. But it shouldn't be too heavy, either." Turning back to the edge, he held the pack out over it, gave the pack the gentlest of swings outward, then let it drop. He watched it fall nearly 50 meters below and impact the long grass below. He could easily see its spot of color from the bridge. He turned to trot toward Nagatoro.
"Why did you do that," She asked as he got closer.
"The phone is small and dark. It's heavy for its size. It probably fell right through all the leaves and stuff and went straight to the ground." Privately, he hoped that the foliage had slowed her phone so that it did not shatter as it hit the earth. "The backpack is bigger, lighter, and more colorful. It won't fall too far into the grass and should be easier to spot from down there. They fell from the same place, so hopefully, the phone shouldn't be too far away when we find the backpack. "
She stared at him for a few moments. "Huh." She said, staring for a few more moments, then turning to finish her climb over the fence.
He jogged to her and looked over the edge, estimating that it was a couple meter drop to the slope below. "We ought to just go down from the top without jumping. It won't take much longer, and we probably won't twist an ankle or something."
He trotted to the end of the bridge and around its end, starting to carefully make his way down the steep slope. Nagatoro hesitated, then crawled back onto the bridge deck and followed.
The ravine proved to have much steeper sides than it appeared from above. Only through heavy exertion did they prevent themselves from tumbling to the bottom, and before long, they were both sweating heavily, drawing ragged breaths as they continued to make their way down. They clung to what substantial vegetation was present, becoming scratched and bloody as they skidded and slid.
"There's the pack," panted Naoto as the colored nylon came into view. "Let's leave it where it is…and start looking around it." He glanced back at her as she nodded in reply. They both began to look carefully, moving vegetation around and peering down while trying to maintain their footing. After casting about for what seemed an eternity, Naoto spotted the kitty cat ears of Nagatoro's phone.
He retrieved it and made his way to where she continued to look. "Here." He said, extending it to her.
"Oh! You found it!" she said, eagerly taking it and activating it, staring at the screen. "Yes! It still works!"
"Hey! We should get a photo now, too! You know, like, 'before and after!'" She moved in beside him, extending her phone in front of them, held low to emphasize the ravine's steepness behind them. She leaned in, and he could feel her heat in the cool air and smell her sweat. Or maybe it was his sweat. Despite the physical exertion and trouble they undoubtedly were in, he couldn't think of anywhere he'd rather be. He looked up the hill as she tucked her phone in a pocket.
"You know that was the easy part?" he groaned, looking up the steep slope while cinching the straps of the backpack tight.
"For you, it was: You're gonna carry me up, right?
.
It was close to dusk as they collapsed, panting at the top of the ravine, bloody, dirty, sweaty, and exhausted. By unspoken mutual agreement, they lay on their backs, catching their breath as their lungs bellowed in and out.
"We're…in…so…much…trouble." he gasped, staring up at the darkening sky.
"I wonder…why they…haven't come…looking for…us." She replied.
Naoto fumbled with the zipper of his day pack with one hand while remaining on his back. Finally managing to open it slightly, he thrust his hand inside. "Nagatoro."
"What?" She groaned.
"Water or green tea?" he asked.
"Huh?"
"Water or green tea? Which do you want?"
"Oh my God! Water! I could kiss you!"
"Uh...It's just water." He stammered, handing her the bottle.
.
After an all-too-short interval, Nagatoro hoisted herself to her feet with a groan. "OK, Senpai. Let's go face our punishment and go home. A hot bath is going to feel so-o-o good." She extended a hand down to help Naoto to his feet and smiled. "Maybe I'll call you from the tub again."
They trudged down the increasingly dark path toward the dock and amphitheater. Signs indicated that it was just a hundred meters away, but Naoto was troubled.
"Do you hear anything?" He asked Nagatoro as he tried to quicken his pace.
"No. What do you mean?" She replied, glancing at him.
"There's supposed to be a hundred people here, probably hungry, tired and bored, waiting for us. But I don't hear a thing."
"No." She replied, shaking her head and breaking into a tired trot. "No, no, no, no, no!"
They stumbled tiredly into the clearing to find no students. There were no teachers. There was no preserve staff. There was no ferry. There were only the gentle sounds of the ocean slapping the rocks on the shore.
Nagatoro screamed and stomped toward the dock. "How the hell can they leave us? Aren't they supposed to do a roll call? What about my idiot friends? How did they notice we're not there?" she shouted. "What about my bath? What kind of place doesn't have cell phone reception?"
Behind her, Naoto sat heavily on one of the half-log benches. He put his head in his hands and tried to block out Nagatoro's ravings and think. Soon, she came to sit near him. Quite near him. "What are we going to do, Senpai?"
He gave a heavy sigh. "W…. Well, I think in the absolute worst case, we'll have to spend the night here. I'm sure there will be staff or visitors coming tomorrow. But probably Gamo-chan and the rest of them will tell the teachers when they can't find us. Even if that doesn't happen, when we don't come home, my mom or your mom will call the school or Gamo-chan. Gamo-Chan will tell them that the last place she saw us was here."
"Oh. Yeah. You're right." The tension in her shoulders seemed to abate, and she seemed to calm somewhat. "Worst case, overnight. That's not so bad."
"Nope. Not bad at all. Might even be fun." He said, trying to cheer her further.
"Absolutely not." She huffed, seizing on her familiar pattern like a lifeline. "I want none of your pervy games here tonight. Gross. We're stranded here on a deserted island, and all you think about is being a creepy sex maniac. I can't believe you, trying to take advantage of me in a situation like this."
"Uh…" But realizing the futility in refuting her ridiculous sally, he lay back on the bench and stared up at the darkening sky. After a few minutes, he pointed upward. "Hey, first star tonight." He turned his head to look at Nagatoro, keeping his arm raised to the sky. She sat with her knees to her chest, hugging them tightly and looking down.
"What's wrong?" he asked, dropping his arm and sitting up to face her.
"Nothing." She said, voice muffled by her knees.
She continued her silence for a time, staring into the darkness at her feet. Finally, she told him, "I'm getting cold."
He realized that he was getting cold, too. His clothes were damp with sweat after all of their exertions while retrieving Nagatoro's phone. Now that they had stopped moving, the cooler night air stole more and more heat. He glanced about the clearing. It was nearly full dark now, with just a faint sliver of grey in the western sky. He stood and walked toward the pier. After taking twenty steps, Nagatoro's voice called to him, a faint note of distress present. "Senpai, where are you going?"
Turning to face her, he said in a reassuring tone, "I'm not going far. Just over here. I'll be right back, OK?"
"OK. But no creepy stuff, you hear me?" she blustered.
"I promise. No creepy stuff."
He turned and continued down to the pier. Reaching the vertical banners, he bent to feel the base. He located the thumbscrew, which secured the banner to its pole, loosened it, and pulled the banner free, then did the same with the other banner. As he was finishing, he heard Nagatoro again.
"What are you doing? It doesn't sound like you're peeing."
His eyes had become adjusted to the darkness, and he was able to make out shapes. He carried the fabric to where Nagatoro remained seated. "Here. It's not a soft blanket, but it ought to help ward off the chill." He said, folding the banner in two and draping the layers over her shoulders. "Let me know if you're still cold. I have a spare."
She was silent for a moment, then said, "Thanks. Senpai." He smiled in the darkness. "You're welcome, Nagatoro."
They sat in the dark, still night. Naoto heard her fidgeting.
"You don't like it here?" he asked.
"I just don't like how quiet it is. It's creepy."
"Your phone works. You could play a game or something."
"I forgot to charge it last night. It's almost dead. Believe me, if I had a full battery, I'd have the light on."
Silence again reigned for several minutes.
"I bet you love it here." She said with a slightly bitter note.
"I don't mind it."
.
The Milky Way rose as darkness fell, and Naoto gazed up at it. He could never see the stars this clearly at home. The streetlights, traffic, and buildings all conspired to keep him from seeing the amazing sight of their galaxy's stars spread on the black canvas of night. This was something he could never hope to paint.
"I'm still cold, Senpai."
"You can have the other banner, and," he paused and thought. "I...I might be able to build a fire."
"What? Why didn't you say so? What are you waiting for?" She exclaimed.
"Well, I am not sure I can do it. I don't have any matches or anything, but…." He stood and again made his way into the darkness. This time, he only made it ten steps before Nagatoro shouted.
"Oh no! Not again. I'm going with you!" She exclaimed, rustling to her feet, keeping the banner drawn about her. "Where are you?"
"Over here." He spoke gently. "Towards the pier." Her rustling came closer, and she got close enough to grasp his arm.
"Where are we going?" She asked as they walked carefully in the darkness, again toward the pier.
"This morning, I saw one of the boat crewmen stop for a cigarette at the end of the pier. His lighter must have been empty because he threw it in the garbage can here. If it gives us even two seconds of flame, I am pretty sure I can start a fire. If it's completely empty, I can still use the striker part for the sparks, but it will be a lot harder to get a fire going. I guess the first step is going to be finding the lighter." He replied.
"So, you are going to blindly dig through the garbage can in the dark to find a lighter that might or might not work, to maybe build a fire?" She asked.
"Uh-huh." He said aloud. To himself, he said, "For you."
"It would be a lot easier if I could see, though. Probably harder than finding your phone, plus a little more disgusting. At least it's fresh garbage." He gave her a smile that she could not see. A thought struck him then.
"Hang on!" He cried, excitedly stuffing his hand into his front pants pocket. "Yes!" he called, pulling his ring of keys free. He fumbled briefly, and a tiny light shone forth.
"You had a flashlight all this time? Wait, why do you have a flashlight in your pants?" she said.
"Sometimes, when the lighting isn't right, it can be hard to tell the difference between two colors of paint. My mom got me that light to try to help. But it's a white LED, so sometimes it makes the colors look different than they would in natural light. I don't use it a lot. I sort of forgot about it. "
"Let me see it a minute."
He handed it to her, and she examined it briefly. "It's the size of my little finger. It's adorable! Here." She said, handing it back to him.
"Why don't you hold it. That way, I'll be able to use both hands." He said, removing the garbage can lid with a sigh.
.
Ten long minutes and a pile of refuse later, he had found the lighter and tucked it into his pocket. He then put most of the litter back into the garbage can. "Ugh. I have to wash my hands. They're sticky, and they stink." He walked to the pier and thrust his hands into the ocean, rubbing them vigorously together.
"Can we build a fire now?" Nagatoro asked.
"You really don't like being by yourself, do you?"
"I'm not alone. You're here."
"You know what I mean."
She said nothing, but turned and began walking back to the fire pit area.
He called, "Hey, hold up a second. Bring the light back, will you?"
As she turned and drew near, he knelt and gathered the cans he had not replaced in the bin while Nagatoro directed the light where he was working. He stood and took a few paces. "Thanks."
"What's with the cans? How can they help start a fire?" she queried from beside him as they walked.
"It's not for the fire. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty thirsty and dirty. If we can get a fire going, I'll take these to that little rivulet, rinse them out, fill them with water, and put them by the fire to boil. That'll kill any germs, so we can drink the water without getting sick. We can use a handkerchief or something like a washcloth and wash our faces with hot water, too."
Nagatoro remained uncharacteristically quiet and pensive as they returned to the fire ring. It was difficult for Naoto to see her expression as he set the cans down on a nearby bench.
She shifted side to side slightly, then said, "I have to pee. Can I take the flashlight?"
He suddenly stood. "That's a great idea!"
"What?" She shined the flashlight directly in his face. "Senpai, I said 'no creepy stuff.' Watching me pee definitely counts as creepy stuff. Gross!" she crowed, happy to return to a pattern with which she was familiar.
Naoto put his hands in front of him, waving them frantically from side to side. "N-no! I didn't mean… I wasn't talking about…."
"That's the senpai that I know." She giggled.
After a pause, while Naoto tried to regain his mental balance, she said, "Why is it a good idea to pee?"
"Uh...not the peeing part….exactly. There's probably toilet paper. It'll be easy to start a fire…Using toilet paper, I mean…" he stammered.
"Oh. Let's go then." She turned and started toward the toilets. "But if there's only a little toilet paper left, it's mine!" she said fiercely.
They arrived at the toilets, and Nagatoro took the light inside with her but re-emerged seconds later with a large handful of toilet paper. "Do you need more than that?"
"No, this is more than enough. Thanks. I'll start back." He turned to give her some privacy.
"No! Umm... Give me a couple seconds, and I'll walk back with you." She didn't wait for a reply and darted back inside. In the still night, he felt his cheeks redden as he heard the distinct noises of her urine splashing into the holding tank. She stepped out, holding the flashlight in her mouth while laving her hands together. He caught the scent of hand sanitizer, just as Nagatoro said, "Hey, this stuff has alcohol in it, right? Could we use it to help start the fire?"
"That's a good idea." He said, falling in beside her as they made their way to the fire ring. "But I've never practiced with alcohol, so I don't know if it's easier or harder to catch a spark with toilet paper or alcohol, though."
"Wait. 'Practiced?' why do you 'practice' starting fires?"
"I haven't in a few years. One summer, I went to a camp they put on for kids who like art. The program at the camp focused on drawing, painting, and sculpting animals and trees and stuff. They took us out into the forest every day to look at nature. One of the things they did was talk about outdoor survival. I thought it was kind of dumb at first. I mean, look where we live: In the middle of a city. But after I got into it, it was actually kind of fun. We practiced starting fires all sorts of different ways."
"So could you make fire by rubbing two sticks together?" she asked.
"No, that's movie stuff. We tried things like bow drills, though. I never managed to get a real fire going that way. All I got was a little wisp of smoke. The instructor made it look easy, but it's not."
"All right, Bear Grylls, how do we make a fire?" she teased.
He stood silently for a moment, then spoke. "We need to find wood. All different sizes. Come on, I'll show you if you hold the light for me."
They walked to the edge of the forest, and Naoto began looking intently at the ground. "What we want to first is really little, really dry sticks of dead wood. Stuff that's alive has too much moisture in it, and it won't burn very well. It can't be stuff that's touching the ground, or it absorbs moisture. That doesn't work either." Nagatoro walked beside him and directed the little light wherever he seemed to be looking. They found the tiny, dry twigs he was looking for, then moved on to locating larger and larger twigs and sticks.
Finally, his hands were full, and he stood. "I should have brought my pack. I guess we'll need to make a few trips."
Nagatoro thought for a moment. "Come here."
He walked to her as she reached down and gathered the hem of her skirt, lifting it to form a shallow pouch.
"No peeking, Senpai." She said as he dropped his handfuls of fire fuel in her skirt.
"It's too dark…" he mumbled as he turned away. "Even if I wanted to."
He collected as much fuel as his hands could carry, then they returned to the fire ring, dropped off what they had collected for armloads of larger branches.
"This is a lot of work," she said. "I can see why people went with gas or electricity."
"Yeah. Nothing beats being able to be hotter or cooler with the flip of a switch." He replied. "Still, I think it's nice to do it the old way every so often. It makes you appreciate how good we have it now."
.
They made their way back to the fire ring, and Naoto lay out the different sizes of fuel. He prepared a bed of fuel, then took the toilet paper out of his pocket. He began to worry it apart, gently pulling, shredding, and tearing to making it more and more fluffy. When he was satisfied with his preparations, he retrieved the lighter from his pocket and held it up to Nagatoro. "If we get two seconds of flame, we're in business. Even one second. So keep your fingers crossed."
He took a deep breath, let it out, then held the fluffy toilet paper very near the lighter. Flick! Dim sparks erupted, but no flame. Flick! Fewer sparks and no flame. Flick! A tiny all-blue flame appeared, and Naoto swiftly brought the fuzzy toilet paper close, daring not to exhale lest the flame disappear. The puff of paper caught with a cheery orange flame, and Nagatoro cheered and clapped. He quickly placed the tiny fire on the fuel bed and began dropping the smallest twigs on top fast, but not too fast. As the fire grew, he placed progressively longer twigs and branches atop the little blaze. He soon let out the breath he was holding and fed the larger pieces more slowly.
"That was way more work than I thought." She said, the flames illuminating her face fully for the first time in hours.
"Yep." He replied, eyes still on the flames. "Fires start out small. Just a spark, really. You have to be careful when they're that new. They're pretty delicate, for all they can become later. But in the beginning, even a little wind, like from your voice, can put it out. You have to be careful so that you don't push away the very thing you wanted. If you kill that spark, well, sometimes you only have one chance at it." He continued looking into the fire for a moment, then glanced up at Nagatoro, seated on a bench across the fire from him.
She stared back at him. After a moment, she spoke softly, "I didn't realize that flames were so delicate."
He looked back down at the flames, which had grown considerably as he fed them. "Not all of them are. Some quick flames, like a stove or a welding torch, they're not so delicate."
He fed another piece of wood into the fire. "They don't get very big, though, and they don't last very long. They're quick to start, and they're quick to stop. Your stove only burns long enough to cook a meal, right? But this?" he gestured to the fire. "Started from that little spark we cared for? We can make it as big as we want to, and it will burn for a long, long time. With a little care."
He looked across the dancing flames at her. She met his eyes and nodded thoughtfully.
With the fire blazing nicely, he gained his feet. "And now, to get water. Do you want to come, or do you want to warm up? Oh, don't get those banners too close to the fire: We'll be in really big trouble if we melt them."
"I think I'll wait here." She said, pulling her eyes away from the dancing flames to look at him. "Don't be gone too long."
He nodded and gathered the empty cans in his arms. "Can I have the flashlight?"
She handed it to him, and he took it while fumbling the cans slightly. He started off into the darkness but had only gone a little way before dropping most of the cans. He muttered an impolite word and bent to retrieve them when he heard Nagatoro pad up behind him.
"You're hopeless, Senpai. You need me." Her voice had an oddly strained timbre. "Give me the light." He handed the light to her, which she shined on the scattering of cans. He picked them up, and they continued to the little stream. He picked his way down the bank and set to rinsing and filling each of the cans while Nagatoro stood on the bank above to illuminate his work. Shortly, he finished the chore and regained the bank with some difficulty, juggling cans and falling to his knees occasionally as he climbed. Water sloshed from the cans as he hugged them to his chest, soaking his front again.
.
Back at the fire, Naoto knelt and nestled the cans of water close to the blaze after feeding it more wood. He sat back, took up the second banner, and drew it about his shoulders. It really was getting colder.
"Now, we wait. Probably ten or fifteen minutes before the water boils, then about that long for it to cool off enough to drink. We can pour it back into the green tea and water bottles, so we don't have to put our lips on that soot and ash on the cans."
Nagatoro stared at him for a few moments. "Oh my GOD!" She yelled while throwing her hands into the air, startling him.
"What?" he said as he leaped to his feet and looked about wildly, eyes huge."What?"
"You! Who are you?" She shouted. "You are not….I repeat, not…. The art club senpai."
His hands fell to his sides, and he cocked his head to the side, furrowing his brow. "Huh?"
She held up a hand, one finger raised. "One! The backpack off the bridge to help me find my phone."
"Two!" She cried, raising another finger, shaking it for emphasis, "Figuring out how long we're stuck here, and calming me down."
A third finger pointed skyward, again shaking briefly for emphasis. "Three!" She put her hand down long enough to clutch the banner she had wrapped around her like a blanket before returning it to the air. "This thing. To keep me warm!"
Another finger went up with a shake, "Four! This fire!" She pointed at the cheery blaze in the fire ring.
"Five!" her hand was splayed in the air now. "That stupid…." Her voice caught briefly, "that stupid fire metaphor or whatever it was!"
With a finger raised, her other hand went up to join the first as the banner slid off her shoulders. "Six! Purifying water, for God's sake! Who does that?"
"Seven!" Another finger went up. "You have talked more in the past day than I have heard the entire time I've known you."
She looked down and let her hands fall to the banner, drawing it over her shoulders again. She looked back up at Naoto and gave a hard squint. "What is your deal?"
"Uh…my deal?" he asked, still a little shocked by her words.
"Yeah: Your deal. Why aren't you like this in school? It's like you are a completely different person here. You're…" She looked away from him and the fire, into the night, then back at his feet. "You're… almost cool."
Despite the circumstances, he felt a smile play across his lips. "Nagatoro said I was cool," he thought to himself, "'almost.'"
"Come over here and sit down." She patted the bench beside her, "and explain yourself."
He slowly crossed to where she indicated and sunk to the bench. She scooted a little closer, so she was directly beside him. She continued to squint at him as he adjusted his banner, looking anywhere but at her.
"Well?" she said expectantly.
"I….I am not sure what you mean." He stammered.
"Like hell, you don't. Why are you so different here?" She pushed her face closer to his. "Tell me, or I'll beat it out of you."
Uncertain if she was serious about the beating, he took a deep breath and looked out across the gentle ocean ripples reflecting a sliver of moon. "Well…" he began. "There's nobody here."
"I said no creepy stuff," she interrupted. "And I meant it. No matter how cool you are."
"No, no! I mean that...Right now...it's just you and me." He sighed heavily and glanced at her. "Well... you still make me nervous, but not so much anymore. I mean, no other kids are staring at me, calling me names, being loud, and…." He paused. "Things like that. There are no car horns, no traffic, no shrieking girls. It's….It's just hard for me to think when I'm around that stuff."
He looked squarely at Nagatoro. "You're a fish who swims in that sea, Nagatoro. You belong there. You thrive there. You breathe that atmosphere. You're everything that it takes to succeed there. You're cute. You're smart. You're popular. You're respected. People are drawn to you."
He looked back into the dancing flames. "Maybe I do know a little bit about starting a fire and purifying water. Maybe," Naoto waved his hand to indicate the fire, the island, the forest, the nearly boiling cans of water, and the darkness, "….I do know a bit about this stuff. Fire and water and stuff like that. But we don't live in this world; we live in your world. And that's a place that takes a lot of work for people like me."
He dropped his gaze to look at his hands. "I'm not stupid. I'm just not that good with people."
He felt her lean into him and sigh. He thought about offering to share their banners, to get closer to her, to feel her skin on his, but the day had been a long one, and through his exhaustion, he couldn't bring himself to move, except to lean back into her a bit.
.
They sat leaning against one another for a long while, until Nagatoro's breathing became deeper and slower. After a time, he gently rose and helped a sleepy Nagatoro to curl up on the bench. He took his banner, draped it over her, and began to step away to tend the vigorously boiling cans of water and the fire.
As he fussed with the boiling cans, her sleepy voice sounded behind him. "Senpai?"
"Yes?" he turned to look at her, so achingly cute despite her dirty face and frizzy hair.
"You won't go far? You'll stay and watch over me?" Her eyes remained closed as she mumbled the words.
"Yes, Hayase. I will. This fire is burning pretty well."
"Good." She breathed, squirming into her makeshift blankets.
.
Several hours later, she awoke to Naoto shaking her shoulder, the fire still bright over his shoulder.
"Nagatoro? I think our ride is here." He pointed toward the pier, where a white light from across the water became brighter as she watched, and the low throb of a diesel engine tumbled across the sea to her ears.
She looked at his dirty and scratched face in the firelight and gave a small smile. "So soon?"
