Author's Note:
Hold on to your pants; this one's a doozie.
The following characters belong to Gonzo (as in the production company—who am I supposed to give credit to, anyway?).
. . .
"That's a nice composition." Saiga said, squinting through the camera that Kagura had set up on a tripod.
She grinned. "Thanks."
"You're really getting the hang of this."
"It's so much fun, Saiga." She stepped to the camera and snapped the picture. "I appreciate you teaching me."
"It's my pleasure," he replied. "I'm glad you enjoy it so much."
She spun the camera off the tripod and a fiddled with the focus ring. Settling into his side, she wrapped her arm around his waist and held the camera in front of their faces.
"Say cheese," she giggled.
He rested his cheek on her head. "Cheese."
. . .
"Tsujido?" Makabe called into the dark diner.
He slid off the barstool and grabbed the waitress' arm. He pointed to her. "Leave her. Kill the rest."
No one moved an inch as Tsujido passed Makabe and Niihari in the diner entrance. They poised their guns.
"You might want to get out of the way, miss." Niihari jerked his head at the waitress.
She clamped her hand to her mouth and fainted.
Tsujido climbed into the back of the car and stretched across the backseat. He listened to the gunshots ricocheting off bodies and walls and dishes. His eyes began to droop closed.
"So," Niihari said as he slipped into the passenger seat. "You wanna tell us what the hell happened?"
"Mr. Saiga has a death wish—that's what happened." Tsujido answered.
"Mr. Suitengu wanted you to call him when we picked you up." Makabe said, handing Tsujido his phone as he started the car.
"Mr. Suitengu," he droned when his superior picked up his phone.
"I trust that whatever you did will not happen again, correct?"
"Absolutely, Sir."
"Make sure it does not. Find that thief and bring back our Goddess, then. Your services won't be required in Tokyo for awhile. Just find that scum."
"Yes, Sir."
Twilight faded slowly into night, pushing yawns to Saiga's throat. He rubbed his eyelids. Fat raindrops began plunking onto the windshield—distorting his view and blending the brake lights and street lights. He flicked the windshield wipers on. They made little difference.
Frustrated and exhausted, he pulled off the road and yanked the keys out of the ignition. Giving Kagura a glance to make sure she was still asleep, he leaned his seat back and tried to take a short nap. He wasn't convinced a nap would help his eyesight, however.
"Saiga?" Kagura whispered.
He blinked his eyes open. "Oh. I thought you were asleep."
"Is something wrong?"
"The rain is making it hard to see, and I could use a little nap before I drive again."
"Do you want to stop for the night?"
Saiga shut his eyes again. "No, we need to keep moving. You should go back to sleep, too."
She settled back into her seat and watched Saiga as he drifted off.
Kagura's eyes were ablaze with excitement and the reflections of the fair lights. Saiga enjoyed her laughter, her enthusiasm.
They drove all through the next day, stopping once for a short meal. Kagura noticed an advertisement for a carnival not too far off the road, and Saiga agreed to take her. They both needed a break.
Every part of the carnival thrilled her. She held tightly to Saiga's arm and dragged him into every attraction the carnival could offer: the shadow puppet show, the cover-band concert, the bumper cars. Darkness settled over the spectacle, making the lights throw brilliant rays of gaudy colors into the air. Saiga introduced her to fair food. She convinced him to throw baseballs at tin bottles until he knocked the stack over. He won her a big stuffed teddy bear.
"This is great," she beamed.
Saiga slung the bear over his shoulders so she could polish off an ice cream cone. "Yeah." He grinned back at her. "Hey, what about the Ferris wheel?"
She nodded fervently.
The seats were tiny, so they were pressed together after Saiga wedged himself into the bucket seat. He tried to ignore her body, molded around his.
"I think these things are getting smaller," he muttered as the attendant pulled the lap bar onto their knees.
Kagura giggled as the wheel spun them into the air. She clasped his hand. "I wish I'd brought the camera."
He stole a glimpse of her contented features. She looked beautiful with her hair pulled back and eyes sparkling, lips tugged into a small smile. Saiga turned the other way when she caught him looking.
"It's so high up here," she stared past her toes at the ground.
He squeezed her hand. "Are you afraid of heights?"
"I lived on top of a tower my entire life." She grinned. "Heights don't faze me. What about you?"
"I jumped from helicopters." He shrugged.
"Look how tiny the people are," she leaned into him and pointed to a group in the distance. She laughed. "You're wearing that cologne."
"You told me to," he chuckled.
Kagura rested her head on his shoulder. "I think I could stay up here forever."
He suddenly felt nauseous. "Maybe not forever. It's awfully close quarters up here."
"I was only kidding." Her smile faded. "Are you okay? You look kind of pale."
"I'm fine."
As they swung into the lower loop, Kagura asked that they get off early. She led Saiga to a bench across the path.
"I'll be right back," she said. "I'll get you some water."
"No, I—"
She was already halfway gone when he protested. He sighed.
"Here." She jogged back to him and pressed a water bottle into his hand. "Drink this."
He opened his mouth again to object, but she added, "Please."
Saiga uncapped the bottle grudgingly and sipped it quietly.
"I thought you said you weren't afraid of heights."
"I'm not."
"What made you sick?"
"I was thinking…" He swirled the water around in the bottle. "Maybe Tsujido was right."
"What?" She gasped.
"Maybe I'm more like the rest of those freaks than I was willing to admit."
"That's not true!"
He laughed dryly and downed the rest of his water. "I think I'm feeling better. Do you want to ride some more things?"
Kagura stared at him intently. "Tsujido was wrong, Saiga."
'Now or never,' Saiga thought miserably. "Kagura, I need to tell you something. You may not look at me the same anymore after I'm finished, but that's a risk I'm willing to take. I need to get this off my chest."
"I could never think less of you," she admonished.
"When I look at you, I don't see a girl anymore. I see a young woman. When I'm around you, I get this feeling… And… Jesus Christ. I'm a fucking mess. I can't explain this."
"I think I understand."
"I don't think you do."
"No, I—" She blushed. "Saiga, you've made me happier than I've ever been. You've given me freedom." She smiled sincerely. "And at first I thought I was just awestruck, but I realized you weren't exactly fantastic—just normal. I liked that. And…when I… hold your hand… my heart feels like it's going to explode."
Saiga's fingers tightened around the plastic bottle.
"Am I very far off your point?" She was so embarrassed that she couldn't meet his eyes.
"No," he choked. "Maybe not."
Kagura continued. "I tried to reason with myself. We're so far apart in age; but… as much as I've looked for an answer, I can't find a single reason why that would matter."
Saiga hung on her every word. His eyes unfocused slightly as he flashed back to throwing himself out of a chopper, heading into the thick jungle, camera in hand, waiting for action so he could capture it on his film. This time he was making the action. Someone else would have to take a picture.
"Kagura, I think I love you." He whispered.
Her worry was lifted from her face, leaving only adoration. She tilted her head. "I think I love you, too." Her laughter was soft and nervous.
Slowly, as if moving too swiftly would scare her away, he leaned towards her.
"Maybe I can remember it this time." She smiled and closed the gap between them, letting her lips catch his.
'I'm alive,' Saiga thought numbly. He didn't even understand the idea. He kissed her back as long as he dared, then he sat away from her. Her eyes shone brightly. Reaching out his hand, he stroked her cheek; she closed her hand over his.
They sat on top of the car in the parking lot, each taking shy turns to touch one another timidly—a small kiss on the cheek, an arm around a waist, fingers to lips, lips to hair, lips on lips, and smiles all around. Nothing seemed unusual, only more open, as if they'd moved the furniture around: same parts, different locations.
Saiga had his camera to his face, using the telephoto lens to watch people climb out of their cars. He decided now would be a good time to dump their old car and exchange it for a new one, but he wanted to set someone up. He needed their pursuers to find the wrong couple to buy more time.
Finally, he found a tall, shaggy-headed man with a shorter brunette girl.
"Time to move." He said, jumping to the ground and helping Kagura down as well.
They grabbed their luggage and ran through the dark to the car the other couple just came from. Saiga began to unscrew the license plate while Kagura clumsily tried picking the car lock. He swapped the license with a similarly-colored car.
Kagura popped the door open and loaded their luggage into the trunk. Saiga scribbled a note onto an envelope and tucked the old car key into the inside.
"Let me read," Kagura demanded. He held the note to her. "You could be a little more sympathetic."
"That is sympathetic." He pointed.
" 'I'm exchanging cars. Your new grey station wagon is in row fifteen.'"
"Look, let's just get out of here before security gets wise to what we're doing. Is all their stuff out?"
"It's all here." She gestured to a pile beside the car.
Saiga set the envelope on top of the pile. "Alright, let's go."
. . .
Author's Note:
And there it is: the entire reason I started writing this fiction! It can only get better from here.