Disclaimer: I do not own Taimanin series.
Five Days Break
The bus stopped. He took off with a backpack dangling over his shoulder and a small luggage. Dropping the belongings on the ground, he let out a long sigh out of exhaustion. The heat of a sunny afternoon made him dazed a bit after spending half of the day on the transportation.
Fuuma Kotaro briefly scanned around. Dense forests were all he could see from here. The road which the bus took didn't lead to anywhere else beyond this point. He waved at the diligent driver, who was making an U turn and left, back to the nearest station. It would probably take another long trip until the bus arrived at the previous stop sign. Kotaro was finally alone in that place. He checked the reception on his phone. He didn't surprise much as there was no signal. He was that far away from civilizations. Stretching his arms to get rid of the tension that built up during the whole trip, Kotaro grabbed his luggage and followed a single pathway that led to the destination on the other side of the mountain.
"This must be the place." Kotaro muttered.
He stopped before a wooden board that lied on the ground. Its leg was broken, seemingly too old and almost rotted. The name on it matched with the one written in the letter he received back in Gosha Village. He was on the right track.
Though, a fence was blocking the way. The moment Kotaro tried to remove it, the whole thing crashed down, making him feel a bit nervous. Just like the board, the flow of time seemed to eat it away due to the lack of maintenance. That meant not many people came around this place. This detail soon faded in the back of his mind as he continued to focus on the long, narrowed path.
Hopefully, it would take him elsewhere within these mountains.
"Take a break, everyone. You earned it."
He remembered being told by Asagi, the leader of all Taimanin herself, to enjoy a good rest from all the missions and classes for the time being. It was thanks to the huge success of the previous operation that everyone in the Task Force got the chance to recuperate. Otherwise, another hedious task to track down and capture the target was guaranteed. Good thing the plan worked.
Five days break. That was the reward for the whole team. Kotaro promised himself to make full use of it the moment he stepped out the briefing room with the biggest grin on his face. He quickly raced back to his home before any of his colleagues could call out his name.
Kotaro had made a decision.
He would hang out with Hebiko and Shikanosuke later. He would play game with Yukikaze later. He would train with Rinko and Su later. He would hit the gym with Murasaki later. He would carry the shopping bags for Sakura later. He would keep his promise to take Noah to a restaurant later. He would accept Shiranui's offer to cook him a meal later. He would discuss the paperworks with Asagi later. He would follow with others' requests LATER! A good rest called for a quality private time!
There was a stack of books waiting for him to read. Kotaro regretted leaving them in dust for weeks ever since the previous mission started. This time, savoring his own quality time was top priority. Then, here he was. On a trip to somewhere he could spend his precious break alone.
"Finally!" Kotaro said out loud in relief.
Having been walking for hours, his leg nearly gave in. But the sight of a smoke column rising from far away gave him an immense motivation boost. Kotaro moved faster, the four wheels underneath the luggage repeatedly kicked the earth until the source of that smoke came into his view.
A town secluded by mother nature. A giant tree stood at the center. The scenery looked exactly like the old postcard included in the letter. Kotaro couldn't help but smiling as he spotted an inn located at the foot of that tree.
No way he could ever mistake that popular hot spring sign anywhere.
He reached the town.
Peacefully quiet. That was the first thing that came to his mind as he made his way to the inn. There weren't a lot of people here. The streets appeared almost deserted. Maybe because this place was such a small town.
Kotaro glanced at the large existence that nearly reached the sky. Such a spectacular view. This might have been the biggest tree he had ever seen. What struck him as a little bit odd was the color of the trunk. It had a pure white color, like ash. There was no leaves at the top, branches pointed down. It seemed to have grow old and withered just like any normal plants. If that was the main attraction for tourists, that would explain the current state of this place. The small population, the numbers of old style houses and buildings that barely stretched past a double digits number.
Then again, peaceful and quiet was everything Kotaro needed for his little vacation.
The entrance of the inn was left opened. An old man, who introduced himself as the owner, greeted him as he walked in. Kotaro received the key to his room. Once again, he noticed the same silent atmosphere lingered around as the owner guided him to the top floor.
"Owner-san, are there any other guests who stays here?" Kotaro asked out of curiosity.
The owner didn't respond. He kept walking ahead of him, not until Kotaro decided to raise the question a second time that he finally stopped.
"We don't have many visitors these days, so most of the rooms are empty. Business doesn't flourish as much as the old days." He turned around, spotting a gentle smile. "However, we are fortunate to have you here today."
"Does that means I'm the only guest you have?"
"There's another guest on the same floor as you. They just arrived here this morning."
Kotaro nodded at the answer. That meant there were only two guests here. The whole town could barely thrive to be called a tourist attraction anymore. He wondered if it was due to the state of that tree.
"By the way, what is that big tree? It's my first time seeing such a thing."
"Ah, yes. Beautiful, isn't it?" The owner laughed. "It has stood there for generations. We had had a lot of guests and people from the outside world come here just to witness it. People of all kind."
Kotaro flinched when the owner suddenly stopped on his track and closed in on him.
"Dear guest, I'm sure you can also feel the same thing as I do, yes? You can hardly avert your gaze from such an unique existence, yes?"
"Eh? Uh, y-yeah! It's really beautiful…..I guess."
Kotaro quickly responded and the owner backed away as he seemed to satisfy with his words. But it looks like it's dying - Kotaro wanted to say it like that. Yet, he couldn't. He wasn't trying to be rude. The assertiveness from the owner threw him off, though. Another strange thing to add to the list.
"Here is your room."
They reached the door lied at the corner of the corridor, the furthest away from the only staircase of the building.
"Thank you very much!" Kotaro lightly bowed at the owner.
The old man wished him a good rest and left while Kotaro explored the place. An old style room design with tatami mattress, kotatsu, wooden table and a set of tea cups. Kotaro inhaled, letting himself fall on the floor. The laziness finally caught up to him. It felt nice and comfortable. It felt like home, a little bit. He was going to enjoy the next five days in this place.
"Ah. Right, the stuff."
His backpack and the luggage were still at the corridor. Kotaro forgot that he left them there when he came in eagerly to check the room. As he came back out to get the belongings, at the same time, the door next to his room swung open. That must be the other guest's room. Kotaro could ignore or greet them out of courtesy.
But…..
But…..
But…..
"Eh?" Kotaro simply uttered.
He froze. Both options were impossible to Kotaro as he saw a familiar face. A light jolt from the right eye that had never awakened failed to snap him out of shock.
"Oh! No wonder I heard such a familiar voice." Clad in blue jean and a pink sweater, a dark-skinned woman with captivative long pink hair expressed her amusement.
"Eh?"
"What a coincidence to meet you here, Fuuma Kotaro." A thin smile formed on her lip.
"EH!?"
Why here!? In such a place!? - Kotaro couldn't stop asking those questions in his head while cold sweat began dripping. Somehow, he met her again. At the most unexpected time and places.
"You don't look well. What's the matter?"
Ingrid, the executive of Nomad, asked him casually. She must have noticed the paled color of his face. He wasn't sure if that look she gave him was out of concern or not. He had half a mind to pay attention to it.
"N-No, it's nothing. What a coincidence it is!" Kotaro managed to reply as calmly as he could while making an awkward smile. "Then, I'll be in my room."
Without waiting for her respond, Kotaro quickly shut the door. His back leaned against it, the weight of gravity suddenly became stronger as he found himself drifted down and sat on the floor. There was no chance for Kotaro to escape with his room being in a corner and Ingrid's right next to it.
A trip to elsewhere was a mistake! Going here was a horrible idea! Kotaro realized that now. The peaceful and quiet time that he hoped for shattered like a distant dream. Ahhh, he missed his friends back in the village already. He might have come out unharmed from the many encounters in the past. But who to say it would work out well this time. He couldn't bet on his own luck all the time.
I'm sorry everyone, I didn't think this would happen again! - Kotaro internally cried.
Knock Knock!
Kotaro startled. Did she just knock on his door!? It wasn't rare for her to be the one who approached him first, considering the various occasions where they crossed path. Kotaro understood that was just how casual Ingrid acted toward him whenever they weren't enemies.
And yet….
The knocking and her voice calling his full name only made him to lament his choice even more.
He might not be able to come back to everyone after this.
/
Author's Note: So, I've been into Action Taimanin story and lore lately (thanks to Youtube's algorithm, again). I searched for the wiki page and it kind of surprise me when I found out this series started as an adult visual novel with really brutal dark fantasy elements. Talk about relief when the lighthearted tone of the AT timeline is actually a pleasant to the characters, especially the bonding events. There's not a lot of Taimanin fanfic out there so I decided to make a short snippet. I'm not sure if it will have an update or not, might as well stay as a one-shot for now. This story doesn't necessary follow the exact AT timeline, the series became a multiverse so any scenario is possible, right?
Thank you for reading. Take care!
