Notes: what do you mean my last update was in 2022 hahahaha what

Blue Marble
Chapter 4

The photography cruise, counting the embarkment and disembarkment days, was to be eight days long; with the addition of the tour extension, it was eleven days in total. And Mahiru had identified her soulmate on the evening of the third day.

That gave her eight remaining days to figure out what sort of action she wanted to take, if any. Just over a week before she would, potentially, never see Rantaro Amami again.

Mahiru didn't plan to fall in love with him. No way. She didn't even understand her mother's confidence that she might come to somewhat like him. He was just so... off-putting. Too easygoing, too loose and relaxed at all the wrong times; it was so easy to see him living the rest of his life as an unreliable and undisciplined boy. Just like her father.

No, even worse. At least her dad actually worked a nine-to-five-plus-overtime before coming home every day, too much of an exhausted wreck to be a proper father. Amami, on the other hand, was apparently a trust fund baby who contributed nothing to society, simply globe-hopping for the fun of it. At best, maybe he was stimulating a few world economies as he goofed off on his father's dime.

But, for whatever reason, fate had decided to bond her to him. Okay. Sure.

That didn't mean she had to ever see him as a romantic partner.

She didn't plan to love him. She didn't plan to like him. And, for the time being at least, she didn't even plan to tell him.

It wasn't that she didn't want to accept the truth. (She didn't, but that wasn't the reason she was keeping quiet.) If he was going to be her soulmate, if he was going to have any sort of place in her life, she had to know how he acted with just any other girl—how he treated her naturally, without the knowledge that she was anyone "special." She had no interest in a Rantaro Amami who was putting on a nice guy act to appeal to his soulmate; she could only trust him if he was acting without the knowledge that they shared any special bond.

So Mahiru decided, as she departed the deck and headed back to her cabin, to keep her eye on Amami. Both he and Shinguji had made a concerted effort to interact with her since the cruise started, but that was surely just because she was a novel new addition to the passenger roster, someone who was around their age and spoke their language.

Keeping an eye on Amami meant that she had to stop trying to avoid them so much, but she figured that it wouldn't arouse too much suspicion. They would likely just see it as her finally becoming accustomed to their presence—becoming used to interacting with boys, as she had claimed was the sticking point that first morning at breakfast.

It wasn't that she wasn't used to talking with boys, really, she just very much preferred not to. But they didn't need to know that, so she resigned herself to living a lie, at least for the time being.

With a sigh, Mahiru pressed her key card against the lock to her cabin and opened the door, walking inside to be greeted by her mother's kind smile over her laptop.

"Welcome back. Did the night air get you cooled down a bit?" Asaka asked her daughter.

Mahiru's frown deepened just slightly. "I didn't need cooling down," she muttered. She knew it was useless lying to her mother about emotions, she just... wasn't in the mood to be fully truthful.

Mercifully, Asaka didn't push the issue and only turned her gaze back to her computer. She was giving Mahiru a clear out, letting her drop the matter entirely... and yet, Mahiru found herself sitting on the edge of her mother's bed and speaking up. "You're absolutely sure he doesn't know I'm his match?"

Asaka didn't look up from the screen. "He certainly hasn't heard it from me. He hasn't asked me about it, either."

"You haven't told him in words, sure, but have you given any sort of reaction to hint at it?" Mahiru narrowed her eyes skeptically. "Like the first time you spotted his mark, maybe. You must have been shocked to see my mark on him, but you didn't let that show on your face?"

Asaka chuckled lightly, looking up from her laptop this time. "Mahiru, didn't the boys tell you how good I am at Werewolf? You can't beat my poker face, dear."

"They said you were good for being able to read others' emotions, not for hiding your own."

Asaka waved a hand dismissively. "In any case, you really are worrying too much, Mahiru. If he did know it was you, why would that be such a problem?"

"Because!" Needing something to do with her hands, Mahiru grabbed one of the throw pillows that Asaka had tossed aside days earlier and began squeezing out her frustrations on it. "I don't trust that he won't change the moment he finds out. I want to know what he's like when he doesn't know I'm his soulmate."

Asaka chuckled and leaned over to pat her daughter's head. "All right, whatever you need to feel comfortable with him. But I've met him plenty, and you can trust me when I say Ranta-kun's a good, smart, genuinely nice guy. I'll give you the time to find that out for yourself, but I know that's what you'll find."

Mahiru frowned, and after a moment she ducked away from her mother's touch to move to her own bed, still clutching the pillow. "We'll see about that. It's not that I don't trust you, Mom, it's just..."

"I know, I know." Apparently deciding that she was done working for the night, Asaka began packing away her laptop. "You want to make your own judgment call, and I certainly won't take that from you."

"Right." Sighing, Mahiru dropped the pillow back to the floor and joined her mother in getting ready for bed. It had been an exhausting day, and she was ready for some mindless rest.

It shouldn't have been such a surprising discovery, but Mahiru came to realize that it was a lot easier to relax and enjoy the trip if she wasn't trying to avoid contact with the boys.

The next day saw the tour visit Coiba National Park, and as had become routine, Amami and Shinguji approached Mahiru and her mother at breakfast to invite them to group up together.

Asaka looked at her daughter for an answer, and, put on the spot, Mahiru tried to keep her face from reddening as she stuttered out a, "W-well, fine, I guess." The boys looked pleasantly surprised by the answer; Amami seemed to be especially pleased, though that might have been Mahiru's imagination, or it could have simply been because Shinguji's face was half-obscured. For all she knew, the taller boy's smile could have been just as warm, making Amami's expression nothing special.

No sooner had their group boarded onto the Zodiac to bring them to the shore of Isla Coiba when Shinguji began regaling them with tales of the national park. "Now, where should I begin..."

"Nothing too gory, right? We have ladies in our presence, after all." Amami chided his friend lightly, then turned to Mahiru. "There's an old abandoned prison on the island," he said by way of explanation, "so there's no telling what kind of stories he might deem as 'interesting'."

Mahiru gave a polite, if somewhat forced, laugh.

"More of a penal colony than a prison," Shinguji corrected. "In any case, should I avoid the tales of murder and dismemberment, then?"

"Yes."

"I mean, if it's particularly interesting murder and dismemberment, I don't mind," Asaka said with a chuckle. "It's gotta have a meaning, some intriguing motive rather than mindless violence."

"I guess," Mahiru agreed, eyeing Shinguji warily. "But if we're talking about a penal colony I'm guessing it was mostly meaningless prisoner-on-prisoner violence for the sake of it?"

Shinguji nodded gravely. "Coiba was as dangerous as a penal colony gets, and only the worst of Panama's criminals were sent there—or those with very unfortunate political opponents—so it stands to reason that part of the danger came in the form of fellow inmates. The island itself is also dangerous, of course, to say nothing of—ah yes, it's the start of whale shark season here, isn't it?"

"Sharks?!" Mahiru jerked away from the edge of the raft, somewhat miffed to hear Amami laughing beside her as she did. "And we're just traveling these waters in an inflatable boat?!"

Asaka placed a hand on Mahiru's shoulder. "It's fine, dear. Whale sharks are mostly harmless to humans."

"Mostly, huh..."

"They eat plankton and krill." Amami grinned at her, and Mahiru suppressed the urge to scowl in response. "They're generally mild-mannered, so on top of the fact that the boat doesn't really look like their normal prey, I doubt they'll come for us."

Mahiru peered over the edge of the boat cautiously, seeing nothing intimidating in the waters but still distrusting of them. "So then how were these sharks a danger to the prisoners?"

"I suppose they weren't so much," Shinguji conceded. "The crocodiles, on the other hand..."

"Crocodiles?!"

Asaka and Amami broke out into laughter again, and while Mahiru tried her best to keep up the facade of indignant annoyance, she wasn't entirely incapable of finding humor in herself. As Shinguji assured her that crocodiles were more common in the warmer months, Mahiru made her way back to her seat, and before long their Zodiac had reached the shore of Isla Coiba.

The island itself was a breathtakingly biodiverse location unlike any other reserve they had visited up to that point, with impossibly green leaves in every direction, spotted with multicolored tropical birds among them. Shinguji explained to them how the presence of the penal colony had paradoxically conserved the nature of the island, being a deterrent to visitors—a "beautiful subversion of humanity's usual modus operandi," he had called it. Whatever words he ascribed to it, the fact was that there was abundant colorful floral and fauna nearly everywhere Mahiru turned, and she could barely keep her finger off the trigger of her camera.

The only signs of human life once being on the island were the crumbling stone ruins of the old penitentiary, overgrown with vines and ferns after over a decade of being sitting unused.

"This is where the prisoners were kept?" Mahiru asked as she ducked around the old building, snapping photos when an angle caught her interest, catching one shot of a colorful manakin perched upon the penitentiary wall. "I thought the tour guide said something about the prisoners staying in camps, though..."

"Most of them were in camps, yes," Shinguji explained. "A few prisoners were kept in these cells—"

"Watch your step over here," Amami offered as they peeked into the inside of the abandoned building before allowing himself to slip inside entirely.

"—but most of the prisoners on this island were tasked with facing the elements and finding their own shelter. These accommodations were more for the guards. Protecting themselves from the prisoners, you could say."

"Huh." There wasn't much of interest that Mahiru could see inside the building, and the lighting was drab and dark; a couple of artsy atmospheric shots were all she needed to feel that she had the sense of the place. She shivered a bit. "There really is something especially creepy about an abandoned prison, though..."

"Naturally." The corners of Shinguji's eyes crinkled in obvious amusement. "Even when the penal colony was active there were many tales of the ghosts of prisoners wandering the island, to say nothing of the location's spiritual state now. I've heard a story of one guard who was chasing down a prisoner, only to come to the realization that the prisoner was in fact of the ghostly type, and—"

"Shinguji-kun," Amami said warningly as he returned from his short trek inside of the building.

"Ah, forgive me."

"What?" Mahiru looked from Shinguji, to Amami, and even to her mother, hoping for an explanation. "And then what happened?"

"Nothing nice, believe me." Amami chuckled darkly as he stepped over to Mahiru. "I've heard the end of that one before."

Mahiru frowned, taking an unconscious step away from Amami as annoyance stirred within her. "Well, now you just have me imagining the worst possible ending!"

"You're probably pretty close, then."

Mahiru scrunched up her nose in disgust, but Amami seemed not to notice.

"Want to head back to the tour group now? Nicolas and the others were talking about trying to find a crocodile sleeping somewhere along the shore."

Mahiru mumbled under her breath. "Typical boys with a death wish."

Amami laughed, apparently having heard her. "We're not going to wrestle it or anything! We just want to see if we can find one from a distance. You have to admit it would be a pretty nice shot to snap."

"Still..."

"You should go!" Asaka said, placing her hands on Mahiru's shoulders to literally and metaphorically push her along. "Even if you don't find a crocodile, heading back to the others will find you plenty you'd be happy to shoot, I'm sure." She winked, a clear hint that she was referring to Mahiru's preferred photography subjects.

"Mom," Mahiru hissed, feeling the tips of her ears turning warm.

"She's right, though," Amami agreed, and Mahiru was beginning to flood with mortification that he had caught on to the implication when he continued, "There's tons of other reptiles we'll find for you to take pictures of, to say nothing of the plants and insects I'm sure we'll see on the way."

Mahiru grumbled a "jeez" under her breath as she followed after, holding her camera securely to her side as she navigated over a particularly large tree root, but otherwise went without complaint.

Having the boys around at least made things more interesting, if nothing else.

The next day, spent at Golfo Dulce to engage in beachside activities, was a little more stressful. Spending a day in a bathing suit was... never an ideal situation for Mahiru, but it was even more of an issue now that 1. her soulscript had manifested, 2. she was trying to keep that soulscript hidden, and 3. the person she was trying to hide it from the most was right there. The cover-up she had packed was opaque enough for her to have felt comfortable before the trip, but with all the new factors in play, she was constantly afraid that it was just a bit too sheer, that her mark would be visible if someone stared a bit too hard, if the light hit her at just the right angle.

And actually going into the water was, of course, out of the question. But that was fine enough; she was more interested in taking photographs, not playing around on the beach.

She was thrilled to see the tour group letting loose and not holding back on enjoying the day by the sea. From the moment they arrived in the late morning, Mahiru could barely spare a moment, spotting too many candid shots that were too good to pass up, too many smiling faces that she just had to preserve.

It was early afternoon before a full SD card and an empty stomach forced Mahiru to take a break, locating the leisure sheet her mother had spread near some sand dunes, along with the bagged lunch they had prepared.

She pulled out her sandwich—the only one left in the bag, meaning that her mother had already eaten, she supposed—and settled on the sheet to scroll through her camera's memory as she ate. She knew from experience that she had little hope of being able to pare down her pictures going solely by the small display on the camera, but it was a way to feel productive during her lunch break, even if she would ultimately end up replacing the SD card instead.

"Aren't you going to get into the water?"

Mahiru jumped in place, panicking when she saw Amami approaching her. She glanced away from her viewfinder just long enough to check her shoulder, ensuring that her mark wasn't visible, before putting on a firm frown and continuing to scroll through her photos. "No, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Amami placed a hand to his chin in thought.

She glanced up at him, wanting to tell him to just buzz off and play on his own, but knowing that that would be unconstructive in evaluating the boy's character. She sighed, finishing off her sandwich before surrendering to the looming threat of conversation. "If you're going to talk to me, could you not do it while you're towering over me like that?"

Amami's eyes widened just slightly. "In that case... do you mind if I sit down with you?"

Yes, I do mind, she wanted to say, but instead she found herself sighing, her cheeks warming just slightly at the excessive consideration. "I mean, sure?" she muttered, fiddling with a strand of her hair awkwardly. "It's not like I own this beach or anything..."

With a short huff of a chuckle, Amami took the few steps needed to come by her left side and sat down, his overshirt fluttering with the movement. Mahiru found her eyes straying to his right shoulder, just briefly before she caught herself. He was covering his mark as well, of course, and, well, that was a relief; it meant she wouldn't have to mention it, to bring up the bond that they shared. Nor would she have to someday come up for an excuse as to why she didn't, if Amami ever found out.

"Isn't it a bit of a shame that you're sitting out on all the fun?" Amami said finally. "It's been mostly research centers and reservations so far, so it's the first time we've been able to really enjoy some recreational stuff..."

"I am enjoying myself," Mahiru said with finality, and raised her camera to prove the point. "See?"

"Ahh, the... what was it? The Canon EO... something?"

Mahiru huffed, her face warming further. "The model doesn't matter! I mean I'm taking pictures!"

Amami chuckled. "Sorry, sorry. You've been taking pictures every day leading up to this, though. Don't you want a little change of pace?"

Mahiru frowned, turning her attention back to the preview screen on her camera. "That's not... I just want to keep taking pictures, today especially."

"Hmm. Can I ask why?"

He could ask, sure, but that didn't mean that Mahiru wanted to tell him. She didn't want to, but... Her face reddened even further. "Well, like you said... it's mostly been research centers and nature reserves so far," she said, raising her camera again. "So I really want to take pictures today."

Amami was silent for a long moment, and Mahiru could feel his eyes on her, but she didn't want to turn to face him, to acknowledge that he was watching, even if it was to ask him to stop. She'd just have to ignore him. Ignore him and focus on changing out the SD card. Ignore him for long enough, and eventually he'd—

"You prefer taking pictures of people."

She stiffened, dropped the blank SD card, and slowly turned to look at him, eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Did Mom tell you that?"

He laughed. "Nah, it was just a guess. But I was right?"

"You were right..." She slumped in on herself, curling her knees against her body. "Jeez..."

"I see, so you like photographing people..."

"You don't have to keep saying it," Mahiru said, staring downward and idly tapping on the fallen SD card. "It feels like you're making fun of me."

"Not at all," Amami said with a chuckle. "It just makes sense, then, that you want to take pictures today instead of bothering with more traditional beach activities. It has mostly been wildlife and landscapes that we've seen up until now..."

"Right," Mahiru confirmed, finally picking up the card and slotting it into her camera. "And everyone's having so much fun today, so I just..."

"You want to capture that on film?"

"You still sound like you're making fun of me..."

"Koizumi-san." She glanced over at him finally, and she wasn't sure what she saw in Amami's expression—it was something soft, something kind, and most certainly not judgmental.

She resisted the urge to photograph that expression to study it at length later on.

"I think you should do what you enjoy without worrying about it," he continued finally.

Mahiru could feel her cheeks warming despite herself, and her heart fluttered against her ribcage. Her eyes strayed to his shoulder again—still covered, which was good. If Amami found out... When he found out...

"That's... how you live your life, then?" The words fell from her lips unbidden.

Amami blinked. "Hm?"

"Doing what you enjoy without worrying about it." Mahiru tilted her head, frowning slightly. "That's what you and Shinguji have been doing with all this globetrotting, right?"

Amami chuckled lightly and ran a hand through his wavy hair. "I mean, Shinguji-kun and I have different reasons, I think, but I..." He paused, turning to gaze out at the sea, past the other travelers at the horizon beyond. "I... Well, I guess that is what it is now, yeah. Let's go with that."

Mahiru studied his face in profile for a long moment, before finally letting her expression settle into a deeper frown. "You're hiding something."

"A great many things, I imagine," Amami laughed.

"Well that's not fair." Huffing, Mahiru stood and brushed the sand from her legs. "Here you found out one of my secrets, yet you're putting up some mystery man façade for something as simple as your travels."

"Sorry about that." Amami smiled up at her. "I'll tell you someday, all right?"

She frowned down at him, feeling annoyed, but when she looked into his eyes she was surprised to find that he didn't appear to be closing himself off after all. His eyes were full of openness and a touch of mirth, not secrecy and seclusion. Whatever he wasn't saying, it was something he wouldn't mind sharing with her.

Then why wouldn't he just say it?

Mahiru rolled her eyes and picked up her camera, hefting the strap across her shoulder. "Boys," she grumbled. She just didn't understand. "Well, you have less than a week for that 'someday' to come. In the meantime, I'm getting back to taking pictures."

"'Course. Have fun, Koizumi-san." He waved her off, and Mahiru hesitated for a moment before turning away, back towards the rest of the group enjoying the beach.

Forcefully pushing thoughts of the boy from her mind, she let herself become immersed once again in her craft.

Hours of beach activities apparently weren't enough fun and games for one day, as the end of dinner service saw another game night in the lounge. It was the third time Mahiru had joined in, and she felt like she was steadily getting the hang of social deception games.

Shinguji seemed to agree. "I can see you're beginning to develop some tells, Koizumi-san," he had said after the second game of Werewolf that night.

"Don't look at my tells," she replied, shivering a bit. "You make it sound creepy like that."

Shinguji had simply chuckled behind his mask as the third game began.

And that was just the thing. She had been focused mostly on figuring out Amami, for obvious reasons, but she still didn't know much about his taller friend or, notably, his fashion choices. But she had begun formulating a theory.

She and Amami stayed behind on cleanup duty after the others had left for the night, with Amami cleaning up the game and Mahiru clearing away the dishes they had used for snacks and tea. As she approached the seat that had been Shinguji's, Mahiru paused, staring at the teacup that paradoxically seemed to have a brownish lip stain on it. When... when had that happened?

"Hey, Amami?" she asked hesitantly as she added the teacup to her stack.

"Hmm?"

"Shinguji never seems to take off his mask, even when eating or drinking, so I'm just a little curious. Is it for hiding his mark?"

"Ahh." Amami paused in packing away the game. "Good thing you didn't ask him directly, he's kinda weird about it."

Mahiru waved her free hand dismissively. "You don't have to tell me if he wants to keep it secret, of course! I was just—"

"No, it's not that, you're fine," Amami assured her, laughing. "You're right, his mark's just above his upper lip. Right here," he said, pointing to his own philtrum below his nose. "His soulscript is jagged and extends across his lips, so it looks pretty unsettling. Blood red, too. The mask is a little creepy, sure, but it's an improvement, trust me."

"I see..." Mahiru considered that as she placed the dishes behind the bar. "So Shinguji has already met his match, then?"

"Oh, he's had his soulscript since he was about a day old. He's paired with his sister."

"His sister..."

Amami gave a wry grin. "Surprised?"

"No— well, only a little..." Romantic soulmates were the most common, sure, but Mahiru had definitely heard of familial soulmates. "I mean, I've seen online groups for people with non-romantic soulmates. Does Shinguji know about those?"

Amami's grin twisted into something a bit more unreadable. "Shinguji-kun, ah... I don't think that he really..." He quickly finished packing up the game and let the sound of the box lid slapping closed break the sudden tense atmosphere, then pinned Mahiru with his regular easy smile again. "So why are you asking all this? Are you interested in him?"

"Inter—?! Absolutely not!" Mahiru waved her hands before her frantically, her cheeks turning warm. "I mean, he's an interesting person, sure, but I wouldn't... not someone like..."

Having returned the game to its shelf, Amami sat himself down on a chair again, laughing. "You know, I can't honestly say if you're being cruel or charitable to my friend right now."

Mahiru puffed her cheeks in annoyance. "Jeez," she grumbled, stomping out from behind the bar and plopping herself on a chair as well, keeping one open seat between herself and Amami. "You're the one who made me say it..."

Amami simply laughed again, and then they fell into silence. The only sounds between them were the dull whir of the boat engine and the occasional drip from the bar tap.

Mahiru resisted the desire to fidget. They had just been talking about soulmates. That was some sort of chance, right? A chance for... something. Mahiru wasn't exactly sure what she was looking for in that moment. To see how Amami felt about soulmates? To ask what he was hoping his soulmate would be like? At the very least, wouldn't it seem strange if Amami later found out she was his soulmate, yet she knowingly let this moment pass by without saying—

"Should we head back now?"

When Mahiru looked over at Amami, he was pushing his chair back to stand up, his usual easy smile on his face. He turned that smile towards her, and she started in surprise. "Oh! Um... yeah, it's getting pretty late, huh?"

"Yeah." He offered a hand to help her up, and seemed completely unphased when Mahiru spared only a slightly flustered glance at it before standing on her own. "Should I walk you back to your cabin?"

"That's not..." Mahiru could feel her face heating up despite herself. "I-I'll be fine on my own, thanks."

"You sure? I don't want you to fall overboard."

"It's an indoor route the entire way, jeez!"

Amami laughed as he made his way to the lounge exit, Mahiru just a few steps behind. "All right, I'll just head up to my own cabin then. Have a good night, Koizumi-san."

Mahiru hesitated for just a moment before responding, "Good night, Amami."

He stopped and looked at her for a moment—as if it was strange of her to be wishing him a good night!—before smiling and turning for the stairwell, waving lightly over his shoulder.

For some reason, Mahiru's face felt a bit warm as she headed for her own cabin.

The next day saw a return to the rainforest and yet another nature reserve tour. Mahiru tried not to be disappointed—it was still an invaluable experience as a photographer!—but after the previous day of nothing but candid shots of people, as well as her discussion with Amami, it was hard not to be. Wildlife shots were fine and all, and she did enjoy shooting those sorts of photos too, but they just weren't her favorite.

Determined to make the most of what she did have, though, she followed along on the tour without complaint, listening as intently as she could manage to yet another lecture on the local wildlife as the group trekked into the forest.

"Hey, Koizumi-san."

About an hour into the tour, Mahiru felt a light tugging on her shirt and let her focus depart from the lecturer just enough to turn and see Amami waving to catch her attention, gesturing for her to follow him towards the back of the crowd. A bit skeptical, but more curious than she would like to admit, she slowly crept her way backward, trying not to get in the way of any of the others, and eventually found her way to Amami's side. "What is it?" she hissed, trying to pin him with an unapproving glare but sensing that it lacked any sort of force behind it.

"Come with me for a bit." Amami jerked his head back, his wavy hair shifting as he gestured towards a path behind them, into the trees. "I wanna show you something."

That immediately got Mahiru's defenses raised. "Show me what?" she asked, suspicious. "You want to leave the tour group? Can we do that?"

Amami shrugged easily. "I've done it tons of times, it's fine as long as we get back to the ship on time and don't do anything, you know, illegal. I'm not taking you to trespass anywhere, promise."

Mahiru was still wary, glancing back at the tour group. "Tell me exactly where you're suggesting we go, then."

"Nah. It's a surprise."

Mahiru's frown deepened, her cheeks puffing just slightly in irritation.

"Hey, don't make that kind of face!" Amami laughed quietly. "This is somewhere I've been plenty of times; it's been included on other itineraries, but it looks like they're skipping it this time. It's perfectly safe, and I know you'll like it. Or would you rather stay for yet another wildlife tour?"

That made Mahiru pause, and she glanced back at the tour group intensively listening to the lecture on tropical birds, snapping pictures of the fowl that nested in the surrounding grasses. She had to admit that Amami was right; the thought of shooting more flora and fauna didn't really appeal to her. "Well... all right," she said, uneasily. "I'm trusting you're not getting me involved in a human sacrifice ritual here."

A surprised laugh burst from Amami's lips. "God, no! You've been listening to Shinguji-kun's tales a little too much, I think!" Shaking his head, he stepped back towards the trees and gestured for Mahiru to follow. "Come on, then. Before anyone notices."

Mahiru hesitated for just another moment before slowly moving her feet to follow after Amami. She still wasn't entirely comfortable with this; deviating from the plans, sneaking off without letting anyone know. It wasn't right, it wasn't responsible. It went against everything that Mahiru tried to uphold.

And yet, the thought of doing something secret, something just a little bit "not right," just her and her soulmate... even she had to admit that it was a little thrilling.

So, careful not to catch the attention of anyone else, she followed Amami into the path between the trees.

"It's a pretty well-worn path, so you should be good most of the way," Amami explained once they were out of earshot from the rest of the group. "But there are some tree roots and the like here and there, so watch your step."

"Got it." Mahiru stepped carefully, keeping her gaze focused on where her feet were stepping, while also keeping a protective arm around the camera case slung on her side, cautious about how it might affect her balance. When she did glance briefly upwards again, though, it was to notice that Amami was holding out a hand, a silent offer of security as they both walked along the path.

Mahiru almost rolled her eyes. Of course this boy would be shameless enough to offer to hold the hand of a girl that he didn't even know was his soulmate.

And perhaps that shamelessness was rubbing off on Mahiru, because she hesitated for only a moment before she took that hand in hers.

About twenty minutes later, when they emerged from the path to a relative clearing, Mahiru began to suspect that perhaps he had tricked her after all, brought her somewhere unsavory, because she didn't see what couldn't see what was special about this place at all. Despite wanting to pull away and go back, her hand tensed instead, paradoxically grasping Amami's hand even tighter. "I— I don't get it," she started, affixing a glare up at him. "What did you bring me here fo—"

She was cut off when joyful laughter crossed her ears, and she barely had the time to step to the side as a pair of children ran across their path in the clearing. Dumbfounded, she blinked towards where the children had run off to, apparently playing a game of tag and finding hiding places among the trees.

"Yeah, it's a little further up this way," Amami said, tugging her hand gently towards the direction the children had come from. "We'll get there really soon."

"Civilization?" Intrigued, Mahiru followed his lead, her instinct telling her to grab her camera but somehow reluctant to free her occupied hand. As she continued to follow Amami and they cleared the trees entirely, she saw that it wasn't just civilization that they had stumbled upon; a small open-air market stretched before them, stalls of fruits and handicrafts lining the streets, and locals moved from stall to stall to look at the wares. This wasn't a place for tourists; it was entirely off the beaten path, natural, genuine.

Mahiru's shutter finger itched to start snapping pictures.

The children that had rushed past before returned, joined by a few others, and began excitedly jumping upon Amami, rambling at him in a questioning lilt and causing him to lose grip of Mahiru's hand. She used the opportunity to take her camera case in both hands and she watched, amused, as Amami crouched and fielded their questions as best as he could, answering them with hesitant words in Spanish.

"I didn't know you knew Spanish," she commented when she finally had a chance to get a word in and the children ran off to lap the stalls again. "I haven't heard you use it at all this week."

"Ah, I don't, really," Amami laughed, standing back up to his full height and rubbing the back of his neck bashfully. "I do try to at least learn the basics of the local language whenever I visit a new country, but I usually leave the bulk of it to Shinguji-kun. I don't really know much more than 'cómo estás' and 'dónde está el baño.'"

"I don't even know what those are supposed to mean," Mahiru admitted, giggling. "I guess I haven't had much chance to make use of that Spanish dictionary I brought with me. I've pretty much just been talking with the other people on the cruise, and it's only been English with them."

"Right, exactly that." Amami pointed at her as if she had landed on the answer to some sort of riddle. "We haven't had the opportunity to really interact with the local people while on this cruise, and since I know that that's what you prefer..."

Mahiru's brows furrowed in confusion for a moment, before suddenly it struck her. She glanced quickly at the camera case in her hands before looking up at Amami again. "Wait, so then this... You bringing me out here today, it was...?"

Amami chuckled, and if Mahiru wasn't imagining things, she thought that maybe there was a little bit of pink spreading across his cheekbones. "This is the kind of thing you want to photograph, right? It just didn't make sense to keep this from you since I knew it was here."

Mahiru didn't know what to say. She wasn't sure she could say anything, even if she knew which words to form her tongue around. Face growing warm, she silently turned her attention back to the case in her hands, opening it up and pulling out her camera to get it set up. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to meet Amami in the eye, she stepped forward ahead of him a bit and forced out a huff. "Well... I guess it would be rude if I didn't thank you. And I really do appreciate it, but..."

"But?"

Mahiru fiddled with the settings after the camera booted up, hoping that her face wasn't growing too red but knowing it would be too obvious if she turned the camera on herself to check. "...Unfortunately, Amami, this little excursion isn't an official part of the cruise tour, is it?"

Amami paused for half a beat. "Not this time, no."

"Right. And it just doesn't seem right to take pictures of people living their lives when they haven't signed the company's release waivers. I love photographing people, but I don't want to intrude on their privacy."

"Ahh..." Amami's tone turned contemplative. "I admit I didn't consider that."

"Yup, obviously. So..." Steeling herself, she spun on her heel, lifted the camera, and snapped a picture of Amami, his chin cupped in his hand in thought.

He blinked at her, surprised and a bit confused. "What was... Did you just...?"

She giggled and stuck out her tongue at him. "I only see one person here who's consented to having his picture taken during the tour, so you've just forced my hand, haven't you?

It took Amami a mere instant longer to catch on, and his stance eased, laughing. "I guess you've got me, then. Fine, I'll be your subject for today. Should we get a little bit of shopping done while we have the chance?"

Mahiru grinned, snapping another photo of Amami's easygoing expression, and fell in step beside him as they strode down through the market.

And as she watched the snapshots of Amami accumulate on her camera memory, Mahiru thought that maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't be so bad to fall in love with Rantaro Amami after all.

Notes: I will not go into any more detail about Shinguji's soulmate situation (because I don't want to) you're welcome.

I promise 100% that you won't have to wait until 2028 for the next chapter; it should only be a few weeks, and only to space things out a bit and give me some editing time. I'll actually finish writing the entire fic this weekend, so I'm very sure of this lol.