9Prologue
The middle of October is a rather unconventional time to take a vacation, but Akane Tsunemori finds that she often deviates from what is considered to be conventional.
Her unique hairstyle of choice displays that message most clearly. A short pixie cut with straight-across bangs is rather uncommon, especially for women her age, but it suits her slender build and unexpected personality. She lets the sides of her bangs grow just long enough to gently frame her face, and in the wind that greets her as she steps through the terminal doors, the delicate tufts tickle her cheeks, almost as if to welcome her.
She knows very well how unusual it is to travel overseas. Back in the days before the structural collapse of global relations, taking a vacation was an activity sought after by many people. It was not uncommon to travel internationally, to visit new countries and experience what different cultures had to offer. There were many proven benefits from taking long stretches of breaks away from everyday life, one of them in particular being an expensive form of stress relief.
Nowadays, it is less common to require such a thing. Japan's society has evolved to promote and facilitate the least stressful environment possible for its participants, and by consequence, the concept of taking vacations became filtered out. Now it is reserved as a luxury for those with upper class social standings, the exceptionally wealthy, and other various anomalies.
Akane, with her rather high-profile career as an Inspector, has a place in the third category. And with recent stresses of her demanding workload and the promise of even more to come with the offer of a promotion she's received, Akane needs some time away to recharge before she hits the ground running into this new job and the hefty responsibilities that come with it.
At least, that is what's officially reported on the approval of her application. The truth, however, tells a much different story.
CHAPTER 1
If she's being honest, Akane doesn't know a thing about the country of Spain. She doesn't speak the native language (other than a few basic phrases she practiced during her flight), nor is she familiar with the customs, or even traditional cuisine. Although those things hardly matter, considering the state of affairs between Spain's borders.
Like most other countries, there is no formal government structure to enforce law, and the factions that arose from internal civil conflict are still in effect. However, Spain is a unique country in that the population is significantly smaller than most, and so it has progressed further than others to move away from chaos and violence, making it rather safe in comparison to the rest of the world.
Despite the official record back home, that is not why she's chosen to visit Spain, of all the places she could have picked. Her true destination lies somewhere along a bus route that takes her to the outskirts of the capital city, hidden in the mountains that pass by the window in the distance. It's written down on a carefully-folded sheet of paper in her coat pocket, but she doesn't need to look at it to know what it says; the coordinates have essentially burned themselves into memory for how many times she's read them over and over again.
When her GPS alerts her to get off at the next stop, she adheres to its direction and steps off the bus, finding herself surrounded by rocks and foliage stretching endlessly in every direction. The trees above her cast shade from the sky-centered sun with painted limbs, signaling the change in seasons.
There doesn't seem to be any traces of civilization in the near vicinity. However, she trusts the GPS isn't wrong and follows along the side of the road where it directs her, her suitcase following closely behind her with ease despite the rough terrain.
She's glad she chose shoes with treaded soles, rather than the ballet flats she was initially tempted by this morning, as the walk turns out to be a bit of a climb uphill when the route directs her to stray away from the road. Her shoes aren't meant for strenuous hiking, but they keep her from slipping on loose gravel and weeds rooted in the ground.
The route isn't so much steep as it is a lot of walking, but finally she reaches a place where the ground begins to level out, and when she looks up, there's a small cabin in the near distance placed neatly amongst the trees. It seems to blend in with the vines and moss that grow up its sides.
Akane hasn't felt nervous since before her plane took off from Japan almost twelve hours ago. But when she sees the cabin, knowing who waits somewhere inside of it, she suddenly feels an anxious twinge in her gut, and pauses in her tracks.
She wonders then, would it be better if she just turned around? Would he even want to see her?
Her suitcase catches up to her, rocking over bumpy gravel, and comes to a stop at her side. Akane glances down at it briefly. The sleek edges reflect the filtered sunlight above, and it stands out unnaturally compared to the abundance of wildlife surrounding her. An automatic, self-navigating suitcase doesn't belong out here in the middle of nowhere, up in the mountains.
And yet she's brought it here, ventured up these hills after flying halfway across the world to see him, to see her goal through. It would be a complete waste to turn around now, even if he shoos her away. And if she really thinks about it, she knows he won't do that. At least not to her.
This hesitation is just her nerves getting the best of her, she deduces. So she keeps moving.
As she approaches, she can better see the shape the building is in. It looks old, with weathered wood serving as its foundation. There are patches of repair here and there; the first she notices is a window on the bottom floor, whose outer frame is newer, lighter in color. Inside the window is dark and she can't make out anything. She also notices that, on the balcony jutting out from the second floor, several legs of the fencing have been replaced.
Then her gaze drifts, and she's looking at the wide expanse of shedding trees behind the cabin, trees taller than she's ever seen. They stretch so high it's as if they're attempting to rip a hole through the sky, and the further to the side she gazes, the higher they reach. Is it just a hill, or do the trees actually get taller? It's difficult to tell from where she walks.
She jumps suddenly at the sound of a barking voice that pierces the tranquil silence. Her hand instinctively dashes under her coat, swiping the handgun she brought out of its holster, and she holds it up at arm's length in the direction of the voice before her eyes catch up, before she sees where she's aiming.
Even though Akane is expecting to see him, she still gasps in shock when she does.
He's standing on the balcony, and he's holding a double barrel shotgun in his hand. Despite the brisk temperature, he's dressed in a simple black shirt with short sleeves and a pair of jeans, stained with soil at the knees.
His eyes meet hers first thing, when they're rough with an unnerving edge to them, but they soften with recognition, and then the gun lowers until it rests at his thigh.
"Are we skipping the arrest and jumping straight to the part where you shoot me?"
She lets out the breath she didn't know she was holding, sighing with relief. Slowly, she lowers her gun.
"I'm not here to arrest you," she says, projecting her voice to reach him over the distance between them.
"I can tell," he says, and nods his head to gesture to her suitcase. His tone is guarded, but there's a warmth to it that allows her to relax. "What are you doing here?"
"Would you believe me if I said I was on vacation?"
His eyes narrow, sizing up her delicate form, like he's trying to gage whether or not she's lying. She reholsters her gun while he thinks, and perhaps that's the gesture that ultimately convinces him, or maybe it's something else. In the end he signals her the okay for her to come inside, and he turns to head down and meet her at the front door.
Out of politeness, she tries to not make a big show of taking in the surroundings once she steps inside. From a quick sweep of her eyes, she takes it all in, and she finds that it is a lot smaller than what it appears from the outside. Even so, it feels more cozy than crowded.
It's quaint and open, with mahogany trimming on the ceilings and floors, and a creamy loveseat adorned with wooden armrests paired with a low-legged coffee table. On the other side of the room sits a dining table made of what looks to be the same type of wood. There's a sliding door on the back wall that opens to a patio, where she catches another glimpse of the rich, colored trees surrounding the rear of the property. A staircase on the right leads to the second floor, and beyond that is a door cracked ajar, and even further beyond that is an open walkway that she can't see through from where she stands.
It's small, but holds enough bare essentials to be comfortably livable. It certainly beats living in a padded cell in an isolation facility, or even the limited confines allowed to Enforcers by the MWPSB.
"You can put your suitcase in there," he says, gesturing to the side room with the sofa. She raises her eyebrows at him, and he shrugs. "I'm assuming you need a place to stay." Not a question, but an assertion.
"Is it that obvious?" she says sheepishly, clutching the handle of her suitcase.
"Why else would you bring your luggage with you all the way out here?" He moves past her down the hall and disappears into the mysterious open walkway, and returns a few minutes later with a cup of tea after she settles on the edge of a sofa cushion.
She takes the offered cup with thanks, grateful for its warmth after her mild hike through the chilly autumn air.
While she blows on the hot liquid, Kogami leans against the wall across from her, glaring at the hardwood floor with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Vacation, huh?" he asks. His tone is skeptical. She sips on the tea before looking up at him, humming affirmatively.
"Seven years is a long time to go without taking any time off," she explains.
"I can imagine," he says. "How long were you planning to stay?"
"Trying to kick me out already?" she jokes. He gives a weak attempt at a smile, but it fades quickly, so she pulls back on the humor and her smile retracts consequently. "I didn't have a specific length in mind."
"Alright then," he says. "So why did you pick this country of all places?"
She can understand why he's inquisitive, but with the hard edge in his voice when he speaks, she can't help but feel like she's being interrogated.
"Look, if you're suspicious of me, I get it," she says. "But you don't have to beat around the bush. You can just come out and say it."
He doesn't say anything. He simply continues to stare at the floor, but his face shows hints of deep thought. Since he's silent, she continues.
"Is it a crime to visit a friend?" she asks.
This makes him look up at her. He's aware she is being sarcastic, but there's an irony in her question that mirrors the theme of his thoughts.
"Is it not, in your case?" he asks, though it comes out more like a statement. He pauses to let it sink in, then clarifies by adding, "You're not the one I'm suspicious of."
He doesn't need to cite it by name for her to know that he's referring to the Sibyl System.
"You don't have to worry about it," she says flatly.
"How do you know?"
"You really think I'm stupid enough to visit an escaped fugitive without covering my tracks first? I'm not an idiot."
"How can you be sure you won't be followed?"
"Nobody is going to come banging on your door to haul you back to Japan," she insists with a rather harsh tone. She stares at him long and hard and he stares back, deciding whether or not to place his full trust in her statement. He wishes she would elaborate, but he supposes there are details to her arrangement that she isn't at liberty to reveal.
It's subtle, but she can see the trust in his eyes contrasting with disbelief as he contemplates her words. It is obvious there is something more that she isn't telling him, and she can tell he is aware of that.
But whatever it may be, he decides it isn't a threat to him. In the end, and as he always does, he chooses to trust her completely.
"Alright then," he surrenders. "Stay as long as you need to." Then he pushes himself from the wall and stands, and then backtracks into the small hallway. He gestures to the door just past the stairs as he strolls past it.
"Bathroom is here," he says, pointing, "kitchen is just down here. There isn't much to eat but you can scrape together whatever you can find."
"Thank you," she says, while he's still in earshot. She watches his shadow disappear down the hallway until he walks into view again, at the large square table on the other side of the room from her. He picks up a coat hanging on the back of a chair and slips into it, then without another word he slides the patio door open and closes it behind him.
Akane can't help but laugh, despite the rush of tension still dissipating within her. Kogami has never been one for extravagant, warm welcomes, but she hadn't been expecting him to abruptly leave her alone, and directly after making a stink out of trusting her, no less. That man can be such an amusing mystery.
Now that she is alone, she no longer feels intrusive investigating her surroundings. She sips on her tea as her eyes study the room.
There isn't much more than the basic furniture she'd already noted, but there is a small, low-standing bookshelf she hadn't noticed before, sitting below the window. It's modestly full of novels, most of which she hasn't heard of, and she's surprised to see how many titles engraved on the spines are written in languages other than Japanese.
Across from her sits a small stand with a set of little doors hiding the contents within, and atop the stand is an old-style television, one that's too big to be mounted on the wall. From what she can tell, the screen appears to be caked with a thick layer of dust. She wonders if Kogami has ever bothered to touch it, and wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if he hasn't.
When she finishes her tea, Akane makes her way to the kitchen to explore further. She first takes a minute to wash her cup, setting it upside down on a rack beside the sink to dry, then takes in the modest fixtures of the kitchen; there's minimal counter space-though he doesn't have much to fill it with-and only a couple cupboards hang above them, matched with a few doors below the counters to maximize storage potential in the small space. There's a stove near the sink and a fridge stands tall across from it, and that's all there is.
Other than the second floor-where she assumes his bedroom is-there isn't much left to investigate, and she doesn't feel quite right intruding that far into his personal space. So she slips on her coat and shoes and decides to see what he's up to in the back, but not before she gets a proper view of the scenery teased by the backdoor window.
The trees stretch on for as far as her eyes can see, except for a small break a short hike away where the trees taper off to a jagged, rocky section of the ground that suddenly dips in elevation. She wonders where it leads to, though if she listens carefully, she can hear the distant sound of water, of waves crashing against the shore somewhere far away.
A rough grunt from her right captures her attention, and she follows it to find Kogami, on his knees in the dirt. His gloved hands are wrapped around a tall green stalk, and he's yanking on it with impressive force, though it doesn't do much to pull the plant from the ground. Whatever it is, it's rooted very deeply in the soil.
"Shinya Kogami, a man capable of breaking a sparring robot with a single punch, bested by a mere weed?" she taunts, announcing her presence. He doesn't seem surprised by her sudden appearance. He laughs sarcastically with a sharp huff, then readjusts his position, digging one foot into the dirt and standing up forcefully with another, louder grunt, both hands tight on the plant. This time, it comes rippling from the ground, the root shrouded in a large clump of dirt that falls off in bits as he moves.
He stands triumphantly with the stem in hand, glaring at the weed. Its roots are nearly the size of his head. Then he shifts his gaze to her, his neutral expression betrayed by shameless eyes that seem to taunt 'you were saying?'
"Nevermind," she says. He replies with nothing, discarding the weed into a large plastic bin, joining what looks like other pulled weeds. Then he kneels back down to the ground and picks up a small shovel, aggressively digging at the dirt in the hole left behind from the weed.
"What are you doing with that?" she asks.
"You have to remove the root completely, otherwise it could grow back," he explains as he works. He scrapes the edges of the hole all the way around. "There's a chance parts of it break off when you uproot it, so it's best to dig the rest of it out." She nods, watching silently for a moment, before glancing up.
Around them is a small enclosure that looks as though it used to be a garden. Most of it is overgrown with weeds and shrubbery that appear to have not been trimmed or maintained in years. There is a small patch cleared of the mess where Kogami kneels, slowly working his way inward through the tangles of plants.
"What do you plan to grow here?" she asks.
"Depends on what I can get my hands on."
"For food, I'm assuming?"
He nods. "It'd be nice to have my own supply so I don't have to go into town as often."
"You sound like a recluse," she laughs. He doesn't argue with that inference. "So what do you do for food now? I can't imagine the economy here is stable enough for job security."
He looks up from where he kneels, studying her expression. She wonders if she's perhaps coming off too strongly asking so many questions.
"You don't have to answer if you don't want to," she reassures, putting her hands up as if she were surrendering. "I'm just curious."
"The economy isn't as bad as you think," he says after a moment, his gaze retreating to the ground. He begins to scoop up the shoveled dirt and dumps it into the bin with the weeds. "The people here might not have a formal government to guide them with policies, but it's not completely necessary."
"What do you mean?"
"People still need to make a living, and a lot of the people here-at least in this area-try to do that peacefully. For example, how did you get all the way out here?"
"I took a bus," she answers.
"Didn't it strike you as odd that an organized bussing system exists in a stateless society?"
"Yeah, a little."
He seems content with the removal of the weed and finally stands, shrugging his hands out of the gloves caked with dirt. As he speaks, he moves to the deck and sets the gloves down on the railing after beating the dirt from them, and Akane follows, leaning on it beside him. Between them is an ashtray stuffed full of discarded cigarette butts.
"Certain public services are still available by the will of those who decided to upkeep them," he explains. "Society needs transportation, and so someone decided to provide it as a means of making their living. People who use it pay with money, or by exchanging goods and services. Essentially, the economy here has been broken down to the basics."
"So how do you figure into that?"
Kogami doesn't answer right away. First he swipes a pack of cigarettes from a pocket hidden inside his coat, along with a lighter. He lights one, then holds the pack out to Akane. It takes her a moment to realize he's offering her one.
"Oh, no, thank you," she says quickly, pushing the pack back to him. "I don't smoke."
"Good," he says, holding the butt between his lips as he slides the pack back in his pocket. "Don't start." Then, a moment later, she notices he's peeking down at her from the corners of his questioning eyes, like he's attempting to put together pieces of a puzzle that don't quite fit.
"What is it?" she asks.
"Nothing."
"If it's nothing, then why do you keep looking at me like that?" He continues to stare at her for a few more seconds, then sighs.
"Just trying to figure out why you had them before, is all."
The memory pops back into her head, a memory of when they escaped from an attacking war drone by hiding in a pool of water, which inevitably drenched his last cigarette. She later offered him one from a pack she carried on her person, not-so-coincidentally his brand of choice. He remembers such a small detail after all these years?
Kogami hadn't asked for an explanation about why she had them at the time, and so she never felt compelled to give one. The thought of explaining it now comes with an uncomfortable heat in her cheeks.
"It's a long story," she says with a laugh to hide her embarrassment. "But you still haven't answered my question."
Maybe she doesn't need to give him an explanation, since his brows relax and the confusion edging his irises suddenly disappears, as though the misfitting pieces have reorientated and he's able to make sense of them, and then he silently puts them together on his own. Mystery solved, then he moves on.
"Dodging my question with your own question, huh?" he teases, exhaling a puff of smoke that disappears into the wind. "You sure are fit to be a detective."
"Is that not what you're doing?"
"Thought you said I didn't have to answer."
"You don't," she says. "But if you don't have to, then neither do I."
Amused, Kogami shares a half-grin, then takes a long drag from his cigarette before tapping the excess into the ashtray between them.
"I know a guy in town," he says, after some comfortable silence passes. "I do favors for him in exchange for whatever I need. No questions asked, no strings attached."
"What kind of favors?"
"What is this, a job interview?"
"I'm just curious," she insists. "Like I said, you aren't obligated to answer."
This time he doesn't humor her question, and she lets it go, giving into the silence he initiates between them. For now that seems to be the end of her inquisition, but he's sure it will return later.
He watches as she turns around and leans on the railing, arms crossed and her bangs swaying gently with the breeze, and he watches her eyes pander over the scape of trees behind the cabin from one side to the next, and back again. He doesn't blame her. The scenery is rather breath-taking and has a peculiar calming ability that renders it almost hypnotic, in a way. In all his life, Kogami has never seen a place quite like it, especially not in Japan.
"Where does that dropoff lead to?" she asks. "Some kind of beach?" He takes one last drag before he crushes the cigarette in the ashtray, then turns around to eye the rocky slope in question.
"The Atlantic," he says. "It's not much of a beach, more like water crashing into rocks. But it's nice if you need to sit and think for a while."
"How far down is it?" she asks curiously. There's an interesting tone to her voice, and he can practically hear the gears turning in her head.
"Too far for you to go down by yourself. You won't make it with no rock climbing experience."
"How do you know I don't have any?"
"Call it a lucky guess."
"Well do you have rock climbing experience?" she asks hopefully. He sighs, hating to be the bearer of bad news, but he's definitely not in the mood to scale the cliffside, as it is dangerous without the proper supplies which he doesn't currently have.
"Maybe some other time," he says.
She lowers her chin to her arms dejectedly, pursing her lips with a disappointed sigh. It's silly and childish, and borderlining pathetic, and yet he finds his expression cracking and folding into amused sympathy. If she were anybody else he would easily ignore it and get right back to de-weeding his garden. But she isn't just anyone else and he hates how it actually makes him feel guilty for saying no.
After all these years, she still has such a curiously profound effect on him. He wonders if she's even aware of it.
She must be feeling restless, he guesses, or perhaps excited by the promise of new somethings, seeing as how she's so eager to traverse down a dangerous cliffside just minutes after arriving on his doorstep. A less intensive idea comes to his mind.
"How was your flight?" he asks preemptively.
"It was okay, I guess," she answers. "Long and boring, mostly."
"Are you tired, then?"
"No, not really."
"Well there's a path through the woods if you want to hike up the mountain," he says. "It's easier and safer."
Akane stands up a little straighter. "Are you offering to take me?" she asks, her brow raised curiously.
"I guess I am." There is more work he wants to do in the garden, but he isn't in much of a hurry to get it done, seeing as how he can't plant much of anything until spring rolls around. And the way her eyes light up at his proposal makes him almost smile. Almost.
He ducks inside to grab them some bottles of water, then leads the way to the path at the edge of the trees.
On the way, and feeling a bit uncharacteristically lighthearted thanks to her bright enthusiasm, he attempts to crack a joke about the likelihood of her getting lost if she were to navigate the woods on her own. He expects her to scold him or to retaliate with a teasing jab of her own, but instead, she surprises him by cackling loudly with laughter, vivaciously agreeing with his comment.
It's been awhile since he's heard her laugh, and realizes, when he silently chuckles along with her, that it's been even longer since he's heard his own.
The route he takes as he leads her isn't clearly marked, save for the deliberate clearing of trees which tells her something of a more prominent path used to wind through the area up the hill. But it hasn't been maintained in quite some time, evident by the way it is terribly overgrown with underbrush and littered with leaves and sticks. Stray branches jut out from neighboring trees, and the terrain can be slippery if any steps aren't taken carefully.
It turns out to be a bit tougher than Akane had anticipated. The shoes she wears had brought her through the uneven stretch between his cabin and the main road just fine, but they aren't suited for a rough hike through the woods like this.
Kogami feels a twinge of guilt for not noticing beforehand, but she insists she's managing just fine. Still, he keeps his pace slow so it's easy for her to keep up, and he tries to keep the route as clear of debris as he can, holding branches to the side and offering the support of his arm for particularly steep steps.
They hike for what feels like an hour, the time mostly filled with silence. Other than her occasional inquiry about what he's been up to over the last three years and him catching up with updates on what was left of the old Division 1, there isn't much conversation to be had. She seems just as comfortable with the silence as he usually is, although something about the quiet that ensues, coupled with the unfamiliar urge he has to fill it, is strange to him.
But then he realizes that, since he arrived in Spain, he's only spent brief periods of time with strangers and with minimal interaction. For the most part, he spends his time alone, and he generally prefers it that way since making smalltalk, or really socializing in general, isn't his cup of tea.
However, Akane isn't a stranger; she's somebody he truly considers a friend. And if he's being honest, she is one of the closest friends he has. So perhaps this strange urge to hold a conversation is his way of realizing that he's missed having the company of a friend around.
Since she isn't bothered by the silence, he tries to not let it bother him.
Eventually, they reach a point on the hill where the ground begins to even out, and up ahead Akane can see a clearing in the trees, indicated by the glow of excess sunlight just ahead. And from the clearing she can see where an open cliffside overlooks a breathtaking expanse of forest far below them, before the edge of it meets the ocean, a deep navy that glitters with dancing waves as the sun beats down on it.
"The ground here is unstable," he warns, as she takes a few wary steps towards the edge to get a better view. "So be careful."
"Wow," is all she manages to say. 'Wow' is right.
To the north, further beyond the forest are mountains that reach even higher than these, ones that are a rich purple with frosty tips and normally disappear into the clouds, only today the sky is unusually void, a perfectly clear blue. He watches as her eyes roam in wonder, then takes a moment to take it all in himself. He doesn't venture up here very often, but it sure is worth it when he does.
Far down below on the ground, he notices an animal trotting slowly between the trees. At first he can't tell what it is, but after a few seconds, he recognizes it.
"Look," he says suddenly, pointing in its direction. "Do you see that?"
"What?" she asks. She attempts to follow the line where his finger is pointing.
"A deer," he says. "You've probably never seen one in the wild since they went extinct in Japan, but they're abundant here."
"I don't see it," she says, following a moment of fruitless searching.
"It's right where I'm pointing. Between those trees."
"There are hundreds, if not thousands of trees," she says. She inches forward with caution, trying to find where exactly he's pointing, but it's essentially useless. "I feel like you're lying to me."
"I'm not. Look more to the right."
"I am looking to the right, I don't see-" She's cut off right by the sound of a loud crack! as the ground suddenly gives way under her weight, and begins to slide downward. Kogami is quick to grab her shoulders and yank her with him as he leaps back, retreating to a safe distance away, and together they watch as a portion of the cliffside breaks away completely, and tumbles all the way down to crash on the ground. The impact is loud, and they can feel it vibrate all the way back up the mountain and through their feet.
"Well now you've scared it away."
She shoots him a pointed look, her heart racing in her chest. She just nearly off a cliff, and he's turning it into a joke? He glares back at her, though his eyes are much more playful than hers, which eventually subdues her irritation. He had saved her, after all.
"I feel like there should be some sort of warning sign," she says.
"I warned you."
"I mean if someone else comes up here and doesn't know how dangerous it is."
"Nobody else comes up here." He leaves it at that and begins to nudge her back towards the edge of the clearing. "The sun is going to set in a bit, so we should get going."
Akane peers out over the edge one last time before they head back down the path. Threat of falling to certain death aside, it's still an incredible view.
Hiking down proves to be significantly easier than the way up, but she has to be mindful of where she steps; the coverage of leaves on the forest floor is more slippery as they move at a faster speed going downhill. Needless to say, she is much more cautious now after witnessing the cliffside break literally under her feet.
The breeze starts to pick up more, cooling the temperature as the sun sinks lower in the sky. Something about the growing crispiness of the air is refreshing, but she still buttons up her coat.
The path seems to forge on with no end in sight, and after awhile Akane begins to feel nervous about how low the sun sits just above the treetops, casting a dulling, warm glow through the leaves, and she asks, "Will we make it back in time before it gets dark?"
"It's not much further," he reassures. "As long as we keep moving, we'll be fine."
A few strides later, when he reaches flatter ground at the bottom of a steep dip, Kogami stops, and Akane collides into him from behind. She doesn't fall thanks to his arms thrown out to steady her, and he waits until she's standing up straight just fine on her own to go of her, and then he steps to the edge of the path, venturing just a bit beyond it.
"Is something wrong?" she asks.
"Gotta take a leak," he says, and then his hands disappear in front of him. "Hold on a sec."
"Seriously?! Right now? You can't wait until we get back?"
Apparently not, since he doesn't answer. The second she hears the sound of his zipper she bolts in the opposite direction.
"I'll be over here then," she calls over her shoulder. Then she mutters to herself about rude behavior and improper manners and the gross realization that she could be walking over some stranger's urine coating the leaves under her feet, until her attention is captured by another dropoff a few steps ahead of her. She momentarily stops in her tracks. It doesn't appear to be very deep from what she can see, and when she glances behind her to find the outline of Kogami still a comfortable distance away, she decides to investigate, just for a moment.
As she creeps closer, Akane can see the forest floor sharply dipping down into a ravine. This time, as she nears the edge, she is much more cautious, grabbing hold of a sturdy, low-hanging tree branch for security.
The ravine isn't enormous by any means, but it is deeper than she initially thought. There are many trees of altering colors, but they are more spaced out, not quite as condensed as the trees in higher elevation. Suddenly she sees something darting between them.
She holds her breath as she realizes it's a deer.
Kogami had been right; she has never seen one before back in Japan. She stares at it in awe as it sniffs the ground around the trunks of trees, searching for something edible. She can't believe how incredibly close it is, wandering around mere yards away from her.
It's gentle, and quiet, and she feels almost guilty standing there watching it, as though she's encroaching on its territory.
Just then, Kogami's voice echoes through the air as he calls out for her, and the deer's head snaps up suddenly, its eyes wide and alert. It then dashes away just a second later, disappearing so quickly into the brush that she hardly even registers it's moving until it's gone.
In the same moment, the loose soil beneath her feet crumbles, as she'd been leaning too far forward, and the branch she holds for safety snaps as she falls, scraping the palm of her hand.
The sting of pain is forgotten immediately as she collides with the sloping ground of the ravine, too hard and too fast, and she feels her ankle bend too far, forcing out a cry as her body collapses roughly to the ground, and she rolls deeper into the ravine.
Somewhere above her, Kogami is calling her name, but the sound of it is quickly growing further and further away as she tumbles, bumping and sliding through the dirt. Eventually, she comes to a crashing halt at the base of a tree, which knocks the wind out of her, leaving her lying still.
When her eyes finally open, it's almost impossible to tell exactly how much time has passed, but she does notice a distinct lack of sunlight than there was when she first fell.
It takes her a long moment to gather her bearings before she pushes herself up to her elbows. There's a dull ringing in her ears, but apart from that, her hearing seems normal, and she can see just fine with no floating spots or bubbles of light in her vision.
Looking up, she can't see how far she's fallen, and she doesn't hear Kogami's voice. So instead, she calls out to him, but it takes all the breath she has in her lungs and leaves her breathless. She lets her head drop while she catches her breath.
"Akane!"
Her head shoots back up immediately, searching for the direction of his voice. He doesn't sound as far away as she remembers.
"I'm here," she yells back, as loudly as she can with what little breath she has. Then she pushes herself up to a sitting position, holding her head steady with one hand as it spins rapidly. A long moment spent taking slow, deep breaths helps the spinning subside.
In the distance are snapping twigs and rustling brush, and as she attempts to turn and face where the sounds are coming from, a burning sensation suddenly flares up in her ankle, making her recoil. She waits for the pain to subside, then rolls up the hem of her pants to inspect the damage. As far as she can tell, it doesn't look serious, with no bleeding or visible bruising. But it's definitely swollen when she tries to touch the area gingerly, wincing as she does so.
"Akane!" This time, his voice comes from directly behind her, so close that she's sure she would see him if she turns around. She manages to throw a glance over her shoulder in time to see him close the distance between them with long, hurried strides.
He drops down to kneel beside her. For the briefest of moments, he looks absolutely beside himself, worry evident all over his face. His chest is heaving like he'd just finished running a marathon. But it fades just as quickly as he ran now that he sees she's conscious and not severely injured.
"Are you in pain anywhere?" he asks through heavy breaths.
"My ankle," she says. "It bent pretty hard when I fell."
"Is that all?"
"I think so."
"This doesn't hurt?" He holds up her hand by her wrist, where her palm is red with drying blood. He picks off a couple leaves that cling to it.
"Oh," she says, her tone surprisingly confused, as though she hadn't realized her hand was bleeding at all. "Yeah, that too, I guess."
He wants to take a moment to inspect her ankle, which is still exposed by her rolled up pants, but they don't have time to sit there while the sun sinks lower with every passing second. It's already gotten darker than when she'd first regained consciousness.
"Can you stand on it?" he asks.
"I haven't tried to."
"Let's give it a try, then." He stands to his feet and offers her a hand. With his help, she pulls herself up to her knees, but when she tries to place weight on the injured leg, she drops back to the ground, flinching sharply.
The sun is barely peeking over the treetops, so without wasting any time, Kogami opts for carrying her on his back and hurries back to the trail. Going back up the slope of the ravine is tricky, especially with the weight of two people on one pair of legs, but he manages.
"What happened?" he asks, when they are finally back on the path.
"I saw a deer," she explains. "I must have gotten too close to the edge."
"Thought I told you to be careful when doing that."
"I was!" she argues. "I just didn't realize I was leaning so far forward." He gives only a sigh in response, shaking his head disapprovingly. "Oh, don't give me that! If it wasn't for you deciding to stop and pee, this wouldn't have happened."
"So it's my fault you got shy and ran off?" There's a hint of playfulness in his otherwise scolding tone, and Akane feels her face grow warm because of it.
"I wasn't being shy," she insists, despite the redness in her cheeks that he-thankfully-can't see. "You were being indecent."
"First you show up on my doorstep unannounced, then you give me a heart attack, twice, then demand my hard labor and medical attention, and now you're trying to lie and scold me in the same breath? You really are something else."
His tone is heavily laced with sarcasm, but she can't help but feel as though there is genuine anger behind his words, or irritation, or something else that she can't place. She doesn't think he's trying to be mean, but either way, she falls silent, and he doesn't say anything else either.
Unlike the trek up the hill, the silence is cumbersome. But it isn't much longer until they break the clearing at the bottom of the trail. The dark outline of the cabin can be seen against a deep purple sky, dotted with wisps of stars beginning to emerge in the night.
Once inside, Kogami sets her down on the dining table. She is temporarily left alone while he escapes the tension, disappearing into the kitchen and returning a few minutes later holding a bag of ice, wrapped in a small towel in his hands.
He sets it on the table first, before rolling up her pant leg. His fingertips, cold from the ice, feel good against her sweltering skin, which has visibly pinkened with swelling. She bites her lip to keep from flinching as he prods the area.
"How would you describe the pain when you fell?" he asks, and instead of the bitter sarcasm from before, his voice is gentle.
"It felt sharp, like it'd been cut, I guess."
"Does it still feel like that?"
"No," she says, shaking her head. "It just feels really hot." He reaches for the bag of ice.
"It's just a sprain," he concludes, and presses the ice to her skin, looking up to meet her eyes. "Not severe. Just keep icing and stay off of it tomorrow." Then he leaves her to her thoughts to disappear into the bathroom.
Alone, and unable to get his earlier words out of her head, Akane can't help but feel guilty. It's already one thing to show up as an uninvited guest, but now she's made herself someone he has to look after. Compared to the nervous excitement she had to see him after such a long time apart, now she simply feels like an unwanted burden.
She apologizes when he returns with a first aid kit, but he shrugs off dismissively.
"Why are you apologizing?" he asks, and he takes her injured hand tenderly in his to inspect the damage. It's mostly scraped skin with debris-most likely dirt-mixed in with the blood.
"Aren't you mad at me?" she asks. He dabs the dirt away with a wet, warm cloth.
"Do I have a reason to be?"
She narrows her eyes at him, her brow furrowing in confusion.
"You listed off a few pretty good reasons just a little while ago," she says. "And you seemed mad." His eyes glance up at hers, the cleansing paused.
"I was just teasing, that's all," he says. But she doesn't seem convinced, so he adds, "I wouldn't let you stay here if you weren't welcome. And your fall was an accident. No point in apologizing for it." She stares back at him, skeptically at first, but the unremitting warmth in his gaze persuades her of his honesty, and slowly, by his command, she lets the guilt melt away.
When she looks satisfied, he wordlessly shifts his focus back down to her hand.
With much of the dirt gone, he can see the wound more clearly, and what he thought was mostly scrapes on the surface of the skin is joined by a short, deeper cut in the center of her palm. It isn't bleeding anymore but he decides to disinfect it, uncapping a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and reaching for a fresh rag.
"You can be so difficult to read sometimes," she comments as he douses the chemical on the cloth, though it sounds more as though she's wondering aloud. He ignores the remark and gently grips her arm by the wrist.
"This will hurt," he warns.
"I've had worse," she says with an airy laugh. True to her word, she doesn't grimace at all as the peroxide bubbles in her wound. He wraps her palm up in a bandage once it's disinfected, then moves her to the sofa where she props her leg on the low table in front, cradling her ankle in the ice and a throw pillow.
She thanks him when he cooks a meager dinner for the two of them, and again when he takes her empty dish to wash up once she's finished. He lives a much cleaner lifestyle than she expected him to; the state of his living quarters at the PSB was never a mess per se, but she always thought it could have been much tidier. She supposes that now having less to maintain makes it easier to stay clean.
He clearly isn't suited for hosting, by the way he bids her a quick goodnight, only to trudge awkwardly back down the stairs a few minutes later with a spare pillow and blanket having forgotten to give her any bedding beforehand, only to follow that up with another awkward goodnight and finally retreating upstairs for good.
To his credit, he was completely unprepared and had no prior warning of her arrival. He hadn't known he'd be hosting a guest until just a few hours earlier, and admittedly, she feels just an unprepared as him. Up until she arrived in Spain and made her way to his coordinates, Akane hadn't had a plan in mind as to how she was going to carry out her goal. Now she is here, and though he'd granted her an indefinite stay, she knows she doesn't have unlimited time, and she's going to have to figure something out sooner rather than later.
She doesn't realize how utterly tired she is until she lays down on the sofa.
Japan is several hours ahead of Spain and her body has yet to adjust to the time difference; as it is, she feels as though she's stayed awake for the bleak, empty hours in the middle of the night, when in reality it's only late evening. The worry on her mind and the heated throb in her ankle only add onto the threads of exhaustion wearing down her muscles, and so she collapses graciously into the cushion and enjoys the warmth of the blanket over her aching figure.
As she lays on her back, staring at the ceiling, she wonders if Kogami is already asleep, or if he's going to lie awake for a few hours in deep thought. Or maybe he's reading until his eyes can't stay open any longer, and his book will fall to his chest and be crushed by the weight of his body as he tosses and turns in his sleep.
She wonders if he's thinking of her, somewhere in the front or in the back of his mind, if he's still suspicious of her intentions. She hadn't told him the whole truth, and she knows he's aware of that fact.
But as far as she's concerned, he doesn't need to know, nor does she plan to tell him. She can't tell him.
But it's a relief to know that, at least as of yet, he isn't pushing for that truth, and to know he still trusts her wholeheartedly, even after their long time apart. For now that's enough, and so she's able to fall asleep with little worry in her heart.
