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Tanaka was leaning against the door, sipping his coffee. He could see just a little bit of the outside world if he just stood there, unmoving. It was a dreary day, with a thin layer of fog blanketing the ground. Still, there was something peaceful in the familiar stillness of the morning.
The view didn’t have the same effect as when he’d first escaped. Instead of seeing beauty, he felt like he was being teased; all of nature around him, yet he couldn’t enjoy it. He was going stir crazy, restricted to the confines of the base almost all the time.
Faint voices echoed down the hallway, and Tanaka turned away from the door. He could see two figures emerging, first Sato, then Okuyama. Upon seeing him the two ceased their conversation almost immediately, leaving Tanaka with just a few words to hint at the topic of their discussion.
“It’s no issue for me,” were the last things Sato said in regards to Okuyama, whose frown was a little more defined than normal. Tanaka was greeted with a short wave from the former, then a nod from the latter.
“Join us for breakfast, Tanaka-kun?” Sato asked amiably. He turned to the kitchen with Okuyama, gesturing for the taller man to follow. He did, trailing the two into the brighter space.
Most of breakfast had already been finished by the time Tanaka had worked up the courage to speak. It was a simple enough request, but he still doubted Sato would indulge him when considering the potential risk.
“I was thinking, today, that I’d like to...I’d like to go somewhere outside, just for a bit,” Tanaka managed.
“Outside?” Sato repeated, seemingly in thought. He turned to look at Okuyama, whose gaze was now fixed on Tanaka.
“Okuyama-kun has a special errand to run today, perhaps you could join him,” he turned to the blond. “If you’ll allow it, of course.”
Tanaka met Okuyama’s gaze, a hopeful expression on his face. The blond didn’t look particularly thrilled by the idea, but after mulling it over for a minute his expression seemed to warm a little.
“It’s fine. It’ll be easier with a driver,” Okuyama said.
By the time they made it into the car Tanaka was fully dressed in a hat, sunglasses, and a surgical mask, now standard for any trip to the outside. Okuyama stared at the mask for a moment before getting into the car, pulling on his seatbelt, and subsequently leaning his head against the cold glass of the window.
“I’ll navigate for you,” Okuyama said, taking out his phone and finding the directions.
“Where are we going?” Tanaka asked, curious about what exactly the content of his rare day outside would be.
“You’ll see soon enough,” Okuyama responded quietly. Although he’d never been the social type, Tanaka found him particularly withdrawn today. As curious as he was, he decided it was better not to push.
It wasn’t too long of a trip, but it passed in almost complete silence. By the time they reached their destination, Tanaka had a fairly good idea of why Okuyama’s normally reserved behavior had reached an extreme. They were parked right beside a graveyard.
“Who are we-”
“It doesn’t matter,” Okuyama cut him off, unbuckling his seatbelt and getting out of the car. He walked up to Tanaka outside, and pointed at his mask.
“You only look more suspicious wearing all of that stuff. You should take at least one thing off,” he said. Tanaka complied, stripping of the mask and shoving it in his pocket, glad to hear Okuyama say something.
The blond led him through the graveyard with the same silence as before, and eventually led him to a set of graves with a familiar name.
“Will you tell me about who we’re here for now?” Tanaka asked, looking at the spot Okuyama had stopped in front of. This particular patch was empty.
“We’re here for me,” Okuyama said, turning to look at Tanaka. “If I wasn’t an ajin, I’d have been here for a number of years now,” his words seemed to hang in the air with a heavy, cold feeling.
“I come here every year.” Tanaka’s eyes were covered by the sunglasses, but Okuyama could tell by his slightly opened mouth that he was surprised, and not in a good way.
“It’s a type of closure for me, but I understand why you might not like it. I hope I haven’t ruined your day out,” He sighed.
“I don’t mind.”
The two remained for only a few more minutes before returning to the car. It was cold that day, enough that Tanaka turned on the heater after pulling the door shut. For a moment the two sat beside each other, just warming up.
“This is the first time you’ve ever shown me something so personal,” Tanaka realized. “Most people would start with something like a birthday,” he added. Then he bit at his lip, wondering if Okuyama would consider the last statement tactless.
“My birthday was irrelevant to meeting you, and this is one of the few things we have in common.”
Tanaka looked at him in slight confusion, figuring that Okuyama was speaking about immortality to some degree, but he failed to grasp the specifics. When he didn’t receive a response, the blond started speaking again.
“If I hadn’t died then, maybe it wouldn’t have happened at all; I doubt we’d have ever met. If any day of my life is noteworthy to you, it should be this one.”
“I guess,” Tanaka responded quietly. As his voice trailed into nothing, the sound of the heater alone filled the car. Okuyama had turned away again, facing the window. Tanaka could see a partial reflection of his face, and realized his eyes were closed. He reached out, placing a hand on the blond’s shoulder. One eye flickered open, but he didn’t turn back to Tanaka.
“But, I’d still like to know other things. I mean, that’s what friends do, right?” Tanaka asked.
Okuyama tapped his fingers on the door, then looked down at Tanaka’s hand, still resting on his shoulder.
“If you want to know things, all you have to do is ask.”