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Like an endless loop, the road trip hasn’t been ending for them. Kaito suggested that they buy themselves time to keep Eriko away from danger, and that is by keeping themselves on the streets until they find an isolated place to stay in. So until the ajin hunters stop, They will be driving for only god knows how long. And so far, it has been almost two days.
Takeshi clicks his tongue at the thought. He honestly wishes this will all be over now so he can be back again with his own business.
“Do you all mind if we have a stop over that convenience store? Just thought we need to buy some more food since we already consumed half of what we just bought yesterday…” Kaito said as he turns his head to point the convenience store.
A close mouthed agreement was heard from the two.
As soon as they arrive the convenience store and done parking the car, Takeshi adjusts his seat so he could lay down, having his arms slump on his sides.
“Do you want me to buy anything for you? Or you wanna come with me?” Kaito asks the exhausted ajin before he gestures to leave the car.
Well he didn’t adjust his seat for no reason. “Just a box of cigarettes. I’ll just stay here.”
“Alright,” Kaito turns to Eriko. “How about you, Eri? You wanna come along and buy something?”
The young girl sits firmly and answers almost immediately. “I’m fine! I will stay here as well.”
“Alright then.” Kaito immediately hops off and proceeds to the convenience store.
After the car door slammed, no noise can be heard aside from the country music playing on the radio and cars occasionally passing by the street.
It was like that for a solid five minutes until Eriko decides to break it.
“Your name…?” The girl asked, hearing the hint of hesitancy in her voice.
Having Takeshi’s seat leaning and almost reaching the back seat, he turns his eyes to the girl easily and gives her a look. Eriko can’t decipher what kind of look he is trying to give, for the guy always had these eyes of a dead fish. She tries not to get intimidated by it anyway.
“ … I’m surprised you cared to ask. I was starting to think you might just be like your brother.” Takeshi replies after giving her of what she assumed was a glare, then turns his head to look out the window.
“Don’t associate me with him! He’s far worse than you think he is! I just don’t get the chance to ask.” The girl in braids went flustered in responding.
There was another few seconds of silence and thankfully Takeshi responds before Eriko regrets asking.
“Just call me Kotobuki. Eri, right?”
It processed in Eriko’s mind before she realized he was asking about her name. “Yes… Eriko, actually. Anyways, how are you and Kai related…?” The girl answers with a follow up interrogation.
“Cellmate.” Takeshi deadpans.
“You mean—?”
“Yeah. We were in jail together.”
“How did Kai end up in jail?” Eriko asks, showing a huge concern on both her face and voice. She seems to find it hard to believe the information.
“Kaito helped your brother when he fled. So he was caught. Are the clothes we are wearing not obvious enough?” Takeshi informs.
Her eyes widened in realization. “So it was really Kai … I see.”
There was a hint of bitterness in her response. The girl was quite for a few seconds until she starts to talk once more. “ … So you both escaped from jail?”
“Yes.”
“How did you escape?”
Takeshi clicks his tongue yet again. He remembers how annoying he finds it when he’s being interrogated too much. “I’m an ajin. I got us out with the help of my ghost.” The tired young man states as if him being an ajin wasn’t a serious issue.
“An ajin? Like my brother?” He sees Eriko’s eyes get wide, like she was hearing some forbidden information yet so willing to learn more. “How can I tell if you’re not messing with me?”
The young man side-eyes her. “Want to witness it? Then kill me.”
The young girl’s curious voice drops. “Wh- I can’t do that!”
“Your loss.”
It takes some time before Eriko’s furrowed eyebrows of daze fade. Obviously the girl wanted to hear more, but it seems like Takeshi won’t entertain her about it anymore.
After a few minutes of silence she mumbles. “Then… you and Kai must be friends…right?”
The ajin raises his brow. It never occurred to his mind once that he might be considering Kaito his friend someday. Perhaps Takeshi could try if he feels sorry enough—but then again Takeshi giving out a hand to Kaito is probably the most sorry he has ever been for him so far, and doubts he’ll go any further than that. “If you put it that way, maybe. Personally I see him nothing but an acquaintance.”
Soon it was Eriko’s turn to raise the brow. “You’re telling me you’d go this far for someone you even see less of a friend?”
“Ridiculous right?” Takeshi responds. Eriko thought the tone of his voice sounded a little bit annoyed, yet also not that far from what he usually sounds like. “Also don’t get me wrong, I’m helping him only now. The idiot saved me several times from the assholes beating me up in jail despite never asking for his help. I’m just trying to return the unwanted favor he offered me. ”
“ … Don’t call Kai an idiot.” The girl says, quite disappointed.
The ajin snorts. “But he is an idiot. An annoying one.”
“Shouldn’t you be more thankful?” Eriko stated in a little heated manner, then soon she crosses her arms and pouts, now leaning her back on her seat. “Kai is not an idiot for being a good person. People like you and my brother don’t deserve him.”
“Yeah, that’s true.” Takeshi makes a small laugh in agreement. “But you see, it’s his fault that he gives his hospitality to those who don’t need it.” He adds, in a way that makes Eriko a bit vexed.
“I don’t get it. You even blame Kai for being there to help you.” The girl in braids mutters.
“No, no, you’re getting me wrong,” Takeshi answers immediately, swatting off Eriko. “It’s not that I blame him, it’s more like I can’t blame him. His selflessness took way too much of his system.”
“And?” Eriko makes a face. “What’s wrong with that?”
“He could be easily manipulated. Just like what your brother did.”
“That’s because my brother’s a scum. He’s the problem, not Kai.” The girl comments.
Takeshi rolls his eyes. “They both have problems.”
“And you’ve got problems for saying such things about Kai.”
“I’m only saying the truth.” He raises his brow once more
Then pauses.
“Can I ask you something this time?”
Eriko side-eyes him. “What.”
“What kind of people do you think Kaito deserves?”
“Someone who…” She raises her eyebrows in confusion and wonder. It took her awhile to ponder and come up with an answer. She pouts a little and scratches her head, soon twirling her hair. “Appreciates him and the things he do… I guess.”
Someone who appreciates him, huh.
“Like who?”
“Someone who isn’t my brother, obviously. Or you.” She says with confidence yet soon looks away from Takeshi, having him not able to see how she looks like.
The young man wanted to retort but he decides to mess up with her instead. “Say… What if Kaito ends up with someone who don’t deserve him? You know, like your brother…” Takeshi follows up with raised eyebrows and a sneer. “… or me?”
Eriko turns her head quick towards Takeshi, “T-That won’t happen!” she says, almost shouting, her cheeks starting to flush. “I won’t let that happen! Kai is too good!”
The young man tries to hold back a laugh. “You like Kaito a lot, don’t you.”
Eriko’s eyes widens, her lids twitching, and her face eventually turning all red. “And what about it…!”
Takeshi was unable to hold it back any further and soon bursts into laughter. “I totally got you there.” Then he laughs even more.
Eriko thought it was very odd to her the older boy laugh because at this point the girl already assumed that Takeshi is emotionless to the core. Yet Eriko brushes that off, because the jerk was laughing at her. She already feels like crying from embarrassment. “Stop laughing! It’s not funny!”
“But it is! You keep on defending Kaito throughout our conversation, it’s so obvious you got a crush on him.” Takeshi stated, still with a little laughter.
“I’m just a friend who cares about him a lot!”
“You wouldn’t react like this if you were.”
“Ugh!” The young girl groaned with exasperation. “I don’t like you! You better not tell Kai any of your nonsense!”
“You said you were just a friend who cares about him a lot, why does it matter?” Takeshi snickers, giving her a sly grin at the edge of his lips.
“Shut up!”
—
“Sir?”
Kaito snaps back to reality. He hears a lady trying to get his attention, which seems to be waiting for his payment.
“That would be five thousand yen, sir.”
“Ah, right uh—” Kaito rummaged his pockets, looking for his wallet. He immediately hands over the money as soon as he gets his wallet. “Here.”
The blond shakes his head. His mind has been too clouded in worry recently. He needs to brush off his thoughts if he doesn’t want getting caught spacing off in public, in a line of customers waiting for their turn at the cashier.
As soon as the blond gets his change, he takes his bags and proceeds outside, returning to the parking lot.
His head starts to sting the moment he gets his eyes squint at the rays of the sunset. Who knew thinking too much would make him sick, not to mention he’s been driving for too long as well and has probably never noticed until now that he’s actually starting to feel sore. The young man starts to feel drowsy.
Kaito does his best to just breathe it out. Shaking his head off once again to make himself more aware of his surroundings, then continues to walk slow towards the car.
As he approaches their parking space, he hears noises from the inside of the car. He walks closer and tried to see what is going on.
The first thing Kaito sees is Takeshi laughing.
It was for a fleeting moment, behind the tinted windows of the car, yet Kaito was able to witness it clearly.
Takeshi soons notices him, and Kaito notices how Takeshi adjusts his seat back to normal as Kaito walks closer to the car and knocks on the door of the back seat. Eriko unlocks the door and opens it for Kaito.
“Kai! You’re back, finally …” Eriko greets him.
“Did I took that long?” Kaito asks. “Also I will be putting these bags here, I hope you don’t mind.” He gestures then places the bags beside Eriko.
As Kaito is arranging the bags on the backseat, he hears another car door open, and sees Takeshi getting off the car.
“Yeah, you sure took so long.” Takeshi answers Kaito, slamming the car door with his tired smile and breathing coming from his post-laughter.
Kaito pulls himself off from the back seat after he’s done arranging the bags. He turns to Takeshi as he closes the door. “What were you guys talking about? You seemed to be laughing your ass off.”
“Nothin’ important.” Takeshi replies.
Kaito looks at him, not to looking away until his smile fades. For some reason his smile felt like a pain reliever; The heaviness he was feeling earlier goes away like he was being pulled off the water.
Intimidating was all Kaito’s first impression on Takeshi. Though they’ve had more moments alone together after the trouble they got from the other inmates, the impression still stays. At this point Kaito has gotten used to it, the monotony in his voice, the tiredness in his expressions, and the general disinterest he exudes.
But after Kaito saw him laughing he pushes all of those impressions aside.
All Kaito felt was the need to see more of who Takeshi really is.
On the back of his mind he wishes to see Takeshi laughing more but he guesses that would be asking too much.
Kaito giggles lightly. “I sure missed a lot, huh.”
“You did.” He replies. “You got my cigs?”
“In the bags on the back seat. I’ll ask Eri to take it for you.”
“Alright.” Takeshi then holds out his hand. “Your keys.”
The blond went confused for a few seconds upon hearing the other’s request. “Why?”
“You’re exhausted. I’ll drive.”
—
It’s almost midnight, at least that what the car watch says. Takeshi parks the car near the woods for a rest.
Takeshi looks over Kaito. The blond seems to be in deep sleep.
The ajin is about to adjust his seat until Eriko clings to the back of it, looking at him.
“What the hell, you’re still awake?” He turns his head to see Eriko.
“I had to ask you about something!” The girl says in a quiet voice.
Takeshi rolls his eyes. “What is it this time?”
“Did you tell Kaito anything?” She whispers. Despite the darkness, Takeshi can tell she’s giving her a mad curious look right now.
“ … I didn’t. Now place those bags down and and lay down, put yourself to sleep.” Takeshi says with a silent exhausted voice, trying to adjust his seat once again to brush Eriko off.
“How can I tell you’re not lying to me?”
“Ask Kaito.”
“He’s sleeping!”
“And you should be as well. I want to sleep too.”
Eriko still clings to his seat. Takeshi groans.
“Look,” He tries to say convincingly, making himself sound like he’s an older brother. “I didn’t tell anything, alright? I don’t care enough about you crushing on Kaito to actually elaborate it to him. Now if you don’t want to sleep, at least let me, okay?”
Eriko‘s about to retort how she is not crushing on him, but just ends up pouting. “Hmph. Fine.” She says, taking herself off the seat. “But just know I don’t trust you, especially with Kai.”
Takeshi makes a small laugh. He finds it ridiculous how she took it seriously. Kids are hilarious sometimes.
He then hears her carefully putting the bags below the seat. As soon as she lays down, Takeshi adjusts his seat, finally laying on his back
Eventually the two of them finally falls asleep.
—
After a few moments, Kaito opens his eyes.
He looks over Eriko, then Takeshi.
Kaito smiles to himself.
“That was interesting.”