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The hum of evening crickets and the strong scent of campfire smoke were not senses Yui would have considered herself well acquainted with — at least, not comparative to her norm. For her, the familiarity of bright city lights, adrenaline pulsing through her whole body, and the distinct noise of tire-screeching was much more soothing. She could certainly understand how the rural setting could be comforting to some, however, were the situation of herself and the others not so bleak.
Yui, along with three more people she did not recognize, sat neatly in a semi-circle around a crackling fire, golden-orange light reflected in each of their tired eyes. Though most of the individuals had clearly decided to keep to themselves in the odd solitude of the firelight, there was a looming sense of dread that lingered amongst the entire group. None of them could recall quite how they had gotten there, it seemed, and yet the location was almost… liminal in its familiarity. It was as if she had been here countless times before, and was likely to return here countless times again. But that didn’t make sense – after all, she was a street racer, and though she knew something was wrong the moment she’d driven into that mysterious shroud of fog, finding herself here in the woods with strangers she didn’t really know, she refused to believe there wasn’t some sound explanation for it, as odd a story it seemed.
She wasn’t in Tokyo anymore, that much she was sure of, here in this more western-looking forest. But even still, the unfamiliar ambience refused to shift her hardened demeanor.
“Hey, what’s got you all so anxious?” one voice of the strangers suddenly piped up, a thick Pennsylvanian accent lacing her upbeat words. Yui couldn’t help but turn toward the out-of-place sound in skeptical interest, the bright face of a young American woman greeting her; features cheerful, with her bouncy brunette faded hair that gave way to strawberry-blonde tips, and her soft upturned lips that formed into a warm grin. It looked to Yui, at least as far as she could discern, that the young woman was the very epitome of someone who would actually fit-in at a rural firepit. Somehow, that made her own lips twitch up a bit, but the strange situation disallowed her from a full smile quite yet. “No need t’be so shy.”
A moment passed in awkward silence, the strange group’s grim nature dented, but not quite dissipated.
The stranger’s smile didn’t fade at the silence however, an acoustic instrument held loosely in her hands, the base of it straddling neatly against her hip as she leaned forward, clutching it to her body in a position that Yui could only guess meant she intended to play it. The young woman then laughed in lighthearted understanding, her hands moving to carefully tune her guitar.
“Well, that’s a’right. What about a song to lighten the mood?”
It seemed that no one wanted to be the bad-guy and reject such a positive prospect, so once again, there was an affirmative sort of silence, as the woman then began to lightly strum at the strings of her guitar.
“My name’s Kate by the way. If y'all wanna share names.”
“Yui,” the street racer could only comment, her voice a bit higher than the others likely would have expected given her more tough appearance. Not that she minded what they thought of her much. “My name is Yui.”
“Nice to meet ya, Yui!” Kate’s words were more than enthusiastic, jovial even. It was starting to make the bleak situation feel a little brighter – as if the other woman’s smile was more than enough to make the mysterious, almost horror-esque situation feel calm and safe. Even the other two strangers, who had seemed to nearly tune out Kate’s words prior, had begun to perk up with interest. It seemed the group of four that sat around the campfire had been silently brought closer together in a mere heartbeat, all by the warmth of the young woman’s words.
Eventually, the other two young women came around to introduce themselves as well, their tense smiles giving way to something more genuine. Mikaela and Thalita were their names, alongside Kate and then… Yui herself. In some strange, otherworldly way, this small gaggle of people reminded her of Sakura 7. Though she didn’t know if any of them would have skills or reflexes on the road, she was more than certain each and every one of them was strong and resourceful in their own right.
“Hey, Yui, what’s that you’re wearin’?” the kind voice of Kate drew her from her examination of the other women around the fire, eyes brought back to focus solely on the guitarist once more.
“Oh, this?” she smiled a bit, brushing her arm forwards for Kate to get a better look at the pink band tied around her wrist, “It’s a hachimaki. It’s for good luck and unity for women.”
“That’s a nice sentiment! You got real pretty nails too, Yui. You like pink?”
“You could tell?” the street racer only snorted gently, nodding with a small grin.
“It’s a mighty fine color.”
There was a small gap of silence, none of the four women speaking. The only sounds that surrounded them were the crackling of the campfire, the ringing songs of the night crickets, and the melodic hum of Kate’s skillful plucking of strings. After a moment, she started to hum a little tune, and Yui couldn’t help herself but to pat along to it on her lap.
There was something special about Kate — that was clear from her demeanor alone. Her ability to light up a room like the sun at dawn was such a rare, important gift.
But then she shut her eyes and started to sing, voice soft at first, her country-accent drawling along with her words as she painted vivid pictures of a world foreign to Yui, but one she wanted to see nevertheless. Rolling fields, rural forests, fresh springs and rivers, fertile soil, birdsong, muddy boots, racing stallions, humble farming families... It was nothing like the city-lights, the screech of the road, the bright advertisements blurring by as she drove at breakneck paces through the streets of Tokyo, and yet… she couldn’t say one was more ‘true’ than the other. Life was about experiences after all. Maybe dragging tires along dirt-paved back roads would be just as thrilling as the cramped pavement of the city streets.
Though Yui had never heard a song like this before, the concepts of freedom in Kate’s words tugged at something in her unbound heart. It seemed that, in the scheme of this strange rural realm so far away from what Yui knew best, song was the connector that wielded the ability to make her feel at home. Everything about Kate simply felt… warm.
When the musician finally finished her exciting, upbeat song of a pastoral life, her hazel-blue eyes reopened slowly, lashes fluttering slightly with the moment, and Yui could only hold her breath gently.
Mikaela and Thalita were quick to applaud, and though Yui hesitated a moment, lost in thought, she was quick to jump on their tail, clapping alongside the others. Usually, she was seen by her peers as a trailblazer, so it struck herself as odd that she would hesitate to cheer another woman on. Perhaps the nature of such a hopeful song had just… left her distracted.
“Aw, y'all are too kind,” Kate could only laugh, tapping her hand on the base of her guitar rhythmically, “I’m flattered, really!”
“As you should be,” Yui couldn’t stop herself from speaking, voice a stark contrast when juxtaposed against Kate’s thick American accent, “You’re very talented. I have never heard a song like that before.”
“Ah, yeah? How’d ya like it then?”
“It was very… hopeful,” the street racer murmured gently, “You describe horses almost like motorcycles.”
At that, Kate couldn’t help but snort out a little laugh, tapping again at the base of her instrument. Her golden smile was almost akin to sunbeams.
“That’s so funny, Yui! I’ve never been told somethin’ like that before. Do you work with motorbikes or somethin’?”
“I’m a street racer back in Japan,” the woman spoke slowly, “I had always wanted to race motorcycles my entire life, it’s what I’m good at and what I love. There’ve been some hard parts, but I’ve achieved my dream…”
She spoke with passion, before suddenly letting out a deep sigh, her enthusiasm dying back down as she looked around her unfamiliar surroundings. She still felt as if she knew this place, perhaps from a bad dream, but the daunting trees and campfire crackle seemed to take a toll on her usually bright determination. Almost instantly in reassurance, a soft sun-kissed hand merely landed on her own. Kate, yet again, drew Yui’s eyes to face her unwavering, sunny smile.
“And then you ended up here, huh?”
Kate’s words were empathetic, but her twinkling expression didn’t fade, instead merely softening into a look of tender understanding. It seemed all of them here had probably experienced something similar, oddly cut down in the prime of their passions.
“Right.”
“Well, hey, chin up! You got to meet some new friends, didn’t ya? Don’t sweat it, Yui, you’ll get back home in no time, and all the better havin’ met us.”
Yui couldn’t say she disagreed with that. Though she’d consider herself a fairly positive person, she was also very realistic, her optimism grounded in reality. Kate, on the other hand, seemed to be on another level of confidence in the world, and it fit her perfectly. It was nice, to have such an uplifting presence in such a dreary environment. Her presence alone made it feel much more akin to a fun camping trip than an eldritch mystery.
“Have you ever rode before?” Yui couldn’t help but ask, curiously.
“Haha, nope. Where would I get some fancy bike like that from?”
“Hmm… I suppose that’s a fair question. Well, perhaps if we get out of this place, you’d like to join me in a race some day? See the streaking lights of the city streets and feel the adrenaline of taking the lead in a fierce competition?”
The street racer was quick to offer out her hand to the bright woman in front of her, flushing a bit at the eager, firelit grin that met her in return. Immediately, Kate’s hand was shaking hers.
“Well, I’ve never been the competitive type, but I think that sounds real fun! I think you might have got yourself a deal there, Miss Yui!”
“I look forward to it, then.”
There was a brief moment in the darkness of the night that Kate’s eyes flashed with a fierce excitement that Yui had seen on the faces of countless racers before, and she couldn’t suppress the wide smile that graced her lips in turn. If Kate could sing so prettily about the joys of a rural paradise, Yui could only imagine the songs that the hopeful young woman could spin up about the tense excitement of tearing through the streets of Japan, taking sweet victory for the two of them together.
A good country girl like Kate, and a hardened thrill-seeker like Yui… such an unlike pair and yet, the fire that burned bright in both of their eager eyes was more than enough to show anyone who gazed upon the two of them together that there was an innate connection budding between them.
The other two sitting on the opposite side of the campfire could only laugh to themselves gently, watching the two chatter about their respective passions as Kate once again began strumming the beginnings of a new song, more than aware of this… ‘budding connection’.
Perhaps Kate’s next song would emphasize the pink of the starry sunset, the pink of the flowers, and the pink of the flushed faces on starstruck sweethearts, meeting a new lover for the very first time.