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Long stretches of pavement passed by in a flash as the two tires of the vehicle turned rapidly against it. The road was still mostly intact despite no longer being maintained, since this part of the city had been long evacuated. Someday it would crumble into disrepair as more and more people crossed it. Around the traveling pair, the buildings had fared far worse than the road and some had already collapsed from the attacks.
The vehicle, of course, was perfect and everything Hachidori had hoped for it to be. The motorbike could go as fast as she wanted, wherever she wanted to go. It would easily provide her with the feeling of the wind on her face, the racing of her heart, and the pure adrenaline of driving fast. Unfortunately, there was a downside of there not being any cops around here to play chase with. Tsuru would scold her for starting up with them if they appeared, but Hachidori didn’t really care. It would be more exciting that way.
But that wasn’t to be, today there were only the two of them speeding down the abandoned road.
Hachidori sat in front and drove, in a posture nearly as familiar to her as fighting was. She pressed the pedal steadily to maintain speed, occasionally slowing only a little to make turns as the wind fluttered through her hair. Both familiar and unfamiliar streets greeted her with each passing minute. Where was she going? She wasn’t sure and she didn’t care.
Tsuru sat in the seat behind her with both arms wrapped firmly around Hachidori’s waist. She had seemed pretty uncomfortable when she climbed onto the vehicle earlier, though that was probably an act. So many things she did were lies, honeyed words and actions designed to only reach her goals. Hachidori was aware of that as she waited on the bike for Tsuru to stumble onto it.
Slowly, Tsuru had lifted one leg over the seat before uncertainly settling her weight against it. Hachidori could feel one of her hands on her hip even before they moved, likely for balance. When she asked Tsuru if she was ready, she received a composed sounding laugh in response. That had been good enough for Hachidori, and the moment the bike lurched forward Tsuru moved to her current level of contact.
The pair mostly drove the roads in silence, any words stolen away by the air rushing past them. Occasionally Tsuru gave directions, guiding them down different roads.
When was the last time Hachidori had driven a bike like this? It was before she became a bird, that was for sure. Even with this bike here and beneath her, she still missed her old one. Sure, it had spewed smoke and left tire marks on the pavement, but that was what she loved about it. She remembered when she crashed it once, straight into a car that was in her lane. Broken bones in her leg had hurt immensely back then, though Hachidori couldn’t quite imagine the feeling now. Despite the pain, as soon as her bike and body were repaired, she went right back to riding it.
If she were to crash now, there wouldn’t be any pain. Breaking the same leg as she did before wouldn’t feel like anything, nor would any other damage to herself. That didn’t mean she would survive, of course, there was always a chance of death. Be it in battle or on the road, what was her life without risk?
The same could not be said for Tsuru; if they crashed she would certainly be in pain. Even if they did though, she would live. No matter what happened, no matter how badly her body was damaged, Tsuru would heal and survive. Hachidori didn’t have the brain space to think too hard about what that comparison meant for them as a pair.
As they approached a corner, one Hachidori had never been to before, she felt Tsuru tap her on the shoulder. That prompted her to slow down, not completely stopping but reaching a much slower pace.
“Turn left here.” Tsuru’s voice was almost too quiet to hear from behind her, drowned out by the engine and the wind.
“Aye aye!” Hachidori responded enthusiastically as she made the turn, entering a row of traditional Japanese houses. She had never lived in a house like this, instead spending many years in a smaller apartment.
The pair rolled past those houses, many of which had been damaged since the evacuation. Some still had walls and even the names of the family that used to live there etched by the gate, while others had become open and unmarked. The speed limit was lower here than on the main road, though Hachidori didn’t give that much thought as she quickly built up speed again.
When they were about halfway down the street, she felt something unusual. There was a wide touch high on her back, on her shirt between her shoulder blades. It applied a consistent light pressure, moving slightly as if shaking. Hachidori wondered, was this an act too?
“Do you want to stop?” She asked, still looking straight head at the road.
The touch on her back shifted side to side slightly. “No, there is no reason to.” Tsuru’s voice was strained, contrary to her statement. Hachidori could feel Tsuru’s arms, which had mostly been firm and still, tremble against her.
The conversation faded with that, dissipating back into the road and long forgotten homes around them. At the end of the street, where they would need to either turn or crash straight into a house, Hachidori brought the bike to a stop for the first time since they left CAGE. Tsuru didn’t speak behind her.
Now, with the engine barely humming while stopped, Hachidori could hear the barest hint of a sob. If this was an act, it was a very convincing one. Though, she remembered, while Tsuru’s words often lied she struggled to hide her true emotions. The voice in the desert came to Hachidori’s mind, and the events of the basement fight. Perhaps it wasn’t an act after all.
Even before she lost her ability to feel pain, Hachidori didn’t feel much. Not physically or emotionally. Her response to strong emotion was always to hit something, kick it, or ignore it completely.
That last option was a tempting one, likely the one Tsuru expected her to take, the option that was most like her. All she needed to do was turn and keep driving. Back when they met she would’ve done it in a heartbeat.
Now though, with the way she had felt as she guarded Tsuru’s body, the way she yearned to continue their partnership, and the way her heart clenched at the feeling of Tsuru’s forehead pressed between her shoulder blades, she wouldn’t do that. She couldn’t do it.
Hachidori lifted one hand from the bike, unsure of exactly how she wanted to respond. Tsuru had told her multiple times that there were some problems that couldn’t be solved with violence; this seemed like one of them.
Could she turn and look? No, they wouldn’t be able to balance on the bike. She remembered watching the childhood friends, the way Flamingo held Fukurou’s hand when she was scared. Perhaps that would work. Hachidori moved her hand down to where Tsuru’s arms were, placing it slowly over one of her hands.
Tsuru’s breath hitched, so quietly that if they’d been driving Hachidori wouldn’t have been able to hear it.
There they stayed for a few minutes, without even the sounds of birds accompanying them. Tsuru’s hand was warm and unmoving beneath Hachidori’s.
When the pressure lifted from Hachidori’s back, she could feel a slight wetness to the fabric there. Tsuru’s free hand brushed past hers briefly, with just the barest hint of a touch to the back of her fingers.
“Let us keep going, how about to the right?” Tsuru’s voice was clear now, as it usually was.
“You got it!”
With a rev of the engine they were off once again, down another street and off on a new route. Hachidori wondered what Tsuru was thinking, what she was planning from the back seat of the motorbike.
There was plenty of time to ask later, or maybe not.
The pair drove on, onward as they always did.