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"Power, get off of the hand rails! You're setting a bad example for Beam! And Beam, stop biting the metal pole!"
Aki struggled to not scold so loudly to disturb the other passengers, the six of them currently riding the train to their destination in Hokkaido. Power released herself from the railings while Beam pulled away from the pole near one of the doors, both trying to find their seats. Kobeni leaned her head on Asa's, who kept her eyes glued to the passing scenery outside after having texted Makima that they made it on the train with no complications. Denji and Reze sat together, the latter assisting the former in Candy Crush on her phone as the weather heated up outside.
Four hours later, the three disembarked in the late morning and traveled over to The Stay Sapporo on foot. Asa and Kobeni kept the other three barely restrained as Aki signed them in before taking them to them up to their rooms.
"Three rooms...who goes with whom?" Power pointed out on the floor.
"Asa and Reze, Kobeni and you and Denji, Beam and me." Aki answered.
"Ah, I see Mister Hayakawa has finally begun reading the newsletters I've sent him! And yet, the gallons of blood gathered from different government higher-ups I have demanded doesn't seem to have been sent to my doorstep. Neither Meowy or the old man have seen it..." Power began to ramble before Kobeni put her hand on her shoulder.
"Actually...I'm the one who came up with the room arrangements, Power." Kobeni revealed. "I thought with the odd number, this was the best way to sort everyone together."
"Kobeni...wished to bunk with me?" Power gasped, her cheeks flushing as Aki rolled his eyes.
"You guys have your keys, start putting your stuff inside...Kobeni and I will be back in a few hours. You want food, there's a restaurant on the first floor. Don't break anything."
"Wait...I want to come with you guys to pay respects." Asa spoke up.
"Mitaka's trying to curry favor again...Power is coming too!" Power raised her hand, nearly knocking the back of an annoyed Asa's head.
"I can look after the boys...but I don't want to so I'm coming." Reze said, to Denji's shock.
"No way...then I'm coming!" He declared.
"Coming too!" Beam yelled.
"Guys, this is the only part of the trip that's not supposed to be fun." Aki sighed out as Kobeni looked on. "Fine...no noise though. And keep quiet when we reach the temple."
The squad was not quiet on the walk over. Asa had to pull Beam out of a trashcan at the park, Aki had to break up a "cherry blossom fight" between Denji and Power and Kobeni had to apologize on the behalf of the group when Reze frightened a group of scouts with Bang Snaps she happened to have on her. The chaos ensued up until the actual arrival at the cemetery, where the group fell quiet and silent prayers were offered via clasped hands. Kobeni whispered something under her breath but no one, Aki included, cared enough to sparse it out. A bouquet of daisies were laid at Taiyo's grave and the group exited, Aki pausing them at the park.
"That was the whole point of the trip. We got two days left here, including this one...what do you guys want to do?" He asked.
"We're in Sapporo so...I want to make Soba Noodles." Asa said.
"I want to go to the zoo and see if the penguins are still out." Denji chimed in.
"Power wants to go on the Otaru tour and drive the boat!" Power excitedly added.
"Yes to Asa's...no to Denji's and Power's." Aki replied, to the latter two's dismay. "Your ideas are too expensive. You said you'd be spending your own money here."
"I got money! I brought like 40,000 yen over!" Denji protested.
"The zoo experience you asked for usually costs 45,700 yen." Aki countered.
"Power has more money! 90,000 yen in cash!" Power argued. "She could buy the city if she wanted to!"
"The tour costs 95,200 yen." Aki shut her down.
"She has a credit card!" Power whined.
"It's a debit card...and Kishibe made you leave it behind." Aki reminded.
"Ah...then...soggy soba noodles..." Power groaned pathetically as Asa rolled her eyes.
"Tonight, we'll head to Mount Moiwa and later, we'll go to an arcade in Susukino." Aki revealed, brightening the faces of Denji, Power and Beam. "Before then, we're going to see if the soba cooking class is open."
"We'll throw up all the noodles we can if it'll get us to the arcade!" Denji declared. "Come on, sign us up!"
"Why do you think you're going to throw up..." Asa frowned.
"You guys did stuff like this when you were younger?" Reze asked Kobeni.
"Oh no...we buried Aki's family in Sapporo. We grew up in Sakhalin." Kobeni clarified as the others loudly paraded away, Asa staying behind for them to catch up.
***
"I think I've overcooked my noodles..." Asa said quietly as she practiced with the others at a long table in a closed restaurant. "Denji, taste them."
"I don't eat soba." Denji said before leaning over and munching them off of the chopsticks Asa held them in. "They taste like damp toilet paper."
"Then why did you eat them?!" Asa demanded.
"Mine keep clumping together." Reze complained as she stirred the soba noodles in her bowl.
"The trick is to toss them with sesame oil to keep them unstuck." Kobeni advised as she drained her cooked soba from her colander near the sink.
"Beam...I'll make you stand outside if you keep eating the ingredients." Aki sternly warned as Beam stuffed his mouth full of flour.
"Power is evolving!" Power exclaimed as she managed to ignite a flame that reached the ceiling.
"How did she even do that?!" Asa yelled as several staff rushed over to put out the fire.
***
"Why did we walk up here...we should have drove!" Denji griped as he finished coming up the stairs, Reze carrying Asa on her back as the latter hid her face on her neck out of embarrassment.
"You guys don't want to use up your funds before Susukino, right?" Aki explained as Kobeni and Beam went ahead to the railing. "Look over here."
"Eh?" Power went over to the railing with the others, staring over. "We're high up...the lights are even turning on!"
"Cool! It's like Shibuya at night!" Denji dropped his jaw.
"It's nice...not too cold up here either." Asa commented when Reze let her down near the railing. "I think I can see Shiori from here."
"Can spit further." Beam hocked and spat over the side.
"Don't spit!" Aki ordered.
"I can spit faster!" Denji dared, spitting over the side after Beam.
"Stop it!" Aki yelled.
"Power's spit can hit a bird!" Power spat, a tormented caw following afterwards.
"Guys, they're going to ask us to leave!" Kobeni tried to caution as several men approached the group.
***
"Drums! Drums!" Beam cheered as he pounded on a Taiko drum at an arcade as Power rode a motorbike set-up some yards away.
"GET OUT OF MY WAY, BUNNY! I WILL KILL US BOTH!" Power hollered at the screen as Asa and Kobeni shot zombies at another cabinet.
"Remember to aim off screen to reload, Asa." Kobeni helped as she scored several headshots in a row.
"This game is going to mess up my muscle memory..." Asa growled as she kept firing, sticking to bodies and limbs.
"There...we couldn't go to the zoo but you still get a penguin." Reze watched as the claw dropped the La La plushie into the chute, getting it out for Denji.
"Alright! Look! It looks just like her!" Denji exhorted as he held his new possession up.
Outside, Aki sat on a bench by himself, reaching for his pack of cigarettes...only to take out his phone and notice he had a missed message. From Himeno's number:
Have fun in Sapporo! Say hi to the family for me 💋
"...Why the emoji though?" Aki squinted his eyes.
***
"Hayakawa...I have a question." Asa said, approaching Aki outside his door with a smartphone in his hand. She wore a fresh top shirt with cotton bottoms.
"Here. Reze's phone." He handed it over to her. "She dropped it near the bench at the arcade. It's out of battery."
"Okay...explains why none of my calls got through and I had to yell for her." Asa took it and placed in her pocket. "You said this place is a hotel...I had to share a communal shower with two other women. Isn't this a hostel?"
"A guest house...I had to find someplace cheaper when five more people decided to tag along." Aki said. "It was the cheapest place with rooms still open...but the wi-fi's free, the food's within walking distance, you can do laundry here..."
"Uh huh...I'm sorry that we made things so awkward. I've lost family myself so I know how solemn of an affair this must be for you and Kobeni..." Asa stated.
"That's the thing: I've always hated these trips no matter where we stayed when we came here." He admitted. "Kobeni barely talked, I couldn't even look at her...it was just one long funeral march that took place over a single day. Every year."
"That sounds awful...especially for her." Asa noted.
"Like you wouldn't believe. I kind of hoped that at one point, she wouldn't ask to keep coming. Not because she didn't care but because she got sick of how I treated her...but she kept coming. Pissed me right the hell off...she's always been like that. Shaking like a leaf and not able to make eye contact but never really giving up on anything."
"I mean...Kobeni's reliable, at the very least. Usually."
"She's the only family I have left. I should be madder...about you and her killing one of the Immortal Brothers before I did. But it makes sense when I think more about it; I want them dead because I'm angry. She wants them dead to protect me."
"I think...Kobeni's pretty mad herself."
"...It'll be better if she was just mad at me. I'm sick of people getting hurt on my account."
Asa fell quiet, standing there as Aki walked past her. He placed a hand on her shoulder as he went.
"Keep an eye on Reze. She's not as lucky as we are...I don't think she had anyone before who cared before she got here." He let go as he continued on, heading to the commons area. Asa turned to watch him leave...before following after him.
When both showed up in the lounge room, they found Power, Kobeni and Beam watching a movie on the flatscreen with two other people as Denji and Reze sat at a table, playing cards with a long-haired man.
"You can't put something down to attack in M2 phase, I know that's against the rules...hey, Asa!" Denji greeted, looking up from the cards. "Where did you go?"
"To shower. I stopped to talk to Aki before I came here to pick up Reze for bed." Asa answered. "Who is that?"
"Hah...am I really that forgettable?" Barem turned back to face her with a pout. "Come on, it's my vacation too...my feelings don't need to be assaulted like this."
"Who are you?" Aki looked at him. "How do you know Denji and Asa?"
"Just a former freelancer. I decided to check on everyone's favorite squad while I was stopping over." Barem smiled back. "Mostly as a favor."
"A favor to who?" Aki frowned.
"Wait a minute...didn't Asa say she was talking to you? And now you two are calling each other by your first names?" Denji pointed at Aki. "What happened back there? Did you make a move on her?!"
"Denji, no...bad." Reze matronly pulled on Denji's ear, the latter wincing.
"Ow...it was just a question!" He whined.
"Kobeni, make sure Power gets back to her room on time. Denji, you do the same with Beam." Aki informed before turning back. "I'm going to bed."
"Goodnight!" Kobeni turned back to wave off while Beam scarfed down his popcorn, Power looking over at Kobeni with an uncharacteristic passivity.
***
She was the one who asked to room with me...that's basically the same as making a move, right? Power thought as she lied back on the top bunk, Kobeni resting below her. So what if she has a girlfriend...she has the right to have her needs attended to when she's on another island! It's not perverted...I'm being a good shoulder for her to lean on! Power's actions are heroic and justified!
Power took a breath and swung her head down to look at the bottom bunk, her hair hanging as she looked at Kobeni's back. Curled under her covers, small yet supple...not so much prey as she was manna in a desert. If there was a time to strike, it would be now.
"Kobeni...it appears your bunk is bigger." Power spoke, her cheeks turning red. "If it wouldn't offend you, perhaps you would enjoy some com---"
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the room arrangements, Power." Kobeni replied without really hearing her. "I know it was last minute and you'd probably prefer to room with either Asa or Reze...maybe Denji."
"What? Of course not!" Power shook her head. "Kobeni is clearly the superior choice of roommate!"
"That's good...I know I'm not that fun to be around with. That's why I wanted Asa to stay with Reze." Kobeni quietly admitted. "Every time we came here, Aki would look so miserable...and it would make me upset because I couldn't help him. His parents and Taiyo...they were the closest I had to a family who actually saw me. And I felt like I was failing all of them. So I'm grateful you all came with this time. You were able to have fun...and Aki didn't have to spend the whole time thinking about what happened."
"...And Kobeni?"
"What?"
"Did Kobeni have fun? Did she get a chance to think just about herself?"
"...I guess I did." Kobeni confessed, Power raising herself back up to her own bunk.
"Tomorrow...Power wants to go to Odori Park. Accompany her...please." Power said.
"Alright...it'll be nice to see the gardens." Kobeni yawned. "Taiyo once said...he liked the hollies."
"No flowers! Power wants to see the beer museum!" Power declared.
"You're not old enough to drink!" Kobeni protested.
***
"Asa...Asa...are you awake?"
"I am now." Asa groaned back. "Do you need your phone? I put it on the charger."
"I was pondering if my adorable princess required some company in the top bunk tonight?" Reze stuck her head out from the bottom.
"I don't require it, no...I wouldn't mind it, however." Asa sighed out, immediately answered by Reze quickly getting out and onto her bunk in what felt like one motion.
"Aww, some of your funk is missing...you know Asa Musk is my literal favorite fragrance!" Reze teased as she snuggled closer to her.
"Don't be gross! God, you're more like a pet rat than a dog." Asa rolled her eyes.
"Do you like rats?" Reze made sure to make her eyes appear as large as possible while she waited for a response.
"Well...I heard they're better than mice." Asa furrowed her brow, blushing. "They're smart, they're empathetic, clean, low maintenance...and they're loyal."
"So do you like them?" Reze brought her face closer, her lips inches away from Asa's.
"...I prefer cats." Asa deadpanned before pecking her quickly. "Rats are fine though...when they're domesticated."
"I'd love it if Asa kept me with her." Reze closed her eyes, wrapping her arm around Asa's waist as the latter turned over. "A nice cage, she could carry me around...tickle me whenever I want. I'd never want to escape..."
"Stop making me think about rats and go to sleep." Asa ordered.
***
"Dude, move over! It's too damn hot for you be lurching over me!"
"More covers!"
"No, no more covers! Use a damn pillow or something! It's not my fault Aki cheaped out on the rooms!"
"Sweaty..."
"I can tell! Wash your ass in the morning!"
"Both of you shut up." Aki grouched out from the top bunk. "We're going to miss breakfast tomorrow."