#shuttle bus conversion

[tinyhouseexpedition]

How they converted a Shuttle Bus into a fairytale Tiny Home for $25k

🏡 Welcome to our new episode of DIY Tiny Home Build Stories! 🛠️  Mary Lou & Jacob converted a shuttle bus into a Hobbit-inspired tiny home. It's full of clever DIY ideas & hacks. They share how they did, including designing for their beloved cats. 

[luveline]

Hii I sent the ask for more kbd could you please write them all going on there first family holiday lovely 🤍🫶🏻

love u <3 kbd au —the harrington’s vacation !! mom!reader, 1.5k

This is a good idea, you repeat to each other for weeks. Paying for the flights, making lists, getting Dove her baby passport, packing the suitcases days in advance. 

Most of the time you agree with one another. The day you buy Avery and Beth little swimsuits Steve can’t stop smiling, and the nights leading up to it are like Christmas for Avery when she remembers (and Beth when Avery tells her). 

But the night before you’re sick to your stomach, and then Steve can’t breathe right at the airport, but you get on your plane, and somehow the girls are good. Dove cries when you land because of the pressure change, but she’s soothed by the time you’re past the gate and into the sunshine. 

“Steve,” you say, Dove strapped to your chest, world's heaviest baby bag on your shoulder, “sweetheart, we’re here.” 

He holds Beth’s hand, who in turn holds Avery’s hand, trying to pull the world’s biggest suitcase behind you without running over his own foot. “I told you it would be easy.” 

Your children look beautiful. Avery wears a sun visor cap and a blue dress with white socks and blue converse, and Bethie wears dungarees and a short sleeve top, little black converse to match her sister but unable to handle the sensory nightmare of a hat. They look ready for the sun, and excited to be somewhere new. 

Dove sleeps on your chest. “Easy isn’t the word I’d use,” you mumble, kissing her forehead. “Okay, what’s the next thing? Are we getting the shuttle?” 

Steve checks his watch quickly. “It’s another ten minutes,” he says. “Is that okay?” He points at your harness. “Digging into your side?”

“It’s fine.” You bend with your arm behind Dove’s back, turning your smile on your sweethearts where they mill around their dad’s legs. “How do you guys feel now? So happy? I’m so happy we’re not on the plane, we can stretch our tired feet!” 

“Yeah, mom!” Avery says. 

“Can we have soda?” Bethie asks. 

And okay, you promised them treats if they behaved on the plane, but you’re on vacation. It’s allowed. 

“Yeah, baby, let’s go find you a coca cola before we get on the big bus!” 

You don’t want to pay seventy cents for one can of coke, let alone three dollars for three, but everything will be free when you get to the resort, so what does it matter? Plus, Bethie really, really enjoys it. She beams at the fizzing and begs you to try it like she’s worried you’re missing out. 

(It matters. You and Steve are raising three kids on one salary. All inclusive vacations are expensive. They all needed new clothes including you and Steve, clothes and haircuts and mini shampoos. But it genuinely won’t matter if they have a good time, and make good memories.) 

“Right,” you say near the shuttle, “Avery, you hold mommy’s hand when we’re outside. Beth, you’ll hold daddy’s. No running, and try to be polite. Deal?” 

Avery twines her fingers through yours, little tiny fingers to your fully grown ones. When she looks up at you, she’s practically a hundred percent Steve, his smile, his lovely demeanour, and his attitude too. “Duh, mom. That’s an easy deal.” 

Steve ends up carrying Beth onto the shuttle, and off of it again at the resort. She’s in his arms from the lobby to the elevators and into your suite, but she wants promptly to be put down when Steve shows your two girls their room. 

“Mom, there’s bears!” She gasps. “It’s Goldilocks!” 

A huge storybook mural covers their walls and parts of their ceilings, their single beds outfitted with gossamer curtains on four posters and princess pink sheets. “There’s a castle!” Avery shouts. 

“You okay?” Steve asks again. 

You’re a little tired from Dove's restlessness the night before, but you’re happy you’re here. You nod without thinking twice about it. 

“Okay.” He pulls you toward him. Careful, he unsnaps the buckles of Dove’s harness, loosening the cords that keep her tight to your body before pulling her out. She grizzles at being moved, and he pats her back deftly to settle her before it becomes a big cry. Then he’s cradling her one handed, loosening the straps of the carrier behind your back and taking it off of you with a kindness that softens you for the thousandth time. “There, that’s better. You look like you can breathe again.” 

Steve puts his hand flat on your chest and rubs a line with his thumb. “That’s a nice smile,” he adds. 

Okay, you think. Goner, total goner, you cover his hand with yours. From the girls’ bedroom you can hear the squeal of bed springs being jumped on and the zipper on someone’s mini backpack. “Can we have fruit snacks?” Avery shouts. 

Steve’s hand moves to your neck, your face. He rubs your jawline with the tip of his thumb. “Do they have fruit snacks at the buffet?” 

“They promised they’d have everything at the buffet.” 

You sound exuberant. You are. It’s nice to be touched sweetly, and to be somewhere cool. This is the life you’d dreamed of making with him, and at the same time, you never could’ve summoned this image of him. 

You can’t wait for him to take his shirt off by the pool. You’re gonna take a whole disposable’s worth of photos. 

“You have nice arms,” you say, feigning absentmindedness.

“Thank you.” He’s looking at you funny. It reminds you of when you first started dating, he’d get these weird moments of smiling and not telling you what it is that’s so funny, which would always inspire insecurity, but has since been explained to be awe rather than disdain. He pulls Dove closer to his neck and more toward his side, offering his empty arm to you for a hug. “You have nice everything,” he says, kissing you quickly on the temple. 

“We’re actually on vacation.” 

It always seemed too daunting. The more kids you had, the scarier it seemed. But one day Avery must’ve seen a commercial on TV or heard it from one of the little girls at the park, and she’d strolled up to you to ask you about vacations and the beach and aeroplanes. You’d taken her and Beth to Lake Michigan a bunch of times, but nothing feels quite like this. 

“Let’s hope it really feels like one,” Steve says. 

“Especially for you,” you say. 

Stay at home dad-ing is exhausting. You can’t imagine he wants to be the one in charge here too. You’re determined to pull your weight, even if he isn’t keen to let you, plans for secret lie-ins and well-researched playtime clubs at the resorts recreation centres. You’re not delusional, you know you can’t do this without him. Or perhaps you could, but you’d enjoy yourself a lot less. Either way, you’re wanting to have fun too, so he can take Dove from you and wrap his arm around you like he’s the one in charge for now. It feels nice to be doted on, better when he starts his fretting. 

“Do you want to get changed before we take them down for dinner?” He backs away enough to see your face but not too much as to steal the warmth of his chest where it kisses your arm. “Showers? You need something to drink. Where’s the mini fridge?” 

“Remember what we talked about?” you broach carefully. You have no intentions of patronising him, but it’s unfortunate he’s forgotten already. “Relax, honey. That’s what we said we were gonna do this week. You don’t have to make sure everyone is one hundred percent all the time. If I need something, I’ll tell you.”

“What sort of marriage do you think this is?” he asks, smiling playfully, his warm eyes betraying how happy he is even through his worry and facade.

“One where you kiss me like you miss me all the time,” you say. 

“Oh, is that so?” He ducks down and aligns your lips, the corded muscle of his arm lean where it presses to your softer back. “What do you do?” 

“Kiss back.” 

He laughs into your lips, a smile pressed firmly to a smile. 

“Daddy, can you help me ‘i my shoes?” Bethie asks. 

Steve breathes in deep as you part, hugging you tight to his side. “Where are you gonna go without shoes?” he asks her, genuinely curious. 

“To bed.” 

“You want a nap?” 

Bethie nods tiredly. “Planes are hard.” 

“Yeah, bub, planes are tough. You don’t wanna go have dinner first?” 

She shakes her head tiredly. It’s the first hurdle of your vacation, but it’s not a terribly hard one to navigate. 

“There’s gotta be some sort of snack in the fridge, right?” he asks. 

Family nap time commences just as soon as Avery’s eaten her fill of mini sandwiches. You sleep like a baby under Steve’s arm, at least until the real baby rouses for another bottle. 

[malk1ns]

january 18 @ capitals, 4-1 loss

the streets let me know that geno and ovi appear to be on-again. they were chit-chatting between the whistles and getting quiiiiiite cozy. love that for them.

When Zhenya gets off the ice after the Sabres game, his phone already has two missed calls and five texts.

He sighs explosively, clearing the notifications and throwing his phone back onto the shelf in his stall before he starts stripping his gear off.

“What’s up?” OC asks, peering up at Zhenya from where he’s doubled over picking at his skate laces.

“Ovechkin,” Zhenya mutters darkly, glaring at his phone as he unbuckles his shoulder pads. It vibrates at him. Fuck.

Sid leans around from the other side of OC, eyes bright. “What’s Alex want?” There’s a burble of laughter under his voice, and after a game like that Zhenya can’t blame him. It’s not Sid’s fault that all the mirth in Zhenya’s soul got sucked out the minute he saw Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Ове́чкин on his phone.

“Don’t know,” Zhenya huffs, sitting down heavily on the bench to get started on his skates. His legs feel heavy, and he’s already dreading the plane ride. “Probably wants dinner tomorrow, like, after game. Hope he picks somewhere good this time, last place was suck.”

That’s not fair. Sanya has never actually brought Zhenya to a bad restaurant in DC. But Zhenya’s not exactly inclined to feel charitable right now, not when Sanya is on an epic goalscoring tear and Zhenya…isn’t.

“Standing me up, G?” Kris calls from across the room, but he’s not being serious; they did their dinner in November. “Didn’t know Ovi was such a hot date.”

Zhenya makes loud fake gagging sounds until the guys chuckle and drop it.

Sid’s still watching him, though. Zhenya pretends he doesn’t notice.

—

By the time the plane touches down in DC, Zhenya’s stiff and sore, and he has to hobble down the steps to the shuttle. Sid is right behind him the whole way, and Zhenya can practically feel him about to say something, but every time he keeps his mouth shut.

This can’t go on much longer. They’re being too awkward, and the team is going to start noticing sooner rather than later. Kris for sure has, but he’s giving them space to sort themselves out; that won’t last forever, though.

Zhenya scowls at his phone for the shuttle trip through DC, stabbing too hard at his shattered touchscreen as he sends a request for a pre-game rubdown before the game tomorrow. He hisses when his finger slides over a break in the glass.

He needs to get a new phone. He needs to get back to Anna about where they’re taking Nikita on vacation together this summer. He needs to tell his agent which sponsorships he’s okaying for the off-season.

He needs to talk to Sid.

Instead, he opens up his WhatsApp conversation with Sanya.

It’s a bunch of expletives about the goalie goal, which are at least enough to make Zhenya smile as he scrolls. The last message, though, wipes the grin from his face.

we need to talk about the voicemail you left me next week. you’re coming to mine after the game tomorrow. don’t try to run to the hotel, i’ll find you

Zhenya sends a thumbs up and locks his phone, sinking into his chair and staring outside for the rest of the bus ride. When they get to the hotel, he grabs his key and hustles upstairs before Sid can waylay him.

It’s a good thing he’s bone-tired after a game and travel. He’s not sure he’d fall asleep otherwise.

—

Zhenya feels surprisingly sanguine as they troop off the ice. They lost, yes, but they didn’t completely fall apart; the score doesn’t reflect how they played. It’s something to build on, stuff to review and work on as they move forward.

Sully agrees, and he keeps his postgame chat short. Everyone’s exhausted after a back-to-back with travel, and the room is pretty subdued. They don’t fly out until mid-morning tomorrow, but it’s the brutal slog all the way to Los Angeles, and everyone is ready to get back to the hotel and sack out for as long as they can.

Except Zhenya.

Sanya doesn’t even give him a chance to escape; he’s waiting outside the visitor’s locker room when Zhenya exits, tapping at his phone and looking bored.

«I’m here as ordered,» Zhenya says, stopping in front of Sanya and kicking at his shin. Sanya immediately pockets his phone and beams up at him, grabbing his arm and towing him down the hallway as he chatters about the game.

Zhenya looks back and makes eye contact with Sid, who’s watching the two of them leave with a furrowed brow. Zhenya shrugs, then turns back forward so he doesn’t stumble over Sanya’s feet.

They get the small talk out of the way in the car. Sanya asks after Zhenya’s parents, who are minding his house back in Pittsburgh while they’re on this ultra-long road trip. Zhenya makes appropriately interested noises as Sanya talks about Nastya’s latest charity initiative back in Moscow.

«I had the team chef send me back with a double portion earlier today, I hope you don’t mind just reheating something,» Sanya says as they make their way into his house. «And don’t worry about the dogs, Carly picked them up earlier today.»

«Thanks,» Zhenya says, oddly touched. When he and Sanya are fighting, it’s easy to dwell on the worst parts of him—his temper, his ego, his questionable politics, the way he bulldozes through life assuming everyone will give him what he wants. When they’re friends, though, Zhenya’s reminded of the little ways that he’s careful with his friends, the details he remembers and the thought he puts into making sure the people in his life are alright.

Which, Zhenya supposes, is the reason he’s here.

He didn’t remember leaving Sanya a voicemail when he woke up hungover and miserable last week. It wasn’t until Sanya started texting him incessantly that the dreadful memory returned—too many shots after a night out with the team, no game the next day because of his wrist, and watching Sid do his painful, earnest best to act normal after what happened the weekend prior had sent him straight to the good liquor when he got home. And that, apparently, had led him to dialing Sanya and saying…well, Zhenya’s still not entirely sure what he said exactly, but it was enough that Sanya got the gist of what happened.

Zhenya shakes his head at a proffered beer and digs into the pasta Sanya sets in front of him. They’re quiet for a while as they shovel down their meals, but Zhenya knows what’s coming, and the admittedly delicious sauce tastes like ash in his mouth.

After they’re done, Sanya produces two Gatorades and directs them to the living room, settling Zhenya on the couch before handing him the blue one.

Zhenya takes a long drink and says nothing. He’s here under duress; Sanya can start.

«So,» Sanya says, leaning back against the arm of the couch and stretching his legs out, digging his toes into Zhenya’s thigh. Zhenya doesn’t even bother smacking him away. «You and Crosby finally did the deed and now you’re freaking out.»

Zhenya’s face immediately goes hot, and he sets the Gatorade bottle on the side table with a shaky hand. «No delicate lead-in?» he snarks, clasping his hands in his lap. 

Sanya tsks at him. «Stop trying to avoid the subject with jokes,» he scolds, poking Zhenya with his big toe to punctuate his point. «You’re very clever, yes, we all know Zhenya and his wit that he uses to deflect when he’s uncomfortable. You called me last week. I won’t make you listen to the voicemail because I’m nice, but I was really worried. You’re lucky I didn’t call your mother. What happened?»

Zhenya sighs, but the ball of stress in his chest unspools. Sanya isn’t angry at him, he’s concerned. He’s not going to report Zhenya to the SVR and get him banned from his motherland. He’s offering to listen.

For all they’ve been through, Sanya’s kept Zhenya’s secrets since they were teenagers, at least the ones that actually counted. Even when they hate each other, they’re family.

«I don’t even know what happened,» Zhenya starts slowly, rolling his shoulders back and sinking into the couch with a groan, kicking his feet up on the ottoman. It’s a shockingly comfortable piece of furniture; he could probably sleep here, even with his knees and his back. «Mama made vareniki, like, a thousand kilos of it, and Sid wanted to go over some power play tape anyway, so I brought some over so we could eat and talk…» Zhenya sighs. «It’s like trying to remember a dream. We were down in the basement watching, and it’s like…suddenly we were sitting really close. And I looked over, he was looking at me, and then…» Zhenya trails off, shivering a little as he remembers the way they leaned together as if magnetized. 

The whole evening really did feel like something out of a dream. It wasn’t until the next morning, when Zhenya woke up in Sid’s tangled sheets with come dried low on his belly and Sid’s warm breath against his neck.

He’d jumped out of the bed, shoved on his clothes, and tore out of there like he was being chased. They’ve barely spoken since.

«Who’s being weirder about it, you or him?» Sanya interrupts his reverie. «I’m assuming he’s trying to be normal and thus making it forced, and you’re avoiding every attempt.»

Zhenya can never say that Sanya Ovechkin doesn’t know him down to his bones. «That’s about right,» he admits, picking at a cuticle. «I know I can’t let it go on for much longer, the team will notice.»

«Fuck the team, Zheka,» Sanya says, and Zhenya rolls his eyes. «No, I’m serious. The two of you aren’t going to let this impact the team, Jesus, you’d never. But if you continue to be stupid you will let it fuck up the two of you.»

«I don’t know what to say,» Zhenya whispers. «It’s…you know how things have been, with Anya. We’re fine now, as friends, but…what if I’m not over her? What if I am, but Sid thinks it was a huge mistake? God, I don’t think I could bear him letting me down gently.» Zhenya’s pride can only take so much bruising, after all.

«Zhenyechka,» Sanya says gently, and suddenly he’s tucked against Zhenya’s side, wrapping his arm around Zhenya’s shoulders and drawing him close. «That man is head over heels for you. He has been for years. And you’ve felt the same, by the way—you both distracted yourself with pretty little things, but it’s been there the whole time. You really think after something like what happened, he’d treat you badly and let you down?»

Zhenya lets himself relax into Sanya’s strong grip.

Sanya’s right, is the thing. The way Sid had looked at him…Zhenya knows that look. He’s seen it on Oksana, on Anna. He sees it when his parents look at each other.

He’s seen it on Sid’s face for fifteen years. 

«What if I fuck up, then?» he says, resting his head on Sanya’s shoulder. «What if I’m the one that ruins us?»

«Well then, don’t,» Sanya says, as if it’s that simple.

Zhenya supposes that it probably is.

—

Sanya keeps Zhenya for a few more hours, coaxing him into trying some dreadful local beer he’s obsessed with and dragging Zhenya from room to room to show off his tacky new decorations that Zhenya immediately loves. Eventually, though, he drops Zhenya back at the hotel, beeping his horn twice as he tears off down the street.

Zhenya watches his tail lights fade, then heads inside.

His head is buzzing as the elevator slowly creaks up to the team’s floor, but not from the single beer he’d choked down. For the first time all evening, he looks at his phone.

There’s the usual shit that he swipes away, but there’s one text from Sid waiting for him.

let me know when you’re back safe

Before Zhenya can overthink it, he turns right out of the elevator instead of left, where his own room is.

He counts the doors until he gets to the room he knows Sid will be staying in. Pressing his ear against the door, he can faintly hear the television.

Taking a deep breath, Zhenya knocks.

[maryellencarter]

* free housing. allowed to paint, garden, choose where you live, etc. no hoas. free maintenance included, so you can just call someone if the toilet backs up or whatever and don't have to maintain it yourself.

* free food. i like the food stamps model of "you get so much a month, it doesn't expire, spend it on anything with a nutrition facts label", because i have trouble prioritizing food and having money i can't spend on anything else helps. but make it not means-tested and give everybody the same amount, whether they share food or not. it's hard to figure out how to balance the amounts if it can also apply to hot food, since that's so much more expensive, but god knows you psychologically need hot food sometimes, so figure that out.

* ubi. for everyone. saw a proposition recently that it should start as half-pay at fifteen and ramp up to full pay at eighteen, which, no. do you know how expensive kids are? start it at birth. full pay. a full food stamps allowance as well. or when the pregnancy is diagnosed. so the family can buy baby furniture in advance. give the kids at least partial *control* of it in their teens, maybe full control -- there's a massive conversation on children's rights to be had that's not within the scope of this post.

* free healthcare. vision, dental, therapy, surgery, meds, dme (including glasses), you name it. if the medical professional prescribes it, it's covered at 100%.

* free transportation. buses and trains, bikes with infrastructure support, taxis (including those vans with wheelchair lifts), shuttles connecting to the train station, if somebody wants to go to a place they should be able to get there. Also redesign buses to have proper luggage spaces so you can bring your groceries without taking an extra seat, and better handicap access so they don't get behind on their schedule whenever a wheelchair user needs to get on or off.

* free communications. cell phones with unlimited data plans and mobile hotspot, landline phones that work when the power's out (remember those?), free internet service at a usable baseline speed with net neutrality and strict privacy controls.

* free education. all of it. well funded, free textbooks and supplies, free college, free postgrads, if someone wants to spend their entire life getting different degrees or retaking algebra then let them. why not? they might learn something.

* free third spaces. libraries are good, but give us free community centers. free swimming pools. free gyms. free craft classes (supplies included).

* i'm not even sure what to call this one. free domestic support? if you need a housekeeper or a laundry service or a cook or a babysitter, you should be able to get one without having to rely on family or friends. UBI might make this easier, but I don't feel like disabled people should have to spend their UBI on a housekeeper and a cook just to have the same standard of living as an able-bodied person who can do their own laundry.

* strong labor protections. we're going to need garbage disposal people and housekeepers and bus drivers and the people who do the technology shit when your phone doesn't work. and they need to be well paid and not exploited. (i actually enjoy doing the technology shit when your phone doesn't work! i'm good at it! it was the being exploited by a megacorp that i couldn't handle.) this includes legal sex work with equally solid labor protections. paid training in all jobs so you can get into a new field without risking your livelihood, and free protective equipment whether that means condoms or hardhats.

* strong supports for small business and individual creators. rebalance the taxes so people don't pay absurd amounts for daring to do something for money that isn't An Job.

[maccreadysbaby]

OPERATION: ULTRAVIOLET

alex rider + oc insert

tw: none

wanna read more? here’s the table of contents!

AAAANNNNDDDDD enter two more supporting main characters... ooo, aaaah

part eight

❝ RIVER ROCKS ❞

SUNDAY — MAY 7, 2001 — 5:33AM

IF KAI ADDED UP ALL THE TRAVELING HE’D EVER DONE IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE, IT STILL PROBABLY WOULDN’T ADD UP TO THE AMOUNT OF TIME IT TOOK TO GET TO THE SUMMER CAMP.

They spent eighteen and a half hours on a plane from Heathrow Airport, London, to Darwin Airport, Australia. Kai had chewed through eight of the tablets Crawley had given him in the single flight. The package said not to take more than six within a twenty-four hour span, but he decided that, if it was going to be motion sickness medicine that killed him, it was probably just his time to die anyways.

When they landed, they fought their way out of the airport and took an eight hour ride in a shuttle bus (provided by the River Rocks Camp itself) full of parents and campers, all the way from Darwin to the actual summer camp, out in the middle of nowhere in the outback. Twenty-six entire hours on the move, not counting the time spent in customs or at terminals.

Kai and Alex had met up with their fake parents at Heathrow Airport at four Friday morning, right after leaving the MI6 headquarters. Adalind and Jeremiah Cross, Kai’s fake parents, were both very... serious individuals. The couple had been in formal work attire when Kai met up with them, as though they were going to some big conference instead of taking their fake son to summer camp.

They didn’t speak or even flash him a smile when he arrived. He was glad that lawyers worked a lot and seemed the type to neglect their children -- because these people certainly weren't trying to make him look like part of their family. The only thing that seemed to keep him tethered to the pair was the dark eyes, dark hair, and tan italian skin that Jeremian Cross shared with him, giving them a striking resemblance to one another. Kai had more petite features, but that could've come from Adalind, whose entire face was sort of small and mousy. Anyone with a pair of eyes would suspect that they were his parents in passing -- and he wondered if the pair hadn't been chosen by MI6 for their appearances alone in relation to his.

The couple only seemed to speak and show the faintest personality to Alex's fake parents, Richard and Denise Harper. The blonde-haired-blue-eyed British couple were the polar opposites of Adalind and Jeremiah, and Kai wondered how the four of them had become friends. Richard and Denise put on a good show pretending Alex was theirs, going as far as to call him pet names and kiss him on the head. They even hugged and spoke to Kai, too, like they'd known him his whole life. If the two families' quiet conversation was ever overheard, they would simply look, sound, and act like two couples who were taking their sons to a posh summer camp in Australia. No passersby would even think to question it.

Hopefully, neither would Leon Waters.

Alex had slept for the majority of the flight; which was fine, because Kai didn't feel like coming up with a bunch of random things to talk about. What would Malachi Cross talk about, anyways? On the eight hour bus ride that came after, Kai had been the one to doze off instead. He was pretty sure he dreamed about Alan Blunt getting onto him for not staying alert on Australian soil.

Suddenly, Alan Blunt's face was replaced by the sensation of someone nudging his shoulder.

Kai peeled his heavy eyes open, blinking against the bright sunrise beaming through the bus windows that definitely hadn't been there when he fell asleep. Kids and parents were shuffling around inside, an overlap of soft murmurs filling the rectangular cabin. On his right side sat his fake mother, Adalind Cross, her nose buried down in a book. She had headphones on, but the cord vanished into her purse. Her husband had dozed off on the other side of her.

Alex, who was on Kai's left side, sandwiched between him and his own fake mother, pulled his hand away.

"We're almost there," He said. "Driver says five minutes."

Kai straightened in the seat, watching all the hustle and bustle as the kids around the bus got more and more eager to get off. Most of the ones, at least there, all seemed to be around his and Alex’s age. Some younger, some older, but the majority looking not too far off from them.

He let his gaze drift from the inside of the bus to the outside. Past the glass was the proper Australian outback, looking just like it did on television. Red dirt peppered with sparse green trees and scraggly shrubs, rocks jutting out of the ground, and strange hills with flattened tops like someone had taken a knife to them. Every few feet there was a tuft of golden grass that was swaying gently in the breeze. The entire view was laid on a backdrop of an orange and gold sunrise that made the entire desert glow.

Kai pushed himself up in his seat a little more to see over some other passengers' heads. He'd only ever had a view out the window of his penthouse. There he could see buildings, roads, the sky. Here, in Australia, everything seemed oversaturated, bathed in oranges and yellows and reds, sprinkled with bright greens and gold. Way more alive than the dull, gray city of Miami.

But suddenly, Kai remembered -- he wasn't from Miami. Malachi Cross was from L.A., and he was rich, and he probably wouldn't be acting like he'd never seen a desert in his life.

Reluctantly, Kai shrunk back down in his seat and watched the colors fly by without paying much attention. Instead, he twisted one of the wooden beads that circled his right wrist.

Adalind, on Kai’s right side, took her headphones off and elbowed her husband — rather violently for them to be in love with each other. “We’re almost there.”

Jeremiah woke with an unintelligible grumble.

“I overheard some other kids saying Leon Waters greets everyone as they get off the buses,” Alex muttered quietly. Kai looked over at him for a split second before shifting his gaze down to his red tennis shoes. He kept fiddling with his bracelet, giving Alex a faint shrug.

“I just hope my parents don’t embarrass me,” Is what Kai said. In reality, he was hoping the couple didn’t act suspicious and give him away. They hadn’t been very good at this so far, and with the celebrity-and-possibly-criminal-in-question standing right in front of them?

He saw Alex nod from the corner of his eye. “Me, too.”

Kai snorted. “Yours would probably burn the whole camp down if you asked them to.”

Alex said nothing. Kai glanced over at him, catching sight of something sort of grim swirling in the back of his brown eyes. Only for a moment, though, before Alex looked back at him, and whatever it was was carefully shielded from his view.

Kai briefly remembered that Alex had no parents.

"We passed the zoo," Alex continued, pointing toward the back of the bus. "Not too far that direction."

Kai merely nodded.

Finally, a squeak came from the vehicle's breaks as the bus slowed to a long stop, halting his thoughts in their tracks. The windows in front of him were still displaying the untouched, brightly colored Australian outback — but when he turned, he saw the camp they would be staying in rolled out over the red landscape like a photo in a home magazine.

Peppered evenly across the stunning landscape was a myriad of buildings, all expensive and modern looking. There had to be over two dozen spread out across the desert -- smaller ones that looked like bungalows, with pastel colored brick, wood accents, and black, tin roofs, all built not too far from one another. Nestled somewhere in the middle of the bungalows was a group of larger buildings, modern and sleek, coated in the same pastel colors and wood paneling. The entire place was decorated with sports courts and pools and picnic tables. There was a fence around it, too -- made of upturned, thin logs with pointy tops, but it was so short anyone could step over it with little difficulty.

Kai couldn't help but think the whole thing looked like it didn't belong there at all, at the same time that it looked so... Australian. The colors were vibrant but didn't stand out against the outback, and the sleek, simplistic style lended itself to the camp's surroundings. It had a way of feeling brand new and, simultaneously, like it had been there forever.

The bus had parked in front of a large gate built into the fence, made of the same logs, but exceedingly tall for no apparent reason. There were tables set up there, and Kai spotted bright orange shirts of camp staff scuttling around, helping with bags and directions and showing people around. Several buses had arrived just before them, and all of the passengers were gathering their luggage while camp staff worked to herd them to the tables at the gate, which must've been some sort of check-in.

Kai spun a few of the beads on his wrist.

The bus driver stood up and said something Kai couldn't decipher through his thick Australian accent. At once, everyone in the cabin stood and started to shuffle around eagerly.

Kai's fake parents rose at the same time as everyone else, situating their things. He could've swore he saw Adalind brush her blonde hair with a miniature comb that she shoved back into her purse in record time.

"Come on," She urged, not even sparing a second to glance back at him. Her perfectly manicured fingers pinched the sleeve of Kai's black t-shirt and pulled him along behind her, as she and Jeremiah cut through the crowd toward the bus door, leaving Alex and his fake family in their dust.

The three of them stepped off of the vehicle into... well, the desert. It was five-thirty in the morning local time, but the air was already warm from the sunrise, and the sky was clear. There were kids and parents and staff scurrying in every direction, buses arriving and pulling off, and the whole place seemed electrified by the overlapping hum of excited voices and soft music that seemed to be playing from nowhere in particular.

Malachi Cross, however, would not be as excitable as the rest.

He stayed quiet and stood off to the side as his parents urged the bus driver to get their bags out first, nagging at him when he couldn't get the key to work the first time. Kai decided he pitied anyone who ever had to work with these people. And any future children they might have, for that matter. Adalind held onto his sleeve with two fingers the whole time like he was going to make a break for it into the desert, and Jeremiah ended up swiping the man's key out of his hand and unlocking the underbelly compartment himself when the elderly driver wasn't fast enough.

At least he kind of understood why Malachi Cross was the way he was. If these people were like this in public...

Soon, he was being handed an old-timey blue suitcase and a black duffel bag, and once he'd got them situated in his arms, Adalind tugged him toward the tables at the gate.

He turned and scanned the crowd. He didn't see Alex.

Kai was quiet at check-in, letting his parents do all the work while he sat and watched everyone around him. Adalind and Jeremiah fussed over finding a printable ticket in their bag, and the young girl who was sitting on the other side of the table, waiting to stamp it and give Kai an orange bracelet, looked less than amused.

Tapping his foot quietly, Kai leaned to one side and glanced through the camp gates. There were dozens of people inside hurrying around -- but a group of them huddling to the right of the main gate caught his attention.

It was a few pairs of parents and some children, one or two staff; all circled around one man.

Leon Waters.

He looked just like he did in the photos Kai had seen of him. Tall, with sandy, reddish hair and crystal blue eyes. He was wearing outdoor pants and a simple crimson shirt, pointing off into the camp with a blindingly white smile that could probably bewitch women from miles away. He had endearing wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and smile lines, and Kai wondered why a rich man like him, hosting a wildlife summer camp, would possibly want to blow anything up. Wouldn't that just kill a bunch of animals?

"Here," Adalind shoved a small, rubbery orange bracelet in Kai's hands with a disapproving glare. On it was printed his name and the words: Eagle Cabin. Camp staff put orange tags on both of Kai's bags and whisked them away somewhere, and when they were gone, Adalind grabbed ahold of his sleeve and started to pull him again. "Come on."

Kai could do nothing more than follow her. He fumbled the bracelet on with one hand -- on the same wrist as the one Smithers had made him -- being tugged forward aimlessly as the couple pushed their way through the crowds and into the logged gates. Past the fence. Past Leon Waters.

Just when Kai thought they might make it past the millionaire playboy unseen, the group that had been talking to him walked away, leaving nothing more than open space between Leon Waters and the Cross family.

And of course, Kai's dysfunctional mother jerked him to the side, bee-lining for the owner with a bright: "Hey!" The simple exclamation was the most exuberance Kai had seen out of her or her husband for the entire two days he'd spent with them.

Kai wanted to shrivel up and die the closer they got to Leon Waters -- millionaire, activist, potential criminal -- but the man took the sudden interaction in his stride. He smiled brightly and immediately extended a hand in Adalind's direction. "Leon Waters, pleasure to meet you." The man had an American accent tainted with a little Australian lilt that Kai hadn't really been expecting.

"Adalind Cross," She replied, and the damned woman even smiled, something she never did to her actual husband or fake son. "This is my husband Jeremiah. I... think we spoke over email."

"Ah, yes," Leon smiled, his crystalline eyes trailing the three of them, lingering on Kai. He shook Jeremiah's hand with a warm greeting, and then extended it toward Kai. "And that means you must be Malachi Cross."

Kai said nothing, but reached out and shook his hand tentatively. Leon's bright blue eyes and sincerely joyful smile seemed to be boring into his soul without his consent. He looked like someone off of a cologne commercial, or a wax doll in one of those creepy museums -- unreal, too genuine, too happy.

Adalind suddenly elbowed Kai roughly in the shoulder, and he stumbled slightly on his feet, clearing his throat.

"Uh... hi," He muttered.

"Pleasure to meet you, young man. I hope you get the most out of your time here with us," Leon smiled. "Do you have any questions, or need help finding your cabin?"

"Yes," Adalind stated. All three of them, Kai, Jeremiah, and Leon, just looked at her for a long moment. She stared at the millionaire for a beat too long, her blue eyes sparkling oddly, before she decided she should speak again and cleared her throat. "We, uh... we spoke about a counselor in our messages. I was hoping my husband and I might get to meet him, since our son--" She slapped a firm hand on Kai's shoulder and shook it a little, as though trying to remind herself what exactly she was pretending. "--is going to be in his care."

"Oh, of course. Give me just a second," Leon smiled, turning and scanning the crowded camp.

Kai hadn't been around many genuine people. Nor had he been around millionaire activists, or men who were planning to set off a bomb somewhere -- but Leon Waters, for now, just looked like a guy trying to run a summer camp.

Kai scratched the back of his neck and turned around, briefly scanning the families that were entering through the gates. If something was off about this guy, Alex would be the one to tell, not him. Kai had only interacted with about four people for the first fourteen years of his life; so social cues weren't exactly his forte. How could they be?

But Alex wasn't there. His fake parents hadn't fought people tooth and nail to get off the bus like Kai's, so they had to have gotten stuck in a line somewhere.

Kai's attention was dragged back to Leon when he shouted across the expanse: "Kane!"

The camp's owner had turned and was looking across the way at a peach colored bungalow, where a small gaggle of younger looking, male staff members were carrying luggage inside. At the name, one of them turned, scanning the grounds before his eyes landed on Leon Waters.

Kai shoved his hands in his pants pockets as Leon exaggeratedly waved him over, glancing over at Adalind and Jeremiah. The man was scrutinizing Leon with a tangible intensity, his eyes boring into the side of his head, while Adalind just stared unabashedly at him. He was almost embarrassed to be seen with them, and they weren't even actually related.

Immediately, the boy who'd been carrying the luggage set it down on the porch of the small bungalow and broke off from the group, quickly jogging over to them.

"This--" Leon smiled at Adalind and Jeremiah, holding his arm out toward the counselor as he approached. When the boy finally made it to him, Leon clapped him on the back. "--is Kane Bailey. He's going to be the one in Eagle cabin with your son."

Kane looked young -- maybe even younger than twenty, with dark chestnut hair and these hazel eyes that turned from green to brown in the center. He was wearing a bright orange t-shirt with the River Rocks logo on it, and smiled just as bright as Leon when he was introduced.

"Hi, nice to meet you," He muttered as he shook both of Kai's fake parents hands.

"Kane, this is Malachi Cross,"

Kane shifted his gaze to Kai and smiled; but it didn't seem as showy or commercialized as Leon's smile did. His was more genuine, like a kid doing something he enjoyed.

"Hey," He said, holding out a hand toward Kai. His accent was thick and undeniably Australian. "Nice to meet you. Looks like you're going to be stuck with me for a few weeks."

Kai shook his hand and smiled faintly, letting the fake grin drift away as soon as Kane's gaze flicked back to someone else.

"Kane is a registered EMT in America; that's where I met him and offered him a summer job," Leon explained, squeezing Kane's shoulders supportively. "He's the only counselor here I'd trust with my own children, seeing as my son has unique medical needs of his own. It may ease your mind to know that my son, Hugh, is staying in Kane's cabin this year as well. You might like to meet him, Malachi."

Kai said nothing, just looked down at his red tennis shoes.

"Sorry... he's a little shy," Adalind said with an unamused chuckle, pinching at Kai's arm. She was practically leaking disapproval, and Kai was pretty sure it was because she had a schoolgirl crush on the man in front of her even though she was married to the man next to her.

"No need to apologize," Leon waved her off. "What about this -- Kane, you take Malachi and show him to the cabin; help him get settled while I talk logistics with his parents? Does that sound okay?"

Everyone was looking at him, and he realized it was because Leon Waters was talking directly to his face.

Kai shrugged, only looking up at the dazzling man momentarily before his eyes trailed back down to the red dirt beneath them. He dragged his toe in it. "That's fine..."

“I love you, honey. Have the best time,” Adalind said immediately, reaching out and reeling Kai into her, as though looking like a good mother would make her seem more attractive to the millionaire. Kai didn’t make an effort to hug her back.

Jeremiah also gave him an awkward side hug, and muttered something quiet that no one quite heard. Kai smiled an obviously fake smile at whatever remark it was, pulling himself away and bringing his hands together in front of him, completely ready to be rid of whatever interaction was happening. He spun the beads on his wrist with a few small, wooden clacks, glancing back at the gate for Alex, who was still invisible to him.

Leon Waters smiled with what looked like a small bow. “I hope you have a great time, Malachi.”

Kai merely nodded. With a bright smile, Kane Bailey reached out toward him, looping one arm around his shoulders and tugging him out of the group with a heavy, pleased sigh.

Once they were out of earshot, Kane spoke: “I know Mr. Waters can be a bit much sometimes. He’s a big personality to have all up in your face.”

“I don’t think my mom minded,” Kai replied shortly. Kane, obviously not expecting the quip, suddenly snorted, turning away as though he wasn’t actually supposed to laugh at a statement like that.

“It’s… just how he is,” He spoke softly, a small smile playing on his lips. “No one can really escape his charm. I mean, I moved to America to be an EMT and then the dreaded guy convinced me to follow him back here for the summer.”

Kai said nothing, but walked alongside Kane as they made their way down the walkways and paths cleared in the outbacks red dirt. He seemed to know the place like the back of his hand, and the entry disappeared farther and farther behind them, the overlapping hum of conversation dying away as they made their way into the maze of less populated buildings and bungalows. There were staff in the same orange shirt as Kane hurrying around, organizing luggage and guiding campers to their buildings.

“Have you ever been to Australia before?” Kane questioned. They rounded one of the big buildings in the middle; modern and sleek with a bunch of windows that Kai could see cafeteria tables through.

“No,” Kai muttered, watching his red shoes as they patted on the dirt. “I’ve… never been much of anywhere.”

“Lucky you picked the best country to visit first!” Kane exclaimed with a smile. “There’s nowhere quite like it.”

Kai said nothing. They rounded a few more bungalows before it became clear where they were heading; one with light blue brick that contrasted the outback starkly, but still not too bright to look bad. The roof was black metal, asymmetrical and off-center in a bid to look cool, but Kai just thought it sort of looked funny. There was a small concrete porch on the front and decorative woodwork beams to hold up the roof, unstained and a natural orange-ish color. The door was the same exact material. Burned into the wood were the words: Eagle Cabin. Kai thought it was ironic, seeing as the quaint little building wasn’t a cabin at all. There was a laminated paper taped next to the door with a list of eight names: six campers and two counselors. Kai caught sight of the names Malachi Cross and Alex Harper on it.

“Here it is: home sweet home for the next two weeks,” Kane announced, heading for the front door and swinging it open. “There is a camper sleeping inside. Not that I think you’ll have any problems with being too loud, but just in case you decide to start playing the tuba.”

Kai said nothing, Kane’s attempt at humor falling flat. With no more words, he stepped into the small bungalow.

Kai stayed close behind him. He turned one last time, glancing out at the rest of the camp, scanning the grounds for any sign of Alex or his fake parents.

There was nothing.

With an exhale, he went inside, and Kane closed the door behind him.

Kai glanced up at him. As his eyes adjusted to the inside of the cabin, he was greeted by a simplistic, modern living space decorated in shades of orange and yellow. There were two couches, two chairs, and a coffee table, all sprawled on a big rug, and a wooden door off to each side. The whole back wall was glass — sliding accordion doors that would open the whole thing up to the expansive, empty outback on the other side. There were more laminated papers taped up on the side doors — they must’ve had names, but Kai wasn’t close enough to read them. He was close enough, though, to spot his bags with tags sitting outside the door of the left bedroom.

Kane cleared his throat. “Were you looking for someone? I thought you kept turning around.”

“Oh, uh,” Kai shrugged, keeping his eyes firmly on his shoes. “I just came with a friend.”

“Oh, yeah. Alex Harper, right? Your parents requested that you two room together,” Kane explained, heading to the leftmost of the doors and scanning the names on the page. “I can go get him for you, if you like.”

Kai looked at Kane, then down at his hands. It would be nice to have a semi-familiar face in a place so different and unlike anything he had ever seen before. But Alex? Kai had already been humiliated enough; he was not going to have a camp counselor go find Alex for him because he didn’t want to be alone in a new place. That would be a new level of humiliation. And in front of Alex Rider? A seasoned spy who probably knew Kai was way out of his depth and didn’t belong here in the first place? He would not give him the satisfaction.

“No, that’s okay,” Kai replied shortly. 

“Alright,” Kane nodded, then pointed at the leftmost door, toward Kai’s bags. “Well, in there is where you, me, your friend Alex, and Hugh Waters will stay; he’s the son the owner was talking to your parents about,” He jabbed a finger at the other door. “And in there is the other Eagle counselor, Will, and three campers that he’ll spend most of his time with — but none of them are here yet. Today is mostly a settle in day — campers will be moving in all day long. The mess hall is free-reign until about four. Then we’ll have dinner at six, and after that everyone will sign up for the activities they want to do. Then it’s lights out. Pretty simple — a low expectation and low stress day. You can more or less just… hang out.” 

Kane punctuated the end of his sentence with a not-so-graceful flop onto one of the couches. 

Kai looked at him, then nodded blankly. “Okay.”

Suddenly, the door to the left, the one with Kai’s bags in front of it, swung open, and out came a boy. 

He was a little bit taller than Kai, but probably shorter than Alex, with this light brown hair and crystalline eyes reminiscent of the millionaire Kai had interacted with at the front gate. Hadn't Mrs. Jones said he was younger than them? He was wearing a white t-shirt, dark green zip-vest, and these brown cargo pants that had…

Kai blinked twice, focusing his gaze on the sliver of metal that was peeking out at the left ankle of the boy’s pants. When he took a step out of the bedroom, more of the metal was exposed, and it seemed to be on top of — or in place of? — his leg.

“Hugh,” Kane was quick to sit up straighter, an irked look crossing his face. “It’s five thirty. You’re not supposed to be up for another hour and a half.”

"I couldn't sleep," The boy -- Hugh -- replied with a rather dramatic groan and a distinctly American accent. Kai watched in silence as he made his way over to the couch across from Kane.

"Did you take your meds?" The counselor continued.

Hugh made an eh sound, plopping down on the couch. The ankle of his pants shifted at the movement, revealing that, indeed, there was a thick rod of metal going into his shoe instead of an ankle.

And Kai just... stared. Blankly. Bewildered.

Did Hugh Waters have a metal leg? When did humans start getting metal parts?

"Hugh, this is Malachi Cross. He's one of your bunkmates," Kane said suddenly, gesturing to Kai with one hand.

Kai blinked, shaking his attention away from the boy's metal leg as Hugh's gaze came to rest on him. "Uh, yeah. Hi. Um... Kai is fine."

Hugh scanned him quickly, a small smirk tugging up on one corner of his mouth. "And what got you put in the cabin for broken toys?"

"Hugh," Kane warned.

Kai blinked twice, glancing between the pair. "I... have asthma."

Hugh nodded to himself. "Cool. I have insomnia."

Suddenly, he reached down and pressed at something through his pants, pulling on his shoe a second later. There was a pop, and suddenly, his leg from the knee down came free. He pulled it up and out of his pant leg, just pointing it up in the air. "And I'm missing a leg."

Kai suddenly thought he might need more motion sickness medicine even though he wasn't moving. He merely stared at the long metal appendage that was in Hugh's hand. It was perfectly molded to the shape of a human leg, but made from plates of reflective metal, pins, screws and silicone. Kai's eyes flicked down to the empty, dangling pant leg, and it lingered there.

"Put it back," Kane ordered through his teeth, looking quite done with Hugh's antics despite it only being five-thirty on the first morning. "You've terrified him."

Kai finally managed to blink himself back into reality with a jolt, and he forced himself to shift his weight. Dammit -- he'd screwed up again. First looking out the bus window, now, staring at Hugh's... metal leg. Kai certainly hadn't known people put robot parts on their own bodies now, but that didn't mean Malachi Cross hadn't. His parents were rich -- how could he not know about something like that?

"I'm fine," Was what he muttered in response.

As if on queue, just in time to halt a strange and seemingly embarrassing conversation in its tracks, the door swung open behind Kai.

He must've visibly relaxed when Alex came through the cabin door, because with no further context, Kane stood and held a hand out to him. "You must be Alex Harper."

"Yeah, hi," Alex replied. His brown eyes flicked to Kai, and then to Hugh, who waved with his metal leg, the fake foot pointing directly up into the air.

"I'm your counselor for this summer; and That's Hugh Waters," Kane explained. "The four of us will be staying-"

As Kane's spiel drew on for the second time, all the attention finally drawn away from him, Kai took a second to breathe, to run a hand through his hair. In order to complete this mission, and complete it well, he was going to have to get his act together. That meant no more oogling at things that surprised him, or staring at stunning landscapes he'd never seen before. He'd have to act like he'd seen it all; for the sake of the plan.

It was obviously easier said than done.

—

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[honeydixonn]

Back to Friends, Myung Gi

b. one, university

2189 words

The clatter of heels against steel rungs echoed faintly as Nari stepped onto the bus. Her bag dangled precariously from her shoulder, stuffed with books and her laptop, making her balance slightly unsteady. She was late today—an unusual occurrence for her. Normally, she made it a point to catch the earlier shuttle bus from Ewha Women's University, but a last-minute meeting with her professor had pushed her schedule into chaos.

Her thoughts raced as she quickly scanned the half-full bus for a seat. She could feel the impatient stares of other passengers behind her as they waited to board. Just as she spotted an open seat near the back, her foot caught on something soft yet unyielding—a bag.

"Oh!" she gasped, stumbling forward. Her arms flailed for balance as her tote bag slipped off her shoulder, its contents threatening to spill.

"Are you okay?" A warm voice broke through the din of her embarrassment. She looked up to see a young man—her age, maybe a little older—staring at her with concern. His dark eyes were sharp yet kind, framed by a thick fringe of lashes. He was tall, his broad shoulders slightly hunched as he leaned forward to grab her arm.

"I—yeah, sorry. I didn't see..." Her words trailed off as she glanced down and realized she had tripped over his navy Yonsei University backpack.

"Ah, that's my fault. I shouldn't have left it there." He bent down quickly to move the offending item out of the aisle. "You're from Ewha, right?" he asked, gesturing to the small embroidered patch on her tote bag.

Nari nodded, feeling a flush of embarrassment creep up her neck. "Yeah. Um, thanks." She adjusted her bag and moved to sit in the now-vacant seat across from him, her pulse still racing from the near fall.

"I'm Myung-Gi," he said, flashing a lopsided smile. "Yonsei. We're practically neighbors."

"Ha Nari," she replied, offering a small, awkward smile in return. "And, yeah, I guess we are."

Their conversation was brief, the hum of the bus engine filling the silences between their words. But something about the way Myung-Gi smiled lingered in Nari's mind long after she got off the bus.

The second time they met, it was raining. Nari was standing at the bus stop, clutching her umbrella tightly as gusts of wind threatened to flip it inside out. She was muttering curses under her breath when she heard someone laugh beside her.

"Seems like umbrellas hate this weather as much as we do," Myung-Gi said, holding his own sturdy black umbrella with ease.

Nari looked up, startled, and recognized him immediately. "Oh, hey," she said, her cheeks flushing as she tried to adjust her rebellious umbrella. "You're the guy with the Yonsei bag."

"And you're the girl who almost faceplanted because of it," he teased lightly, his grin widening.

"Thanks for the reminder," she muttered, though there was a faint smile tugging at her lips.

They boarded the bus together, this time sitting side by side as the rain lashed against the windows. The conversation flowed more naturally this time—Nari told him about her media and communications major at Ewha, and Myung-Gi shared that he was studying business at Yonsei.

"It's funny," he said, leaning slightly toward her, "Yonsei and Ewha students take this bus all the time, but I feel like I never notice anyone until they trip over my stuff."

"That's because you're probably always staring at your phone," Nari quipped, catching him off guard.

"You might be right," he admitted with a chuckle.

When they reached her stop, she gave him a small wave before stepping off the bus. Myung-Gi watched her go, a strange warmth spreading through his chest. He didn't know what it was about her, but he found himself hoping they'd run into each other again.

Over the next few weeks, they did.

At first, their encounters were purely coincidental. Nari would board the bus and find Myung-Gi already seated, his Yonsei bag tucked neatly under his seat this time. He'd wave her over, and they'd spend the ride talking about everything and nothing—professors, campus events, their favorite coffee shops.

Soon, it became routine. Nari found herself looking forward to their conversations, and Myung-Gi made a point of catching the same bus whenever he could.

One particularly cold morning, Nari boarded the bus to find him holding two cups of steaming coffee.

"For you," he said, handing her one. "You look like you need it."

She blinked at him in surprise, her frozen fingers wrapping gratefully around the warm cup. "Thanks. How'd you know I like Americano?"

"I didn't," he admitted with a grin. "But it's a safe guess, right?"

Nari laughed softly, the sound sending a small jolt through Myung-Gi's chest.

As their friendship deepened, Myung-Gi found himself noticing things about her that she probably didn't realize. The way her nose crinkled when she laughed too hard. The way she absentmindedly twirled her pen between her fingers when she was deep in thought.

He started looking forward to the moments when their shoulders would brush as they sat together on the bus. But he never let himself hope for more. She saw him as a friend, and he didn't want to ruin that.

One day, as the bus neared Yonsei's stop, Nari turned to him with a bright smile.

"You know," she said, "I used to think this bus ride was the most boring part of my day. But now it's kind of my favorite."

Myung-Gi's heart skipped a beat, but he kept his expression neutral. "Same here," he said casually, though his grip on his bag tightened.

He didn't say what he really wanted to—that it wasn't the bus ride itself he looked forward to, but her.

Their friendship continued to grow, but Myung-Gi's feelings remained unspoken. He cherished every moment they spent together, even as it became harder to keep his emotions in check. He wanted to tell her how he felt, but the fear of losing her kept his words locked inside.

As he watched her laugh at one of his stupid jokes, her hair falling into her eyes, he wondered if she'd ever notice the way he looked at her. If she'd ever feel the same.

But for now, he was content to be by her side, even if it meant hiding his heart. Because as long as she was smiling, Myung-Gi felt like he could endure anything.

The seasons changed, and with them, the dynamic between Myung-Gi and Nari deepened in ways that neither fully acknowledged but both felt. The long bus rides became more than just a commute—they were a sanctuary where the weight of their academic pressures and personal lives melted away in shared laughter and quiet conversation.

One winter evening, as the city streets glistened with fresh snow, Nari boarded the bus with a scarf wrapped tightly around her neck. She spotted Myung-Gi instantly; he was sitting near the back, a seat saved for her with his bag on it. His face lit up when he saw her, and he waved her over.

"You're late," he teased, pulling his bag into his lap to make room for her.

"Don't even get me started," Nari groaned, plopping down beside him. "My professor decided to hold an impromptu lecture on top of our already excruciatingly long seminar."

"Well, you're here now." He handed her a small cup from the convenience store. "I got you hot chocolate this time. Figured you needed something sweet after a day like that."

Nari's eyes softened as she accepted the cup. "You're too good to me, Myung-Gi," she said, her tone light but sincere.

If only you knew, he thought, his chest tightening as he watched her take a sip. She had a way of saying things that unknowingly stirred something in him, something he couldn't quite name but felt like a dull ache behind his ribs.

"Snow's nice, huh?" she said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

He followed her gaze out the window, where snowflakes drifted lazily under the glow of streetlights. "Yeah," he agreed. "It makes everything feel... softer."

She laughed softly. "You're surprisingly poetic."

"I have my moments," he said with a grin, though his heart was pounding from the sound of her laughter.

As spring approached, their paths crossed more frequently outside of the bus rides. Once, while wandering the streets near Yonsei to pick up a book he needed, Myung-Gi spotted Nari sitting outside a café, her nose buried in a novel. She looked so engrossed that he almost walked away, not wanting to disturb her.

But as if sensing his presence, she looked up and caught his eye. A smile broke across her face, and she waved him over.

"Fancy meeting you here," she said as he sat across from her.

"Small world," he replied, trying to ignore the heat creeping up his neck.

It became a regular occurrence after that. They started meeting for coffee or lunch whenever their schedules aligned, their conversations growing more personal with each encounter. Nari opened up about her struggles with balancing academics and family expectations, while Myung-Gi shared stories about his part-time job and the mounting pressure to succeed in his business program.

"You know," she said one day, stirring the foam in her latte, "you're the only person I feel like I can really talk to sometimes."

Her words hit him like a punch to the gut—not because they hurt, but because they carried a weight he wasn't sure how to handle. He wanted to tell her that she wasn't just someone to talk to for him. She was the person he looked forward to seeing every day, the person who made his world feel brighter even on the darkest days.

Instead, he simply smiled and said, "Same here."

It was during finals week when something shifted. Both of them were exhausted, their faces pale and their eyes shadowed from sleepless nights. Myung-Gi decided to surprise her by waiting at the Ewha campus shuttle stop, knowing she'd have to take a bus home eventually.

When she finally appeared, her steps were sluggish, and her shoulders slumped under the weight of her bag. But when she saw him standing there, her expression softened.

"You're waiting for me?" she asked, her voice tinged with disbelief.

"Of course," he said, trying to sound casual. "Thought you might need some company."

As they boarded the bus together, Nari leaned her head against the window, her exhaustion evident. Myung-Gi hesitated for a moment before reaching over and gently pulling her head onto his shoulder.

She tensed for a moment, but then she relaxed, letting out a soft sigh. "You're too good to me, Myung-Gi."

His chest ached at her words. He wanted to tell her that he didn't mind—that he'd always want to be there for her. But instead, he simply said, "You deserve it."

Over time, their connection grew, but so did the distance Myung-Gi felt between his feelings and reality. There were moments when he thought she might feel the same—the way her gaze lingered on him a little longer than necessary, the way she laughed a little too hard at his jokes. But then she'd talk about a guy she liked in passing, and his hopes would come crashing down.

One evening, as they walked together after grabbing coffee, Nari turned to him with a curious look. "You're so good at reading people," she said. "Why are you still single?"

The question caught him off guard, and he laughed nervously. "I don't know. Guess I'm just waiting for the right person."

She tilted her head, studying him. "Well, whoever she is, she's lucky."

Myung-Gi swallowed the lump in his throat. He wanted to say, It's you. You're the one I've been waiting for. But the words refused to come out.

Months turned into years, and their friendship remained a constant in Myung-Gi's life. But as graduation approached, the reality of their impending separation loomed over him like a dark cloud. He didn't know if he'd ever have the courage to tell her how he felt, but the thought of losing her completely terrified him.

On their last bus ride together before graduation, Nari turned to him with a bittersweet smile. "I'm going to miss this," she said softly.

"Me too," he admitted, his voice thick with emotion.

They sat in silence for a moment, the hum of the engine filling the space between them. Myung-Gi glanced at her, memorizing every detail of her face—the curve of her smile, the way her hair fell over her shoulders, the light in her eyes.

He wanted to say something, to tell her everything he'd kept hidden for so long. But instead, he reached over and squeezed her hand, hoping she'd somehow understand what he couldn't bring himself to say.

And maybe, just maybe, she did.

[jxrmngxndr]

00:03, 3/7/∎∎ Su: Happy birthday Kevin!  Su: Haha, sorry. I wanted to send it on your birthday at least Su: See you this weekend

It’s strange, having to wait half a week before he can say anything in person. It had been over a semester since Kevin transferred, and eventually Su began to greet the new classmate that had since moved into his seat with some amount of familiarity.

Though even that familiarity was nothing in the face of how he had practically bounded out of the airport exit, his last message only a quick number as he searched the crowd for his best friend.

“Kevin! Happy birthday!” A gift is presented, having been quickly pulled out before he stepped off the shuttle bus, kept safe in a wrapped cardboard box. “It’s been a while. Here, before I forget-”

As if Su would, but still, that was enough of a transition to present the gift- copies of Eden’s latest CDs, bubble-wrapped and pristine. It had been a hassle to get, and it would be a lie to say that Su didn’t wish for one of his own, but the thought of Kevin’s reaction when he opened it would be enough. “How have you been? Ah, wait, what would you like to eat first?”

00:04, 3/7/∎∎ Kevin: What????? ( ´･･)ﾉ(._.`) Kevin: You don't have to stay up just for that! Don't you have a test in the morning? Kevin: Hahaha thanks buddy! Kevin: Still good to pick me up? Excited to see you!

The distance felt that much greater the smaller that it got. When he had moved cities and transferred schools, there had been that period, however small, of adjustment, of coming to acknowledge that Su wasn't there where he had always been, even if he was merely a text away.

And they did, often – the volume of conversation did not abate, but it was the medium that felt colder, quieter, despite the constant buzzing in his pocket.

His eyes watched the signs from the shuttle window eagerly, counting down the exits to the gate where Su waited for him, heels tapping against the ground, fingers beating a rhythm only he knew against the handlebar before he swung himself to standing in the same breath that the shuttle doors even began to open, using the momentum to propel himself forward onto the waiting platform. His eyes sought out the familiar shade of grey.

"Su! There you are!" Bag dropped from fingers, arms expanded to bring him into a familiar embrace, mindful of the gift that he cradled as they separated. He shook it gingerly, holding it up to his ear as though this might divulge its secrets to him, cracking a grin. "Oh I know that sound – you didn't get your hands on one, did you? You did! Oh man!"

They had both been bickering, if one could call it that, as to who would be able to get a copy of the disc first, given its limited nature. It was hard to be disappointed, that Su had somehow found the solution that granted them both the coveted title of first.

"Why don't we get some noodles? Is there still that pop-up shop around the corner from the convenience store? Man, you gotta tell me how classes are going! Did you ace your test?"

[cargocamper]

Shuttle bus conversion

[liljplibrary]

Autumn Leaves, Picturesque in their Fall (Part 1 - Problem)

(Illustration by アオジマイコ from Mysteries! Vol. 99)

Autumn Leaves, 

Picturesque in Their Fall

By Maya Yutaka

From the anthology "You Are The Great Detective, Too" 1

“I’d assumed this inn would be an old-fashioned hot spring, being called Nakano Springs and all, but it looks pretty modern.” 

Umino Nakamichi stepped off the shuttle bus and, having got on his tiptoes and stretched himself as tall as he could go, muttered absent-mindedly.

Within the mountains, blanketed under the red autumnal leaves, a cozy two story building peeked out into view. Its roof was sky blue and its wooden walls were an earthy yellow. Its window frames were white and its posts a charred brown. Even putting aside the age of the building, the trendy exterior resembled a Western boarding house more than a traditional Japanese ryokan. Though the building was new, the hot spring itself was old enough, having been popular since the Edo period. 

From the deserted station in Mimasaka district, the mini bus had rumbled along for around 20 minutes. It passed through the rustic hot spring town, and exited the one-way, single-lane highway onto a branch road. The bus finally arrived at its destination just as Umino was starting to grow worried that they were just intently following the winding mountain road without actually heading anywhere.

“What are you talking about? I gave you the brochure.”

Saitozaki Mitsuru looked at Umino, annoyed. He was the sponsor of this graduation trip.

Though the group were all fourth year students in the same seminar, Saitozaki was the leaderly type who always took charge of everything. In addition to his serious personality, he was sporty so professors put a great deal of trust in him due to his strong physique and willingness to take initiative. He’d even thrown himself into making a brochure by hand.

“My bad, Saitozaki. I don’t have any interest whatsoever in hot springs, so that totally slipped my mind.”

Umino was unenthusiastic: hot spring trips are for old geezers and, since this is a graduation trip, there should have been plenty of other options. But, since everyone else had jumped on Saitozaki’s proposal, there was nothing for it but to go along.

“I didn’t give it a good look over, either. Don’t take it the wrong way, Saitozaki; since you picked the place, I figured it was a sure bet.”

Kashii Daichi joked from behind Umino. Kashii was short and plump so his eyes, nose, the contours of his face, his glasses… All of him had soft edges like aged tofu. He was a charming, baby faced man with a knack for putting people at ease.

“Seriously? I appreciate you putting your faith in me but I went to so much effort putting it all together – printing it out and such. The least you could do is give it a once over.” Saitozaki said with a wry smile, his face darkened by sunburn.

“Sorry, sorry.” Still smiling, Kashii put his hands together above his head in supplication. 

“I read it over from beginning to end! Hot springs! Then food! The wagyu beef from Mimasaka sounded so good. Then, after that was… Now that I think about it, the rooms aren’t Japanese-style; they have beds. See, I remember it all perfectly!”

Wajiro Satomi, having taken her time getting off the bus, piped up in her husky voice. She was clad in a knit shirt and wide-leg pants. On top of being short, she wore her hair in a childish bob and, as a result, she appeared younger than she really was so – in town – she’d been repeatedly approached by volunteer truancy officers. 

“I apologise that it doesn’t live up to expectations.”

Perhaps having heard the group's conversation, the mid-30’s bus driver hung his head apologetically. He’d introduced himself as Doi, the proprietor of Nakano Springs back at the station.

“It used to be an old fashioned hot-spring inn like I’m sure you must have been imagining but, five years ago, it had to be rebuilt due to intense deterioration.”

“We’re sorry. We didn’t mean anything like that.”

Before Umino had a chance to apologise, Saitozaki did so in his place. He was just like a teacher taking charge of his class.

“Please, don’t worry about it. Everyone says so. But my prized hot spring still retains an old fashioned atmosphere. When you see it, you’ll probably switch to thinking it’s too old.”

The creases at the corners of Doi’s eyes crinkled as he laughed magnanimously and unlocked the front door. The lights of the entrance hall switched on.

“The proprietress had to return home to give birth so, right now, I’m handling everything by myself. And the kid who works here part-time is on break until the day after tomorrow. Since all the work is being done with a man’s touch, it’s probably less than adequate.”

That explained why the inn was locked up.

“Ah, please look forward to my cooking. Up until I inherited the inn seven years ago, I was training to be a chef at an upscale Japanese restaurant in Kyoto. Before picking you up, I stocked up on good meat and mushrooms in town.”

“We’ll look forward to it. As expected, the food is the true reward of coming to this region.”

Gannosu Ayana cheered as she removed her high-heeled pumps. Her long, white legs protruded from her tight skirt. Perhaps out of car sickness, Ayana had been silent the whole ride over. She must have recovered slightly now that she was off the bus. This beauty – with her long, pink-brown hair worn in gentle curls flowing around her perfectly portioned face – had  made it to the final round of the beauty contest at the university’s school festival. 

A large travelling bag sat upon the floor beside her. Even though the trip was only two nights and three days, it was large enough to fit Ayana herself in – slender as she was – and she’d struggled to move it when they switched vehicles at the station. 

In contrast, Satomi had stuffed everything into an undersized Boston bag which she shouldered as she took off her shoes.

“I’m the opposite. If I’m taking my time relaxing in the hot springs, I’m fine with eating anything.”

Nata Yasuo absent mindedly let loose those blunt words. He was a scrawny man with plain features, buried in a down coat – perhaps he was sensitive to the cold. He looked like he was greeting winter earlier than everyone else.

“You’re always acting like an old geezer, huh.” Umino ribbed him.

“It’s not that I’m an old geezer, I’m just the indoorsy type. Make no mistake, an onsen is the ultimate form of being indoors. Beauty, health, hygiene, stress relief, light exercise, stretching, playing games on your phone – you can do it all from within an onsen.”

Nata prattled on and on, espousing his pet theory.

“Isn’t your definition of ‘indoors’ a little off? Besides, the baths here are open-air.” Saitozaki voiced his doubts in a dubious tone.

“I know that. Since I actually read the pamphlet. It’s a famous open-air bath surrounded by autumn leaves. You can even admire nature from inside the onsen. I’m excited just from seeing the photos!”

Nata stared back at Saitozaki with clear interest. Nata often got heated so no-one else pressed him any further.

There were six people on the graduation trip. Another fourth year, a girl called Matsubara Mai, had planned to join them but she’d suddenly cancelled a week prior. She hadn’t given a detailed explanation why. It seems she’d just sent Saitozaki an email informing him that she was going back to her family home. Between the childlike Satomi and the gorgeous Ayana, she always seemed quite meek so abruptly cancelling via a single email was abnormal. The group was worried that she’d gotten into some serious trouble but none of them had any clue what it could be.

The proprietor handed each guest the key to their rooms as they changed into the slippers at the shoe rack. The guest rooms were on the second floor, each housed two people to a room. Umino was in Room 203 with Saitozaki. Within the guest rooms were two beds. The keys to the rooms’ cylinder locks each had a wooden tag with the room number written on it tied to them, as if the tag was the bearer’s proof of entry. Even though the building was stylish, the keys felt old-fashioned. Moreover, it appeared there wasn’t an autolock. It felt subtly ill fitting.

The two girls, Satomi and Ayana, were in Room 201. Nata and Kashii were in Room 202. Nakano Springs had no more than four rooms in total and the room next to Umino, Room 204, was taken for the night by two men who had been riding the shuttle bus alongside Umino’s group. 

The two men were both roughly 30 years old with similar slender physiques standing at around 1.7 metres tall. Their clothes, however, were markedly different: one wore a fitted suit while the other wore an open-necked shirt. It felt unlikely that two men would go on a hot spring trip together but perhaps it was a recent trend. 

Umino’s group had most likely shared the train with them but he couldn’t recall the other passengers that well. On the bus, the two of them had sat at the very back and whispered to each other in low voices that only they could hear. The racket that the six students were making definitely didn’t help matters. Still, from the desperate expression that occasionally flashed across the man in the open-necked shirt’s face, it seemed like it was an enticing private chat they were holding.

“It’s written that this is the site of a small hokora shrine to the god Chyulhu.”

Having finished writing the group down in the inn’s guest register, Saitozaki struck up a conversation with Doi.

“Ah, I also glanced over that in the brochure. It sounded like a zashiki warashi spirit. Is the shrine nearby?” Satomi, who had taken up a spot beside Saitozaki, asked with a hopeful gaze.

“I’m also interested in that. After the hot spring.” Nata agreed as he carefully placed his key in his waist-pouch.

Since he’s a nervous guy, he walked around with anything important (such as his wallet or his mobile phone) kept within his zipped up waist pouch. Despite his serious personality, Saitozaki was slightly tactless and – in contrast – he’d carelessly shoved his key into his back pocket with the wooden tag still hanging out. That being said, Umino and Kashii both casually slipped their key into their coat pockets, too. 

Unlike Nata and Satomi, Ayana and Kashii both said ‘what’s that?’ with a blank stare as if they’d heard nothing about it. Umino was with them.

“Chyulhu’s shrine is behind the inn. It’s nothing like a Zashiki Warashi, though… If you’re not too tired, I’ll guide you there after you drop off your luggage in your rooms.”

Doi replied amiably as he presented the two men with the guest register.

“Really? Thank you so much.”

“If it’s alright with you, may we also tag along?”

One of the two men butted in, curious. It was the sharp looking one wearing glasses and a suit as if he was on his way to work.

“I’m slightly interested in this god you call Chyulhu.” 

Turning to Saitozaki and the proprietor, the man spoke in a calm, clear voice.

“Oi, Ki... Kasu. At times like this, you need to read the room!”

His companion in the open-necked shirt blurted out. Doi turned to the students, leaving the decision to them.

“That’s absolutely no problem. Isn’t it?”

The first to respond was Satomi. She replied quickly.

“The more the merrier, right?”

Kashii nodded. His smile was wide enough to squint his eyes shut behind his glasses.

“Well, if we went separately, Doi would have to make two trips out, after all.”

Saitozaki, as the leader, concluded and resolved the conversation. Of course, Umino had no objections. He was starting to grow far more interested in these two mysterious men than Chyulhu.

“How about it, Tojo-kun. I presume you’ll come along too. For future reference.”

“Good grief. You can’t just decide these things by yourself…”

The man sounded somewhat disgruntled but Ido puffed out his chest and added ‘the scenery there is also breathtaking. The scale of autumn foliage is even beyond what you can see in Kyoto, after that his interest abruptly started to perk up and he replied with a curious ‘is that so.’ 

“Beyond Kyoto, huh? Certainly, even the autumn leaves just around here are amazing, so my expectations for this view have been set quite high. And since we’ve come all this way… Ah, right, I’m Tojo and this Kasu. Nice to meet you.”

As soon as he’d cheered up, his mood became immediately affable.

Umino and his friends also introduced themselves. In the process, they came to find that Tojo was far more sociable than Kasu even though he’d been the first to butt in. Nevertheless, Kasu spoke courteously with the students and, as a result, that initially promising mysterious atmosphere was – unfortunately – somewhat diluted.

The guest rooms on the second floor had cottage-style wooden interiors with a gap between the two beds. The room was filled with a relaxed atmosphere thanks to its casual interior design, the high ceiling and the ample natural light coming through the veranda’s sliding door.  However, the fact that there was no bathroom inside the room – there was a communal washbasin and toilet on the second floor – spoke to the inn’s history.

“Thank goodness! It’s more comfortable than I thought it would be.”

Glancing around the room, Saitozaki cheerfully voiced his relief.

“It definitely has a good vibe. But you usually find us a good place, Saitozaki – Just like last year. Are you some kind of Trip Guru? You should get a job at a travel agency some time.”

“I’m only passionate about it because it’s a hobby.”

Saitozaki, who was already set to work at a trading company, humbly brushed off the compliment with a wry smile.

As for Umino, he wanted to throw himself down on the soft bed – just like that – and relieve his exhaustion from the long trip. However, he’d already decided to go check out Chyulhu with the others. He wasn’t the kind of egoistic person to split off from the group and do his own thing. He reluctantly returned his key to his pocket and returned to the entrance.

“Well, then. Shall we head out?”

Ten minutes later, everyone had gathered at the entrance. One by one they lined up behind Doi to let him guide them. The usual two were at the very back.

They exited the front door of Nakano Springs and went around the side of the building. Since there were no fences or such demarcating the grounds, the outside of the building blended into the mountains. Having followed the grey, concrete path for a while, they came across a tall wooden fence at the rear of the inn. Steam was rising up from behind the fence and so they figured this was the rear bath. A little further on, where the path split and the fence ended, was the small, wooden hokora shrine.

The shrine was roughly waist-high, clearly old and with cracked supports. The colours it had once been painted had faded and cracked in the heat, leaving its whole body somewhere between charred brown and ash grey. A comparatively new plaque which simply read ‘Chyulhu’ had been attached to the front.

The surrounding grass had been neatly trimmed and a vase full of white camellias, their leaves removed but with their stems still attached, had been placed in front of the shrine. 

Unlike the impression the group had been given, it was the kind of crude shrine you could probably find anywhere. 

“This is Chyulhu-sama’s shrine?”

Ayana must have felt similarly because she asked the question with blatant disappointment.

“There is a small grotto behind the shrine that runs through the earth to another shrine above.”

It seemed that Doi had expected that response because he began explaining like a good guide should. Apparently, there are two shrines to Chyulhu – the other one being at the top of the mountain. Chyulhu usually spends its time in its Heavenly Shrine atop the mountain and only when it appears before humans does it come out of the grotto at the Earthly Shrine and descend to the village below.

Certainly, there was a grotto of a little under 1 metre tall delving into the mountain  hidden behind the shrine, as if the shrine had been built to block it up. However, even just by looking at the entrance, the grotto immediately became too narrow that it was incredibly doubtful a human could pass through it. 

“Now I’ll take you to the Heavenly Shrine. The path there is a little steep so please be careful.”

As Doi had indicated, there was a staircase beyond the shrine. However, just like the path, the stairs were also roughly coated in cement.

“No way! I should have brought along shoes that are easier to walk in.” The pumps-wearing Ayana complained.

She hadn’t brought a change of shoes – On the other hand, just what on Earth could be in that massive travel bag?

“This was clearly covered in Saitozaki’s brochure. You must have only read the bits about the food and the hot springs, Ayana.” Satomi, who was wearing sneakers, pointed out.

“Obviously! If I’d already seen every nook and cranny, I wouldn’t have any reason to actually come here.”

Ayana turned away from Satomi with a pointed frown.

“I had no idea about Chyulhu but why would you bring pumps to a mountain inn in the first place?” Kashii pointed out with a smug expression.

“What? You’ve got nothing to do with pumps, Kashii-kun. Or, perhaps, you want to wear mine?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

Kashii, who had merely been stirring the pot, violently ducked his head.

Roughly five minutes later they landed on a similarly paved ascending mountain path. From here, the ascent was far gentler than the stairs up until now. After about 10 minutes of meandering up the mountain, a handmade information board came into view. 

‘Observation Deck and Chyulhu Shrine.’

Directly in front of the tree the information board was hung from, an unpaved road split off to the right. 

“Isn’t it this way?”

It looked like Doi was going to continue onwards without saying anything so Umino called out to him.

“There’s another turn-off up ahead that’s paved like this road. It’ll be easier to walk if we take that one.”

Just as Doi had explained, after around five more metres, there was another fork in the path. A similar information board had been suspended from a branch. Immediately after three metres, the path turned to naked dirt and, once again, became a simple unpaved road. 

“That part, alone, had its paving destroyed in an earthquake three years ago.”

Doi took the turn-off. Though the path up the mountain continued onwards because the paving stopped here, if anything, it felt like the path to the shrine was the main road and the path up the mountain was the side road. In other words, the path that would take you up to around the summit of the mountain had become no different to an animal trail. 

“This is so confusing. Why are there two paths?”

“You can take either one to the shrine but since the previous path has been used since the olden days, it’s a little more precipitous – though, in exchange, it has a great view. This one is an alternate route but, despite being a detour, it’s easier to walk.”

Ah, of course, he was probably concerned about Ayana in her high heels. Said ‘person of concern’, herself, cheerfully chimed in saying  “this way is definitely more fun” while feigning ignorance.

They repeatedly walked up and down the gentle slope for 15 minutes. Suddenly, their field of view which had been blanketed by dense foliage from every side opened up and a flurry of deep red autumn leaves sprang up before their eyes. It was as if a TV had been abruptly switched on in a dark room. 

Among the autumn leaves was a sharp, V-shaped observation deck with a conspicuously rusty iron railing, and beyond that railing was a sheer cliff. About 20 metres down, a river flowed – however the cliff face was dotted with flat protrusions to the bottom of the ravine. Only an alpaca could scale it.

If you put your hands on the railing and look down, a wide panorama unfolds before your eyes. A village nestled among the mountains dyed red by autumn leaves. A dazzling diorama. Even while riding the shuttle bus, Nakano Springs had also been blanketed in autumn leaves. Nevertheless, the view lacked those dynamic undulations and was somehow disappointing. It was like switching from 3D virtual reality to a flat picture…

That’s what Umino thought, anyway. .

He muttered this outright but Saitozaki and Satomi were already around him and everyone was cheering with delight.

Even Ayana, who was sick and tired of the mountain path, bent herself over the railing. Even though – unlike the alternate route they’d been taking – the path right before the observation deck was unpaved, bare dirt, it was as if she’d forgotten all about her feet’s suffering.

Under the circumstances, it would be embarrassing for Umino to say something now.

“Aren’t you moved? By this view, I mean.”

While Umino was hesitating, Tojo called out from behind him.

“I am. But it’s lacking something. Perhaps a bit more stimulation. Enough to satisfy my current boredom.”

“Your boredom?”

“Yeah. I’d thought going to university would somehow be more exciting but, as it turns out, not so much.”

“I heard this was a trip to celebrate graduating your seminar, though. Well, then, I figure you’ve already got a job locked in.”

“Pretty much, and at my father’s company, at that.”

He was neither showing off nor boasting. It would be no exaggeration to say that he didn’t have to deal with the hassle of things like job hunting because, in a sense, his path in life had already been decided since before he’d enrolled. He’d thought that he might find another track he could switch to if he went to university but, in the end, it had passed as nothing more than an ordinary moratorium. 

Nata was going onto postgraduate study but, though they were all on different paths, the other five had all received tentative offers of employment. They just needed to finish their bachelor's theses. As such, this trip was essentially a farewell party. Even though Kashii hadn’t completed enough credits to graduate.

“So, then, you’re living a life lacking in stimulation in exchange for stability. When I was in university, I went through all kinds of troubles. Well, not that that’s changed now. So, on the contrary, I’m jealous of you.”

Tojo wasn’t being snide. Though, on the other hand, it didn’t seem like he was genuinely envious of Umino.

“So, then, Chyulhu-sama’s Heavenly Shrine is over there.”

Sensing the appropriate time had come, Doi caught the group’s attention.

Chyulhu’s shrine was opposite and across from the observation deck, in other words, it had been built facing the grand panorama. The Heavenly Shrine was a size bigger than the Earthly Shrine below and built out of stone so, even though it had been built in the same shoddy style, the moss covered sections gave it a sense of antiquity. The same kind of Camellias had been offered here too.

Just like the wooden shrine below, the mouth of a cavern opened up with the stone shrine’s depths. This one seemed large and deep enough to accept even a considerable tall person, however it was impossible to see within the murky depths of the grotto.

“Is this cavern really connected to the shrine below?” Nata asked dubiously.

“That’s what I’ve been told.”

“Can we go in?” 

In contrast, Kashii questioned Doi with a friendly grin. He looked amped up to dive right in as soon as he got the green light.

“My deepest apologies but I must ask that you refrain. You’ll upset Chyulhu-sama.” Doi frantically pleaded with Kashii. Since he was a student, Doi probably thought Kashii was apt to get up to mischief.  “Even though I’ve been told that it’s connected to the Earthly Shrine below, this cavern  also abruptly narrows roughly ten metres in so it’s impossible to go through. Bats come and go from the cavern so it’s clear that it’s quite deep but, as for what is going on inside, I have no clue.”

“What the heck? So that’s a no-go, then…”

Kashii’s shoulders sagged blatantly.

“So Chyulhu travels to and from this cavern. Why’s that?” Kasu asked calmly. He was wearing the same form-fitting suit he’d been wearing on the bus.

“It seems that Chyulhu-sama was originally a god of a foreign country. For some reason we don’t know, it came here. It is said that it appears at the Earthly Shrine in the form of a child and descends to the village below, but a pair of children returns.”

“A pair?”

“Right. When it comes back from the village, it brings along a human soul.”

“I’ve heard that Zashiki Warashi brings fortune to the homes they inhabit but Chyulhu abducts human souls? How creepy. It’s just like the Grim Reaper!”

“Not quite. Chyulhu-sama only takes the sick and those who have reached the end of their lifespan. Supposedly, the soul of the dead is returned to the form of a child and taken by Chyulhu-sama. There is a story from the Taishou period: people saw two children ascending the mountain at dusk and, just as they feared, they found that a young man had lost his life in a workshop accident. And when they found the body, there were petals of camellias – which were out of season – scattered all around the young man.”

“So I guess it’s like a messenger from the other side?” Tojo abruptly interjected having gotten a similar impression as the image of the Amitabha Tathagata coming to this world to welcome the dead in Buddhist Countries.

“But you could also interpret that as Chyulhu intentionally causing fatal accidents in order to take those souls, right? In any case, as a foreign god living all alone in these mountains, I’m sure it must be lonely.”

“That isn’t the case.” Doi refused firmly but then quietly amended a ‘probably.’ “Chyulhu-sama’s shrine is a tremendous power spot and we’ve even received favourable reviews of it from our guests. There’s definitely no way it’s something so wicked.”

The image of the Amitabha Buddhas with a shining halo around them had immediately switched to a pitch-black emissary of Hell. He glanced at Tojo who gave a slight smile.

“In that case, though this is now an observation deck, it was originally Chyulhu’s home, huh.” Kasu said, paying no mind to his partner’s frivolous talk.

“Yes. In ancient times, Chyulhu-sama had this view all to itself.”

“That must’ve been nice.” Satomi said while looking back out at the panoramic view. “We should come back here tomorrow, too. Perhaps we might even meet Chyulhu-sama. Chyulhu-sama is a cute little boy, isn’t he?”

“That’s what I’ve been told.”

Doi hadn’t finished speaking but, once again, Tojo piped up.

“Since it’s a foreign god that washed up on our shores, who knows what kind of monster its real form looks like? It has a body that can move through this narrow cavern, after all. Perhaps it looks like an octopus. Doi also said it only takes the form of a child when it appears at the Earthly Shrine below. Who knows what it’ll look like up here.”

“No way!”

Upon hearing the grinning Tojo’s words, Satomi became genuinely frightened.

“Tojo-kun.” Kasu rebuked him coolly then turned to Satomi and gently apologised. “Sorry, sorry. We didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“Since this place is exposed to the wind, even Chyulhu probably spends all his time holed up in his cavern.” Umino unconsciously muttered.

“You always know how to put a damper on things, Umino.” Nata immediately glared at Umino.

“He’s the same as Tojo.” This was Kashii. Tojo didn’t get angry, he paid no mind to the comment, grinning all the while.

“Don’t say that. You’re always like this, Umino.” Saitozaki spoke as if he fully understood everything. 

It was just a casual comment but everyone had piled on Umino. Was he really the one at fault here? While harboring these unreasonable thoughts, Umino voiced his objection.

“Well, that’s because we haven’t been told the layout of the area, yet.”

“I see. You’re also trying to separate the facts from the fiction, Umino-kun. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders.” Tojo brought his face close and whispered into Umino’s ear. This was the most unreasonable part of all.

“We’ll take the shrine path back to the fork in the road from a little while ago. That road is a little more precipitous but the view you get when walking down the valley side is beyond compare. There’s one viewing spot along the way that gives you an even better view than from here.”

The group had arrived at the south side of the V-shaped observation deck but the shrine path stretched out from the north side of the platform and connected up to the path in front of the hokora. Naturally, Ayana refused, saying ‘I don’t wanna.’ Even from the viewing platform, you could see the narrow, precipitous, unpaved path. Nevertheless, the other seven of them couldn’t resist their desire to see this view beyond what they’d seen already and they returned back down the shrine path. There was nothing else for it so Doi escorted Ayana back. 

The shrine path was unpaved and incredibly bumpy but not enough to cause worry and it could be traversed in ordinary shoes. The viewing point that Doi had talked up (he’d even gone out of his way to set up a post with a drawing of an eye with long eyelashes on it) from which Umino and the rest were able to see the edge of the mountain and the deep-red iron bridge of the railway they had ridden on also added a sense of elegance to the journey and made the experience thoroughly satisfying.

However, you can’t have light without shadow. There was one particular spot where trouble arose. Midway through, they had to cross a crude rope bridge. The bridge stretched over a ravine where spring water ran down the slope of the mountainside and flowed into the valley below, however the gaps between the wooden planks were large and you could see right through them. Perhaps as a result, the bridge felt even higher up than it actually was.

Nevertheless, it was only a mere five metres long and so most of the group – Umino, his friends and the aforementioned two men – were able to nimbly cross. However, there was one person whose legs couldn’t stop trembling.

“Hey, don’t tell me you’re afraid of heights or something, you Pussy. Even though you’re a man…” Umino shouted to Saitozaki who’d faltered right in front of the bridge.

Umino hadn’t known that Saitozaki had a fear of heights. Consider this revenge for earlier.

“There’s no difference between men and women when it comes to phobias! What era do you think this is?!” With his legs still frozen in place, Saitozaki glared back at Umino.

“Well, then, why don’t you head back? If you hurry, you might be able to catch up to Gannosu.”

“Don’t underestimate me!”

Saitozaki’s competitive side appeared. Perhaps incensed by Umino’s tawdry provocations, he managed to push himself to cross half of the bridge. However, he accidentally glanced down and pulled the brakes.

“You can do it, Saitozaki-kun! The goal is just a little further.” Satomi cheered him on while tightly gripping the rope in front of her. However, since that rope was connected to the bridge, every time Satomi put force on it, it caused the wooden planks to shake slightly.

“You can stop pushing yourself and turn back, you know? There’s absolutely no shame in that. Different strokes for different folks, as they say.” Nata called out in a worried voice, though he’d missed the mark slightly with his choice of saying.

“You’re damned if you advance. Damned if you retreat.” Kashii spouted what sounded like the lines of a character in a period piece. Umino thought that both of them were being counterproductive. 

“I am a man. Rather than turning back after having come this far, I should push on to the end.” However, it seems that Saitozaki didn’t have the luxury to scrutinise the finer details of the Japanese language. Even though it contradicted what he’d said about men and women only a short while ago, once Saitozaki had rekindled his motivation and pushed through to the other side, a cheer went up.

“You’re amazing! Saitozaki!” Nata, who wasn’t the type to thoughtlessly praise others, was genuinely impressed. Tojo and Kasu both gave Saitozaki a pleasant round of applause.

Even once they’d arrived at the point where the path up the mountain had diverged, Ayana and Doi weren’t there. After around a minute the two of them appeared together. It seemed that Umino’s group had been faster, even with all the time spent going ‘waah!’ and ‘kyaaa!’ at the lookout spot and all the time Saitozaki spent going ‘waah!’ and ‘kyaa!’ on the bridge. Wasn’t the path only ten minutes long, walking normally?

“Did something happen?” Seeing the peculiar sense of camaraderie among the shrine path group up close, Ayana interrogated them – her suspicion flaring.

“The scenery was pretty amazing but Saitozaki was even more amazing.” Satomi, slightly giddy, poked fun at him. 

“Oi, oi. Give me a break.” Saitozaki said while scratching his head.

Perhaps having made various assumptions, Ayana just chuckled.

“Ah, that’s right. I heard about one more sightseeing spot from Doi-san. Let’s all go there together, tomorrow!”

***

The crimson autumn leaves that loomed over the wooden fence melted away in the gloomy twilight sky. The smell of sulphur permeated the air of the cloudy open-air bath. As a result of the sulphur, the bathers skin immediately felt like it was actually becoming loose. 

Hot springs are great… Feeling just like Nata, Umino submerged himself in the bath alone.

Saitozaki would be coming later, upon returning to the room he shared with Umino, had thrown himself on the bed and started playing with his smartphone. When Umino bumped into Tojo in the second floor hallway, he’d received some mysterious banter. ‘You’re heading straight to the hot spring, huh? You’re unexpectedly proactive.’ It didn’t seem like Tojo was trying to pick a fight but it had been slightly bothering Umino ever since.

All the onsen at Nakano Springs were outdoors; there was one small bathtub in the arbour with only a roof attached and there were two large, weatherbeaten open-air baths.  Beyond that there was a washing station with an awning above it and an indoor dressing room with a shower cubicle in its corner; everything was arranged haphazardly. Even though the building was recently renovated, it seems that the onsen area was untouched – the washing station didn’t even have showers, only faucets.

Umino could hear two girls squealing in the woman’s bath next door. It seemed like the high pitched shrieks were mainly coming from Satomi, though.

Putting aside Kashii, the hot spring loving Nata should be coming soon. In that case, this was the only time he could monopolise the bath. He was going to make the most of it.

When he pushed his legs forward and, once again, sank into the bath, he got the sense that someone was rustling around on the other side of the fence. There was the sound of footsteps on the concrete path. Furthermore, it was a dull sound like they were dragging their feet. If that was all of it, he probably wouldn’t have cared but the footsteps outside the wooden fence came and went – once, twice, three times.

Could it be a peeping tom? Obviously they wouldn’t be peeping on Umino but on the girls next door.

Umino hurriedly stood up and walked over to the wooden fence at the far side of the hot spring. The fence was roughly two metres high so he had to stand on one of the garden stones in order to take a peek at the outside.

However, the footsteps he’d been hearing up til now suddenly stopped and the gloomy mountain path became as silent as the grave. Thereupon, Umino clearly spotted Chyulhu’s shrine at the end of the path. 

At the same time, Umino realised that this was the path to the shrine. This was the exact same path they’d taken that afternoon when they’d seen the steam rising from the other side of the wooden fence. 

The gloomy path to the shrine. The cold wind blew and a chill ran across his flesh.

Umino hurriedly returned to the bath. He listened carefully but the footsteps didn’t resume. Only the sound of the trees swinging in the mountain wind reached his eardrums.

“Come on, now. Seriously?” 

Just as he muttered those words to himself, the door opened with a clatter. He swung around in surprise to see Nata entering with Kashii in tow. Nata sunk into the water, a towel wrapped around his head.

“What’s the matter? You look spooked.” He asked in a carefree tone.

“It’s nothing.”

“Were you peeping? You’re unexpectedly daring, aren’t you!” Kashii plopped into the bath, spraying water everywhere, and loudly mocked Umino.

“Like hell I was, Dumbass.”

Unlike the wooden fence at the edge of the path to the Earthly Shrine, the divider for the women’s bath was a towering, white plaster wall of around three metres. Without a hint of a foothold, the wall seemed to absolutely forbid peeking at all costs.

“Huh, peeping?” 

Perhaps having caught Kashii’s shouting, the boys heard an anxious voice from the women’s bath.

“It’s nothing. Just one of Kashii’s fantasies.” Umino yelled back.

“Wait a minute! That’s not true! The imperial senate is disseminating disinformation to you!”

As soon as Kashii finished throwing his excuses across the plaster wall, he turned to Umino and demanded an explanation.

“You were way too loud when you blurted that crap out. I was just acting in self-defence.”

Thereupon Umino noticed that the wooden fence was directly opposite from the women’s bath. In other words, no matter how much you milled around the fence, you wouldn’t be able to peep into the women’s bath. So, then, were those footsteps just someone passing by? However, what were they hurriedly going back and forth for?

There was no mistaking what Umino had heard. …Suddenly, he recalled Chyulhu’s legend.

It was a foreign god who appeared at the shrine to take away human souls. Perhaps, tonight, it had brought someone back with it? No way, no way. Umino vigorously shook his head.

It was probably just Doi leaving an offering. It seemed like he genuinely believed in Chyulhu. Nevertheless… The footsteps were going back and forth far more than that would take. Leaving an offering should have only taken a single round trip.

“What’s the matter?” Perhaps due to how stiff Umino’s expression had become, this time Nata sounded worried.

“You saw Chyulhu, didn’t you? Wow, Umino, I never knew you were a scaredy-cat.” 

Since Kashii had clearly not learned his lesson about mocking him, Umino drew a breath…

“Don’t do it, Kashii! You’re even using a drone?!”

And yelled out once again.

“Well, then. I’m getting out first. Dinner is from seven, after all.”

After checking with the other two, Umino headed to the dressing room. Even Kashii was clearly at a loss for words over how Nata sent droplets flying from his head and splashing all over the washing area; for a self-proclaimed lover of hot springs, Nata’s manners were atrocious. When he turned his head, Umino could spot a red birthmark on his shoulder.

If Nata was the owner of those footsteps, could he have bumped it when he’d had to hurriedly return from the shrine path back then?

 However, the timing to return to the entrance and then get to the open air bath was far too tight. In that case, had he simply bumped it somewhere unrelated?

When Umino returned to his room, Saitozaki was lying on his bed with his earbuds plugged into his smartphone.

“Welcome back. How was the water?”

He turned in to look at Umino at the sound of the door shutting. Umino had assumed Saitozaki was listening to music, but he’d been playing an online game. 

“Aah, it was great. You should have taken a dip, rather than playing games. Aren’t you the one who brought us here?”

“It’s not in my nature to get in the bath while there’s still sun out.”

Saitozaki said it with a straight face so it seems he really meant it. He was a weirdly earnest guy.

“The sun already set ages ago!”

“I know. But I like to take a long bath. There’s no way I could have a leisurely soak and still make it in time for dinner so I’ll head in after I eat.”

The clock read 6:20pm. There was still a half hour to go. If that’s the case, Umino wanted to ask why Saitozaki had picked an inn that had nothing but hot springs, however he was sure Saitozaki would just respond with an honour-student-like answer such as ‘I thought you would all enjoy it’ or something.

“You’re a hard ass, I get it. Even if you play games on your phone. ”

Saitozaki didn’t seem like the type to be interested in things like videogames, so Umino voiced his surprise.

“This fishing rod is expensive but it’s also the current meta.” Saitozaki’s answer was clear. Umino was too scared to ask how much the fishing rod cost.

“Sounds good.” Umino said vaguely, just to show he was listening, and lay on his bed.

That’s when he noticed the petals by his pillow. White petals with a faint pink border. Around a dozen or so white petals.

“Hey!” He unconsciously let out a shout.

“What’s wrong? You raised your voice.”  Presumably with his earbuds still in, Saitozaki made a perplexed expression.

“This flower.” Umino replied.

“Hm? Those are camellia petals, aren’t they?” Saitozaki said.

“Did you bring these here?”

“No, I had no idea they were there.” Saitozaki shook his head.

“They weren’t here when I went to the bath, though.” 

“Could they have blown in when the window was opened? Putting that aside, there was no reason to lose your head over that.”

Saitozaki tilted his head to show he didn’t understand. Certainly, the sliding door to the veranda had been cracked open to ventilate the room.

“But–” Umino said but then shut his mouth.

This was the same flower offered at Chyulhu’s shrine. That had apparently been scattered around the young man who died in that accident. But if he pointed that out, Saitozaki would think he’s scared of Chyulhu. Umino wanted to avoid that.

But could the petals really have fallen on his pillow so conveniently?

They said that Chyulhu beckons… the souls of the dead.

In order to steal people’s souls, Chyulhu intentionally causes accidents. He was probably joking but Tojo had said those ominous words. Perhaps Chyulhu had grown lonely and was demanding a sacrifice.

Once seven came, Umino and Saitozaki headed to the dining room downstairs. Everyone was present. Tojo and Kasu were also present, sitting together at a separate table. Doi was briskly carting over trays of food from that side of the room. 

At the very least, no-one’s dead yet… Umino relaxed.

Well then, what the hell was the point of those petals? Or else, could they be hinting at something yet to come?

Though Umino was aware he was being served dishes like Mimasaka Wagyu Sukiyaki hotpot and stir fry one after another, his unease meant that even the flavour of Doi’s cooking – even having trained in an upscale Japanese restaurant in Kyoto – failed to register. Everyone else was scarfing the food down going ‘so good, so good!’

Even after dinner, when Umino was lying in bed, he continued to absentmindedly think about it.

Saitozaki had gone to the hot springs and so, right now, he was alone. It should have been the perfect environment for reflection, however – perhaps because the walls were thin – he could hear the indistinct noise of his neighbours chatting. 

A draft came from the window he’d left open. He got up from bed and closed the window. He looked out into the pitch-black void outside. And hurriedly shut the curtains.

There were two things he couldn’t stop thinking about.

Who had left the petals by his pillow?

Suppose that Chyulhu exists, the petals were left by Umino’s own pillow. In other words, the one who would be going back with Chyulhu was Umino himself. Perhaps his body will be cold by tomorrow. 

That’s ridiculous! This was obviously a prank. But whose prank was it, then? That’s the other problem. If that’s the case, the only one who could have been in the room while Umino was in the bath was Saitozaki. But he was way too obvious to be the culprit. If he was going to feign ignorance, there were far better ways to do so. Even if he’d just gone to the bath afterwards, he’d open up the possibility of another culprit.

In the first place, why would Saitozaki do something like this?

Saitozaki was a straightforward person. Umino couldn’t imagine him pulling such a roundabout practical joke. If it was Umino himself, well, he’d probably do something like that but… However, at that moment, Umino recalled something from that afternoon. Could Saitozaki be holding a grudge over Umino mocking his acrophobia?

But if it wasn’t Saitozaki, did that mean this was a sign that Chyulhu was going to claim another soul like he’d thought? He was going in circles.

The souls of the dead… Suddenly, Matsubara Mai’s face sprung to mind. The girl who suddenly dropped out of the trip one week prior. He considered whether Mei had turned up but she would have contacted if she was coming and the entrance – which was earlier on the path than the shrine – was open so it’s unlikely she could have gotten lost. 

If Umino was remembering correctly, Mei had returned to her home in Tottori… And Tottori prefecture was right next to Okayama, where Mimasaka is located.

“Saitozaki isn’t here, huh.”

Satomi entered the room after knocking and looked around. She was wearing a sexless jersey.

“He went to the baths. Though, he’s been there a while now, huh…”

“Well, then, it’s fine even if it’s just you, Umino-kun. Wanna play ping pong? We’re hanging out in the rec centre downstairs.”

 “What the hell, Wajiro? ‘Even if it’s just you…’ What am I, chopped liver?”

“Well, that’s because you suck at ping pong.”

Umino objected saying that he was under the impression Satomi was also dogshit at the game.

“That’s why I wanted someone who’s actually good! I need a partner.” She fired back, turning a blind eye to her own faults.

There was no helping it, so Umino headed down to the rec centre where Nata and Ayana were already lying in wait. Ayana was wearing a yukata with a conspicuous slit hem that radiated sex appeal.

“Where’s Kashii?”

Kashii looked like he’d be uninterested in sport since he was short and squat but he was actually insanely good at ping pong. Apparently his parents had been taking him to ping pong school ever since he was a kid. With his agile movements that could only be mistaken for a machine’s, his smashes always landed. 

“He said he got heat fatigue from the bath so he’s not feeling well.” Nata explained as they entered the room. Now that he mentioned it, Umino recalled that the talkative Kashii had grown quiet around when he left the bath.

“Forget about Kashii, you’re facing us right now.” The unnecessarily fired-up Satomi declared and the game of doubles between her and Umino against Ayana and Nata began. However, in the end, they were a pair of amateurs and they were soundly beaten. It’s not that Nata or Ayana were particularly skilled, their side was just overwhelmingly unskilled. Mid-game, the ping pong ball rolled off the table and got crushed under Umino’s foot. Luckily no-one noticed and he unconsciously slipped the crushed ball into his pant’s pocket. 

Once the infernal two-match bog had spat out Umino and Satomi, the jersey-clad Saitozaki poked his head in. He’d wrapped up his leisurely bath and his face was flushed boiled-octopus red.

“So you’ve finally shown up. Hey, Saitozaki, switch with me. I’m so bad that Wajiro has turned into a super-pissed-off Kanrin Maru warship.”

“What, am I meant to be Admiral Kimura Kaishu now?” Satomi quipped aggressively but, in the next moment, her language turned cloying. “Well, then. Won’t you please help me out, Saitozaki-kun?”

Nata covered his face with his racket and shot an amused glance in Umino’s direction. It was blatantly obvious to everyone that Satomi liked Saitozaki. Everyone but the two people themselves.

Be that as it may, Saitozaki was dating Ayana. It must have been almost half a year now, right? They hid it well.

From Gannosu’s calm expression, she’s clearly looking down on the tension Satomi is feeling. What a nasty woman. Nevertheless, Umino had also dated Ayana previously without realising her true character. Moreover, he’d only learnt how devilish she was when she casually dumped him after only two months. It was so incredibly pathetic. Because of that stain, he couldn’t bring himself to interfere with their love triangle.

In any case, the red hot rally between Team Saitozaki-Wanjiro and Team Gannosu-Nata had begun.

“Looks pretty fun, wouldn’t you say?”

“Oh, is this the fun part, then?”

Eventually, Tojo and Kasu joined the gallery, having completed their bath. And before long Doi finished cleaning up after dinner and joined, too. Moreover, not only did Doi spectate but he took part in the match, too.

“In the end, Kashii-kun never showed up.” Satomi muttered as she put the balls away after their party (read: fierce competition) was over. In the end, it was the childish Doi’s complete victory. While the person in question tried to be humble about it, there was no mistaking that he had been a frequent visitor of ping pong parlours while he was training in Kyoto. He was practically invincible. Though, if Kashii was there, he might have given Doi a run for his money.

“He’s probably still dizzy from the hot spring. I’ll check on him when I head back.” Nata said, anxiously.  He’d played almost ten games despite being fragile so his face was flushed red.

“But, after that, I’m going back in the hot spring. I’m drenched in sweat.”

Indeed, Nata loved hot springs. In fact, he’d probably only pushed himself so hard while playing ping pong in order to enjoy the hot spring even more. 

Perhaps Chyulhu had abducted Kashii. That he hadn’t come to play ping pong was an omen of that. A flash of unease ran through the back of Umino’s mind but he felt that guy wasn’t the type to get grabbed. Well, then. Does that mean Chyulhu’s going to take me like I thought?

That night, Umino didn’t sleep a wink.

***

The next morning, Kashii was still alive. It’s not like he believed in Chyulhu but Umino was relieved, anyway. 

“Eh, everyone but me? Even Doi-san? If that’s the case, I would have also dropped everything and rushed to join in – And it was ping pong, to boot!” Kashii said as he gobbled up breakfast with a nonchalant expression. Apparently, he really had gotten sick from the hot spring the previous night. To be precise, it seems his skin had reacted badly to the water quality and had broken out in a bad itch.

“What a shame, even though you’ve come to such a fancy onsen.” Satomi offered her sympathy.

“Seriously, you’re such a wasteful bastard, Kashii.” Nata added with selfish indignance. 

Obviously, Umino himself was still alive. Though he’d barely gotten any sleep. Doi and the usual two mystery men were also fine. Umino unconsciously thanked god.

The guests were served an extravagant breakfast of mushroom hotpot and grilled river fish. Thanks to his relief, unlike the previous night, Umino was able to taste today’s breakfast. Doi was truly talented.

Shortly after breakfast, Doi guided the group to the riverbank at the foot of the mountain. This was the other sightseeing spot he’d mentioned the day prior. The bus trip down the mountain felt around five minutes long. It was probably downstream of the river they’d seen from the observation deck. A river ran gently through the three metre-wide channel.

It didn’t seem to be a historic landmark or a mystic power spot. There was nothing around besides the pebbles and boulders scattered randomly across the riverbed. However, the reason Doi had brought them to the river with overflowing confidence was because a great number of autumn leaves were leisurely drifting down the river upstream.

The rain during the night had wet the stones and they glimmered brilliantly in the sunlight. Amidst these stones that sparkled like stars, the group watched the leaves spinning around and around as they passed in front of them. The phrase “I see within my mind’s eye, the autumn leaves, picturesque as they flow down the Tatsuta River” unconsciously popped into Umino’s mind. 

“Wow!!” Satomi cheered. Ayana, who was struggling to walk uphill in her high heels, also stopped in her tracks and stared fixedly. 

The shutter of Nata’s smartphone camera repeatedly snapped shut. Tojo also silently shot a video tracking the autumn leaves.

“There’s a dam beyond this point so this is as far as the leaves can drift. This place isn’t recorded in the guidebooks, I only tell guests about it.” Doi added excitedly upon seeing his guests' reactions. It was easy to see why he’d wanted to brag.

“In private, I call it the Bloody Maple River.”

That was his final addendum.

The scenery had, thankfully, successfully driven all thoughts about Chyulhu from Umino’s mind and, soon enough, it was time for lunch. As a service for staying more than a single night, the guests were treated to grilled offal yakiudon loaded with mushrooms. Apparently the offal yakiudon was a specialty of the region. It was delicious, of course.

After lunch, Umino made a trip to the Earthly Shrine alone. Two of the camellias offered yesterday had been plucked from their stems. Without its petals, the yellow stamen was pitifully bare. With a start, he suddenly noticed that a single petal had fallen by his feet. 

It was a trivial thing. Someone had plucked the flowers clean. If this was Chyulhu’s doing, it wouldn’t have done such a shoddy job like leaving behind a petal.  Since it had turned to dusk, they must have overlooked it in the dark. That they’d made a mistake means this was definitely the work of a human.

While this came as a relief, at the same time Umino seethed with anger that someone had pulled this prank. 

No, he couldn’t let himself be swallowed up by his anger… In order to temporarily calm down, he made his way to the hot spring. He was still breathing heavily but, despite choking on the sulfur, he was thankfully able to cool his head enough to think.

“Come to think of it, did you go to the bathroom while I was in the bath yesterday?” Umino asked Saitozaki, who was engrossed in his phone game, once he returned to the room.

“Uhh, did I?” Saitozaki’s hand froze in the middle of paying for a microtransaction as he thought for a moment, and then he admitted: “I did, once. Why do you want to know?”

“No reason in particular, don’t worry about it.”

“You’re a weird guy, you know that? …Ah, right. I just remembered. I need to take a stroll.”

After shooting Umino one or two dubious looks, Saitozaki exited the room. He’d sounded fired up for some reason so he was probably going for a couple’s stroll with Ayana. Well, that’s got nothing to do with me any more, Umino thought. All I want is for the two of them to be happy. Umino flopped down on his bed.

Let’s turn our thinking around. If the petals were a person’s doing, there’s nothing to get upset about. 

The footsteps out the front of the shrine. There wasn’t enough time for Nata and Kashii to have made them and then immediately get into the bath. And that goes for Ayana and such in the women’s bath, too. So that indicated it was Saitozaki but…

Umino figured he’d nap off the exhaustion of the trip and, before he knew it, it was raining outside. Looking at the clock beside his pillow, it was 3:10pm. Even though the weather forecast hadn’t predicted rain... Saitozaki wasn’t back yet, either.

Umino could feel something prodding his rear and, reaching into his pants pocket, he found that he was still carrying the ping pong ball from the previous night. Speaking of ping pong, those two mystery men had only watched, they never joined in the match…

At that moment, an idea flashed through Umino’s mind. Someone capable of ducking into the room when Saitozaki went to the bathroom. Someone capable of knowing when Umino was going to be in the bath. 

Suddenly, Umino bolted upright and dashed downstairs. In the lounge area, Tojo and Kasu had sunken into massage chairs and were sharing a friendly chat.

Umino stood in front of Tojo.

“Tojo-san. This was your prank, wasn’t it?”

Tojo looked at the petals from beside Umino’s pillow. And then he broke out into the widest, beaming grin.

“Bullseye.” He nodded. “Did you have fun?”

2

I’d won a three days, two nights trip to a hot spring inn from the raffle in the shopping centre. Since opportunities like this rarely popped up, if I invited Kisarazu Yuuya with me, he’d be sure to have the time seeing as he’d just resolved an incredibly difficult case. Which is why we’d come along to the onsen in Mimasaka. As far as writers of mystery novels go, I – Kouzuki Sanetomo – may as well have been a complete nobody but, even so, it’d be a problem if people recognised me (and, if they didn’t, it would just be plain sad) I suggested that we go under fake names. 

“Since we’re just two jokers, why don’t we call ourselves Tojo and Kasu?” I proposed. “Sure, whatever.” Kisarazu agreed flatly. Now that I mention it, that reminds me. Before, when we were riding the shinkansen, Kisarazu had been flooded with questions from a group of highschool girls on a field trip because he’d introduced himself as a detective. When I teased him saying that ‘it’s not every day you get to be surrounded by highschool girls that aren’t being suspected of murder’, he got fed up and told me straight up that he wished I would take his place. So I figure that’s why he readily agreed to an ‘undercover trip’ this time.

The trip from the station was about twenty minutes on the shuttle bus. Even though the station was already in the mountains, the inn we were heading to seemed smack dab in the heart of it. 

The two of us were sharing a room. Previously, Kisarazu had offered to pay extra to get himself another room but they were all booked out and we were refused. Since I guess this inn is unexpectedly popular, six students rode the shuttle bus alongside us. They were probably the ones who’d booked out all the other rooms. If I had heard them right, they were on a graduation trip or something.

Once we arrived at the inn, to my surprise, Kisarazu practically jumped at the topic of Chyulhu. As Kisarazu’s Watson, this sort of thing is meant to be my job but… Could he have caught the scent of a case?

Anyway I played along with their conversation and then we received our two keys to room 204. They each had a pentagonal wooden charm attached to them like the kinds you find at tourist traps. You know the ones, kind of like the wooden ema plaques at shrines but far narrower and way smaller. We entered the high-ceilinged guest room and I peered out the veranda, a sea of autumn leaves entered my view. The proprietor wasn’t lying; this view was even better than Kyoto.

“I didn’t know you were a big fan of things like Zashiki Warashi.” I prodded.

“The homepage for this inn talked about it so I figured I’d take a look around but I couldn’t find a trace of the myth of Chyulhu on any other websites. At least, not prior to 10 years ago.” He said nonchalantly.

“So, what are you saying?”

“There are plenty of folktales about spirits like the Zashiki Warashi but not around here. Those stories are from places closer to Setouchi.”

“So it’s wrapped up in a crime, then?”

Was this the work of his Great Detective’s sixth-sense for getting involved in cases? I leaned into Kisarazu.

“That’s not it. It’s just a bunch of nonsense. There’s a plaque saying it’s an occult ‘power spot’, it’s nothing more than a scam to lure in guests. A tourist trap. Chyulhu is even a pun on the name Nakano Hotsprings. Chyu is just the onyomi alternate reading of the Japanese word ‘Naka’, after all. Just like those imposing white towers that seemed to spring up overnight at Ichiya Castle. So, contrary to appearances, I was curious about the lengths they’d gone to in making the legend up.”

“You’re a wicked guy, you know that? And yet, you joined in under the pretense that you were genuinely interested.”

As expected of a Great Detective, he hadn’t given the slightest hint of his nefarious intentions.

“We went to the trouble of going on this trip. We might as well have a little excitement.”

In the end, Chyulhu’s shrine was more interesting than expected. The shrine itself was just an old curio that had either been thrown out by some council somewhere or found lying around but the cavern that connected two spots above and below left me feeling uneasy. It was amusing to watch students respond genuinely to the proprietor’s earnest narration. I looked over to see what Kisarazu was thinking, but his expression gave nothing away.

Nevertheless, the landscape of autumn leaves spread out in front of the observation deck was the real deal, just seeing that made the whole day worthwhile. The dynamism of the scene was on a whole other level from the wabisabi of the old capital. I could see why the proprietor talked it up.

At that time, only the long-haired student called Umino looked unimpressed. He wasn’t able to stop his dissatisfied expression from screaming ‘I’m bored.’ Despite the fact, even Gannosu Ayana, who’d spent the entire walk over complaining on-and-on about her pumps, was moved by the scene.

If anything, the more he saw the other students enjoying themselves, the more he projected stubbornness. It had the same feeling as when you can’t get drunk when you go out drinking because you were already drunk when you left the house. It’s not that he was being left out, he wasn’t able to get into the mood of the place.

I was also like this once so I couldn’t just ignore it. Moreover since it seemed like Kisarazu was bored, I was also starting to get bored. I wasn’t mature enough to enjoy hot springs.

I got back to the inn and entered the hall right as Umino was heading to the onsen. 

After he entered the bathing area, I peeked into the dressing room but it looked like there was only one person’s clothes in the wicker basket. After that, I peeked into the women’s bath. Two girls were bathing in the open air bath. I could faintly hear their chatter. 

I hurried outside and around to the back of the inn. When I plucked the petals of the camellias out the front of Chyulhu’s shrine and noisily retraced my steps over and over again, he reacted just as I’d expected.

I heard him splish-splashing his way through the water as he drew closer so I hurriedly hid myself in the grotto behind the shrine. It was dusk so there wasn’t any light around and, as long as I held my breath, he wouldn’t be able to see me from over there. 

Don’t get it twisted, if Chyulhu’s shrine was the real deal, I would never have done something like plucking the flowers offered to it or hiding in the cave behind its shrine, no matter what. I wasn’t that insensitive. But since a Great Detective I trust implicitly decided it was a fake, there was nothing stopping me.

After a short while, I heard Umino give up and return to the waters. I crept back to room 204 and kept an eye on the room next door. 

“What are you up to?” Kisarazu, who was relaxing in the room, asked. It seemed he had noticed I was scheming something, but – for the moment – he had no intention of criticising me.

Finally, I heard the sound of Saitozaki opening the door to his room and heading to the bathroom. Sure enough, he hadn’t locked his door. 

Now, then. Which of these beds is Umino’s… I could easily determine that based on the luggage next to the beds.

I left several plucked camellia petals by his pillow.

And when I hurried back to room 204, I heard Saitozaki return from the bathroom.

***

After lunch, I stepped out of my room to take a bath in the onsen only to hear a voice from the room at the very back of the hall. It was the room of the two girls. It was around 2:30pm at this point. 

“Aren’t you heading to the hot spring?”

Wajiro Satomi took a step out the open door and into the hallway, she turned her head back and called out. Her clothes, a jersey and a bath towel, would usually be too casual but – on the contrary – they fit perfectly for a hot spring inn.

“Sorry, I’m a little tired.”

I heard Ayana’s voice from within the room. 

“But it’s when you feel tired, you’re supposed to go to the hot spring.”

“My head is heavy and I think I’m coming down with a cold, so I’m going to take a quick nap.”

“Issat so? Right, then, I’ll also give it a miss.”

It’d be bad if I got caught eavesdropping, so I headed down the stairs before they noticed I was here.  A freshly-bathed Umino with his long hair still drying was heading up in my place. I put on a poker face and took a peek at him as we passed each other; to my surprise, he was wearing a relieved expression. 

“Don’t mess with the youngsters too much.” Kisarazu advised me from the opposite side of the bath as we submerged ourselves in the hot water.

“We went to the trouble of going on this trip. We might as well have a little excitement.” I parroted Kisarazu’s own words back at him. “But I won’t do any more than this. As expected, don’t you think it’s about time he realised it?”

“Act like an adult, you’re not a student anymore. Or could it be that you’re sympathising with that Umino kid?”

I really can’t hide anything from Kisarazu, who I’ve known since university, can I?

“...Still, Kisarazu. What’s a Watson supposed to do when they’re not assisting a Great Detective?”

“Is that what’s got you acting so childishly? When you’re not on a case, you should be living your life.”

Even if you tell me to live my life, acting the part of the Watson is the life I’ve chosen to live. Nevertheless, there was no point bringing this up with Kisarazu.

“In other words, doing my real job and writing more novels?” I asked.

“That’s up to you. I’m not your editor.”

“Well, then. Since we’re on a hot spring trip, it should be fine if I neglect that.”

“Sure, whatever you want to do.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

I unconsciously raised my voice but Kisarazu remained calm.

“Whether it’s drowning yourself in work or throwing yourself into your hobbies, it’s your life; it’s your decision. And that includes taking on the role of Watson.” He explained.

“And that goes for you, too, as a detective?”

“Being a detective is my obligation.”

“So you’re only hard on yourself, then?”

Steam filled the air between us. Kisarazu had no answer for me. Since there was a lull in the conversation, I absentmindedly stared into the sky. In an instant, what had been a bottomless blue sky up until now began to cloud over. Gradually, rain began to fall. They often say that mountain weather is as fickle as a housecat.

Since we were in the open air bath, while my actual body wasn’t impacted, the plip-plop of raindrops on my head quickly grew annoying. It’d have been fine if we switched to the bath with a roof over it but, figuring that we’d already spent enough time in the bath, we returned to the dressing room. The clock in the dressing room displayed 3:10pm.

We quickly got changed and had just retired to the massage chairs in the lounge area when the door was flung open with the clamour of rushing footsteps.

“Tojo-san. This was your prank, wasn’t it?” Umino asked with a blood curdling look on his face as he presented the camellia petals.

“Bullseye.” I beamed brightly and nodded. “Did you have fun?”

“Was it fun… How would this be fun?” Umino objected while messing up his long hair that stank of tonic.

“Well, you seemed bored. I thought this might give you a little stimulation, right? I guess that’s my bad, it must have been a little too threatening.”

“That’s not it.” He protested. “It’s not that I was particularly scared or anything like that…”

Considering he looked like he was on the verge of tears, it was an obvious bluff. On the other hand, if I pointed that out right then, I’d only be hurting his pride.

“Is that so? In that case, I’ll come up with something far scarier next time.”

“No thanks, I’m good.”

From his long-lashed eyes, he shot me a sharp glare.

“Putting that aside, what made you think it was fine to pluck the flowers offered to Chyulhu?”

“Ah, well, that’s…” Obviously, I couldn’t just say that it’s fine because that ‘god’ is a sham. “That’s because Chyulhu is a pagan god. And, see here, I’m a loyal follower of the Russian Orthodox church.”

Umino knit his brow. He couldn’t work out whether or not I was joking around.

“I wouldn’t say your way of doing things is likely to win any prizes.” Kisarazu shrugged his shoulders. Umino had already squared his shoulders and stormed back to his room.

“But it’s not bad enough for you to step in and stop me, right? You’d obviously caught on since yesterday, ‘Kasu-kun.’” I replied

“If I’d stepped in, would that have stopped you?”

I didn’t respond. I made a show of looking out the window. Outside, the passing rain was dying down and starting to show signs of stopping.

“If the rain lets up, should we head out? I want to go offer some camellias at the shrine. If Doi notices that they’ve been plucked clean, he’ll have a nasty shock.”

Roughly 20 minutes after it had started, the rain stopped and the sky was once again a clear blue. It was just like they say, the fall comes with crisp winds, clear skies and bountiful harvests.

After lunch, Doi headed down the mountain in the station wagon saying he was going shopping and the car still hadn’t returned to the parking lot. I had to wonder what he was buying and what he was planning on making us today. The food last night was delicious, and, so far, today’s had been, too.

In any case, I had to return the camellias to the shrine before Doi noticed they were gone. I plucked one camellia on the wayside. On the other side of the fence, hidden within the steam, I heard the faint sound of water splashing. I wasn’t particularly taken by this inn’s charms, but…

“Let’s take a pleasant stroll over to the observation deck. I bet the maples will be breathtaking after the rain.” 

After switching out the plucked camellias for fresh ones, I invited Kisarazu on a walk and he agreed. Climbing up the stairs and the path uphill, 15 minutes had passed collectively by the time we arrived at the fork in the path. Shoes had left prints on the unpaved path to the shrine. A single set of footprints leading to the observation deck. They must have been left before the rain started because the shoe’s traces had crumbled slightly from getting wet. Yesterday’s footprints had all been erased thanks to the rain last night. In other words, these prints had been made today.

“Interesting. There’s footprints heading here but none heading back.” Kisarazu muttered with great interest. His tone had switched to ‘Detective Mode.’

“Couldn’t they have just taken the alternative route back – reversed from yesterday?” I asked

“That’s what I thought at first, too, but look.”

Kisarazu pointed at the alternate route’s branch road a little further away. In the only patch of bare earth – where the earthquake had destroyed the concrete which, like the shrine path leading up the mountain, paved the road – the footprints had been artificially erased. It appeared that the rain fell after this and the indents left by the footprints had loosely collapsed. 

“What does this mean? The footprints heading here have been left behind, but the footprints heading back have been erased?”

“Thinking normally, that wouldn’t happen. Anyway, let’s follow these footprints.” 

Returning to the shrine path, we made sure not to trample any of the footprints left behind as we made our way to the observation deck. 

The footprints lead straight across the wooden bridge and over to the observation deck with no hesitation whatsoever. Ah, no, there was one spot – it looks like they made a brief stop at the lookout point facing the iron bridge. 

However, once they arrived in front of the shrine facing the observation deck, they’d frantically erased their footprints. Between the shrine and the observation deck’s v-shaped point, there was a wide smear on the ground. Even the autumn leaves that had fluttered to the ground had been covered in dirt and mud. Of course, the portion continuing on to the alternate path was no different. 

They’d probably used the broom left by the shrine. Its bristles were caked in mud.

“What’s going on? Something definitely happened here.”

“I think the person who left the footprints on the shrine path is a victim and the person who erased the footprints on the alternate path is the culprit. And this is the scene of the crime.”

A bloody stone had been dropped in front of the shrine. It was about as large as a one litre bottle of water with a dark red bloodstain splattered on its smooth centre.There wasn’t just blood on the stone but on the roof of the shrine, as well. The victim had collapsed here and the blood was left behind where their hand had smeared it. In front of the stone, for some reason a crushed ping pong ball had sunken halfway into the mud. Since the white ball stuck out like a sore thumb, it definitely wasn’t there yesterday. I held it up and the bottom of the ball was mostly dry. 

“A murder? But where’s the body?”

I even took a look inside the cave on the off chance the body was hidden there but it didn’t look like it. The mouth was still covered in moss and there were no signs that anyone had entered.

In that case… I swung back around to the observation deck to find Kisarazu standing by the iron railing. Once I got closer, I noticed that there were slight traces of blood left among the rust.

With a pounding heart, I looked over the edge. Around fifty metres down the cliff-face there was a flat protrusion roughly the size of two tatami mats stacked vertically. Above a picturesque curtain of autumn leaves, a body had fallen face down. The body’s clothes were wet with rain. A room key had fallen beside the body. Because the pentagonal wooden tag had been pinned beneath the corpse, I couldn’t discern the room number.

“Did they fall from here?” I asked.

“Most likely, the culprit intentionally threw them off.” Kisarazu replied.

“Intentionally?”

“Aah. Since blood splattered on the railing, it’s unmistakable that the victim was attacked here. However, the victim resisted and pushed the killer back all the way to the shrine.” Kisarazu said.

The space between the iron railing and the shrine was roughly 10 metres, though. Certainly, all of the footprints in that space had been swept away. 

“And then the killer landed the final blow in front of the shrine and the victim breathed their last. That’s probably when their hand hit the roof.” Kisarazu concluded.

“Couldn’t they have returned to the railing after touching the roof of the shrine?" I asked.

“If that had happened, the stone that was used to kill the victim would have been dropped in front of the railing. There’s no reason the culprit would have intentionally carried it back to the shrine.”

“So, the culprit intentionally dragged the body back to the railing and threw it over, then? To conceal the crime?”

“I wonder…” Kisarazu disagreed. “It’s such a narrow protuberance that if the killer had just shifted over even slightly the body should have easily fallen to the bottom of the ravine. Moreover, they left the murder weapon as is and it doesn’t seem like they made any effort to hide the blood on the shrine or the railing. Rather, it doesn’t look like the culprit had any interest in concealing the body or the crime at all.”

“So, then, there’s another reason why they intentionally dumped the body off the railing?”

It was only a short distance away, but carrying a blood-soaked adult is a risky move. Since they went out of their way to do it anyway, there must have been some serious circumstances.

“Seems like it. Well, I’ve more or less come up with the reason. Not taking the time to do so would likely have been fatal for the culprit.”

Had he already seen through to the truth of this mystery? Those were reliable words.

“So, then. What should we do about the body? Are we going to meekly leave it there until the police show up?”

If we really pushed ourselves it wasn’t impossible for us to make it down the sloping cliff face to the protrusion where the body lay but, due to the rain, the footholds were even more dangerous.

“Let’s restrain the culprit first. Since their motive is still unclear, it’s plenty possible that they may commit even more crimes.”

Kisarazu calmly pointed this out but I noticed it was different from what he usually said.

“...By any chance, have you already worked out who the culprit is?”

I unintentionally stared him in the face.

“Obviously.” He replied.

The pupils behind Kisarazu’s (non-prescription) glasses flashed as he slowly nodded, an expression brimming with confidence plastered on his face. At that moment, a gust of wind ran through the mountains and a shower of autumn leaves rained upon him.

Just what you’d expect of a Great Detective.

Read the solution here.

[hannahssimblr]

Chapter Sixteen

I wake up from a nap in the backseat somewhere along the winding roads of county Laois. I’m not usually one to fall asleep while upright in moving vehicles, but something about the gentle rise and fall of the hills and the sway of the roads has lulled me into a shallow sleep, my head resting against the window of Shane’s Fiat Punto. It’s peculiar to be in this car without Kelly, usually she’s perched up the front with her brother giving out to him about something, but now Claire is up there instead, her voice gentle and sweet as they chat to each other, and I never join in the conversation. He’s got some CD playing through the speakers in the back and as I listen to the melodies I picture a version of myself just hours from now, standing in the crowd listening to indie music like this. 

When we pull up to the festival car park, Jude and the others are already there. They have their tents and bags on the dry grass at their feet and are huddled around their car talking excitedly about something. When I see them there I kind of wish I’d come with them instead, I bet theirs was the Fun Car. 

“Hey, we got you all tickets for the shuttle bus.” Says Jen as we start to haul our gear bags and camping equipment out of the boot, and she comes over to help us. “Wow this is a lot of stuff.”

“I went overboard in the camping shop.” Claire admits. “I didn’t know what to bring so I just bought loads of random things.”

“It’s okay, we’ve got our four mules to carry everything.” She grins at the boys and Kasper rolls his eyes. “Give me those” He takes two heavy tents out of the boot, lifting them like they’re bags of feathers and tossing them over his shoulders. Shane takes the folding chairs and the cooler and some of Claire’s bags, and then Jude and Joe grab the rest. 

“I can carry that too.” Jude says to me, nodding towards my bag as we head down towards the bus stop, but I shake my head. “No, you have enough stuff, I can manage it.”

He reaches out and takes it from me anyway. 

“Thank you.”

“No problem.”

It takes a while to set up our tents, mostly because nobody wants to do it. Joe immediately unfolds one of the camping chairs and parks himself into it and before anybody can call him on it he has opened up a can and is guzzling it down, hat on, mucky-runner-clad feet stretched out in front of him, and with the backdrop of the festival stages behind him in the distance he looks like a magazine ad for Glastonbury or something. It doesn’t take long for everyone else to get tired and confused by the various tent poles and tarps and remembering which part goes where, and eventually we give up and watch Shane do it. He assembles each one of the tents with military precision and efficiency, one after the other like he’s some sort of robot and then announces that he’s going to have one of the tents all to himself as a reward. 

“Can I stay with you?” I say to Claire, even though it was sort of unspoken already that we’d be together, I can just tell by the look on her face that she’s thinking about what it might be like if she could stay with Shane instead. 

“Yeah, of course.” She says, and we start carrying our bags into the tent next to Jen and Jude’s. I consider what it will be like to be so close to him at night time, only two thin walls of nylon dividing us, and for some reason it’s thrilling to me. We napped together only a couple of weeks ago, but that’s different. There’s an unpredictability in the air here, like something is so static and electric that the little hairs on my arms almost stand up. I think it’s the feeling that I’ve never felt less supervised in my entire life. It’s just me – us – among a swarm of strangers on these enormous grounds, and it feels like anything could happen and nobody would ever know about it. 

The ground is vibrating with the sounds of deep bass music and in the distance the sounds of forlorn indie music floats up towards the clear summer sky. Jen starts smoothing the wrinkles out of the festival schedule she had in her pocket and announces that Fleet Foxes have just started. Everyone seems excited, so I pretend to be too even though I’ve only vaguely heard of them.

When we follow the music down towards the main stage I am intimidated by the size of the crowd. I’ve never been to a live concert before, and I don’t really know how to behave normally among all of these people, each one of whom seems infinitely cooler than me. I sort of stand awkwardly at the very back for a minute because I can’t see any clear path towards the front, and then I realise that everyone else is just elbowing their way through. 

“Come on.” Claire holds her hand out to me, her fun festival bangles jingling on her wrist, and I take it as we follow the others. We use Jude’s head as a guide, because he’s so tall that it’s pretty easy to see him, and we bump and shuffle our way through all the people, not all of them too pleased about it, until I can reach out and touch the cool metal barrier. There are too many people blocking the very front though, clinging on to their spaces for dear life, and they keep shouldering me backwards whenever I try to break in. I’m stuck. I can’t see anything but backs, and somebody nearby smells really strongly of sweat. I’m feeling a sudden jolt of panic. Claustrophobia creeps in as I realise how difficult it would be for me to escape the heaving crowd if I wanted to. A girl in a leather jacket elbows me in the ribs and tells me to move out of her way. I can’t see Claire any more and I begin to frantically search through the mass of unfamiliar faces.

“Evie, up here.” It’s Jude. He’s wrangled a spot right at the front, and he grabs my hand to pull me closer to him. “Come on, you can stand here.” He makes space for me right in front of him, and it’s just enough so that I can squeeze between him and the barrier. “Are you alright?” 

I nod. His hand rests on my shoulder, warm and steady, and I feel like it’s anchoring me. I’m slightly disappointed when he takes it away to hold his arms up and cheer for the band, but still, it’s as though his body is acting like a shield to protect me from the swirling crowd behind him and I take the tiniest of risks and lean back against his chest. He doesn’t stop me. 

The five guys on stage are such hipsters, and their music is okay, but it’s kind of slow. I don’t even realise that Jen is beside us until she leans over to me and asks me if I’m enjoying the band. I tell her that I am, because I remember seeing one of their CDs in Jude’s bedroom, and I worry that he might think I’m out of touch if I don’t ‘get it.’ Which I’m not sure I do. Perhaps I am out of touch. My knowledge of the indie scene is sadly lacking, and I imagine how embarrassing it would be if either of them got a sneak peek of my sad CD collection at home. It’s all Rihanna, Kesha, JLS, all music I bought because Kelly said it was cool, but now I’m not sure how to define what cool is anymore. 

Prev // Next

[yuus-sentient-teddy]

"Yuu-Yuu hurt." Part 12

Part 1 | Part 11 | Part 13

The mad scientist is dragged away by magical officers and the boys are brought to the police station, where they give their statements. Now that they're safe and Yuu is being seen by capable adults, the adrenaline tapers off and exhaustion seeps in. Most of them fall asleep as soon as they sit down in the waiting room.

Those who are still awake don't say anything to each other or whoever enters the waiting room. They instead look out the window, noticing the still dark skies, or impatiently glance at the clock, wanting the shuttle bus to arrive already so he could sleep and put the whole damn night behind him. It's still unbelievable what had happened, and the sleep-deprived haze makes it seem like a wild nightmare.

The entrance slides open. In walks Sebek, Ortho, Grim, and the teddy bear. Epel roughly shakes Deuce and Ace awake as the Diasomnia trio quickly approach Sebek. "Has there been any issue?" Malleus asks.

"No. Yuu was brought safely to the mages."

The tension in the room lessens. "That is excellent news. Thank you all for your efforts."

Sebek, despite his exhaustion, beams while Ortho says that it wasn't a problem. They are all ushered to a chair or waved over to an empty spot. Grim plops into a seat beside Ace and the teddy bear sits next to him. Before the First Years can ask Grim and the teddy bear for details, the two suddenly collapse against each other and free fall into sleep.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He and the others are in the warehouse-like room.

Yuu and the ink monster are screaming. It leaps towards some classmates to his left. He moves away, readying a spell and shooting it.

COUGH COUGH

Yuu is doubled over, a hand covering their mouth as the other hand grips their knee. Ink seeps between their fingers, and when they take a trembling breath and raise their head, it leaks from their eyes like tears. Somehow, despite the distance, he hears them exhale. . . and then their eyes roll back and they fall to the floor.

The ink that trickles out of their mouth seems to have a red shine. He doesn't have time to yell for them because in a moment, the ink monster is above them and its body is falling apart, much like a rapidly melting candle. He raises his wand with a spell on his tongue--

An ink stained hand grips his wrist. He turns and his breath leaves his lungs. A familiar face grins back at him. Garbled words echo in his ears that bring with them unbearable discomfort and nausea.

"They must become one of us, or else they don't belong."

He yells something back while wrenching his hand away, either a "No they don't" or "Shut up!" The familiar face only cackles and points behind him.

Half of Yuu's body is inside the broken glass head of the ink monster. Pupiless eyes bore into his own. "No."

The rest of the body is sucked further in. He thinks he hears a raspy groan, but it's overcome by a loud, disgusting slushing sound like worms writhing.

He wants to hurl.

He wants to cry.

He feels so useless.

"YUU!!!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ace's eyes snap open, heart racing like when he and the others had fled from the ink monster in the mines from a long time ago. His eyes land on a mini basketball hoop hanging high against a red and black irregularly striped wall. Right beside his head and slightly obscured by a scarlet cotton curtain, is an armoire so goofily curved it's like it came straight out of a whimsical tale. He's back in his bedroom; he remembers trudging to the Mirror Chamber after getting off the shuttle bus, bumping into someone or a chair or something, and then nothing.

Something moves against his chest. He realizes his arms are crossed and holding onto a soft but firm thing. He looks down and meets the beady black eyes of Yuu's sentient teddy bear. "Ace okay?" it asks.

His mind flashes back to a conversation from last night.

"I've been thinking about this for a while," Ortho said, pulling all attention to him. "I'm sure most of us know this by now, but for those who don't: Yuu's teddy bear has an unusual ability that lets it know when Yuu gets injured and where they are. Yuu has been held captive for three weeks, and during that time, the teddy bear was acutely aware that they were injured and hidden in that forest."

"I can't imagine what it would be like to be it during those weeks, knowing that someone it deeply cares about is so close but out of reach. I'm afraid of trying to run a simulation."

The teddy bear nuzzled closer to Grim, who hugged it tighter. "I must confess, it's impressive it didn't have a breakdown during those weeks," Jade said. "It's made me wonder what it would have done if none of us had tried searching for Yuu ourselves."

"Yeah, I'm okay." Before Ace realizes it, he's petting the teddy bear's head. It accepts the affection and leans into his hand.

He hears some muttering behind him. Holding the teddy bear more securely to his chest, he rolls over. He lets out a scoff; Grim had somehow ended up upside down and his tail was in Deuce's face. He starts to laugh when Grim's tail flicks and hits the Spade student, but quickly stops when Grim mutters almost tearfully, "Yuu, don't die!"

Ace then notices the damp fur around Grim's eyes and how hard Deuce was grinding his teeth (he was actually afraid Deuce was going to chip a tooth this time). He gets out of bed and feels dull soreness in his joints and muscles. Any open wounds had been small and treated at the police station; simple bruises were left alone. He trudges to the other side of the room with the teddy bear in one arm. "Deuce. Deuce! Grim! Wake up!"

As expected, nothing. He suddenly remembers the other roommates and glances over, but finds the beds empty. Come to think of it, what time was it?

Putting the teddy bear on the bed, Ace places a hand on Grim's tummy and reaches over to grab Deuce's shoulder. He yells their names and shakes them, which manages to startle them awake. "Phew. About time."

Deuce blearily looks around as Grim slowly sits up. He sighs, relieved. "It was only a dream."

"Let me guess, dreaming about last night?"

"Yeah. You were too, right?"

"How could I not? It was more stressful than dealing with the other Overblots."

"It was." Deuce sighs again, but then squints at Ace. ". . . Were you crying?"

"Huh?!" He touches his cheek. Tears had dried on his face, mixing with red makeup when they were still fresh. Deuce was the same, having black makeup smudged down his cheek. Grim is touching his own face and seems surprised that he too had cried in his sleep. "Guess I was."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notices were sent to the boys' phones: once the school day had ended, all of them needed to report to the auditorium in person. Ace was dreading the lecture he and the others were sure to be getting, but the dread worsened upon seeing all the homeroom teachers standing beside a seriously stern headmaster. For the next however many minutes--which felt more likes hours--the headmaster scolded the students for being so reckless and other things. With how much anger and exasperation was behind the headmaster's words, it brought Ace back to the time he and Grim got yelled at for scorching the Queen of Hearts statue. The homeroom teachers' disapproving glares, combined with sitting in the front row, made Ace sweat and try to look anywhere but the front.

"I'm especially appalled by the dorm leaders and the vice dorm leaders," Crowley said, and the underclassmen were a little relieved that they weren't targeted anymore. "The fourteen of you--especially the dorm leaders and those with upstanding social positions--should have known better than to partake in such a highly consequential folly! Whatever you or anyone has to say on this matter will not excuse the danger you have allowed yourselves and others under your care to be in."

There was a moment of tense, suffocating silence. Crowley huffed. "That said, I can't say I'm not proud of you all."

"HUH?!"

It was like a switch had flipped: Crowley was smiling at the students now and exuding joy. "You all banded together to search and rescue one of your peers. Not only did you do just that successfully, but you also saved the other kidnap victims and kept them safe while there was an Overblot incident. You all showed such capability during a dangerous situation and so much care for one of your own--it brings tears to my eyes!"

"I know you said there was no excuse for what we just did, but we really couldn't sit around waiting for something to happen," Kalim said.

"And of course, we couldn't turn down the plead of their dear teddy bear to find them, not when they mean so much to it," Azul said, a palm to his chest to express "sincerity".

Glances were cast towards the teddy bear. It was silently staring out the window.

Crowley put his hands on his hips. "Al-Asim, Ashengrotto, I trust you both won't make the same lapse in judgment during your time as students?"

"Ah, well--"

"If you make the same decision as the one you took for rescuing Yuu next time, it could end terribly. It goes the same for all of you. No matter what happens, do not run blindly into danger. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," the students choired.

"Headmaster, could I ask you something?" Ace asks. "Have you made any progress at all in finding Yuu a way back home?"

The headmaster clearly wasn't expecting the question--the lights in his eyes seemed to widen and his mouth parted in surprise. The homeroom teachers turn to look at him; it seems they were curious to hear his answer too. In a moment, he was collected, but there was a sort of shaky undertone that undermined it. "Well, to be quite honest, I've been unable to make as much progress as I wanted given the hectic events this school year. I did offer them some pointers on where to look for possible answers, but their circumstance is unique. It would be an arduous and long process finding anything useful."

"Of course it would be! They don't know a lick about magic," Grim argues. "And you haven't made any progress at all because you were busy goofing off."

The lights in Crowley's mask narrow and grow brighter. "I beg your pardon? Is that any way to speak to your headmaster, who works diligently to ensure this school runs well and maintains its prestigious reputation? This sort of work is no easy feat, especially since there are so many misbehaving and reckless students to watch over."

"When winter break came around, you were ready to go vacationing and forgot all about finding Yuu a way home," Grim says.

"Headmaster Crowley, is that true?" Professor Trein asks, fixing him with a stern glare.

When Crowley started to seem shifty, Professor Trein snapped at him and a low growl came from Lucius. "Did you leave alone two students on campus with no means to get food for themselves and no supervision? I advised you numerous times to have them placed in an inn at the foot of the hill. What if something happened to them?"

"I've also been wondering, what did you find in your research of returning Yuu back to their world?" Professor Crewel asks.

"It's as I said before: not as much progress as I wanted."

"So basically, you found jack shit," Floyd says, which causes many heads to snap his way and Crowley to make an offended sound. The headmaster doesn't manage to get a word in when someone speaks up.

"If you're having trouble with searching, you could always ask for help," Kalim suggests.

"I'm sure finding information about crossing universes is by no means an easy task, but surely you could have been transparent about your progress?" Azul points out.

"Ah, that. . ." For the next hour or two, Crowley was in an uncomfortable position.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Environment America Research & Policy Center:

Each year, more than 490,000 school buses shuttle children back and forth across the United States –to school, field trips, sporting events and more. As most of these buses burn diesel fuel, children and drivers are exposed to harmful pollutants that are linked to asthma, other health issues and cognitive development problems.

Conversely, electric school buses have zero tailpipe emissions, and therefore offer a cleaner, healthier alternative to diesel buses. This report finds the number of these zero-emission vehicles are growing in school districts around the country, thanks in part to big investments from Congress and states to transition to electric school buses. 

The Inflation Reduction Act sets aside $1 billion to fund the transition to zero-emission heavy duty vehicles including zero-emission Class 6 or Class 7 school buses via the Clean Heavy Duty Vehicles (CHDV) Grant Program. This program was open to other heavy duty electric vehicles in addition to Class 6 and 7 school buses, including dump trucks, transit buses, delivery trucks and others. Applications for grants opened in April 2024, and the application period closed in July 2024.

In addition to the EPA’s monumental investment in the transition to electric school buses, states from across the country have adopted legislation of their own to support school districts in replacing older diesel buses with cleaner electric ones. 

[tinyhouseexpedition]

Couple Built $25k Tiny House then Nomadic for Yrs - now Homesteading!

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[misssagustd]

Unreleased (2)

"Noona, I had concerts in three countries in Asia and you never went to one of them. I told you just email me and I'll send you the QR tickets." Yoongi would not let you off the hook for ditching his offer to watch one of his shows. He's now pulling the noona-dongsaeng card to get you to watch one of the Korea legs of his tour. "Come to the last day! The final final!" This got you confused as fuck. "The last final final?! Jesus Christ, Yoongi, get the name of your tour right." You can tell he was laughing silently by the short gasps of air he was taking. "The announced dates are just two - June 24 and 25. But the other three I'll announce on the 25th. Surprise!" You roll your eyes at his humor. "Noona, you said I'm your bias even if you dated Namjoon! Come on, I promise it will be worth the flight to Korea. Don't you miss us?! The maknaes do - more than Joon!" This concert means so much to your bestest friend in the world, so how can you say no? One of the things you feared you'd lose when you and Joon broke up was your friendship with Yoongi. After all, they've been literally together more than half their lives. Thankfully, Yoongi was the kind of person who can balance friendships no matter how complicated they seemed.

You left Korea a month after you broke up with Joon. Yoongi and the rest of the guys kept in touch, but they were careful not to mention Joon or any of his whereabouts. Yoongi did say that Joon had a complete signed set of his album, Indigo, ready for you, but they were now stuck in Genius Lab because Joon didn't know you'd left for good. "Get your albums when you come here. There's a vinyl, too. The white boxes look so out of place in my studio," he complained. "So when is the final final final?" you ask. "August 6! But stay longer after the concert. I don't have much time to go out between June and August. Hyung's getting married and I've other stuff planned. We miss you, stay with us a bit longer." Hearing Yoongi say that suddenly made you miss them all, too. "Hmmmkay. How about August 1 to 10? Or 12? Two weeks should be enough! I might not have a job waiting for me when I get back." Yoongi was so happy, you can imagine him happy-dancing all over his studio. "See you, noona!!! I'll get the team to send you the QR ticket for August 6. Wooohhhoooo!!!"

It's been three years. Everything felt familiar, yet also new. You were surprised you still knew how to navigate your way around Incheon's arrival area, and even more surprised that you can still carry a decent conversation in Korean with someone who's not Yoongi. Normally you would've just taken the shuttle bus or taxi to your hotel, but Yoongi sent a car for you, which was already waiting at the exit bay. You drive through familiar buildings, streets, malls, and restaurants. On the flight here you were expecting to be flooded by unpleasant memories, but they seemed distant and nonexistent as Korea's rush hour welcomed you back.

Your phone rings. It's Yoongi video-calling you from his studio. "Are you here already?" He asks as he lowers the volume of the music. He was obviously working on something. "Yeah, maybe 15 more minutes to the hotel." He looks at the clock on his desk. "Cool. Jimin's coming off from rehearsal in an hour. You up for dinner with us?" Honestly, you just wanted to sleep because your supposed to be early-morning flight from Manila was pushed back to the afternoon, but dinner sounds good, too. "Your treat?" Yoongi scrunches his nose at your question. "I know you'll say yes if I say yes, so yes."

After checking in and unpacking some of the clothes you brought, you realize you have time to spare so you take a quick shower before heading out to dinner. Yoongi already texted you the name of the restaurant, and the same car that fetched you from the airport will bring you there. Apparently, he hired it for your entire stay here. "So I wouldn't have to think how you'll get back to your hotel in case I can't drive you," he said.

When you got to the restaurant Yoongi and Jimin were already there. You've video-called Yoongi frequently over the years so you already knew what he looks like, but seeing Jimin's built for the first time took you by surprise. "Jimin-ah!!! You've been working out!" He looks up from his phone and gives his signature eye-smile laugh. "Yaaaaaah! So good to see you again, Y/N!" He stands up and gives you a tight hug. "We thought you forgot about us already. Good thing Yoongi-hyung has these concerts otherwise we'd have to find a reason to go to you to Manila." Yoongi motions to the empty seat beside Jimin. "Are we waiting for someone else?" you ask as you take a seat. You catch Yoongi and Jimin exchanging a quick uncomfortable look with each other, then Yoongi looks at you. "Nope, just the three of us."

You catch up mostly with Jimin and how he's been doing since his Billboard feat. Yoongi was silent most of the time that you and Jimin were talking, but you notice him glancing anxiously at his phone several times. "Yoongi, you okay? Are you waiting for someone?" He looks at Jimin again, then the latter shakes his head as if to say, "Give it up, hyung." Yoongi sighs and leans back in his seat. "We asked Joon if he could come and join us - just me and Jimin. But Tae slipped in our group chat that you arrived today, so..." Jimin sighs. "So he hasn't been replying to us for the past two hours." He continues after taking a swig of his beer. "We just thought it was a good idea for him to see you again. He was a mess after your breakup. Wouldn't leave the studio, wouldn't go out with us. It's like he was on auto-pilot, only smiled and talked and socialized when needed at work." "Otherwise, he's dead," Yoongi added.

You wanted to hit Yoongi and Jimin on the head. Of course, Joon would back out the minute he knew you were joining them for dinner. It was not a "good idea" at all to set him up like that with his ex after not seeing her for three years. But you say nothing and just shake your head. "Don't bug him. If he doesn't want to see me, it's okay. He's not what I'm here for, anyway, right?" You raise your glass for a toast and smile widely at Yoongi.

On the ride back to the hotel, you think about how Jimin and Yoongi described Joon post-breakup. This is the first time they've talked about Joon openly - mostly it's about his album or upcoming projects. You can't imagine Joon being a mess because, between you, he's always the composed one. He isn't easily fazed by chaos and would still manage to have time to hear out your problems even if he's got a million things running in his head already. You admired this about him, but he said he only became like that because he was exposed to pressure at a very young age.

Your phone buzzes and a familiar number flashes on the screen. You blink once, twice. The call was about to end when you slide the green icon to accept it.

"Hey." There's no mistaking that deep voice, almost talking in a whisper. "Are you really here?"

[crownlimopartybus]

Elevate Every Journey: La Party Bus Rental-LA Limousine Service by La Party Bus Rental CA

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Imagine this scenario: your group gathers at a downtown high-rise, stepping into a sleek limousine outfitted with leather seats, tinted windows, and climate control—perfect for lively cocktail conversations en route to your first destination. Upon arrival, the party truly ignites when you board a sprawling party bus, complete with pulsating LED lights, a premium surround-sound system, and a stocked refreshment bar. This is the essence of la party bus rental-la limousine service by La Party Bus Rental CA—an effortless transition from elegance to excitement, all under one umbrella.

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Every vehicle in our la party bus rental-la limousine service collection undergoes rigorous maintenance checks and interior sanitization before each trip. Leather upholstery, fiber-optic ambient lighting, and user-controlled multimedia systems ensure your transportation is as comfortable as it is captivating.

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[majorvehicle]

Shuttle Bus Motorhome Conversion

A shuttle bus motorhome conversion allows creative freedom in designing a unique and spacious mobile home. With more room than typical vans, shuttle buses offer flexibility for layout changes, insulation, and amenities like full kitchens or bathrooms. They are a favorite among DIY enthusiasts looking to repurpose reliable commercial vehicles into stylish, livable homes for travel and adventure.