Don't Just Speak Love

  * * * *

  Sir Albion made us do another hundred kilometres the next day, and it was more manageable by a minuscule margin—probably because I actually ate my lunch. Still, I was completely spent by the time training ended, and I wanted to bail on the plans for tonight whenever I thought about it.

  “Averie? Sasuke?” Chaste met up with us as we stepped out of the staff office. “I’m glad Sir Albion didn’t drag out your lesson today. Come on, let’s go!” Chaste, like everyone else, didn’t know what we did at our lessons with Sir Albion. She thought we were staying back for extra coaching to catch up on our schoolwork. After all, we’d only joined Black Gold recently, and exams were in a month’s time.

  “Let’s go!” repeated Sasuke enthusiastically. “It’s time!”

  I let out a lighthearted laugh, knowing he had to be ecstatic about going back to Tokyo. “I’m really glad you’re coming along.”

  Sasuke smiled. A cheeky glint flickered in his eyes. “Sir Albion is going to freak when we don’t turn up tomorrow,” he said gleefully.

  I sighed. “We are going to be in so much trouble we get back. Do you think we’re in danger…?” I didn’t know if Chaste had been told about Lucifer, so it was better not to let anything slip. “I mean... You know—”

  Chaste cut in. “Tokyo is Sasuke’s hometown, so we should be in safe hands,” she suggested meekly. It seemed she didn’t know. Why hadn’t Sir Albion warned her about leaving Singapore? What if Chaste had gone to Japan all by herself? The thought gave me the chills. She could’ve been captured by Lucifer.

  “This whole thing is his fault to begin with.” Sasuke’s expression hardened as his voice became taut. “He’s always acting so nonchalant, when he doesn’t even get the whole picture of my situation. Do you know how much damage one month is going to do me? How far I’m falling behind?”

  Chaste and I stared at him, unblinking.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked.

  “Well…I’ll tell you another time,” said Sasuke evasively. “As for safety, I’ll bring us back to Singapore immediately if anything goes wrong.”

  Chaste and I nodded together in agreement, though we had to be interpreting Sasuke’s statement completely differently. I knew he meant he would zap us to safety if necessary—he’d been getting pretty good at it—and I guessed that should be enough to run from Lucifer. He was critically injured after his last battle after all, and Asa had mentioned the very same tactic before, so it should work just fine.

  “We should get going,” urged Sasuke, reading his watch. “The latest check in time for our flight is 11.15, and it’s already 9.30. Go get your stuff then let’s meet at the pedestrian crossing outside Black Gold in an hour’s time.”

  Realising how tight time was, Chaste and I sprinted for the school gates. We should’ve prepared for the flight instead of rushing like this, but it was too late for regret now. Luckily, Sir Albion hadn’t kept us longer tonight—this was the only available flight that could make it in time for the concert.

  “Don’t forget your passport,” Sasuke called after us in a relaxed manner. Well, of course he could be relaxed. Living at the hostel, he could take his own sweet time. “And bring a jacket!”

  I caught the bus home and bolted the short distance from the bus stop to my house.

  Inside, I unloaded my backpack, filled the space with a change of clothes and my passport, hurried through a quick shower and changed into comfortable clothes for the long flight before grabbing a cardigan and finally rushing off to the rendezvous.

  I was the last to arrive, I realised as I came to the pedestrian crossing. A taxi was already waiting by the side of the road and Chaste and Sasuke were yelling at me to hurry, so I raced over as quickly as I could.

  “Changi Airport Terminal One, sir,” Sasuke informed the taxi driver as he took the front passenger seat while the girls slid into the back.

  We wasted no time rushing to the check in station when we finally arrived at Terminal One at 11.05 PM, only relaxing after we’d made it in time. The plane was scheduled to depart roughly an hour later. Meanwhile, we would rest in the waiting area.

  “This is the agenda: our plane is scheduled to touch down at Narita Airport at six-forty in the morning—Tokyo time. From Narita, we’ll be taking a chartered ride to Tokyo Dome Hotel. That’ll take about two hours, depending on the traffic,” said Sasuke as he led us to a quieter seating area away from the main crowd.

  “Hey, guys,” said Chaste softly as we sat down. “Thanks.”

  “Don’t mention it,” said Sasuke as he put on shades and a stylish caramel-coloured cap then pulled the hood of his equally stylish dark fleece jacket over his head. He looked really good, but I didn’t see the point of dressing up before a long flight. I guessed that’s why the Japanese were known for being fashionable, and I just hoped I wouldn’t stand out for dressing too carelessly. “I’ve been planning to sneak to Tokyo for a while. You just gave me an excuse.”

  “Since we’ve got some time now, can we take care of the money?” I looked at Sasuke, who’d booked everything. “How much did everything cost?”

  It was a pity humans couldn’t be teleported—Sir Albion said their bodies would crack from the strain. Still, we would’ve saved so much money if Sasuke could’ve zapped us all to Japan. Yes, Sasuke would’ve had to do it. Despite trying every night before I went to bed, I still couldn’t even summon Aries, never mind teleporting.

  “It’s all right, I can still afford that,” said Sasuke without a second thought.

  “I can’t let you do that,” Chaste objected right away while I gaped at him incredulously.

  Although I had a relatively successful business to take over when I turned twenty-one, I was still pretty much an average college student with average spending power, receiving no more than a comfortable living allowance from my uncle in his effort to keep me down-to-earth. I didn’t mind though. After all, he’d taken over my parents’ duties when my family fell apart—signing documents like my report cards and indemnity forms, providing me with pocket money, and basically taking care of my general wellbeing.

  “This has to cost thousands of dollars, and you can afford that?” I asked Sasuke in disbelief.

  Taking in my expression, he chuckled. “Maybe we can talk about money another time? And please don’t worry about it, okay?” he said, rendering me speechless.

  In that moment, I thought Sasuke had to be the coolest guy in the entire world. From the astounded look on Chaste’s face, I could tell she felt the same way. Still, in reality, he was just a boy spending his parents’ money, like every other kid on the planet, and there was no way I would take him up on the offer. “Look, I really appreciate your offer, but I insist we—”

  Before I could finish my sentence, they called first and business class passengers to begin boarding, so we dropped the talk to get ready to board with the economy class passengers.

  As we paused at the end of the plane aisle, waiting for other passengers to stow luggage, Sasuke said, “I’ll take the window seat.”

  “Eh, why?” I protested. I knew it was childish to argue over a seat, but I couldn’t stop myself. “This is my first time flying.”

  He looked at me for a second. “Okay,” he said, barely even thinking about it, though he’d just paid for all our tickets. He moved aside to let me go down the row first then turned to Chaste. “Do you mind if I sit next to Averie?”

  Chaste shook her head. “Not really.”

  Sasuke went on and took the seat beside me, folding himself awkwardly into the tiny seat. Sandwiched between me and Chaste, he tried hard to fit his long legs into the limited space while Chaste and I sat comfortably, giving him offhanded suggestions to make better use of whatever space there was.

  Excited for my first take-off, I looked out the window in anticipation. When the plane finally accelerated down the runway, my heart actually skipped a beat. The excitement, however, was replaced by shock as pain lanced thr
ough my skull, numbing both sides of my neck. The pain finally let up when the plane levelled off, and I heaved out a trembling sigh of relief.

  “Are you all right, Averie?” Chaste asked me anxiously as I turned my head to meet her and Sasuke’s concerned gazes.

  “My ears just hurt during take-off. I’m fine now,” I reassured them.

  I forced myself to stay awake, despite my exhaustion, not taking my eyes off the night sky. It was so beautiful, and since I wouldn’t get to sit through a night flight anytime soon, I didn’t want to waste it sleeping.

  Chaste seemed too excited to fall asleep as well. The reasons for our excitement were completely different, but still, I could understand her feelings. She couldn’t wait to get some answers, and I knew how hard it was to have to live with countless unknowns plaguing you.

  Sasuke, on the other hand, fell asleep immediately after he’d found a comfortable position, which seemed to be sitting upright with both legs straight. He slouched forward with his shades still on—I had no idea what he was shielding his eyes from on the dimly lit plane—and his jacket hood over his head. Up close, I could see that the training was taking its toll on him too, as signs of exhaustion clearly marked his thin, pallid face.

  Not wanting to disturb the exhausted boy, Chaste and I stayed quiet, barely talking throughout the flight.

  At some point, I must have succumbed to fatigue, despite my determination to stay awake, because the next thing I knew Sasuke was shaking my arm gently.

  “Hey. Morning,” he said, a light smile on his face. “I figured you’d want to be awake for touchdown. Look out the window. Like what you see?”

  Rubbing my bleary eyes, I gazed down on a city landscape bustling with life. “I can’t see that clearly from up here,” I murmured, stifling a yawn and not forgetting courtesy, even though I was only half awake, “but I’m sure I’ll like it."

  He laughed, keeping his volume low. “You’ll love it, I promise.”

  I was about to say something when my ears went deaf with pain, probably signalling touchdown. Like before, it cleared after a while.

  “Okay?” asked Sasuke as the seatbelt sign went off.

  I nodded, unbuckling myself and getting ready to stand.

  “Wait.” Sasuke tugged my sleeve, stopping me. “Let everyone else go first.”

  I eyed Sasuke questioningly. He was keeping his head down as though he didn’t want to be seen, while the other passengers collected their belongings from the lockers above our heads. We stayed in our seats until the last of the passengers cleared out.

  Since we only had carry-on baggage, we strolled past the collection belt without stopping. Reaching the washrooms, Sasuke handed me a scribbled sequence of letters and numbers. “This is the plate number of our ride. Get on first. I’ll be right back.” He nodded to the gents.

  “We should go to the washroom too,” Chaste said to me.

  “I’ll be some time, so wait for me in the car. And don’t worry, the ride I chartered is very safe,” Sasuke told us hurriedly before disappearing into the gents.

  “Is Sasuke having a stomach-ache?” asked Chaste, concern twisting her expression.

  Pursing my lips, I shrugged. “He should be fine. He didn’t look like he was in pain.”

  After our visit to the washroom, Chaste and I went outside to look for our ride. As we searched around, a scrawny, middle-aged man standing next to a beige six-seater Honda with tinted glass windows waved us over. Greeting us ceremoniously as we neared, he spoke a string of fluent Japanese—the only word I caught was Sasuke’s name.

  I checked his plate number, and it matched the one on Sasuke’s note, so we got into the car. We waited in the car for about ten minutes, getting a little jumpy whenever we looked at the chauffeur. Despite his seamless politeness, he had a pretty intimidating face.

  Only when Sasuke showed up from a corner around the exit of the arrival hall and slipped into the front passenger seat then did we start breathing normally. With a wide smile, he said a greeting in Japanese to the chauffeur. Mr. Chauffeur said something Japanese back, patting Sasuke on his shoulder, and they both laughed. It was easy to tell they knew each other.

  “Why didn’t you come out the main exit?” I asked Sasuke as he buckled his seatbelt.

  “Oh…” Sasuke took a long time to answer, though I had no idea what was so hard about the question. “The side exit is a shortcut.” He turned to Mr. Chauffeur and said something—again, in Japanese.

  Mr. Chauffeur smiled and nodded while the car engine growled to a start.

  “Are you all right?” I asked Sasuke as the Honda started rolling along the side lane, and then into the main road. “Did your stomach hurt just now? You took a while in the washroom.”

  “Yep,” he said, “but I’m good now.”

  Less than five minutes into the ride, Chaste leaned to the side and said, “Please wake me when we get there. Jetlag.”

  The time in Tokyo was 7.05 AM, and the sun had already risen. Sasuke gave me a brief introduction to the city as we drove, while I watched the Japanese people curiously.

  Tokyo was densely landscaped with modern, westernised architectures and city streets packed with people. Despite it being a Saturday morning, men and women in suits were going to work, and students in uniforms and schoolbags were heading to school for extra lessons or club activities. There were also all sorts of people in trendy everyday clothes just going about their lives.

  Overall, there wasn’t much of a difference between Tokyo and Singapore, except that someone with a facemask could easily be spotted every now and then. Sasuke’s explained that in Japan, a sick person would always wear a facemask—even if it was only a minor cold—because not doing so was considered very rude and inconsiderate.

  We arrived at the hotel close to two hours later. Just before the automatic doors of our Honda snapped open, Sasuke quickly put on a face mask. I wanted to ask him if he’d fallen sick, but didn’t have the chance to. When we stepped out, several door greeters welcomed and directed us inside systematically but cordially.

  While Sasuke checked in and collected the hotel key cards, Chaste and I waited in the main lobby. It only took a few minutes, then an attendant offered to take us to our rooms, but Sasuke swiftly declined, thanked him, and led us off by himself.

  “You seem familiar with the hotel,” I said as we entered an empty lift.

  “Kind of. I’ve been here a couple of times already,” he told us, pressing the button to the fourteenth floor.

  We came to the floor in a minute or two, and, after walking some distance along the hallway, he stopped before one of the rooms and flashed a keycard in front of a scanner machine under the door handle. When a green light came on, he turned the handle and held the door open for us. We stepped in as he inserted the key card into a cardholder on the wall adjacent to the door, switching on the lights and air-conditioners. It was only when the lights came on that Chaste and I realised the three of us would be sharing a room. I looked at Chaste, and she looked back at me, equally surprised.

  “How’s the room?” asked Sasuke as he dumped his bag and switched the television on.

  “There are three beds,” I noted as he kicked off his sneakers and sat down cross-legged on the bed in the middle—the one directly facing the television set.

  “Yes, there are three beds because there are three of us,” he told us calmly as he took off his cap, shades, and mask.

  When we said nothing and continued to stare at him, he sighed. “One room is about thirty thousand Yen a night—roughly four hundred Singapore dollars—so please bear with it for one night,” he said. “All right?”

  I gave in. “We’ll make do with what we have. Spending another four hundred dollars for one night is too wasteful.”

  “Precisely,” Sasuke agreed immediately then turned back to the television and changed the channel.

  I made Chaste choose her bed, and she chose the one next to the wall so I went over to the remaining be
d on the other side of Sasuke, dropping my backpack near the window.

  “It’s weird to say this in the morning but goodnight,” said Chaste, pulling the sheets over herself. Jetlag had to be hitting her hard. “I’m going to bed. I always get jetlag.”

  Sasuke turned to her. “Am I disturbing you?”

  “It’s all right. I can sleep through a thunderstorm now,” she murmured under the sheets. “Goodnight.”

  Even so, Sasuke turned the volume of the television down and dimmed the brightness of the bedside lamps. As he removed his jacket, folding it neatly before placing it on the bedside table, he asked me quietly, “Are you turning in too, Averie?”

  “Nope. I rested enough on the plane.” I opened the floral-embroidered curtain just enough to peer out the window and find a dome-shaped landmark—presumably Tokyo Dome—and a theme park right next to our hotel. “I only sleep three hours a night.”

  “You can last through the day with that little sleep?” He sounded curious.

  “Yeah,” I said with a casual smile. “I’m a freak. I’ve been living on three hours of sleep for as long as I can remember.” I paused at the memories of the previous nights. “But recently—I have no idea why—I’m barely getting two hours.”

  “Guess what?” he said, a bright glint in his eyes. “You’re not alone, because the same goes for me. In my family, only my dad sleeps eight hours a night. And these days, my need for food and sleep has shrunk. That happened right after the possession, so I’m guessing it has something to do with becoming a host.”

  Now that he mentioned it, it really seemed like it was the possession that had altered our lifestyle. I’d started eating and sleeping less since my second day at Black Gold.

  “How about your family?” he asked suddenly. “You have any siblings?”

  “I’m an only child. It’s just my dad and me. My mum left when I was eleven, and you saw how my dad is the first time we met.”

  “Oh.” Blatant regret washed over his features. Clearly, he was uncomfortable about bringing up such a sensitive issue. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  I laughed, hoping to clear the awkwardness in the room. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve gotten used to it.”

  He stared at me, pinning me with an unreadable gaze. “Don’t lie to yourself, Averie. I know you haven’t. You’re always smiling, but you’re not actually smiling.” My eyes stretched wide while the rest of me went rigid. “How are you supposed to get used to that? It isn’t possible.”

  I gaped at him. No one had ever spoken to me about this issue so frankly—too frankly, in fact. It really hurt. All this time, I’d convinced myself, and everyone else, that I was fine, that I was strong enough to handle all the crap hurled my way. But now that belief crumbled, unleashing the true emotions I’d suppressed for so long.

  The truth was that I was hurting. The truth was that I wasn’t fine. The truth was that I missed my mum—I missed her so freaking bad—and the hollow feeling in me was swallowing me up day by day.

  “You probably don’t realise it, but you always look so strained. Don’t keep everything to your—”

  “Don’t talk like you know me,” I snapped. Yes, I was hurting, but I didn’t want to have to admit that. Admitting it would only make the pain more real. “You come from a perfectly normal family, so what do you know? I don’t need sympathy from anyone.”

  “I’m not sympathising with you,” he said, his voice low and measured. “I just don’t want you burrowing into the mess your parents left behind. That’s their problem. You need to live your life. Find what you love. There’s so much you can do with life. Don’t waste it.”

  “It’s not that I don’t want to live my life! It’s more like I can’t! The only thing I can bring myself to be concerned about is finding out why my mum left without an explanation. Why Gabriel’s my father. What’s the role of the father I’ve known all my life?” I caught a sharp breath. “It’s not only their problem, because it affects me. I need to get all that figured out before I can even try to live my life!” Riled up, I’d divulged so much more than I’d intended, it startled even myself.

  Sasuke averted his eyes, studying the floor as I finished with a nervous look on his face.

  Damn...

  I pressed my mouth tightly into a thin line. Why the hell had I snapped at him? He’d meant well. The uncomfortable silence stretched between us, and for a long, stressful moment, even the air stayed still. When I could no longer take the silence, I stole a glance at Sasuke.

  He was still staring down at the floor uneasily.

  Well done. I kicked myself inwardly. Now, just what do I do?

  “I’m sorry,” said Sasuke suddenly, taking me by surprise. “You’re right. I don’t know anything about you. I shouldn’t have said so much. Sorry.”

  I snapped the curtain back into place and went to sit on my bed, careful not to meet Sasuke’s gaze. “I’m sorry, too,” I murmured, embarrassed by my outburst. “I overreacted. I know you meant well. Thanks for being concerned about me.”

  “Still friends?” he asked in a small voice, the way kids patch their friendship up after a fight.

  I let out a little laugh; Sasuke could be totally adorable at times. “Of course,” I said, and the tension between us disappeared.

  “By the way, you really should tidy up your room. It was a complete mess. Your future boyfriend would be alarmed if he saw the state it was in the other day.”

  “It wasn’t just that day. That’s it’s natural state. I keep it that way since I haven’t got a mum around to nag at me.”

  Out the corner of my eye, I saw him glancing sideways at me and, I didn’t know why, but I turned rigid again.

  “Do you like it that way?”

  My face darkened. He’d hit another weak spot because, to tell the truth, I didn’t like it...not at all.

  “Anyway, I don’t plan to ever get attached,” I said, avoiding the last question.

  “Don’t say that too loudly too soon. You might fall in love when you least expect it.”

  “Don’t have to worry about that,” I assured him. “My rationality forbids me to fall in love. Being in a relationship is too problematic and capricious. I bet nine out of ten couples fall out with each other at one point, so why bother?”

  “Well, there’s still a chance of working a relationship out—”

  “It’s too risky,” I interrupted, wondering why we’d been on this topic for so long.

  “Just because your parents—”

  I whipped around, cutting him a firm look to warn him about broaching that subject again.

  He sagged in defeat. “Okay, fine, forget it.”

  A commercial for a Japanese television programme featuring live performances of the top five music singles in the country every week—or so I guessed—came on and we watched it wordlessly. I didn’t known any Japanese pop, only Korean—I wasn’t into it, but the Korean craze was all over Singapore so I would’ve had to be really oblivious if I never noticed it.

  As the hosts introduced the first artist on the list for the upcoming episode, Sasuke sat up straighter. He was totally engrossed in the commercial, so I looked closer at the boy band on the screen, trying to get a hint of what was interesting him.

  There were four members in this Japanese band and, unlike most Korean boy groups I’d seen, none of them looked like a male model—they did all have lovable faces though. A representative from the band spoke while the rest of them put on their best smiles for the camera, and, after a short speech, a music video played.

  The video first highlighted the boys individually—clad in only Bermuda shorts and singing, dancing, and enjoying themselves in an awesome-looking water park in Japan. It was an exuberant tune, and, to someone like me who didn’t really notice music, I was surprised to discover I was enjoying the song. Seconds into the clip, the setting changed to a quaint, Hawaiian-styled holiday resort, and the band—still all smiles and laughter—was playing in a heavy downpour. A
fter a moment, I realised there was another boy...two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer and a person on the keyboard.

  When they cut to a close-up of the drummer, my mouth dropped open. He totally resembled someone I knew—someone I’d been spending a lot of time with recently.

  I turned to Sasuke and gawked. Were my eyes playing tricks on me?

  “Don’t look at me like that,” he said in amusement, keeping his eyes on the television. “I’m the drummer in a band called FINE GUYS.”

  “FINE GUYS…” I said, and suddenly, what he’d said before started to make sense. The girls who’d cried for him were his fangirls. Well, of course that was the case; someone as nice as Sasuke wouldn’t make girls cry. He was a pop star, and that made everything click into place. It explained why he’d been obsessed with shielding his face. And the toilet trip...that was an excuse to avoid Narita’s main entrance, which was flooded with Japanese people—people who would recognise him. There was also the chartered car with the privacy windows.

  “I was supposed to be promoting our newest single, but the possession ruined everything when I had to take a break just one week before the release.” No wonder he always seemed so eager to return to Tokyo.

  The clip was now showing the five FINE GUYS side by side in a line. Sasuke stood out as he was easily the tallest in the band. The boy in the middle sang solo while the rest of them did a dance routine, but then the clip was cut off as the commercial introduced the second band on the list.

  “Since you aren’t sleeping, want to go somewhere fun with me?” asked Sasuke suddenly. “It’s quite far away, but that doesn’t really matter anymore, does it? And Chaste should be safe in the hotel since Lucifer can’t have seen this exact room, right?”

  I was a little apprehensive about leaving Chaste alone, but something goaded me into agreeing with Sasuke’s suggestion, so I nodded. “Okay, but where are we going?”

  “You’ll see,” he said, grinning secretively as he stood up.

  I followed suit. “Wait,” I said, walking over to Chaste’s bed. “We should leave a note in case she wakes up.”

  Sasuke agreed. “Tell her not to leave the room before we get back.”

  After we’d placed a note on the bedside table next to Chaste, we went to hide ourselves in the bathroom before zapping off. Sasuke’s cellphone beeped as he was sliding the door closed, so he pulled it out of his jeans pocket. His face fell as he read the message on his black iPhone 5.

  “Is anything the matter?” I asked.

  “It’s just my bandmates.” He smiled, but I could see sadness in his eyes. “They apologised for having to go on a big show without me.”

  “Oh...” I said, my voice thick and throaty. “It’s a real pity.” I knew I shouldn’t react like that and possibly make Sasuke feel worse, but there was nothing I could do about it—I kind of sucked at concealing emotions.

  “Don’t make that face.” He laughed. “I’m fine. Really.” He offered me a candid grin then returned to type his reply. “Hold on for a minute. I have to tell them there’s nothing to feel bad about—wait, I should just tell them to do the best performance ever in compensation.” The sad smile was still on his face as he typed. “It’s probably more convincing that way.”

  Watching him, I found an awestruck smile taking shape on my face. He was always so kind, so mindful of the feelings of others—even when he was feeling down. Incredibly thoughtful people like him and Asa...I couldn’t help but want to keep them near. Look after them.

  A minute later, we landed under the shade of a large, coniferous tree in a forest near a secluded clearing.

  “Where are we?” I asked Sasuke, panicking a little. Could it be that he’d messed up, zapping us to some unknown location? But that shouldn’t be the case; Sir Albion had told us that we could only go to places we could clearly visualise.

  Sasuke smiled then urged me forward. After a short walk across the clearing, a long stone trail in what seemed like a countryside area opened ahead. Spaced roughly two arm-lengths apart, trees with blossoms in a divine shade of pink lined both sides of the trail. I paused and gaped. These had to be the famous cherry blossoms. All around me was the mild, sweet scent of pollen...so pleasant...so healing...

  With the abundance of picturesque pinkness hanging above me, I couldn’t help but bow in awe to Mother Nature. The vast beauty of the land before me was more than just breathtaking.

  In complete serenity, we strolled along the trail for a couple more minutes before a few fenced patches of meadow and a large ranch with long rows of stables came into view. This place looked like a horse-riding clubhouse, which seemed likely as Sasuke had told me once that he really enjoyed sports, especially riding.

  As we got closer, my assumption was confirmed when I read the sign—Okamoto Riding Club Japan. I stuck close to Sasuke as we approached the service counter. We didn’t have to queue since there were hardly any people in the reception area.

  The elder lady in a blue jacket manning the counter greeted us earnestly in a stream of Japanese then had an animated conversation with Sasuke. Judging by the way they were talking, it seemed she knew him. At one point, Sasuke reached for his wallet, fished out a membership card, and handed it over the counter.

  When the admin job was done and his card returned, Sasuke thanked the counter lady then turned to me. “I’ll show you what I do nearly every fortnight.”

  He led the way, and before long, we came to the indoor stables. Inside, he picked up his pace and loped toward one particular stall that housed a chestnut brown mare with white socks, a white spot on its head, and a dark mane.

  “Susumi,” he called affectionately, patting the beautiful mare’s head. “Averie, come meet my lady, Susumi. She’s a sweetheart, isn’t she?”

  “Yeah, she is,” I said admiringly.

  “Want to try riding her?” he asked as he led Susumi out of her stable. “She’s really lovely to ride on.”

  I couldn’t believe I was about to ride a horse. I’d seen people riding on television, but I’d never imagined myself on horseback. “Can I?”

  “Of course, but you’ll have to put on some riding gear first.” He flashed a smile at me then moved his gaze to something behind me and smiled again. “Hey,” he said in a genial voice, waving a hand enthusiastically as though greeting a friend.

  I looked over my shoulder as a twenty-plus man in the same blue uniform as the lady at the counter stepped up behind me, surprising me. How had someone come snuck up on me like that? I hadn’t heard a sound. The man passed us each a set of helmet and boots, and Sasuke went on to chat with him until the man took his leave—very politely. They bowed at ninety degrees to each other and exchanged arigatos. Thankyous.

  After I’d put on my helmet and boots, Sasuke lowered the stirrup on the left side and showed me the right way to mount a horse. When I finally managed to swing myself up, Sasuke gripped the lead rope tightly then adjusted the left stirrup back to its original position.

  “Ready?” he asked with a gleaming smile.

  “Yes,” I said excitedly, and Sasuke led Susumi out of the stable and into an indoor field.

  “To make a horse move, give it a light squeeze with your calves. To make it stop, sit back in the saddle and pull backward on the reins.” He explained more about horse riding as he took me around the field—with Susumi plodding on slowly. “It may sound simple, but it takes lots of practice to control and ride a horse well.”

  “Do you ride well?” I asked, though the answer was kind of obvious.

  “I’d like to think I do. I’ve been doing it for a couple of years already so if I still suck, I must be really untalented.”

  “No,” I found myself saying so sharply, Sasuke glanced up. “You’re so much more talented than me, it’s scary. There are so many things you enjoy and look forward to. You’re living your life to the fullest. It’s impressive.”

  And I was still bothered by nothing but the mess my parents left. I had absolutely no cl
ue what I wanted for myself in life, and it was so pathetic. What was I living for?

  I really didn’t know.

  “I’m sure you’ll be doing the same one day,” he said to me kindly. “Should we head back?”

  I nodded, feeling a little guilty that I’d let Chaste slip my mind entirely, and Sasuke helped me dismount safely. After walking Susumi back to her stall, we returned our helmets and boots to one of the staff before slipping back into the secluded forest.

  “If she asks,” said Sasuke before we moved on, “the story is that we went downstairs to grab a bite.”

  I nodded, and he zapped us behind a large, dense shrub against the wall of an isolated place. I was about to ask where we were when I looked up and saw our hotel.

  When we got to the door of our room, Sasuke used the key card then slowly eased the door open.

  Phew.

  The coast was clear so we hurried inside quietly. Chaste was still asleep, and I sighed with relief. I hated to lie to a friend, but I couldn’t tell the truth either. Chaste knew nothing about spiritual ability or teleportation, or any of the other insane things we’d been told about Heaven, archangels, Lucifer, and nephilims. And, although what we’d been doing was nothing to be ashamed of, I still didn’t want to mention it to anyone. People might get the wrong idea about Sasuke and me…

  I frowned. Why was I worrying about all this anyway? Chaste wasn’t even awake to begin with.