Crossover Fan Fiction ❯ Enjoy The Silence ❯ Enjoy The Silence: 5 ( Chapter 5 )

The following week I did more studying, dealt with negotiations over more books I might write in the future, and more interviews about the anime and comments on the conclusion, which I carefully avoided as if I were keeping it secret out of respect for the fans.

I asked for a camping recommendation and Rin suggested a site at a Mystery lake near Fuji. It was surrounded by fall leaves, being lower elevation. One of her friends was listening and noted the site before I wandered off to make my reservation. Apparently this is a Mystery Lake because there’s a ghost story about the place.

I opted to tell Nadesico at the Outdoor Activities closet/club. It sounded like Rin was planning to camp with them and test out her new folding metal grille, which would burn coal or briquettes. Considering how obsessed Nadesico was with food this is probably going to be hilarious.

The weekend finally arrived and I again took a train to the road nearest the campground and biked in the rest of the way with my camping stuff. A stiff climb up a quiet road into a damp, dripping forest. This was probably the last weekend before those leaves fell and they were beautiful, yellow, orange, and red between the green pines and cedars. I took many pictures on the way. The site had a bed and breakfast in the lodge, and also served as a Café, with actual good coffee. I settled down with a cup of the good stuff and looked at the lake, recovering my strength.

“Oh, you’re here?” said the soft voice of Sakura. “Mind if I join you?” I gestured assent. She settled into a chair opposite me. I was wearing my glasses today because three days with contacts while camping is no fun. She was also wearing glasses.

“I almost didn’t recognize you,” Sakura said.

“That can be a relief. My book published so I’m doing lots of interviews. I like the quiet. This place is really peaceful.” Naturally this was when Nadesico and her friends jabbered loudly, the sound echoing across the lake. Sakura winced.

“If you shout back you’ll only encourage her and disturb others,” I cautioned. “This is good coffee.” I sipped mine again, enjoying the layers of flavor, the bitterness and shifting sweet from fresh roasted beans. She grimaced at me but did so and the stress smoothed over again. I guess I’m lucky I don’t have any siblings?

“So are you camping here too?” she asked.

“Yes. I wanted coffee first. I biked up here. Pretty tired, but it was a lovely ride.”

“Where’s your tent?” she asked, then realized how that sounded but left it as is. I smiled.

“I haven’t set up yet. I’ll walk you over there and you can snoop on your sister if you like. Are you staying here?” I asked, pointing to the lodge.

“Yes. I don’t like her to get too far from supervision. She’s a brat and gets as fat as a pig if I don’t make her exercise,” Sakura commented mournfully.  

“Rin mentioned Nadesico finished the better part of 50 gyoza dumplings in their hot pot at the Fumoto campground.”

“She went to Eastwood Campground a couple weeks ago,” Sakura mentioned.  

“I was there too. She didn’t even notice me. Want to see the pictures?” I offered, holding up my phone. She nodded. I found them in the gallery and passed my phone to her. She went through them, chuckling.

“How did she miss you?” she asked, then chuckled at the photos of the fire mess.

“It’s one of my hundred and eight skills,” I said.

“What like Hachiman?” she laughed. I stilled. Then smiled uneasily.

“Yeah, like him. She had friends distracting her. They were having a good time so I didn’t want to interrupt,” I said.  

“You should have probably just introduced yourself,” Sakura suggested, sipping from her cup of coffee, now the temperature was right. Her eyes brightened, pleased. “This IS good coffee.”  

“I find it amusing how my ski suit makes me invisible.”

Flock of Seagulls emerged from my phone.

Sakura passed my phone back to me. It was Rui. I sighed and answered it.

“Hello sister,” I answered. Sakura looked slightly less annoyed.

“Where are you?” Rui demanded.

“I’m camping, having a cup of coffee beside a beautiful mountain lake and having conversation with a lovely woman. Thank you for asking. How are you?” I replied. Sakura preened slightly at the compliment and sipped her coffee.

“I’m standing at the door of your apartment. I need your help,” Rui insisted. That was both awkward and presumptuous.

“If you leave in the next twenty minutes you’ll be able to get back to Chiba in only three hours. If you miss that train then you won’t be home until midnight. How’s Dad? Are he and your Mom doing well?” I asked.

“They’re fine, but Hina is worrying Mom and me too, I guess. She’s sneaking around with that guy,” Rui complained.  

“I see. Well, that’s her romantic choice isn’t it?” I queried. She agreed this was so. Grudgingly.

“How are your studies going? I’ve been cramming for college. And I finished my novel and its selling well. Thanks for asking.”

“Nobody cares about your novel, Natsuo,” she insisted.

“Au contraire, sister. It sold four million copies in the first week.”

“And what’s that get you, 10 yen each?” Rui mocked.

“Well, that’s Net. There’s my agent and taxes and it works out a lot less. But its money.”

“My sister makes more than that as a teacher,” Rui informed me coldly.

“You should go if you want to make that train. I won’t be back tonight.” I heard her shriek in anger over the phone and held it away from my ear. There were dire threats and warnings about retaliation and I heard the landlady yelling at the crazy girl to get lost.

“I swear I will get you for this, Natsuo,” Rui huffed like she was running away.

“Sister, sister! We’re practically strangers! Have a safe trip home.” I hung up.

Sakura looked at me and carefully said nothing, sipping her coffee in the late afternoon. She was being very polite so I opted to explain without causing offense.

“Step sister. She’s part of the reason I moved all the way to Minobu. Very moody. Obsessive. And I like the quiet.”

“That explains the song.” And then she sang a bit of the chorus from I Ran (So far away).

“So what are you studying in college?” I asked her. I had finished my coffee so set the mug down.

“Geology. I want a degree in Seismology eventually,” she said. She put down her own empty cup.

“I don’t know much about that, though the Tohoku quake and tsunami were terrifying.”

“They killed 18,000 people,” she agreed.

“Want to see my campsite and check on your sister?” I offered. She agreed so I took our cups to the kitchen window for cleaning. We descended the damp balcony steps and I got my bicycle balanced and moving, Sakura walking beside me down a trail through the grass and brush around the side of the lake. There were sites every so often, with a metal post to hold the permit paper. I noted the numbers present and continued, going past the site with Nadesico and her friends from the Outdoors club. They were playing around with fire, along with Rin, who was trying to get a coal lit.

“Hmm. I think I’ll let them be for now,” offered Sakura with a gentle smile. She followed me to the site with the number from my ticket, an open spot between two tall trees on the far side of the outhouse. We were a hundred meters past the nearest tent, a couple women with a dozen bottles of booze, the thinner girl looking exasperated at the drunk sibling with thick glasses.

“I guess there’s all kinds of campers,” I muttered. I put up the tent, which was the work of maybe ten minutes, and setup my chair and cleared space for the fire.

“So, four million copies. That’s a best seller then?” Sakura inquired finally. I looked at her and considered.

“Promise you won’t make fun of me?” I asked.

“No promises. But I’ll listen,” she countered.

“I wrote a series of light novels. They’ve done well. There’s an anime,” I explained.

“Really. Aren’t you still in high school?”

“I won the best debut novel prize with the first one. I was in middle school at the time. Stuff happened in my life so I got bitter and took it out in a novel. I submitted it because I wanted the attention and... well, I won. It wasn’t much money, but it was better than part time jobs so I kept writing, and published more of them, and the anime got made and there was a LOT of attention because my character was so mean.”

“Wait. Wait. What is the title of your novel?” she asked.

I told her.

“You’re serious? This isn’t just a pickup line?” she insisted, getting in my face. She smelled nice. I was noticing just how attractive she is, as a woman.

“Even you have heard of Hachiman.”

“I loved those essays on how cruel people are, and how fake.”

“Everybody loves those essays. I spent weeks writing them and polishing them back then.”

“So do you really hate nice girls?” she asked.

“That’s my character. I hate cold girls more. I like older women,” I blurted out, then blushed. She grinned like Haruno, if Haruno actually existed outside my imagination or the anime, at least.

“Really. Do you now?” teased Sakura. She leaned in. I kissed her. I just couldn’t hold back anymore. She kissed me back.

We got some use out of the tent after that, and then went to her room after we rested, to wash off. I ended up sleeping in her bed that night rather than the tent, and probably missed some hilarious drama involving alcohol poisoning and ghost stories, but Sakura is everything I want in a girlfriend.