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chapter twenty four
feels so nice
We set out on the motorcycles Thursday morning, an extra day and a half added to our trip purely because Tetsu wanted to take the scenic route. Yuki's old Harley started up like a charm, running almost as if I was just driving it off the lot rather than rescuing it from a shipping container that hadn't been opened in god knows how many years. We attempted to pack light, which was no easy task for either of us, trying to stow away extra goodies when the other wasn't looking.
IT felt great to be going on a motorcycle trip again, the wind rushing through my hair as Ttsu and I raced each other on the S.W.O.R.D backroads. I hadn't had this much fun in years.
Everything about the trip was invigorating: the adrenaline, the open road, the little jolt in my heart at Tetsu's little smile as he showed me little landmarks or dive bars that he Dan and Chiharu had stopped at the first time around.
I never wanted it to end.
But of course, it had to, when Saturday morning, after two nights of shitty motels, we finally rolled into the hot springs town. Compared to Sannoh, it was like a whole other world with strings of lanterns suspended over the streets, cheerful vendors all to eager to talk about their lives with strangers, even just right down to the gorgeous scenery, with Mount Fuji in the background.
It was beautiful.
The resort itself was an imposing, glorious traditional building, right down the the sloped roof and the stone statues lining the walkway. After walking up an infinite number of staircases from the town square, I was floored by how beautiful the place was
"Tetsu, this is incredible." I breathed out
Tetz laughed. "Does this make up for last nights motel?"
The night before, we had slept on a glorified couch and listened to the couple next door have a fight so loud and so profane about the wife's cheating that we were surprised when nobody called the cops.
"Definitely."
When we go to the lobby, I passed Tetsu my tote bag while I looked in my backpack for our reservations. At the desk, a couple a few years younger than us were doing the same thing. A young woman with silky dark hair and an atrocious Hawaiian shirt was rummaging through a tote bag with Edvard Munch's Scream painting on the side. She was pulling out a stack of paperback novels, which she was handing to a shorter guy in a blue bomber jacket, who was looking at her with a strange expression.
"Babe, we're here for a weekend. I really don't think you needed to bring this many books."
"Wait a second." Tetsu said quietly, staring at the couple "I know them somehow."
Finished at the front desk, the girl turned around and took her books back from the man, tucking them into her tote bag with a smile. She was somewhat softspoken, and I couldn't always hear what she was saying. When her boyfriend turned around, his eyes widened like a deer in headlights.
