Slim: Book 6

When It Rains

Since Naru continued to be reluctant to let go of me, I compromised with a piggy back ride. A thin, soaked yukata was not enough in autumn, especially since the clouds that had been threatening all day with rain blocked the sun. By the time we made it back to the inn a chilly wind had picked up, and I thought we'd never be warm again. The shivering had been so bad I had bitten my tongue several times, but at least I was still shivering, said Naru. Apparently hypothermia didn't get seriously dangerous until you stopped.

The fire had been put out at the inn. The weary firefighters insisted that we stay until they found out what had happened with the ambulance, but Naru didn't protest. Rather, he commanded that they move so we could get to our car. We were going home and nothing would stop him.

It was interesting for me to watch over Naru's shoulder as he glared down a man a foot taller and two feet wider aside from the passenger side door. The firefighter even opened it for him so he could settle me in like I had lost the use of my legs. With how hard I shook, I wouldn't be surprised if I had. A hotel employee ran out in time for Naru to accept one of their fluffy comforters and two dry yukatas.

"You got our contact information if you need to accuse us of crashing your ambulance," said Naru dryly as he stuffed the comforter around me.

"Of course not, sir, but your health-your wife's burns-"

Naru dropped into his seat and shut the door in his face. I watched with a frown as Naru had to try three times to get his shaking hands to put in the keys.

"M-m-mayb-be you s-s-shouldn't d-d-rive." Damn shivers! At this point I would have dived head first into the nearest hot spring if I wasn't more concerned about my husband's emotional wellbeing.

But he got the key in and the car backed out without crashing into the fire engine or anything else for that matter. As he got started down the road, he tried to turn the heater knobs higher, even though he had turned them on full blast before the car had even started. I thought I could hear his quick, erratic breathing above the chattering of my teeth. His lips had turned purpleish and his blue eyes had gone bright. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel.

"Naru?" I took a deep breath to calm my chattering. "Oliver...everything is going to be okay."

"Everything's not okay," he said. Sure, he didn't stutter when he was shivering like mad. Was there anything he couldn't do? Wait, weren't his teeth chattering? If they weren't, why was he shaking? I reached out to touch his arm and felt nothing but ice.

"You're worse than me!" I cried. "You could at least have changed out of that wet yukata before we left-"

"I have to get you home," he said, voice hard, but thin as glass.

"Okay, but doesn't hypothermia affect how you think and your reflexes? It's not safe to drive when you're this cold." When he didn't respond, I tried a different approach. "I can cuddle with you naked."

"Mai, this isn't the time."

I flinched at the danger in his voice. "Okay, okay. But if you don't pull over and dress into something dry right now, I'm going to do something drastic that you won't like."

He let out an angry puff of air. "Can you at least wait until we're away from here?"

"And when will we be far away enough for you, huh?"

"The freeway."

"Where on the freeway?"

"MAI!"

I squawked in surprise and bit my tongue again. Whimpering in pain, I ducked down, startled by his sudden roar. Tears sprung to my eyes before I could register why they were even there. I didn't dare to say anything, even as we passed the dark plume that marked where the ambulance lay. Firefighters and other volunteers had already congregated about it like buzzards.