Liebestraum (Kurama X OC)

Chapter 08: Harmony (Or, the sounding of two complimenting notes)

The next morning, Asuka stood with the other girls as they looked back over their hotel room. In Asuka's hands was her money suitcase and her new bags of clothes. Everyone felt somber. Leaving the tournament meant having to accept Genkai's death and that was... an unwelcomed reality. Asuka tightened her hands on her bags as she looked at the sun beams shooting through the window.

"Well," Botan said with a fake smile, "Should we go?"

Shizuru sighed. "Yeah, we should. I'm sure the boys are already waiting for us at the boat dock."

The girls filed out of the hotel room and shut the door behind them. There was a quiet stillness over the group as they waited for the elevator, and it continued once they were inside.

Asuka was grateful for the silence. Now that the tournament was over, it was time to turn her mind toward more pressing matters. Namely, how would she live in Japan without documentation? The boat carrying them back to Tokyo wasn't classified as having left Japanese waters, so no papers were needed to enter the country, at least.

But It'll be tough otherwise. You need papers for bank accounts, rental agreements...

Yukina didn't have papers, but she lived with Genkai.

I suppose I could go live with Yukina, but I'd rather not be so far away from the city. I'm sure it's technically safer, but I won't find any answers living in the middle of nowhere.

The elevator dinged, and everyone filed off.

"I'll go and check us out," Shizuru said.

The other girls waited by the hotel lobby door. Most of the other attendees had already left the island. The yokai back to their place in the Makai, and most of the humans took yesterday's boat back to Japan. The boys were, understandably, feeling tired and injured from their fights, and they decided it was best to leave the next morning.

"I hope we never come back here," Keiko said breaking the silence.

Botan folded her arms and leaned against the hotel wall. She closed her eyes. "Never."

The best person to talk about how to get around my issue with not having any papers is Kurama. I'm sure he'll be able to think of a solution that doesn't involve being a burden to anyone else and living in the city.

Though, Asuska thought while glancing at Yukina, We'll need to do something for her too. Nobody wants to live alone and isolated. If something can't be done for both us, I'll go live with her. I'm not going to leave her alone. I wouldn't be able to call myself her friend if I did.

"All taken care of?" Botan asked Shizuru who was walking toward the group.

"Actually," Shizuru said, "We have to thank..."

Asuka widened her eyes and shook her head as discretely as she could. She already paid for the hotel and subsequent dining bills left on the account as a way of saying thank you to the girls for their kindness, but she didn't want them to make a fuss over it.

"...what?" Keiko asked.

Shizuru smiled. "It seems like our bill was taken care of. Must have been because the boys won yesterday. I'll give you guys the money you gave me for your share."

She pulled out the bills and divided them back up among the girls. Once everyone had their things put away, they made their way down to the harbor and boat launch. It was a quiet morning, and there was a gentle breeze coming off the ocean.

"I think I see the boat," Yukina said pointing to the sea.

Asuka put a hand over her eyes to shade them from sun and sure enough, a large ship was just coming into view.