Unleash the Chuunibyou!

Chapter 8: Driving Lessons

"Okay, time for a break." Fumiko spoke to herself as she slowed Buru down until it eventually stopped on a wide part of the road next to a mountain stream that launched from above them with enough momentum that it soared over the road in a waterfall. And seeing as they had no drinking water and she really didn't want to have to lean over the cliff in order to get any from the stream, she quickly created a tall wooden cup in her hand before she filled it with water and drank it. And seeing as the two mercenaries in the back were awake as well, she refilled it before handing it to them.

"Thanks." The man thanked her, draining half of the cup's contents before attempting to hand it to Hani.

"It's alright to drain it. With my power, creating more water is a simple matter." Fumiko explained, and he slowly nodded in confirmation before he drained the rest of the glass and handed it back to her so that she could refill it. "So how did the hammocks work? Were they better than beds seeing as they kept you even despite all of the slopes and rises that we crossed?"

"They worked very well, thank you." Hani replied before she now took the cup and drained it. "This is the second time that you've saved us..."

"The strings of fate are twisted and complex." Fumiko replied. "It could have been coincidence or it could have been destined for us to meet, but I'll not take the chance of ruining the future simply because I have better things to do than help those in need."

"I- I see..." Hani laughed nervously. "You know, I don't think I'll ever get used to the way you speak, or the way that you transition from speaking normally either."

"When you have seen the abyss like I have, you will find yourself understanding everything, yet nothing at all." Fumiko smirked in reply.

"Right..." Hani slumped her shoulders as she replied in a tone that suggested that she'd given up on something.

"What is the 'abyss'?" The man asked.

"It's... Well, even I am not sure what it is exactly." Fumiko started to explain as she grew serious. "All I can say is that it is a place of absolute darkness and pain with a cold so fierce that it can freeze your body solid within mere moments of being exposed to it."

"That doesn't sound good at all..." Hani replied in apparent concern.

"I never said that it was, but I have fallen into such a place and returned stronger because of it." Fumiko regained her smirk now as she continued. "The abyss has offered me secrets that no one else in this world may know, and I have been become a Master of Magic because of it."

"R-really?" The man sounded amazed before Hani nudged him with her elbow.

"Don't encourage her." Hani scolded the man while whispering, making Fumiko puff out her cheeks and pout as she could still hear every word.

"What? It sounds like it's a real place." The man defended himself in an equally loud whisper.

"Have you ever heard of it? Because I sure haven't, and you'd think that it would be known by now, wouldn't you?" Hani asked. "Don't worry. I've seen a case of this before and I know what to do."

"You know, you're being awfully rude to the person you're leeching off of right now!" Fumiko complained.

"Sorry about that." Hani started laughing before she was interrupted and Fumiko's face turned red as her stomach grumbled for the first time since yesterday. Though while the others had been somewhat quiet, this one had almost sounded like a roar.

"You've made water for us but haven't even made food for yourself yet..." The man almost seemed embarrassed. "Please look after yourself first."

"I- I only eat every couple of days anyway, so I'm completely fine!" Fumiko attempted to defend herself, though at another grumbe, she turned away in embarrassment  before holding her hand out in front of her and creating a muffin which she hoped would quell her hunger. Though she guessed that it would have to seeing as she hadn't eaten anything for at least two days and she'd been so busy that she hadn't even considered creating her own food... not that she would ever tell anyone else that. However, as soon as she took a bite, she discovered that there was perhaps a reason for her initial absentmindedness.

"Fumiko? Are you alright?" Hani asked in concern as she froze the instant that she bit into the muffin. Not only because it tasted like dirt, but because it had the texture of extremely soft rubber.

"Heh... heh heh... Sorry, but it appears that the one thing my power cannot create is edible food." Fumiko couldn't help but to laugh at her failure as she turned around and gave them both a pathetic smile.

"Don't worry about it. I'll treat you to a meal as soon as we get to Algus." Hani attempted to reassure her.

"Yeah, me too." The man echoed before his camrade pushed him back down into the hammock.

"You just stay down and rest." Hani ordered while forcing him back before turning back. "But still, Fumiko, I'm really impressed by this artefact. I had no idea that it could run for so long without taking a break!"

"It doesn't need to take a break, its driver does." Fumiko corrected the woman. "If you want to keep going, then I can teach you how to drive it so that we can get to the city faster."

"If that's the case, then leave it to me! I'm the best coachman among the Beastfolk!" Hani exclaimed confidently. "But can you really teach me how to drive this thing?"

"Sure I can, why do you think it has two seats up front? One for me and one for normal-sized people." Fumiko explained as she led Hani up to the front where the woman sat down and looked unsure of herself as she looked between the window and the joysticks on her chair. "It's really easy seeing as all you have to do is think of these as levers that control each side of the vehicle. The right lever controls the tracks on the right side and the left lever controls the tracks on the left side."

"What are tracks?" Hami questioned.

"They're the things that this vehicle uses in place of wheels to move." Fumiko answered. "Just press both levers forward at the same time to move forward, but do it gently as this thing can be really fast and the controls are kind of sensitive."

"How do I turn if I'm moving both forward at the same time?" She asked.

"Move one lever farther than the other so that one side's wheels will be faster." Fumiko shrugged.

"But wont it still be going forward if I do that, just at an increased pace?" Hani asked.

"Not unless you press both levers forward at the same time." Fumiko shrugged. "Listen, let's say that you had a wagon, alright? If you only move the wheels on the right side while the wheels on the left are stuck and don't move at all, what will happen?"

"Hmm..." Hani actually seemed to be lost in thought, though after several minutes with still no answer, Fumiko facepalmed.

"Seeing as only the right side is moving, the wagon would turn left but the entire thing could just turn in circles because it couldn't move straight. And the same thing could happen if the wheels on the left side are only moving at half the speed as the right seeing as the wheels on the right are going to cover more ground than those on the left."

"But if both sides are moving, wouldn't the wagon go straight?" Hami asked, and Fumiko gave her a blank look before sighing inwardly as she realized that she didn't have the energy to act as a teacher at the moment. So, rather than continue the lecture, Fumiko instead told the woman to hold the levers and practice with moving Buru while they were still in a fairly open area. And after waiting nearly thirty minutes, the woman finally figured out that moving the right joystick forward turns the entire vehicle to the left.  Though after she finally figured it out, she made progress rather quickly before she became confident enough to move down the road. And as soon as that happened, Fumiko finally felt exhausted enough that she went to the back and took over the hammock that the woman had slept in, finding bliss in the gentel swinging motions of it before she eventually fell asleep.