Tabi ni Deyou:Journey

(~0.1% translated)

"...this sucks," she said, sitting on the passenger seat, and looked up through the front glass at the clouds that covered the entire sky like a blanket made of old, dirty wool.

"Yeah... looks like the sun has left you in the lurch at last," he smiled bitterly and squeezed his drenched socks after opening the door.

The persistent rain outside of the car showed no sign of ending, whereas the clothes they had taken off showed no sign of drying.

A few days had passed since leaving boss' warehouse. The two had kept following the deserted road, aiming for the neighboring town as originally planned. Though they had detoured a little because of mistaking the way, they managed—with more or less effort—to reduce their delay to one day.

However, at dusk of this day, they had fallen victim to an assault of rain.

Before long it had virtually been raining in torrents, leaving them no choice but to become like drowned rats.

Of course they were not mindless. They always carried their rain gears with them, and they had a blue sheet to use as a tentative tent — they hadn't traveled for three months without happening upon any rain.

That said, those items had come to no use this time.

It was not reasonable to ride Cubby while holding out a plastic umbrella, and their cheap convenience store rain coats had stood no chance against that rain. On top of that, the strong wind kept them from setting up a tent.

The two had not had any choice but to put their rain coats on anyway and search for a shelter while praying to all gods that came to mind.

If it was because their prayer had reached the gods or because some devil had had mercy with them remains a mystery, but after a few hours' ride when rain water had seeped through every corner of their cold bodies from the hair-ends to the back of their pants, the boy had found a deserted station wagon by the street.

Thanks to the fact that the backseats could be folded down, they made two sections by hanging up a vinyl sheet in the center and decided to put on a change of clothes each. It wasn't their first night in a car, so that procedure wasn't new to them anymore. Fortunately, the wagon seemed to be sealed air-tight: there were no signs of any leaks or mold.

They took off one piece of clothing after the other, opened the door slightly and pressed the wetness out of them as much as possible before going on to the next one. Their clothes weren't going to get dry by just that, but if they had let them be, they would have gotten moldy. By the time they had taken off all their clothes, changed into fresh underwear and wrapped themselves in some blankets, they felt completely drained.

"Mh, what's the time?"

"Err... about ten. Ages after the time we should have had dinner!"

"Aah... so that's why I'm starving...," she said while rubbing her belly.

The boy was absolutely of the same mind.

"I was going to make us some tea, but do you want to eat something light to it?"

"Sure. As a substitute for dinner."

The boy opened their luggage and took out a portable stove and a tiny kettle. Since he wasn't too keen on being short of oxygen, he left the door ajar. The incoming rain was bearable if it was just for a short while.

He put a wooden board, which he had found in the trunk, on the seat in the middle and started to boil water there. With the rushing of rain adding to the already silent mood, there finally ceased to be any conversation between them. Until the water started to boil, the inside of the car was occupied only by the sound of raindrops.

As soon as the water boiled, the boy immediately put out the stove and prevented the warm air from leaking out by closing the door. He then poured water into their mugs and dropped a tea bag into each one.

The silence that returned was shortly after broken by the girl sneezing.

"Are you cold?"

"Nah, I'm fine. But aren't you? The rain should have hit you harder than me, after all," she inquired with a lopsided smile.

The boy responded with a laugh, "You need not worry, milady! I don't catch a cold so easily, for I am a member of the menfolk! But you are a lady, so please make yourself comfortable and take good care."

Queer as it was, the girl's brown blanket she had wrapped around herself suddenly looked like an elegant robe when he used such a style of speaking.

"Milady, your tea."

He held out her blue mug toward her seat.

"Mh, you have done good work. I am satisfied."

She accepted her mug and looked down at the brown liquid the mug was brimful with. A strong fragrance rose together with hot steam like a living being from from the black tea, despite it being of a cheap type, and tickled the girl's nose. Way too strong! Well, but he made it caring about me, so I'll be grateful.

The boy handed her some rock-hard sugar cubes, which she dropped into her mug and stirred. A slightly bitter yet fragrant aroma warmed her up from the inside when she took a gulp.

"...lovely warm..."

"Well, it's fresh from the kettle!"

"...awfully bitter..."

"I'm sorry..."

They shared a laugh together.

After ending their simple dinner consisting of durable biscuits and black tea, they cleared some tasks such as putting their luggage in order and checking their provisions, and then went to sleep early.

In the end, they woke up when the clock showed 7am—still raining outside. While he had the impression that the rain had weakened a little, the cloud were still as thick as before and did not let a sunbeam through.

He twisted his body and tried to stretch himself on the narrow passenger seat. He had slept longer than expected, making him realize that he had apparently been quite exhausted. He was tied up in knots, so to speak, and every time he bent himself like a resisting fish on a bait, a click resounded from some part of his body.

Flabbergasted by his strange movements—or perhaps just waking up—the blanket dumpling on the back seat, aka the girl, started rustling.

Her head came poking out of the dumpling, took a look at the situation outside and sunk into the blanket again. With a depressed sigh, the dumpling eventually sat up.

"Morning..."

"Mh, good morning."

Considering her usual difficulties in waking up, she had gotten up rather nicely, which was probably to be attributed to the sound sleep she had had. They had recovered from most of the exhaustion from the half day's ride.

Now that the desire for sleep had been fulfilled, however, the entrance of the next desire was a matter of course. The boy's stomach gave voice to its displeasure by rumbling aloud.

"I guess I'll have breakfast now—do you want to have something, too?"

"...Nah, thanks."

The boy was thunderstruck.

It was the very first time during their three months' long journey that it wasn't her who complained of an empty stomach.

"Are you feeling unwell?"

"Hey now... do you think I'm a glutton or something?"

"Yeah."

Preparing for a punch in the next moment, he kept his head down.

However, there was no payback. Something was wrong, no doubt.

"Let me take your temperature."

"No, really, I'm fine..."

"No. Your objection is rejected."

Her color was clearly not normal on looking more carefully. Her hale, tanned skin had turned a little pale.

The boy slipped through between the passenger and driver seat, still rolled up in his blanket, and crouched down by the girl. In his right hand he was holding a thermometer from their luggage.

"Come on, you're not well, are you? No need shamming in front of me, so please take your temperature at least."

"...Okay."

Finally giving in, she obediently accepted the thermometer and stuck it in her armpit after some struggling. Since she was wearing nothing but her underwear under the blanket, the boy turned from her just to be sure.

In the meantime, he opened their portable first aid kit and checked how many medicines they had left.

"I wonder what it is. Did you catch a cold, or something?"

The girl just turned away without answering him.

"...the rain, I suspect. But that's odd, I had no problems..."

The next instant, she grabbed him by the collar and scowled at him with a creepy grimace.

"There's that bothersome event once a month for us girls!!" she roared, making him shrink and go on his fours.

"P-Please forgive my rudeness, milady..."

"...Looks like you got it. I think it will last a while, but don't mind it since we can't get away until the rain stops anyway."

"...Honestly, I have no idea of anything in that respect, being a boy and all, you know, so... are you alright?"

"Hm... mine are quite light usually... but it doesn't look too good this time..." she explained as she hunched up, embracing her stomach.

"Do you want to use a painkiller?"

"Actually, I've already taken one before sleeping. Did it already wear off...?"

Men aren't of much use at such times. While they were managing the medicines together, her sanitary items weren't in the boy's control, so he just took a tablet out of a package that claimed to be good against headaches and menstrual pain.

"Here, and some water."

The girl sat up heavily and accepted the water and tablet from him.

"...I actually wanted to restock some of our stuff when we were at the warehouse. Well, I should have borrowed some from the secretary, but I completely forgot..."

"So that's what you were looking to search?"

"Yeah."

She gulped the tablet down with some water and handed him her cup. Normally, she would have emptied it, but this time there was still some left. Probably, her stomach was affected as well.

He drunk up the remaining content himself and wiped his mouth.

"Do you still want to eat something?"

"...No, thanks."

Most likely, it would be best to have her take in something, but he didn't want to force her. Instead, he handed her a vitamin jelly he had found.

Her temperature was 37.9°C. Rather high.

✱

The time was 02:00pm.

The rain was still falling and the girl's condition had worsened dramatically.

In the beginning, she'd frequently sat up to do things such as changing the cloth, but after noon, she'd stopped moving and started cycling between light sleep and awakening.

Having used their last remaining antifebrile, her fever had exceeded the 38°C mark. Even the boy realized that this could never come just from the monthly thing. He suspected that she had caught a cold on top of it. Considering that she had been exposed so long to so much rain, there was even a possibility of lung inflammation.

Even if it was not pneumonia, how should he deal with any other illness? The only medicaments at hand were a couple of headache and cold tablets and some ointment. He had no means of treating any illness more serious than a cold. All he could do was putting a cloth wet with rain water on her forehead.

She was in danger.

He could not help but admit that he had been thoughtless not to consider such a situation during the entire three months they had been on the go. It was actually rather surprising that this had not happened before on their journey, which was so equally heavily based on strong luck and good fortune.

However, he wasn't given the time to regret the mistake he had made. The boy found himself confronted with a choice that was many times harder than any of the numerous exams he had come to pass during nine years of compulsory education.

Stay here and gamble on the girl's innate immune system?

Alternatively, go to the neighboring town by himself and catch a doctor?

Both choices had flaws that piled up to Mount Everest's height.

—On top of it being unknown whether it was an illness that could actually be cured by her immune system, this situation had come about because that immune system had been weakened. What if it was an illness that couldn't be cured without treatment of a doctor?

—If he went alone to a doctor, how high was the probability of that doctor accepting to come along for an inspection? What if he didn't find one? Who was going to look for the girl while he was away? Did he have enough fuel?

Either way was one all-or-nothing gamble—in which it was even unsure whether his efforts were of any use. The girl bore all the risk.

The boy clenched his teeth, vexed by his own weakness, and glared at the sky and the never-ending rain.

Time went on and he was left changing the wet towel on her forehead and holding her hand.

While still glaring at the clouds outside of the window, a certain outrageous idea came to his mind.

Struggling through to the next town with the girl on his back.

As the town appeared to be well-populated, there was supposed to be one or two doctors, and if he refused to examine her, the boy could threaten him.

This way he only needed fuel for one way and the doctor could look at her twice as fast as compared to going alone and bringing him along. Though he was going to be unable to care for her while driving, he could still stop from time to time to take a look at her.

However, this gamble was much riskier than the other two. Carrying a seriously ill patient on a Super Cub through the pouring rain sounded like a foolish idea however one looked at it. Even the boy, originator and executor of the idea, was about to doubt his state of mind.

However. However, she was suffering as he kept thinking—worn out by illness, even though she weighted six kilos less than him anyway despite being the same height.

Not even able to cry for help, his dear girl was suffering.

He was not able nor did he want to blink the facts.

The time was winding down.

The boy started packing more swiftly and skillfully than ever before.

He gathered that he couldn't go with their usual sitting position. Carrying someone whose strength has completely drained is a troublesome task — worse than a water-filled mannequin. Even when tying her to him, putting her on the tandem would leave the risk that her legs might get caught up in the back wheel.

There was only one way to go about it: binding her on him while hugging each other and riding while sustaining her. Lucky in the circumstances perhaps, the Super Cub motorcycle was designed mainly for fulfilling work with it, therefore could be driven one-handedly. If he could really endure such a long stretch, riding at full speed with one hand, was left to be seen, but he had no intention of considering any problems that he could solve with some effort on his part.

As for her clothes, making hr wear a skirt was no good as her body temperature would drop. He dressed her in two jerseys they had in reserve and put a raincoat around her after covering her in a thin blanket.

Changing the clothes of the unconscious girl in the narrow car required to twist her body like an entanglement puzzle, but that was easier than walking through a one-way labyrinth compared to seeing her half-naked in all those positions.

While struggling to contain himself for all he was worth, he changed her into trousers. They were baggy around her waist, but he fixed that by tightening the belt.

He had considered leaving the luggage behind, but decided against it.

If he didn't found a doctor, he would have to search on with lacking provisions, and if he did found one, he may demand some kind of payment. They were going to slow down, but that couldn't be helped. He had to believe in her willpower.

He tied her up to him using their hammock net and laundry rope and made sure he could even walk around with her like that. The girl would have beaten the living daylight out of him if she saw how they were bound on each other.

But he was determined to do anything to have her regain that liveliness.

He put on a rain coat as well and slipped into his still half-wet blazer. The soaked synthetic fiber was heavy, but this was his combat uniform.

Bidding farewell to the wagon car that had served them well as a temporary shelter, he entered the never-ending rain outside.

For the ones that may be to come, he closed the door.

The remaining question was whether the Super Cub still worked after being exposed to the rain for so long.

The tank was full. However, while he had protected it with a vinyl sheet, it had still been exposed to the rain. It was left to be seen if he could properly move it.

But right now, the boy was not ready have any consideration for Cubby.

He jumped onto the saddle and checked whether the girl sat firmly. He had tied up all their luggage on the tandem seat to achieve a balance.

While listening to the sound of the rain hitting their rain coats, he put on his goggle-type helmet.

Super Cub! Show me what you can!

He stepped on the starter with a vengeance.

He didn't know whether his Super Cub answered, "Leave it to me!".

But the powerful roar the 4-stroke air cooled single cylinder raised appeared more reassuring to him than any other reply could have.