She eyed her drink. Lychee, her favorite. He opened his and started chugging his drink as she sat on a bench in front of the machine.
"he looks just like the last Meiji that died", she shuddered,
Machihara almost choked as he drank. "And how is this relevant?" he wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "I wake up with cuts sometimes, what if he's trying to haunt me?" She said, sliding her black cardigan sleeve up to open her drink too, revealing 2 small brown scars, lower down her right wrist a fresh new cut, blood smeared over. Nahiko sighed, but Machihara gawked, bewildered. Gently holding her wrist up but she yanked it back.
"How did this happen?"
he asked, his voice stern. He didn't want to jump to the conclusion that she'd cut herself. "When the dream's about to end everthing fades to
pitch black and all I can see is my body floating through some void" she twirled her can, "a strong wind pushes against me, the wind feels like needles" she continued, taking a few gulps from her drink and turning to face Machihara. To her surprise he wasn't laughing or grinning, his face was dead serious and he was so still she could've sworn she was talking to a statue. His eyes were glued to her wrists, unable to tear from them. Nahiko gulped again, except this time without the drink. She wasn't used to seeing him this serious, then again she knew this sort of reaction would be normal for everyone. "A-anyways.. I guess that's why it happens" she laughed in between words to fill the silence, shrugging her shoulders slowly, she felt a slight chill down her spine. (Maybe he's taking this a little too seriously) she bit her lip thinking this, an awful habit but at least it helps her cope.
"I think your parents should know this" he finally spoke, turning to look her in the eyes. However it didn't lift the weight of the atmosphere the slightest, in fact this had Nahiko practically on the edge of her seat. "The leaders of the D.M.A? Yeah- uh- not happening." she folded her arms. Machihara furrowed his brows before parting his chapped lips, "the National Defensive Meiji Association, precisely why you should, maybe you're blessed with shaman powers to communicate with the dead!" he spread his arms like an eagle, he could see it now, "Girl Talks With The Dead!" in the front cover headlines of the local newspaper. She smacked him right across his butt, causing his back to arch forward- perhaps the shock, pain or pleasure of it, or somewhere in between. "A-ah!" he exclaimed, before wobbling back on the bench, back hunched, his face was a strange sight to behold. He was probably dying inside.
"Pfft! Ahahaha!" she burst out, kicking her feet laughing. She wiped a tear before forcing out some words, "ha.. But" she sighed, "if I tell them I'll just end up a science experiment" she finished, like how she finished her drink. Nahiko threw it down by her foot and crushed it, picking it up again to throw in the bin. Clank! It barely made it in, even rocking the bin a little. Machihara sniffed, "if you were a boy slapping your butt wouldn't be a crime" he whimpered, plastering up a big frown. He too threw his can in, before getting up from the bench and walking a few steps up the corridor, he looked over his shoulder, "you coming?" he tapped his feet. Nahiko stood up and followed quietly behind him after flashing a quick smile. "
(Seems like she's calmed down) he lapsed a hard sigh of relief, thinking to himself.