It seemed Akiyoshi and I talked more often after that day. The conversations were usually fleeting—simple greetings in the halls that were once cumbersome. We sometimes still didn't know how to talk to each other, but he tried to understand me better after he found out about his sister and me. Despite the frequency of our chats, they never recurred enough to pester Koharu.
"Has everything been okay with him? I'll smack him if he's being rude to you. It's my job as the older sibling to put him into place."
*I don't think you need to go to that extent.*
I chuckled, turning the corner around the wall. "Don't worry. He's been fine. I mean,"—I had an idea to see what she would reveal to me—"is he ever unwell?"
*Because I don't know if I should tell you about what I saw…*
She laughed in a way that nearly incriminated her. "Well… Yeah, he's usually fine. I worry because he's so isolated, though. He's definitely okay otherwise. Just needs some company."
Thinking how that was hardly convincing, I hummed in affirmation. I decided it was best not to tell her so that she wouldn't worry even more about him, not wishing to see her sob and fall apart once more.
"Anyway," she continued as she dragged her fingers over some books, "I'm glad you're getting along with my brother. I never thought I'd see the day he'd open up to someone other than me or Leo."
"I never thought I'd see the day he opened his mouth."
Koharu smacked my back. We were in Hikaru's massive library. She laid across a golden antique sofa by the window, the drawn curtains providing a thin tint that made the sunlight cast a heavenly glow on her. I looked at a shelf beside her.
"I do admit he's quiet, though." Koharu leaned over the edge of the couch, studying my actions. "What are you looking at?"
In my hands was a thin book with something of a grandiose boat printed on the front. It looked like a canoe built to the height of the castle with circular windows. Gray smoke billowed from its back, creating a thick veil like a tornado behind the majestic vehicle. The spinning gusts of wind didn't rock it as it marched across the surface of the ocean. I had never seen anything like it before, and the artistry was fantastic; it was so lifelike and detailed. The strokes of whatever the artist's medium was didn't show up in the slightest.
*The same artist must have done this and that other book. They look so similar in style.*
"It's something about boat construction, but I've never seen a boat like this before." I shoved it in her face. "Is this not a fictional novel?"
Koharu laughed and draped her arms over my shoulders from behind. She grabbed the book gently.
"I haven't either. Leo brought this to me once from another kingdom. He tells me stories of the things he sees there and brings little gifts sometimes. He told me this was an engineering book or something and that the front has this thing called a photograph, which is like capturing an impression of what you see in front of you. It's interesting, right?" Koharu chuckled cutely, teeth poking out. "It's like a paper memory."
Amazed at the sight, I nodded. "I didn't know those could exist."
*I wonder if that kingdom still has artists for the basic things when something like a photograph can be made.*
She shook her head. "I think before I die I'd like to see one of these or those flying ships that look like sky fish." She made two "L"s with her hands and placed them by each other to form a square, closing one eye. "Do you think, if I looked up at the sky, I'd see one cross into this realm? Or if I looked at a river far away, I'd see one of those boats roll in with the cascading light of dawn to accompany its arrival?"
"Maybe." As she went about her usual fantasies, I turned to her. "Though, if you stare too long at the sun, you'll be blind, baby."
"Don't be a pessimist!" She paused, suddenly shooting up and almost whacking my jaw harshly. "I have something I want to show you."
Hearing that infinitely enticing phrase, I stood up. "Lead the way."
She grabbed my arm and brought me to the elevator. Since she soon stopped, I almost started a chain reaction by crashing into her.
She asked, "Have you ever flown before?"
"Pardon? I've only made 'a short flight aided by gravity', as some journal I read once put it."
*Both you and Leo have thrown me if that counts. I don't think it does.*
Koharu giggled. "You're in for a ride."
She waved her arm and lifted herself, and she then blew dust at me. Suddenly, my feet didn't touch the floor.
Yet it wasn't the same as being thrashed around by magical entities who treated me as a plaything. I had free reign over my movements and could raise myself into the air at my own will. I didn't know if there were words to describe the feeling of flying unassisted. Perhaps it was like having no weight and no bones. Only a feathery lightness engulfed me as I followed Koharu into the upper echelons of the castle.
*I'm glad I don't have to get tossed by that stupid elevator again—if anything else.*
I struggled, sometimes losing my balance and flipping over midair. It was a lot like jumping into the water and being suspended in layers of the liquid without knowledge of how to paddle—except no fluid entered my nostrils and suffocated me. Well, I was still choked up for a moment by the sheer shock and breathlessness I felt at the thought of descending and cracking my cranium on the tile of the bottom floor.
At those times, Koharu came and placed an arm around my waist to steady me.
"Having trouble there?" She peered into my eyes with a lively smile on her face.
*Do you enjoy scaring the shit out of me? You're responsible for taking care of me if I have a heart attack!*
"Just a bit." I laughed, enjoying the experience no matter how jarring it was. My face was cold and pale, chilled by the gusts of wind emitted by the clouds.
"I'll help you."
She soared up, carrying me at her side until we got to the floor with all the instruments on it. We turned in the opposite direction—still levitating slightly—and we came upon a dusty, black door, much more plain than the rest of the castle. There, we returned to abiding by the rules of gravity.
The landing pad of oak was soft against the soles of my shoes. My toes hit before the convex bump of my heels, and the world around me stopped shaking in an organic pattern like the lines of cracked earth.
"How was that?" Koharu grinned at me.
I felt like I was going to throw up as the vibrations ceased. Then, I recovered from my bug-eyed shock.
*The difference between a stomachache and being a hundred feet in the air is that one can actually kill me.*
"An experience."
"Cute," she mumbled under her breath. "You okay?" Affectionately, she placed a hand on my cheek to cup it.
I nodded, toughing my nausea out, and she shyly kissed me on the lips before turning around in a flash to open the door. (She knew exactly how to cure me—by ditching the magic.) I was certain both our faces were rose-colored as we walked through the pointed arch.
The room was an atypical museum, containing all sorts of relics. I didn't recognize a single object housed under the dim candlelight and glass casing afforded to each. The displays themselves were hardly conventional. They didn't come with the intricate labels and velvety stands I expected, instead making the items look trapped inside of dog cages.
"These are things Leo and Sinclair have brought me for years. I put all of them in here. I don't really know how to use them, so I keep them as souvenirs." She tilted her head curiously. "Does anything catch your eye?"
I poked at a case with a red piece of metal inside, faint white lettering glinting on the shiny container. The top looked sharp with a rounded rectangle stiffly in place. Perforations on the cylinder gave it a wicked smile as it remained idly on its side, unable to stand up on its circular foot to inflict its wrath upon anyone.
*This thing looks evil.*
Hoping to not feed the strange item, my fingernail tapped against the covering with caution. "What's this?"
She chuckled. "Well… I don't know if it's supposed to be an explosive or a drink."
"What?" My eyes widened, and I laughed, halfway falling onto the princess.
Her exaggerations always kept life entertaining.
Wrapping an arm around me, she explained, "It sounds crazy! I know! Leo told me it's a sweet drink favored by another kingdom. It's supposed to be bubbly. Kind of like when there's an alligator in the moat blowing bubbles to the top. But if you shake it too much,"—she jumped up—"it'll blow up the whole container!"
"Really? That's so strange! I can't imagine drinking dynamite in a bottle!"
It was somehow reminiscent of the fireworks I watched Leo and Sinclair detonate before, I figured as I chuckled.
"I agree completely." She thought momentarily as she puckered her lips. "There's something similar in here somewhere."
She flitted between the cases like a wasp in search of its hive. I let out a soft whine at her moving away from me on a whim. Upon finding her target, she stopped and ushered me over, and I hesitated, fearful of the fiery consequences.
"Look at these!"
"They're… pretty colorful rocks," I replied, much less enthusiastic but intrigued, nonetheless.
*It doesn't take much effort to find something more valuable in the mines.*
"Yes, yes, they are, but Leo told me they're little candies!"
My sweet tooth caused me to gain interest, and I gestured for her to continue as she excitedly waved her fists.
"They make a noise like a snake when you put them on your tongue." She stuck out hers as a joke. She left it there and tried to talk again, which slurred her speech. "Just… like… this."
"Koko." I chuckled. "I think I understand what you mean."
"Got a laugh out of you, though!" she cheered. "Anyway, Leo told me about a boy who drank from that other container and ate these candies together. Guess what?"
"What?" I raised an eyebrow.
"He died!"
I jokingly cleaned out my ear with my pinky. "Died of candy and drink? What?" I was incredulous.
"Yeah! I know! I had the same reaction, but it's always an interesting story."
"Certainly morbid."
"And that," Koharu added lightly. "Oh! There's another thing."
*Can it be something non-threatening this time?*
I followed my energetic girlfriend to yet another case, gulping.
This one held a black box with a cylinder protruding from one side. The transparent circle on the front appeared similar to an eye, a hexagon giving it a sinister, lidded look. The body of the object wasn't made from metal and seemed matte instead of shiny, though the glass backing provided the necessary glimmer for it to sparkle. Many small buttons adorned the back like a formal shirt—most with symbols that made no sense to me and likely not to Koharu either. The only one I could recognize represented food, but the object certainly wasn't edible or appetizing when it appeared to be a rock.
"This one is strange," I remarked. Curiosity bubbled in me again.
Koharu nodded as I prodded at the glass. She opened the case on this one, allowing me to poke the object itself—even if it looked vile.
"This thing's called a camera. It takes photographs like the one on that book. Sinclair brought it to me when I was young. Leo complained, saying how useless it was when things could be remembered and envisioned in the mind. I think Sinclair went off on a tangent about the fallacy of human memory or whatever a few days later when they got word of that. I couldn't follow them with such a limited vocabulary back then," Koharu rambled.
I smiled at her adoringly, and she caught on.
*She looks so happy right now…*
"You listening?" She snapped her fingers.
I chuckled that time. "Yeah. Of course. You're just so pretty when you're talking about the things you love, though."
"Sap!" She stuck her tongue out in disgust.
I huffed. "You have no right to say that to me when that's your middle name."
"Joke's on you. I don't have one." With the sole purpose of being annoying, she winked.
I pecked her on the forehead. "You're so cute."
"Pick an adjective already." She smiled.
"All of them."
*As long as they're positive.*
"You're being sappy again."
I shouted, "Shut up!"