"Looks like we're almost there. Did you sleep at all, Kimuki?" Karumi asked, her voice soft but edged with curiosity.
Kimuki shook his head, eyes half-lidded but awake. "Not a wink," he said.
Karumi tilted her head. "Why is that?"
"If somebody were to wake before us," Kimuki explained, his tone low and slightly embarrassed, "they would see and get the wrong idea. So I stayed up. If someone did wake, I could quickly move from the seat."
Karumi gave a small laugh. "Oh yeah, that makes sense."
Suddenly, the bus jolted to a stop. The soft hum of the engine faded into the cool silence of the early morning.
Kimuki frowned. "We stopped for what?"
He leaned toward Karumi, trying to peer out the window. His shoulder brushed against hers.
Flustered, Karumi instinctively leaned back, her heart skipping a beat. That's too close, she thought, her cheeks warming.
Kimuki's gaze drifted outside. "I guess we're stopping at a gas station to refill," he said, still peering through the glass. "But we're almost there, it seems."
He turned his head and froze. Karumi's face was just beneath his, her eyes wide, staring straight back at him.
Time stopped.
Kimuki swallowed hard, unable to break eye contact. Both of their faces flushed a deep red, the air between them thick and charged. Then, suddenly, a voice echoed from the back of the bus a classmate had woken up.
Kimuki blinked and pulled away quickly. Glancing behind him, he saw two classmates stirring from sleep. He straightened, cleared his throat, and muttered to Karumi, "They're awake. I'll go to my original seat, and if they ask something, I'll just say I got thirsty."
Karumi slowly nodded, still frozen, her breath shaky and uneven. "Okay," she whispered.
As Kimuki walked back down the aisle, Karumi sat stiffly, hands trembling slightly on her lap, her heart still racing.
Passing the awakened classmates, Kimuki forced a calm smile.
"You're awake too, Kimuki?" one of them asked.
"Yeah," he replied, feigning a yawn. "I just got thirsty."
The girl classmate, Elena, smiled sleepily. "You're gonna go back to sleep?"
Kimuki shook his head. "It'd be pointless now since we're almost there, so no I don't think I will."
Elena smirked. "We're not gonna sleep either. If you get bored, we can talk."
Kimuki chuckled. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."
Time passed quietly, the rhythmic rumble of the bus carrying them onward. Finally, the driver announced their arrival: Bazaleti.
The long ride ended. Throughout the trip, Karumi and Kimuki hadn't exchanged another word but every now and then, their eyes met in fleeting glances that spoke volumes. As the day wore on and the sun dipped lower, the trip came to an end. The class reboarded the bus for the return journey. Despite the hour, the students were still full of energy.
Some played games on their phones; others laughed and chatted, their voices filling the night air within the moving bus.
"I'm bored," Gintama groaned. "Let's do something I'm not even sleepy."
Taneki grinned. "Yeah, all the guys are doing nothing. Let's hang with the girls."
Kimuki leaned back in his seat. "You guys go ahead. I'll join you later if I get that bored."
Minatsu chimed in, "I guess I'll join you guys, and Kimuki can come later."
With that, Gintama, Taneki, and Minatsu wandered off to mingle. Kimuki remained seated, but his eyes soon fell upon Karumi, who was playing a mobile game with her friends Takanaki and Gabrina.
Curiosity tugged at him. He stood and approached them. "What are you guys playing?" he asked.
Karumi paused the game and looked up. "It's a multiplayer mobile game. Players place only their fingers on the screen on each side, and there are different kinds of challenges. Every player has an avatar, and the last avatar standing is the winner."
"Can I join?" Kimuki asked.
Gabrina frowned. "No."
"Why not?" Kimuki said, confused.
"The game is only for three," Gabrina replied curtly.
Takanaki glanced up. "That's not true. The maximum players that can play is four, actually."
"Right…" Gabrina muttered, then added with a smirk, "But still, look at your huge hands we can't fit them all on one phone."
Kimuki smiled. "Let's try. If I'm a burden, then I'll leave."
Karumi gave Gabrina a sharp look. "Gabrina, stop being mean. Let him play."
"Fine, come on," Gabrina sighed.
Each player placed their fingers on the screen. Kimuki and Karumi sat across from each other, their hands close. On the screen, avatars appeared each one guarding a goal. A small virtual ball dropped into the center, and the game began. The first round was quick: Takanaki scored on Gabrina, eliminating her. Then Karumi skillfully defeated Takanaki, leaving only her and Kimuki.
The tension rose.
"Karumi plays this game solo sometimes," Takanaki said confidently. "There's no way she'll lose to Kimuki."
Kimuki grinned. "I might not be experienced in this game, but I'm a gamer at heart."
The match intensified. Their fingers danced over the screen, moving closer and closer until
They touched.
Both froze. A jolt of surprise rippled through them. Their hearts skipped in unison, and in that fleeting hesitation, the ball rolled straight into Kimuki's goal.
Takanaki burst out laughing. "Haha! She won, of course!"
Gabrina squinted at them. "Why did you guys stop for a second? Did your fingers get tired or something?"
Both Kimuki and Karumi, their faces flushed crimson, blurted out at the same time, "That's right."
Gabrina raised an eyebrow. "All right…"
Karumi cleared her throat, trying to recover. "There's another game, but this one is a bit different. It's only in two, though."
"That's no problem," Kimuki said. "We can split into two teams. Each team competes, and the winner will advance to the final."
"That'll work," Takanaki agreed.
Gabrina asked, "How do we determine who plays who?"
Takanaki smirked. "Since both Kimuki and Karumi are the strongest, and me and you, Gabrina, are the weakest I think that's how."
Karumi nodded. "Okay, it's settled then."
Kimuki and Karumi each held the phone.
"We have to place the phone somewhere," Karumi said thoughtfully.
Without hesitation, she placed it gently on her lap.
Kimuki's hand brushed against her leg.
Both of them gasped softly.
"What's wrong?" Takanaki asked, curious.
Flustered, they both replied quickly, "It's nothing."
Karumi began to explain the game, her voice trembling slightly. "So… th-there's a maze, as you can see. And e-each of our avatars has a burst weapon. We've gotta kill each other's avatar to win. But the maze's walls reflect the bullets, so it's possible you can kill your own avatar accidentally."
"G-got it," Kimuki said, his voice just as shaky.
They started to play, but neither seemed to care about the game itself.
I don't even care if I win, Kimuki thought. I just want to stay in this moment for as long as I can. I can feel her warmth... right there.
Suddenly, Karumi's finger brushed against his hand.
Surprised, Kimuki glanced at her, and their eyes met briefly before his fingers, almost unconsciously, lingered against hers.
They stayed like that for a long time, not defeating each other, lost in the quiet tension between them.
Then, from the back of the bus, a loud voice broke the spell.
"Hey, Kimuki! What are you doing?" Gintama called out teasingly.
And just like that, the fragile moment shattered yet neither would forget it.