Bab 207: Kyoto Trip (1)
"It's happening, finally...!" Furuya exclaimed, standing with his arms crossed, trying to look like some hero posing for a statue.
"Obviously," Yasushi muttered between bites of his sandwich, eyes still glued to the idle game on his phone, thumb lazily swiping at the screen.
"Kyoto, huh?" Bhaqui chimed in, leaning in just a little. "You're playing the guide for our group, right? And we're staying a whole week... that's crazy! I heard Lady Jingliu, her family, along with Lady Xinyi's and Yasushi's helped cover the costs." He turned to Yasushi, a bit of admiration flickering in his voice.
Yasushi glanced up, letting out a short sigh. "Yeah, apparently they thought it'd be good to send us off with a bang before college or work gets real. I mean, I'm not complaining. A week of doing whatever we want, no stress... but once we're back, it's exams. And right after? Graduation." He shrugged, a resigned look briefly crossing his face before his attention drifted back to his phone.
"You knew before me. Why are you acting surprised? You're a butler for Jingliu's family," Yasushi said, letting out a short snort, which made Bhaqui chuckle.
Bhaqui and Furuya continued to chat about the upcoming trip, their voices blending into the background as Yasushi stared blankly at the game on his phone. He tapped aimlessly for a while before boredom set in. Deciding he'd had enough, he closed the app, ready to shove the phone into his pocket. But a notification stopped him.
Jingliu had messaged.
The words on the screen froze him in place, "My period's late, dummy."
His chest tightened as his brain scrambled to process the sudden impact of that text. Before he could react, another message pinged in, deflating the knot building in his stomach.
"I'm kidding. Did I give you a heart attack? I wanna help you pack tonight for the trip."
Yasushi let out a long breath, leaning back against the fence behind him. His pulse was still playing catch-up. 'She's gonna kill me if she keeps pulling that,' he thought, fingers moving swiftly to reply. He agreed to her offer, fingers lingering over the screen for a moment longer before locking his phone.
His attention drifted back to the baseball field. Most of the players were from the younger years, second and first years doing practice rounds now that the older students were stepping aside. His eyes found Furuya, who used to be the ace. The guy looked pretty settled into his new phase — done with the sport, focused on what was next, no longer chasing old victories.
+-+
"Did you really have to mess with me like that? We use protection every time," Yasushi muttered as he shoved clothes into his suitcase for the upcoming Kyoto trip.
Jingliu stood nearby, watching him with an amused look. "I'm sorry. Laura told me to send that. She saw it in some anime and thought it'd be hilarious. Bhaqui said you looked like you'd just seen a ghost when you read it," she said, her laugh slipping out.
Yasushi stopped, shaking his head as he resumed packing. They traded comments about the trip, what they were excited for, listing places they wanted to visit, and speculating on what the week ahead might bring. After a few moments of folding and stashing items into his bag, Yasushi paused. His mind wandered somewhere else, and his voice came out a little slower.
"I've got this feeling... something's gonna happen during the trip. Maybe it's big, maybe it's not."
Jingliu, standing still now, looked at him with a curious expression. "From... them? Are they planning something?"
Yasushi gave a small nod in response. They both knew who "them" referred to — the observers, sent by gods from other pantheons to keep watch over everything.
They'd been watching for a while, just observing. The gods from other pantheons weren't making any moves — until now. Yasushi could sense it. The gods were restless, stirring things up. Something felt off, and his instincts wouldn't let him shake it.
He had been wrong before, though. He had shared the same hunch with Jingliu in the past, but it turned out to be nothing, which had worked in their favor. Still, this time it gnawed at him more intensely, and he couldn't ignore it. He needed to say something. He wanted to make sure Jingliu, Xinyi, Layena, and Yunxue — who were all coming on the trip — knew what might be coming.
"We have to make sure the others aren't caught up in this, especially the ones who aren't part of the 'truth,'" Jingliu said, arms crossed, her gaze fixed on Yasushi, the seriousness in her words clear.
"Yeah, that's the idea," Yasushi replied, not missing a beat. "I'll ask Yinhaie to help. She can bring a few staff members along. Might as well turn it into a mini-vacation for them too. Shouldn't be all bad."
They kept talking, going over possible plans. What they might do if things went wrong. In the end, though, they decided not to overthink it. They'd just go with the flow, keep things loose. Still, they made sure to have basic evacuation plans in place.
If anything happened, Yasushi would take care of whoever showed up to cause trouble. He was the one the gods had their eyes on, after all. Jingliu promised she'd step in too, once she got the others out of harm's way.
+-+
"I didn't expect we'd be back at the school this early — not since the whole Garbage Collection thing," Xinyi said, yawning, her voice thick with exhaustion.
Yasushi glanced over. "Well, even though we've got a train that passes by the city, it's not one of the faster ones that shoot by other towns and cities. There were talks of extending the bullet train line out this way, but that was five years ago. Nothing's come of it. So, we're stuck with the bus. It'll take us a few hours to get to Kyoto, maybe ten if traffic's a mess, but if we're lucky, eight or nine hours."
Furuya, almost bouncing on the spot, couldn't contain himself any longer. "We've got a whole week, so who cares? The seniors said we only have two days where we're stuck with the teacher's tours. After that, the other five days are ours to do whatever the hell we want. Just a few rules here and there, but no big deal."
Slowly, the rest of their classmates trickled in, dragging suitcases and hauling bags like they hadn't slept all night. Most looked exhausted, barely holding it together. Yasushi and his friends had already packed their stuff into the bus's storage compartments, so they just stood back, watching the others struggle to cram their bags in.
Not long after, the three teachers who were chaperoning the trip arrived, looking just as tired as the students. They started taking attendance, but it wasn't long before they realized something was off. Two students were missing.
The teachers exchanged a glance, sighed, and pulled out their phones to call the homes of the absent students. Minutes passed, the tension in the air thickened a bit, and eventually, the teachers returned with the news.
"Two of your classmates are sick," one teacher announced, his voice flat, "so they won't be joining us. We'll be heading out with just this group for the next week. Make adjustments as needed. Everyone else, get back inside the bus — Yasushi, Xinyi, Jingliu, I need you three to stay behind for a minute."
As the rest of the students filed onto the bus, Yasushi, Xinyi, and Jingliu stayed where they were, staring at the principal who had arrived behind the teacher. He stood there, looking like he didn't really want to be having this conversation. He coughed into his fist awkwardly, then pulled something out of his coat, handing an envelope to Yasushi.
"Uh... what's this?" Yasushi asked, frowning, trying to make sense of what was going on.
"That came to me from all three of your parents a few days ago. You might want to open it once you're on the bus," the principal said, rubbing the back of his neck as if he wasn't too thrilled about the whole thing. "I don't fully agree with what's inside, but I'll say this — be careful." He waved them off, motioning for them to get moving. The vague warning left the three standing there for a second, thrown off by the sudden seriousness, but they eventually headed onto the bus.
Once inside, it became clear that the only available seats were at the back, the large row meant to fit five people. With two classmates down from sickness, it ended up being just the three of them — Yasushi, Jingliu, and Xinyi — so they shuffled over to the back, plopping down without much thought.
"Can't remember the last time I sat this far back," Xinyi muttered as they got settled. Then, after a moment, her eyes shifted toward the envelope Yasushi was still holding. "So, what's in it?"
The bus roared to life as one of the teachers did a final headcount, and soon they were moving, the city slowly disappearing behind them as they started the long trip to Kyoto. Yasushi glanced at the envelope, then back at the two girls beside him, both leaning in, waiting.
"Not sure," Yasushi admitted, shrugging as he tore into it. Both Jingliu and Xinyi leaned closer, eager to see what was inside, almost pressing against him as they peered over.
Yasushi unfolded the paper and stared at it for a moment. His eyes scanned over the words, and he blinked, reading out loud to the others beside him.
"Dear Yasushi, Jingliu, and Xinyi,
Hey there! It's Kohana — Yasushi's mom writing this, but I got the okay from everyone else, so Jingliu's and Xinyi's parents know about it too. Hope you're all doing great! We thought we'd make your trip a little more interesting, so we arranged a few things — hope that's alright!
First off, the three of you, along with your friends, will be staying at a different location. We bought a villa for your stay, paid for by all three families. There's plenty of space for everyone — eight bedrooms, a bunch of fancy stuff to enjoy. So feel free to have a good time and make the most of it.
We can't join you, but we did send some of the Yang family's staff along to help out. You might recognize a few, and some will be new faces, but they'll take care of you. Just have fun, and don't worry about anything. We'll definitely be there for graduation though!
Love,
Kohana Futakao, and everyone else."
After finishing, Yasushi's hand dropped, and he stared at the paper. Jingliu and Xinyi leaned over, eyes wide, both clearly just as shocked.
They all exchanged looks, not knowing what to say. The idea of a villa, staff, and all that extra space wasn't anything they had expected.
"They bought a whole villa for just for our one week trip...?" Xinyi muttered, her voice cracking as she pressed her hands against her head, clearly unable to process the situation. She fidgeted beside Yasushi, looking like she might lose it.
Jingliu leaned back in her seat, exhaling in frustration. The idea of their families teaming up to buy a place in Kyoto just for this trip made no sense to her. Yet, at the same time, it kind of did.
She was already wondering if they'd hang onto the place afterward, maybe sell it off or rent it out once the week was over. The thought bounced around in her mind, but it was hard to focus with everything happening.
"We might as well use it to our advantage," Yasushi shrugged, glancing between the two of them. "We're away from the rest of the class, and our friends are staying too. So it's not like we'll be isolated. We'll hang out with everyone during the day anyway. The villa's just a place to crash at night, after we're done exploring Kyoto."
Both girls nodded in agreement, realizing that Yasushi had a point. They were only going to be there to sleep after all the sightseeing. The rest of the time, they'd be out in the city with everyone else.
"Yeah, I guess that works..." Xinyi muttered, taking the letter from Yasushi and scanning it again. Her eyes lit up, a small smirk forming on her lips, catching both Yasushi and Jingliu off guard. Neither of them questioned it, though. Whatever Xinyi was cooking up, they knew better than to poke.
Jingliu, without saying a word, slipped her arm through Yasushi's, resting her head on his shoulder. "No matter what happens, this makes things a little easier," she said quietly, looking up at him. "Let's make the most of this last trip before we graduate."
"Yeah... I'm down," he said, locking eyes with her.
For a second, it seemed like they were about to kiss, both leaning in closer without thinking. But Xinyi yanked his arm, pulling him toward her side instead, a mischievous grin on her face as she stared straight at Jingliu. Jingliu's expression shifted, her brow lowering as she glared back at Xinyi. Neither of them said a word, but it was obvious they were having some silent battle of wills.
Yasushi let out a heavy breath and sank into his seat. He had a feeling this ride was about to drag on far longer than expected.
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
Haruki_Murakami
Haruki_Murakami "Il vaut mieux prévenir que guérir" – French proverb
"Better to prevent than to cure."
Meaning: It's wiser to avoid problems than to fix them afterward.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone