- 3 -

Masako crashed by eleven o'clock. After they returned from the bakery and saw the others off she had meant to only lie down for an hour before lunch, but when she awoke the clock read quarter to six. She sat up with a start, relaxing when she saw Mai sleeping on the futon next to her own. Mai's face was one of pure contentment, perfectly relaxed with just a hint of a smile on her lips, like she was having a pleasant dream. Masako was about to reach over and wake her when Mai's features softened even more, smiling and whispering "Gene."

Masako pulled back, embarrassed. Partly that she hadn't even thought about how Mai would not want to be woken, but mostly she was embarrassed to see Mai's feelings bare for her to witness. Mai had never been secretive about her feelings for Oliver's brother. Once she had come to terms with them herself, Masako had been the first person Mai had confided in, but it was too private for her to witness, even if it was just a dream. Just a dream—what did that mean, anyway? Masako knew Mai's affection for Gene was real. Even if their meetings couldn't be in the corporeal realm didn't make them any less so.

Instead of waking her, then, Masako rose and tiptoed out of the room, checking her appearance in the mirror before she went. She headed down to the hotel lobby, suddenly disoriented as the doors opened up to a busy evening in a popular hotel in the height of summer. It was loud with people milling about everywhere: walking with their luggage, sitting and chatting in the lounge area, checking out the souvenirs on display. There were a number of foreign tourists in the throngs, and Masako suddenly felt dizzy at the cacophony of Japanese and so many other languages jumbled together.

She made her way past some French backpackers and a tour guide holding up a flag and issuing instructions to a group in Mandarin. She thought about making her way to the cafe kiosk and ordering a cup of tea, but she remembered she didn't have any money with her. Instead, she made her way to the veranda, stepping outside

It was quieter on the veranda and Masako walked to stand by the railing, nearby where she had sat only that morning. The sky was still bright daytime blue, but over the past week she'd learned dusk settled quickly in this mountain valley. Soon the sky would turn into a pale violet, the water of the lake deepening its blue. The sky was hazy again and the mountain on the other side had once more disappeared into the great expanse of the sky.

She wondered what the others had gotten up to during the day. She'd gone to the room to rest alone, but it wouldn't surprise her if Mai had gone back to nap after lunch. She may have even returned for another soak in the onsen. As for Oliver and Lin, she supposed they might start on their respective case reports, the sort of thing they would do back in the office. Neither were one to squander time which could be spent working: Oliver by nature and Lin by necessity in his role at SPR.

Gazing out toward the lake, she couldn't help but wonder if Naru's hypothesis was correct. Did Mai simply have a dream of Gene or was it a dream—the distinction being her crossing to that in-between land between the living and the dead, him waking from the slumber which usually held him. If Gene had just been present for the case, were Mai's thoughts enough to keep him nearby? Not to mention he was probably on Oliver's mind as well. There were several times during the case she saw him gazing absently out the window toward the lake, but he would shake his head and say it was nothing whenever anyone asked what was the matter. It didn't seem to bother him, exactly—but he kept returning to it, contemplating it.

Masako was so preoccupied in her thoughts she didn't notice the person come up beside her until he was right at her side. She started as he appeared, then smiled and dipped her head in greeting.

"Feeling better?"

"Yes, thank you. I didn't mean to sleep so long," she apologised, blushing.

Oliver shook his head and turned his gaze forward. "Mai was going to wake you, but I asked her not to."

"When was that?"

"Shortly after lunch." He regarded her for a moment before speaking. "You must be hungry. Shall we find some dinner?"

"What about the others?" Even as she asked this, Masako berated herself. Why was she objecting, looking for excuses when what she wanted the most was just to sit down with him? When he was here asking her for the thing she was too afraid to ask him for?

"Lin went out for sightseeing and will, I expect, find his own dinner—"

"Lin did?" She couldn't help but interrupt, surprised. She remembered the hotel manager that morning suggesting the ropeway to the rim of a nearby volcano and the hike around the caldera if they wanted some exercise. She hadn't paid it much thought at the time, but now she remembered Lin asking him questions about it, and how he had been getting directions. "He went to that volcano?"

A smile twitched at his lips. "Does that surprise you?"

"A little bit." Masako's ears felt hot.

"And I don't know where Mai is," he continued. "She expressed interest to go with Lin to the visitor's centre, but I imagine she must have returned by now."

"Ah—yes. She was resting when I woke up."

The grin widened—only slightly—on his lips. "She would be cross if we ate without her," he agreed. Then he lifted an eyebrow. "Perhaps just a cup of tea and something to tide you over?"

Masako smiled shyly. "That sounds lovely."

They left the hotel to get away from the noise of the main street, with tour buses pulling up at the different hotels and the groups of people clambering out of them. From there they walked to a small establishment, just down the road and up an alley, where they both ordered tea and Masako a piece of shortbread. Despite not having eaten since breakfast she wasn't particularly hungry, but her mouth began to water when they were served and the aroma of warm, buttery shortbread together with the comforting scent of green tea wafted toward her.

"I don't think I've asked you recently about your filming schedule," Oliver said, taking a sip from his teacup. "You've been busy of late with your schoolwork, it seems. Is it the same during your summer holidays?"

A warm flush of pride coursed through her that he had noticed. He would have to keep track of her tv program to some extent to know when she had breaks in her filming. "Yes, I've been trying to focus on my school work. Even though we're on break for the next month, I only have one filming session scheduled."

He was watching her and even though he said nothing, she felt encouraged to elaborate. "It's been nice, to be honest, to have a break," she confessed, unable to hold his gaze and instead looked at her tea.

"What will you do when you go to university?"

She hesitated, having asked herself that very question a thousand times and still unable to come up with a satisfactory answer. "I don't know," she admitted. "Keep on going as usual or take a break from it, or stop completely. I've thought about it a lot but I still don't know."

A small smile lifted his lips. "You still have time to decide."

"Yes," she nodded thoughtfully. "I'd like to stop, I think, before it comes to the point where they cancel my show. I'm sure it would happen eventually."

He tilted his head. "You think they'll cancel your show? But you're very popular."

She wasn't sure if that was a compliment, but there was no edge to his voice, nothing to suggest he didn't approve of her chosen vocation. Not the thinly-veiled derision she could always detect in Ayako's voice when her show came up, or the dubious lift of Takigawa's eyebrows that she chose to be on television. Or even the blank, incomprehensible stare she sometimes got from Yasuhara. She might have expected that from Oliver.

"Nothing can go on forever. And I'd like to stop when I'm ahead." She swirled the tea in the cup, watching the sediment in the bottom as it circled. "I don't want to be in one of those magazines, the unflattering type that would only announce when the show was cancelled after poor ratings or when something bad happens. If that was the case, I'd rather just disappear from the media before it happened."

He chuckled lightly, the sound surprising her. "I can understand that," he admitted quietly.

They drank their tea and she ate the shortbread, their conversation continuing but to somewhat easier, banal topics. When her classes resumed after the summer break (three weeks from now), when she would take her first university entrance exams (in September), if he had any new cases or appointments with prospective clients (two and three respectively; the two cases would both in Yokohama by coincidence, the prospective clients all had the usual enquiries and only their interview would tell if they would become proper cases.)

Oliver paid the bill after they had finished. They left the shop and as they were walking down the alley, restaurants lighting up and the red lanterns of the izakaya establishments turning on, Masako realised Oliver had slowed and was no longer walking next to her. She stopped and turned, looking back toward him where he had held back, a couple paces behind. He was gazing at her with a curious expression on his face; it was impossible to decipher what was going on behind those dark eyes.

Masako did not know how long they stood there, facing each other in the alleyway. It could not have been that long, and yet time seemed to stretch and slow. He cleared his throat and spoke.

"I am not terribly good at making conversation," Oliver started, hesitating. "But I would like to have more opportunities for us to talk. Like today. If that suits you."

"I would love to," Masako said honestly, automatically. Then, feeling embarrassed that she may have sounded too eager, she added. "If you think I wouldn't be too boring."

"Quite the opposite, actually." His eyes softened as he gazed at her and a flush of happiness coursed through her body at what she could tell was an honest reply. Then a grin twitched at his lips. "I suppose we'd better get back. Mai will be waiting for us and for her dinner."

Masako couldn't help but laugh. And indeed she was: Mai was waiting for them in the hotel lobby, stamping her foot at the sight of them, arms folded across her chest in a mock pout. "Where were you? It's past dinnertime!" But her eyes were bright and shining with happiness. It must have been a good dream if she was in such high spirits, that much was clear.

The three had dinner together at the hotel restaurant, Mai making most of the conversation. She was in an extremely good mood and she kept looking away and smiling abashedly to herself. After dinner the three went back out to the veranda. As the sun sun went down a chill descended into the valley, an evening breeze blowing cool air up from the surface of the lake. Clusters of people were beginning to congregate by the water and the three of them watched them with detached interest, quiet again.

Mai was already yawning before the fireworks started, but she clapped her hands with excitement when they could tell they were about to begin. And then the spectacle: the bright bursts of light: white, blue, green, reds and oranges—shimmering in the sky and on the water, colours brightly reflected on the calm surface of the lake . The cheers from the crowd below, echoing each boom and crackle, oohs and aahs accompanying each burst and sparkle. It was a short display and it may have only been the combustion of chemicals compounds in rapid succession, but everyone applauded loudly when it had finished. Mai cheered and even Oliver clapped in a rare moment of participation with the crowd.

Mai excused herself as her yawns becoming more and more frequent. "I'm going to take a bath and go to bed. You're probably not tired since you slept all afternoon, but don't stay up too late," she said, whispering the latter and winking at Masako when Oliver's back was turned. "Goodnight!" She then said to both of them, and slipped away with the rest of the retreating crowd.

Masako and Oliver stood together in silence for some time. "What about you?" He finally asked. "Shall we go inside?"

"Well—I thought I would watch the moonrise," Masako said, hesitating. "Perhaps you'd like to stay to see it?"

"I would like that." There was a small smile on his face as he spoke.

Most of the crowds had dissipated, gone back into the hotel or left to find late dinners. Masako left the veranda and walked down to the lake, Oliver one step behind her. When they stood at the water's edge she could see where the moon was about to rise. The sky glowed white above the dark outline of the mountain, the same spot where they had seen the sun rise that morning.

They watched the moon rise, the bright sliver of light peeking from behind the mountain, incremental, imperceptible and yet if she blinked Masako could see the moon was higher than it was before. First one quarter, then halfway. Masako wondered if Mai would dream about Gene again tonight. She hoped she would. Mai deserved every moment of happiness her dreams could bring her. She was lucky, lucky to have someone to love, lucky that Gene returned her love. She knew he must.

Three quarters. And then the full moon was completely visible: a perfectly round, glowing pearly white rising in the deep blue sky above the mountain. A sudden gust of wind blew though the valley, cold air swept up from the lake and Masako shivered, holding her arms together. Even though she'd seen what she wanted to see, she wasn't ready to go inside just yet. And then she felt his hand on her shoulder, tentatively, placing his jacket around her to keep the chill at bay.

"Oh—Oliver—" she didn't know what to say, didn't know what to make of the gesture. "You'll be cold, we can go inside—"

"I'm fine," he said instead. When she met his gaze his eyes were so dark they were almost black, his skin pale in the light of the full moon. "Are you warm enough?"

"I—yes," she said, blushing.

"Good." He looked back up at the moon, features relaxing. Masako followed his gaze and stared at the bright white of the moon, shining in the sky.

They were both lucky, Masako thought, a smile spreading on her lips and a deep contentment warming her against the night's chill. The full moon rising, shining bright in the dark sky felt like a promise: a promise of new beginnings, of a day coming to a close only to begin again tomorrow. She didn't know what was going to happen next, didn't know what tomorrow would bring. But it felt like her own dream was just beginning, and she couldn't wait for it to continue.

- end -

hello~~ thank you so much for reading!

I had a lot of trouble writing this, actually – fluff, apparently, is not my forte. Something else entirely initially came out of the prompt, however was not deemed fluffy enough and so I set it aside. I'm currently working on finishing that story and hope to be posting soon. So if you want more Masako-centred stories … stay tuned ;)