"Where the heck have you been all day?" Yohio was furious.

"I was...exploring the town," I said, unsure of whether I should tell him the truth or not. If I told him I was talking to someone I didn't know, he'd flip out for one of two reasons: either it was too dangerous to talk to random people, or I shouldn't be bothering other people. Of course, there was a slim chance that both reasons would occur to him.

"Exploring? We live here, Oliver."

"Yeah, but I don't really know the place. We hardly go out when we stop here. I don't even know anyone here!"

Yohio just looked tired and unamused. "Let's go have dinner and then you can come home and finish packing, okay? Don't go wandering off without telling me. The town is small, but still...after what happened to you in England, I'm worried about you."

I rolled my eyes. "Yohio, that was four years ago. I was eleven. I'm much more responsible now. But fine, point taken," I added.

Yohio and I left soon after to find a place to eat dinner. We chose a familiar spot in town, and the rest of the night was uneventful.

When we got back, I was careful not to waste time. Even though I had quite little packing to do, I wanted to finish quickly. I had plans for the next day. As I packed, I thought through my encounter with Fukase.

So he really is completely silent...just like Rana said. But if he's generally responsive, and implied that he does have a voice, why wouldn't he use it?

Maybe he'll tell me when he's more comfortable around me.

Maybe he never will.

I sighed and leaned back against my light yellow futon. I had found it rather amusing how his face changed in response to my stories, yet he never said a word. I could picture him smiling and leaning in with anticipation, or with his eyes wide with concern, or his face relaxing with relief.

Suddenly I realized that what I had thought earlier about his personality was true.

Just because he didn't speak didn't mean that he wasn't an open person. He seemed like a good listener and was easily invested. He's definitely a friend I'd want in my life. I smiled at the thought.

"So, care to explain why you're smiling at the ceiling?" Yohio said, startling me out of my thoughts.

"Could you knock?"

Yohio just rolled his eyes. "At least tell me you're done packing."

"Yes, I'm done packing," I said, glancing at my carry-on. The small bag was mostly full, but it had everything I needed for the twenty-day trip.

"Great. Try to sleep early tonight, okay? We have to board early because some guests prefer to arrive the day before."

Board early? I tried to hide my disappointment and covered it with a smile. "How could I sleep early with your room next to mine?"

"Hey! What are you implying?!"

"I think you know what I'm implying. Anyway, shoo."

He was about to say more, but I quickly closed the room door and flopped back down on the futon. Closing my eyes and sighing softly, I thought about what I would tell Fukase the next day. He seemed like the type of person who had been left behind countless times; I didn't want him to think that I was giving up on him already.

If I get up early enough, I might be able to meet him before we board the ship, I thought. But even then, he might forget about me by the time we came back. Or he might not even be there at all.

I sighed again and changed into my thin pajamas, tired of wandering around town and thinking. Hopefully my mind would be clearer the next day.

~~~

I found myself wandering towards the beach early the next day. Yohio hadn't been awake when I had left, so I'd written a note telling him I'd be gone for an hour or so. Hopefully he would believe my alibi about wanting to buy snacks and wouldn't be suspicious of anything else.

It wasn't exactly a lie, either; I had planned to get snacks for Fukase and I anyway along the way to the beach. There were small seaside shops that sold everything from popcorn to souvenirs, so I knew it would be easy to find something.

It was only when I got to the small row of shops that I realized I had no idea what Fukase would like. I briefly debated asking him and just guessing to surprise him, but then a flash of pink hair to my right caught my eye.

"Hey!" Rana called out breathlessly.

"Oh, uh, hey. I didn't expect to see you out here now, it's still early."

"Morning yoga," she said nonchalantly, and followed me into a store. "What brings you here?"

"I was going to get some snacks for Fukase and myself."

Rana gave me a quizzical look. "Why? Did he talk to you or something?"

"No," I said, shrugging, "but I thought that maybe if I got something for him, it would help him warm up to me."

She sighed. "I'm telling you, it's no use. He won't talk."

"But I have nothing else to do, so I'd might as well try."

"Fair enough. Is it okay if my friends and I join you though? I mean, we'll pay for our own snacks, of course..."

I smiled. "Sure, of course."

We quickly moved forward in the short line that had formed before we'd arrived. We picked our snacks, and I randomly chose a packet of spicy potato chips for Fukase, not knowing what else to get.

As we walked out onto the shore under the bright, maya blue sky, three girls who I guessed were Rana's friends walked up to us.

"Hey Rana!" A purple-haired girl said. "We were worried you'd run off without us. Who's this?"

"This is Oliver, a friend I met yesterday. Oliver, this is Mikoto, and her with the matching hairstyle is her sister, Hime. The one with the coral hair is Miki."

I smiled slightly nervously. "Hey, it's nice to meet you all!"

They were all dressed expensively, and certainly looked unique, to say the least. Hime had bright, short pink hair with ribbons streaming from it. She wore a short white tunic dress with a longer pink skirt underneath it, and mismatching stockings. Mikoto wore the same, but her hair was light lavender. Miki, on the other hand, had long, streaming, sunset-orange hair and a short tunic-dress decked with stars.

I feel so out of place... I thought. Hopefully they wouldn't mind my contrasting simplicity.

"Nice to meet you," Miki said politely. "Are you the one who tried befriending Fukase yesterday?"

"Uh...yeah, that's me."

Mikoto and Hime exchanged hushed giggles.

"Well, let's see what progress you made," Miki said with a smirk and skipped down to the shoreline, the other girls following suit soon after.

"As if he'd ever talk," Hime whispered as she walked off. "I bet he has one of those super ear-grating voices that should never see the sun." Mikoto chuckled in response. "I'm just kidding," she added after she noticed me staring.

I was starting to get skeptical about letting them come along. From what I could tell, they saw Fukase as a freak. Not as a person, but as an unsolvable puzzle. Then again, who was I to stop them from tagging along? All I could do was hope they'd be nicer than they let on.

A/N:

Hi everyone! Sorry this update is kind of late, I hope you enjoyed it though! Please vote if you did, and as always, any critique is appreciated.

See you in the next chapter!

~Stargazer