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If you were to ask Hoshina Subaru about her day, she would probably point to three signs that should’ve warned her that it would be a rough one.
The first sign, of course, was waking up two hours after her alarm was supposed to go off. Apparently, her battery powered clock decided it was the funniest time to fail on her, especially since she had an appointment to get her college papers notarized.
Having to call Saku for help was an embarrassing affair, especially since he had just arrived at the law firm by the time she was out of the shower.
The second sign was a faint voice from the other side of the line as Saku hailed down a taxi. She learned of this voice to be Yorita’s, who seemed to have disapproved of whatever vehicle his friend had hailed down. But by the time he seemed to voice out this concern, however, it was cut off by the sound of a door closing shut. Whatever happened next, she seemed to have drowned out as she was busy picking an outfit.
The third sign came just as she steps outside, in the form of a terrible sound coming from the strange white car just outside her house.
But she recognises the head of hair behind the window. She would live to regret lowering her guard
“Good morning, ma’am.” The driver rolls down the windows to greet her. “You must be this guy’s friend. You have an appointment?”
“Yes. Thank you for your time.” Subaru nods, opening the door to the vehicle. “Think you can get us before 11?”
“I’m sure I can. Just sit tight, I’ll get you to the law firm in a bit.” He reassured.
“Ah, that’s great.” Subaru gets herself comfortable in her seat, shutting the door close and fastening her seatbelt. Now that she is in the vehicle, she takes a moment to sigh, a faint hint of red on her face. “This is embarrassing. I’ll have to replace my clock’s battery later. Thanks, Natsusawa-kun, you really—”
She turns to the side to see Saku leaning on the opposite door, half passed out.
“Huh?” That’s odd. Subaru moves a hand to shake the boy awake. “Natsusawa-kun?”
“Ah!” The boy jolted awake, slightly startling the silver-haired girl. He frantically looks around the interior. “The taxi…”
“Uh, yes.” Subaru raised an eyebrow at this before smiling. “You really were a great help, there. Now we can finally—”
“Oh no, we need to get out of here now!” Saku yelled out in a panic.
“Get out?” Subaru was getting confused now. “Why?”
Her answer came in the form of a terrible noise coming from the front of the car. And suddenly, the two of them were thrown into the backs of their seats as the car sped away from their house.
Subaru was startled by this, but just in the intersection up ahead, the light glowed an unmistakable red. The car slows to a halt, giving its two passengers time to breathe.
“Okay, that was sudden.” Subaru says, a slow breath drawing into her chest. A voice in her head told her it would be the last good breath in a bit.
“Hey, can’t you at least take it easy now?” Saku says, reaching out to grip the driver’s seat.
“Didn’t you say you were in a hurry?” He asked, before turning to the silver haired girl in the back. “You were in a hurry, right?”
“Um, yes.” Subaru replied politely.
“Overslept?”
“Yes, as embarrassing as it sounds.”
“I can see why now.” The driver chuckled. “But are you sure you want me to slow down?”
Subaru was about to answer when Saku turned to her, pointing his thumbs up and trying desperately to get her to say yes.
“Um… well…” Her mistake was taking too long to process this sign.
The light turns green, and the engine roars awake. The two teens were sent hurdling back into their chairs as the car sped down the street.
Subaru felt her heart compress under the force, watching as the car reaches speeds previously unknown to her. Overtake after overtake, the vehicle seamlessly weaves through traffic like a singular continuous stream, at a speed that makes every change in direction a weight that pulls her body in a new direction.
She spreads her arms out, holding whatever she could to stabilize herself. She then turns to Saku, who sat gripping his seatbelt with a resigned face anticipating what’s to come.
“Is this what you had to deal with?!” Subaru yelled out.
“More or less.” Saku groaned, before peering over the driver’s seat. “Looks like we’re about to turn a corner.”
“Surely, he would slow down to turn, right?” Subaru asked nervously.
The sound of her slamming into the door answers that question quite succinctly.
The ride that follows induced a lot of screaming from one side, and an unconscious silence from another. They would acknowledge the way their hands gripped each other like vices if they weren’t busy using that grip to survive this travesty of a transportation service.
Ayato didn’t know whether to be concerned or relieved when he heard that demonic set of engines blaring in the distance. He honestly should’ve warned Saku faster, considering this was the same taxi Usami had the misfortune of using around a month ago, but it looks like he assumed the others remembered or at least were aware.
Oh well, might as well tell them later
The white car pulls up in front of the law firm he waited at and moves to meet them. The passenger door swings open, and Subaru steps onto the sidewalk, clutching her documents close to her chest. She looks on the verge of puking.
“Bathroom?” He asked simply.
“Bathroom.”
“There’s one just past the lobby. I don’t think anyone went in yet.”
Subaru stumbles past Ayato to enter the law firm. Saku exits the car just moments after, swinging his body wildly in a daze until he clumsily gets himself to lean on a nearby pole.
“Easy there.” Ayato laughed lightly. “You need some help?”
Saku held a finger out. “Not a word to the others. If we’re gonna warn them, leave this out
“Got it.” He replied, seconds before his friend covered his mouth and began to gag. “Okay, let’s get you inside.”