Sumi turned her head, her eyes narrowing slightly as she glanced over her shoulder. At first, she didn't understand what she was seeing… but the moment the shapes in the distance became clearer, her eyes widened just a little.
"Hey… darling…" she whispered in a small, unsure voice.
Tokarou stopped walking. He turned slowly, sensing something in her tone.
"What is it?" he asked.
Sumi raised her hand, pointing forward with a soft motion. Tokarou walked up beside her and followed the direction of her finger. Ahead of them, three gelatin like creatures bounced around each other.
Each one was a translucent, wobbling mass, round and shapeless, like blobs of water tinted with a faint bluish hue. And deep inside each body, right in the center, there was a solid blue stone. It looked almost like a crystal core, floating and gently glowing with every movement the slime made. The creatures had no faces or limbs, just smooth elastic surfaces that stretched and compressed as they moved.
"Slimes…" Tokarou murmured.
Sumi nodded lightly and began walking toward them, still observing their strange bodies.
"This is the first time we're seeing them in real life…"
As she approached, the slimes stopped bouncing and turned their upper bodies toward her. If they had faces, they would have looked confused. But the moment they detected something else, something overwhelming that made their entire bodies trembled.
Because standing in front of them was a dark silhouette. Sumi's aura flickered without her realizing it, dark and red energy drifting off her like heat from a flame, it was suffocating for them.
All three slimes shuddered… then suddenly bolted past her in blind panic.
Sumi blinked as they rushed by.
The slimes sprinted as fast as their bouncy bodies allowed. But right in front of them, another dark figure appeared, Tokarou. This time, his aura was even thicker, the dark and red energy boiling around him like waves of heat.
Tokarou watched them closely. Their bodies shook nonstop. One of the slimes slowly turned around, hoping the way behind was safer only to see Sumi walking toward them again.
The slime panicked.
Its core began to glow, brighter and brighter, as if it was charging energy. Then it launched itself straight at Sumi with surprising speed.
But the moment it hit her, its body compressed too much… and burst. The slime exploded into scattered droplets, its body splashing apart.
Sumi stared at the wet spot on the ground.
"Huh…"
The other two slimes jumped in fright. One immediately tried to run again, but Sumi stepped in its path. It froze like it hit a wall. Sumi leaned down and picked it up lightly, wanting to examine it only for her grip to be too strong.
The slime burst in her hand, its gel like remains splattering all over her clothes.
She looked down at herself, then slowly up at Tokarou.
"Darling…"
Tokarou didn't reply at first. He simply looked at the last slime trembling on the ground.
"Looks like we really are too strong…" he said in a small voice.
But then something in the slime caught his attention, the glowing blue stone inside its body.
He watched it for a moment… then vanished.
A gust of wind blew past Sumi, lifting the edge of her skirt slightly. She blinked in surprise and turned. Tokarou was already standing behind her, holding the blue stone between his fingers. The slime he took it from slowly lost its shape, melting into a puddle of water.
Sumi glanced at the dissolving creature, then back at him.
"Wow… you really were fast there…" she said quietly.
Tokarou nodded once.
"These must be the stones people collect and sell for money."
"I see…" Sumi replied, observing the stone.
"And it looks like we need to control our strength more because if I do this.." Tokarou added. To demonstrate, he pressed his fingers just slightly. The stone shattered instantly into tiny fragments.
Sumi blinked at the pieces falling from his hand.
"You need to control it a lot more… It looks like you're too strong for this world. You took the core out without making the slime explode from your strength alone."
Tokarou sighed softly.
"I think we should continue walking now…"
Sumi turned around and resumed walking forward.
"I and my clothes are dirty…" she muttered.
"Don't complain," Tokarou replied. "You're the one who picked it up."
Sumi glanced at him, her voice turning small again.
"I just wanted to see how it feels to hold one in real life…"
After walking for quite some time, the color of the sky gradually shifted. The bright blue of the afternoon softened into a warm orange, the sun already nearing the horizon. Long shadows stretched across the ground as Sumi and Tokarou came to a stop side by side.
In front of them flowed a small, calm river. The water was so clear it looked almost transparent, letting them see the stones settled at the bottom. Smooth rocks of different shapes were scattered across it, and small fish swam lazily between them, their movements creating faint ripples on the surface.
Tokarou exhaled softly.
"I think we should stay here for now since we didn't find any people anywhere…" he said in a quiet tone.
Sumi nodded, then turned her head slightly to look at him. A small smirk tugged at her lips.
"Darling, why don't you catch some of those fish? We should at least eat something."
Tokarou gave her a brief glance before bending down. He pulled up the lower part of his pants to keep them dry, then turned his attention to the river.
He leaned forward slightly then vanished.
The wind created by his sudden dash swept past Sumi, making nearby grass flatten and flutter backward. A moment later, the surface of the river splashed upward as Tokarou appeared inside it for a brief instant before disappearing again.
One by one, fish began landing beside Sumi, flopping helplessly on the grass. They jumped desperately, their bodies reflecting the last orange light of the sunset before settling in exhaustion due to the lack of water.
Tokarou reappeared quietly at her side.
"Now, would you cook these so we can eat?"
Sumi let out a small smile and nodded.
Time passed, and the sky grew completely dark. They gathered dry branches and built a campfire near the riverbank. Its warm glow lit the area, Sumi took a bath at the river and cooked all the fish Tokarou caught. The simple meal filled the quiet night with a warm scent, and after eating, they lay down together on the soft grass.
Side by side, they looked up at the sky. From their spot on the ground, the night stretched endlessly, filled with stars that flickered gently.
"Clear sky, isn't it…" Sumi murmured.
Tokarou stayed silent for a moment before speaking.
"Yes… it'll be bad if it rains."
Sumi's eyes lowered slightly, her expression changing to little cold.
"Rain, huh…"
As she whispered that, a memory surfaced, one from long ago, when they were still children.
The sound of heavy rain echoed in her mind. She remembered sitting near a metal dustbin, the cold ground beneath them. Rain poured harshly, hitting the pavement and spilling water everywhere. Little Tokarou had wrapped his arms tightly around little Sumi, pressing her close to shield her head with his own. His small body trembled from the cold, but he never loosened his hold on her.
Their eyes back then were dull, expressionless, carrying a quiet emptiness. And yet, even in that cold, bleak moment, they held onto each other without letting go. Sumi remembered how she had hugged him back with all the strength she had.
The memory faded as she gently closed her eyes.
"Yes… it'll be bad," she said softly.