A group of trucks are traveling in the same direction on the narrow expressway. Each of them was similar, yet distinctively different. Escort cars were following them in front and behind them. Heavy rain was falling, and the windshield wipers on each car flashed rhythmically.

Because the brightness from the sky had decreased because of the heavy rainfall, the headlights of vehicles lit the road, creating a bright glow from the rearview mirrors. Oncoming traffic was also illuminated by these lights, giving each driver a clear view of the highway. Trucks were moving slowly, at around 30-50 km/h. The rain was slowing them down because they were loaded to the brim.

If you don’t count the escort cars in front of him, Ichiro’s armored truck was in front of everyone else. As expected, they weren’t allowed to use highways during night hours unless escorted. It wasn’t dangerous per se, but it made things more difficult for drivers. Keeping a distance between themselves and other drivers was crucial. In case something goes wrong, it would be easier for others to notice it.

This convoy comprised twenty trucks in total. Twenty trucks packed with supernatural goods, ranging from material to energy sources, placed in boxes, barrels, bags, and containers.

Ichiro had no problems driving in the rain; in fact, he had far worse situations. For example, where he drove through a flood that hit Fukushima, through the unnatural heavy snow a few years ago in Saitama, and countless times when he had to drive under intense lightning strikes. Driving in the rain wasn’t much different from any other time, but he was careful. Raindrops were hitting his windshield with a peaceful sound. He didn’t feel bothered or tired; he felt relaxed.

The convoy leader seemed frightened of the rain. Every time they passed unpopulated areas, he would scream at the radio saying to be careful. He would say something like, “Watch out, there might be dangers ahead,” and “Don’t go too slow, we need to hurry.”

What kind of danger can occur on this deserted mountain road? Is he scared of ghosts? Or maybe he’s afraid of wild animals? Or the dangers that the goods they were transporting posed? Maybe he’s just being paranoid? Ichiro didn’t know. He knew that the ghosts didn’t exist, because he never saw one. Even though he had seen plenty of paranormal phenomena in his high school days with his friends, he couldn’t remember ever seeing an actual ghost.

That man’s voice echoed throughout the convoy, causing many to laugh and joke amongst themselves. Even though the convoy leader was nervous, they couldn’t help laughing at him. Overall, the radio chatter was cheerful, although it was pouring outside.

What Ichiro didn’t expect, however, is to have a passenger. Next to him, a man in a combat security uniform, with his face hidden behind a balaclava, was sitting silently. Ichiro tried a few times to have a conversation with him, but received no response. Finally, after the third attempt, he left him alone. After all, the convoy leader was doing his job well enough without bothering him, so Ichiro turned up the volume on the music just loud enough to hear the radio talk, and focused on driving.

It was dark, and the rain was coming down hard. His one of favorite Japanese City Pop songs was blasting on the stereo, and he enjoyed listening to it while driving.

I awaken before daybreak~♫

Darkness hides its breath~♫

Tranquility catches up~♫

I can not find a word~♫

The chorus builds, the trumpets sound, and Ichiro sang along, forgetting the gloomy weather surrounding them.

Lord, give me one more chance~♫

This might be the end~♫

Lord, give me one more chance~♫

I’d do anything~♫

After that, Ichiro was only listening, although he was softly tapping the driving wheel to the beat. The expressionless masked guy stared at him, expressionless. But that man feared him shitless. Ichiro was constantly blasting holy energy towards him. He was an undead; he was extremely sensitive to light and holy energy, because it was the only energy that could harm him. But it was always cut off before it reached him, absorbed by Ichiro’s anti-spiritual aura. It was a radioactive fallout from the tactical holy nuke, which was launched over 14 hours earlier. It has faded with time, yet it is still present. The last two pulses sent were more powerful than the previous ones; they were absorbed by the aura, but some energy remained and impacted the undead.

The undead guard felt the pain in his body, and his heart was pounding wildly. To counteract the energy, he clutched his chest and pumped undead energy from his mostly unscathed arm into it. Even after all of that, his face was expressionless.

Ichiro gazed at him after a few seconds, alternating between examining him and the road, and before opening his mouth.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

Ichiro said this with a worried voice and a worried expression on his face. But, to that guard, his speech and expression seemed mocking and condescending. What kind of pain the ghosts caused to him to have such holy aura? It was strong enough to cause physical reactions to a person who had been dead for many centuries.

“I... am fine...”

After fully repelling the holy energy, the undead guard responded after about ten seconds. He hadn’t opened his mouth in months, so it pained him. His voice sounded like it was scraping the blackboard, but Ichiro didn’t seem to mind.

“Are you sure? You don’t look okay...”

Ichiro asked this suspiciously, but the undead simply shrugged his shoulders and exhaled. His job was to guard this truck, and inform about the ghosts in area, but because of this holy energy, he could not sense any ghosts nearby. This made him extremely irritated, but he didn’t show it, since he had to stay silent.

After that, there were no more such holy energy outbursts, and they both drove in relative silence (?) through the heavy rain. The only sound between them being a relaxing city pop coming from the speakers, with occasional talk coming from the CB radio.

***

They arrived in Nagoya four hours later. The heavy rain had stopped, and light rain was falling. Lights were refracting from everywhere, thanks to the wet asphalt. Ichiro felt very comfortable driving in this weather, and he enjoyed the view of the illuminated roads.

A long line of trucks was moving down the major road. The drivers were tired, but as professionals who had been driving for years, they persevered. Ichiro, one of the younger drivers, was feeling tired and hungry as well. After ten hours of sitting, his buttocks ached. Fortunately, the organizer’s voice could be heard over the radio, saying that they would stop in Nagoya for a brief rest.

They came to a halt in the parking lot of the IWT warehouse. It wasn’t fenced in, but there were no cars other than the parked trucks. Ichiro exited the truck along the silent guard, shut the door, and stretched his legs. It was dark, and there were no signs of life in this area except the drivers.

Ichiro didn’t bother looking for the guard after he vanished somewhere. Ichiro went to a nearby convenience store he had seen not far away. He walked into the convenience store, a few droplets falling from his waterproof armor. It was your typical 11-Seven small store, with rows of shelves stacked with merchandise.

“Welcome to 11-Seven!”

With an exhausted ‘I want to go home’ voice, the young girl cashier said this to him cheerfully. Her smile was cute, and she looked pretty, but her voice didn’t match. She was probably in middle school. Ichiro simply nodded and walked to the farthest row, where the lunch boxes and other food were. He grabbed two egg sandwiches, walked to the hot food section, grabbed three nikumans, and asked the cashier to microwave everything he had. While they were heating, Ichiro went to the drinks section and grabbed a large Blue Bull from the fridge.

Ichiro then went back to the cashier, paid with a credit card, grabbed the hot food, and returned to the truck. On the way back, he saw a few of the drivers walking to the store.

Ichiro sat in the truck’s driver’s seat and ate them one by one. They tasted good, but he couldn’t eat too many of these in one sitting, so he finished the two sandwiches first. He took a sip from his Blue Bull and put it on the cup holder next to him. He then started eating the nikuman, and it melted easily in his mouth, but he didn’t finish it in one bite either, so he waited until it cooled down, and continued to eat it until it was gone.

After finishing his midnight meal, he placed them in the plastic bag he was given to carry his foods, and exited the truck to dispose of them in a nearby trash can. He walked around the puddles of water until he reached the trash can, where he threw the plastic bag with a three-point shot.

It was a spectacular miss.

Ichiro grumbled, walked, and squatted to get the bag. While reaching his arm for the bag, he noticed something glittering nearby. Ichiro grabbed it instead of the bag.

“What is this?”

Ichiro muttered to himself as he examined the item he had grabbed from the ground while pointing to the streetlights.

It was just a big coin with a square hole in the middle. On one side were four Chinese hieroglyphs, ‘薰衣草宫’, and on the other, ‘For Guests’ in English. Ichiro understood enough English to read it, but the hieroglyphs on the other side were incomprehensible to him when he read in Japanese. Yaeso Palace? What’s this place?

He looked at it again and thought that it looked familiar. There were several similar coins scattered across Japan, and even in Tokyo, and he had seen that shape before.

“Finders keepers, I guess.”

He took it back into his hands and stuffed it in his pocket. Who knows what this thing is, or where it comes from, anyway? The time will tell, maybe it would be useful someday.

Ichiro took up the already damp plastic bag and softly pushed it into the trash can. He then returned to his vehicle. He sat in the driver’s seat, pushed the lever, and reclined the seat to the lowest it could go, which was halfway to laying down, and closed his eyes, trying to get some rest. The sounds of muted rain helped him fall asleep faster.

***

“Wake up, sleepyhead~”

Ichiro’s eyes popped open with a jolt. He didn’t sleep deeply because he knew he had to drive soon. The time was 3 AM. He was taken aback when he heard a familiar woman’s voice near him. Ichiro was confused why he couldn’t hear the door open and close.

“Who are you?”

A mature beauty sat next to him, wearing a black business suit, and her hair tied with a bow. Her skin was pale, and her face was beautiful. She had soft features that made her look innocent. Her long eyelashes were also very feminine. She was staring at Ichiro with a gentle expression.

“Yoda Doremi~. Ichiro-san, have you already forgotten my voice?”

Ichiro looked at her as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Her appearance and voice did match, but she was much older than him. And her tone wasn’t the same. It sounded different from the voice he heard on the phone. He examined her.

She giggled.

“Ara ara~ Did my appearance enchant you? It’s fine, just take a closer look at me.”

Doremi said it in a teasing voice and smiled at him. However, the face was very serious, and Ichiro was completely in shock.

He rubbed his eyes, keeping a poker face and hiding his awkwardness, and then he opened his mouth.

“Doremi-sama, what are you doing here? I thought you were some higher-up in the organization.”

She giggled again and answered him.

“Oh, nothing serious. I only needed a ride back to Osaka, and that was it. They abandoned me in this city, and there were no trains back because it was after midnight! I called my senpai~, and he sent the coordinates to me. When I arrived here, I noticed a familiar truck, so I sat inside and saw you, Ichiro-kun! So I asked Ichiro-san to give me a lift back~ Do you mind?”

Ichiro nodded slightly and replied in a very calm voice.

“No problems. But... Doremi-sama... how did you get into this truck?”

Doremi pouted at him.

“That’s a secret! Don’t worry about it~ Let’s go home, Ichiro!~“

Fuck. Ichiro felt like his life was an under threat for a moment. She looked like an assassin for a second. Her movements and voice were so cold. He checked to make sure that there was no weapon hidden anywhere, but she had nothing on her besides the briefcase and a wallet on her belt.

Ichiro pulled himself together and kept his cool. He laid back down on the seat, closed his eyes, and opened his mouth.

“Whatever. I’m fine with anything as long as you don’t bother me. Say, at the very least, you informed the organizer, right?”

“Of course. I spoke to the organizer and explained everything to him. He was surprised to see me here, though~”

Doremi giggled and smiled at him. Ichiro nodded and was laying down in the seat, his eyes closed. There was an awkward silence for a minute.

It was broken by a scream coming from the CB radio.

“TESTING! Ahem, one, two, three. ALL THE DRIVERS WHO WERE SLEEPING IN THEIR TRUCKS WOKE UP. We’ll be on the road in ten minutes. REPEATING! We’ll be on the road in ten minutes. Anyone who needs to use the restroom should do so IMMEDIATELY!”

Ichiro jolted up from his seat, readjusted it, wore the seatbelt, and turned on the engine. Doremi, who was still watching him, pouted and muttered under her breath.

“Ichiro, you’re a meanie~“

Ichiro didn’t hear her because the truck’s speakers began blasting music loudly. A few minutes later, the door was opened by a silent, expressionless undead guard, and Doremi squeezed next to Ichiro, giving him enough space to sit. He was unconcerned about the circumstances. The only thing standing between Ichiro and Doremi was a transmission panel and an armrest.

The loud voice screamed again ten minutes later, and Ichiro followed behind the escort car as it drove away. Other trucks followed him one by one behind him. They were now on their final after midnight push to Osaka.