We soaked in the tub until our fingers were wrinkled, and then we flopped down in the main room to cool off. Before we knew it, the sun had set.
“I gotta head back and eat dinner,” Ushio muttered beside me as he sat upright. “Our schedule’s pretty strict, since there’s so many of us.”
“What were the rest of them up to today?”
“Either fishing or cycling through the canyon on rental bikes. I told ’em I was feeling sick, so I didn’t go.”
The thought of him skipping out on fun activities just to wait for me made me feel guilty all over again. Why would he waste his vacation like that? He seemed to read the question in my eyes.
“It’s fine,” he shrugged. “I already did plenty of fishing. Reeled in a whopper.”
“Are you referring to me?”
“Well, you sure are lying there like a dead fish, aren’t you?”
“Shut up and get going already!”
I was having dinner delivered myself, and I didn’t want him around when it arrived. God, I can never relax in public. I walked him to the door; he hugged me, and we shared a long kiss.
“I’ll be back later tonight.”
“What time?”
“Not too late. They’re all probably exhausted from having fun, so I bet they’ll get drunk after one beer. Just wait for me,” he whispered.
My eardrums quivered, along with my lips. “Okay.”
“You know, this whole ‘secret tryst’ thing isn’t half bad.”
I was actually thinking the same thing, but I was way too embarrassed to admit it, so I pushed him out of the room instead.
Less than an hour later, an obscene amount of food arrived, subtly accompanied by an autograph board and a pen like it was a normal part of the meal. I sent the server away, then sat there alone, trying each of the dishes in turn. Thanks to the extra exercise, I was starving, and it was nice to kick back and flip through TV channels while I ate.
After I finished my dinner for one and the dishes were all cleared away, I sat down in the recliner situated by the window in the hardwood corridor. At long last, I had the composure to enjoy the scenery. That being said, there wasn’t much artificial light here like there was back in Tokyo, so I could only vaguely make out the silhouette of the mountains against the night sky. The moon was clouded over.
For as expensive as this little vacation was, I seemed to be enjoying myself quite a bit. I had a nice long bath, followed by a hearty meal, and now for once in my life, I could forget about work and simply relax. I closed my eyes and leaned back against the recliner.
Just then, I heard a boom in the distance. Was that thunder? Hastily, I straightened up and squinted out through the window. The lush trees growing on the other side of the riverbank were now illuminated by a red glow that most certainly wasn’t there before. A trail of dark smoke rose into the air.
Fire.
By the time the realization hit, I was already on the move. Whatever was happening out there, I wanted to see it for myself.
“Whoa!” Right as I dashed out into the hall, I nearly collided with Ushio, who had just arrived. “What’s going on?” he asked, sensing something urgent in my body language.
“Did you hear that ‘boom’ just now?”
“The thing that sounded like a firework?”
“Yeah, that. Something’s on fire nearby.”
That was all the explanation I could offer. My first move was to run to the lobby; Ushio tagged along. I asked the front desk to call 119, then spotted the server from earlier at the souvenir stand and called out to her.
“Excuse me!”
“Oh, hi! Thanks again for…”
“Don’t worry about it. More importantly, can you lend me two bicycles?”
“What? But our bike rental service only operates during the day…”
“Please, it’s urgent! I’ll make sure to return them, I promise!”
My puppy-dog eyes were soon rewarded with a pair of numbered keys. I thanked her profusely, then hurried out to the bicycle rack.
“What’re you gonna do when you get there?” Ushio asked.
“No clue.” In fairness, maybe my brain was poisoned from all the field reporting, but I just had to get out there.
After biking up a gentle slope for about ten minutes, the source of the blaze came into view. In the middle of the forest clearing stood a tall gate, and beyond it was a large building that was unmistakably on fire. I parked my bike on the side of the path, then started combing my way through the crowd of onlookers.
“Can you tell me what this building is?”
“Beats me…”
“I’m just here on vacation, so…”
Then, finally, I struck upon a middle-aged man who was clearly a local. “Used to be an inn, but it got old, so they started remodeling just this spring,” he told me.
“Might there be someone inside?”
“This time of night? I doubt it. Used to get a lot of urban explorer types crawling around, but then they started locking the place up tight. Get a load of that barbed wire!”
“Any idea how the fire could have started?”
“Hmmm… The pipelines, maybe? This whole area’s got a lotta pipes pulling hot spring water from underground.”
The word gas came to mind, and I shivered. I couldn’t smell anything strange, but that didn’t necessarily mean it wasn’t there. “When you say pipelines, are we talking sulfur, or…?”
“Nah, none of that. It’s all natural gas. I’d be too scared to come out here myself otherwise!”
“Ah, I see. Thank you so much. Will you be here for a while? I’d like to speak to you again in about five minutes, if that’s all right.”
“Wha…?”
“Okay, great, thanks.”
After forcing the man into an agreement, I went back to Ushio and handed him my personal phone.
“Start filming.”
“What?”
“Film the scene of the fire and email it to Shitara-san, please. The show’s official email address is already saved in there. Let’s see… We’ll want one video about 15 seconds long and another that’s like 30 seconds. Doesn’t have to be exactly that length.”
It was just past 9 p.m., and The News started at 10; if we were quick, they might toss it on the air. Sensing my intentions, Ushio asked, “You sure you want me filming?”
“You’re a pro, aren’t you? Not that you’ll be paid, or even credited beyond ‘viewer submission,’ but them’s the breaks.”
Asabi generally paid 5,000 yen for footage. Maybe they’d throw in some mascot merch.
“Okay then,” Ushio nodded. “I’ll go find a good spot to film.” He started running, then quickly looked back. “Hey, Kei?”
“What?”
“I’m really starting to think you love your job.”
“I don’t love it,” I answered, “but my job’s the whole reason I’m here with you right now, so…yeah. Talk later!” Ending the conversation, I spun around and called Shitara on my work phone.
“Explosion at an old hot spring inn? Nagano, you say?”
“Yes, sir. No one appears to be in danger, but it could lead to a forest fire on the mountain.”
“Hold on a sec… Sorry, yeah, the news team got word from the fire department. Sounds like they’re sending a helicopter.”
“I’m in the process of filming some insert footage, which I’ll send to you when I’m done. After that, I’m going to interview one of the locals, and I’ll pass that along as well.”
“Got it. Ideally I’d like to get a broadcast going out there, but…you’re pretty far out from town, right? Guess I could reach out to Asabi TV Nagano for whatever it’s worth.”
“I suspect The News will already be on the air by the time they arrive. Plus, I imagine the police and fire departments will show up soon.”
“Roger that. I’ll be in touch if I hear anything.”
“Right.”
The local man from earlier agreed to an interview under the condition that his face was not to be shown; I filmed it on my cell phone, then sent it off. The video quality wasn’t perfect, but still, I was blown away by how far modern cell phone technology had come. When he gave me the name of the old inn, I looked up their website and called the associated management company, but no one answered.
Before I knew it, a procession of fire trucks arrived. They broke open the barbed wire gate and carried their hoses onto the premises while the fire grew in speed and intensity. Hot gusts of wind tousled my hair. I could hear the sound of wood splitting—possibly a support beam collapsing inside the building. In a flash, the police roped the whole area off with yellow caution tape.
I sent each piece of information off as I acquired it in the hopes that it would give them time to write a script for it. Then Shitara called me back. “Got a film crew headed your way. They’ll be there any minute.”
“That fast? How?”
“They were already in town to cover the local farmer’s market for the morning news tomorrow. And they’ve got LiveU.”
“Got it.” By using a compact remote broadcast system like LiveU, they wouldn’t need a news van—they could carry the camera equipment in a backpack.
“When they get there, get in touch with the SCR and run through final checks… We’re really cutting it close. Hard to say if we’ll make it in time, but we gotta try.”
“Yes, sir.”
I didn’t ask who was on the crew, but when I saw a taxi tagging along behind the line of police cars, I walked over just in case.