Log: Saitou & Shiba

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Who: Shiba Saori and Saitou Itaru

What: Shiba invites Saitou out for a cruise on her bike, to which Saitou wearily accepts, despite being fearful of the motorcycle.

Where: The backroads of rural Hokkaido

When: August-ish

Rating: PG
Warnings: None, save for haphazard driving skills...and a screaming tall man with the legs of a newborn giraffe.


Shiba rode her bike up to the front of the school building. After arriving a week ago from the States and getting some needed maintenance and tuning up courtesy of the more auto savvy at the school, Shiba felt it was time to take her baby out for a little cruising around and outside the town. She pulled back her jacket sleeve to check the time on her watch; three to 11:30.

The counselor had invited a friend to join her, but because of his wariness told him that he could think about it overnight, and if he wanted to join her she would be waiting by the front till 11:30. If he didn’t show, then she’d just go on her own. There was no problem with that, of course. Some alone time on the road was something she enjoyed, but company was also very welcome. It’s just that when she heard that he didn’t venture too far from the town....it sounded like something that would be good for him.

One more minute.

Saitou was running late. He had originally intended to get to the meeting spot at the front of the school early as the prospect of getting to go out with Shiba somewhere was always welcome and he wanted to get going as soon as possible. However, due to the fact that this particular outing would involve him leaving his comfort zone of staying within the town's city limits, it ended up leaving him questioning whether or not he really should join the woman this time. Of course, he had left the town before at other times, but it was almost always for the sake of his role as a teacher chaperoning the students somewhere. That wasn't the case this time. It was at his leisure in this instance, and he wasn't certain if it was worth risking his safety for it. He still wasn't certain how far the yakuza would go to find him, and wandering too far outside of their little hidden away spot in rural Hokkaido made him worry.

On top of that, he had never ridden on a motorcycle in his life before. As such, the idea of combining a person of his stature and lack of grace with an haphazard-looking vehicle sounded like a terrible accident waiting to happen to him. This together with his paranoia over leaving town left him idly pacing around his apartment for part of the morning while trying to argue with himself over what was the best course of action to take and what excuse to come up with to tell Shiba if he wasn't going. To the point that Saitou had lost track of time. Deciding split-second that he preferred putting up with discomfort as opposed to leaving Shiba to go alone, and thus making all his deliberating with himself pointless, he then hurriedly rushed to where the counselor waited, just barely remembering to bring a jacket with him in the process.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." He panted out as he paused to catch his breath after running all the way there. "I got a little distracted and lost track of time."

She snickered at the exasperated man, imagining him probably fussing over his decision, taking a step out of the door then back until he finally made his decision to go along with her. “You sure you want to come along? Hope you’re not forcing yourself because you think I shouldn’t be going out on my own.” For some reason she had a feeling that in the end, he would show up. Saitou was just that type of guy.

While he was indeed that type of guy, it didn't always mean it made things easy for him when he made his decisions. That fact was certain as he gave Shiba's motorcycle a cautious glance, almost daring it to spontaneously combust or something else incredibly absurd simply due to his presence there. "Well, you shouldn't be going out on your own." Saitou insisted, somewhat dodging the question to keep from second-guessing himself. "You did ask me to come with you, after all, and it would be rude of me to leave a lady without the company she asked for." Even if it meant he was somewhat forcing himself to deal with his discomforts. He was already there anyhow, though. So there was no point in chickening out and turning back around now.

“I asked if you wanted to go outside, not to chaperon me.” She pointed out, shaking her head at the man’s strange sense of chivalry. Noticing the looks he was giving her bike, she patted the seat. “Don’t worry. She won’t bite.” Cocking her head to the side, she gestured for the man to come over and get on, swinging her leg over the bike to seat herself. She pulled on her gloves, clenching her fist then opening it again to adjust the fit, then slid on her helmet as she waited for the guy to hop on.

Close enough, Saitou thought to himself while giving the woman a simple shrug and awkward smile in reply. Even if it wasn't the response Shiba had been wanting to hear, it was still enough of a reason to get him joining her for the outing. Yet even though he had managed to convince himself to tag along, actually getting on the motorbike was another matter entirely. "Being bitten isn't what concerns me..." He murmured as he looked the vehicle over.

Despite his doubts about it, Saitou had to admit that it was at least a very attractive-looking bike, and it looked even more attractive with Shiba on it. Then again, he was convinced that the counselor could make anything look good and enticing. Perhaps that was the reason why he was able to talk himself into actually getting on the motorcycle. That combined with the thought that he would be holding onto the woman the entire time he was on the bike was enough to get him to finally swing a long leg over the side of the motorcycle and take a seat behind Shiba. "Do I get one of these as well? Or should I just cross my fingers and hope I don't hit the pavement?" He asked, lightly tapping on her helmet.

“Oh, I thought since it was your first time and all, you should feel the wind on your face.” She teased, giving it a moment before handing him the helmet that was hanging on the handle of her bike. After kicking up the sidestand, she started the bike, turning her head to the side to talk over her shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’ll go easy on you.” Shiba was all for being honest, but sometimes she couldn’t help but lie a little. Turning the throttle, she quickly increased the speed, giving them a bit of a fast start as they swerved around the circular driveway towards the gate.

Saitou had barely had time to put the helmet he had been handed on before Shiba took off with a start. Letting out a rather high pitched squawk of terror in response, the tall man quickly wrapped his arms around the woman's middle and clung for dear life. "What part of this is going easy on me?!" He shouted out over the sound of the bike's engine. They hadn't even gotten out on the road proper yet and they were already going faster than he was caring for. He wasn't sure how he was going to handle this for the entirety of their ride when his heart already felt like it was pounding a hundred miles per hour straight from the start of things. Just his luck that he would probably end up having a heart attack while on a motorcycle.

It was difficult for Shiba to control herself from laughing. Never has she heard anyone scream like that. It was like some weird sort of puppy yelping, duck squawking hybrid with a hint of god knows what. It was too hilarious. She had to slow down a bit to keep them from swerving off to the side. “Ahahahaha!! What was that?!” she cried, tears in her eyes as she continued laughing. He just had the best reactions sometimes.

Saitou let out another frightened yelp as Shiba started swerving about on the road. "Saori-san, please don't drive all over the place like that! It's not safe!" He pleaded with the woman, though being able to feel the counselor's laughter at his expense as he held onto her made it rather apparent to him that it was likely he was being messed with by Shiba. Something he didn't exactly appreciate, but there wasn't really anything he could do about it.

After a while, Shiba finally managed to calm herself down. She had to since they were already on the main road. Another plus for Saitou was that she could only go so fast there. The presence of the other vehicles seemed to worry the man more, considering how tight he was holding on to her. Once they got out of that part of town though, there wouldn’t be many cars and such there. There would be more winding roads going up and down though~ As they approached the edge of the town, she called back to Saitou. “We’re leaving the town now, last chance to back out!”

The sight of the large bundles of steel and fiberglass that dwarfed them on their little motorcycle and passed by them or drove up behind them had put Saitou on edge. The thought of hitting or getting hit by any one of them and being sent flying onto the pavement kept running through his mind as they made their way down the fairly busy main road through town. He was able relax a bit, however, once they reached the edge of town and the traffic cleared. His calming was short-lived, though, as Shiba called out to him and he took this to mean the ride was going to be taken up a notch as opposed to slowing down. "We're already out here, so there's no point in turning back now!" He shouted back, tightening his grip on the woman's waist even more. As much as this road trip was making him fear for his life, largely due to the vehicle's driver and her poor sense of humor, he still didn't want to leave Shiba to take the ride alone. Taking a drive was far more fun when you had company, even if that company was afraid of both the vehicle of choice and of leaving the comfort and safety of their little hideaway town.

And so they zoomed past the town. It was mostly mountainous around the area, so not much chance of bumping into anyone out there. She’d try to not to keep them out for too long. Shiba tried to ease the man’s ride by slowing down to a more comfortable speed. This way he could try to enjoy himself and check out the view. Their surroundings were very beautiful. It would have been a waste not to pay any attention to it. “Sorry about earlier. I couldn’t help myself.” She apologized, lightly patting the arm around her middle. That probably was a little much on a beginner.

As Shiba eased into a slower and easier to cope with speed, Saitou found himself relaxing once again, loosening his iron grip around the woman's waist a bit. He was thankful that his expectations had actually been somewhat wrong in believing that the counselor would continue to make the ride difficult and traumatizing for him, as it gave him an opportunity to actually take in their surroundings as opposed to focusing on fearing for his life. The scenery they passed was indeed beautiful and was one of the things he had come to appreciate about being in Hokkaido, even if he didn't venture outside the comfort of their little town very often. Despite his previous worries, it made him glad that he had made the choice to tag along with the woman for this trip. He didn't get to experience such moments as frequently as he would have liked.

Hearing Shiba's apology, Saitou turned his attention away from the scenic view to focus on his current company. "It's fine." He reassured her, smiling, though his tone suggested a bit of exasperation despite his words. "I would have preferred not having my heart jump up into my throat right off the bat though."

“Had to get your blood pumping somehow~” She laughed. The drive went on without much talking, just the sound of the bike filling the silence. Shiba behaved for the most part, avoiding going too fast or making any sharp turns. At least until she saw a path that went off the main road up ahead. Curious as to where that led to, she veered off the asphalt and drove onto the much bumpier, dirt road. The road was still pretty even, so it should be something her bike could handle. The path lead uphill and around the small portion of the mountain. There were wooden railings that separated the road and the steep mountainside. Eventually they went inwards into a forest. From how clear the path was, it was evident that it was a spot that was frequently visited, which made it easier to drive in.

Saitou had found himself actually coming to enjoy the ride as they continued along the road at a comfortable pace. He had finally been able to take notice of things like the feeling of the wind on his face and just how nice of a feeling it was to have his arms around Shiba's waist. Things he hadn't been able to appreciate while he had been busy panicking and fearing for his life. Yet now that they were simply driving along the calm winding road, he was able to take it all in finally. He imagined he wouldn't mind going on further rides with the counselor if they were like this, as he was sure he could definitely get used to them.

Unfortunately, that was what he thought before the woman suddenly decided to take a detour and veered off onto a dirt road. As they drove along the far bumpier road, Saitou once again worriedly tightened his grip around Shiba. "S-Saori-san, where are we going?" He asked nervously as he looked down over the side of the steep mountain they were climbing.

“That’s what I’m trying to find out~” Her tone showed her excitement and curiosity. The pathway led out into a clearing and Shiba swerved her bike into a stop, killing the engine and kicking down the stand. Pulling off her helmet, Shiba was greeted with a strong but refreshing breeze. They were probably quite high up if the wind was that strong. The clearing ended just a few meters ahead, showing that it was a cliff on the side on the mountain that overlooked the other side of it, the opposite of the main road. A wide expanse of hills and mountains of varying sizes, untouched forests and a thin, crystal blue river that snaked through the lush greenery. Oh, what a great shot this would make...but Shiba would have to settle with ingraining the image into her head. Walking ahead of Saitou, she sat herself at the edge of the cliff, passing under the wooden fence that was obviously put up to prevent people from going past that point. She turned around and beckoned for Saitou to follow. “Come on~ The view is great!”

Saitou was glad when they finally came up to a clearing and were able to stop, as he wasn't sure how much longer he would have been able to handle gawking down at the steep mountainside that the motorcycle had been driving entirely too close to for his liking. Letting out a sigh of relief over being out of immediate danger, he was still a bit surprised when Shiba suddenly slipped out of his tight clinging and got off the bike to head over to the edge of the clearing. As the woman called to him, he felt the urge to suddenly fuss at her for going past the fence and wishing to pull her back away from sitting that close to the mountain's steep cliff for fear that she would actually fall. "Wait! Don't sit that close--!" His words were cut off, however, when he realized his effort to actually get up off the bike himself was turning out to be more difficult than he imagined. Unexpectedly, his legs still felt wobbly and like they were made of gelatin thanks to the panicking in fear he had done earlier, so as the man once again attempted to get up off the bike properly, he took a tumble to the ground. Embarrassed by his fumble, he quickly attempted to pick himself back up, having all the grace of a newborn giraffe in the process.

Shiba winced when Saitou landed with a thud. That looked a little painful....but even while pitying the man, she couldn’t help but giggle while he got tangled in his own legs. Standing back up, she hopped over the fence and walked over to the fallen teacher. Grabbing on to one of his arms with both of her hands, she helped him back up on his feet, moving the other hand to try and support his chest as he tried to steady himself. “You alright?”

It was definitely more than a bit humbling to have someone half his size try to help him stand up correctly, but Saitou gladly accepted Shiba's assistance nonetheless. Even with the help, his legs still felt a bit unstable. At least the ground wasn't speeding past them at frightening speeds anymore, though. "I'm fine. I apparently just wasn't quite ready to move yet, it seems." He sheepishly admitted, a small blush having formed on his cheeks due to the whole ordeal. "I was more concerned about you. You shouldn't have gone past that fence. We're up rather high and you might've fallen and hurt yourself." The thought of something happening to the woman while they were out exploring like this was frightening and he knew he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if Shiba did indeed end up injured while with him.

Shiba offered him a sympathetic smile. “Don’t worry about it, you can lean on me for as long as you need to.”  She couldn’t blame him. It was his first time on a bike, and going up such a road? Of course his legs would be wobbly. At his nagging, she just shook her head, chuckling. “Sensei, you need to relax.” She helped walk him over to the fence, the wooden beams probably giving better support than she could. “It’s dangerous, yes...but sometimes it just feels nice to not be held back.” That said, she crossed under the fence one more time, seating herself along the edge.

Leaning against the fence as he supported his still slightly wobbly legs, Saitou reached out to try and keep Shiba where it was safe. However, the woman quickly ended up out of normal reach and right back where she had been before, much to his annoyance. He supposed he could just stretch his arms out further to grab the counselor and reel her back in where he felt more at ease with them both being; he doubted she would be terribly happy with the arrangement if that were the case, though. Sighing over this, he knew that meant he would have to go over to where she was if he wanted to stay within easy reach of her if she fell at all.

"Are you planning to have all of your activities today be risky ones?" Saitou asked with a huff, an obvious worried pout to his words as he moved to straddle the fence and stepped over onto the more precarious side of it. As he wearily walked up to the edge of the cliff, he had to admit that the view was even better here than it had been throughout their drive up until this point. One could see for miles in front of them the mountainous wilderness of Hokkaido and it reminded the tall man of something he would see in a painting. After a moment, though, he switched his gaze over towards Shiba and decided with another sigh to just sit himself down next to the woman.

“Nope. I don’t plan on planning anything today~” She replied with a grin, swinging her legs back and forth over the edge. “See? It’s not that bad now is it? Come on, let your legs down!” She nudged at him with her elbow.

"In that case, please try to take it easy on the spontaneity for the rest of our outing, so I can at least attempt to catch my breath and recover from all the excitement you've given me so far." Saitou requested somewhat in joking, though he honestly was still very much in need of a breather after all he had experienced up until now. So he was very glad for the current chance to just sit down and rest, even if it was on the edge of a cliff with nothing to keep them both from falling. "No, it's not that bad, but it's still not quite to my comfort level." He twisted his face into an uncomfortable frown when he was elbowed, choosing to keep his legs safely tucked up against his chest as he stared over the cliff edge in distrust. "Saori-san, I think I'll feel best if I don't place myself closer to the danger. I can't say I have the same trust in our surroundings that you have."

“With your powers though, you don’t really need to worry about falling, do you?” She asked curiously. The guy could probably repel himself down with just his arms. “But alright, I’ll play it safe today.” Saori didn’t want to stress him out anymore than this as well. It was an amusing sight though, seeing such a tall man curled up like that. The poor thing really wasn’t comfortable with this. Pushing herself back with her arms, the counsellor scooted herself backwards till her legs were safely up and away from the edge, folding them up just as Saitou did. “Mm, this actually is a bit more comfortable. Let’s just enjoy the view for now. How does that sound?”

“I’m stretchable, not unbreakable. I *can* still injure myself if I fall.” Saitou corrected her, though he was used to the misconception that his ability to elongate himself must mean he was impervious to injuries that involved heights, which was actually far from the truth. Yet his concerns over his own fragility aside, it actually made him happy and feel better when Shiba moved back away from the cliff’s edge a bit like he had done. It felt easier to enjoy their surroundings knowing she was a little safer. “I think I can work with that~” He offered the woman a smile, turning his attention back towards the scenery.

However, thinking for a moment, Saitou then considered something and reached into his pocket. “Ah. Though since it isn’t everyday we get to see something like this,” he noted, pulling out his phone, “perhaps we should save a souvenir~” Snapping a shot of the majestic view, he held it over for Shiba to look at. It would never be as good as looking at it in person, but it was the next best thing for helping remember the moment.

“Oh, that wasn’t what I meant.” She was aware that he could still get hurt, as proven by the practically permanent bruise on his forehead. “I just meant you could probably get yourself down this cliff pretty easily.” At least he was smiling now. Shiba could sacrifice her little bit of fun for that.

Her eyes followed his hand as he lifted his phone up, but automatically glanced away when she realized he was taking a picture. It’s not like her powers would have worked with that, but it was a habit she’d developed.  Once she was sure he was done, she leaned a little more towards the other teacher to get peek at his picture. It certainly did not compare to the actual thing, but no matter how nice the camera, some things just cannot be caught on camera. That did not mean the picture was not beautiful though. The woman scooted a little closer to him when the idea popped into her head, turning the phone in his hand and guiding his arm to angle the camera towards them.  “There, take another one.”

Saitou arched a brow over Shiba's simplistic way of looking at the matter. "If I wasn't falling, yes, but it's not quite so easy to concentrate on manifesting my ability when I'm in a state of panic and suddenly finding myself off balance and hurdling downwards." He once again asserted, before quickly waving it all away. "But it's not important, as I don't plan on falling over the edge, especially since I've managed to get you to move back to a slightly safer distance." He gave the woman a playfully smug smile over this fact, teasing her back finally after all the toying she had done with him during this outing.

The psychologist blinked a bit in confusion when the counsellor then took ahold of his phone and started tugging it away from him. Thinking perhaps that she wanted it for a moment to take a better look at the picture or possibly retake the picture, since she was far more talented with photography than he could ever claim to be, Saitou was about to simply hand it over until Shiba started scooting closer to him. Hearing her words, he then realized what she was trying to do, and offering a delighted smile over this, leaned in closer to the woman until their arms were bumping, quickly snapping a photo that he was sure would help him remember this moment far better than just a picture of the mountains would.

Turning the phone back around to look at the results, Saitou took note of the fact that he probably looked a bit too happy in the picture, but despite it, he still found himself smiling warmly over it. "I think I like this one better~" He mused to his companion.

“That’s a nice smile,” she commented, no sarcasm in her remark. It was much better than his earlier expressions. “And I only moved back because you looked like a mother watching over her five year old.”  Shiba elbowed his arm lightly for his earlier statement, but it was accompanied by a chuckle.

She was aware that she had been teasing the poor man a lot today, but a part of her couldn’t help it. It made her wonder how her day would have gone if Saitou had decided not to meet up with her. There she would be, still on the edge, just quietly looking over the area. Her time there might have been briefer, or maybe she never would have gone up the path at all and continued on the road till she decided to head back to the school. Her trip would definitely have not been as memorable as that picture.

“I’m glad you came along, really.”

Saitou gave Shiba a doubting glance for her remark on his smile, but not hearing any teasing in the way it was said, he opted for just taking her word on it. He personally thought it looked a bit ridiculous, but then, he was prone to having silly-looking smiles at times anyway. "I don't know, sometimes it did feel like I was fussing at a toddler making driving noises who's trying to race headlong between the legs of every adult she sees and risking causing a pile-up in the process~" He then jokingly retorted, making fun of the haphazard driving skills that the woman had subjected him to and simply grinning as he was elbowed for his comments. It was fun to have this kind of repartee with the counsellor, even if he let her get away with teasing him far more than he did with her.

"I'm glad you invited me along~" He replied warmly, before playfully adding on, "Even if you are an unholy terror on the road~" But he honestly was glad that he had decided to join Shiba on this little road trip. More than likely he would have just sat around and busied himself with more schoolwork if he hadn't come along. He would've missed out on all of the wonderful scenery that they had experienced, and he would have also missed out on being able to share a moment like this with Shiba. So he was happy that he got to enjoy all of this. Sometimes choosing to take a few risks brought about good results in the end.

“Well, I hope you’ve found your stomach again,” she smiled at him innocently, giving him two light pats.  “Because this ‘unholy terror’ is giving you a ride back home.” With how he described her driving, despite her thinking otherwise, how could the woman not want to meet those expectations now?

The tall man simply stared back at the woman as he sighed inwardly, not really liking the thought of having to get back on the bike to get back home, especially when he had the strong feeling that he had more than likely just doomed himself to even more terrifying stunts pulled by the counsellor thanks to his last comment. But there was no escaping it now, since he was the one who chose to tag along. "Let's get going then. Hopefully I won't end up too traumatized that I can't stomach our lunch when we get back though." He said in resignation as he climbed to his feet, helping Shiba up as they headed back over to the dreaded vehicle. At least he would get to cling to her some more on the way back. That made it worth the trouble, he supposed. Somewhat.