Jiro did not sleep a single second that night. On one side of him, even in the dark, he could see the pale outlines of Kaori and Yui’s naked bodies. Kaori slept with Yui’s legs sandwiched between her own. Occasionally, when Yui made disturbed noises in her sleep, Kaori would run her fingers through Yui’s hair, stroke her naked back, or kiss her softly on the forehead. And each time this happened, little Jiro would twitch and lead big Jiro off on another round of girl-on-girl fantasizing.

When Jiro tried to turn the other direction, he came nearly face-first into the fleshy curves of Aya’s body: tan legs, toned abs, breasts that defied gravity. Aya slept with her arms over her head. All through the night, Jiro was tempted by the sweat and heat of her.

Countless times he thought of giving in. He thought of plunging his face between Yui’s pale, hairless legs and licking up her nectar. Or of burying his face between Kaori’s ass cheeks to take a deep sniff of her musky scents. Or of nuzzling his face against one of Aya’s cantaloupe breasts, flicking her light-switch nipples on and off with his tongue. But he didn’t. Jiro knew that any such move would set off a terrible sneeze attack and wake up all the women. And nothing is more terrifying than a sleep-deprived woman. So Jiro just lay there in the dark, alone with his fantasies, enjoying the bliss of an ultimate torture.

Shortly after dawn, when he couldn’t take it anymore, he gave up and went out. There were some picnic tables overlooking the sea. Jiro brewed a cup of spirit tea (a present from Kaori). Then he sat there drinking the tea and watching the waves hit the rocks, thinking about everything and nothing at all.

The tea still tasted like dirt.

Yui was the first to wake. Now dressed conservatively in outdoor clothes, he watched as she shuffled blearily over to the picnic table and took out a square package of instant noodles: one of the few food items to survive her eating spree the night before. As usual, she did not meet Jiro’s eyes or acknowledge him.

Does she remember nothing about last night? Jiro wriggled uncomfortably in his seat. Yui’s body had been so soft. And the way her legs had gripped his body … During the sleepless night, he had plenty of time to imagine all the naughty things he wished he could do to her.

Yui was struggling to open the instant noodle wrapper. She pulled at it. She shook it. She banged it on the table. She gnawed at it with her teeth. Finally, she threw it down and just sat there staring at it. Is it just my imagination, or is she pouting?

“Here,” said Jiro, putting out a hand. “I’ll open it for you.”

Yui paused. She looked down at the table. She looked at the grass. Then, without a word, she tossed the package onto the table. The plastic package opened easily. And to think she was strong enough to hold me down last night, thought Jiro. He watched as Yui poured the flavor powder directly on the raw square of noodles. Then, without a second thought, she began to munch away on the raw noodles.

Jiro raised an eyebrow. Now that I know her background, she’s actually kind of cute.

For the rest of the morning, Yui said nothing to Jiro. She did not say thank you. She did not offer him food. And when it was time to leave, she walked off and left Jiro to realize it for himself. Yet, Jiro felt an immense satisfaction, something bordering even happiness. But he didn’t quite understand why.

It wasn’t until they were on the road for some time that the reason finally came to him: for the first time ever, Yui had responded. By tossing him the noodles, she had treated Jiro as something more than a speck of dirt to be ignored. Was it just his imagination, or had Yui somehow opened herself to him? There was now a crack under the door. But why the change?

“Are you okay?” Kaori asked him over canned coffee when they stopped at a rest area. “Are you thinking about running away again?”

Jiro shook his head and smiled. “I’ve never been more okay in my life.” For once, he meant what he said. “It’s a good thing Yui doesn’t remember anything, though,” he said. “A guy could die from that kind of embarrassment.”

“What are you talking about?” said Kaori. “Yui always remembers everything. When Yui is possessed, she’s still conscious. That’s why she was able to wrench back control.”

Jiro stared at her.

Kaori smiled. “I’m sure she’s grateful. That you didn’t hit punch her or kick her or claw at her back. They … they used to beat her in the orphanage. Whenever a spirit possessed her. They thought it was a prank. A way to get attention.”

Jiro looked over at Yui. She was in the car, munching on some potato chips. He tried to imagine having his own body taken over by some vengeful spirit. And then having to watch, powerless, as his own body did terrible things to other people. He shuddered. “Does this … happen often? It must be difficult for her.”

Kaori shook her head. “Not as much as it used to. With training, she’s learned to resist most assaults from minor spirits. That’s why I let her come with us on this trip …” She was silent for a while. “But something was strange about last night.”

“What do you mean?”

Kaori licked the last drop of coffee from the rim of her can. “The spirit that possessed Yui. It wasn’t very powerful. Clearly a lesser spirit. Yui should have no problems resisting an assault like that …”

Jiro looked at Kaori. She was frowning. This was not a side of her that he had seen before. “What do you mean?” he asked. “That Yui had a moment of weakness? Or that there’s something more to what happened last night?”

“I don’t know …” She tossed her can into the trash. “It’s probably just my imagination. Come on. Let’s get going. I want to get to Sochi Bay by noon, so we can start looking around.”