I swayed and rolled slightly with the motion of the bus, comfortable in the brand new covers of the bed. The air conditioning was nice on my face. The long organza-like drapery around the bed swayed with the same motion as me. Judging from these movements, we weren't on the highway yet. It felt like city driving, so many turns.

It was surreal to be in a bed and feeling this. Could I ever get used to it? A moving bed. It was like being in a literal dream. Playing with gravity.

The door was open to the room, so they'd hear me if I had a problem. But, there was no problem. Instead, I was hearing them. 

"What is that? What's that bag?" Yami asked beyond the door. There was a long zippering, and then everyone in the bus erupted in laughter and cheers. 

"IS THAT A PS5?!" Yami yelled in disbelief. 

"Shh! Sana's sleeping!" 

"Sorry! But, wow! Why did you bring a PS5?!" 

"You can't be away from your PS5 for five seconds, can you?" Nobu asked. "Can we play Rocket League?"

"Of course we can play Rocket League. I figured we're going to be on the bus for a long time. May as well play." 

As always, Masaki was the smartest one of us. There was indeed a small TV mounted to the little wall behind driver-san. It must be becoming videogame HQ right now. 

"Does the bus have Wifi or do I need to buy a hot spot?" Shizue asked, not paying attention. 

"That's a good question for Fleeting World. Hmm, let me see..." Tetsu sounded like he was helping her. His voice among all of them made my ears perk up. Loving his voice, picking it out among them.

Being in this bus. I couldn't get over how surreal it was to be here. My eyes kept widening in realization over and over. All of this had been just talk a few months ago, and now here we were. All that worry and anxiety. Yet, it felt easy now that we were here. How used to it I was becoming, adapting even though it probably hadn't been that long. Or maybe, I was just too comfortable in this bed. It felt like pillowtop. These pillows were definitely goose feather. 

"I forbid everyone from using this stove right now," Sawai-san announced. "It appears to be on a gimble, as if we were on a boat instead. However, none of you know how to cook except for Sana. Imagine trying to cook while the bus is in motion?"

"I can cook eggs," Tetsu offered, so innocent and cute. He did indeed know how to cook eggs. I remembered this so lovingly. Him poking me in the face with his cooking chopsticks by mistake. I hid a small laugh. 

"I can make onigiri," Natsuko said after him. 

"That reminds me. No using knives while the bus is in motion," Sawai-san added on. "And Natsuko, you are definitely not cooking anything. I've spoken to your mom."

Tetsu started adorably giggling. "You food poisoned us when we went on a picnic in high school. Remember that?" 

"Well, that was just one time." 

The music of a videogame filled the front of the bus. "Whoa, too loud," Masaki said over it. "Where's the remote?!" 

There was scrambling, cabinets rapidly opening and closing, something fell on the floor. "I got it!" Hikaru said. The sound went down immediately. What followed were them quietly playing what must have been Rocket League. Shizue cheered on Hikaru when he was playing. Tetsu and Sawai-san were talking about technical details of the bus, such as how to rearrange things in the cabinets for optimal convenience. 

Hearing them all together, getting along. It was just so comforting.

I must have fallen asleep at some point, because when I woke up it was to an adorable person kneeling to the bed, his chin on it, his face pointed at mine so close. His lovely smile. He saw my eyes open, but he poked my forehead again anyway, making me giggle. His happiness was infectious. Such an obvious joy.

"Lunch time," he said, tilting that cute head. 

"Ooh, what's for lunch?" I couldn't help it, I made puckering lips to him. My eyes closed hard and I moved my chin forward over and over in my effort, trying to be cute like him. It worked, because he was laughing as he kissed me. We parted, and he answered. He was so enchanting, so happy.

"Something called a chicken..um...fa-hee-tah. Driver-san got them. We looked them up online. They look safe for you to eat, but you can see, too. We want to make sure they're safe."

Ah, this smile of mine. Trying Tex-Mex food this early into the tour? How adventurous. It was so refreshing. He began bouncing a little, so adorable that I couldn't contain my giggles. 

"What?" He asked, his voice all high. He had to be doing this on purpose. Maybe it was how happy he was. I cherished it. He grinned anew. "Ah! You have to see outside! We're in the desert! The sky is sooo big! When driver-san went into the restaurant to get food, we all stepped outside of the bus for a few minutes. You need to see this!"

"I want to!" Ah, it sounded amazing.

"How are you feeling? Feel weak?" His hand went under the covers and touched my arm. His fingers squeezed it gently, feeling it out. As if he could feel my weakness like this. It made my heart full. 

"A little. I don't know how I'll feel, but I want to be out there with you. I heard everyone playing Rocket League."

He grinned even more, making my heart sigh in it. "Really? We thought you were asleep! Did it wake you?"

I shook my head the best I could in this position. "No. I was awake for a while. I want to see the desert, too. How spicy are the fajitas?"

"Not too spicy. Driver-san made sure." 

"Yay." 

He gave a small giggle at this, and his arm reached around my back. So quickly, he was getting me up. What followed was an adventure into the larger of the two bathrooms. My wheelchair fit in the hallway neatly as he helped me inside. Nobu came over to us as Tetsu was doing this, offering assistance. The bus was in motion, so he was mainly making sure that neither of us fell down. Tetsu thanked him and closed the door once we were inside. I wondered if we'd become experts at this. Of course we would, but it was still a little scary right now. 

When I was done, Tetsu got me looking presentable. He finger combed my hair after he'd washed his hands in the tiny sink in here, and made a little braid behind my bangs. He knew I liked this braid. It made me smile again, remembering the first time I'd done this trick in front of him. A bit of femininity in my natural hair, like a hairband of a braid. It definitely made my hair feel neater, like I was made up a bit. It eased something inside that I wasn't aware was clenched. He washed my hands with a washcloth and dried them, then used the small sink in there for himself again. Then, he stood me up, and opened the door. Holding me from behind and bracing the doorway with his elbows, he carefully got me back into my wheelchair. I was so grateful. Nobu met us here, helping Tetsu out of the bathroom, too. The bus was making miniscule changes in motion, but it was amplified when standing, I learned. 

So easily compared, he wheeled me down the aisle and everyone looked up from their meals. Yami and Masaki were in the recliners, Natsuko was on the lower bunk across from the oven. Everyone else was sitting at the breakfast nook. Yami jumped up from his recliner and offered it to Tetsu. 

"I thought you were going to be sitting there for two months," I giggled. 

"I still intend to," he said like I was serious. He took a big bite from his soft tortilla as he stood unsteadily, some delicious looking peppers and chicken poking out from it. It must have been too good to stop eating. 

But, I saw what the plan was. Tetsu sat down, and Nobu helped me over to him. Like a finely choreographed ballet, no doubt planned, I was sat on Tetsu's lap. His arms went around my middle and a plate of two fajitas was placed in my hands. He leaned me back a little, against his body. Like this, I was secure in place, but extremely comfortable. He took the other fajita from my plate and began eating. Upon first bite, he let out the most satisfied food groan. I was giggling again, because it sounded like the noise a dad would make.

I took my own bite, and understood. It was heavenly. No wonder everyone was being so quiet and just eating. This many people in one room, and you could hear a pin drop. 

Time went on, and I was staring out of the windows of the breakfast nook across from us like Tetsu had wanted me to. It was a sight that I'd never seen. I read it as light brown dirt at first, but no, it was sand. Little hills of it everywhere, off into the distance. The sky was the most startlingly blue. You could see whole clouds, nothing obstructed. Stretching on for miles. It was impossible how big the sky was. It was a reminder of just how big the earth was, because if the sky was this large only right here, then how big was the real roof of the world? 

Slowly, conversation started up. Nobu wanted to buy several decks of cards so they could practice for Vegas. Masaki brought up that the time for practice was over, because we'd be there in about an hour. If we didn't know how to play cards now, it was too late to learn. We'd be at the big leagues shortly. 

It still didn't feel real, but the evidence was all around me. All that sand. Were we really here? It was so strange. I was from the United States, but all of this was just as much of a dream to me as it was to them. I'd never been to the mainland, so I was seeing this for the first time, too. The scale of things, how close or far away. It felt to me like it should take days to get to Vegas, but maybe that was just me wanting to get used to the idea. How odd that the bus already felt comfortable, but everything outside was like a dream running beside the windows.

Yet, everyone was here. Experiencing it with me. That was magic in itself. They were getting excited, talking, laughing.

"Does everyone have sunscreen?" Sawai-san asked. "If you don't, then I do. I'll spray you down."

"Oh, don't spray it near Sana," Tetsu gasped quickly. His arm squeezed around my middle either involuntary or on purpose. Making sure I was protected. This brought me back down to earth. How real this gesture was of his, my every day. I blinked several times, finally making sense of it with this reminder.

We'd soon be in Las Vegas. That place in movies and on TV. Just like how Los Angeles had been. But, that still didn't feel real, even though it was over. Would any of this feel real? Was I actually still in Japan, in a coma having a fever dream? It certainly felt like it. 

"Do you have his sunscreen? His skin is pretty fair. He needs something stronger than this." She wiggled her can of sunscreen. It was an American brand, no doubt bought somewhere that I couldn't conceive of. A convenience store, a grocery store? When had she picked it up?

"Yes, it's in a bag with lotions and shampoo and stuff. Oh, we need it! I should go find-"

"No, I'll get it. You sit there. Relax! This is what I'm here for!" She gave a chuckle at him, getting up from the edge of the breakfast nook. 

"I'll help! What kind of bag is it in?" Natsuko jumped up from her bunk. 

"It's in a clear bag. It's in a small black waterproof bag." 

This conversation was so normal, in such a not normal place. Bringing me even more back down to earth. Centering me. I jumped as Tetsu's kiss met my cheek. My face turned to his and he was giving me a little smile. So content. Before he could say anything more, I puckered my lips just like I had in the bed. He giggled and kissed me lightly, but I savored it for its short time. 

But, in these few seconds the same music that I'd heard from the bedroom came on. We both turned to see the source, and like this was the most normal thing in the world, Nobu was holding a controller. He tossed the other one expertly at Masaki who caught it with one hand leisurely. As if they did this every day. 

And so casually, like we'd been doing this for a million years, we watched them play Rocket League as Sawai-san and Natsuko looked around the cabinets. Tetsu's chin went lovingly on my shoulder as his arms slipped back around my waist even more securely. He was so close that I smelled the chicken fajita on his breath. It was the most lovely thing in the world.