The two of them exit the store, passing by the crowd which had lessened to only a few people now. The street hadn’t become any more crowded since noon when Isamu had entered the bookstore, only a few cars and very few people.

“You two sure got close fast,” Isamu says as they start towards the crossing some ways down the way. Their way home was on the other side.

“Mhm. She’s fun to get along with,” Akira replies distractedly, fiddles with the contents of her bag. “She even gave me her number in case I needed something.” She carefully avoids moving the notebook.

“Which means you did need it,” Isamu says with a smile.“She’s devilishly good at taking care of people.” He reaches into his pocket and brings out his phone to see a message from Mareo.

Mareo: My hand hurts now, thanks to you!

“Really, now? I didn’t think so….” Akira notices Isamu typing something on his phone. But you’ve only ever spoken about her with that kind of respectful speech. Why’s that?”

Isamu: Fix your sleeping posture first!

Isamu: I just put my feet down to stand!

Isamu: How am I supposed to know that you would travel half the room to leave your hands there?

“It’s because…” He looks around as if a clue was in the air around him. “She’s sort of like the second lake of wisdom I’ve found?”

“Second? Wisdom? Who was the first?”

“My late teacher from junior high. Makoto-san’s daughter. Makoto Shouko.”

Mareo: Wow! That’s some way to apologize to your dear friend!

Mareo: After so long, this is what poor Fuuji Mareo gets!

Akira feels stopped in her tracks. With her eyes almost popping out from surprise, she asks, “Y-you know?”

“Know what?” Isamu asks in return. “What’s she so surprised about?” “... Arai-san?”

“But…but Makoto-san said-”

He turns around to face her. “That just means I’ve been able to hide it well.” Isamu stands in the middle of the pavement, his phone in one hand, a packaged book in the other. The street lights start coming on now and the sky almost dark.

“The less I remind her of sensei actively, the better, right?” He adds.

“What am I supposed to say? I don’t need to know all this! Even though Makoto-san is nice, I don't want to interfere! Why am I becoming part of this....secret of theirs?” Akira tightens her grip on her bag strap.

Mareo: Hey, do you think I can lift Hanae?

Isamu: Yeah, but why all of a sudden?

Mareo: I can, right?

Isamu: Do what you want. Just don’t hurt anyone.

“You don’t need to think about all this, Arai-san. I don’t tell Makoto-san since she’d think there was a part of sensei she didn’t know. She’ll ask me questions about sensei which will, in turn, hurt her. I think I’ll free Makoto-san from a little bit of pain this way.”

Akira starts walking again but seems deep in thought.

“It isn’t harming either of us. I just hear her in my head once in a while and Makoto-san seems to have moved on at least a little...” "Why did that just slip out? Damn it-"

“Hear her in your head?” Akira’s voice sounds mellower than before.

“Yeah. Once in a while.” Isamu feels something churn inside his stomach. “... Shut up! Lying a little won’t hurt anyone!”

“I see. Is that what the earphones are for?”

"Uh...?"

"You're always wearing them, right? You only took them off because I started talking..."

"She... she noticed it?" Isamu mumbles, "Does being a writer make someone psychic?"

After a hearty laugh, Akira says, "No, it doesn't! What kind of logic is that? Haha- You're so much stranger than I thought you were!" She catches up to Isamu, now walking beside him.

“I-... Why? Is there anything wrong?”

“No. It’s just- I had imagined you to be more different than how you’ve acted today.”

“Like?”

“A bit more serious? Maybe a little more insensitive as well,” Akira says as they approach the traffic signal.

“Haha... I sure messed up my first impression, huh?”

Akira looks around for the first time since exiting the store. She sees only a few people on the other side of the road and none on their side.

“No. It wasn’t that bad.” She says with a playful smile.

“So it was bad!”

She chuckles. “But if not for that, you and I wouldn't be here, talking.”

After a moment of silence, Isamu looks at the sky. “People don’t just 'meet’. Every new encounter is a miracle.”

“It’s quite a nice day, Sensei. It’d be great if you were still here. I really need your advice.” He turns to Akira with a melancholic smile.

“That’s the cheesiness that made your first impression bad, you know?”

"That wasn’t mine. Shouko-sensei used to say that a lot. I just happened to remember it now.”

Akira recognizes that smile. It's the same as when Makoto-san talked about her daughter. “I didn’t know her. So I wouldn’t know.”

They hear a faint male scream coming from a distance before they cross the street. “Move or be demolished!” The scream repeats and becomes louder fast. “Move or be demolished! Isamu, you idiot, move!”

Isamu only gets the time to glance once. “What’s that idiot doing now?” He mumbles as pushes Akira back and stands as if ready to take a blow.

Akira, pushed away from the corner of the vacant footpath, sees Mareo running, holding Hanae’s hand behind him; both trying to stop. They crash into Isamu and fall over. “How did this-”

Hanae, the one least injured and least impacted, gets up pushing against Mareo who was on top of Isamu. Mareo and Isamu had taken the brunt of the impact. She dusts her dress next to the two and pulls Mareo offIsamu. “Fuuji-kun, are you okay?”

“Ow ow ow ow…” Mareo flips over and falls on the pavement beside Isamu. “I’m fine. What about you, Hanae?”

He coughs. “They aren’t following us, right?” Hanae shakes her head.

Mareo lies still, spreading his hands. “And Isamu?”

Isamu blinks and breathes rapidly. He moves a few of his fingers checking if he could still move them. His head had hit the ground and he feels numb.

Akira comes up to Isamu and crouches down. “Can you move, Matsumoto-kun?”

Isamu coughs and tries to talk. Seeing him try, Akira sits him up. He bends his neck around and says after a while, “I’ll be okay in a while, I think.” Turning to Mareo, he continues, “Mind explaining what the hell that was?” The numbness hadn’t gone away, but it had subsided enough for him to stabilize himself.

Mareo tries to sit up as well. “Can we talk about that later? It’s getting late and I need to send Hanae home.”

Hanae speaks up, “Don’t worry about me, Fuuji-kun. We need to get you two treated first.”

Akira stands up pushing against her knees. She says, stiffening her voice, “We’re going to my home. Now. It’s close and you can get patched up there.”

Isamu tries to rebuttal, “We can just-”

“And don’t you dare say Makoto-san’s name. We’ve created enough problems there already.”

Mareo tries to say that he could go to Isamu’s place but he stops after a glare from Akira. “Okay.”

“I’m not going.” Isamu props himself up and picks up the paper bag. He says, holding his head, “I’m going home. This day has felt like weeks! And I need to sleep.” He crosses the road and heads home.

The other three follow, soon after, when Mareo pulled himself up. He tries to reassure Akira, thinking she needed it, “He’s like that. Don’t worry about it too much.”

Akira says in a distant voice, “Who said anything about him? You want to go or not?”

“I- … okay.”