24.4
Look Both Ways
Chapter 23: Operation Bento
Part 4: Lunch Surprises
“Is Hikaru here yet?” Yamada asked the group as they gathered in the dance room.
Yabu took a look around to confirm. “Nope, not yet.”
“Though this isn’t like him,” Kei mused. “He’s usually the first one in, last one out kind of guy.”
“Why? Are we about to start?” Daiki asked. “Because I can scream at him on the phone again. That always gets him up and running.”
“No,” Yamada said. But then he gave that some thought. “Actually, that doesn’t sound like a bad plan at all but maybe later. If he’s still late. I don’t really care why he’s not here at the moment though because good, good that he’s not.”
“It’s good that he’s late?” Takaki asked, confused.
Yuto, Chinen, and Keito were already moving the chairs to a circle when Yamada delivered his line, “Yes. We need to talk.”
-----
“So you’re telling us that the reason Hikaru isn’t telling Konako the truth is because he has developed some PTSD over her not remembering him?” Daiki asked, ogling.
Yamada nodded. “Exactly. Which is why we think it best if Kei goes and talk to him over lunch after Konako visits so we can iron his problems out.”
“If he won’t do it himself, that is,” Yuto said. “Though at this point, I think we can all agree that it’s highly unlikely.”
Kei shot his hand up in the air. “Wait, why do I have to talk to Hikaru?”
“Because you need to get him to talk about his past with Konako,” Yamada said, one eyebrow up. He thought he had made that perfectly clear. “So you can give him some concrete advice on how to deal with this problem without having him figure out that we already know.”
“Like what happened when Konako was talking to Ryutaro,” Yuto reminded them.
“That’s true,” Takaki said, nodding. “Besides, if we leave it up to Hikaru, he might just end up beating around the bush forever.”
“Yes, I understand that,” Kei said. “But why do I have to talk to him? I hardly think I’m qualified for the job.”
“Because he listens to you?” Yabu remarked.
“No, he listens to you!”
“Not as well as I’d like,” Yabu admitted. “And anyway, he’s more likely to open up with you.”
“If that were true then the whole time he fell into that rut, he would have actually talked to me,” Kei pointed out. “If anything, I was more of a distraction, which is not healthy coping mechanism.”
“I think your presence had been instrumental,” Keito said.
“Calming,” Yuto added.
Chinen nodded. “Yeah. Less nagging. More listening.”
Yabu instantly felt bad. “Hey…” Was that really how people thought of him now?
That was when Daiki slammed a hand on both of Kei’s and Yabu’s shoulders. “All right, shush it, ladies. Here he comes.”
When Hikaru opened the door and said his apologies, tossing his bag down again in a clatter (“Hika, seriously!” Daiki cried. “Would it kill you to just put your weights down like a normal person?!”), Takaki leaned over to Kei. “Don’t forget to talk to him about the thing later,” he whispered loudly.
“All right, now that Hikaru’s here, get into formation!” Yamada called. “Let’s do FOREVER.”
-----
“Hika. Oy. Hika.”
Hikaru’s head whipped back to look at Yamada. “Yo, what’s up? It’s me, ya boy.”
Yamada chose to ignore that strange response. “Isn’t that Konako?” he asked, pointing at Hikaru’s phone, which the latter had left lying on the floor, next to his bag.
“Huh?” His phone had been placed on silent mode but sure enough, the candid picture Hikaru had taken of Konako back in the island was flashing on his screen. Hikaru immediately grabbed his phone and ran outside of the room to get some privacy. It was bad enough that people had been egging him about Konako relentlessly lately. He didn’t want them spying on their conversations too.
“Kona?” he asked nervously as soon as he picked up the call. “Is something wrong?” After all, there were a million reasons she could be calling out of the blue like this but Hikaru couldn’t help it: he just wanted to get the worst possibilities out of the way. He was already running through the most distressing ones in his head and planning countermeasures.
“Hika!” she chirped. “No, it’s all right! Everything’s peachy!” For the most part, that must have been true. Her tone was bubbly enough, and yet Hikaru could have sworn he could detect some edge to it? Or maybe he was just overreading it. Hikaru tended to do that. With everything, really. But the habit was more pronounced with her. “I was just wondering. Are you on break already?” That was a lie. She specifically knew he was on break because Yamada had texted her as soon as he had called the break.
“Huh?” Hikaru wasn’t expecting her to ask that. “Yeah, actually, we are. Perfect timing, really. Why?”
“I hope you don’t mind but I asked Yama-chan where you’re working so I could drop by and give you something.”
It took a while for Hikaru to process what she had just said. His heart was racing in his chest. “What are you saying? Y-you’re outside?”
“Yeah!” She suddenly sounded nervous. “But only if it’s okay. I mean, if it’s a bad time, or a bad location, I can always just -“
“Don’t be silly,” he interrupted, already dashing to the exit. His grin must have eaten through half his face. “Where are you, sunshine? I’m on my way.”
-----
The moment he saw her, Hikaru practically engulfed Konako with the biggest hug he could give her. “I can’t believe you’re actually here!” he screamed, lifting her as he squeezed.
She laughed, hugging him back. “Nice to meet you too!”
“I wasn’t expecting you!”
“It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if you were,” she pointed out.
“I dunno,” he said as he set her down on her feet again. “We could do a thing where we tell each other we’re about to surprise the other and the other person waits in anticipation and just acts all surprised!”
She giggled. “That’s crazy.”
Hikaru was doing this thing where he was playing with his eyebrows. “Is it? Is it really though? I think it sounds like a splendid idea.” He was aware he was doing the weirdest of faces. He had a knack of doing it but especially more so since he discovered that it would send Konako giggling. She was certainly laughing now.
Konako pushed him backwards. “Stop!” she begged. “I can’t laugh this much.”
“You already are,” Hikaru said, hugging the life out of her again.
“Oy, if I hyperventilate again, you’re facing the consequences.”
Hikaru snorted. “Oh, and what’s that? Are you going to put a stop on the kisses?”
“If that’s what takes you to stop, then yes!” She tried to look serious. Key word: tried. But Hikaru relented nonetheless.
“Oh, all right, fine, you win. Anyway, why are you here?” Hikaru wondered, pushing her back but still holding on to her shoulders so he could take a good look at her. “Shouldn’t you be back home, writing your big novel, or drawing up a masterpiece, or some other important life project your genius creates?” That was when a thought suddenly occurred to him. “Did you just come by because you wanted to say hi?” He grinned expectantly, playing with his eyebrows again.
“Stop it already!” she screamed, laughing.
“Well, did you?” Honestly, that would still have been a valid enough reason for Hikaru. He just so incredibly overwhelmed with joy she even bothered to visit at all.
“No. It’s because I made you a bento!” she exclaimed, back to nervous.
Hikaru blinked. “A bento? For me? Really?” His expression morphed from that of surprise to pure elation.
“Really.” She picked up a package that she had left on the floor: a bento box wrapped in green cloth.
Hikaru could feel his jaw dropping. “Are you serious?”
Konako rolled her eyes. “No, you’re right. You caught me: this was all just a joke. Of course I’m serious, Hika.”
“Can I eat it now?” he asked, shooting his face up to hers. He couldn’t have looked any more than an excited puppy if he tried.
“Are you serious?”
“Absolutely! I want to eat it now!” Hikaru was already taking a seat down the steps.
“Are you crazy?!” Konako screamed, face flushing with embarrassment. “Don’t eat that out here. Get inside, Hika! You really should eat that some place more comfortable.”
He pouted. “No way! You know those guys will just ask from me. I want to be selfish and eat Konako’s bento for myself.”
Konako was shifting her weight from one foot to the other. “I don’t want you to eat it front of me.”
“Why not? Don’t you want to see my face melt with happiness when I eat it?” He smiled sweetly, begging.
“I can’t even guarantee that your face will melt with happiness. I don’t cook, remember?”
“That’s exactly why I’m so happy,” Hikaru said as he started unwrapping the ribbons. “You went out of your way to make one for me. I can tell you right now: I love it already.”
“Hika, please don’t…”
That was when Hikaru opened the lid and saw the intricate art inside. There were rice balls shaped to look like a boy and a girl, who were both wearing yukatas. The boy onigiri, who was donning a yellow mask strangely reminiscent of the Yellow Ranger one Konako had chosen for him years ago, was juggling three balls cut out from cheese while the girl onigiri, with seaweed hair wrapped up in a little bun on top of her head, was holding up a skewered cherry tomato like a candy apple. An egg roll heart was placed between them. To the right were rice noodles in a bowl of lettuce, upon which swam three carrot goldfish and a cucumber turtle. The rest of the space was occupied with octopus hotdogs turned upside down, egg roll and ham flowers, broccoli, and vegetables cut into stars and hearts. Clustered together like that, they almost looked like fireworks, which they must have been.
Suddenly, Hikaru’s recurring dream from the past two days came hurtling out of his subconsciousness and into his waking thoughts.
“Konako…” he exhaled. “This is amazing…”
She blushed. “Well, I hope it tastes as good as it looks. I tried my best. That, and I had help.”
Hikaru was at a loss for words. Help? Had she asked Yamada for help? Was that why he was so quick to point out that his phone was ringing earlier? “Kona -“
“Anyway, you should go back in,” Konako stammered. “I don’t want to take too much of your time. After all, you’re working hard over there, aren’t you?”
“Y-Yes.” That part was certainly true. But he didn’t want her to go yet. There was too much to talk about. First it was the dance and now there was this bento. Could she have actually started remembering?
Had she always remembered?
Konako nodded, shaking. “I’ll see you around then, whenever you’re free. You can keep the bento box until then.”
Hikaru was delicately setting the bento box down, trying to get to his feet. “Kona -“
That was when Konako kissed his cheek. Hikaru was so surprised, he was stunned speechless, just as his twelve-year-old self had been the first time this had happened. But it was more than just a simple kiss anymore.
Because the last time she had kissed him like that, she had been crying.
The last time she had kissed him like that, he never thought he was going to see her again.
And suddenly, he was transported back to that fateful day, staring at her helplessly as she pulled away.
“You work hard, okay?” Konako was saying now, as she slowly stepped back, and in doing so, completely forgot that there was still a step behind her.
She gasped the moment she felt her foot drop. But Hikaru was already reaching for her arm, pulling her towards him before she could fall backwards.
By the time she let out an involuntary squeak, her face was already too close to his face. And Hikaru was right there, looking at her with what seemed like intense fear etched into his features.
“Kona, you promised you’d be careful,” he whispered, his voice ringing with worry.
“Sorry!” she yelped. Konako couldn’t help but notice that from this angle, his lips were just a few centimeters shy from hers. Once upon a time, Konako had thought Hikaru’s lips were too flat, too undefined, but that was apparently only because he almost always had them stretched too thin from smiling. They were perfectly proportioned up close now, perfectly plump. Perfectly something.
He let out a soft chuckle. “You better be. Don’t forget to look both ways, all right?” he said, pressing those same lips softly on hers then, without warning. “I’ll see you later.”
“Later?” she echoed, still dazed from the kiss, not sure if she heard that right.
“Yeah, I’ll surprise you.” He grinned. “And I’ll make sure to call ahead.”
She laughed. “I’ll act surprised then.”
“Now go on, Konako,” he urged. “Or at this rate, I’m never letting you go.”
As Konako staggered away, red-faced, she came to realize that she really was squinting as she obediently stopped to stare at the streetlights before crossing the street. Maybe Kuraki had a point regarding her vision after all.
She tried not to get bothered over the memory of Hikaru pulling her back, his soft lips murmuring into her ears before crashing them back into her own as naturally as a wave meeting the shore. It was crazy, that’s what this was. Imagine having already kissed your boyfriend and getting flustered about it all over again. Over the mere act of kissing his cheek alone.
But then again, something about remembering their first encounter when Konako had so boldly flung her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek goodbye had made the action all the more intimate. Her ten-year-old self had it so much easier. Hikaru wasn’t nearly as handsome then as he was now. He had aged well. And yet still managed to stay just as charming. Which only made the whole business with physical touch all the more infuriating.
And really, what was the point of slaving over a bento designed to trigger his memory if she wasn’t even going to stay and talk to him about it? Now she would have to go through the troublesome task of reporting to Suzu that the whole operation had failed. She had no idea what to tell Yamada.
It took Konako a while to realize that Hikaru was calling her name. When she turned to look back, he was pointing behind her. “You can cross now!” he was apparently screaming, looking every little bit amused.
Konako jumped. “Right!” Of course, she was lost in her thoughts again. She could already hear Kuraki’s voice reprimanding her for spacing out again. She really needed to focus on grounding her consciousness to earth. Hikaru had a lot more pressing matters to worry about. She didn’t want to be a burden.
No, she thought as she found herself standing in front of an optical store across the street, she definitely wasn’t going to be a burden.
Chapter 23: Operation Bento
Part 4: Lunch Surprises
“Is Hikaru here yet?” Yamada asked the group as they gathered in the dance room.
Yabu took a look around to confirm. “Nope, not yet.”
“Though this isn’t like him,” Kei mused. “He’s usually the first one in, last one out kind of guy.”
“Why? Are we about to start?” Daiki asked. “Because I can scream at him on the phone again. That always gets him up and running.”
“No,” Yamada said. But then he gave that some thought. “Actually, that doesn’t sound like a bad plan at all but maybe later. If he’s still late. I don’t really care why he’s not here at the moment though because good, good that he’s not.”
“It’s good that he’s late?” Takaki asked, confused.
Yuto, Chinen, and Keito were already moving the chairs to a circle when Yamada delivered his line, “Yes. We need to talk.”
-----
“So you’re telling us that the reason Hikaru isn’t telling Konako the truth is because he has developed some PTSD over her not remembering him?” Daiki asked, ogling.
Yamada nodded. “Exactly. Which is why we think it best if Kei goes and talk to him over lunch after Konako visits so we can iron his problems out.”
“If he won’t do it himself, that is,” Yuto said. “Though at this point, I think we can all agree that it’s highly unlikely.”
Kei shot his hand up in the air. “Wait, why do I have to talk to Hikaru?”
“Because you need to get him to talk about his past with Konako,” Yamada said, one eyebrow up. He thought he had made that perfectly clear. “So you can give him some concrete advice on how to deal with this problem without having him figure out that we already know.”
“Like what happened when Konako was talking to Ryutaro,” Yuto reminded them.
“That’s true,” Takaki said, nodding. “Besides, if we leave it up to Hikaru, he might just end up beating around the bush forever.”
“Yes, I understand that,” Kei said. “But why do I have to talk to him? I hardly think I’m qualified for the job.”
“Because he listens to you?” Yabu remarked.
“No, he listens to you!”
“Not as well as I’d like,” Yabu admitted. “And anyway, he’s more likely to open up with you.”
“If that were true then the whole time he fell into that rut, he would have actually talked to me,” Kei pointed out. “If anything, I was more of a distraction, which is not healthy coping mechanism.”
“I think your presence had been instrumental,” Keito said.
“Calming,” Yuto added.
Chinen nodded. “Yeah. Less nagging. More listening.”
Yabu instantly felt bad. “Hey…” Was that really how people thought of him now?
That was when Daiki slammed a hand on both of Kei’s and Yabu’s shoulders. “All right, shush it, ladies. Here he comes.”
When Hikaru opened the door and said his apologies, tossing his bag down again in a clatter (“Hika, seriously!” Daiki cried. “Would it kill you to just put your weights down like a normal person?!”), Takaki leaned over to Kei. “Don’t forget to talk to him about the thing later,” he whispered loudly.
“All right, now that Hikaru’s here, get into formation!” Yamada called. “Let’s do FOREVER.”
-----
“Hika. Oy. Hika.”
Hikaru’s head whipped back to look at Yamada. “Yo, what’s up? It’s me, ya boy.”
Yamada chose to ignore that strange response. “Isn’t that Konako?” he asked, pointing at Hikaru’s phone, which the latter had left lying on the floor, next to his bag.
“Huh?” His phone had been placed on silent mode but sure enough, the candid picture Hikaru had taken of Konako back in the island was flashing on his screen. Hikaru immediately grabbed his phone and ran outside of the room to get some privacy. It was bad enough that people had been egging him about Konako relentlessly lately. He didn’t want them spying on their conversations too.
“Kona?” he asked nervously as soon as he picked up the call. “Is something wrong?” After all, there were a million reasons she could be calling out of the blue like this but Hikaru couldn’t help it: he just wanted to get the worst possibilities out of the way. He was already running through the most distressing ones in his head and planning countermeasures.
“Hika!” she chirped. “No, it’s all right! Everything’s peachy!” For the most part, that must have been true. Her tone was bubbly enough, and yet Hikaru could have sworn he could detect some edge to it? Or maybe he was just overreading it. Hikaru tended to do that. With everything, really. But the habit was more pronounced with her. “I was just wondering. Are you on break already?” That was a lie. She specifically knew he was on break because Yamada had texted her as soon as he had called the break.
“Huh?” Hikaru wasn’t expecting her to ask that. “Yeah, actually, we are. Perfect timing, really. Why?”
“I hope you don’t mind but I asked Yama-chan where you’re working so I could drop by and give you something.”
It took a while for Hikaru to process what she had just said. His heart was racing in his chest. “What are you saying? Y-you’re outside?”
“Yeah!” She suddenly sounded nervous. “But only if it’s okay. I mean, if it’s a bad time, or a bad location, I can always just -“
“Don’t be silly,” he interrupted, already dashing to the exit. His grin must have eaten through half his face. “Where are you, sunshine? I’m on my way.”
-----
The moment he saw her, Hikaru practically engulfed Konako with the biggest hug he could give her. “I can’t believe you’re actually here!” he screamed, lifting her as he squeezed.
She laughed, hugging him back. “Nice to meet you too!”
“I wasn’t expecting you!”
“It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if you were,” she pointed out.
“I dunno,” he said as he set her down on her feet again. “We could do a thing where we tell each other we’re about to surprise the other and the other person waits in anticipation and just acts all surprised!”
She giggled. “That’s crazy.”
Hikaru was doing this thing where he was playing with his eyebrows. “Is it? Is it really though? I think it sounds like a splendid idea.” He was aware he was doing the weirdest of faces. He had a knack of doing it but especially more so since he discovered that it would send Konako giggling. She was certainly laughing now.
Konako pushed him backwards. “Stop!” she begged. “I can’t laugh this much.”
“You already are,” Hikaru said, hugging the life out of her again.
“Oy, if I hyperventilate again, you’re facing the consequences.”
Hikaru snorted. “Oh, and what’s that? Are you going to put a stop on the kisses?”
“If that’s what takes you to stop, then yes!” She tried to look serious. Key word: tried. But Hikaru relented nonetheless.
“Oh, all right, fine, you win. Anyway, why are you here?” Hikaru wondered, pushing her back but still holding on to her shoulders so he could take a good look at her. “Shouldn’t you be back home, writing your big novel, or drawing up a masterpiece, or some other important life project your genius creates?” That was when a thought suddenly occurred to him. “Did you just come by because you wanted to say hi?” He grinned expectantly, playing with his eyebrows again.
“Stop it already!” she screamed, laughing.
“Well, did you?” Honestly, that would still have been a valid enough reason for Hikaru. He just so incredibly overwhelmed with joy she even bothered to visit at all.
“No. It’s because I made you a bento!” she exclaimed, back to nervous.
Hikaru blinked. “A bento? For me? Really?” His expression morphed from that of surprise to pure elation.
“Really.” She picked up a package that she had left on the floor: a bento box wrapped in green cloth.
Hikaru could feel his jaw dropping. “Are you serious?”
Konako rolled her eyes. “No, you’re right. You caught me: this was all just a joke. Of course I’m serious, Hika.”
“Can I eat it now?” he asked, shooting his face up to hers. He couldn’t have looked any more than an excited puppy if he tried.
“Are you serious?”
“Absolutely! I want to eat it now!” Hikaru was already taking a seat down the steps.
“Are you crazy?!” Konako screamed, face flushing with embarrassment. “Don’t eat that out here. Get inside, Hika! You really should eat that some place more comfortable.”
He pouted. “No way! You know those guys will just ask from me. I want to be selfish and eat Konako’s bento for myself.”
Konako was shifting her weight from one foot to the other. “I don’t want you to eat it front of me.”
“Why not? Don’t you want to see my face melt with happiness when I eat it?” He smiled sweetly, begging.
“I can’t even guarantee that your face will melt with happiness. I don’t cook, remember?”
“That’s exactly why I’m so happy,” Hikaru said as he started unwrapping the ribbons. “You went out of your way to make one for me. I can tell you right now: I love it already.”
“Hika, please don’t…”
That was when Hikaru opened the lid and saw the intricate art inside. There were rice balls shaped to look like a boy and a girl, who were both wearing yukatas. The boy onigiri, who was donning a yellow mask strangely reminiscent of the Yellow Ranger one Konako had chosen for him years ago, was juggling three balls cut out from cheese while the girl onigiri, with seaweed hair wrapped up in a little bun on top of her head, was holding up a skewered cherry tomato like a candy apple. An egg roll heart was placed between them. To the right were rice noodles in a bowl of lettuce, upon which swam three carrot goldfish and a cucumber turtle. The rest of the space was occupied with octopus hotdogs turned upside down, egg roll and ham flowers, broccoli, and vegetables cut into stars and hearts. Clustered together like that, they almost looked like fireworks, which they must have been.
Suddenly, Hikaru’s recurring dream from the past two days came hurtling out of his subconsciousness and into his waking thoughts.
“Konako…” he exhaled. “This is amazing…”
She blushed. “Well, I hope it tastes as good as it looks. I tried my best. That, and I had help.”
Hikaru was at a loss for words. Help? Had she asked Yamada for help? Was that why he was so quick to point out that his phone was ringing earlier? “Kona -“
“Anyway, you should go back in,” Konako stammered. “I don’t want to take too much of your time. After all, you’re working hard over there, aren’t you?”
“Y-Yes.” That part was certainly true. But he didn’t want her to go yet. There was too much to talk about. First it was the dance and now there was this bento. Could she have actually started remembering?
Had she always remembered?
Konako nodded, shaking. “I’ll see you around then, whenever you’re free. You can keep the bento box until then.”
Hikaru was delicately setting the bento box down, trying to get to his feet. “Kona -“
That was when Konako kissed his cheek. Hikaru was so surprised, he was stunned speechless, just as his twelve-year-old self had been the first time this had happened. But it was more than just a simple kiss anymore.
Because the last time she had kissed him like that, she had been crying.
The last time she had kissed him like that, he never thought he was going to see her again.
And suddenly, he was transported back to that fateful day, staring at her helplessly as she pulled away.
“You work hard, okay?” Konako was saying now, as she slowly stepped back, and in doing so, completely forgot that there was still a step behind her.
She gasped the moment she felt her foot drop. But Hikaru was already reaching for her arm, pulling her towards him before she could fall backwards.
By the time she let out an involuntary squeak, her face was already too close to his face. And Hikaru was right there, looking at her with what seemed like intense fear etched into his features.
“Kona, you promised you’d be careful,” he whispered, his voice ringing with worry.
“Sorry!” she yelped. Konako couldn’t help but notice that from this angle, his lips were just a few centimeters shy from hers. Once upon a time, Konako had thought Hikaru’s lips were too flat, too undefined, but that was apparently only because he almost always had them stretched too thin from smiling. They were perfectly proportioned up close now, perfectly plump. Perfectly something.
He let out a soft chuckle. “You better be. Don’t forget to look both ways, all right?” he said, pressing those same lips softly on hers then, without warning. “I’ll see you later.”
“Later?” she echoed, still dazed from the kiss, not sure if she heard that right.
“Yeah, I’ll surprise you.” He grinned. “And I’ll make sure to call ahead.”
She laughed. “I’ll act surprised then.”
“Now go on, Konako,” he urged. “Or at this rate, I’m never letting you go.”
As Konako staggered away, red-faced, she came to realize that she really was squinting as she obediently stopped to stare at the streetlights before crossing the street. Maybe Kuraki had a point regarding her vision after all.
She tried not to get bothered over the memory of Hikaru pulling her back, his soft lips murmuring into her ears before crashing them back into her own as naturally as a wave meeting the shore. It was crazy, that’s what this was. Imagine having already kissed your boyfriend and getting flustered about it all over again. Over the mere act of kissing his cheek alone.
But then again, something about remembering their first encounter when Konako had so boldly flung her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek goodbye had made the action all the more intimate. Her ten-year-old self had it so much easier. Hikaru wasn’t nearly as handsome then as he was now. He had aged well. And yet still managed to stay just as charming. Which only made the whole business with physical touch all the more infuriating.
And really, what was the point of slaving over a bento designed to trigger his memory if she wasn’t even going to stay and talk to him about it? Now she would have to go through the troublesome task of reporting to Suzu that the whole operation had failed. She had no idea what to tell Yamada.
It took Konako a while to realize that Hikaru was calling her name. When she turned to look back, he was pointing behind her. “You can cross now!” he was apparently screaming, looking every little bit amused.
Konako jumped. “Right!” Of course, she was lost in her thoughts again. She could already hear Kuraki’s voice reprimanding her for spacing out again. She really needed to focus on grounding her consciousness to earth. Hikaru had a lot more pressing matters to worry about. She didn’t want to be a burden.
No, she thought as she found herself standing in front of an optical store across the street, she definitely wasn’t going to be a burden.