Night Flight

Noticing something gleaming just on the edge of his front windshield, Seiichi Uchino 1 blinked. Startling in the driver’s seat, he looked up towards where he’d seen the light.

The only thing that stretched above his head was the night sky, with the remains of twilight in the west. Perhaps because the sky was so clear, a hundred thousand stars twinkled. But he couldn’t find the bright light that had leapt into his vision a minute ago.

Did I imagine it…?

The parking lot of the cafeteria-style restaurant beside the highway was crazy with cars coming and going for the dinner hour. Maybe he’d mistaken a headlight for something else.

Unidentified Flying Objects spotted! That had been the headline dancing across the TV gossip shows and tabloids about ten days ago. Seiichi had learned of the sightings of these unidentified flying objects, UFOs in other words, on the front of a tabloid he’d happened to see in a convenience store, and by the time he’d realized it, he’d purchased the newspaper. The place was a certain seaside country town. The people who’d spotted them were some local fishermen and a couple. It had been the man from the couple who’d taken the picture with his smartphone.

There certainly were several lights in the photo he’d presented to the media. Seiichi didn’t know if it was true or not, but the article said UFOs had been spotted in that town in the Edo era too, and records of them remained in the local temple. They said the story was famous in UFO circles. Which was precisely why it was newsworthy enough to grace the tabloids, and thus catch Seiichi’s eye, and why he was at this very moment headed for that particular seaside town to see a UFO.

He still had some distance to go to the town where the sightings had taken place. Of course, if you could see them just anywhere, it wouldn’t be news.

Not that Seiichi was a UFO freak. To be honest, he’d not had any interest in UFOs even once in the twenty-six years since he’d been born.

But it was different now. If there was something extraordinary to be seen, he wanted to try and see it.

Seiichi looked up at the star-studded sky once again. The gentle breeze was appropriately cool for the end of summer. Which reminded him, they’d said on the weather report before that a small typhoon was approaching. That typhoon was bringing autumn with it, it seemed.

“Maybe I’d better stay put until the typhoon passes…”

At times like these, not having a TV or a radio or anything was a real problem.

But he had no intention of turning back now.

The truth was, he knew he had to get out. The apartment where he’d lived by himself since his college days held far too many memories. He couldn’t just lock himself away there, it wouldn’t be enough. Fortunately, it looked like a weak typhoon, so if he could get a room early, he’d be fine.

Seiichi sighed and leaned back against the seat.

It had been a long time since he’d looked up at the night sky like this.

He’d gotten used to it since entering the workforce, but busy was still busy, and he hadn’t had time to stare up at the sky. His college days had added lectures and club stuff to his schedule, as well as living on his own for the first time, and also keeping up with his girlfriend, whom he’d successfully confessed to, so he hadn’t time to stare at the sky then either. In middle and high school, he’d been busy with studying, and track and field activities, and when he was in elementary school, it’d all been a haze of studying and playing.

Maybe I never really stared at the sky…

Every day there’s been a lot of things he’d wanted to accomplish, and he’d been happy accomplishing them.

He was only staring up at the sky alone like this now because there was nothing he wanted to do.

Well, if it was only that he didn’t want to do anything, that would be better.

I have nothing, now. I’m a complete void.

His fiancee, his best friend, his job, he’d lost them all in a matter of months. It was like everything about the life he’d been living until now had been negated, like he’d been told he was wrong about everything.

Just as a sharp pain hurt his chest, his stomach rumbled.

Oh yeah, lunch had been just a sweet roll he’d bought at a convenience store washed down with some milk.

“I’m empty, and so’s my stomach.”

With a bitter smile, Seiichi set off towards the restaurant.

***

The place he’d happened across while threading through monotonous rice fields on a narrow highway had clearly been built in the Showa era. 2 Even the signboard, on which was written only ‘Meals,’ was covered in rust. The short curtains that hung in front of the sliding frosted-glass door were completely faded.

It was probably the amazing number of cars parked there, and how the place bustled, that kept it from feeling lonely.

When he opened the sliding door, a muscular voice immediately called out a welcome. The aroma of different foods mixed with that of tobacco. It was hot and muggy outside, so this felt great.

The place was bigger inside than he’d imagined. The modest tables and chairs were made of pipes, and were more or less slathered in testosterone. Many of the vehicles stopped in the parking lot were trucks and taxis, and you could count on two hands the number of sedans. Seiichi hadn’t imagined there would be many couples or women, or people with children, and indeed there weren’t. He didn’t want to see any happy couples or people with families right now anyway, so that was fine.

“Hi, welcome! Sorry, we’re pretty full up at the moment. Do you mind sharing a table?” asked a middle-aged woman wearing an apron, her tone affable, and Seiichi indicated he didn’t mind. Apologizing again, she led him to a seat near the entrance.

Sitting there by himself was a man who looked about Seiichi’s age, maybe a little younger. He had a rough quality to him, with a polo shirt and jeans over his solid, lanky frame, and he had a baseball cap pulled down over his eyes. Probably a truck driver.

“I’m sorry sir, can I ask you to share a table?” the woman from the store asked in an apologetic tone, and the man nodded. His expression couldn’t be clearly made out, thanks to that cap, but there was a fragment of a smile around his clean-shaven mouth.

Seiichi became vaguely uneasy, but the server apologized again without a hint of shyness.

“Alright sir, have a seat here please. I’ll be right back with a glass of water.”

“Thank you,” Seiichi said, and took his seat. He then nodded his thanks to the man seated across from him. The man answered with a short, “No problem.” Maybe it was because he’d been looking down before, but Seiichi suddenly realized that his face was surprisingly pleasant to look at. His features were wiry and manly, the type that women liked.

Seeing that there was no ring on the man’s left ring finger, Seiichi felt somehow relieved. He was not good with happy people.

Well, but this guy probably did have a girlfriend somewhere…

As long as the guy didn’t flaunt his happiness in front of him, that was fine for now.

“One ginger-fried pork combo!” the woman from earlier said in a strident tone, and set a tray down in front of the other man. Steam was puffing off the fried pork, which was garnished with plenty of cabbage. There was also a heaping bowl of rice, miso soup, pickled vegetables, and even boiled hijiki. 3 The aroma of ginger and soy sauce wafted over to Seiichi, and a rush of saliva flooded his mouth.

His stomach’s healthy growl came just as his glass of water and napkin were set down in front of him.

Both the server and the other man at the table looked at him in surprise.

“Excuse me…”

Seiichi lowered his head in embarrassment, and the server smiled blithely. “Don’t worry, this is a dining establishment, after all. Of course our customers are hungry. When you figure out what you’d like to order, call me over.”

“Ah! I’ll have the ginger-fried pork please!” The meal the other man had ordered looked so delicious, the words flew out of Seiichi’s mouth instantaneously.

“Alright, ginger-fried pork it is,” the server replied, a little strangely, and headed back towards the kitchen. Seiichi noticed the mouth of the man across from him relax a little.

“Uh, sorry. Didn’t mean to copy you.”

The man responded with another short, “No problem,” and put his hands together. He muttered a short thanks for the meal, and picked up his chopsticks.

So he says thanks even when he’s alone.

He looked scary, but maybe he wasn’t actually like that at all. Seiichi always gave thanks before meals too, even unconsciously when he was alone, and his girlfriend had laughed at him when she’d caught him once.

That is just like you, Sei.

The sound of her pleasant laughter replayed itself in his ears, and Seiichi instantly shook his head.

He didn’t want to remember that woman.

He looked up, to distract himself, and the man carried a forkful of ginger pork mutely to his mouth. When Seiichi’s eyes moved to the rucksack that had been set down casually next to him, he saw that a tabloid newspaper had been jammed haphazardly in the front pocket. A certain familiar caption jumped out at him. Unidentified Flying Objects spotted!

A reflexive “Oh!” left his mouth.

The man glanced at him, slurping his miso.

“Ah, sorry. Just, I’ve seen that newspaper before.”

He pointed to the sack, but the man didn’t say anything. He didn’t even nod.

Did I say something weird?

Seiichi hastily continued, smiling. “Actually, I’m going to the town with the UFOs, because of that article. That’s why I mention it.”

He couldn’t see the man’s eyes clearly, but he knew the man was blinking very slowly. Maybe he thought Seiichi was weird. Seiichi kept on in a light tone, as if he didn’t have to bother being cautious.

“It’s not because I’m a UFO freak or anything. I just have some time and I happen to be free, and I don’t really have anything particular to do, so. I saw the article, and it seemed like fun somehow, so it caught my interest. I thought, hey I should go have a look, and left the house, sort of suddenly.”

“Me too,” the man said shortly, causing Seiichi to let out a surprised noise.

The man didn’t flinch a bit, he just said, in a disinterested tone, “I came to see them too.”

“The UFOs?”

“Yes.”

“You’re not a UFO freak, are you?”

From what Seiichi could see of the man, he looked more like a martial arts freak than a UFO freak. He didn’t know what kind of feeling a UFO freak was supposed to give off, so he had to go with the stereotypes, but still.

Maybe he was a bit strange though, because his mouth almost twitched upward.

“I am not a UFO freak.”

“I didn’t think so. So then what made you think you should go see a UFO?”

“Same as you. I had some time.”

What about work? Seiichi started to ask, and then stopped himself. I’m the one who hasn’t got a job and came to see some UFOs on a whim.

Maybe something similar had happened to this man too. When he realized that, a wave of fellow-feeling suddenly swept over Seiichi.

“I’m not in any hurry, and I don’t have a lot of money anyway, but I do have a car, so I decided to take the freeways. I wonder how much further it is. My car doesn’t have any navigation system. And my cell phone’s broken, so I don’t really know.”

The man wolfing down his pork tilted his head. “Mm, I’m on my bike, so I don’t know.”

“You came here on a bicycle?”

“Yes.”

The man nodded disinterestedly, without any boasting in his tone. Seiichi had to let out a wow of admiration. Seiichi owned a bike, but he’d never even considered the idea of heading to the seaside town on it. He figured he had the physical strength to do it, but it was way too far.

The man didn’t seem to dislike the conversation, so Seiichi asked another question.

“Is biking your hobby maybe?”

“No, not at all. I used it for my commute.”

Not using, used.

This guy was unemployed too.

Realizing that this man was in the same situation he was, Seiichi started to feel more at ease.

“It’s not a granny bike, is it?”

“It’s a road bike, more or less.”

“I see. So when you leave here, you’re heading out on your bike to find a hotel?”

The man gave a vaguely affirmative answer.

“But it must be a long way from here. It’s all rice patties around here, and it’s pretty dark. The wind’s getting strong too, won’t that be dangerous?”

Just as Seiichi asked his question, an energetic voice came from above him, “Sorry for the wait!” The server from earlier set a tray with the ginger-fried pork meal on it in front of Seiichi. Then she looked down at the man wearing the cap with a concerned look.

“Maybe this gentleman could give you a ride to the station, sir? Okada Cycle’s probably already closed at this hour, so you could stay in that business hotel that’s in front of the station for now, and get your flat fixed tomorrow?”

“Your bike has a flat?” Seiichi asked in surprise, and the man nodded grudgingly. “That’s too bad,” Seiichi said. “I don’t mind, you can ride with me. If we put the seats down in the back, I think we can fit the bike in.”

“I’m sorry, sir. You don’t mind?”

The server apologized like she was the man’s mother. Seiichi shook his head. “I was thinking I would head to the station after I was done eating, so it’s totally fine.”

“Really? Thank you. That’s great. Alright then!”

The server smiled at the other man, who seemed in shock. He started to say something, but the server had shifted her eyes to a new customer who was coming in. She shouted a welcome and left the table.

The man’s half open mouth flapped closed again. Maybe he’d wanted to refuse, and comment on how selfishly it had all been decided.

“We’re going to the same place anyway, you don’t have to worry about it,” Seiichi said, smiling at the utterly perplexed air floating over from the other man, and he mumbled a few stuttering protests.

“I don’t want to trouble–”

“No no, it’s nothing. I was sort of at loose ends anyway. Oh, I’m Seiichi Uchino. Nice to meet you.” Seiichi nodded in place of a bow.

The other man apparently made up his mind to ride with him, and bowed his head politely. “Tomoki Natori. 4 My apologies, and thank you very much.”

“Tomoki Natori, huh? That’s a great name, sounds like an actor.”

“Ah, well.” The man nodded vaguely. Assuming he must not like his name very much, Seiichi changed the subject.

“Well then, Natori, I’ll eat up, if you don’t mind waiting a little bit.”

He put both hands together, said a loud thank you, and picked up the chopsticks. He put the ginger-fried pork immediately into his mouth, and enjoyed the mellow flavor it had, despite the sharpness of the soy sauce and ginger. The tender meat was unusually delicious, and his chopsticks never stopped moving.

Seiichi had always enjoyed talking to people. No one had been a stranger when he was a kid, and he’d had lots of friends. The fact that he had no trouble talking to anyone, younger or older, got him great results at work, among the many colleagues who fought hard in the sales department.

But six months ago, his ability to talk to people had suffered a hit. Well, talking to people in passing about things that didn’t matter was fine, so maybe that wasn’t the right way to put it. It was talking to people who knew him – friends, coworkers, managers – about anything that had even the slightest relation to his problems that he hated.

Even now, if he and Natori had known each other, he probably wouldn’t have offered him a ride.

***

The whole thing had started about six months earlier.

Seiichi had been holding back from marrying Ami Yagisawa, a classmate whom he’d been dating since they were both in college. He belonged to the same university, the same law department, and even the same jogging circle as Ami. She was quiet but sweet, and was well-liked by everyone in the circle. She was apparently confessed to by other people too, but it was Seiichi’s affections that she accepted.

Seiichi’s face was pretty good to look at, but he wasn’t what you’d call leading man material. His height and weight were just average. Afterwards, when Seiichi had asked why him, Ami had turned completely red. It was because he was always cheerful, she’d said, and she had fun when they were together. And besides, he always seemed to treat her like she was precious to him. Getting such a straight answer made him impossibly awkward, and his memory of blushing even harder than Ami was still vivid even now.

It was fun going out with her. Seiichi had some brief experience going out with girls in high school, but for her, this was her first time falling in love. The way her cheeks flushed in embarrassment whenever they went on dates or held hands or did any of the things lovers do was so darling, Seiichi could hardly stand it.

Even after the two of them graduated from college, and Seiichi found a job at a food manufacturer and Ami at a cosmetic maker, they continued to go out. Their circumstances had changed, and so they missed each other a few times, and got in some arguments, but they each took a step towards each other and overcame it. And so, they passed their time together, and Seiichi naturally started to think that if he was going to get married, it would be to Ami.

He proposed on Ami’s birthday, seven years after they’d started dating. They came home from a long scenic drive, and he asked her to marry him while they were still in the car. He wondered if it was still a little early for it, because she stiffened for an instant. But after a little pause, she nodded yes. He hadn’t thought he’d be refused, but of course he was happy to get the okay.

Ami still lived at home with her parents, and he was already acquainted with them, so he was able to pay his respects to them without any hiccups too.

There was only one miscalculation, and it concerned the wedding ceremony and reception. It had only been three years since they’d both entered the workforce, and neither of them had been saving much. So at first, they planned to have a cozy little ceremony with just family and close friends. They rented a small restaurant for the reception, and even discussed inviting only mutual friends.

But her father was director at a major trading firm, and according to his wishes, it ballooned into a grand ceremony with a reception at a top class hotel. He tried to insist that since he was being selfish about it, he would pay for most of it, but then Seiichi’s father decided he had to protect the family honor, and stuck his nose into things. After much bickering, it was decided that Seiichi and Ami would take a certain amount from their small savings, and each family would pay for half of what remained.

Ami protested to her dad, but apparently she was persuaded by tears to understand his feelings as a father. She apologized dejectedly to Seiichi. Her father, she said, just did whatever he wanted.

Seiichi assured her it was fine, and smiled for her. His father was being stubborn too. It would be a nice ceremony, one to make her father proud.

It wasn’t that Ami’s family was making a particular fuss over her. This was how they always were. Ami had two brothers who were much older than her, and Seiichi had heard about how Ami had been their long-awaited daughter, so he could understand how her father felt.

And since his own older sister had gotten married many years earlier, he wasn’t disgruntled to hear that the ceremony and reception were mostly for the new bride. Rather, the fact that Ami didn’t think of that as a matter of course, even though she’d been raised in an affluent household, only made her even more precious to him.

But I guess she’d already been seeing Tatsuya for a while by then, huh…

Tatsuya Kamiike had been in a different class, but he had been in the same jogging circle. He was a quiet, mature man, the type to silently watch over his friends’ banter, as opposed to Seiichi, who was always at the center of the group and taking on all kinds of tasks. Perhaps because he was so tall and thin, he didn’t have much of a presence, and there were even some in the circle who spread mean gossip about him, saying he cast dark clouds over his friends and wasn’t very loyal, but Seiichi had never thought so. Tatsuya was just a tight-lipped guy.

Perhaps because Seiichi had told him what he thought, Tatsuya seemed to have a soft spot for him too. Before he knew it, Tatsuya had become his closest friend within the circle. They didn’t need to tell each other everything, and it was fine that they didn’t make a fuss over each other. He never put it into words, but Seiichi always thought that maybe this was exactly what people meant by the phrase ‘intimate friends.’

Even after they got jobs, he and Tatsuya continued their friendship. Tatsuya got a security job in the city, so the two of them went out for drinks once in a while and traded work complaints.

And when he decided to marry Ami, it was Tatsuya he told first. “Congratulations,” Tatsuya had said shortly. He’d always been a man of few words, so Seiichi hadn’t paid it any mind, and had responded with a simple, “Thanks.” Tatsuya had of course been invited to the wedding. When Seiichi had called him before they’d sent out any written invitation to say he wanted Tatsuya to be there, Tatsuya had answered agreeably. He’d sent in the RSVP postcard to say he’d be attending.

But on the day of the ceremony, Tatsuya didn’t show.

And neither did Ami, the star of the show, not even for the reception. In fact, even after it was over, she was nowhere to be found.

***

When the meal was over and the two men went outside, the western sky was stained utterly black. The signboard with the word ‘Meals’ on it clattered in the wind, which had gotten rather strong.

Natori’s bicycle was indeed a road bike, as he’d said. He must have had it a long time even before he rode it all the way out here, because it looked well-used.

Just as Seiichi had thought, they were able to load the bike in his small, cube-shaped car after lowering the back seats. Thanks to the server’s smart idea, they spread newsprint down, and the interior didn’t even get dirty.

“I really am sorry,” Natori apologized strangely, sitting in the passenger seat.

“Not at all, it’s totally alright. We’re both in a bit of a pinch anyway,” Seiichi answered brightly, turning the steering wheel.

Strangers were better after all. He could relax.

Natori might be grateful, but that was as far as it went. Natori wouldn’t be overly worried about him, or look at him with eyes full of pity and curiosity.

Six months ago, the ceremony had been canceled, but they’d started the reception an hour later than planned, with the bride still absent. The crowd of invited guests who’d gathered especially for this couldn’t help but remark on how suspicious it all was. They’d told the guests that Ami had developed a sudden illness, but the truth was they had no idea where she was, they couldn’t even contact her.

Seiichi hardly remembered anything about the reception. He was so worried about Ami he couldn’t stand it. Maybe she was in danger, and he was just sitting here all alone in his tuxedo, sitting at the head of a sumptuous hall with glittering chandeliers.

But the painful truth came out after the reception. One of her older brothers had gone to look for her, discovered a handwritten note of apology in her bedroom, and had hurried back to the reception hall with it. The letter contained an apology to everyone in her family, including Seiichi.

 

I’m so sorry. I can’t marry Seiichi. I’m going to be with the person I truly love.

 

What the hell had she done? What happened?

Seiichi couldn’t move, but his father flew into a furious rage. What do you call this? Where did your daughter go? On top of all this, your sister had another man!? I can’t believe this! He screamed at everyone. Seiichi’s mother collapsed into tears.

It was total carnage after that. Seiichi’s father threw a punch at Ami’s father, and his sister’s husband jumped in to stop them. Meanwhile Seiichi’s mother tried to quiet his sister, who was hurling insults at Ami’s mother. Both Ami’s parents apologized fervently, and even her brothers bowed their heads. Seiichi could only stand there in shock.

It was clear that Ami and Tatsuya had run away together, but it couldn’t have happened all that long ago. Ami’s father hired a detective agency he knew to conduct a search for them. They were located staying together in a cheap hotel.

Seiichi had indeed lost contact with Tatsuya the day of the ceremony, but he simply couldn’t believe it. Never once had he suspected that there was anything more between them than simple jogging circle buddies. And besides, whenever he’d gone out drinking with Tatsuya, he’d seemed so cool and composed. There was never any guilty atmosphere.

Had he missed something somehow?

Even when he heard that Tatsuya had quit his job the same day Ami had ditched the wedding ceremony, he still couldn’t believe it. To Seiichi, they were both still his dear lover and his best friend.

After a week or so, Tatsuya showed up at Seiichi’s house, accompanied by Ami’s brother, but without Ami herself. The family restaurant they went to that weekday night was unexpectedly empty, the perfect place for a complicated conversation.

Tatsuya’s face was an ashen, earthy color as he revealed that he and Ami had started dating about a year earlier. He said she hadn’t come today because she’d been doing nothing but crying, and was in no condition to have this conversation. She apologizes, he said, there’s no excuse for what she did. It’s my fault for coveting someone else’s girlfriend. It’s not her fault. You can hit me, I deserve it.

And still Seiichi didn’t understand.

His best friend, hanging his head right there in front of him, suddenly felt like a stranger.

What was with that guy, trying to act all cool?

And what kind of joke was Ami playing? She knew there was no excuse, but she went out with Tatsuya anyway?

If she’d really been ashamed, maybe she shouldn’t have cheated on him with Tatsuya. And the worst was, shouldn’t she have refused Seiichi when he proposed?

And either way, what was this ‘there’s no excuse’ crap. If you really felt that way, come apologize in person! I’m the one who wants to cry!

“Uchino. Uchino!”

A familiar man’s voice was yelling for him, and Seiichi gasped. At the same time, the sound of multiple shrill car horns landed on his ears.

“Are you alright?” Natori asked him, sounding uneasy, and Seiichi hurriedly nodded.

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. What’s up?”

“What’s up? The light’s green.”

“What? Oh, so it is.”

The light in front of him was indeed green. The honking horns were apparently the cars behind him.

Seiichi drove the car forward.

“Are you alright?” Natori asked again, and Seiichi nodded as brightly as he could.

“I’m fine. Just wondering if the hotel’s going to have a room and stuff. Sorry.”

“No, I mean, if you’re really alright, it’s fine, I just…”

With Natori’s eyes on him, Seiichi forced a smile. “I’m fine, really. I’m a very safe driver.”

Even as he said it, he knew it didn’t sound very convincing. It was absurd to go see some UFOs just to escape the bad things attending one’s own life, and he knew it. To then be caught up in the past before you even reached your destination was a waste of the whole endeavor.

Seiichi hadn’t hit Tatsuya. He hadn’t even cried, or yelled at him. He’d set his coffee down on the table and silently gotten up from his seat. He felt like if he lost his cool, that would be exactly what Ami and Tatsuya wanted.

If he had hit Tatsuya at that point, the two of them probably would have considered the matter settled.

It was even possible they’d think they’d paid for their crime. Even if he didn’t actually forgive them, their guilt would lessen and they’d rest easy.

Do you think I’m about to do anything to let you rest easy?

The anger and grief that hadn’t come out of his mouth in that moment was fierce and violent like nothing he’d ever felt before. And so, with no clue how he was supposed to deal with it, he simply swallowed it. Even afterwards, even when he was alone, it never came out of his mouth. Maybe because of that, he’d never even shed a tear over it.

Surely one day, it would just naturally disappear. But those negative feelings had stayed so fresh for so long it was frightening, and they whirled around inside him, desperate for an exit. Maybe that was why they could resurrect themselves so suddenly, so vividly in his mind.

“Listen, Uchino. Are you really alright?” Natori asked again, his tone half worried, half doubtful.

Seiichi must have spaced out again without even realizing it.

Gripping the wheel, he answered with a cheerful yes.

“I’m fine. I haven’t had any tickets or accidents yet.”

“Okay,” Natori said, nodding. But he couldn’t conceal his suspicion. Rather than being worried about Seiichi, it seemed more likely he was regretting getting into a car with a guy like this.

Seiichi was relieved at Natori’s perfectly normal response. He’d been on the receiving end of all manner of stares himself in the past six months.

That was the hardest thing, to be stared at with sneers, and ridicule, and curiosity. A half-wit who hadn’t noticed a thing and had ended up totally played. And the other guy was his classmate, he thought they were best friends. What a miserable bastard, throwing that whole huge wedding ceremony all by himself. No mistake, it was a golden topic for the rumor mills.

Was it because Uchino had some strange proclivity, and she’d grown to hate him?

And Uchino was probably looking down on Kamiike somewhere deep inside, Kamiike had told him so. That was why he thought he’d get his revenge by stealing Uchino’s girlfriend. So in a certain sense, Uchino had only gotten his just deserts.

People came out of the woodwork to badmouth Uchino. It wasn’t just one or two people, either. An incredible number of his acquaintances amused themselves by spreading unfounded rumors.

I’m the victim here, why are you speaking ill of me?

It was beyond unreasonable, but he couldn’t let his dissatisfaction slip to anyone. They’d had such a large reception, he’d invited so many people, and not just university classmates, not even just colleagues and managers. He’d invited people he really didn’t know that well, and old classmates he wasn’t even close to anymore. As a matter of fact, he’d invited so many people that he’d been left with nowhere to escape to.

Of course, he did have friends who sympathized with him and worried about him, but he found it even harder to spill his complaints to them. After all, they’d come out just for him to that strange one-person reception, they’d even attended the wedding, such as it was. I’m fine, he’d say, bowing his head. I’m sorry you had to come all that way for something so weird.

He instinctively kept his troubles from his parents and older sister too, despite the fact that they carried a lot of the same burdens. He had no intention of telling them that their son had become a twenty-six year old man who was being bad-mouthed by his friends behind his back. He didn’t want to cause his family any more worry, so he put on a cheerful act instead, as if the incident had never even happened.

Maybe I should have pulled a ball cap down over my eyes like Natori.

Natori was glancing over at him, still wearing that cap. It was dark in the car too, so his eyes were blotted out in the shadow of the cap’s bill. The street lamps offered light at regular intervals, but they barely illuminated the area around his mouth.

Not that a ball cap could defend Seiichi from people’s piercing gazes, but at least it would all end without his own expression being exposed. He wouldn’t have to produce these unnatural smiles anymore.

Come to think of it, normal company employees didn’t spend all day with a hat on their head. And he’d been in sales, he couldn’t exactly keep a mask on all the time.

–Which was all to say, what was with his passenger’s cap-wearing anyway?

“Uchino!”

His name was called even more strongly than before, and he was rapped on the shoulder.

Beep beep–! A blaring horn stabbed his ears again. Someone from the car passing him shouted that he was a moron.

“It’s a green light,” Natori pointed out, his tone bloated with unease.

Seiichi laughed and put on a meaningless smile. “Sorry, I spaced out a little there.”

“A little, is that what you…? Didn’t you hear the horn blaring?”

“No, I heard it. I’m fine.”

In point of fact, he hadn’t heard anything, but he nodded big. He had to get it together and concentrate on driving, or Natori was going to think he really was a suspicious character.

Trying to shake off his memories of the past, Seiichi started chatting with Natori.

“So how old are you, Natori? I feel like you can’t be too far off from me.”

“How old are you, Uchino?”

Seiichi answered the cautious question as cheerfully as he could. “Twenty-six.”

“I’m twenty-three.”

“Wow, three years younger?”

Natori smiled wryly at Seiichi’s loud exclamation. “I’ve been told I’ll make a great old man.”

“You look more calm than old. I was thinking you were probably a little older.”

It was a bit late in the game, but Seiichi realized he hadn’t let Natori ride with him just because Natori was the first person he’d met going to the same place. It was because there didn’t seem to be a frivolous bone in his body.

“It’s better to look older, for guys. If you look younger, people think they can take you.”

“You look younger than you are, Uchino. I thought we were about the same age.”

“In other words, Young Mister Natori thinks he can take me,” Seiichi answered in a deliberately deep tone, and Natori smiled a little.

“Just Natori, please. It is probably true though. You don’t look scary at all.”

Natori had answered without batting an eyelash, but it didn’t feel bad. Rather, it felt like Natori had lowered his guard, and that made Seiichi happy.

“Well, I’m probably not scary. If I may say so, you’re the one who looks scary, Natori. You look like you work out, do you do martial arts or something?”

“What does that mean? I don’t work out. I was usually on the basketball team.”

“Ah, I can see that. It’s not just the tall people who make good basketball players, it’s the athletic ones.”

Seiichi nodded. It had been a long time since he’d had such a trivial conversation. He should have stopped ruminating on awful memories of the past and just talked to Natori from the beginning.

“I was in track and field in middle and high school, I did long-distance. I was pretty fast too.”

“Oh were you?”

“I was! When I was in middle school, I came in third at the district meets.”

“Wow, that’s great.”

“Jeez, you could sound a bit more impressed.”

“I am.”

“Are you though?”

“I really am.”

Seiichi didn’t know if it was deliberate, or if it was just Natori’s personality, but his way of responding was definitely indifferent.

It was far from uncomfortable though, and Seiichi was just smiling to himself when the sign with the name of the station on it came into view. Apparently, if he took a left turn at the next light, they’d be at the station.

“That bike shop the woman at the restaurant mentioned, is it far from the station?”

“No, she said it was close by.”

“Okay. Well, for the time being, we should get to this business hotel in front of the station then, I guess.”

“Yeah. Sorry for the trouble. Thank you very much.” Natori gave a short nod.

So he’s conscientious about things like this then…

He’s got a bad mouth, but he’s properly polite. What a weird guy.

But I don’t dislike him.

内野成一 uchi = inside, no = wild/field, sei = success/development, ichi = no. 11926-1989, i.e. it’s oldhijiki, also sometimes called hiziki, is a brownish sort of sea-based vegetable that tradition states is good for your skin and hair.he introduces himself in kana, so he doesn’t have kanji yet.