Night Flight

The small business hotel in front of the station was hushed. After all, this was a small provincial city with no tourism spots or trade facilities. And any tourist who did visit probably wouldn’t be using a business hotel anyway. The parking lot was completely deserted, and they didn’t have any trouble getting Natori’s bike down.

There were plenty of single rooms available, but Seiichi decided to stay in the room next to Natori’s. Somehow, he didn’t want them to be separated. He’d hardly spoken to anyone this past month, maybe he was getting weird.

It was like being stung by a bee when you were already crying. Or maybe a thunderclap in a clear blue sky. The food manufacturer where he’d been employed was purchased by a larger competitor, and he was laid off before the month was out. He knew his results weren’t the greatest, but still it was quite a shock. It was a fact that the atmosphere at work had been awkward, with all his colleagues and managers having come to the reception. It had been tough to face them, and there had been days he hadn’t wanted to come to work. But still, he’d never imagined he’d be staying home because he’d been laid off.

Betrayed by his lover and his best friend, pitied and ogled by his friends, started at with disdain, wounded. And before the wounds had a chance to heal, he was out of a job.

What the hell. Did I do something wrong?

To be honest, he had no urge to do anything. He didn’t go anywhere, outside of the employment agency, and he didn’t call anyone. He reached the point where he was living the life of a total shut-in. He couldn’t watch TV, with all those commercials aimed at happy couples and families. He couldn’t even listen to the radio for his dislike of all the cheerful listener-contributed postcards. It was a bother to even turn on his computer, and he hardly ever got online. And he didn’t want anyone calling his cell phone, so he turned it off. He’d been so isolated from the news, he hadn’t even known the typhoon was coming.

Despite pulling back into his own shell like that, he was tormented by an intense feeling of solitude, as if the outside world had given up on him. He’d always had such a bright, outgoing personality, so he’d lived his life surrounded by people. He’d been able to call great crowds of friends to the reception specifically because he had an excellent network of acquaintances. But considering all the rumors afterwards, maybe he’d been the only one to think the relationships had been good ones, maybe the others hadn’t felt like that at all.

In any event, hanging out with lots of people had become the enemy, and as a result, he felt excessively alone.

“You didn’t really have to stay in the room next door,” Natori muttered as they waited for the elevator next to the front desk. He still had his cap on.

“It’s fine, it’s just next door. It’s not like we’re in a double together, on that Couple’s Plan.”

Natori laughed and ended up coughing.

When they’d been shown the price listing at the front desk, the receptionist had shown them a dirt cheap option called the Couple’s Plan. Perhaps because they weren’t likely to have any other guests set foot in the building that night, the receptionist had suggested they use it, despite being simply friends. And then came a smile that didn’t quite reveal what they were thinking. “Of course, if you are really a couple, please feel free to avail yourself of the discount.”

Seiichi had sputtered and denied it, with a pained smile he couldn’t hide. You’re mistaken! We are not a couple.

For Natori’s part, he made a face like he’d bitten into a bug. He’d had his cap on like always, so you couldn’t see more than his mouth turning down at the corners, but still.

After that, his mood had subtly worsened. It was interesting to see him react in an age-appropriate manner, rather than the disinterested attitude he’d been adopting thus far.

“Free parking and a buffet breakfast for thirty-five hundred yen, 1 it’s pretty good even without the Couple’s Plan. You want to eat breakfast together tomorrow, Natori?”

“Yeah sure, I guess, but…”

“Oh don’t make that irritated face. We’re going to be eating at the same place anyway, it’ll be nice to eat together.”

Seiichi looked up at Natori’s sharp jawline, which was about ten centimeters up from his own, and Natori sighed.

“I’m not irritated, it’s just something I’d hoped to avoid.”

“What? Don’t put it like that! Okay, we’re eating together.”

The elevator arrived, and Seiichi pushed forward, undaunted. He wasn’t hurt to be told he was something to be avoided. Rather, he felt his face relax as he got on the elevator, happy that Natori’s formal way of speaking had begun to crack. Whatever else was going on, it seemed Natori didn’t actually dislike him.

“Is that really alright, Uchino?” Natori asked in a glum tone, pressing the button.

“Is what alright?”

“This is the first time we’ve ever met. You don’t have any idea where I come from, and you still get unnecessarily close. That’s not good, really.”

“Close? We’re just having breakfast together, right? It’s not like we’re actually staying on the Couple’s Plan.”

Seiichi mentioned the Couple’s Plan again because he was hoping to get a rise out of Natori, but Natori’s expression didn’t change even one millimeter. Apparently he was used to it.

“What would you do if I was a murderous criminal?”

“Are there a lot of criminals who travel by bike? And bikes with flats at that.”

“Maybe I gave it a flat on purpose, to find a victim.”

“Oh, I see. That could be.”

“That could be!?” Natori said in a shocked tone, just as the elevator chimed and they reached their floor. Seiichi got off first, and then Natori.

“I don’t just trust anybody, you know. You seem like a good guy, Natori,” Seiichi said, walking towards his room. Natori pulled the sides of his mouth down.

“On what evidence do you say I’m a good guy?”

“Mm, I don’t know. You’re properly polite, conscientious. You paid your own portion of the hotel bill.”

“Maybe I’m just getting you to lower your guard. I found out whether you were carrying cash or a card when you paid earlier.”

“If you really were a thief, you wouldn’t say that kind of stuff to me. You are a good guy, Natori, I know it. So let’s have breakfast together tomorrow morning.”

Seiichi grinned, and Natori sighed. They arrived at their rooms, each in front of his own door, and Natori nodded like he’d lost his resolve.

“Alright. We’ll eat together.”

“What, really?”

“Yes.”

“Oh! Good, I’m glad. Thank you,” Seiichi said, without really thinking, and for a moment, Natori was speechless. Seiichi was just wondering if he really couldn’t talk, when Natori dropped another sigh.

“Should we wait for each other outside our rooms then, seven thirty tomorrow?”

“Seven thirty, got it. Don’t just head down by yourself, Natori, you got that? And don’t oversleep either.”

“I understand. I’ll keep our appointment, don’t worry,” Natori said, his tone a little bitter, but Seiichi was relieved.

Before he put his hand on the door knob, he looked up at Natori once more. “Night then. See you tomorrow.”

“Good night. Thank you for today.” Natori bowed his head politely. But of course he didn’t take off his cap.

Seiichi said “See you tomorrow,” again, and went into his room, his head tilted in confusion.

Natori had bowed his head, but why hadn’t he taken off his cap?

Maybe he was going a little bald and he was worried about it? With the vibes he gave off though, even a shaved head would suit him.

“To be thinning at twenty-three would be awful though…” he muttered, setting his bag down. It was a narrow room with only a bed, a small desk, and a TV in it, but it was clean. It was improved by the low price. The wedding ceremony had already been paid for, and he hadn’t been on the hook for the entire total, so he still had some savings left. But on the other hand, he was out of a job. He had to be thrifty.

His father had ranted about taking Ami’s family to court for consolation money, but he’d not actually done it, not wanting to get rolled up in new and even heavier rumors. It hadn’t been Seiichi’s fault, so even an out of court settlement would probably preserve their honor, but if they accepted any money for what had happened, who knew what people who loved to gossip might say. He was hurt by the baseless rumors already going around. It was having this and that said about him by people he’d believed in that was so hard to take. Even when Ami’s father had proposed to pay consolation money, Seiichi had refused, for the same reason.

He didn’t regret it. He truly didn’t need that sort of money.

What he wanted more than anything was for Ami to apologize in person.

Although even if she did, at this point…

It wouldn’t make up for anything.

Sitting down on the bed and staring at nothing, Seiichi gave his head a strong shake. Every day spent thinking in circles alone like this was awful, and he’d known he had to get out of the house somehow. He’d decided to go to a town where UFOs had been spotted in order to escape reality, hoping to see a world entirely different from the one he was in. But he was doing the same things out here that he’d been doing at home, so what now?

He should take a bath and get straight to bed.

He had to make sure he wasn’t late for their appointment tomorrow.

He thought again how great it was that he’d made that promise to eat breakfast with Natori. It was thanks to Natori he was so amazingly distracted.

***

Seiichi was walking down a grand wide hallway. The sound of his patent leather shoes was entirely swallowed by the bright red carpet laid over everything.

His freshly laundered white tuxedo was unfamiliar and cramped. His whole body was faintly sweaty with tension.

He put his hand on the knob of a giant door that led into the reception hall. A buzzing from inside hinted at a large crowd of people. The invited guests had already taken their seats, it seemed.

He slowly opened the weighty door.

In the next instant, a glaring light pierced his eyes, and he shut them tight. He waited for the glare to pass, and gently lifted his eyelids.

When he did, he saw sumptuously decorated round tables set out in rows. At the head of the room was a white table decorated with lots of flowers, and beside it, a huge wedding cake was enshrined.

But there was no one in the hall. No Ami, of course, but also no family, no relatives, no friends, no colleagues, no managers. There wasn’t even any hotel staff. The only person there was Seiichi.

Ami! Are you here?

He strained his ears, but there was no response.

Instead, there was a commotion from the hallway where he’d just been.

When had they all gone out there?

He yanked the door open again and rushed out into the hallway.

He could see the backs of people in formal attire, far in the distance down the long hallway.

He shouted, but no one turned around. They were getting further and further away.

Wait a minute! Where’s everyone going?

He chased desperately after the receding crowd, yelling.

But the distance only got wider. No one was even trying to stop for him.

He ran and ran, but he couldn’t catch up.

Wait, wait for me!

***

Bang bang bang

He could hear something hitting his door from far away.

Ah, someone’s coming back for me.

He heard the loud noise again. Then, without any pause, a low-pitched voice calling is name. “Uchino!” The voice was muffled, like it was coming through a wall, but it had a desperate ring to it.

Someone was calling for him. He hadn’t been abandoned after all.

But that voice, whose was it?

It was a man’s voice, so it couldn’t be Ami. And it wasn’t Tatsuya.

“Uchino!”

Whoever it was called his name again, and Seiichi’s eyes flew open. A ceiling the color of egg whites occupied his field of vision. This wasn’t his apartment. It wasn’t his parent’s house either.

Someone was knocking on his door again, and Seiichi looked around.

Oh, this was the hotel. Where he was staying with Natori, the guy he met at that restaurant yesterday.

“Uchino!”

His name was called again, and he gasped. Oh yeah, he’d made an appointment to have breakfast with Natori. He looked at the clock near his pillow and found it was eight o’ clock in the morning.

Crap, I overslept!

He jumped out of bed, grabbed his shoes, and opened the door.

A man he didn’t know stood there– Well, it wasn’t that he didn’t know him. It was Natori, with jeans and a different-colored polo shirt than yesterday. But this was the first time Seiichi had seen him without the cap.

He had straight, level eyebrows, and long thin eyes. His hair was trimmed short, but neatly arranged. He was a masculine, wiry-looking man, with more regular features than Seiichi had been imagining.

“Not balding…”

Seiichi said without thinking, apparently still half asleep. Natori had been looking relieved, but he instantly raised his eyebrows.

“I don’t even understand what you’re talking about. How are you the one that overslept?”

“Eh, ah, sorry. The truth is, I usually use my phone as an alarm, but I left it at home…”

It was only after making his panicked excuse that Seiichi’s brain came crashing back online. He had a hunch he’d definitely told Natori yesterday that he’d broken his phone. Natori would surely realize he’d lied now. When he timidly glanced at Natori, the other man had pulled his eyebrows together tightly. Seiichi figured he must be mad, but Natori asked his next question in an earnest tone.

“You really just overslept? You weren’t sitting there with some weird thoughts?”

“Weird thoughts?”

He really didn’t understand what that meant, so he tilted his head, and Natori heaved a relieved sigh for some reason.

“If you don’t understand what I’m talking about, that’s fine. Hurry up and wash your face and change your clothes, please.”

“Okay. I really am sorry. Um…”

Seiichi didn’t move, wondering if Natori had already gotten breakfast without him, but Natori slowly put both hands on Seiichi’s shoulders. He turned Seiichi around.

“I’ll be waiting in front of your room, so get to it.”

Natori’s voice was infinitely sullen, but the actual words gave Seiichi a little hope, so he gave a huge nod.

“I’m sorry, Natori. Thank you. I’ll get changed right away!” he said, and returned to his room, heading for the washroom at top speed.

Maybe he should have brought his cell phone with him after all.

I’m going on a trip for a while, to turn my mood around. I figure I’ll be back in a week or so, so please don’t worry about me. He’d sent his older sister the text, and then shut his phone off. And then he’d put it in the drawer with all his other valuables. He felt like it would all be for nought if he took along this thing stuffed with all his friends and acquaintances.

But with no cell phone, he had no way to contact Natori if they got separated.

“Thank you for waiting!”

When Seiichi enthusiastically whipped open the door, Natori was there leaning against the wall.

Oh good. He really had waited.

But he was scowling, a sharp look in his eyes.

“You were telling me not to oversleep, and don’t just go down by myself, and here you are the one oversleeping. Honestly.”

“I’m really sorry,” Seiichi meekly apologized, not even trying to make any excuses.

Natori heaved a sigh. It was just a little, but Seiichi felt the air around him soften.

“At any rate, shall we head to breakfast?”

“I really am sorry.”

“I said it’s fine. And anyway, did you really brush your hair? That’s some kind of bedhead you got,” Natori said as they set out.

Seiichi let out a surprised noise. “Where?”

“Around here.”

Natori pointed to an area on the left side of the back of Seiichi’s head, so Seiichi reached up towards the same place.

“Not there, around here.”

“Here?”

“Over here. It’s really flying up.”

When Seiichi put his hand to the place where Natori was lightly tugging at his hair, they brushed fingers. Natori combed out Seiichi’s hair as if he hadn’t noticed. The sensation was softer than Seiichi had thought it would be, but it spoke of the fact that Natori wasn’t as angry as his attitude indicated.

Anyway, if he’d been really angry, he probably would have just gone to breakfast without bothering to wake Seiichi up. He’d happened to be in a position to give Natori a ride yesterday, but it wasn’t like they were friends or anything. He wouldn’t have had any grounds to complain if Natori had left him behind.

What was the word he was looking for, honesty? Integrity? Gentleness?

Seiichi combed his hands through his hair, feeling a warmth spread through his chest.

“It really was flying. Is it fixed?”

“There’s still a little left. You can fix it properly when we’re done with our meal.”

“It’s not like I’m going into work, this is fine.”

“It’s not fine, fix it. It looks sloppy.”

“Okay…”

Seiichi nodded at Natori’s familiar way of speaking, and they got into the elevator together.

Once they were inside, Natori glanced over at him, still glaring.

“What are you smiling about? You overslept, reflect on it.”

“Oh! Yes, sorry.” Seiichi hurriedly straightened out his cheeks. But he ended up smiling again right away.

Natori was a good person after all.

It wasn’t simply that he was easy to talk to because he was a stranger and had no idea that Seiichi had been betrayed by his lover and best friend, and had lost even his job in the end. It was something about Natori himself that made Seiichi so comfortable.

How many times in the past six months had he had that dream? Alone at the reception with not another soul there. He would open his eyes, still completely alone, and another day would pass with that constant stifling feeling.

But today he didn’t feel bad.

Because Natori had woken him up.

Seiichi wondered if Natori would refuse if he asked him to go all the way to their destination together.

***

“Hold up. Why are you following me?” Natori said, turning around from walking his bike.

His tone was the very definition of sullen, and Seiichi, who’d been walking a little bit behind him, ducked instintively.

“Oh yeah, no, I wondered where you were going, and just…”

“I said I was going to the bike store.”

Natori was scowling. Well, he was wearing his cap again, so Seiichi couldn’t really tell what kind of expression he had, but.

“What about your car?”

“I parked it in a lot nearby.”

Natori abruptly turned back around without any particular comment on Seiichi’s answer.

I am being a bother, aren’t I…

But he didn’t say not to follow him. So with only that to encourage him, Seiichi followed after him, maintaining a bit of distance.

He’d quickly moved his car to the parking lot in question after breakfast with Natori. He returned to the hotel with a small bag of essentials, finished checking out, and waited in the lobby to ambush Natori.

He hadn’t realized it last night, since it’d been dark, but there were several multi-tenant buildings lined up in front of the station. There was a bank, and a bar, among others, and the area seemed to be thriving. There wasn’t much foot traffic though, maybe because it was past morning commute hours.

A warm, humid wind was blowing, and Seiichi squinted. The sky, visible in patches between the buildings, was a lead grey that seemed about to cry.

“The typhoon itself seems pretty weak, but with that autumn front, they said there’s gonna be a lot of rain. Biking’s gonna be a pain.” Seiichi was speaking to himself, not trying to start a conversation with Natori, but of course his voice was loud enough to reach Natori’s ears.

Natori, however, did not answer. He only pushed his bicycle forward in silence.

We can’t go together after all, huh…?

Just as Seiichi’s steps were getting heavy, Natori stopped dead. For a moment, Seiichi wondered if he wasn’t going to ask him something, but it seemed that they’d just reached their destination.

The sign with Okada Cycle painted on it had faded, and the letters had turned totally white. No doubt it was one of those small shops that had been in business since the Showa era.

Natori opened the door with a faint clatter, and called out into the shop. “Excuse me?”

What am I going to do? At this rate, we really are going to part.

Flustered, Seiichi clenched his fists. It might make Natori hate him, but it was all or nothing. He had no choice but to make Natori come with him. It was better than being separated.

After a minute, they heard an older man’s voice from within. “I’m here.” A scrawny man with white hair peeked around the door where the cash register was.

“My bike got a flat. Can you fix it for me?”

“Yeah, sure. Come in. Just one flat, huh? The other guy there’s okay?” the store owner asked as Seiichi stepped into the store, obviously with Natori. Natori turned around with a start. Seiichi hadn’t imagined anyone would be talking about him, so he gave a start too, but somehow managed to keep it off his face.

“I’m fine,” he answered affably, “if you could just take a look at his bike?”

“Alright. Let me take a look then.”

The store owner took hold of Natori’s bike and flipped the switch on an old electric fan. A bare breeze started up. He didn’t seem to have an air conditioner.

Looking around the inside of the store, there were bikes lined up from kid-sized all the way through those intended for adults. It was the kind of bike store that used to be in every town.

“You lot gonna wait here? Or are ya going somewhere?” the store owner asked, deftly starting his work.

“We’d like to wait here,” Natori replied.

“Alright. Have a seat in the chairs over there and I’ll be done in a bit.”

“Sure, thanks very much,” Seiichi said, bowing much deeper than Natori, and took a seat on one of the stools that had been placed where the owner had indicated, just out of the way. He got the sense that Natori was surprised he was acting like they were traveling together, but he sat down on the stool next to Seiichi’s. Seiichi could tell the eyes under that hat were looking in his direction, but Natori didn’t tell him to leave.

He was a nice guy after all.

In the same moment that Seiichi sighed in relief, the door flew open and a voice called out, “Father!” An old woman with a plump figure peeked her face in. “Oh, customers huh? Welcome.”

Seiichi bowed his head and said good afternoon. Natori nodded his greeting too, but silently.

“What happened, get a flat?”

“Yes.”

“Oh my, carrying such big luggage too, that must have been a pain. Are you some of those… The two of you, are you pack-baggers by chance?”

What was a pack-bagger?

Seiichi stared at her, puzzled, but quickly realized what she’d meant. “Are we by chance backpackers?”

“Ah yes, that’s it, backpackers.” The old lady nodded, and her husband spoke up from doing his repairs.

“The heck is a pack-bagger?”

“It’s fine, he understood.”

“Only because the young man made a good guess. Normally, it wouldn’t have gotten through.”

Their back and forth was like a husband and wife comedy team, and Seiichi unintentionally laughed. Natori cracked a smile too, which made him happy.

The shop owner’s wife put an end to their comedy routine for a bit, and looked over at them concerned.

“I don’t know where you’re headed, but you’d best find somewhere to stay early today. Oh, here!”

Suddenly hitting her one hand with the opposite fist, the woman retreated into the shop, apparently having thought of something.

“Sorry she’s so chatty,” the shop owner apologized, but Seiichi shook his head.

They seemed rather older than Seiichi’s parents, closer to his grandparents’ age maybe.

Seiichi’s grandfather on his mother’s side had passed away when Seiichi was young, but he’d invited his grandmother on his mom’s side and both grandparents on his father’s side to the wedding.

That must have been incredibly uncomfortable for them, huh…

It had to be unbearable to sit there, watching their grandson alone on the raised platform.

He’d gone to the countryside to apologize to them after Ami had been found. All three of them told him he shouldn’t feel bad about it. How awful, his mom’s mom had said, she knew he’d done his best. Seiichi hadn’t told her all the details. There really was no excuse, it was just pathetic.

“You two like sweet things?” the old woman asked, bustling over, and Seiichi came back to himself.

She’d come back with a paper bag dangling from her hand.

“We got a lot of these manju the other day, but with my diabetes, and this guy’s high blood pressure, we can’t eat stuff like this. This whole neighborhood is nothing but elderly folks with chronic illnesses, so we can’t even share them with anyone. I thought you could eat them, if you’d like. It’s bean paste wrapped in the local brown sugar. They’re from a famous sweets shop in the area, they’re delicious,” she went on, grinning.

The shop owner scowled.

“Woman, young men these days don’t eat stuff like manju.”

“That’s not true, they were just talking about suits men on television.”

“What? What’ve suits got to do with manju?”

Seiichi stuck himself hesitantly into the middle of their renewed comedy routine. “Maybe you meant Sweets Men? It’s men who like sweet things.”

“Yeah yeah, that was it, Sweets Men!” the old woman nodded happily.

The fact that she’d remember it so incorrectly was actually kind of heartwarming, and Seiichi smiled too. “I do like sweet things actually, so I’d be happy to take them. Are you sure it’s alright?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. You eating them is better than me throwing them out. Thank you. This man is bad with sweets though?” she asked about Natori, who’d been silent the whole time.

Seiichi expected he’d accept the sweets even if he didn’t like them, and sure enough, Natori shook his head.

“No, I like them. I’ll have some.”

“Really? Wonderful! There’s only three days until their expiration date. Put them somewhere out of direct sunlight. There’s ten in here, so you can share, and have five each. Oh and I put some orange juice in there too.”

She handed the bag to Natori, who was closer to her, saying, “Okay.” Natori of course didn’t take his cap off, but he did accept the bag with a polite thank you. When Seiichi said the same and looked over at Natori, Natori handed the bag over to him.

Is it okay for me to take this? Seiichi asked with a glance, but Natori’s eyes didn’t peek out from under the bill of his cap, so Seiichi didn’t know what he intended. He accepted the bag for the moment, and dropped his gaze to it. Dark, tea-colored manju were arranged neatly in the bag, each one wrapped individually in shiny plastic paper. They were quite big too, it didn’t seem like an elderly couple would be able to eat them all by themselves. She’d also put four cans of orange juice in there.

Still, it was strange that Natori hadn’t taken off his cap to thank her.

Why wouldn’t he take it off?

“Well then, I wonder how that typhoon’s doing,” the shop owner’s wife muttered, staring at Natori’s profile. The loud sound of a downpour came right at that moment, and if answering the woman’s muttering. Seiichi lifted his head in surprise.

The owner’s wife turned on the radio at the register next to the door.

“–To say again, it’s understood that the deceased, Mr Tomikawa, was a victim of the problems that surfaced this year at the Shigure Company, which is a natural energy firm. Along with investigating both the incident and the accident, the police are now looking into any possible connection with the murder of persons connected to the Shigure Company.”

The news was read off in a disinterested tone.

Seiichi realized that Natori had gone slightly stiff beside him.

The Shigure Company was at the center of a fraud case that had caused quite the scandal starting about six months prior. Seiichi wasn’t personally close to any of the events, but he’d heard a few things. Had Natori known someone who died?

If you invested in the Shigure Company’s natural energy operations, you’ll earn high dividends, no question. Reports indicated the money they’d been able to collect convincing people that was true topped a hundred million yen. 2 But contrary to their promises, the project was just hot air. Naturally, they said they couldn’t pay any large dividends, and in fact weren’t even going to return the original investments.

This so-called natural energy operation was only their latest racket, their entire method of feeding people get rich quick schemes was their typical fraud, and they’d been repeating the process for years.

There was something about today’s news that seemed to have snagged Natori.

But the shop owner’s wife pressed the tuning button, and the news cut off there.

“Some of those poor people who got caught up in that fraud died. It’s just terrible, isn’t it? And wasn’t there a story just like that four or five years ago too? A good luck fraud, something like that? I think someone died during that case too. I’ve got to be careful. I don’t want to get swindled by some strange fellows myself.”

The shop owner’s wife frowned, and the shop owner himself laughed from where he’d been fixing Natori’s flat.

“Don’t worry, even if they did try to swindle us, there’s no money here for them to take.”

“Oh yeah? That is true, I suppose.”

Just as the old woman gave a sunny smile, a young woman’s voice streamed out of the radio.

“The typhoon is weakening as it travels to the northeast, and there is a possibility it will bisect the Japanese archipelago. It’s forecast to turn into a tropical depression as it makes landfall in Honshu, but as a precaution, we are urging people to avoid any non-essential trips–”

“It is coming after all,” the old woman said in an earnest tone. “They said it’s getting weaker, but it’s still a typhoon. You two be careful, you find a place to stay early.”

Seiichi’s yes overlapped with Natori’s. His tone was excessively normal. He didn’t seem tense at all.

Did I imagine that earlier?

As he was puzzling it over in his head, the store owner nodded. “Yep. All set.”

“Thank you very much.” Natori stood up immediately, and Seiichi got to his feet too.

While Natori was paying the bill, Seiichi expressed his gratitude to the shop owner’s wife.

“Thank you for the manju and the juice.”

“No, thank you, I’m happy to be able to give them away. Don’t do anything silly just because you’re young, you really should find a place to stay and get some rest,” she said, obviously worried, to which Seiichi nodded. As he did, he heard Natori say thank you again. The shop owner and his wife saw them off, and the two of them headed out with the bike.

They were nice people.

Of course they were, but he was happy not to be stared at with pity or scorn or curiosity.

He looked up at the sky, feeling relieved and at peace, and saw that the sky was covered in layers of grey. The trees by the side of the road were being blown around by a strong wind, and swayed with a restless noise.

Natori set off silently on foot, pulling his bike along, and Seiichi rushed to follow after. He felt like the air around Natori, which had softened in the store, had gotten chilly again.

At this rate, he was going to have to use tears to get his way.

Seiichi got his determination up and followed after Natori. He must have noticed something, but he didn’t look at Seiichi at all, so Seiichi started talking to him in a casual tone.

“Looks like it’s gonna rain, Natori, let’s take my car. That granny said we should share, so.”

He knew Natori was looking at him. He felt his gaze, even if he couldn’t read his expression.

“You don’t know anything about me.”

“I don’t, but you’re not a bad person.”

“You said that yesterday too. You shouldn’t trust people so easily.”

Natori’s tone was pushing him away, but Seiichi refused to back down.

“But you woke me up this morning. You didn’t go down to breakfast without me, you even waited for me to change. Plus, you didn’t get mad when I came into the bike shop with you. And you took the old lady’s feelings into consideration and said you liked sweets.”

“You said that too, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, but I actually do. I love sweet bean jelly, and sweet bean soup, it’s not just manju. And European stuff too, like cake and cookies, and that baumkuchen stuff…”

A baumkuchen in an adorable light pink box floated through his mind. Ami had selected them as one of the gifts for guests at the wedding ceremony.

The baumkuchen they’d had at a cafe in a European sweets shop they’d gone to on one of their post-employment dates had been delicious, and Ami had said they absolutely had to have it as a decorative sweet. They’d gone to the store to order them together, and had at first been refused because they were trying to order so many of them. But they wouldn’t give up, and they kept coming over, and in the end the shop finally agreed to undertake their order. Ami was overjoyed.

Oh I’m so glad! Thank you for coming with me to ask them, Seiichi.

“Uchino!”

Just as his name was called, he was yanked back by the shoulder. He thought he heard the shrill jingle of a bell, and a young man on a bike passed him just to one side.

“Be careful, will you, pay attention!” the man yelled at him as he went by.

He’d apparently been standing motionless in the dead center of the footpath without even realizing it.

“That was a shock. I didn’t even realize a bike was coming. Thanks, Natori.”

“I’m the one who’s shocked…” Natori muttered, and heaved a huge sigh. He quietly released Seiichi’s arm, which he’d been gripping quite tightly, and looked down at Seiichi.

“Fine, we’ll go together,” Natori said with determination.

Seiichi let out a surprised noise. “What, why the sudden change of mind?”

“Are you really asking me that?” Natori muttered “Enough,” morosely to himself, and turned his face up to the ash-colored sky. “It’s gonna start raining, and the wind’s going to get strong. Just like they said at the bike shop, it’s better not to do anything stupid.”

“So you’re really going to come with me?”

“Isn’t that what I just said.”

His tone was the dictionary definition of morose, but Natori nodded. Seiichi didn’t quite get it, but it seemed Natori was willing to make the journey with him.

A smile spread reflexively across Seiichi’s face. “Thank you, Natori! Ah, the lot where I parked my car is over here.”

Natori started off straight ahead, but obediently stopped when Seiichi called out to him. The behavior made Seiichi happy again.

“Since they said on the radio before that the typhoon should come overnight, I was thinking we should go as far as we can for now, and find a place to stay this evening. Sound good?” Seiichi’s manner of speaking had become extremely friendly without him really noticing.

Natori, on the other hand, nodded coolly. “That sounds fine.”

“Alright, it’s decided. And we’ll keep these manju for dessert. But man they really are big, aren’t they. I don’t even know if I can eat all ten of them in three days.”

“Why are you acting like you’re gonna eat all ten of them? I’m taking half.”

Natori looked at him suspiciously as they crossed an intersection beside each other. Seiichi stared back in blank puzzlement.

“But you don’t like sweet things, do you?”

Deep wrinkles instantly formed between Natori’s eyebrows. “What?” he said restlessly. “Where did you get that from? I said earlier I liked them, didn’t I?”

“You did. I thought you were just being polite.”

“Oi, don’t look so obviously depressed about it. I’m going to eat five of those, so don’t just gobble them all down yourself.”

“Okay…”

“Don’t you ‘okay’ me. Don’t eat them.”

Natori’s rude words and shocked tone were comforting – Natori was letting his guard down.

How many times had Seiichi graphically and abruptly remembered what had happened these past six month, even just since he’d left his apartment? Even the baumkuchen before had memories attached to it. It was better now than when he’d been a shut-in, but those memories kept resurfacing more often than he’d imagined.

But he’d be traveling with Natori from now on, and if they had a lot of time to chat, maybe he wouldn’t have to remember quite so often.

~US$35~US$1,000,000