When Eliu wasn’t driving, he would forget how long it took to walk one block. Let alone five.

He was three stores down from his checklist of what to buy for his date. Lucky enough, Ginza was perfect to shop around for a significant other. There were massive buildings for the most luxurious brands, like Brada, Vegements, and Geuchi, so the amount of stores he had gone in really felt like twenty. 

The last store he needed to visit was a bakery just off the district of Ginza. He recalled Sumati enjoying the ume wine the owners made locally. It was a bit cheap. Afterall, they’ve been dating for nine months now—and in turn they would be celebrating—but hopefully the dinner he was planning would make up for it. 

The morning carried a blissful cold just enough to warrant a light jacket. It was actually pleasant to roam the streets, and watching the university students take their morning walks together had him dreaming of what it would have been like if Kijuro chose to go to higher education. He’d fit right in with the nerds.

Wait a minute. Tokyo Gakuen University? Doesn’t Sumati go there..? 

He paused in his tracks. Maybe he could find her walking to school. Would that be nice or creepy? 

Then he felt his fists tighten, the fabric from his bags bunching up in his palms. If Sumati asked him what was in the bags, he couldn’t lie. 

Shit. He had to get out of here!

He snapped back to reality and walked as swiftly as he could. His eyes darted around for blonde hair, and started to slow his pace when he realized there was none. He scanned across the street where the entrance of the university was, and while Sumati was nowhere in sight, one thing did catch his attention.

***

Kijuro’s garden was a work in progress. If he didn’t feel like he always had to change the same old, he could leave it as it was and it would be beautiful as it is. Junryu was his number one supporter of his zen space. Even though he had ‘gone to get a bigger shovel,’ he really spent half of his time watching Junryu enjoy himself through the crack of the shoji screens.

Junryu sat on the stone steps, his head snuggled inside the company of his large sweater sleeves and watching closely a leaf that had grown above one of the bamboo shoots pinned besides the stairs. The recent spurts of rain dressed the plants, and when everything was showered and deepened with color, Junryu spent time listening to and watching the drops of water eventually slide off plants. It must have been new to hear the raindrops fall and land in a puddle the bamboo shoot held.

 It was likely getting suspicious that Kijuro was taking so long, so he made a few footsteps while walking in place before he opened the screens and headed past Junryu. His head naturally lifted in interest.

 Kijuro stuck the tip of the shovel into the ground and cranked it down using the handle and his foot for a bit of leverage. He pushed downward to dislodge the roots of the weeds.

“What are you going to put with all the extra space?” Junryu questioned.

 He groaned, exposing more of the roots after digging up the dirt. “Perhaps expanding my herb garden,” he said, setting the shovel against the fence to unclip the gardening gloves on his hip. “What do you think?”

Junryu stared at the sky with thoughts bloating his cheeks. “I was thinking you could use it for tea… Burdock would look pretty.”

His eyes widened. “Ah. You’re right!” He threw the weeds in a paper bag sitting beside him. “You always have amazing ideas, Jun.”  

The compliment brought out Junryu’s rare grin. He brought his knees closer, crossing them by the ankles, as his slender hands interweaved together. “Did you hear what happened to El this morning?” 

“I haven’t heard from him. Another fight?”

“Mmh. He told Bul he found the kids who stole his red bike.”

He told Eliu to stop telling him about his fights since he didn’t know how to react uniquely anymore. But naturally, he would hear about them anyway. “At least it wasn’t inside a store—right?”

“No. At a school.”

Kijuro halted, then straightened his back. “Were they kids?!”

“I don’t know,” Junryu said. “It’s El we’re talking about through Bul.” Neither of them were exactly reliable sources of information.

He shook his head, dusting the dirt off of his gloves. “I’ll deal with that when he comes back,” he sighed. “I’m going to run to ZENEN. They have a few plants there for tea.”

“I think you just want to go there,” Kip suggested through a chuckle.

He pressed his finger against his lips, following it with laughter himself. “Don’t tell anyone,” he said with a head wobble. “I’ll be back!”

ZENEN was his favorite place to be. It had the same qualities as a library for those who finished books like a snack—well, he was like that too, though plants were dearest to him. It had all the essentials for building and maintaining a zen garden, and not to mention, the shopkeeper was easy to fall in an hour long conversation about garden maintenance with. Buying pebbles was a good enough reason to go there.