I was initially hesitant to introduce Kenta to Kyoko and Shun, convincing myself that if I didn’t have him last at least one practice date, that it wouldn’t be worth their time to introduce him. And now, despite the fact that he did last the one practice date, I now wanted to push the introduction back further. I mean—it only made sense to introduce after the infamous first date.
I saw Kyoko approach me from the opposite end of the hall, but Shun as usual was nowhere to be found. He made himself rather scarce lately. I couldn’t help but feel that telling him about the guy before him was a mistake.
I normally would attribute it to my friend needing space, but for someone like him to say that he was retiring indefinitely from amateur detective work—I couldn’t help but feel that I took a leap that I couldn’t return from.
“Hey, Fumi. How did your date go,” Kyoko asked, gingerly dangling the satchel in front of her by the black velvet strap gripped by her joint hands.
“Better than I thought it would. I think I managed to psych myself into going onto multiple dates with the first practice date. What about Shun? Is he feeling better yet?”
“He’s actually doing a bit better. I think I can probably convince him to meet up with us again. I’ll just need to give him a small ol’ girlfriend guilt-trip and we’ll be alright,” Kyoko said.
“So everything’s okay then? I didn’t do anything to upset him,” I said.
Kyoko offered me a handkerchief before I could dip my head and try to discreetly cry to avoid embarrassing myself. She tapped on my shoulder and repeatedly offered self-soothing words until I stopped shaking. I knew we were friends, but I appreciated that she could anticipate when I was distressed.
“Whoa, there! If you stress out any more about that past conversation with Shun, you’ll break out with a cold—again,” Kyoko said, chuckling.
I tried to gently dab my nose with her offered handkerchief to avoid making any ugly sniffling noises, but without warning, I entered a self-fulfilling chain of ugly sneezes.
“I knew it! You’re already sneezing.”
“That’s not—achoo! I hope this cold isn’t around when I see Kenta next.”
“Hmm, maybe I should reschedule our meeting with Shun then. You should rest as much as possible so your cold doesn’t linger,” Kyoko said.
“No! It’s been forever since we’ve been together. I want to apologize for forcing him to help me all these years.”
“Would you stop it, already! He willingly helped you and happily did so. I’ve already talked to him, and he’s not angry with you. He’s was just tired and needed to spend some time away to think,” Kyoko said, gripping my shoulders and shaking my torso.
As helpful as she was, I could actually feel the mucus in my sinuses come loose.
“Sorry,” she continued, releasing her grip on my shoulders.
I cleaned the loose mucus from my nostrils and tried to say some last words before we both headed home without letting out another round of rapid-fire sneezes.
“Just one more date, and I’ll introduce Kenta to you. I have a good feeling about this, Kyoko,” I said, flashing a smile, its brilliance dampened heavily by a red nose and nasal drip.
“It doesn’t have to be right, away, Fumi. Just introduce him when you feel comfortable.”
“Umm, about that…”
“What’s the matter, Fumi?”
“I’ve just come up with this plan to help Kenta. Our relationship isn’t just about me anymore. I wanted to do something to help him with his negative school title.”
“Hmph, why do I get the feeling you’ve just made this needlessly complicated,” Kyoko said, sighing while air-hugging me.
“I just saw an opportunity to help someone that was like me. The Ravager fan in me couldn’t ignore that,” I said, biting down on my lip to stifle a sneeze.
“I should probably walk with you and help you get home. You can tell me more about this plan of yours once we get there.”
I can’t remember when she and Shun didn’t try to help me with every part of my obsession to answer what the universal definition of love was. As I felt an overbearing heat collect around my temples and forehead, I entered a delirious, confused state.
“Fumi. You’re swaying quite a bit there. Are you going to be alright?”
The world around me was such a fuzzy blur, I could only process Kyoko catching me before I could trip and give myself a concussion. The only constant thought in my mind that I could focus on was the memory of how everything started.
It was the day after Hiro moved away.
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