Nara Yukina arrived at the beginning of class, and before roll call, she addressed the class about the news that everyone had already learned.  She assured them that the police were going to fully investigate the scene, and they were also going to enforce curfew more strictly until they were certain that there was no danger to other students or residents of Midorioka.

Of course, it did nothing to stem the rumors.  When lunchtime came around, Hideki opened the bento box he packed with his leftover rice from breakfast, some pickled vegetables, and a pork cutlet from the corner grocer.  As he ate, he couldn’t help listening to the girls chatting around Suu’s desk.

“Do you think it was a serial killer?”

“I think it was a murder-suicide. Everybody knows Ryuma was cheating on her.”

“You shouldn’t talk about the dead like that!”

“He was, though! He flirted with Madoka-chan all the time.”

“That doesn’t count, every guy fawns over her.”

“Well there was Kimiko-chan too…”

Hideki could feel himself grinding his teeth between bites.   It was clear to him that this was nothing more than another subject of gossip.  He did notice, however, that Suu was even more quiet today than the day before.

As the lunch break was coming to a close, Suu only uttered a quiet “bye” to the girls, and packed up both her lunchbox and her spare.  Hideki watched her for a moment, before saying, “Hey.”

Suu turned and looked over her shoulder, surprised to hear him speak up.   Her cheeks faintly pinkened when she realized he was, indeed, speaking directly to her.  She smiled shyly and asked, “Ah… What’s up, Sorato-kun?”

“I never actually introduced myself to you, since we’re desk neighbors and all,” he said with a small smirk, “You know I’m Sorato Hideki, but you’re…?”

“Ah!” Suu uttered, an embarrassed sounding little squeak, before she turned around in her chair and bowed her head to him; “S… Suu! My name is Onishi Suu… I’m sorry for being so rude.”

Hideki was surprised by what he perceived as an overreaction, and laughed, only embarrassing her more.  He grinned and said, “You don’t have to apologize.  I’ve been kind of standoffish myself.  Besides, I didn’t want to interrupt when all of your friends were around.”

Suu smiled softly and nodded to him.

“They are your friends, right?” Hideki asked quietly.

Suu looked at him, appearing confused for a moment, before she gave another small nod and said, “Yes, of course…”

“You don’t seem very talkative with them, is all,” he said.

“I’m kind of shy,” Suu said quietly, “But they still eat lunch with me anyway, so… It’s really nice to feel included.”

“You’re not shy about talking with me,” Hideki said, smirking, “You were stumbling all over yourself to make a proper introduction.”

Suu’s face turned red in embarrassment, but she was saved from having to respond by the sound of the classroom door sliding open.

“Stand,” Fumi announced, leading the class, “Bow.”

The day’s classes continued, and at 3:30pm, the students were dismissed.   Instead of meandering with friends or checking out any of the school clubs or sports teams, Hideki left promptly, walking home with a hurried pace.  He pulled his phone from his pocket, and to his amazement, his GPS decided to connect right away.

“Oh, now you cooperate,” he muttered quietly.  Deciding to call Shion, he backed out of his map, but his thumb paused over the Call button.  Next to the modern looking green icon of a telephone, there was a new symbol. A second “Call” button had appeared on his phone, but this one was brown, with a gold looking rotary dial on it.  Hideki’s hurried steps slowed, until he shuffled to a stop on the sidewalk, letting other students pass by him.  He tapped on the icon, and his phone loaded a screen with a wooden looking background, and a rotary dial that, on closer inspection, looked like polished brass.  The appearance reminded him of the switchboards and headphones he’d seen under the light of hanging edison bulbs, and a chill ran up his spine.

‘What is this doing here?’ he thought, staring at the screen. His thumb hovered over the dial for a moment, before he instead tapped the ‘Home’ button, and clicked on the stock Call icon instead.

Hideki returned home, and Shion greeted him from the living room, where she’d settled in with her laptop, cellphone, and gigantic mug of coffee to tackle her telecommuting work.  He began to unpack boxes, stocking the kitchen with various odds and ends like his food scale, his indoor grill, and his blender.  In the bathroom, he unpacked various toiletries, and Shion helped him find places to store them in drawers or cabinets.  He was two or three boxes into unpacking his bedroom, mostly hanging clothes and putting out excess school supplies on his desk, when the pizza arrived.

He hadn’t expected to enjoy his evening as much as he did.  He was looking forward to the pizza, but as they ate, he found himself chatting rather freely with Shion.  They didn’t talk about her husband’s horrendous work demands, or his dad’s terrible faults as a husband and father.   They talked about what kinds of food they liked to eat, interesting things they’d seen on TV lately, or the dream home that Shion and her husband were saving up to buy in Kibitani.

Moreso than that, he never expected to enjoy unpacking.   He was used to his boxes staying piled up for weeks or months, but Shion seemed almost insistent that they find places for all of his things, not just in his room but around the house.

‘She’s trying to make up for calling me a burden,’ he thought, ‘I know I don’t fitinto her life, but it still feels nice that she’s trying so hard.’

That night, at around 8:30, most of Hideki’s things were unpacked.  His laptop was set up on his desk, his dumbbell weights were on the floor at the foot of his bed, and his clothes were hung in the closet.   He left his kendo gear in its box for now, as he remembered Nara-sensei’s plea to take his time and really think about whether or not he wanted to continue to pursue kendo, or take his chance at a real fresh start.  He collapsed onto his bed, the mattress springs screaming under his mass.  He heaved a heavy sigh, exhausted from his long day and lack of rest, and almost immediately fell asleep.

The next morning, Hideki awoke with what felt like a new lease on life.  With a full night’s sleep under his belt, a morning jog, a fresh breakfast, and a self-packed lunch in his bag, he departed for school.  This exuberance was tamed, however, when he met with the other crowds of students walking to school.   Some of the other students were wearing black armbands, most of them likely from classroom 1-A.  Everyone was still coming to grips with the loss of two classmates and friends, and a subtle pall had fallen over the school.

As Hideki passed by class 1-A, he glanced in the open door and saw that both desks were still adorned with flowers around their portraits, and small candles had been lit in their memory.  He could clearly see the faces on the portraits now, and he couldn’t shake the memory of him with blood on his face, and her crying out to him.  Hideki’s chest felt tight, and he had to make himself look away as he walked.

However, as Hideki approached class 1-B, he saw Nara-sensei and Yamamoto Fumi standing outside the door, talking quietly.  There was something about the way the two of them carried themselves that put him ill at ease; Nara-sensei’s arms were crossed and her brow knitted, and Fumi’s arms were held rigidly at her side, as if standing as formally and properly as she could.  As he approached, both of them stopped mid-sentence and looked at him.

“Sorato-kun,” said Nara-sensei, “Have you seen Onishi-kun?”

“Suu-chan?” he asked, feeling his stomach drop; “No, why?”

Nara-sensei and Fumi looked at each other a moment, before returning their gaze to Hideki again.

“I saw you talking with her yesterday, so I hoped you knew something…” Fumi muttered.

Nara-sensei took a deep breath, and a slow exhale, before saying, “Onishi-kun’s parents said she went out to the corner store, and didn’t return home last night.”