Archive of Our Own ^beta

Now

“Did you ever find out what happened to your … old friend?” said Saruhara.

“Old friend?” Haruka said. What the hell was he talking about?

“Hanamura. Your ex-boyfriend.”

“Oh!” Well, he hadn’t returned to school, even though his real mother had to be back. It felt inappropriate to call his house. Maybe he really had been ill and recovering in the countryside. Shiratori, whom he’d started going out with after Haruka, hadn’t heard from him either. Haruka had been hanging around with her more often; and enjoyed it. Shiratori would be going to college soon, but she’d still be in Tokyo, and they could hang out. Haruka looked forward to that. “I don’t know,” Haruka said.

“Do you think the Jyuuto …”

“I hope not,” said Haruka, and she really hoped so.

“And now, a haiku. Scattered blossoms fall, across the road at twilight. Truly, life is brief,” said Saruhara. He took a sip of hojicha.

“I’m still paying for all your drinks, you know,” said Haruka.

“I thought you said that Master was prepared to ‘overlook’ my snacks and drinks.”

“Only because I pointed out he gives his boyfriend free ice cream!” said Haruka. The oddly dressed man in purple still visited, and she’d seen him and Master holding hands at the back of the café after closing time. “Now, shut up. I need you to go over this with me one more time.” She held up her sociology textbook. Finals were looming, and the least he could do was help her pass them.

Then

“Did you ever find out what happened to your old friend?” Shin said.

“Huh? Old friend?” said Haruka.

“Hanamura. Your ex-boyfriend.”

“Oh. No.” She’d never found out about that. She’d called Hanamura’s house, years ago, only to find the number disconnected. His “mother” was probably still out there, somewhere. As annoying as he had been, Haruka sincerely hoped that he was safe.

“Do you think the Juuto …”

“I don’t know,” Haruka said. “Maybe the other me managed to save the day. I told her what to do. It’s all in the manga for her.” It had only dawned on Haruka later that she hadn’t told her past self which of the manga it was. But they were both Haruka, right? Other-her was smart enough to figure it out. And if she wasn’t, at least she still had Sonoza, her best-ever editor. He’d helped “Naoki Shiina” become a hit, and he’d be there for past Haruka, too.

“Yes, I suppose you’re right,” said Shin. “Shall we order wine?”

“Sure,” said Haruka. Now that she was old enough to drink, she appreciated the advantages of having a boyfriend who could afford a decent bottle.

He asked for white wine, because she preferred it, even though he normally drank red. He was sweet and thoughtful. Why had she never noticed it, back then? There was always Hanamura, or Marina, always someone else; something, anything, other than what she had now. She wasn’t going to make that mistake again.

“What are you thinking about?” said Shin; and reached for her hand.

***

Now

“This is even smaller than our last place,” Natsumi said, with a sigh. It didn’t really matter. They barely had anything to put inside the tiny, cramped space. There was a futon, and some basic kitchen equipment, but that was about it. At least it was cheap. Tsubasa didn’t have a job, although Natsumi was working part-time in a department store now.

“It’s home. Our own home. We don’t really need anything else,” said Tsubasa.

“It’s not ours! It’s rented. They could kick us out at any time.”

“That’s not going to happen,” said Tsubasa.

He put his arm around her, and she smiled at him – “We can’t stay here that long, though,” said Natsumi.

“Don’t worry about it. We don’t have to figure everything out right away,” he said.

They hadn’t discussed wedding plans yet. It somehow felt a long way away, even though it should be the natural next step in their relationship. He wondered if the Kijino situation wasn’t affecting his feelings about marriage. Even if it weren’t, he and Natsumi had been through a lot. They couldn’t just magically go back to everything being the way it was before. He expected that they’d get married eventually, when their lives calmed down and they could begin to plan for the long term.

He hadn’t seen Sononi again. Maybe it was for the best that he didn’t.

His phone alarm rang, and he looked at it. He’d forgotten he had plans, “I’m going to see Kijino. I won’t be long,” he said.

He and Kijino were still friends – kind of. Tsubasa visited every couple of weeks, just to check that Kijino looked well and wasn’t currently trying to kill anyone. Kijino was able to take care of himself and go to work, but Miho was still the only topic of conversation he was interested in. Tsubasa sometimes tried to talk about sports, or food, or hobbies with him. Kijino would give abrupt answers, clearly annoyed at being expected to focus on something else. Miho had been in his life for less than three years, so what had Kijino done with himself before that? He must have been someone with his own interests. Tsubasa hoped he’d be able to meet that Kijino, one day.

He rang the doorbell, and Kijino answered, his hair sticking straight up. The feathered style was growing out, but he’d given up the effort to smooth it down with gel. There was something new about his appearance, though. He had what looked like a shoelace tied around his neck, and his wedding ring on the end of it.

Tsubasa said, “Hey. Are you gonna let me in?”

Then

Tsubasa still thought about Tsuyoshi Kijino every day.

It hurt that he’d never had a chance to say goodbye. Ultimately, Kijino hadn’t been able to let go of his ideal of Miho; even when he must have known, deep down, that she had never really existed. Sononi had told Tsubasa that he might see Kijino again, one day, if the Nouto could ever find the Ring of Forgiveness. That didn’t seem any more likely now than Tsubasa ever finding a way to enter the Juuto forest.

He was still doing everything he could to find out about it. He’d gone to Jin Momoi, who only ever said, “Visiting hours are over.” Sononi had told him so many times that they had no hope of ever entering the forest, and he should just give up. He wasn’t going to do that; not when Natsumi was still there. But then, even if he found her, what would happen? He couldn’t leave Natsumi, and he also couldn’t tell Sononi to go. She had just kind of attached herself to him, following him around, even when he tried to shake her off. The problem was that after a while, he’d begun to enjoy having her there. He’d been lonely, and she was familiar. Now he didn’t know what he could say to Natsumi, even if he did find her.

Tanabe was still travelling the world with no indication he’d be back any time soon. At least that meant Tsubasa had somewhere to go, and wouldn’t be spending a night under the bridge in the rain. He was sure Sononi would have stayed with him even then. At first, he hadn’t wanted to bring her to Tanabe’s apartment; feeling guilty about bringing her somewhere Natsumi had been. But then, that hadn’t been the real Natsumi, so what difference did it make?

He opened the door. Sononi came out to see him, smiling – “Tsubasa Inuzuka!”

She couldn’t get out of the full name habit, even when he’d told her that humans found it kind of weird.

“I made dinner,” she said. Tsubasa couldn’t smell burning, or hear the smoke alarm, so that was a good sign.

“Um – thank you.”

“Just a minute,” she said, and disappeared into the kitchen.

Tsubasa would have to break her heart one day, and probably Natsumi’s, too. He just couldn’t do it now, in this exact moment. When she was so sweet.

***

Now

“I guess we’ll never know if we’re related,” Jirou said.

“We are not!” said Tarou.

“So, I can’t call you … big brother?” Jirou laughed, indicating he didn’t really mean it. He took another bite of his sandwich. He needed to be careful with money until he found a proper job, but still, the food at Donbura was pretty good.

“Don’t make fun of him,” Sonoi said.

“I’m not! Anyway, if he’s my brother, that makes you my brother-in-law,” Jirou pointed out.

Sonoi seemed a little startled by that. He said, “Brother-in-law?”

“Yeah! Cuz you’d be dating my brother,” said Jirou.

“I am not your brother. I’m just being nice to you because I feel sorry for you,” said Tarou.

Ouch. Jirou had walked right into that one. He breathed deeply, trying too hard not to think about it. Whether he liked it or not, Rumi and the guys were gone. Tarou and the Donbrothers were who he had now, “I guess that’s something,” he said, trying to lighten the mood.

Tarou couldn’t help being the way he was, and he did care, even if he sometimes said hurtful things. Jirou knew that Tarou had stepped in to replace him as guardian of the Juuto forest. Anyway, even if no one loved Jirou any more, someone would. He believed that.

“You’re both from the Don Clan,” said Sonoi. “Even if not brothers, you are almost certainly related.”

Tarou spat his kibidango out and began to choke. Jirou gave him a hearty slap across the back. Tarou coughed for a moment and then said, “Thanks, Jirou. Even though you are a clumsy ox.”

Jirou laughed at that one, sincerely.

Then

There were footsteps outside the house. Jirou didn’t need to look up to know who it was. Ever since his father – that is, Mr Terasaki – had died, the only person ever to return to the village was Sonoi. He sometimes brought food from the oden stand, or Haruka’s beef stroganoff. It was sweet of him, but Jirou didn’t really need to eat now. He’d sometimes wondered if he were turning into a Juuto himself. He drank out of the tap when he needed to, and the rest of the time, he just sat at the table where he’d eaten with his friends. Well, where he thought he’d eaten with them.

“Jirou Momotani,” said Sonoi.

Jirou didn’t answer. Sonoi probably wasn’t expecting him to.

“Well, don’t just sit there. We are going to find Tarou Momoi,” said Sonoi.

“How?” said Jirou, cringing at how much his throat hurt.  That probably shouldn’t be a surprise, given he was barely speaking or even drinking water now, “You actually found a way into the forest?”

“Come here,” Sonoi said.

Jirou went.

This really was a ghost town, now. Even Jirou felt like a ghost. He idly wondered what had happened to it before the Penguin Juuto arrived. Did “Terasaki” kill everyone in the village, or was it already abandoned? He hoped the entrance to the forest, wherever it was, wouldn’t be too far. He really didn’t have the physical strength for a long walk. How long was it since he’d last slept, even?

“Um … Sonoi, where is it?” he said.

“There.”

Sonoi stopped by the river. The last of the daylight was fading over the horizon, but the moon was already up, casting silvery ripples across the water. Kaguo Village really was kind of beautiful. Why hadn’t he appreciated that before? Because he was so caught up in fantasies of being a hero, probably.

“I don’t understand,” said Jirou.

“Do you know, when Tarou Momoi and I first met, I told him the moon is more trustworthy than the sun. Because you can keep an eye on it,” said Sonoi. “Now – look.”

Jirou looked over the water, confused; and felt himself disappear.