The map had to be outdated. Had to be. She didn't remember a McDonalds near the nursery! ...Maybe!?

"Ai," Kei-senpai told her, in that long-suffering voice coated in both amusement and fondness, "You're looking at Google maps. Google."

"They can still be wrong," Ai insisted, feebly, because she was fooling no one and especially not herself, "You shouldn't believe everything you read on the internet, right?"

Their ever-wise professor had bestowed them that fact while pulling up a powerpoint that was clearly copied from Wikipedia word for word. Ai shoved red hair away from her eyes to look at the screen better.

Deciding that didn't deserve a response, Kei-senpai merely got on her motorcycle, rolling her shoulders before gripping at the sidebars, "See you, Monday. Don't get lost on the way to the nursery," she grinned, and Ai could have given back a convincing huff had been able to wipe the grin off her face.

Kei waved goodbye with a smile, and drove off.

Leaving Ai alone, defenseless, against the almighty Google maps, and its twisted roads and tiny signs. Ai squinted and zoomed in on her phone to –

Oh god, she was never gonna get there. She was clearly also going to get eye strain from squinting at her phone so much, why did they make the text so tiny.

"…Akagawa?"

Ai looked up to see white hair, pale skin, and the single mostly reserved, somewhat amused, kind of stoic eye of her friend.

"Oh, Shirogane," Ai looked up, smile widening at the sight of his all white uniform, his squad car. The same one she was far too familiar with already, "Don't mind me, I'm just. Uh."

She looked down at her phone so she wouldn't have to look at his face, which never gave away anything but she could never face for too long when she needed directions again.

How many times had she bumped into him, hopelessly lost, and having to resign herself into hitching a ride in the squad car just to get to work? Too many times, that's how many times!

It was time to stop. It was time to do this one herself!

"…Just pausing for a bit!" she said, clenching a fist and giving him a bright smile as she pumped it in the air, "See you around!"

And then she turned on her heel and ran.

Ran straight into an open manhole, because clearly running while looking at your phone was the best idea ever way to go Ai.

She clung to the topmost rung, and that gave her the perfect view of Shirogane running towards her.

They looked at each other.

"…Don't worry, I need to drive to the station anyway," he said, as he helped pull her out.

Ai worked at the nursery near the station. Ai shook her head. Ai was an idiot through and through and said, "I'll be okay! Go on ahead!"

Or so she would have, had she not taken one look at the time and knew she didn't have the minutes to spare.

She hung her head, "…Thank you so much, Shirogane-san."

He put a hand on her shoulder, opening the passenger's seat car door for her, "I'm sure you'll get the hang of it one day."

She's been in the city for over three months now. Ai bit back a groan and climbed into the car.

NOTES: Ah, yes, Erin finally hauling ass and transferring OMAR over here. I got the first names of Ai and Yuichi from reddit, while literally everything else is mine, surname, meanings, and all.

For context, just in case:

Ai Akagawa as AE3803

Yuichi Shirogane as U-1146