Chapter 1: Haruka
Oh, my…
I took was one look at the sheer number of people awaiting their turn and I immediately felt faint. In fact, had Takayuki-kun and Shinji-kun and Mikami-san not been there to support me, I might have found every excuse to slip away from the crowd and go home.
A part of me considered it strange. I'd poured my heart and soul into writing "Mayauru's Gift," and I was merely reaping the rewards. Besides, I'd been through much worse than an overcrowded book launch. Why should this bother me so?
"Are you all right Haruka?"
As always, Takayuki-kun was concerned for my welfare. I appreciated that.
"I'm fine, Takayuki-kun," I told him. "Thank you. It's just that the crowd seems a bit…overwhelming tonight."
"She's right," Shinji-kun piped in. "The crowd's a killer. Comes with being famous, I guess."
I flushed with pride. Shinji had an oblique way of complimenting people.
"Hang in there, Suzumiya-san," Mikami-san said. As my agent, she already knew what made me uncomfortable. "This will all be over before you know it."
"She's right," Takayuki seconded. "After this, let's head on over to the Family Sky restaurant and relax there. What do you say?"
"I'd like that very mu—"
That was when it hit me.
I couldn't quite explain what it was. Perhaps it was déjà vu. Whatever it was, my intuition was trying to tell me that something was definitely out of the ordinary tonight.
This wasn't the first time I'd felt strange. I'd also felt odd when I'd revisited the phone booths by the Hiiragi-cho station a long time ago. But that had had carried the sting of blood and pain and loss with it.
No, this one felt more—dare I say it—nostalgic?
"Haruka?" Takayuki-kun and Shinji-kun and Mikami-san were calling out to me. Their voices seemed oddly distant.
"I'm sorry," I said. "I just had a strange feeling right about now."
"A strange feeling?" They repeated, exchanging worried glances.
"It's probably nothing. I might as well finish signing these books so we can rest for the night."
"I agree," Takayuki-kun admitted. "This crowd can get tiring. Even I feel the need to bail right about now."
I smiled at that. At least I didn't have to do this alone.
I put on my best smile and kept on signing books for the crowd. After all, I thought, it'd been a long day, and the fatigue had probably gotten to me, hadn't it?
Hadn't it?