XXI

Yamaguchi Kenji hated pain. Back in high school when Tomio, Mabo and George had started hanging out with him, he was more than convinced that he was going to end up beaten up because they found picking fights with random people as some form of entertainment. Of course, because he had known when to pick his battles, he always made sure to slip away from any brewing argument before anything got too serious. He would then meet up with the three, who by then would be beaten up so badly that Kenji would only be too thankful that he was smart enough to distinguish those encounters that would eventually lead to a world of hurt.

This did not mean, however, that he was not tolerant to it. He could still remember that time when he was in preschool and he had asked his father for a bicycle. Of course, the reason why he ever asked for it was because the other kids in his school had started venturing into the daring side of youth and all the boys who had bicycles were considered to be quite popular.

His mother at that time had been unsure. Iyo at four was already been a handful, and the thought of Kenji on wheels did not sit well with her. Eventually they gave in and let him have his first bicycle, plus the training wheels.

But then Yoshida Haru came into the picture with his bike, training-wheel-free and tearing across the park like the monster that he was. Come to think of it, Haru had always beaten him in many things; sports, academics, girls. Determined on not letting Haru get all the attention, Kenji had removed his training wheels like an idiot and crashed into a tree, losing several teeth in the process. He didn't cry. But perhaps this was because the teeth that he lost then were already loose anyway, and no one really saw him make a fool of himself.

The pain after cashing into that tree had been real. The pain after getting beaten up by Yuuzan every time he bullied Haru had been real. He hated it, but he endured it all the same.

This was no different. Or so he wanted to think. He was in and out of it, for how long he wasn't even sure. But pain was pain, and he could only assume that he was under a lot of drugs because he couldn't make a single logical train of thought, even when he was drifting in and out of consciousness. When he was awake, he was well aware of the brightly lit room, as well as the itch on the place where his skin was raw from having an IV stuck on the same place for god knows how long already.

There were times when he would feel someone hover over him, probably to check his vitals. There was even one instance – he could have sworn it was George – when he felt someone taking his picture.

These were when he thought he could have been awake. Majority of the time, he was sure he was sleeping.

His dreams were vivid. He dreamed about being back in high school, of the time when he was still pursuing Shizuku, back when Shizuku still wouldn't give him a second glance. It was strange, how the pain of rejection still felt even when it had been a few years since that happened. It didn't help that his subconscious thought it quite amusing to play that time when Shizuku had given him the kindness of letting him down gently after making a point that she actually thought that he was capable of making her happy, but was going to follow her heart and be with Haru because it was 'fun'.

That had been brutal, a different kind of pain altogether. But nevertheless, he was able to get out of that funk. Sure, it took him half a year, several mixers that left him even more convinced that Mizutani Shizuku was a breed of her own, and that he was never ever going to be blessed with one as wonderful as she.

See? He was more than capable of tolerating pain! Given, his state now felt like the sensation was coming from his entire body. The doctor-to-be inside him was trying to assess the damages. How on earth did he end up in this predicament again?

The answer came one day when he opened his eyes and found his father sitting on the chair, reading a book. The curtains hanging on the windows were drawn, indicating it was night time. Over his father's shoulder was a dim reading light, making the room gloomy even when it was furnished quite cheerfully and a bunch of flowers were sitting here and there, obviously from guests. He was in the family hospital; he could tell from the selection of good paintings decorating the walls.

He called out to his father, but only a very unattractive croak escaped from his lips. This sound was enough to get him up from his chair, abandoning his book and moving closer to Kenji. Yamaguchi Kentarou was calm as he leaned down and touched Kenji's forehead, then he proceeded to being a doctor first before being a dad. He made a call to the attending nurse, who in turn would know what was needed to be done.

He gave Kenji a very relieved look as he knelt down and gave his face a soft caress. "My boy. My boy."

Kenji winced as he tried to get up. The pain shot up through his entire body, making his vision blur white. This was a relief to him. He was feeling pain, in his legs, in his arms, very much so his head, which meant he wasn't paralyzed or anything stupid like that. Things were starting to come back to him. He had fallen. No, someone had pushed him. Someone actually pushed him from the second-story stairwell of the Misawa Batting Range!

He gasped for air, tried to sit up again but realized he wasn't strong enough to do so. Did he break some bones? He still couldn't tell from the painkillers he knew he was still under. He was starting to panic, which his father thought to be quite alarming. He placed either hand on Kenji's shoulders and squeezed gently.

"Kenji, relax. Aside from a broken right leg and right arm, you're fine. Which is something I could only call to be a miracle. You fell off the side of the building opposite the parking lot, and luckily, the owner of the batting range had plowed the snow and piled it up near the building. It cushioned your fall." His dad laughed a bit. "I guess it was because you had something over your head that time that you didn't realize it. Had you been a bit calmer, you would have been able to avoid getting injured. I could only assume you'd flailed your limbs around and ended up hurting yourself in the process. Nothing serious, though. It was a good thing Sasahara-kun was there. And I suppose I should also thank the batting range's owner for calling the ambulance."

Kenji tried to roll his father's words in his head a bit, trying hard to digest the information. He was fine. He was okay. His father was smiling. Everything was going to be all right. He started to calm down.

"What… date…?" he managed to croak out.

"It's the second of January. Happy New Year, son." Kenta patted Kenji on his head lovingly before sitting down on his bed, making the mattress shift under his weight.

The second. He'd been out of it for two days. Kenji groaned inwardly. He had slept all throughout New Year's. That fact was probably the only think he could think about, though he was more than sure that he should be worried about something else.

"Pushed… I was – "

"We know," Kenta interrupted briskly, his face darkening. "It was all caught on the CCTV, but the culprit had a baseball cap and a mask on. I'm still communicating with the police about it. Misawa-san is cooperating and giving in the daily log, but that's something you don't have to worry about."

Personally, Kenji didn't care. So someone had thrown him down the stairwell, obviously to kill him. Normally, he got along well with a lot of people. Then again, there had also been an instance when he had almost been pushed from a stairwell. But right now, he didn't want to go there. Not there.

It couldn't be him.

Right?

His thoughts were interrupted when Yamaguchi Chiemi quietly entered the room. She looked horrible. Bags under her eyes. Her nose red from obviously crying too much. Kenji's mother cried over the silliest of things; Sad rescue dog stories, Korean dramas, sometimes documentaries. Seeing her like this was not new to Kenji. But it hurt him that it was he who was the source of her tears.

She went to him, immediately collapsing beside him, grabbing his good hand in both of hers and squeezing it before pressing it to her lips. "Pumpkin… "

Kenji grimaced. "Don't… call… me… "

Chiemi sobbed out a laugh. "You're really okay. I'm so happy…"

Kenji closed his eyes, not really sure of what to think. He could only hope the media wouldn't get involved in this. Yokohama was a big city. There were better things to report about than people getting thrown off stairwells, though, it would have been a different story if he had died, he supposed.

He let out a sigh.

I'm alive. Sure, I have a broken leg and a broken arm. But I'm okay.

His room began to get busier after that. Nurses came in to check his vitals, talking to his father in hushed whispers. A man Kenji could recognize as Ichinose-san, the family lawyer had also dropped by only to call Kenta out, probably to talk about legal matters. Kenji hated it when the lawyers got involved. Then he would remember that Shizuku's mother was a lawyer, and he would abandon the thought altogether.

When everything started to calm down in his private quarters, the nurses gone and Chiemi content that he was comfortable and watered and given what he needed before also leaving to tend to the house, Shizuku came in to visit. She looked pretty much how his mother looked when she first came; sleep-deprived, minus the tears. Kenji didn't know how to present himself to her. He hated having to be taken off guard like this. Why hadn't his parents told him that she was in the hospital? How did he look?

He knew he looked like shit. Escaping death did that to people.

"It's good to see you, Kenji," Shizuku said as she leaned down and touched the side of his face gingerly, probably afraid that she might hurt him. "Happy New Year."

Kenji managed a smile, leaned his cheek into her hand. "Happy New Year," he managed to greet back, surprised at the degree of happiness seeing her brought him.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, her eyes wandering up and down his bed. This was the time Kenji managed to look at the state of his own body. His right leg, heavily casted, he realized was suspended on a line that extended to a pulley on the ceiling. His right arm, also in a cast, was resting on his stomach under his blankets.

"I've felt better," he replied honestly, bringing his eyes back to her face. She had that unreadable expression on her face, made even more unreadable by the shadows under her eyes. Kenji knew that Shizuku was not one to show her emotions. The days that followed her return to Yokohama were the most he had seen her show what she was truly feeling, and those had not been a pleasure to see. Her breakup with Yoshida Haru, the divorce, the family business going under, and probably the separation from Takaya had taken its toll on her.

And now this. Kenji could only blame himself for adding to the things she had to think about.

"You look like you haven't been sleeping," he pointed out, then gestured at the side of his bed with his good hand.

Shizuku took a seat on the place his father had sat on earlier. She kept her eyes on his face, examining him. She tilted her head to the side, then busied herself with fixing his hair with lithe fingers. "I couldn't sleep knowing you're here in the hospital. Sasayan-kun called me when it happened. Your parents were nice enough to let me in on what was happening. Kenta-san said you'll have to get used to using crutches for a while."

"Crutches." Kenji wrinkled his brow. "It'll be a couple of months."

"Your dad said that if you get surgery – I think he said something about a metal brace – you'll be able to walk again in a month."

Kenji hated anything invasive. He hasn't seen his x-rays, but he knew his father wouldn't have suggested surgery unless he thought it more necessary. "I'll have to think about that."

Shizuku smiled a small smile. "I'd like it a lot if you're able to get back on your feet sooner than later. You promised to visit the temple with me for New Year's."

Kenji didn't know what to say. He hadn't expected to have Shizuku remember – more so act as if she were looking forward to – their date. Suddenly, getting a surgery seemed all the more appealing. He felt Shizuku's hand his chest where it would stay for the rest of her visit, only to move when she needed to scratch her arm self-consciously, or tuck a stray hair behind her ear, or wipe her nose with her handkerchief.

He had already surrendered to the fact that Shizuku just wasn't like any other girl, and that she was the type to just casually forget about things like dates when things of greater importance came along. She was also the type of girl who gave grand gestures – like putting hands on chests, or touching people's heads to check if they were okay after getting punched out of jealousy – as if they were the most natural of things. Kenji was too much in pain to even care at the moment.

But when Mizutani Takaya leisurely made his way into the room with a box of donuts, Kenji's eyes widened and as a knee-jerk reaction, he tried to sit up. Shizuku's hand kept him down.

"Takaya-kun?" he asked, looking from Shizuku to her brother, then back again.

"Winter break. He'll be here for a week," Shizuku explained.

Takaya held out the box of donuts to Kenji. "Hey, Yamaken. Would you like some?"

Kenji hardly felt like eating anything. "Not right now, no."

"Great. Can I have them?"

"Err… sure, I guess?"

Takaya nodded happily. "Thanks." He pulled up a chair then sat down in front of Kenji's bed, plucking a glazed donut from the box and taking a huge bite into it. "Shizuku told me what happened. I'm glad you're not dead."

Shizuku gave her brother a sharp look but didn't say anything.

Kenji nodded, watching the younger boy devour his food. "Yeah. Me, too."

"Do you know who might be angry enough to want to kill you?"

Oh, that was the eternal question. His parents and Shizuku never really bothered to bring up the subject probably because they already had the police looking into it. But still he had his suspicions. After all, this was not the first time he's ever had the experience of being threatened. But just the mere fact that it really happened – something he thought could only happen in movies and stupid shoujou manga – happened to him.

It couldn't possibly have been Haru, right?

"It wasn't Haru," Takaya suddenly said, as if reading his thoughts. He was already on his second donut.

Kenji blinked, stared at him for the longest time.

Shizuku hissed at Takaya. "No one said anything about him."

Kenji nodded at Takaya to encourage him to continue. "Why do you say so?"

That was when Takaya raised his eyes to meet Kenji's, licking his finger. "Because the day you were pushed off the stairwell, Haru and I were in Shibuya together." He wiped his hand on his jacket, plucked something out of his pocket and handed it over to Kenji.

It was a Purikura photo of Takaya and Haru together in a game center. Takaya looked as unamused as ever, while Haru – looking annoyingly handsome – was hogging the camera like an idiot. His hair had grown, and he had it pulled back into a half pony tail. He was darker, and while he had a bulky jacket on, Kenji could tell that he had gotten fitter.

Shizuku snatched the photo from Kenji and stared at it with wide eyes. Kenji couldn't tell what she was thinking, as he seldom did in any kind of situation when it came to her. This was probably the first time in a long time was she able to see Haru in any shape or form after their breakup. And because Haru could be evasive as shit when he wanted to, this might have been the only time since then that he tried to reach out to her or her family.

Kenji remembered Shizuku's father had mixed feelings towards Haru, and while Mizutani Takashi never expressed in words what he thought of him, he had compared Kenji to Haru a few times when Kenji had the chance of talking to him when Shizuku decided to run away and live in the Yamaguchi household indefinitely.

It took a while before Shizuku lowered the photo and handed it back to Takaya. She narrowed her eyes at her brother. "Why were you with Haru?"

Takaya shrugged. "He just happened to be there in the game center on my way home. He was being really loud and kicking the crane game. That's why I knew it was him. I came to say hi. Then we played for a few hours together."

Shizuku bit her lip, as if she was deciding to ask a question or not. She ended up asking it, anyway. "Did he ask about me?"

Kenji felt his heart slide down to his stomach, unsure of what he was supposed to feel that Shizuku was at all curious what Haru thought. He tried to rationalize that it was only normal for her to ask about it from Takaya, since she was the only common denominator Takaya ever had with Haru.

Takaya gave his sister a narrow-eyed look. "Well, of course he asked about you. He's Haru, right? But you can't see him. Yamaken is your boyfriend now, and I like him better than Haru. So there."

Shizuku also narrowed her eyes, then snatched the box of doughnuts from him. "This is why you stopped having nice things, Takaya. I didn't make you school lunches for you to talk back at me."

Takaya shrugged and placed his hands behind his head uncaringly. "What I'm trying to say is that though I've never really liked Haru as your boyfriend, I don't think he's a bad guy enough to want to kill anyone. Sure, he was a bit crazy when you guys were in high school. But then again, so is everyone when they're that age? I mean, look at me."

Kenji could only look at Takaya thoughtfully. He hadn't seen Haru since graduating from high school, and while back then he could only agree that people did stupid shit when they were in their teens, Haru had been… special.

But the only important part with what Takaya had to say was that Haru had an alibi. It could either be a good thing or a bad thing, because now that they knew that it wasn't him, then there was someone else who was crazy enough to commit murder, and that someone was out there, somewhere.

Shizuku handed the box back to Takaya and sighed. She was also thinking, as Shizuku always was, and Kenji could only assume it was the same as to what he was thinking.

After a while, Takaya announced that he was going home, wished Kenji a fast recovery, then watched Shizuku with those deadpan eyes. "You'll be staying here a little longer, I suppose?"

Shizuku nodded without hesitation. "Yeah. Tell dad I'll be home in a few."

Takaya nodded and left them together. This, Kenji decided, was not a good idea. Now that Takaya was gone after dropping the bomb about Haru, he seemed to have lost the capacity to start a conversation. Shizuku also seemed at a loss for words.

Kenji reached out his good hand to Shizuku, and she instantly took it.

"What are you thinking?" he asked her.

Shizuku sucked in a breath, let it out slowly. "Nothing."

This couldn't be true. Mizutani Shizuku was not capable of 'not thinking'. She always thought about things too much, and now was not any different.

But right now, he was just not emotionally prepared to confront her about her thoughts. Especially when he knew that those thoughts were about the ever-controversial ex-boyfriend. Not now at least. Maybe tomorrow. Or in a few months.

Kenji gave Shizuku's hand a slight squeeze. "I'm doing okay. I don't look like it, but I'm fine. You should go and sleep. Takaya's also home for the holidays. Spend time with your family." This was a way for Kenji to avoid whatever uncomfortable situation they were going to end up in if Shizuku were to stay any longer. But he still couldn't deny the slight pain in his chest when Shizuku agreed too quickly to his suggestion, as if she too wanted to run away from the conversation.

She nodded. "I supposed you need your rest. Will I be able to see you tomorrow?"

Kenji shrugged. "I won't be going anywhere."

"That's true." She looked away, her brow knitting slightly. Then after a silent moment she reached down with her hands, cupped Kenji's face in her palms, then lowered her face to his, pressing her lips against his. She stayed there for exactly five seconds. Kenji knew this because he counted.

One. His eyes widened in surprise.

Two. His heart skipped a beat.

Three. His closed his eyes.

Four, He kissed her back.

Five. He died and went to heaven at the mere thought of Shizuku initiating a kiss.

When he came back to life, Shizuku was up on her feet, fixing her scarf around her neck, a determined look on her face. He noticed that she was not blushing as she used to when they started dating.

"I'll be around lunch tomorrow. Would you like me to bring anything? Some magazines?"

Kenji gave a start. He shook his head. "Ah. No. Knowing my mom, she'd have everything I need ready. Though I should have asked her to bring my laptop. I might as well use the time to get ready for the third term."

"If that's the case, then I'll text Chiemi-san for you." She took out her smart phone and started typing something.

Kenji did a double take. "Wait a minute. Since when did you have my mom's number saved in your phone?"

"Yesterday. Did you know your mom likes Sumikko Gurashi? Her Line stamps are crazy." She finished her mail and stuffed her phone back into her pocket. "Okay. I texted her about your laptop."

Kenji sighed. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." She tilted her head to the side inquiringly. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"This is our hospital. I know the nurses and they know me. I'll be fine."

She nodded, believing him. Shizuku was a practical girl. Kenji knew she wasn't one to drag out a goodbye. "I'm going then."

"How are you getting home?"

"Kenta-san said he'll give me a lift."

Kenji paused, raised his eyebrows at her. "What?"

"Kenta -sa – "

"You know what, never mind. I'll pretend you never said anything." He covered his eyes with his good palm, a bit frustrated. Whatever conversation between his father and Shizuku could mean nothing good for him. He was sure of it. Hopefully, his father would behave and wouldn't insist on meeting Shizuku's father and plan a wedding without his knowledge.

He felt cool fingers on his forehead and he lowered his own hand to see Shizuku looking down at him with ruefully, a small smile on her lips.

"Thank your family for me, Kenji. They're the kind of people I didn't know I needed in my life until I met you," she said. And this was just the normal Shizuku-thing to say. She wasn't trying to make a big deal of the kindness she was being shown; she was simply saying it how she thought it was. And that was always what unnerved Kenji the most, her honesty. But he was starting to get used to it.

He nodded. "I'll tell them that."

Days in the hospital had been slow for Kenji. As instructed, his mother did bring him his laptop, but having one hand in a cast was very challenging, and the table provided for him was too narrow that he was just not able to find a comfortable enough position to study. But maybe even if he was able to find a way to study, he doubted all of his guests would have allowed him to do so. Almost every day, there was someone coming in to see him.

Mabo and George came to see him very often, which was pretty annoying really. But it passed the time, and he was very grateful for it. Tomio would come see him with Iyo, and Kenji would give his friend suspicious looks every time they came over together. It was obvious that Iyo still had no idea about Tomio's feelings for her, but that was because Iyo was stupid, and she was just not aware of other people's romances because she was too busy with her own.

Shizuku came to see him everyday as well, usually during lunch time and they would eat together. Conversations revolved around the entrance exams for Kyoto University, which were in around the early days of February. And if they weren't talking, they would be studying together. It reminded Kenji of their days in cram school when they would spend the evenings after school together, trading answers and study materials. Sometimes they would end up meeting each other in the library by chance, and hadn't those days been the highlights of Kenji's week?

Shizuku was convinced she needed to study because that was how Shizuku's brain was configured. If there's a test to take, then she was out full throttle. The evidence could be seen in the textbooks she would bring to his room where she'd spend three hours after lunch flipping though the pages while Kenji did his own work. What was so surprising was that Kenji found the silence between them very comforting.

A week passed and Kenji ended up turning down the operation on his leg. This decision was easily made when the swelling went away and his father had agreed that because it was miraculously such a clean cut, there were no doubts that the healing process would be smooth and swift. His arm was doing pretty well too, and both his casts were already full of graffiti, thanks to Mabo and his desire to write with permanent markers.

It was in the middle of January, over two weeks after the incident, and Shizuku was plowing away with her textbooks in a corner where Chiemi had set a table and a sitting chair with very fluffy pillows (proof that Chiemi was completely in love with Shizuku and the thought of her always being there). Kenji was typing a paper due by the end of the month when his dad popped his head at the door and waved.

"I see you two are doing your best," he said, stepping inside and leaning over Shizuku's textbooks. He had his hands suspiciously hidden behind him.

Kenji closed his laptop. "What's up?"

Kenta gave him a brief glance before returning to looking down at Shizuku. "Oh you don't have to worry yourself, son. I just wanted to give this to Shizuku." He produced a thick A4 envelope from behind him. It had the logo of Kyoto University.

Shizuku stared at the envelope and gingerly took it from Kenta. "Are these…?"

"The ones we talked about a few days ago."

Kenji's eyebrows raised when Shizuku's eyes lit up.

"Kenta-san!" Shizuku said happily.

Kenta looked pretty damn happy about himself. "Also, I called Mitsuo yesterday and put in a good word for you. The man's looking forward to having you next school year."

Kenji snorted. "Mitsuo?"

"The Kyoto University Dean," Kenta pointed out, as if it were common knowledge. "We're golf buddies and his wife is the owner of the beauty spa your mother goes to. Don't you remember them?"

"Of course I remember them. How could I not? They always hold the fundraiser at school every autumn. What I want to know is why you are calling him and what does this have to do with Shizuku?"

Kenta rubbed his nose proudly. "I just wanted him to expect a very talented and smart young lady joining the ranks."

Kenji could not believe this. He doubted Shizuku needed any help with getting into her desired college, and it wasn't like his father to stick his nose in someone else's business. Shizuku didn't look like she was bothered at all, and was in fact already opening the envelope and slipping out a few pamphlets of what looked like the extra-curricular activities the University had to offer.

When Kenta saw that Shizuku was already absorbed into what he had given her, he pulled out Kenji's wheelchair and rolled it over to the bed. "I know you're busy with school work, but I need you to come with me for a little stroll out into the hall."

Kenji blinked at his dad, curious as to why he had to ask him to step out of the room in order to just talk to him. But he complied, shifting his weight onto his good arm and sliding swiftly onto the wheelchair obediently.

"Shizuku-chan, I'll be borrowing the boyfriend for a bit. You don't mind, right?" Kenta asked.

Shizuku barely even looked up. "Sure, Kenta-san. Take as long as you like. See you later, Kenji." And she was back looking down at the pamphlets.

Kenta took that cue and wheeled Kenji out of the room slowly. When they were out of the hall, the door closed behind them, Kenta pushed the wheelchair down the hall where Kenji knew his father's office was.

"You're going to tell me why you want to talk to me alone when you've been pretty happy saying whatever you wanted in front of Shizuku ever since – "

"We found him," Kenta said gravely, so grave in fact, that Kenji looked over his shoulder worriedly. The usual smile on his face was gone completely and replaced with the expression Kenji had never really seen his father have before.

"Who did you find?" Kenji asked.

Kenta shook his head, as if to correct himself. "Sorry. Let me rephrase that. We found out who it was, the identity of the guy who hurt you."

Kenji felt a shiver run down his spine, and he felt his broken leg and arm somehow tingle, even though he knew it was just him imagining things.

"How were they able to find out who it was?"

"There were several cameras that caught him lingering around the Misawa Batting Range, but that's not all." Kenta led them into his office and closed the door as if to make sure no one else would be able to listen to what he was about to say. "The guy's been in and out of the hospital without really having any business here since November. So there's a big possibility that you were his target since then."

"November…?" Kenji's brain began to work. What was so important about that month? Just like what his father said, he was pushed off that stairwell, not because he just happened to be there. The man may have been stalking his movements since then.

Kenta parked his wheelchair in front of his desk, walked around it and slid a letter-size photo towards Kenji. "This was taken early December, and it's the only shot we have of the man without a cap or his hood up."

Kenji took the photo in his hands. It was taken from the angle of the camera in front of the ATM in the lobby of the hospital. On the bench right in front if the machines was a man wearing a disposable white mask sitting cross-legged and looking toward the entrance. The picture was not very clear, as would camera screen shots all were, but even without the needed detail, Kenji knew that he was not acquainted with such a man. "Who is he?"

"Yokoyama Kouki. Are you familiar with the name?" Kenta asked.

Kenji frowned, squinted his eyes at the picture as if it would reveal the answer if he stared hard enough. "Yokoyama… no. I don't know anyone with that name be – " Kenji's sentence was cut off immediately when a conversation with Misawa-san back in December suddenly flashed in his mind's eye.

"The guy's name was Yokoyama Kouki. He was in Shizuku-chan's advanced English class. He could have been a good guy. A bit cocky for his own good, but whatever."

Kenji's eyes widened immediately.

Shizuku's stalker.

Shizuku had started living with them at the Yamaguchi household when November rolled in...!

Then he remembered something else just as important that Misawa-san told him the same day when he had informed Kenji of what really happened between Shizuku and Haru.

"Haru's coming home next year, on the fifteenth of January. I just thought you might need that information, you know, just in case."

He stared at his father for a quick second, then shifted his look at the calendar on the wall.

Today was January fifteenth.

"What's wrong?" Kenta asked, alarmed at Kenji's sudden reaction.

"Phone. Get me my phone."

A/N: An update! Woohoo!