"All right…well… I'll talk to you soon."

"Okay. I love you, sweetie…"

"…bye."

Well, that could've gone better…

Akira's first conversation with his mother in nearly five months was awkward at best and painful at worst. At least, that's how it seemed to Akira. His original intentions were to call and apologize for what he had said to her and mend the fence. Instead, however, he ended up is simply letting her know that'd he'd be back on Sunday evening; not even telling her about his seizures. Something stopped him from saying what he truly wanted to say, which was that he was sorry. Needless to say, the fence was still broken. Akira was mad at himself but didn't bother calling back. Was he not emotionally ready to apologize to her? Or did he not want to forgive himself for what he said? Was he punishing himself more than her? Was he actually sorry, or was it all more lies he kept feeding himself? Akira didn't know the answer, so, he drank some more. Again, Akira knew that drinking while it was still daytime was a bad idea, but it had been so long since he had a good idea, he had forgotten what they felt like.

Back in Inaba, Kairi felt better about their conversation than Akira did, but she still didn't feel great. While she had hoped that her son would take back what he said, she was just relieved to hear his voice. She wasn't one to hold grudges, but even she noticed how awkward the air was between them; it was bittersweet to say the least. There were many pauses, Akira spoke slowly and quietly, and the entire conversation lasted barely ten minutes. Unlike the previous February, in which the two talked for almost two hours straight. Kairi knew Akira wasn't in his right mind, but she didn't know why, and she only grew more worried as the day came to an end. Her eyes found themselves wondering over to a photo of her late husband that she kept on her desk. She picked it up and looked at it more closely. It was a simple photo of him sitting at the dining room table, smiling with his arms folded, wearing a Hard Rock Café t-shirt he had gotten in Roppongi, one of Tokyo's entertainment districts, on one of their many concert trips before they were married, even before they were a couple, when they were just the greatest of friends. His silly but endearing grin brought a tear to her eye.

"Oh, Minoru…" she thought. "If only you were still here…"

*Minoru*

Minoru Kurusu was born on June 23rd, 1977, in Inaba.

His father, Hiroki, was a skilled builder who ran his own carpentry business, but also built pretty much anything and everything on the side. He could work on anything, furniture, automobiles, jewelry, you name it. While never extremely wealthy, his family did own a fairly large house on the outskirts of Inaba that they then passed down to him. At thirty-six years of age, Hiroki finally got married to a woman he had been going steady with for about five years, named Tatsuo. A woman who was passionate about crafting and carving jewelry. Naturally, she and Hiroki clicked right away. A year after they were married, Hiroki and Tatsuo Kurusu found themselves beaming with joy as they were expecting their first child. Their home had plenty of room; they wanted at least one boy and one girl, and were fully open to having more children. Sadly, life didn't share their vision.

It was a fairly risky and rocky pregnancy, and unfortunately, Tatsuo passed away during childbirth due to complications. Hiroki was left a wreck and with a brand-new baby boy to take care of on his own. He didn't think he could do it, but the moment he saw his son, he vowed to try his best to give this little guy the best life he could. Over the next few years, Hiroki Kurusu raised his son, Minoru, pretty much all by himself. Minoru reminded Hiroki a lot of Tatsuo. He had black hair and silver eyes, just like hers. As he grew up, his hair got longer and messier, also like hers. Despite not having his mother around, Minoru was a happy baby, mainly because Hiroki was such a good father. His only vice was that he smoked cigars and cigarettes, sometimes going through an entire pack a day, but not once did he ever smoke around his son. Shortly after Minoru was born, the Kurusu family dog tag was created. Hiroki made it especially for the boy, who wore it around his neck from the moment he was able to walk on his own.

Hiroki always had a project going on, and Minoru became interested in his father's doings early on. He would watch him build and fix things, either in his shop downtown or around the house, and wanted to learn everything his father knew. On the side, however, Minoru was also gaining interests. He was slowly growing into his own as a talented artist. Hiroki bought him a sketch pad and colored pencils at an early age and would watch as his son would spend hours drawing whatever was around the house, in the garden, or whatever came to mind. Another interest of his was music. While his father was never an avid music fan, his late mother was, and Minoru quickly discovered her collection of vinyl records. Most of the albums were imports of western artists like Joni Mitchell, The Who, ABBA, The Carpenters, Billy Joel, and many more, including his soon-to-be favorite band of all time, the Eagles.

In April 1987, at the age of nine, Minoru began his third year of elementary school. The first two years were nothing special. He was a good student, but not a great one. He didn't have a whole lot of friends but was generally well-liked by most of the other kids. He was staring out the window, idly fiddling with his dog tag with the newly engraved Kurusu symbol, when the teacher walked in. Minoru turned to the blackboard and saw the teacher standing with a new student, a girl. The most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He wasn't one to believe in love at first sight, but on this day, he skipped right over the "small crush" phase and felt something strike him like a bolt of lightning.

"Everyone! Quiet down!" the teacher demanded. "Now, I would like to introduce a brand-new student to you all. This is Kairi Ono. She just transferred in from Osaka. Would you like to say something to the class, Ono-chan?"

"H-Hi…" the young girl shyly said as she looked down at the ground. She had light-brown hair tied up in a ponytail that barely went past her shoulders and a green ribbon in her hair. She also had on black, thick-rimmed glasses. Despite her shyness, she managed to smile at the class, even as she heard the other students whispering to each other.

"Pfft, the ribbon…"

"It's so stupid."

"And those glasses are so big…"

"They look like my grandpa's glasses."

"What a nerd…"

Minoru didn't listen to or participate in the class' whisper game. He was too busy being entranced by this beautiful girl who had just transferred in from… somewhere… he couldn't remember…

"Settle down! I can hear you whispering. Now, Ono-chan…" The teacher looked around for an empty seat. "Ah! There's a seat over there, next to Kurusu-kun. Go on ahead." The young girl nodded as she was sent her off to her new seat. "Now then…"

Kairi took a seat next to the boy, who she noticed hadn't stopped staring at her. This would've weirded out most other girls, but not her; she simply flashed him a kind smile. There was one thing that had caught her attention, and that was a dog tag with an interesting symbol on it. As the teacher began the lesson, Minoru finally snapped out of his trance and smiled back at her before turning his attention toward the blackboard. He didn't have a clue what the teacher was talking about. He was too busy trying not to shake in his seat as he thought about the girl sitting next to him. He wanted to talk to her at the end of the day. As the final bell of the day rang, however, Minoru froze up and wasn't able to say anything to the girl before she got up and left the classroom. She did, however, give him a polite wave before leaving. Minoru cursed at himself for missing his chance. Later that evening, he and his father were having dinner. Hiroki wasn't a great cook, but he wasn't half bad either. He did have to learn how to make more than just the basics as his son grew up.

"You okay, Minoru?" Hiroki asked.

"Uh-huh…" Minoru unenthusiastically replied.

"Are you sure? You don't sound okay. You're not having any trouble at school, are you?" Minoru shook his head. "Well, then what? It's okay, son, you can tell me," Hiroki smiled.

"Well, there's a new girl in my class."

"Ohhh… a girl, huh?" Hiroki smirked.

"Yeah, and she's really, really, really pretty."

"Love at first sight, eh? Hehe…" Hiroki nudged Minoru, who blushed. He preferred not to admit it, but his dad was right. "Falling in love the moment you lay eyes on someone…yeah, you're definitely my kid," Minoru chuckled to himself.

"Huh?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking about your mother for a second," Hiroki said before clearing his throat. "So, what's her name?"

"Kairi."

"'Kairi,' huh? Nice name. Did you talk to her?"

"No…"

"Well, why not?" Hiroki asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I was too scared…"

"Aw, buddy, you don't have to be scared. I'm sure she doesn't bite," Hiroki chuckled.

"What do I say to her?"

"Just say 'hi' to her. The rest will come naturally, trust me."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's at least worth a try, right?"

"Thanks, Dad." Minoru smiled.

"No worries, buddy," Hiroki smiled back. "Now hurry up; your dinner's getting cold."

Minoru was walking to school the next day, listening to Metallica's "Master of Puppets" album on his Walkman. The other kids didn't get how he could listen to that kind of music whereas he saw it as enjoying good music… yeah. Even before his tenth birthday, Minoru considered himself a bit of a music snob. With that said, he was upset that he never found someone who had the same music tastes or wanted to listen to the same kinds of music he did. Until today, that is. He felt someone tap him on the shoulder and removed his headphones that were currently blasting "Battery" before looking to his left. It was the new girl in his class. Minoru felt the blood drain from his face as he became nervous.

"Hi!" she said, smiling. "I'm Kairi. What's your name?"

"M-M-M-Minoru," he stammered, barely getting his name out.

"Sorry, what was that?" Minoru took a deep breath.

"Minoru."

"Nice to meet you, Minoru!" Kairi was all smiles. "So, whattaya listening to?"

"O-Oh… Uh… here." Rather than tell her, Minoru offered his headphones to her. By this point, "Battery" had ended, and the title track kicked in. She put on the headphones and started listening to James Hetfield downpicking the iconic riff. She was slightly taken aback at first.

"What…is this?" she asked. Minoru swallowed his saliva and offered to take the headphones back. However, she stopped him before he could and kept the headphones on, slowly getting more and more into the music. She didn't know what headbanging was, but she started doing it anyway. "I like it a lot!" she yelled out. Minoru was shocked and finally said a complete word to her without choking.

"Really?"

"What!?" she yelled out before taking the headphones off. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"Do you like it?"

"Yeah!" Kairi nodded enthusiastically.

"D-Do you listen to a lot of music?"

"Umm, not really. I don't know much about music."

"Um… would you like to come over and listen to more sometime? I-I have a lot more."

"Uh, sure! How about this weekend?"

"Okay!" The two smiled at each other and kept walking to school.

The following Sunday, Minoru waited for Kairi by the school gate. They had agreed to meet up there. Thankfully, their school was in a small neighborhood, and they were both within walking distance. He sat on a park bench, still listening to his Walkman—this time to his favorite song on loop, "One of These Nights" by the Eagles. It was the second verse. Don Henley was singing about searching for the daughter of the devil himself and searching for an angel in white. Not that Minoru understood what Henley was singing about since he didn't understand English very well or at all, really. Yet, right at that moment, Minoru felt another tap on his shoulder from behind; he turned around to see Kairi, wearing what else but a white dress. Her hair was down and flowed nicely, and her ribbon was gone, but she still had on her glasses.

"Hi!" she greeted him with a smile as she took a seat next to him.

"H-Hi!"

"Whattaya listening to now?"

"The Eagles, d'you know them?" Kairi shook her head. "Here, this is my favorite song." Minoru handed her the headphones as he rewound the song. As the music played, Minoru just stared at her as Kairi grooved with it. She got so into it that, to Minoru's amusement, she performed air-guitar once Don Felder's solo kicked in.

"Ooooh!" she yelled out as the song ended. She removed the headphones. "That was cool! Do you know what it's about?"

"Hehehe, no, I can't understand English," Minoru nervously chuckled.

"I could teach you a bit."

"Y-You know English?"

"Well, not much, but a little bit. I've been learning on my own."

"Wow, that's really cool!" The blue sky began to disappear as a stormy rain cloud overtook it, and the sound of thunder could be heard. "Uh oh, we better go," Minoru suggested.

"C-Can we go to your house?" Kairi asked nervously.

"Y-Yeah, sure. C'mon, let's go." The two sprinted back to the Kurusu home. Unfortunately, the rain caught up to them before they reached the house. By the time they got inside, they were partly soaked.

"Are your parents here?" Kairi asked as they removed their shoes in the hallway.

"It's just my dad and me," Minoru replied.

"Minoru? Is that you?" Hiroki called out from the office immediately to the right of the front door. He opened the office door and stepped out in the hallway. "Oh, hello there," he politely greeted the girl standing next to his son.

"Hello, my name is Kairi, Kairi Ono," she politely bowed.

"Ono, huh?" Hiroki rubbed his chin. "I don't recognize that name, and I'm familiar with everyone in town. Oh, but Minoru did say you were new in his class."

"Yes, I'm from Osaka. My family and me just moved here."

"Ah, I see. Well, welcome to Inaba. I'm Hiroki Kurusu; it's a pleasure to meet you, Kairi-chan," Hiroki bowed back.

"Thank you, you too!"

"Do you guys need a towel or something? I can see the rain got you pretty good, haha," Minoru chuckled.

"I'm okay, thank you though, Kurusu-san!"

"I'm fine too, Dad," Minoru added.

"Well, I've got work to do, but you two are free to go upstairs and play. If you need anything, I'll be in the office right there." Hiroki pointed behind him. "Have fun!"

"Thanks, Dad!"

"Thank you, Kurusu-san!"

"Nice girl. No wonder he likes her," Hiroki thought to himself and smiled as the two kids went upstairs.

*Kairi*

Kairi Ono was born on October 14th, 1977, in Osaka.

She had an older sister named Maki, who was born seven years earlier. Their parents weren't rich, nor poor; they were an average, middle-class family. However, Maki and Kairi's parents didn't care much for their children, at least not for Kairi. They only planned on having one child but, at the turn of the new year 1977, learned the hard way that the recently approved birth control pills were only 99% effective. Now, they had two mouths to feed, which wasn't a problem financially, but was still seen as a pain in the neck for them. They never mistreated Kairi; they mostly neglected her, only doing the bare minimum to take care of her but never giving her much attention or affection. The person who really took care of Kairi was her older sister. Maki fed Kairi, changed her, bathed her, and rocked her to sleep more often than their parents did. By the age of ten, Maki already had most of the tools and knowledge necessary to be a mother. The irony was that Kairi would end up having a child before her.

Growing up, Kairi loved watching all kinds of movies. Most of the films she watched weren't exactly suitable for her age, but again, her parents couldn't care less. She watched many adventure and old-west films. Unlike most girls around the age of eight who dreamed of marrying Prince Charming, Kairi dreamed of marrying Clint Eastwood. It was also then that she expressed an interest in learning English. Her parents scoffed at the idea. By now, Kairi was used to getting shot down whenever she went to ask her parents for something that wasn't a basic necessity. So, with help from her sister, which meant doing her chores for her, Maki bought Kairi a Japanese-English dictionary, some books in English, and even dug around video stores for VHS copies of movies in English, which were NOT easy to find. Needless to say, Kairi did pretty much all the chores around her house. Kairi also began writing little stories. Mostly, she would write her own versions of movie scenes, changing endings, inserting her own new characters. She also wrote a lot of original stories. Although some of them, including her movie scene rewrites, came off as kind of amateurish, she nonetheless found herself really enjoying it and thought about writing her own movies.

In March 1987, the Ono family left Osaka and moved to Inaba due to Kairi and Maki's father taking a new job after being laid off. The house they moved to was smaller, but not by a whole lot. The move hurt Maki more than Kairi, who had to leave behind many friends and a boyfriend, but Kairi didn't care; she didn't have many friends of her own. Maki was always the social butterfly of the two of them, but that doesn't mean Maki left her younger sister out to dry. They still spent plenty of time together. Maki took Kairi out shopping; Kairi taught Maki new English words she learned, and they always maintained a solid sibling connection. The following April, Kairi was about to start at a new school. Her sister told her this was a good opportunity to start fresh since no one knew her here. She could reinvent herself, even change her look if she wanted to. Kairi didn't want a complete makeover, but she did want to try something new. So, the day before her first day of school, she went through her parents' things and pulled out an old pair of her father's glasses that he didn't wear anymore. They were black, thick-rimmed glasses. With Maki's help, they removed the lenses and replaced them with fake ones.

She went to class the next day wearing them. She heard the comments that her peers were making but didn't care. As the teacher introduced her to the class, Kairi could see and hear the other kids whispering about her, but she noticed one who wasn't doing anything but staring at her. She had to admit; he looked somewhat cute with his messy black hair and dopey-looking expression on his face. To her delight, the teacher instructed her to go take the empty seat next to him. As she sat down, he was still staring; she had to try hard not to chuckle. He didn't say anything to her, and neither did she, but she wanted to. She realized she needed some advice, so at the end of the day, Kairi went home and knocked on her sister's bedroom door.

"It's open!" Maki yelled out; Kairi went inside. "Hey, Sis!" Maki exclaimed, lying on her bed, doing homework. "So, how was your first day?"

"It was okay…" Kairi kicked her heels and looked down.

"You okay, Kai?" Maki asked as she sat upright.

"Yeah, it's just that… there's a boy in my class…"

"Ooooh…" Maki's face lit up. "Wait, he's not giving you trouble, is he? You need me to teach somebody a lesson?" she joked as she pretended to crack her knuckles.

"H-Huh!? N-No, not at all!"

"Oh, okay, good." Maki was relieved. "So… tell me, what's the deal with this guy?"

"Well, I kinda think he's cute, but I haven't said anything to him yet…" Kairi blushed.

"Well, whaddaya know, first day at a new school, and my little sister's got a crush on someone, heehee!" Maki giggled.

"Makiiiiii…" Kairi whined.

"Hahaha, relax, little sis, I'm just teasing you. So, are you gonna talk to him?"

"I dunno…"

"Why not? You said he's cute, right?"

"…yeah…"

"So? Go for it; what's the worst that could happen? Did he say anything to you?"

"No, he just looked at me."

"He just… stared at you?" Maki blinked a few times.

"Mm-hm."

"Ooookay, kinda weird, but if my gut is right, then I think he might already like you."

"Y-You think so?"

"Oh, yeah. Trust me on this. You know, before I started dating Shinsuke, I caught him staring at me more than once, heehee," Maki giggled. "Trust me, go talk to him. If anything, maybe you'll make a new friend."

"Okay… thanks, Maki!" Kairi beamed.

"Aw, come 'ere you!" Maki beckoned Kairi to come over to her and hugged her. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a phone call to make, heehee," Maki giggled, referring to her boyfriend back in Osaka.

"Say 'hi' to Kujikawa-san for me," Kairi said before leaving her sister's room. As she was walking to school the next day, Kairi recognized the disheveled hair of the boy from yesterday. It looked like he was listening to music. She didn't listen too much music herself, but she was always open to trying new things. She took a deep breath, walked up behind him, and tapped him on the shoulder. Kairi took a gamble and, in the end, it payed off nicely. It was the start of a beautiful friendship.

As the days, weeks, months, and years went on, Minoru Kurusu and Kairi Ono grew closer and closer. They were best friends, and their relationship would develop even further. Even early on, Kairi found herself spending more and more time at Minoru's house. The two would listen to music, she would watch him draw, sometimes he would draw her, she wrote stories, and he'd come up with illustrations, she taught him some English, and every so often, she would even stay overnight. Kairi would take the bed, while Minoru would sleep on the floor. While Hiroki didn't mind, he was unsure how Kairi's parents were so okay with her spending so much time over at his home. Hiroki took a shine to Kairi right away, but he hadn't even met her parents, and he found it odd how they never came to pick her up or, even after giving Kairi the home phone number to give to her parents, they never called to tell her to come back home. Eventually, he talked to them. He was stunned by what they said.

"We don't care much about her. She can do whatever she pleases."

Hiroki was speechless at their brutal honesty, and so was Maki, who was listening in on the conversation while standing outside her bedroom in the hallway. The logic was entirely lost on Hiroki. Although the Onos maintained custody of Kairi, they didn't seem to care that she was sometimes spending days at a time out of their home. While she still went back to her own house, Hiroki decided to turn one of the upstairs rooms that served as a walk-in closet into a spare bedroom for Kairi. He put in a bed, dresser-drawers, even a desk for Kairi to work at, turning it into her own room. As time went on, Kairi grew to see Hiroki more like a father to her, and he slowly began to see her like the second child he always wanted to have. He never remarried after his wife's passing. He tried dating for a bit, but nothing ever stuck for him. Besides, he was getting closer and closer to his fifties. Maki visited the Kurusu home often before she went off to college. It took a little while, but she eventually became comfortable with Hiroki. She saw him more like a grandpa because he had a child at a later age than most. Plus, even in his late forties, his hair was already going gray. She liked Minoru as well, but could tell her sister was absolutely smitten with the boy. It was the same look she had for her own boyfriend, and the one Kairi usually reserved only for Clint Eastwood.

**May 1987 — Lunchtime At School**

"So, I wanna ask…" Minoru began as they sat together.

"Mm-hm?" Kairi responded with a mouthful of rice.

"Your glasses, are they real?" Kairi quickly swallowed her food.

"Uh-Ummm, w-well, yeah…" she stammered. Minoru chuckled. "What?"

"You're not a very good liar."

Kairi looked down in embarrassment. "H-How'd you know?"

"Well, heh…" Minoru pulled something out of his pocket. "One of your lenses fell out earlier, and it looks like you didn't even know." Kairi removed her glasses and examined them. Sure enough, the right lens was missing, and she didn't even notice. She felt really embarrassed. "Plus, I've learned a lot from my dad."

"Is your dad a glasses know-it-all, Minoru?" Kairi asked, getting a bit annoyed.

"No, but even I know this is plastic. So, either your glasses are fake, or your eyes are really messed up, haha," Minoru chuckled.

"Okay, okay, fine. They're fake, happy?" Kairi started pouting; Minoru felt bad.

"S-Sorry, did I make you mad? I wasn't laughing at you. I was just wondering why you were wearing glasses if you don't need to." Kairi didn't say anything, but her annoyance began to fade. "I'm really sorry." Eventually, she finally stopped pouting and turned her attention back to Minoru.

"It's okay. Sorry I got mad at you. I just didn't want you to think I was weird for wearing fake glasses."

"I don't think you're weird at all." Kairi softly smiled. "But why do you wear them if you don't need glasses?"

"Uh, umm, well, it was something my sister said. She said it'd be cool to try something new, so I took one of my dad's old pairs of glasses and started wearing them. I dunno, I kinda like them, even if the other kids think that they're nerdy…"

"Oh, okay… you know, Kairi, I think they look nice on you."

"Y-You do?" Minoru nodded. "…thank you, Minoru." Kairi smiled; she decided to tease him a bit. "Am I prettier with them on or off?" she smirked as she put them back on and took them off again. Minoru didn't answer; instead, he blushed at the question. Kairi burst out laughing.

**October 1988 — Kurusu Home**

Minoru and Kairi were sitting on the living room floor, watching something stupid on TV, when Hiroki came in.

"Hey, you two comfortable? Do you need anything?"

"No, thank you, Kurusu-san," Kairi replied.

"I'm good too, Dad, thanks." Minoru added.

"Cool. Hey, Minoru? Can I talk with you for a second?"

"Mm-hm. Be right back," Minoru said to Kairi, who nodded as he got up from his spot and followed his father into his office. Hiroki spoke quietly.

"So, I got some good news, but you can't tell Kairi-chan yet, okay?" Minoru nodded as his father pulled out three concert tickets and showed them to him. "Hall & Oates, Tokyo Dome, next Friday."

"OH!" Minoru exclaimed.

"Shhh, be quiet," Hiroki motioned for Minoru to lower his voice.

"Sorry…" Minoru whispered, "but you really got them?"

Hiroki nodded. "I had to call in a few favors around town, but yeah, I got them. I have to admit, you had a pretty good idea, buddy. It's a really nice thing you're doing for her birthday."

"I'm happy my allowance went toward something good," Minoru chuckled.

"I did work you pretty hard, but I'm glad you think it was worth it," Hiroki said as patted his son on the shoulder.

"What about her parents? Are they okay with her going with us?"

Hiroki sighed. "I talked with Kairi-chan's parents…"

"What did they say?"

"I asked if I could take her to a concert in Tokyo for her birthday, and they just shook it off and said, 'whatever.'" Hiroki shook his head.

"Why are they so mean?"

"Well, they're not mean exactly; they just…honestly, I don't know what their problem is… But enough about them, the point is, we're going to Tokyo next Friday."

"How?"

"I'll drive us. It's only three hours."

"Am I gonna have to sit in the back for that long?" Hiroki whined.

"Haha, no, don't worry, you can take the front seat."

"…but, what about Kairi?" Minoru looked confused.

"She can sit on your lap."

"Really?"

"Yeah, she's light as a feather. You'll be fine. We just have to make sure the seat belt reaches around you both; I can adjust it if need be. Don't worry."

"Oh, thank you! Thank you, Dad! You're the best!" he exclaimed as he hugged his father; Minoru was beaming. He went back to sit down next to Kairi, still beaming.

"What?" Kairi asked as she noticed his gigantic smirk.

"Nothing," he simply replied.

"You know, you're not a very good liar, either," she chuckled.

"I dunno what you're talking about…" Minoru looked back at the TV.

"Oooookay~." Kairi dropped it and did the same.

The following Friday afternoon, Kairi brought her overnight bag to the Kurusus. She expected a peaceful night in with Minoru and Hiroki, watch a movie, and maybe order a pizza seeing as it was her birthday. Instead, however, she was treated to a wonderful surprise. That afternoon, the three of them crammed into the tiny 4×4 and drove to Tokyo for Hall & Oates' only Tokyo Dome show. Kairi was a big fan of Hall & Oates and couldn't stop shaking in excitement during the car ride. The show was great, and the two kids had a blast dancing along to songs like "You Make My Dreams," "Maneater," and "Adult Education." Hiroki couldn't help but smile on the drive back as he looked over at the passenger seat and saw the two of them asleep, practically snuggled up in each other's arms in the car seat. He did have to carry both of them inside the house and up to bed, which was less fun, but hey, what are you going to do? Kairi, however, woke up before the sun came up. She snuck out of her room and snuck into Minoru's, who was totally out. She gently shook him awake.

"Minoru? Are you up?" she whispered. No response. "Minoru?"

"…ugh…huh…?" Minoru slowly opened his eyes and saw Kairi. He spoke quietly and groggily. "Oh, hey, Kairi. What's up? D'you have a bad dream?"

"No, I guess I'm still excited from the show 'cause I woke up early."

"Ah, well, do you mind if I sleep a bit more?"

"Sorry, I just wanted to thank you…"

"For what?" she hugged him, squeezing him tight, which caught him off guard.

"For the best birthday ever."

**August 1990 — Shichiri Beach**

Kairi and Minoru were enjoying their summer break, swimming at the beach. That is to say, Kairi was swimming. Minoru was lying under a beach umbrella reading another Arsène Lupin novel, "The Hollow Needle." Kairi emerged from the water, walked over to their spot, pulled out a bottle of ice-cold water she had brought with her out of her bag, and took a sip. Minoru lowered his sunglasses and looked up from his book and at his best friend. She looked pretty with her wet hair and soaked, green swimsuit.

"How's the water?" he asked.

"Ah, refreshing," Kairi smiled as she finished her sip.

"I meant the beach," Minoru chuckled.

"I know," she chuckled back. "It's a little cold, but not too bad once you get used to it." She put her water bottle away. "Minoru, are you ever gonna come out and join me? I'm getting lonely out there…" she said, pretending to be sad.

"Hehe, I'll be there as soon as I finish this chapter, Kai. I promise."

"That's what you said a half-hour ago. Did you start another chapter?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"No…" he replied, she kept staring at him. "Maybe…" Same thing. "…okay, yes, but I can't help it. It's really good!"

"Haven't you read that one already?"

"Not this one, I've been hunting it down for a while, and I finally found it in the library in the next town over. It's about-" Kairi cut him off.

"Not now, cowboy! You can tell me about it later. Right now, I want to swim with you before the day is up. Now, come on, already!" Minoru looked around.

"Am I supposed to just leave our stuff abandoned like this?"

"It's getting close to the end of the day. More and more people are leaving. Come on, just come swim with me for five minutes, then we'll head back."

"All right, all right! I'm coming." Minoru begrudgingly put his book and his sunglasses back in his bag. "So, exactly how cold is—GAAHH SHIT!" Minoru didn't have time to finish asking his question before he found himself soaked in ice-cold water from Kairi's bottle.

"It's about that cold, heehee," Kairi laughed. "I'm gonna tell your dad you swore."

"Hey, snitches get stitches, you know?" Minoru glared at her, shaking and shivering. "That's really freaking cold!"

"What are you gonna do about it, cowboy?" she smirked.

"Oh, you'll see," he said as he got up.

"EEEEP!" Kairi yelped and started running back toward the water.

"Oh, you better run!" Minoru grinned before running after her.

They spent some time swimming in the cool water, splashing and dunking each other, and just having a fun time. The sun was starting to go down. They packed up their things and began riding their bikes back to Minoru's house. The route back required them to go down a bit of a steep hill. Minoru was going a bit too fast and was unable to properly slow down before he found himself being thrown forward from his bike after hitting a bit of concrete road that was sticking out of the ground. He did a front flip in the air before landing flat on his back, as well as scraping both of his elbows in the process. Kairi, who did manage to control her speed, rode up and jumped off her bike, running over to him.

"Minoru! Are you okay!?" she worriedly asked.

"Argh, y-yeah… back hurts mostly," Minoru groaned.

"Y-You're bleeding…" Kairi was pale.

"Yeah, I think I scraped my back."

"No, your arm…" Minoru looked at his right arm. It was more than just scraped up; it was busted open and crimson red, like his arm was a professional wrestler's forehead after a blade job.

"Oh, wow, that's rough, hehe," Minoru smiled, trying to act tough through the pain. He noticed there was a broken beer bottle where his arm was when he landed. "Well, explains that."

"Damn litterbugs…" Kairi muttered.

"Hey, I'm telling my dad you swore."

"What happened to 'snitches get stitches,' huh?" Kairi folded her arms. Minoru looked at his arm and back at her.

"You're right. In fact, I think I'm already halfway there, hehe…" He got up. "Come on, let's get back to the house."

"Are you sure you can make it?"

"Kai, where else are we gonna go?"

"We could go to the shop and tell your dad."

"Nah, we're closer to the house, anyway. Don't worry. I'll just go slow; let's just get there."

They got back on their bikes and got back home. Minoru's right arm was pretty much entirely doused in blood. Since Hiroki was still at the shop, Kairi would have to patch Minoru up herself. She brought him to the downstairs bathroom, dug through the cabinet under the sink, and pulled out the first-aid kit before getting out some gauze and dousing the pad in disinfectant.

"You know, it's gonna sting, cowboy?" she cautiously reminded him.

"I know. It's not my first rodeo, pun intended, hehe… go ahead." She gently pressed the pad against his wound. He hissed in pain, grabbed a nearby towel, and bit into it as he yelled in pain. Kairi timidly pulled back.

"A-Are you okay…?" she asked. He nodded and gave her a thumbs up. She cleaned the rest of the blood off his arm. Minoru took the towel out of his mouth.

"Phew… that hurt way more than the actual cut. Can you hand me the bandage and tape, please?" he asked her.

"Here you go." Kairi handed him the bandage. "I can put it on for you."

"It's okay; I got it." He wrapped the bandage around his arm. "Can you tape it for me?"

"Mm-hm." She placed a bit of tape, holding the bandage in place.

"Thanks."

"Of course. Now for your back. Take your shirt off."

"Don't threaten me with a good time," he smirked.

"Grow up." Kairi cracked a smile. "Glad to see you can still crack jokes." He did as instructed and turned around.

"Well? How does it look?"

"Oh, wow…"

"What? How bad is it?"

"Pretty bad. You've got a sunburn."

Minoru raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"Heehee, I'm just teasing you. It's not that bad, a few scrapes, but not as bad as your arm." She grabbed a fresh gauze pad and disinfected the scrapes on his mid to lower back and left shoulder.

"Do we need to put a band-aid anywhere?" Minoru asked, holding a box of band-aids.

"Hmm, maybe on your shoulder."

"Big or small?"

"Uh, small one is fine." Minoru handed her a small band-aid, and she placed it on his shoulder. "There, all done. How do you feel?" she asked before gently tapping on his back.

"AAARGH!" Minoru yelled.

"I-I'm sorry!" Kairi quickly apologized. Minoru took a couple of deep breaths.

"Huh… I guess I do have a sunburn, hehe."

"Sorry, I didn't know. I was just kidding before, I swear."

"Don't worry about it." Minoru turned around to face her. "Bad news is, my back still hurts, but the good news is, I don't think anything's broken, so…" he shrugged. "Thanks for helping me, Kairi," he smiled.

"Hey, you'd do the same for me, Minoru," she smiled back. "Now, if you don't mind, I get the first shower. It's the least you could do for me after I patched you up."

"Sure, no problem," he nodded as he faced away from her to put the first-aid kit away. "You hungry? I could make us something to eat." When he turned back around and, to his surprise, Kairi kissed him on the cheek. Minoru blinked a few times as whatever blood he had in his arm wound up going to his cheeks. "D-Did you just-?"

"So, you don't snitch on me, cowboy," she smiled and winked before walking out.

"I already got stitches, though! What the hell!?" he yelled out and pointed at his bandaged arm.

"Swear!" Kairi yelled back. Minoru could hear her laughing. He chuckled for a bit before he touched his cheek and smiled to himself.

**June 1992 — Kurusu Home**

Minoru was sitting in his room, listening to U2's "Rattle and Hum" album on vinyl and drawing illustrations for a story Kairi was writing when she came running in.

"Oh, hey, Kai! Check it out, I have-" He was about to show her his illustrations when she cut him off.

"Blah blah blah, whatever it is, it doesn't matter right now!"

"I thought you liked my art?" he pretended to be hurt.

"Sorry, cowboy, but right now, I have something way better!" Kairi was clearly excited about something. She had a giant smile on her face and her hands behind her back.

"Okay, whatcha got there?"

"Well…" Kairi was smirking. "I know your birthday isn't until next week, but I got you something, and I want you to open it now if that's okay. Come over here." They both sat on his bed as she presented him with a box with a ribbon on it.

"Hehe, okay." Minoru took the box, removed the ribbon and the top. "…a copy of 'Arsène Lupin Intervenes,' thank you, but I already have this one."

"Look closer~," she smirked. He stared at the cover and flipped through some pages.

"Well, it's in… wait, what language is this?"

"It's in French."

"Kai, I'm not great at English. You really expect me to be able to read in French?" Minoru chuckled.

"It's not for reading, silly. It's more for… collecting."

"What do you mean?"

"It's a first edition," she said, smiling.

"Shut up! No way!" Minoru's face lit up; he couldn't believe it. Arsène Lupin was up there with Sherlock Holmes as his favorite series of books. He had read every single novel he could get his hands on. Now, his best friend had gifted him with a first edition copy. "H-How did you even…?"

"With a little help from your dad and a lot of help from Maki," she smiled. Maki and her boyfriend had gone to Paris during their last year of college to study abroad. It took a lot of digging around old bookstores and a hefty sum of euros, but they managed to find one and send it back to Japan in time for Minoru's birthday.

"I-I can't believe you did this for me. Thank you, Kairi."

"Of course! Happy early birthday, Minoru!" She said as she placed her hand on his. They smiled at each other. At that moment, the album closer, "All I Want Is You" started playing. They sat and chatted for a bit and as the song.

(You say you want diamonds on a ring of gold)

(You say you want your story to remain untold)

(But all the promises we made)

(From the cradle to the grave)

(When all I want is you)

(You say you'll give me a highway with no one on it)

(A treasure just to look upon it)

(All the riches in the night)

Minoru pointed at Kairi's faux glasses. "Why do you still wear those?"

(You say you'll give me eyes in a world of blindness)

She laughed for a bit. "It's part of my signature look. I can't imagine myself not wearing them," she softly smiled.

(A river in a time of dryness)

"Remember when you asked me if I thought you were prettier with or without them?" he asked, looking down.

"Mmm-hmm…"

(A harbour in the tempest)

He looked back at her. "Well, my answer is, it doesn't matter. I think you're beautiful either way."

(But all the promises we make)

"Minoru…" She blushed.

(From the cradle to the grave)

He knew this was the perfect opportunity to do something he'd wanted to do for a while. Unbeknownst to him, it was something she'd wanted to do for a while as well.

(When all…)

"Do you mind if…" his voice trailed off as he removed her glasses and placed them to the side. He then looked into her eyes, and she looked into his. They knew it was time.

(…I want…)

"…kiss me…" she whispered as they both leaned in. Their first kiss. It was like magic.

(…is you.)

It was everything both had hoped for and more. They pulled away as the song continued, the strings swelling and reaching a crescendo.

(You say you want your love to work out right)

(To last with me through the night)

"Hey… um… c-can I tell you something?" Kairi nervously asked after the kiss.

"Sure…"

(You say you want diamonds on a ring of gold)

"I-I… I think I love you."

(Your story to remain untold)

"L-Like a friend?"

(Your love not to grow cold)

"Minoru, we just kissed, and I just told you that I loved you. What do you think, cowboy?" Kairi chuckled.

(All the promises we break)

"Hehehe, true," Minoru chuckled nervously. "Well, I guess… I love you too."

"You… guess?"

(From the cradle to the grave)

"Hey, you said 'I think,' to be fair." He had a point; instead of a rebuttal, Kairi leaned in and kissed him again—this one lasting much longer than the first.

(When all I want is you)

They embraced and kept kissing as The Edge's guitar solo and the string orchestra wailed on in the background.

"I love you, Kairi."

"I love you, Minoru."

(All I want is…you)