Chapter 1
The Literature Club members have begun their trip on Izu Shima.
Natsuo is feeling excited, this trip promises to be quite a refreshing change of pace for him, hopefully this will allow him to gain some more inspiration for his writing. It will be nice to find some real life experience to build ideas off of. Perhaps something here will inspire his next breakthrough. The last time he used real life experience to drive his writing it propelled him to an award...oh, right...her.
No matter what is going on, no matter how much he thinks he has managed to move on from losing her, she is still always there in the back of his mind. In a way, it's futile to resist. Even though she is gone, everything he is doing, everything he has done, has been because of her.
He knows he will see her again and when that time comes he will be the man she needs, the man she deserves. He will be a novelist worthy of her. That is why he is working so hard to improve his writing, he will get her back one day.
He shakes his head. This is not the time to be thinking about that, he should just enjoy the trip with his friends. There is a reason Kiriya Sensei is bringing them here, it is not just to give the club a chance to bond, they've done that already, this trip will teach them life lessons and Natsuo isn't going to let them pass by him by being unfocused.
Natsuo snaps back to reality as the group approaches what is clearly a professional film set in action. Is this film the main reason for sensei bringing everyone here? Natsuo had a feeling it was.
"Director!" Kiriya Sensei calls out "pleased to make your acquaintance"
The Director turns and recognition dawns on him
"Well well, Hasukawa – Sensei! Sorry for making you travel all the way here!"
"I'm glad you're doing this for me"
"No, no it's fine! Are these your tag-along students?"
"Yes"
As the two exchange pleasantries the club looks around in awe. This is a real film set, there are famous actors only a few feet away. No one was expecting this. As soon as the initial shock wears off the excitement bursts forth and the questions jump out.
"Is it okay if we take photos" Momo asks the director
Natsuo feels around for his camera.
Shit.
Natsuo dashes towards the taxi
"Eh? Natsuo Kun, Where are you going?" Momo asks
"I forgot the camera in the taxi!" he replies
I hope it's there!
He opens the car door and begins searching
"Lets see.. camera, camera..." There!
"Found it?" asks the taxi driver
"Yes! Thanks" Natsuo exits the car. I should get a smart phone soon..
Natsuo hears the sound of a car approaching fast.
As it passes he looks inside.
No Way! It's her!
That unmistakable face, that beautiful smile, those mesmerising eyes. Her hair is shorter but it is definitely her.
The car flies past Natsuo as he stands, stunned.
"HINA!" he calls out and begins his chase "Hina wait! It's me! It's Natsuo! HINA!"
No use, the car is gone in seconds.
Natsuo couldn't believe what was happening. Hina...his Hina, is here, on this very island. Natsuo knew he had no choice, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop himself, he had to find her.
Natsuo runs back to the group, he wonders, did Rui know? He needs answers from her.
"Rui!" Natsuo calls as he grabs her arm, "I want a word with you"
"Wh-What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"Don't freak out okay?" Natsuo Pauses, "A car drove past me, and inside it...Was Hina. At first I thought it was just a woman who looked like her, because her hair was short. But I'm not mistaken. It was definitely Hina." Natsuo finishes, hoping Rui can provide some insight into this madness.
Rui looks down, could that be guilt that Natsuo sees in her eyes?
"Did you know?" Natsuo presses "When you heard the name of where we were going, and when we arrived, you looked like you wanted to say something, right? Was it about this?"
Rui nods
Exasperated, Natsuo asks "Why?! Why did you keep quiet about this? Hey! If you knew you could have told me."
Kiriya Sensei approaches seemingly out of the blue "What's the matter? Are you fighting over something?"
"Sensei.." Natsuo stammers. He fills Kiriya Sensei in on what he saw
"Tachibana – Sensei's here?" asks the astonished Kiriya Sensei
"Yes." answers Natsuo, "I'm sure of it. In fact Rui knew all along that it was this island that Hina got transferred to."
"I see..." Kiriya ponders for a moment, "So, what will you do about it?"
"Eh?" Natsuo is confused, he wonders what kind of question that is, he was hoping for some sort of guidance
"Will you look for her? For your girlfriend"
Wait. At first that was the only thing I felt I could do, but now I'm starting to feel like that's a bad idea
Kiriya continues "If you're going to look for her I can lend you money for a taxi."
Natsuo can feel his pulse quickening, he feels torn. Seeing Hina would bring more joy than he could imagine, however, is this the right time? Is he ready to see her again? Does she want to see him? Natsuo remembers the time he spoke to Hagiwara Shu and what he said about how Hina felt.
"Now that you ask me that, I honestly don't know. Should I? Or shouldn't I? I met Hagiwara-San by chance some time ago and I asked him about how Hina...Tachibana-Sensei was doing."
"You asked Hagiwara-Kun that," asks Kiriya, surprised.
Natsuo continues "He said that Hina had already moved on from me, and that she was living a good life here. If that was true, then it'll just cause her trouble if I pop up out of the blue...She even wrote 'I don't want you to look for me' in a letter." Natsuo feels defeated. With more thought on this situation it is becoming clearer that Hina would prefer not to see him. That hurts, hurts almost as much as it did when she first left him. All this time it has been as if all his suffering, all his heartbreak would vanish the moment they would be reunited. But now that he is here, after what Hagiwara said and on top of that not yet being the man he promised himself to be when this moment came, it would seem, seeing Hina right now won't fix anything. "If I said I didn't want to see her I'd be lying, but if I cause her trouble then..."
"You're not wrong," Kiriya-Sensei interjects, "on the off chance that she has found herself a nice man here you'd be nothing more than a nuisance if you turned up out of the blue now."
Okay ouch..Kiriya's words are like a knife to the chest.
"However," Kirya continues, "it's not like she told you that herself in person. Letting 'what ifs' dictate your actions is quite frankly foolish. It doesn't matter what someone did...Nor what they said" Kirya looks deep into Natsuo's eyes. It is clear to him that Kiriya is no longer speaking to him as a teacher, but rather, man to man. "What should compel you to action is your own heart."
Natsuo is surprised by these words. Of course, that's obviously true, how can I allow any anxieties to stop me from jumping on an opportunity that has presented itself so perfectly to me. This could be the only chance I've got.
The fact that Kiriya-Sensei is telling Natsuo this, knowing the taboo nature of their relationship, just further goes to show that Kiriya-Sensei means what he is saying. He wouldn't say this to Natuo if he didn't fully believe his own words, not with so much going against them.
Natsuo has made his decision.