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Their driver's name, as it turned out, was Takumi. Fujiwara Takumi. Touya had never been glad for Shindou's direct, and occasionally tactless manner before, but at least this time it proved effective in extracting information from a youth who seemed unusually taciturn.

"Can you wait a second?" Shindou asked. "I want to get some snacks," he nodded at the convenience store located at the gas station.

Fujiwara seemed to process this for a full second, before he nodded. "I need to fill the tank, anyway," he said.

"I'll come with you," Touya decided, if only to stop Shindou from carting away half the store with him.

Shindou blinked, but slowed down to wait for him.

In the store area, Touya took the opportunity to whisper to Shindou. "Are you sure we can trust what the owner said?"

"Huh?" Shindou asked intelligently, his attention on the rows of instant ramen before him. "I think he's all right," he said. "Hey, I've never seen this flavour of ramen before!"

"Shindou!"

"I admit, the fact that he looks half-asleep isn't encouraging," Shindou said, beginning to fill his basket with ramen, "but the owner thinks he's okay. You can trust old geezers like him, you know--you play with enough of them."

Touya was about to retort that it was precisely because he had played with numerous geezers, as Shindou said, that he was wary, but he had other concerns at the moment. "Shindou, you do not need a carton of ramen!"

"But they're all flavours I've never eaten before!" Shindou protested, trying to hide his shopping basket from Touya. "Barbequed squid, preserved oysters, and look! Grilled crab from Hokkaido! I've only read about this."

It was disturbing to realize Shindou read up about ramen, Touya decided, and instant ramen at that. "Shindou!" he said, before he prepared his argument against processed foods.

Shindou finally agreed to buy only half a dozen cups, in addition to cans of beverages.

They stood waiting at the exit of the convenience store, looking for their driver. "He was using the owner's phone when I was paying up. Something about checking out a route," Shindou said. "Hey, did I get that black sesame chicken flavour?" he asked out loud, and immediately held up his shopping bag to try and rummage through it.

Unfortunately, he only succeeded in slugging a just-emerging customer with his bag of ramen.

"Hey, watch it!" the man shouted, giving them a dirty look. He looked about twenty-five, and his expression was jeering.

"Sorry!" Shindou sang, and when the man walked past them, he made a face at his back. "What a jerk," he muttered, before subsiding to make sure that his ramen were all there, undamaged, and relaxed. "Hey, that's our driver!" he said, catching sight of a standing figure at the side. "Fujiwara-san!"

His shout made their driver look up from where he was standing by the gas pumps, contemplating empty air. "Shindou-san," he said as they approached.

"Sorry for the delay. Can we go now?" Shindou asked.

"Yeah," Fujiwara said. "My car's over there," he turned, and came to a stop, nearly crashing into the man standing there.

"Fujiwara? It's you?"

"He knows the jerk?" Shindou whispered to Touya. "I'm starting to be un-confident."

"Excuse me," Fujiwara said, stepping past, pretending that he didn't know the other man.

"Don't you walk away from me, Fujiwara!" The man growled, his face growing red.

"I'm relieved," Shindou said. "Let's go, Touya," he said.

Touya followed after him and Fujiwara, conscious of the man glaring at them. "He's following us," he said to Shindou.

"I know," Shindou said. "Weirdo. Let's ignore him."

"Fujiwara, you can't ignore me! I have a score to settle with you!" the man continued to shout, until he reached the parking spot just outside the gas station, nearly walking into a stunned Shindou and Touya, and he abruptly fell silent.

For they now saw the car.

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