Chapter VIII

'Thoughts'

- Jumps in perpective|character

After her nephew left the tea shop, Haruka went back behind the counter to prepare her customer's request, a simple one really, she fixed it with the speed and confidence of a pro; her client nodded approvingly and thanked her before diving back into his book.

Haruka then went behind the counter and began to check her inventory for the third time. The shop was having a slow day but that wasn't what nagged at her mind; she turned her gaze towards the sou, her nephew's words still fresh in her memory.

She made an effort to understand but nothing concrete came to mind, just a feeling from another time, an image of a young adult wearing a skirt. She lit another cigarette and gave it a good go, watching the smoke slowly climb up in the air alongside her thoughts.

The sound of footsteps pulled her from her reverie, she saw the figures of Keitaro and Shinobu going down the stairs; Haruka made a few calculations in her mind before taking another long sip of her smoke and grinding the rest on the ashtray.

"Those two…" She pondered in silence as her mind was set on the sou, weighing her options carefully.

Minutes later, the entrance bell clinked and Mutsumi entered the shop with a smile, Haruka took an apron and handed it to her.

"Ara, how long will you be gone?"

"I will be back before you know it, in the meantime watch the store and help yourself to some grub"

The weather was great today! Sunny but the breeze kept it from getting too hot, mostly clear but you could see a few clouds against the bright blue sky, definitely a good day to go outside, go for a walk, and have fun.

You might ask: "Why are you telling us this Keitaro?" and that is a good question because I wish I could talk about anything other than the weather. Shinobu and I have been walking in silence since we went down the stairs at the sou, the lack of conversation is making me nervous for many reasons.

One of them was that I hadn't really thought about what came next, I saw an opportunity and took it but after that nothing came to mind, besides the weather that is.

What did she like besides cooking and cleaning? Because as much as she said she enjoyed doing those, that doesn't mean that's what she likes doing for fun or to simply relax.

I felt at a loss, she had helped me so much lately that the realization of not knowing her, of having forgotten everything about someone who had done nothing but help me in spite of my fuck ups truly struck me.

Speaking of her helping me, I must admit that I was still surprised about this morning, to be frank, I wasn't expecting to be able to walk away without another cast, especially when Motoko and Narusegawa seemed to have reached the worst conclusion possible.

Or perhaps they got to that idea because it had already happened before? That question haunted me, my past self. I've got to admit that not knowing truly frightened me, if it wasn't for Haruka and Shinobu I would be in a very bad spot right now. Thinking back, being rude to both Seta and Su might just have been me getting desperate.

To top things off, fainting earlier because of Kitsune's cleavage had sent my self-esteem to an all-time low but honestly, sans the bleeding and the fainting, it hadn't been a bad experience at all.

"Senpai, we are here!"

Shinobu's voice snapped me right back to reality, we had arrived at the market district. There were a lot of stores filled with produce and many other products lined up as far as the eye could see, the street was bustling with people but it wouldn't be impossible for a man with crutches to move around.

"All right sempai, the first shop is over there" Shinobu took the lead as we began our way through the crowd, we arrived at the first stop, a fruit stand.

"Shinobu-chan, good to see you! The usual?" An old but perky woman greeted her, maybe she was the owner? Looking around, there was another old man in the back carrying produce boxes, those had to be heavy but the man carried them with no problem. It is kind of inspiring to see someone that strong and healthy despite the age.

"Yes ma'am, we just need to double the bananas this time"

"Is… Is Su-chan building something again?" She asked worriedly, fidgeting a little. Su's inventions seemed to be infamous. That sent shivers down my spine.

"I owe her a favor this time, so I need a lot of them, no new inventions as far as I know" The old lady was visibly relieved and picked a whole bunch, I took it from her and paid her on the spot.

"I too owe her, please give me another one" They both stared at me, surprise clearly visible on their faces, the owner looked at me, then Shinobu, then back again at me. It might have been my imagination but I think I saw a smile that reminded me of Kitsune out of the corner of my eye.

"Oh, who is your friend Shinobu-chan? I don't think we've met!"

"This is Urashima senpai, the sou's caretaker! He got into Tokyo U this year!"

"Oh, that IS amazing young man, Congratulations!"

"Thank you!" I answered, feeling strange as those memories were foggy and elusive, it took me a whole trip just to remember the 'incident' and still many details were missing, well, except for the onion falling down on me.

"So, what do you think about little Shinobu here?" The old lady asked out of the blue.

"Huh? Well, she has helped me a lot, I am lucky to have her around!"

"I am sure you are! She is a good girl after all, also, very cute isn't she?"

"Yes, she is! I honestly don't know what I'd do without her help, helping with the shopping is the least I could do"

"You are a good young man as well, she is one of a kind, be sure to treat her right you hear?"

"Sure thing!" I turned back at Shinobu but she was gone, I saw her halfway to what I guessed was our next destination. The old woman chuckled and handed me a few more bags 'the usual' she told me and sent me on my way.

'Boy, was she fast!'

It took me little effort to catch up with her but thanks to Motoko's 'training' and my unusual –and very welcome - expertise in running it didn't take long.

"Shinobu, is everything ok?" The question made her jump a little but she assured me that all was fine, she immediately pointed at the next stand, vegetables this time. We continued on our quest, this stand was crowded with clients but the owner also took some time to greet her before moving from one side of the stand to the other, tending to all the people that began piling up.

Shinobu got started at picking the vegetables that made the grade for her. It was strangely pleasant to see her this concentrated, I must admit that at first glance she looked like just another girl her age living a normal, middle school life but she was more than that, she cared for other people and wasn't faced by the responsibility, she was far more mature than I gave her credit for.

Since this amnesia fiasco began, I've been wanting to show her my appreciation and gratitude for all she had to put up with when dealing with me and the others.

An idea popped into my mind, why not buy her something? A gift for all she had done? Actions spoke louder than words and a good gift might just do the trick. If I got the right one of course.

My determination soared, now that was a plan, I would help her and casually try to ask her about what she liked besides housekeeping, I mean, I don't think she would appreciate a new frying pan or a basket to carry the laundry, right?

We kept hopping from shop to shop, everything went without a hitch or accident, we began making small talk about veggies, fruits, and how to cook them but nothing that could help me pinpoint a gift, perhaps I could ask Su or Kitsune? No, they would ask for my 'collaboration' in some scheme and, lately, I've taken a liking to my health.

For the last items on our list we decided to split up, we needed to wait in line for a chance to get our orders at two different shops or risk one of them running out since the product was limited and both stores were filled to the brim. We agreed to meet at the benches at the end of the street and from there we would be heading back home.

It was a little grueling with the waiting and the tons of people moving about but finally, my part was done, I headed to the designated spot and found that Shinobu was already there, looking at the shelves of a shop, completely drawn in.

Bingo.

It was a plushy store, her gaze was set at one big bear that was besides a squirrel, or at least that's what it kind of looked like, just not quite so, familiar for some reason.

I greeted Shinobu and she jumped in her place as if I had caught her with her hand in the cookie jar, I showed her the results of my efforts as she blabbered a lot of things I couldn't quite make out, her face was completely red, it was kind of cute seeing her this flustered.

When she calmed down, she looked at me as if I was about to say something, she hung her face so low that I hadn't realized that maybe, maybe, she didn't want me to know about that.

"Don't worry Shinobu, everyone has hobbies" I assured her.

Now that I think of it, I must have worked real hard for those photo booth pictures, even if it was just me in the frame. Was I that obsessed with photo booths? Or was it something else? There were so many from lots of different places, and in most of them, it was just me.

"Even if those hobbies are childish? Like mine?"

I was surprised at first but then I remembered that even if she was so responsible and independent she still wasn't an adult; I was older of course but I don't think I was much different than her at her age, well, maybe not with plushies.

"No, I don't mind it. There are all kinds of hobbies, mine is photo booths" I had tried to think of something witty or funny to say but, honestly, that hadn't worked earlier this morning.

"Really? Taking photos with friends and collecting them doesn't sound bad at all!" She said wearily, clearly not buying it.

"No, I am kind of alone… In most of them?" That had been generous, in all the album only two pictures were taken with someone else, one was with Narusegawa and the other, well, the writing said 'Kanako' but that was too embarrassing to admit, she looked at me in disbelief. She was about to say something but I intercepted.

"Yes, that's true, I have a whole album to prove it" Admitting that wasn't pleasant at all, made me feel like a bit of a loser but I tried my best to show confidence in what I just said.

"…" She looked at me as if trying to find a lie, I stared back at her, my chest jumped, and realized that there was no turning back from what I said.

"I believe you sempai, sorry" She then awkwardly proceeded to pick up some of the bags and began our way home, her head still hanging low.

This wasn't the outcome I wanted. What could I do!? I followed behind her, my head running wild for options, anything would do!

Just before we left the market, I spied a photo booth hidden in a corner, an ability acquired from my hobby? I gently reached for Shinobu and asked her if she wanted to take a picture with me, for a successful shopping trip, she was a little hesitant but she agreed.

I put the money in and asked Shinobu to choose the frame, the booth had one with a teddy bear at the bottom right of it, she hesitated for a minute but I pressed the button and the photo booth snapped. The first picture was messy and blurry but perfect in my opinion because of how surprised she was.

The rest of them were far simpler, normal to a fault perhaps, we were standing in the center of the picture, Shinobu was in front while I was behind her with my arm around her shoulder, she was clearly surprised but how could I describe it? I think it was a pleasant surprise for her, after the session was up she was definitely smiling again, not a big smile from ear to the other like Su's but she was happier and relaxed as if everything that had gotten her down had simply dissipated.

I must admit this had been the best idea I had all day. The pictures would definitely go to the album and I would give them a whole page to themselves.

Hello, I'd like to thank you for reading this story and for making it this far. It really means a lot to me. If you like this story please leave a comment/review.

Once again, thank you for everything.