June 22nd

I woke up late today for some reason. I hadn't stayed up particularly late or anything of the kind, so there was no reason for my lateness.

My school day was rather generic. This time, Saya also joined our small conversations, but her input was even lower than Makoto's. I didn't really have anything to do after school, but I didn't want to stay home like yesterday. I thought about what sort of things I could do in the afternoon, but I couldn't come up with anything specific, so I opted with just picking up a book using my new library card.

Going home, I entered the library. There were a few other people there as well, most of them being students like me. I walked up to the counter and spoke with the same man that I had talked to that day.

"Excuse me. I'm Shiroki Mitsune. I'm here to get my library card. I filled the papers on Sunday."

"I understand. I'll go get it for you." He left and went to get it. When he came back, he also handed me a paper to sign. - Please sign this paper. It states that you have received your card, and are now under full responsibility for what happens to it.

I signed it and took my library card.

"Can I borrow a book already?"

"There's no problem with that. You just have to pick it and bring it here for me to register it."

"Got it."

I looked around, trying to find any interesting books for me to read this afternoon. I eventually settled with an easy-to-digest adventure novel. I could probably finish it in one sitting if I felt motivated enough. After registering my name and setting the return date, I went home, continuing my usual routine.

I read the book while lying on my bed. It was about a boy who could travel through time. He returned multiple times to the same starting point in order to prevent a tragedy. It made me think about how amazing it would be if we really could create a functioning time machine. What effects would it have in our life? I imagine it would forever change the way our society works.

If I could go back in time, I'd do so many things differently...

June 23rd

It was finally the day. I'd not only get to actually see Hisashi's house, but we would also explore a cool place. I was excited, and I thought about what this place could be. Maybe a meadow filled with beautiful flowers? Or maybe a path through the woods, taking us to a magical land?

At school, nothing was different. The teachers were all the same, the students were all the same. Still, even with the monotony of everyday life, I can still hope for something interesting happening in our club.

After school, the teacher Akiko came over to me. It didn't look like anything serious, but I was still a bit tense.

"I just wanted to know how your school life's been. Are you getting used to your new routine?"

"Yeah, it's fine. I'm having fun and I'm making some friends."

"I see. That's good. I hope you'll enjoy this year's Nikkou Festival. The theme will be cooking. We'll even have a cooking contest, so if you want to join, talk to me."

"Nikkou Festival?"

"Oh, you don't know about it? It's a yearly festival that happens at the summer break. We choose a different theme every year, and the students form groups and participate in various activities."

"Sounds fun. Maybe I'll join this year."

"I'd be glad to see you enjoying your time at our school." I thought about it. It reminded of the festival Hisashi mentioned a couple of days ago. Something about fireworks. Looks like summer break is quite the fun time around here. I thought about the idea of forming a group and joining this year's festival. If everyone else agreed, I'd be fine with it. "If you prepare a really nice plate, you might get first prize. I can't tell what it is, but it's certainly a magnificent prize."

"Sounds fun! I'll talk to my friends about it."

"Please do so." The teacher then looked at her watch and left.

When I was about to leave, Hisashi appeared breathing deeply.

"I was looking for you!"

"Did something happen?"

"We hadn't decided the time of our meeting today! I talked with Makoto and Saya, and they both agreed on two o'clock. Are you okay with that?"

"I really have nothing to do at home, so any time is fine by me."

"Okay." He seemed quite tired, but he still ran off, heading home.

Even though I already did it pretty much every day, I still felt like complaining about the heat. It was summer, so I should've gotten used to it already, but instead, it only felt worse.

I returned the book to the library. I wasn't really feeling like reading anything else, so I left without borrowing any other books. Upon arriving at home, I did everything like usual and waited for the time of our meeting. He didn't specify a location, so I naturally assumed it would be at the park.

After yet another round of walking, I arrived there. I could see Hisashi and Saya already there. It seems Makoto would be the last one to arrive.

"Good afternoon." Saya's greeting was simple and direct.

"Hiya!" Hisashi's contrasted with hers, being friendly and casual.

"So, Makoto still isn't here?" I asked.

"Not yet. He lives a bit far away." Hisashi explained.

As I looked around, I noticed something around Saya's body. It was a suspender-like cloth, being used to hold a camera.

"Is that your camera?"

"Yes. It was a present from my parents. It's what awakened my liking for photography." Saya was apparently planning on taking pictures of the place Hisashi would show us. I wanted to talk to her some more, but Makoto arrived, ending our conversation. We greeted him and started walking again.

We went through the path we had taken to reach the cafe that day, but this time we turned right at the crossroads. We walked some more until we reached the end of the road. Saya spoke:

"Have we already passed by your house?"

"Yeah. I didn't really mention it, but we passed right in front of it. Let's keep going."

It was the end of the road, so we entered the woods. It was a bit eerie, but we trusted him to show us the way. Not too long after walking straight, we found a path.

"Let's follow this path. We're already really close." Hisashi gave us the directions.

As he said, we only had to follow the path a bit to arrive at his secret spot. On the way there, Saya stopped every so often to take a picture of the scenery.

What we saw there was a clearing. Right under it was a small wooden gazebo. In the gazebo, there were wooden chairs and a small desk. By the side of the gazebo, there were the broken remains of a small garden fence. The flowers themselves were blooming at full force, however. The natural feel of this place was relaxing.

"This is my secret hideout." Hisashi exclaimed happily. "It's not really secret, but most people wouldn't expect something like this to be here."

"Why is there a gazebo here?" Makoto was apparently surprised at the presence of a gazebo in the woods.

"My father built it. Our whole family used to come here to watch the sky at night. It was chilly, but it was also really fun..."

"Do you guys not do it anymore?" I wondered.

"Not really. I'm probably the only one who still comes here." He didn't look like he wanted to explain it any further, so I didn't question him.

While we were chatting, Saya was taking a bunch of pictures of the gazebo and of the trees.

"This place is really nice. I could practice my photography skills here for a while." Saya was satisfied with Hisashi's cool spot. Hisashi also looked happy that everyone was liking it.

There were four wooden chairs in the gazebo, which were enough to fit all of us. We all sat down, and I decided to set the plan in motion.

"So, Saya. You liked the spot we showed you, right?"

"I can't deny it's certainly different from anything in town."

"Then, are you going to join our club? You said you would if we showed a really nice place." I spoke in a way to convince her.

"You know what? I really have not much else to do at home." Saya said it resigned. "I'll join your club."

We three cheered and welcomed Saya.

"Welcome to the Nikkou Book Club!" All three of us said it, though not in a synchronized manner, so it came out as a bunch of noises. Saya laughed at us.

"Nikkou Book Club? That's your club name?" Saya continued laughing, but not in a mocking manner. "Well, that's fine. I've seen worse names before."

"So, we have four members!" Hisashi exclaimed.

"Our goal was five, but I don't really think we have enough time for that." Makoto said it, making reference to our original member target.

"Well, I can think of one person who might be interested in joining." Saya was the one to say that. "She's not in our classroom, though."

"Who is it?" I wondered.

"It's a bit of a friend of mine. She's not quite a friend, but we know each other well enough." Saya stopped and thought for a while. "She's the class president for 3-B. Her name is Oshiro Aoi, I think you might have heard it before."

"Oshiro Aoi?! Isn't that the town mayor's daughter?" Makoto was the one to question it.

"Yeah. That doesn't mean anything, though."

"Yes, it does! She is the daughter of one of the most powerful people in the whole town!" Makoto seemed against the idea of letting this girl join our club. "I've heard that her father hates when the "common people" interact with him and his family."

"You're not being nice." Saya was a bit sad at Makoto's words. "Her family has nothing to do with the sort of person she is."

"Do you really think that? She was raised by them, it's impossible for her not to have been influenced!" Makoto was uncharacteristically aggressive.

"I've talked with her before, and she is nothing like what you think! In fact, she told me these kinds of assumptions only hurt her." Saya's voice revealed a certain sadness, like Makoto's words were directed at her.

"That's enough! We're not here to argue!" Hisashi said it in a serious tone. He felt like my father when he scolded me.

Hearing Hisashi's voice, Makoto looked down. Saya also seemed to be upset.

"It's already getting late. I think I'll go home now." Saya said it.

"Sorry for saying it like that. I was being insensitive." Makoto genuinely apologized.

"It's fine, really." I couldn't tell if Saya had really accepted the apology. "See you guys at school tomorrow!"

She finished saying it and quickly left, going back the same path we used when coming here. Makoto looked like he deeply regretted saying it, but the damage was already done.

"I guess I'll be going too..." It was Makoto. "Later!"

He practically ran away, leaving only Hisashi and me sitting under the gazebo. We shared glances.

"It was supposed to be a fun day." Hisashi was disappointed. I sighed.

"I wonder if Saya's really still in the club."

"Probably not. Not after this." I stopped to think about the argument. Both Makoto and Saya had pretty strong reactions, for reasons I couldn't really understand.

"Why did the two of them get so worked up over that?"

"I don't really know why Makoto would say things like that, but I understand Saya." He stopped to breathe, and his expression suddenly grew really serious. "It was probably Saya's father."

"I heard you mention him earlier. What happened to him?"

"He disappeared." He stated it directly, in a way that got me taken aback.

"What?"

"He disappeared. Two years ago." The seriousness in his complexion faded way, giving way to hints of sadness. "One day, her father left for work, but he didn't come back."

"What happened to him?"

"No one knows. He really did just disappear. Saya and her mother both tried getting the attention of the police and the news, as an attempt to find out the truth, but to this day, no one knows where he is or why he left."

"Where he is? Did he leave on his own?"

"Even that is a mystery. Some people theorize he ran away from the town because of a lover. I personally don't believe that, though. He was a good person, so I don't think he'd do something this cruel."

"What are the other theories?"

"Well, the other most common theory is that he got captured by someone."

"Then what?"

"Well... that's..." He hesitated in his words. Eventually, he collected himself and said it. "Then he got killed."

"K-Killed?!"

"I mean, if they wanted ransom money, they'd have done it long ago. It's been two whole years. It's far more likely that he just got killed."

"But why would someone do that?"

"Some people think that he was being too nosy."

"Too nosy? What does that mean?"

"Saya's father was a detective. Apparently, he was of pretty high rank, so a lot of officers respected him. One day, he decided to investigate a certain incident. He investigated and got a lot of clues. When he got too close to the truth, though... He disappeared." I thought about all the information I was just given.

"If he was a high-rank detective, he couldn't have just disappeared like this without anyone knowing anything about it!"

"But that's what happened. Even if you ask anyone or look it up online, you won't find anything. His disappearance was just labeled as "unresolved" and archived."

"I see..."

"Do you understand Saya's situation now?" Hisashi asked me, hoping for an answer.

"Yeah. You guys said no one wants to be friends with her nowadays. I understand now. Still, why would people exclude her from things? Her father going missing should have made people sympathetic."

"You're right. Still, people didn't want to really be around her anymore. As a result, she also became unfriendly, and it turned into a cycle. I admit I was one of the people who stayed away."

"That's all the more reason to be friendly to her!" Instead of looking down, I decided to look up. The clearing allowed me to see the sky. I noticed it was starting to get late. It was probably somewhere close to five. "It really is getting late. We should go home."

"Yeah. Tomorrow, let's apologize to Saya at school." I nodded.

We didn't really feel like chatting on our way home. This time, Hisashi stopped in front of his house, so I was able to see which it was. It was a fairly big house, bigger than mine, at least. It was painted white, and it had a small garden just like the one near the gazebo, though this one wasn't falling apart.

"Bye!" Hisashi said and waved at me, while I went home alone.

On my way home, I thought about things. Saya's dad, mostly. I wonder what happened to him? Would he really be so awful as to leave behind his family? I barely knew Saya herself, so being aware of something so personal felt weird. I guess for now the best thing to do is just pretend I don't know anything about it.

June 24th

I wasn't able to sleep very well because of yesterday's events, and I woke up feeling tired for the first time since moving to town. My grumpy mood was noticed by Dad.

"Did something happen?"

"Not really. I just didn't sleep well tonight."

"Ah. Hope you get better."

"Thanks..."

I didn't really want to go to school. My breakfast felt bland. For some reason, everything felt wrong today. It was because of yesterday. Simply knowing that Saya's father disappeared had changed my view of the town. Everything was going along fine just before I learned that. You know what? I'll just forget about all that. I'll force myself to forget, and go back to the fun days. With that in mind, I continued my day.

Forget. Forget. Forget. Ignorance is bliss.

At school, both Saya and Makoto seemed to be fine. They had regained their usual cheerfulness. When classes ended, they both came over to talk to Hisashi and me.

"Hello!" Makoto's voice was the same as ever.

"Hi, you two. It's my first official day in the club, so I don't really know what you guys do after school." Saya didn't show any signs of sadness either. "Do you stay at school or do you go somewhere?"

"We could go to the cafe." Hisashi suggested we go to the same cafe as before.

"Um..." I didn't think about my words, and I blurted out something I shouldn't have. "Are you two alright? After what happened yesterday?"

It was obvious that my words were directed at Saya and Makoto. The two of them looked at me, and I felt their gazes piercing my soul. There wasn't maliciousness in their stares, simply a feeling of "Why would you bring it up?".

"We're fine." They both said it at almost the same time.

"What happened in the past stays in the past." Saya said this and then changed the subject. "What's this cafe you're talking about, Hisashi?"

"It's a cafe near my home. Do you remember the street where we turned right yesterday? It's right there."

"Oh, I think I know what you're talking about. My mom took me there once."

"Then you're fine going there, right?"

"Sure thing."

After this, both Saya and Makoto left, leaving me alone with Hisashi, just like yesterday.

"Sorry for being rude." I said to Hisashi.

"I'm not the one you should apologize to." Hisashi said it in a way to make me feel bad, but I knew he didn't really want to hurt me. Honestly, out of all of us four, he seemed to be the most adult-like. Saya also seemed responsible, but I didn't really know her enough to say it yet.

"Is meeting at the cafe by two fine for you?"

"Yeah."

"Ok. I'll message them later as well. See ya!" Hisashi left as well. I stayed a little bit longer, just looking around the school. After getting bored, I decided to leave, and I walked my usual way home under the hot sun. Everything had already resolved itself. I was the only one still bothered by yesterday. I just had to calm down and leave it in the past, just like Saya told me to.

By the time I got home, I had sorted out my feelings to an extent, and I sat down to have lunch with Dad.

"Are you feeling better now?" Dad was apparently worried over my mood since this morning.

"Yeah!" My smile wasn't quite right, but it was close to normal enough for Dad not to notice it.

"That's good. Your mother is coming home tonight."

"Right." I was happy Mom would be coming home. She was probably the person I was closest to in the whole world, even considering the fact that she isn't home almost the whole week. A bunch of things happened this week, so I'd have a lot to talk with her. "Did she tell you when she'd be home?"

"Around six. You should be here to greet her."

"I'll go out with my friends for a bit. It won't take long." Dad nodded and we resumed eating.

I continued my day normally. At one thirty, my phone's alarm went off. I took a shower and went to the park. Strangely, there was no one there this time. I waited a bit, but I didn't want to be late, so I eventually decided to walk to the cafe by myself. While walking, I noticed that the sun was abnormally missing. I looked up at the sky and saw many clouds gathering. It would rain later today, it seemed.

I got close to the cafe, and I could see the three of them standing. They noticed me and waved at me. Hisashi came over.

"Sorry we didn't wait for you today. We thought it'd be easier to wait for you here."

"It's alright. I don't really mind." In truth, I preferred to meet them up at the park, but I was the only one living that way, so it would be selfish of me to expect them to walk to the park every time. Still, that would all be meaningless once I got a bike.

We all sat around a table. Saya and Makoto were right next to each other.

"Do you guys already wanna order?" Hisashi asked us.

"Just let me look at the menu for a bit." It was Saya's first time here with us, so she hadn't yet decided what to have. After some thinking, she spoke again. "I think I'll have a chocolate milkshake."

"A milkshake? That's unusual." Makoto smiled while saying that. There was a noticeable difference in Saya and Makoto's attitudes. Something had definitely happened yesterday.

"It's been really hot lately, so a milkshake would be perfect." Saya also had a smile.

Hisashi signaled to the waiter, and he came over to get our order. Both Hisashi and Makoto ordered the usual. I got an orange juice instead of a strawberry one. Saya ordered the milkshake. The waiter left.

"So, what are we going to talk about today?" Saya asked the group.

"I wanted to mention something." I said it.

"What is it?" Hisashi had a spark of curiosity in his eyes.

"The teacher told me about the Nikkou Festival. You guys know about it already, right?"

"Yeah, we're aware." Makoto confirmed it.

"Then, I was thinking about forming a group and actually participating in it. What do you guys think?"

"That's... I don't know. It could be fun, I guess." Hisashi didn't seem to like the idea, but he didn't seem to dislike it either. He just needed a little incentive.

"The teacher told me that the first prize is really good! I'm sure if the four of us tried, we'd manage to make something really tasty!"

"Do you know how to cook?" Makoto asked me. He was obviously expecting me to say yes.

"No. But I can help you guys cut the veggies, or maybe mix the cake batter, or something!"

"I can cook. Not very well, but I can make some alright food." Saya was open to the idea.

"See? We can do it if we try!" I really wanted to join the festival. It was mostly for the prize, but also having some fun bonding time with my friends.

"I guess it's alright." Hisashi resigned.

"Then we just gotta talk to the teacher. I didn't ask when exactly the festival was, though..."

"It's the usually the Sunday right after summer break begins. That would make it... uh, the 24th of July, I think. It's exactly one month from now." Makoto gave us a clear date.

"Then we have a whole month to hone our cooking skills! Really, guys, we gotta take this seriously!" I rose up from my seat as if I were a queen ordering her followers. Right when I did so, the waiter returned with our drinks, and I sat again embarrassed. "Anyways, now that you guys agreed to the idea, do any of you have a suggestion of what to cook?"

"I like sweets and things like that. A cake, maybe?" Saya suggested a cake. Cakes had the potential to be really good, but could also go really wrong.

"I prefer something more filling, like meat." Meats were good and filling, but they weren't really remarkable enough to win a contest.

"I like pasta. Something like a lasagna would be my bet." Makoto went for a lasagna. It was refined, but it wasn't easy to make.

It was now up to me. I was the one who would decide it. I thought about it for a while, but my biases naturally brought me to a decision.

"I also vote for cake. That makes two votes, so it's settled." Both Makoto and Hisashi didn't seem super excited, but they accepted their loss.

"Alright... So, what sort of cake is it going to be?" Hisashi resigned himself to cake.

"I think the basic strawberry shortcake is the tastiest." Saya really did have a preference for sugary things.

"It's tasty, but not unique enough. I think the best compromise would be a fruit cake. It's delicious but also has a high-class aura to it." I was making a bunch of decisions, but since no one went against them, I followed along.

"What about an exotic fruit cake? Things like pineapples, kiwis and other fruits you don't see every day." Makoto was the one to say it.

"That's even better. Although the only problem would be that exotic fruits aren't exactly cheap. We'd have to save our money to buy them." I was up for it, as much as not being able to use my allowance pained me.

"I'm fine with saving some money." Hisashi agreed to the idea, and so did Saya.

"That's... alright." Makoto also agreed, but he didn't seem too fond of the plan.

With the whole festival thing settled, we started chatting about life, exams, food and other things fitting for our age. We eventually got into the usual question of "What do you want to be when you grow up?". The person who surprised me the most was Saya, who wanted to be a police officer. I just couldn't see her in a position like that, but maybe that was just my own prejudice.

After a while, a cold breeze blew through the cafe. We all felt it.

"It's probably going to rain soon. I guess it's time to go home." Hisashi mentioned the weather.

"I have to walk home for a bit, so I should get going early." I had already finished my orange juice, and I had to greet Mom when she arrived, so I should go home as early as possible.

We paid for our drinks and we left. Saya, Hisashi, and Makoto went in a direction, and I went in the opposite direction. I walked fast in order to reach home before it started raining. I wasn't able to completely avoid the rain, but by the time it had started falling, I was only seconds away from home.

I got home with my clothes kind of wet, so I had to completely change them. It was a bit past four. Mom would be arriving in about an hour. While waiting for her, I sat down on the sofa and watched TV. Dad was making some sort of special dinner for Mom. When I turned on the TV, it was already on the news channel, and I didn't really feel like changing it.

"The man was discovered to be gone when the landlord knocked on his door, and there was no response. The landlord then used his key to open the apartment, and found out the man wasn't there."

It was a news report about a man that went missing from his apartment. What surprised me the most was that it took place in Hoshigata-chou. He lived alone apparently, so one noticed his disappearance until the landlord went to check on him. The police questioned people and found out he hadn't been seen by anyone around the apartment for the last two days.

After a while of hearing about the case, I decided to change the channel and watched the usual game show. It was starting to get boring, but there weren't a huge number of channels that had signal here. While watching it, I heard a knock on the door. It could only be one person: Mom. I ran to the door and opened it. I was greeted by Mom, who was with her work stuff. I hugged her quickly, and she left her stuff on the couch. She seemed tired, but her expression was still soft. I always admired the way Mom managed work and family matters.

"How have you two been?" Mom asked it while lying on the couch. "Work this week was seriously tiring."

"My week was fun! Lots of things happened, and I made a bunch of friends." I told her about it like a little girl would.

"That's good. I'm glad you like it here."

"I made your favorite spring rolls." Dad came over and put his elbows on the couch, behind Mom's head. "Do you want to eat already?"

"Yeah. I'm really hungry." Mom sat on a chair. We followed her, and we all sat by the table. "You're so sweet. I really love your spring rolls."

"Let's eat together." It was still early, but I knew Mom appreciated it when we ate as a family.

I understood why Mom liked Dad's rolls. Everything about them was amazing. Dad was gifted with the skill of cooking, unlike me.

I knew it wasn't really the appropriate time, but I didn't want to leave this for later.

"Mom, I've been wanting to get a bike so I could ride it to school. What do you think?"

"I don't really mind it. It's gonna count as your Christmas present, though."

"Huh? Christmas?! That's still so far away, though!"

"Well, if you act like a good girl for the rest of the year, I might give you both the bike and a Christmas present."

"I promise! I'll be the best daughter in the world!"

"Alright then. I'll give you the money to buy your bike. You can choose whichever you like."

"Thanks! I love you, Mom!" Like I said a few days ago, Mom always solves things by herself. I asked Dad a bunch of times, but he just postponed it, while Mom gave me a condition and I accepted it.

Eating spring rolls happily, we all welcomed Mom with a cheerful mood. This week was the best I'd had in a long time. Silently, I thanked God for the opportunity of meeting amazing new friends and starting anew. My coming to Hoshigata-chou was truly a miracle.