Chapter Two:

Tohno hadn't planned to meet anyone today. Desperately needing to clear his mind, he had headed to the park in hopes of doing so. Slipping on a light brown jacket, he proceeded to find his way around the city, not even bothering to stop by the mirror in the bathroom to check his appearance. He certainly valued his sanity more than his looks.

It was a fresh spring day and he had every bit of intention to enjoy this day as much as he could. He couldn't help, but think of Akari. He was sure that he had seen her at the train crossing on that day. Ever since that day, he replayed those brief moments in his head. She had seemed preoccupied; she must have been happy. Did she discreetly turn around and try to look at him? Had she?

But the train had come then, blocking his view of Akari.

Walking around the park was quite peaceful. Yes, the sound of the city was still in the background; the chatter of pedestrians, the squeaking of impatient cars ready to take off once the stoplight changed colors, and the ringing of a cell phone occasionally, but those noises became so much a part of life that Tohno didn't mind them. The noises faded into the distance as he went deeper into the park.

The park was breathtaking. This thought had crossed his mind quite a few times before. Not for the first time, he wondered when he started to think of everything in life as beautiful. People have said that in times of trouble, you learn to appreciate the little things. Was he in trouble then?

He was walking along the outskirts of the park when he found Kanae. She was sitting stiffly at the end of a park bench, her palms flat down, pressing onto her thighs hard. Her head faced the ground, but her eyes were closed; though Tohno found it a bit difficult to tell with Kanae's black hair partially covering her face.

At least he thought it was Kanae. She looked like Kanae. Except Kanae was usually cheerful and attacked the world head on. The young lady perched on the bench seemed defeated. It couldn't possibly be Kanae, right? Curiosity evoked, Tohno stopped short.

The person must have heard his footsteps stopping for she looked up. He knew it was Kanae then. Eyes widening in shock, she quickly stood up, her mouth already opening to form words. "I-I...I've been... Tohno-kun..."

She had always been bashful. He recalled that fact from the various walks they had together on the way home. Their walks were usually silent and their talks, restricted. Often, they had only talked when they stopped to purchase a drink at the convenience store.

He had never minded her company before. Perhaps this was a good opportunity to catch up on the past? Maybe this was what he needed; a nice, simple chat.

Tohno gave her a smile and gestured for her to come over to him. "Let's enjoy a walk around the park seeing that you are already here."

Kanae hastily brushed off some fallen maple leaves off of her collared jacket while running to meet Tohno. Hands tucked into the side pockets of his pants, Tohno turned to face the path again when Kanae was next to him. He took notice of her hands clasped tightly behind her back.

The silence grew as no words were exchanged between them for a few minutes. Tohno kept his eyes steadily on the road and Kanae was doing her best to look at anything, but him. Finally, she was the one breaking the silence. "How... has your life been?"

His reply was brief. "Interesting. How about yours, Kanae? Are you living in the city now?" The topic was abruptly switched back to her. Tohno hadn't changed then. He was still nice to her, but it was the same as back then. His eyes were still looking past her and into the horizon. Hadn't he finally reached his goal yet?

Even despite the obvious fact that the conversation was taking on the feeling of a polite and a small conversation, his niceness still touched Kanae's heart. He was making it impossible for her to get over him. Ironically, Kanae had traveled to Tokyo to find Tohno in order to find some way to get over Tohno and to attain true happiness...

"Kanae?" His voice immediately snapped her back into reality.

"Oh, sorry." She smiled apologetically. Avoiding the first question, she chose to answer the latter one. "No, I'm just going to be staying in the city for a little while."

She secretly wished that he wouldn't ask "why" because she didn't have the answer to that herself. Her goal was accomplished. She had somehow found Tohno in Tokyo, but her plan only went that far. She hadn't really thought about what she would do once she had found Tohno.

"I see," was his response.

For reasons unknown, Tohno was hurrying ahead of her, his pace increasing rapidly. Pausing for a second to tell her that he needed to do something, he forged on ahead.

Her arm automatically reached out to grab the end of his shirt. "Wait!" Kanae dropped her hand, embarrassed when Tohno looked over his shoulder. Her face flushed crimson red when Tohno waited for her to finish. "Where are you going?"

"I'll be back soon. I won't be going far." He was straining to see something; his eyes were focused on something down the path. He didn't even wait for Kanae's response when he left.

Wait... Don't leave. She had wanted to say that. This behavior was entirely new on Tohno's part, but Kanae was more worried about losing him again than the odd behavior. He seemed to disappear in the mass of people, leaving Kanae confused on whether or not to continue standing there or to try to look for him. After a minute of indecision, Kanae squirmed her way through the crowd of people and started to look for Tohno.

It didn't take long to find Tohno again. He was standing, transfixed, a street away from where they were before. Relieved, Kanae began running to him, almost tripping over herself in the process. All the while, she was shouting his name and waving her hand wildly. She slowed down once she was directly behind him. "Tohno-kun, why are you standing so still-"

Kanae stopped in mid-sentence, her words lapsing into silence. In front of her and Tohno was a slim woman wearing a light, pink dress, with a blue jacket over that dress. In her hands, was clutched a white duffle bag. She was definitely pretty with her dark brown hair reaching just beneath her shoulders; her pale, smooth skin; and her slim composure. She was taller than Kanae even without the white heels that she was wearing, and she nearly reached Tohno's height.

Kanae felt like she was nothing in comparison to this woman. However, Kanae's presence seemed to break Tohno from his trance. "Oh, uh, Akari, this is Kanae. Kanae, this is my..." She noticed the hesitation in Tohno's voice. "This is my... childhood friend, Akari."

Kanae didn't know what to say. Awkwardly, she nodded.

The stranger, Akari had averted her eyes, but what she said next was directed towards Kanae. "Sorry, I think that I am wasting your time with Takaki. I'll be taking me leave now."

"No! That's alright. I mean, we're just friends. It's nothing like what you think it is." Kanae was blushing insanely.

"No, I understand." Akari readily turned around and was walking away at a quick speed.

Tohno said one word, but Kanae heard it. He had whispered the stranger's name nostalgically. So quickly, that Kanae didn't even realize he had moved, Tohno had grabbed Akari's hand. "At least give me your number, Akari..."

Startled, she wordlessly wrote her number on a piece of paper and handed it to Tohno. He reluctantly dropped her hand then. Strangely, Kanae's heart twisted when she saw them together.

It was oddly quiet when Tohno and Kanae walked out of the park. Before they parted, Kanae shyly gave him her phone number, which Tohno pocketed. In return, Tohno gave her his, but Kanae was sure that it was out of politeness did he do so. His mind seemed to be on Akari even as he parted with Kanae.

Upon returning to his apartment, Tohno slumped onto his couch and retrieved his phone and Akari's note from his pocket. Adding her number to his contact list, he contemplated on sending her a text. In the end, he resolved to type one out. It read:

This is Takaki Tohno.

He didn't know what else to say. How was she doing? She looked the same as she did that day on the train crossing. He desired to ask her if she had looked back that day, but he couldn't bring himself to. Feeling that what he wrote was insufficient, he added a "It's been a really long time," and pressed the button to send the text. It was the first text out of millions that he wanted to send to Akari and actually did so.

And they say that you never forget your first love.

Chapter Notes:

(1) Since some people have asked, Yuuchi is Akari's fiance or soon-to-be-husband-but-not-anymore. Yuuchi was not a character that was invented. Rather, he is mentioned in the manga.

(2) The first chapter was written based on what was happening to Akari. This chapter is mainly based on Tohno, although he meets Kanae, so it focuses on both of them for a little while in the chapter.

Author's Notes:

I apologize if this chapter was slightly confusing. At least I felt like it was. Sorry for the long wait!

I am immensely grateful to those who have viewed my story and have offered me support. You have no idea how happy those reviews made me.