Chapter Twelve:

11:50 AM.

If the time indicated on his phone was correct, he was ten minutes earlier than their scheduled time. That was fine. A spare ten minutes to gather his accumulating thoughts.

Besides, while it wasn't mandatory, it was definitely customary for the male gender to be earlier than the female for a ...date. So was that the unspoken agreement about today? She had asked him to go to the beach with her, and naturally he had complied. But was that considered a-

Relax, Tohno admonished. It's your day off. Enjoy it.

Tohno settled down on the park bench, crisscrossing his arms behind his head, his palms resting on the back of his neck. He relaxed visibly as the warmth from the sun gently dabbed his closed eyelids. As expected, as soon as he relaxed, his mind drifted to Akari. The knowledge of her absence being exactly a month was pointlessly imprinted in his mind. Lately though, he found himself thinking of Kanae more and more.

Kanae could lessen his pain. Not take it away, but it would recede into the most private chambers of his heart.

11:51 AM.

Only nine more minutes until he could see Kanae again.

12:05 PM.

Damn it.

Out of all days, she just had to be late today.

Kanae tapped her fingers against the counter nervously, the rhythm matching her scattered nerves. The following employee was supposed to arrive five minutes prior to the ending of her shift. And now it was already past twelve; Kanae could have been at the park at this point instead of waiting for... what was her name again?

Kanae couldn't even recall her name!

Maybe she should have called in sick today. It would certainly save her from the possibility of a heart attack.

The automatic doors of the mini grocery store slid open minutes later as a woman clad in the gray uniform issued by the store entered. "Sorry I'm late today, Kanae. Overslept," the woman offered apologetically.

"You're finally here!"

"What needs to-"

"I already stocked everything!" Kanae interjected hastily. She checked her phone, dying in irritation when she saw it took the woman fourteen extra minutes to get here. Irked, Kanae ran out with her bag, mentally calculating how long it would take her to reach the park.

Walking: Ten minutes. Running: Around half the time.

She went for running.

The brown athletic bag slung on her left shoulder was a nuisance itself and slowing her down, but it was sadly necessary for the trip. Unlike in Tanegashima, her sister wasn't around as her personal chauffeur anymore. Her things, her living, Kanae had to manage on her own now. That meant working the morning shift even on the day of her... date.

Was it a date?

She barely missed smacking head-on with an unsuspecting teenager.

"Tohno-kun! I'm sorry I was late. I-" She doubled over, panting, her breaths coming in and out too quickly.

"Did you run here?" Tohno asked worriedly. He patted her bent back awkwardly, "Do you want water?"

"No, I'm fine!" she squeaked. Kanae straightened immediately, but she could still feel the pressure from Tohno's hands where it was before. It made her heart flip, and she criticized herself for dwelling on it too much. She clasped her hands behind her back, or as best as she could with the awkward shape of her bag protruding from the side."Let's catch the next bus."

Tohno nodded, picking up his own bag from the ground. He brushed its bottom quickly, dusting it free of loose dirt and sediment. It was smaller in comparison to Kanae's, and she took that into account.

"Yes, let's go Kanae," he agreed. "The bus stop is not far from here."

Since Tohno lived in Tokyo far longer than she had, Kanae let him lead the way. He had a way of blending into the crowd, she realized as she trailed behind Tohno on the streets.

But she never expected Tohno to stop in the midst of everyone and wait for her. She watched the people branch off from each other reluctantly and reunite behind Tohno on the crosswalk. "I thought you got lost behind me. Come walk next to me," he called out as she neared him.

It was only a considerate thing to say.

But it made her so very happy.

Kanae caught up to Tohno. "Y-yes," she sputtered. "Do you know when the next bus is coming?"

"I don't," he admitted.

Kanae made a small sound of acknowledgment.

"But, we have the whole day ahead of us, don't we? Don't worry about the time. We have a whole day together," he reminded her kindly, turning to smile at her. The afternoon light filtering through the gaps of the leaves and tree branches above caught at Tohno's eyes, changing them into incandescent orbs of golden brown.

Why are you so kind to me, Tohno-kun?

Out here, it smelled salty and fresh. If Tohno closed his eyes, he could imagine himself in another world. There was something pacifying and lulling about standing barefoot in the grainy sand, with only the scent and sounds of ocean engulfing him.

"Tohno-kun, you didn't change?" someone asked him.

He opened his eyes and did a double-take when he saw Kanae. It wasn't that she looked different after she changed, in fact, the only difference he suspected was that they were swimming wear. What startled him was the immense surfboard tucked under Kanae's arm.

"I haven't surfed in a while. I thought it would be nice to so I rented it out for the day," Kanae said shyly when she noticed his attention directed on the board. She shifted the weight of the board to both of her hands."But you didn't...?"

"I did change." He indicated his swimming shorts. "I left my shirt on because it's slightly chilly."

"Slightly chilly?" Kanae asked incredulously. "You'll be warmer in the water. It's always warmer around this time of year."

"Have you been here before?"

"No, it was always warmer around this time in Tanegashima. Tokyo isn't that different."

"I see."

"Do you... want to go surfing, Tohno-kun?"

"I don't know how to," he answered truthfully.

"You don't? I'll teach you!" She dragged Tohno by the sleeve of his shirt out into the water, despite his intensifying protests. Kanae had never been this bold before, nor had she ever heard Tohno protest. It was out of her comfort zone and unquestionably out of Tohno's too, but it made her laugh, and her laughter bubbled even more as she took in his confounded expression.

"Wait for the incoming wave," Kanae instructed and handed off the surfboard to the hesitant person in front of her.

"I've never learned Kanae-"

"I only learned through countless of falls, Tohno-kun," she confessed to him. "Look, the next wave is already here. Run for it!"

Stunned, Tohno turned and ran on the spur of the moment.

What am I doing?

He took the surfboard and stepped on it, as the wave rolled in swiftly. Instantly, it became extremely difficult to keep his balance on top of the convulsing water. The surfboard didn't feel sturdy at all with the weight of his body depending on this thin board. And it happened so fast, he couldn't quite catch it, all he remembered was the water spraying in his face, the color of the water being transparent and white.

All of a sudden, Tohno was choking, coughing out the salty water as he stood up near the shoreline. With an entirely drenched shirt, he looked for Kanae and found her not far from him, only a few feet away. She waded into the water, joining him.

"Tohno-kun, your shirt is drenched now..."

"What... what happened back there?"

An absolute amazed expression occupied Tohno's face entirely. He looked so shocked with his soaked shirt that now clung tightly to his skin and his wet hair hanging from his face that Kanae couldn't help it, but laugh uncontrollably.

And he couldn't help too, but watch her.

Tohno had never seen Kanae so happy before.

You told me you've only learned through falling countless times. For a long time, I've only been sinking. Maybe now, you are teaching me the learning part.

"Let's try that again," Kanae gasped in between breaths of smothering laughter. When Tohno didn't answer, she looked up and caught him watching her intently. Her heart pulsed rapidly as she held his gaze.

Tohno smiled, his head tilting to his right a little. "What do I do this time?"

"B-balance.."

They continued surfing until the light from the sky faded out.

The hour long bus ride back home was marked casually by a jaded silence, that was not entirely uncomfortable, and was explained by their wearied postures sagging against gray felted seats. The overall silence was unmistakably present, not just between the two of them, but between the whole bus load too.

Of course, there were a few drowsy speech here and there that interrupted the general quiet. But for the most part, everyone kept to themselves.

So Tohno was surprised when he heard Kanae addressing him, her voice sounding soft and sluggish.

"Tohno-kun..." she began, then stopped to unsuccessfully suppress a yawn. "...have you finally found what you were looking for? Or have you finally looked around you?"

He felt breathless, as if something was lodged deep inside his windpipe, but kept his eyes glued to the endless scenery of roads and buildings.

"Have you finally looked at me?"

The moment froze-

"What was today?"

-and fissures threaded through the moment like glass, shattering the constricting knots in his chest. There it was, the question he had been turning around in his head.

"Kanae," Tohno started, turning his attention away from the scenery. But she didn't answer and he saw that she was sleeping.

He returned back to his original position, but it didn't matter, because the questions were tearing relentlessly at his mind.

Could it be...

Could my heart be moving one centimeter closer to yours?

Author's Notes:

And that concludes Chapter 12! (Any fans rooting for Tohno/Kanae out there?)

While I feel that this chapter was decent, I'm also worried it might not have been in-character enough for Tohno and Kanae. So let me know your thoughts! Haha, and as always... thank you and hope you enjoyed reading.

Next: More on Akari and Yuuchi.