Chapter Fourteen:

Kanae's arm brushed against his accidentally while moving the pot to another section on the stove, but the contact sent a jarring shock through him and Tohno tensed up immediately.

He hoped Kanae did not notice, but she did. "Is everything fine, Tohno-kun?"

Tohno murmured his reply, his eyes flicking hastily away from her shy ones. "Yeah, thank you for worrying about me."

"It's... it's nothing..."

He shifted his attention back in time to catch sight of her cheeks flushing. Strangely, he found it endearing. Tohno studied Kanae as she watched the unsteady flames underneath the pot. He found his eyes wandering over her figure, stopping at the nape of her neck, then wandering a bit upwards, until his eyes stopped again, this time, at her hair ending directly below her jawline. Kanae felt the weight of him watching her and she turned nervously to him.

Tohno's eyes widened when he met her eyes again. He turned away, but he could feel heat rushing ungraciously to his cheeks, leaving evidence of his crime. He could feel her eyes on him now, and he couldn't... didn't want to meet those eyes again.

Something was changing in him.

And he knew it.

Tohno knew it when he watched the passing shoes earlier, waiting for the familiar brown ones to appear, to stop in their timid little way and then rush inside the restaurant. Those shoes were always accompanied with her cheerful voice greeting him. He was aware of how he was watching her far more than he should be.

These realizations were making Tohno uneasy. Like now. He wasn't sure if the distance between them was too close or not.

"Oy! Boy, one order of kare raisu and sencha tea!" Isamu shouted from the serving area. Isamu popped his head into the kitchen. "It's the usual order. I think he's the last customer for today, so clean up afterwards." His head disappeared.

Tohno sprang away from Kanae. "You take the tea order," he nodded towards the stove. "I'll make the kare raisu."

Raindrops started pattering the glass windowpanes quietly while they were cleaning.

Isamu paused his sweeping when he reached the entrance of the restaurant and looked out at the ground. "It's only a drizzle now. Hurry up before it falls harder."

They took this into consideration and hurriedly finished up the last of their chores. Isamu then locked up the restaurant. "Have a safe trip home. Sayonara," he bid them farewell and then they watched as he ran out into the drizzle in the direction of the parking lot.

They stood under the awning of the little restaurant and watched the raindrops slowly paint the ground.

"Are you ready to go home?" she asked him, keeping her eyes focused on the view in front of them.

Did he want to go home to the same empty room again?

"No," he said truthfully.

She laughed softly. "Me neither."

The sky was turning a dark grey and a memory was stirring inside of Tohno. His breathing slowed, almost stopping as he tried to catch the memory, but it was gone suddenly, disappearing like an elusive dream.

"Let's take a walk," Tohno blurted out. He didn't exactly wait for Kanae to agree, but stepped out of the awning. He turned his head to his right side and saw that she had already caught up with him. She had pulled her hood of her orange jacket up to cover her head. He found it strange that she didn't say anything about the absence of an umbrella, but he decided it was better not to break the placid mood of the moment.

When they reached an intersection, Tohno made a rash decision and took the right. He kept walking with Kanae keeping up next to him. The rain intensified until the drizzle was replaced with fat raindrops. He blinked too fast and for a split second, the raindrops looked like snow to him. The same feeling from earlier came back but this time, the memories were unfurling at a feverish pace.

"Takaki-kun..." a voice whispered into his mind. He suddenly remembered the sound of a girl crying over the phone in the back of his mind.

Tohno reached up with his left hand to massage his forehead.

"Tohno-kun?" Kanae watched him worriedly.

He turned to Kanae, but his eyes roamed the distance behind her. A snow covered field replaced the streets and buildings. A boy and a girl were running across it, their footsteps leaving behind traces in the snow. His hands had felt cold, numb even from the snow. The lips of the girl beneath his and later on, the warmth of the girl's body leaning against his.

Kanae shook his shoulder. "Tohno-kun!"

"Huh?" He blinked twice, his eyes narrowing slightly as if he was waking up from a dream, and then focused his gaze on Kanae.

"What's happening to you?"

Tohno opened his mouth and the words came out fast. "We used to talk about books all the time." He started walking at a swift speed.

"We talked about random things. How fast the clouds fall. How fast cherry blossoms fell." He couldn't stop what he was saying, and the words fell out now like hidden secrets, hushed and fast. "Do you know the pace at which cherry blossoms fall?" Tohno didn't wait for Kanae to respond. "Five centimeters per second. She liked cherry blossoms."

He stopped walking and to his surprise, he saw that the bars prevented him from walking any father. They were the bars to a train crossing. It was the very same train crossing from a few years ago.

At this, he laughed huskily. "Or maybe she didn't like cherry blossoms the best. I just remember her when I see those flowers." His eyes fell to the drenched floor. "The rain... it looks like so much like... snow."

He reached out with a shaking hand and turned his palm facing the dark clouds above. The rain fell into his cupped palm. "I couldn't stop thinking about that day in the past. I don't know if I want to keep remembering or not."

"Tohno-kun..." Kanae moved closer to his side.

She swallowed hard and forced herself to say it. "You care for someone who doesn't care for you!" Her voice trembled. "But," she looked away. "I'm the same."

"That's not... that's..." Somewhere along the way, he had forgotten that Kanae was capable of speaking her mind. "That's not true," he whispered.

The silence lapsed over them.

He ignored the lump in his throat. "I... I'm sorry."

Kanae turned to him and she saw that his hair was plastered to his face, wet from the rain. Her chest tightened. He was so alluring; his eyes and his soul, she loved all these parts of him. "I'm sorry too," she said. "I didn't mean to say all that..." She cleared her throat uncomfortably.

"Yeah."

"But it's alright, right?" She smiled sadly up at him. "It's fine if that person doesn't care for me back."

Her eyes were drawing him in. They were sad, sorrowful, but wistful, reminding Tohno of himself. He followed the trail of a raindrop as it splattered the side of her face and rolled down, ending at the side of her lips. He was conscious of the space between them again and for some strange reasons, he wanted to close the gap.

Tohno placed both hands on her shoulder. She was so warm, a bright steady flame. And he was craving that flame, the heat and the want, desired it to drive out the hollow loneliness of the night.

He had a faint premonition that something was going to change.

"I care," Tohno said.

He watched Kanae's eyes light up. Why had the words come out so easily?

Chapter Notes:

(1) Sencha is broiled tea. It is a common, everyday tea in Japan with a needle-shaped appearance and dark green color.

(2) Kare Raisu... well, it's curry rice. It's inexpensive and is found easily, usually around train stations.

Author Notes:

So how was this chapter~? I hope it was satisfying or at least... an interesting read, haha.

Oh and thank you for the last chapter reviews! Read and let me know your thoughts! If you have anything you want to see, drop me a suggestion! I'll think about it and try it out. I wish everyone a happy day.

Next up: Akari and Yuuchi.