-4-
"Hey, Ken-kun, are you doing anything today?" Keiko asked, slumping down on the couch next to the child.
"H-huh? Oh, Keiko-san. No, I'm not doing anything in particular today. Why do you ask?" he looked up at her innocently, a blank look on his face.
The teenager smiled at him, feeling a little bit tempted to reach out and grab his cheeks. He always spoke like such an adult- more so than Junpei, that is.
"There's a movie marathon playing at Port Island Station. Today, they're playing action movies! So I thought you might want to go with me" she said, playing with her headphones nonchalantly.
She may not have noticed it, but his heart jumped at the chance.
"I-I'd love to! Oh, u-uh… I mean; of course I'll go with you, Keiko-san."
She laughed softly at his sudden, but brief outburst of childishness and nodded. "Great! Then let's go!"
On the way to Iwatodai Station, Ken felt his heart threatening to burst out of his chest.
His fists were clenched at his sides as he walked beside her, trying to think of the perfect conversation starter. He looked up at her face, almost blushing at the sudden eye contact they made.
He immediately looked away, making her laugh slightly. He hated making her laugh at him like that.
"…So, Keiko-san…" he cleared his throat.
"Yeah?" she mumbled, her voice a little louder than it should've been thanks to the mid-volume music that she often listened to.
"Uh…What kind of music do you like?" he blurted out without really thinking. He smiled at himself proudly.
"Hm? Well, I like anything, really" she shrugged, removing her headphones to listen to him.
"But I really love rock music" she laughed, "I know it's sort of a boyish thing, but… What can I say? It's a guilty pleasure, I guess."
"Oh. I wouldn't have thought that" he stated.
She looked down at him and smiled her usual smile. "I like rock music because it's kind of outrageous. The things that the artists say in their songs vary so much that it's sort of fun to listen to the next one. My dad and I used to listen to it together all the time when I was little" she sighed, feeling nostalgic.
Ken bowed his head slightly. "Oh… Do you…uh…miss him?" he muttered. "…I miss my mom a lot."
Keiko saw his gloomy expression and reached down to take his hand.
He suddenly breathed in sharply, flicking his head to face her again, a deep blush on his face.
"You don't mind, do you?" she stuck her tongue out at him briefly.
He swallowed and shook his head, almost violently.
They continued to walk hand-in-hand. Iwatodai Station was almost in sight now.
"Yeah, I miss him a lot. But, hey, I've got my rock music to remind me of him" she joked.
Realising she should change the subject, she looked to the local advertisements for advice.
"So, you like Featherman R, right? Isn't he awesome?"
Why wasn't this a dream?
Why couldn't he wake up and go to the lounge to find her talking with Yukari and Fuuka about the newest fashion trends and boys like he so often did?
Why couldn't they go to the movies together ever again?
It just wasn't fair!
The tears had eventually stopped coming, but he feared that the painful thoughts of her would never stopped.
Ken clenched the handle of his mug tightly, taking another sip of his black coffee.
"You really are like an old man. Come on, add some milk!" he remembered she'd often laugh at him.
He shook the thoughts off, shakily breathing in.
"Yukari-san?" he looked up to the teenager sitting across from him.
She had already begun studying for her university entrance exams, even though she was barely a senior. Ken had wondered whether studying kept her mind off of Keiko's death, if only for a little bit.
"Hm? What's wrong?" she asked, rather bluntly.
"Oh, uh… I was just wondering…" No. He shouldn't bring up Keiko. That would just be selfish.
"…I was just wondering if there was any milk left… I could go get some…"
She raised an eyebrow and shrugged, turning her attention to her studies again.
…She'd also been a lot moodier lately.
He laughed under his breath as a certain memory crossed his mind.
He remembered sitting with Keiko and the others as she tried her best impressions of everyone in the dorm to try and cheer everyone up. Her impression of Koromaru was his favourite.
He looked down into the dark brown liquid, realising that maybe it was a little too strong for him.