On his next day off, Saionji rented a white Toyota sedan and drove to Ohtori. Setting foot on the campus, he was taken with how little the place had changed. Sunlight still shone off of the white stone walls and the air still smelled of cut grass and, of course, roses. The old walkways, the old buildings, exerted an intoxicating pull, an invitation to stray once more along the pathways that he knew so well, to come home.

Yet Saionji found that he did not really want to do this. It was a reluctance born of fear, but he could not tell which fear: that he would find everything eerily preserved, or that the places he had thought he knew would be so altered as to prove that he had never really known them in the first place.

Although he had no clear indication of where Touga would be—couldn't be entirely certain that he was even here, in fact—Saionji was fairly sure that the Chairman's office would be a good place to start, and so set out for that unmistakable landmark, the tower which soared over the surrounding Academy. He hadn't gotten far when he noticed a pretty young woman, too old and too well dressed to be a student, who was beckoning him over. He approached her, and she smiled in greeting.

"I believe you would be Saionji-san?"

He nodded.

"And you're here to see my husband?" She held up one slender hand, showing off an exquisite gold band.

Saionji's mind reeled. "Your… husband?"

He supposed that it wasn't impossible for Touga to have gotten married, though he'd never really been the type. But then, being married didn't mean that he was faithful. In fact, it meant that he most certainly wasn't.

The young woman laughed sweetly, and Saionji felt his throat tighten with guilt.

"My husband, the Chairman! We've been married for six years, but it still seems odd to say that."

So, she was married to Akio. Well, that wasn't much better, really, but Saionji was still relieved that at least he wasn't involved in her misery.

"So you must be…"

"Ohtori Kanae." She held her hand out once more, and he took it, politely.

She'd been in school with them, Saionji remembered, though the bare fact of it was all that he could recall about her.

"I believe there's been a bit of a misunderstanding," he began apologetically. "I'm here to see someone else, actually, an… old friend, from school."

She looked worried. "But… Akio's been expecting you. He told me to meet you here. Please, if you'd just come with me, I'm sure that the Chairman will be able to help you find your friend."

Reluctant as he was to face Akio again, Saionji realized that such a meeting was probably inevitable. Hadn't he himself been headed to the Chairman's office when he first saw Kanae? What's more, he didn't really want to upset this young woman, and she seemed so distressed at even a hint of refusal. So, with a word of consent, he followed her into the heart of Ohtori.

"You know, he married into the family, the Chairman," she said, trying to make small talk.

When she found that Saionji had nothing to contribute, she continued. "My parents always loved him. He started as acting Chairman when my father became ill, before we were even engaged."

She smiled, absently, as if remembering some happier time. "I've taken up teaching here. It's nice to be involved. Though," she hurried to add, "I could never replace him, he does such an amazing job."

She was silent, then, as they walked past the ornate greenhouse and a handful of students, who regarded the pair as one might regard a bit of statuary. Kanae spoke once more when she and Saionji entered the elevator at the base of the tower.

"Akio will be in the planetarium. He spends so much time there. He says that he'll name a star after me, some day, or a comet." She twisted her hands together. "To be honest, I'm a little bit glad that he hasn't, yet. It's embarrassing to think of him doing that for me."

"Really?" Saionji asked, without thinking. "If a man found a new star, wouldn't he always want to name it for his wife?"

She looked over at him, eyes wide with uncertainty. "Would he?"

Then the elevator chimed and the two turned, startled, as the doors slid open. They stepped out quickly, not looking at one another.

"Akio?" Kanae called into the dim, cavernous space. "I've brought the man you wanted to see."

The Chairman's voice sounded from somewhere on the far side of the room. "Thank you, Kanae, my love."

Kanae gestured to indicate that they should proceed, and she and Saionji made their way over to the pair of white leather couches where Akio was waiting. When he came fully into sight, Saionji realized with a jolt that the Chairman wasn't alone. Sitting beside him, with an air of practiced nonchalance, was Touga.

If Saionji had thought, at the engagement party, that Touga hadn't changed, he'd been wrong. There was a hollowness to his former friend's gaze, and his customary gallant informality seemed empty of even a shred of sincerity. This, then, was what it meant for Touga to return to Ohtori.

Akio stood as Saionji and Kanae approached, but Touga remained seated. Rushing to her husband's side, Kanae wrapped her hands around his arm and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. When he failed to reciprocate the show of affection, she faltered and then withdrew.

Akio gave her a condescending smile. "Well then, Kanae, I won't trouble you any further. I'll see you later on."

"Later on…" she repeated, and gave a weak smile before turning to Saionji. "It's been very nice to meet you."

"And you as well." He would have bowed out of respect, but being in Akio's presence put him too much on edge.

For a moment, Kanae seemed as if she wanted to say something more, but then she looked away and hurried off.

"Now," Akio fixed Saionji with a predatory look, "how may I be of service to you?"

Saionji watched Touga fixedly, but the latter refused to so much as glance in his direction, instead continuing to stare ahead blindly. "It's not you that I have business with, sir."

Akio made a show of surveying the scene, one eyebrow raised incredulously. "Well then, I'm sure our resident Academic Liaison Officer will be happy to show you to his office." The Chairman gestured to Touga. "But if there's anything you need, I'll be here."

Perhaps on command, Touga rose and swept past Saionji, headed towards the elevator. Squaring his shoulders, Saionji followed. He faltered and glanced back at Akio, only to find the Chairman smirking at him. He looked away quickly.

As Touga and Saionji descended in the elevator, neither said a word. Touga kept his eyes fixed straight ahead and gave no sign that he was aware of Saionji's presence, and Saionji contented himself to merely wait and watch.

When the elevator slowed to a halt, the doors opened to reveal a spacious office furnished in sleek leather and polished wood. It was not decorated with the same minimalism as the rest of the rooms that Saionji had seen in the tower, and it made a somewhat ostentatious, if tasteful, show of wealth.

They exited the elevator, and Touga strode over to a heavy mahogany desk. He pulled a top drawer open, and took out a pack of cigarettes and a book of matches. He pulled out a cigarette and made to light it.

"You shouldn't do that," Saionji said, on impulse.

Touga fixed him with a harsh look. "Really?"

He lit the cigarette, inhaled deeply, and dropped the match, burning, to the floor. Saionji felt his breath catch as he watched the match fall, but thankfully, it sputtered out quickly, not even leaving a mark. As he looked up, he saw that Touga had also been focused on the match, and that he wore an expression of mild disappointment.

Touga settled himself on the desk, half sitting on it, half leaning against it. "So, I assume it was me you wanted to see, old friend?"

"Of course."

Touga took a drag on his cigarette, then blew out a long stream of pale smoke. "And what did you want to see me about?"

"The note you left on the hotel room mirror."

"Really?" He feigned surprise. "I thought it was fairly self-explanatory."

No, Saionji though, it wasn't the note. All the note had signified was that Touga was back at Ohtori. So now, speaking to Touga in Ohtori, the note was rendered redundant.

"I know what it means for you to be here," he began.

"Oh, by all means, tell me how much you understand about my life," Touga interjected bitterly. "You always were so good at that."

"You never really left Ohtori. Akio's been leading you around like a dog this whole time."

Touga got up from the desk and moved to press his body against Saionji's.

"You have no idea," he whispered in his former friend's ear.

Saionji shoved Touga away, and the latter backed off, smiling cruelly, the look in his eyes saying clearly that this was something he would gladly hold over Saionji's head.

"Then what are you doing here?" Saionji asked, trying to regain his composure. He was sure that the advance was not genuine. Touga never would have gotten so close if he'd thought that Saionji would react in any other manner.

"Didn't you hear the Chairman?" Touga's tone was dry, dead. "I'm the resident Academic Liaison Officer for my family's company. My connections to Ohtori made me perfect for the position."

"You mean your relationship with Akio?"

Touga narrowed his eyes. "I thought we had agreed that was a subject about which you know nothing." He took another drag on his cigarette.

Saionji didn't reply. Something about the way his former friend held the cigarette to his lips, at once casual and knowing, made him want to look away.

"So, what? You're here to rescue me? To offer me a car ride out of here?" Touga paused, though it wasn't likely that he really wanted and answer.

"Don't you want to get away?"

"I can leave any time. I wouldn't even have to walk, or beg a ride from someone with a rented car."

They fell silent, glaring at one another, before Touga said, "Well, it's been good to see you, old friend. You should come by more often. But I'm afraid that I'm rather pressed for time at the moment."

"Of course." Saionji turned and left. He half-expected Touga to call him back, but no such thing happened.