Finally, the Kotori Obake and the children had been appeased. They were back at the museum, tired after such an overwhelming day. Sakuma and Officer Mochizuki had just gone back, and it was just Shiori and Suga left. Finally, some alone time.
Shiori wondered what to say to Suga. There were so many things she wanted to say. She wanted to know how he had been after she left. She wanted to chat about the past and relive memories together. She wanted to see all the glowstone things he made. She wanted to ask him if he still liked flowers. But she held back. It's been a long time after all. Maybe Suga didn't want to talk to her like that anymore. Besides, she brought him enough trouble already. He deserved a good rest after everything. In the end, she settled for leaving first, and coming back the next day to sort things out.
"Um, Suga-kun. I'll be going back after sorting out the paperwork for this museum...I'm going first..." Shiori turned, and headed for the front door.
Suga panicked. She's leaving! He had a small inner struggle about what to do. He wanted to talk about things, the time between then and now that had been lost. He wanted to know about her, how she had changed, how she was doing. He wanted to keep in touch. He wanted to be with her. Yet, he well knew that she had her own life to lead. Unlike him, she probably had her own friends, and perhaps he didn't mean much to her anymore. But this was his only chance...he had to-
"Shii...-chan."
For a moment, the both of them froze in place, surprised. Suga's face reddened instantly, flustered at how deep his voice had become, while Shiori started giggling.
"Yes? What is it, Suga-kun?"
Suga took out his memo pad and pen to write. He wasn't going to risk the embarrassment again.
There's a lot I'd like to talk about.
Shiori stared at the note in her hand, and her heart skipped a beat. Smiling, she replied,
"Hh...yeah! There's a lot I'd like to say too!"