Today, in social studies, the entire period is devoted to working on finishing our presentations to the class. Himura is sitting backward in her chair, drumming lightly on Shimura's desk with her fingers. "We should do a rap."

Shimura stares at her. "What? Are you crazy?"

"No. I think we can do it."

"There's no way I could do that."

Himura thumps out a rapid series of beats, ending with a flourish. "I heard you get extra points for doing some sort of performance."

"Let's just do a display. We'll be much less likely to embarrass ourselves."

Himura slumps on Shimura's desk and lays her head on her folded arms. "But that's so much work."

Shimura sighs. "Perhaps you can do the rap. I'll concentrate on the report."

"Can you make it rhyme?"

Shimura slaps the back of Himura's head with her notepad. They are still arguing when lunchtime comes around.

"How are we doing?" I ask Kyoko.

"I've finished the report."

The whole thing? I feel both surprised and a little guilty. "Good. Now we just have to decide how we're going to present it."

"Already taken care of."

"Ah. Good...er, what's the plan?"

"I know a guy in the visual media club who's agreed to put together a video for us. I'll do the voice over."

"So, at this point we have to—what—plan the video?"

"I already gave him a storyboard for the video, which I made in PowerPoint, along with all the necessary facts. He's having some friends in the photography club round up some photos we can use."

I shrug. "OK. I guess it's pretty much done, then."

Kyoko smiles at me indulgently. "I told you I'd take care of it."

I go back to eating lunch and watching Kurosawa. He's sitting at Shizuku's desk, eating and discussing their presentation. I blink...again. Surely my eyes are playing tricks on me. Kurosawa acting like a nice guy? Shizuku chatting with him like a girl? It just doesn't seem right.

"What do you think Michi-kun?"

I jerk my attention back to Kyoko. She looks at me expectantly. I glance at Himura and Shimura, searching for a clue as to what she might be talking about, but they are lost in discussion. "Huh?"

"Shin-chan has invited us to go karaoke with her and some friends next Saturday. That's an off day. Do you want to go?

"Uh, sure."

Kyoko interrupts Himura. "OK. Count us in."  She looks back at me, then over my shoulder at Shizuku and Kurosawa. "You know who we should also invite?"

"Who?"

"Shizuku-san and Kurosawa-san."

"Eh?"

"Don't you think those two have been pretty close lately?"

"Kurosawa-san has always liked Shizuku-san," Shimura says.

"Maybe if they both come, they'll grow even closer."

Shimura examines them with a knowing smile.

Himura frowns. "But will Shizuku-san come? She doesn't have anything to do with the rest of the class."

Kyoko turns a crooked smile on me. "I bet she'll come if Michi-kun asks, and if she comes, I know Kurosawa-san will."

"OK. Ask them," Himura tells me.

I agree, but I decide to wait until the end of the day to talk to Shizuku. Neither of us is on cleaning duty today, so Kyoko gathers her books at the end of last period, preparing to leave. "I've got some pages to review for the yearbook." Kyoko glances at Shizuku then gives me a smile. "Come to the clubroom afterward and you can walk me home."

"Sure." I gather my things slowly, waiting for the rest of my classmates to leave so I can talk to Shizuku privately. Kurosawa seems to have the same idea. He approaches her first.

"Shizuku-san, may I walk you home?"

She shakes her head. "I have to work."

"Oh. I didn't know you had a job. Then, perhaps I can walk you to your job?"

"It would be best if you didn't go there."

"Kurosawa!" Daisuke, who is from classroom 1-A down the hall, sticks his head through the door. "Hurry up. We've got practice today. If we're late, the senpais will take it out on us."

"Right. Coming." Kurosawa, calls out over his shoulder then turns back to Shizuku. "Maybe another time?"

"Maybe."

I watch him leave. I rise, shoulder my bookbag and hesitate. It seems strange to think of inviting a shinigami to go out to karaoke with friends. It sounds like the setup for a bad joke. "Shizuku-san, do you have a moment?"

Shizuku looks around the classroom. Four other students seem to be taking their time leaving. "I thought you did not want us to speak at school."

"Yes. Well, there's been a development."

"Oh?"

"Kyoko-chan and the others are planning on going to karaoke next Saturday. They'd like you and Kurosawa-san to come too."

Shizuku packs her bookbag. She doesn't look at me as she does this. "What do you want?"

"I think, perhaps, you should come."

She pauses with an unreadable expression. I fear she's going to ask why. What can I say? Because Kyoko suggested it?

"Very well."

"I'll tell you the time and place when I find out."

"OK." She picks up her bag and walks out.

Something about her manner bugs me. I can't put my finger on it, but it irritates me.

I go to the soccer field where Kurosawa is standing along the edge watching the senpais practice. "Kurosawa-san!"

He sees me and approaches cautiously. "What do you want?"

"A bunch of us are going to karaoke this Saturday and the girls wanted to invite Kurosawa-san and Shizuku-san to come with us."

"Both of us? Why?"

I shrug. "Some of them think that Kurosawa-san and Shizuku-san are getting along together. I guess they want to support you."

He tries to hide it, but his expression says he is both pleased and surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"OK."

"Very well, I'll give you the time and place once I find out."

"Alright."

I turn to go. I'm relieved things seem to be going well, but I'm a little worried this can't continue. I hope we are setting up a greater problem to come.

"Ametsuchi!"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

* * *

Saturday afternoon, Kyoko, Shimura and I meet outside of the school's main gate. Himura shows up a few minutes later with a couple of friends. One is a tall guy with a boyish face, the other is a short skinny girl who looks like she could still be a junior high student.

"Sorry we're late," Himura says. "Everyone, this is Ryouta Akiyama who played on the boys basketball team at my junior high school and this is Yuuma Kagome who was in my homeroom all three years. Ryou-kun is in class 1-F and Yuu-chan is in 1D next to us."

We all welcome them and introduce ourselves.

"So where are we going?" Kyoko asks as the conversation settles.

"Tsukino's" Himura says. "I'll show you the way."

We follow her to the ramen shop. Unlike most ramen shops, which are generally small "hole-in-a-wall" type of places where people stand in line to eat and run, the Tsukino's started out as a proper restaurant. Then the owner, Yasu Tsukino, added tonkatsu ramen to the menu using an old family recipe. It became so popular it almost took over the menu. The ramen is cheap and near a good karaoke place, so lots of Atarachi high students eat there. The nice thing about it is that Tsukino's also has enough space for tables, though our group is large enough to fill two of them.

I sit next to Kyoko, across from Kurosawa. Shizuku sits across from Kyoko, next to Kurosawa who struggles to suppress a goofy grin. "Does everyone know what they want?" I ask when it is our turn to order. Though Tsukino's specializes in tonkatsu, they do serve other food .Everyone nods except Shizuku. "I've never had ramen."

"What? Never?" Kyoko says.

"I think that came after my time."

Kyoko and I exchange puzzled looks. Ramen had come to Japan from China well over a century ago.

"What do you mean?" Kyoko asked.

Shizuku frowns thoughtfully. "I don't know." She turns to Kurosawa. "What is best?"

"That's easy, Tonkatsu."

"Shoyu," Kyoko says at the same time.

Kurosawa looks scandalized. "Tonkatsu has a much richer flavor."

"It's much too oily." Kyoko sniffs. "It also smells."

"Smells good, you mean."

Shizuku cranes her neck, looking around at the other diners.

"Tonkatsu is also this restaurant's specialty," Kurosawa adds.

"OK," Shizuku says.

We order our food. When it arrives, we dive in with a hasty 'Itadakimasu.'

Shizuku watches us a moment before closing her eyes and leaning over the bowl to smell her food. Something suspiciously like a faint smile quirks the corners of her mouth. We are all slurping away when she picks up her chopsticks and takes a bite of noodles. Her eyes widen and soon she is shoveling it in and slurping the soup along with the rest of us.

While Akiyama and the girls laugh and chat away at the next table, we plow through our bowls, though Shizuku slurps the last of her soup while we're only half finished. She looks around the table as if searching for more and Kurosawa orders her another bowl. She chooses shoyu this time, finishing it at the same time we finish our first bowls. She leans back with a satisfied smile. Kyoko raises an eyebrow and shares an amused look with me. I shrug. I have no idea what's going on.

Afterward, we move on to the karaoke box. Himura, Shimura and Kagome take the lead, singing several popular songs before Akiyama manages to talk Himura into singing with him. Afterward, not to be outdone, Kyoko drags me up, pushes a microphone in my hand and forces me to join her in a couple of songs. Fortunately, everyone is relaxed and laughing so it's not too embarrassing. During our performance, Akiyama scoots up close to Himura and stretches an arm across the back of the bench.

Several rounds of singing follow before Kagome asks Shizuku if she wants to sing. Shizuku declines, but Shimura continues to encourage her to join in, suggesting songs to her. Growing hot and thirsty, we take a break and order drinks.

By the time the staff brings them, Shizuku surprises us and accepts the microphone from Shimura. She sings a series of old enka songs about loss, grief and death in a perfectly modulated warble. I watch her, stunned not by her singing, but by the faintly nervous expression on her face as she does so. I never imagined her even considering another's opinion, much less being nervous.

We grow tired and silly, laughing at everything as the evening goes on. Akiyama's hands keep finding their way onto Himura who laughs playfully while making a show of fending him off. Even Shizuku seems to be enjoying herself, watching us with a faint smile.

Perhaps the impossible might just happen. Kyoko's suggestion to invite Shizuku might have cracked open a door that could allow Kurosawa through and save her life.