Chie carefully observed the cream-colored house across from the gray one. The window of the cream house aligned perfectly with the window of the gray one. As she moved closer, she noticed a nameplate on the mailbox that read: Nishii. This was the house she was looking for.

She took a few deep breaths and adjusting her hat to avoid drawing attention, before ringing the doorbell. As she waited, she silently prayed that Fujiwara-san, whom she believed was inside the grey house at this moment, wouldn't spot her.

After a brief pause, the front door was opened by a woman in her mid-forties. She was casually dressed in a thick cotton blouse, and Chie quickly recognized her.

Auntie from Tokyo.

"Good morning," Chie greeted warmly, inclining her head. "Does Nakano Haruki reside at this address?"

The woman responded with a friendly smile. "Yes, he does."

"I'm Maruyama, his friend from campus."

"Wow, Maruyama-san, right?" The woman's smile widened as she approached her. "It's been a while. Do you still remember me?"

"Of course, Nishii-san. You look well."

"Ah, not really. I am getting old. You look even more beautiful," Nishii-san nodded, visibly pleased. "Haru mentioned that you spent the last two years in Osaka with your family."

"Yes, indeed. I live in a student dormitory near campus now."

"What a small world!" Nishii-san commented casually, gesturing for Chie to enter. "Please, come in. I've been anticipating Maruyama-san's visit since Haru told me you two are classmates in the uni."

"My apologies for any inconvenience."

"No need to apologize. You're right on time, I've just prepared some dango."

Chie offered another polite bow before stepping inside. Nishii-san gave her a pair of guest slippers and escorted her to the living room. Chie brought along some taiyaki *(they were on sale, so she purchased six pieces). Nishii-san expressed her gratitude and briefly retreated to the corridor, before returning with tea and three skewers of dango.

"Please don't trouble yourself, Nishii-san."

"It's not a bother at all. Haru is out shopping, but he'll back shortly. Please, enjoy while you wait." She also took a seat across from Chie. "Does Haru know that you're coming?"

"Oh, actually, today we had plans to go on a trip to Odaiba. We promised to catch up at the station, but I thought maybe I could also stop by here."

"Wow, that sounds really exciting. Haru hasn't mentioned it to me yet."

"Would you like to join us?"

The woman burst into laughter. "Ah, you're being silly," she said, waving her hand. "No, I'll rest at home and take a hot bath later. Young people like you should enjoy life. Midori often tells me that you two hung out a lot back in Yoshino."

"Yes, Mrs. Nakano often invites me when we visit Haru's father in Fukuoka. During the summer holidays, we and some classmates also often stop by Kyoto or Osaka. We prefer traveling to the South because the places are more interesting, and the train tickets are also cheaper." Chie was forced to stop because Nishii-san slid the teacup towards her, signalling her to take a sip. "Does Nishii-san still stop by Yoshino often?"

"Maybe not this year," she replied. "I'm planning to go to Yokohama in a few weeks. That's my hometown, by the way."

"I didn't know that. I thought you're from Tokyo. Have a pleasant journey."

"Thank you. You too, enjoy today's trip, okay?"

Chie wondered how Nishii-san would react if he told her how Haru had been avoiding him for the past few days. In class, Haru doesn't even want to sit near her anymore, all because Chie peeked at the story Haru wrote the other day. Such a overreaction. Chie couldn't stop thinking about it. She was tempted to tell Nishii-san, just to see Haru got scolded.

There was the sound of the front door opening, and someone saying "I'm home."

Nishii-san stood up. "Ah, that's him."

Chie nodded, her heart pounding. Seated upright on the bright orange guest sofa, she found her mind in disarray. She didn't tell the truth to Nishii-san about the Odaiba trip. Chie woke up this morning, she got a message from Haru, canceling their outing. She tried to call him for an explanation, but Haru didn't reply. That's why Chie decided to come here.

Not long after, Haru entered the living room. He was still in casual home clothes, holding some plastic shopping bags. "Nishii-san, yuzu* is on sale, so I bought two kilos. I also got mitsuba*; it tastes good when sprinkled on—" he stopped, his gaze fixing on Chie. "What are you doing here?"

"Haru," Nishii-san said, her tone rebuking. "Have you forgotten your trip to Odaiba with Maruyama-san? Look, she brought us some taiyaki."

Haru narrowed his eyes at Chie, the corners of his lips curling downwards. Chie immediately felt like she didn't belong in this living room. She quickly gulped down her tea (luckily wasn't boiling hot) and put the empty cup on the table.

"Wow, I'm so thirsty! Sorry I finished the tea!"

Haru stepped forward to take Chie's cup. "I'll refill it."

"No, I'll do it." Nishii-san hurriedly snatched the glass. "Haru, Maruyama-san has been waiting for you."

Haru frowned. From the his expression, Chie knew her best friend was angry. They waited for Nishii-san to disappear into the corridor.

"I never told you about this address," Haru started. "How did you find it?"

"I'll tell you, but only if you promise not to be angry."

"Depends on your answer."

"This is kind of a long story; you might get bored."

"Just tell me, Chie!"

"Alright. I saw Fujiwara-san yesterday evening. And I kinda, uhm... traced him."

"You did what?"

"I saw Fujiwara-san walking from the park in front of my dormitory. I waved at him, but he didn't see me and just walked away. Or maybe he pretended not to see me; I just realized that now. You once mentioned that Fujiwara-san is quite moody, right?"

"Stick to the point, please."

"Okay, okay. Geez, why are you so grumpy? So, yeah, I noticed that he was holding a paper bag with the Shiru Café logo. This morning, I went there. The café was still closed, but a guy was cleaning the windows. I asked him about Fujiwara-san. He said Fujiwara-san works there, so I asked if he somewhat knows where Fujiwara-san lives. I know your house is right across from his. That kind cleaner guy gave me the address, and here I am now."

Haru slapped his face and groaned. "I can't belive you."

"I didn't do anything weird, Haru."

"You were snooping again, Chie."

"No, I did what any other regular girl would do if she was looking for an address: using her brain. You suddenly canceled our plan to Odaiba. I deserved an explanation. If you did that to another girl, you'd get slapped, you know?"

Haru studied her for a while before giving her a lame answer. "You can go home now. I have to finish some assignments."

"We're classmates. I got the same assignments as you did."

"Yes, but we didn't work together. I haven't finished mine."

"You've cleared out your schedule for our Odaiba trip today!" Chie persisted. She hated it when Haru started acting mysterious like this. "You've been avoiding me!"

Haru remained silent.

"Look," Chie sighed. "I came here to apologize. I was wrong for snooping around. I won't do it again." She curled her back and gave him a deep bow. "Please forgive me."

Chie could hear Nishii-san's footsteps entering the room and bringing another glass of juice. She put down the glass on the table and skittered away.

"Just get up." Haru grabbed Chie's arms and pushed her upward gently. "No need to apologize. I've had a lot on my mind lately. I apologize too for avoiding you."

Chie looked up and gazed at Haru. Suddenly, her ears felt warm.

"I met Takahashi yesterday," said Haru. He released his grip and sank into the sofa. "At Fujiwara-san's café. She goes to Chuo. You still remember her?"

Of course she did. Chie would never forget Miho Takahashi. She nicknamed that girl "The Crazy Ex-Girlfriend." In tenth grade, Takahashi routinely bragged in front of the whole school that Haru was her boyfriend, even though they had broken up since middle school graduation. The girl followed Haru everywhere at school like a lost kitten, signed-up to all the clubs that Haru joined, stalked him in the canteen, and took the same way home as Haru even though her house was at the other end of town. Thanks to her, Haru was bullied; people mocked him as ungrateful for not choosing the beautiful, sweet, and caring Takahashi, even though they didn't know it was Takahashi who was acting crazy. Chie defended Haru, but that only drove Takahashi even crazier. She once pushed Chie on the stairs until she almost slipped, cracked rotten eggs in her shoe locker, and spilled a can of red paint on her sports uniform.

"You texted me about her after I moved to Osaka," Chie said as she sat next to Haru. "You said that girl had stopped following you."

"I don't think she came here to follow me, though. She thought I went to Kindai in Osaka." Haru hugged himself and let out a heavy breath. "She asked for my new number, and I gave it to her."

"Ooh. The Crazy Ex-Girlfriend strikes again."

"She said she just wants to keep in contact. She has a new boyfriend now."

"That's good." Chie took a skewer of dango and swallowed everything at once. "Did you tell her about me?"

"I did. Because she asked. Stop talking when your mouth is full."

"You know you're a grown-up adult, right?" She snapped. "Not a kid anymore. You can lie; nobody's gonna smack your head."

"I couldn't say no because Takahashi was very polite."

"Please don't tell me you still have feelings for her because if you do, I swear to the gods I'm gonna stick this dango up your nose!"

"I don't. I was talking to Fujiwara-san when she showed up. Takahashi invited us to go out with her and her partner sometime."

"You mean like a double date?"

"I guess."

"Is this what's bothering you?"

"Yeah, and there are other things too."

"Like what? Maybe I can help. I insist on helping."

"Well, if you come across a news story about the death of a high school boy in Misawa, Aomori from three years ago, please let me know."

She couldn't trust her ears; she had to turn to Haru. "Say what?"

Haru took a deep breath, then stood up. "Never mind," he said. "We're leaving."

"Excuse me?" A flash of pain tugged at Chie's heart, like a fishbone piercing her gums. "Did you just say you're looking for a dead guy? Who is he? Is this some kind of long-lost relative search mission, like the ones on TV?"

"No. this is serious. I don't know his name; all I know is that three years ago he lived in Misawa, Aomori. That's the problem. Something happened to him, and he's dead now," said Haru in a final tone. He took Chie's bag that was lying beside the chair and handed it to her. "I'll go get change. We're going to Odaiba now."

"Haah? You're so weird! I don't get you. What's going on?"

"Please, Chie. Just say 'yes,'" Haru said in a pleading yet insistent tone. "We've been friends since childhood, right?"

---

*taiyaki: A popular Japanese fish-shaped pastry, typically filled with red bean paste, custard, chocolate, or sweet potato. The name "taiyaki" means "baked sea bream" in Japanese, because of the snack's fish-like shape.

*yuzu: Japanese lemon, commonly used in Japanese cuisine to improve flavors.

*mitsuba: Japanese wild parsley.