Chapter Four: Through Watchful Eyes

The next morning, Akio woke up five minutes before his alarm. Knowing he wouldn't be needing its services any longer, he shut it off, then sat up and stretched upwards. "It's going to be Day 2 for Kana-chan and Haruna-chan," he thought. "I wonder if it'll go any better than yesterday." Once satisfied by his stretch and the cracking of a few disgruntled bones, Akio got out of bed and began to get ready for school.

His routine was normally pretty easy. Akio kept his room super organized, with everything stored in its proper unit, on a shelf, or a drawer. His floor was spotless and even the top of his desk looked like a model you'd see in a store. It wasn't like Akio was a neat-freak or anything. He just thought that it was nice to have everything where it belonged.

Among all of his orderly stuff was his uniform, hanging perfectly clean and ironed on the wall next to his closet. Grabbing it, he began to change out of his pajamas, which consisted of a pair of long basketball shorts and a loose black t-shirt. Akio's uniform was naturally nearly identical to the girls' in color, but stylistically it was different.

Opposing the girls' sailor uniform of Iwanai Municipal High School were the guys' suits. The hue of blue matched their opposition, but instead of ribbons and skirts, the males of the school wore a white dress t-shirt and light grey dress pants. When winter came around, a blazer was added. To complete the outfit and indicate their year, they wore colored ties, to which Akio's was currently green.

Straightening his look by tucking in his shirt and adjusting his tie, Akio was rather pleased with the way he looked. He wasn't narcissistic, he just enjoyed the look of his uniform. It was actually one of the reasons he chose to go to his local high school instead of moving away.

So, after his brief moment of admiration, Akio grabbed his bag, double checked to make sure he had everything, and then headed out of his room and down the hall into the kitchen to begin making breakfast. This was all part of the regular routine. Both of his parents had work early in the morning, and with his older sister never awake until two minutes before her college classes were set to start and his younger brother not yet at an age capable of making a reasonable breakfast, the job was left to Akio.

As he fried some eggs and prepared the rice, he heard a door open. "Morning onii-chan," a small boy around the age of 9 said. "Ah, good morning!" Akio said with a smile. Taking a seat at the table, the younger brother named Taichi seemed to still be half-asleep. Akio laughed a little at the sight as Taichi nearly tipped out of his chair before suddenly snapping awake.

Mornings were always like this in the Miyashita household. Happily getting ready while enjoying the company of each other. It was very picturesque. However, some part of Akio found it rather... boring? No, that wasn't quite the right word. Or maybe it was. Regardless, he had found a new enjoyment in his social experiment with his childhood friends. Akio wasn't doing this just for kicks, of course, but it definitely added some spice into his life.

"Oh, that reminds me. I should make sure I don't leave too early. I need to see how Haruna-chan and Kana-chan elect to start the day," he thought to himself. Then, "That sounds kind of creepy, doesn't it?" he added. Before he had gone to bed last night, Akio had been thinking of ways he could keep an eye on both Kanako and Haruna. It had to be in a way that wasn't too lazy, but at the same time wasn't to stalker-y. In the end, the best things he could seem to come up with were following them to and from school and altering his routes that he took to get to different classes.

"This certainly won't be easy," he sighed to himself. "What are you talking about onii-chan?" Taichi asked. "Oh, nothing," Akio said slyly. "Here's your food," he said, setting down a plate in front of Taichi. While he ate, Akio began to wash the dishes, returning to his original train of thought of trying to come up with any other ways to keep Kanako and Haruna's end of the deal in check.

The rest of the morning went by like usual, with some of Taichi's friends coming to pick him up so they could walk together to school. Once Akio saw his brother off, he grabbed his own things and headed out the door.

About halfway to his destination, Akio heard someone call out his name. "AKIOOOO," it rang through the street. The source of the noise was a boy named Eiji Bando. He was taller than Akio and adding to his height was his spiked crimson hair that required a ridiculous amount of gel and hairspray to maintain. Eiji also kept his shirt untucked and his tie loose, claiming that it gave off a 'cool guy' vibe, but Akio doubted that. Also in an effort to keep up that vibe, he had joined the basketball club last year.

"What's up dude?" Eiji said as his normal greeting. "Not much. Same as usual," Akio said pleasantly. "Man, it seems like your life is suuuper simple. Get this, this morning, my mom yelled at me for not finishing my homework, but I did! Talk about makin' assumptions and all that," he moaned. "Well, she's usually right, isn't she?" Akio jested. "Ah whatever. It all gets done and turned in, so who cares?" he said. "That's only because you copy the answers from either me or Souta-kun," Akio laughed.

The two continued chatting on until they reached the school gate where they ran into the aforementioned Souta, full name Souta Yoshinaga. The last of their trio, the boy was very simplistic in appearance, choosing to wear the most ordinary pair of glasses you can find and keeping his hair at buzzcut-length (though if he did grow it out, it'd be black). The only thing that made him stand out were his grades, to which he always ranked in the top ten. However, it seemed that no matter how hard he tried, there was one person he could never seem to pass. That was Michi Fukuhara.

"Good morning both of you," Souta said. "Morning Souta!" Eiji yelled, offering a fist bump. For as simplistic and practical as Souta was, it wasn't like he was a wet blanket. In fact, he went along with Eiji's actions and ideas more often than not. So of course, Souta returned the gesture.

As the two of them went on with their greetings, Akio realized something. "I guess I was still too early for them," he thought. Really, it had always been this way. Akio was the natural early riser, getting ready and arriving with plenty of time wherever he went. Then there was Haruna, who cut it closer, but was still at least punctual. Lastly, there was Kanako, who by this point had a reputation for being late. "I'll just have to try a little harder tomorrow," Akio surmised.

However, as luck would have it, Haruna showed up just as Akio was changing shoes. Once again though, Kanako wasn't with her. "Minus one to Haruna-chan," Akio commented to himself. He thought about going over to talk to her, but decided against it. "Let's just see how things play out."

Akio's plan for the day was pretty simple, considering there were considerable limitations to what he could do to observe his experiment. Once at school, he decided that he would alter the routes he took going to classes such as P.E. or his music elective. With how different his schedule was from the two girls, all he could really do was hope to see them in the hallway. "Kana-chan and Haruna-chan being in different classes doesn't help either..." he sighed. The three were all in different classes, with Haruna in 2-A, Kanako in 2-B and Akio in 2-C. In the end, aside from lunch, there was never a time when they could naturally be together.

"This almost feels impossible," Akio said aloud. "Huh? Akio, didn't you just say yesterday you thought the test would be easy?" Eiji said, confused by his friend's statement. "Ah, whoops. I wasn't listening," Akio said shyly. "C'mon man! You know how I am with tests! Don't freak me out like that!" Eiji whined. "Sorry, sorry," Akio said with a laugh. "Should we head to class then?" The other two boys nodded in agreement.

The first two sessions went by fairly quickly to Akio, and the third had his history test, which he finished easily. Having the extra time now, he leaned back in his chair and gave more thought to his predicament. "Wait a minute," he had a realization. "Don't Haruna-chan and Kana-chan share an elective after this period?"

Akio was right. Just as his schedule differed from those two's, between them, Haruna and Kanako's didn't really match up well either. But, there was one class the two shared: cooking. "It makes sense that Kana-chan took it, but I was surprised when I found out Haruna-chan did too. I wonder what it's like in that class. I bet the teacher has to always make sure they're separated," Akio thought with a laugh.

When the bell rang, Akio grabbed what he needed for his next class and hurried out the door to see if Haruna and Kanako would be together. At first, he saw both of them separately coming out of their classrooms as well. When Kanako noticed he was watching, she looked surprised, then looked at Haruna. It seemed like she wanted to say something to her, but was too afraid to. "Maybe I should say something now," he thought.

As Akio passed by Haruna, he said softly: "Must feel a little lonely without Kana-chan." Continuing to walk, Akio took a glance back to find Haruna frozen in place and Chiyo running into the back of her. "Ow! Haru-chi, what's the deal?" she complained. Then Haruna kept walking as if nothing had happened. "Interesting..." Akio mused.

*****

When lunch came around, Akio went to buy his as usual, with Eiji and Souta trailing behind. "Do you think they'll have yakisoba buns today?" Eiji asked hopefully. "I heard the special was tempura," Souta said, shattering Eiji's hopes. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be good," Akio said in an effort to cheer Eiji up.

In the end, Souta got what he always did, which was a large bowl of ramen. Akio elected to get the tempura special, and, despite his disappointment earlier, Eiji did the same. Looking around the cafeteria, Akio didn't see Haruna or Kanako in sight. "That's right. Haruna-chan always goes to the roof. And as for Kana-chan... she's probably in her classroom," Akio deduced. Knowing two people for so long certainly had its advantages. That's why it wasn't a huge deal that he couldn't watch them constantly. His guesses about what they were doing or where they went were usually spot on.

"However..." Akio began. "Maybe by some chance, they decided to eat together..." Akio took a bite of his tempura, then shook his head. "Probably not..." he sighed. "Miyashita-kun, you've seemed kind of out of it today. Everything alright?" Souta asked, a look of concern on his face. "Hm? Oh yeah, I'm fine. I guess you could say I've just got a lot on my mind right now," Akio said with a smile. "Anything serious?" Souta asked. "No, just wondering about an experiment of mine," Akio answered. "Exberimen?" Eiji repeated through a mouthful of tempura.

"Let me ask you both something," Akio began as he set his chopsticks down. "If two people you knew who had been good friends suddenly weren't anymore, how would you get them to be friends again?" The two boys sat in silence, thinking of an answer. "Just get them to bury the hatchet," Eiji said simply. "Chances are, whatever it is that messed up their friendship is probably something that's actually not a big deal. If they talked it out, I bet it'd be fine."

However, Souta disagreed. "If something happened that caused that large of a riff, it most likely is a big deal, at least to them. But regardless, they should both try to communicate with each other about the situation." "Alright, so let's say those same two people were forced to be together?" Akio threw in. "I think that'd probably make it worse," Souta said bluntly. "Huh?" Akio reacted. "Think about it. If you already don't like someone, and then you HAVE to spend time with them, wouldn't you resent them even more because you're basically stuck with them?" Souta explained.

"Yeah, that makes sense to me," Eiji agreed. It was Akio's turn to sit in silence now and ponder what he had just been told. "I know my plan is far from perfect, but will it really make things worse between them?" Akio wondered. "Hey, what's this experiment of yours anyway? Does it involve people you know?" Eiji asked. "Is it Nakatomi-san and Endo-san?" Souta asked, knowing about Akio's past with the two girls. "H-huh?! W-Well, I mean... maybe? Who knows, haha?" Akio tried to play it off, but Souta wasn't buying it. "What're you doing with them that could be called an experiment?" Souta pressed.

Akio didn't want to tell them. He knew how it would sound to say he was trying to get two girls that confessed to him to date each other instead of him. "They'll definitely get creeped out by the whole situation..." Akio sighed. So, he decided to go with a more vague answer. "All I'm doing is trying to help fix a broken relationship between two of my dear friends," Akio said with a smile. Knowing they probably wouldn't get any more specifics out of him, Eiji and Souta dropped the subject.

*****

Through the rest of the day, Akio worried about his experiment. "Am I really going to make things worse?" he kept thinking. But by the time the end of the day rolled around, Akio had come to a conclusion: only time would tell if that would really be the case.

With Kanako in a club, Akio had no choice but to wait. So, knowing there would be at least one other person doing the same, he went in search of her. It didn't take long to find the girl in question. All she was doing was sitting at her desk with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face.

"Good afternoon, Haruna-chan," Akio said as he walked through the door to the classroom. Haruna jumped. "God, Miyashita-kun, don't sneak up on me like that!" "My apologies," he said with a fake bow. "So, waiting for Kana-chan?" "So what if I am? Haruna said with a huff, then with a mumble: "This was your stupid idea after all..." Akio actually heard her, but decided to ignore it. "You know," he began, taking the seat to Haruna's left. "If I was keeping score, you'd be looking at making a comeback."

Haruna glared at him. "Look, I'm doing what you asked, aren't I? Isn't this something lovers do, waiting for their significant other?" "True, but I know this is all you've done," Akio said with a know-it-all sort of tone. Haruna flinched. "Honestly, it shouldn't be that hard to at least hold hands," Akio sighed. Haruna began to blush a little. "Y-yeah right. There's only one person I want to do that with, idiot," she said.

The two found themselves in an awkward silence. "S-so, um, are you going to do this every day?" Haruna asked tentatively. "What? Wait with you for Kana-chan?" Akio asked. Haruna nodded. "Well, I probably won't always sit with you like this. After all, that wouldn't be fair to Kana-chan. But, I suppose doing this sometimes would be fine," Akio said.

"Does that also mean you're going to follow us home every day too?" Haruna asked in a harsher tone. "Not every day. But I did say I was going to keep an eye on you, remember?" Akio reminded her. Haruna gritted her teeth. Akio could tell she hated what he was saying. "What more do you want from me?" she said roughly. "At least walk TO school too," Akio said insistently. After sitting in more silence, Haruna let out a long sigh. "Fine. Whatever. If that's what it takes to 'up my score' in your book," she said. Akio smiled. "Glad to hear it."

Once they were both sure that Kanako was out of club, the two headed toward the school gate. But, before they arrived, Akio split off. "Hey, where are you going?" Haruna asked. "Oh, I just thought I'd give you two some alone time," Akio said with a wink. "Gross," Haruna spat.

In reality, Akio was simply waiting for Kanako to meet up with Haruna and then he would follow behind. When the two girls met at the gate, Akio watched with anticipation, but the first thing he saw was an argument. "What's that about?" he wondered. "Well whatever it was, it's over now."

As Akio trailed after them, he noticed the same sort of body language he did yesterday. Haruna tried to keep the pace quick, while Kanako kept her distance and herself small. "They're never going to get anywhere at this rate..." Akio sighed. By the time they reached their houses, it appeared to Akio that they had hardly spoken a word to each other, and the two of them went to their separate places without so much as a goodbye.

After going a few more blocks, Akio arrived at home himself. "I'm home!" he called. "Welcome back," Natsuki, his older sister, said. She stood in the hallway in front of the door in her lazy purple shorts and a yellow shirt. In all regards, Natsuki could be viewed as a total knockout in terms of looks, but her personality matched that of child. Not the cute kind, but the bratty kind. However, Akio noticed once that she really only seemed to be that way to him and on occasion, Taichi.

"You didn't wake me up again. I was almost late for class," she complained. "Aren't your classes online? Anyways, that sounds like your problem," Akio said smugly. "You did it on purpose didn't you?!" Natsuki accused him, but Akio ignored her and headed to his room. Taking a seat at his desk, Akio went back to wondering about how to get Haruna and Kanako closer together.

*****

The next morning (and a bit to Akio's surprise), he saw Haruna and Kanako walking to school together. "She actually did it..." he thought. But just because they were walking together didn't mean flowers were blooming around them. Rather than walking, it seemed more like Haruna was dragging Kanako along. "Come on! Do I seriously have to pull you all the way there?! Wake up already you sloth!" Akio heard Haruna shout. "I don't know how good of an insult sloth is, but it's certainly accurate," he said to himself with a laugh.

Once everyone had arrived at school, Akio saw Haruna charge ahead, apparently making sure people didn't see them come in together. Shortly after, Kanako followed. When Akio got inside though, he saw Kanako appearing to be interrogated by her friends.

"Hey, hey, Kana-chan! What's up with you walking with Endo-san? Don't you two not get along?" Itsuki asked immediately. "W-well, it's, um..." Akio saw Kanako struggling to answer their questions. "Morning, Kana-chan," he said, deciding to intervene. "O-oh! G-Good morning, Akio-kun..." she said nervously. When Akio spoke to the group of girls, he noticed Michi staring at him. Well, more accurately, she was glaring at him with deadly intent. "Even if I don't date Kana-chan I have to deal with Fukuhara-san's wrath..." he thought, feeling unpleasant. But still, Akio's appearance seemed to be enough to derail the others' line of thought, as they all went to class and began talking about a different topic.

The rest of the day was pretty similar to yesterday, with even the same avoidances in the hallways. Today Akio went to actually check on where the two girls were during lunch, and as it turned out, he was right. The same as always, with Haruna on the roof and Kanako in the classroom. "Hey, Akio, whaddya doin'? Your food's gonna get cold!" Eiji called from down the hall. "Coming!" Akio called back.

In the theme of things staying the same, Akio went to wait with Haruna when classes were let out. They mostly made small talk with Akio electing to not take any jabs or make any suggestions this time. "Let's see if they can figure it out on their own," he thought. When clubs finished up, both of them went to meet Kanako, but just like last time, Akio broke away before Kanako would see him.

The walk home was the same as well, and in the end, Akio felt like he had just lived the same day twice. "Apparently I have to say something or else nothing will change," Akio thought. "What can I say that would move things along while also being within reason?"

The next day, Akio had come up with the solution, and when he saw Haruna that morning, he told her his idea. "No way," she refused outright. "Lunchtime is MY time to spend with MY friends. There's no way in hell I'm inviting that mouse along." "Well it doesn't seem very lover-ish for you to not even eat together. I mean, all you really do is walk to and from school. I can't say I'm very convinced," Akio said, trying to poke the bear. Unfortunately for him, Haruna still denied him. "I don't care. I'm not doing it. Dock me however many 'points' you want," she said, beginning to walk away. "So I guess that means Kana-chan wins?" Akio commented.

Haruna stopped in her tracks. "Excuse me?" she said, turning around to face him. "Well with the way things are going, I'd say Kana-chan is the easy choice. I can at least tell she's willing to put in the effort. And yet, there you are, making it more and more difficult with your stubbornness. It's a shame, really. I didn't think things would end so soon," Akio kept prodding. He knew he was pushing Haruna's buttons.

But surprising him again, Haruna turned away. "Do whatever you want," she said simply, then went to class. "That was unexpected," Akio said to himself. "I wonder what she's really feeling?"

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully as students sat restlessly in their seats due to it being Friday. There were constant murmurs of weekend plans such as going to the beach or if some had a hot date. "A date huh?" Akio thought. "I bet if I suggested that, Haruna-chan would have my head." Thinking that brought him back to one of the original questions he had. 'What happened between Haruna-chan and Kana-chan that would make them such bitter enemies? Is it really something that serious?"

Back when it first happened, Akio asked both of them a lot to tell him what had happened. Every time he did though, he was met with the same answers. Haruna always said she didn't want to talk about it, and Kanako would always get really quiet before saying that she didn't know. As time went on, Akio gave up on trying to figure it out, assuming that he would never know and that sometimes, friendship just fall out.

But, when both Kanako and Haruna confessed to him, that was when he had had an idea. It was completely and utterly ridiculous and so far out there that no reasonable person should agree to do it. Akio knew all of that, but if there was even a chance it could repair what was broken, then it was worth a shot. And, to his shock, they both agreed to go through with it, to pretend to be lovers solely because they believed in their feelings for him. "In a way, it feels wrong, manipulating their feelings like this..." he thought. Even with that in mind, he refused to give up. Honestly, a girlfriend would be nice, but all Akio really hoped for was that the three of them could go back to the way they once were.

"The past is the past," he thought. "But that doesn't mean we shouldn't be able to pick up where we left off."

When school finished for the day, Akio decided he'd go straight home. "It's not like anything will change after one day," Akio commented. "Yo, earth to Akio! You there?" Eiji said as he waved his hand in front of his face. Akio jumped, startled by the sudden appearance of his friends. "Finally. We've been calling your name for a while y'know," Eiji said. "Sorry. I guess I was spacing out," Akio said with a smile. "Thinking about your experiment again?" Souta asked. "Yeah, something like that," Akio said. "I wish you'd tell us what it is! I wanna know!" Eiji whined. "I'll tell you someday, I promise," Akio told him "Putting that aside, you have bigger things to worry about Eiji-kun." "Huh? Whaddya mean?" he asked, confused. "Isn't basketball practice about to start?" Akio said. "Oh crap! You're right! I gotta go, see you guys later!" Eiji yelled while dashing off.

"Ready to go?" Souta asked. "Yeah," Akio answered. The two began their walk back home as Souta started talking about something that happened in one of his electives. While he spoke, Akio actually listened, deciding to give his mind a break from thinking about his so-called "experiment." But, it seemed no matter how hard he tried, it remained at the forefront of his mind. "Man, usually I look forward to the weekend, but now it feels like a drag," Akio said suddenly. "What makes you say that?" Souta asked, puzzled by how any student could hate the weekend.

"All I can do is lie around and hope," Akio said vaguely. "Hope?" Souta repeated. "Does this have to do with Nakatomi-san and Endo-san?" Akio stopped. "Yeah. It's not like there's much to worry about, but when something is this fragile, it feels like you shouldn't take your eye off it." Souta looked at him quizzically. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but I hope it goes well for you," he said. "Thanks Souta-kun," Akio said with a smile.

The two of them eventually went their separate ways, with Souta turning around and going back. "It's nice that he'll walk back with me, but for him being so practical, he takes the most impractical way home," Akio thought. Souta actually lived a ways from Akio and Eiji, so unless he only walked home with them for about a minute or so, he'd have to retrace his steps so he could go the right way. In the mornings he went straight to school because he didn't want to risk being late in case he missed Akio and Eiji on their way to school. But, on the way home, punctuality wasn't an issue, so Souta said he didn't mind the longer walk.

"He's a good friend," Akio said to himself. After seeing Souta turn the corner far down the road, Akio continued his trek home, arriving only a few minutes later. When he announced that he was back, no one answered. "Natsuki-onee-chan must still be in class," Akio thought, then headed into the living room.

Through the door he was greeted by a massive mess of clothes, the majority of which were Natsuki's. Akio sighed. "It's like a tornado blew through here..." Moving just enough of the garments so that he could lay on the couch, Akio set down his bag and did just that.

Flipping on the TV and landing on a documentary about the Cold War, Akio stared at it for a while, then laughed to himself. "It's kinda like the historical version of Haruna-chan and Kana-chan." No, that wasn't quite right. At least in a war, both sides are trying to fight and win. But in this case, it was more like they both wanted to avoid each other while still being pulled toward one another. "They're like magnets..." Akio muttered.

Turning on his back and staring at the ceiling, Akio wondered about the immediate future. "I wish they'd do something on the weekend, but I know they won't. Guess I'll just have to hope that they can keep it together for two whole days without my assistance." "Hey, what're you babbling about over there? You sound like a crazy person," a rude girl said. "None of your business, onee-chan," Akio said her title in a mocking tone. "Hey, are you laying on my clothes?!" Natsuki shouted. "Of course not. I threw them on the floor," Akio said, motioning below him. "You jerk!"

*****

The weekend went by without anything eventful happening at all, and Akio wondered all morning before school on Monday if anything had happened between Haruna and Kanako. For the most part, he believed the answer to that question was no. If two people are already trying to avoid each other, why would they go out of their way to be together when they don't have to be?

When Akio began his walk, he saw the two girls, who were in similar positions as they had been the last couple of mornings. "Nothing changed after all..." Akio sighed to himself. "Hey Akio!" Eiji called. When the two met, Eiji looked super excited. "What's got you going this early?" Akio asked. "Dude, guess what? Coach said that if I keep practicing like I have been, I'll get to start in our next game!" Eiji said while practically glowing with glee. "That's great! Just don't get ahead of yourself," Akio warned. "I know, but this is awesome! No more bench for me, stardom here I come!" Eiji proclaimed, ignoring Akio's warning.

Monday went by the same as all the other days, and Akio began to wonder if he was actually trapped in a time loop. Obviously he wasn't, but the thought occurred to him. It wasn't until two days later though that Akio noticed something had drastically changed.

While he had certainly been watching both Haruna and Kanako, he had become so focused on their fake relationship that he hadn't really taken in the conditions of the two girls, specifically Kanako. When he got a good look at her that morning, it felt like she was exuding depression. "Did something happen?" Akio wondered, but then he figured it out. "It probably happened over time, being with Haruna-chan more than usual..." Akio was beginning to feel bad again. Was it too much for Kanako?

As the day went on, Akio became more and more worried. "I'll go talk to her at lunchtime," he decided. However, when he went to Kanako's classroom, the only people he found were Kanako's friends and not Kanako herself. "Where's Kana-chan?" Akio asked them. "For some reason, she's eating on the roof with Endo-san and Wakabayashi-san," Michi said, bitterness clearly in her tone. "Did you have something to do with this?" she ask accusingly. Opting not to answer, Akio thanked them and headed for the top of the school.

When he arrived and began to open the door, Akio could see Haruna and Kanako standing and facing each other, with Chiyo looking a little panicked. He was too far away to hear what they were saying, but whatever it was, it didn't look good.

Then, without warning, Akio heard Kanako faintly yell something and then shortly after, began to make a mad dash for the door he was standing in front of. As Kanako got closer and closer, Akio saw Haruna standing where she was with a look of shock on her face.

When Kanako reached the door, she flung it open, revealing Akio on the other side. Kanako was caught off-guard, but she quickly shook her head and kept running, right past Akio. As she passed, it was like she went by in slow motion, putting the tears running down her face and falling into the open air on full display. Akio stared as Kanako flew down the stairs and went swiftly out of view.

"...Kana-chan?"

End of Chapter Four.