"Are you going?"
Mimi asked Hayami over the phone.
Hayami blew out a smoke ring and
laughed. "Would it make a difference if I did?" he asked.
"I know a few
people who would be glad if you went," Mimi replied.
"You mean
Kino?"
"Yes."
Hayami laughed bitterly. "She's probably forgotten
me already."
"I doubt that. Come, anyway, Tetsu. It'll be a lot of fun,"
she assured him. "We would all appreciate it if you did."
"Will you leave
me alone and stop calling me three times a day?"
Mimi grinned on her end.
"Yes."
"Then I'll go." He hung up, then stood and walked to the balcony
at his new apartment. Hayami began to wonder whether Kino really would remember
him or not. Her smiling face appeared in his mind and a small smile quirked from
his lips. He had to admit he missed the squirt. That was strange. He didn't miss
anyone, not even his family, but he admitted to missing her. Why? Granted, she
was a close friend...his only friend for quite a while, but still. Hayami shook
his head. He wouldn't think of that right now.
Hayami threw the cigarette
in his hand over the balcony and headed inside. The party would be in a few
hours. He had to change. He looked through his almost empty closet. As he
contemplated what to wear, he began to wonder what Kino looked like now. It'd
been two years. Was she still the same, hard-headed, determined, righteous
red-head? He shook his head. She probably was. He pulled out a pair of
khaki-colored slacks and a white shirt. It'd have to do. He had no intention of
getting in the water, so there was no point in packing swimming
trunks.
After he dressed, Hayami looked at himself in the mirror. He
looked like an idiot. He laughed at himself for a moment, then grabbed a coat
and his keys and headed out.
"I wonder where everyone's been keeping
themselves," he thought outloud as he closed the door. He didn't notice the
shadows lurking in his apartment.
