I don’t think anyone but me would’ve noticed.

  It was nighttime. He was standing on the rocky shore beyond the road, barely a silhouette in the moonlight and the dim glow of a streetlamp.

  That I recognized him from that alone… just shows how closely I’d been watching Tsurubami-kun. Even my brother gave me a quick look that said, “How did you catch that?” — though he kept quiet about it.

  “I wonder what happened... I’m going to go check it out.”

  By the time I said it, my body had already turned toward the door.

  “Wait. I’m coming too. What if you have another episode outside? Besides… if this ‘Tsurubami-kun’ really did come back after disappearing, it could get complicated.”

  Complicated? Why would someone coming back be a problem?

  I didn’t really get it, but if my brother was coming with me, I felt ten times more confident.

  ??

  “I’m just stepping out with Akisumi for some air.”

  Because my brother — these days dependable enough to be our parents’ go-to advisor — said that, we got out of the house without any hassle.

  The whole walk to the beach, I kept wondering if Tsurubami-kun would still be there.

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  — I really wanted him to be.

  Honestly, I didn’t care that much where he’d gone or how he’d come back.

  More than anything, I had this feeling that if it were now, he might actually talk to me like a real person.

  “We need to hear him out. If his condition and mental state allow for it, that is.”

  My brother muttered that beside me as he looked both ways across the road.

  Once we crossed, we scanned the dark shoreline.

  The full moon shimmered gently on the waves.

  Even that scenery seemed to suit Tsurubami-kun— I wanted to find him quickly.

  “Hey.”

  The voice came from behind us, suddenly.

  “Tsurubami-kun…”

  “You’re that kid from my class—”

  Afraid he might say he didn’t remember my name, I cut him off:

  “I’m Akisumi. Just call me Aki.”

  I blurted it out a little too fast.

  “Okay…”

  “I heard you’d gone missing. I have a lot of questions, but first—are you hurt? Do you feel okay?”

  At my brother’s gentle question, Tsurubami-kun’s eyes—like stained glass under the night sky—wavered faintly.

  “Oh, this is my brother. He works at the Health and Safety Bureau.”

  Tsurubami-kun’s expression stiffened slightly.

  “Is there something wrong with that? Don’t worry. Before we go to any bureau, I’ll hear your story first—”

  “You’re… Kiyosumi-san, right?”

  “Huh? Sorry, have we met? I’m really terrible with faces. Like, pathologically bad. Don’t take it personally.”

  For the first time, I felt like I couldn’t trust my brother.

  How could he meet Tsurubami-kun and forget him?

  —He’s so beautiful.

  “Aki…kun?”

  “Oh, sorry. Anyway, Tsurubami-kun, do you need to call home? If you want, you can use my phone—”

  My heart skipped a beat.

  It was the first time Tsurubami-kun had said my name.

  “Nah… I don’t think I could explain anything to my family right now.”

  What is he so scared of?

  A shadow passed through those stained-glass eyes.

  “Got it. Standing around here probably isn’t the best idea. Still, bringing you back to our place isn’t great either… Hey, could you wait here a bit? I know a café that’s open late. We’ll drive there. I’ll go get the car. Tsurubami-kun—would you be willing to tell us there?

  Where you’ve been all this time, and what happened to you.”