Episode One: In Rain They Come

Fushigi Yuugi: Tenkyoku Heiden

She jolted awake. Even in her warm bed, she shivered. The last visages of the dream danced in her mind as she struggled to reorient herself in reality. She caught her breath and the lump in her throat slid down. What had visited her was no dream but rather a vision of things to come. Something was about to happen, something that not even her prophetic knowledge could prevent. It was greater than any other threat that had happened to their world before. "No," she whispered as her fingers tightened around the blankets. "No, I can't let that happen!"

She started to slide out of bed, but faltered. What if it really was a dream? But no, she knew the difference between dreams and actual visions. Trying to act on it though had the potential of creating just as big of a catastrophe. If she did nothing though… It was going to happen whether or not she could try, but by the Gods, she would try her best.

Resolved, she got out of bed and went through the secret passage that connected her room to her cousin's. Once she was in his room, she padded over to his bed where he lay sprawled among his covers.

"Wake up!" she hissed. "Wake up!"

Her cousin stirred in his sleep. She was loathe to disturb him, but this was too important. She shook him.

"Wake up!"

He snapped awake. She dodged as a stray stone flew by her head. "Ah! What is it? Are we under- oh. It's you."

She took a seat at the foot of his bed as he rubbed his eyes. "I.. I had a vision," she said.

Instantly he was alert. "About what?"

"The five countries at war with each other, and outside forces taking advantage of that to terrorize the people and bully us. It was just flashes, but-"

"Five?" her cousin interrupted. "Nyosei joined the war? How is that possible? They've never bothered anyone except those who set foot on their island."

She looked at him. He blinked, then realized the significance of what she was trying to tell him. "You're not serious."

"I am." she took a deep breath. "Nyosei will play a significant role in whether or not my vision comes to pass. Nyosei and…" her voice trailed off. They didn't know. No one really knew what country Tenkyoku was supposed to protect, but it made sense that it would be Nyosei since she was the only country that had yet to have a God summoned. None of them had ever been to Nyosei before, and there was very little news from that country simply because of the isolationist stance that they took. Oh, there had been attempts before, but no one had ever heard from the survivors again. Even more so than the other Gods, Tenkyoku was shrouded in mystery. The legend was that there were only six seishi, opposed to the usual six. How that even worked out, she had no idea, but if Nyosei was involved in the war, surely Tenkyoku had something to do with it.

"Tenkyoku," Kouki whispered. "So he really does exist. The rumors are true."

They sat in silence together across from each other. She closed her eyes, willing the vision to go away. She hated the responsibility of knowing what could happen. It was a role she had never wanted. Back when they had first gathered together in their first incarnations, her visions had proved useful. She had never been able to figure out how to divert them though, but this time. This time she would find some way to do it, even if she had to be cursed for the rest of her lives. Surely the seishi from the other countries would understand the gravity of the situation. They had to. Traditionally their country had never been the aggressor, so they had to believe her. They had to realize that she was serious. They couldn't be so self-centered, could they? She had not had the opportunity to meet some of the other seishi from the other countries, but Hokuyu had. He could convince them. Maybe she was putting too much faith in her fellow seishi, but Hokuyu knew things. They all lived by the shrine, having gathered there a few years ago as they reawakened as seishi, but Hokuyu was the one who traveled the most, kept an eye on the comings and goings of the government. He had to, being a diplomat.

"What should we do about it?" her cousin finally asked. "I mean, if you foresaw it, there's still a chance we can do something, right?"

She bit her lip and looked down. Even though he knew the futility of trying to fight destiny, he was still going to resist it. That itself gave her courage. Surely if he believed so strong, that belief could be turned into something greater. "I'm not sure what to think of it. You'd think after all the Gods were Summoned, we'd finally have peace, right?"

At this, he laughed. "Don't forget, Gods or not, they protect humans. We create our own troubles. Just because the countries are blessed doesn't mean that there will always be peace. Otherwise, we wouldn't be human. We'd be..."

She glared at him. "Don't talk like that."

He reached over and wrapped his arms around her trembling figure, pulling her close. His warmth reassured her, and she slowly stopped shaking. When she was ready to speak, she raised her head. "Kouki," she whispered. "If what I saw comes to pass, it will be far worse than anything that the countries have encountered. But… what it calls for, it could come down to seishi fighting seishi." She buried her face in his chest. "What do we do?"

He had stiffened at her words, and there was a coldness in her breast that even he could not reduce. Her cousin was brave, but even he balked at the idea of going against his fellow seishi. It was something that had only happened during Seiryuu and Suzaku's time, over a hundred years ago. His head dropped onto her shoulder, and he laughed. "We... we are never reincarnated into peace, are we? But then again, that's what our role is. Harbingers of doom."

"Kouki-"

He cut her off. "I won't let that happen. I promise. What do we need to do?"

"We," she buried her face into his shoulder, not wanting to say it. "We may end up interfering with..." her eyes slid up to meet his as she still hesitated to tell him, but he looked away, knowing the answer and hating it.

"Do we have a choice?" he asked. "If it comes down to the four countries, which one is more important?"

"The others won't approve."

"Shiran will, and he'll be able to convince Hokuyu. The others will be easier. What else?"

"Unify the countries," she said, her voice barely audible. "Unify them, or we don't stand a chance against what is to come."

Episode One: In Rain They Come

His life was about to change, but he had no idea, and it didn't really matter to him anyway, not when he had more pressing matters to worry about. Nazo rode his bike against the rain, fighting to see through the fog on his glasses. The day had started off sunny with just a bite of the passing winter in the air, but sometime while he had been working at the grocery store, clouds had rolled over the violet skies and released a heavy shower all over Tokyo. Already, warnings of a flash flood had been issued. People scurried around, eager to return home. Although there were heavy rains, for some reason, no strong winds harassed the citizens of Tokyo. The weather seemed to have reached an uneasy balance. The people did not know if this was good or bad, but they were thankful for the fact that their measly umbrellas were not blown away. Even the towering steel buildings seemed to shrink before the power of nature.

He was totally dramatizing the entire scene, but hey, it helped pass the time.

The speed at which he rode made up for the lack of wind, and he almost skidded a few times. Luckily, his experience saved him each time. After the third time, he forced himself to slow down. It wasn't worth risking his life just to show up on time. If his sister got out before he got there, it wasn't too hard to catch up to her on her way home. Neither of them had expected the weather to take such a sudden turn, especially in March, so they weren't dressed for that weather. That was why he was biking to her school now. At least for himself he was able to borrow a yellow rain poncho from the grocery store. His sister? No such luck. Good thing then that he'd been able to yoink an umbrella for her.

Nazo slid off his bicycle and ran to a stop at the gated entrance to the school. He checked his watch. Good. Three minutes to go. Somehow he had made it on time. He blew out and wheeled over to the tree by the sidewalk for some shelter. Although he had some protection, the rain still partially reached him, and his coat under his poncho was almost drenched to the skin from his earlier escapade. Nazo tightened his hold on his jacket and shivered. A car right now would be amazing.  Expensive, but amazing. He liked biking and it provided exercise, but on a day like this, it really wasn't his preferred choice. A heated jacuzzi. That was what he wanted right now. Aaah. That sounded so good.

Uh. Right. No use to be daydreaming about something he'd never have. Or really making everything so dramatic. Really. Where was his sense of reality?

Just then, the bell tolled several times, announcing the end of school. Through the heavy downpour, he saw students begin to stream out of the gates. Nazo craned his neck, searching for his sister. She was typically one of the last ones to come out since she liked to drop by the library after class ended. Usually he didn't mind too much, but in this weather, he wished she would hurry up. Just a little bit.

A student of the school brushed past him. As the student turned to apologize, Nazo recognized him as Yuta Otoya. He was two years younger than Nazo and although they had not run into each other often while he had still been in school, he now saw him a lot more than desired. The guy just had to be the younger brother of a close friend, too, not that he had spoken to said friend in a while. Now he was probably going to tell her and she'd try to contact him again. He missed his friend, but he didn't miss having to explain himself to her or the pity he always saw on her face. Nazo's eyes narrowed and his hands clenched around his bike's handlebars.

Otoya's schoolbag was on his head to protect it from the rain, and he paused when he spotted Nazo. Surprisingly, the voice that came out of Otoya was neutral. "Hey, Shimajima," he said. "How have you been?"

"Waiting for my sister, Otoya," Nazo replied coolly. There was no need to be so cold towards the younger boy, but he couldn't help it. He could already see the way his response was affecting the way Otoya perceived him, not that it had ever been a good one.

"What? Why?" Now Nazo heard the old scornful note in his voice. "Don't you have your own life to lead?"

Nazo pointed to the sky, which was conveniently still pouring. "Brought her an umbrella. Neither of us expected it to rain. Besides, I got off early."

Yuta laughed. "Devoted as always, huh?" he asked. "Is there a day when you never have? Come on, you'd be more than halfway done with college by now if it weren't for your sister. It's a waste of your brains, really. Waste of your life."

"Have a problem with Nari?"

Yuta smirked. "'Course not! A girl like that needs to have someone wait for her. After all, her parents certainly can't!" He opened his car door and waved farewell to Nazo. "Later!" He slammed the door shut. The car revved up and drove out of the parking lot, leaving Nazo standing by himself. His bike shook, a sharp contrast to the stillness of his face, although his eyes failed to hide the anger boiling inside of him. It was enough that Otoya had been top of his class since his first year, enough that he was Kari's younger brother, but did he have to be so-

Nazo muttered something under his breath and abruptly turned away. He turned his attention back towards the school. The stream was beginning to slow now as the students made their way to cram school or home. Some of them were already at their clubs, and wistfully, he wondered how the mythology club was doing nowadays. It was a club that he had helped found with some close friends back in his first year. They had covered not only East Asian mythology but also Greek and Roman, just about anything they could get their hands on. Nari had informed him that the club was still going on and that they were now looking at Chinese mythology. Although he was tempted to drop by to visit, it was best if he didn't because, well, they would ask questions he really didn't want to answer. Besides, he reasoned, he probably wouldn't recognize anyone. The students would probably stare at him for a few minutes awkwardly while he hemmed and hawed and had no idea what to say to them until he finally beat a hasty retreat.  

Really, there was no point.

Just then, Nazo caught a sudden glimpse of his sister coming out of the front gate. Her long, dark hair was loose and she hunched over her bag in an effort to keep it dry. He forced the negativity from his thoughts. It wouldn't do for her to realize what he was thinking about. "Nari!" he shouted. "Over here!"

Nari looked up and scanned the crowd for him. She grinned when she spotted him and walked faster. When she reached him, he handed her the umbrella and slid out of his poncho. "Here. You must be freezing. Take this," he said as he zipped the jacket up for her and brushed what water he could off.

Nari pulled the poncho around herself and smiled. "Thank you," she said. "How was your day?"

Nazo shrugged. "It was all right. Worked at the store, got some annoying customers, nothing special. You?"

"We reviewed in a lot of my classes since exams are coming up, but other than that, not really anything," Nari replied. "I also went to the library during lunch to catch up some reading."

Nazo reached over and squeezed his sister's shoulder. "Going to ace all those exams, aren't you? Taking after me?"

"Of course!"

Otoya's words rang back in his mind, but he pushed them away. If anything, he hated the fact that Otoya took out his hatred for him on Nari. Nari had nothing to do with the real reason why Otoya hated him. If he could get into Waseda once, he could do it again. More than anything else, it was vital that she finished his education. His sister was only a minor and if he proved unable to support her, the two of them would be separated. He shoved it deep into the back of his mind, although it continued to fester. As always when he was feeling down, he was in the mood for something hot to drink. The two of them began to walk out the schoolyard.

"By the way," he said. "Want to hit a cafe today?"

Nari glanced at him. "We have the money for it?"

"Let's not worry about that now?"

She smiled faintly, and Nazo shifted the umbrella so it was more than halfway over his shivering sister's head. Her face, normally pale, had two bright red spots from overexertion. Seeing this, Nazo draped an arm around her shoulders. She looked up at him gratefully. The two of them reached an unspoken agreement and they began hurrying faster down the sidewalk. Due to the vast amount of pedestrians and umbrellas however, they weren't able to go as quickly as they liked and it took them ten minutes to walk a few blocks from the school. Soon they reached an alcove and stopped to rest. Nari's hair dripped water down the nape of her neck and she quickly gathered it into a high ponytail that she twisted into a bun.

"Which one should we go to?" she asked.

"Where do you want to go?" Nazo asked. "I'm good wherever you want."

"Caffe Veloce, I guess," she replied. "Want to grab something to eat there, too? The food isn't bad."

He mulled over that for a moment. They were tight on money this month as usual, but he supposed since they were splurging with the drinks, they might as well go all the way. He thought of the box filled with money that he'd saved up for emergencies. There wasn't much left. Was he being fiscally irresponsible by making this decision?

Nari stopped walking and grabbed his arm, yanking him so that they faced each other. "You're worrying too much again, aren't you? We don't have to. We can just go home."

"No," he hastily responded. "We'll be fine for this month."

Nari said nothing as she studied him for a moment, but he could tell that hadn't satisfied her. He knew he was being overprotective, but he was scared. He didn't want to lose her either. With their parents' savings only able to support them for another year or so, he wasn't sure what he could do to prove that he could take care of her by himself. Hope to get promoted? Get another job? He was already working two. Ask her to get a job herself? At a time most crucial to her? He couldn't do that.

Nari nudged him, and he realized that she had let him go. Quickly he apologized and began walking again. She went alongside him. "Let me take the umbrella," she said. "You have enough work, what with the bike and all."

True. They'd probably be able to move faster if Nari were holding the umbrella. He handed it over to her, and the two of them crossed the street. Caffe Veloce was right on the corner. The cafe had an American feel to it, even from the outside. The lettering of the sign was in bold English, white on red. It wasn't one they frequented, but the prices were cheap and the selection decent. As his hand touched the door knob, it shocked him, causing him to lose his grip. An onslaught of images slammed him and he lurched forward, banging his head against the door. A yellow dragon rushed at him, and he stumbled backwards. His hand caught the edge of the wall and he just managed to catch himself.  

"Nazo?" Nari's concerned voice broke through the quagmire.

He found himself leaning against the wall in an attempt to catch his breath. His head pounded and his hand went to the side that hurt the most. He squeezed his eyes shut. Inside, a few curious patrons were turning heads to observe him. He averted his face to avoid their scrutiny. "Ah. I'm fine."

"You haven't been working too much, have you?"

Nazo shook his head. "Not any more than the usual."

Nari stared at him again but didn't question his statement. He smiled to reassure her. "Just wanting that hot drink, I guess."

He could tell what he'd said didn't appease her but she wasn't going to delve any deeper. It wasn't her style. Nazo pushed himself off the wall. "Come on," he said a bit gruffer than he liked. He adjusted his glasses, which had slipped down his nose, locked his bike, and opened the door, this time without incident.

As they entered, a bell tinkled, announcing their entrance. A rush of warm air hit them instantly, completely different from the chilliness outside. The last pieces of the vision slipped from his grasp, settling into the back of his mind. To his relief, any patrons who had seen what had happened outside were no longer paying attention. Looking around, he saw they weren't the only people to have taken shelter in the coffee shop; over ten couples sat at individual booths and tables as they chatted happily together. Several of them had their hands surrounded around steaming cups of coffee. Some of them also had sandwiches. Nazo could certainly see why; he would have enjoyed the rising heat, too, along with the delicious smells.

No one paid attention to them as Nazo led his sister to an empty booth at the back of the bar away from all the windows. A bookshelf stood to their far right, and several fake plants shielded them on the left. Other than that, there wasn't much decoration. "Take a seat, Nari. We'll stay here until our clothes dry off," the young man told her and led the girl to the opposite side of the table. The two of them removed their outer layers and folded them carefully. Nazo started to leave, but noticed she was still shivering. As he still had two sweaters on underneath, he unraveled the scarf around his neck and gently laid it around her shoulders. "Wrap this around yourself. I'll be right back."

There was no line at the counter, so Nazo stepped up to the first cashier. He flinched when he saw who it was: Kari, who had been in his year and once a good friend of his. There might have even been more if- no. He wouldn't let himself think about that. As it was, she was also unfortunately Otoya's older sister, so he knew that he'd be hearing from her again after today. He bit his lip. Best to discourage her now instead of disappointing her later. That was how he felt, but looking at her made that decision a hard one.

Instead of letting her hair down as she used to, the girl had pulled her sleek black hair into a bun. It was the first time seeing someone from his past since he'd dropped out, and it felt good, surprising, since he had avoided everyone like the plague when the events had unfolded the way they had in the beginning. He looked down at the counter, not sure what to say.

Kari however solved his problem by speaking first. "Naz-, I'm sorry. Shimajima! I haven't seen you for ages! How.. how have you been? And what would you like to order?"

"All right," he said coolly. "It's not easy, but Nari and I are hanging on."

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, then paused. "You're... really all right with not going to college though? You would have done really well, I think."

"Eh. Nothing I can do about it now. Anyway, Nari needs me."

The old uncomfortableness was coming back now, reminding him why he hadn't wanted to see anyone. Now he had the strangest urge to just get out of there, but he couldn't, since he'd promised Nari she could have a drink here. Nazo could only pray that she wouldn't think to dig any further and just concentrate on being a cashier. Unfair of him, since they had been extremely close friends during high school, even founding the mythology club together, but he couldn't help it. He wasn't ashamed of what he had done either, but he hated people gossiping, and he was positive that as soon as she got off work today, she would call up all his old friends and exclaim about how she had run into him today. Then one by one, they'd all try to contact him, and he'd have to come up with a multitude of excuses to break off any engagements or meetings they might want to make. If there was one thing he hated, it was pity. He didn't want other people to think he couldn't support his sister. What kind of brother would he be if he couldn't help the one person who needed him most?

He drummed his fingers on the counter. He didn't want to meet her eyes in case she tried to make small talk. Worse, he didn't want to see that sympathetic look that had to be on her face. The safest place then was at the cash register. Or the menu. Anywhere but near her. "Could I have a cappuccino?" he finally asked.

"That'd be 120 yen please," Kari said and punched in his order. "Ken, one cappuccino order!" she called out to her co-workers behind her. "Make sure it's nice and toasty!"

"In five minutes!" Ken shouted back.

She hummed a little to herself as Nazo pulled out his wallet and counted the money out. To his relief, he saw that she didn't seem too miffed by his behavior, at least outwardly. That made things easier for him. "Here you go," he said when he had the correct sum. "150. Keep the change since it's stormy today."

"Thank you," Kari said, and a genuine smile crept across her face. "You're still as nice as you were in high school. Glad to see that. I was afraid-"

Nazo shrugged, cutting her off. "Don't know if that's a good thing or not. That means I'm easy to take advantage of, right?"

Kari laughed. "But still cynical, hm? Anyway, your number is 72. Feel free to check out any of the books or magazines in the corner while you're waiting for your order. Our manager ordered a ton of mythology and occult books from the library. You know, that annual book sale they have to get rid of unpopular books. They've just been rotting over there, and some of them seem like they might be your thing."

Nazo nodded, acknowledging what she had said but paying no real attention to it. He backed away from the counter and returned to their booth. Quickly he scanned the room and was relieved to see no one else he recognized. The chances of seeing someone else was pretty small, but he doubted he would be able to take another surprise encounter. With a sigh, he took a seat and looked over to see what his sister was doing.

Nari had taken some books from the shelf next to them and was flipping through the pages. How she was going to get through them in the hour or so that they'd be spending here he didn't know, but all right, fine with him. Maybe she was just going to flip through them and if she saw any she liked, look for them at the school library so she could check them out there. He smiled to himself. It was just like her to do that. She always preferred books to magazines, which the cafe also had plenty of.

"Check these books out," Nari said softly. "Some of them are really old. I wonder how this cafe got a hold of them."

"Hocked them?" he suggested and laid his head on the table. He was suddenly tired and considered finding an excuse so they could leave early. He decided against that though, since it looked like his sister was having fun. "If they're that rare, they probably got them through the black market or something. Cashier mentioned something about her manager getting them from some library book sale. Who knows, maybe some idiot stuck in a few books he couldn't sell off on E-bay."

"Nazo!" Nari scolded. "Why are you always so sarcastic?"

Nazo shrugged. "Only because you're so impractical and need to get your head down from the clouds."

Nari shot him a dirty look and ignored his comment, which he conceded to be a victory on his part. "Some of these even have legends written in them. See? Remember this one? It's the story of how the Star Festival came to be."

This one certainly caught his attention, and Nazo glanced over. He remembered the legend of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl. She had been from the heavens, he from the earth. Their love had been a star-crossed one, and although they had shared a few happy moments together, they had ultimately been forced to separate by the Emperor of the Heavens. Now it was only the pity of the magpies that enabled the pitiful couple to meet once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month. His grandmother had told it to him many a stormy night, and the story had been imprinted in his sharp mind. It was one of his favorites, and sometimes he liked to wonder if he would be as strong as the Cowherd if he were to be separated from his own girlfriend, regardless of the fact that he didn't have one and probably wouldn't find one for quite some time. The truth was, although he acted so mocking of the old stories, Nazo loved them. They had occupied his mind many a rainy day, just as they had started to today. The virtues of the characters were almost inhuman, written like a story, and since they were, he had his serious doubts that anyone could be like them.

Still.. if he could ever be that strong..

"Remember that story about the four Gods of China?" Nari asked, interrupting his thoughts. She lifted a slim red book off her lap. When Nazo saw the book, he felt a twinge of recognition in his heart even though he had never seen it before. He pushed it down.

"I found something talking about it here," Nari continued. "Do you want to read it?"

"Four Gods, blah.." he said. "Sure, why not? Will give me something to do to pass the time anyway." He took the book from his sister and flipped to the first page. His heart suddenly began to pound loudly, and his breath quickened. The page was charred and difficult to read, and parts of it had already started to crumble in the heated room. Everything was handwritten, odd in an age when the printer had already been invented for centuries. Nazo wiped his glasses off, then put them back on. "Universe of the Four Gods," he read aloud. "Translator: Okuda Einosuke.

"Okuda Einosuke," he noted softly to himself. Intriguing that something like this show up in a modern coffee place. The writer had been famous during the Taisho era if he remembered correctly. Nazo was familiar with his work if only because he had translated and published many folklore tales. He flipped to what would have been the title page and scanned through it quickly.

"Sounds pretty good," Nari said as she leaned over her brother's shoulder. "Read what's under that, will you?"

"This is the story of a girl who gathered the Seven Seishi of Tenkyoku, and acquired the power to make every wish come true," Nazo continued, the sense of foreboding strengthening. "The story itself is an incantation. Whoever finishes the book shall receive this great power. As soon as the page is turned, the story will become the truth and begin." A roaring sound filled his ears and adrenaline coursed through his body. He slammed the book shut, suddenly irritated. "What kind of BS is this? Why does it have to be a girl? Is it some kind of 'choose-your-own-adventure' story?"

"You don't have to read it," Nari said as she shrugged. "Go grab something else from the bookshelf. Or read about Orihime or some other random legend. Love to see you fanboy over her. And I know for a fact that you used to pretend you were Hikoboshi, longing for his Orihime."

Nazo waved her off. "Liar. You're just dreaming that up. I can't be Hikoboshi without an Orihime."

Nari grinned. "Keep telling yourself that, my dear closet romantic brother."

Nazo snorted. "Hey, you have your fangirl moments, too, which by the way, are far worse than mine. Don't even get started on me."

"Number 72!" Kari called from the counter.

Nazo stood up and pushed his chair in, glad for the excuse to get away from the book. "I'm going to grab your cappuccino. Be right back."

Nari nodded. "Got it," she said with a grin. She reached for the book again and flipped it open.

A flash of violet light wrapped around him like a blanket. He froze. Glancing down, he saw that his hand was fading away. "What-" he shouted as he abruptly turned around. His sister was disappearing before his eyes. "Nari!" To his shock, he realized that his voice, too, was losing its strength in the light. "Nari!"

His sister screamed his name soundlessly, her face contorted.

They reached for each other, but before their vanishing fingers could reach, the light swallowed them up and the book snapped shut.

*

"Number 72!" Kari called again. When no one showed up, Kari frowned and picked up the cappuccino and walked towards the direction Nazo had gone. He was nowhere in sight. She pursed her lips curiously and set the cappuccino on the table. "Where did he go.." she asked thoughtfully. Had the meeting been so unpleasant and awkward that he had had to leave as quickly as possible? Then she caught sight of a red knit scarf lying there draped on a chair and smiled to herself. It had to be her friend's, although she didn't know why he had left it there. Could he have gone to the restroom? There was a book next to the scarf, still open. Kari leaned down to see what it was.

"Universe of the Four Gods?" she asked herself as she examined the tattered old tome. "What is that?"

She recognized the author's name however. Okuda Einosuke graced many of the books in her own home. Useful whenever their club needed something new to look at. Odd to see something of his here. She had never seen this book before and from the looks of it was merely a manuscript. How had the manager acquired this? From the book sale? Or had Nazo brought it himself? She didn't see the customary tag that indicated it belonged to the cafe. She closed the book. Curious. Very curious. Something compelled her to hold onto it and she carried it with her to the counter along with the cappuccino. Ken gave her an odd look.

"The guy who ordered the drink left?" Ken asked her.

Kari nodded. "Yeah, he's nowhere in sight. Seems he left his scarf and book, too. I'll have to get it back to him next time I see him."

Ken raised an eyebrow. "You know him?"

"Yeah," she replied as she placed the book into her bag.

He turned away. "Didn't seem that happy to see you."

"Long story," was her response, thus closing the conversation. Kari rubbed the scarf between her fingers. She started to put it in her bag, but hesitated. The chance encounter today with her old friend was cheering, even though he barely talked to her. Nazo had changed, but the core of him remained the same. He had had to grow up very quickly after his parents had died in their first year of college. No matter how Kari and her friends had tried to reach out to him, he had always turned away. At home, Yuta's scathing remarks about her friend stung her, but it was a relief to even hear about Nazo, a secret she guarded closely lest her brother's rants worsen. Her stomach flipped. Even now, Nazo was unreachable.

She tucked the scarf into the bag after the book. Maybe after work, she could call Nazo and let him know he'd forgotten his stuff. It'd be an excuse to talk to him again and maybe that could lead to the renewal of their friendship.

Yeah, that would work splendidly. A book and a scarf to fix a fragmented relationship. Funny to think of them as key to what she wanted most. Still, she could hope.  One never said she couldn't.