Back in Japan

Being back home felt strange at first.

Everything was so familiar, yet it felt so different. In a way, Satoru felt like the summer had never happened when he saw that everything in Japan was just the same.

Not that he expected any huge changes, but it was a strange feeling when he stepped into his house and saw the traditional genkan—something unheard of in German architecture. When he went to the kitchen, he didn’t see a bread cutter. Opening the fridge, there was no white sausage awaiting him. He had to get used to eating rice instead of potatoes once again.

It was terrifying to realize how much he had adapted to German culture. Now, everything in Japan seemed a bit off. Sure, he had missed many things from home, so he was glad to be back. Convenience store food had never tasted better than when he returned. Hearing people speak in Japanese also brought him a lot of comfort. Not being understood had been stressful, after all.

The day his plane landed at Haneda Airport, his parents were waiting for him as if they were about to greet a son returning from war. They were a bit overdramatic, but he could understand them to a certain extent. Not only were they terrified of planes, but they had barely seen Satoru for the entire summer. Sure, he had called them occasionally to reassure them, but seeing someone in the flesh is the only way to be 100% certain that everything is okay.

Walking into his room was another bizarre feeling. For around two months, he hadn’t really had his personal space, so it was nice to be back. But then he looked at his Rainbow Sun merchandise collection, and his mood soured a bit. Because now, it wasn’t just his favorite game anymore. It was their game.

His and Silke’s.

The worst thing about his return, though, was that he only had a few days to get over his jet lag and rest before school started.

Walking his usual routes, taking a train with none other than Madoka, he felt as if the routine he had left behind for a few weeks had now come crashing down on him without mercy.

Speaking of his childhood friend, after their last meeting, Satoru still wasn’t sure if things would go back to how they used to be. Madoka might have gathered all her feelings and, in the end, decided she didn’t want to be his friend anymore. He would have understood that. But no such thing happened. She was a strong girl, after all. Whether or not she was still slightly hurt by the rejection, he couldn’t tell. She had either already moved on or was a really good actress. He hoped it was the former—for her own good—considering she was part of the theater club.

His worries lessened dramatically the moment she ran up to him and, instead of greeting him with a usual "hi" or "hello," asked, "Did you confess?" with visible curiosity and no malice in her tone.

"I still can’t believe you didn’t want to get an answer from her," she muttered on their way to school, clearly disappointed by the turn of events, as if it were a romance drama ending on a frustrating cliffhanger.

"It’s not exactly like that," Satoru tried to defend himself, but he knew that no matter how many times he explained his thought process to Madoka, she would still look at him as if he were the dumbest smart person on Earth.

At least at school, no one other than her bothered him. Well, except for one person.

It wasn’t that Satoru was unlikeable—he was invited to karaoke and café outings quite often—but he had been so focused on studying for his chance to go to Germany that he had turned down every invitation. No one held it against him, but most people had simply stopped asking.

There was one exception.

One person in the entire school was so persistent in his interactions with Satoru that, at some point, the raven-haired boy just accepted his presence.

The captain of the baseball team—Nakayama Kenji.

Since their first year, after Satoru actually had to maintain good grades in physical education as well, he had been on that guy’s radar. Kenji constantly tried to recruit him for the baseball team. Heck, Satoru was almost certain that even on their graduation day, Nakayama would still be asking him to join. That’s how determined he was.

So when Satoru sat down at his desk, he knew it wouldn’t take long before the baseball-obsessed guy appeared out of thin air. And sure enough, mere seconds later…

To be fair, Kenji was always sitting in front of him, which was suspicious. For a while, Satoru had thought the guy was rigging the seating lottery, but in the end, it was just a coincidence.

"Sup, Toru! What do you have here?" Nakayama grabbed a book from the desk, not bothering to ask permission. "What is this? Some magic book?"

"It’s a German language textbook."

"Wha—We have those kinds of classes?"

"No, idiot," Madoka chimed in, sitting down in her seat to Satoru’s right. "He wants to learn German so he can woo a girl he likes. She doesn’t speak any other language."

"Oh, right! You went to Germany. How was it?" Kenji focused back on Satoru, but before he could reply, the baseball maniac suddenly processed what Madoka had just said. "Wait, what? Can you repeat that, Macchan?"

"He’s got it bad for a girl he met in Germany, so now he wants to go back there to study and have a chance with her," she patiently repeated.

"Our Toru? No way! He’s way too antisocial to meet anyone!"

"Oi, can you not talk about me like that when I’m right next to you?"

"Wait… so it’s for real!?" Kenji still couldn’t believe it.

"So what if it is?" Satoru blushed. This was the first time he had talked about his feelings with someone outside of his family. It felt slightly embarrassing but also… nice. There were people he could share his troubles with.

"That’s good for you, buddy!" Kenji patted his arm. "By the way, if you get more ripped, she might like you better. So what do you say about joining our baseball team?"

"Hard pass."

"Oh." For a moment, Nakayama looked dejected, but after only a few milliseconds, he was back to his usual goofy self. "By the way, there’s a new burger restaurant nearby. Wanna check it out after school? I heard they have some limited-time items!"

"Sure, sounds good."

"Wait, did you just agree to hang out?"

Satoru, who had been focused on his book, raised his head. "Yeah. I know I haven’t been the best friend, but… taking it a bit easy with studying now and then won’t hurt. It could be fun."

"Hey, I wanna go too!" Madoka chimed in.

"Then we’re set!" Kenji grinned happily.

Little by little, Satoru realized that his summer vacation had changed him more than he had expected.

It was a good change, though.

Before he knew it, he would be graduating. So he wanted to enjoy his remaining high school days to the fullest.