Departures and New Beginnings

“You’re sure you have everything packed?”

“Yep.”

“You know, I’m sure some other university here in Tokyo would still let you apply. You had top scores; it wouldn’t be too late to—”

“Thanks for reminding me, Mom, but I’m good. I made up my mind a long time ago.”

“Yeah, Tomoko, he’s not a little boy anymore; he’s a man now.”

Funny, hearing that from his dad, who just last year was trembling at the mere thought of his son getting on a plane.

The fact that he ignored all the traveling Miho had done in the past also didn’t make any sense, but that’s just how their father was. He was never consistent in his approach to specific topics.

Speaking of Miho—despite his teasing, it seemed like she hadn’t decided to bring anyone home for Christmas. However, she did make a shocking announcement—not a direct one, but the message was clear.

“You expected a boyfriend, but I might show up one day with a girl by my side. What then?”

Mom almost passed out; it took her a moment to process the information. Dad, on the other hand, simply said, “Well, I like women too, so I can’t be a hypocrite and tell you not to do that.”

For Satoru, the whole situation made him realize there was a part of Miho that he still didn’t know. He wasn’t upset with her, though. It wasn’t something one could openly talk about. He just hoped she would see him as someone she could rely on—just like he had been able to talk about his feelings with her last summer.

“Okay, guys. Thanks for coming with me, but my friends are also here to say goodbye. I’ll call you once I arrive.”

His mom walked toward him and gave him a suffocating hug that must have lasted at least a few minutes.

“Do better than Miho,” his dad said, turning serious. Satoru wasn’t aware that their father had any expectations of her.

“You have to find a member—anyone will do—from Bayern München and ask them for an autograph for me, okay?”

Oh, so that’s what he meant. Never mind, then.

“Sure, Dad, I’ll be keeping an eye out constantly.”

And with that, they finally let him go.

“Sorry about that,” Satoru said, turning to his two friends, who were standing nearby, waiting patiently for their turn.

“Nah, don’t worry about it, man. It’s probably hard for your folks to let another one of their kids leave to study so far from home,” Kenji reassured him. “I’ll miss ya, buddy. Shame you never ended up joining the baseball team, but it was cool that we got to hang out more this last year!”

“Yeah, good thing your nerdiness toned down and you showed off your social side,” Madoka chuckled. “To be honest, I was almost sure you got rid of that part of you at the beginning of high school.”

“Ha ha,” Satoru laughed sarcastically but then couldn’t stop himself from smiling. “I know I wasn’t the best friend, so thank you for being so stubborn and keeping up with me. I’ll make sure to call you now and then, okay? And whenever you feel like visiting Germany, just let me know ahead of time—I’ll make sure to give you the best tour ever.”

“Sure, sure,” the brown-haired girl nodded. “Though you could also bring Silke here to Japan so we can show her a little bit of the culture as well.”

“That would be amazing—only if she wants to, though.”

After he came back from Germany, Satoru made his best effort not to lose contact with the blonde-haired girl who had been his flatmate for one summer. Somehow, despite many obstacles—the main one being the different time zones, of course—they managed to write to each other almost daily. Sometimes, it was just a simple "good morning" message. Other times, they shared pictures from their daily lives or special events.

Satoru once felt like Silke was about to spontaneously get on a plane after he showed her a café collaboration with Rainbow Sun. Because of that, he had to go back there three times—once to get a limited pin badge of Selene, and the other two times to get both Feyrith and Jareth for his friend.

There were moments when he wasn’t sure what the girl was writing when she used some slang, but she was always patient enough to clarify everything for him. And if he was too embarrassed to ask directly—which sometimes happened—he wrote to Sieg or Anton, whom he had somehow also managed to keep in touch with. Not as often, but enough to comfortably call them his friends.

“Well, your plane is departing soon, so you gotta get going, Toru,” Kenji pointed out.

Last year, his departure had felt more exciting than sad. But now, looking at the two friends he had finally managed to spend more time with during their last moments of high school—deepening their bond—it was hard to let go.

“Yeah, I guess so,” he muttered before turning to Kenji. “Good luck with your baseball career, man. I can’t wait to see you playing in big stadiums.”

“Bet! I’m gonna be the number one baseball player—just you wait!”

“And to you, Madoka,” he said, turning to his childhood friend, “congrats, you’re finally getting rid of me after all these years of being in the same class over and over again.”

“Oh, shut it, Dumboru!”

“Nah, but for real—good luck at Tokyo U. Not that you need it, though. After all, you were the top student as well.” He paused for a moment before adding, “Of course, right after me.”

“You just couldn’t resist adding that, huh?” Despite the annoyed look on her face, her fake irritation broke into a heartfelt chuckle. She walked up to him and gave him a friendly hug. “It’ll be weird not seeing your face every day. Good luck out there.”

Saying goodbye was hard, but it wasn’t forever. His family would always be in Tokyo, waiting at home for him to come back. His friends would be fine—they would keep in touch, just like he had managed to do with his German buddies.

Satoru sat down in his plane seat, slowly getting comfortable for the next fourteen hours. He watched some movies, read a book, took a few naps, and before he knew it, he was already walking out, retrieving his suitcase, and stepping into the meet-and-greet area.

His eyes immediately spotted a familiar face—none other than Silke, holding a piece of cardboard with three sentences written in perfect Japanese:

“Brave warrior, I have a quest for you. It’s dangerous, thrilling, and full of heart. Will you join me… as my boyfriend, and form an unbreakable party of two?”