Past occurring obstacles

Later, that same evening, I had received another message. Not only was Fujiwara giving me an update, I also got a confirmation for a meeting. Even more surprising was the fact it was scheduled for tomorrow after school. Never would I have imagined that resolving this mystery would actually go that fast.
Normally, I would ride this wave of positivity forward, but, right now, I remained cautious. It might develop unexpectedly. Heck, what could I even expect in the first place? Concern and excitement mixed into one, keeping me at edge.
As such, I got a few questioning remarks during dinner.
“Minoru, is something up?”
“Not really.”
“Are you sure? You seem even more absent minded than usual?”
“Now now, Yukiko. Didn’t you just tell me this morning not to worry too much about it?”
“Yes, but he is our son…”
“And because he is our son, I have faith that things are alright, and if not, he will come to us. Let me guess, you have some thoughts about next week.”
I took the lifeline dad had passed me. “Yes. We are still planning on what exactly to do. I had been doing research on my own, and want to finish it tonight.” Then, I had an idea for an excuse. “We might talk about it for a while after school, and meet up somewhere, so I will come home later than usual.” With this, I had an excuse to come late due to meeting with Fujiwara and her friend. ‘Now I only need something to tell the others why I couldn’t meet with them.’
“That is good to hear.”
“And don’t worry. You won’t have to tell us every time you run late. If it gets really late, then yes. But otherwise, we just guess you are out playing with friends.”
“Generally, it is safer here than in the city. And even there not that many things happen. But this land is peacefuller. If anything, you probably got lost. But you have cellphone for that.”
And thus, I had the permission to stay away late without need of prior notification. ‘Might come handy in the future.’

Dinner passed, and I went up again. I continued my research, to distract my thoughts. I took a bath, and laid down in bed. I tried to sleep, but the thoughts about tomorrow kept me awake in the beginning of the night. Seemed like another short rest was in for me.

***

The same scene again. At least, it seemed that way. Now, for some reason, it became clearer. The hazy lights that swerved around me came into focus. Instead of fireflies, they looked more like disembodied lanterns, or wisps, flying through the air. Not only that, but their colors had changed. Unlike the previous monotonous yellow, they now had many colors. Blue, orange, yellow, purple, red, green. They danced around, without a care. Perhaps this time, I could muster to gather more intel. But, as I turned next to me, to face the other person, the dream ended…

***

I woke up, annoyed for the second time in a row. No, I shouldn’t be. I made progress, and that is what counted. I looked out the window. The rising sun stretched its rays out to cover the waking land. I also saw a few specks of light flying around in my field of vision while looking out. ‘Must have gotten up too quickly, or accidentally looked into the sun.’
Still somewhat drowsy, I got out of bed. A few minutes later, I walked down the stairs, everything the same as always. Mom and dad were in the kitchen, same as always. I took my seat, we ate. Everything followed its daily rhythm. Until, I left the door. Or rather, I didn’t leave. I just stood in the doorway, unable to move. Nothing held me back, I was simply shocked still by the view in front of me. The selfsame lights of my dreams danced around in the front yard. Sure, they weren’t as bright or colorful or saturated and numerous as the dream, but they were there.

“Is something wrong?” Dad asked form behind me. I turned around. Shifting his focus away from me, he gazed in front of me. Looking for what made me stop. But the neutral expression on his face didn’t change. ‘He can’t see them.’ Which should have been obvious. Calming myself, I gave a vague “Alright, just a bit dizzy”, and moved on.
“Want me to give you a ride?”
“No. If I walk a few steps, things should sort themselves out.”
“If you say so…” He looked behind us. Seeing mom still there, he opted to lean down and whispered into my ear. “If you feel bad during school, just go home. Call me instead of your mom, she might worry too much. If you don’t want to go home straight away, you can come to my office, or just tell me where you are.”
I grinned at him. He truly worried about me dearly. I thought, it must be his nature. Suppressing to think about the incident from eight years ago, I gave my reply. “Alright, will do.”
“What are you whispering about?” Mom asked, stepping towards us, pouting playfully.
Dad panicked. He had no skill in lying to mom, not even able to tell harmless ones. As a side note, that is why we never planned surprises. Dad would not be able to keep his mouth shut. And, since he felt bad if only he got some, he didn't want any either. Therefore, our rule.
So, I picked it up in his stead, acting a bit embarrassed. “Well… just a bit of man on man talk.” I hoped it would be enough to dissuade her from pursuing the matter further. And it worked. She sighed and simply told us. “That is alright, but maybe not on your way to work and school respectively. Now, get going, or both of you are going to end up late.”
““Yes.”” And thus, we marched on.

The lights didn’t follow me. They had simply stayed in space. Looking around, I saw them from time to time. It was another mystery. But, for now, I put it aside. In a few hours, I would be able to talk to someone, and get answers. Just another question to add to the bunch, that’s all.
And, if I reacted to them too much, people might think me a weirdo, who was starring to empty space around me. Ignoring would be the better way to go about this. Especially, since I didn’t know what they were. I doubt they were a threat, but it was better to be safe.

The walk to school ended in a flash. On my way to the classroom, I heard whispers around me, mainly from fellow first year students. Now, as I entered the classroom, all eyes centered on me. ‘Getting the VIP treatment, how nice.’
I dropped my bag of at my seat, and before I even sat down, Sugimoto was onto me. “What was that about yesterday!”
Before I could even begin to answer, Ono came in to pacify him. “Now now, calm down. I am sure he was just about to tell us, right?” I saw the glint in his eyes. He was just as curious as to what was going on as Sugimoto, perhaps even more.
I had anticipated this situation, and prepared my reply the previous afternoon. “As you might have heard, I wanted to ask someone a few questions. That person happened to be Fujiwara’s friend, so she told me she would arrange a meeting with them.”
“…That’s it?!”
“Yes. I don’t know what you heard, but remember, rumors tend to be blown out of proportion.” Murmurs passed through the entire classroom. ‘Were you all listening in!? Just how important is this to some.?’

Then, someone else came forward. One of the girls situated at the front. “And, who would that be?” I had seen her around Fujiwara a few times, but was unable to remember her last name. I had heard her first name often enough, Kaori. But using it out of the blue seemed like a bad idea.
Just as I had no idea how the person I was looking for was named. “Well, I don’t know her name, but I saw her. She was about half a head shorter than Fujiwara. Slim build, long straight black hair. Ring any bells?”
“…I haven’t seen her around here.”
“Ah!” Back from the group came the exclamation. “I have seen her and Ayame walk around town together. She doesn't attend this school.”
“So that mystery is solved. But why would you want to ask questions to someone you obviously don’t know?”
“Well…” I could reply, but didn't want to give everything away. “It is a private matter. But why is it so important to you anyway?”
“…” The girl regarded me for a while. Then she grabbed my wrist, and pulled me along with a short “Accompany me for a moment.” And I was led into the circle of girls. Then, surrounded by the entourage, they moved me out of the classroom. We passed by one of the people in question, Fujiwara, as she just arrived in class.
“Sorry Ayame, we will be back shortly.” Then, they continued to shuffle me along. Up the stairs, we walked onto the rooftop. Very much in the fashion of an imminent beat-down, they surrounded me in a half circle, with my back against the wall.

Kaori stepped forward again. “We have more privacy here. Now, tell us why you want to meet that person.” She crossed her arms, and glared at me. It wasn’t really intimidating, but it looked like she would accept no other answer. So, I decided to tell them the truth, omitting just a few things.
“Sigh. Alright. You see, I lived in this area before. We moved to the city because my father got a job offer. Now, we returned.” The people around me were listening and starring intently, probably looking for signs if I lie and make things up. “In the past, I had a good friend here. I thought, that girl might have been her, so I wanted to ask her.”
Someone else came forward “…That’s all?”
“Yes.” ‘No, but I am not going to tell you more.’ I tried to keep an innocent expression.
Another person joined in. “But, why ask Ayame for help then?”
“As you said,” ‘By the way, thanks for telling me.’ “She and the girl were walking around together. I had seen them, but was unable to approach during that time.”
People turned back to Kaori, who was furring her brows. “It sounds fishy. If you knew her in the past, why do you have no name?”
“Well…” ‘Okay, I have to think of something, quickly.’ But, unexpectedly, someone came to my rescue. The door to the rooftop opened, and Fujiwara walked in. The others noticed the door opening too, and turned their eyes in that direction.

“Ayame, why are you here?”
She sighed deeply, and then tried to muster her best version of a glare. “Because you essentially kidnapped a classmate, and dragged him here.” She walked closer to us. “I had overheard your conversation and have a good grasp of what is going on. I appreciate you doing this for me, but I can fend for myself.”
‘Sorry, but during all of this, you looked more like a child giving an angry explanation to her parents as to why she should be allowed to stay up past her bedtime.’ I couldn't take her seriously. But, the same wasn’t true for those around me. “But…” Her friends didn’t give up that easily.
Then, Fujiwara looked at me, a sorrowful look in her eyes. ‘Was something wrong?’ With great care in her voice, she asked “May I tell them?”
“Ehm… sure.” I had no idea what she was on about, so I left it to her, hoping for the best.
She nodded, then turned to the crowd. “What I tell you now better remain secret. During his child hood here, Mi-, Yamazaki had an accident in the woods. He had been lost for several days, without anyone finding him. Only after four days, he was rescued.” ‘How did she know that?!’ “He was seven years old. Survival for a child in the wilderness without water or food was harsh. Surely, the shock from it must have been big, perhaps even affecting parts of his memories. Then, after treatment in a hospital, his family moved to the city.”
“How-” Someone else asked before I could, but got cut short.
“I had talked with Suzune, the girl he wants to meet, and she told me. Before arranging for them to meet, I would naturally ask her.”

The crowd in front of me was silent. Many let their heads hang down, others gazed at me with sympathy in their eyes. “Sorry.” I heard whispered a few times.
The incident happened a long time ago, and I didn’t come out worse because of it, so their apologies wouldn’t be needed. But, this was an excellent way to get out of the situation. As time was running short before class, I wanted to round it up. “Well, there you have it. Maybe you can guess now why I didn’t want to talk about it so much.” Oops, that wording may have been off, as some of them winced.
Fujiwara came front and center, clapped her hands to get everyones attention. “Yes yes. Now, everything is over, and we can pretend this never happened, which should be best for everyone involved. Is everyone alright with this?” Naturally, the gazes converged on me first.
“I would appreciate it.” ‘To get out of this mess.’ Then, one after the other, everyone gave their consent.
“Good, then let us move back down. Everyone, follow me.” Fujiwara pumped her fist up, putting cheer into her last sentence. People quickly followed her, and we descended down the stairs.

On our way down, Kaori approached me, drawing close. Then, saying quietly. “Sorry. About the whole situation, it’s just-”
“Its alright.” I tried to say it kindly. “I could tell you didn't mean it badly. You are worried about Fujiwara, I take it?”
“Yes. …At times, that girl can be really air headed. And gullible. And gets easily tricked. So, all of us worry about her. That someone might take advantage of her good nature.” She hesitated before continuing on with the next bit. “We had assumed, you were using some excuse and trying to get close to her.”
“Didn’t I hear rumors that she already shot several people down?”
“Yes, and that is good. Although, we might have played a part in the background…” I felt like that wasn’t all of the story, but didn’t prod further. “Anyway, again, sorry for all of this.” Her head hung low.
I held my hand up. “Let’s just follow her suggestion, and pretended that this never happened. Okay?” I smiled, and she did in return, “Yes.”, grateful for the chance to let things end without any bad blood.
We returned to class shortly before classes started. Among the boys there were discussions, but luckily they got silenced at the arrival of the teacher.
During break, they would grill me for answers, but I somehow managed through. In part due to the support from the girls in class, who covered my back. Likely, my standing in their eyes had improved. Not only that, it might provide me with cover in the future, if I may need it. But, that was just a side thought.

Aside from that main topic, I had a talk with the others during our lunch break. Sugimoto and Ono were here naturally, and Tanaka had come over from the other classroom. They asked a few follow-up questions too, but as most had already made its rounds, we quickly exhausted that topic. Then, as planned, we went to our actually intended theme, the holidays. At least, I had assumed, but Sugimoto shoved something else in first.
“I may have needed the entire night, but I managed to get the math down on my own.” He was proud of his progress.
“Well done.”
“Not bad.”
“That is the will!”
Now, Ono had realized something, and chipped in “That means, you had done nothing in regards to our planning for golden week, right?”
“…” Sugimoto fell silent. The goading and prideful attitude was gone, as he shrunk back into his seat.
“Dude, we had wanted to settle it toda-”
“Tomorrow!” He shot his head down, raising his clasped hands in apology. “Tomorrow I will have it done! So please, give me another day!”
“…What do you guys think?” Ono turned to us.
Tanaka regarded him, and with a sigh announced his verdict. “I think we should give him another chance.” Sugimoto looked up at him, crying tears of joy.
The other two now looked at me. “I say we wait until tomorrow. Everyone should have a chance to present their plans. Plus, he didn’t actually simply forget about it and play around, he worked on something. For once.” ‘Not to mention, this works in my favor too.’
“Oooh, thank you, thank you.” Now he rubbed his hands together, as if in prayer.
“Alright, I agree. So, I expect something great form you Hiroshi.”
“Don’t worry! I will prepare a plan that will knock you off your socks! Look forward to it! Hahahahaha!” The energy was back in him.
And so, one of my problems had resolved itself.

After these distractions, school went by, and ended. Now, with classes finished, Fujiwara came to my desk. Finally, I would be able to take a step forward. And thus, we walked out the school.
Some information must have spread during he day, as talking around us was quieter than I had assumed. Having a group of girls on your side is a really good damage control…