What Did You Talk To Her About?

A few more days had passed. Following his family's insistence, Mika had gone with them on a bicycle ride to a picnic area near Nagano. 

The area seemed a bit crowded. Playgrounds, game areas, and gazebos were set up on the grassy terrain. After parking their bicycles and renting a gazebo, they started exploring the surroundings.

"Do you remember this place, Mika?"

"Well, I kind of vaguely remember."

"It used to be your favorite park when you were little."

"Was that when I used to play with Yuki?"

"Yes. You and her were constantly running around. You would play non stop for hours."

"Yeah, now I remember more clearly."

Indeed, I used to play games around here all the time. Those were good times.

"Anyway, let's not get too nostalgic, and help your dad."

"Okay, sure."

 Even though it was the end of July, the weather was overcast, so Mika didn't feel too hot. He didn't like extreme heat much.

His mother handed him small sandwiches she had prepared.

"Thank you."

As they sat down to eat, they observed their surroundings.

"It's been a long time since we've been to places like this," said his dad as he chewed on a bite.

"Yeah, we haven't come to places like this with you since Mika didn't come either," his mother added.

"Today, he surprisingly agreed, though," his dad remarked.

"Well, it wasn't easy for him to agree. But he did, that's a fact," his mother said, finishing the last bite of her sandwich.

"Well, I don't have much else to do. The house is starting to get really boring," Mika said as he took a bite of his sandwich.

There was a moment of silence.

"Are you bored?" his mother asked in surprise.

"Y-yes, doing the same things at home every day is also boring—" Mika realized what he was saying. "Boring" was not a word he typically used, so his family looked at him in surprise. He decided to cut his sentence short.

"M-Mika, can you actually feel things like boredom?" 

"W-well, um... I think a little?" Mika stammered.

"Does this happen with other things too?"

"I-I don't know—"

"Mika, tell the truth."

"I-I sometimes get surprised, I guess. I'm not really sure, and sometimes other things happen, I think, but I don't understand."

They all exchanged glances. While Mika found their astonishment a bit strange, it was actually quite normal. He was surprised by what he had just said as well.

"I-understand... Ren, let's take a little walk around," his mother said.

"But we were still talking and eating—"

"REN!"

"Alright, my dear." His father adjusted his glasses and stood up. He looked at Mika and then quickly went over to Hana's side.

What happened to the two of them out of nowhere?

***

Mika was sitting alone under the gazebo, observing his surroundings. Suddenly, his phone rang. It was Saya calling.

"Hello?" he said.

"Hey there, Mika. How are you?" Saya's voice came through.

"I'm okay, I guess. And you?"

"I'm good too. We haven't talked in a few days, and I was getting curious," Saya said.

Mika was reminded of the conversation he had with Rin and Eirin a few days ago.

"Yeah, that's right. When are you coming back?"

"Did you miss me?"

"Uh, no, I just wanted to keep the conversation going."

"You're so rude, Mika. You know that, right?"

"What did I do this time?"

"Forget it." Saya's voice sounded relaxed. There was a faint sound of wind in the background. Mika assumed she might be outside.

"Uh, okay. So, are you not going to answer my question?"

"I missed you," Saya said. She suddenly fell silent. Mika paused for a moment. That wasn't the question he asked.

"My question wasn't about that, though..."

"I know, stupid... I just w-wanted to say it." Her voice sounded embarrassed and slightly angry.

Saya let out a deep breath. "We're coming back tomorrow."

"Alright, that's good. How was your time with your aunts?"

"It was nice. Osaka is such an amazing city."

"Oh, you went to Osaka? I didn't know."

"Yeah, I left without giving much detail, sorry."

"No problem. Anyway, it's great that you're happy. Maybe we can meet up when you're back in Nagano," Mika suggested.

There was a brief silence.

"Did you really just suggest that?" Saya asked in astonishment.

"Y-yeah, why?"

"Because you're not the kind of person who would want to do something like that."

"B-because I want to spend time with you." Just as Mika was about to explain, his parents approached.

"Hey, Mika, are you talking to Saya?" his mother asked.

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

"May I have the phone for a moment?" she asked.

"Hello, Mika?" Saya said.

"Just a moment, Saya, I'm giving the phone to my mom to talk to you."

"Hello, Saya, how are you? I'm good too, thank you," Mika's mother spoke into the phone.

Mika looked at his mother. Then he turned to his father who was standing next to him. He asked, 

"What are they talking about?"

"I don't know…" his father replied, but it was clear he was lying.

"When you come back tomorrow, you're coming over to our place, okay?" his mother looked happy. "Alright then, see you later." She handed the phone back to Mika.

"What did you talk to her about?"

"U-uh, I invited her over to our house for tomorrow. We have something to tell both of you."

"O-okay?" Mika seemed surprised by this situation. He was starting to experience the sensation of surprise more vividly now.

After spending a bit more time at the picnic area, they began heading home as the sun was beginning to set. While riding his bike, .

When did I become so close to someone?