Wednesday evening (part 1)

Sora switched off her computer. With Mel and Himari both absent, she assumed the yoga class was a success. It was strange to be in the office alone, but she appreciated the quiet. She leaned back in her chair, and stretched out her arms.

Sobue hadn’t shown up, which concerned her. She became worried, thinking that maybe she should come to see him at his apartment, perhaps they could go there with Adachi. Then, of course, her thoughts circled back to Yoshio, and how he had avoided her touch last time.

Maybe she was thinking too much about having a relationship? Seeking people who are not suited for that, imagining scenarios… Maybe a yokai boyfriend was not doable. A professor-boyfriend did not seem that appealing either. Maybe she should give up on dating altogether, and accept that she is not good at that? She signed and stood up. Then, she grabbed her bag and walked out, locking a door behind her.

Yoshio was waiting for her outside. Seeing him from across the building, she hurried to the exit. He stood there, dressed in dark colors, looking as if deep in thought. Sora paused at the door, observing him. There was something dignified in his stillness that made her smile as she approached.

"Adachi-san, you're early today!"

Yoshio’s ears turned slightly red at her comment, though she didn’t notice.

"Ahem, yes," he replied. "I had nothing to do at home, so I decided to wait here..."

"Oh, you missed me?" she teased, not realizing that her words had an impact. He stayed silent. "Well, since it’s evening, should we have dinner? I know a small place where an older couple makes the best vegetarian dishes. What do you say?"

Yoshio nodded. "Sure, let’s eat."

As they left the university grounds, Yoshio suddenly turned, his body tense as if he had sensed something. However, the dark figure hiding behind the building was already gone.

"Adachi-san? Is everything alright?" Sora asked.

"I don’t know," he said, narrowing his eyes. "Something is not right. But it’s gone now." He turned back. "We can continue."

"Okay," Sora said, watching him closely. "So, I’ve been meaning to ask…What do you do in your free time?"

Yoshio seemed caught off guard by the question, but answered calmly, "I read, investigate leads about the serial killer, and stay in shape. Sometimes I spar with Maki."

"Wait, so you don’t work? I mean I guess that you are a yokai, so probably you do not need to... But I was wondering where do you get money and stuff?"

"I have a lot of junk that I have collected over the years, now it's considered antiques. When we need some money we sell it.."

"Ah, so no recent jobs then?"

"Not lately, no." He contemplated for a moment, "I was a professor once, around a hundred years ago."

"What? For real?" Sora’s eyes widened. "You were a prof? At a university? That’s so cool! Does that make us colleagues?" She grinned. "Let me guess, you taught history?"

"Yes," Yoshio replied, putting his hands behind his back. "It was easy to teach, given my good memory and, well, that I have seen it happening."

"Em, isn’t it cheating, if you lived when it all happened?" She teased, but stopped for a second, seeing how he frowned, adding, "Well, I was going to say that it’s cool, because, you know, you saw it, so it is the most accurate information…" She decided not to press. "Anyway, why did you stop?"

"I was involved in the First Sino-Japanese War and later in the Russo-Japanese War before becoming a professor. When World War II began, I didn’t want to be part of it, nor continue at the university."

"Did you manage to avoid the war?"

"In a way. I went into seclusion for sixty years."

"Sixty years?" She blinked. "You thought it would take that long?"

"Not initially. But I decided to use the time to cultivate my powers. It helped. That’s why I’m as strong as I am now." He seemed serious, and not like he was bragging.

"That’s… impressive," Sora said. "But did you regret missing out on everything happening during those years?"

Yoshio paused, visibly caught off guard by her question. For a moment, he hesitated, unsure how much to reveal. "No," he finally said, but Sora could sense the hesitation behind his answer.

"I see..." She didn’t press it. "And I guess working one job forever isn’t really an option when you’re immortal?"

"I can change my appearance if I need to," Yoshio explained, "but it requires a lot of energy. I did not care about the job after I left."

She could not help but wonder, if he could change the appearance, then the hair…. Sora shook her head, brushing it off.

"So no chance you’d want to return to teaching?"

He considered it for a moment. "Maybe. But I have other, more pressing matters to focus on right now."

"Well, I think it’s impressive," she said enthusiastically, "I like teaching, even though my Japanese is not perfect, you know..."

Yoshio looked at her. "Your Japanese is quite good."

"Oh for real?" her eyes shined, "Thank you, Adachi-san, I appreciate it. I actually learned it from my mother; she was Japanese. My dad’s Polish-American, so I grew up multilingual. After my mom passed when I was fifteen, I had to study more on my own. I wanted to come here after I graduated, so, you know, I had to be good."

She spoke as quickly as always, but Yoshio tried to listen attentively, feeling somehow interested in learning things about her. She seemed so comfortable sharing it, he felt impressed?

"Anyway," she continued with a grin, "I’ve learned a lot about you today, Adachi-san. Since you were a teacher, you were probably great —you are so calm and reserved. Also, it means that you are very patient. This is great because you can deal with me being annoying sometimes."

Her cheeks flushed slightly as she looked down, her last words coming out quieter. Yoshio did not understand fully the intent, however, felt a bit embarrassed too. He remained silent, unsure of how to respond.

"Well, I still have plenty of questions, but first," she gestured toward a small restaurant, "let’s eat!"

"So it wasn’t far?" Yoshio asked, a bit surprised.

"No, I was just too hungry to go elsewhere, so here we are."

They entered the small place, and Yoshio instinctively chose a seat where he could see the entrance, his back against the wall. Sora didn’t care, so she sat across from him. They ordered vegetable dumplings and fried tofu with rice, some pickled vegetables, and started chatting about various cuisines.

"Wow, Adachi-san, you seem to know a lot about food from all over the world!"

"I’ve lived for a long time, and I traveled a bit," he said modestly.

"Have you ever been to the US?"

"No," he replied. "It’s a bit far. But I’ve visited most places not too far from Japan."

"How far are we talking?" she asked, sipping her pink lemonade.

"The furthest I’ve been is India and Australia. So, everything in between, I guess."

"No Europe, then?" she asked, sounding a little disappointed.

"I haven’t had a reason to go."

"I see, Adachi-san." She nodded, "It's still great you got to see the world!"

Yoshio was quiet for a moment, "Well, I suppose," he said, looking down at his chopsticks. "I planned to go to London when Jack the Reaper case was in fool bloom, but it would have taken too long…"

Their conversation was interrupted when the old man serving them brought their food. He smiled, as he put the dishes in front of them. Those dumplings were steaming hot. The fried fried looked very tasty, and there was plenty for both of them. Sora took her chopsticks, and looking ecstatic, began to eat as soon as the old man left.

Yoshio, as always, took his time, watching her with quiet amusement, thinking to himself that she looked childish when she ate in such a manner. But again, he found himself captivated, taking longer to pull his gaze away.