Wednesday evening (part 2)

As they left the restaurant, Sora stretched and turned to Yoshio.

"I wanted to check on my colleague —the one who walked me home before I ran into the snake. Back then he received a message and left abruptly, and then yesterday he seemed weird, left early, and did not show up today at all! Plus, he’s not answering his phone, which is so unlike him. He’s a reliable guy, wouldn’t just disappear. Maybe his girlfriend dumped him or something."

Yoshio hesitated. "Sure, but…"

"Oh, don’t worry, we’ll stop by the boba shop on the way. I didn’t forget about our agreement!" Sora laughed, since it was so clear he wanted to have some, but was embarrassed to admit it.

"Okay," he muttered.

"I’ll buy you a new flavor you’ll like. I’ll also get some for Sobue—I am afraid he has a broken heart now…"

"Why are you so certain? As you said, he’s a grown man. Maybe he went somewhere today."

Sora shook her head. "No, you’ll see. He’s not the spontaneous-travel-type. More the cry-at-home-if-dumped type."

""Cry?" Yoshio repeated, feeling weird. "Okay."

"Come on, it's not far. We can walk."

After a brief stop at the bubble tea shop, Yoshio was happily sipping a new flavor, following Sora unconsciously.

"How do you like this one, Adachi-san?" she asked, smiling.

"Not bad," he admitted. "I like matcha, so this isn’t entirely new, but with the pearls, it's nice."

"He-he, I’m glad. I am lactose intolerant, so I always have to check whether they have the other milk. And then it’s not so tasty anymore…" She started blabbering, Yoshi didn’t mind. His attention was on his drink, he nodded, as if listening. Unsure whether he was actually listening, Sora stopped, "Okay, we’re here." Sora pointed to the building ahead. "He lives on the top floor."

Next, they approached the door, and she rang the bell. No response. She rang again. Still no answer.

"Maybe he traveled, like I told you," Yoshio said, disinterested, sipping his bubble tea.

"No, I’m sure he’s in there, crying." She knocked harder. "Sobue-kun, open up! It’s Sora! I brought bubble tea for you, the one you like! If you don’t answer, I’ll have to call the police and tell them a crybaby drowned in his own tears!"

After a pause, the keys turned, and the door creaked open. Sobue looked sleepy, as he peeked out. His eyes were red.

"Sora, what are you doing here?" He looked exhausted, "why did you come?"

"Wow, you look terrible," She paused, "Well, if you want to know, you didn’t show up today, didn’t answer your phone, so I got worried…"

Sobue's gaze shifted to Yoshio, standing next to her with his drink. "And he is..?"

She made an apologetic expression. "Oh, this is Adachi-san. He came along to make sure I don’t run into trouble."

Sobue sighed. "Whatever."

"Oh, Sobue-kun, you’re so cute when you make that angry face! I had to get your attention somehow. I promise I won’t say anything else!" she grinned, missing the way Yoshio suddenly looked at her. Sobue caught Yoshio’s stare and felt a chill.

"Whatever, come in." Sobue stepped aside.

"Yay!" Sora handed the bubble tea to Sobue as she entered confidently.

Sobue glanced at Yoshio. "Em, you too, I guess, since you’re with her."

Yoshio raised an eyebrow and followed.

The apartment was clean: shelves lined with books, manga, and video games. Everything was in place except for a few tissues scattered near the bed. Yoshio’s frown deepened.

Sobue rushed to pick up the tissues, flustered. "Sorry, I, uh… well, I-I cried."

Sora’s eyes lit up. "So, I was right? She dumped you?"

"Well…nothing to be so excited about!"

"Oh, I’m sorry, Sobue!" She genuinely felt sad for him. She opened her arms wide, "need a hug?"

Yoshio’s jaw dropped, he forgot he had a tapioca pearl he was chewing on. Sobue, noticing Yoshio’s reaction, quickly waved his hands.

"No-no, Sora, I’m fine! I just needed a day off. I watched Your Name and had a good cry, that’s all."

"Wow, Sobue-kun, romantic you are." Sora sat on the floor. "I should have bought you some food instead of tea."

Sobue looked nervously at Yoshio, who stood quietly with an expression of exasperation. "No, really, I’m fine. I ate… I ordered something earlier… I think."

Yoshio muttered, "He is alive, we can leave now."

Sora turned to him with wide eyes. "Adachi-saaan, we absolutely cannot! People with broken hearts are vulnerable. Sobue," she turned back to him, "we should play a game, together, like racing. I bet Adachi-san has never played before!"

"Em, Sora—" Sobue started to protest.

"No, no, it's decided!" She tugged at Yoshio’s sleeve, pulling him down to the floor next to her. "Sobue, we’re staying!" Yoshio did not know whether to cry or to laugh, so he just sighed. She looked up at him, "You can finish my boba too, if you want."

Yoshio took her cup, thinking that he definitely wanted to finish that weird mix of everything that she chose for herself. In the meantime, Sobue reluctantly handed out controllers, explaining the rules to Yoshio.

As they started playing, surprisingly, Yoshio wasn’t bad at the game and became quite competitive. They played several rounds before he finally won first place.

"Wow, Adachi-san, you’re doing great for a first-timer!" Sora seemed impressed.

Suppressing a smile, Yoshio modestly said, "I guess."

Sobue rolled his eyes. "Want to try Mortal Kombat next? Sora’s not very good at it, so you’ll be evenly matched."

"Hey, Sobue, that's cheating telling him that!"Sora protested.

"Is it? He will see you play the moment you start fighting."

Yoshio carefully studied the characters, seriously weighing each one’s combat abilities.

"Oh, you’re so meticulous," Sora teased. "I usually pick Kitana or Sub Zero."

Yoshio carefully examined the characters she mentioned, noting mentally that Maki probably would have also choosen them.

"I’ll go with him," Yoshio said, choosing Liu Kang, and Sobue thought is was too obvious of a choice. He smirked but held back his comment, while Sora chuckled.

"I expected that."

"What do you mean, is he bad?" Adachi asked seriously, which made Sora laugh even more.

"Not at all. You’ll find out. Let's begin!"

They pressed start, and though Yoshio hesitated at first, his competitiveness spilled over his composure. Sora, on the other hand, smashed buttons randomly, getting frustrated as she started to lose.

"This is stupid!" she huffed, throwing her controller. Sobue caught it just in time, appearing beside her. "I want a rematch!"

"Sora, are you sure? You always get too emotional during these games," Sobue hesitated to give the controller back to her.

Ignoring him, she grabbed it, and frowned, focusing. This time, she managed to execute the same combo over and over, leaving Yoshio no room to dodge. She won.

"Yes! Yes! Did you see that? Kitana is the best, and so am I!"

"Okay, Sora, move…" Sobue knew her well, so he had to take this moment, before the situation spiralled out of control. Yoshio looked at her, surprised at that new side. In his eyes, she looked absolutely insane.

"Adachi-san, want to play against me? I’m a little better than her," Sobue said, pushing Sora away (again), and flung himself down next to Yoshio.

"Sure."

Sobue also intended to win, as he was very good at video games, actually. He smiled mischievously. Sora observed the fight. Which got very intense very fast. She thought she might have to resolve the real fight in the future, if it continued like that. Both men were quietly pushing the buttons, but the fight on the screen got violent.

Sora, watching the screen closely, swallowed nervously—this was getting competitive fast. Yoshio, who usually kept his composure, was so focused, he seemed childish, and she couldn’t help but feel a warm fondness for him. They played three matches quietly.

Fiinally, Sobue exclaimed, "Yes! I won!"

"I want a rematch," Yoshio said, determined.

Sora intervened quickly. "Hey, hey! Let’s take a break. Maybe we should eat something. Sobue, should I order you some food? I want some dessert."

"Oh, I can do it myself…" Sobue began.

"No, let me. Just tell me what you want!"

"Okay… maybe some chicken."

"Got it!" Sora winked, opening an app on her phone. "Ordering now. Adachi-san, do you want anything?"

"No, thank you."

"As you wish," She finished the order, while Sobue loaded up a peaceful city-building game, wanting to show off his city. It was a nice, cozy game where you have to build a town. Adachi seemed impressed, as if interested in making his own town too.

"Oh, if you buy the console, we could connect online and visit each other," Sobue suggested.

Yoshio looked puzzled. "Why would I visit you?"

Sobue looked sad, "Okay, I guess you are right. Nothing to see."

"Oh," Yoshio replied, feeling slightly awkward. "I can see your city now, so there is no need to see it again. My memory is pretty well, I do not need to see things several times to remember them..."

Sobue replied, "I mean, it’s more to hang out. You visit to spend time."

Adachi looked up, perplexed. "I see."

"Boys, the food’s on the way!" Sora announced. "Sobue, you’ll eat soon!"

"Thanks, Sora." Sobue cleared his throat. "I was having a pretty bad day, but you guys really helped. I’m glad you came."

"Of course! We’re friends, so don’t worry about dying alone!" Sora slapped him on the back. "Now, let’s see what hentai games you’ve got!"

"Wait—what?!"

Yoshio watched their banter, feeling as if he somehow was a part of this, and it wasn’t so bad. Without realizing it, he smiled.