Nine

"He surpassed me long ago though." Agari-san shrugged and said casually, as if it was not a significant fact.

Just... how old were these people?! She looked nothing like his teacher and he hadn't seemed to have aged in the past 20 years either.

I ended up looking at Chiyo. For how long has she been four years old then?

"You look very confused right now." Agari-san laughed. "What's on your mind?"

"Uh... No. I was just...So, you're his teacher?"

"Don't believe me?"

"Well, you don't really look like you could be his teacher..." I admitted meekly.

"I take that as a compliment." She smiled. "And I also take that Kou-chan hasn't told you everything."

"Agari. I am handling this." He gave her a look that made me recoil but made her laugh.

"You haven't changed at all, have you?"

He glared at her.

"Okay. Okay." She put up her hands in surrender. "Akane-chan, you don't need to be worried either. You're in good hands."

I looked at Terasaki-san when she said that. No matter how dissatisfied with her presence he seemed, I could now see that they actually had a good relationship. It did bother me that she said that he hadn't told me everything but I had come to accept the situation and to trust in Terasaki-san in my own way. I felt that he'd tell me when I needed to know.

"Agari, I need to talk to you." Terasaki-san said.

"Mhm. So, my experience does matter to you." She smirked.

"There's something bothering me." He looked at her seriously. All I could do was look between the two of them.

"Akane-chan, why don't you go spend some time with Chiyo?" Agari-san addressed me, becoming serious again.

"Okay." I understood that they did not want me to hear this, so I went over to Chiyo. While the two of them talked about whatever it was that Terasaki-san wanted to talk to her about, I confirmed with Chiyo that Agari-san was the 'acquaintance' who helped them out with a lot of things and not just food. She was also the one who had helped Terasaki-san raise Chiyo. From what I could make out, she seemed to be their only trusted contact with the outside world.

"Chiyo." Agari-san called once they were done talking. "And Akane-chan. I'll be leaving now. This young man had the audacity to order me around. Since it's a matter of concern for the both of us, I decided to do him this favour."

I looked at Terasaki-san. "Is everything okay?"

"You don't need to worry about it now." He smiled softly as if to reassure me.

"You're going, Aga-san?" Chiyo asked.

"Yes, I am." She nodded. "Kou-chan needs me to go."

"Aw." She said, clearly disappointed.

"By the way, she calls him Kou-chan because I call him Kou-chan." She added with a wink. "You can do that too."

"Agari." Terasaki-san called sternly.

"Okay. Okay. I'll be off then." She waved and left, the door opening and closing behind her despite no one lifting a finger. I could tell that she was the one who did that.

"Don't call me that." Terasaki-san stared pointedly at me.

"I-I won't." I shook my head. It felt weird- the very thought of my calling him Kou-chan.

"Good. For now, we'll be fine. Agari will look into some... irregularities. We'll deal with those when it comes to that." He paused and walked over, sitting beside Chiyo. "I don't want you to concern yourself with it."

"Alright but... I feel a little bad. This is all happening because of me so..." I looked down. I did trust him but I didn't want to just sit idle and be protected.

"I figured you'd say that." He sighed.

You did, huh?

He watched me silently for a bit, then popped a Manju in his mouth and asked. "What's dinner?"

"Oh, yes!" I perked up, having completely forgotten about dinner. "I'm sorry, I'll get to it right now." I stood up and went straight to the kitchen. Terasaki-san eventually turned to Chiyo and left me to cook. I had a million questions but I didn't quite feel that asking then would be a good move and so, I let it slide.

"Today seems busier than usual." I commented, standing behind the counter with Matsumoto-san and watching the shop floor.

"Yes, it does. That's probably because the Manager's daughter's friends decide to drop in. See that group over by the window there? They're sitting next your lover." He motioned to a group of college students. I gave him a piercing glare.

"Miyazono-san is not my lover."

"Hm? I wonder..." He smirked. "Anyway, that group is all the crowd and noise in here right now. It is kinda refreshing, isn't it?"

"Mm. I guess so." I nodded. "But I used to come here for the peace and quiet too, over and above the food."

"You used to come here?" He looked at me in surprise. "How long ago? I've been here a while so I ought to know any regular customer. We don't have that many new faces around here anyway."

Oh, crap. I slipped up. "A-Ah. I wasn't a regular. I'd come just once or twice." I decided to change the topic. "How long have you been here exactly?"

"I guess around... 2 years?"

"You've been working part-time here for 2 years?" That was surprising.

"It's the ambience, like you said. And the people here are nice. I never wanted to leave." He shrugged.

"Much to my dismay." The Manager said from behind us, making us turn to him.

"Oh, come on. You know you love me. You can't let me go. You won't find anyone to replace me." Matsumoto-san grinned. I guess the time length explained why the Manager and Matsumoto-san were so close.

I had come here often with Shibata-kun and, honestly, I hadn't quite payed attention to anything or anyone around us so it was understandable that I wouldn't remember Masumoto-san.

"Just my luck, huh? "The Manager shook his head and looked at me. "How about you? How are you finding it here, Kirishima-chan?"

I smiled. "I like it here. In fact, I understand Matsumoto-san's sentiment. This place is quite comforting."

"That's good to hear." He nodded with a smile and turned to leave. "Carry on with your work." He proceeded to his office at the back. Just as Matsumoto-san was about to say something to me, one of the female customers from the college group raised her hand and beckoned to us.

"I'll get that." I offered and went over to take their order. In the meantime, Shibata-kun talked to Matsumoto-san and cleared his bill. He smiled at me as he left. After attending to the college group, I returned to my post next to Matsumoto-san again.

"Too bad." He said immediately. "Your lover couldn't wait any longer because he had other plans and you were too busy to attend to him."

I gave him another glare. "He. Is. Not. My. Lover."

"Of course, he isn't." He chuckled.

"He isn't!"

"Right." He nodded, clearly still mocking me.

"Matsumoto-san!"

"I'm backing off." He laughed in defeat. "But you know, you're fun to tease."

"Hey!" I pouted.

"Speaking of you, where is Terasaki-san? I haven't seen him here." He looked around.

"He's in the kitchen."

"What are you? His personal GPS?" He chuckled.

More like he is mine. I shrugged.

"Why don't you just talk to this Shibata-kun properly? Outside of work. Get to know him. He might just become your lover."

"Okay. That's it." I walked away from him and towards the kitchen, leaving him to laugh in my wake.

"What are you doing here?" Terasaki-san asked me when I approached him. I made the escape from Matsumoto-san but I had another reason too. There was a dull ache in my neck. I was painfully aware of the building emotions.

"I should probably stay away from Shibata-kun." I said and looked at him seriously. He watched me without a word, so I continued. "Matsumoto-san is convinced that we're potential lovers and when he says so so openly and so many times, it is kind of hard to overlook the possibility." I paused. "We were so close...Just so damn close... It's frustrating- lying to him like this and watching him believe that he doesn't know me from before when clearly, for some strange reason, he seems to have a hunch." I caught myself before I said anything more. I was ranting- a clear indication that I was terribly upset. Seeing that I'd stopped, he slowly asked.

"Are you okay?"

Am I okay? I looked away with a small helpless smile. "It's a little too late but I might be in love with him."

He looked around. No one else was nearby. I had ensured so before speaking anyway. He then looked at me. "I truly am sorry."

That pricked my heart. "I don't want you to apologise. You've done nothing wrong. I just ended up talking to you because I have no one else to talk to right now. Watching him leave just now made me realise it all the more."

"I understand." He nodded. "You can talk to me."

"Thank you." I smiled, honestly thankful for his kindness. "I don't want to put him in harm's way. After seeing the Kage last time..."

He sighed, then picked something up from the counter and held it out to me. "It's freshly made."

A slice of chocolate truffle cake, plated to be displayed out front.

"Wait. I can't eat that." I shook my head.

"It's alright. I'll just plate another one. You'll feel better." He insisted.

What did I ever do to deserve such care? The way that Terasaki-san looked after me was probably the only reason that I could go on with this lost life of mine. I accepted the cake. "Thank you for everything you do, Terasaki-san. I'm glad I have you."

He gave me a small smile and ruffled up my hair a little. "Okay. Go back to work as soon as you're done."

"Mm." I agreed and left him to continue with his own work as I returned to the front.

"Thank you for your good work." Matsumoto-san saw us off after work as always.

"You too. See you tomorrow." I smiled and waved as Terasaki-san and I left the café. By the time we'd finished work, it had grown cloudy outside. It was the monsoon season at its start. I really just wanted to get home and enjoy a cup of hot coffee.

Thinking such a thought, just as we turned into the street, however, I halted causing Terasaki-san to stop right behind me. There, just outside the café, leaning against the wall, stood the dark brown-haired young man whom I'd been meaning to keep a distance from. He noticed me immediately and pushed away from the wall to step towards me with a smile. "Kirishima-chan."

"Mi-Miyazono-san." I looked back at Terasaki-san who had an unreadable expression on. Why was he always so difficult to understand when I needed to know what he was thinking?! Shibata-kun... I slowly faced him again. "What brings you back here? I-If you want something, you could just go in."

"Ah. No." His eyes darted between me and Terasaki-san before finally settling on me. "I was hoping that I could-" He paused. "Am I interrupting something?"

"N-No." I replied without giving it much thought. I hadn't wanted him to have any misunderstandings regarding my relationship with Terasaki-san but maybe it would have been better to have him believe otherwise, considering that I didn't want to get too close to him. I had just ended up saying what I honestly wanted to.

Terasaki-san, help me.

"I see. Good then." He smiled even wider. He was still essentially the same person but something had changed. He had mellowed down considerably. It was the kind of mellow he got when he was treading on uncertain ground. "You're heading home?"

"Yes, I am." It shouldn't concern you.

"Could I walk you halfway?" He asked.

I'd never seen him so serious before. He wanted to walk me halfway? He wasn't the kind of person to take so much effort for just anyone.

Shibata-kun, this isn't making it any easier for me. Please, just leave me alone. I don't want to hurt you.

"We need to hurry." Terasaki-san stepped up to me. "Chiyo's waiting for us."

"Oh." I snapped out of my silent pleas. Shibata-kun looked a little taken aback by Terasaki-san's sudden intervention too. "I...uh..."

"No. It's fine. If you're hard-pressed for time, go ahead. I'll see you tomorrow." Shibata-kun smiled and waved a dismissal of the sullen atmosphere. "It's not like it has to be today."

Oh, God.

"Come on." Terasaki-san said and began walking, passing Shibata-kun without even looking back.

"I'm sorry, Miyazono-san."

"Tomorrow." He said, his eyes trained on me expectantly.

I didn't know what else to do. "Okay." I nodded and caught up to Terasaki-san. I was aware of how it took Shibata-kun a little more time to actually look away and leave.

I felt terrible. How could I do that to him? He even waited for me and I...

I pressed a hand to my throbbing neck. It was suffocating. My chest felt tight. Walking away from Shibata-kun hurt.

It wasn't fair!

I should probably have bunked class with him that day when he had asked me to. It would've given me at least a little more time with him. The promised celebration, the unreceived birthday present and the planned date that we couldn't go on... All the time that we'd spent together... Was I going to be the only one to have lived that reality?

This was way too cruel.

"Akane." Terasaki-san called after walking silently for a bit.

"Thank you for what you did." I said before he could speak any further. "I wouldn't have been able to say 'no' to him."

"Are you sure about this?" He asked, making me look at him. He slowly took my hand off my neck. "This isn't doing you any good."

"B-But I can't... I can't protect him if we get attacked again. I attract trouble. You and Chiyo can handle it but... Shibata-kun won't be able to." If only I was powerful enough to protect him...

"Neither can Matsumoto or your other customers." Terasaki-san pointed out. "If you're that worried about others getting hurt, then stay at home."

That hit really hard. He was right. I was a walking call of death. I could hurt even the people walking by me on the street. How could I have that easily forgotten that dozens of people had already lost their lives because of me 15 years ago?

"But I don't want you to do that." Terasaki-san then sighed and said softly. "You can't live like that. Miyazono has not forgotten you entirely. This is out of all of our powers."

He really had not forgotten me.

I stopped walking and turned to him. I wanted to cry. "He... What will I do if we get attacked?"

"I'm not saying that you should accept him. If it comes down to it though, I will do everything I can to protect you and those important to you. I can't guarantee anything but you've suffered enough."

Can't... guarantee it... No.

I sighed and began walking again. "Let's just go home." I massaged my neck a bit, trying to ease the pain at least a little, despite knowing that it wouldn't help. Terasaki-san said nothing more. The rest of the walk home was silent.