"So you've come here all the way to see a friend? That's kind of mad!" the man laughed, amused.

They had been making small talk, though the man had done most of the talking. She wasn't quite used to being in someone else's presence anymore. However, his easygoing nature and patience in waiting for her stumbling and fumbling for words had put her much at ease. It felt good talking to someone.

"I'm Kazuya, by the way. I think we haven't introduced ourselves yet."

Neither showing acknowledgement nor any other emotion, for that matter, the woman simply replied: "I'm Nii."

"ニーか? But travelling all the way to meet a friend really is something else! You're kind of nuts, aren't you?" he chuckled softly. The man, Kazuya, had a knack for creating just the right distance to feel comfortable around him. He wasn't overly friendly or too distant.

"I'm going home," Nii said while staring at the bright, bright sky as if it was the most natural thing to say, the most logical explanation for her actions.

"Home, huh? Haven't been there in quite a while either," the man added to her statement thoughtfully as if it was the most natural explanation she could have given.

"She was closer," Nii continued. "So I figured I might as well meet up with her and go home together," she almost sounded wistful. "I figured it's safer to travel in a group. And it's going to be a long journey, a long journey home." She paused. "It felt, it felt like a good idea," she muttered.

"Sure, why not? It does sound like a good idea!" Kazuya smiled reassuringly, the amusement, the liveliness never once leaving his eyes. "You're both a far way from home. We all are."

"But are you really planning to stake out the market till she shows? You never know; she could be taking a different path or just not come today." He mused, looking at her worryingly.

"You're definitely gonna get a heat stroke together with some nasty sunburns."

At that, Nii pulled her dust-stained tunic over her head, thus covering her whole body.

Kazuya just laughed, pulling her tunic back: "That's not gonna protect you from a heat stroke, I fear."

"Okay, as repayment for the tobacco, I'll get you some water, and we're gonna hide out at that food stall over there. I know the owner. They're pretty easygoing," he declared, jumping to his feet.

"We are?" Nii looked at him, baffled.

"Yep. Let's stake out together!" He shouted again theatrically while flashing an impish smile. He truly was a walking enigma of liveliness.

♫

Nii's friend didn't show up that day. Or at least, the two hadn't managed to spot her.

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"Don't be too upset. There's always another day," Kazuya said to her soothingly to the marvel of the food vendor next to them. Nii's facial features hadn't changed even once that day.

Night had fallen, and the market and its displayed goods had changed in nature. As a result, it had become somewhat unpleasant and also quite pointless to prolong her stay.

"You can crash at my place! It's not like you have a place to go. And who knows, you just might run into her if you stay at the same place."

Nii had started to become used to his unique rhythm, his direct manner of speech to neither gloss anything over nor reproach her for her actions. He had already accepted her. Since he had already accepted her for who she was without knowing who she was, his words were free from hidden intentions. There was no need to gouge at the meaning of his words. Just as he had accepted her, she had accepted him. And the increasing scent of perfume in the air started hurting her nose.

♫

Kazuya, too, lived in that monstrosity of a housing complex, as did thousands of others. While she had already assumed this to be the case, the inside of the complex was truly a frightening labyrinth of walls and stairs and pathways and stairs and passages one wouldn't expect, suddenly popping up right and left.

After following several of these passages and climbing many stairs, at which point Nii had utterly lost track of her surroundings, they came to a halt.

「わが白へようこそ！」

He made a ridiculous bow, beckoning her to enter. The inside was by no means spacious, though not as crammed as Nii had expected. They had stepped into an open room with a kitchenette and a large mattress covering half the floor. There was only one other door leading to the washing area, and most of the room was filled with carpets or cushions. And there was only one other thing of notice in the room. Of course, there was.

"You like music?" Kazuya asked. He had slipped out of his dust-stained shoes and dust-stained tunic, leaving them at the front entrance in an orderly manner and was moving over to the wall opposite the kitchenette. Neither waiting for nor expecting any answer, he took up the guitar and settled on a mountain of cushions.

And he began to play an old song, one she had loved deeply.

♫

She didn't meet her friend the next day either, or the next, or next. On the morning of the fourth day, Nii and Kazuya had, as always, begun their daily stakeout at the stall of the now familiar food vendor, an older man with greying hair but a voice that wouldn't lose to anyone when their paths finally met.

There she was, Pania, with the same face Nii remembered, the same long blond hair, the same watery eyes, the same dainty figure, the same energetic stride and the same man by her side. The same as it had been when Nii had left their home country, as if no time had passed at all, as if the passing of time hadn't come between them, as if it hadn't been the passing of time that had come between them.

She jumped to her feet; a hint of urgency had crawled onto her face, her facial expression seemingly changing for the first time since she had come here. Kazuya and the older man were naturally quite startled by her sudden change. And while she had thought she'd already be running, her feet didn't quite move the way she wanted them to. She looked at Kazuya.

「行ってら！」

He smiled at her encouragingly. Nii still wasn't sure for what reason, if any, the man had accompanied her so far.

'Was it for the change of everyday life's mundanity? Had he simply not had anything better to do? Or was it out of a whim? Or out of the kindness of his heart?'

No matter the reason, Nii still felt grateful for his company, for the helping hand he had given her, a gratitude she would remember for the rest of her life. That alone might have made her halt her steps.

'For what purpose was she trying to rekindle this old friendship again?' This might have been the other reason that had made her halt her steps.

'For going home,' she remembered. No, she had never forgotten. She could never forget that dearest wish of hers, to go home. And home was where her family was, where her friends were, where her past lay buried.

And so she ran. But this time, not away from her past but towards it.