Itsumi giddily plopped down into her small bed capsule. What a fantastic day! What started as frightening became exciting, and the thoughts of love filled her mind. But wasn’t it silly? She just came into the city and got help from a stranger. Could her encounter with him really be any more than an act of kindness? Itsumi had a purpose here. She knew she had told Wataru that she came to Tokyo to see some family… but it was more than that, she had come to find some family. The purpose of her trip—this search—was pressing; did she really want to leave the questions dominating her thoughts unanswered? How could she afford to let an unanswered mystery linger in her mind? But…

She had something tangible. There was that uncertainty that the family she was searching for wasn’t even her’s, but then there was Wataru, who said he’d meet her tomorrow! Then again, maybe he was just helping her find her hostel? No. He would’ve just said goodbye and left without batting an eye. He wouldn’t bother to buy her soft serve… There was more to this encounter than just a happy turn of events. Was it fate? Possibly. Whatever it was, Itsumi wanted more of it. For the first time in her life, maybe someone actually was attracted to her as a person, and even thought she was pretty. A silly assertion, Itsumi figured. She looked at the small mirror in her bed capsule. She wasn’t petite or fair… was she even cute? She looked at her large, blocky glasses. Didn’t she look geeky? Itsumi took her glasses off and shoved her face into her pillow, squealing in frustration. Was she delusional?

No. She would have none of that. Itsumi resolved herself to embrace how Wataru acted around her instead of how she thought of herself. After all, she wanted to be excited. She wanted to revel in her happy evening. If her familial search was all for naught, at least there was a possibility of something between her and this wonderful and mysterious Wataru. Yes! She’d entertain that possibility, even if it was just a frivolous fantasy.

Itsumi pulled out her phone. Why not share her happiness with a friend? She opened up her phone and saw the background image she drew—some fanart of Higure no Rhapsody. Itsumi revelled in a quick realization. That was from the story Wataru helped write. Her favorite. Itsumi let that steep in for a few moments… could this day have ended on a higher note?!

Itsumi pulled up her chat app to tell her friend all about her day, ignoring the text wall her friend had sent her. She had to share the news now.

“Hey Mashiro, I’m here in Tokyo! It’s been so exciting. Guess what happened!”

Itsumi flipped through her collection of Higure no Rhapsody fan art as she waited to hear back from Mashiro. It wasn’t long before her phone buzzed and saw that Mashiro texted her back.

“Lemme guess, you managed to get to your hostel all by yourself,” Mashiro asked.

“No actually, I met a really nice guy who helped me out… he even got me some soft serve!”

Mashiro didn’t reply for a moment. “He wasn’t a perv, was he?”

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“No,” Itsumi replied rapidly. She blushed. “He seemed like a really genuine guy.”

“That’s nice… did you get to talk to him a lot?”

“I did.”

“What did you talk to him about?”

“Classic college student introductions and such.”

“That’s it? Did you find out anything about him other than college stuff?”

“Well uh…” Itsumi twirled a lock of her hair. “He’s studying literature because he wants to write stories to make anime.”

“Oh really? So he’s not a normie?”

“I know you won’t believe this, but he helped write Higure no Rhapsody.”

Mashiro paused before replying. “Well I wouldn’t believe it...” She paused for a moment. “But I know you wouldn’t lie to me.”

“Yeah… I wish I could’ve asked him more about it, but he wanted to ask me about what I like.”

“Really?”

“So I told him about how I’m studying elementary education to be a kindergarten teacher.”

“Well what did he think of that?”

“Well he thought it was precious… but uh…”

“But?”

“I spilled the soft serve he got me on his lap.”

“What?!” Mashiro was unresponsive for a moment. “Was he mad?”

“Well no… he actually asked me if I wanted to meet him again tomorrow afternoon.”

“Really?! That’s great!” Mashiro paused for a moment. “Wait.”

“What is it?”

“I uh…” Mashiro paused for a moment. “I arranged for you to meet up with a relative of yours tomorrow morning… I don’t know if you’ll be free in the afternoon.”

Itsumi paused for a moment, her emotions swelling and tugging her left and right. “Well who is the person you found?”

“His name is Naruhiko Mogami… Eighteen Years Old… Born in Obanazawa, Yamagata and has family there… Do you need to know anything else?”

“I don’t think so… Oh, any chance you found anyone from my mom’s side in Tokyo?”

“No.”

“That’s fine... At least it’s someone.” Itsumi fretted.

“Well maybe he’ll help you. You never know.”

“I hope so.”

Mashiro paused for a moment. “Oh, Shizu-chan is calling me.”

“Answer him, girl!”

“Oh… Okay! Sorry…”

“Don’t worry about it. Just text me when I’m supposed to meet Mogami tomorrow.”

“Got it,” responded Mashiro, sending her last text.

Itsumi tossed her phone and slammed her face into her pillow. She came all the way to Tokyo for this? Should she just ignore what arrangements Mashiro made for her and dive head first into spending time with Wataru… But how’d he react if he found out she just ditched her plans and continued staying in Tokyo for the chance of a date or two. Regardless of that, she was going back to Fukui anyway whether she had more than one date. Even if things went perfectly with Wataru, be it going out with him on two dates or twenty, she still would be going home. What more could this situation be? Summer love? A few dates before becoming digital pen pals? Enormous heartbreak rivaling the likes of the sappiest of soap operas? Itsumi took her face out of the pillow and rubbed her face in frustration. How could she even think about chasing after a guy she just met? That was crazy!

Itsumi’s emotions tugged her in every direction. She wanted to go home, but she also wanted to take the chance of learning more about Wataru. That much was true, but she knew that her main purpose in coming to Tokyo was paramount. Mashiro went out of her way to find Mogami… it would be wrong to let all her effort go to waste. Itsumi knew that, and if for nothing else, she would do it for Mashiro. But Itsumi couldn’t deny her own reasons for meeting Mogami. She really did want to learn about her family, and no doubts in her mind were going to stop her.

Itsumi grabbed her night clothes and towel to take a shower and go to bed. She needed to clear her head. She would learn more about these people tomorrow. She would follow the plan she devised. That was the best way to move forward. Itsumi crawled out of her bed capsule and walked over to take a shower.

Minutes later, Mashiro sent her another text. “Meet Mogami at Hachiko in front of Shibuya Station at 9 PM. He’ll be the guy patting the dog’s head.”