How We Met Again

Chapter 39: On The Verge (Part II)

Chapter 39
On The Verge
(Part II)

As I stepped out of the Nakano apartment, the rain continued to fall, as it had for hours.

Grey clouds filled the expanse above my head, a steady drizzle collapsing from their heights and splattering on the pavement. Yet, the blanket of water vapour that enveloped the city was invisible; shadow hid the breadth of the coverage, the only illumination the thin filtered light of the moon. There was something tenuous about it; as though the slightest tremor would snuff it out, casting my world into darkness.

The thoughts of Yotsuba, and of her motivations, and of her desires, had followed me around for the rest of the evening, distracting me as we worked. With each question she'd asked, with each subject that refused to stick, I had been drawn in by her shadowed eyes... and my clenching chest.

It hadn't been the most productive session.

Breathing on my hands to warm them up as I walked towards the bus stop, I shook my head.

I feel lost.

"Uesugi!"

Head snapping back as I turned towards the large glass doors behind me, the hood drawn up on my jacket, I was startled to see Nino standing at the entrance, an inscrutable look on her face.

"Hey," I said hesitantly, returning to the shelter of the lobby. "Uh... what can I help you with?"

"It's..."

Nino seemed to struggle with her words; it seemed, somehow, as though speaking were physically difficult for her, a corporeal manifestation of the roadblocks inside of her.

"It's about Yotsuba," she finally choked out.

Silently, I waited.

"I... don't know if she told you about this," Nino said, biting her lip, "but, uh... we had a bit of a fight the other day. Well... more than a bit of a fight. We kind of ended up yelling at each other."

"I see," I said, frowning slightly.

"A lot," she added.

"...I see," I repeated. There was an awkward moment of silence between us, where I wasn't quite sure what to say. I already knew about the fight, of course, but only from Itsuki; Yotsuba hadn't said a word to me.

"Anyways," Nino said, clearing her throat. "I wanted to talk to you about what she's doing. It's not healthy, you know? I'm pretty sure she's going to end up putting herself in the hospital."

"I agree," I said. "I've said this to her as well, repeatedly."

"Yeah, well, I did ask you to try and stop her. You're not doing a great job of that, Uesugi!"

I felt my eyebrow twitch. "I'm trying my best. Every time I press the issue, she snaps at me; and since I don't particularly want that, I'm trying to figure out how to navigate this without having her blow up at me."

"Well, figure it out faster!"

"I'll get right on that, your highness," I replied drily.

"It's strange," Nino said, shaking her head and ignoring my sarcasm. "Yotsuba's never really been the type to get mad at people. Well, maybe a bit in middle school... but not for quite a while."

I frowned. Yotsuba used to snap at people in middle school? If you'd told me that a month and a half ago, I wouldn't have believed it.

"I think," Nino continued quietly, "that track club isn't good for her. That captain... what's her name? Ebi-something? She's kind of crazy. I think she's a bad influence on Yotsuba."