Reality's Blade

Chapter 16: Space Available

I couldn't concentrate, my late nights were catching up to me. Hikage had cried for a long time, I sat trying to be strong for him, but constantly on the verge of tears too. I felt guilty, he'd been feeling so lonely, helpless and had carried such a heavy burden for such a long time, but he had managed to push it deep down and hide it beneath a smile so no one would know. Why hadn't I seen the turmoil in his eyes or the sadness that consumed his expression when he thought there was no one looking?

I hoped he felt better finally getting it off his chest, he'd told me surprisingly quickly, I was sure he'd been wanting to tell someone all this time. I felt honoured he'd let me in. However this was a real world problem, and not as easily fixed, especially by an outsider like me. As much as I wanted to help, I had to accept how powerless I was to change anything.

Kazehiro hadn't come to school today, I wondered if he'd be at work later. My heart sank even lower somehow at the prospect of a day without seeing him. Perhaps it was for the best, I wasn't sure how to react around him. In my mind Hikage and Kazehiro were still two different people, but my feelings towards them both were starting to become confused.

My friends apologised for the stunt they had pulled, in my haze I forgave them, because such things seemed trivial now.

I arrived at work, steeling myself for a long afternoon. I wondered if I'd be in the shop or if I could still clean upstairs, I wasn't really in the mood for dealing with customers today. The shopkeeper was on the counter and smiled when she saw me.

"Kazehiro arrived earlier, he's upstairs helping Takahashi, are you happy to join them?"

My heart skipped a beat, Kazehiro was here.

"Sure." I replied instantly.

I dropped my things into the back room and got changed as quickly as I could. I went round the back, as soon as I opened the door laughter flooded down the stairs. I suddenly remembered Keiko had mentioned there were two people, I wondered if it was a new part-time worker. I climbed the creaking stairs feeling slightly hesitant, but my worries subsided when I reached the top.

"Hi Fujimiya!" The shopkeeper's son called out.

"Hey." I smiled back.

Kazehiro and Takahashi were flicking through a well-aged book, it seemed to be a photo album. I could have collapsed to my knees, the feeling of relief at seeing Kazehiro well was so immense.

"You've got to see this one." Takahashi chuckled as he searched the pages for one in particular.

He held out the book, I went to join them trying to force all thoughts of Hikage from my mind. I inspected the photo of Keiko dressed as santa, the next photo showed a young Takahashi pulling her beard then starting to cry. It was clearly fond memories for him. Kazehiro smiled and slightly rolled his eyes, I had a feeling he had been subjected to viewing a lot of these photos.

It was strange seeing the shopkeeper's son in normal clothes, the change immediately made him look less serious and more approachable. I noticed quite a few of the boxes were now gone, the kitchen was completely empty and the floor had been cleaned.

"It's looking a lot better isn't it?" Takahashi noted. "I guess we should probably get a move on though." He sighed.

Kazehiro looked around, as he turned I noticed a speckled pattern down the side of his face. I was struck with a feeling of disgust and dismay as I realised the pattern was quite clearly in the shape of fingers, he'd been slapped around the face with some serious force, even his eye was slightly swollen. I quickly looked away, I didn't want to make Kazehiro uncomfortable or remind him of what had happened.