"Sprinting has never been my thing. I've never managed to hype myself up for the competitive nature of the track meets, either."

"But the act of running, of putting one foot in front of the other, that's what I've found pleasure in. I couldn't care less if other people are on the track with me or not. That isn't really the point of it."

"As I jog around the track during lunch, I can feel my mind clearing. Some people do stuff like this to give themselves time to think, to mull things over. For me, it's the opposite. While running, I can just concentrate on the track itself, the breeze blowing past me, the sounds of the birds in the trees."

"After everything that's happened, this is the one time I can forget it all. No more worries about school, home, or my past. Just me, and the track."

"I give the others in the club a quick glance as I come around once more. As expected, the dozen that're here are just lazing around chatting between themselves. A few are drinking bottles of water and others are eating snacks, but all of them are on their asses. Too hot for them, probably."

"Haru raises himself and gestures for me to join him, with Yukio nearby taking his feet also. No reason not to, so I break from the track and head over to the two."

mik "Yo."

"He gives a wave as I slow down and walk towards them. With a long breath and a bit of a stretch, I feel the exhaustion from the run ebb away."

har "You seen Hisao today? He hasn't shown up to club yet."

mik "Sorry, no idea where he's gotten to. Emi hasn't dragged his ass here?"

"Thinking back to the end of last class... I think I saw Hisao leave with the main bunch of students, but I've no idea where he went to after that."

"Yamagata snorts in amusement as Haru just crosses his arms and sighs."

yuk "She's giving him the silent treatment. Think he balked at one too many of her morning runs."

mik "That's harsh, man."

"He just shrugs. Not much we can do about it, I suppose."

mik "I guess one of us'll have to go on a hunt. She's gonna go nuts if she finds he's skipping club completely."

har "He could just be studying. Exams are soon, you know."

"He emphasises the last two words, as if Mutou busting my balls wasn't enough. He surrenders the point after the fed up glare I give him in response."

"Each of us looks at each other, trying to come up with our best excuses to not bother. I just want to get back to running, and it's probably too hot for either of the others to be assed wandering around trying to find him."

har "The usual?"

"We all quickly nod; it's obviously going to be the only way to decide this. Huddling together, the four of us hold our fists out in preparation."

har "Paper, scissors... rock!"

"We each throw our choices out. One scissor, one rock, and then mine. For some strange reason, the others end up looking at me with flat faces."

mik "It's rock."

"I waggle my stump around in the air a little before giving up on the joke. Without further ado, we pump our fists up and down for another round. This time, I throw my choice out with my right hand."

"...Two papers against my rock. Assholes."

"I reluctantly slink off after a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, knowing full well that my goose is cooked. Guess I'll hit the library first; where better to find a nerd studying for exams, after all?"

# timeskip

"After failing to see him in the gardens leading back to the main building, poking my head into the largely empty classroom, and finding the library a bust, I make the trek back down the flights of stairs and across the school grounds to the dormitories."

"Strolling through what should be the hallway to Hisao's dorm room, I casually glance around at the near-empty corkboards on either side. All that're there are a couple of old and tatty joke pictures, threatening to fall onto the floor."

"It's odd to contrast with the sections of the male dorms I've seen, full of official notices, jokes, and messages to other guys in the nearby rooms. Teachers might try their best to keep the more crude ones torn down, but a few occasionally manage to stay up for an evening or two."

"Eventually I reach my goal, pressing the door handle and gingerly pushing in to see if it'll open. It obediently opens at my touch, giving me a wave of relief. I'd probably have just given up if he wasn't here, but at least now this wasn't all for nothing."

"Poking my head around the now half-open door, there doesn't seem to be any sign of life inside. Maybe he's in the toilet or something, though that doesn't explain why he retreated to his dorm room during club time. With no desire to wait around bored in the hallway, I decide to step in and indulge my curiosity about what his room is like."

"Plain. There isn't any other word for it. He did transfer in recently, but it wouldn't kill him to put something on the walls, or some toy or whatever on his desk. All that's here are a bunch of books, his computer, and a few clothes strewn about. For a guy, he's very neat. Frustratingly so."

"After pacing around a few times out of boredom, I take a quick moment to crouch down and peek under his bed, hoping to see if he's stuffed anything embarassing underneath."

"Nothing, except for a couple of misplaced pieces of clothing. Disappointing. I guess he's the type to have that kind of thing on his computer, anyway."

"It's only after getting back on my feet that I take more careful notice of his desk. Behind a couple of textbooks sits a bunch of bottles, drawing me towards them to see what they are."

"Medications. I didn't think they could be, given how many there are; well over a dozen, by my count. I pick up one of the bottles to see the label more clearly, but can't divine anything from the lengthy name. '-ole', -'ine', '-ane', all the same to me. "

"I gently put it down amongst the others as another item on his desk catches my eye. A single piece of paper, obviously a letter sitting atop its opened envelope, adorned with sunflower decorations and cute pink writing. It's obviously to Hisao, rather than from him."

"By the time my conscience has said to step away, my eyes have already started scanning the letter's contents. I sure wish I had handwriting as neat as this."

"'How are you? I hope you are well and happy at your new school. Everyone here misses you.' so it's from someone at his old school. I guess the mysterious transfer student does have a past after all."

"Blah, blah, blah. Just a status update of what's been happening in the leadup to their set of exams. At least he still has contact with them, I suppose."

"'The truth is, the times when I visited you at the hospital made me worried about you. I am not talking about your health. You seemed to become more and more distant and disheartened.' Well, yeah, being stuck in a hospital for a while would make you feel shitty."

"As my eyes keep scanning the page, the penny finally drops."

"'Now that the distance between us is also physical, it also feels more final, somehow. I wonder if we will meet again. Perhaps it's for the best if we don't?' She... wasn't just a friend, was she?"

"Now I understand what this is. It's not some buddy writing to another about what's been happening lately. It's a break up, with a bunch of meaningless padding thrown in to distract from what she was really meaning to say."

"I've made a mistake. I should never have seen this."

"I step back to the center of the room and take a quick look towards the door, making sure I'm not being watched. My first thoughts are for my own self-preservation. Typical."

"Deciding that I've had quite enough my prying, I quickly retreat to the hallway outside the room, taking care to quietly close the door just as it had been. There's nothing to be gained by confessing; it's better for everyone if this just never happened."

"The faint sound of voices catches my ear, though thankfully it sounds more like general chatter than anything directed at me. Sounds like it's coming from one of the nearby dorm rooms."

"Whether it's out of a desire to distract myself from what I've read, or simply trying to establish an alibi if Hisao comes by, I once again I quietly poke my head through an unlocked door. This time around, I do find somebody inside."

"Hisao stands with his back to the door, busily chatting with someone else."

"Everything about the other guy seems a little bit off. His height is a little too short. His hair is a little too scruffy. His glasses are a little too thick. His scarfe... well, that's more than just a little off, and not just given that it's summer."

"The scrawny guy notices me over Hisao's shoulder, their conversation abruptly ending as the two of them turn their visitor."

mik "...'Sup?"

his "Haven't you heard of knocking?"

"I obediently knock a few times on the door. She short guy just raises an eyebrow as Hisao sighs and motions in my direction."

his "Kenji, this is Miki Miura. Miki, this is Kenji Setou."

mik "You don't have to make it sound like you're embarrassed to know me."

"I'm not quite sure how to interpret the awkward face he pulls. Not much point in leaving now anyway, so I wander into the room regardless."

"Unlike Hisao's, this is a room that feels lived in. Bits and bobs that Kenji's collected over the years and brought from home are littered around the room. It's what he has hanging on the walls that particularly catches my eye."

"I nod to a poster of the local Pacific League baseball team, nestled in a corner next to some... professional bowling posters? I didn't even know they made posters for bowling teams."

mik "Nice taste."

ken "You know them?"

mik "Kinda hard not to know the locals, even if they did flunk last season."

ken "They're still the best team. It's just their coach."

mik "Totally. I mean, just look at how well 2005 worked out."

"All he does is frown a little, but I somehow get the feeling I'd have offended him less by insulting his mother."

mik "Calm down, I follow them too. The sooner they find their groove, the better."

"The quick save mends his attitude a little, but he still seems suspicious. Whether he knows it or not, Hisao steps in to save the day."

his "I had no idea you followed baseball."

mik "Baseball is the best sport, you know."

his "Huh. Play?"

mik "Used to."

"Even after all these years, those two words still feel like a punch to the gut. I quickly move to hold my expression, but Hisao sees through it, going by his reaction."

"An awkward silence follows. I shouldn't blame him, given that I was the one who brought it up. Better to just let it drop, as I feel like telling him one detail or another will make everything eventually unravel. I guess this is what they call 'baggage'."

ken "Do you follow bowling?"

"This dude has no idea how thankful I am for the change in topic. Even if it is a weird one."

mik "Bowling... I think I played that once. Is there like, a professional scene or something?"

"All hopes he might have had for engaging me visibly evaporate. I guess the dude puts a lot of stock in bowling."

ken "Bowling is the best sport. Why does nobody understand this?"

mik "Wasn't bowling more popular in the 80s or something? It's just something you do to kill time these days."

ken "Exactly! The 80s were a golden era. All the best stuff comes from the 80s. Like bowling."

his "The economy was booming back then, so maybe you have a point."

ken "It's not just sport and the economy, either. The 80s gave all the best action movies. The most important and educational media ever made."

his "I... don't think those movies were educational. At all."

ken "They were documentaries on how to be a man, dude. They just don't make them like that any more."

mik "You got a point there, actually. The newer action movies are all lacking something."

ken "I know, right? We've lost control of Hollywood. There is no hope for them now. We have to retreat and guard the homeland."

ken "We're alone in this world. Generations will grow up not knowing what true manliness looks like, cowed by their overlords. Soon popular culture will be all chick flicks and shoujo games. Even the action movies will be made for girls."

"I don't really get what he's on about, but a future full of girly romance movies sounds bad. I saw one once out of curiosity, and nearly threw up from the sentimentality of it. How do people watch that stuff?"

mik "That would be terrible."

ken "Yes, terrible."

ken "You keep good company, Hisao. I knew I was right to rely on you."

"I sure said something right. He gives a thumbs-up, but Hisao looks like he'd rather be anywhere other than here right now. He hastily, and pretty blatantly, changes the subject."

his "What'd you want me for, anyway?"

mik "That's... a very good question."

mik "Oh, right. You didn't show up at club, so I came to drag your ass in."

"He glances to his watch, its news apparently unpleasant for him."

his "She's gonna eat me alive. Sorry Kenji, I gotta go."

ken "It's cool. We can we can cover the udentstay ouncilcay akeovertay sometime later. I have visual aids and everything."

his "Yeah... sometime later. I'll see you around."

"The two of us take our leave, Hisao closing the door behind us before we start down the hallway."

mik "Seems like a cool dude. Friend?"

his "He's... yeah. I guess he is."