The Actor (Part 1) / The Actor (Part 2)

[That was how you answered.]

[As long as she was with you, happiness was something so simple to find, like the fruit-flavored candy you'd given me as a child—a taste I could no longer recall.]

[Story CG unlocked: Actor]

[Actor: Making the person who loves you most perform on the spot.]

[Read this story CG? (It may help with your progress in the game.)]

Chapter Twelve: Actor (Part One)

"Will Ryo always stay by my side?"

"Hmm? Maybe."

"Really?"

The little girl let out a little squeal, partly because of his answer and partly because the boy had dug up a centipede nearly eight centimeters long.

"Can you get rid of it?"

The boy seemed to realize that the girl beside him was genuinely angry. He hurriedly scooped some soil over the poor centipede, which had only just been unearthed and had no idea what was happening, then stomped on the ground twice to show how sorry he was.

He stood awkwardly beside the girl, who was still pouting. He wanted to take her hand, but then noticed that his own was covered in mud.

"Why can't Ryo stay by my side forever?"

"Because no one can stay together forever," Kitagawa Ryo replied as if it were obvious.

"But I want Ryo to stay with me forever."

She took a clean handkerchief from her pocket and wiped the boy's hands.

"One of the girls in my class moved to Hokkaido today. We had lunch together just a few days ago, but now I won't get to see her anymore."

Kitagawa Ryo seemed to understand what she meant. He rummaged around in his pocket for a while. Boys that age always carried all sorts of strange things: a stone shaped like a five-pointed star, a dead cicada, and a whole maple leaf, among other things. But in the end, he pulled out a little wooden stick.

"Here."

That was what he said to Ichinose Honami.

The girl took it. In the sunlight, she saw four characters carved into the stick:

"An--oth--er--one"

"This is the ice pop I bought at lunch today. I won."

The ice pop Kitagawa Ryo was talking about was a soda-flavored frozen treat sold outside their elementary school for just sixty yen. It had no wrapper and a very mild flavor, but its low price and the chance to win a free one made it the most popular item at the cheap candy shop.

"Why are you giving this to me?"

Ichinose Honami opened her eyes wide in confusion. She looked the stick over, but it was just an ordinary piece of wood.

"You said you wanted me to stay by your side forever, so I'm giving you this."

Kitagawa Ryo seemed proud of the clever idea he'd come up with. He explained it to the girl in front of him:

"If one day we stop playing together, and we're both angry and don't want to talk to each other, and neither of us wants to apologize first, then this will come in handy."

"Because I'll definitely be unable to resist coming to ask you for it. Maybe I'll come find you all grumpy and say:

'Hey, Ichinose, give me my stick back. I'm going to trade it in for a free ice pop.'

That way, we'll have to see each other."

Kitagawa Ryo continued, looking into Ichinose Honami's eyes:

"As long as we see each other, we won't be apart."

"Why not?"

Kitagawa Ryo shyly turned his face away, no longer looking anything like the fearless boy who'd faced the centipede without flinching just minutes earlier.

"Because I wouldn't want to leave."

He furtively glanced around, then leaned toward Ichinose Honami's ear and whispered, carefully, as if he were showing a friend his most precious treasure:

"When I see you, I don't want to leave."

[Brrrring!]

Kitagawa Ryo instinctively slapped the alarm clock beside his bed quiet. He heard the low rumble of the air conditioner's outdoor unit. He'd forgotten to set its timer last night, and it was still working away faithfully. Ryo switched it off, but still felt like lazing in bed a little longer. He lay there quietly for a while. The comforter he'd kicked to the corner of the bed was still there, and he hooked it back with his toe.

It had been nearly a year since he'd moved out of the apartment where the Ichinose Family lived.

His gaze drifted up to the slight seam between the wallpaper and the ceiling. Only after the last traces of sleep had left his mind did Kitagawa Ryo finally get up.

[How many years ago? Seven or eight?]

The first rays of morning sunlight had just fallen. Kitagawa Ryo opened his curtains, rubbing his chin as he recalled last night's dream and guessed what the weather would be like. The prayer beads on his right wrist gleamed in the sunlight. Just as the weather forecast had predicted, it was going to be a beautiful day.

After washing up, he warmed a large bottle of milk and drank it slowly before settling onto the sofa. He wasn't fond of cooking, and he didn't feel like making anything that morning, so he casually took a box of chocolate-filled cookies from the cupboard.

[Maybe I should tidy myself up a bit.]

For some reason, he'd thought of his scruffy childhood self again. With that thought in mind, Kitagawa Ryo puttered around the apartment for another half hour.

By the time Kitagawa Ryo reached the building where Ichinose Honami lived, less than five minutes remained before their agreed meeting time. It was a well-timed arrival, with just enough of a head start. After all, showing up early wasn't always better; arriving too soon could put pressure on the other person.

"Ryo, wait a moment! I'll be right down."

The fourth-floor window opened, and Ichinose Honami leaned out to wave at Kitagawa Ryo. He nodded back.

Sure enough, less than a minute later, Kitagawa Ryo saw Ichinose Honami coming downstairs. When she reached the landing on the second floor, he finally got a good look at her outfit.

Ichinose Honami wasn't one to wear headbands or hair clips, so her golden-pink hair hung loose as usual. The sleeves of her cool-looking white blouse revealed two fair, delicate wrists. Her figure was strikingly mature for her age, and her light blue pleated skirt fell to just above her knees. White knee-high socks covered her shapely, straight legs, disappearing into a pair of pale shoes.

As she hurried down the stairs with her bag, the breeze lifted her skirt slightly. Kitagawa Ryo awkwardly turned his head away.

"Good morning, Ryo."

Her greeting was as energetic as ever.

Realizing she was now standing beside him, Kitagawa Ryo stopped pretending to admire the scenery and turned back to her.

"Good morning, Honami."

"Sorry! When I got up this morning, I realized Maki had disappeared. I hurried to call her, only to find out she'd made plans to go hiking with a friend. It took me a little longer."

Ichinose Honami softly explained what had happened, but Kitagawa Ryo didn't mind. At that moment, all his attention was on the girl walking beside him along the path.

The irises in the roadside flowerbed were in full bloom, and the morning air was especially refreshing. Kitagawa Ryo felt his spirits lift.

"By the way, why did you pick this kind of route bus?"

They got on the first bus that arrived, and Ichinose Honami took a thermos of lemon-flower tea from her bag and asked curiously.

"Because it's a surprise."

"Life needs a few unexpected surprises."

After drinking his tea, Kitagawa Ryo leaned toward Ichinose Honami. He looked out the window, his nose brushing against her hair. It smelled of fresh, green citrus shampoo.

"And it's interesting to stop once in a while and watch other people, too."

He looked at the people hurrying along the roadside. Some were happy, their smiles bright; some were sad, their faces wet with tears. Some were saying goodbye, while others had just reunited.

The two of them made up stories about the people outside the window. Ichinose Honami guessed that the bald, middle-aged man with the delighted expression had just received news of a promotion at work. Kitagawa Ryo thought the man had probably just gotten a notification that he had the day off. Ichinose Honami said that the gloomy-looking elementary school student must have left his cram-school homework unfinished. Kitagawa Ryo reckoned he might have confessed to someone the night before and been rejected, only to have to face that person again today...

The two of them kept up this childish game until they decided to get off at a certain park stop farther ahead.

As soon as they got off, they saw a huge stone sign with the park's name carved into it in bright red paint. Though it was still early, plenty of tourists and locals had already arrived, some exercising and others bird-watching. The lush woods stretched as far as the eye could see, making them want to take a deep breath.

"Should we hold hands? There are quite a few people here."

When they were children, they could hold hands with their fingers interlaced all day without giving it a second thought. Now, Kitagawa Ryo could only offer the girl beside him his stiff right hand with a flimsy excuse.

"Let's have fun today."

Ichinose Honami readily took the hand you held out. Her hand was a whole size smaller than yours, so you could easily wrap your own around it. Your palm was a little cold, and you could clearly feel the warmth of hers, as if her warm blood were flowing into your veins.

"Yeah, we will."

Kitagawa Ryo looked at the crowd ahead and held the girl's hand tighter.

"We're crossing the road."

From a distance, the stone sign hadn't looked all that special, but once they'd crossed the road and reached the park, they realized just how enormous it was. Seeing the other visitors taking commemorative photos beside it, Ichinose Honami wanted one, too. Luckily, a volunteer was there to help take pictures. Kitagawa Ryo handed over his phone, and the two of them posed simply, holding hands. Click—the camera captured them at the peak of their smiles.

After buying their tickets and entering the park, they followed a winding bamboo path uphill. The bamboo forest surrounded a long flight of stone steps. Reaching the summit would take a fair bit of stamina, but neither of them was out of shape. Kitagawa Ryo was the captain of the soccer club, and Ichinose Honami had never slacked off on her physical training. They briskly made it halfway up the mountain in one go before stopping at a rest area.

As was the case at most tourist attractions, there was a row of souvenir shops here, but it was bigger than either of them had expected. There were snacks, clothes, and handicrafts, while colorful lights, folding fans, sarongs, and essential oils filled most of the stalls. Since the annual Fireworks Festival was coming up, all kinds of yukata were common sights as well.

Kitagawa Ryo wandered into a shop. Its owner was an old man with graying hair. The shelves were lined with perfumes and essential oils: lily, lavender, rose, frangipani. The scents ranged from floral and fruity to woody and herbal. The carefully packaged perfumes, sachets, soaps, and scented pouches were so lovely that even Kitagawa Ryo felt like buying a few as gifts.

"Want some ice cream?"

Kitagawa Ryo was still browsing when he heard Ichinose's voice. Unlike him, she seemed to have her eye on a nearby stall selling all kinds of cheap treats. The ice cream she meant wasn't anything like Häagen-Dazs. It was the simplest kind, stored in large tubs and sorted by flavor.

"I'll have chocolate."

It was nearly noon, and the temperature was gradually rising, so Kitagawa Ryo didn't refuse.

"Then I'll have mint."

Hearing what they wanted, the woman running the stall, who looked to be in her forties, took out a large scoop. She opened the freezer and scooped out the corresponding flavors. With a little pressure, the special scoop closed into a ball, shaping the ice cream into a sphere before she put it into a paper cup.

A little while later, Ichinose Honami came over holding a paper cup with one scoop of chocolate and one of mint. She used a small spoon in her right hand to scoop up a bite. Her pale pink lips, gleaming as if with light, parted slightly as she offered the spoonful of ice cream to Kitagawa Ryo.

"Ah."

Kitagawa Ryo was still talking to the perfume seller, so he turned and accepted it without thinking. The delicious blend of cool sweetness and a faint bitterness soon won over his taste buds. He set aside the perfume packaging he was holding, then, following her example, picked up his own small spoon and offered a bite from the other side of the cup to Ichinose Honami.

The exposed handle of the spoon turned gently twice before Kitagawa Ryo finally pulled it from the little mouth that had sucked it clean.

Feeding Ichinose Honami ice cream from up close gave him a strangely risqué feeling.

The two of them took turns feeding each other until they'd finished the ice cream.

While Ichinose Honami went to throw away the trash, Kitagawa Ryo quietly signaled to the shopkeeper to wrap up a rose-shaped perfume. By the time Ichinose Honami returned, Kitagawa Ryo had already pretended the item was too expensive and left the shop.

"Should we find somewhere to eat, or keep going to the summit? There should be places to eat up there, too."

Kitagawa Ryo sat on a stone bench beneath a tree and unfolded the tourist map, speaking to Ichinose Honami, who had seemed distracted for a while.

"Huh? I-I'm fine with either."

Ichinose Honami still looked as if she hadn't quite come back to herself. She glanced around before quietly saying to Kitagawa Ryo:

"Maki just posted something on Instagram. Why do I feel like she's in the same place as us?"

Kitagawa Ryo took out his phone, too. He'd planned to keep it on silent all day.

He opened the social media app. Before he even had time to find Ichinose Maki's account, he saw that she'd posted a picture just a minute ago:

In the picture, Ichinose Maki was holding a white cat and wearing a simple summer outfit. Behind her stood the huge stone sign where Kitagawa Ryo had taken a photo that morning.

The girl beside her wore a round, brimmed sun hat and a blue-and-white short-sleeved shirt with a lapel. Lace trim along the button placket added a touch of charm to the simple design. On closer inspection, the sleeves were gathered at the cuffs, adding another neat detail. One side of the shirt's hem was casually tucked into the waist of her denim shorts, while the loose front was tied into a pointed knot, giving her a playful, lively look.

Like the girl beside her, she proudly showed off her fair, straight legs. Wearing sandals, she flashed a V sign at the camera.

Karuizawa Kei.

Chapter Twelve: Actor (Part Two)

"We don't need to worry about them. If we run into them, we'll say hello then."

Kitagawa Ryo turned off his phone. Its now-black screen reflected his unconcerned expression.

"...I'm a little worried, but if that's what you think, Ryo, then let's leave it for now."

As before, Ichinose Honami became inexplicably timid around Kitagawa Ryo and agreed with his suggestion. She sat beside him and leaned closer to the map in his hands.

"If we go right, there's a temple. Of course, we could keep climbing, too. Which way should we go?"

"How about best two out of three at rock-paper-scissors?"

Kitagawa Ryo thought of the game they'd often played as children and answered with interest:

"Whoever wins gets to choose."