Repairing the Camera

On Saturday afternoon, Keyaki Shopping Center was more crowded than usual. Soft music from the announcements mingled with the voices of shoppers, drifting through the warm yellow light.

Kiryu Yume unscrewed the cap of his iced tea. As he turned and passed the glass display window of an electronics store, his steps paused.

A girl stood by the window, wearing a loose off-white hoodie, her ponytail tied low. Her black-rimmed glasses had slipped to the tip of her nose, yet she had not pushed them back up. A bulging canvas bag hung from her shoulder as she stood quietly before the lens display case.

It was her—the girl who had bumped into him last night before running away in a panic. The lens cap with her name written on it was still lying in the corner of his desk. He had been planning to find a chance to return it.

Kiryu Yume walked over and stopped two steps away from her. He kept his voice low enough not to disturb anyone nearby.

"Shizuku."

The girl's shoulders jerked as if she had been struck by electricity. Her whole body stiffened in an instant. She staggered back two steps, her back hitting the metal frame of a display rack solidly.

There was a dull thud. Her shoulders flinched in pain, but she did not even think to rub them. Her eyes widened behind her glasses. The moment her gaze met his face, it darted away in panic. She quickly glanced around before looking back at him, her eyes full of alarm.

"Y-you, how did you—"

Her voice was barely above a breath, as if she feared a third person might overhear even half a word. Before she could finish, she reached out and grabbed the strap at the side of his backpack. Her grip was light; rather than pulling him, it was more like clutching at a piece of driftwood. She half-dragged him toward the corner of the fire exit passage.

Kiryu Yume moved with her pull.

The shadows at the corner enclosed them, suddenly bringing them close. She hurriedly released him and stepped back half a pace, twisting her fingers together until her knuckles turned white.

"How do you know that name?"

Her voice trembled at the end, like paper shaking in the wind.

"It was written on the lens cap you dropped." Kiryu Yume took the small black round cap from his pocket and held it out on his palm. "On the label inside."

She stared at the lens cap in his palm for several seconds, her gaze wavering. Only then did she slowly reach out. When her fingertips brushed his palm, she recoiled as if burned. This time, though, the lens cap landed securely in her hand.

"...You didn't tell anyone else, did you?"

She clenched the little cap tightly, so hard her knuckles turned bluish. When she looked up at him, there was a trace of pleading in her eyes that she could not hide.

"No."

"...Really?"

"Really."

She bit her lower lip and clenched the lens cap tightly in her palm, as if holding onto a secret that could never see the light. Silence spread between them for several seconds. Kiryu Yume saw the corners of her eyes slowly redden, but she stubbornly held back her tears. She merely lowered her gaze, her lashes trembling faintly.

"Please don't tell anyone... If people at school find out about that name..."

She did not finish. Her voice was so soft it seemed about to dissolve into the air, while the unspoken half was filled with fear she dared not voice.

"I won't tell anyone. Don't worry. Besides, there are too many strange people at this school, and some imitation humans."

She looked up at him, her gaze lingering on his face for several seconds as if weighing his words. Only after confirming that he was not brushing her off did she lower her head and slip the lens cap into her hoodie pocket, pressing it down again and again.

"...Um, I'm sorry for bumping into you yesterday. I was too scared, so I ran."

"It's fine."

She fell silent again. Her fingers twisted around the strap of her canvas bag, and her gaze fixed on the seams between the floor tiles as though she were making an extremely difficult decision. After a long while, she finally spoke softly, her voice even quieter.

"...My camera seems to be broken. The image shakes when it focuses. Maybe one of the parts got knocked loose yesterday. I was going to have the clerk take a look, but..."

She trailed off without continuing.

Kiryu Yume waited without urging her.

"But what?"

Her gaze drifted toward the entrance of the electronics store, then quickly returned. Her fingertips had wrinkled the bag strap in her grip.

"...Lately, I keep feeling like someone's watching me. Not normal looking—more like staring constantly. I don't know if I'm just being overly sensitive, but..."

She drew in a breath, her voice carrying a fear she did not want to admit even to herself.

"...I'm alone, and I'm kind of scared to go somewhere where I have to stand still."

After saying that, she pressed her lips together, as if she regretted telling him, yet also anxiously awaited his response.

Kiryu Yume looked at her. The oversized hoodie wrapped around her, making her seem like a small bundle—a frightened cat hiding in a corner, even testing the waters cautiously when asking for help.

His heart softened.

"Let's go."

She abruptly raised her head, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"Really?"

"Really."

She blinked, stunned for two seconds before she understood. She quickly nodded and murmured a thank-you. Hugging her bag, she walked two steps toward the entrance, then stopped and turned back to wait for him.

Kiryu Yume followed her.

When they reached the entrance, she reached for the glass door. Just as her fingertips touched the cold handle, she turned her head and said something to him in a rush.

"...My name is Sakura Airi."

Her voice was soft, like wind brushing past his ear.

She did not explain any further. She simply placed that name in his keeping.

Kiryu Yume looked at her tense profile and nodded.

"Yeah. I'm Kiryu Yume."

Sakura Airi took a deep breath and pushed open the glass door with force.

The air conditioning inside was strong, carrying the cold, sharp scent of electronic components. It felt like a different world from the warm buzz of voices outside. A middle-aged man in a dark blue apron stood behind the counter. Seeing customers enter, he slowly put down the lens cloth in his hand.

"Welcome."

Sakura Airi took the camera from her canvas bag and offered it to him with both hands, moving gently as if afraid of breaking something.

"The image shakes when it focuses... I accidentally dropped it yesterday."

The shop owner took it and turned over the camera body, then rotated the lens beneath the cold fluorescent light.

"I'll take it over and see what the problem is first."

"Okay... I'll wait here."

The shop owner nodded, took the camera, and turned to the inner side of the counter.

The two of them waited in front of the counter. Sakura Airi shifted her canvas bag to her other arm and hugged it. Her eyes appeared to follow the camera behind the counter, but the corners of her gaze kept drifting toward the shop owner's face. She stood half a step closer to Kiryu Yume, her shoulder nearly touching his arm, as though she were borrowing his warmth to shield herself from something.

"How long have you had that camera?"

She froze, as though she had not expected him to speak first.

"...I bought it just last month. I spent almost all the class points I got in the first month on it."

She spoke softly, a little embarrassed. After a pause, she added in an even quieter voice, "I didn't know they would stop giving out points after that."

Kiryu Yume did not respond, but he understood. She had traded more than half a month's living expenses for a camera, only for her income to be cut off right afterward. It might be the only thing she had at this school that she had chosen entirely for herself, that belonged entirely to her.

"It matters a lot to you."

She did not answer immediately. Her gaze drifted back toward the counter. After several seconds, she gave a very soft response.

"...Yeah."

The word was as light as mist in the cold air, gone at the slightest touch.

Kiryu Yume did not ask any more. He lifted his eyes and glanced at the figure behind the counter. The man had lowered his head to tighten screws, focused in a way no different from an ordinary repairman. Yet Kiryu Yume noticed that Sakura Airi's gaze never truly settled on the camera. Whenever the shop owner looked up, she would swiftly look away.

She no longer said she was afraid, but her body had already made its judgment for her.

A few minutes later, the shop owner returned to the counter with the camera.

"It'll take about two days to calibrate. You can head back for now and come pick it up the afternoon after tomorrow."

Sakura Airi nodded. The shop owner pulled a registration form from beneath the counter and pushed it over, tapping the paper with his pen.

"Fill this out. Name, class, contact information. We need it on file."

Sakura Airi's fingertips had already touched the paper. The instant she felt its cold surface, she looked up and met the shop owner's eyes. He wore the practiced smile of a salesman, but his gaze clung to her face like a lens in a display window focused on its subject, holding her in a cold, scrutinizing frame.

Her fingers curled sharply as if she had touched something hot, and she pulled them back, clenching the hem of her hoodie at her side.

Kiryu Yume took in the whole scene. His brows drew together, but he said nothing. He reached out and pulled the form directly in front of himself.

Sakura Airi turned to look at him. Her lashes trembled slightly, but she did not speak up to stop him.

The shop owner tapped a finger against the counter. His tone did not change, though his smile faded slightly.

"Student, the owner of the camera needs to fill out this form."

"I brought her here. If there's a problem with the camera, contact me."

"We need the owner's information."

"Mine will do."

"It's store policy."

"Which policy says the owner has to fill it out personally?"

The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead. The air on both sides of the counter seemed to freeze. Sakura Airi stood beside Kiryu Yume and moved another half-step closer, her shoulder nearly pressed to his arm. She held her breath, her fingers clenched white, yet she did not step back.

The shop owner's gaze swept back and forth between their faces, as if he had suddenly realized something. He smiled, then pushed the pen over.

"...Fine. You can fill in yours."

Kiryu Yume lowered his head and began writing. He gave his real class, but when he reached the contact information, his fingers paused for half a second before he reversed the final two digits.

When he pushed the form back, the shop owner glanced at the class field. His pen paused over the paper for a moment before he calmly put it away in a drawer.

"Come pick it up the afternoon after tomorrow."

"Got it."

The moment Kiryu Yume turned around, Sakura Airi turned almost in sync with him. They walked out through the glass door one after the other, neither looking back.

The afternoon sunlight poured down, warm enough to make them squint. The voices and music of the mall wrapped around them again, washing away much of the chill from the shop. They walked side by side for several steps, their shoes brushing across the polished tiles. Neither spoke first.

In the end, Sakura Airi broke the silence.

"...You felt it too?"

Her voice was quiet, but steady.

Kiryu Yume glanced at her. She had lowered her eyes, her lashes trembling faintly, but she was no longer avoiding his gaze as before. He did not answer. The answer had already settled into the silence.

"When we pick up the camera the day after tomorrow, I'll come with you."

Sakura Airi's steps paused for half a beat. A breeze carrying a trace of sweetness brushed past her ear. The fingers clutching her bag strap quietly loosened. The unease that had been hanging in the air since they entered the shop seemed to be cradled by a very gentle hand, settling steadily back to earth.

She softly murmured, "Mm," and took small steps to keep pace with him.