off to the races

I feel free when I see no one and nobody knows my name

"So what you're telling me, is that you just got sick out of nowhere," Emma questioned, still rubbing at Takemichi's back as he tried to recover his breath from puking his stomach empty. "Are you sure you didn't eat anything bad lately? Or at the karaoke room?" She asked, now worried she might get sick as well.

"I-I di- I didn't-"

"Jeez, don't talk. You look like a mess right now." She pulled out a water bottle, which he accepted without much grace.

To think that he would react like that. When he said he felt sick, he meant metaphorically. How embarrassing.

It must have been the accumulated stress of the day's events. He had told Emma that it had been a long day for him. Which by simplifying what he had gone through, was true.

Well, partly that.

What had scared him was the realization that his life was now in danger.

He was no longer safe, neither in the present nor the past.

Takemichi thought back to those eyes. It was hard to imagine that one person could carry such a murderous aura, and it is not like Takemichi had not done anything yet! He shuddered, gulping some more water before standing up again.

"I'm sorry for that. I'm not leaving the best impression, am I?" He chuckled without humor, surprised that Emma had not left his sorry ass yet. She must have the patience of a saint.

"I already gotta deal with my annoying brother and his group of friends on a daily basis." She sighed. "Although you do suck at first impressions. It's not as if I'm gonna think less of you cause you are a coward with a weak stomach."

"Thanks... I've just not been having the best of days, it feels like more and more problems are piling up and I can't do anything but stare at the mess." He replied, his eyes not leaving the floor.

The longer they stayed still the more anxious he got.

"Let's just get something to eat."

"You read my mind! Let's go buy tons of snacks! You look like you need it." By buying, she meant Takemichi would pay. The company sufficed for him.

Takemichi pulled out his phone, searching for one contact in particular.

After wasting thirty minutes deciding what to buy, they ended up on a bench outside the shrine.

They had been conversing, well, more like Emma spilling all the drama happening at her school while they devoured their foods. While listening to her, Takemichi had been struggling to navigate his flip phone despite the malfunctioning keypad and the screen's numerous scratches. He cursed his lack of savings (damn you past self!), seemingly stuck with the nearly useless device until further notice.

It had been nice to take his mind off everything that had happened and spend his time speculating the recent drama around Emma's friends. Something about the whole situation made Takemichi reminisce just a tiny bit, reminding him of those shows that his mom used to love.

"But it makes no sense to me. From what you told me, Yua obviously liked Akio first. And Akari knew that and still decided to pursue him." Takemichi noted.

If Yua and Akari had been friends their whole life, why would Akari abandon their friendship and betray Yua for a mere boy? Middle school drama was compelling.

"That's what I'm saying! Plus I'm pretty sure that Akari didn't even like Akio at first, so I don't know what could have changed her mind."

She paused her rumbling to munch on the last strawberry candies before laying her focus on the chips. Takemichi had to admit that perhaps they bought too much, but everything had been so cheap he felt it had been worth it.