・・・ xxii ・・・
In the end it was Rie and Leo who talked most of the time.
They never seemed to run out of words to say.
Ao stayed quiet, however.
He couldn't find the right words to speak.
In the end, all he could do was watch them both.
He had never imagined that this could happen.
He had never thought that Rie would be here.
He had never thought that Leo would come back.
He had never thought that he would be able to eat with them together like this.
Somehow, in that moment,
it almost seemed as if everything was alright.
That he was okay, and everything that haunted him could be easily forgotten.
In those few, merciful minutes,
the world was not as painful as Ao thought it was.
It feels strange.
It's almost as if... I'm back in those days, before.
"Right. But don't forget...
Everything here is just a temporary illusion you can never have."
・・・ xxiii ・・・
"That was nice, wasn't it?" Hashimoto Rie said to them with a grin.
They were now standing outside the cafe.
Beside him, Leo nodded to her and grinned.
"Yeah. I'm looking forward to the next time, Rie. And maybe next time Ao'll join in our conversation as well."
At that last sentence,
he tilted his head at Ao and offered a timid smile.
Rie laughed.
Then, she waved at them.
"Well... goodbye, you two," she said.
"Bye!" Leo waved as well.
Ao simply nodded.
With a final smile, she turned around and began to walk away from them.
It wasn't too soon before she had disappeared into the crowd.
The two of them stared at the place where she had been.
Then suddenly, Leo sighed. He stuffed his hands in his pockets.
"Ao." He turned to him, his eyes bright and blue.
"Shall we get going as well?"
・・・ xxiv ・・・
Ao blinked once.
Leo had already turned around and was beginning to walk in the opposite direction.
He followed after him.
Their steps were light on the snowy sidewalk.
"... Where are we going?"
Ao asked very quietly after a moment.
Leo shrugged. He faced him and grinned again.
"Somewhere. Anywhere.
Ah, give me a tour of the city, won't you?
Do you have any places in mind?"
Ao took a moment to answer.
He shook his head, glancing away from his gaze.
"... No, I don't."
"Hm..." Leo in front of him. "... Okay."
For a few seconds, none of them spoke to each other.
Only the dull noise of the city around them was heard.
To Ao, it seemed too faint.
"—Well, let's just walk, then," Leo finally decided out loud, voice clear. Ao jolted slightly.
"Maybe we'll find a place somewhere," he added.
Forgetting that he couldn't see him, Ao nodded.
He blinked. He shook his head.
"Don't get ahead of yourself."
Silently, he trailed after Leo.