The dejected look on our faces spoke volumes when we all got into the train.
From all of us, Miuna was the one who looked completely devastated. Next to her, Hikari had a look of frustration on his face, his lips pursed as if trying to fight back the urge to curse.
"Do you think they sell shells at Saya Mart?" Manaka tried to remain positive but her words only served to deepen the dent of disappointment that hammered at us during our silent train ride home.
"I don't know... There has to be somewhere we haven't searched yet." I shook my head, trying to be hopeful for everyone but all to no avail.
There just wasn't anything more we could do. We searched high and low but we just couldn't find a replacement for the necklace we saw at the department store.
"Fish scales." Out of the darkness of our thoughts, our heads lifted up to look at Tsumugu when he spoke.
"What do you mean by that?" Chisaki asked him.
Tsumugu looked away from the scenery to face us. "When I was young, I gave my grandfather some fish scales I saw by the beach. He asked me what they were for but until now he still keeps them by the shelf back home."
It took me a moment to process his words, wondering why he would tell us such a story at this very moment. It wasn't until a few minutes that the reason had clicked, my eyes widening in realization at what Tsumugu wanted to convey.
"It doesn't matter-" I murmured, earning me several confused looks. It was only Tsumugu who understood what I wanted to convey, a knowing look settling on his face as if urging me to continue. "As long as it's something you chose, Miuna! No matter what it is, so long as it came from the bottom of your heart then I'm sure Akari-san would love it."
My explanation was enough for both Hikari and Miuna to get the gist of what I wanted to say, their eyes widening as if they were struck by an idea.
"Of course! The thing you love the most!"
--*--
"This one looks too old and gray. It wouldn't match her eyes..." I commented before passing an apologetic frown when Chisaki and Manaka sighed and returned the shell back on the sand.
The sun was dipping on the horizon now, the orange sky covered with patches of purplish-blue to signal that night was falling.
We had yet to find the perfect shell that Miuna would use as the pendant for Akari's necklace. We were so certain that going to the beach would provide a fruitful result yet, with how everyone was starting to look, it was slowly no longer going to be the case.
"Maybe we should try searching the deeper parts of the sea? I'll bring a bucket and then we can let Miuna choose from those we bring back up?" I suggested when we rendezvoused with the boys, my voice trying to sound hopeful for Miuna's sake.
"It sounds like a plan. I'll be staying here with Miuna to search more areas we might've missed."
"There's a patch of water not too far from here where we catch clams and oysters when the tide brings them over," Tsumugu suggested after Hikari had spoken. "You can search there while Hiradaira-san and Mukaido-san search the waters by the shore."
"Alright. We'll split up again and see if we find anything." We all nod at the plan before separating from each other again.
To be so invested for Miuna's sake, I can't help but be surprised at myself. But then again, maybe it's because her plight resonated with me so well. Her apprehension to accept Akari-san at first reminded me of when I first met Mr. Shin and the implications Manaka gave between him and my mother.
I felt like I couldn't trust him for my mother. The fear that he'd be no different than my father still made me cautious of any man that would dare approach her. Seeing Miuna become more accepting of Akari made me realize how selfish I had been by thinking of it that way.
It wasn't just my life that had been torn apart when he had left. My mother too had lost her other half, the pain just as worse as mine. Even when she said that she didn't think there is any reason to pursue her happiness... What if it's just a mask to hide her fear of being rejected.
The selfless portrait I painted of my mother- what if underneath that was a woman who only wanted to be truly happy?
"Maybe I should give him a chance..." I murmured. If I wanted to make things better for us, then shouldn't it start with me helping my mother find the courage to face Mr. Shin too?
"Aoi." I froze at the voice calling my name, my body quickly looking behind me to spot Kaname not too far making his way to me.
"K-Kaname?!" I blurted out in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"I don't think it'll be productive if we all stayed in one spot. I thought maybe you needed help since Manaka and Chisaki went as a pair to the other side of the beach to look for shells."
"I-I guess... Thanks for accompanying me then." I tuck my loose hair behind my ear nervously after I spoke, making sure he didn't see my expression when I immediately looked away and began walking. "Anyways, I think we'll have better luck if we try near the shore Tsumugu suggested. The shells there have long since been abandoned so we can take them without having to worry about hurting any of the sea creatures."
After I spoke, only silence greeted us as we walked. Kaname wasn't really a very talkative person so it wouldn't have been suspicious if he didn't reply. But I, on the other hand-
"How'd it go?" I nearly jumped again at the question Kaname asked, not expecting him to say anything until after we got to the farther side of the beach.
"H-how did what go?" I nearly stuttered back, unable to meet him in the eye as I continued to walk at a much faster pace than him. Whether he noticed me trying to keep the distance, he didn't show. He didn't even bother to bridge the gap, his pace unnerving me as we continued walking.
There isn't much for me to hope for. I knew well enough he was only asking out of curiosity. I mean, Tsumugu made it loud and clear even when he didn't say it. I thought for certain though that only Manaka and Chisaki would have the guts to corner me and ask. I didn't think Kaname, of all people, would do the same too.
"You promised, didn't you? No more hiding secrets." Kaname reminded me with a faint teasing tone in his voice, our conversation the night Miuna vanished making me flinch at the embarrassing memory.
It was unfair of him to use it against me. But then again, a promise is a promise. It was for his sake that I made that, after all.
"Yes. I did promise that now, did I?" I managed to say with a nervous laugh, still unable to look behind me as I steadied my voice and began. "I told Tsumugu that it just wasn't meant to be."
Kaname didn't reply after I had dropped the news, probably urging me to continue to talk. I fumbled with the handle of the bucket I had with me, observing the sands that clung inside it sparkle like crystals against the setting sun.
"I told him from the very beginning that it wouldn't work out. He was adamant at first, that's why he took me out..." I paused and sighed, looking away from the bucket and turned to the sea before me. "Even though it was a lost cause, he didn't get angry. Even when I told him that he only got hurt in the end... He didn't mind. Because, as he had said, he didn't regret what he did."
"He didn't?" Kaname sounded surprised at my explanation, my head finally turning to face him with a sad smile.
"Because he would've rather preferred to have done it than to regret never having done it at all." I shake my head tiredly, as if saying it all drained the energy out of me. "We're still friends if you guys are worried. It'll take a while though before it truly goes back to before... but we're making progress."
"I see." Kaname returns my smile with his own, almost as if he had realized something from it. "So both of you flew farther than us then."
"Eh?"
Kaname doesn't answer my quizzical look though. The only reply I received was when his pace had gone slightly faster and caught up with mine. He had a look on his face that I didn't understand. Why did he look so sure of something?
Almost like he had realized what he had to do.
--*--
"There's sand in my sandals and I feel so sticky. I want to go home and take a bath!" Hikari whined as we tiredly walked to Miuna's home, his complaint echoing on our faces.
"I can't wait to dive into the sea and clean myself up." I added with a tired whine before lifting my arms up to stretch the sore muscles that ached in protest. "After that, I'm heading off to bed and sleep the whole night away."
"Miuna-chan!" Our heads snapped up to see Akari and Miuna's dad running to us, the look of pure worry on her face making me feel guilty that we made them wait this long.
"Well then? Go ahead." Hikari gave Miuna a light push to remind her of the reason why we came home this late. The reason why we ran all over the main city to look for a seashell that was actually hiding under our noses all along.
I couldn't help but want to see the result unfold, to see that 'what-if' if I too became brave like Miuna to accept the changes before me.
The warmth of Akari and Miuna's expressions when Miuna had given her gift brought a sense of peace to my heart. A happy ending given to us after the whirlwind of events that came these past few days.
'I really should try my hardest too...' I thought to myself, relishing the moment that transpired before us.
I was too caught up in the view that I had failed to realize the moment the salt flakes began to fall on the surface...