Fuyuki City.
Shinto, the shopping district.
Since it was already the end of December, with New Year's just a few days away, the weather was very cold. Adding to that, a thin layer of snow had fallen just last night, and now pedestrians on the streets were wearing thick clothes to ward off the chill.
Fujimura Taiga was no exception.
Breathing into her slightly frozen palms, following the path she had walked countless times, Taiga soon found the signboard and the stairs leading down.
Drink Shop · Copenhagen.
This was the shop owned by her high school friend's father. Due to their friendship, Taiga occasionally came here to have drinks with her old friends. This time, of course, was for the same purpose.
"Taiga! I'm here again!"
"Ah, Taiga, you're earlier than usual today."
Inside the shop, seeing Taiga enter through the door, Hotaruzuka Otoko, who narrowed his eyes, immediately greeted her, "Have a seat first, Reikan hasn't arrived yet. I'll prepare something."
Reikan—Ryuudo Reikan. The eldest son of the famous temple in Fuyuki, Ryuudo Temple. Their student council president and old friend from high school. Although he went to university in Tokyo immediately after graduating high school, he always returned every year-end to celebrate the New Year.
And taking advantage of this opportunity, the three of them gathered to have drinks and chat, catching up on things they had experienced recently. After all, as they grew older, the three of them had more or less their own busy lives. Even though they had confirmed they would continue to be in Fuyuki City in the future, opportunities to meet would not be many.
"Taiga!"
Otoko's voice came from the storeroom.
"Hmm? What is it? What's wrong?"
"What do you want to drink today?"
"This... The usual! For snacks, I'll text Reikan now, tell him to buy some!"
Regarding her old friend's attitude of not thinking too much about the consequences of everything, even though they had been friends for six or seven years, Otoko still felt a bit amused and helpless.
"If you get drunk, I won't take you home, you know."
"Relax, relax! I'm Taiga of a Thousand Cups!"
"Wasn't that Natsukawa?" Otoko smiled, "By the way, Natsukawa, if I'm not mistaken, he went to university in England, right? It's been more than two years, it seems he hasn't come back? No emails or anything either, is he planning to settle down there?"
"Who knows? That guy has always had uncertain feelings since his second year of high school."
Mentioning Naoki's name, Taiga's tone also contained a hint of longing.
Carrying a box of wine back to the shop, Otoko also said with a nostalgic tone, "Indeed, it seems like since he took that long leave of absence back then? He seemed to not care about anything, and often went to the graveyard. It wasn't until the second semester of his third year of high school that he returned to normal. Several times I felt he was depressed."
"Hmm? Talking about Naoki?"
Just as Taiga and Otoko were talking, the entrance door opened once again. The bald-headed Reikan came in while asking.
"Oh, Reikan. It's a coincidence, we were just talking about Natsukawa. Didn't he act quite abnormal for a long time in high school? Reikan, do you know what was wrong?"
Taking off his coat and hanging it on a chair, Reikan reminisced, "I'm not too sure either. It's just that when I ate with him, I occasionally heard him mention that it seemed two people who were very important to him had left, and because of that he had lost his way a bit in life."
"Old geezers?"
"Come to think of it, that's true too." Reikan smiled, "So, it's just the three of us again this year? He still hasn't returned?"
Taiga and Otoko nodded.
Every year was like this. Two years had passed since they graduated high school. Although every time before gathering, the three of them tried to contact Naoki, before leaving for England, Naoki hadn't left his contact information with anyone at all, so the three of them were always unable to reach him.
"Well, everyone has their own ambitions. If he doesn't come back continuously, it means he has matters to attend to in England, busy to the point of not being able to return, right?"
"Busy with part-time jobs?"
"Maybe! Natsukawa was a super part-timer!"
Taiga remembered clearly, for almost the entire second semester of their third year of high school, Naoki worked part-time seven days a week without a day off.
Opening a bottle of wine, pouring full glasses for himself and the other two, Reikan raised his glass, "In that case, let's start this year like this—wishing our friend all the best in England. Cheers."
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Just as Taiga and her two friends were having their usual year-end gathering, Naoki, who was the center of their conversation, actually appeared on the streets of Shinto with Gray.
Dragging a suitcase, observing the surroundings, Gray looked around and exclaimed in admiration, "This is Japan... it feels really different from London, like crossing through time."
"Well, because the Clock Tower is located on the outskirts of London, even though our residence is in the city, it's also quite close to the suburbs, you could say it's an old city, most of the buildings are ancient." Naoki smiled while explaining, "While here is Shinto in Fuyuki City, simply put, it's a newly developed district to adapt to modern society, everything is new."
"Oh, I-I see." Gray nodded hesitantly, "Then, Brother, where are we going now?"
"Looking for a place to stay."
While saying that sentence, Naoki unconsciously scratched his head with a slight awkwardness, "Although I said I'm from Japan, when I was in Japan, I always lived in a rented house, and I left that house before I left. So, to avoid sleeping on the streets tonight, we have to find a place to stay now."
"I see, no wonder when I was tidying up the luggage earlier, Brother only told me to bring a week's worth of changes of clothes."
"After all, our main purpose for returning this time is to look for someone, returning to Fuyuki City is just my personal wish, we won't stay in Japan for long. Gray, just consider this a vacation."
Although he said that, Fuyuki City didn't have many places worth visiting. Even if there were... The ruins of the Holy Grail War?
"Ah, right—"
Suddenly remembering something, Naoki clapped his hands, "Gray, later after we find a hotel to stay in, can you accompany me to... the graveyard."
Graveyard?
Gray tilted her head in confusion, "Brother, whose grave do you want to visit?"
"Well... You could say that. There's someone who used to be very kind to me, before leaving Japan I always went several times a week. If I count, it's been two years since I last went, this time I happen to be back, so I want to see him."
Him?
Gray's heart pounded.
'The person Brother wants to meet, a woman?'