Ordinary

Epilogue 2

A girl with a brisk pace strides through the open air of Tokyo, shorter than most that walk by her by a head. She treads street by street, trying to not let the windy day blow away her thin coat as her braided black hair bounces a bit in the wind. The young girl roams this initially vaguely familiar place looking for the Tohto Bunkyo Hospital. She used to live in this region when she was younger. A lot had changed since, yet also nothing seemed all that different. Whichever corner her vision darted to contained a joyous memory, and it wasn't hers alone. The stopsign to her left – she had run into it whilst talking to an old friend. From then on, she would always do a bigger circle around it to save herself the embarrassment. The little opening with a sign across the street – the convenience store she'd visit when she had just enough money to treat herself to a cup of hot chocolate.

Ah, the nineteen-year-old noticed the plain ribbon decorating her braid's top loosen. She immediately took it off and momentarily placed it in the pocket of the coat. Phew, an internalized sigh of relief passed over her. The ribbon was one of two that she just couldn't afford to lose. They were gifts from a very important friend, after all.

Just as she began to reminisce to the scent of the wind, the inexplicable warmth, the smell of home, she couldn't help herself, and chose to stop by the side of a building while rewrapping the ribbon almost ceremoniously. The scene before the young girl hit the softspot of nostalgia: the ever busy lanes, crowds with lives of their own: high schoolers in uniforms, businessmen, tourists, shoppers; blinking lights and neat advertisements. She wasn't surprised to find herself still cherishing those days of her innocent and unblemished childhood.

And just when she thought the scenario couldn't get any more familiar, a couple of girls maybe around her age walked past, then they stopped.

"Aiko?" One of the couple approached her.

The familiar figure wore a typical school uniform: a plaid skirt and long socks, a white shirt with a dark blue jacket. Aiko and the girl were about the same height.

An over-the-shoulder schoolbag gingerly lowered to the ground while the one who had been startled was still fixing her hair.

Coincidentally, Aiko had just finished tying the ribbon and she froze at the realization. "... Miko?"

The schoolgirl only a year younger than the one on her way to the hospital smiled like a child in bliss. "It's good to see you again. It's been, uh... quite a while."

With a bit of a frown, Aiko replied "Yes. Yes, it has, Miko." And then returned a question. "You've been doing well, I hope? And your senior year?"

"It has been great." Miko then turned to the girl she had been walking with, her own black hair too short to wave in the wind, "Rika, give us a minute please, this is my childhood friend and senior Aiko Fujikawa."

Somehow the way Miko delivered the explanation threw a needle into the bullseye Aiko's heart. She'd never gotten used to no longer being introduced as her junior's "best friend."

Miko's irresistible smile captivated Aiko. She could feel the corners of her cheeks mimicing the expression of her converser.

"So then, how's university life? You used to think It'd be quite exciting." The kohai of gremlin tendencies inquired, "Was it as good as you imagined?"

"Well, believe me," Aiko picked her friend's bag off of the ground. "I really tried to like it, but honestly, it's not that different from regular school to me."

"I'm not too surprised, you never were the party type. Relieved to hear that nothing's wrong though."

Miko pointed to something in the alley that was barely a couple meters away and behind the ribboned friend. "Hey, isn't that the legendary Trash God?"