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"Doesn't this place bring you memories?" Nanami asks.
While the question is directed at you, his gaze is out in the distance, watching Haru attempt a sandcastle. The boy had wiggled free upon the boardwalk entrance, insisting to play by the water.
Without the summer tourist crowd, Kyoto's shores are especially beautiful this time of year, turquoise waters shimmering into the horizon as the nearby lush adds a colorful touch to the beige coastline.
You wiggle your toes, watching the sand filter past the gaps.
"Like when we took Haru here for the first time?" you suggest, answering Nanami's question.
That was nearly four years ago, which is crazy to think about.
"Or when we were teaching him to swim?" Nanami adds on. "Or when just the two of us would dance in the sand during the summer nights?"
"Yeah."
Without realizing it, a reminiscing smile tugs at your lips.
You turn to Nanami wondering what response he was looking for since he hasn't said much although he was the one who planned the visit.
"Why? What did you want to show me?"
Beside you, Nanami doesn't instantly respond.
"Just this," he answers, gesturing to the ocean waves that rolled into the coast.
At the dumb reply, you suppress the urge to laugh.
But that urge completely disappears when you notice that he doesn't have that similar twinkle in his eyes.
"You alright?" you ask innocently, reaching over to squeeze his bicep.
He nearly flinches at the touch. "Thinking about a lot."
For some reason, he seems uncharacteristically curt, and that leaves you unsettled—how he tucks his hands into his pockets, an incoming sea breeze tousling with a loose lock by his hairline.
"Really?" you ventured in an attempt to seek explanations. "What about?"
He clearly hesitates.
Over the next minute, he appears like he was going to answer but releases a long exhale instead.
