"So? What do you expect me to do?" Tokiwa
grumbled, after glaring at the letter for awhile.
"Could we convince you to meet with Yamabe?
We've made all of the necessary arrangements," Itsuki replied in a businesslike fashion.
"Right now?" Tokiwa asked.
"Sorry," Itsuki said, "but Yamabe needs to see you soon as possible.
"No way. Who do you think you are, pressuring me like this? Go home," Tokiwa barked, shoving the
letter back at Itsuki.
"But Tokiwa-sensei!" Itsuki pleaded.
"Yamabe-sensei has no reason to interrupt my
work like this and I'm under no obligation to obey
him," Tokiwa growled. "I do things on my own terms."
"But-" Itsuki began.
"Yamabe-sensei has lots of fools at his beck and call. Why not bother one of them instead? Someone like
you, perhaps?" Tokiwa snapped, throwing Itsuki an icy glare.
Itsuki suddenly felt as if his heart had been frozen. Unable to move or respond, he watched as the
door slammed in his face.
Itsuki sighed. This was a fool's errand, plain and simple. No use trying to persuade Tokiwa now, not in his bad mood. Maybe tomorrow would be better. He could hole up at a business hotel in a nearby town. It was only four in the afternoon, still early enough to find lodging for the night.
He had never expected Tokiwa to go along willingly, Neither had Yamabe nor Kasaoka.
"It's okay if he puts up a fight," they had told him.
Itsuki refolded the letter and returned it to his briefcase. As he turned away from the house, something suddenly caught his attention. He gasped in awe, Huge
fluffy snowflakes were floating to the ground. He caught one in his palm and watched it melt
The snow crunched beneath his feet as he walked back to the car. Seeing his footprints in the snow
gave him a creepy feeling for some reason. Just then,he spotted a barn in the distance which seemed to be calling out to him
He stood next to Tokiwa's RV. A little stream flowed behind the barn, surrounded by rocks and bare
soil. Walking carefully through the snowdrifts. Itsuki made his way to the stream's edge, then squatted and touched the water.
The shopkeeper had told him that Tokiwa's house was at the top of the mountain." but the actual
peak was clearly some distance away.The icy water flowed down from the summit, cold enough to pierce his skin. Itsuki felt nostalgic as he listened to the gurgling
sound. It had been a long time since he'd been alone like this.
Itsuki had started working for Yamabe eight years ago. Since then, he'd practically never left the
man's side. Sometimes, Itsuki would go off for an hour or two to attend to business, but he always returned immediately afterwards. He never went for walks just because he felt like it.
Itsuki just crouched there, watching the water for a while. When he finally stood up, he could feel the bracing cold through his coat. The falling snow already covered his footsteps. He carefully picked his way back to the black RV, then surveyed Tokiwa's house
again.
Tokiwa had originally bought this old place to serve as his workshop and residence. It was easy to tell
the house's age from the rough texture of the wood on the porch. But it didn't really look worn out, just well loved and much used. "Rustic" described it perfectly
Surrounded by mountains and drifting snow, the house was quite picturesque.
Itsuki knew Yamabe would never understand this, though. When it came to property, Yamabe only
cared about the important things: the age, name, and location of the place. Unlike Tokiwa, Yamabe preferred new things, untouched by human hands, another reason
why they didn't get along.
I'd better get a move on, Itsuki thought, stifling a cough. He glanced at his watch. A whole hour had passed since he'd arrived here
The company car was not suited for driving in heavy snow, and Itsuki felt stressed about driving down
the icy road again. Aiming to get back to town as soon as possible, he hurried to his car.
Suddenly, he froze. Where were his keys? He thought he'd stashed them in his coat pocket, though he
wasn't the type of guy who usually carried things in his pockets. Since he didn't really drive much, he wasn't in the habit of carrying keys around either.
He tried to retrace his steps, but still couldn't remember what he'd done with them. Did he drop them
in the garden somewhere?
Now the snow was falling even harder, covering everything including his coat-with a soft white crust. If he didn't hurry, the roads would soon freeze over. Itsuki started digging a trail through the snow with his shoe, still searching for the keys. By the time he reached
the barn, he decided it would be easier to just walk down the mountain.
But he couldn't just leave the car there. For one
thing, it didn't belong to him. Plus, it would be rude to leave it in Tokiwa's garden, especially after the way the
man had acted. Itsuki shuffled towards the little stream his breath emerging in white puffs, but as he feared, it was completely covered in snow. The water was barely
visible, making it hard to tell which part was solid.
He nervously approached the bank. The air here felt even colder than in the garden, and he began to
shiver uncontrollably.
The keys must be around here, he thought. Just then, the rock beneath him crumbled. As Itsuki slipped,
still clutching his briefcase, he fell down hard on his right side. A sharp pain shot up his leg, so bad it made his ears ring.
Itsuki lay sprawled on the ground. He felt the freezing cold seep into his body. As he raised himself up on his hands, he saw that his situation was indeed dire. Both of
his legs were soaked from the knees down. Just looking at
them made him feel even colder than he already was.
The feeling of his wet slacks clinging to his legs
made it all too real. As he tried to lift his right leg out of the river, a violent pain pierced through his entire body. He gasped for breath, trying hard not to scream.
Suddenly, he heard a voice from nearby say,
"What the hell are you doing over there?"
He looked over to see Tokiwa fixing him with a steely gaze. Itsuki started to apologize, but Tokiwa
abruptly cut him off.
"Don't apologize! Just tell me what's going on here," the sculptor said gruffly.
In a panic, Itsuki tried to climb out, but his legs just wouldn't cooperate and he slid deeper into the water
Now even his knees tingled with cold.
"Stay still!" Tokiwa commanded in an angry voice. "Do you want to fall in even more?
Itsuki felt two strong arms grasp him from behind and lift him out of the water. Lying on the snow.
his soaked legs spread before him, he was too breathless to apologize or even say thanks.
"Why did you come out here anyway, in this foul weather?" Tokiwa yelled. "You really...."
Suddenly Tokiwa fell silent. For a moment, he looked like he was about to leave Itsuki to fend for
himself.
"You'd better come with me, guess," he finally muttered. "You can't drive home in that state."
Then he turned around and started to walk away. He was wearing the same jeans and sweater as before, topped with a leather jacket.
How did he know I fell in? Itsuki wondered,watching Tokiwa walk away.
But Itsuki was in no mood for analytical thinking right now. He planted his hand in the snow and tried to get up, but his legs buckled under him. He couldn't even
stand on his own, let alone chase after Tokiwa. Both ankles burned as if they'd been set on fire, and his bones hurt all over. Even the slightest movements made his
body scream in pain.
Itsuki let out a low moan. The places where his wet clothes touched his skin already felt numb. As the chill spread up his back to his shoulders,his teeth
began to chatter. He heard footsteps approach as he contemplated his pathetic state.
"It's your legs, right? Both of them?"
Itsuki looked up. Tokiwa kneeled down next to him, grimacing.
"No, I'm fine. I can walk," Itsuki insisted, forcing a smile. He stretched out his knees. Pain coursed through his legs, though he didn't cry out.
Tokiwa hoisted Itsuki up by his shoulders, sitting him upright on the snow, then grimly grasped his
ankles.
"Aaggh!" Itsuki gasped, clenching his teeth.
"Can't take it, eh?" Tokiwa scoffed.
Shaking off Tokiwa, Itsuki tried to balance on his left leg, but suddenly found himself floating above
the ground, held up by Tokiwa's strong arms.
"Don't struggle, okay?" Tokiwa said, sounding annoyed. "Do you want to hurt yourself again?"
Itsuki felt dazed by the scenery racing past him and the feeling of Tokiwa's soft leather jacket beneath
his fingers. Soon, Tokiwa was gently placing Itsuki in the RV's passenger seat.
Itsuki already knew their body types were different he had a delicate build, while Tokiwa's
resembled a construction worker's-but was still amazed
at how easily Tokiwa had carried him to the car.
Tokiwa blotted Itsuki's pants with a towel rolled them to his knees, and wrapped his lower legs in
another towel he grabbed from the back seat.
"Please, Tokiwa-sensei, I can take care of myself," Itsuki pleaded weakly.
"How, when you can't even walk?" Tokiwa said quietly, fastening Itsuki's seatbelt. He got in the driver's seat and started the car without another word.
Itsuki wondered where they were going, but he didn't feel comfortable asking Tokiwa. Every twist and
turn on the downhill road made his legs feel even worse. He just looked out the windshield as the wipers brushed away the powdery snow.