Shouta Kazehaya was running out of breath. From the station, he chased the black car but he lost sight of it when it entered the highway.
He stopped, almost collapsed but he was able to hold on stable by grabbing a nearby light pole.
With the reality that he was facing now, Shouta doubted his choice of following Sara back home. But he also doubted his doubt. Either way, after remembering about Sara's past, he couldn't just let Sara go back to the place that brought her so much pain.
"Dammit…"
Now he was for sure far away from the car. It was hopeless to follow it, he would die if he followed the damn thing. The distance between Ena and Nagoya was just too far for a 16 year old boy to walk.
So, with this in his mind, Shouta decided to turn back to the station, where he would wait for his train to bring him to Ena.
He walked slowly because his legs were already hurt after chasing the car. He wasn't expecting a five kilometer run after arriving in Nagoya.
As he walked back to the station, he stopped in front of a bread shop, but not because he wanted bread—
"—hey!"
—there was someone calling him.
A car horn accompanied the person's loud "hey!"
Shouta realized he was the one who had been called and twisted his body to see who had called him.
It was a black car, almost identical to the one Sara was driving. And he was being called by a well-built man in a suit who was seated in the passenger seat of the car.
The man then waved his hand, and Shouta approached him slowly and suspiciously.
"I accidentally bought an extra cup of black americano, do you want it?"
Take it.
His thoughts said to him right away.
The man appeared to be sincere, and the way he casually spoke to Shouta as if they were already friends made Shouta feel uneasy. His intellect, on the other hand, was arguing with him. —He was also fatigued and in desperate need of a drink.
"Ah… thank you"
"Yeah, no problem"
When Shouta's tongue made contact with the black americano, he immediately sensed the high-quality coffee beans used to make it. —Premium coffee is only purchased by the wealthy. And the man unintentionally purchased two.
"It's good, right?"
"Yeah… from just drinking it, I can tell that it's expensive"
"You're absolutely correct there, it is an expensive one"
"..."
"..."
"Is there something you want from me?"
"...?"
"No one would just give away something expensive without wanting something in return"
"Hehe… you're smart"
"..."
"Well anyways, I saw you following that black car"
Which does look similar to his.
Shouta's mind stated.
"What business do you have with that car?"
"Why do you want to—"
"—I ask the question first, boy. You answer the question before making another one"
"..."
"So, what business do you have with that car?"
Shouta hesitated to answer because his business was personal. But again, leaving a question unanswered is rude and Shouta was now standing in a situation where he was desperate to get an answer.
Though, desperate is a strong word, Shouta was just panicking. The man made a strong stand and it made Shouta's legs shake.
"I get it now… personal?"
"—?! How?"
"You took a long time to answer"
"Oh…"
"Now your turn, you have a question for me right?"
"Y-yes, I do!"
"Go ahead, ask me"
"Can I get a ride?"
"....to?"
"Follow the car"
"...."
The man turned his head in the opposite direction, and grinned.
"Sure"
It wasn't a question, but more of a request. Either way, the man owed Shouta a favor for answering his question.
.
.
.
While they were stuck in a bit of traffic, Shouta remembered that he hadn't introduced himself properly.
"My name is Shouta Kazehaya"
The man then looked at Shouta. He seemed to have forgotten about introducing himself to Shouta too.
With his hand on his chest, he introduced himself like a gentleman.
—It made Shouta's mind gasp.
"Hibiki Fujiwara, nice to meet you, Shouta Kazehaya"