Well, here we are. This truly has been our Rainbow of the Horizon.

  I started with asking a "How should I start, I wonder?", but when I try to ask "How should I end, I wonder?", that just sounds horribly wrong in so many ways.

  In retrospect though, I guess did think a lot about how I should end… but nowadays, that just simply doesn't cross my mind anymore.

  Anyway, we've reached the final chapter… kinda.

  You know, did this story really have a concrete purpose? Because when you look back at it, so many things happened that I don't think I can even pinpoint what this really was about, apart from it revolving around my life.

  Would you call it a slice of life… with situations where it could almost be slicing life?

  But if there is one thing that was consistent in this entire story is this whole breaking the fourth wall shtick, and this was even before the author learned about who D*adpool is.

  By the way, I am definitely not being held at gunpoint narrating any of this. But we're too far down not to commit to the bit.

  That said, I'm not about to do the reminiscing thing from the very start to now. But maybe we can talk about something else instead.

  This is to say you've reached this far which is why you're reading this monologue, or maybe you just jumped to this chapter for the heck of it. There lies the question concerned with all of more than 250 chapters of this story: How long do you think the abridged version will be?

  I'm going to get ahead and say that this story will not exceed 150 chapters. It varies on how one will see it, but there are a lot of extraneous chapters here… that frankly could even be called nothingburger chapters. Still, I think it depends on how one perceives this story. Like I mentioned above, this story of mine is very inconsistent.

  If you only wanted to know the very meat, or the greatest substance of my life, then maybe yes, it will only be within 150 chapters. But in a point of view where every bit of detail matter to even the most inconsequential things, then perhaps it makes sense why this slice of life story with a bit of slicing life has reached this far.

  In the end, or I suppose in this end, it can still be said that so much shi- so much things happened from my suffering, happiness, down to me refusing to get out of my bed all because I was being slothful.

  I suppose one thing that hasn't changed is that I still tend to remember the bad things clearer than the good things if I were to enumerate them. But that being said, the one greatest thing that triumphs over everything is that…

  I fell in love.

  As cheesy as that sounds, much of the changes that happened to my life was beside the woman who never gave up on me no matter what.

  For better or for worse, that shaped my life even more than my passion in art. It was when my heart "first beat" that it felt like I was born as a person, because I was in the company of arguably the greatest woman that lives in this Earth.

  But as she would say, what matters the most in the moment is not the past, but what is the present right now.

  So yes, this may be the end to this story, but this is also just another work day for me.

  ? ? ?

  It hasn't really been that long since my family moved out of my house to live on our new family home, and while Rin has basically occupied this place halfway through, I had a few months where I enjoyed the life of being mostly alone and went through the "this house is too large for a single person" comment I always get in the past.

  But things have now been a bit different since I started managing Rei Hatsuna. See, after the second floor of the cafe has been partitioned, a lot of the space was still provided for the customers, and so the office, rest area, and additional storage all in a single room have quickly became cramped in a matter of a few weeks after opening.

  Simply put, we were running out of storage.

  And this relates to me talking about my house for the simple reason that it's being used to store some supplies for the cafe, as a similar situation would happen if we borrow Giotto's space. Thus, this is the next best thing.

  In days where I have to take more than a small shoulder bag with me, I go by a pedal and two wheels.

  And then, I had a thought. In times like this where it still gets quite hot early, it felt like the bicycle just wouldn't cut it. Having massive stamina reserves doesn't mean I don't sweat as much. I still need to drink water to keep that energy coming, and whether I'm walking or cycling in this heat, I'll feel miserable with the sweat until I get to the comfort of the cafe's AC.

  "Maybe I should get a…"

  I get really distracted easily, don't I?

  The only one I know who was that kind of two wheels is my former student, Dino Arfa. But even when I asked him what does he objectively call his type of motorcycle, he couldn't answer me straight.

  So yeah, I was thinking of maybe finally getting a motorcycle… but see, it's not like the kind that my dad has with a manual gearbox and pedals. It's the automatic one where you accelerate with the grip.

  So what the hell do you actually call that? I don't know about other countries but at least here in Orio, we just call anything two wheels with a motor as "motor". But then there's the term moped and scooter, so what term should I really-

  After getting off my bike upon arriving to the cafe, I grabbed a drink and took a moment to breathe to get the slight annoyance out of the way. I could literally just search the difference on my phone… and it turns out mopeds are lower in power, so I was thinking about a scooter.

  BUT THEN, THERE IS THE REALLY TINY SCOOTER AND THE-

  It's still annoying that they share the same word.

  ~ ~ ~

  For some reason, I felt incredibly antsy for the rest of the day, whether I'm in the cafe or in Giotto's kitchen because I couldn't take that one thing out of my head. It wasn't to the point where it would hinder my work, but nonetheless, I keep seeing images and hearing a rumble of an engine in my head.

  So as I got off work, instead of going straight home like I always do, I put my bike somewhere in the cafe where it wouldn't get stolen and took the train to a busier city where buildings, the highway, and the night is brighter.

  Brighter I say, since I found myself walking around showroom buildings where I was eyeing the cars displayed through the large windows… and ultimately walking past them to go to the area where motorcycles are displayed.

  I continued to walk around, and somehow that short moment of strolling made me learn something new about myself.

  I actually don't like how modern scooters look like.

  I hate how sharp their angles are, and the colors may it be a decal or part of the chassis sucks. Why do people like those bright and bold colors? I can understand if it has something to do with night traffic, but there are no laws in this country preventing manufacturers or even the aftermarket to make motor bodies made from dark colors, and you can pretty much find reflective stickers everywhere.

  Looking at it, it seems like the market is saturated with it that I could only find so few of my preference anywhere but not to the point where they're too absent.

  It turns out, I like the old school look more with curves and very few angles, and only select brands make those kinds of scooters fitted with modern engines. Now I know what kind of target market I am in.

  But in my inquiries about full scooters that are completely electric across many stores, the only answer I got was that stocks are very limited and they sell out fast. Add to that is that they are still fairly expensive brand new, and it all circles back to the disappointing scale of charging network in the country, even if you can simply charge them in your house.

  I then found myself in a showroom where all of the displayed vehicles are used, which means that they have depreciated to some extent from their previous ownership. And of course, there had to be one of the "old school" looking scooters among them, minus the V*spa because I already knew that I didn't have the budget for it.

  As if an agent's money senses are tingling, he immediately approached me as it looks like he noticed me eyeing a specific model once every motor I check.

  "Is there something I can help with?"

  "Uh, can I get an estimate on how much most of the motors here are priced?"

  "Let's see, for the standard scooters, the lowest price is at around 31,000 Laxes ($850), while the more expensive ones go for 52,000 ($1500) for the models that are with us. For the bigger scooters, they can go for 60-70,000 in average."

  "Uh-huh…"

  ~ ~ ~

  ?…?

  8pm.

  From the window of Gin's room, Rin as usual crossed to the house and went downstairs as she realized she forgot her wallet from the glove box of her car.

  Faintly, a subtle rumble has been heard from the outside of the lot which made her somewhat cautious, and so she immediately shut the door of her car locked following with swift footsteps back inside from the porch.

  "Uh, Rin? Are you outside?"

  In the midst of the rumbling sound, she was able to hear Gin's voice from the same direction. Confused, she then walked to the already closed gate of the house and opened it halfway.

  Immediately, she got beamed by a bright light, and the thing she saw was Gin ascending to the yard with a helmet on his head, and an expression so blank, yet filled with certain emotions.

  In his case, his face could almost shout out loud, "How do I even begin to explain this?"

  ?…?

  Looking back, I think the very first impulse purchase that I've made was when I got Haku… and this is perhaps the second one. Which is wild, because the difference in the money I shelled out from then and now is way too big. Goodness, I was just 17 back then.

  Thus, I didn't even allow myself outside until I've said my piece to Rin, who was still dumbfounded.

  "The excuse I have is that it will help me big time on transporting supplies from here to Hatsuna… What I don't have an excuse about is that it was on the spur of the moment."

  That was all I could say.

  It's funny how with full conscience, I can confidently that this purchase, impulsive or not, came out of my own pocket and not from the revenue of the cafe that has been barely open for a month. Yet here I am, face to face with Rin, trying to rationalize this big expense like I'm some husband who secretly used our shared card (we don't have one yet), and expecting her to get pissed.

  But more than anything, she was just absolutely stun-locked under the light of my outdoor lamps.

  "You… also do have a motorcycle license right, Rin?"

  ? ? ?

  It only took Rin a few days to be laughing herself off while picking up decent speed and feeling the wind on her face whilst on my beige retro motor even if I was riding at the back. After all, it was quite light and nimble when going at roads that lead us to who knows where.

  Not that it was cheap, but it only had 2,000km in it's odometer after being out of the factory for 14 months, and it already suffered minor damage in its body which was repaired by the shop I got it from.

  One thing good about shifting my job towards being the manager of Hatsuna is that I now have my weekends off completely, which means I'm not even on-call at either the cafe or Giotto's in those days. If there is anything that sets driving a motor apart, it's that you feel more immersed with the surroundings…

  And here is a PSA that while you are more immersed, you are also more likely to meet the earth easily, so please drive extra safely.

  …

  Come a few more days, and it still feels weird to zip through White Street, when I've always walked on it. It just so happened that I made my way to Blue Ink minutes after its dismissal and went straight to the rooftop to see if the plants are still being tended with, as well as taking inspiration to how I can integrate greens more to the interior of the cafe.

  After letting time pass a bit more, I climbed down the stairs and peeked through the door of the Art Room to see the Art Club having its usual activities.

  I was greeted by the students in my entrance despite my incredibly informal appearance while Mato approaches with a frown on my unexpected visit.

  "I just realized that I never got the time to see the new centerpiece since the last time I visited."

  "Is that all that you came here for?"

  "Geez, don't be so bitter."

  Truly, the new main display of the club is something else. It's the kind of work where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, but that is not to say the individual pieces of the collage is not good.

  I vaguely remember Mato telling me that it was a compilation of storyboards, but looking at it in person is something else as they appear to be intended for animation.

  "I think it's time I get to know the story of this. I'm honestly dying to know."

  Mato's arms crossed as he seems to be having difficulties to find the words. As though stalling, he took his glasses off and gave them a wipe before he finally started talking upon putting them back on.

  "See, one of my students took on an animation project as their graduation project."

  "All on their own?"

  "Yeah, it was one heck of a story. He looked for a song in YouCube that didn't have a music video, and then the school took care of licenses for him. I'd say he has what it takes for directing from looking at his storyboards to the finished product."

  "Where is he going to study now, then?"

  "Funny you ask that, he's got accepted to a comic illustration course this academic year."

  "H-Huh?"

  In my mind, it felt like I was inside a car driving at great speeds approaching a junction, only for the driver to pull the handbrake and oversteered into a drift towards a sharp turn.

  "His reasoning was quite unique. He wanted to learn animating and cinematography so that he can apply them to illustrating for comics, like how to convey movement and cinematic compositions."

  I could envision the intent, or at least that's what I believe. It's not as if it's a very uncommon thing, but I think it's also that prevalent. I've seen some manga where my gut reaction upon seeing a panel is that "This looks very cinematic," but I am not going to pretend I'm able to understand the ins and outs of Nagi's work.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  "For one, you had a student that has a clear vision of what they wanted to do."

  "I do, huh," suddenly, he started sounding smug.

  "Anyway, there's one more thing I wanted to talk about."

  "Sure, but why are you going to the computer with a USB stick on your hand?"

  I ignored his question, and the printer started operating.

  "I actually rented our cafe this Wednesday night, so I'd appreciated it if you can come with Nana-sen. I'm only inviting friends so don't worry about that."

  "Did you just say 'our cafe'? Aren't you a chef in Giotto's?"

  "I stepped down and started managing the new business. Wait, don't tell me you never knew we opened a cafe last month?"

  Just as the printer finished, I pulled the paper out containing a promotional poster and brought it up to get the attention of the club members.

  "Starting next month, Rei Hatsuna is going to offer student discounts. We also have monthly local artist showcases, so feel free to come by to get some inspirations."

  "Uh? You are running that cafe that just opened?"

  "Excuse me, but I don't like how you stressed the 'you' so much.

  That said… take the invitation as a token of appreciation. If you're going, you have nothing to pay for because I'm shouldering all the expenses so all you have to do is eat and drink. It's a small gesture of gratitude to everyone that's helped me over the years in my life, so I'd be happy if you could come."

  "Can you not get all sappy in front of my students?"

  "Stop being a tsundere, Mato-sen~!" one of the students teased.

  "I'd like to remind you that you only have 15 minutes remaining for today's exercise."

  With one sentence, the students frantically returned to their works.

  "And you better stop suddenly plugging your business or I'll report you to Sir Juushiro," he says, as he snatched the poster from my hand and pasted it on the Art Room's bulletin board.

  "Alright, alright. I still have some rounds to do so I will not overstay my welcome here.

  Maybe in October I can think of something for the club in the upcoming Open Event. Well then-"

  "Hold up, where are you going?" just as I was about to step out of the room, Mato's words managed to stop me. "You still haven't told me what time we should come."

  "He really is a tsundere, Sir Gin."

  "Ahaha, I already know that, so better focus on your plate before you get chewed on. Anyway, I'll send you the details, Mato."

  ? ? ?

  Today, I finally got to work on installing the carrier box for my bike. It's nice that I didn't have to come to work early, since this is a special day.

  Even with the use of my motor, moving things from my house to the cafe still takes so much time and a lot of round trips, as I could only fit so much on my step board and my seat compartment just isn't very usable especially for large objects. But with a box behind me, I believe things will be much easier from now on.

  With the positive mood still fresh in me, I prepared to test whether the storage box will hold itself well on the road.

  It was a fine day, after all.

  Thus, I slowly opened the gate of my house… not knowing that I will be put to what felt like a moment of eternity condensed into a mere few minutes.

  In the opening of the house, I saw a silhouette of a man standing right in front of the property. And in the next moment, the helmet hanging on my left arm has all but shattered after protecting my head from what seemed to be a flash of a lethal kick.

  I was for a moment winded, and the person was relentless on trying to attack me.

  Even for me, their strikes looked like a blur as I block them and try to regain my footing. Those swift movements were nothing I have seen from my experiences thus far. Every movement has its purpose, and I quickly ascertained that right then and there, my life was in danger. The strikes were so deliberate that from the uninspiring knowledge I have of the human body, even I realized that all of my vitals from head to toe are being targeted with incredible accuracy.

  And what I am most concerned about is the complete absence of bloodlust from him… when I could feel that one wrong move I make will cost me.

  I thought to myself… he is more dangerous than Joseph Horach.

  I returned to my senses and gathered my breath. Amidst my struggle, it felt that I could still outmatch him in speed. Openings that could not be normally perceived became available to me as I concentrated, and when they met with the best option, I parried at once with the aid of a gust I pushed at him.

  "And now my grass is ruined."

  As the person was still suspended in the air, I urgently pulled out a white handkerchief from my pocket and tied his ankles while I grabbed his wrists. Pinned down on the floor, I could finally get a look at his face.

  "…!"

  The man's head was burnt in its entirety, and it was not as if it was just a scar. It was recently scorched.

  "How nice for you… to be living in the safest, perfect world…"

  Just as his face was in disorder, his voice was also severely damaged. But as if any and all pain was devoid of him, he aggressively continued.

  "How old are you, I wonder… Looks like you have your own house as well. Really living the life, huh…?

  Ahh… I'm so envious… We're all inflicted a curse where none of us were an exception… and yet, you were born in this perfect world. It's so unfair…"

  None of his words were making sense to me at all, but everything beyond that crippled voice felt as if I was hearing something deeper, wiser, and out of my reach.

  "If this was really a perfect world… I would not have to go through the hell I had to endure. If this was the ideal world, then I could still be seeing my grandfather and uncle right now, rid of illness and living happily. Hundreds, or even thousands of people should not have been ostracized by the society if this was really the most perfect world."

  "Hell, huh… Child, you haven't seen what it really is."

  "What do you mean…?"

  At some point between my own words and emotions welling up, little by little, I tried to pour my memories into the man to see if he was also someone that can perceive my thoughts, but not to an extent that I could harm someone again. In the end, it did not seem like it was the case.

  "Gin…! I heard something loud from next door. What happened…?"

  As Rin emerged from the porch door, I immediately signed to stop her from advancing any closer from us. And when I looked back at the man, my face was molded with surprise as his attention was diverted to Rin, at which his limbs trembled, his eyes widened, and his breaths got shallower.

  Seeing that, I tightened my grip over him, only for his entire body to relax.

  Instead, a burst of vigor left him and escaped my grip as well as the white handkerchief tying him. Despite the fractured ankle that he now had, he stood straight and pulled his hood up.

  "So it appears this is the conclusion of your story… where your greatest pain has ended and you're now bound to savor the eudaimonia that comes from it. Good for you. It looks like you've seen the end of your own hell… while I'm still eternally living mine.

  I still resent you… but know that I feel incredible remorse to what I did to you… to all of you."

  Eerily, the man's ruined face started moving on its own as though it was being put back to place. The burns began to very slowly disappear to be replaced by flawless skin.

  But more than anything, he stared at me unwaveringly.

  "May this be last time I see you. In the place that you will never see… I promise I will do right to all of my wrongs and hope to find the death that I deserve."

  …

  Silence. A terrifying silence.

  I was sure that my eyes did not shut to a blink, but the man disappeared… as if he was never there to begin with.

  As I begin to retrace what happened, Rin stepped out of the porch to check up on me.

  A small bruise on my left arm is still there, my helmet remained broken to pieces, the soil of my lawn was still disturbed, and the white handkerchief lied on the ground still tied.

  It was not a dream or illusion.

  "Are you really alright, Gin…?"

  "I… wasn't really hurt… but I'm just really confused.

  This might sound weird, but did you see and hear everything…?"

  "Y-Yeah… Someone broke into the house and you caught him right here. But the next thing I know, he's gone…"

  "Hahh… So I wasn't imaging things after all."

  "Tell me straight right now. Are we in danger again…?" in a panic, Rin's hands held my face and pulled it closer to hers.

  "W-When you heard his last words… what did you feel, Rin…?"

  Disoriented, she still tried to honor my question and rearranged her thoughts. From there, the grip from her hands as well as the tense expression on her face loosened.

  "I felt safe… and reassured… and it felt strangely familiar…"

  "We thought the same thing?"

  "Huh?"

  "I also felt the same way as you, weirdly enough. It's only a gut feeling, but it's so strong for me at least."

  "B-Besides that, do you even know him?"

  "I don't. I even tried to see if he can also read minds, but he can't. It doesn't seem like he's connected to Horach too.

  But more than anything… I don't really feel anxious about it, so I think things are going to be fine."

  "Are you really? It's been a while since I've seen your right eye change."

  "Wait, does it really?"

  "Yeah. It's back to blue."

  All of a sudden, the fresh memories replayed in my head. In the final moments I saw of the man, his face was strangely returning from the burns, but I was not able to see what may be his real appearance.

  But the stare he gave me was incredibly sad.

  He was crying, and in the midst of the tears in the corner of his eyes, I saw a pale blue pupil in his right eye.

  "…"

  It was my turn to hold Rin's face this time.

  "Look, I'm just going to tell you now that I'm honestly alright, so don't worry about me."

  "How about the event in Hatsuna tonight, then?"

  "I'll push through with it. I'd feel bad to cancel it after I invited a lot of people. That said… should we go for drive to take the edge off it? I need to see if there will be rattling on the carrier box anyway.

  I'll see first if I can ask Makoto to look after the house and the cats for a bit."

  "S-Sure… But what are you going to do with your helmet?"

  "Agh, dammit… I just realized it's now gone-gone. That thing was expensive too. Thankfully I still have a spare one."

  ~ ~ ~

  The more time passed, the more it seemed like what happened in the morning continued to teeter the line between being real and not. Every physical proof of it was still present, including my bruise, but every time I thought about him, the more it felt like he existed, and at the same time not.

  Still, I could not get myself distracted any further.

  "Alright, off you go, you two. It probably goes without saying, but I'll ask you to watch over Kyu while he gets used to the place, Haku."

  At the closing of the cafe, I brought the two cats to get them familiarized to the place. It's not that I wish to bring them a lot here, but it seems like Kyu has been enjoying the outside world a bit, but only to a point where he wouldn't get stressed about it.

  He truly is well-behaved. At first, I brought him to places on my bicycle and I could see him exploring around as we moved. Then, I've brought them to some slow rides with the scooter until we found ourselves in the middle of rice fields where we walked around in quiet. Thankfully, he had a good time to the point that we returned to the same place and he looked just as eager.

  Fortunately, it appears that he is just going to be at-home in the cafe.

  "Are you sure you don't need the help, Chef Gin?"

  "Hey now. You've helped me plenty with the preparations I asked of you guys earlier. Rin and I can take care of closing up so rest up for tomorrow.

  If anything, I'm sorry I couldn't come for the whole day because I had to take care of something. Hotpot on me tomorrow for dinner, maybe?"

  "We'll hold you on that, then. We're off."

  Technically, the cafe has closed for the day, so I can't really have the other staff work any further as this is not a Friday night. So while the lights of the cafe are still on, the signage on the door is flipped to "reserved".

  "Things are looking good here, huh."

  The door chimes sounded, and with that came Akira, Aunt Meg, and Tenth who is… holding a bouquet of flowers for some reason.

  "Early birds get the worm."

  "I actually wanted to send a full-on flower stand last month but I couldn't get it prepared on time, so you'll have to make do with a bouquet. Belated congratulations on the cafe opening, Gin."

  "You're the second person that has ever gave me a bouquet, Tenth."

  "And the first one was…?"

  "Rin, of course.

  Well, have a seat anywhere and we'll get something whipped up fast."

  The chimes sounded anew, and I quickly realized that my social battery will be completely drained by the end of this night welcoming each and every one of the people that I invited today. Surprisingly, the second one to arrive was Detective Juno Artecus.

  The number of people trickled quite a lot by the time Giotto's next door closed, with which Jean had joined the cafe's kitchen as extra hands, while I banned Hiro and Chef Yuzu from helping and made them just sit tight together with Sis and Sean.

  Of course, I was not expecting that anyone that I gave an invitation would be able to come just like big boss Kagurazaka to name one of the few, but instead she had Ms. Sora bring in a present from her father.

  "That is certainly big…"

  "He couldn't pass up the opportunity after he heard about the other feature of the cafe, so he painted one of his flower arrangements after he was inspired to pick up the brush when you gave us what you and Ane Ringo made."

  "If he just learned painting a year ago or so… then your dad really is just built different. I'll have this displayed soon."

  "He also insisted for his name to be used to promote your cafe," such heavy words were said with a soft-spoken voice, which was terrifying on its own.

  With most of the food done and probably giving off a pleasant smell out of the kitchen, we spared no time in setting up the buffet table in the cafe proper as we have a full house of customers waiting.

  Thus, I stood in front of such amazing people as I repeatedly tapped my finger on a microphone to make sure it was working.

  "Uhh… Yeah, this mic is actually for karaoke so feel free to hit some notes after this."

  "You first though!" Akira let out.

  "Maybe after a bit of liquid courage, I will humor you later.

  But to everyone that has come this evening, I'd like to thank you all for accepting this small invitation of mine. If you ask me what this is all about… I honestly don't think I can answer you straight. Maybe I just want to bring out some good food to you all and brighten things up a bit without any occasion.

  Still… to all of you that are present here, I consider you life-savers. 'All it takes is one bad day,' is what the saying goes. But what if it took one bad year?

  If it's not obvious enough, I'm extremely bad at giving a motivational speech because that's not what I intended to in the first place. I just wanted to say that even if takes years and years to negate that 'one bad year', I'd like you to know that your presence in my life helped on chipping away from it, as corny as that sounds.

  So, as selfish as this may all sound, to each and every one of you… I would like to express my deepest gratitude for your guidance, for not giving up on me, and for giving me the push to continue living.

  It's nothing big, but I hope that you will enjoy this evening and dig in. Because if there is one of few things that lifted the spirits up of a hopeless child, then it would be some damn good food.

  Well then-"

  "Hooold up."

  Suddenly, Hiro stood up and joined me in front, "I'd like to hijack this time because there's a question that's been bugging me. I know you came up with the name of the cafe on your own, but we wound never knowing what it actually meant."

  My eyes found its way towards Jean, then on Rin who was suddenly eager as she also wanted to know, then Sean, and back at Hiro.

  "What date is it today?"

  "August 27th?"

  "Wh- Haaaaahhhh?!" then Rin exclaimed as she stood up from her seat and pointed at me with a trembling finger. "It was THAT simple?!"

  "Welp, guess she figured it out. Care to share with the class, Rin?"

  Thus, she cleared her throat, "Some of you may not understand completely since the name is kind of layered… but 'Rei' can mean 'zero (〇)', 'Ha' can stand for 'eight (ハ)' and 'na' for 'seven (七)'. Meanwhile, the 'tsu' pretty much is 'two (二)'. You sneaky potato, the café logo is also a work of your genius!

  So Rei Hatsuna, if I am getting it correctly, basically means 0-8-2-7."

  "Ding-ding! We have a winner.

  See, the date August 27 is special to me. It reminds me of something painful, but it was also the first time when I met Hiro and Sean, so I thought I could make this subtle tribute, yeah?"

  Hearing that, Hiro could only chuckle and elbowed me on my side before he returned to his seat.

  "If this date has a painful memory for me, then I began trying to negate it as much as possible, which is why I chose this day to invite all of you. Well, enough of the sappy talk as there is food waiting for us, so…

  Let's all eat, drink, and have a great night."

  …

  All these years, it felt like I finally gave my grandfather Kinrou a solid.

  Decades upon decades, he had to give up the dream he achieved. Back then, he probably saw to it personally that what he made would bring joy to people, and even if the peak of his life was cut short, perhaps he was still able to do it for his family.

  It made me wish that he was still here, not because I want to show him that maybe I was able to do the same thing in this night, but because I want to make him see more that I wholeheartedly loved the food he made, which I failed to showed him before he left.

  But if we're in the same vein of inheriting someone's will like I did with Uncle Eijiro, then I hope that I did good in my grandfather's eyes.

  It honestly felt like a blur. We ate, we drank, we sang, and ultimately made a fool of ourselves at the height of the moment.

  Before the light of the cafe finally shut for the day, I looked through the pictures in my camera. It made me wish that inside my head, I have a council of the versions of myself, consisting of me before and after I became a Medical Child with the latter retaining the memories of until I was 15, then the me with the experiences from when I entered the White Room to before Rin's illness, and then the me who embodies the triumph I felt when she was saved down to the memories of my present.

  I wondered how would our conversations go and what stories we would share. We would probably fight, agree to disagree, but pretty much understand each of our own perceptions; as while it may look like we are different people, we are still one and the same in the end.

  Seemingly as though I completely forgot how I was put in the harm's way a few hours ago, I did not. It made me think what exactly does it mean for one's story to end. Funnily enough, it brought me back to the antithesis of a story's end—the beginning. I always poked fun of my own story, never really thinking about the end beyond my superficial perception of it until now, only to find my immediate answer to be "I don't know."

  When I say my story was ending, I don't really feel something incredibly deep about it, but when those very words came out of the man that disappeared the same way he appeared, it left me with questions I asked myself about stories of other people I may or may never know about.

  …

  As Rin and I were both under the influence of alcohol, we trusted Haku and Kyupi to our family to bring them home while the two of us remained in the cafe to make sure that everything is closed. Then instead, we walked our way back home as I push my scooter where Rin sat on and was playfully swinging her legs around.

  It was a starless night. While not yet so late, the road has gotten significantly quieter. Our shadows became stronger and weaker as we pass by the rows of street lamps. I continued to push my bike while Rin remained adorably sat, and we found ourselves humming the songs we sang earlier.

  Suddenly, I felt a pleasant feeling in my chest.

  As if it was loop, I kept thinking about the very moment we were in. And then I thought about how I'm thinking about that moment, until the image in my mind became clearer and clearer.

  I realized, that pleasant feeling turned out to be inspiration.

  "Rin, I'm going to pick up the pace just a tiny bit so you may want to hold on to something."

  The walk then became a slight jog. And as we felt a bit of the wind on our face, Rin started giggling out of nowhere, continuing on until we reached home.

  After closing the gates, I immediately hurried in to the house, grabbed any kind of paper and something to write with, and sat down on the porch. Somewhat confused, Rin joined me and watched as I aggressively drew on the paper without pause.

  It only took a few minutes, but I was able to recreate the moment we had on our way home from a different perspective.

  All of a sudden, her head rested on my shoulder and her arms wrapped around me while we continued to ogle the sketch I made.

  "You know… I realized that I was never really able to tell you this a lot, but I'm proud of you. Like, I'm so proud of you, Gin."

  "That's out of nowhere."

  "And maybe I'm also proud of myself. All these years, I was with you watching you grow to who you are now, and I'm glad I didn't give up."

  "Thanks for always being with me."

  "Would you agree that art is the reflection of the artist?"

  "I do."

  "That's great. The emotions we have is what gives us the vigor to make something, and never once have I seen you hesitate on creating something when it's driven by your sadness, anger, and the like which results to a piece that has the equivalent emotion poured in it.

  But of all the things, this sketch may be the one I love the most, and I'm not just saying that to flatter you. When I look at this, it's like I'm seeing the embodiment of pure, unsullied joy."

  "So that's how it looks to you."

  "Do you have any other interpretation?"

  "No. You took the words out of my mouth. I just feel really giddy right now somehow."

  "Same. And this is why I told you back then that I still love art. It's because of it that we are able to preserve such moments in ways that we want it to be seen.

  Which is why I will keep creating… so that we can preserve and remember these stories that mean a lot to us. Will you?"

  Huh. Of course.

  The end of something does not mean that they will be forgotten… is such an obvious thing I let pass.

  "Oh, you bet I will."

  *inhales*

  Next