Ken followed Ai's figure out of the house, passing by Naomi who sent him a wink from behind the counter. Her expression was one filled with expectation, at least from his perspective.
It was only now that he remembered both Naomi and his mother had been conspiring to get him and Ai together since the beginning.
However, he couldn't be bothered to think about this right now. He continued out the door and onto the street, eventually following beside Ai along the road.
The two walked in silence for a while with only the call of the cicada's chirping in their ears and their footfalls hitting the pavement.
Despite Ai not talking, Ken felt no anxiety in that moment. In fact, he didn't feel like he had to fill the silence with chatter, he merely walked beside the woman he'd chased for so long in his previous life.
No, that was wrong. Ai was no longer the same person that he thought he knew back then.
While he never really got to know her before he regressed, Ken felt as if the woman beside him was different. As he looked at her silhouette beside him, she just so happened to turn in his direction.
Instantly he was entranced by her soulful blue eyes. He felt all of his walls that guarded his heart fall at once, ready to embrace her if she were to just say the word.
It was a feeling he'd never experienced before in his two lifetimes. Something that invoked a mixture of emotions, fear, expectation and a lingering regret.
He who had experienced rock bottom was given another chance to live without regret. Yet his preconceived notions about his mental age and the fact that the girl in front of him was only 16 had almost prevented him from doing so.
Yet as he stood at the precipice of his epiphany, Ai turned away.
"I'm transferring to Joshibi High in Tokyo."
Her tone was soft yet it withheld untold emotion.
Ken moved his gaze back to the road a moment later, feeling his exposed heart quiver. All the evidence pointed to her moving away, yet none of it felt real until this moment.
Once again a long silence spread out between them, creating a sullen atmosphere.
"Is this what you were talking about that night in Osaka? About chasing your dreams." Ken asked, remembering his comments to her.
He had told her that she should pursue her dreams so as not to regret it later in life. At the time he was speaking from experience, not thinking about the implications of his words.
"Yeah…"
Ai didn't elaborate further. There was a part of her that wanted Ken to fight for her to stay, even if it meant that she had to give up her dream.
However, intuitively she knew that he would never do such a thing.
They had been proper friends since the beginning of the school year, yet their relationship hadn't progressed much, almost as if he'd been holding back all this time.
As she walked along, Ai let out a self-deprecating laugh, sounding harsh to the ears.
"I'm probably just wasting my time going through all of this."
Her words were dismissive, showing just how little faith she had in her abilities. Perhaps this was the reason why she'd never seriously applied herself towards her passion.
Ken was stunned. How could someone who appeared near perfect in his eyes have such a low opinion of themselves.
In that moment his body seemed to move on his own. He grabbed onto Ai's hand tightly before stepping in front of her in one swift motion.
Time seemed to stand still as the scene took place.
Ai was taken aback at the forceful actions of Ken, not expecting him to make such a daring move. Yet her gaze traveled upwards to his face which was filled with a range of emotions.
His chiseled jaw was taut and his bushy eyebrows were knitted together, yet his deep brown eyes were reflecting something else.
"Why do you not believe in yourself?"
Ken's deep tone washed over her, causing her to freeze in place.
'He sounds… angry?' She thought, inspecting his features closely.
Yet he didn't give her a chance to speak, forcing her to gaze upon him.
"You shouldn't speak like that, it's like you're giving up before even trying."
Ai's eyes widened as she heard this, finally feeling as if something clicked inside of her. She had been so afraid of failure that she'd never even taken the first step to pursuing her dreams.
Yet now, even after deciding to enroll at Joshibi High, she was still speaking like she was going to fail.
Perhaps it was a self defense mechanism, so she wouldn't be crushed if she did fail. Or maybe she truly didn't have the confidence to make it.
Either way, Ken was right. What was the point in chasing her dreams if she was expecting to fail?
As Ai was processing this, her mind thought back to all the times when she had seen Ken on the baseball field. Was there ever a time that he held back?
Even at practice, did he ever give up trying to get better so he could chase his dreams?
No, not once.
However, she wasn't like Ken. She couldn't continue forward with supreme confidence, she lacked such an ability.
These thoughts evoked emotions that she'd stored deep within herself, forcing them down to a place no one could see. Yet in the next moment, they came rushing out.
All of the stress, doubt and negative emotions poured out of her, causing warm tears to cascade down her pretty face.
"I'm scared…"
Ai could only utter these two words before she broke down and began to let out all of her grievances. It was as if the dam had broken, releasing all of her pent up feelings.
Ken saw the vulnerable woman in front of him and pulled her into his embrace. It was a reflexive action, but it felt right in the moment.
He stood there unmoving with Ai's head nestled under his chin thanks to their height difference. There were no words that were exchanged, with only the sound of Ai's gentle sobs on his chest as she let go of her insecurities.