Oh, so that’s your game, eh? Finally reading between the lines, I got up and sat right next to Anzu on the other bed, lifting her off the mattress with both arms.
“Well, if you think I’m a qualified candidate, I’d be more than happy to help out.”
“…You sure you don’t mind being with an aging twenty-two-year-old like me? I mean, I’ve practically got one foot in the grave,” she joked.
“You kidding? I’ve always had a thing for older women.”
“Wait, really?”
“Nah. Just you.”
“Ah ha ha… God, you’re so full of it. Always have been.”
“Oh, you think so, huh?”
“Why, yes. I do, actually.”
The conversation died off, and for a good, long moment, we simply stared deep into each other’s eyes. Just when I thought the mood might be right, she grabbed a pillow and swung it hard into my face. I fell backward, and she proceeded to pounce on me and playfully smother me with it.
“Ha ha ha! I’m sorry, I can’t! That was so cringey, I’m dying!”
“Oh, now you’ve done it!”
I grabbed the other pillow and threw it at her in retaliation—but she snatched it right out of the air and came back for more, pummeling me relentlessly with pillows in both hands. I was laughing so hard, it was all I could do to shield my face from the assault. Anzu and I went on fooling around until our sides were as sore as our bodies had already been, then crashed into bed together, thoroughly exhausted after what had probably been the single longest day in history.
Several days after we emerged from the Urashima Tunnel, it was finally starting to feel like we were getting into the swing of things. After filing some short-form paperwork, we were officially approved to lease a unit in a pretty nice condominium in the Tokyo suburbs. We were still living in Kozaki for the time being, but we’d been assigned a room number and planned to move the next day.
Anzu read new manga every day and brainstormed so she could start working toward her big comeback. It had been eight years since her last series concluded, so she really had to catch up with the times and modern trends if she wanted to compete with the big names in the industry. Meanwhile, I’d read all the way through her previous work, which I’d been eagerly looking forward to the entire time I was in the tunnel. When she first handed me the physical copy of Volume 1, I couldn’t believe I was actually holding it in my hands—though once I got to reading, it was the story itself that I found truly unbelievable.
Anzu’s artistic and storytelling abilities had grown light years beyond that first amateur manga she’d let me read in her old bedroom. Though it seemed there were some things that hadn’t changed, because when I gave her my rave review, she went tomato-red from ear to ear, just like she had in high school.
Speaking of high school, we met up with Koharu and Shohei the day before, after Anzu and I had invited them out for lunch. They were both grown adults by now, obviously, and quite a bit older than Anzu. When they first walked in and saw me, unchanged from the day they last laid eyes on me, Shohei looked like he’d seen a ghost while Koharu started crying, then ran up and punched me in the shoulder. She seemed genuinely a little pissed as she demanded to know where the hell I’d been all this time, and I explained things as honestly and clearly as I could. When I finally finished, Shohei was the first to speak up.
“Y’know, as much as I’d like to call you on it and say you must’ve been having some crazy fever dream or something…just looking at you guys, it’s pretty hard to deny that something out of this world must’ve happened to you. But hey, you’re back now, right? That’s all that really matters.”
“God, do you guys have any idea how worried I was?!” Koharu cut in. “I mean, first you up and vanish on us without a word, and then I lose Anzu too?! Ugh… But yes, I’m very glad you’re both with us now…”
After that, the four of us proceeded to wax nostalgic about our high school days and get caught up with what was going on in each of our lives, all while slowly picking away at serving after serving of okonomiyaki. Shohei and Koharu were both officially in their thirties, and they were living out respectable lives with respectable careers. Shohei worked for a real estate firm in town, while Koharu was an elementary school teacher. Of course, I already knew these things from my discussions with Anzu, but I couldn’t conceal my surprise upon hearing it straight from the source, especially when it came to Koharu. There really was no telling how a person might turn out.
“Y’know, it seems like you’ve changed a bit, man,” Shohei said, pulling me aside as Anzu and Koharu were busy chatting it up about something or other. “I mean, not in the looks department, obviously… But I feel like you’ve definitely got some ‘big man on campus’ energy. Like you’re gonna do you, and you don’t give a damn what anyone else might think.”
“Yeah, well… I’ve kinda been through a lot these past few days, ha ha…”
“God, I’d love to see Kawasaki try to extort your lunch money now. Bet you’d just tell her to go screw herself and walk away.”
“Hey! He’s not the only one who’s matured here, you know!” Koharu butted in, and we all started laughing.
“Hey, at least you’ve finally found purpose in your life, my man,” Shohei went on. “Hell, plenty of folks our age still have trouble with that. So don’t ever lose sight of it, all right? Keep that backbone straight, you hear me?”
“Thanks, man… I definitely will. But hell, you sure pay close attention to me, you know that? You’d make a great therapist.”
“Yeah, well. Analyzing people’s psychologies is kind of a hobby of mine. You knew that though, didn’t you?”
I couldn’t help but smile at this exchange. It really was a blast from the past.
“Right. How could I ever forget?”
When we finally ran out of things to talk about, Shohei mentioned offhand that he’d like to see this so-called Urashima Tunnel for himself. So, as soon as we finished our meals, we all headed there to take a look.
However, the tunnel was gone. All that stood in its place was a flat wall of rock. Almost like it had never been there at all.
“Okay, you guys. Come on, what gives?” Shohei demanded impatiently.