I was at a loss for words—it was like I could feel the depths of Akari’s depression permeating through the speaker from the other end of the line. None of the shallow condolences I could think to offer would do anything more than feed the void. I had to think of something more personal, more meaningful than empty words—but before I could do that, Akari rushed out an excuse to end the call and cover up her sorrow.
“Sorry, I need to get back to work. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“H-hang on a second!” I blurted without even thinking of what words might come next; I couldn’t bear to leave her in such low spirits. After a moment’s hesitation, I mustered up the steadiest voice I could manage and said: “Don’t worry yourself sick over this, okay? I promise I’ll figure something out. I’ll find a way to use the Rollback so that you never have to go through all this heartache. Leave it to me…and try to hang in there for now. All right?”
Despite my best efforts, the words came out as little more than empty reassurances. They were all I could offer her right now, though. All I wanted was to give her some sort of hope to cling to, some light at the end of the tunnel. I didn’t know whether that sentiment made it through to her or not, but after a while, I heard what sounded like a tiny, halfhearted chuckle from the other end of the line, muffled and slightly nasal.
“…Thanks, Kanae-kun. I’ll talk to you later.”
She hung up. I fell backwards onto the bed. Whether or not that was actually laughter I heard remained up for debate, but I may have succeeded at raising Akari’s spirits the tiniest bit after all. Not that I expected the effect to last very long; she was still lost and alone in a void of depression, the true depths of which I couldn’t possibly discern.
I wanted to, though. I wanted to know how deep her sorrow went, so that I could dive in and rescue her from it—no matter what it might take. So then, what was I to do? It went without saying: I would delve deeper into the past and save Akito’s life.
All I had to do was undo the source of all her pain, and she’d go right back to being her old happy self again. Or more specifically, she would never even have to go through the pain of her brother’s loss to begin with. All of a sudden, I could feel a warm and bubbling sensation building within my chest—a sense of duty, a driving purpose. I now had a fire of motivation burning within me, spurring me onward to save her brother no matter the cost.
“…I’ll do it, Akari. You wait and see.”
I stood up from my bed and began ruminating over what my first steps to that end should be. Right, I still need to do some good old-fashioned investigating. I hadn’t figured out where I was and what I was doing on the night of April 1st when Akito died—last night had wiped away all memories of my plan to look into that today. But how was I supposed to go about finding that information? I’d already asked my grandmother and Akari, but neither of them knew anything. Eri was a potential option, but judging from what my grandmother told me, she wasn’t likely to know anything either. I couldn’t think of a single other person who might be able to tell me—my social circle was admittedly quite small.
Maybe a change of scenery would help me think of something. I headed downstairs and slipped my shoes on, but before I could walk out the door, my grandmother accosted me.
“Where are you going, Kanae?”
“Just out for a quick walk.”
“Well, don’t forget that the Hoshina boy’s wake is tonight. Make sure to be home by suppertime, won’t you?”
“Will do, Grandma,” I replied, then shut the door behind me.
I knew walking around without a set goal in mind would be a waste of time, so my plan was to take a look at two places I knew for a fact were related to Akito’s death—both the bar he was drinking at beforehand and the empty lot behind the tobacco shop where his body was found. I knew exactly where both places were, so I figured the next logical step would be to take a look at each of them with my own two eyes. I headed down the route toward the harbor, until eventually, I arrived at the Asuka Tavern—only to find that there was a sign posted on the sliding entrance door that announced they were “CLOSED TODAY.”
Thinking there might still be someone working (doing inventory or cleaning, for example), it seemed like a good idea to at least check inside; that way I could see if there was anyone I could ask about that night. Sadly, the door was locked, so I was apparently out of luck on that front. I looked at the sign posted next to the door and saw that Thursdays were the only days they were closed completely—they opened up at 5 p.m. on all other days. I would just have to try again tomorrow. Giving up on this lead, I left the bar behind and headed over to the empty lot where Akito’s body was discovered.
It took me about fifteen minutes to reach the empty lot. Flowers and other offerings had been laid out in tribute to the deceased: a couple of bouquets, a few bottles of fruit juice. There was no doubt about it now—this was the scene of Akito’s death. I had to say, these were some pretty paltry offerings for a man who’d once been the most famous person on the entire island.