Excerpt

Naoko soon realised that there was no direction whatsoever in the entire village. They only needed one declaration to get moving, but everyone went wherever they wanted to and did whatever they wanted to. Some started moving things around within the village. Most left the village. A handful looked after the young ones who were still too young to help with anything. The closest thing that came close to delegation of roles were locals asking for more hands. Regardless, it did not end up as a chaotic mess. It was as if everyone knew where they belonged. There was no argument between two people about wanting to do the same job.

Naoko stood at the entrance of the communal hall. Her eyes followed every passing local and observed the things each of them were doing.

"As much as I'd like to help too, it doesn't look like we can do anything." Tadashi said while he looked pointedly at the huge things the locals were hefting up.

"Indeed..." Naoko sighed a little. Maybe it's a good thing that there's nothing else I can do but train now. This way, I can focus.

Tadashi looked at Naoko meaningfully. He had so many unanswered questions burning within him. As secure as he felt with her, he felt equally insecure. As close as she felt to him, she felt equally distant. He could only hope that with time, everything would work themselves out. 

Without a word, they began returning to their humble abode where they would not get in the way of the preparation. They did not walk for long when BaoBao warned Naoko. Aimi and the others are making their way to you.

Naoko did not bother with avoiding them. She continued down the path she was walking. Eventually, 4 small and skinny shadows came into view. Tadashi immediately stopped in his tracks and held onto Naoko's hand. While stared hard at the approaching shadows, he whispered, "Let's take a different route back."

Naoko lightly tugged on his hand. It prompted him to look at her in the eyes. "It's okay. There's something I want to confirm anyway." 

Her assurance and small smile calmed Tadashi somewhat. He nodded. They walked hand in hand towards the 4 whose figures were becoming increasingly clear. 

Tadashi stopped a few feet apart from each other. The four of them looked weak and gaunt, unlike Tadashi and Naoko who looked fit as usual. Aimi has her mouth covered with her hands and her eyes slowly watered up. "Na-chan... You're really awake." 

Aimi took a step forward. Tadashi did as well. The way he positioned himself protectively in front of Naoko and the fierce expression he has on made Aimi think twice about taking another step forward. 

Tatsuya tsked and grumbled, "Seriously. I don't get what the hell went on between you three but I've just about had it. We're already feeling horrible enough here. If not because the village is emptier today, I wouldn't have bothered with crawling out of the bed. There's no need for your damn hostility-"

"What he means is that we're just concerned about Igarashi-san." Hansuke interrupted. "I'm sorry. There's something about the locals or this place. It's really taking a toll on us. It made everyone more... Unrestrained." Hansuke smiled weakly and apologetically. 

"We heard some locals talking about celebrating your union. Since they were... It meant that you had to be awake." Aimi continued with the explanation.

"Right... If there were more locals around, you lot wouldn't have come out, isn't it? You're only using this chance to find out if we learnt anything new, right? Using Naoko for your convenience again? Miki-san?" Tadashi bit out harshly. 

"Tadashi-kun." Hansuke's voice lowered and his tone was firm. 

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