> The Food Court...

> Kanji and Ken have spread out notes. It looks as if Kanji was teaching him...

Kanji: "Ah, Senpai! You came!"

Yu: > "How is it going?" >> "Mr. Teacher, I have a question!"

Kanji: "...Save it for later, please. I'm kinda not feeling it..."

Ken: "Kanji-san. I think I forgot how to do this. Our teacher in school explained it once, but I can't remember..."

Ken: "What are 'deciliter' used for?"

Kanji: "Umm.... Well... That's when, well..."

Kanji: "...Somethin' the liter decimated."

Ken: "They... decimated them?"

Kanji: "A-Am I wrong?"

> Kanji seems to be having trouble. Maybe you should give him a helping hand...

> What is commonly measured in 'deciliter'...?

>Money >Population Density >Beans >>It's generally not used

> You whispered into Kanji's ear...

Kanji: "A-Ah, I see...!"

Kanji: "Hey, Ken. They don't use deciliter. Like, nobody, nowhere, never."

Ken: "They don't use them...? But why would we have to study about it then?"

Ken: "And I'm sure, our teacher said something... I even wrote it down in great detail in my notes."

Kanji: "You're one smart bean, huh?"

Ken: "...Beans!"

Ken: "That's right, it was beans! You use centiliter to measure the quantity of beans!"

Kanji: "Ah, s-sure... Not like I didn't know beans about that-..."

Kanji: "S-See? I knew that! I totally just wanted you to remember by yourself!!"

> It looks like you gave Kanji the wrong answer...

Ken: "Kanji-san, I didn't know you knew that many things! Are you good at Japanese Class, too?"

Kanji: "Y-Yeah. Leave it to me!"

Ken: "In Japanese Class, we learned that the chinese character "生" has the most possible readings out of all. Our teacher said it had eight of them."

Ken: "It's the "i" in "ikiru", the "u" in "umu", the "ha" in "haeru", the "o" in "ou", and then you can also read it as "nama" or "SEI" or "SHOU"..."

Ken: "I'm missing one, but I can't remember what it was. I can only remember that it was a Hiragana, so a native Japanese word, and I am sure it stood on its own, without Okurigana..."

Ken: "Ah... Ahh... You guys' school's pretty... far in the curriculum, huh...?"

Kanji: "...Just a moment, Ken. I'm gonna remember any moment now."

Ken: "...?"

Kanji: "S-Senpai...! I need a hint, please, some kinda hint...!"

> Kanji pleads you for help with a whisper...

> The remaining reading of the character "生" is...

>e >>ki >shi >chi

> You whispered into Kanji's ear...

Kanji: "Got it!!"

Kanji: "Sorry for the wait. I just remembered, it was 'ki'. Try to remember that."

Ken: "Ah, that's right! The last one was 'ki', meaning 'raw'!"

Kanji: "I-It was, right!?"

Kanji: Yeah, it was! Just keep it in mind, it's always 'ki'! Got it memorized?"

> It seems like you gave the right answer!

Ken: "Thank you so much! I feel much more at ease now!"

Kanji: "Ahh... Are we gonna call it quits then?"

Ken: "Umm, could you still help me with English?"

Kanji: "E...English!? B-B-B-But you're a GRADE SCHOOLER!! Isn't it, like, a decade too early for that!?"

Ken: "Our teacher said they might be putting English classes on our curriculum soon."

Ken: "I think they're not sure about it yet."

Kanji: "Uhh..."

Kanji: "'Aight! I guess I can teach you a thing or two! 'Bout English, of course!"

Ken: "Wow, what is it?"

Kanji: "Well, you know we have the word 'gussuri' meaning 'fast asleep', right? Well, guess what. That's actually short for the English 'Good Sleep'!"

Kanji: "So, just keep that in mind, and you're not gonna forget what the words 'good' and 'sleep' mean! 'Cause together, they're 'Gussuri'!"

Ken: "..."

Ken: "That's... actually a very famous mistake. It should be trivial knowledge that that's not true."

Ken: "The word 'gussuri' is a native Japanese word. It's taken from the sound of snorring."

Kanji: "...Seriously?"

Ken: "B-But! I still believe in you!"

Ken: "Mistaking native vocabulary for a loanword happens to the best people, you know!"

Kanji: "Loan...word...?"

Ken: "Ah, um... That are words that are taken from foreign languages."

Kanji: "...Why do we need a word from that? I can tell it's not Japanese, 'cause they're written in Katakana."

Ken: "That's not really true. There's words written in Katakana that aren't loanwords. Look, there's an example on this print-out. See? One of these."

Kanji: "Four words in Katakana, huh..."

Kanji: "..."

Kanji: "...Ken. Wait just a sec."

Kanji: "Senpai. What'dya think...?"

>Kanji looks troubled. You might need to give him a hand again...

>One of these words is not a loanword. Which is it?

>Ikura (Salted Salmon Roe) >>Ichigo (Strawberry) >Konpeitou (Star Shaped Candy) >FureeFuree (Hooray,Hooray!)

Kanji: "I'm sorry. I try 'n try... But I just ain't cut for this..."

Kanji: "A-Anyway, I'm gonna try and tell him."

Kanji: "Hey, isn't it... 'ichigo'?"

Ken: "Ah, that's right! Kanji-san, that was pretty good!"

Ken: "'Ikura' comes from Russian, 'Konpeitou' from Portuguese, and it looks like 'FureeFuree' is English!"

> It seems like you gave the right answer!

Kanji: *sigh*

Ken: "...Kanji-san. Are you alright?"

Kanji: "...I can't do this. I just ain't cut to be a teacher. If my Senpai hadn't helped me out here, I'd have just stuttered around like an idiot all day..."

Kanji: "I can't be a teacher. I just ain't the type..."

Ken: "...Maybe. Maybe you're not cut for it."

Kanji: "Ungh..."

Ken: "...But actually, I think most people really aren't cut to teach. Not even the ones who are teachers."

Ken: "Wouldn't it be great for you to just be a teacher your own way?"

Ken: "...I think it would be."

Kanji: "..."

Kanji: "Y'know, you're the one here who should be a teach."

Ken: "T-That's nonsense! I can't teach people, absolutely not...!"

Kanji: "Oh yeah. That was a thing."

Ken: "Huh...?"

Kanji: "What you said just now. Our word for 'absolutely not' is 'zenzen'. That's a loanword from Chinese, but we don't write it in Katakana. Stupid loanwords, 's like they're taunting me."

Ken: "...Ha Ha! That's right! Maybe it should be taunting you more, if it makes you think like that?"

Kanji: "Shaddap!"

Kanji: "...Senpai, 'scuse me. You had to watch me make an idiot of myself..."

Yu: >> You didn't look like an idiot. > I'm just here for the reward.

Kanji: "R-Really...? That kinda makes me feel better."

> Kanji's face has turned a little red.

Kanji: "Hey...Ken. Or, rather... Mr. Amada."

Kanji: "Teach me. If I wanna catch up with studying, I'd better get started with Grade School Level."

Ken: "M-Me!? I don't know if I can do that..."

Kanji: "Sure you can! You're a smart kid, you hold no candle to me, trust me!"

Ken: "...You switched that around just now, didn't you?"

Kanji: "Huh? Switched what?"

> It looks like Kanji had a break-through.

> 3rd Floor, Refreshment Booth "Sweet Sweet Hell"

> ...?

> Without eating anything, an group of boys stands there in an uneasy silence...

Ken: "...Ah, Narukami-san."

Ken: "..."

Yu: >>What's wrong? >Cheer up. >I'll treat you.

Ken: "Umm, well... I'm just thinking a bit."

Ken: "..."

Ken: "I'm thinking about... what it means to be 'free'."

Zen: "It's about what Kanji said earlier, isn't it?"

Zen: " 'You are free to think what you want to think'."

Makoto: "Huh, he really said that?"

Ken: "Y-You heard that!?"

Yosuke: "Sorry, we happened to listen in a little. ...We were worried."

Ken: "Worried..."

Zen: "I, too, do not understand Kanji's words."

Zen: "That is why... I believe we should think a little longer."

Yosuke: "Yeah. You don't need to come to a conclusion just yet."

Ken: "Yeah..."

Ken: "But, the thing is... I... I already have a conclusion..."

Shinjiro's voice: "Huh? You want me to use protein instead of wheat flour?"

>From down the corridor, you can hear Aragaki's voice...

Ken: "...!!"

Akihiko: "Yeah, isn't that a great idea? It would make it taste less of sugar and..."

Shinjiro: "Idiot! You're just gonna the flavor if you mess around with it like that!"

Yosuke: "Aaaaand they're at it again..."

Yosuke: "...Huh? Ken? Where'd he go?"

Ken: "..."

> ...?

>For some reason, Ken has hidden himself under a table.

Akihiko: "It's not like it makes a difference once it's in your stomach."

Shinjiro: "...I hope you're gonna remember those words when you choke on them tonight, when I'll start feeding you nothing but the worst trash for a long while."

Akihiko: "Wha- That's not anywhere near fair, you know!"

> Aragaki's and Akihiko's voices are moving further away...

Yosuke: "Hey, you can come out now."

Ken: "...OK."

Yosuke: "What's wrong with you all of a sudden?

Ken: "I..."

Ken: "I want to change."

Ken: "I don't want to run away like that anymore! I..."

Yosuke: "..."

> ...Everyone fell silent.

> What should you do...?

>Give Ken a pat on the shoulder. >Jab your elbow into Yosuke's side. >>Trip Makoto over your leg.

Makoto: "...!"

> Makoto managed to elegantly dodge your leg...!

Yosuke: "Whoa, dude, that was like the dodge of the gods!!"

Makoto: "I saw it coming."

Ken: "...Pff. Ahahaha."

Ken: "Um, I apologize for going back to that, but..."

Ken: "I... want to change."

Makoto: "And you can. You can become anyone you want to."

Ken: "Yuuki-san..."

Ken: "..."

Ken: "I can't say it yet, but there is something I would like to ask you one day."

Ken: "I know I can change. And... once I did, I want you... to listen when I ask you that question."

Makoto: "Sure. I'll be waiting."

Yosuke: "You don't have to rush it. Though, I don't know your situation."

Yosuke: "But, you know, the moment you think that you want to change, you've already started changing."

Yosuke: "That's why I don't think you need to worry."

Ken: "...Yeah."

Zen: "...The moment you think that you want to change, you have already started changing...?"

Yosuke: "Same goes for you, Zen."

Zen: "...?"

I’ve never realized how scared I had really been, back in that one September. I had absolutely forgotten how much I had actually hesitated and been afraid of my own thoughts. Having it laid out like this to me is a bit cathartic. But… it also makes me want to cry.

I want to cry every single tear from back then all over again. It’s… still not fair. But for the things I did and the decisions I made, I haven’t got anyone but myself to blame. I know that, too.

Even then, it isn’t fair. It will never be. Especially not like this…

Yu-san’s team are a lively bunch. We watch them as they tease each other. Kanji-san and Rise-san come to talk to each other. Some gossip becomes involved. 

Rise: “Say, Kanji! Did something happen with you and Yukiko-senpai?”

Kanji: “Heh? What’dya mean by ‘something’?”

Rise: “I dunno, Yukiko-senpai has just been going on about how ‘Kanji-kun is such a great guy!’ and stuff for some reason.”

Rise: “Did you have a weak moment in there again or something?”

Kanji: “ARRRGH, FRIGGIN’ AIRHEADED ASS—- Ahhhhh, I mean, nothing! Nothing at all!!”

Rise: “Really? Well, then I’ll just leave it be…”

It’s really a little odd to watch older students be so childish about these things… huh.

Rise: “Still, is there anything bothering you?”

Rise: “You seem to have been thinking a lot ever since we’ve come here. That’s somehow not like you at all.”

Kanji: “…Ah? You noticed…?”

Rise: “One can see it in your face.”

Rise: “Just tackle the matter head-on as always! Really, stupid Kanji! Thinking just really isn’t your thing.”

Kanji: “Who’re ya calling stupid!?”

Rise: “I’m just saying, you should just do it the same way you always would. Knowing you, it’s gonna be fine.”

Rise: “…You just gotta have some faith in yourself.”

Kanji: “…Yeah.”

Kanji: “Guess you’re right. Alright, I’m gonna be off then!”

Rise: “And I’m gonna be watching the carnage from a safe distance! This is gonna be fun.”

Kanji: “Shaddap.”

I think it’s probably not hard to guess what Kanji-san had really been talking about, hm? After all, we’ve all seen the promise he has made to Yosuke-san. So, the boy he approaches right after this… is me. Me, as I were almost 3 years ago, that is.

> Kanji has placed himself in Ken’s way and seems fidgety…

Kanji: “Hey there, Ken…kun. San?”

Ken: “Y-Yes…?”

Kanji: “Um, well… Come over here.”

Ken: “…Huh!?”

>Kanji has grabbed Ken and walked off to somewhere with him…

Fuuka: “W-What now!? Ken-kun has been kidnapped…!”

Yosuke: “No, no, trust me. The only criminal thing about our Kanji is his face…”

Yosuke: “…But, hey, partner. This looks like it could get interesting, huh?”

Yu: » Let’s go watch. > Let’s leave them be.

Yosuke-san and Yu-san follow after us and end up dragging Zen-san along.

Zen: “Kanji took Ken with him… Is he planning to eat him?”

Yosuke: “What the hell’s that supposed to mean!?”

Zen: “What it means?”

Yosuke: “Ah, whatever, we’re gonna lose them. You’re coming along, Zen!”

Zen: “Why? Is it an emergency?”

When we next see them, Kanji-san has thrown Theodore-san out of his workshop and has occupied it with me. The other boys are standing outside and watch us…

Theodore: “Why was I made to leave…? Have I done anything improper…?”

Zen: “And why are we not going in? Is it really necessary to watch them from the door?

Yosuke: “Shhhh! Watch out!!”

Zen: “…What exactly am I supposed to watch out for? That is what I am asking…”

Yosuke: “Be qui-et! It’s obvious, OK?”

Zen: “…It is?”

Inside the workshop, Kanji-san and I… are talking.

Ken: “Umm, so…”

Kanji: “Take off your shoes. With the makeshift thing I gave you earlier, it’s gonna rip again.”

Ken: “Huh? But…”

Kanji: “Just hand it over already, ‘K?”

> Kanji grabbed Ken’s shoes…!

Kanji: “Ah, there’s the problem. Your feet must have grown, those shoes are way too small. That’s why the string ripped. Make sure to get new ones when you’re home, ‘aight?”

Ken: “O-OK…”

…I… had never noticed that my shoes were too small back then. It hurt sometimes, but I didn’t mind it. I just it would be whiny to complain about hurting feet like that. So I just kept it to myself… until they broke completely. 

Nobody ever told me…

Kanji: “If I sew that with a machine, it’s just gonna rip again… Alright then, guess I’d better knit a knew one.”

Ken: “…You can knit?”

Kanji: “You wanna try too? There’s two needles, so we can go from both sides.”

>Kanji pulled out knitting needles all of a sudden…!

Ken: “Huh…?”

Kanji: “You gotta do the first stitch like this, and then you need to go through it here.”

Ken: “Ah? Ehm, OK… like this?”

It’s bizarre but… all of a sudden, there was this image, of the two of us, knitting side by side. Calmly…

Ken: “Um, excuse, so… you like to knit?”

Kanji: “I like making the things I’ve come up with in my head something real that I can touch. It’s fun.”

Ken: “Hm…”

Kanji: “And also… When I knit, I ain’t gotta think of anything. I can just, sorta, empty out my thought.”

Kanji: “I’m not really all that smart and I often don’t get stuff right away, even if it’s important. So I’m really more comfortable that way.”

Ken: “Hmmm…”

The others, outside the door, where whispering to each other. Yosuke-san’s face looked a little incredulous. Heh…

Yosuke: “…This is so surreal.”

Zen: “What do Kanji’s words mean?”

Yosuke: “Well, umm…”

Before Yosuke-san could give an answer, they heard my voice from inside…

Ken: “Knitting is annoying, huh…”

Kanji: “Huh?”

Ken: “It’s a lot of work… But she did it for me. Mom made a scarf for me…”

…Mom’s scarf. 

I… didn’t think of this even once, back then. And I think… If I hadn’t seen this, I would probably have never remembered…

I don’t think I wanted to remember…

Ken: “But the other kids always said that it’s embarrassing to wear something your mother made in school. So I’ve… never worn it.”

Ken: “I kept lying at her, telling her I wasn’t cold and ended up not wearing it even once. Until… Mom died…”

Kanji: “…”

There’s silence between us. And I know why. Because the words are just flowing out again and I am trying to stop them. But I can’t just stop them. I’ve probably… really wanted to just… tell someone. 

And to have someone listen… and believe me. And take me serious. And tell me… just tell me what to do…

That is what I really wanted back then. But I didn’t have the courage to speak. But, here, in what we saw here…

Ken: “They said that her death was an accident, but… That’s not what happened.”

Ken: “I… hate the culprit.”

Ken: “But… lately, I just don’t know anymore. I want to avenge her, but… I feel like I can’t do it.”

…I was doubting.

I think I forgot that. That I had doubts. I was so mad at myself and regretted everything so much, that I had absolutely forgotten, that somewhere, deep inside, I was never really resolved in what I thought I was going to do to begin with…

…But that doesn’t change a thing, does it?

…

Ken: “…Hey, you guys are investigating into a murder case, right?”

Ken: “Let’s… let’s say your culprit was actually… not that bad of a person. What would you do?”

Ken: “What if they didn’t mean to do it?”

Kanji: “…We’d talk. Until everything’s been said.”

…Why didn’t anyone tell me that?

Why did I… not know… that somebody had… told me that?

Ken: “But I’m scared of talking… What if I talk and it doesn’t help at all?

Ken: “What if I’ll keep hating him, no matter what I do…!?”

Kanji: “…”

Kanji: “What does it matter if you hate him or not? It’s not like it can be forgiven either way.”

Kanji: “But, hey, what you’re gonna do’s up to you, isn’t it?”

It’s not fair. 

I was doubting. I needed an answer. I… I wanted to know these things! 

My answer… it was right there, just one step away, right?! I could have understood… I had understood it! That it’s my choice, that it’s up to me and nobody and nothing else…

Kanji: “Doesn’t matter if you wanna hate him or don’t wanna hate him. It’s still your freedom.”

Ken: “My… freedom?”

Kanji: “Take a while to think it over. If you don’t know what you gotta do, you gotta get your thoughts in order first. That’s what I mean by ‘Emptying out your head’.”

Ken: “If you keep making a fool outta yourself, you’re just gonna regret it later. It’s not gonna help to lie at yourself.”

Kanji: “I’d know. I’ve been there.”

Ken: “…You have?”

Kanji: “Senpai and the others taught me to stop lying at myself and accept myself, just as I am. …Turns out all I needed was a bit of courage.”

Kanji: “And when I did, that narrow place I thought was a dead end all along? It suddenly opened up. Like some huge clearing with a nice wind in my back…”

Kanji: “It’s thanks to that that I’m enjoying every day now. Now I think that just doing stupid, dumb shit with my stupid, dumb self isn’t half bad.”

Kanji: “But you look like you’re still stuck in some narrow place. Just like your feet in those narrow shoes.”

Kanji: “Wouldn’t you like to move a lil’ more… freely?”

Ken: “Free…”

Why was this taken from us? Why did we lose these days?

Its cruel. It isn’t fair.

My Freedom… To just ‘Talk to him’. Regardless of what he was going to think. Regardless of what I was going to think.

If I had known that… If I had remembered and if I had done that… Then there would be one more person here with us now. And he’d be groaning and shaking his head at their stupid jokes and the bickering and then complain about others’ complaints. He’d start a fight with Akihiko-senpai, and they’d hit each other. Then he’d just go into the kitchen without asking and make dinner for all of us. Even if we’re twenty people, he wouldn’t have minded. He would have done it.

But… he isn’t here. He is never going to be here again. And I’m never going to ‘just talk’ to him. Not till ‘nothing is left to talk about’. Not at all. 

I’ll never know what he would have thought or what he would have said or… if we could have been the friends everyone else wanted us to be…

I’ll never know if I… could have been happy with my... stupid, dumb, small, childish, cowardly… little self…

Or if I could have been honest to myself, without all the regrets… and free…

Kanji: “What you’re thinking is your own thing. Nobody else’s got your answers.”

Kanji: “That’s why it’s your freedom to… think ‘bout it.”

Ken: “It’s my own…”

Kanji: “…Heh, sorry. Didn’t mean to hold you some kinda lecture. Guess you’re mad at me now?”

Ken: “…Yeah, a bit…”

Kanji: “Ahahaha! So I did! Guess I’m still in character then?”

Ken: “Heheh…”

Kanji: “So? How far’s your string?”

Ken: “I-I’m not done yet! Don’t look!”

Kanji: “Hey, cut out the shit, kid.”

Ken: “No, you shut up!!”

Kanji-san… Thank you, for everything you’ve done for me. Even, if it was all in vain.

…No. It wasn’t ‘in vain’. I’ve seen it now. I remember now… how I really felt back then. And it hurts. But, I’m also glad. Because I know now, more than ever, that I’m on the right path now. 

I can’t undo the past. Aigis-san has taught us that in the Abyss of time. What is done is done. But what we lost isn’t gone or without a meaning. Lost days, lost people and even lost memories. It’s all got a place somewhere, right? That’s a “freedom”, too. The freedom, to walk on on the path that’s laid out before me right now. 

So even if I wish I could trade with the Ken behind that screen… No, that he could have lived my life for me, that could have done it better… It’s good that I am here now. Regardless of the past. Kanji-san is right. It doesn’t matter. What matters is my freedom to shape the future from now on.

It’s not fair, no… But I’m still much, much more free than I think. Even right now. I’m just going to need even more courage to grow stronger.

I’ve found a little bit more today. And for that… I’m thankful. To Kanji-san, to Shinjiro-senpai, to Akihiko-senpai… and to everyone else.

I am glad.