Karma visits Nagisa’s grave every week, on weekends mostly, sometimes weekdays if his workload at his job slows down. He still buys flowers from Kanzaki (she greets him the same, every day), but there’s a new helper running the store, since the creep suddenly up and left the florist. Her name is Okuda, but she’s a little shy. He mostly gets his flowers from Kanzaki, so he doesn’t think much of her. They engage in small talk often, and he learns that Kanzaki is engaged; her smile is soft when she talks about him and it reminds him of Nagisa’s.

When he visits Nagisa, sometimes he sees an older lady. She wears very nice clothes, expensive, it’s very clear to him that she’s high-class. Her hair is almost platinum blonde and she must’ve looked much prettier when she was younger, not that she isn’t, but he’s just not into older women. They never talk, but if their eyes meet, they nod a bit before leaving, acknowledging each others’ existence. He never asks who she’s visiting and neither does she, there’s no use in prying, but he does know the name of the grave that she leaves flowers on. Karasuma doesn’t ring a bell to him, though.

Sometimes he bumps into Sugino in the market (they live in the same place, after all). There really isn’t much to talk about: Sugino coaches the youngsters’ baseball team of the town and he’s very enthusiastic about it, that and teaching his little son how to play ball. He has yet to meet the avid baseballer’s wife, but it’s not something of importance to him.

Kayano has long moved away, but sometimes they correspond via email. There’s nothing much to talk about. The only thing they had in common was Nagisa, really. She’s in the same line of business as he is, though, so they have fun talking about

At Karma’s workplace, he has a couple of coworkers he’s particularly close to. One of them, Terasaka…well, Karma doesn’t say he’s close to him (to anyone, he calls him a beefy hunk of flesh, all brawn and no brains), but he cares, if just a little bit, about his well-being. They banter, a little more with their fists than friendly back-and-forth, but they do drink together, and Terasaka is one of the few who know about Nagisa. Getting drunk always loosens Karma’s lips.

Asano Gakushuu, that name makes Karma’s blood boil a bit. A fellow coworker, he’s more of a rival than anything else. Always butting heads, sometimes people bet on who will win in the long run (and Karma always claims he’ll win the war, even though he’s losing some of the battles). When they’re forced to collaborate, it’s a very grudging acceptance if Gakushuu’s work is better. The ginger always puts up a fight if Karma wants his plans to go through because they’re clearly more efficient… Well, it’s that rivalry that keeps him at peak condition; it it weren’t for him, he probably would’ve slacked a bit too much to keep his job.

Isogai, his superior, is someone he can definitely talk to, but not like he does. Despite their job position difference, he treats him as an equal. Sometimes they drink together, but Karma is careful not to get too drunk. Unsavory things might spill and who knows if Isogai’s smile is just a mask. He sometimes talks about Maehara, but Karma doesn’t know who that is or what his relation to the brown-haired man. He wishes them the best, though, whether they’re just friends or in a relationship.

Isogai was the one who introduced him to Rio, an international worker, a friend of his. They actually hit it off quite well, though Karma felt nothing romantic of the kind towards the sassy blonde woman. After all, she was already in a steady relationship (a girl, she candidly whispered to him) overseas and dedicated, she said with her unique flair. They still keep in touch, and Karma is sure that he’ll be invited to the wedding soon, thinking of it with a touch of melancholy.

In his free time, Karma spends some time in the bookstore. He and Nagisa shared similar tastes in stories, so he figures it’s alright to read the books the blue-haired male would’ve liked to read. The yellow-filtered light and the dusky atmosphere of the quaint store really instills nostalgia in him and he always thinks that Nagisa would’ve loved this little place. In perusing the bookshelves, the desk worker, her nametag has Hazama Kirara on it, is accommodating but it’s clear she likes the silence of her store. He sometimes passes a girl with a bob haircut, who’s always excitedly flitting from shelf to shelf in the shounen manga section.

While he’s there, there’s always a man sitting comfortably at one of the few tables. His bangs cover his eyes and he always seems to be reading books relating to math. His messenger bag is always slung over the chair and it irks Karma how a part of a protractor is always sticking out of it. He was forced on time to sit at the guy’s table, but Karma could never tell where his eyes were looking. It was that guy who introduced himself first, Chiba, he said, and Karma reciprocated the formal friendliness. Of course, they became polite acquaintances, and gradually, became distant friends. They still meet at the bookstore, recommending to each other good books…