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Only when she got in front of the house that Izumi noticed how long it had been, realizing the feeling of nostalgia from coming back after so many months. She did feel bad for not coming to see her mother before, but she couldn't leave Mankai unsupervised. All the boys had to get together and kinda force her to come here.
- Izumi! - Her mother almost screamed when she opened the door.
- Hey, mom. I missed you.
It didn't take long for the older woman to get over the shock and hug her tight. She hugged back and they spend a few minutes that way in silence. It has been too long.
- You should have told me you were coming!
- In my defense, I didn't plan this, the boys just bought a ticket and left me on the train.
- All this had to happen for you to come and visit me?
- I wanted to come before, but there was too much work. I'm kinda worried even now, knowing that one of them can put the dorm on fire while I'm away…
- I'm sure they can handle it, there are those two boys you say are always looking out for everyone - Her mother said while pulling her inside and going to the kitchen - I was making lunch, but I guess we will need more food. Why don't you wait in the living room?
- I will look around a bit, I miss this house.
- There weren't any big changes. You can go see your room, I tried to keep it the same as you left, but had put some boxes that were in the attic there. I'll call you when it's ready.
- Sure.
The room was exactly how she remembered it. She started to look around, her desk was clear, without all the chaos of notes and books from when she had to study for tests. Her bookshelf was also organized, with a few blank spaces from books she took to Mankai. In her wardrobe there were just a few clothes that she chose to leave behind and at the side a few unfamiliar old boxes.
- These must be the boxes that were in the attic… Oh! My old scripts - She exclaimed, opening the first one.
All the memories from when she was at the theater club were inside that box. Now, this was nostalgic. Just after a few moments going through that mess she remembered the other boxes. There were a few books from school, clothes and toys from when she was a child, nothing unexpected, but the last one was the oldest looking cardboard box, it was a small one.
- What is this? - She asked herself, opening it.
There were a few flyers at the top, and to her surprise the logo of the old Mankai Company was in all of them. Then scripts from each performance, with lots of notes on every page. A few videotapes. And at the bottom was a photo book.
- I've never seen this before.
The first photo was from the Mankai theater, it looked old. The next ones followed what she expected, the stage, the dorm, a few moments from practices and performances, even some of the old troupe just talking at the patio. There was no photo of her father, so he probably was the one taking the pictures.
- It would be nice finding at least one…
She didn't finish the thought and held her breath looking at the last photo. There were two kids, the little girl happily hugging the older boy, who was obviously flustered, but smiled anyway, while looking at her affectionately. It was her there, and if the boy's glasses didn't already give away who he was, then the two marks under his eye were enough.
- Sakyo-san.
Obviously, Izumi knew that they had met when she visited Mankai as a kid, but she didn't remember much of it. So it was surprising to see her and Sakyo being so… close.
- There you are - Her mother said at the door - I called you a few times.
- Oh, sorry. I guess I was lost in thoughts.
- What are you looking at? - She asked, walking to her side.
- An old photo book of Mankai I found.
Her mom looked closer at the picture in her hands and laughed.
- Oh! I remember this one. When you came back from Tokyo you showed me this photo and said "I'm going to marry him when I grow up!".
- I said what?
Izumi could feel her face getting hot, but her mom kept going.
- Your dad said that before leaving, you made this boy promise that he would marry you in the future. You were really upset that you had to come back. I don't remember his name, but you spent a few weeks saying that you wanted to go see him again.
- I don't remember any of this. Oh God, I hope he doesn't remember any of this - But she knew he remembered.
- "He"?
- This boy. He's one of the actors that I direct, Sakyo-san.
- So you guys found each other again? I can't believe it.
- Me neither. He said that we met when we were children, but I can't remember any of it.
- Well, I still remember a few of your rambles. We can talk during lunch - Her mom said, going over to the table.
- I don't think I can handle this - She murmured to herself.
Lunch was a mixture of nostalgia and embarrassment. It was nice hearing about that part of her childhood, but knowing that she had spent weeks proclaiming her childlike love for Sakyo was more than she could handle. Just thinking about the possibility that he knew she felt this way made the blood rush to her cheeks.
- Your father also said that the boy agreed to wait for you. I still think you were too young to have a boyfriend, but I admit it's a cute story. Even more so now that you've met again.
- I don't think I can face Sakyo-san ever again - She said, hiding her face.
- Why? Didn't he wait for you? Does he already have a girlfriend? Wife?
- What? No. The problem is that I think he waited. And I didn't know. I didn't remember him.
- Well, you do now. So this isn't a problem anymore. Unless you don't like him.
- I don't know. I never even thought about this possibility.
- Judging by how red you are and your smile while we talked, I think you don't dislike the idea.
After this, her mother decided to spare her and changed the subject. They spent the rest of the afternoon talking about the theater, life and many other things. Izumi ended up staying for dinner, it was so nice spending time together after so long.
- Are you sure you don't want to spend the night?
- Sorry mom, the ticket is for today. I have to go - She said, hugging her.
- Well, come visit me more often then.
- Will do, I promise.
She started walking towards the station waving.
- And talk with that boy!
- Bye mom! - She screamed walking faster.
Izumi spent the whole way wondering if she should really talk to Sakyo and what he would say, so she only remembered to look at his cell phone while getting off the train. There were a few messages from the boys asking about her day and when she was coming home. The last one was from Sakyo.
"I'll be waiting at the exit of the station, don't even think about going back alone"
- Great, apparently it will be inevitable… - She said to herself.
- What is inevitable? - Someone asked behind her.
She jumped, but recognized the voice.
- Sakyo-san!
- Am I that scary? - He joked, and it still amazed her when he did that.
- You can't come up behind me and not expect me to be scared!
- I called you, but you looked distracted.
- Sorry, I was thinking about something else. Thanks for coming, you didn't have to.
- As if I was letting you walk home alone, or spend money on a taxi.
She laughed, of course in addition to worrying about her, he would also worry about the money, this was Furuichi Sakyo. They started walking and Izumi asked about the day in the dorm. As expected it was chaos, but nothing worse than when she's there, Sakyo and Omi managed to maintain control.
- And how was your day with your mom?
- It was nice. I missed her a lot, so it was good to catch up.
She thought about being vague or talking about other parts of the day, but decided to stop avoiding the subject.
- We talked about you.
- Me? - He looked confused.
- Yeah. I found this - She said giving him the photo.
- Oh.
They had stopped. Sakyo was lost in memories and Izumi didn't know how to continue.
- I had forgotten that your father took this photo, it's the first time I've seen it printed. But I remember that day.
- You do?
- Yes, it was the last day you were here. You really insisted that we take a picture together.
She was already embarrassed, but the slight blush on his face gave her the courage to keep talking.
- Mom said I made you promise to wait for me.
- You did. Your father didn't seem to like it, but I promised.
Now they were both really red and Izumi had to fight the urge to run away.
- I-I can't say that I remember. But thank you for keeping your promise and waiting. Sorry I forgot.
- It's fine. We were children.
She took a deep breath before taking the courage to ask.
- So… Do you have any plans for tomorrow?
- Hm? I don't think so.
- Great! Let's go on a date!
- W-what?
- Well, I don't think we can get married before we even date - She tried to joke - Unless you don't want to. Which is totally fine!
- No! I mean…
Sakyo looked frustrated and Izumi started to get nervous, but then he sighed and looked into her eyes.
- I would love to go on a date with you, Izumi - He said with a warm smile.
- It's settle then - She smiled back.
They started walking again, still with smiles on their faces. There were still a lot of things they need to go through, but no need to hurry, it was just the start.