(Note: This story also takes place in their third year of high school.)

"Hotaru-kun is so precious~" Noriko stated, smiling to herself.

"And so innocent~" Yayoi added.

"And so kawaii!" Machiko sqeauled.

"What are you guys saying?" Namie asked, deadpan. "He's standing right there, you know."

"We do." The three of them chorused, looking at the said person, who was giving no real reaction. He was just staring at them, listening quietly.

"Oy, Kinoshita!" Akihiro yelled, waving his arm. "You're needed for something!"

"Gotta go..." Namie said, waving.

Akihiro walked over, just as Yayoi asked Hotaru. "Hey, Hotaru-kun! Do you like anyone?"

"Yes, I like everyone." Hotaru replied.

"No, not like that." Noriko giggled. "Like, as in, you like like them."

"Like like?" Hotaru asked.

"He's too innocent!!" Noriko sqeauled, covering her face. Akihiro just stared at her antics. The he shook his head, and said to Hotaru, "They mean, do you like someone as more than a friend. Like, in love with someone."

"In love..." Hotaru started thinking, his gears were turning. They watched him think, waiting. But he was just thinking and thinking.

"Come on! Everybody has someone they like!" Noriko said cheerfully. "I mean, even your best friend does!"

"Best friend?"

"Namie!"

"Oh. She does?" Hotaru looked absolutely clueless.

"Well, yeah!" Machiko said, grinning. "Yoshihara-senpai! She isn't the only one, but she likes him!"

"I see..." Hotaru resumed thinking. Did he like someone?

"Okay, leave him alone." Akihiro said, clapping him on the shoulder. He was bigger than Hotaru, making him look like a father figure. "Otherwise he'll overheat."

"Ah, you got that right." Noriko said in realisation. "Hotaru-kun probably wouldn't even understand what it felt like."

"Huh?" Hotaru was confused.

"You're right. It's okay, Hotaru-kun." Machiko assured him, waving her hand.

"Since you seem so eager, why don't you tell us, Aki?" Yayoi asked Akihiro slyly.

"Huh?! Why me?" Akihiro demanded.

"Because~"

"We know there's someone~"

"Everybody likes somebody~"

"STOP IT!"

Hotaru watched the four of them, not saying anything. They say high school is the prime time of your life. What prime time? There was nothing prime about this. This is just a life shrouded in shadows. He was kept in the dark.

Like someone, huh?

He didn't know what that was. But he knew well and good what this feeling was.

***

"Ikehara-kun!"

No reply.

The teacher looked around, peering through her thick glasses. "Ikehara-kun?" she called again. Everyone looked around. "Where is Ikehara-kun?"

"Hey, he isn't here."

"What?!"

"He's skipping?"

The teacher seemed to be deaf to all the muttering, which she kind of was. She was a rather old teacher."Does anybody know where Ikehara-kun is?" she asked.

"That b*stard went to skip without me!" somebody said, slamming his hand on the table.

"Wait, why would Hotaru of all people skip?" another person said.

"Oh, true." the first person said thoughtfully.

"Could somebody please get him, wherever he is?" the teacher said.

Immediately everyone turned to Namie. "Go and get him."

Namie pushed back her chair. "You got it." She got up, and said, "I'll be back in a bit, Sensei..."

"Okay..."

Namie walked out of the classroom, hands in her pockets. Where did Hotaru go? It wasn't like him to skip a class for no reason whatsoever. Now where was he?

This was pretty much Namie's role in her class. Hotaru's babysitter, Hotaru's translator, Hotaru's best friend. If there's something wrong with Hotaru, call Namie. If Hotaru is confused, call Namie. If Hotaru is missing, call Namie. It was fair enough. Sometimes it did feel like Hotaru was a cute little brother. Or a pet.

"Hotaru!" Namie called. "Where did you go? Hotaru!"

After walking around for a while, she located him, sitting around on the floor around the corner of a corridor. She snuck up on him, then tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped a little, then turned around to see her.

"Yo." Namie said, grinning and giving him the victory sign. "What are you doing?"

"Sitting." Hotaru answered simply. "And thinking."

"Oh no, Hotaru is thinking. This is bad." Namie said jokingly. "Come on, let's go back to class."

Hotaru shook his head and hugged his knees. "Don't wanna."

Namie was surprised by this, but let it be. "In that case, since I'm here as well, I'll skip with you too. Scooch over." Hotaru made room for Namie, and she sat down.

(Please do not imitate. Don't skip classes, kids ;))

"Then, what's up?" she asked him. "What are you thinking?"

"I don't want... to talk about it." Hotaru replied.

"Come on, it's me! Tell me." Namie said, poking him. "If there's something wrong, I'll help you sort it out. That's my job after all."

Hotaru shook his head and scooted away from her a little. Namie watched him, surprised. He was putting up a wall. He wasn't letting her in. But why? He never did that before.

Namie gave a nervous laugh. "What's wrong, Hotaru?" she asked, trying to keep up a playful smile. If the mood got too serious, it would be more difficult for him to open up.

"I wish to be... alone." Hotaru replied, turning away from her.

"Alone? Why? Did someone say something unnecessary to you again?" Namie asked worriedly. It was rare of him to push away her company.

Hotaru shook his head. "I want to be alone... because I am alone."

"You are alone? What are you saying? Use your words properly!" Namie prompted him.

Hotaru looked at her, and though Hotaru didn't understand it, Namie did. She saw it in his eyes. Hurt. Why was he hurt?

"So... are you saying... you don't understand me?" Hotaru asked her.

"No, that's not what I'm saying. I need you to converse properly. You aren't explaining anything." Namie said slowly.

Hotaru buried his head in his knees, and he didn't say anything.

"Hotaru? What's wrong?" Namie asked, shaking his shoulder. "Talk to me! Otherwise I can't understand! Hotaru!" She forced his head up, and although momentarily, she saw his face trembling, and his eyes were red. But he quickly turned away.

"Then don't understand! You don't understand! Nobody understands!" Hotaru yelled.

This shook Namie. For the first time, Hotaru had yelled at her. Yelled at anyone, in fact. And his tone was angry, sad, and hurt. She tried to do some quick thinking, trying to decide what to do in this situation.

"Hotaru, what do you mean?" she asked.

Hotaru clutched at his hair. He was sick of her questions. "I don't know!"

Namie back down, realising this. Instead, she worked with what she had. Hotaru was alone... She gasped. A memory struck her.

***

"Hotaru, Namie-chan is here!" Mrs. Ikehara called.

"Coming!" Hotaru called back.

Mrs. Ikehara turned back to Namie, and smiled. "Thank you, Namie-chan."

"For what?" Namie asked, confused.

"For Hotaru." Mrs. Ikehara replied. "He's such a lonely, sad boy. The fact that someone reached out to him, is of great happiness to me. He's very, very lonely. But he doesn't seem so these days. For that, thank you."

Namie didn't really know how to reply. So she put up a smile and nodded.

***

She remembered the first day she met him. He looked so lonely that time. His eyes were empty. But they were longing. She had forgotten he used to be like that.

She approached him very cautiously, and tapped his shoulder again.

"Hotaru, if you wouldn't mind telling me," she began. She tried not to put too much stress on the question. "Why do you feel alone?"

Hotaru didn't say anything, but then he said. "Because..." He took time to choose his words, and Namie let him.

He took a deep breath. "Because I don't... understand."

"You don't understand." Namie repeated.

Hotaru nodded. "And since I don't understand... I can't understand everybody else. Everybody else can tell... that they are happy or sad... angry or joyful. I can't. They're talking... about how they all are feeling... and I can't even relate. It feels like I'm kept... in the dark. I'm not... a part of them. I'm excluded."

"Nobody is excluding you, Hotaru." Namie told his softly. "Everybody likes you. Noriko, and Yayoi, and Machiko, and Aki. Everybody."

"That doesn't have anything to do with this!" Hotaru snapped. So Hotaru could snap. Who knew? He backed down a little. "They may take me in... but I'm still alone. As if I... don't belong there. No matter how hard I try... or they try, I can never be with them. Because... they can't understand me... and I can't understand myself."

Namie didn't have anything to argue with, even if she wanted to.

Hotaru tightened his arms. "And the Namie-san was somebody who took time... to understand me. She would... help me when I don't understand. She would teach me... what I don't understand. I didn't feel... alone."

This was the same thing his mother had talked about. Namie waited until he was done talking.

"I didn't... feel alone. I thought I wasn't... alone. But I am alone. Because I can't even understand what ...Namie-san feels. Namie-san feels ...things I don't understand, or... I don't feel at all. How can I...say I am your friend then? Namie-san is... normal. Like, for example, you like someone... right?"

Hotaru had stopped talking about her in third person. He was addressing her directly now. It meant he was talking to her. He wasn't forcing himself to anymore.

Namie blushed, and said, "Where did you know get that information?"

"The point is... you do, right?" Hotaru asked urgently. He seemed to have caught a hold of talking about it, so he wanted to say whatever he could. Namie nodded. "So... I don't understand that. I don't understand anything. I'm so confused. Akihiro-san... and the others were talking about 'liking someone'. I don't even know what that is... or how it feels like! I could be feeling it... but I don't know! So I know.. I am absolutely... and utterly alone. I didn't even... think about it properly. But now I know that I am alone...in this dark world...where I cannot even feel."

Hotaru looked down again, staring at the floor. But now Namie understood. He was hurt before because he wanted to be understood. He doesn't want to be alone. But he is. Nothing she would say could change that.

Even so, she was smiling. She reached out, and patted him. "It's okay, Hotaru."

Hotaru finally looked at her. "Love is something that is incomprehensible, even to a normal person. It isn't very easy to understand. You don't need to worry about it. Even if you are in the shadows, you're welcome to join the us in the light anytime."

Hotaru just stared at her. Namie comprehended what to do next. She leaned forward, and gave him a hug. "There, there," She patted his back. "It's okay. You're not alone, Hotaru. Did you know that there are other people with alexithymia too? You're not the only one. You all may be alone, but you're alone together."

That statement had Hotaru's gears turning again. "How can you be... alone together?" he muttered, trying to understand the statement. He was confused.

Oh dear, Namie thought. She pulled back. "You don't need to worry about that. Forget it."

"Oh... okay." Hotaru seemed to be normal again.

"So...you good?" Namie asked, indicating two thumbs-up.

"There's still ...something." Hotaru added.

Namie smiled. "Hotaru, you've become very good at using your words."

"Really?" Hotaru asked.

"You described being lonely greatly. I'm totally able to picture it in my head." Namie said.

"Oh, an analogy?" Hotaru asked, and Namie picked up a bit of excitement. Hotaru always loved to hear analogies.

"Another time." Namie said. "Now what was the other thing?"

"Do I ...like someone?" Hotaru asked her.

"How would I know?" Namie replied.

"Then... do I like like Namie-san?" Hotaru asked.

Namie gave him a smile. "That's something you have to find out for yourself. Who you like. It could be anyone. Loads of people often don't even know when it happens. Who knows, you could be gay!"

"Ah, I see..." Hotaru nodded, comprehending everything. "Then... tell me about this... 'Yoshihara-senpai'."

Namie blushed violently. "Why?!"

"So that... I can study love."

"You don't study love!!"

Suddenly the bell rang. Hotaru looked up. "We skipped class." he stated.

"We did."

"We're gonna have to write... reflection letters."

"Right."

They sat there for some more time. Then Namie stood up and dusted herself. She held out her hand to him.

"Anyway, don't worry if you're in the dark and I'm in the light. Either way, I'll always be by your side." Namie told him. "Oh, that rhymed." Then she shook her head. "Coming?"

Hotaru nodded. He took her hand and pulled himself up. As they walked back to class, Hotaru thought. He didn't need to rush anything. He could take his time. He may be alone, but she would be by his side. He knew.

"You b*stards!" Akihiro yelled as he watched them approach the classroom. "Who do you think you are, skipping class? Kinoshita, you planned this, didn't you?"

"I would never." Namie said sagely.

"LIAR!!"

"OW! You can't hit a girl!"

"You don't qualify as one!"

"Why, you–"

"Hotaru-kun," Machiko appeared beside him, as he watched the Akihiro vs Namie fight. "Are you okay?"

Hotaru turned to look at her, then amazingly, he smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Machiko stared at his smiling face, and Noriko and Yayoi as well. Then the three of them fangirled. "That's so cuuuuute!!"

"I love you, Hotaru-kyuuuun!!" Noriko squealed, hugging him tightly.

Hotaru blinked at them. But he smiled again. He knew another feeling besides loneliness. A feeling Namie had given him. The best feeling.

Happiness.

Extended ending

"...Hotaru."

"Yes?" Hotaru looked up at Akihiro innocently.

"Why are you sticking to me?" Akiko asked. Hotaru had been clinging to him for a while now.

"I'm testing to see if I'm gay." Hotaru replied.

Akihiro blinked. "...what?"

"But I don't feel anything." Hotaru continued, backing away from him. "Sorry, maybe Akihiro-san is not the one." He bowed apologetically.

Akihiro merely stared. And then...

"KINOSHITA!! What strange ideas did you put in Hotaru's head?!!"

Namie and Hotaru
Namie is in the light, Hotaru is in the dark. But they are by each other's sides.