Aki told me nothing else. He went to work behind the scenes, and I went to classes, with occasional messages from him during the day assuring me that his plan was in motion. It was the beginning of my third year, and after spending two summers on tour with Guardian, the normality of attending classes and interacting with people on a basic level was too mundane for me. I wondered if Tokyo had become too mundane for me. I wondered if that was what had been wrong with Kamakura in my mind. It hadn't become mundane at all, but I had just gotten used to it. I saw only one side of it before I met Aki.

In the last message of the day, Aki asked me to meet him at the entrance of the university. "I pulled some strings, I asked Yamada to pull some strings, and here we are." He said when I found him, asking all the questions I had about why he was making an appearance in such a crowded place with his known association. He had taken out his phone to show me a few messages, one of them was an office in the university where we were scheduled to meet a program coordinator. "I don't know where anything is in this school, so I hope you know where this office is."

I looked him over. Ripped dark blue jeans, wallet chain, black t-shirt with a few small holes, worn leather jacket, black leather combat boots. The tattoos on his neck were on full display, creeping up his skin from the loose collar of his t-shirt. Just like a rock star who didn't know anything else in life but performing and music. "You're going to be recognized instantly when you walk in there." I told him as a warning.

He looked down at himself, and I realized my evaluation of his aesthetic must have been more obvious than I had meant it to be. "You don't like what I'm wearing?" His voice faked a tone like he was insulted. "Actually being recognized today is by design."

We made it through the school without trouble, most of the students having cleared out after classes or busy inside classrooms with projects. We stayed quiet, moved with purpose, and wound our way through the halls to the office Aki wanted to get to. A woman that I recognized greeted us at the door, exchanging bows and handshakes with Aki before acknowledging me. As they cycled through their regular greetings, I recalled that the woman had been the one I spoke to about missing time after the attack, when Aki was in the hospital. She was one of the program coordinators.

"You can imagine that living in the music industry is challenging." Aki started as we sat down in the office all together. I had no idea what he would say, or what the meeting would accomplish. "The school, as far as I have seen, doesn't really offer an accurate look into what it's like being part of a record label." I was surprised that he would be so blunt, but I knew he was only blunt when he wanted something and he was ready to prove a point ruthlessly. "Sugimori has been working with us in the studio engineering and mixing our recording. She's been on a nation wide tour with us, and she accompanied us on our recent record label tour while we were auditioning in different cities. She even signed to our label, so all the work she does with us is paid. It's not just her association with me that she was given these opportunities, she's proven herself to capable of the work, and demonstrated her talent in it."

I couldn't believe the way he was speaking, as if he had prepared ahead of time to present his case, whatever it was turning out to be. I couldn't tell if he was pushing forward because he was nervous, or if it was actually because he was confident. With Aki, it was sometimes hard to tell. The woman nodded along with what he was saying, giving him the space to fully explain himself without interruption.

"We're going to be relocating to Kamakura soon, as we signed with a smaller label there, which has better connections to the area of the industry where Guardian fits in. We have the greatest chance at continued success and growth with this label, even though we received offers from many others. So, Sugimori and myself on behalf of Guardian would like to request that she finish the program remotely."

The program coordinator sat back in her chair with a soft smile. I tried to control the surprise from showing on my face, but I knew I usually had little control over my expression. "I expected that would be the question you presented today, Hasegawa-san." She said. "You came well prepared, and I also came prepared to give you an answer right away." She turned her attention to me, and I could feel how wide my eyes had become as I met her gaze. "Sugimori-san, you have some wonderful teachers at your disposal, and I hope that you use the knowledge they give you. I understand that you've endured plenty at this school, so I would be happy to give you some relief from it and allow you to complete the program remotely."

Aki and I walked out of the school after we satisfied the program coordinator with more small talk, making our way across the park to the coffee shop we liked there. Aki said nothing until we were waiting at the end of the bar to collect our orders, and I attempted to thank him. "Don't say a word." He said as he gathered me close to him, wrapping each side of his jacket around me. "You're just going to cry, and I don't want to hear it." Despite being fully on display in public, I rested my head against his shoulder and allowed my eyes to close. "You put in all the work, my love, all I did was pull some strings. There's no need to thank me."

He kept one hand flat on my back while he reached for a cup of coffee, lifting it into my field of view. "Here, take a sip before I put the lid on, it's really full." He held it for me while I put my lips against the rim of the cup and slurped gracelessly. "So, Sugimori-san, now that's taken care of. Would you like to come live with me at my house in Kamakura full time?"

"You keep calling me Sugimori." I looked at his face as he held the lidded cup in front of me.

"Oh, I guess I do. But you didn't change your name, so I let the habit continue."

I suddenly felt guilty about not immediately changing my name to his after we were married, but it was a small detail that had slipped my mind in the chaos. "I should change it! I forgot."

He shook his head to dismiss the comment. "No rush. Maybe don't change it yet." He let me go out of the comforting embrace of his jacket to lead us into a walk with his coffee cup in hand. "You're still young, and I'm an old man who rushes into things. So we got married, but you can take your time settling into the idea." He had my fingers laced with his as we walked, and he gave his arm a playful swing. "You didn't answer me."

"About living with you in Kamakura? Were you seriously asking me a question?" I laughed, thinking that it was strange of him to ask such a thing with any seriousness. We had lived together for the majority of the time we had started calling ourselves an item, and even without living under one roof, we barely spent a night alone.

"Yes. Well, mainly the question is do you want to live in my house? Or do you want to start again and find a place together?"

"I love your house, Aki." I felt like I couldn't express in words what his house in Kamakura really meant to me. He was a sentimental creature, that much was true, but I couldn't expect him to understand the importance of all the pivotal events in our lives that took place in that house. I couldn't expect him to just know that his house, the bed there, the shower attached to the bedroom, the kitchen where we lingered waiting for coffee, were all parts of him that allowed me close into his private life.