Back in junior high school in Fukuoka, I had two best friends, Manatsu and Yuuko. Manatsu is the soft, gentle, big-sister type. When someone needs comforting, she lends you her shoulder for a good cry. Yuuko is more straightforward; when someone needs comforting, she finds out whover is causing the problem, and slaps them across the face. Problem solved.

I am like neither of them. When someone needs comforting, I find it really hard to come up with encouraging words. Everything I say sounds simply awkward. And I obviously can't slap people either; I would probably miss because of terrible aiming skills.

Therefore, I usually comfort people by offering solutions. Most of the time, the solutions suck-I'm not the smartest or wisest person I know. Sometimes, however, the solutions make sense.

"You know, that darkness thing... if they're able to, like, store it in you like you're a human flash disk, surely we can take it out too, right?"

Shun frowns for a second. "Hmm, I've never thought about that before."

"You said they used your brain as storage space, storing people's memories inside." I twirl a strand of hair around my finger, not even sure myself where this conversation is going. "So it'd make sense that the darkness probably comes from someone's memories too. I have no idea whose, but if we're able to simply take the memory out like removing or deleting a file in a flash disk, then you'll be fine again, right?"

Shun goes on frowning, deep in thought. "I suppose it's worth a try, but how exactly do we take out the memory?"

"Dunno. Do you know? Maybe they've stored the instructions as to how to do just that in your brain too."

"I don't think so. I mean, if they had, I would have known, wouldn't I?" Shun looks troubled for a bit, and suddenly snaps his fingers. "Ah, coma-san. They could have stored the related info in his brain, no?"

"Don't call him coma-san," I say, narrowing my eyes. "He has a name. Call him by his name. I'm so done with people acting like he's nothing but a person in a coma. He has a family too, he has a personality too, he-"

"I am calling him by his name," Shun points out. "His name is Ikoma-san. Didn't you know? It does sound kind of like coma but..."

I stare. "Goodness, and all this time I've been mad at the teachers for calling him coma-san?" I bury my face in my hands in embarrassment. But I can hear Shun choking on laughter, and suddenly everything is bright and beautiful and full of sunshine and palm trees because Shun is laughing and it sounds like bass guitars, English horns and cellos.

At least I've made him laugh. At least he's not staring morosely at his feet now. At least I'm not entirely useless.

"Tomomi," he says, grinning. "Why are you so funny?"

"I'm not funny," I reply, trying my best to look cross.

"You are. Thanks for making me feel better. We could try mindhacking Ikoma-san later, after we get everyone out, after everyone's safe. I'm confident I can hold out till then."

Shun stretches a bit, looking suddenly optimistic, so drastically different from a few minutes ago, when he had been all curled up, as if he was trying to make himself as small as possible, as if he was trying to hide from the world.

He doesn't know how terrible it makes me feel to see him like that. Confident people are supposed to be confident. They are not supposed to look guilty and helpless and sad.

Sad. I don't want him to ever look sad.

"So, now that that's settled," I declare, deciding that this is a great time to change the topic, "we talk about happy things. Happy things only."

Shun smiles and I watch his lips curl up like a cat's.

"Happy things... hmm. Beach volleyball. Dancing. Corgi puppies..." he lists, counting off his fingers.

"Ririka and Yukiya," I add.

"Yeah. It's kind of funny how it takes all this for them to finally be 'together'. Yukiya has told us countless times about his stupid crush on Riri. We always told him to go for it." Shun chuckles. "He wouldn't listen. Said it was hopeless."

"Well, glad he found out it wasn't the case. It absolutely sucks to have a crush on someone and know that it's hopeless. I ought to know," I comment without thinking.

Wait-what did I just say?

"Ooh," Shun exclaims, teasingly. "You have a crush on someone?"

I cup my cheeks with my hands for fear that they will betray me. But they already did, I realize, for Shun is grinning really hard.

"You're blushing, you know. You can't hide it. Now tell me who it is-maybe it's not entirely hopeless, right?"

I gulp. I can't tell him. I simply can't tell him. Not now. Not here. Not like this.

"It's... it's no one you would know," I stammer.

"Come on, we've been in the same classes since we were like eight. If it's a classmate, I most definitely know him," Shun says, and he has quite the point.

"Uh... he's someone... from summer camp!" I blurt out, feeling more and more stupid by the minute.

"Hmm. And what's his name?"

I say the first name I could come up with off the top of my head. "Uh, Yusuke."

Yusuke is the name of a little boy I'd known in kindergarten. I did not have a crush on him-the only reason I even remembered the name was that he got bullied a lot by the bigger kids and I always wished I could help but was too scared to. Things like that tend to stay with you for a long time. I don't even remember what the boy looked like, and I never saw him afterwards, but the name has been stuck in my head since forever. Yusuke.

Shun nods. "Yusuke. Nice name; what's he like?"

"He's... uh... he's got... dimples... he can... sing. Yeah. Sing."

Lies, and more lies.

Shun seems to believe me, though. In fact apparently he had taken my discomfort of having to lie as some sort of cute embarrassment.

"That's nice," he says, enthusiastically. "Dimples are always great. But how do you know if it's hopeless? How do you know he doesn't like you back?"

I bite my lip, trying to make up something on the spur of the moment. "Uh... it's not like that. It's just... he's actually from Canada. So he... went back to Canada. He's not going to come back again. Yeah, hopeless. I know it's hopeless, but I just can't forget him."

Shun becomes sympathetic immediately. "Oh damn, that sucks. I didn't know. But you can go to Canada someday, right? To visit him?"

I whimper, feeling like a horrid person for making Shun sympathize over a problem I don't actually have. "But Canada's so far away!"

"Huh, that's true. Either way, your Yusuke, he's a lucky guy. You care for him, even though you don't think you'll see him again. That's sweet, you know?" Shun smiles, but his eyes are sad. Sad from sympathy for me and my lost love that doesn't even exist.

I sigh, continuing to cup my flaming cheeks. I feel terrible for lying, for making Shun's eyes sad. That's not supposed to happen; my job should be to make him happy.

So I swiftly change the subject.

"And you? Do you have someone you like?" I put on my best teasing face and conjure up my best teasing voice, even though deep down I know I don't really want to hear the answer.

Shun looks meditative for a little, gazing outside the window.

"I guess it doesn't hurt to tell you. There's this girl-she's, well, bewitching."

Bewitching. I know the kind of girl. I know the kind of makeup and perfume they use, the kind of hairstyle they wear, the subtle, flirty vibes they are never afraid of sending.The kind of girl who know all their strengths, all their charm points, and are perfectly capable of using them to their advantage. The kind of girl who I enjoy hanging out and sharing fashion tips with. The kind of girl that I look up to, but could never be.

"I didn't know that you liked bewitching girls!" I say in mock-accusation. Shun laughs.

"Well, what can I say? Isn't love sort of like magic?"

I laugh with him, but in the background I hear the sound of glass shattering.

I look around the room, yet do not see anything that looks remotely like broken glass.

Then I realize that it's the sound of my heart breaking.