Walking

Shortly after everyone had left Ichiro's apartment and most everyone had gone separate ways, Ichiro and Yuki set off into the city. Shingo and Asuka walked together through the streets and chat about the situation at hand. Asuka continually tapped away on her phone hardly paying attention to the world around her.

Whispering, Shingo questioned, "So, I was wondering what you thought of Ichiro."

Asuka continues tapping on her phone, seemingly oblivious.

"I like him" Shingo continued. "There's something about him. I don't know if it's because he and I were in the longest or if it's something else, but I feel like I have a genuine connection with him."

Asuka, while she continually tapped, glanced up at Shingo for only a moment before staring intently back at her phone.

"I know we just met him." Shingo whispered intently.

Asuka's tapping slowed temporarily.

"I don't know. I know there's something different about him." Shingo responded. "I wonder what his world was like. I wonder if it was worse than any of ours."

As the two waited at a crosswalk, Shingo thought quietly to himself while Asuka continued to type on her phone. After a few moments of listening to the sounds of the city, the light changed and the two crossed the road. As they walked, Shingo noticed people looking at them with disdain and contempt.

"Too many people hate us simply because of what happened to us." Shingo whispered to Asuka. "Sometimes, I wonder if it would have been better for us to stay in those worlds."

Upon hearing Shingo say that, she stopped typing completely, stopped walking, and stared up at him. Shingo let out a small sigh.

"Yes, I know those worlds were horrible, but at least we had purpose." Shingo said, scowling himself slightly for thinking what he did.

Asuka nodded before she went back to typing and walking along side Shingo.

"I'm sorry." Shingo said. "I know my world was bad and I know many of the others were too, but I also know that none of our worlds were nearly as bad as the one you went to."

Asuka, upon hearing that, stopped typing, locked her phone, and placed it in her pocket.

"With the way people look at us, the way they hate us for no reason," Shingo lamented, "They don't even know what we've been through only to come back here with nothing to show for it."

Asuka walked slightly closer to Shingo.

"I hope Yuki and Ichiro aren't experiencing the same kind of mean glares as us, but I imagine that all of that is simply wishful thinking." Shingo quietly quipped.

Asuka looked up and tugged on Shingo's sleeve a little bit.

"Oh, the meeting tonight?" Shingo answered. "Well, I think Ichiro will need a long time to adjust. We'll probably end up talking about our worlds and what we've done since we came back."

Asuka stopped tugging on his sleeve.

"Yes, you probably should tell him about yours too." Shingo responded. "Of course, you don't necessarily have to. I know it's hard for you."

Asuka continued walking, expressionless, and placed her hands in her pockets.

"At the very least, we should explain what he can expect from the world around us. I feel like that's only fair." Shingo worriedly whispered. "And it's more than any of us got when we were pulled into our isekai."

Shingo looked down to Asuka and, her looking up at him, their eyes met for only a moment. The look on her face screamed exasperation.

"You don't get it?" Shingo questioned.

Asuka looked back forward as the two continued to walk.

"This world is basically an isekai to him." Shingo said. "He said more than a million days and nights. That's almost three thousand years. He was in his world for three thousand years. I doubt he really remembers any of this world."

Asuka looked up at Shingo once again, this time with fear on her face.

"Don't worry. I don't think he's a danger to anyone." Shingo reassured her. "Really, I think it's quite the opposite."

The look on Asuka's face mellowed and the pair paused at the entrance to the subway.

"I can't quite figure it out, but something tells he that he's had it rougher than us, but somehow persevered through it all and clawed his way back."

Asuka then reached into her pocket, pulled her phone back out, and before unlocking it, gave Shingo one more glance.

"I just have a bit of maintenance to do on one of the Chiyoda line trains. I'll come by our apartment to pick you up and walk with you to the meeting after work." Shingo finalized. "It's nice having Taka be your boss sometimes because he won't hold it against you for not working after a night like that."

Asuka then turned on her phone and began to walk off into the distance as she tapped away. Shingo descended into the subway system, a world he had more than become accustomed to.