What if there had been something I had wished more strongly to obtain by my own hands? I shook my head. No such thing existed. So that I could rid myself of these pointless thoughts, I drained the second can in one go. However, once I had begun sinking into the bog of these booze-muddled ponderings, all I could do was sink in deeper. By the time I rested the weight of my fevered head onto the desk, stacking a fourth can along the edge of it, I had lost not only all my defenses but my reasoning. And then, I realized it. It was not a distant memory. It was there, stark. I lifted my hot and heavy head and rested my fingers on the mouse. I moved the arrow-shaped cursor down to the lower left, hovering it over a folder. I double-clicked, finding only a single image file inside. My fingers were trembling solely because of the alcohol. I steeled myself and once more double-clicked with unnecessary speed. The image that opened was a photo, taken three years prior. I regarded the photo through eyes swimming in a swaying skull. The price of my haircut aside, I had not changed one bit. In the line of my surprised gaze in the photo was a smile that was no longer in this world. A sigh slipped from my lips all on its own. Dz‡›ǡ‹›‘•Š‹Ǥdz My own voice was much higher than I thought it would be. Dzǯ˜‡‰‘–ƒ“—‡•–‹‘Ǥdz I could feel my own thoughts curdling in my mouth. DzŠƒ–†‹†you ™ƒ––‘„‡ǥǫdzƒ•‡†ǡ–Š‘—‰Š‡™™‘—Ž†‡˜‡” receive an answer to that question. Still, I wanted to know, more than anything, what it was that Akiyoshi was thinking back then. I wished someone could at least impart that much knowledge to me, someone who could accomplish nothing as himself. Dz–™ƒ•ƒŽŽƒŽ‹‡‹–Š‡‡†ǥdz Š‡™‘”†•–Šƒ–™‡‡š…Šƒ‰‡†Ǥ‹‡ǥƒ†‹›‘•Š‹ǯ•Ǥ I remembered how we were back as freshmen. I tried not to remember, but the seams of the barrel burst, and the memories came flooding out. When I first met Akiyoshi, I thought she was nothing more than a troublesome person, but I accepted the way she was, and we became