... It's different from holding hands with Ryuji. Shiho's hand is smaller than Akira's, but her touch is firmer than Ryuji's, more steady. Her hand supports rathen than envelops, like a tree-branch outspread to bear its leaves. 

Akira takes Shiho by the hand, and leads her away from her desk. 

"So," she says. "I have to confess I've forgotten which way it is already. I'm guessing we head to the station?"

Ann looks like she's trying not to laugh. 

When Akira glances over she presses her lips together and nods. "Yeah, have fun you two." She gives a little wave goodbye and heads off to find Ryuji. 

"Mhm! It's right off Station Square, so we'll just head to Shibuya."

She throws her bag over her shoulder and follows Akira toward the exit.

"How was the rest of class?"

"Not bad, not bad. More history. We got to learn some things about Tokugawa Ieyasu, so that was fun."

"Oh neat. We had math, in my class. Doing some geometry lately."

"Trig, or...?"

I can hear the "love triangle" joke you're hoping for, Akira. You dork. 

"Angles and axioms, mostly. I think they're working up to trig soon, though."

"Soon you'll have the keys to all kinds of polygons. Maybe even a rhombus. Won't that be exciting?" Akira keeps her delivery deadpan.

"Oh yes, rhombuses are simply riveting. I can't wait." Shiho manages a decent deadpan as well, though the faint edges of a giggle are barely audible in her voice.

"Everyone knows about the love triangle. Some, the love square. But the love rhombus has never been proven to exist. Perhaps you'll discover it."

Shiho leans over into a gigglefit at that, tugging Akira closer as they walk and shaking her head before resting her head on Akira's shoulder.

"Love rhombus, heheheheee."

Akira grins and giggles along. 

It's so good to make Shiho laugh. She really deserves it after all of this. 

Her giggles run out, and the girls keep walking.

"So Shibuya, huh. I'm still not used to the sheer number of shops and things that are around here — my family lived out in the country, so a shopping area like Shibuya is way more convenience than I'm used to having. It seems like you can get anything you want out there."

"Yeah! There's a lot there. I'm still discovering new stuff there sometimes, and Harajuku's even bigger for fashion. All depends what you're shopping for."

"Do you know any decent bookshops in the area? I was thinking about picking up something to read in the evenings."

"Yeah, there's one down Central street. What sort of books do you like?"

"I used to read detective stories, but I'm thinking of branching out a little, trying some nonfiction maybe. What do you generally read?"

"A lot of books about mountain climbers or world travelers, mostly. Like people sailing around the world, or expeditions to the north pole, or stuff like that."

"Huh, cool. You're the outdoorsy type then?"

"Yeah, I've got a lot of trail guides too, and other stuff like that. Do you like hiking at all?"

"I used to go for walks in the country, if that counts? I'd go walking for hours to get out of the house, even though there wasn't much around to see. I've never done an actual, like, hiking trail before though."

"If you'd ever like to try, I know some good ones around here."

They're off campus now, most of the way to the station.

"What was the countryside like where you lived before?"

"It was a little farming town in Tochigi. Mostly wheat, not rice. My father worked a remote programming job with Seiko group and my mother had an accountancy job with Denso, so the house was quite large. Too big, I think, actually. We had rooms we barely used. There were neighbours but I never really got to know them; they minded their business and I minded mine. There were few other kids my age, so..."

She looks away.

"... You probably meant were there mountains or trees or what, yeah? Sorry. Yeah, there were mountains, to the north of us. And there were some nice trees, too, old and tall, all clustered together. I'd go walking in the forest north of town when I needed to rest. Sit out there for hours with a mystery novel. There was a little clearing where the light fell just right..." 

Akira rubs her lips with the back of her thumb. "Sometimes I wish I could go back there. But the feeling always passes."