After that little scene was over, the idea everyone had in mind was carried out, and they only had to wait a bit before seeing several taxis arrive at the station parking lot. They split into two groups to enter, while Kurono and Akio took care of storing the luggage with the help of the drivers. After a few minutes, everyone was ready to leave. But something peculiar would happen before then.
"Huh? Shizune-san?" In the taxi Kazumi, Kurono, and Shizune had gotten into, that question had come up, and oddly enough, the person responsible for it was the taxi driver.
"Satoshi-san?" The simple fact that Shizune and that person knew each other's names made it pretty clear they knew each other in some way.
"It really is you. It's nice to see you again!" Setting aside his professional demeanor, the driver, whose name was Satoshi, turned his full attention to Shizune, a small smile spreading across his face.
"Same here, I haven't heard from you in years." It was clear that Shizune was also happy to run into Satoshi, but before the small conversation could continue, Shizune noticed the curiosity of both Kazumi and Kurono, so she quickly made a brief introduction. "Kurono, Kazumi. This is Yamada Satoshi. He's an old acquaintance."
In short, Satoshi would fit the description of a normal adult man. He was practically the same age as Shizune, with dark hair with slight white lines adorning his head, while his eyes barely reflected a hint of brown. He was wearing a uniform due to his job, and his face still showed the pleasant feeling of having run into Shizune.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Satoshi took the time to properly greet Kurono and Kazumi, although at that moment he remembered that he was working, and after apologizing a few times, he returned to as he started the car.
The journey had already begun; the taxi the others were in had already driven quite far away, but even so, no one was paying much attention to it, as the conversation from earlier had resurfaced and deepened a bit.
"Oh, I see. It may be a little late, but congratulations on the little member of the family." Satoshi's words were due to Shizune having just explained the situation regarding Makoto's birth and why they were in the town, among other things.
"Hehe, thank you very much, although I must say I was even more surprised." Shizune's words were a bit out of context, but basically, the small surprise she was experiencing was due to Satoshi having explained a little about how his life had been going these past few years.
Leaving aside the topic of his work, Satoshi explained that he had gotten married years ago and now had a son, and while there were surely many more stories to come, he explained to Shizune that he was doing quite well and was leading a quiet life.
"Believe me, you're not the only person who's reacted this way. Whenever I meet and talk with some of our acquaintances or classmates, they always tell me they thought I'd end up single all my life… But I still like to reminisce about the old days." A couple of chuckles soon appeared inside the taxi. Although it seemed like only Shizune and Satoshi were deep in the conversation, both Kurono and Kazumi were paying attention to what the two were saying, and hearing a somewhat interesting topic, Kazumi couldn't help but join in.
"Satoshi-san, could you tell me a little about what Shizune was like in the past?" Listening to Kazumi's voice, while still paying close attention to driving, Satoshi began to think about what to answer exactly, but before that, he had to ask a question.
"Of course, although... Sorry to bother you, and I don't mean to sound rude, but... Are you Shizune-san's family or friends?" He was more curious about Shizune's companions since they hadn't had time to introduce themselves beyond knowing their names. So, hearing the question, Kazumi and Kurono realized this, so they quickly explained themselves.
…
…
"Uh, are you really in a relationship, Shizune-san?" Honestly, now it was Satoshi's turn to be surprised since it never crossed his mind that Shizune and Kurono could have that kind of relationship, but after hearing a bit of the history between them, he didn't feel it was strange and instead congratulated both.
Kazumi also duly introduced herself, and with that out of the way, the question she asked once again became the main topic of conversation.
"Let me think… Long story short, Shizune-san was quite popular during high school." Satoshi's answer caught Kurono and Kazumi's attention again, so they paid close attention.
"Popular? I think you're mistaken, Satoshi-san." Shizune couldn't help but comment, as she didn't feel that was the case, but even if she thought that, it seemed Satoshi's point of view was quite different.
"Of course I'm not mistaken, haha. Don't you remember your fan club during high school?" As if awakened by a memory, Shizune seemed to return to the time Satoshi mentioned. After some thought, she remembered a strange group that always approached her for no reason, but since they had never bothered her, she dismissed it as a big deal.
Shizune simply remained silent while Kazumi and Kurono's interest remained aroused, and that didn't stop Satoshi from continuing to share what was on his mind.
"At that time, the town wasn't as big as it is today, so it wasn't too difficult for most people to know each other or interact in some way, and because Kyoko-san and Ryo-san were quite well-known, it was inevitable that Shizune-san would attract a bit of attention." Although it wasn't entirely clear that what Satoshi said was true, the fact that Shizune never denied anything again was enough for Kazumi and Kurono not to judge either, but the important thing was that the story was quite entertaining. "I don't know if you can imagine, but Shizune-san was the secret crush of many of the young men in the town, even I was among them… Shizune-san rejected me many times, so at least I did my fight, haha."
"So, it seems there were a lot of victims before you arrived, hahaha!" Kazumi couldn't help but hit Kurono's shoulder as she said before laughing out loud. She knew she maybe shouldn't make fun of Satoshi's love woes, but the way he'd told it felt quite comical.
"I must say that happens quite often. Every week, I'd have to reject someone... So maybe I was popular... Sorry, Satoshi-san." Shizune was questioning herself, especially since, looking back on all those memories, Shizune had realized that what Satoshi had said was quite accurate, though he only laughed wistfully at Shizune's apology.
"Don't worry, that's all in the past. After all, most of us knew your heart belonged to someone else for a long time; we were just stubborn." Although Satoshi didn't say it directly, everyone came to understand what he meant by it, but without letting the silence fill the taxi, Satoshi continued speaking. "That was it. Shizune-san was quite popular and had many friends. After high school, I went to work in the city, so I moved away from the town for a bit, although as they say, one misses one's roots, so I came back almost ten years ago and now I have a good life here."
It seemed Satoshi had said everything relevant, or at least what he felt was right to mention, so after that, he simply continued talking, asking about Kazumi and Kurono's lives, as well as asking Shizune how her family was doing.
That made the trip much more peaceful and entertaining, and after a while, the sight of a group of people in front of the main entrance of a large house became visible to everyone, and that group was none other than Rena, Akio, Akira, and little Makoto.
Satoshi stopped the taxi near them, and it wasn't long before everyone got out, only to be greeted by Rena's voice.
"What took you so long?" She seemed slightly curious, though the truth was she was quite impatient, and the fact that Shizune's group hadn't arrived only made things worse. Fortunately, Kurono quickly explained Shizune's brief reunion with Satoshi, and because of this, Satoshi took the opportunity to apologize. However, after learning the situation and explaining a little about who he was, Rena, Akira, and Akio understood the slight delay.
"Well, I guess it's time to get back to work." Satoshi had enough time to get to know Rena, as well as her son, which gave him a rather pleasant outlook, as well as feeling happy about the life Shizune seemed to be leading. So, saying those words as a farewell, he walked in the direction of the taxi, but before he got in, he saw Shizune's figure approaching him.
"Satoshi-san, I just wanted to tell you how nice it was to see you again." Shizune's words were quite honest, and although there were many more things on her mind that she wanted to express to Satoshi, he would leave a few simple words for her.
"It was also a nice surprise to see you again, Shizune-san, but more than that, I'm quite reassured knowing that you're okay… You know, Rena-san reminds me a lot of him… And maybe it won't be enough if I say so myself, but I also considered him a great friend, and I'm sure he would also be happy for the life you have now." Shizune couldn't say anything after that, but seeing the sincere smile Satoshi was giving her, she got a little lost in his words, but also… They were enough to make her show a beautiful smile as well…