After the subway ride, Logan quietly walked Sumika back to the shrine.
The sky was dim with the last remnants of dusk. Along the night road, in the train car, on the stone-paved mountain path, neither of them spoke much. Though their expressions remained normal, an unspoken, ambiguous, and slightly awkward atmosphere lingered between them.
That brief, delicate pop, with the bubble bursting and their lips unexpectedly touching, had somehow turned into a symbolic moment, which is etched deeply in their minds, impossible to forget.
At the entrance of the shrine's main hall, Logan made small talk about trivial things. Sumika stood on her toes with her hands behind her back, the shrine's red lanterns reflecting in the moonlight. When their eyes met, there was both longing and hesitation.
Finally, as her dormmates called out from inside, Sumika, her face silently flushed red, reluctantly bid him farewell.
It had been a youthful night.
…
The next day, neither of them brought up the beautiful accident from the subway. The only change was a subtle shift in their interactions, as if an unspoken understanding had formed. They could now be closer, naturally share more casual touches.
A quiet corner of the street, a cozy moment in a theater's couple seat, the Ferris wheel as it reached its peak… All thanks to a bubble gum's unexpected intervention.
In the days that followed, Logan continued to pull Sumika into new but familiar modern experiences. They would meet at the shrine gate bathed in morning sunlight and part ways in the warm glow of sunset.
Sumika, too, embraced each day with anticipation, preparing thoughtfully. The dewdrops on the bouncing steps, the shrine's wooden doors dappled red and yellow by the setting sun, these became their shared memories, imprinted in time.
Logan bought Sumika a phone, teaching her how to take pictures, create a social media account, and use Chat App so they could keep in touch across the sea in the future.
He guided her through everyday modern life, how to dress, how to handle strangers, why she shouldn't eat too much ice cream, and why short skirts should really only be for his eyes. He taught her many ordinary things, and in return, she taught him something much rarer, which are pure, untainted joy, moments of warmth captured forever on film.
Of course, they bickered at times. Like when they passed a takoyaki stand, and Sumika complained that she had dropped so many hints, yet he still hadn't bought her any. Or when she scolded him, saying that wearing kimono and long skirts every day wasn't 'old-fashioned' at all. And definitely when she chided him for rudely sticking his chopsticks straight into his rice.
By then, Sumika had already learned about his real name.
"So your real name is Logan, but you go by something as plain and unimpressive as Hattori? That's so low effort," she teased.
And whenever Logan tried to argue back, backed by the rigorous logic honed through years of American education, Sumika would simply change her tone, look at him with an innocent gaze, and say, "By the way, back at Tokyo Skytree… You caught me so smoothly. Why did you seem so experienced at catching girls from high places?"
At that, Logan always fell silent.
Time passed, and soon, the New Year arrived. They spent a sleepless night under a sky bursting with fireworks. And with the dawn of a brand-new day, it was time for Logan to say goodbye.
Sumika didn't seem too sad. She had been mentally preparing for this since the very first day. After the short holiday, she would officially begin her duties as a shrine maiden. There was an air of excitement in her, a bright and eager energy as she embraced her new life.
Besides, modern technology had long since bridged the gap that once made partings so painful. With just a message or a call, they could be as close as ever, no matter the distance.
That thought alone was enough to soften the sadness of farewell,
Logan didn't leave in some dramatic fashion. He simply walked down the long stone steps of the Daimoku Shrine, following the winding path down the mountainside. The scenery remained the same, unchanged. When he reached the foot of the mountain, he turned back for one last look.
From here, he could only see the edge of the shrine's rooftop. He imagined a small figure pushing open the door, stepping inside, surrounded by the quiet greenery. She would look up at the towering city skyline and begin the path that belonged to her.
Logan smiled, then dispelled his shadow clone
…
Even though they were now in different places, there was no doubt that they would see each other again soon. But for now, Sumika had started her role as a shrine maiden, while Logan… well, he was back in school, where countless students suffered through their studies and memories.
Well, studying seriously was never going to happen. Not in this lifetime. The only way to survive was by copying homework just enough to scrape by.
The reality was, Logan had final exams coming up, and as an elite Ninja who had barely touched a textbook in ages, the situation was… dire to say the least.
As a protagonist straight out of a light novel, a high schooler living an extraordinary life, Logan always had too many things to deal with, and studying had never been a priority. But now that life had calmed down a bit, and after listening to his homeroom teacher's last-minute motivational speech, he felt a rare flicker of determination. He even turned down a job offer from Damian, the boss of the Blue Gang, and dedicated his nights to studying.
His routine would be getting home from school, pick up a textbook, do a few practice papers… then take a break by chatting with Sumika. When he got tired, he'd chat with her some more. Lying on the couch, sprawled on the bed, holding his phone in every possible position, just chatting, endlessly...
Unsurprisingly, his final exam results were tragic. Barely passing across the board. David was thrilled, believing that 'struggling together' made life easier for academic underachievers. But his parents are not so much.
But since the exams were over, they let it slide… after all, he never really gave them much reason to expect stellar grades anyway.
Time flew by. The northern cold front swept through the coast, firecrackers crackled non-stop during the New Year, and Logan, finding yet another excuse, flew back to Japan to reunite with Sumika for a short but shamelessly sweet visit.
Love was a powerful thing, no doubt about it. When he returned, something in him shifted. He threw himself into intense training, and not long after the winter break ended, thanks to his past experience and the insight he gained atop Tokyo Skytree, he finally mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique.
He had already left a marker with Sumika in advance. From that moment on, distance was no longer an issue.
Time passed. It felt like this should have been the natural conclusion to his journey. The mystery of his transmigration had resolved itself, and since the Formula on the drawing tablet had disappeared, he was no longer bound to jump between the two worlds with each Manga update.
The Manga Author he had once scared into submission resumed his work after a brief hiatus. Logan checked in on the latest chapters.
The familiar characters and techniques remained, and his presence in the story continued. However, with the drawing tablet's influence gone, the narrative would never truly return to its original course.
The characters would start to drift, becoming different from who they once were. The Manga could no longer perfectly reflect that world. And that, perhaps, was for the best.
The maple leaves withered, the first snowflakes danced in the air, and the seasons quietly shifted from cold to warm. Logan's life settled into something normal. No more blood-stained kunai, no more heart-stopping killing intent. Just nights of peaceful sleep, lazy bus rides, school drills, rote memorization, endless practice exams, news broadcasts, celebrity gossip…
The ruthless missions, the unforgettable encounters, the aurora over the fishing village, the farewell under a blood-red moon, the lessons taught beneath a wooden rooftop, the fateful standoff at the Valley of the End, all of it felt more and more distant, like echoes from another lifetime.
And yet, sometimes… he found himself reminiscing.
Time flew by, just like that.
And then, Logan found himself in his third year of high school
The scorching summer.
The tail of youth.