"She's crying." "really?" "She is." "What's wrong with him?" "Love is indestructible." "You heard that?" "Sorry." "It's a joke." "Hey, hey, hey." "hold it." "hold it." "No big deal." "It's no big deal." "Stop it." "You bastard." "Stop it, Fujii." "Fujii, Iet him go." "Stop it." "Everybody, stop them." "Stop it, Fujii." ""Despite his resistance"" ""we were both sent to the library."" ""But he just goofed around"" ""and didn't do any work."" "Fujii... make yourself useful." ""He kept on borrowing books."" ""Like biography of Konyo Aoki"" ""or MaIIarme's poetry."" ""He borrowed books no one else would"" "You're reading these?" "Of course not." "FUJII ITSUKI" "Fujii Itsuki Straight flash." ""He only enjoyed writing his name"" ""on blank cards with no other names."" ""I was appalled and said..."" "What a jerk." ""But he really seemed to enjoy this mischief."" ""And he kept at it."" ""Anyway, he was pretty weird."" ""Dear Fujii Itsuki"" ""I truly appreciate your letter."" ""Itsuki who lives in your memory"" ""naturally is not the man I know."" ""But it's him all the same."" ""There must be many places"" ""and times he was in."" ""I probably know only a portion of him."" ""Reading your letter"" ""I felt that way."" ""please well me more about him."" ""Share your memories with me."" "The quickest way may be to take out my brain and send it to her." ""I think it was during our 2nd-year term exams."" ""Getting my answer sheet"" ""I got the biggest shock of my Iife."" "Hatsuse." ""27 points."" ""Those figures haunt me even to this day."" ""I Iooked carefully."" ""The answer sheet wasn't mine."" ""The one he was doodling on in the back"" ""was, in fact, my paper."" ""That was the beginning of a Iong day."" ""Give me back my answer sheet. "" ""Because I couldn't say that"" ""the misery was extended to after school."" "Kazumi wants to..." "Kazumi wants to go out with you." "We can start out as friends." "You good-for-nothing jock." "Forget about thatjerk." ""The bicycle park those days was"" ""the meeting spot for lovers."" "That's Fujii." "Gee whiz." "What a surprise." ""It was Oikawa Sanae from the next class."" "Waiting for someone, too?" "Life's tough, huh?" "Boys are so selfish." "Don't you agree?" "Go ahead...use this." "Thank you." "But..." "But girls may be more selfish." "Good luck." "Bye." ""Brief as it was I lost a companion."" ""alone again, I waited for him."" "Hey, Fujii." "You've got my answer sheet." "Isn't this yours?" "It's dark." "I can't see." "would you hurry up." "My hands are getting tired." "The past tense of break is broke." "Hey." "This is no time to correct your paper." "I can't see." "Found it." "What is this?" "It's disgusting." ""I found that answer sheet, so I'II send it to you."" ""He drew that thing in the back."" ""Dear Fujii Itsuki"" ""I'II treasure the answer sheet you sent me."" ""Thank you."" ""By the way, what kind of girl did he like?"" ""Do you happen to know who was his first love?"" ""Dear Watanabe Hiroko"" ""I do not know the details"" ""of his personal life."" "But I remember he was quite popular." ""Do you remember Oikawa Sanae?"" ""She got me into trouble."" "Itsuki." "Do you know who Fujii is going out with?" "How should I know?" "really?" "What does that mean?" "well, you seem to be chummy with him." "You must be kidding." "Why shou d I be?" "Don't you feel anything for him?" "I couId be a matchmaker for you two." "No, thank you." "Get into pairs." "Start the back-to-back caIisthenics." "So you really weren't going out with him." "Didn't I say so." "I asked him directly." "I was ready to be your matchmaker." "It's such a pity." "In that case it's your turn to be the matchmaker for me." "What do you mean?" "I want you to be a go-between for him and me." "What're you saying?" "Don't you think" "I'm pretty unpredictable?" "Oikawa Sanae wants to be friends with you." "Is that so." "Isn't it great?" "really." "What're you going to do?" "Nothing...really." "Don't you Iike her?" "Is there someone else?" "Isn't there?" "There isn't." "Then say yes." "Hey, wait a minute." "Let me catch my breath first." "Wait a minute." "Wait, wait." "You don't need to come any further." "A boy and girl story is a repetition of this." ""So I can say"" ""that Sanae was not his girlfriend."" ""Anyway"" ""he was so unfriendly he didn't deserve a girlfriend."" ""Sorry." "This was what I thought of him in those days."" ""Dear Watanabe Hiroko." "I have a question."" ""What did you see in him?"" "Sorry to keep you waiting." "Mr. Akiba will soon be here." "Miss Watanabe." "I was in love with Mr. Akiba." "I gave him up Because of you." "I Iike you, too." "please make Mr. Akiba happy." "No..." "He should make you happy." "I'II tell him that." "Mr. Akiba, Miss Watanabe has been waiting for you." "The blue wind come and run to that island." "Say...why don't we go to that mountain once." "Let's go talk to him." "Let's do it." "help me out here." "Don't feel good." "Count me out." "That cold sure is persistent." ""Memories keep popping up."" ""I also remember this."" ""He was hit by a truck on the way to school."" ""An ambulance took him."" ""It was hilarious at school."" "Fujii Itsuki had an accident this morning." "We don't know the details." "Miss Hamaguchi went to the hospital." "So, I'II be in charge of today's homeroom." "Fujii, why are you here?" "Study hour." "What was that about?" ""His left leg had a compound fracture."" ""It was a month before the school track meet."" ""He was to run in the 100 meter race."" "Course 1 , Ikeda." "Course 2, Taguchi." "Come on." "Look at this camera." "can you see?" "On your mark." "Ready." "Who are you?" "Where are you from?" "Which school?" "Who the hell is he?" "I demand a re-start." "He's ruining the race." "What's he up to anyway?" "How do you focus it?" "Didn't you see that?" "What happened?" ""That became"" ""his last sprint in his junior high years."" "You're home today?" "Hey, don't barge in like this." "It's an exception today." "No exceptions allowed." "This is for you." "Sign it, please." ""Dear Fujii Itsuki"" ""please take pictures"" ""of the ground he ran on."" "Can I help you?" "What are you looking for?" "Miss Hamaguchi..." "I was in your 3rd Year class 2." "Fujii?" "Yes." "Do you remember me?" "Fujii Itsuki. 3rd Year class 2." "Your attendance number was..." "Aizawa, Okazaki, Kato, Koyama, Sato, Sato, Shoji, Hattori..." "Ito, Endo, Kanzaki, Suzuki, Tsuchiya, Nakajima..." "Number 24." "Wow." "How could you?" "So you work at the municipal Library?" "Funny I ended up working there." "Your library duty wasn't wasted." "I really enjoyed that." "We're putting the books in order." "Wow." "I sure miss all this." "Come here, everyone." "This is our graduate, Miss Fujii." "hello." "Hear that?" "She's Fujii." "Miss Fujii Itsuki." "You know her?" "Far out!" "There's a game we play." "We call it Looking for Fujiii Itsukii." "Who found it first?" "Kubota did." "Then we found many more books." "We compete to see who can find the most books." "We even made a score chart." "Where did we put that?" "The craze cooled off now." "How many did we find?" "Let me see..." "So far...we've found 87." "Did you find so many?" "But we never thought we'd be able to meet her in person." "I didn't write these library cards." "A friend of mine did it for kicks." "Was that a boy?" "Yes." "That boy..." "He must have liked you a Iot." "Because he wrote your name so many times." "Were you going out with him?" "You've got it all wrong." "These are not my names." "They're not." "It's so romantic." "I envy you." "They sure put me in a spot." "Aren't they something?" "I put up with them everyday." "That's true." "Who was it?" "The boy who liked you?" "Who wrote all the cards?" "please, Miss Hamaguchi." "Oh, come on." "That wasn't my name." "Remember?" "There was another Fujii Itsuki." "What?" "You mean that boy?" "It was his doing." "Remember his attendance number?" "Nine." "Terrific." "It was no more than a seoond." "He became a very special boy." "Didn't he die 2 years ago?" "During mountain climbing." "It's hot." "One more station to go." "What is it?" "A dragon-fIy." "Dad died, didn't he?" "A friend of mine lives near here." "His name is Kaji so everybody calls him Kaji Bear." "He's fierce as a bear." "That's why he calls him that." "We'II stay at his place tonight and go to mountain in the morning." "Look." "It's over there." "You can see the mountain top." "What's the matter?" "I can't." "I just can't." "Hiroko." "What are we doing?" "This can't be right." "It can't be right." "Hiroko." "He'II be angry." "He won't be." "Let's go home." "We came all the way to put aside the past." "please." "You must put it aside, Hiroko." "please..." "Let me go home." "DEAR WATANABE HIROKO" "MY DAD NEGLECTED A COLD, AND DIED." "What's wrong?" "Did you check your temperature?" "It's broken." "Let me see." "Itsuki." "Itsuki." "41 .8 degrees?" "Grandpa." "Grandpa." "Grandpa." "call the ambulance." "And please bring a blanket." "Grandpa, the blanket." "Itsuki." "Grandpa, the blanket." "Did you call 1 19?" "The blanket?" "The ambulance first." "And Itsuki?" "I'II carry her." "But..." "Just call 1 19." "I'm cold..." "I'm cold." "One hour?" "What nonsense are you talking about?" "Why would it take that long?" "What?" "The snow?" "The ambulance?" "Can't wait." "Grandpa." "Bring the blanket." "What're you doing?" "If we catch a cab it's 15 minutes to the hospital." "The taxi's not good." "can't catch any." "In that case, I'II walk." "Are you out for your mind?" "You can't do that." "call the ambulance." "They say it takes one hour." "What?" "Why?" "Look outside." "Where's the blanket?" "hello...hello..." "This is Fujii." "We called before." "Yes..." "Yes, we are." "We're using ice to lower the temperature." "Who are you talking to?" "Grandpa, lay Itsuki on the sofa." "We must keep her warm." "And would you..." "Hey." "Grandpa, I asked you to lay Itsuki on the sofa." "Must warm her." "They told me that." "Then do as they say." "That won't make the ambulance come." "They say it's coming." "In about an hour." "Look." "It's getting worse." "It'II be even worse." "One hour, right?" "One hour." "please wait a second." "Grandpa." "Put her down." "Bring the blanket." "Not the taxi." "Hurry up and bring it." "Want to kill her, too?" "Get hold of yourself." "Remember the Iast time?" "You ignored 1 19 and went to find a taxi." "You couldn't get a taxi." "Carried him on your back and walked to the hospital." "Don't you remember?" "The treatment was delayed and that's how he died." "Why do you want to repeat that?" "At a time like this we must listen to the specialists." "You understand, don't you?" "How long did it take to the hospital that time?" "How many minutes?" "One hour." "At least one hour." "Not that long." "It took that long." "It was 40 minutes." "It took 40 minutes that time." "It was no Ionger than that." "No, it was 40 minutes." "To be precise, to the hospital entrance it was exactly 38 minutes." "But it was too late." "Either way he wouldn't have made it." "If we leave here now" "We'II reach the hospital before the ambulance comes." "Your decision." "Itsuki is your daughter." "You must decide." "But it's impossible to walk in this snow." "I will not walk ;" "I will run." "We'II stay one night here." "Okay?" "Hi, there, Akiba." "What happened to your face?" "I told you he looks like a bear." "His death is a loss to us all." "I wonder why good guys always die young." "Kaji Bear was in the party, too when that accident took place." "I had more hair at the time, though." "You definitely had more hair." "He's a great guy." "Since the accident he looks after the climbers here." "Because of the accident" "I've become an expert on that mountain." "But since I tell the climbers where to be careful or not to ignore the weather they find me annoying." "You're a great guy." "I ran away from the mountain." "Don't you want to climb again?" "No, it's impossible." "How come?" "I'm just scared." "Hey." "My love runs on the south wind" "What is this song?" "Is it your club song or something?" "He sang this before he died." "He fell into a ravine." "We couldn't see him but we heard him singing." "Of all the songs in the world, why did it have to be this?" "He didn't even like Seiko Matsuda." "He was a strange one." "He sure was." "You know, he never asked me to marry him." "He called me to Mt." "Maya." "He had the engagement ring in his hand." "But he didn't say anything." "We stayed there without a word for about two hours." "I began to feel sorry for him." "So I ended up asking him to marry me." "Then he said one word." "Okay." "That's the way he was." "He was hopeless in front of girls." "They're all good memories." "That's true." "He gave me lots of good memories." "You're right." "But I want more from him." "I pester him after his death and beg for more." "I'm such a selfish girl." "But grandpa." "It's 10 years since then." "So?" "What's the problem?" "You're 75 this year." "No, 76." "You can't do it." "Age has nothing to do with it." "Yes, it does." "Grandpa." "It's impossible." "Wait." "please wait." "Don't worry." "Even if it costs me my Iife" "I'II get there within 40 minutes." "This patient..." "The oxygen." "Akiko." "We're not moving out of the house." "I'm absolutely sure." "Whether it's our grandpa or the house, I'II stay and witness which falls first." "As a real estate agent I guarantee the house'II fall first." "Don't worry, Akiko." "They'II both be okay." "Hiroko." "Hiroko." "What is it?" "Come and take a look." "It's such a beautiful dawn." "What?" "See it?" "See what?" "That's the mountain." "Take a good look." "Fujii is there." "Fujii." "Are you still singing that Seiko Matsuda song?" "Aren't you cold up there?" "I'm taking Hiroko from you." "Go ahead." "Go ahead." "He says go ahead." "That's cheating, Akiba." "Hiroko, say something to him." "Must have a Iot of complaints." "Go on." "How are you?" "I'm very well." ""Dear Fujii Itsuki"" ""How are you?"" "How are you?" ""I'm very well."" "I'm very well." ""How are you?"" "How are you?" ""I'm..."" "I'm very well." ""How are you?"" "How are you?" "I'm very well." "How are you?" "What's this racket?" "At this early hour." "Don't interrupt her." "This is the best part." ""Dear Watanabe Hiroko"" ""Of all things"" ""my dad died of a neglected cold."" ""It was the New Year Day when I was in the 3rd year."" ""Because of the funeral"" ""right after New Year, it was hectic."" "Ouch." "Akane, it hurts." ""Mom collapsed from fatigue."" ""The new term had started"" ""but I couldn't go to school."" ""One day..."" "Yes?" "What?" "What's up?" "Why are you here?" "What happened to school?" "What happened to school?" "What is it?" "Just this." "Borrowed it before the break." "Forgot to return it." "Return it." "Why don't you return yourself?" "I'm asking you because I can't." "Why not?" "please return it." "IN MOURNING" "Did anyone die?" "My dad did." "please accept my sympathy for your loss." "What's wrong?" "Nothing." ""That was the Iast time I saw him."" ""When I went to school a week later..."" "It's Inaba's doing again." "No, I didn't do it." "He did it." "Did you know Fujii transferred to another school?" "Seems it was so sudden he couldn't say goodbye." "What is it?" "Itsuki." "FUJII ITSUKI" "REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS LOST" ""This is the Iast memory I have of him."" ""And this is probably the Iast story"" ""I can write to you about."" "Itsuki." "Wait a second." "almost done." ""Dear Fujii Itsuki"" ""The memories written in these letters belong to you."" ""So you should hang on to them."" ""Thank you for all your kindness."" ""I truly appreciate it."" ""P.S..."" ""P.S..." "The name on the library cards"" ""was it really his name?"" "What does she mean?" ""I have a feeling"" ""the name he wrote was intended to be your name."" "What?" "What does she mean by this?" "What is it?" "Nothing." "I had a classmate in junior high with the same name." "And it was a boy." "And?" "That's all." "Was he your first love?" "Wasn't anything like that." "There was such a boy." "That's all." "When I planted that tree" "I gave it a name." "can you guess what name it is?" "No." "I named it Itsuki." "The same as your name." "You're kidding." "When you were born" "I planted that tree." "That's why I gave both of you the same name." "Which one?" "You didn't know, huh?" "Which tree is it?" "That one?" "That?" "What are you two up to?" "Is it really true?" "Didn't you make it up?" "This is it." ""Dear Watanabe Hiroko, my strange pen-paI"" ""How are you doing?"" ""I'm doing well as usual."" ""As for how usual,I am..."" ""Never mind that."" ""Something great happened today."" ""I want to tell you about it."" ""That's why I'm writing this."" "Or rather, banging my keyboard." ""It was brought on by unexpected visitors."" "Hurry up." "Hurry." "Oh, hi." "hello." "What's going on?" "We found something very nice." "It's this." "The back cover." "It's inside." "Other side." "The card in the back." "The back." "The back." ""Dear Watanabe Hiroko"" ""I'm too embarrassed"" ""to mail this letter to you.""