"Do I take a new name, or do I stay 'Koumori'?" he asked once the bird had returned. "We're done here. We've seen this through."

Still there and still together.

"We've been through this enough times..." His cigarettes were gone, unfortunately. They'd gotten lost somewhere, likely on purpose.

"I suppose we'll just keep going. Nothing to stick around here for."

He grabbed for the beam, as heavy as ever. He'd get a new pack of cigarettes later.

"Things never can be different, can they? Not for us..."

The bird simply took off into the air.

And he knew the answer.