Suddenly, the sound of approaching footsteps caught the attention of the two who had just been talking. Both of them turned their eyes toward Haruto, now illuminated under the streetlight.
Realizing it was a boy about her own age, the girl quickly looked away. But the man beside her—clearly an overworked corporate employee—stared at Haruto for a long moment, then raised a shaky finger, pointing first at the girl, then at himself.
"Uh, you—and I—"
Haruto looked at the girl squatting on the ground and then at the drunken man, observing them for a few seconds before turning his eyes away. In today's society, situations like this weren't common, but they weren't exactly rare either.
As long as it wasn't coercion—if it was between two consenting people—he had no reason to meddle. With that thought, he simply turned away and continued on his way.
The man's eyes widened as Haruto passed by him, walking silently into the distance. When Haruto's figure finally disappeared into the shadows, the man exhaled slowly, as if releasing tension that had been building inside.
Haruto, meanwhile, didn't pay any more attention to things that had nothing to do with him. Walking aimlessly through the midnight streets, he kept moving forward without any thought of a destination. At some point, he found himself leaving Bunkyō Ward and wandering near the Koishikawa Kōrakuen Garden.
But it was already past midnight, and the park was closed.
Standing at the gate, Haruto glanced into the garden at the quiet scenery inside, then turned around and headed off in another direction. Still unsure of what to do with himself tonight, after wandering around for a bit longer, he ended up choosing a izakaya (a Japanese-style pub) and walked inside.
Compared to the cold emptiness of his apartment, the izakaya was full of life—even at this late hour, it was bustling with people. Many were office workers who had just gotten off work.
Maybe some of them didn't want to go home, didn't want to deal with the annoying little things waiting for them there. The place was packed with exhausted salarymen, lifting glasses of alcohol, their daytime civility gone. They shouted and raged without restraint, venting their frustrations about life and work.
Haruto took a seat in the corner and listened quietly to their complaints and anger, sipping cup after cup of barley tea.
Just as the food he ordered was served and he was about to eat—
"Ugh! Wah—!"
A jarring voice rang out not far in front of him. Haruto didn't even bother to lift his head—he already knew exactly what had happened. With a sigh, he picked up his cup of tea and took a gentle sip, listening as the waitstaff rushed over to apologize and clean up the mess.
He still wasn't fully accustomed to places like this.
Sitting gloomily for a while, he forced himself to finish the meal and then quietly stood up, paid the bill, and left the izakaya.
Of course, as he left, he made sure to carefully avoid the slippery, wet spot on the floor. Without another glance, he exited the pub.
Right outside, he saw a man—completely unabashed—relieving himself onto the plants near the storefront. Haruto gave him a quick glance, then looked away indifferently.
Time to go home.
Having wandered around, Haruto ultimately reaffirmed the simple truth: his apartment was better. The walk had cleared his head a bit, and he was feeling just slightly more at ease.
On the way back to his place, he bought some drinks and snacks.
He wasn't normally into junk food, but ever since Mitsuha and Yotsuha came to live in Tokyo, he had found himself reminiscing about his own childhood. He had started developing a bit of a sweet tooth—cotton candy, cola-flavored gummies, chocolate drops…
As he carried the plastic bag back toward his building, Haruto passed the same street corner he'd walked by earlier and saw the same girl crouching beneath the streetlight. He stopped.
"Ah… it's you from earlier."
The girl spotted him as well. Though Haruto's eyes were as indifferent as before, she offered him a bright smile, resting her chin in her palm.
"Heading home already?"
"You didn't leave with that man from before?"
"After you showed up, he got all paranoid, worried about people getting the wrong idea. He rejected me."
"That's unfortunate."
"So, are you heading home now?"
"That was the plan."
"Eh~? Going home, huh? Can I come with you?"
"My girlfriend lives next door, and she probably wouldn't care too much. But I'm a bit of a germaphobe… spiritually speaking."
Haruto didn't soften his expression. He wasn't some naïve virgin whose brain stopped working the moment a girl smiled at him.
"Spiritual germaphobe?"
The girl frowned slightly in confusion but then seemed to understand.
"I'm still a virgin, by the way."
"Hard to believe."
"You're the second person I've asked for help today. That old man was the first."
Carrying the plastic bag, Haruto walked right up to her and crouched down, meeting her eyes face-to-face.
He had initially planned to just go home, but when it came down to it, he didn't even know what he'd do there. So now, here he was, face to face with this strange girl under the night sky.
"Not going home?"
"My home's kind of far. I went to great lengths to get away from my family. I don't want to go back."
"You've got a bit of an accent. Sounds kind of like someone from Hokkaido."
"You… from Hokkaido too?"
The moment Haruto mentioned Hokkaido, the girl's eyes flickered, as if startled. She hesitated a bit before asking.
"No, but I used to know someone from there. They moved to Tokyo for work. Haven't seen them in ages."
"You sound very adult when you talk."
"So why did you leave home?"
"No one leaves for no reason. If I left, I had my reasons. But those reasons are private."
"What's your plan, then?"
"…What?"
"Now that you've left, what's your goal? How will you support yourself?"
"No idea."
She smiled brightly as she answered, but Haruto let out a sigh upon seeing that smile.
"This is where you live? I thought you lived with your family. Didn't expect you to be living alone."
Opening the door to his apartment and turning on the lights, Haruto casually placed the plastic bag on the table and shut the door behind them. The girl who followed him in looked around with surprise.
Unbuttoning his shirt, he poured himself a glass of tea and took a small sip. He noticed her watching him and poured another cup, placing it on the counter.
She walked over, picked it up, and thanked him.
He studied her quietly.
"...What? Is there something on my face?"
"Your name."
"Ah! Right. I never introduced myself, did I? I'm Sayu Ogiwara. Just call me Sayu."
"...Miyamizu."
"Full name?"
"Miyamizu is fine."
"Eh? I told you my full name, and you're only giving me half?"
"Miyamizu Haruto. But really, just call me Miyamizu."
"Miyamizu Haruto? Got it. Then... Miyamizu, shall we begin?"
Lifting the cup, Sayu took a small sip before putting it down and smiling gently at Haruto. Her once-bright eyes now seemed dim, her smile quiet and subdued.
Haruto continued watching her, then lifted his own teacup again.
"What's in that little bag of yours?"
"Huh?"
She turned to glance behind her at her backpack. Slightly surprised by the question, she removed it from her shoulders, placed it on her lap, and opened it to show him the contents.
"Just some everyday essentials. My student ID, a few changes of clothes… oh, and this is all my savings. Do you want it?"
She held up a small wallet. Haruto looked at it.
But rather than the wallet, he was more interested in the clothes—wondering what kind of person she was based on them.
"Take a shower first. Put your clothes in the laundry basket."
With that, he walked over to his desk and booted up his laptop, opening a fresh document.
Sayu, confused by his lack of reaction, stood quietly for a moment before shutting her bag and heading toward the bathroom.
"Um… which one's hot water, and which one's cold?"
She poked her head out from the bathroom a minute later, calling into the living room.
Haruto didn't even turn around.
"Left is hot, right is cold."
"Okay! Got it!"
The bathroom door shut again. Haruto turned back to his blank document and began thinking about how to continue his story.
Instead of obsessing over what kind of work the market wanted, maybe it was better to think more about what kind of story he wanted to tell. His previous project had been a kind of self-indulgent escape, but it was still too affected by outside expectations.
Now that he'd written nearly half of it, he wasn't even sure how to continue. But this unexpected encounter with the girl gave him a few new ideas.
Sitting at his desk, Haruto brainstormed in silence. About half an hour later, he heard the bathroom door open—a soft whoosh followed by light footsteps padding into the living room.
He quickly saved his document and turned around—only to be stunned by what he saw.
"Where are your clothes?"
The girl stood there in nothing but a towel. Haruto blinked, momentarily frozen, but quickly recovered his composure and asked the obvious.
"I didn't bring them in. And besides, wouldn't it just be more of a hassle to wear clothes for what's coming next? Oh wait, are you the type that prefers that?"
A conflicted look crossed Sayu's face. She seemed torn.
"But I don't have many clothes left... if these get ruined, I won't have anything else to wear."
Sighing, Haruto stood up and walked to the wardrobe. He pulled out one of his own shirts, along with a few items that had originally been meant as spares for Sekai—clothes that had yet to be used—and placed them on the table.
"They're not currently being used. Wear these."
"Your girlfriend's clothes?"
Haruto stayed silent. Sayu, seeing that he didn't respond, didn't press the issue further. Quietly, she slipped on the clothes he gave her, then looked up at him.
"How do I look?"
"That'll do. Do you need anything else?"
"Huh?"
"If not, I'm going to sleep."
Haruto turned off the light and walked over to the bed. Sayu stood there for a moment, hesitating as she watched him lie down… and then she followed.
He awoke to the sound of a loud doorbell ringing, jolting him out of sleep.
The sky outside the window was still dark—it wasn't even dawn yet. He had no idea who it could be.
He glanced down at the girl curled up beside him, still asleep.
Carefully getting out of bed and putting on his clothes, he walked to the door. Upon opening it, he found someone standing outside, repeatedly jamming the doorbell.
"You know," he said flatly, "what you're doing right now is typically considered public nuisance."
"It's already five o'clock! We need to head to the venue!"
Standing in front of him, visibly irritated, was the twin-tailed, blonde-haired Eriri. She knew she might be overstepping, but if she didn't wake Haruto now, there wouldn't be enough time to prep everything before the convention opened.
"Fine. Wait here for a bit."
"There's someone in your—"
BAM.
The door slammed shut in her face before she could finish. Eriri bit her lip in frustration, turned around silently, and headed down the stairs toward her mother's parked car.
"Your girlfriend?" Sayu asked, blinking groggily from the bed as Haruto returned.
"No. Just a troublesome person. I've got stuff to do today—probably won't be back until evening. If you're planning to leave, just lock the door behind you. If you're staying, here's a number you can call if something comes up."
He left a note on the table and pointed to the refrigerator.
"There's food and drinks in there. Help yourself. I'm off."
Dressed and ready, Haruto left his instructions, then hurried out of the apartment. He didn't forget to lock the door behind him.
Sayu remained lying in bed, not bothering to get up. She stared quietly in the direction of the door, then slowly closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep…
~~~~~~~~~~
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