Mari had just returned to her office and barely sat down when she overheard colleagues murmuring—something about a traffic accident nearby. Her heart gave a faint start, and without meaning to, she thought of Haruto, who had only just left.
It couldn't have anything to do with him… right?
Still uneasy, Mari pulled out her phone and dialed Haruto's number.
No answer.
Her pulse quickened. Abandoning her work, she hurried for the stairs, her heels clattering as she all but ran to the elevator, pressing the button with trembling hands.
Out on the street, she asked a passerby where the accident had occurred, then rushed in that direction.
And there she saw it—a car skewed against the roadside, and a figure lying on the pavement. The familiar clothes, the document bag at his side… Mari's pupils shrank. Her knees weakened, but she forced herself forward step by step until she saw his face. Haruto lay unconscious, eyes shut.
Mari quickly called an ambulance. Soon, medical staff lifted Haruto onto a stretcher, and Mari—being the only acquaintance at the scene—found herself riding in an ambulance for the very first time in her life.
At the hospital, once Haruto was wheeled into the emergency ward, Mari used his phone to dial his family.
In a quiet garden at home, Miyamizu Futaba was trimming flowers while thinking about what to prepare for dinner. The sudden ring of her phone made her pause, puzzled.
"Haruto?" she said as she answered.
But it wasn't his voice she heard. Instead, a trembling, unfamiliar woman spoke:
"Are you a family member of Miyamizu-kun? I'm his editor… I—I'm afraid I have some bad news. Miyamizu-kun has been—"
The words crashed over her like thunder. Futaba froze, mind blank. For a long time, she could only stand there, forcing a fragile smile.
"Um… could there be some mistake?"
"Miyamizu-kun is in the emergency room right now. I'm waiting outside. The hospital needs a family member present for the paperwork, so…"
"I understand. We'll come immediately."
Futaba bit her lip, ended the call, and at once dialed her husband.
"Toshiki, it's Haruto. He's been in an accident."
She didn't tell her daughters. Quickly packing her things, she left instructions for her elderly mother, Hitoha, to watch over the family, though she said nothing of the truth. When her husband's car pulled up, she climbed in without another word, and they drove straight for Tokyo.
When Mitsuha and Yotsuha returned home later, they found their mother absent. Neither was particularly surprised, but they asked their grandmother.
"She left with your father. Something must've come up."
Hitoha suspected the truth was serious—her daughter hadn't even told her own children. But facing her two granddaughters, she chose to keep quiet.
Mitsuha, used to her mother's trips to Hida, thought little of it and began preparing dinner herself. Yotsuha slipped away to finish her light homework before coming back to help.
Watching her granddaughters, Hitoha let out a rare sigh, her fingers resuming the patient weaving of knots.
On the road to Tokyo, Toshiki, sitting in the passenger seat, turned to his wife. Her face was tense with worry.
"What happened?" he asked, bewildered.
"Haruto… he was in a car accident."
Toshiki's personal driver gripped the wheel, keeping steady despite the weight of those words. Toshiki himself was momentarily stunned, but his face soon fell into silence. For ten long minutes, the car remained heavy with quiet.
At last, Toshiki drew a long breath and straightened in his seat.
"Drive a little faster."
The driver pressed down on the accelerator.
_ _ _ _
"Good work today, everyone. That's enough for now."
Mai left the office, exchanging farewells with her coworkers. She was still pondering what to cook for dinner when her phone rang, and the caller ID made her blink.
"Mrs. Miyamizu? What a surprise. Is something wrong?"
"Miss Kiyoura, I need to ask you a favor."
Mai tilted her head at Futaba's request, startled by the gravity in her tone.
"Haruto… he's had an accident. Could you go to the hospital and check on him?"
"An accident?"
Mai froze on the street. Then, understanding dawned.
"I see. Which hospital?"
Futaba gave her the address. Hanging up, Mai immediately changed her course, hurrying toward the hospital instead of home.
_ _ _ _
For reasons she couldn't explain, Setsuna suddenly felt restless. She lifted her gaze from her teacup to her friend Sekai.
"Do you ever get… a sense of unease?"
Sekai blinked at her. "Huh? What do you mean?"
"I don't know. It just feels… like something bad is about to happen."
"That's probably your imagination. What could possibly go wrong?"
"I'm not sure. But the feeling won't go away."
Setsuna stared down at her milk tea, heart unsettled. She didn't know what was happening, only that a heavy premonition pressed against her chest. Slowly, she turned to the brilliant blue sky outside the window, her thoughts tangled with a dread she couldn't name.
Colors muted, like a dim shadow cast over a brilliant morning—
_ _ _ _
"Haruto, wake up."
A delicate finger brushed his ear, tracing a circle. Haruto's eyes fluttered open to find Sawamura Sayuri sitting at the edge of the bed, smiling warmly down at him.
"Sayuri?"
"What's wrong? It's nearly noon, and you're still in bed. Were you having a nice dream?"
"Dream?"
Haruto glanced around. The room was lavish and unfamiliar. He looked back at Sayuri, confusion etched on his face.
Why was he here? Why was she with him?
"You're staring at me like I've done something wrong," she teased.
"N-no, I… maybe I'm just still groggy. But… wasn't I living in a tiny apartment? Why…"
His eyes roamed the ornate furnishings. None of this made sense. After graduation, he'd been living alone in a small place. Sayuri lived with her daughter—and the two of them had always kept their relationship hidden from her.
Her daughter… what was her name again?
"What tiny apartment?" Sayuri asked, puzzled.
"No, I remember I was—"
She leaned closer, smiling. "Looks like we really do need to hold back a little. You can't even tell dreams from reality anymore."
"Dreams?"
"After you graduated, didn't we start living together already?"
Haruto stared at Sayuri's gentle face, so close to his own. Her soft, tender gaze was fixed only on him. He gave a small nod.
"Maybe I just slept too long and got confused."
_ _ _ _
Four hours later, after rushing from Gifu to Tokyo, Futaba and Toshiki finally arrived at the hospital where Haruto had been taken. They hurried straight to the emergency room entrance and saw Mai standing there alongside a woman they didn't recognize. Futaba was the first to step forward, her voice trembling as she questioned Mai.
"What's the situation? How is Haruto?"
"I don't know," Mai admitted, her expression tight with worry. "As soon as you called to tell me something had happened, I rushed straight here. They said he was in surgery. I've been standing here ever since, but no doctor has come out."
"Then… that woman, Miss Kazoka, who is she?"
Not getting the reassurance she wanted, Futaba turned her attention to the unfamiliar face, desperate to know what had really happened.
Standing nearby, Mari looked pale and exhausted. It was already deep into the night, and she hadn't had even a sip of water while waiting all this time. Finally, Haruto's family had arrived.
"It's me," Mari said quietly.
She glanced at Haruto's family, their faces bearing a resemblance to him, and slowly closed her eyes for a moment, gathering herself before speaking again.
"What exactly happened?" Toshiki asked, breaking his silence. His voice was low but carried the weight of authority.
"About six o'clock in the evening," Mari began softly, "I had just finished discussing Miyamizu-kun's new manuscript with him. Not long after he left the publishing house, word spread that there had been an accident nearby. I felt uneasy, so I tried calling him. No one answered… so I went down to the scene myself."
"Why would something like this happen? And the driver—where are they?" Toshiki pressed, his expression grim.
Mari gave a helpless shake of her head, her voice heavy.
"I don't know."
"I'm going to make a call," Toshiki murmured to his wife before quietly stepping away, leaving the three women standing outside the emergency room. None of them had the heart for conversation. They stood in silence, staring at the glowing red sign: Resuscitation in Progress.
During that time, Setsuna called her mother, Mai, asking why she still hadn't come home so late at night.
"There's a bit of work I need to finish. I'll be staying at the office tonight. You should rest," Mai replied.
She didn't mention anything about Haruto. Mai couldn't even imagine how her daughter would react if she learned the truth.
At home, Setsuna felt that something wasn't right, though she couldn't pinpoint exactly what.
"I see," she responded quietly before ending the call. She sat in silence for a while, thoughtful, then rose to her feet and stepped outside. Before long, she arrived at Haruto's apartment. Just as she was about to press the doorbell, she heard footsteps—and a familiar face appeared before her.
"Eh?"
"..."
Ogihara Sayu froze when she saw Setsuna standing there. A wave of guilt welled up inside her. Setsuna, however, only frowned deeply at the sight of Sayu.
—
The night dragged on into the early morning. Doctors moved in and out of the emergency room, but Haruto never appeared. The four waiting outside were exhausted, dark fatigue written across their faces. Toshiki returned with breakfast and quietly handed it to the others. At that moment, the city mayor was nothing more than a worried father.
"It was just an accident," he explained softly to his wife Futaba, who stood beside him. "Haruto was trying to save someone when he was hit. The girl he saved is here in the hospital too—fortunately, she's not badly hurt."
He took a sip of water, reached instinctively for a cigarette, but after a long hesitation, let it go. Closing his eyes, he stood in silence, waiting for news.
It wasn't until eight the next evening—after a full day had passed—that Haruto was finally wheeled out of the emergency room and into intensive care.
"The patient's condition is currently stable," the doctor informed the family. "However, due to unknown reasons, he remains in a coma. We cannot say when he might wake."
The words brought some relief to those who had been waiting. Because of work, Mari had to leave early, while Mai finally gave in to exhaustion and went home to rest. Futaba stayed behind, and Toshiki returned to Hida for official duties that could not wait.
Before leaving, he had already reached out to a Gifu representative, who in turn coordinated matters to ensure the accident was handled properly. The costs would be covered entirely by the driver at fault—who turned out to be employed by a major corporation. Apparently, the company's heiress had been in the car, and she personally assured them that all expenses would be taken care of. Surprisingly, everything was resolved without argument.
~~~~~~~~~~
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