Chapter 5: Fate?
The night had barely begun to quiet when her voice pierced softly through the veil of time and rain.
A voice.That voice.
It struck something deep within Ren — not just memory, but something unnamed that stirred gently in his chest like the first note of a love song still being written.
He blinked, glanced at his sister beside him… and pinched her arm.
"Ouch! You punk!" Rika scowled, clutching her arm like a wounded fairy. "What was that for?!"
Ren smirked, holding back laughter. "Just making sure I'm not dreaming."
"Dream yourself into oblivion," she muttered, arms crossed, still watching him like an anime side character whose reality was being rewritten.
On the phone, the voice giggled. "Oh hi, sharp brain."
Ren's grin widened. "Hey, that's my nickname. Don't go stealing my thunder now."
Rika looked at him in wide-eyed disbelief. "Sharp brain??" she mouthed silently. She stood frozen, a statue sculpted of shock and curiosity, as if witnessing a plot twist unfold in real time.
Ren casually leaned against the wall, already lost in the melody of that familiar voice. "How did you get my number?" he asked lightheartedly. Then, correcting himself, "Wait—scratch that. How are you calling me from my number?"
"Oh, yeah. About that," Himari replied, her voice soft like cherry blossom petals brushing against wind. "You, Sharp Brain… left your bag. In the rain. Right at our front gate."
Rika's jaw nearly hit the floor.
"My… what?" Ren blinked. "Oh no—"
"You left it wide open. I didn't notice at first. But when I got to my room, I saw it from the window. So I ran out and grabbed it."
"You seriously ran out for that?" Ren said, touched beneath the teasing. "Damn, bird brain… you really know how to take care of things."
"What??" Himari gasped dramatically, laughing. "Where did that come from?"
"I mean it," he said sincerely. "I'm grateful. Really."
A small pause lingered between them, then…
"Anyway," she chimed in playfully, "I found your phone inside your bag. There was only one contact labeled 'Little Scary Sister.' So I borrowed that to call you."
Rika arched a brow. "Excuse me??" she whispered to herself.
Ren chuckled. "Of course, of course. Only one contact. And of course, she picked up."
"So?" Himari teased. "Now do you understand, Sharp Brain?"
"Hah. I understood long before you did."
Both laughed — the kind of laugh that carried more than humor. It carried relief, and the comfort of finding something unexpectedly warm in a cold night.
"You've got the sharp brain," Himari said. "Good for you."
Ren leaned his head back, closing his eyes. "So… what's next?"
"What's next? Don't tell me you're turning into me now, bird brain."
Even Rika cracked a giggle at that one.
"Hey! I'm just being responsible for once. Tell me what to do with the stuff."
"Well…" Himari's voice softened again. "You'll have to come get it, won't you?"
"I… guess so?"
"What?" she asked, pretending to sound offended. "Not excited?"
Ren narrowed his eyes. "Are you seriously overanalyzing my tone now?"
"Totally! That's how you know I'm young and thriving!"
They both burst out laughing again.
"Alright then," she said. "Let's meet at the coffee shop beside Shibuya's main street. Evening?"
"Evening?" Ren repeated, confused.
"You really loosened your brain today," Himari sighed dramatically. "I've got school too, genius. Evening it is. Don't go losing your sharp brain somewhere again. Or you will end up bird brain like me." Himari smiled on the phone call saying those words to herself.
"Fair enough. See you there, then."
He ended the call gently, as if afraid to disturb something sacred. On the other end, Himari held his phone to her chest, eyes closed, heart fluttering like the wings of a springtime butterfly.
Ren turned and immediately caught Rika's expression — a look so suspicious and sinister it could rival any anime villain.
"…What?" he asked. "W-Why are you staring like that?"
Rika didn't answer. She simply took her phone back, shut her door with exaggerated drama, and disappeared with a giggle echoing down the hallway.
Morning broke with muted gold and sleepy skies.
Ren rose to the alarm, the ache of hunger reminding him of yesterday's punishment. He left without breakfast, shoes squeaking faintly as he walked into another day.
But at school, the hours dragged.
Math was a blur. Literature was nonsense. Even lunch tasted like air.
His heart wasn't in any of it — it was somewhere in a little bag beside a window, in the hands of a girl with a voice like a song.
When the final bell rang, Ren was a man on a mission.
As he packed up quickly, three familiar voices paused his escape.
"Hey buddy, what's up?" came Daiki's calm tone.
"Yeah! You ignored us all day, dude," Reo chimed in.
Ren blinked. "Oh, sorry, guys. I… wasn't feeling too well..... I gu.. guess."
"You guess you weren't?" Suzune tilted her head. "Explain?"
"I mean… I was sick… then fine… then sick… then fine...then sick...then fine...then sick...then fine—"
"ALRIGHT!" Daiki cut in. "We get it."
Reo grinned. "So how about karaoke to blow the sadness away?"
"Ahh, I'd love to… but I've got something else. Rain check?"
They all stared at him.
"Next time," Ren assured. "Promise."
With exchanged nods and warm goodbyes, Ren slipped away, exhaling deeply as he exited the gates.
Evening in Shibuya held a special kind of magic — city lights blinking like stardust caught in traffic.
Ren arrived just on time. The coffee shop stood quietly beneath glowing lanterns, its windows foggy with warmth.
He entered, asked for a seat from a hot waitress working around, and sat down with a manga to calm his thoughts.
Time ticked slowly.Then, from behind —
"Hey, Sharp Brain."
He turned, as if pulled by a string from the universe itself.
There she stood. Hair softly waving, smile quietly blooming, eyes shining like a poem whispered in rain.
He stood too. They didn't speak right away.
They just smiled.
Because when fate finally whispers,sometimes all you can do —is listen.