When she woke up in the morning, Toyokawa Sakiko stared blankly at the unfamiliar ceiling.
Soon, she remembered.
This was Hoshino Miru's house, where she had spent the night.
Toyokawa Sakiko checked her phone - no calls throughout the entire night, and her expression couldn't help but darken.
Despite staying out all night, her father hadn't shown the slightest concern, as if he didn't care about his daughter at all.
Toyokawa Sakiko collected these feelings and sent a few messages to Wakaba Mutsuki, then turned off her phone.
Just as she was about to get up, she noticed her clothes from last night placed nearby. Her heart skipped a beat and she quickly checked what she was wearing, finding everything normal and breathing a sigh of relief.
She was wearing Hoshino Miru's clothes, which still faintly smelled of laundry detergent - not the strange odor she'd imagined boys would have, but very clean.
The clothes on the floor were her own, which Hoshino Miru had probably dried and placed here this morning.
But Hoshino Miru had seen her, hadn't he?
Seen her sleeping face, maybe even her terrible sleeping posture. Would he have taken photos? Done something strange?
Toyokawa Sakiko began overthinking, her belated shyness making her pat her cheeks. How terrible - she had actually spent the night at a boy's house.
Moreover, she had put on a boy's clothes and stayed with him for so long without any guard up.
Was it because too many things had happened recently, making her too tired and letting her guard down?
Toyokawa Sakiko made excuses for herself. After calming down, she got up to change clothes.
It was no big deal - she'd been to Wakaba Mutsuki's house before. It was normal between friends.
After changing into her own clothes, Toyokawa Sakiko left the study. Hearing sounds from the living room, she went downstairs and saw Hoshino Miru preparing breakfast.
Hoshino Miru looked up, and Toyokawa Sakiko looked back at him nonchalantly.
"Good morning, Toyokawa-san." Hoshino Miru smiled. "Did you sleep well last night?"
"Not bad. I didn't expect you to wake up so early." Toyokawa Sakiko looked around the living room. "Is your sister not up yet?"
"She often stays in bed late, probably won't get up until after nine." Hoshino Miru had a bit of a headache - this sister of his loved staying up late, though he didn't know what she could possibly be doing.
Toyokawa Sakiko walked to the living room and saw breakfast on the dining table. Perhaps it was too tempting - her stomach suddenly growled several times.
After a moment of silence, Hoshino Miru looked at her secretly averted pretty face and found it particularly refreshing.
"You need to wash up before eating." Hoshino Miru tried to keep a straight face to avoid laughing.
Toyokawa Sakiko blushed slightly, realizing she hadn't washed up yet and was completely disheveled.
Hoshino Miru watched the girl run to the bathroom, then continued preparing breakfast in a relaxed mood.
Soon his breakfast was ready, and Toyokawa Sakiko had returned to the living room.
"I've already contacted little Mutsuki. We can meet today." Toyokawa Sakiko didn't rush to eat breakfast but first told Hoshino Miru this good news.
"So soon?" Hoshino Miru was very surprised - he thought it would take at least a few days.
"She has a lot of free time during spring break, and she's a bit curious about you too." Toyokawa Sakiko smiled slightly. "You don't mind me telling her about things between us, do you?"
"Not at all - she's your childhood friend after all."
What was there to mind? Actually, Hoshino Miru was quite looking forward to meeting Wakaba Mutsuki.
After finishing breakfast, he brought Kasugano Sora's portion upstairs and knocked on her door.
"Sora, I'm going out with Toyokawa-san today. Breakfast is by the door - don't stay in bed, get up early."
Hoshino Miru vaguely heard a muffled response from inside the room.
...
The meeting place was again at the coffee shop from before - it seemed quite popular with girls.
Hoshino Miru sat across from them, able to openly observe the girl's appearance.
Unlike their first meeting, the girl today wore a black dress with white lace butterfly bow at the collar, her chest slightly raised, giving a petite and delicate feeling. She sat quietly without moving, her straight, well-proportioned legs wrapped in black over-knee socks, her small feet in simple Mary Jane shoes.
Her expression was the same as last time - eyes downcast, impossible to tell what she was thinking or what mood she was in.
"This is Hoshino-senpai, a friend I recently met, the one who delivered the umbrella to me from little Mutsuki last time." Toyokawa Sakiko said straightforwardly. "I'd like little Mutsuki to help guide his guitar playing. Can you help me with this favor?"
Hoshino Miru felt somewhat awkward as he tried to study the menu. Wasn't she being too direct?
"Yes." Wakaba Mutsuki kept her head down, as if it were just a trivial matter.
"Won't you ask anything?" Toyokawa Sakiko suddenly sighed.
"Has Saki-chan... been with him all this time?" Wakaba Mutsuki looked toward Hoshino Miru. Though her voice remained flat, there seemed to be a hint of confusion.
Hoshino Miru glanced at Toyokawa Sakiko beside him. Should he help answer this question?
After a moment of silence, Toyokawa Sakiko replied: "More or less. I've been under his care these past days."
Hoshino Miru really wanted to cover his face. Why did she make it sound like he'd abducted an innocent girl?
After listening, Wakaba Mutsuki waited a long time before asking: "Really... won't you come back?"
"I already said that's impossible!" Toyokawa Sakiko's voice suddenly turned cold, speaking almost decisively. "Clinging to such naive fantasies won't allow you to move forward!"
"..."
Wakaba Mutsuki lowered her head slightly and stopped talking, falling into silence.
Toyokawa Sakiko also knew her reaction was excessive. She sipped her coffee to calm down.
No matter what Wakaba Mutsuki said, she couldn't go back.
Hoshino Miru looked at Toyokawa Sakiko, then at Wakaba Mutsuki. Wait - wasn't this childhood friends' way of chatting rather strange?
Noticing Hoshino Miru's gaze, Toyokawa Sakiko pretended to clear her throat: "Ahem, you haven't bought a guitar yet, right?"
Hoshino Miru could tell she wanted to change the subject since the atmosphere was awkward, so he said: "Not yet. I was planning to look around in a few days."
Toyokawa Sakiko thought about it and was about to recommend something to Hoshino Miru when someone spoke first.
"I have a practice guitar from before." Wakaba Mutsuki looked at Hoshino Miru. "I can give it to you."
Hoshino Miru was stunned and said awkwardly: "Thank you?"
Wakaba Mutsuki fell silent again, quietly drinking her beverage with no visible expression.
"That works too. Hoshino-senpai just needs to go to little Mutsuki's house today to get the guitar." Toyokawa Sakiko smiled slightly. "You two should exchange contact information. If you don't understand something later, you can ask me or little Mutsuki."
Well, Hoshino Miru could only take out his phone.
The next moment, he saw Wakaba Mutsuki hand over her phone, making his expression even more awkward.
Maybe she didn't know how to operate her phone?
Hoshino Miru suppressed his strange feelings and quickly added himself as her friend, inadvertently noticing her friend list had only a few contacts.
Was this child not only taciturn but also had hardly any friends?
Hoshino Miru returned the phone, only to find Toyokawa Sakiko had already stood up.
"Sorry, I need to go home." Toyokawa Sakiko showed an apologetic expression. "Although being with you yesterday was fun, I can't escape the reality I need to face."
Rest time was over - she couldn't let Hoshino Miru see her show the same weak expression as yesterday.
No matter what her father had said, Toyokawa Sakiko wouldn't give up so easily.
However, Hoshino Miru looked at Toyokawa Sakiko in confusion.
What did she mean? Was he supposed to go get the guitar with Wakaba Mutsuki alone?
---
Advanced 30+ Chapters in pat/reon.com/KyokaSuigetsu