Poke. Poke.
"Hm?" Hoshino was woken by a fingertip prodding his cheek.
He cracked open one eye—and found a flushed, red face inches from his own.
"Mmm~"
Grumbling through his morning fog, he rolled off Kobeni Higashiyama's body.
The distance between them widened from a few centimeters to maybe fifteen, but that didn't change the fact that they were still sharing the same pillow.
Kobeni could clearly see the faint flutter of his eyelashes.
She quickly reached out with her finger to poke him again.
"I've saved you so many times," Hoshino murmured with his eyes closed. "It's only fair I take a little interest, right?"
Her finger froze for half a second—then flattened into a palm and began slapping his face in a rapid-fire rhythm.
Soft, fast paps filled the air.
"Oh~ yes~" he groaned dramatically, like a sinner receiving divine punishment.
"Ah—!"
Kobeni's face turned red all the way to her neck. She shoved his face away with both hands and yelled, "That's—sexual harassment! H! N-no, that's not allowed!!"
"Eh? Not even if we're acquainted?"
"No! Absolutely not!"
"Okay, okay!" Hoshino raised his hands in surrender, voice lazy again. Then, straightening his tone, he gave her a quick rundown of what had happened last night.
"Whaaaat?!"
Kobeni's eyes went wide. She ducked under the blanket until only half her head stuck out, obviously terrified.
Hoshino blinked.
The story was abrupt and had no real evidence to back it up. He'd assumed she wouldn't buy a word of it—but her strong reaction said otherwise. She trusted him.
It reminded him of a useless bit of trivia he'd once read in a dating guide from his previous life:
When on a date, change locations often—it creates the illusion of having known each other longer.
And always find reasonable excuses for physical contact; that's the fastest way to build closeness—works both ways.
He shook the thought off and focused.
There was something more important.
They'd slept in the same room—so why had Kobeni been affected while he hadn't?
The only difference was the private bath.
But plenty of rooms without private baths had issues too.
Unless… something happened while he was unconscious.
And if so—were they really safe now?
Thinking that, Hoshino stood and slid open the door slightly, peeking through the crack.
Several room doors down the corridor were tightly shut. Morning sunlight filtered through the far window, casting long, peaceful shadows. It looked serene, beautiful—like last night had been nothing but a bad dream.
"Liar," came a mutter from below.
Kobeni was crouched under him, also peeking through the door crack.
"Why are you under my legs? H!"
"Ah—!" She jumped, crawling out from under him, then stood and bowed ninety degrees, face burning. "I-I'm s-sorry for my rude behavior!"
"It's fine. I enjoyed it."
"…"
Hoshino slid the door open and gestured for her to follow.
He crossed the hall to the opposite room and reached for the handle.
"What are you doing? Proposing?" he said when a small hand suddenly pressed over his.
"N-no! That's rude!" Kobeni stammered, her cheeks pink.
He paused.
Fair enough.
People here hated bothering others—asking for directions was already a psychological battle, let alone opening someone's door without permission.
But as far as he was concerned, what happened to Futoshi Hoshino had nothing to do with courtesy.
When it was time to act, he acted.
Click.
The metal latch rattled faintly. Locked.
"There's someone inside!"
His ears twitched. In a flash—faster than last night—Hoshino darted back into the Starfall Room.
Rustle.
A woman in her fifties or sixties stepped out of the room. Her cloudy eyes fixed sharply on the still-frozen Kobeni.
"Can I help you?" she asked in a cold voice.
"Eh?! N-no—I mean, yes—I mean—no!" Kobeni flailed. "It wasn't—I didn't mean to—it wasn't me!"
"Not you? Then who?" the woman barked. "You think you can take advantage of an old lady just because she's easy to bully? Kids these days—so lawless! Your whole generation's gonna ruin this country!"
Under the barrage, Kobeni could only stammer helplessly.
'Kobeni-san, why's your head so pointy?'
Hiding behind the door, Hoshino sighed.
Then he stepped out, feigning surprise. "Sis! You're out of bed!"
He glanced between Kobeni and the old woman two or three times, then bowed deeply, face full of apology.
"I-I-I'm so sorry!" he said loudly. "My sister's an idiot—clinically diagnosed! Please forgive her!"
The woman stared for a long moment, then scoffed. Clearly unconvinced.
Kobeni flinched.
Two seconds later, she lifted her face, her expression strangely twisted, a trickle of drool slipping from the corner of her mouth. "Uh-huh… I'm… duh idiot…"
Pfft—
Hoshino trembled.
Eyes wide, cheeks puffed, he stared at the floor, using every ounce of willpower not to laugh.
Don't laugh, don't laugh, don't laugh—if I laugh now, it's over. She'll kill me.
Maybe the old woman was moved by Kobeni's "condition." With a cold snort, she turned and went back into her room.
The moment the door shut, Hoshino dove back into the tatami, rolling and pounding the floor.
"Ahahahaha—'I'm duh idiot'—ahahahahaha!"
Five minutes later, he stood outside the Starfall Room.
The door was locked. Kobeni refused to open it no matter what he said.
Sighing, he walked down the hall. He didn't try any more doors, but his eyes swept carefully across each one, peering through every gap.
If someone forgot to lock theirs—well, that was basically permission to eavesdrop.
Finally, he found one.
Directly across from their room.
He peeked in—and immediately caught sight of a man braced on his elbows atop a futon, the blanket at his waist forming a suspicious peak.
Hoshino pulled back, pressed his ear to the door, cupped his hands as a sound funnel, and whispered, "Sorry about this."
"Misaki, haa~ not so early…"
"Masao~ you've been holding back so long, it's okay. Misaki will take care of everything."
Misaki… Masao… Weren't those the same couple who'd checked in with them last night?
Soon, new sounds drifted from the room.
"Misaki, wait—you'll hurt the baby."
"How could I? The doctor said I'm in my second trimester, it's fine. Now lie down, Masao~ let Misaki handle it."
Hoshino frowned. "What kind of quack calls that second trimester? Her belly's huge—at least six months."
Rustle.
Just then, a tall, broad man with a thick beard stepped out of the room to his right.
He gave Hoshino a casual glance and started toward the stairs.
"Excuse me, sir," Hoshino called.
The man turned. "Yeah?"
"Was there some kind of event last night?"
Hoshino explained, "I passed out in the bath and missed dinner. Woke up hungry in the middle of the night, went to get instant noodles from the vending machine downstairs—and everyone's doors were open. It was creepy."
The man chuckled. "You're not from around here, are you?"
"Just visiting."
"Ever hear of the Okura Snow Story?"
"Yeah. Someone mentioned it—said it started early this year?"
He nodded and pointed to his work uniform. "We're finishing up the snowman build in the next couple of days. Gotta work through the nights."
He gestured to the row of closed doors. "I'm an early riser. The others are still out cold. They'll be up by ten to get back to work."
"Oh, I see." Hoshino nodded, then asked, "But… why leave the doors unlocked? Isn't that dangerous? Aren't you afraid someone might—y'know—try something?"
The man laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "Of course not. Most of this floor's our crew. If something went missing, we'd know right away. You must be from Tokyo, right?"
"Yeah."
"Thought so." The man grinned. "City boy. Out here, we're simple folks."
After he left, Hoshino hurried back to the Starfall Room.
"Kobeni-san, open up!"
After about ten seconds, the lock clicked and the door cracked open just enough to reveal half her face.
He tried to pull it open. No luck.
"Say you're sorry," she demanded.
"…Later. We need to move!"
Seeing his serious expression, Kobeni relented and let go.
Hoshino quickly packed their things, changed clothes, and dragged her downstairs.
Passing through the first-floor lobby, they spotted the landlady and Mai Asakura hustling behind the counter, surrounded by a crowd of guests checking in and out.
Hoshino didn't stop to check out—he went straight for the exit.
"Simple folks," huh? he thought bitterly. Half the village left their doors wide open at night—but by sunset they were all shut tight? Yeah, sure. Tell that to the ghosts.
Either that bearded guy had traded away half his brain to some Devil—or he just didn't care to pretend anymore.
They'd done what they came to do.
…
Under the wooden sign of the Yukimi-sou Onsen Ryokan, Go Fujiwara ran a hand through his beard.
His bull-like eyes followed the boy and girl as they walked away—then curled into a cruel smile.
He stepped forward and followed.