Part 4 — A Peaceful Evening
For a little while...
Neither of them spoke.
Only the gentle scratching of their pencils echoed through the room.
Haruto quietly turned another page.
"...We still have two more."
Amaya gave a small nod.
"...Mhm."
The tears on her cheeks had already dried.
Although her eyes were still slightly red...
Her smile had returned.
The two resumed copying the remaining notes.
Every now and then...
Haruto would slide his notebook closer.
"...Is this formula right?"
Amaya leaned over.
"...You forgot the last line."
"...Oh."
He quickly added it.
A few minutes later...
Amaya stretched her fingers.
"...My hand's getting tired."
Haruto chuckled.
"...Mine stopped listening to me ten minutes ago."
Amaya giggled.
"...You're exaggerating."
"...Maybe."
The room fell quiet again.
Page after page...
The unfinished notes slowly disappeared.
Outside...
The orange evening sunlight faded into a softer golden glow.
A cool breeze drifted through the slightly open window.
It gently swayed the paper decorations hanging from the ceiling.
Haruto continued writing.
Without looking up, he spoke.
"...Only one page left."
"...We can finish it."
"...Mhm..."
Amaya's reply came noticeably softer than before.
Haruto didn't think much of it.
He kept writing.
A few moments later...
"...Amaya?"
"...Mhm..."
Her answer was barely above a whisper.
Haruto glanced sideways.
Amaya was still holding her pencil.
But...
Her eyes were slowly closing.
She blinked once.
Twice.
Trying to stay awake.
Her head dipped forward.
She quickly lifted it again.
"...I'm not sleepy..."
She mumbled.
Haruto smiled to himself.
"...You look sleepy."
"...No..."
"...I'm..."
She let out a tiny yawn.
"...Not..."
Before she could finish...
Her head slowly drifted sideways.
Haruto continued writing.
The room was quiet.
Only the sound of his pencil moving across the page filled the air.
Then...
Slowly...
Something touched his shoulder.
Haruto stopped.
"..."
He looked to the side.
Amaya had fallen asleep.
Her head rested gently against his shoulder.
Her eyes were completely closed.
Her breathing was calm.
For a few seconds...
Haruto just stared.
"..."
Then his face slowly turned bright red.
Not because he understood anything...
He was just completely surprised.
"...Amaya?"
He whispered.
No response.
She was completely asleep.
Haruto looked around the room.
Then back at her.
"...What am I supposed to do?"
He tried moving slightly.
But the moment he moved...
Amaya shifted a little closer in her sleep.
Haruto immediately froze.
"..."
His face became even redder.
"...Okay..."
"...Don't move."
"Don't wake her."
He stayed completely still for a few seconds.
Then quietly smiled.
"...She must have been really tired."
Carefully...
He reached for her pencil.
Slowly removing it from her hand without waking her.
He placed it on the table.
Then he looked at the unfinished notes.
"..."
"We still have work to do."
He glanced back at Amaya.
Then sighed softly.
"...I'll finish them."
Very carefully...
Haruto stood up.
Making sure not to disturb her.
He supported her gently and helped her over to the futon.
Amaya remained asleep the entire time.
He placed her down comfortably.
Then pulled the blanket over her.
She quietly turned to the side, still sleeping peacefully.
Haruto smiled.
"...Good night, Amaya."
He returned to the table.
Sitting back down...
He opened both notebooks.
His own.
And hers.
Then picked up his pencil again.
"...Let's finish this."
And once again...
The small house became silent.
Except for the sound of Haruto writing...
As he finished both their notes before nightfall.
Haruto returned to the table.
The two notebooks were placed side by side.
His.
And Amaya's.
He picked up his pencil again.
"..."
The room was quiet.
Only the faint sound of writing filled the little house.
Page after page...
He carefully completed the remaining notes.
Every now and then...
His eyes became heavier.
A small yawn escaped him.
"..."
He covered his mouth.
"...I'm getting tired."
He looked toward the window.
The sky outside had already become darker.
Then he remembered.
"...Right..."
"I didn't sleep after academy today."
Another yawn came.
"...That's why..."
He rubbed his eyes.
"But I have to finish this."
He looked at Amaya's notebook.
Then at his own.
A small smile appeared.
"...Almost done."
He continued writing.
A few more lines.
A few more examples.
Finally...
He placed the pencil down.
"...Finished."
Both notebooks were complete.
Haruto leaned back slightly.
A tired sigh escaped him.
"...We did it."
He looked toward Amaya's futon.
She was still sleeping peacefully.
Then he looked back at the table.
"...Just for a minute..."
He rested his arms on the table.
His head slowly lowered.
The exhaustion he had been ignoring all evening finally caught up to him.
His eyes closed.
Within moments...
Haruto had fallen asleep.
While he slept...
The hair band holding his hair back slowly loosened.
A few strands fell forward.
Then more.
Until his hair completely scattered over his face.
The serious expression he usually carried was gone.
For once...
He looked just like an ordinary child.
Sleeping peacefully after a long day.
The small house remained quiet.
Two completed notebooks rested on the table.
And two childhood friends slept under the same warm roof...
Unaware of how much this simple evening would stay in their memories.