Yui nodded slowly, pushing herself upright with a wince. "Yeah. I think—ow, seriously?!"
She scowled and grabbed her boot. "My foot's been hurting all day.."
Ayumi turned her head, still lying flat. "You probably put it on wrong. Again."
Yui glared. "I did not—!"
"You did," Haru called, already stretching his arms out like he hadn't just fought a murderous spirit. "I can tell by looking at it."
Yui didn't argue this time.
A half-hour later, they found themselves wandering the strip of stores nearby, trying to pretend things were normal — or at least normal-ish. They'd agreed to stick together for the afternoon while Haruka's leg rested, even if none of them wanted to say it out loud. The air smelled like cheap perfume and vending machine snacks, the kind of stuff you could breathe in and almost forget the dark corners of Limbo existed.
Inside one of the stores, Ayumi led Haruka over to the accessories section, pointing excitedly at a row of pastel hair clips shaped like bunnies and stars. Haruka eased herself down onto the bench against the wall, letting her injured leg stretch out with a quiet breath of relief. Her face didn't show much, but even Yui could tell she'd been pushing through the pain until now.
"I wish I had money," Ayumi sighed, holding up a glittery compact mirror with angel wings. "Everything here is so aggressively me."
Haruka gave a small smile from her seat. "You'd probably rock all of this."
"Probably? I'd look incredible." Ayumi twirled dramatically, then caught herself. "But I only have 3 yen." Meanwhile, Kaito had wandered off near the back, muttering something about the lighting being too bright. He didn't seem that into shopping, but no one was surprised. He mostly trailed the group like a shy shadow with opinions about structural balance and silence. And then—Meanwhile, Yui had settled onto a chair with a dramatic huff, tugging at her boot again.
"These boots are so annoying.." she muttered, glaring at her foot like it had personally wronged her. "They said size seven, but they feel way smaller."
Haru leaned against the bench beside her, sipping a smoothie like he had no cares in the world. "You're putting them on wrong."
She shot him a look. "I'm not."
"You are."
"I'm not."
"You are, it's okay if you need help, Yknow?"
Before she could argue again, he slid down to crouch in front of her. She blinked as he set his drink aside and gently lifted her foot onto his knee.
"Haru—"
"Relax," he said, not even looking at her face as he focused on the boot like it was some kind of puzzle. "You're going to hurt your ankle if you keep jamming it in like that."
He adjusted the angle of her foot, then gripped the sides of the boot with one hand, easing it into place with practiced care.Then, without warning, he looked up at her with a soft caring expression. Her heart stuttered.Then, just as quickly, his gaze dropped back to her foot — like nothing happened.
And while his other hand held her ankle steady, his thumb brushed softly against her ankle bone — once, twice, in a slow, rhythmic motion. Absent-minded, careful. Caring. It was natural. Thoughtless.The kind of touch you only do when you're used to someone. When you want to be used to them.
Yui stopped breathing for a full two seconds.
"…There," Haru said finally, zipping the boot up with ease. "You just have to think a bit more critically when it comes to this brand of boots.." But he didn't let go right away.His thumb rubbed that same spot again, feather-light — and then he smiled. Not smug. Not goofy.
Just soft.
Like none of it meant anything.
Like it hadn't just carved his name into her ribs.
He stood up and brushed his hands off on his jeans.Yui looked down at her boot. It fit perfectly. And she kind of hated that she was now afraid to take it off. Not because of the shoe. Because of what that tiny, absentminded thumb rub did to her entire soul.
"You okay?" he asked, grabbing his smoothie again.
"Yeah," she said quickly, voice a little too high. "Totally. Fine. Great."
He raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Alright..."
"Just walk," she muttered, grabbing her bag and power-walking ahead of him.Behind her, Haru just followed, straw squeaking against the lid of his smoothie.
Yui was quiet next to Haru, her hand still faintly tingling from before. Neither said anything about it.Kaito stood nearby, adjusting his glasses — but not making eye contact with anyone.
Kaito hadn't said a word since they returned.
Finally, Haru turned to him. "You've been quiet," he said. "You know something. Spit it out."
Kaito looked at him, then the rest of the group. His voice was calm. "I've been watching two people for a while now. At school. Like I watched all of you before we met."
Ayumi's eyes sharpened. "You think they're like us?"
"I think they've been hiding it," Kaito said. "Or pretending they're not involved. But I'm almost positive now."
"Who are they?" Haru asked.
Kaito didn't flinch. "Airi Sakura Hoshino. And Daichi Saito."
The air dipped a little colder.
"…Are you serious?" Haru's face twisted. "Hoshino? That girl?"
"She's always going on about how perfect she is," Haru snapped. "And everyone just compliments her up the ass."
"I cannot stand her," Ayumi said. "She's so full of herself. Everytime she speaks I get irritated."
"She hides it really well," Kaito said, almost too neutrally. "No one would guess she's involved with anything like this."
Yui glanced up. "I mean… I've never seen her do anything weird."
"That's the point," Kaito replied. "She knows how to look normal. That's how you hide in plain sight."
Haruka tilted her head. "What about the other one? Daichi?"
"He's harder to read," Kaito said. "You don't see him much. But I've seen him in odd places at the perfect time when the limbo seeps in through slig. He always leaves before I can get close."
"i prefer daichi over miss popularity complex…," Ayumi muttered.
"Do you think they're on our side?" Yui asked.
"I don't know yet," Kaito said. "But if they are protectors, and they've been silent this whole time… that's either really smart or really dangerous."
Haru shook his head. "Call me immature all you want but If that girl tries to join us, I'm walking out."
Ayumi raised her hand. "I'll walk with you."
Kaito pushed his glasses up with a sigh. "Whether we like it or not… if they're involved, we need to know what they're doing. Or what they're planning."
Haruka spoke softly, "We should find them. Even if it's just to know where they stand."
"Alright," Haru said, glancing at everyone. "Let's not all vanish again until the next time something explodes."
Ayumi pulled out her flip phone, squinting at the tiny screen. "We should probably figure out how to, y'know… stay in contact." Kaito looked thoughtful. "I can create a loop—send a message to all of you at once and keep it updated manually. "
"That's so dorky it might actually work," Ayumi muttered. "Okay, fine. Who's in on this idea?"
Haruka raised her hand. "Me." Yui smiled and pulled out her phone too. "Add me."Haru tapped his foot.
"Just give me the numbers."
Eventually, they all exchanged contacts, clumsily typing in names with the slowness of kids who still had to hit the 7 key four times to type an 'S.'Once everyone was set, they began splitting off.
"Let's get home before the sun sets." Haru said looking at Haruka, Haruka nodded and followed him.
"Text me if anything"
"Mhm!" Yui called.
Ayumi looped her arm through Yui's as they started walking in the opposite direction. "C'mon. Let's spend the night at my place, I already told your parents."
The sun was melting into the rooftops as Yui and Ayumi made their way down the sidewalk. It was cold enough that their breath clouded in front of them, but not cold enough to keep them from walking slow.
Neither of them said anything at first. They just moved in sync like they always did — one pair of footsteps instead of two.
After a block or so, Ayumi finally spoke."I kinda miss when it was just us."
Yui looked over at her. "Yeah."
"No haunted alleys. No life-or-death battles."
Yui smiled faintly. "Just dumb fights over snack flavors and who got to be the princess in pretend games."
"You always made me be the knight," Ayumi said.
"You had the better sword," Yui teased.They both laughed, but there was a sadness tucked in the corners of it.
"I miss when the scariest part of our lives was whether we'd get caught passing notes in class," Ayumi said quietly. "Now we're fighting ghost like it's normal. "Yui slowed her steps. "Do you ever wish we hadn't found out? About all this stuff? The spirits, Limbo…"Ayumi paused.
"Sometimes. Yeah. But if it wasn't us, it would've been someone else. And maybe they wouldn't have made it."
Yui nodded. "Still. I miss the old days."
"Me too."They walked a little further, the chill settling deeper into the sky. "You remember when we met?" Yui asked.
"You mean when you cried because I took your red crayon?" Ayumi smirked."I was four," Yui groaned. "And dramatic," Ayumi said. "But yeah. I remember. You made me apologize."
"You deserved it."
They both laughed again — real this time, warm and full.
"You've been my best friend for so long," Yui said quietly.
"I know.." Ayumi said, her voice gentler. "No matter how weird things get… I'll never leave you."