The so-called predestined childhood sweetheart refers to childhood friends who reunite after a period of separation, where the sudden, unexpected reappearance is the key element.

A July night.

Lazing on the balcony, Jinguji Tsuki looked up at the bright moon overhead, thinking that it was a rare and beautiful sight to see such a clear and pristine moon right here in the capital.

Holding his phone to his ear with one hand, he got lost in watching the moon. His prolonged silence finally provoked an annoyed voice from the girl on the other end of the line.

"Are you even listening to me!"

"I'm listening."

"Then repeat what I just said."

"Sakura loves Tsuki the most. That sentence?"

"I didn't say anything like that!"

"Am I wrong?"

"Wh... Y-Yes, you are my favorite, that's true~~ But that's not the point right now! Don't try to brush it off!"

"Alright."

"The coach said we can go home to visit our families next month, and gave us a holiday."

"Isn't that wonderful? Sakura hasn't been home for over a year, right? Your uncle and aunt must be missing you."

"And what about Tsuki?"

"Me?"

"Without me by your side, won't Tsuki feel lonely?"

"I'm currently enjoying my university life to the fullest. I'm happier than ever."

"So mean!"

"Just kidding. Of course I feel lonely too, but knowing that Sakura is giving it her all in a place I can't see makes me feel like I can't afford to be left behind either, so I've been studying hard every day."

"Surprisingly, studying turned out to be much more fulfilling than I imagined."

"Is that so? Tsuki is working hard too, then I suppose I'll forgive you."

"Thank you for your magnanimity, Your Excellency Sakurakouji."

"Hahaha! What is that supposed to be? That is completely out of character for you."

"Well, I'm a sophisticated adult now. I can't keep acting like a self-centered adolescent brat forever. Adapting appropriately is the secret to survival."

"Isn't it just an arrogant kid losing to reality?"

"Although it means pretty much the same thing, that explanation leaves a very bad taste in my mouth, so I reject it."

"Hahaha!"

Hearing the girl's laughter coming through the phone, Jinguji Tsuki couldn't help smiling as well.

Whether it was Jinguji Tsuki or Sakurakouji Sakura.

They had truly taken solid steps forward, bidding farewell to their naive selves, and little by little, becoming the adults they envisioned in their hearts.

"But still, life here is so boring."

"If you want to become a future Olympic champion, you have to pay a price. That's the national team, after all—something many people can only envy."

"Ugh... I suppose you're right, but I wish I could be like Tsuki, flirting with cute girls everywhere."

"I haven't been doing anything like that."

"Anyway, without me keeping an eye on you, your libido must be running totally wild. For all I know, you might already be cohabiting with a beautiful girl, and while I'm stuck in bed tossing and turning from muscle soreness, you're sleeping with cute girls every single day—that's not entirely out of the question."

"Damn it! The more I think about it, the madder I get! When I get back, let me punch you!"

"..."

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

"Nothing, just wondering what kind of guy Sakura imagines me to be."

"A libidinous demon playing hard to get."

"That's a bit one-sided," Jinguji Tsuki commented very calmly.

"Hmph."

Suddenly, she changed the subject.

"Hey, when I get my vacation, can I come see you? I haven't seen Tsuki in so long."

"Sure. How many days off can you get?"

"Hmm... probably, ten days?"

"That's so short. You should spend more time with your uncle and aunt instead."

"They have to work, you know! Do you expect me to follow them to their offices? Don't you miss me at all, Tsuki?"

"Um..."

"You're actually hesitating! You really don't care about me at all, do you!"

Her voice and her tone remained exactly as he remembered them, which compelled Jinguji Tsuki to gently tease her.

"Isn't there an option where I'm blushing and hesitating? I am a pure male university student, after all."

"Don't dodge the question, just answer!"

Jinguji Tsuki looked up at the moon with a faint smile and softly replied, "Yeah, I miss Sakura too."

"...Really?" A trace of joy tinged the girl's voice.

"Of course it's true."

"Are you sure you aren't just humoring me?"

"What would be the point of doing that?"

"Hmph-hmph~~ Then I'll believe you this once."

Jinguji Tsuki smiled again.

After a brief silence on the other end of the phone, Sakurakouji Sakura's voice suddenly grew soft.

"Actually... when I first arrived at the training base, I was really anxious.

"I was afraid Tsuki would forget me, afraid that time and distance would erode my feelings for you. But right now, I feel completely at ease."

"At ease?"

"Even separated by distance, even unable to see each other, my feelings for Tsuki haven't faded at all. Instead, they grow stronger by the day. Just hearing your voice brings me immense joy, and that reassures me of my own heart.

"So, I'm at ease."

Listening quietly to his childhood friend's heartfelt words, Jinguji Tsuki silently imagined her expression at this very moment. Having left her familiar environment behind, she had stayed true to her original self—she was still his Sakurakouji Sakura.

Jinguji Tsuki had thought he was already used to Sakurakouji Sakura, but those words struck his heartstrings relentlessly, leaving him unable to ignore them.

"Sakura, you occasionally say things that make me feel embarrassed."

"What's that supposed to mean? It took a lot of courage for me to say that out loud, and that's your attitude?"

"No, I really am feeling embarrassed."

"Eh?"

"I can't express my feelings as boldly and straightforwardly as Sakura does, but I can feel the emotions you're trying to convey to me. They're so scorching hot that I can barely handle them, leaving me as speechless as if I've been defeated by you."

"Such crafty phrasing. Now I'm the one who can't think of anything to say in response.

"Still... is that so? My feelings actually reached you properly."

"Yeah. Right now, I'm confident I understand your feelings better than anyone else in the world."

"Hehe~~ You do occasionally say nice things.

"Well, I'll exercise some restraint for now. Even though I have so many more things I want to tell Tsuki, I'll save them up until we meet, and then I'll make sure to get a good look at your embarrassed expression."

"Please show mercy."

"Pfft-haha... Ah! Oh no, it's already this late. If I don't sleep now, the coach will yell at me. I'm hanging up~"

"Yeah, good night."

Returning indoors from the balcony, Arisugawa Alice emerged from the bathroom dressed in pajamas, carefully drying her wet black hair with a towel.

"Um, Jinguji-kun, I need to use the hair dryer. Will it disturb you?"

"It's fine, I've already finished my call."

"Okay, thank you."

The sound of the hair dryer filled the room. Jinguji Tsuki sat quietly on the tatami mat, skimming through a copy of the *Compendium of Six Codes* resting on the coffee table. A clean, subtle scent of shampoo drifted to his nose—light and very pleasant.

Glancing sideways at Arisugawa Alice as she dried her hair, Jinguji Tsuki remembered that he used to dry Sakurakouji Sakura's hair often as well.

Back then, they were just very naive kids who didn't truly understand love, yet they had easily crossed boundaries, becoming the most unforgettable people in each other's lives.

Jinguji Tsuki fell into a daze, and noticing his gaze, Arisugawa Alice assumed he was staring right at her, making her fidget shyly.

"Um... J-Jinguji-kun, looking at me like that makes me shy."

Jinguji Tsuki snapped out of his daze and focused his eyes. "Hmm? Because Arisugawa's hair is very pretty, I unconsciously..."

"...Eh?"

Oh, no.

Blurted out a phrase that makes a girl's heart flutter—an old habit from his system-possessed days. When Jinguji Tsuki zoned out, he would occasionally say things like that without thinking.

"Ah, sorry, that was an inappropriate remark. I didn't mean anything by it," Jinguji Tsuki offered a rather forced explanation.

She looked thoroughly flustered, twitching the corners of her mouth and waving her hands continuously at Jinguji Tsuki. "N-No, it's fine! I know Jinguji-kun isn't the kind of person who flirts with girls. You were probably just thinking about how long it takes for a girl to dry her hair, right? Sorry, I'll be done in a second."

"Right... right, don't worry about it."

Arisugawa Alice was an empathetic person—sometimes overly so—leaving Jinguji Tsuki with nothing more to say.

Thus, the room fell silent once again, save for the buzzing hum of the hair dryer.

...

...

As the days passed, mid-July arrived.

With the first semester of university coming to an end, Katagiri Hiroaki spent all day discussing with Jinguji Tsuki about where they should go for summer vacation, though Jinguji Tsuki had no intention of entertaining him.

During this period, aside from auditing lectures that genuinely interested him, Jinguji Tsuki spent almost every day studying. Whenever he wanted a change of scenery, he would spend an entire afternoon in the library.

One could say that not a trace of his past self remained in Jinguji Tsuki now; he presented the quintessential image of a studious Tokyo University bookworm.

The frivolous playboy who used to hit on girls with boyfriends in Shibuya and Shimokitazawa seemed as though he had never existed in the first place.

Admittedly, Jinguji Tsuki had not erased that version of himself from his heart.

He used to naively think that once he entered university and stepped into a completely new environment, he could make a clean break with his past.

But the current Jinguji Tsuki no longer held such notions.

To acknowledge everything he had done—knowing he could not pretend past actions never happened—while constantly remembering the meaning of human existence: never forgetting his past self, yet never stopping his forward march.

Visiting the student cafeteria on the first floor of the South Building for the first time in a while, Jinguji Tsuki sat alone in a corner to eat. Before long, Katagiri Hiroaki appeared with a food tray and sat directly across from him.

Jinguji Tsuki glanced at his lunch selection: chicken katsu curry, tamagoyaki, vegetable salad, strawberry milk, and a pudding with a 150-yen price tag for dessert.

*Are you a high school girl or something?*

Jinguji Tsuki couldn't help muttering internally.

"Yo! Jinguji, seeing you at school is a real rarity."

「It's Katagiri-senpai who's rare. Aren't you having lunch with Matsubara-senpai?」

"Ha? Why would I eat lunch with my ex-wife?"

"Fair enough."

Because Katagiri Hiroaki's response made complete logical sense, Jinguji Tsuki had no idea how to reply.

And speaking of which, why were these two still living in the same apartment after getting a divorce? Furthermore, they still ate dinner together every single day.

Does a divorced couple living together actually exist in this world?

*(※Note: They do.)*

At only eighteen years old, having not yet truly witnessed the other side of society, Jinguji Tsuki remained completely baffled.

"Do you want to come check out our club later?"

"Should I take that as Katagiri-senpai inviting me on a date? Sorry, I'm not interested in men."

"Interest my foot! That's not what I meant at all!"

"Then...?"

"We have a filming session this afternoon. Summer break is almost here, and our club is planning to shoot a short film over the vacation."

"Eh? So it's not a film appreciation society after all?" Jinguji Tsuki asked in surprise.

"You really know how to say things that piss me off."

"Please don't mind it."

"You know Arisugawa joined our club, right? I have to admit, she's very cute, isn't she?"

"Ha? She is cute, all right, but you shouldn't be the one saying things like that, Katagiri-senpai. I'm going to go rat you out to Matsubara-senpai, telling her that you secretly praised Arisugawa for being a hundred times cuter than her and that you want to take Arisugawa as your new wife."

"You bastard of a underclassman, are you trying to start World War III?!" Katagiri Hiroaki stared at Jinguji Tsuki with a look of sheer disbelief.

"Not quite that far."

"That is completely not what I meant! Everyone in the club wants to make a movie starring Arisugawa as our summer club project!"

"Oh, is that so? Then you should've just said that from the beginning. Katagiri-senpai beats around the bush way too much—you'll never make it as a proper member of society like that."

Seeing that Katagiri Hiroaki was on the verge of exploding, Jinguji Tsuki decided to back off while he was ahead.

"Well... anyway, I have nothing to do this afternoon, so dropping by to look won't hurt. What kind of movie are you planning to shoot?"

"Actually... it's the slightly lewd kind."

"I'm calling the police. But before I do, I'll call Matsubara-senpai and tell her you harbor lewd thoughts about Arisugawa."

"Sorry, I was joking." Katagiri Hiroaki immediately bowed at a ninety-degree angle.

No wonder these two ended up as a married couple; their speed at dropping to their knees was top-tier.

"I figured as much."

Given Arisugawa Alice's earnest personality, there was no way she would ever accept a request to film something lewd.

"I just wanted to see your reaction when you heard Arisugawa was filming something lewd. You were way too calm, though. Tell me, Jinguji, do you actually swing that way for her?"

"That way?"

"Don't play dumb. I'm asking if you like her."

"I don't dislike her."

"What kind of answer is that? Do you want to date her or not?"

"I don't plan on dating during university."

"Ha? Don't you want to lose your virginity in college?"

"I never said I was a virgin."

"Well, are you?"

"Even between people of the same sex, that question counts as sexual harassment, so I refuse to answer. If Katagiri-senpai keeps pestering me, starting tomorrow you might acquire the nickname 'Homo-senpai' around campus. Congratulations."

"Damn you!"

Clearly, when it came to debate, Jinguji Tsuki had long since surpassed him.