Thus, the date came to a temporary close.

Page 1 of 3

On the train, the boy and girl sat side by side. Sakuya Sakurakoji, with her eyes closed in exhaustion, rested her head on Tsukasa Jinguuji’s shoulder. At their feet lay a paper shopping bag adorned with the logo of a high-end fashion brand.

“I can’t eat another bite...” murmured the girl in her sleep, her words drifting softly on the humming rhythm of the carriage.

How could someone even sleep-talk with such perfect enunciation?

“Nn... If I eat that many bath bombs, I’m going to die...”

Even in her dreams, she shouldn’t be eating everything in sight. The boy couldn’t help but laugh and sigh at her antics.

Now, Tsukasa Jinguuji and Sakuya Sakurakoji were already on the train home, having parted ways with Hoshino Morihoshi at the station.

When she saw the boy take the comics from Sakuya Sakurakoji’s hands without a word, even she was unsure what she felt in that moment.

But if she were to sum up the day, Hoshino Morihoshi would say it had been a happy one. In the past, her life had always been overshadowed by the heavy pressures of her family, and rarely had she enjoyed such a lighthearted weekend.

As for Sakuya Sakurakoji, she hadn’t let go of her guardedness towards Hoshino Morihoshi; after all, she had deliberately excluded Tsukasa Jinguuji when taking the photo booth pictures. If it had just been the two of them, Sakuya Sakurakoji would never have done something like that.

Yet after spending the afternoon together, she couldn’t help but feel perhaps she was being overly sensitive. Maybe Hoshino Morihoshi wasn’t the sort of person she had imagined, no longer holding any special feelings for Tsukasa Jinguuji.

From Sakuya Sakurakoji’s perspective, as a fellow ex-girlfriend, Hoshino Morihoshi seemed far more carefree than she ever could be.

Only, the occasional glances Hoshino Morihoshi cast at the boy still unsettled her, leaving a thorn lodged in her heart.

Careful and anxious, she wanted to be a nonchalant, easygoing girl—yet couldn’t bear to see him growing closer to other girls.

It was precisely in that moment that she found herself unable to retort to Hoshino Morihoshi.

She had turned a blind eye to the boy’s loneliness at school, which was why he was ‘picked up’ by Hoshino Morihoshi, who then gave him a place to belong.

“Next stop, Jiyugaoka.”

“Next stop, Jiyugaoka.”

As the train rocked gently, Tsukasa Jinguuji nudged the girl resting on his shoulder. Sakuya Sakurakoji slowly awakened, wiped a bit of drool from the corner of her mouth, and peered sleepily around. To her relief, she was still on the train—and hadn’t really drunk any bath bombs.

“Good morning, sleepyhead.”

When she turned and saw Tsukasa Jinguuji, a faint sense of reassurance welled up in her. She shut her eyes again and pressed her forehead softly against his shoulder.

“Who’s the sleepyhead here?”

“We’re almost at our stop. Get ready to get off.”

“Ugh... my neck hurts.”

“That’s what happens when you sleep that soundly on the train.”

“Hehe, I was just so tired.”

After arriving at their stop, the two walked out of the station together. The autumn evening wind swept over them, instantly waking Sakuya Sakurakoji, who brightened up, her eyes glued to the display case of the dessert shop outside.

Page 2 of 3

And so, Sakuya Sakurakoji was, quite naturally, treated to some sweets.

“I didn’t expect today to be so much fun. What about you, Tsukasa?”

“What?”

Strolling through the residential lanes, the sound of the autumn breeze was especially gentle in their ears. The boy gazed up at Cassiopeia overhead, quietly walking beside the girl.

“It was a date, wasn’t it?”

Tsukasa Jinguuji considered. “You’d call that a date?”

“A three-person date, sure.”

“If you say so.”

“So? What did you think?”

“Do you want me to humor you, or tell you the truth?”

“Of course I want the truth.”

“...It was exhausting.” The boy hesitated, then answered in a low voice.

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“And if it were just the two of us?”

“If it’s just you and me, that’s just going out.”

“Ugh, you’re no fun.”

Tsukasa Jinguuji glanced sidelong at the girl and said quietly, “I still haven’t settled things with you about yesterday, so don’t push your luck.”

“Yesterday? What... oh—sorry!” Sakuya Sakurakoji’s realization dawned on her. She made a fist and tapped her own head, sticking out her pink tongue in a light, airy apology.

Tsukasa Jinguuji sighed helplessly. He still didn’t dare speak to his mother, not because he feared a tongue-lashing, but because he dreaded the thought of her sitting him down for a heartfelt talk about puberty.

That, truly, would be unbearable.

Thinking back, not even during the whole incident with Teacher Aoyama a year ago had his mother gotten angry. Perhaps his sister’s memory played a part in that.

Whenever he thought of that family member who was no longer there, Tsukasa Jinguuji always felt as if something had been carved out of his chest, as though he were floating on the surface of the sea, and the slightest misstep would send him plunging into its dark depths.

After saying goodbye to Sakuya Sakurakoji at his front door, he entered the house. His mother was preparing dinner in the kitchen; after greeting her, he went into another room to offer incense.

She never mentioned yesterday’s embarrassing episode. After dinner, the boy took a bath, read for a while, and turned in early.

...

...

Page 3 of 3

After her piano lesson ended and she had seen off her private tutor, the girl went to bathe. She pinned up her azure hair and slipped into the spacious smart bathtub, the water fizzing and bubbling with bath additives.

She fiddled for a while with her phone, sealed in a clear pouch. Her junior sent her today’s photo booth snapshots.

They were all of the two of them together; as for any where Tsukasa Jinguuji appeared, Sakuya Sakurakoji had kept those for herself.

Hoshino Morihoshi couldn’t help but laugh. She truly found her junior amusing from the bottom of her heart.

Photos of Tsukasa Jinguuji, though, didn’t matter much to her. After all, she already had one of just him.

When she finished her bath and returned to the living room, she heard the sound of the entry code unlocking. Next, her mother stepped inside.

“Welcome home, Mom.”

“Have you eaten? I’ll make something...”

But her mother didn’t so much as glance at her, passing by as if she didn’t exist and heading straight for her bedroom. The slam of the door was deafening, echoing coldly in her chest.

Hoshino Morihoshi gave a wry smile, then walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows, taking in the entirety of Tokyo’s nightscape.

No matter how popular she was at school, no matter how much praise she received from those around her, Hoshino Morihoshi was, in the end, just a seventeen-year-old child.

She had only managed to summon a fleeting moment of courage, but lacking the strength to match that courage, it amounted to no more than reckless bravado.

Naturally, she still couldn’t control her own life.

Yet the gears of fate had already begun to turn. With the help she’d received from the boy that summer, she ought to become a Hoshino Morihoshi utterly different from the one she’d been.

Back in her bedroom, she took her diary and photos from the drawer and gazed at them absentmindedly.

She let out a faint sigh. “Love, huh? What an ill-fitting word for me.”

“If I’d known it would be this vexing, I never would have started a diary.”

She traced a line of writing with her finger, then, unable to help herself, touched her lips. Her cheeks flushed hot.

“If I can’t remember... then it shouldn’t count, right?”

She bit her lip lightly. After a long moment, she returned the diary to the drawer.

“...I’m angry.”