"Mm…"
In her room, Mrs. Yuigahama slowly opened her eyes. She had only intended to take a quick nap, but some kind of noise had suddenly woken her.
"Could it be… a mouse?"
She got out of bed, slipped on her slippers, and followed the sound. As she got closer to the door, the noise became clearer—it sounded like… sobs?
It was definitely coming from just outside her room.
She walked up to the door and turned the handle.
The moment she opened it, the sobs became piercingly clear—and that's when she froze.
In that instant, just from the sound alone, Mrs. Yuigahama immediately understood what was going on.
The moans were coming from Yui's room. And it sounded like… a symphony?
The one thing she hadn't been worried about… had just happened.
Click!
The door to Yui's room swung open.
Mrs. Yuigahama hurried out, only to see a freshly dressed and tidy Tatsuki stepping out of Yui's room.
Tatsuki glanced at her in her new set of pajamas and gave an awkward smile. "Sorry for the trouble last night, Mrs. Yuigahama. The rain's stopped, so I'll be heading out."
"Oh, and… Yui's not feeling too well. She might not be able to come to school tomorrow. I'll let the teacher know and get her excused."
Mrs. Yuigahama forced a smile, her gaze a bit shifty under his, but she still responded politely, "Alright… thank you, Tatsuki-kun."
…
Later that night, Tatsuki walked through the neon-lit streets, now fully dark after sunset.
Thinking about Yui's love and warmth brought a soft smile to his lips.
He hadn't left because he didn't want to be with her.
He left because he knew… with the way they hadn't exactly kept things quiet, there was no doubt Mrs. Yuigahama had heard everything.
Staying in Yui's room after that would've been way too inappropriate.
But with her mother still at home, he didn't have to worry about Yui being alone or in danger.
He looked up at the night sky. The strange, heavy downpour from earlier had indeed stopped, but the streets were still a mess.
Fallen shop signs, knocked-over trash bins, broken tree branches—everything was in disarray from that sudden storm.
People were still busy clearing debris off the sidewalks.
"That rain…"
Tatsuki's eyes narrowed.
He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about it.
He hadn't had time to check it out earlier—he'd barely looked up before Yui had pulled him back into her arms.
Now, he still didn't know what exactly that rain was.
"Is it here?"
A familiar voice pulled Tatsuki out of his thoughts.
He turned toward it—then blinked.
"Hmm? Shizuka-sensei?"
He wasn't seeing things. Climbing out of a red sports car in a bold red dress and high heels… was Shizuka Hiratsuka.
And damn, she looked stunning in red.
That is… if you ignored what she was doing.
She leaned against the car door, cigarette in hand, puffing away with her usual sloppy posture.
Her car was parked in front of a restaurant called Fragments.
"Miss Shizuka Hiratsuka!"
A man in a suit stepped out from the restaurant. He had short hair, glasses, and a polished, refined appearance.
"I'm Vensuke," he said, extending his hand to greet her.
Shizuka just gave him a look. In that instant, she already knew—this blind date her family had arranged was absolutely going to flop.
She was about to shake his hand when suddenly—
"Ugh! What's that smell?"
She pinched her nose.
A sharp, pungent scent had rushed into her nostrils.
Vensuke withdrew his hand and brushed his suit awkwardly. For a brief second, a smug flicker passed through his eyes.
"Ah, sorry," he said, tone apologetic. "I might've picked up some seasoning smells when I passed through the kitchen earlier."
"Please, let's head inside."
He reached for her hand again.
But just as he was about to touch her—another hand grabbed his wrist firmly.
"You there," a calm voice said. "You've committed a crime."
Vensuke froze, then looked up in annoyance at the one who had stopped him. "What are you even talking about? Let go of my hand."
"Tatsuki? What are you doing here?"
Shizuka blinked in surprise at seeing him appear out of nowhere.
Tatsuki smiled at her. "Just passing by. Happened to see this sinner."
"Sinner?" she repeated, clearly confused.
Vensuke tried to pull his hand free—but couldn't.
He scowled. "Let go, or I'm calling the police."
"Heh."
Tatsuki didn't just refuse to let go—he smiled coldly.
And then squeezed.
Crack!
The sound of bones breaking echoed through the air.
"AAAAAHHHH!"
Vensuke's face twisted in pain, veins bulging across his forehead as he screamed. Tatsuki had crushed his hand.
"Tatsuki, what the hell are you doing?!"
Shizuka panicked—not for Vensuke's sake, but because she was worried Tatsuki might get into legal trouble for assault.
"Help! Somebody call the police!"
Vensuke screamed again, this time toward nearby pedestrians.
But strangely… no one reacted.
People just kept walking as if they didn't see or hear anything.
Vensuke desperately grabbed a passerby's shirt with his good hand.
"Huh? Is it windy?" the man muttered, pulling his shirt away and walking off, scratching his head.
"!"
Both Vensuke and Shizuka stared, stunned.
"What the hell is going on…?"
Shizuka looked around. Not a single person was looking their way.
No crowd, no curious onlookers—nothing.
Not even the usual gossip-hungry strangers.
...
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