The spring river shimmered with threads of indigo, quietly flowing beneath the bridge.
Late at night, under Haruto's gentle persuasion, Rio finally turned her phone back on.The screen lit up with dozens of missed calls.
She stared at them in silence for a while before sending a single message:
"At a friend's place."
Standing beside her, Haruto naturally caught a glimpse of the text. He looked from the message to the girl in pajamas beside him, worry rising in his chest.
He wanted to ask what had happened and after a moment's hesitation, decided to just ask outright.
"So… what happened?"
"I thought you'd at least try not to ask."
"I held it in for quite a while," he admitted, scratching his cheek with a faint smile. "But I'm still curious. Is it something I'm not supposed to ask about?"
As another message flashed across her screen, Rio only glanced at it before quickly locking her phone.
She looked up at Haruto with a small, mischievous smile that immediately gave him a bad feeling.
"…Is it still not too late to pretend I didn't ask?"
"I was found out."
"Huh? You mean your parents found out you were with me? What, do they have hidden cameras in the house or something?"
"They're not that bored," she replied flatly. "I wasn't home, and my mom, while cleaning my room, found the pills in my drawer."
Haruto went quiet. He had a rough idea what kind of pills she meant, but still asked softly,
"Birth control?"
Rio didn't answer. She simply walked over to the bed, lay down, pulled the blanket over herself, and turned her back to him.
Watching her, Haruto stood there for a few seconds, then sighed quietly and sat down beside her.He didn't try to say anything more. He just lay down next to her and closed his eyes.
The night passed in silence.
Morning arrived.
Sonoko and Mari, who both had work that day, were already up early. After bustling around the kitchen and setting breakfast on the table, at that time Haruto who was lying on bed stirred awake.
Whenever someone shared his bed, his sleep was always light the faintest sound could wake him.The noises from the living room were muffled but still distinct enough to rouse him.
He sat up, glanced toward the door, and then at Rio, still asleep beside him. Rubbing his forehead, he slipped on his slippers quietly and left the room.
"You're up early," Sonoko remarked, flipping an omelet in the kitchen.
"I thought you'd sleep till noon. Something on your mind?"
Mari, seated at the table with a cup of coffee, looked up as well.
"School hasn't started yet, has it?"
"Just happened to wake up," Haruto said, taking a seat. "Do you two have plans today?"
"Work," Sonoko answered briskly, raising an eyebrow. "Want me to make you a plate too?"
"That'd be great, thanks."
"And your little girlfriend?" Sonoko teased. "Should I make hers too while I'm at it?"
"She's probably still asleep," Haruto said with a small smile. "But yeah, make her a plate too. She should be up soon."
"Got it," Sonoko replied cheerfully. Cooking for one or two more didn't make much difference, so she set about preparing both breakfasts.
Haruto slipped back to his room for a moment, quietly checking on Rio, who was still asleep, then returned to the dining room and started eating.
"'Going to work,'" Sonoko sighed. "That phrase still feels foreign to me."
"You don't need to work yet," she added with a grin. "Oh, right... you're a student."
Haruto chuckled. "True. But eventually, I'll have to work too. A house like this must have pretty high property taxes, right?"
"They're not cheap," Sonoko admitted. "But with a tax accountant helping, it's manageable."
"I heard selling secondhand property gets taxed heavily too?"
"About thirty percent, I think."
Haruto smiled faintly as Sonoko started enthusiastically explaining real estate taxes. Across the table, Mari sipped her coffee silently, clearly uninterested in the topic.
After a while, the conversation faded into a calm quiet. Once Sonoko and Mari left for work, Haruto took care of the cleanup.
A few minutes later, a soft voice came from the stairs.
"Good morning."
Haruto turned to see Rio, still in her pajamas, stepping into the living room. He hadn't expected her to wake so soon.
"Breakfast's on the table," he said. "Still warm. Want me to make you a fresh one?"
"No need," she murmured, taking a seat.
He poured her a cup of tea and set it by her hand before returning to tidy up. Rio lifted her fork, took a bite of the fried egg still warm enough to taste fresh.
"So," Haruto asked casually, "any plans today?"
"No."
"School?"
"I'm not going."
Rio glanced at Haruto after answering his casual questions.
"You have plans today?"
"Nope. I'm completely free," he said with an easy shrug. "Just asking out of curiosity. Since neither of us has anything to do, want to go out for a walk?"
She thought for a moment. Having left home, she couldn't really go to the places she used to frequent. Now that she was staying here, the empty time stretched before her, leaving her oddly restless.
Going out for a while might be better than sitting around doing nothing and, come to think of it, she'd rarely gone out anywhere with Haruto.
"Mm," she nodded softly.
Though they had no particular plan or destination, Rio agreed.
Once she did, Haruto immediately began thinking through the day's possible itinerary. They couldn't linger around Bunkyō Ward that might draw attention.
Shinjuku or Shibuya would be too crowded and complicated. Maybe they could go toward Minato, or someplace quiet like a library?
"I'll check what's going on today… maybe go see some kabuki?"
Rio didn't answer; she simply looked at him, her expression calm and unreadable.
"…Okay, I get it. Not your thing." He laughed awkwardly. "Then something else... wait, Saitama's flooding?"
Scrolling through his phone, he'd stumbled upon a headline about the Saitama Prefecture.
"Oh, it's yesterday's news. Two areas flooded Tamagawa and… Akanuma? Don't know those places. But there's a Kasuga Shrine near Tamagawa, apparently."
Opening a map to look up the warnings, Haruto's eyebrows lifted in mild surprise. A small chuckle escaped him.
"What is it?"
Hearing him laugh, Rio tilted her head slightly. She couldn't see what was funny about any of that.
"It's nothing," he said, still smiling faintly. "Just realized something. Let's see what else is around Tokyo today… huh? Wait... our next-door building is a dorm for Jissen Girls' University students?"
Looking closer at the map, Haruto blinked in surprise. He had never noticed that before. After all this time living here, he'd somehow missed that right next door barely ten meters away was an all-girls dormitory.
No wonder the streets nearby were always full of young women.
"You look awfully pleased with yourself," Rio remarked, narrowing her eyes slightly.
Feeling a chill run up his spine, Haruto immediately looked up from his phone. Rio's gaze was fixed on him, and he forced a dry laugh.
"No, no... it's not like that. I was just… surprised. I always thought they were students from Ochanomizu Women's University since it's nearby. Makes sense there'd be a lot of girls around. I just didn't realize the dorm next door belonged to another university too. That's all."
"There are probably more schools around here than just those two," she pointed out mildly.
"Yeah," he admitted, scrolling again. "Looks like there are quite a few universities, high schools, even elementary schools nearby. Well, it is Bunkyō Ward schools everywhere."
He zoomed in on the map again, realizing for the first time just how "well-situated" the area really was.
"Want to check out a bookstore today?" he suggested.
"A bookstore?" Rio blinked.
She didn't mind, but she found it oddly hard to picture Haruto suggesting such a thing.
"The look you just gave me," he said, squinting at her, "was kind of rude. Full of doubt and disbelief."
"I didn't mean it like that," she said softly, suppressing a small smile. "I just didn't expect you to be the one suggesting a bookstore."
"I don't look like someone who goes to bookstores?"
"Well… we've only gone together once. You don't exactly seem like the type. You're more like..."
"Hmm?"
"Never mind. So, are we heading out soon?"
"Yeah, let's leave after we finish up here. There's nothing else to take care of."
"Mm."
Once their plans were settled, they cleared the table and changed clothes.
Haruto put on a crisp white shirt layered with a deep blue vest, and a light gray jacket... a simple spring outfit perfect for the mild sixteen-degree weather.
Rio, too, wore the new clothes they'd bought last night. Standing side by side, the two looked well-matched.
"Ready to go?"
"Mm."
After making sure she hadn't forgotten anything, they left together, taking the subway toward Shinjuku.
Kinokuniya.
Tokyo's most famous bookstore, not just for its vast collection of books, but also for its shelves of rare minerals and stones.
Among its displays were glittering crystals, polished gems, even precious fossils with eye-watering price tags.
There were also shelves of pipes, figurines, and collector's items.
"Model kits, huh?" Haruto muttered, glancing at a display. "Looks cool, but… thirty thousand yen? That's a bit pricey."
Haruto stared at the small dinosaur skeleton model inside the glass case. It looked surprisingly well-made tempting enough that he almost wanted to take it home.
But he felt that the price was a bit expensive. It seemed that if he bought it, he would only be able to use it as a decoration and put it in his bedroom.
Beside him, Rio Futaba watched quietly. She hadn't expected Haruto to be interested in things like that.
"You like models?" she asked.
"Not exactly," Haruto replied, eyes still fixed on the display. "I just find new and interesting things... well, interesting. I kind of want it, but it feels pointless. No real use for it."
It wasn't that he couldn't afford it... he could but practicality always came first with him. Back when his room was bare, he might've bought it without hesitation. But now, with every corner already filled, buying it would only add clutter.
"Let's look around some more."
After another reluctant glance at the dinosaur, Haruto turned away. Rio lingered for a moment, studying the model he'd been drawn to, then followed him deeper into the store.
"Do you have any books you want to buy?" she asked.
"Not really. If I see something interesting, I'll pick it up."
"What about the ore? Interested?"
"Not particularly."
"I see. I thought you'd say you were intere... oh? Local souvenir capsules? They've got tiny maneki-nekos and castle towers inside... Four hundred yen each. That's not too bad."
She watched as Haruto suddenly leaned toward the capsule machine, eyes lighting up in mild curiosity... almost like a child.
"Do you want to try it?" she asked, amused.
He shook his head. "Nah. It's fun to look at, but drawing one wouldn't mean much."
His restraint made Rio's expression soften with something complicated. He could spend freely on clothes for her, yet when it came to things he personally liked, he was always holding back.
"I'll draw one," she said suddenly.
"Hm? You want to try it?"
He sounded surprised as she took out her neat little wallet, inserted a coin, and twisted the handle.
Click.
A capsule rolled out. Rio picked it up and handed it to Haruto.
"Let's see... looks like... oh, a torii gate?"
Inside was a miniature red shrine gate. He'd been expecting a lucky cat, and for a second, he wasn't sure whether to be pleased or disappointed. After a brief look, he smiled faintly and slipped it into Rio's backpack.
"Well, I'd say that's a pretty good result."