On the desk sat a folded tissue and resting upon it, two freshly pulled teeth. Haruto looked from them to Setsuna Kiyoura, whose cheeks had mostly returned to normal after the swelling, and a thoughtful look came over his face.
"Sorry," he began, frowning slightly. "I might've misheard you just now, but did you say… you wanted to make those teeth into..."
"A charm," she said calmly.
"…"
Haruto stared at her in silence, then slowly turned his gaze back to the two teeth. For a moment, he wasn't sure how to process what he was feeling. He had never realized his girlfriend could have… such unique tastes.
"What made you think of something like that?" he finally asked.
"This way," Setsuna replied softly, "I can always be by your side, guarding you."
That thunk he felt inside wasn't his heart skipping a beat... it was instinctive alarm. Something about this direction felt… unsafe.
"Why don't we just keep them stored away instead?" Haruto suggested gently. "Even if you turned them into a charm, it wouldn't be easy to carry around. It might be better to put them away somewhere safe at home. Then, one day... years from now... when we look at them again, maybe they'll mean even more."
Setsuna looked at him for a moment, then down at the teeth. After a brief silence, she nodded and carefully placed them back into the drawer.
Watching her do so, Haruto let out a quiet sigh of relief. The thought of carrying around a charm made from human teeth... especially his girlfriend's was more than a little unnerving. It wasn't about the "depth of love" or anything like that. He simply couldn't get past the primal discomfort of it. There was something ancient and superstitious about the idea... something that didn't belong in modern life.
During the days that followed, Setsuna recovered under the shared care of Haruto and Sekai. With the two of them alternating visits, she never felt lonely while resting at home.
Haruto spent most days at her side, helping her through her recovery. But when evening came, he usually went to the café house to see Rio. Rio herself spent most of her daytime hours resting in the bedroom or reading in the living room.
The once-empty apartment had changed quickly in recent weeks. With Mari and Sonoko moving in, the place had filled up with new furniture, little household items, and signs of life. Cheap but practical bookshelves now lined one wall of the living room, stuffed with the magazines and paperback volumes the two women had worked on for publication.
"They're mostly magazines," Haruto remarked, scanning the shelves. "Not many light novels."
"Magazines come out almost every week," Sonoko replied, taking a sip of beer. "But light novels don't just pop up whenever someone feels like writing one. Most authors don't even make it to their first published volume before they get rejected, rewritten, or completely scrapped. You're one of the lucky ones, Haruto. You passed the bar on your first try. It's hard for you to understand how tough it is for the average writer."
They had been chatting idly over dinner, but Haruto's comment had touched a nerve. Sonoko's tone had turned serious for once.
Even though they'd already finished eating, Haruto's words had prompted them to order some late-night takeout. The four of them now sat around the table.
"Even among those who win awards and get a debut," Sonoko continued, "many disappear right after their first release. In this industry, sales are everything. Even if reviews are glowing, if the numbers don't add up, the series gets axed."
It was something Haruto had never personally experienced. Even back when he wrote adult fiction, success had come easily to him... almost unnervingly so. From his early magazine pieces to his solo debut, everything had fallen into place without real struggle. Sure, not every book hit the sales he'd hoped for, but they had always been enough to support him comfortably.
So when Sonoko spoke about the frustration of struggling authors, Haruto listened but he couldn't feel it, not the way she did.
"There are definitely kids who work hard," Mari added thoughtfully, "but talent does play a role."
In the publishing world, most of the magazines were handled by in-house editors, who often revised and reshaped submitted manuscripts. Submissions didn't just "pass" easily, and many writers who failed never tried again.
"Talent, huh?" Sonoko leaned back, giving a dry laugh. "Some people work themselves to death and still can't make it. Others are born with talent, but don't even try... they miss deadlines, slack off… It's infuriating."
Sonoko's gaze slowly drifted toward Haruto. Her eyes narrowed, gleaming with foxlike mischief.
"Hey, Haruto," she said with a teasing grin, "don't you think this would actually be a perfect place to write?"
Noticing the glint in her expression, Haruto narrowed his own eyes slightly, wary of what she was implying.
"Is that so?"
He neither confirmed nor denied it, choosing instead to see where she was going with this.
"Well," Sonoko began, clasping her hands together dramatically, "I'm currently in charge of a very talented author but she keeps missing deadlines. It's driving me insane. So, I was thinking… if she moved in here, I could supervise her progress directly. Keep her motivated. You wouldn't mind, would you?"
Haruto stayed silent, waiting.
Across from them, Rio slowly looked up from the book she had been pretending to read.
Noticing the younger girl's skeptical stare, Sonoko gave a sheepish little smile and pressed her palms together.
"I know, I know it sounds a bit unreasonable," she admitted. "But she hasn't written a new volume yet, and it's really giving me a headache! There's still a spare room here, right?"
There was, in fact, one left.
The café-residence had four bedrooms in total: Haruto's master bedroom and three smaller guest rooms.
With thirty tsubo of total space, even the smaller rooms were about 6 tsubo each, roughly twenty square meters. Considering that apartments of similar size in Tokyo rented for around 80,000 yen, the rent Haruto was asking each month was actually a steal... ahem.
"And besides," Sonoko added slyly, "you already know who she is."
Haruto blinked. "You mean… my senior, Kasumigaoka-senpai?"
Sonoko grinned. "Bingo."
Rio's eyes flickered with faint recognition. Even someone like her, who barely paid attention to school gossip, had heard of that name.
"Kasumigaoka Utaha," Haruto murmured. "She's in her second year now, right?"
"Third, soon enough," Sonoko corrected. "One more year, and she'll be off to university. With her grades, I'd bet she'll get into a top university without breaking a sweat."
Haruto nodded slightly, recalling his upperclassman's reputation. In literature and humanities, she was near flawless.
If she really did move in, he thought, it wouldn't be so bad. He could learn from her, maybe get advice about exams and university prep.
He remembered reading somewhere that she went on to Waseda or maybe Keio. Either way, one of Japan's elite private universities.
Having someone like that around would definitely help him stay on track.
Wasn't it that I once wanted to join the literature department because I saw no future for myself…? But now, even after everything that's changed, I'm still aiming for the same path?
He hesitated briefly, then sighed. "Well, I don't mind. If she agrees to move in, she's welcome. Rent's a hundred thousand yen per month. But I doubt she'll accept, considering there's a guy living here."
"Leave that part to me!" Sonoko exclaimed gleefully.
Meanwhile, Rio, who had been quiet this whole time, lowered her gaze. She stayed silent throughout the rest of their late-night meal, not once lifting her eyes from the table.
Later that night, when they returned to their room, Haruto noticed Rio's mood hadn't lifted. She came out of the shower without a word, climbed into bed, and turned her back toward him.
He sat down beside her. "You know," he began softly, "I've always planned to study in the liberal arts. Kasumigaoka-senpai's a year ahead and has the same goal. She might give me some good advice… and maybe even be a good reference for you too."
"I'm not interested," she said curtly.
"Not interested in her advice," Haruto asked quietly, "or… in her?"
He leaned closer, resting his hand on the bed beside her as he watched her turn her face toward the pillow. Her hair fell across her cheek, hiding her expression.
"You live here too," he said gently. "I'm not always around. If anything, you'll probably see her more than I will."
Rio's shoulders shifted slightly. He was right... she'd probably end up interacting with Kasumigaoka more than he would. Still, the thought didn't sit well with her.
Haruto lay down beside her and slipped an arm around her waist.
The warmth of his body against her back made her tense for a moment. Then, quietly, she relaxed, closing her eyes without another word.
By morning, the conversation was already behind them. But Rio had made up her mind... if Kasumigaoka Utaha was moving in, she'd be watching her closely. Very closely.
Meanwhile, at the publisher's office, Utaha had just been called in by her editor. She assumed it was the usual... another reminder about her overdue manuscript.
But instead, her editor's first question was unexpected.
"So, Utaha-chan, you still live with your parents, right?"
She didn't expect that the other party would start talking about his own life, which made Utaha frown.
"It's hard to see how that's any of your business," Utaha said coolly, crossing her arms. "My only job is to write the next book, not come to the publisher to have my living situation investigated."
"Of course, you're right," Sonoko replied, forcing a sympathetic smile. "Normally it wouldn't concern me at all. But since your new manuscript hasn't shown any progress for so long, I can't help but worry about you, Utaha-chan."
"I appreciate your concern," Utaha said, her tone sharp and dry. "But it's unnecessary. I already have an idea for my next work. It'll be finished soon."
"How soon?"
"Three months."
"Too long," Sonoko said immediately. "And with the new semester starting, you'll have even less time to write, won't you?"
Utaha sighed. "That's exactly why I said three months because I am accounting for school."
Her sharp eyes narrowed slightly. Something about her editor's behavior was… off. Sure, Sonoko had always been pushy, but today she was way too enthusiastic.
"Utaha-chan," Sonoko said in a sweet, coaxing tone, "you're a high school girl already. Isn't it about time you gave your parents some space? Ever thought about moving out and living on your own?"
"So that's what this is about?" Utaha raised an eyebrow, irritation flickering behind her calm expression. "Moving out would just make my schedule tighter, not looser. What are you really trying to do?"
Her tone had turned sharp now, and her finger tapped steadily against her arm in restrained impatience.
Sonoko smiled, as if she'd been waiting for that question.
"I actually just moved into a new place," she said casually. "A big house... about thirty tsubo. Five minutes from the subway on foot. Three bedrooms, each around six tsubo. Two are already occupied by me and a friend. But one room's still empty."
Utaha stared at her.
"Are you interested?" Sonoko asked with a little tilt of her head.
"No," Utaha replied flatly. "I'm perfectly satisfied with my current life. I see no reason to move to a stranger's house and waste time adjusting to a new environment."
Sonoko let out a light chuckle. "A very rational response. But tell me, Utaha-chan do you really think someone who's never had a boyfriend can write a romance that truly satisfies herself?"
Utaha froze mid-step. Her back stiffened. Slowly, she turned to look over her shoulder.
"I'm starting to get angry," she said evenly, her eyes gleaming with warning.
Sonoko's grin only widened. "Then how about you observe one up close? A real couple, living together, who are actually dating. See how they act, talk, think. Wouldn't that help?"
Utaha's brow furrowed. "What do you mean by that?"
Seeing that she'd taken the bait, Sonoko's smile deepened, her tone softening into something almost seductive. "You'll understand soon enough," she said, her words carrying the faintest trace of a lure.
_ _ _
That evening, Haruto received an unexpected call from Sonoko. Her tone was unusually serious.
"Haruto-kun," her voice came through the receiver, calm but insistent. "Could you come back to the café earlier tonight? There's something important I need to discuss with you."
He was with Setsuna at the time, keeping her company at home, but the call gave him a convenient excuse to leave.
So, within the hour, Haruto arrived back at the café house... only to be greeted by a familiar, cool-toned voice.
"So it's you?"
Haruto turned toward the sound. Standing there, looking every bit as composed and beautiful as he remembered from school was Kasumigaoka Utaha.