The lane was quiet, lined with similar looking buildings standing close to one another, among them, one house stood out without needing to be loud about it. It was a large three floor residence, taller and wider than the rest, with a solid presence that made it impossible to ignore.
A high iron gate guarded the front, painted in deep black with simple silver lines running through it. Beyond the gate, a short stone path led to the main door, bordered by trimmed plants that looked carefully maintained. The outer walls of the house were clean and pale, decorated with subtle carvings near the edges of the windows. Soft lights were installed along the balconies of the upper floors, giving the house a calm, steady glow as night settled in.
On the wall beside the gate, a polished metal nameplate was fixed neatly in place.
"Kenzo's Resident."
Inside, the house was quiet.
Urano lay flat on his bed, his arms resting over his eyes. He was wearing simple casual clothes, a loose dark T-shirt and comfortable pants. The bedroom around him was tidy and spacious, but plain. A study desk stood near the window with a few books stacked neatly to one side. A closed wardrobe lined the wall opposite the bed, and faint moonlight slipped through the curtains, casting soft shadows across the floor.
After a while, he slowly lowered his hands.
His eyes drifted to the ceiling, staring at nothing in particular.
'How weird…' he thought.
'I should be scared of her… she almost knows everything about me… well, at least from the outside…'
His gaze remained fixed upward, unmoving.
'Yet… she feels so innocent…'
Renka's hands came back to his mind. The careful movements, the way her eyes had softened. And then her words, clear even without sound.
"You deserve to know that at least one person noticed the real you."
Urano's eyes shifted away from the ceiling. He turned his head slightly and stared at the floor beside his bed, his expression unreadable. He didn't move for a long time.
At the same time, in another house, Renka sat on her bed.
She had already changed into her nightwear, soft pajamas with long sleeves and light fabric that looked comfortable and warm. Her room was filled with gentle colors. Small decorations lined the shelves, a few plush cushions rested against the headboard, and warm fairy lights traced the edge of her desk, glowing softly in the dim room. A corkboard on the wall held neatly pinned notes and sketches, some handwritten, some drawn with care.
Renka sat with her legs folded, holding her phone close.
Her eyes were fixed on the screen, wide and nervous, her cheeks faintly pink. She hesitated, her thumb hovering just above the display. For a second, she lowered her hand, then lifted it again, gathering courage.
Slowly, she tapped the screen.
Back in his room, Urano was still lying on his bed when a sudden vibration broke the silence.
Then another.
And another.
The sound came fast, one after the other, sharp and persistent.
His eyes widened slightly.
He lifted his head and quickly searched around, then reached for his phone on the bedside table. The screen was lit up, flashing rapidly. When he picked it up, the number at the top made him freeze.
78 new messages.
He stared at it, confused, then unlocked the phone.
The sender's name filled the screen.
"Kiyoko Renka."
For a moment, he just stood there, blinking. Then he remembered, walking down the stairs earlier, Renka pausing, writing something quickly, and exchange of contact information.
He scrolled down.
The chat was completely filled with stickers.
Simple greeting stickers. Waving hands. Smiling faces. The same cheerful "hello" repeated again and again, stacked endlessly on the screen.
Urano stared at it, speechless, his thumb hovering awkwardly over the phone.
Urano typed a single word in reply.
"Chill."
On the other side of the screen, Renka felt her phone vibrate. She looked down, then a small smile slowly appeared on her face. Without hesitation, she typed back.
"Melon soda! What are you doing?"
Urano stared at the message for a moment, his brow tightening slightly.
'Why is she calling me that…'
He sighed quietly and replied.
"Nothing. Just sitting."
A few seconds passed before another message popped up.
"It's so easy to talk here, right! At least for me. I don't have to use my hands."
Urano read it, his thumb hovering over the screen before he typed a short response.
"I see."
There was a pause, then another notification appeared.
"I actually wanted to show you something."
Urano tilted his head slightly, eyes fixed on the screen.
"Oh?"
Almost immediately, a sticker followed, an overly confident looking cat with a bold "YES" floating beside it.
Urano let out a small breath through his nose.
"Alright."
The typing indicator appeared, disappeared, then appeared again. A new request popped up on his screen.
Incoming video call.
Urano froze for a moment from the sudden call, he hesitated for a brief moment before answering.
The screen shifted, and Renka's face appeared.
She was sitting on her bed, holding her phone with both hands. She had changed into comfortable clothes, her green hair loosely tied, a few strands falling around her face. Her room was softly lit, and the warm light made her expression look gentle. When she noticed herself on screen, she adjusted the phone slightly, then looked back at him and smiled.
She waved at the camera.
Urano gave a small nod in response, he noticed how cute she was looking in the casual clothes.
She angled the phone down, showing a notebook resting on her lap. As she flipped it open, the camera focused on the pages instead of her face.
The first drawing was simple.
A lone boy standing in an empty space.
No background or details. Just one figure, small and isolated.
Renka tilted the notebook slightly, checking whether he could see it clearly. Then she turned the page.
The same boy again, but this time, faint outlines of people appeared around him. They weren't fully drawn yet, more like soft shapes, but they were there.
As she continued turning the pages, the drawings slowly changed. The people became clearer. Some were standing close, some reaching out, some simply sharing the space. The boy in the center grew less tense with each page.
Renka's quiet laughter could be heard now and then, especially when she pointed at a slightly messy sketch or a page where the proportions were a bit off. She covered her mouth briefly when she laughed, embarrassed, then kept going.
Urano watched silently.
'she's pretty ok at drawing.'
Most of the time, the screen only showed the drawings, but occasionally her fingers slipped into view, or the edge of her sleeve. Once or twice, the camera tilted enough for him to catch a glimpse of her smiling down at the pages.
She paused on the last drawing.
The boy was no longer alone.
Renka lifted the notebook away and looked directly into the camera again. She raised her hands and signed carefully, her movements clear even through the screen.
"That's all I know you didn't understand much because I wrote it for myself but it's ok I just wanted to share it with someone."
"Looking forward to tomorrow's practice!"
Urano nodded slightly.
"Yeah."
Renka smiled, her finger hovering over the screen as she prepared to end the call.
Just before it cut off, Urano spoke.
"Hey…"
Her hand froze. She looked back up at the screen, confused.
Then Urano said in a small voice.
"You were asking about the orphanage, right…"
Renka lowered her hand completely now looking at him with little confusion.
Urano looked away for a moment, then back at the camera.
"The reason I'm so close to that orphanage is because…"
He paused, then finished quietly.
"I was raised there."