Chapter 20 – The Girls at Midnight

Miori Watase got off the floor where her apartment was and stopped in her tracks. She closed her eyes, took a breath, and started walking again. Opening the front door, she stepped inside, trying to make as little noise as possible.

However, the living room door immediately opened, and her mother came out.

“Welcome home, Mii-chan~♪ You already ate, right? But I made a portion for you just in case, so eat it if you get hungry.”

“I’m home. Yeah, thanks.”

Miori said only that to her smiling mother and tried to head to her room, but she was stopped.

“Oh, by the way, how did your recent test go?”

“Umm…”

“Well, you’re our daughter, so we’re not worried about it, though.”

“H-Haha…”

In truth, there was plenty to worry about—Miori had barely scraped by with passing grades—and her mother’s cheerful confidence only made it harder to bear.

Not scolding her for what she couldn’t do, nor placing excessive expectations on her—simply believing in their daughter without a shadow of a doubt was the defining trait of Miori’s parents. To other kids, that might have seemed enviable. But to Miori, it was unbearably unpleasant.

Even if she got bad grades: “Because she’s our daughter.”

Even if she got good grades: “Because she’s our daughter.”

They didn’t scold her, nor did they praise her. “Believing in her” sounded nice, but it might have been better described as overly intrusive non-interference.

“Get mad at me more. Praise me more. More…”

Miori muttered the moment she entered her room, sitting on her bed before collapsing backward onto it. She pulled her smartphone from her uniform pocket and booted up the game—only to immediately toss it aside.

“Takuma Akasaka. The person who gets mad at me, gets exasperated with me, and protects me. I definitely… won’t hand him over to Ayane.”

Saying that, she glared at the wall on the side where Ayane’s room was.

◇◇◇

Itsuki Fujimiya unlocked the door and entered her home. From the living room came the sound of her father, mother, and younger sister chatting and laughing.

“I’m hoooome~”

When Itsuki called out, silence fell over the room.

“Mom. I’m sorry for taking the ingredients you bought.”

“Come on, everyone, let’s go eat. It seems Mom forgot the things she bought at the supermarket. So we’re going to a restaurant today. The three of us.”

“!”

Itsuki’s mother said that and walked right past her. Without even making eye contact. Her father followed behind with an apologetic look, and her little sister deliberately bumped into Itsuki as she headed for the front door.

Then the three of them disappeared, and the sound of the door closing echoed through the room where only Itsuki remained.

“Why don’t you get mad? Even though I did a bad thing.”

Itsuki passed by the still-lit living room and went to the bathroom, only to find the bathtub already drained of hot water. She closed the door and made her way to the end of the hallway—to the room beside her sister’s, the one with no nameplate of its own. Cardboard boxes used for moving and out-of-season clothes were piled up inside.

Itsuki walked through it all, opened the closet, stepped inside, and turned on the light. This was Itsuki’s room. This was Itsuki’s only place to belong.

Stripping off her uniform until she was in her underwear, she immediately lay down on the long floor cushion she had laid out and pulled a blanket with an illustration of Leo Shidora printed on the cover over her body.

“As for a bath… I’ll just take a shower after everyone goes to sleep.”

She plugged her smartphone into the charger and booted up the game. She watched the opening, didn’t press start, and watched it again. Her finger brushed lightly against the screen, and the title call played in Leo Shidora’s voice as if he were calling out to Itsuki.

“…… Until yesterday, I was fine as long as I had Leo-kyun. But now…”

Itsuki closed the game, opened her messaging app, and tapped on a single name.

That contact was Takuma Akasaka.

“Takuma-kun… Look at me more. Pay attention to me. Pay attention to me, pay attention to me, pay attention to me, pay attention to me, pay attention to me. Love me. I’ll do anything. I’ll give you all my money too. So, please think about me forever… Ah.”

Before she realized it, Itsuki had sent an endless stream of stamps to Takuma.

“He hasn’t read them yet. I wonder when he’ll look at them.”

Itsuki’s eyes remained glued to the message screen.

◇◇◇

Nao Hidaka wrapped herself in her newly purchased futon, clutching the sweatpants her older sister had lent Takuma while his clothes were drying, rubbing her face against them.

“Nn… Nnnh…! Haa… I love this smell—my older sister’s boyfriend’s little brother. Even though we only just met today, I’m already… I can’t. When I smell this, I just…”

Nao’s hand slowly moved downward—

◇◇◇

And completely unaware that such thoughts were being directed at him was Takuma Akasaka.

He was in his own room, clutching his head in despair.

“Crap. Mom asked me to buy bread and jam, but I only bought the jam and forgot the bread… What do I do if she serves me a bowl of rice with jam spread on it tomorrow?”