When he opened his eyes again, the world outside had already been swallowed by darkness. Even the last glow of sunset had nearly vanished, with night ready to settle in completely.
Turning his head slightly, he glanced at the girl still asleep beside him. Slowly, he sat up.
"Mmm... huh?"
The girl, exhausted from earlier, began to stir from her slumber, her hazy eyes blinking open as his movements gently roused her. Hearing her soft murmur, Haruto lowered his gaze and watched as Yuka slowly opened her eyes.
"You're awake?"
His voice was soft as he asked the question.
Yuka looked at the his arm in confusion, then slowly traced her gaze upward—until it landed on his gentle smile. It was like a thunderclap in her mind, jolting her memory of what had happened before she fell asleep.
"I… is it morning already?"
"No. It just turned dark outside. Morning is still a long way off."
"So… it's night?"
Yuka sat up slowly, leaning against Haruto as she looked toward the window. The gloomy sky outside had completely devoured the last light of dusk. Seeing this, her heart sank just a little.
"You don't seem to have much food here."
Still lying in bed, she glanced toward the kitchen and the few ingredients haphazardly left there. He followed her gaze before looking back at Yuka, unsure how to describe her frugality in a way that didn't sound awkward.
A faint blush crept onto her cheeks—but it vanished quickly. Without a word, she leaned against him, letting his warmth seep into her as she closed her eyes.
Haruto stayed beside her for a moment, then stood up and glanced around the room.
"I'll go buy a few things. You rest here for now."
"Okay."
Though she had considered going with him, the moment she tried moving, she realized she could barely manage getting out of bed, let alone going out. After a brief hesitation, she gave a quiet nod and remained where she was, watching him dress and head for the door.
"I'll lock the door behind me."
He jingled the key in his hand, then left the apartment, leaving Yuka alone. She lay there, her fingers brushing the spot where he had just been, still warm. That lingering warmth filled her with a deep, quiet peace.
Haruto knew it was unlikely he'd find anything fresh at this hour. Still unfamiliar with the neighborhood, he wandered a bit before stopping by a convenience store for drinks and then ordering takeout from a nearby restaurant. Then he returned.
They shared a quiet dinner together, and that night, he stayed with her instead of going home.
But early Sunday morning, before the sun had fully risen, he awoke, dressed quietly, and left without waking Yuka.
As the door clicked shut behind him, Yuka—who'd only been pretending to sleep—slowly opened her eyes. She stared at the now-closed door, then closed her eyes again. Clutching the blanket tightly, she curled up under it.
Back in his apartment, Haruto opened the windows and sat down at his desk. About half an hour passed before Setsuna appeared without warning, perching herself on the edge of his bed.
_ _ _ _
"You didn't come home last night?"
Haruto, still staring at the document in front of him and unsure how to continue writing, leaned back in his chair when he heard her voice. Slowly, he turned toward her—his petite girlfriend, sitting quietly, her expression unreadable.
Beneath her short skirt, she wore white knee-high stockings, giving her a surprisingly youthful look. Despite being a high schooler, she still carried the vibe of a middle school student.
"I didn't," he replied bluntly.
Setsuna stood up at once. Her long legs, hugged tightly by her stockings, brought her swiftly to Haruto's side. She leaned in close, resting against him and inhaling softly.
Sniff—sniff sniff—
"If you're trying to find traces of another woman, I already showered before coming home," Haruto said flatly.
Sniff—
But Setsuna ignored him, continuing to sniff along his chest and up toward his neck—until suddenly, she bit him lightly.
The warm, ticklish sensation made Haruto suck in a sharp breath.
He squeezed his eyes shut and tensed up. When Setsuna finally pulled away and stepped back, Haruto reopened his eyes, startled.
"Did it feel good?" she asked, expression unreadable.
"Not exactly. It just… felt weird."
"..."
He fell silent. He looked into her face, closed his eyes again briefly, then rubbed her hair and exhaled.
_ _ _ _
Wednesday. After half a day of classes, the temperature shot up around noon. Haruto sat by the classroom window, sweat beading on his forehead. Yoshii came over, complaining loudly.
"Ugh, it's getting so hot! I'm sweating even when I'm not doing anything!"
"Well, that's summer for you."
"I can't concentrate on class at all. It's ruining my motivation."
Haruto didn't reply. If someone else had said it, he might've believed them. But hearing it from Akihisa made it hard to take seriously.
"For you, is there really any difference between summer and winter? Isn't it just about which season makes sleeping more comfortable?"
"That's not—hey! I do pay attention in class!"
"Too bad your grades don't back that up. Didn't you finish dead last on the last test?"
Yuji started to say it but hesitated. After looking at Yoshii for a moment, then glancing toward a certain corner of the classroom, he amended:
"No, second to last."
Yoshii wasn't particularly strong in academic subjects, especially when it came to logical reasoning. But he had an unexpected knack for memorization, capable of surprising results in subjects that required rote learning.
Unfortunately, the last test had been math—hardly his strength.
"Wait, you weren't dead last? This world must be ending soon. Are we on the brink of the apocalypse?"
Yuji's exaggerated seriousness, upon hearing that Yoshii hadn't ranked last, was enough to make Yoshii tear up in frustration. Was that really how everyone saw him? Only capable of being at the bottom?
"That's so unfair! Does Yuji really think I'm incapable of getting a decent score?!"
"If you consider second-to-last a decent score, then I might need to reevaluate my entire opinion of you, Yoshii."
As the two boys kept bickering energetically, Haruto sat nearby, quietly watching the lively exchange. He pulled a water bottle from his desk drawer, took a sip, and glanced at his classmates.
"Summer break is coming up soon. If you don't pass your finals, you'll be stuck here for remedial classes. Yoshii, are you even remotely prepared for that?"
"Ugh...!"
"He's been too busy finishing video games lately. I doubt he's even opened a textbook. I was going to ask him to hit the beach with me, but now I'm not so sure. Hey, Haruto, you want to come too?"
Yuji turned to Haruto with a mischievous grin, just as Yoshii was about to defend himself. Shifting the conversation before Yoshii could speak, he extended the invitation.
"The beach?"
"Well, when you think of summer, the beach and surfing come to mind first, right? And there'll be plenty of young women in swimsuits. Don't tell me you're not even slightly interested?"
Swimsuits.
Images from some gravure photo sets Haruto had seen online recently flashed across his mind. But truth be told, revealing swimsuits weren't really his thing. In fact, he wasn't particularly into flashy or provocative outfits at all. He was, at heart, rather conservative.
"By the way, Hideyoshi will be coming too."
Haruto's initial indifference shifted instantly at Yuji's follow-up.
"In that case, maybe I should reconsider. But I already have plans to head back to Itomori for part of the break, so I won't be in Tokyo for long. I'll probably only be back right before school starts again."
"No worries. We'll just contact you when the time comes."
"Yeah, that works."
They left it at a tentative agreement—whether or not Haruto would actually join would depend on his schedule at the time.
"Youth waits for no one. When summer comes, we've got to make the most of it while we can."
Yuji gave Haruto a hearty slap on the shoulder before dragging Yoshii out of the classroom.
Haruto remained seated, now thinking about his summer plans. Until now, he'd only planned to return to Itomori for a while—but now, going to the beach with Hideyoshi was also on his mind.
Not because he had any weird fetishes or anything—though, sure, Hideyoshi was undeniably cute. He was simply curious. Really, he just wanted to see what Hideyoshi would wear to the beach.
"Yeah... I'm kind of looking forward to it now."
Something told him that any trip with Yuji and the others would be eventful, to say the least.
—
Meanwhile, from her seat not far away, Eriri hadn't been doing much of anything, but she'd heard every word of Haruto and Yuji's conversation. She found herself staring at her desk, deep in thought about her own summer plans.
"Didn't the Miyamizu and his friends say something about going to the beach during summer break?"
"Hm?"
Her deskmate, Aoi Hinami, turned toward her suddenly. Eriri, who had been lost in her own musings, blinked and met her gaze—surprised for a second, but she recovered quickly.
"I think so… why?"
"It just sounds fun, doesn't it? We should go too. Just the two of us might be boring, so why not ask to tag along with their group?"
"Their group?"
Eriri still played dumb, prompting Aoi to grin knowingly.
"Of course, I mean Miyamizu-kun and his friends. I bet it'd be fun."
"I… I guess I don't mind."
She had wanted to decline at first, to play it cool. But after thinking it over for a moment, she decided not to reject the idea. Instead, she looked away, evading Aoi's eyes, and went quiet.
Aoi let out a small sigh, a little exasperated by Eriri's evasiveness. Her lukewarm reaction wasn't exactly the kind of excitement Aoi had hoped for. Her eyes drifted to the distant Nakano sisters, and a thoughtful look crept across her face…