The conversation between the two was not suppressed in volume at all. Even without speakerphone, their voices were crystal clear in the quiet subway car. Sitting beside Haruto, the girl didn't seem to react much to the exchange between him and Setsuna.
It wasn't until he hung up that she slowly turned her head and looked at him, watching as he slipped the phone back into his pocket.
"Family?"
"Hm? Yeah. Family."
Facing Futaba's question, he paused for a moment. His relationship with Setsuna—calling her family wasn't exactly wrong. So he nodded and answered accordingly.
Rio remembered that Haruto had a younger sister. She wasn't quite sure why someone from his family would suddenly call at a time like this. Wasn't his sister supposed to be in distant Itomori?
Puzzled, she glanced at the station name as their train neared the stop. Rather than dwell on it, she stepped out with him once the train came to a halt. Together, the two of them arrived in Shinjuku.
Exiting the station, he quietly followed beside Rio as they walked into the bustling downtown streets…
"He's out with another girl. Said he'll be back later tonight."
Setsuna's tone was calm as she casually placed her phone down, her face expressionless. Turning slightly, she looked toward the girl standing a few steps away—Sekai —and passed on what she had just learned.
Sekai, having heard the entire conversation between Setsuna and Haruto, had a conflicted look on her face.
It wasn't really her place to say anything—but seeing how calmly Setsuna accepted the fact that Haruto was out shopping with another girl—it was something Sekai simply couldn't understand.
"So... what now? Are we just gonna sit here and wait for him to come back tonight?"
It was only a few hours, sure. But the thought of staying cooped up in the apartment with just Setsuna was dulling to Sekai. She dropped onto the sofa, crossed her legs, uncrossed them again, then tilted her head back and stared at the ceiling.
Setsuna didn't respond. Quietly, she turned and headed back to her room.
Hearing her footsteps, Sekai looked over and hesitated, then got up and followed her into the room…
Standing on the busy street, surrounded by shops and flashing signs, Haruto scanned the storefronts but didn't see anything he particularly wanted. Glancing at Rio beside him, he noticed she looked slightly different than usual—her attention on the nearby shops, seemingly pondering something.
"Looking for anything in particular?" he asked.
"May's coming up, and it's getting warmer," she replied. "Figured I'd check out some summer clothes... and maybe just browse a bit."
He wasn't really planning to buy anything himself—his closet already had enough. Summer clothes could wait till summer.
He accompanied Rio into a women's clothing store. The clerk, seeing Haruto enter alongside Rio, didn't seem the least bit surprised and began enthusiastically recommending the latest fashion pieces.
"How about this one?" Rio held up a white summer dress.
"Huh?"
Snapped out of his daze by her voice, he turned to look. In her hand was a simple but elegant white dress. It looked... good. Matching it to her figure in his mind, it'd probably suit her perfectly.
"It really suits you."
Rio nodded, handing the dress to the clerk and asking for the right size to be packed up.
"Um, Miyamizu-kun?"
A soft, familiar voice made Haruto's ears twitch. Turning toward it, his gaze instinctively paused at the girl's rather... prominent curves, before moving up to her face.
He blinked. It was someone he hadn't expected to see here.
"Didn't think I'd run into you here, Katsura-san. Out shopping?"
"Sister... is he your boyfriend?" a small voice piped up beside her.
"Kokoro!"
A little girl clung to Katsura's hand—clearly her younger sister, judging by the resemblance. Whether it was a tease or genuine misunderstanding, her question drew a flustered response.
"Your sister?" Haruto asked.
"Yeah. This is Kokoro."
The younger girl's bright, curious gaze was completely different from Katsura's quiet demeanor. Hayato gave her a gentle smile.
A smile like spring sunlight—it warmed her young heart instantly. Kokoro took a liking to him almost immediately.
"Hello. I'm Miyamizu Haruto. A friend of your sister's."
He extended his hand. The little girl, without hesitation, placed her soft, tiny fingers into his. It felt like squeezing a delicate sponge. He smiled again as she quickly let go.
"You're... not with Setsuna today?"
Katsura's eyes hesitated on him, then drifted to the unfamiliar girl beside him. There was a hint of something in her tone—curiosity, maybe concern.
Rio glanced at the unfamiliar girl. Something about her bothered her, but she remained silent.
"Setsuna's at home," Haruto replied. "I'm out shopping with a friend today."
"I see…"
Katsura's words trailed off. She looked like she had more to say, but didn't. Haruto, seeing that, simply smiled and turned back toward Rio.
"This is Katsura-san, my girlfriend's classmate."
"…"
A small flicker passed through Rio's eyes. She bit her lip, trying to suppress the swirl of emotion rising inside her.
She looked at Katsura, kept her composure, and gave a small nod.
"Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too."
That was all. No extra words. No small talk. Then Rio turned back to Haruto.
"Since you've run into a friend, I'll handle the rest of my shopping on my own. You don't have to stay."
Before he could answer, she walked off toward the counter. Her quick pace made Haruto glance back at Katsura. No malice in her, but...
Katsura watched Rio go, looking a bit embarrassed, perhaps even guilty.
"Um…"
"Sorry. I have something else to do. I'll leave now."
He gave her a brief nod before quickly following after Rio.
By the time he caught up, Rio had just taken out her wallet at the register, ready to pay. He slowed down as he approached and stopped silently beside her.
She had heard what Katsura said. It stung. It made her feel like a fool. But blaming him felt... unfair. Childish.
Then she heard the footsteps. And saw that familiar figure beside her.
She lowered her head.
"Didn't I already say you didn't need to keep me company?"
"We made a promise to hang out today. Leaving you to shop alone halfway through—wouldn't that be a bit irresponsible?"
Rio handed over the money. The clerk gave her the receipt and shopping bag. Without a word, she walked out of the store, with Haruto quietly following behind.
Later, they found a small, quiet family restaurant and sat down across from each other. Rio kept her head lowered, unsure of what to say. Her heart was in turmoil.
"…Curious?"
"About what, exactly?"
"Girlfriend."
Futaba slowly lifted her head. The first thing she saw was Haruto's gentle smile. He raised his hand, picked up the coffee on the table, and took a small sip. His demeanor was calm and composed, utterly unbothered.
As the initial shock of the revelation faded, Rio regained her usual indifferent composure. Her gaze settled quietly on the boy sitting across from her.
"That has nothing to do with me, does it?"
"It is presumptuous."
Haruto nodded at her words, not trying to defend himself or continue the conversation. But Rio, the moment the words left her lips, already felt a pang of regret. She lowered her head slowly, silence falling between them.
She wrapped both hands around her coffee cup and gently turned it between her palms. She had thought that as long as she played it safe, maintained their current relationship—eventually, one day...
But that day never came. She was eliminated from the race before she even realized it had started.
"When did it happen?"
"Hm?"
"The relationship. When did you start dating her?"
"Oh, that. A couple of days before the new semester started. I had just arrived in Tokyo. She's my next-door neighbor."
Rio lowered her head again. She hadn't expected this at all—he had started dating someone even before the school term began. No one at school had any idea. There were even rumors about him and other girls…
A flicker of confusion passed through her eyes. Her brows knitted slightly as she looked up at him, biting her lower lip.
"Then… what about those girls at school? Don't they know?"
"You mean Sawamura, Nakano, and Yoshida?"
"Yeah."
She knew these questions didn't mean much anymore, but she still asked them—perhaps as a way to comfort herself, to find something to hold on to.
Lifting her coffee cup to her lips, she glanced at him, sipping quietly.
"Yoshida and I are just casual friends. I think we talked about those rumors before, didn't we? So no—she doesn't know."
"But the other two do?"
"Yeah."
Rio couldn't understand. Her mind spun briefly in chaos. She tried to sort through everything, put all the pieces together. In doing so, she realized she had no right to doubt or question him.
Her mouth opened slightly, but no words came out. Silence fell again.
She had never once confessed her feelings. Their relationship had only ever been one of sharing lunch together—just that. A simple routine between friends. On what grounds could she criticize him?
Even if she wanted to accuse him of hiding the truth or misleading her—had she ever even asked?
"I'd never heard anything about you having a girlfriend."
"Not everything needs to be publicly declared. Some things only need to be understood between the people involved. And since she's not from our school, even if someone asked me to prove it, it'd be pretty hard, right?"
With his response, Rio finally calmed down completely. Everything became clear. It was all in her head—her own feelings, her own illusions. Haruto had never thought about her that way. That was her mistake.
She lifted her head again, her gaze locking onto that ever-gentle smile of his. She bit her lip again.
"Then what about now? We're out together. If that girl from earlier saw us, aren't you worried your girlfriend might find out?"
"Didn't I already talk to her on the phone back on the train?"
"The train… That was your girlfriend? I thought it was family."
"Well, our relationship is kind of like family. We agreed from the start that we'd only date if her parents gave their approval. She…"
Haruto chuckled softly, trailing off without finishing. But Rio understood.
The girl he was dating had already been accepted by his family. She was his neighbor. Their relationship was already rooted in trust and familiarity—like family.
Whatever little hope had been flickering inside Rio finally vanished. She lowered her head again, this time in surrender. Quietly, she stared into her coffee, its surface reflecting her bitter, distant gaze.
Noticing the shift in her mood, Haruto pieced it together.
So… Rio had feelings for him?
It wasn't unusual for a girl her age to develop a crush. Still, he hadn't expected someone as composed and aloof as Rio to feel that way about him.
Worried that leaving things as they were might make her spiral deeper, he gently steered the conversation elsewhere. He stayed with her, talking for a long time, guiding her out of that low place. Only when she reached her home did he leave her and make his way back to his own apartment.
Once home, he slipped out of his school uniform and into his casual clothes. His mind returned to that call earlier—Setuna's voice.
"She might have something going on… Guess I'll swing by the Kiyoura house. She should be home around now, right?"
Standing by the window, he looked toward the house across the way, then turned toward the door. It took about five minutes to get to the Kiyoura residence. He rang the doorbell.
Haruto stood there waiting, completely unaware of the hell that was about to unfold behind that door…