A coffee-colored leather jacket over a deep red camisole, a small purse dangling loosely from her hand—she lay slumped against the door to his apartment, as if she'd fallen asleep there. Drunk and barely conscious, she looked like she had simply passed out. He had no idea when she'd even arrived.
"Miss Yasuko? Miss Yasuko?"
He reached out and gently nudged her frail shoulder. Her pale neck lolled slightly as if shifting in a dream, her sleeping face peaceful—until a sudden grimace twisted her features. Before Haruto could register the change in expression—
"Ugh—ugh—blegh!"
Sitting sloppily on the ground, Takasu Yasuko brought a dainty, pale hand to her mouth, trying in vain to hold it back. But the body's instincts wouldn't be denied. With a sharp retching sound, a wave of foul-smelling vomit—thick with alcohol and stomach acid—erupted right onto his doorstep.
Haruto stood frozen in place, staring at the mess splattered across his shoes and pants, the acrid stench crawling into his nose. His mind went completely blank for a moment.
Hic—urgh—
After that last hiccup, Yasuko's body swayed dangerously. Clearly blacked out and half-conscious, she wasn't going to be able to walk. With a resigned sigh, he stepped forward, holding his breath, placing both hands firmly on her shoulders. He glanced again at the nasty puddle on the ground, then silently averted his eyes. Fishing out his keys, he opened the door and dragged her limp body inside.
He didn't bother shutting the door. He'd need to clean that mess up soon anyway...
He laid her down just past the entryway, eyes pausing on her soiled jacket and jeans. For a moment, he hesitated. He couldn't bear the thought of someone this dirty lying in his bed. Still, he talked himself into at least removing the filthy jacket. As for the jeans... he stopped himself. He didn't want to deal with any misunderstandings if Ryuuji showed up and saw her undressed.
Instead, he helped her sit by the bed.
He retrieved an unused towel from the cupboard, soaked it in warm water, and returned to wipe down Yasuko's face and lips. Then, gently, he cleaned off her hands as well.
After that, he went to the bathroom again, rinsed the towel in boiling water, then grabbed a broom and walked back to the front door. He stared silently at the mess for a long while.
The cleanup wasn't physically hard—but it was exhausting in every other way. The moment it was done, he felt like he'd been dragged out of hell and thrown back into normal life. The relief was almost surreal.
Returning to the room, he looked at Yasuko again—still fast asleep, drunk and dead to the world.
He pulled out his phone and searched his contacts for the Takasu household number. After a brief scroll, he dialed Ryuuji's number.
"Hey, it's me. Haruto."
"Ah, Haruto? This is unexpected. What's up?"
Ryuuji's voice sounded surprised. They hadn't seen much of each other lately, both busy with their own things.
"There's a bit of a situation..."
He looked down at Yasuko, still curled up on the floor, completely unresponsive, and let out a sigh.
"Your mom. Miss Yasuko. She's at my place. Could you come pick her up?"
"She's at your place?"
"I found her passed out drunk in front of my door when I got home. I brought her inside. Do you think you can come over?"
"I'll be right there!"
As soon as he finished explaining, Ryuuji abruptly hung up. Haruto stared at the phone, then looked down again at the unconscious woman in front of him. He sighed deeply and walked back to the bathroom.
He hadn't gotten much on him, but he still felt dirty—like the kind that clung to your soul. Stripping off his stained pants, he changed into a fresh pair and returned to the room.
The vomit-stained shoes were taken to the bathroom, but he didn't start scrubbing them yet. With Ryuuji arriving any minute, he sat in quiet silence, waiting.
The Takasu home wasn't far—just a ten-minute walk. And with Ryuuji practically running over, it took only five before the doorbell rang.
"Sorry, sorry!" Ryuuji greeted him at the door, face full of guilt. "She didn't give you too much trouble, did she?"
Haruto looked down at the now mostly-dry stain outside the door and hesitated for a second—then offered a faint smile.
"Not really."
"..."
Ryuuji followed his gaze and spotted the damp, discolored spot at his feet. His expression instantly turned awkward.
"Come on in," Haruto said.
Ryuuji stepped inside quietly, slipped off his shoes, and walked toward her mother, still curled on the floor. He knelt beside his and gently shook her shoulder. Yasuko only mumbled something incoherent in reply, showing no signs of waking up.
Seeing her in this state, Ryuuji sighed. He picked up the discarded jacket from the side, then hoisted his mother onto his back with practiced ease.
"Sorry, Haruto. I really mean it—thanks for taking care of her."
"It's fine. Is she going to be okay?"
"She'll be fine. She's always like this when she drinks too much. She just needs rest. But really... thank you. I'll come by to properly thank you later. For now, I need to get this idiot home."
"It's nothing. You sure you don't need help?"
"Compared to dragging her from the bar all the way home, this is child's play."
"..."
"I'll be going then."
Standing at the door, Ryuuji put on his shoes, hung his jacket over his arm, and picked up his shoes. He waved goodbye to Haruto and his figure vanishing around the corner. Haruto stood at the door, watching them leave, then glanced down at the entrance.
Unable to resist, he returned to the bathroom, mixed warm water with some disinfectant and shower gel, and poured it onto the floor. Only after thoroughly rinsing it did he feel satisfied and head back to his room.
Although he usually didn't show it much, Haruto did have a slight obsession with cleanliness, particularly when it came to those unnoticed details.
Since Saturday, when he was with Futaba in the afternoon, he had noticed a subtle, almost imperceptible distance between them.
"Did your girlfriend get angry when you got back?"
"Setsuna? Well, I guess she was upset, but it wasn't that bad. Instead, she redirected her dissatisfaction in another way and poured it all onto me. It took a long time for her to calm down."
"Calm down...?"
Futaba looked at him, her gaze falling on his collar, but she didn't see any marks or scars. Her eyes drifted downward, landing on a particular spot before she quickly averted her gaze.
Hearing Futaba's murmur, Haruto raised his head, catching her as she lowered hers. He thought about it for a moment and decided that it wasn't appropriate to discuss what had happened after he returned to the apartment on Saturday. He didn't offer any further explanation.
Casually changing the topic, he shifted the conversation away from himself. He sat in the lab until lunch ended and then returned to his classroom.
Most people in the class knew that Haruto would disappear for a while during lunch. But only one person, Eriri, knew where he went. The rest had no idea.
Returning to his desk, Haruto sat down, looking around the classroom, which had quieted down as class time approached. Glancing at the afternoon schedule, he quietly waited for class to begin.
"Seems like you go home pretty early every day. Did you already get yourself a girlfriend?"
At the end of the school day, as Haruto packed his bag, Akihisa Yoshii approached him, inviting him to a party at his place. Besides himself and Yuji Sakamoto, Akihisa had also invited some other boys from the class, but most of them had turned him down. Surprisingly, though, Hideyoshi had agreed.
Looking at the suspicious Akihisa beside him, Haruto stuffed his textbooks into his bag and slowly stood up.
"You should give it a try. How about trying to get yourself a girlfriend?"
"Eh? You, do you really...?!"
Haruto patted Akihisa's shoulder, grabbed his bag, and left the classroom. Akihisa stood there, watching his retreating figure, sighing before turning to the other two boys who had agreed to attend the tasting party.
"Yuji~"
"Don't call my name like that, it sounds so cheesy. It's totally normal for Haruto to get a girlfriend. In fact, it's weird that he hasn't had one until now."
Yuji, arms crossed in front of him, glanced at Akihisa, who was suddenly acting all dramatic. He showed no particular interest in the fact that people around him had relationships.
Akihisa sighed and accepted the reality that Haruto was quite popular.
"Reality is cruel, huh?"
"I'm glad you understand it so quickly," Yuji replied with a slight smile.
Leaving school, Haruto was unaware of the conversation between Akihisa and Yuji after he left. He walked out of the school gate and paused at the intersection, thinking for a moment before heading toward the nearby shopping street.
Due to its proximity to the school, Haruto could see several students in the school's uniform as he entered the shopping street. He wandered around, looking at the various shops, but didn't find anything that particularly caught his attention.
'As expected, small shopping streets like this don't have what I was hoping for.'
It was understandable, given the area's location near the school. If he wanted to find the shops he was looking for, he'd have to visit places like Shinjuku or Shibuya next time.
After leaving the shopping street, he headed back to his apartment.
His mind was preoccupied with the lingering feeling of something unsettling in the back of his mind.
Once he managed to calm his thoughts, sitting at his desk, he abandoned most of the concerns about the real world. For a moment, he felt like his mind and body had been freed.
He still had at least half a month before he could finish the initial draft of his work. He set down his pen and glanced at the calendar on his desk.
The holiday in May was approaching. He wondered if Mitsuha would come to Tokyo as she had mentioned during their last call.
It had been a long time since he last saw Mitsuha, and Haruto found himself missing her.
If Mitsuha couldn't make it, and if there was nothing else to do, he thought maybe he could take Setsuna with him to Itomori for a while. At least his mother would be quite interested in Setsuna.
During their last call, his mother had even mentioned her curiosity about Setsuna.
It was strange. Haruto had always been virtuous man back in Itomori, but after arriving in Tokyo, he had agreed to start a relationship. This intrigued Miyamizu Futaba, who had been curious about it. Similarly, Setsuna's mother, Mai, was equally interested in his relationship with her daughter. But if he were to go back to Itomori, he didn't plan to bring Mai along. He worried his mother might notice something.
If Mitsuha came to Tokyo with him, there was no choice, but if he returned to Itomori, he didn't want his mother and Mai to meet.
Thinking about the holiday, Haruto lost his focus on writing. He packed away his manuscript, walked to the fridge, and looked at the ingredients inside, preparing to make dinner.
_ _ _ _
"Mom, dinner's ready!"
The sliding door opened, and Mitsuha, who had been sitting in the room, looked up from whatever she was reading. She called out to her mother, Miyamizu Futaba.
The frown on her face quickly disappeared as she turned to face Mitsuha. After a moment, she nodded gently.
"Okay, you go ahead. I'll be there in a bit."
"Got it."
Although Mitsuha was curious about what her mother had been reading, she obediently shut the door and made her way back to the living room.
As the sound of footsteps faded, Futaba lowered her gaze again, looking at the letter in her hands.
"Looks like I'll have to go to Tokyo after all."