After midnight, the rain outside seems to have become lighter.
It was still dark in the yard, with almost no light visible.
Naruse turned sideways and faced outside, his eyes open and unblinking.
Haixing, who was driven back to his bed, looked inside and looked at the sleeping Hikaru Takigawa, but his mind was not on her at all.
Both of them deliberately controlled their breathing, and there was only silence in the dark living room.
After an unknown amount of time, Haixing turned over and stared at him for a while.
"Are you asleep?"
No response.
She moved a little closer.
"If you dare to come here again, I will throw you into the yard."
"..."
In view of some physical exchanges in the past, his threats are still somewhat intimidating.
Listening to the sound of rain outside, Starfish bit his lip and didn't come any closer.
After a long time, when Naruse turned her head again, she was curled up in the quilt and had fallen asleep.
"Well..."
He squinted at the time on his phone. It was almost two o'clock in the morning. Even though he was worried, he was still very sleepy.
Fortunately, he can sleep for a long time on the Shinkansen tomorrow, he thought.
Taking one last look at the starfish, Naruse pulled up the quilt and turned to sleep.
......
The next morning, when Naruse woke up again, what he saw when he opened his eyes was the face of Hikari Takigawa.
"You're awake."
She sat next to his quilt, "Last night, she said she would call me when she got up in the morning, but Chunhai woke up even later than me."
Naruse rubbed his face, his consciousness just woke up from the haze, and he relaxed for a while.
"...What time is it now?"
"Well, it's about one o'clock in the afternoon."
He sat up suddenly and asked, "What time did you say?"
"Hahaha." Takigawa Hikaru laughed, "I'm just kidding...ah, it hurts."
He nudged her with his knee. Naruse looked around and picked up the mobile phone that was placed next to his pillow.
"It's only after seven o'clock...it scared me."
He breathed a big sigh of relief, and then he was surprised that he went to bed late and got up early.
Is it because you are thinking about getting up early and going back?
Although before falling asleep, his mind was filled with starfish...
Hikaru Takigawa has already changed into his own clothes and has probably been up for a while.
There was still a hint of joking on her lips, "Did Chunhai sleep late last night?"
"...Almost." Naruse looked at the quilt next to him. Starfish was completely shrunk in the quilt, with only a few strands of hair still exposed.
"The starfish hasn't woken up yet." Hikaru Takigawa said, lifting up the quilt, "I just watched it."
Naruse said nothing and sat for a while, becoming more conscious.
It was still very early, but he was not ready to go back to sleep.
"I'm going to get up."
"Yeah."
He glanced at Hikari Takigawa and said, "I mean I need to change my clothes."
She smiled, stood up and left the living room, "I'll go upstairs and take a look."
After taking off his yukata and putting on his own clothes, Naruse stared at Haixing's bedding. When he went to wash up, he remembered to pay attention to the weather outside.
The sky turned white, and the rain, which continued to fall unabated late into the night, had completely stopped.
"Spring Sea."
Naruse brushed his teeth, and Hikaru Takigawa leaned at the door, "Yue and I will go for a walk around the area and we'll be back soon."
He rinsed his mouth and asked, "Now?"
She nodded, "I'm going back soon, just make a small circle."
"Well, I'll prepare breakfast."
"Ah, then I'll stay and help..." Takigawa Yue said.
"No, Sister Yue, let's go shopping."
After washing up, Naruse came to the kitchen.
He specially saved some ingredients for breakfast last night, and he was handling them while making a fire and boiling water.
As a result, when he prepared breakfast for four people, the Takikawa sisters still did not come back.
You won’t get lost, right?
Naruse sent a message to Takigawa Hikari.
Light: Lost.
"..."
Guang: Every path and intersection here looks the same, and they look different at night and during the day.
Naruse:Where are you?
Light: I feel like I'm near the right intersection.
Naruse: Don't run around, I'll come to find you.
He went to the living room and took a look. Haixing was still asleep. He had no intention of waking her up and went out alone to find the Takikawa sisters.
And Hikaru Takigawa's feeling was correct. As soon as Naruse walked out of the alley where the B&B was located, he saw her coming from the other side waving her hands.
"Spring——Sea——"
The two came over, and Takigawa Hikari smiled, "Oh, I almost didn't have breakfast."
"Fortunately you didn't run too far."
"It doesn't matter if you run far away, you will get lost on the small road, but you won't get lost on the main road." She came up behind him and pushed him back with both hands, "This is what Chunhai taught me."
"Really?"
"Yes. Chunhai said..."
The three of them took their time and returned to the B&B. As soon as they entered the door, they heard the cry of starfish coming from inside.
"Light——"
"Sister Yue——"
"Where have you been? Wuwu... Chunhai..."
Naruse immediately quickened his pace.
When she entered the door, she found Haixing sitting in the middle of the stairs with her bare feet, her hair messy, tears streaming down her face, and she was crying even more embarrassingly than when he first attacked her.
"..."
Their eyes met, and she squinted to confirm that it was him. She sobbed again, but her crying stopped.
Naruse said nothing and turned around to go to the kitchen. Hikaru Takigawa and Yue Takigawa immediately stepped up the stairs to comfort her.
"Haixing... why are you crying like this? Your eyes are so swollen."
Naruse was in the kitchen and could hear her whimpering and crying:
When I woke up, there was no one in the living room, no one in the kitchen, no one in the room upstairs, not even a single person in the whole house, and no one responded no matter how hard I shouted;
She couldn't find any of their luggage, and could only see three sets of changed pajamas;
There was breakfast ready and untouched in the kitchen, but it felt like a little comfort for abandoning her alone in Kyoto...
"Everyone's luggage is in the closet. Haixing hasn't woken up yet?" Hikari Takigawa comforted with a smile.
Naruse shook his head and brought the fresh miso soup to the table.
The voice on the other side of the stairs suddenly dropped.
"...I thought he was going to leave me."
Naruse pursed his lower lip.
Even when he was the most rude to her before, he wouldn't do it to this extent, right?
How bad is the him in her heart?
...Or was it last night that his words were too harsh?
But that relationship between him and her must end - no, it has ended long ago, and now we must prevent its resurgence.
Resurrection...
After experiencing those things, does Haixing really still have this intention?
He finally realized that his hope that they could return to a normal state of getting along with each other was really a reluctance.
Frowning, Naruse was only glad that he had prepared breakfast before and did not let his chaotic mood affect the food.
"Drop the starfish? How could Harumi do such a thing? Did the starfish have a nightmare?"
"...Probably."
After a while, the sisters helped Haixing back to the living room to change clothes, and then came over to have breakfast together.
"Hey, why is Chunhai eating alone?"
"You are moving too slowly. I will go back alone after eating later and leave all three of you behind."
"Haha."
Haixing glanced at him and couldn't help but smile. However, during the day, her emotions in all aspects were much restrained and she didn't say anything.
Naruse ignored her and buried himself in breakfast, finishing it quickly.
He came outside, contacted the owner of the B&B, and talked about checking out.
"...Can I just leave the key in the mailbox?...I understand."
By the time the three of them finished breakfast, cleaned up, and picked up their luggage to leave, it was almost nine o'clock in the morning.
"But the landlord didn't show up from the beginning to the end." Hikaru Takigawa said with emotion.
"It's just that we don't know him."
Naruse put the key to the house into the mailbox at the door. "The landlord lives nearby. Maybe you will meet him when Guang and Sister Yue go for a walk in the morning."
"What a shy landlord."
“This is what ordinary B&Bs seem to be like.”
After leaving here, the four of us got on the bus and got off directly at Kyoto Station.
Before taking the Shinkansen back, Hikaru Takigawa was going to buy an station bento for lunch.
Just as Haixing was about to follow her, Naruse grabbed him.
"Sister Guangheyue, please help me and Haixing choose a bento."
Naruse didn't look at her, "Haixing and I are going to buy drinks."