Chapter 8

“…Hmm.”

After school ended and he returned home, Ryuichi stared down at the screen of his smartphone.
Gazing at the newly added name in his contacts—Rindo Shizuna—Ryuichi wondered how things had ended up this way.

“Contact info?”
“Yes, I wanted to exchange info with Shishido-kun… Is that not okay?”

It wasn’t like it wasn’t okay, but he hadn’t expected her to make a suggestion like that.
Sure, she had visited Ryuichi’s apartment once, but if someone asked whether they had gotten close enough to warrant this, he would have had to tilt his head in doubt.

“…Not like we have much to talk about—”

Right as he muttered that, a ringtone chimed from his smartphone, and the name Shizuna Rindo flashed across the screen.

“………”

He hadn’t expected her to call right while he was thinking about her. He hesitated for a moment on whether to answer, but since there was no telling what she might bring up at school tomorrow, he resigned himself and picked up.

“Hello?”
“Ah, hello, Shishido-kun? …I actually thought you wouldn’t pick up.”
“Why’s that?”
“…Just a hunch, I suppose.”

She answered with a hint of uncertainty, but since her guess was spot on, Ryuichi gave a wry smile at how sharp she was. Figuring there was nothing special to talk about even if she called like this, he expected a dead end, but anticipating this exact scenario, Shizuna brought up a topic.

“Have you eaten dinner yet, Shishido-kun?”
“Yeah…”
“What did you have?”
“………”

In truth, ever since the day Shizuna came over to cook, she had told him to cook his own meals at least occasionally for the sake of his health. But naturally, tonight’s dinner had been instant ramen. Sensing the truth from Ryuichi’s silence on the other end of the line, Shizuna let out a sigh.

“…Shishido-kun.”
“Look, I just didn’t have time.”
“………”

Saying he didn’t have time was a lie; he didn’t bother admitting that he had simply been too lazy. But Shizuna probably knew that already. The reason she didn’t push him too hard about it was likely because she figured forcing someone else’s hand like that would be an imposition.

“…Make sure you eat a well-balanced diet, okay?”
“I know, I know. Geez, are you my mom or something?”
“Oh, was Shishido-kun’s mother like that?”
“Nah? That was just a figure of speech. Compared to you, she’s worlds apart– wait, never mind.”

He forcefully cut the conversation short right there.
Shizuna seemed to sense something and didn’t press any further, which Ryuichi was grateful for. Well, aside from when someone happened to be over, Ryuichi generally spent his time alone. Ever since recovering his memories, he hadn’t felt any desire to wander the night streets.

Because of that, he found himself dwelling on things a little more often lately.
Both when Chisa was around and when Shizuna was around, things had felt strangely warm.

“Well, naturally…”
“Yeah.”
“Compared to the nikujaga you made, instant ramen tastes totally flavorless.”
“………”

He had no idea how Shizuna took those words, but hearing a rustling, flustered commotion from the other side of the phone, she might have actually been pleased.

“Then, I’ll make it for you again. Of course, not just nikujaga; I’m good at making things like hamburger steaks too, you know?”
“Hamburger steak, huh? Never had one outside of a restaurant.”
“Then that works out perfectly. Shall we… do it again sometime?”

To Shizuna’s voice, which carried a faint note of anticipation, Ryuichi replied that they could if the opportunity ever arose. Her tone was overflowing with joy, happy enough to be already making plans in her head for when it might happen.

“Hey, I said if the opportunity arises, alright?”
“I know~”

She definitely doesn’t get it, Ryuichi sighed. Even so, the thought of getting to eat that delicious cooking again made him look forward to it. After all, just the nikujaga alone had been so good it made his expression flip.

“Well… I’ll look forward to it.”
“Yes~”

Really, that was the only way Ryuichi could respond.
After chatting for a little bit longer, right at the exact moment he was about to end the call…

“Ryuichi? I’m coming in~!”
“Chisa? My bad, Rindo, I’ll talk to you at school.”
“W-Wait just a second!”

He hung up the phone with a sharp click.

“Oh, were you talking to someone?”
“Something like that. Seriously, don’t just barge in without warning.”

He tossed his smartphone onto the pillow with a light thud, and Chisa waved her hand dismissively, saying, whatever, whatever, before sitting down right beside him and wrapping her arms around him. The moment she did, the heavy scent of alcohol drifted through the air.

“Just how much did you drink…?”
“Mmm? Quite a bit, I guess… It was on our way back from a celebration party, and the guys kept being super annoying about walking me home!”
“Then you should’ve just let them.”
“No way. Why would I waste my time dealing with a bunch of dull guys like that?”
“Don’t take it out on me…”

Ryuichi averted his gaze from the pouting Chisa.
She probably caught a faint snippet of Shizuna’s voice right before he hung up. He was a bit worried she might have heard something suspicious, but figuring it was whatever, Ryuichi decided to put Shizuna out of his mind for the time being.

“Has this place gotten way cleaner? You definitely didn’t clean all this by yourself.”
“You catch on quick.”
“Who was it? A girl… definitely a girl.”
“Spot on.”

There was no particular need to hide it, so he admitted it honestly.
Chisa didn’t react all that intensely, but she wore an exasperated look as if asking if he had reeled in another victim.

“Whose neck did you sink your fangs into this time?”
“Don’t make it sound like some creepy crime. It’s a classmate.”
“You slept with a classmate? Amazing!”
“Geez… cut it out!”
“Heh… Ahahaha! Sorry, sorry~”

The fact that she could casually talk about sleeping with people despite being a woman meant Chisa’s sense of chastity was pretty much broken. Well, since he mostly hung out with that kind of crowd anyway, it was old news to Ryuichi.

“Hey Ryuichi, I’m staying over tonight.”
“Do whatever you want.”
“Yeah. I like that you never turn me down.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Though… you’ve got plenty of uncute parts, too.”

Being told you’re “cute” by a girl when you’re a guy has got to be humiliating.
Having secured permission to stay, Chisa sprawled out on the floor and started messing with her smartphone, likely messaging some friends.

“Man, your underwear is totally showing, you know.”

Without caring that her short skirt was rolled up, Chisa silently kept tapping away at her phone. Even when Ryuichi pointed it out, she just threw a brief glance his way without making any move to fix it. It wasn’t like she was hopeless as a woman, but it was definitely a sight he’d want to show the university guys who were crazy about her.

“What do you think the other guys would say if they saw you right now?”
“They aren’t going to see. Sure, I play around a lot, but I make sure to carefully pick the person I entrust my body to.”
“Huh? First time I’m hearing that.”
“Because I never said it. For the record, the only one I’ve been letting have me lately is you.”

Ryuichi didn’t feel particularly happy hearing that. He had zero interest in what kind of relationships Chisa had with other people, and even after regaining his memories, that dry, detached dynamic between them hadn’t changed.

“What about a bath?”
“I’ll take a shower.”
“Go take it before you fall asleep.”
“Rrriiiiight.”

Dragging her feet, Chisa stood up, walked over to the closet, grabbed a change of clothes, and headed toward the bathroom.

A short while later, Chisa returned. She hadn’t bothered soaking in the tub; it seemed she had genuinely just taken a quick shower. Thanks to the shower, she looked somewhat more awake, but since she had consumed a considerable amount of alcohol, her eyelids still looked heavy.

“Come to think of it, it’s getting late. Time for bed, I guess.”
“Want to go for one round?”
“Let’s pass on that for tonight.”
“Guess so. I’m way more beat than I thought.”

Since Ryuichi lived alone, he only had one futon set, meaning the two of them would be sleeping under the covers together.

“It’s kind of nice not sleeping on a bed for a change. It feels… traditional and cozy.”
“A bed is definitely better, though.”
“Well, yeah~”

Even so, it was comfortable enough lying on top of the soft sheets that sleep would come easily.
Using Ryuichi’s arm as a pillow, Chisa wore a mature expression on her face, yet the gesture of drawing closer to him in search of body warmth gave off the impression of someone her own age.

“Hey Ryuichi, are you worried about anything?”
“Not at all.”
“…Aren’t you hurting inside?”
“Do I look like the kind of guy who’d be hurting over anything at this stage?”
“You don’t… But still, you’re younger than me, so I worry.”
“Is that so? Come on, you’ve got university tomorrow, right? I’ve got school too, so let’s just go to sleep.”
“Rrriiiiiiight. Night-night, Ryuichi.”

With those words, Chisa drifted off to sleep almost immediately.
Giving a dry smile at Chisa’s steady breathing, Ryuichi muttered under his breath.

“Well, those old man and old woman probably couldn’t care less what happens to me anyway.”

Murmuring just that, Ryuichi closed his eyes as well.

That voice just now… was that a woman…?

Somewhere else, she too was left thinking about Ryuichi, harboring a restless, unsettled feeling in her heart.