"Who are you?! Why are you spying on this house? What are you trying to do?!"
The shouting outside caught Shichen's attention. When he stepped out, he saw Tatsuo Itsuka chasing two men dressed in mysterious black.
"Tatsuo, let it go," Shichen called out.
"But…" Tatsuo stopped, still staring after the two men, torn between chasing them and holding back.
"It's fine. Don't worry about them—it's not the first day," Shichen said with a casual wave.
"Shichen… you're really not bothered?" Tatsuo finally gave up and turned back toward him.
"They can't see anything inside anyway. Let them snoop outside if they want. Otherwise they'll never feel at ease."
"Shichen, you're way too kind. But why would they—" Tatsuo trailed off, hesitant.
"Kids shouldn't ask so many questions." Shichen patted his shoulder to shoo him off.
"I'm not a kid… and you're not even that much older than me…" Tatsuo pouted.
"Hm? That's how you talk to your lifesaver?"
"…" Tatsuo couldn't argue.
"Haha—just kidding. Honestly, it's because of us. You just got dragged into it."
Shichen and Mio had been living here. The locals didn't mind, but the person who had summoned her? There was no way they wouldn't care.
After half a month, they'd finally been discovered. The other side didn't dare do anything openly—so they could only keep watch from outside.
Tatsuo had spotted them and assumed they were criminals, so he confronted them head-on. They didn't want to draw attention, so they tried to leave. Tatsuo refused to let them go and chased after them.
And then things escalated—those men pulled out firearms.
If Shichen hadn't arrived in time, Tatsuo would've been in real danger.
"No… you saving me is a fact. If I hadn't been reckless…" Tatsuo shook his head, trying to push the blame onto himself.
"You're young. A little recklessness is normal." Shichen's tone turned pointed. "Though it'd be better if you were a little more proactive in the right way."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Tatsuo looked confused.
"Never mind… figure it out yourself. Let's go inside—Haruko's already here."
"Okay."
"Tatsuo, why are you so late?" Haruko immediately scolded the moment they came back. She hadn't heard the commotion outside.
"Uh… I got held up a bit," Tatsuo made up an excuse.
"On a rare get-together, you still have zero sense of time. Seriously."
"Sorry…"
"As punishment, you're buying us dessert later."
"No problem."
"Alright then—can we go now?" Haruko looked at Shichen and Mio.
They were going out today—a double date. Tatsuo didn't know what it really was; he thought it was just friends hanging out.
Haruko was the one who planned it. Her intentions… Tatsuo had no clue.
"Then let's go," Shichen nodded. "It's a rare day off."
"Let's go!" Haruko hooked her arm through Mio's and practically marched out.
Shichen and Tatsuo followed behind.
Shichen and Mio had lived here for over half a month. The only people they were close to were Haruko and Tatsuo.
They hadn't interacted much with the other neighbors—those siblings were pretty tight, their two-person world felt peaceful, and it didn't seem right to intrude.
Ten-plus minutes later, chatting and laughing, the four of them reached the shopping district.
"So many people."
"It's a day off—of course."
"What do we do first?"
"How about arcade games?" Mio suggested.
"Huh? Mio, you like arcade games?" Haruko stared at her in surprise.
"They're fun," Mio said with a smile.
"Well, if Mio says so, then I'll try too. Tatsuo likes games too."
"And Shichen likes them as well."
"Don't tell me Shichen dragged you into it?" Haruko squinted.
"…Yeah."
Haruko sighed dramatically. "Shichen, you seriously don't understand romance at all."
"What are you talking about?" Shichen shot back. "If you're together, anything is fun. The important part is being together. Worry about your own business first!"
"My own business?" Tatsuo turned to Haruko.
"I—I don't have any business! Shichen, don't talk nonsense!" Haruko hurriedly denied it, her face reddening.
"Ha… you've got plenty of time ahead of you," Shichen said, shaking his head.
"What do you mean, plenty of time?"
"Tatsuo, don't listen to him! Shichen just likes spouting nonsense!"
Mio laughed softly, watching Haruko fluster.
She suddenly understood why, on her first date, Haruko had kept pestering her about what happened.
Curiosity was part of it… but Haruko also wanted to see her get embarrassed.
Apparently, watching someone get flustered was weirdly entertaining.
Even though Haruko organized the outing, Shichen was the one who bought the tokens. With Haruko's company, Mio wouldn't feel lonely—and Shichen also wanted to support Haruko's budding romance.
After all… if you trace the future far enough, it mattered.
With tokens in hand, the four headed into the arcade.
It was packed—mostly teenagers, since students were on break.
Back then, the best way to kill time was basically "go play arcade games."
"This is weird," Haruko murmured as they pushed through the crowd. "Shichen and Mio are so good-looking—why is nobody even looking at you? It's like they don't notice you at all."
"Maybe everyone's focused on the games," Tatsuo guessed.
"No way. Anyone would be drawn to them!"
"Stop worrying about that," Shichen cut in, steering the conversation away. "Focus on your own business."
"Again with your nonsense…" Haruko grumbled, then grabbed Mio's arm like she was escaping. "Mio, let's go play that."
"Haruko's acting weird today," Tatsuo muttered.
"That's because you're dense," Shichen said.
"What? You looking down on me? I'm smart!"
"This has nothing to do with grades."
"Then what?"
"You'll have to figure it out."
Tatsuo frowned and started thinking.
Four people playing together really was more fun than two. Shichen had a better time than last time.
Mio was absurdly strong—she could beat three players at once without breaking a sweat.
This time, Shichen was happy because someone else could lose with him.
"Why is Mio so strong?!"
"I'm not even close to her level…"
"See? Now you get it." Haruko looked smug.
"Why are you smug?" Tatsuo complained. "You lost too!"
"It's different. Mio is my girlfriend, so I'm proud!"
"We came to have fun, not to watch you two show off your relationship…" Haruko groaned.
"That's your problem," Shichen said cheerfully. "If you don't want to be blinded by romance, then go be romantic yourselves."
"How would we even—" Haruko glanced at Tatsuo, embarrassed.
"Hm? Why are you looking at me?" Tatsuo asked, baffled.
"…Nothing." Haruko rolled her eyes.
"?"
Tatsuo's brow furrowed. Shichen had been speaking in riddles all day, hinting at "men and women things," and Haruko had been acting strange…
What were they implying?
Show off romance…
Tatsuo froze as a "no way" thought hit him. He stared at Haruko.
"Why are you staring at me?" Haruko snapped.
"Haruko…" Tatsuo hesitated. "…Do you want to go play that game together? Just the two of us?"
"Huh? Just… the two of us?" Haruko blinked.
"…Yeah." Tatsuo couldn't quite meet her eyes.
"Well… it's not like I'm against it…" Haruko stammered too.
Shichen chuckled. "Go on. Mio and I have something to do. We'll come find you for lunch."
"Okay…"
They left awkwardly, but the distance between them slowly shrank as they walked—until their shoulders brushed.
Shichen finally relaxed. Looks like it would work out.
"Shichen, they'll be fine, right?" Mio asked with concern.
"Yeah. They should be."
"I'm glad." Mio smiled, genuinely happy for them. Haruko had taught her a lot of everyday things—Mio understood Haruko's feelings, so seeing progress made her happy.
"Didn't expect you to enjoy playing matchmaker," Shichen teased.
"Haruko likes him so much… I wanted to help her a little." Mio looked down shyly. "But really, it's you doing the helping."
"We're together. Why would I separate 'you' and 'me'?" Shichen took her hand.
Mio tightened her grip, interlacing their fingers. "Shichen… thank you."
"Thanking me?" Shichen put on an exaggerated stern face. "Are you asking for punishment?"
"Uh… sorry."
"If apologizing fixed everything, what would the police be for?"
"Then what should I do?"
"Think."
"I… I get it. I'll make it up to you," Mio said softly.
"How?" Shichen looked at her with curiosity.
"We're already boyfriend and girlfriend… so… shouldn't we do what couples do?" Mio's cheeks turned pink.
"…" Shichen's expression paused.
Mio lowered her voice even more. "And… Shichen… have you been… struggling lately? This morning…"