It was already 5:00 PM when they arrived back at Shinjuku Station.
They say a girl's heart is like the weather in early summer: it can cloud over in an instant, but it clears up just as quickly.
"Here, this is for you, Kamisaka-kun." Utaha reached into her bag and pulled out a small keychain.
It was a little doll-shaped trinket, and truthfully, it was rather ugly.
"What's this?" Yuto asked, taking the little doll.
"Today's payment," she smiled.
Yuto deliberately let his face fall in mock disappointment.
"Just this?"
"This is a very precious doll of mine! It has special meaning!"
Teasing her had worked perfectly, she was instantly flustered!
Yuto laughed, his expression immediately returning to its usual warmth.
"I'm just kidding."
"Kamisaka-kun, toying with a girl's heart will bring retribution you know!" She fell silent for a moment, her gaze carrying a playfully dangerous edge as she looked at him.
"Sorry, sorry. Thank you for the gift, Kasumigaoka-san. I'll treasure it," he apologized with a light laugh.
"Hmph!" Utaha snorted with an air of pride, though the harshness had already melted from her face.
"Should I walk you home?" he offered.
"No need, I can get back on my own."
"Alright then."
When Yuto agreed so readily, a flurry of emotions flashed through Utaha's eyes.
'How could he agree so easily?! This isn't how the script is supposed to go!'
In the end, the girl could only let out a silent sigh of defeat.
"Oh, right, Kamisaka-kun. I want to ask you a question," Utaha said, suddenly remembering something as she turned to leave.
Yuto looked at her quietly. "What is it?"
"Do you think it was worth it for Hachiko to wait ten years for his master?" She stared blankly at him, a sea of complicated emotions slowly churning in her gaze.
Yuto thought for a moment before answering.
"It was worth it."
"Why?"
He slightly furrowed his brows, taking a moment to find the right words to express what he meant.
"Because some stories... from the very moment of meeting, are already meant to last a lifetime."
Utaha silently repeated his answer to herself.
A glimmer of understanding rippled across her heart, as gentle as a dragonfly skimming the surface of a pond.
"I understand. Goodbye," she said softly, turning away.
Yuto stood still, watching her go and pondering his own words
Did his answer satisfy her? He looked up at the sky.
Thick, dark clouds were piling together overhead, it looked like a heavy rain was coming.
He quickly hailed a taxi and headed straight back to Ichinosuke Street.
...
It was past 5:40 PM when Yuto arrived at the shop.
It was time to prepare for opening.
He suddenly remembered the trash bags he had left in the backyard that morning.
He needed to throw them out before the dinner rush began.
Grabbing the bags, he headed out.
The neighborhood garbage collection point wasn't exactly close, it was about a ten-minute walk from the diner.
Halfway there, the overcast sky suddenly erupted.
A blinding flash of lightning split the sky and the first heavy rain of early summer arrived with terrifying ferocity.
It was like a horn sounding the official arrival of the season.
Soon, the trees would flourish, mosquitoes would swarm, and the cicadas would begin to buzz.
But right now, Yuto was just annoyed.
He was stuck carrying garbage in a sudden downpour!
He broke into a sprint, hoping to toss the bags before the worst of the storm hit.
But when a summer downpour unleashes, its speed is overwhelming.
In mere seconds, raindrops formed a dense, blinding curtain of water.
They hit his skin hard enough to sting.
He finally reached the collection point, swung his arm, and flung the trash bags directly into the bin.
The main street was completely empty, everyone had already run for cover.
Just as Yuto turned to hurry back, he froze.
Through the blur of the rain, he saw a girl standing dead center in the middle of the road.
Her long black hair was plastered to her face by the downpour, but even through the gloom, he could tell she was beautiful.
'Is she insane? Why is she just standing there getting drenched?'
Before he could process it, a pair of headlights pierced the heavy rain.
A car was speeding down the road, heading right for her!
The girl saw the blinding lights, but instead of running, she went completely limp.
She seemed so paralyzed by fear that she couldn't even move.
"Shit! Idiot!"
It was the first time Yuto had cursed since coming to this world.
Adrenaline flooded his veins.
He sprinted forward, grabbed the girl by the waist, and forcefully rolled them both out of the way just as the car slammed on its brakes, tires screeching against the wet asphalt.
The driver rolled down his window, his face red with panic and rage.
"Are you insane?! If you want to die, get the hell off the road!!!" he screamed before flooring the gas and driving off into the storm.
Panting heavily, Yuto looked down at the soaked, trembling girl in his arms.
She really was beautiful.
But that didn't stop the sheer terror from bubbling over into anger.
"Are you fucking insane?!" he yelled over the sound of the rain. "Can't you see?!"
The heavy rain showed no signs of stopping.
It maintained a steady, relentless rhythm against the roof of the restaurant.
Yuto wiped the rainwater from his own hair, walked to the front door and glanced out at the flooded street.
'With rain this heavy, I wonder if anyone will even show up tonight,' he thought with a helpless sigh.
He grabbed a dry towel and walked over to the table where the girl was sitting.
"Dry yourself off," he said softly, holding it out to her.
She turned her head slightly but didn't take it right away.
After a long, heavy silence, she finally reached out and gently began to pat her damp hair.
Her clothes were completely soaked through; if she didn't change soon, she was definitely going to catch a cold.
But Yuto didn't exactly have women's clothing lying around.
"You should go home and change," he advised, walking back behind the counter.
'Did I really just pick a random girl up off the street?' He shook his head and lifted the curtain to enter the kitchen to start his prep work.
When he finished cleaning the kitchenware and came back out, the girl was still sitting there, staring blankly at nothing.
It seemed she had no intention of leaving.
Yuto sighed. From the moment he grabbed her in the street until now, she hadn't spoken a single word.
Her expression remained unnervingly calm, radiating a cold, defensive aura that naturally kept people at a distance.
Between this icy demeanor and the way she had surrendered to the oncoming car, it was obvious she was carrying a heavy burden.
His anger from earlier had entirely faded.
It had just been a spike of adrenaline and fear for her life.
Now, in the quiet safety of the shop, his heart had settled.
"If you don't go home, you'll get sick. I don't have any clothes here for you to change into," he tried again.
She remained silent.
Sitting there so quietly, she reminded him of an iceberg—beautiful, but utterly unapproachable.
Her loose, wet hair and detached gaze only made the distance between them feel wider.
Judging by her elegant features and the quality of her ruined clothes, she seemed like a girl from a wealthy family.
He couldn't help but find it slightly amusing, lately, he seemed to be running into a lot of runaway young ladies.
Since she clearly refused to go home, Yuto didn't press the issue.
He ran a restaurant, not a therapy clinic.
The only thing he knew how to do to help people was cook.
"Have a bowl of ginger soup. It's on the house."
Yuto quickly prepared a steaming bowl of ginger broth.
He added plump red dates, rock sugar, and goji berries to sweeten the sharp taste, making it more comforting.
Since he couldn't offer her dry clothes, warming her from the inside out was the best he could do.
He placed the steaming bowl in front of her.
The white steam curled upward, gently reflecting in her dark, empty eyes.
Under the warm yellow lights of the diner, the solitary girl looked incredibly lonely.
Standing quietly across from her, Yuto suddenly thought of Natsume Reiko.
The loneliness surrounding this girl felt similar to Reiko's, yet entirely different at the same time.
'I told Reiko to come by at 7:30 tonight... I hope she still shows up.'
The girl wrapped her pale, trembling hands around the warm bowl.
It was hot, but she didn't want to let go of the comforting heat. She stared blankly at the goji berries bobbing in the amber liquid.
The corner of her mouth twitched slightly, carrying a heavy, bitter sorrow that was too complex to name.
Yuto sighed softly. "It's hot, but it's better to drink it while it's warm."
His calm, gentle voice seemed to finally reach her.
She lifted the bowl and took a slow sip.
It burned slightly on the way down, but she didn't stop.
She drank every last drop, leaving only the red dates and berries at the bottom of the porcelain bowl.
"Thank you."
It was the first time she had spoken.
Her voice was barely more than a hoarse whisper, but it was enough.