‘Is this silly moose still standing there daydreaming about something?’
Yuuma Tsugumu peered through the peephole at Akiba Sakura, who was still smiling goofily at her raw coconut latte right outside her own front door.
He felt a twinge of impatience.
‘You twisted your ankle and scraped your knee, and you’re still standing there like an idiot instead of going home?’
The thought made him frown.
He forced himself to suppress the urge to open the door and rush her inside, his eyes fixed on the “silly moose” outside.
“Dammit… what are you even thinking about?”
Just as he was grumbling to himself, Sakura suddenly lifted her head.
She stopped gazing at the latte in her hands and looked straight in his direction, a sweet smile blooming on her face.
“?”
Her gaze sent Tsugumu scrambling back from the peephole.
“…”
‘Wait, why is she looking this way? Can she see my eye through the peephole? No way… No, what am I panicking for?!’
Snapping out of it, Tsugumu quickly pressed his eye back to the peephole to look outside.
Sakura had already opened her door.
She grabbed the handle and slowly stepped inside, the hallway falling silent as the door clicked shut.
“…”
‘She went home.’
Seeing the door across the hall firmly closed, his tense shoulders finally relaxed.
He let out a long sigh, the weight lifting from his chest.
He raised a hand to rub his ear, which felt strangely hot, and turned to leave the entrance hall.
But before he could take a step, a gentle, amused voice came from behind him.
“What were you looking at so intently, little Tsugu?”
Tsugumu froze.
He spun around to find his mother, Yuuma Mariko, leaning against the wall, her eyes curved into a crescent as she watched him.
Her sudden voice made his heart jump.
He nearly yelped, his face paling slightly.
Mariko, holding a glass of hot water, watched her son’s unusual reaction with a small, knowing smile curling at the corner of her lips.
“Nothing… I wasn’t looking at anything.”
Tsugumu quickly composed himself, forcing his usual calm expression back onto his face.
But his ear tips were burning red, and his voice was strained with an unnatural stiffness.
“Is that so?”
Mariko let out a soft chuckle and walked closer, her eyes scanning the entrance hall.
“I don’t remember wrong, do I? You were glued to the peephole, weren’t you? Were you looking at little Sakura?”
Caught red-handed by his mother, Tsugumu still stubbornly refused to admit it, putting on a “I’m a dead pig that’s not afraid of scalding water” attitude.
“No, I wasn’t. I was just looking around.”
Seeing his mother’s knowing smile, Tsugumu felt even more flustered.
He couldn’t meet her eyes anymore.
Instead of defending himself, he turned and fled up the stairs to his room, his footsteps quick and flustered.
“I’m going to my room!”
His words trailed off as he raced up the steps, ducked into his room, and slammed the door shut behind him.
Leaning against the door, he slowly calmed his racing heart.
But his mind was relentlessly replaying the image of Sakura grinning stupidly at her coffee, and the warm, gentle feeling of her leaning on his back.
“…Damn it.”
—
‘Did I… misunderstand him today?’
That night, after taking a bath, Sakura carefully untied the plastic bags she’d used to keep her bandaged wounds dry and slowly, carefully, climbed into bed.
People’s minds always wander after a bath, and for Sakura right now, Tsugumu was the one occupying her thoughts.
‘Did he go to the Soft Cat Cafe for the other me… or for that weird-tasting raw coconut latte?’
Staring blankly at the ceiling, she couldn’t get Tsugumu out of her head.
Remembering how he had carried her back home step by step that day, that strange feeling came flooding back.
She placed a small hand over her chest, feeling the thump-thump of her heartbeat.
“…”
Sakura didn’t understand this feeling.
In both her past life and this one, she had never felt this before.
And today, it had surfaced several times.
‘Could it be… I’m sick?’
The thought popped into her head out of nowhere, but she was confused.
If it were an illness, shouldn’t it hurt?
Instead, it felt like a tingling, numbing sensation.
‘Is King Akiba Sakura unfortunate enough to have been infected with the latest “Tingly-Numb Mega Virus”? Is she going to “pass away” tomorrow, bringing this whole novel to an end? No way?!’
Frightened by this possibility, Sakura shook her head violently, then pulled the covers over her head to stop herself from thinking any further.
Of course, her injured leg was left sticking out from under the blanket.
‘I wonder if that guy Tsugu will try to “night raid” my injured leg? Heh heh heh…’
She chuckled at the thought, then closed her eyes, intending to fall asleep.
“…”
After a moment of silence, she snapped her eyes open.
‘Holy crap, why am I so wide awake?’
She fumbled for her phone on the bedside table and checked the time.
‘It’s almost midnight. If I don’t sleep, I’ll be dead tired tomorrow!’
She shut her eyes again, trying to force herself to sleep…
After a long while, a muffled, mournful voice drifted out from under the covers.
“Goddammit, I can’t sleep…”
—
The next morning, Tsugumu woke up early, a good half hour before his usual time.
He ate his breakfast slowly, brushed his teeth, and straightened his clothes.
Ignoring his mother’s teasing gaze, he pushed open the front door and leaned against the wall outside, waiting quietly.
He was worried about Sakura’s injuries.
Her ankle was badly swollen, and her knee was scraped raw.
It wasn’t long before the door across the hall creaked open.
Sakura, holding the doorframe, limped out and turned back to say goodbye.
“Mom, I’m off to school! See you tonight!”
As the words left her mouth, she turned around and bumped straight into Tsugumu, who was leaning against the wall.
Surprise flashed in her eyes.
She stopped in her tracks, looking confused.
“Tsuguo-kun? Why are you up so early today, and waiting outside no less?”
Normally, she was the one waking him up.
Seeing him voluntarily waiting for her outside was a first.
Tsugumu looked at her, his eyes instinctively glancing at her bandaged knee and ankle first.
“Got to look after the patient. Can’t have the patient come and wake me up.”
Sakura was stunned for a moment, then laughed as she understood his meaning.
She gently lifted her injured leg, her tone playful.
“Even if I wanted to come and wake you up, with this leg of mine, I couldn’t stomp on you to get you up.”
“…You’ve got some nerve to say that…”
Tsugumu sighed.
“Can’t you find a normal way to wake me up next time?”
“Hehe…”
Sakura grinned, her eyes fixed on him.
“What are you staring at?”
Meeting her gaze, Tsugumu looked back, confused.
“Hehe…”
Sakura blinked, then looked away, shaking her head.
“Nothing. Just thought you looked a bit different today, Tsuguo-kun.”
Without another word, she started shuffling forward slowly.
“Let’s go! Time for school!”
Tsugumu watched her hobble forward so eagerly, momentarily forgetting her staring.
His heart tightened, and he quickly stepped forward to catch up, terrified she would strain her ankle again.
“Slow down! Don’t go so fast! Watch your foot!”
He quickly fell into step beside her, deliberately matching her pace, keeping a close eye on her steps.
Seeing her right foot couldn’t put down any weight, he instinctively moved closer to her injured side, ready to support her at a moment’s notice.
The morning streets were gradually coming to life, with groups of students carrying bags walking together.
They walked side by side, with little conversation.
Every now and then, Sakura would glance at Tsugumu beside her, watching his profile.
That strange, unfamiliar flutter in her chest rose again.
She quickly averted her eyes and looked forward, trying to focus on walking.
Just as they reached a fork in the road, a frantic figure came running toward them, her footsteps chaotic and her face full of worry.
It was Momoka Aoi.
Her hair was a bit messy, and upon spotting Sakura in the distance, she sped up.
“Sakura! Sakura, wait for me!”
Aoi ran up to them and stopped, panting heavily.
She looked Sakura up and down, her gaze fixed on her leg.
Seeing that her knee wound had been properly dressed, her anxious expression finally relaxed a little, and the weight in her heart lifted.
She had been worried about Sakura ever since they parted the evening before.
She’d left early this morning to wait on the road for Sakura and check on her condition.
But when her eyes landed on Sakura’s ankle, that relief vanished instantly.
“Sakura, what about your foot? Did you fall again yesterday? Does it hurt?”
Aoi grabbed Sakura’s arm, her voice frantic.
“I’m sorry, it’s all my fault…”
Seeing this, Sakura quickly smiled and shook her head.
Her tone was light, deliberately brushing it off to ease Aoi’s worries.
“Alright, alright, stop blaming yourself. I’m fine. It’s just a little scratch. I just twisted my ankle. It doesn’t even hurt anymore. Really, I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”
Then, Sakura stealthily winked at Aoi and quickly shot her a meaningful look.
She subtly shuffled a little to the side, using her peripheral vision to glance at Tsugumu beside her, then pointed at him with her chin.
Aoi didn’t get it at first.
She stared at Sakura in confusion for a few seconds.
But then, following the direction of her gesture, she looked at Tsugumu and suddenly caught on.
Sakura was hinting that things were progressing between her and Tsugumu.
“For real?!”
She couldn’t help but whisper, clapping a hand over her mouth before Tsugumu could hear.
Her face was a picture of excitement, her eyes sparkling with amazement as she looked at Sakura.
Tsugumu watched the two girls exchanging these secret signals, completely lost.
“What are you two… whispering about? What “for real”? And why did you point at me just now?”
“Hmm? Wouldn’t you like to know!”