The Beginning and End of the Everyday

After watching Karuizawa Kei return home, Kitagawa Ryo called Horikita Manabu. London was probably eight or nine hours behind Tokyo. Although it was already around ten at night in Tokyo, it should have been around noon in London.

Only then did Kitagawa Ryo realize he hadn't adjusted to the time difference after his long journey today. As soon as he noticed, a wave of exhaustion suddenly washed over him, as if a taut string had snapped loose. Even his voice began to sound languid.

"Hello, this is Horikita Manabu."

"Ah, it's Kitagawa."

Kitagawa Ryo yawned heavily. Distractedly chatting with his friend Horikita Manabu as he slowly made his way toward his hotel, he had deliberately told Mr. Izaki not to come over tonight. He had asked him to spend the entire afternoon gathering information, so he was probably exhausted and fast asleep in his hotel bed by now.

"It's Ryo. You should be back in Tokyo by now, right?"

Horikita Manabu seemed to stand up from his chair on the other end of the call. There was a creak.

"Yeah, I got back half a day ago, and I've finished the thing you asked me to do."

Remembering Horikita Suzune, whom he had seen during the day, Kitagawa Ryo replied:

"Your sister seems fine. She was eating and reading at the restaurant you told me about. She was reading Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None."

"Ha, your sister's pretty brave. At least the girls her age I know would get scared by the 'Ten Little Soldiers' nursery rhyme in that book."

Kitagawa Ryo couldn't help yawning again.

Horikita Manabu seemed to notice how tired Kitagawa Ryo sounded and asked with concern:

"You sound exhausted."

"I am. Kei's situation has me running around in circles, and I haven't had a proper night's sleep."

"Is that so?"

Horikita Manabu thought back to the things Kitagawa Ryo had told him about Karuizawa Kei:

"Have you sorted it out?"

"I don't know. I guess I have, but not completely."

Kitagawa Ryo mulled it over with a troubled expression before giving that answer.

"Let's not just talk about me. You, the big brother who runs away from his problems, ought to explain yourself."

"...It just occurred to me. Are you really interested in the role of a younger sister?"

"That's just the sort of family life an only child without a younger sister might imagine."

Kitagawa Ryo admitted it readily:

"Actually, I used to hope my parents had secretly had a daughter or something."

"But when you actually have a sister, you don't think that way anymore."

"Of course not, especially after meeting you."

Kitagawa Ryo heard Horikita Manabu sigh on the other end of the call.

"Honestly, I did have something to do with Suzune turning out this way."

"How's her hair now?"

"Uh, what do you mean? Do you want me to say it's in good condition and she's showing no signs of balding?"

"I'm just asking whether she has long or short hair."

"Oh, it's long, of course. The classic straight, black hair."

Kitagawa Ryo pictured the girl with her striking aura in the restaurant:

"I think it suits her."

"What if I told you it was because I once casually mentioned that I liked long hair? Would you believe me?"

"Sure. You've already been driven all the way to the United Kingdom by your little sister, and next you're going to be driven to the boarding school Advanced Nurturing High School. If you hadn't influenced her so much, why else would you be running away from her?"

"...I thought Suzune might get better after I left."

"Forget it. I don't want to hear your siblings' story all over again. I called to tell you I'm done with my part."

Kitagawa Ryo's thoughts were still caught up in Karuizawa Kei, so naturally he didn't want to get involved with a girl who seemed like a lot of trouble.

Although Karuizawa Kei herself was a problem child, too.

"..."

Horikita Manabu fell silent for quite a while, as if there was something he wanted to say.

"Ryo, do you know why your uncle and aunt let you return to Tokyo this time?"

"Mr. Izaki did mention there was a reason, but he didn't tell me what it was."

"Right. Actually, the most important reason was to have you visit Suzune in Tokyo."

Kitagawa Ryo suddenly felt a chill run down his back as he remembered how familiar the Horikita Family seemed with the Kitagawa Family. He had met Horikita Manabu because the other boy often visited his house.

"Hey, hey, don't tell me this is where things are going. This isn't some romance manga."

Horikita Manabu sighed helplessly as well:

"Although it might be hard to accept, Ryo, the truth is that you and Suzune have a marriage contract."

Just as this explosive revelation struck Kitagawa Ryo's brain, he received a message from Karuizawa Kei:

"I'm home now! Ryo, keep me company tomorrow, too. ヽ(??▽?)ノ"

A second message arrived right after it, this one from Shiina Hiyori.

"I read Eight Million Ways to Die, the book Kitagawa-kun recommended. There are so many things I'd like to discuss with you."

"Ah, sorry, I forgot you're in Tokyo now, Kitagawa-kun. It must be late there already. Please don't feel you need to reply if I'm bothering you."

Kitagawa Ryo abruptly turned off his phone.

Chapter 11: The Beginning and End of the Everyday

Karuizawa Kei woke up much earlier than she had expected. By the clock, she had only slept for about four or five hours, but some force had made her open her eyes before six in the morning. She wasn't tired at all—in fact, she felt a little excited. If every morning over the past two months had been like a bottomless pit, long and lightless, then for the first time, Karuizawa Kei looked forward to the new day.

She seemed to have lost all sense of time and didn't notice that it was only a little past five. Like a flower awakened by the first ray of dawn, Karuizawa Kei drew back the curtains and opened the window, humming as she went to the bathroom to wash up.

Her heart had been beating rapidly ever since she woke up, like a child looking forward to a school trip. With a hair tie between her teeth, she gathered her hair in front of the mirror, raising her eyebrows and widening her eyes to check for dark circles. It was as if two little people were fighting inside her head: one urging her to hurry up and get ready to go to the hotel, the other gently telling her to take more time at home to get dressed. Her conflicted feelings only subsided somewhat after she finished washing up.

The white dress she had worn yesterday had already been washed, so Karuizawa Kei casually picked out a simple outfit. She wore a white, short-sleeved casual shirt with a collar. A small pattern along the edge of the buttons added a splash of color to its otherwise plain look. She tucked the back and sides of the hem into her jeans, leaving the front loose and tying it into a little point. The outfit looked fresh and bright, full of summer.

After leaving a note for her parents, Karuizawa Kei set off toward the hotel where Kitagawa Ryo was staying, her little sandals pattering on the pavement. There weren't many people on the street at this hour, and the air was fresh. She took a deep breath and found that the familiar scenery along the road had suddenly become new again.

She suddenly realized she had done something like this before:

Kitagawa Ryo's old house had been close to Karuizawa Kei's old home, about as far apart as opposite ends of the same street. It took her only about five minutes to get to Kitagawa Ryo's house, half of which she spent climbing the stairs. About six months ago, when the two of them graduated from elementary school, Karuizawa Kei suddenly heard Kitagawa Ryo say that his parents had come back. Even then, she had sensed that Kitagawa Ryo might leave one day.

Kitagawa Ryo might even suddenly disappear one morning. She would go knock on his door as usual, but no one would ever open it. That scene appeared in Karuizawa Kei's dreams again and again during that time.

So, in the days before Kitagawa Ryo left, Karuizawa Kei got up earlier than everyone else. The first thing she did every morning was sneak out of the house and knock on his door. She could only relax and go back to wash up once she saw Kitagawa Ryo get out of bed, still bleary-eyed, and open it. Of course, more often than not, she went back to bed for a peaceful nap.

She treasured every minute and second she spent with Kitagawa Ryo. Back then, Karuizawa Kei would often stare at his face for no reason, for a long time, as if she were trying to carefully etch every last detail of him into her heart, afraid she might forget what he looked like after he left. Sometimes, without realizing it, she would even reach out and touch his face, until he frowned in confusion.

They were practically together all day long. Even when Karuizawa Kei went home at night, she wished she could fold Kitagawa Ryo up like a piece of origami, tuck him into her pocket, and carry him around with her. After Kitagawa Ryo officially told her when he would leave, she began to treat every day they spent together as their last. Every time they parted, it felt like a rehearsal for their final farewell.

Even after Kitagawa Ryo really left, Karuizawa Kei still instinctively went to knock on that door the next day. Pink cherry blossoms fluttered against the glass. For the first time, she noticed that the doorknob was made of metal. If she held it for long, the chill unique to metal seeped into her palm and trickled down her veins to the bottom of her heart.

It was as though the monster from one of her nightmares had suddenly emerged from the darkness, its once-illusory terror becoming horribly real before her eyes as it grew into a frightening new creature and bared its teeth at her.

As Karuizawa Kei walked briskly along the little road in the morning, she stumbled through her memories. She revisited every moment she had spent with Kitagawa Ryo, warming them up, letting them grow warmer little by little, until they burned in her heart.

Her pace quickened, and in the end she was almost running. Karuizawa Kei could hardly wait to see Kitagawa Ryo. Yet, in that moment, the feeling surging through her heart was a strange kind of remorse, like a devout believer stumbling toward a cross. She entered the hotel elevator and went to Kitagawa Ryo's room.

Kitagawa Ryo could seamlessly reconnect with the past.

But Karuizawa Kei couldn't. For some reason, she didn't dare knock on Kitagawa Ryo's door the way she used to. She placed her fingers against the wooden door and tilted her head to listen, like a timid child.

Less than three minutes into this, the door suddenly swung open. With the barrier between them abruptly gone, Karuizawa Kei lost her balance and stumbled forward in confusion. Kitagawa Ryo, who had just gotten up and opened the door, didn't react in time, either. He simply caught her on instinct. The whole thing looked as if Karuizawa Kei had been waiting outside and thrown herself into his arms.

Neither of them quite understood what had happened. They lifted their heads at the same time and each found their reflection in the other's eyes.

"Kei?"

Kitagawa Ryo spoke first. He had just gotten up and was still wearing his pajamas.

"Ah... It's nothing."

Kitagawa Ryo's voice snapped Karuizawa Kei back to her senses. She quickly stood up on her own, awkwardly trying to find something to talk about:

"You're up pretty early, Ryo."

"If we're talking about early, you must have gotten up earlier than me, Kei."

Kitagawa Ryo shuffled back into the room in his slippers and brought Karuizawa Kei a new pair:

"I only just got up, while you've already washed up and made it here."

Rubbing his chin, he guessed:

"But you must not have eaten breakfast yet, right? Want me to make you some?"

The luxurious suite Mr. Izaki had booked came with its own kitchen, and there were plenty of fresh ingredients in the fridge. Kitagawa Ryo had confirmed that yesterday, so he felt confident offering.

"Mm."

Karuizawa Kei nodded. She seemed unable to decide where she wanted to sit, so in the end she simply sat on the bed Kitagawa Ryo had just slept in, hugging her knees as she waited for him to do something.

"Want to watch TV?"

Before walking into the kitchen, Kitagawa Ryo gestured toward the large television mounted on the wall.

Karuizawa Kei murmured a quiet "Mm." A little while later, Kitagawa Ryo guessed she was looking for the remote:

"The remote's in the second drawer of the bedside table."

Karuizawa Kei blushed slightly as she shoved some small, neatly packaged items back into the depths of the first drawer. She found the remote in the second drawer and successfully turned on the TV. It was almost seven, and the early channels had started broadcasting the morning news.

[The annual Fireworks Festival will open in five days. According to weather experts, conditions are expected to be good, with little chance of rain. We hope everyone can enjoy this rare, grand celebration.]

The top story was a preview of the Fireworks Festival, which would be held in a couple of days. The opening date of the local festival was always a bit unpredictable, but it usually fell sometime between mid-July and mid-August. This year's festival was among the latest.

"Ryo."

The news and Karuizawa Kei's voice reached him at the same time, and Kitagawa Ryo immediately stopped what he was doing.

A sudden feeling of unease came over Kitagawa Ryo, and he turned around. Karuizawa Kei didn't look as if she had been watching the TV at all. For a moment, he couldn't tell whether she was so sleepy from getting up early that she'd dozed off. At any rate, Karuizawa Kei was staring blankly into space, her blue eyes seeming unable to focus. When Kitagawa Ryo turned around, they finally seemed to settle on him.

Karuizawa Kei tilted her head and looked at Kitagawa Ryo in confusion:

"What is it?"

"I thought I heard you call me just now."

"Did you? I don't remember."

Karuizawa Kei curled up as if she were cold, even pulling the blanket that had been pushed aside back around herself. Kitagawa Ryo guessed the air conditioning in the suite was set too low, so he came out and adjusted the temperature with the remote.

Kitagawa Ryo felt that something about Karuizawa Kei seemed a little different from the past. As he fried the eggs, he tried to recall how he used to see her.

What had Karuizawa Kei been like before? It hadn't been long enough for his memories to grow hazy, nor long enough for her appearance to change much, but he couldn't quite recall her specific "past self."

Karuizawa Kei had definitely been a competitive and forceful child. Thinking back, during the first five or so years of elementary school, Kitagawa Ryo had only spent time with her outside of school. And back then, he hadn't been much of a talker. Karuizawa Kei had usually been the one to lead the conversation and plan what they would do. She had even planned secret adventures on her own several times, such as sneaking off with Kitagawa Ryo to a park dozens of kilometers away.

In that respect, Karuizawa Kei was a girl with a strong sense of initiative.

By comparison, Karuizawa Kei seemed a little off now.

Kitagawa Ryo plated the fried eggs. He could feel Karuizawa Kei's gaze pricking his back every second.

And yet—

Karuizawa Kei was like an existence similar to Kitagawa Ryo...

Kitagawa Ryo tried to think of an adjective to fill the blank, but none of them quite fit. For the time being, he decided the word was "special."

"Come and eat. This is about the extent of my cooking skills, though."

Kitagawa Ryo and Karuizawa Kei sat facing each other across the table. Golden fried eggs and sliced bread sat on their plates, along with two cups of hot, white milk.

And so, an ordinary day for Kitagawa Ryo and Karuizawa Kei began.

This was a rather plain room, especially compared with a girl's bedroom. It was entirely free of unnecessary decorations. The walls and ceiling were simply white, without even wallpaper. The room's overall layout was simple, with a spotless, neatly arranged bookshelf containing a good number of books sorted by category. The furniture was all in the same minimalist style, mostly in shades of white and pale blue. It was Horikita Suzune's room.

The six o'clock alarm was silenced the moment it made its first sound by a slender, fair hand. Horikita Suzune got out of bed without the slightest hesitation and quickly changed into comfortable workout clothes. After washing up carefully and efficiently, she headed out for her morning exercise.