[Editor's note: This chapter has been edited to remove content that breaks our content rules.]
Of course, Kageyama Sora had something very simple in mind. Staying over meant keeping Amae Koromo company, having something to eat, watching movies, and chatting.
So, after their mahjong game, the two of them sat in the living room to watch a movie.
The air conditioner hummed softly, and the projector cast a bluish glow onto the screen.
Perhaps because she had someone to keep her company, Koromo laughed so hard at the comedy that she rocked back and forth, unable to stop.
When it ended, she still wanted more, so she put on another film by the same director.
Only... the next film turned out to be the horror movie Out of the Dark.
Even a horror movie with comic elements could be genuinely frightening. Its chaotic mixture of terror and laughter gave it the strange feeling of a joke about death.
Koromo was not especially brave. Perhaps having her cousin nearby made her more willing to show her fear, too. She began to tremble.
“I'm cold,” she complained.
Sora offered her a piece of honeydew melon from the fruit platter.
A piercing scream suddenly rang out from the screen, and Koromo jumped in fright.
“Sora...” Her voice was close to tears. “I don't dare watch anymore.”
Sora reached over and turned off the projector.
“How can this scare you? I thought Koromo was the fearless Demon King.”
“The Demon King is how good I am at mahjong,” she said tearfully. “It doesn't mean I'm a Demon King at everything...”
It was as though even the heavens were conspiring against her.
Before she had finished speaking, darkness enveloped the living room. Outside, rain suddenly began pouring down, and a clap of thunder exploded across the sky. Koromo instinctively clung to him.
“Come sleep in my room,” she pleaded. “Tonight, I'm definitely, definitely going to have nightmares.”
Perhaps her tearful expression was simply too pitiful to refuse. Before he knew it, Sora had followed her into the bedroom.
Moonlight filtered through the sheer curtains onto the princess bed. Koromo lifted the pink lace coverlet, revealing sheets patterned with little pink bears.
Sora turned away, preparing to make himself a bed on the floor, but she stopped him.
“Don't go.” Her voice was full of hurt. “I'll have nightmares. Besides, it's not as though you've never stayed with me before...”
Sora took a deep breath and slowly turned around.
Koromo looked up at him. Her blue eyes glistened in the moonlight, and tears still clung to her lashes.
He carefully lay down beside her, deliberately leaving some space between them.
Suddenly, lightning split the night sky. As it lit up the room, Koromo cried out in fright, and Sora instinctively reached out to steady her.
Chapter Thirty-Four: The Feeling of Being Needed
At some point, the clouds began to disperse. The downpour dwindled to a light rain, allowing moonlight to enter the room.
Koromo had always felt alone—lonely and misunderstood.
Having someone there with her gave her a sense of reassurance. For once, she did not have to face the night by herself.
Outside the window, the rain finally stopped altogether.
The moonlight grew brighter.