Bathing

Tokyo in June already had the taste of early summer, with unpredictable weather becoming the main theme.

As noon approached, the temperature gradually climbed, and a humid warmth floated in the air.

Ahead of 07's gaze, the tea-haired girl's skirt swayed gently with her steps.

She would sometimes lower her head, her fingertips gently stroking the fluffy fur on the back of the orange cat in her arms, and sometimes, her gaze would subtly drift towards him.

Just as their eyes were about to meet, she would quickly and naturally shift her attention back to the cat.

"She's observing me," he judged instinctively.

The two passed by a convenience store on the street corner and entered a neat residential area.

The buildings here were uniformly low-rise apartments in a light beige color, exuding a refreshing and crisp style unique to Japan.

The houses were neatly lined up along the street, with clothes drying on the balconies, and occasionally, a few moving figures could be seen.

After walking a bit further, the girl's footsteps slowed down.

She turned sideways and pointed towards an apartment not far away, "We're almost there, it's right there."

Following her fingertip, it was a light beige building indistinguishable from the others.

07 didn't notice anything special, but he silently noted the surrounding environment.

Inside the apartment, the girl took out a key and opened the door. A faint scent of gardenia wafted from within, the same scent as the girl's.

As soon as they entered, the orange cat naturally wriggled out of the girl's arms and skillfully jumped to the window to lick its paws.

"I'm home alone, Mom has to work late," the girl said, bending down to take out two pairs of slippers from the shoe cabinet and pushing a pair of dark blue men's slippers towards the boy. "You wear these first, they're my dad's, he's usually... not home much."

She straightened up, gently wiping the fine sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, her gaze returning to the boy.

Feeling a little uncomfortable under his undisguised stare, her cheeks puffed out slightly, with a hint of petulance, "You're such a strange person, why do you always stare at people?"

Then, as if suddenly realizing an oversight, she patted her forehead and broke into a bright smile, "Right! I forgot to ask, my name is Kikyō Kushida, and yours?"

His gaze shifted away from the girl's face, a flicker of hesitation crossing his mind.

07 was just a designation, a cold sequence, not a name.

His eyes unconsciously swept over a magazine piled on top of the shoe cabinet. A small illustration was printed on a corner of the cover: under a deep starry sky, fields stretched to the horizon.

"Hoshino No," he said in a flat, emotionless tone.

"Hoshino No... Hoshino No..." Kikyō repeated softly twice, her eyebrows curving. "That's a very rare surname." Her eyes held a hint of inquiry.

"Um, Hoshino-kun," she paused, her tone softening further, "are you... by yourself?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, perhaps feeling too direct, a faint blush quickly spread across her fair cheeks. She quickly waved her hands, adding, "Ah, I didn't mean to pry! It's just... it's just that you seem... um, have you encountered any difficulties?"

Hoshino No raised his eyes, a hint of surprise flashing in his deep gaze. "Why do you ask that?" His voice was still calm, betraying no emotion.

Kikyō Kushida's gaze fell on his slightly disheveled hem and the stray strands of hair on his forehead. She tapped her own hem with her fingertips, her tone cautious, "Your clothes and hair are a bit messy, as if you've traveled a long way... but..."

She leaned forward slightly, her nose twitching almost imperceptibly, as if confirming something.

"You don't have that... smell of sweat or other unpleasant odors that come from being on the road for a long time. So I thought, you might not have been like this all along, and only recently... encountered trouble?"

Hoshino No looked at the girl standing close to him, sighing inwardly, "She's been sizing me up the whole way, and this is what she was pondering?"

He was silent for two seconds, his expression unchanged, only lowering his eyelids slightly, infusing his voice with a touch of well-placed weariness and detachment. "Yes. My parents passed away a few days ago. Some relatives... took what they left behind. I have nowhere to go."

What he said was the truth. He had never seen his parents since birth, so the statement of "passing away" was not a lie.

The people in uniform he had encountered while leaving, searching for him, were no different from the plunderers fighting over "inheritance" to him.

Glancing down again at the dirt stains on his hem, his homeless situation was also undeniably true.

He had simply woven three unrelated facts into a plausible past.

As expected, when his words fell, the curiosity in Kikyō Kushida's eyes was instantly replaced by intense sympathy.

She frowned, her face full of concern, and her tone became even gentler. "Hoshino-kun, I'll take you to take a bath and change into some clean, comfortable clothes."

She naturally turned and led the way, and Hoshino No silently followed. The bathroom was not large, but it was clean and bright, and the air was filled with the same faint gardenia scent as her, mixed with the refreshing aroma of soap.

After washing up, the warm steam still lingered in the bathroom.

Hoshino No dried himself and picked up the neatly folded clothes on the shelf.

He put on the shirt, and the cuffs were indeed a bit long, so he had to roll them up twice to expose his wrists. The waistband of the pants was also a bit loose, so he casually tugged at them, letting the legs fall naturally above his ankles.

When he pushed open the bathroom door, Kikyō Kushida was leaning against the wall, holding an unopened bottle of milk.

Her eyes lit up when she saw him emerge, and a smile immediately appeared on her face. "Hoshino-kun, you've changed!"

Her gaze fell on his rolled-up sleeves, and she couldn't help but chuckle. "Although it's a bit big, you look much more energetic than before!"

Saying that, she handed him the bottle of milk she had been holding. "Have some of this first, I'll get you something to eat."

Hoshino No took the milk, his fingertips touching the cool bottle, and his heart stirred slightly.

He could sense the goodwill in the girl's gaze, but the ingrained vigilance still made him observe her subconsciously.

He walked to the living room and sat down on the sofa, his back habitually straight.

Holding the bottle of milk, he uncapped it, brought it to his lips, and first took a very cautious sip.

The cool liquid slid down his throat, carrying a gentle milky fragrance, vaguely evoking a sense of familiarity from a corner of his deep memory, a bit like... the taste of "White Rabbit" milk candies melting after being secretly slipped into his hand.

He took another small sip, his gaze unconsciously drifting towards the kitchen.

Behind the glass door, the girl's figure was busy, and the occasional clinking of tableware could be heard.

The softness of the sofa, the shirt on his body carrying the fresh scent of sunshine and soap, all exuded an unfamiliar peace, and his unconsciously tense shoulders and back relaxed slightly.