Convenience Store

On Saturday morning, Kiryu Yume slept until he woke naturally.

The light filtering through the gap in the curtains was brighter than usual. He felt around for his phone and checked the time—8:12. No alarm, no need to pick anyone up at the school gate. His body lay sprawled across the bed, every joint from his shoulders to his ankles loose and relaxed.

He stretched. When his fingers touched the headboard, the sensation at his fingertips was a layer more refined than yesterday; he could now feel the rises and dips of the wood grain that had once been imperceptible.

The pet cat bond was still seeping in, like tea steeping stronger and stronger. He had no idea when it would reach its limit.

After washing up, he changed into a gray T-shirt and dark blue sweatpants, then headed out.

Morishita Ran was sitting on the steps outside the dormitory building. She wore a white short-sleeved shirt and navy shorts, with a canvas bag slung over one shoulder. A strawberry-flavored lollipop was between her lips, its white stick jutting diagonally from the corner of her mouth. When she saw Kiryu Yume, she pulled it out.

"Two minutes late."

"How long have you been waiting?"

"Just got here."

She stood and brushed the dust off her shorts. The two headed toward the convenience store. The campus was far quieter than usual on the weekend; only two people were shooting hoops on the basketball court, while someone strolled along the edge of the track. The wind blowing in from the sea carried dampness and a hint of salt, pleasant against their faces.

Morishita Ran walked beside him with light steps, her canvas bag swaying against her leg. She did not say much, occasionally glancing at the shrubs by the roadside or shifting the lollipop to the other side of her mouth.

When they reached the corner of the academic building, a girl with long straight black hair emerged from another path. She was looking down at her phone, a side ponytail hanging over her shoulder. Yamamura Miki. She nearly bumped into Kiryu Yume at the corner, abruptly stopping and taking a step back.

"Ah—"

"Morning," Kiryu Yume said.

Yamamura Miki pressed her phone to her chest and took half a second to recover. "M-Morning."

"Going to the convenience store?"

Yamamura Miki nodded, then hesitated. "Are you two going too?"

"The cafeteria's being renovated, so we're stocking up on food." Morishita Ran took another lollipop from her canvas bag and offered it to her. "Coming with us?"

Yamamura Miki accepted it and quietly said thank you before unwrapping it and putting it in her mouth. The three walked side by side toward the convenience store, Yamamura Miki in the middle, her steps a little lighter than usual. Having somewhere to go on a weekend morning instead of staying alone in the dormitory visibly eased the tension in her shoulders.

The convenience store's automatic doors slid open, and cold air rushed over them. Fluorescent ceiling lights made the packages on the shelves gleam. There were not many people inside, just a few girls picking out potato chips in the snack aisle.

Morishita Ran grabbed a shopping basket and shoved it at Kiryu Yume. "You carry it."

The basket's wire handle was cold. The three split up to pick out what they wanted.

Kiryu Yume went to the bento section, running his fingers over several fried chicken bento boxes before choosing one with the nearest date. Just as he put it in the basket, he caught sight of a girl with long straight black hair standing beside the refrigerated drinks case—gray short sleeves, black shorts, and a shopping basket in hand containing a carton of strawberry milk and a bag of red bean bread.

His gaze instinctively drifted lower. Beneath her black shorts, her legs were straight and slender, the lines of her ankle bones clean above a pair of white slippers.

Kamuro Masumi.

She saw him too—and saw where his gaze had landed. Her eyelid twitched.

"Morning." Kiryu Yume looked up.

"Look again and I'll kick you."

Her tone was as flat as usual, but her pitch dropped half a note. After saying that, she pressed her lips together. As though she had thought of something, another layer of irritation appeared between her brows.

Kiryu Yume guessed she was calculating whether kicking him would only make him happier. She did not kick him. Instead, she switched the basket to her other hand and turned toward the snack aisle.

Kiryu Yume followed. When they reached the corner of the puffed snack shelves, Morishita Ran and Yamamura Miki were looking at chip flavors at the other end, with two rows of shelves between them. He stepped forward, brushed past Kamuro Masumi sideways, then lowered his head and leaned close to her ear.

"Mommy Kamuro."

He kept his voice low, just loud enough for her to hear.

Kamuro Masumi froze mid-step. She did not turn around, but the roots of her ears reddened at a visible speed—the color spreading from her earlobes to the side of her neck. She took a deep breath and clenched the shopping basket handle until it creaked.

Then she raised her right foot and tapped his calf with the toe of her slipper. It was not a hard kick, but it was precise—right on his shin, painful but not too painful.

"Fuck off." One word, gritted through her teeth.

Kiryu Yume stepped back half a pace. Kamuro Masumi turned her head. The redness had not fully faded from her face, and she tried to maintain her usual cold expression, but the curve of her lips was struggling to hold. She took another deep breath, turned, and continued forward, walking noticeably faster than before.

Morishita Ran came around from the chip aisle with two bags of chips in her arms. She glanced at Kiryu Yume, then at Kamuro Masumi striding away.

"You provoked her again?"

"No."

"Her ears were red." Morishita Ran tossed the chips into the basket, her tone flat as if she were commenting on the weather.

Yamamura Miki came over from the stationery aisle holding a roll of clear tape. When she saw Kamuro Masumi's retreating back, her steps paused, and she shrank half a step behind Kiryu Yume.

Kamuro Masumi doubled back through the snack aisle. The redness on her face had completely faded, and her expression had returned to its usual indifference. As she passed Yamamura Miki, her gaze rested on her face for a second. "The strawberry milk is on the second row."

Yamamura Miki blinked. "Huh?"

"Strawberry milk. Second row." Kamuro Masumi continued walking after saying that. Her tone was exactly the same as usual, not a single word wavering. If Kiryu Yume had not seen her ears turn completely red earlier, he would have thought nothing had happened.

Yamamura Miki stood there with her mouth open, then turned to look at Morishita Ran. Morishita Ran shrugged. "That one costs twenty points less. She's teaching you how to save money."

Yamamura Miki hesitated for two seconds, then went to the refrigerated drinks case and took a carton of strawberry milk from the second row, carefully placing it in the basket Kiryu Yume was carrying.

The four naturally converged and walked across the rows of shelves. Kiryu Yume's basket quickly filled up—fried chicken bento, two boxes of curry rice, a bag of sliced bread, and a bottle of oolong tea. Morishita Ran threw in four strawberry lollipops and two bags of chips. Yamamura Miki stood in the cookie aisle for quite a while, picking up a box and putting it down three times before finally choosing the smallest package of butter cookies.

Kamuro Masumi walked beside him. There were very few things in her basket—strawberry milk, red bean bread, and a pack of drip coffee. The coffee package was dark blue, the same kind Kiryu Yume had seen on Sakayanagi Arisu's desk. Her strides were crisp, but she kept a shopping basket's distance from him.

"Buying that for Sakayanagi?"

Kamuro Masumi gave a quiet hum.

They ended up standing together in front of the register. Kiryu Yume placed the items from his basket onto the counter while Kamuro Masumi waited in line behind him.

Kiryu Yume set down the last box of curry rice. The cashier scanned the barcodes and announced the total points. He took out his phone and paid; with a beep, the transaction went through. Kamuro Masumi was already carrying her bag toward the automatic doors.

As Kiryu Yume lowered his head to pick up his bags, he caught a glimpse of her white slippers stepping outside before the automatic doors closed, a faint tendon indentation visible behind her ankle.

Morishita Ran drifted over from the magazine rack with a discounted weekly magazine in hand. She flipped through two pages before putting it back. "Masumi left?"

"Yeah."

"Let's go."

Kiryu Yume left the store with a large bag in each hand. Yamamura Miki was already waiting outside, holding her strawberry milk and cookies while the lollipop sat in her mouth, making one cheek puff out slightly.

"You need to hold those separately too?" Kiryu Yume glanced at what she was carrying.

Yamamura Miki looked down, blushed, and stuffed the strawberry milk into his bag. "I forgot."

Morishita Ran gave a quiet laugh beside them. The three headed back. The sunlight was a little harsher than when they had come, casting sharp shadows across the road.

When they reached the dormitory building, Kiryu Yume opened the bags and gave Yamamura Miki a box of curry rice and the bag of cookies. Yamamura Miki hugged the food and went upstairs. At the stairwell, she turned back and bowed, her ponytail swinging from her shoulder to the front. She brushed it aside with one hand, then turned and ran off.

Kiryu Yume returned to his room and stuffed the bento and bread into the refrigerator. Cold air washed over his wrist. He lowered his head to look at his fingers, then clenched them—the joints were still loose, but the change was no longer as obvious as it had been that morning. The bond's seepage came in waves, surging in bursts with pauses in between.

He fell backward onto the bed, and his phone screen lit up. It was a notification from the school system, black text on a white background: Swimming class next Monday. Each class is to gather at the swimming pool according to its schedule. Bring your own swimsuit and swim cap.

Swimming class.

He set his phone beside his pillow. Sunlight leaked through the edge of the curtains and fell across the sheets in a long bright strip. His swimsuit was in the bottom drawer of the closet, still unopened since the start of the school year.