An Unexpected Reunion

"For now, that's all the information I have. When the time comes, Kanzaki, you can ask some upperclassmen around, or take a look around campus yourself and see if there's anything else unusual. That's about it. I'm going to rest for a while, so I'll stop here."

Miyama Saku stretched lazily, his spine letting out a series of soft pops. His voice was heavy with exhaustion.

"See yourself out."

"Thank you, Miyama." Kanzaki Ryuji nodded politely and turned to leave Room 404. With a click, the door shut behind him, and the room fell silent once more.

Miyama Saku threw himself heavily onto the bed, the mattress letting out a muffled groan. Because of transferring to this school called Advanced Nurturing and being dragged around everywhere by Kou these past few days, although he could still manage it physically, the mental exhaustion rolled in like a tide. He closed his eyes, his consciousness quickly sinking into darkness.

When he regained consciousness, the light outside the window had turned dim and hazy. The setting sun streamed through the glass, casting long orange-red patches across the floor, while tiny specks of dust drifted through the air.

Miyama Saku woke groggily from his sleep, a faint and familiar fragrance lingering at the tip of his nose. It was like old book pages mixed with the delicate scent of flowers. He squinted dazedly and found a figure sitting beside his bed, backlit by the sun, her outline edged in soft gold.

"Why is there someone in my room...? Looks like I'm still dreaming." He muttered, turning over and trying to bury his face in his pillow to keep sleeping.

"It's been a long time, Saku."

The girl's gentle voice broke the silence. She held a hardcover book in her hands. The gilt title on its deep-blue cloth spine had worn slightly with age, giving it an even more timeless charm. Her smooth long hair fell over her shoulders like silk, glowing with a soft chestnut sheen beneath the fading sunlight. A few unruly strands brushed playfully across her fair cheeks before gently falling along the edge of the pages.

Perhaps because he had only just woken up and his mind had not fully started working yet, Miyama Saku failed to recognize her at first.

"Sorry, but I haven't been in Japan for the past two and a half years. Do I know you?"

The girl before him looked as if she had suffered a devastating blow. She abruptly leaned closer, and her flawless pretty face instantly filled his vision. He could even see his own messy reflection in her eyes. She stared straight at him as her eye sockets quickly reddened, moisture gathering on her lashes as though she had been terribly wronged.

Seeing her on the verge of tears, the memories sleeping in Miyama Saku's mind finally began to stir. The girl before him gradually overlapped with the little girl in his memories who had always followed behind him and cried easily.

"Hiyori?"

"Why was that a question?" The girl sniffled, her voice carrying a sob as her fingers tightly gripped the pages, her knuckles turning faintly white. "I thought Saku had already forgotten me. I recognized Saku at a glance in that huge crowd, but Saku didn't recognize me. I'm really sad."

The girl before him was Miyama Saku's childhood friend, Shiina Hiyori. Her watery eyes were currently accusing him of heartlessness.

Miyama Saku hurriedly sat up and helplessly comforted her. "All right, all right, it's my fault. I'll agree to whatever you want, so don't cry. Hiyori, you promised me you wouldn't cry anymore."

"Really?" She blinked, crystal-clear tears still clinging to her eyelashes, threatening to fall. Her voice was soft, yet carried a trace of stubbornness. "Then pinky promise."

"You're still making pinky promises at your age...? Fine, fine. Really, I promise." Miyama Saku sighed and held out his little finger.

"Then why are you in my room, Hiyori?"

Having just gotten up, Miyama Saku's hair was somewhat messy, and the collar of his pajamas hung open, revealing part of his collarbone.

"I went to the dorm manager and spent some points to get a room key made. I told them I knew you. After I gave them your name, they agreed surprisingly quickly for some reason. Maybe the dorm manager mistook you for a girl." Hiyori smiled through her tears and waved the brand-new room key in her hand.

"...Looks like I need to have a word with the dorm manager. Besides, why can someone get a room key made for another person? This school's security system is way too careless." Miyama Saku felt helpless and casually straightened his messy collar.

"Then why are girls allowed into the boys' dormitory?"

"Huh? Saku didn't know? The dorms are mixed-gender."

"Are you unhappy that I came without being invited, Saku?" Hiyori tilted her head slightly.

"No, I was just surprised. Besides, we're grown up now, so doing this is kind of inappropriate. What if someone sees us..."

"We used to do this all the time when we were little."

"You know we were little back then." Miyama Saku rubbed his forehead. "Sigh, forget it. Hiyori, do you want black tea or orange juice?"

"Hmm, let me think. Black tea. Just like when we were little, with a little honey."

"Got it, got it."

Miyama Saku got up and took out the black tea he had just bought from the shopping center. He boiled water, warmed the cups, and brewed the tea. The scalding water released the tea leaves' fragrance, and misty steam rose through the dimly lit room. After letting the tea cool slightly and adding a little honey, he handed the freshly brewed tea to Shiina Hiyori. The warmth of the cup traveled through the ceramic to her fingertips.

"Saku has changed a lot compared to before. With your hair grown out, you feel even more like a girl. When we were little, people always mistook you for one whenever your hair got long."

"That doesn't matter."

Shiina Hiyori sat on the bed, cradling the warm mug in both hands. Like a pampered housecat, she took tiny sips of her black tea. Her feet dangled in the air as she cheerfully swung her calves, her ankles dazzlingly pale under the setting sun. The edges of her gray thigh-high socks pressed into her skin in soft curves.

"By the way, why did you even buy indoor slippers and bring them into my room?" Miyama Saku glanced at the brand-new pair of slippers and could not help complaining.

"Because I might come here often in the future." Hiyori answered as though it were only natural.

"I don't have time to entertain you specially. I'm very busy."

"That's fine." Hiyori set down her cup, and her gaze suddenly turned serious. The eyes that were usually hidden behind a book now locked directly onto him. "Saku, where have you been these past two years?"

"Do you care that much?" Miyama Saku avoided her gaze.

"Yes, I care a lot. You left without saying a word, not even goodbye. The school had no news about you, and even Yuki had no idea what you had gone off to do." The girl's voice lowered, carrying a faint, barely noticeable tremor. "We promised we would always be together."

Unlike the Hiyori Miyama Saku remembered, the girl before him was not usually so straightforward, nor was her gaze normally so persistent. Her unusual attitude even made him wonder whether the tea he had brewed had expired and somehow caused hallucinations.

"...Why aren't you saying anything?"

Miyama Saku picked up the tea package and checked its production date and expiration date.

"I mean, this tea hasn't expired."

"Why did the topic shift to whether the tea has expired?! That wasn't what I asked!" Hiyori puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.

"Ah, um... You just feel completely different from how I remember you, so I wondered whether expired tea had changed your personality."

"You still haven't answered my question." Hiyori pressed on, leaning forward slightly. "Where did you go?"

Miyama Saku fell silent for a while.

"Answer my question."

Shiina Hiyori turned her head and stared fixedly at Miyama Saku, who was trying to change the subject. Her expression was extremely serious, even carrying a trace of stubbornness.

With no other choice, seeing that the girl before him clearly would not rest until she got a reasonable answer, Miyama Saku decided to make up an excuse to brush her off.

"I went abroad to study for a while. It was rather urgent, so I didn't get the chance to say goodbye properly. I'm really sorry."

"Then why didn't you contact me at all for over two years? Before that, you would disappear for months sometimes, but at least we stayed in touch. This time, there was no news from you for more than two years."

"You know, I was really worried about you."

"Sorry for making you worry, Hiyori. I just had some important matters to deal with, and I wasn't in the country during that time."

"I didn't contact you because I didn't have any spare time. I didn't even make a point of contacting Yuki."

"I'll accept that for now."

Shiina Hiyori did not continue questioning him, which made Miyama Saku breathe a sigh of relief. If Hiyori found out about those things, she would definitely worry. It was better not to let her know.

"What about you? Why did you come to find me? Most people should be busy socializing or buying all kinds of things after just enrolling, especially after receiving one hundred thousand points."

"Mm, because I missed you?" Hiyori blinked, her tone suddenly turning light.

"...Say things like that less often in the future. It's cheesy. It's getting late, so I'm going to cook first."

Miyama Saku stood up and went into the kitchen. He washed the rice, put it into the rice cooker, then opened the refrigerator and took out the fresh ingredients he had bought earlier that day. He arranged the vegetables, meat, and seasonings on the cutting board, their colors vivid and appetizing.

With limited time, Miyama Saku did not plan on making anything complicated. He intended to prepare a few simple home-cooked dishes.

"I want pasta."

Shiina Hiyori raised her hand from the bed and spoke to Miyama Saku.

"There's no pasta, and there's no time to go buy any now."

"Stingy Saku! Then I'll just eat whatever."

Miyama Saku unpacked the apron he had just bought and deftly tied it behind his back. With a crisp chop, the blade struck the cutting board. He efficiently washed the ingredients and cut them into evenly sized pieces, producing a rhythmic chopping sound.

Next, he took out a frying pan and set it on the stove. As he turned the knob, a faint blue flame rose beneath the pan with a soft crackle. He poured in an appropriate amount of oil, and as it gradually heated up, the air began to fill with the rich aroma of hot grease.

Then, Miyama Saku gently placed the chopped ingredients into the pan. The ingredients met the hot oil with an instant, violent sizzle. Steam carrying the rich fragrance of meat and sauce spread through the room. He held the spatula and stir-fried with practiced, powerful movements. Each turn heated the ingredients evenly, their color gradually becoming an appetizing golden brown.

Once the final step was complete, Miyama Saku untied his apron and casually hung it on the kitchen hook.

"I thought Saku would make something more difficult."

"I don't have the time or the ingredients. Just make do with this."

Miyama Saku served Shiina Hiyori some rice, placed it on the table in front of her, then sat down across from her.

Shiina Hiyori carefully picked up a small bite of the food before her with her utensils and placed it in her mouth. After chewing a few times, her eyes narrowed slightly.

"It's really delicious. It feels like Saku's cooking has improved again. Come to think of it, you started learning to cook when we were little. It must have been hard."

"Did you disappear for two years just to learn how to cook?"

"You can think of it that way. Eat properly."

After that, the two ate in silence. From beginning to end, Miyama Saku did not say another word. Only the faint clinking of utensils echoed through the room.

After dinner, Miyama Saku washed the dishes, put the spotless plates, bowls, and chopsticks into the cupboard, and dried the water from his hands.

"I'm full, so I should be leaving too. I still have some things to take care of."

So she really was just here to mooch a meal and leave.

"Saku, we haven't exchanged contact information yet, have we? Give me your student terminal."

Miyama Saku took the terminal from his pocket and handed it to Shiina Hiyori. She accepted it and operated the screen with her slender fingers.

"Okay, I've added you."

Shiina Hiyori placed the terminal back in his hand, then leaned close to his ear. Her warm breath brushed against his ear as she whispered, "You can contact me if anything happens, okay~?"

"The room key. Give me the room key you had made. I don't want someone sneaking up on me while I'm sleeping."

"But I spent points to get it made."

Shiina Hiyori looked reluctant as she took the room key from her pocket. "You said you would agree to anything I wanted."

"All right, all right, keep it. Just don't sneak into my room while I'm asleep next time."

Miyama Saku did not take the room key. He quietly watched her walk toward the door.

"Do you need me to walk you back?"

Shiina Hiyori stopped at the doorway and turned back with a smile. Under the hallway lights, that smile looked especially sly.

"No need. My dorm is right above yours, Room 504. I can come play with you every day from now on."

"Goodbye."