Volume 1, Chapter 15: How Did Buying a Cabinet Door Turn Into a Three-Person Shopping Trip?
At 9:08 the next morning, someone knocked on Shuichi's door.
Shuichi opened his eyes in bed and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds.
Then rolled over.
Ignored it.
After coming back from the staff dinner last night, he'd only meant to lie on the sofa for a bit, but by the time he woke up it was already two in the morning, and in the end he hadn't even started a game; he'd just crawled straight back into bed and kept sleeping.
Today was his day off.
There was no reason whatsoever to get up early.
It was quiet outside for a moment.
Then came the sound of a key sliding into the lock.
Shuichi sighed with his eyes closed.
The next second, the front door opened.
"I'm coming in."
"You're already in, so why say it."
A listless voice came from the bedroom.
Yusei walked to the doorway and leaned against the frame to look inside.
The curtains were drawn tight, and the room was as dim as night. Shuichi was rolled up in a thin blanket, with only half his face and a mop of messy black hair showing.
"It's nine."
"Mm."
"Get up."
"No."
"Come out with me today."
"No."
"I haven't even said where."
"Not going anywhere."
Yusei had seen this coming long ago.
"The kitchen cabinet door."
The blanket was silent for two seconds.
"What does your cabinet door have to do with me?"
"Don't you use it every day?"
"Why would I use your cabinet door?"
"You come over every day to grab food and you don't open the cabinets?"
"You make me sound like a thief."
Yusei thought about it.
"Not really like one."
Shuichi cracked his eyes open a little.
Yusei added:
"A thief at least knows to close the door after taking stuff."
"..."
Shuichi closed his eyes again.
"Go by yourself."
"I don't know the sizes."
"Measure."
"Already measured."
"Then buy one."
"What style?"
"Whatever."
"What color?"
"Whatever."
"Material?"
"Whatever."
At the third "whatever," Yusei reached out and grabbed the corner of the blanket.
Shuichi's eyes flew open.
"What are you doing?"
"Get up."
"Let go."
"Get up."
"It's my day off."
"I know."
"Then why are you torturing me?"
"Because that cabinet door got yanked off by me the day I awakened my ability, and now the other one's about to fall off too."
Yusei paused, his tone turning a little more serious. "And I want to see if they have a good training mat while I'm at it. If I crack the floor at my place again, the landlord's actually going to kill me."
That was a genuinely practical problem.
Shuichi stared at him for a few seconds.
"What about Asakawa?"
The moment the words left his mouth, both of them paused.
Yusei raised an eyebrow.
"Why are you asking about her?"
"Isn't she the one teaching you?"
"Training's this afternoon."
"Oh."
Shuichi was about to close his eyes again.
Yusei looked at him.
"So?"
"So have her go with you this afternoon."
"I want to go now."
"Then wait until this afternoon."
Yusei finally lost his patience and yanked the blanket off.
"Get up!"
"Yusei!"
Ten minutes later.
Shuichi was sitting in the bathroom brushing his teeth.
His expression was sour.
Yusei stood in the kitchen putting yesterday's leftover bread in the toaster oven, and checked the cabinet door he'd temporarily taped in place.
CREAK.
The door panel sagged a little more.
He hurriedly held it up.
"..."
It really couldn't wait any longer.
The doorbell rang right at that moment.
Yusei went to open it.
Standing outside was Asakawa Mio.
She was dressed much more casually than usual today, in a white T-shirt with a thin light-blue shirt over it, a black skirt that fell just past her knees, and a pair of very ordinary white canvas shoes.
Her black hair wasn't fully tied up; she'd only pinned part of it back, and the rest hung naturally over her shoulders.
She was carrying a paper bag.
"Morning."
Yusei was a little surprised.
"This early?"
Mio glanced at her phone.
"9:20."
"I mean, weren't you coming this afternoon?"
"The hospital wants me to change my dressing again this morning, so I was on the way."
She held out the paper bag. "I bought too much."
Yusei looked down.
Three rice balls.
Two bottles of milk.
And a box of small cakes.
He looked up.
"This counts as buying too much?"
Mio kept a straight face.
"The clerk packed it wrong."
"The clerk also packs an extra box of cakes by mistake?"
"Yes."
Yusei looked at her for two seconds.
He didn't call her on it.
"Come in."
As Mio was changing her shoes, the bathroom door opened.
Shuichi came out with his hair still not fully flattened, a baggy black T-shirt hanging loosely off him, and a toothbrush still in his mouth.
The two of them looked at each other.
"..."
Mio glanced at the toothbrush in his mouth.
"You just got up?"
Shuichi nodded.
The toothbrush wagged along with it.
Yusei said from the side:
"I spent fifteen minutes getting him up."
Mio assessed it very seriously:
"Pretty efficient."
Shuichi took the toothbrush out.
"Do you two just have nothing to do today?"
Mio raised the bag in her hand.
"I came to bring you breakfast."
Shuichi's attitude softened immediately.
"Thanks."
Yusei: "That's not the attitude you gave me just now."
"You didn't bring cake."
"Asakawa's the one who bought—"
Mio gave a light cough.
Yusei stopped.
He looked at her.
Mio looked back at him.
Two seconds later.
Yusei very sensibly corrected himself:
"...the clerk packed it wrong."
Shuichi didn't care at all.
He turned and went back to brushing his teeth.
Mio stood in the entryway watching his back, then looked at Yusei.
"You two are going out?"
"Buying a cabinet door."
Yusei pointed toward the kitchen. "And some stuff for the house while we're at it."
Mio looked over.
She had already spotted the tape.
"Broken again?"
"Not again, it's the same one I never replaced."
"Oh."
Mio thought about it.
"Where are you buying it?"
"Chengnan Home Center."
"Perfect."
"What's perfect?"
"I need to buy some things too."
Yusei smiled.
"Then let's go together."
Shuichi stood at the bathroom door with a bit of toothpaste foam still at the corner of his mouth.
"Not together."
The two of them turned at the same time.
"Why?"
Shuichi looked at Mio.
Then at Yusei.
"You two going is enough."
Yusei picked up the box of small cakes from the dining table.
"I'm eating these, then."
Shuichi went silent.
"What time are we leaving?"
Mio lowered her head.
The corners of her mouth curved very slightly.
***
Chengnan Home Center took up three entire floors.
The first floor was kitchens, bathrooms, and household tools; the second was furniture and soft furnishings; and the third was crammed with all kinds of sports gear, storage, lighting, and, for reasons nobody knew, camping equipment displayed alongside the furniture.
It was a weekend morning, and there were quite a few people.
The three of them went to the kitchen section first.
Yusei checked with a sales clerk using the photos of the measurements on his phone.
Shuichi trailed behind, not walking fast.
Mio, on the other hand, earnestly read the material descriptions on the shelves the whole way, occasionally stopping to check hardware specs.
Yusei quickly noticed the difference.
"You know about this stuff too?"
"A little about the simple things."
"Like what?"
"Hinge load capacity, board thickness, moisture resistance."
Shuichi stood to the side.
"She's more reliable than you."
Yusei turned his head.
"All you could say at home was 'whatever.'"
"Which is why I admit others are more reliable."
"..."
The sales clerk eventually found them a few cabinet doors that were close.
Yusei picked the most ordinary white one.
Shuichi had no objection.
Mio, though, looked for a while and pointed at a different one beside it.
"This one."
Yusei looked down.
"What's the difference?"
"The surface is more wear-resistant, and the edges are sealed a little better."
"It's three thousand more."
"Right now you can pull a door off by accident."
Yusei: "..."
Extremely persuasive.
Shuichi was already nodding.
"Buy the expensive one."
Yusei looked at him.
"You paying?"
"I support you."
"What good is support?"
"Emotional value."
"Get lost."
The sales clerk standing beside them had been holding back a laugh the whole time.
After confirming the model, she asked:
"Will this be delivered to the same address?"
Yusei: "Yeah."
Mio was just about to wander off when the clerk looked at her.
"Then would the rest of you like to look at the dining tables or storage cabinets from the same line? If you're furnishing a new home together, we have a bundle deal right now."
The three of them went quiet for a moment.
Yusei was the first to react.
"It's not a new home."
The clerk blinked.
"Sorry, I thought you all lived together."
Shuichi said very naturally:
"I live next door to him."
"Ah, I see."
The clerk smiled.
Then instinctively looked at Mio.
Mio was very natural about it too.
"I don't live there."
The clerk: "..."
It had gotten even more complicated.
Her professionalism was excellent, and she didn't ask anything further.
Only, after the three of them had walked away, she still couldn't help looking back at them once more.
A man and a woman helping another man buy a cabinet door.
And the other man lived next door to him.
Young people's relationships these days...
Really weren't easy to guess.
***
After buying the cabinet door, Yusei didn't leave right away.
He still needed to find a training mat.
So the three of them went up to the second floor.
The moment they stepped off the escalator, Shuichi's steps slowed.
Ahead was an entire sofa display area.
Sofas of every size, material, and color were lined up neatly, the lights overhead were warm, and there were even model living rooms set up alongside them.
Shuichi stood there for a few seconds.
Yusei looked back.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Your eyes lit up."
"No, they didn't."
Mio followed his gaze.
Deep inside was a dark-gray sofa big enough for four people to lie down on.
Shuichi had already walked over.
Sat down.
And sank all the way back.
He didn't move.
Yusei: "..."
Mio: "..."
Ten seconds.
Shuichi closed his eyes.
"Pretty good."
Yusei walked up to him.
"Get up."
"Buy this."
"Where would it go?"
"My place."
"Your living room can't fit it."
"Then yours."
"Why would my place buy a sofa you like?"
Shuichi opened his eyes.
"I sit on it a lot."
"You've got a lot of nerve."
"Mm."
Mio stood beside it and touched the armrest.
"It really is comfortable."
Shuichi immediately looked at Yusei.
"Two to one."
"Who said anything about a vote?"
Mio sat down on the other end to try it.
The seat was very soft.
The backrest was also much deeper than an ordinary sofa's; once you sat in it, your whole body naturally sank in.
She suddenly understood a little why Shuichi wasn't moving.
Yusei looked at the two of them.
"Did you two come to help me shop, or are you planning to redecorate my whole place?"
Shuichi:
"Either works."
Mio:
"While we're at it."
"..."
Yusei stood there for two seconds.
In the end, he sat down in the middle too.
The three of them sank into the same sofa side by side.
Nobody said anything.
After a while.
Shuichi suddenly asked:
"How much?"
Yusei glanced at the tag.
Then stood up.
"Let's go."
"How much?"
"Let's go."
"Let me see."
"No."
Mio reached over and picked up the price tag next to it.
After reading it, she went silent.
Shuichi turned his head.
"How much?"
Mio put the price tag face down.
"We really should go."
Shuichi: "..."
Capitalism had stripped him of his right to a good sofa.
***
In the end, of course, they didn't buy the sofa.
But Yusei did find the high-density training mat he needed on the third floor, and grabbed a set of adjustable dumbbells while he was at it.
Shuichi was in charge of pushing the cart.
To be precise, he rested both hands on the cart's handle and leaned his body forward on it, letting the cart slowly glide along on its own.
Yusei looked back three times.
"Can you walk normally?"
"I can."
"Then why are you lying on the cart?"
"Saves energy."
"This is flat ground."
"So it saves even more."
Mio could no longer be bothered to join these kinds of arguments.
She had just bought two storage boxes and a small night-light herself, and was now standing off to the side looking at mugs.
An entire wall of shelves was full of ceramic mugs.
The colors ranged from pure white to deep black.
She picked up a very simple pale-blue mug.
No pattern.
Just a very thin white line around the rim.
She looked at it.
Then put it back.
Yusei happened to notice.
"Don't like it?"
Mio shook her head.
"I have some at home."
"And yet you looked at it for ages."
"I just thought the color was nice."
With that, she walked on.
Yusei didn't ask anything more.
Shuichi, sprawled over the shopping cart, saw the whole thing clearly.
He didn't say anything either.
After wandering until past twelve, the three of them went to the casual dining area on the home center's top floor.
It was crowded on the weekend, and they only barely managed to find a spot by the window.
Mio sat on the inside.
Yusei sat across from her.
Shuichi sat next to Yusei.
The moment they finished ordering, Shuichi slumped onto the table.
Yusei looked down at him.
"What time did you go to bed last night?"
"Don't know."
"Stayed up late again?"
"No."
"Then why are you this sleepy?"
"Shopping's tiring."
Mio couldn't quite understand.
"You leaned on the shopping cart the entire time."
"I walked a lot of miles mentally."
Yusei couldn't be bothered with him.
Before long, Shuichi really did stop moving.
His breathing gradually evened out.
At first, Mio thought he was just lying there resting, until the server brought their drinks and the tray knocked lightly against the corner of the table, and he still didn't raise his head.
"He fell asleep?"
Yusei glanced over.
"Yeah."
Mio was a little speechless.
"Here?"
"He can sleep in a lot of places."
"You're not going to wake him?"
"I'll wake him when the food comes."
Sunlight shone in through the floor-to-ceiling window.
A small patch of it fell right on Shuichi's face.
He probably found it too bright, because he frowned in his sleep and instinctively shifted his head a little to the side.
And then—
Came to rest against Yusei's arm.
Mio saw it.
Yusei glanced down too.
He didn't move.
Shuichi shifted a little farther to the side.
Until his forehead ended up pressed against Yusei's shoulder.
Yusei paused for two seconds.
Then very naturally shifted a little farther in, so Shuichi could lean on him more steadily.
After that, he picked up the menu from the edge of the table and stood it up beside Shuichi's face to block the sun.
His movements were so practiced that Mio couldn't get a single word out.
She watched for a while.
"Does he do this a lot?"
Yusei lowered his voice.
"More back when he worked night shifts."
"Sleeps leaning on you?"
"Sleeps anywhere."
"I'm asking about leaning on you."
Yusei thought about it.
"That too."
Mio: "..."
Yusei looked at her.
"What?"
"Nothing."
She picked up her water and took a sip.
A few seconds later, she couldn't help looking over again.
Yusei's shoulders were broad.
With Shuichi leaning on them, being so much slimmer than him, it actually looked surprisingly fitting.
The instant that thought popped up.
Even Mio went silent.
Why "fitting"?
What was she thinking?
Yusei suddenly looked up.
"Why do you keep looking at him?"
Mio nearly choked on her water.
"Who's been looking?"
"You."
"I just think it's weird for him to sleep in public."
"You get used to it."
Yusei looked down at Shuichi again.
Maybe because the position wasn't comfortable, Shuichi's head was slowly sliding downward.
He reached out to support the side of Shuichi's face and eased him back up a little.
Shuichi didn't even open his eyes.
He just mumbled.
"Don't move."
Yusei: "You're the one sliding down."
"Sleepy."
"I know."
"Wake me when the food's here."
"Yeah."
And he went right on sleeping.
Mio sat across from them.
And suddenly had a very strange feeling.
Last night she had still felt like she was only just beginning to really enter these two people's lives.
Looking now, she felt that some things probably couldn't be had right away just by "entering."
They hadn't known each other that long either.
But what was between Yusei and Shuichi had been worn in bit by bit.
Even their arguments had their own rhythm.
Even taking care of each other didn't need words.
She couldn't say what exactly she envied.
Mio lowered her eyes.
Her fingers lightly rubbed the side of her water glass.
She didn't know why she cared, either.
Right then, Yusei suddenly asked:
"Does the wound hurt?"
Mio looked up.
"What?"
Yusei looked at her left hand resting near her abdomen.
Only then did Mio realize that at some point her hand had ended up there.
She really had walked quite a lot today.
The wound didn't hurt, exactly.
It just gave an occasional pulling feeling.
"It's fine."
She said.
Yusei didn't pick up that "it's fine."
He just glanced toward the pickup counter.
"The food's going to be a while."
"Mm."
"I want coffee."
With that, he carefully moved Shuichi's head from his shoulder onto the back of the chair.
Shuichi frowned.
But didn't wake up.
Yusei stood up.
"Sit tight, I'll go get it."
Mio looked at him.
"It's not like I can't walk."
"I know."
Yusei smiled a little.
"So it's me who wants coffee."
With that, he left.
Mio stayed in her seat.
Watching his back.
It was a few seconds before she lowered her head.
This guy...
Really was annoying sometimes.
But not all the time.
A while later, Yusei came back.
One black coffee.
One hot milk.
And a small cup of sweet coffee topped with milk foam.
He set the sweet one in front of Mio.
"Try it."
Mio was taken aback.
"For me?"
"I just asked the barista. It's sweet."
"I didn't say I wanted one."
"You don't have to drink it."
With that, Yusei sat down himself.
He didn't keep pressing her about whether her wound hurt, the way he used to.
He just left the cup there.
Mio looked at it for a while.
Finally she reached out and picked it up.
Took a sip.
It was sweeter than she'd expected.
Her brows eased a little.
Yusei noticed.
"How is it?"
"It's all right."
"So you like it."
"I didn't say that."
"Why do you and Shuichi both say 'it's all right' when you mean 'it's good'?"
Mio stopped.
"I'm not like him."
Yusei said offhandedly:
"Yeah, you're easier to feed than he is."
"..."
Mio raised her eyes.
Only then did Yusei realize how that sounded.
"That's not what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?"
"Just..."
He thought for a long moment.
"At least you don't leave stuff in the fridge until it grows fur."
Mio couldn't keep a straight face.
She lowered her head and laughed.
"That's true."
Yusei laughed too.
The sunlight across from them was lovely.
The surroundings were noisy.
And beside the table lay Shuichi, sound asleep and completely unaware of anything that was happening.
Mio held that cup of sweet coffee in both hands.
And suddenly felt this feeling was a little strange.
She couldn't put it into words.
But she didn't dislike it.
***
When the food arrived, Yusei woke Shuichi up.
The method was very simple.
He gave his face two pats.
"Food."
Shuichi opened his eyes.
The first thing he said:
"Are we there?"
Yusei: "There where?"
Shuichi was dazed for two seconds.
Before remembering he wasn't in a car.
Mio sat beside them, laughing so hard her shoulders shook.
Shuichi looked at her.
"What's funny?"
"Nothing."
"You've said 'nothing' a lot today."
"Caught it from you."
Shuichi thought about it.
He accepted that.
Halfway through lunch, the female sales clerk who had helped them pick the cabinet door happened to come down from upstairs, and recognized them as she passed their table.
"All done shopping?"
Yusei nodded.
"Pretty much."
"That's good."
She smiled and glanced at the table.
Then looked at the sweet coffee in Mio's hand.
"Did your boyfriend buy it?"
The air froze.
The cup in Mio's hand hung in midair.
Yusei was drinking his coffee.
He nearly choked.
Shuichi had just woken up and was half a beat slower than usual.
He looked at Mio.
Looked at Yusei.
And finally lowered his head and kept eating.
The clerk realized she had probably guessed wrong.
"Sorry, I thought..."
"No."
Mio answered very quickly.
"Just friends."
Yusei nodded too.
"Right."
The clerk hurriedly apologized with a smile.
"My mistake."
With that, she quickly walked away.
The table was quiet for a few seconds.
Mio lowered her head and drank her coffee.
Yusei lowered his head and ate.
Neither of them said anything.
Shuichi looked up.
"What's with you two?"
Both of them at the same time:
"Nothing."
Shuichi: "..."
Wasn't that word coming up way too much today?
He didn't ask any further.
But as Mio drank her coffee, she suddenly realized her heart was beating a little faster than it had a moment ago.
It had to be from the embarrassment.
Definitely.
On the other side, Yusei was also earnestly eating.
Yet his ears had inexplicably gone a little warm.
He wasn't very good at handling this kind of misunderstanding.
Normally, he'd have just made a joke and let it pass.
But when the clerk asked just now, his mind had actually gone blank for a moment.
It was very strange.
So he decided not to think about it.
He reached over and picked a piece of fried chicken off Shuichi's plate.
Shuichi's eyes shot over instantly.
"Mine."
"You drank my soda earlier."
"That was yesterday."
"Yesterday's debts get settled today."
"Give it back."
"No."
Shuichi went after it with his chopsticks.
Yusei deliberately held it up high.
The two of them started fighting over the table.
Mio sat across from them and watched.
That bit of inexplicable awkwardness suddenly got washed away.
She couldn't help sighing.
Just as she thought.
That little bit of atmosphere just now had to have been her imagination.
***
After they got back to the apartment that afternoon, Yusei started replacing the cabinet door.
Mio had originally planned to go home.
But after watching for five minutes, she realized that with Yusei's current strength a screwdriver was genuinely dangerous, so she stayed.
Shuichi sat in the kitchen doorway, watching.
Yusei turned the first screw.
CRICK.
He nearly stripped the screw head.
Mio held out her hand.
"Give it to me."
Yusei: "I can go easier."
"You said that a minute ago too."
"This time for real."
"Give it to me."
Yusei had no choice but to step aside.
Mio crouched down and installed the hinges.
Shuichi sat nearby.
After a while, he picked up a screw that had fallen on the floor and handed it to her.
"This."
"Thanks."
A little later.
"Phillips."
Shuichi grabbed the wrong one.
Mio glanced at it.
"This is a flathead."
"Close enough."
"Not even close."
Yusei stood off to the side with his arms folded.
"Why aren't you telling him off?"
Mio didn't even look up.
"He doesn't know how in the first place."
"I don't know how either."
"But you'll break things."
"..."
Very reasonable.
Once the cabinet door was installed, Yusei gently opened and closed it twice to test it.
It didn't break.
He was very satisfied.
"Good."
Mio stood up.
Because she'd been crouching a bit long, she moved a beat slower.
Yusei noticed, but didn't reach out to help her up.
He just moved out of the way so she could lean directly against the counter.
It was a very small thing.
But Mio saw it.
"I'm fine."
"Mm."
Yusei nodded.
"I know."
He didn't press.
Mio glanced at him.
She suddenly felt this person really had changed a little lately.
Before, if he'd seen that, he'd probably have already started asking "Are you really okay?" three times over.
Now he still noticed.
He just didn't keep pushing her to admit it.
That kind of change...
Was probably a good thing.
As Mio was thinking this, Shuichi had already gotten up off the floor.
"All done?"
"All done."
"Then cook."
Yusei: "?"
"How did we suddenly get to cooking?"
"It's almost five."
Yusei checked the time.
4:37.
"You didn't finish lunch until one!"
"Fast digestion."
Mio stood to the side.
"You ate quite a lot today."
Shuichi looked at her.
"Why are you starting to nag too?"
Mio was taken aback.
He was right.
Why had that just slipped out of her?
Shuichi didn't think much of it and was already going to open the fridge.
"What's for dinner?"
Yusei followed him.
"Hands off."
"I'm just looking."
"Once you're done looking, you'll swipe something."
"I won't."
"That's what you said last time."
"Last time was last time."
Yusei reached out and shut the fridge door right out of his hand.
Shuichi didn't let go.
Each of them held one side.
Deadlocked.
Mio stood behind them.
For some reason, she suddenly remembered the clerk at noon saying "boyfriend."
Her gaze landed on the two men in front of her.
One holding the fridge door shut.
One refusing to let go no matter what.
And standing absurdly close.
"..."
She hurriedly threw that weird association out.
No.
However you looked at those two, they didn't seem like it.
Probably...
***
A little after six that evening.
The three of them still ended up eating together.
Before Mio went home, Yusei handed her the two storage boxes she'd bought that afternoon.
"Yours."
"Mm."
Mio took them.
Shuichi was sitting on the sofa playing on his phone.
He suddenly noticed there was also a small box in the paper bag.
"What's that?"
Yusei looked down.
"Which?"
Shuichi pointed.
Mio looked over too.
Yusei paused for a moment.
He took it out.
A pale-blue mug.
A white rim.
The very one Mio had picked up that afternoon, looked at, and put back.
Mio was visibly stunned.
"When did you buy this?"
"At checkout."
Yusei said it very naturally. "Didn't you think it looked nice?"
"I said I have some at home."
"One more mug won't hurt anything."
Mio didn't take it right away.
Yusei looked at her.
"You don't want it?"
"...I do."
She reached out.
The mug was in her hands.
It wasn't expensive.
It barely even counted as a gift.
But Mio looked down at that very thin white rim and suddenly didn't know what to say.
Yusei had already turned to clear the table.
"Take it home, so next time you come over you don't fight Shuichi for a mug."
Mio looked up.
"When have I ever fought him for a mug?"
Shuichi looked up too.
"Isn't my mug the gray one?"
Yusei looked back.
"It was just an example."
"A bad one."
"Shut up."
Mio looked at the two of them.
Then down at the mug in her hands.
The corners of her mouth slowly curved up.
"Thanks."
With his back to her, Yusei gave a little wave.
"It was on the way."
Those words sounded very familiar too.
Mio suddenly remembered that when she'd bought Shuichi that pudding, she seemed to have said almost the same thing.
She went quiet for a moment.
And didn't say anything more.
***
After the door closed, the room was one person short.
Yusei cleaned up the kitchen.
Shuichi lay on the sofa.
After a while.
Yusei suddenly asked:
"Asakawa really liked that mug, didn't she?"
Shuichi didn't take his eyes off his phone.
"Mm."
"How do you know?"
"She looked at it for a long time."
"You saw that too?"
"I saw."
Yusei poked his head out of the kitchen holding a plate.
"Then why didn't you buy it?"
Shuichi finally looked up.
"Why would I buy it?"
Yusei thought about it.
"True."
Shuichi lowered his head again.
A Girl Hero Observatory push notification happened to pop up on his phone screen.
【Footage of the Mother Hive Incident's abnormal core being transported has been released; the specialized research team has not yet explained the core's origin.】
He was about to swipe it away.
But his thumb stopped.
The thumbnail showed a black transport truck.
Beside it stood several people in grayish-white uniforms.
The case was already sealed.
The core couldn't be seen.
What had really stopped Shuichi was the chest of one of the staff members.
There was a very small logo there.
The outer part was a broken circle.
In the middle, a black line extended downward.
He knew this logo fairly well.
It belonged to one of the less conspicuous companies under the Organization he had once been part of.
Nexus Group.
Whether the Organization had completely disappeared was still unknown, but as far as this Nexus bunch went, Shuichi was sure they had already broken away from the Organization.
After all, the Organization would never have allowed any kind of outside exposure.
In the old days, Nexus Group would already have been wiped out by now.
Now... who knew how they'd managed to end up like this, able to appear openly in the public eye...
Going independent, huh...
The laziness on Shuichi's face slowly disappeared.
He opened the image.
Zoomed in.
Yusei was still in the kitchen.
"What are you looking at?"
Shuichi didn't answer right away.
A few seconds later, he closed the page.
"Nothing."
"The girl hero site again?"
"Mm."
"Any news on that mysterious third person?"
"No."
Yusei came out carrying plates.
"I thought somebody would've gotten a photo."
Shuichi leaned back on the sofa.
"It's better if nobody did."
"Why?"
"She obviously doesn't want to be seen."
Yusei's movements paused.
Then he nodded.
"True."
He actually didn't press any further.
Shuichi glanced at him.
Yusei had already gone back into the kitchen.
The sound of running water soon started.
Shuichi lowered his head.
His phone screen had already gone dark.
That logo was still stuck in his head.
"..."
He slowly slid his phone into his pocket.
He had assumed that core was just something left over from the past.
Now it looked like.
It wasn't.
At least, the people who'd taken charge of it weren't strangers.
In the kitchen, Yusei suddenly called out:
"Shuichi."
"What?"
"You're taking out the trash tonight."
"Why?"
"You didn't do anything today."
Shuichi was silent for two seconds.
That little shadow from a moment ago had been rudely cut off.
"I pushed the shopping cart."
"You lay on the shopping cart!"
"That's still pushing."
"Get out there and take out the trash!"
"Tomorrow."
"Now!"
Shuichi leaned into the sofa.
He suddenly felt a little helpless.
Some things really were better thought about a little later.
He wanted to digest this meal first.