It was past midnight. The siren of a fire truck jolted me awake. Outside my window, it was strangely bright. An orange glow flickered and swayed. My heart let out a sickening thud. I bolted out of my room, and the smell of smoke stung my nostrils. My feet nearly tangled as I raced down the stairs. The moment I threw open the front door, a blast of hot air slapped me in the face. My house was on fire. "Why…" Flames were gushing from what used to be the living room. The second-floor windows glowed crimson. The neighbor lady was screaming in her pajamas. As firefighters scrambled around, all I could do was stand there, rooted to the spot. So this is what they mean by escaping with nothing but the clothes on your back. No change of clothes, no wallet—though I had managed to grab my phone. The fire was finally extinguished two hours later. The house was nothing but a skeleton. The smell was overwhelming. A suffocating mix of charred wood, melted plastic, and things I couldn't even identify. I overheard neighbors whispering that the fire seemed to have started in three separate places. Possible arson, they said. The police were frowning too. But I had no energy left to think. I just stood there, dazed. I opened my phone. A message from Misaki. Timestamped at half past midnight—right after the fire broke out. *I just saw the fire in Seikai on the news. Is that your house, Kaito?* With trembling fingers, I typed back: *Looks like it.* Less than ten minutes later, she appeared at the scene. Her long, glossy black hair swayed gently in the night breeze. Her cool, gleaming golden eyes were fixed directly on me. She stood about 165 centimeters tall. A soft cardigan draped over her slender frame. Minase Misaki. Student council president of Seikai University. My childhood friend. "[gentle]Kaito." Her voice was as calm and gentle as ever. She glanced briefly at the smoldering ruins, then looked back at me. "[gentle]My place has a spare room. Come stay starting tonight." She said it like it was the most natural thing in the world. As if it had been decided from the very beginning. I couldn't argue. No—there was no reason to argue. I had nowhere else to go, anyway. But still… something felt off. The timing was too perfect. The message, her arrival, the offer—it all felt a little too convenient. Maybe I was just imagining things. A ten-minute walk from Seikai Station. Past the streets that stayed bright even at night, a luxury tower apartment loomed overhead. Luminous Seikai—fifteen stories in total. Auto-lock at the entrance, a concierge in the lobby, security cameras everywhere. Not the kind of place a normal college student lives. Misaki was renting room 405 on the fourth floor, apparently with money from her parents. She mentioned the rent was 180,000 yen a month. Three times what I make at my part-time job. Seikai City has the ocean, and in summer the sea breeze blows. Recently, a big shopping mall went up as part of a redevelopment project. But there are still streets with few people at night, and blind spots in the old residential areas. It's a strange city—a messy blend of urban and rural. The apartment was a 2LDK. A spacious living room with a large LCD TV. An expensive-looking sofa. Sliding glass doors leading to the balcony—though for some reason, they had a lot of auxiliary locks on them. "[gentle]You can use the study. There's a bed in there too." The room she showed me was clean and tidy. There was a small black dot in the corner of the ceiling, but it was probably just dust. More than anything, I was so exhausted I just wanted to collapse onto the bed. But Misaki's bedroom door was locked. "[gentle]It's messy in there, so don't go in, okay?" She was smiling. But somehow, it felt like she wasn't giving me a choice. When I returned to the living room, I froze. Misaki had just gotten out of the bath. She was wearing nothing but a white camisole with a towel draped over her shoulders. Droplets of water dripped from her wet black hair, tracing a path down her collarbone. Her skin was faintly pink, looking almost dewy from the steam. She opened the fridge and took out some cold barley tea. "[gentle]You must be hungry. I'll make you something." I desperately averted my eyes. Because, sure, we'd been together since we were little, but Misaki wasn't a kid anymore. Her 165-centimeter slender frame had distinctly feminine curves. The swell beneath her camisole—stop it. Don't think about it. Then I glanced at the drying rack next to the sink, and my brain nearly short-circuited. Lace underwear was hanging there casually. Black, and pale pink. You've got to be kidding me. Can I really survive living here? After dinner, Misaki lay down on the sofa. Playing with her phone, she suddenly asked: "[gentle]Hey, Kaito… is there a girl you like right now?" "No, there isn't." I see, she said with a smile. But the questions continued. "[gentle]What about girls you talk to a lot at university? Someone in the same seminar?" "No, not really… I said there isn't anyone." It was uncomfortable. Since I was indebted to her, I couldn't exactly snap at her. What was this, an interrogation? But in the end, all I could do was repeat, "There isn't anyone." After a while, Misaki started to doze off. And then—she rested her head on my lap. "[surprised]H-hey, Misaki!" When I tried to move her, she mumbled sleepily. "[sleepy]Mmm… we used to do this all the time, remember…?" She was right. When we were kids, we'd often sprawl out on the same futon and fall asleep just like this. It was normal back then. But now it's different. We're both adults, college students, and more than anything—her sleeping face was so much more beautiful than before, and so close. The sweet scent of her shampoo drifted over. The warmth of her body against my lap felt incredibly hot. My heart was pounding. Thumping loudly. This is bad. Isn't this what they call… liking someone? No, no. Misaki is my childhood friend. She's like a little sister to me. But that excuse didn't feel like it would work anymore. A little past nine at night, the intercom rang. On the monitor was a cute girl with a silver short bob. Her clear, watery-blue eyes were wide open, and she was holding a bouquet of flowers. She was about a head shorter than me, maybe 158 centimeters. "[excited]Ah, it's Shiratori Rio! I have business with Misaki-senpai!" Misaki welcomed her in with a smile. Rio, if I remembered right, was a first-year in the literature department—a kouhai who absolutely adored Misaki. But the moment Rio saw me, her expression froze solid. "[cold]…Who is this person?" Her voice was calm, but her eyes weren't smiling. Her watery-blue eyes were as cold as ice. "[gentle]My childhood friend, Kaito. He'll be staying with me for a while." Rio whispered something in Misaki's ear and asked her to step aside. While I was making tea in the kitchen, I vaguely overheard hushed voices from the living room. I couldn't make out what they were saying, though. As she was leaving, Rio turned back to me, alone at the entrance. "[whispers]…Don't get any closer to Misaki-senpai than necessary." It was a small voice. But I heard it with unnerving clarity. "[whispers]If you get in senpai's way… be prepared." With a smile plastered on her face, she vanished beyond the door. A chill ran down my spine. What the hell was that? After Rio left, I happened to glance down the hallway and noticed that Misaki's bedroom door was slightly ajar. Through the gap, I could see the wall. Something was plastered all over it. Paper? No… photos? "[cold]Did you see something?" My heart leaped, and I spun around. Misaki was standing in the hallway. I hadn't heard a single footstep. How long had she been there? Her voice had its usual gentle tone, but her golden eyes were an entirely different color. Cold, deep—eyes that seemed to see right through me. "N-no, I didn't see anything." She quietly closed the door and locked it. "[gentle]I see. Well, that's good then." Misaki's smile returned. But I understood now. There were things in this apartment I wasn't supposed to see. And I had almost stumbled right into them. Late at night. As I lay on the bed in the study, there was a knock at the door. "[whispers]Hey… want to sleep together, like old times?" She came into the room. "I just can't seem to settle down when I'm alone." I searched for a reason to refuse, but no good words came to mind. And then, just as I was about to say I'd use this bed and she could have hers, Misaki smoothly slipped under the covers right next to me. "[surprised]H-hey…" In the dim room, her body heat was right there. Close enough that our shoulders almost touched. The sweet scent of her shampoo felt much stronger than before. My heart was pounding so loudly I was terrified she might hear it. I really was conscious of Misaki. I'd never cared about it before. "[whispers]…We used to not care about this at all, didn't we." She murmured it quietly. Had she figured out what I was thinking? I couldn't answer. All I could do was gaze at her profile as she began to breathe softly in her sleep beside me. The light from the streetlamp leaking through the window faintly illuminated her black hair. Her long eyelashes. The elegant bridge of her nose. Falling for her is terrifying. Because we're childhood friends, and now we're living together. If things got awkward, everything would fall apart. But I couldn't look away anymore. I couldn't take my eyes off her sleeping face. Outside the window, a sea breeze blew in from the distant ocean. The curtain swayed gently. The night in Seikai City was quiet. But inside this room, something had definitely begun to stir. Staring at the small black dot on the ceiling, I couldn't sleep a wink all night. This room would become my new everyday life. But… was it really just an ordinary everyday life?