The back of my eyelids grew faintly bright. Morning. Kaito heaved his heavy body upright. He'd barely slept last night. Not because Misaki's sleeping face had lingered in his mind or anything like that. No, his heart had just been annoyingly loud, and every time he shut his eyes, weird thoughts crept in. (Well, whatever.) He settled his nerves as best he could and headed for the living room. The moment he opened the door, a wonderful smell hit his nose. A faintly sweet, dashi-based aroma. "[gentle]Ah, Kaito. Good morning." Misaki, standing in the kitchen, turned around. Her long black hair swayed softly. Today she wore a white blouse and a light brown long skirt—a neat, put-together look before heading to university. That strange, charged distance from last night snapped right back into everyday normalcy. "Morning." He looked at the table and his breath caught. Tamagoyaki. The slightly sweet kind, at that. Mentaiko. Miso soup with tofu in it. All of his favorite foods, arranged neatly before him. "[surprised]This is..." "[gentle]You've always liked these, right?" Misaki said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world as she pulled a pitcher of barley tea from the fridge. The practiced way she poured it into a glass made it seem like she'd been doing this forever. Always—true, back in elementary school they'd often eaten breakfast together. Their houses were close, so whenever one set of parents was out, they'd naturally end up at each other's places. But that was nearly ten years ago. They'd barely seen each other since. At most, they'd catch glimpses of one another back home during New Year's and Obon. And yet, this precision. (She actually remembers all this?) "Thanks. I'll dig in." In the end, all he could manage were words of gratitude. Well, of course. She'd gone out of her way to make this early in the morning. There was no room for complaints. He put a piece of tamagoyaki in his mouth. The sweetness was just right. The dashi had soaked in well, and it was wonderfully fluffy. "It's good." "[gentle]I'm glad." She sat down in the seat across from him, propped her chin on her hand, and watched him eat intently. Her golden eyes narrowed, like she was gazing at a pet cat. The warmth of her stare made him vaguely uncomfortable. A small sense of wrongness caught in the back of his throat. This was strange. The food was delicious, it tasted just like old times, and she was being kind. So why did he feel so restless? He started to think about the reason, then stopped. If he thought too hard, he had a feeling he'd notice something unpleasant. He washed the unease down with miso soup. Morning light streamed in through the living room's large window. The sky visible through the gap in the curtains was perfectly clear. It was a beautiful day. But for some reason, this room's windows had multiple locks on them. The sliding glass door leading to the balcony had three or four auxiliary locks. He'd noticed it yesterday, but this definitely wasn't normal. Losing his house to a fire and crashing at his childhood friend's place—if that were all, it'd just be a stroke of luck. But then there was the fact that she'd contacted him immediately after the fire, and that the police had said the cause "might be suspicious." All sorts of things were swirling around in his head. No, he was overthinking it. "Thanks for the meal." He pressed his palms together and set down his rice bowl. Misaki was still looking at him. She seemed deeply satisfied, somehow. —He had university again today. Lectures in the morning. Seikai University was fifteen minutes by bus from Seikai Station. The fashion building "Sea Star Gate" right near the station was a popular student meetup spot, and there was always someone there. But something strange had happened. Even though he and Misaki took the same bus to campus, for some reason she'd said, "I'll go on ahead," and left the apartment alone. He'd left a little later and caught the same bus, but when she spotted him from a seat in the back, she just gave a tiny wave. As if to say, don't come near me. Well, if word got out that the student council president's childhood friend was a guy she was living with, it would definitely stir up weird rumors. —Even so, the contrast was staggering. This happened on his way to the lecture hall after arriving at campus. He spotted Misaki surrounded by a group of students. One of the female students was holding out a handout and asking a question. Misaki tilted her head slightly, then answered with a gentle smile. Everyone around her nodded along with her words. "[gentle]For this formula here, it's easier to understand if you think about this part and this part separately." "Ohh, I see!" A little later, a group of male students passed by, and every single one of them bowed their heads with a "Madam President!" Misaki said "Good work" to each of them individually, carrying an almost goddess-like aura. It was completely different from those eyes she had at home. Kind to everyone, fair, utterly flawless. Yeah, that was right. This was the kind of person she was. Outside. But at home—she only looked at him, stayed close, and had somehow figured out all his favorite foods without him noticing. (Which one's the real her?) As he stood there thinking, his eyes met Misaki's. For just a moment, she smiled at him. But it was slightly different from the smile she'd been giving everyone else until just now. Warmer. More intense. His chest tightened. After the lecture, he ate curry in the cafeteria. The most popular item: katsu curry with a freshly fried cutlet on top. Seikai University's student cafeteria was ten years old and a little dated, but the food was cheap and good. From his window seat, he could see the courtyard, and since it was summer, towering cumulonimbus clouds were puffing up into the sky. "Hey, Kazama." He turned to see an acquaintance from the same economics department waving at him. "I heard you've been through a lot lately. A fire, right?" "Yeah. My house burned down completely." "Whoa, seriously? So where are you living now?" "...At my childhood friend's place." For some reason, the guys around him stirred slightly at that answer. "Childhood friend... you mean the student council president?" "Yeah." "No way! With Minase-san?!" Their voices were too loud. Cut it out. "Well, a lot happened." He brushed it off vaguely and took a bite of his cutlet. Afternoon lectures ended, and he got back home a little past five in the evening. Summer days in Seikai City were long. It was still bright out in the evening, and the sea breeze crept all the way into the apartment corridor. The entrance of Luminous Seikai was cool and refreshing as always today, and the concierge gave him a nod. When he unlocked the door, Misaki was already home. "[gentle]Welcome back." She was in an apron, stirring a pot. It looked like nikujaga tonight. After dinner, he was watching TV on the sofa. On a whim, he pulled out his phone and opened social media. Immediately, Misaki came and sat down next to him. "[gentle]Hey, Kaito." "Hm?" "[gentle]Are there any girls you talk to a lot at university?" Her voice was beautiful. But the question was oddly sharp. "No, not really." "[gentle]What about your seminar? No one you're interested in from group work or anything?" "I said there isn't." "[gentle]Really?" She was smiling. But deep in her golden eyes, there was no smile at all. "Really." "[gentle]I see." Misaki leaned her face a little closer to his. "[whispers]Then I'm all you need, right?" Her fingers gently settled on the back of his hand. Her body heat was soft, but her fingertips were ever so slightly cold. The weight of her words made his body freeze. He couldn't deny it or affirm it; his breath caught. Was this affection, or fear? He couldn't even tell which emotion it was. Just then, the front door opened. "[excited]Misaki-senpai, good evening!" A silver short bob came bouncing in. Shiratori Rio. Misaki's kouhai, a cheerful girl who never lost her smile. Her eyes were a clear, translucent light blue, and she was about a head shorter than him. "Rio-chan, welcome." Rio looked at his face and instantly dropped her smile. "[cold]...Oh. Kaito-kun. You're still here." "Still here? I've been living here since yesterday." "[sarcastic]Hmm. That's rough, senpai. Having this guy foist himself on you." She whispered something quietly into Misaki's ear, then stared hard at his phone. Ignoring her, he was about to send a LINE message to his best friend, Yuta. 'How's it going? A lot's happened lately.' Before he could hit send, Rio moved swiftly. "[cold]Senpai, Kaito-kun is trying to contact someone." Misaki turned around. Her face was, as expected, smiling. "[gentle]Oh my, who is it?" "No, just a friend..." "[gentle]Show me." With an utterly natural motion, Misaki took his phone from his hand. He didn't even have time to resist. "[gentle]Let's see... 'Oono Yuta'-kun, huh. And the history is..." She scrolled through the chat screen and started reading the contents aloud. "[gentle]'Wanna grab food tomorrow?'... 'The seminar presentation's getting bad, man'... 'Still can't get in touch with that girl?' Hmm, you two are pretty close, huh." "Stop it..." He reached out his hand. But the sense of indebtedness—of being in her care—stopped his feet. "[cold]We have to make sure no bad influences get to him." Rio smiled with satisfaction. Misaki closed the phone and tucked it into her own pocket. "[gentle]I'll hold onto this for a while." "...Huh?" "[gentle]If it's necessary, I'll reply on your behalf." Words failed him. He was being managed. Already. All of his connections to the outside world. He wasn't even allowed to contact someone of his own free will. After Rio left, silence returned to the room. He sat on the sofa, unable to move. "[whispers]Sorry. Maybe I worried a little too much." Misaki sat down beside him. Her arm smoothly entwined with his. "[serious]I said stop..." "[whispers]You don't hate it, do you?" Misaki's head leaned against his shoulder. Her fingers slowly stroked his arm. Gently, but in a way that made escape impossible. "[whispers]As long as I have you, Kaito, that's all I need." He heard a whisper by his ear, barely a voice at all. Her face buried itself against the crook of his shoulder. He searched for words of refusal. But his body accepted her warmth before he could find them. This was wrong. He had to pull away. (I'm really weak, aren't I.) He clicked his tongue inwardly. The next morning. When he woke up, Misaki was already standing in the kitchen. Today it was sunny-side-up eggs and sausages. His favorites, as expected. "Morning." "[gentle]Good morning. Did you sleep well?" "...Yeah, I guess." A lie. He'd barely slept. He'd spent the whole time thinking about whether to try and get his phone back. But it was still in her possession. While Misaki was doing the dishes, he rummaged through his bag. But it wasn't anywhere. "[gentle]Looking for something?" "No, nothing." He wanted to see Yuta. He wanted to use LINE. But he couldn't. If he tried to make contact, he didn't know what she'd do this time. And more than anything, right now, he didn't have the courage to try. Outside, it was beautifully clear again today. The sea visible through the gap in the curtains sparkled brightly. The sea breeze of Seikai City should have felt pleasant, as always. He approached the window. He gently traced a finger over one of the auxiliary locks. Solid. It was a mechanism that couldn't be opened from the outside, but couldn't be easily opened from the inside either. (It's like a cage.) The thought suddenly crossed his mind. Someone had once said this room was a cage of love. But surely, this was just the warped shape of affection from the girl who understood him better than anyone. He saw Misaki take o