It had rained the entire night, and by the ti morning ca, the sky after the rain looked even more beautiful than usual.
The azure sky resembled a massive sapphire set at the boundary between water and sky—clear and radiant.
Standing in front of the window of his rental apartnt, Takashi looked out at the freshly washed blue sky, and his mood naturally lifted a little.
After returning from the hospital last night, Takashi had fallen asleep wrapped in a winter blanket, the air conditioner set to 18°C, listening to the soft patter of the rain.
He wasn't sure how others felt, but for him, the heavier the rain, the better he slept.
He quite liked rainy days. Whenever it rained, he felt calm. When he was younger, he even used to run outside in the rain pretending he was cool, like in a TV drama.
Thinking back on it now, he realized just how dumb he had been.
Of course, rainy days weren't all positives.
Living in the south, whenever it rained, clothes wouldn't dry easily. The floors would get damp, and sotis there would be that horrible "returning moisture" phenonon—he hated that.
Takashi did a few sets of push-ups and crunches in the apartnt, followed by so curls with his dumbbells.
Then, he put on the clothes that had gotten soaked in the downpour the night before, which he had only lightly washed and hadn't been able to dry yet.
The clothes were still damp all over when he slipped them on.
"Not bad."
Takashi nodded in satisfaction.
Wearing the exact sa outfit as last night, Takashi grabbed two empty plastic bottles from his room and filled them with tap water.
He then picked up the shopping bag that Umaru had thrown at him the night before, locked the door, and jogged back to the place where they had parted ways.
He took one of the water-filled bottles from his backpack and poured it directly over his head with a splash.
After finishing the first bottle, Takashi emptied the second one over himself as well.
Once his hair and clothes were thoroughly soaked, he ssed up his hair, tossed the bottles into a nearby trash can, hugged the shopping bag, and sat down—ready to begin his performance.
…
6:30 a.m.
Doma Taihei had already prepared breakfast. He adjusted his tie and tidied his hair in front of the mirror.
"Umaru, breakfast is ready. I've left it on the table. Be sure to eat after you get up."
"Mhm, got it."
A muffled voice ca from under the covers.
Taihei looked at his sister, who was curled up entirely under the blanket, and couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.
He didn't understand what was wrong with her lately—she had seed down for a while now.
Was it because he'd been working overti too much and hadn't spent ti with her?
'I'll take the day off and co ho early today. I'll make her favorite hamburger steak,' Taihei thought to himself, and reminded her again,
"When the alarm rings, get up like a good girl. No sleeping in, okay?"
From under the covers, Umaru covered her ears in annoyance. "I heard you, I heard you!"
Taihei just assud she had a bit of morning grumpiness and didn't think much of it.
After a few more reminders, he grabbed his briefcase and headed for the subway.
There had been a heavy rain the night before, so the morning air was cool and refreshing—not too hot, and particularly pleasant.
As he walked along the street he took every day to work, carefully avoiding puddles on the roadside, Taihei suddenly noticed soone crouched under a utility pole at an intersection.
A drunk? he thought.
In Tokyo, it wasn't uncommon to see drunks who passed out on the street after drinking too much.
But it was rare to see sothing like that in his own neighborhood.
As Taihei got closer, he saw that it wasn't a drunk but a boy—young-looking and handso, with a clean silver haircut that now looked a bit ssy, as if he hadn't washed it all night.
The silver-haired boy was hugging a bag of snacks and sleeping with his head turned to the side.
Kicked out of the house? Poor kid, Taihei thought.
The boy looked to be about the sa age as his sister, and Taihei felt a bit sorry for him—but not enough to take a stranger ho.
He rely slowed his footsteps, trying not to wake him.
"Almost ti."
Takashi glanced at Doma Taihei, then checked his watch. He figured Umaru would be coming out soon, so he continued pretending to sleep.
In the small 40-square-ter apartnt, Umaru tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Finally, she gave up and grabbed her phone, lying on her stomach to play.
Without realizing it, she tapped open Line.
The familiar [Good Morning] ssage was nowhere to be seen. She had ntally prepared for it, but a faint sense of frustration and loss still crept into her chest.
Killing ti until she had to get up, Umaru finally climbed out of bed.
After taking a few perfunctory bites of breakfast, she stood in front of the bathroom mirror and tied her hair into low twin tails.
Putting on her blouse and pleated skirt carefully, Umaru sat on the bed and pulled up her white thigh-high socks, adjusting them to a comfortable position.
Her slim, long legs looked even more delicate and enticing under the white stockings.
Grabbing her backpack, she walked to the entryway, slipped her feet into her loafers, flicked her heel with a finger, tapped her toes on the ground, and stepped outside.
"Good morning, Umaru!"
When she reached the bottom of the stairs, Ebina Nana was already there waiting for her.
"Good morning, Ebina."
With a brief exchange of greetings, the two began walking to school together.
"Umaru, your eyes look really red. Did sothing happen?"
"I didn't sleep well. Don't worry about it."
"If sothing's wrong, you can talk to . I may not be much help, but…"
"Thanks, Ebina…"
Just as she was speaking, Umaru's pupils suddenly contracted. Her words trailed off, and she fell into stunned silence, staring blankly at sothing ahead.
In her line of sight, she saw Takashi curled up under the utility pole, hugging the bag of snacks she had thrown away yesterday.
He looked like an abandoned puppy, trembling in the cold.
He… couldn't have waited there all night, could he?
With that thought, Umaru forgot that Ebina was beside her. She quickly walked over to Takashi and raised her hand, ready to slap him.
Unaware of what dream he was having, Takashi clutched the snack bag even tighter, as if afraid soone would take it away.
In his sleep, he muttered dreamily, "Umaru, let explain… please, let explain, it's not what you think… trust …"
His voice was so soft that Umaru had to lean in close to barely make out the words.
Hearing that vague and half-conscious whisper, she stopped her raised hand midair and instead gave him a light push.
As Umaru pushed him, Takashi kept ntally counting ti. Feeling it was just about right, he slowly opened his eyes.
The mont he saw Umaru, his face froze in a dazed expression.
That was the typical first look people had when just waking up.
Takashi stared at Umaru. Umaru stared right back.
Their eyes locked.
Ti seed to stop as they looked at each other. Neither said a word.
After a long mont, Takashi snapped out of it. He smiled broadly, as if nothing had happened at all.
"Good morning, Doma-san."
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A scum indeed…
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