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1

The next day, Monday the fourth of August, dawned bright and clear.

Sakuta stepped out onto the balcony to hang out the washing. Pure white clouds were flowing across the sky from the west to the east. There was a slight breeze, but the sun's dazzling light bathed the entire area, so it seemed today would end up rather hot as well.

The clock showed ten AM, usually, this would be where the bell sounded, but today it didn't. Instead, the phone rang.

"Yeah yeah," said Sakuta as he looked at the monochrome LCD display, upon which a familiar number was displayed. Eleven digits, starting '090', it was Shouko's mobile number. "Hello, this is Azusagawa."

"Good morning, this is Makinohara," came the answer.

"Morning," he greeted.

"Um… I'm sorry," she apologised out of nowhere.

"Hm?"

"I won't be able to visit today," she told him. Something seemed to have happened, and Sakuta was slightly worried about the downtrodden tone in her voice. They'd only been speaking for a few moments, but something was clearly bothering her.

"I see, I'll make sure to feed Hayate properly then."

"Right, thank you. And, um…"

"Yeah?"

"It's not just today… I won't be able to visit for a week, or maybe even longer."

"Are you going abroad?" He asked. Even so, she was being oddly indirect, the 'maybe even longer' and the general lack of surety seemed to say her plans weren't fixed.

"No, I'm not going on a trip, but I'll have to be away from home for a while."

So she wouldn't be at home for a while for something other than a trip. After a little thought, only one conclusion came to Sakuta's mind. Sakuta had had that experience in the past once before, but he didn't want to ask Shouko the question he would need to to make certain of it.

She had been choosing her words carefully since the start of the conversation, so she probably wanted to keep Sakuta in the dark, for now, there was no need to bother her by going out of his way to ask.

"Got it, give me a call when you can come over again. I'll look after Hayate for you."

"I will, I'm sorry." He heard a woman call her name from the other side of the phone, and she answered that she was coming before speaking to Sakuta again, "Until I can call again then."

Still downtrodden, right until the end of the conversation, Shouko hug up, and Sakuta put the phone back too.

"Kaede," he called.

"What is it?" Asked Kaede, looking up happily from her studying at the dining table.

"Makinoharsan won't be coming for a while, so make sure to take care of Hayate too."

"Right, leave it to me!" Kaede cried, puffing out her non-existent chest.

Later, after a slightly early lunch, Sakuta changed into his uniform to head to school.

"You're really going then," Rio said to him as he stepped out into the hall in his school uniform. Nasuno was rolling about her feet, fairly used to her now.

"You going to come too?"

"It would be wiser not to."

"Why?"

"The urban legend. The one about dying after meeting a doppelgänger, or someone with the same face as you."

"Ah, yeah."

"Both of our existences being fixed at the same time is unthinkable with quantum teleportation, so… just in case."

"If you follow that hypothesis, what do you think would happen if you both met?"

"I suppose one of us would be removed to resolve the paradox… or perhaps the paradox would collapse and we'd both vanish." None of this was even vaguely amusing. "There was also a rumour that a famous literary prize-winner died like that… Maybe there really is another person that experienced the same doppelgänger phenomenon as I am."

That author had actually written a novel involving a doppelgänger. Back in elementary school when the urban legend formed… Sakuta remembered his classmates getting excited at the degree of reliability in the tale.

"That's why it would be wiser for me to stay," Rio finished.

"Look after the house then," he answered, moving to the door and putting his shoes on.

"I'll get dinner ready."

"It's sorta like we're living together," he said, intending it as a joke but making Rio's face twist in real displeasure.

"That's the second time today."

The first time was that morning. Rio had said that in exchange for letting her stay, she would help with the washing. She seemed surprisingly au fait with the washing and smoothed out the creases well. Her motions showed that she normally did her own washing, and when she was putting Sakuta's underwear to dry, he had said the same thing.

That had resulted in her throwing the pair of underwear at him.

"Now you just need to come greet me in an apron and it'll be perfect."

"That's not 'living together', that's 'being newlyweds'."

"Ah, it is?"

"Do that kind of play with Sakurajimsenpai."

"Great idea," he said, leaving the house with the memory of Mai's figure in an apron in his mind.

The summer air was muggy, and the sun gradually beat down on him. Following the heat-hazes he could see on the asphalt, Sakuta walked along his usual route.

After ten minutes, he arrived at Fujisawa Station, dripping with sweat. He climbed the stairs and passed through the corridor straight to the Enoden station.

Sakuta passed through the ticket barriers as the green and cream train pulled into the station. Seeing the train from the front let it show its charming retro face as it gallantly ferried passengers from Fujisawa to Kamakura, even under the scorching sun.

Taking the opportunity to take a seat in the cool, air-conditioned carriage and cool down, Sakuta saw a familiar face board the train from a nearby station.

She was wearing Minegahara High School's uniform, a white blouse atop a navy-blue skirt. The tie, done up to her throat, was red. It was the standard uniform that was recommended by the school, but there were actually very few students that wore it that way.

Rio's eyes met Sakuta's and she sat down wordlessly next to him.

A final group of panicked school girls boarded as the departure chime sounded. The doors closed a moment later then the train left the platform.

"Did you… find anything out?" Asked Rio, looking out at the passing scenery.

"That you're amazing under your clothes," he paused to allow her to reply, then continued when she didn't, "though I know you're amazing even if you don't take them off too."

Looking at her chest now would invite derision, so he followed her example and focused on the passing scenery outside as well. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that she had her hair up again today and wasn't wearing her glasses. Actually, the other Rio was wearing them, so maybe this Rio didn't have a pair of her own.

"So you came to tell me not to do stupid things?"

"As if, too much effort."

"I can't date Mai-san, and I've got too much free time, so I figured I'd come chat to you for the day."

Rio thought for a moment.

"I see, so you came to do something that takes even more effort." Sakuta gave no answer and just looked into her face. "What?"

"You taken any other photos? Other than the ones you've uploaded."

"I have, why?"

"Show me."

Rio's expression twisted unpleasantly.

"Showing me now shouldn't matter, right?" He asked.

The light provocation prompted her to wordlessly hand over her phone. He opened the photo folder and scrolled through the previews.

"You really do…"

There were over three hundred photos there, ten times what he'd imagined.

However, they weren't just erotic images. There were some photos simply of the palm of her hand, or just her toes, along with recordings of what was in her bag.

Moving on to the older data, he found Rio wearing an unfamiliar school uniform. She was wearing a navy-blue blazer and a knee-length skirt. She looked younger than she did now, and her hair was short, but it was unmistakably her.

"What's this?" He asked, showing her the screen.

"It's from middle school."

So she was taking selfies even back then, that was a strong tradition.

"There are quite a few with your face or full-body shots."

The older the images, the stronger that trend was. And the newer the photos were, the less often her face appeared. In contrast, photos showing the lines of her underwear or glimpses of skin with strong hints of sexuality increased.

"At first, I wasn't going to show anyone or upload them."

"It's just an album of yourself?"

"Are you trying to make me out to be a trying woman?"

"You already are, right?"

"Maybe so," Rio smiled derisively at herself. Sakuta thought that it was a bad smile, and he didn't want to see Rio make that kind of face. "When I started, I think I just wanted to look at them objectively and think I was doing something stupid."

"What for?" He asked.

"Seeing my stupidity for myself refreshed me."

It was growing further and further from Sakuta's understanding.

"It would be amusing to call it self-analysis," she continued, "but I think it's actually a type of self-harm."

The things she was saying were far from being funny, but saying it about yourself could indeed be humorous. Even being aware of that, Rio was continuing, and certainly escalating.

"You might not understand, Azusagawa… but I hate myself."

"The other Futaba said that too."

Her body's growth had caused it, she had experienced the reaction of the boys to that and said that it had made her feel filthy. From that, she had grown to hate her feminine nature.

"That's why I hurt myself, because I hate myself."

"So you suppress yourself, and that makes you feel better even if it's just for a moment?"

"You're smarter than you look."

"But the one suppressing yourself, in the end, is you, right?"

So it wouldn't solve anything. Once some time had passed, she would, of course, notice that she had gone back to being herself. She would look back on her actions and hate her weakness. Then she would hate herself even more, and repeat the same thing yet again to hurt herself. Each time her actions would grow in severity and go further towards extremes.

That vicious spiral assailed her heart with instability. Then the result was this, an outbreak of Adolescence Syndrome and a division of her consciousness… together that brought two Futaba Rios into existence.

Rio was carrying a paradox within herself that couldn't be reconciled by herself.

He had no intention to say he could understand that, but there was a single point Sakuta could empathise with. Kaede had been in her first year of middle school when she was bullied. Sakuta couldn't do anything when she was suffering right in front of him. The powerlessness and cowardice that had formed in his heart at the time had eaten at Sakuta from the inside rather than the outside.

Consumed by disgust at himself, Sakuta kept condemning himself, and at the end of those days of hatred, Sakuta had had three scars carved into his chest. If there was a single reason for those wounds, he would think of them as a punishment he gave himself, a sign of shame for not being able to help his younger sister.

"Say, Azusagawa?"

"Hm?"

"Whose side are you on?"

"I'm on Futaba Rio's side," he answered without the slightest hesitation.

"Clever answer," she told him.

"Woah, from down on high."

"However, 'we' can't understand each other.

"Don't be selfish."

"From on high from you, too."

"I'm the type of guy that doesn't have any restraint with his friends," said Sakuta, despite the embarrassment, he knew that Rio would push back, but instead she smiled slightly.

"Then I'll say this without restraint as well… Giving up on one of us would be quicker."

"Quit it with the scary stuff, I'll wet myself."

"If you're answering with that, you should understand, right?" The train stopped at Shichirigahama, "The world doesn't need two Futaba Rios."

Her voice was somehow cold as she spoke, before standing from her seat and alighting from the train. The chime of the train departing sounded immediately afterwards.

While Sakuta was searching for a reply, the doors closed and the train continued on with Sakuta still in his seat.

"Seriously, quit it with the scary stuff, I really will piss myself," he said to himself. The only one to hear him was the woman sitting next to him, who discretely pulled away from him, making him add, "I'm joking."

Of course, she didn't move closer to him again.

Sakuta had thought to get off at the next station, Inamuragasaki, but ended up riding all the way to the terminus at Kamakura.

Again, ending up outside of the station, he went into a shop that caught his eye and bought five pigeon-shaped shortbread biscuits, the representative souvenir for Kamakura. They had been a familiar food to Sakuta, from the Kanagawa Prefecture himself, for his entire life, on the same level as shumai.

Souvenirs in one hand, Sakuta returned to the train station and quietly retraced his steps to the Enoden.

This time, he got off at Shichirigahama. It was a bit of a detour but Sakuta arrived safely at school, albeit forty minutes later than planned.

"Here, a souvenir," said Sakuta as he placed a yellow bag of pigeon shortbread on the table Rio was using when he walked into the lab.

"What did you do."

"The emergency called for a visit to Kamakura."

"I see," she said disinterestedly, even as she reached out for the package. She seemed to have just brewed some coffee, and would have it to accompany the drink. Apparently, Rio was one of the ones to start with the tail.

Sakuta, who started with the head, took one as well.

"Have you decided which one of us you'll go with?" She asked.

"You know, Futaba?"

"What?"

"Decide that sorta stuff on your own."

Rio gave no answer for a moment, so Sakuta continued, "You should decide things about yourself for yourself."

"I see, that's logical."

Sakuta pulled a stool from under a desk and sat down. Then, to fill the space, he reached out for the remote for the TV and hit the power button. The TV at the side of the board, hanging from the ceiling, lit up. Shown on the screen was an afternoon variety show.

A familiar face was looking into the camera and presenting a segment about a sand art competition on some beach. The presenter Nanjou Fumika was holding a microphone and looking into the camera, apparently away from the studio again today.

"Look at this wonderful piece!" Came the woman's excited voice as she showcased the sand sculpture. Filling the screen was the famous Sagrada Família from Barcelona, with all eighteen towers completed as well. It was perfect, certainly as wonderful as Fumika had said. The other contestants' pieces paled in comparison.

"These two people here are the creators," she continued, introducing a man and woman. They both looked to be in their mid-twenties. The man was tall and slender, wearing glasses that gave him a handsome air as he smiled with nary a flinch at the camera's presence. The woman was petite, and had a cute face. Despite that, she still had a great figure, that much was visible even through the T-shirt she was wearing atop her swimsuit. Her red bikini showed through her shirt, holding the swell of her chest tightly, and her shirt fell just short of her toned stomach, giving a peek at her tight waist.

She was rather similar in height to Rio and he found his eyes looking her way to compare them.

"I'm not that thin," said Rio, reading his mind. Though on the other hand, that could be taken as an agreement for the rest. Maybe she'd look even better than Sakuta thought out of her clothes.

"Are you two in a relationship?" Asked Fumika on the television.

"You're prettier in real life, aren't you?" The man asked in return, ignoring her question, but at the twitch of her eyebrow, he continued smoothly, "She's my wife."

Immediately, the woman showed the gleaming ring around her finger, making a sparkling ping sound as she did.

"You're rather young, are you newlyweds?" Fumika questioned further.

"Not at all, we got married at eighteen."

The man looked off into the distance. To get married at eighteen, quite a lot must have happened. Maybe he was thinking of those hardships. Sakuta would be eighteen next year, but the concept of marriage still felt like some term from a fantasy.

"G-getting married at eighteen is quite impressive," said Fumika, thrown by the unexpected answer before turning the microphone to the woman, "Now then, this was mostly made by you, so where there any particularly difficult parts?"

"I'll be bringing it out at the event at Kugenuma on the twenty-thiiiird! Come get a handshake there!" The woman suddenly yelled, completely ignoring the mood. Sakuta didn't have a clue what she was on about. She then advanced on the camera making mock roars. Then, the man… her husband, grabbed her arms from behind and took her out of frame.

Fumika was taken aback, but soon regained her composure.

"Let's go back to the studio," she deflected with a smile. Once back in the studio, which was slightly out of it too, the main host followed up with the adverts.

The screen switched, showing another familiar person, Mai this time. It was a shampoo advert, her smooth and glossy hair was swept out and then settled back into order as the narration said, "Soft and supple, every day." At the same time, Mai laughed slightly in front of the mirror, like she was ticklish. It was a devastating expression combining both cuteness and beauty. No matter how many times he saw it, it would take his breath away, it was a great sight.

As the TV switched to another advert, Sakuta picked up a hand fan from the desk and moved to by the window. The air conditioning seemed a little week, so it was a touch hot in the room as he fanned himself.

As he looked outside, he could see five people running around the fields. The one running out in front was Yuuma, so they were probably basketball club members.

"Say, Futaba?"

"What?"

"How do you think you can go back to being one?" He asked suddenly, still looking out of the window.

"The world doesn't need two Futaba Rios."

Rio herself had said that, and it had remained in Sakuta's mind the entire time. Uploading the suggestive photos was an issue, but the case of Adolescence Syndrome couldn't be left alone either.

"We can't."

"If you're saying that because of the personality divergence, you could if they went back to being one?"

"…Maybe," Rio answered negligently and like she had given up.

"How do we do that then?"

"Currently at least, we're diverging more and more. We're doing different things and have different memories and experiences. As they become more disordered, I don't think we can go back to being one."

"Be a bit more optimistic, I'll get ulcers."

"I suppose once we feel the same then."

"Filled with love for Kunimi?"

His only reply was a cold silence. If he turned around, he was sure she'd be glaring daggers at him, so he didn't turn.

"I think we both already feel the same with those feelings," she said eventually.

"Go back to being one then," he said.

"The fact that we haven't might mean that it needs stronger feelings."

"Do you have stronger feelings for anything other than Kunimi?" Sakuta didn't think so at least.

"I don't know," surrendered Rio. It felt like he'd asked an unanswerable question. His expression twisted and he switched his attention to the last of his biscuit. As he chewed the remnants of the tail, Yuuma finished circling around the fields and approached the building.

Yuuma's eyes met Sakuta's, and his expression relaxed slightly when he noticed him. He then came running right over to Sakuta before practically collapsing against the wall.

"Ah, I'm dead!" Sakuta heard as he opened the window.

He was gasping for breath and sweat trickled off him onto the concrete.

"You've got a good thing in your hand there," said Yuuma, looking up at Sakuta as he leaned out of the window. Yuuma made a fanning motion with his hand, asking Sakuta to fan him. As proof, his eyes were focused on the fan in Sakuta's hand.

"Nope," said Sakuta.

"Why?"

"I don't have a reason to service you."

"Breeze please!" Yuuma implored.

Ignoring that, Sakuta turned back to face the lab.

"Futaba," he called, beckoning her from preparing test tubes.

"What?" She asked, moving towards them even as she frowned.

He handed the fan over to her.

"Fan Kunimi."

"He asked you, didn't he?"

"If you're gonna get fanned, it should be a girl doing it."

Her unhappy expression was at least half embarrassment.

"Futaba, breeze please!" Cried Yuuma piteously, completely exhausted.

After a moment of thought, Rio wordlessly flapped the fan back and forth.

"Ahhh, that feels good."

The other four members were still running, staggering onwards around the fields.

"The club's in the gym, right? Why are you five running alone?" Sakuta asked. There should be more members.

"It was a penalty for losing the friendly."

"You lost?"

"My team was all first years," he defended.

"Pushing the blame onto your teammates isn't like you. You must be a fake."

"The hell do you think of me?"

"That you're irritatingly popular."

"You bastard," Kunimi replied, before breaking out into laughter.

"It really is a mystery how you two became friends," Rio muttered, almost to herself.

Yuuma just grinned broadly, and Sakuta followed his example. He didn't really want to answer her, and had never put it into words. Anyway, putting it into words was difficult, at its most basic, they just got along. They said what they wanted to each other without restraint, and Kunimi had always had an atmosphere about him that let you know whether he was joking or not.

He could say the same about Rio too. The first time they had properly spoken was in the first term of their first year, after the rumour of Sakuta turning violent and sending his classmates to the hospital had already spread.

At the time, Sakuta had been looking for somewhere he could eat his lunch in peace and ended up at the physics lab, but there was already someone there.

"I'm impressed you can show up to school every day with everyone looking at you like that, Azusagawa," Rio had said, in his class at the time.

"Thinking 'everyone's avoiding me' is probably too self-conscious," he had answered.

"I don't think it is at all. Are you alright in the head? Actually, obviously you're not, you're coming to school."

"You're interesting, Futaba."

"Huh? How?"

"Talking to me like this means you're the same."

That had been how it all started, with a conversation with not a hint of reservation in it. He could remember it well even now, and the feeling between them hadn't changed even a little despite over a year having passed.

"One last dash!" Called Yuuma to the four first-years, causing them all to put on a spurt of speed, all stampeding for Yuuma as if competing.

Reaching him, they all fell forwards, supporting themselves with their hands on their knees, gasping for breath.

"Ah, no fair!" They shouted at Yuuma getting fanned by Rio, "You've got a girlfriend and you're gettin' another girl to do that, why're you the only popular one!?"

Sakuta was in agreement there and nodded deeply.

"Come on, introduce us to that wonderful girl."

"She a second-year?"

"Huh, you lot don't know Futaba?" He asked.

Rio was a little famous within the school, she was known as the weird second-year that always wore a lab coat. Even though they were in different years, they should have realised that too.

"Eh?" The four of them noised in surprise, looking at each other.

"She was this cute?" One of them said quietly, but Sakuta could clearly hear them. Rio wasn't wearing her lab coat now, her hair was up, and she wasn't wearing her glasses, so the impression she gave was too different and they couldn't tell. Sakuta had been the same at first.

"You lot ain't discerning enough, I ain't going to introduce you. Come on, back to the gym," Yuuma shooed them away. They left, occasionally looking back and talking between themselves, getting more excited:

"Second-years really do look adult."

"She's just my type."

"She's sexy-smart! Actually, smart-sexy!"

"Damn, I want her to teach me some things."

"Gotta say, I don't think much of your discernment either," Sakuta chided Yuuma as he watched the first-years leave. In his mind though, he was thinking something different.

He was remembering this Rio's words.

"The world doesn't need two Futaba Rios."

It was certainly true, the world couldn't accept two Futaba Rios. They couldn't both come to school when the second term arrived, and they couldn't both live in the same house. There were also problems with what would happen with residence certificates and on top of that, it was unquestionable that the Rio currently having a social life was this Rio. The Rio living at Sakuta's house was only known to a very few people.

So things couldn't continue like this. Though Sakuta hadn't been taught how to make two people into one at school. Rio had said about strong attachments, but he couldn't think of anything she was more attached to than Kunimi.

"Seriously, what do I do," he muttered to himself.

"Hm?" Kunimi asked in response.

"Nothing," evaded Sakuta, having nothing else he could do.

2

"So, how long are you going to keep this up?" Asked Futaba with no preamble as they sat at Shichirigahama Station, waiting for the train home.

Today it was already the twelve of August and Sakuta had spent every day for the last week in the lab with Rio.

"Till you stop doing that stuff I guess," he answered.

Even now, Rio was uploading risqué photos. He had checked on his way home from work last night and she had posted an image of a test tube in her cleavage, apparently in response to the demands to 'put something between them', but it was probably just Sakuta who thought it seemed even sillier, and not particularly erotic.

"Or you could just show them to me I suppose," he added.

"You're getting further from your goal each day then."

"That's a shame."

He leaned forwards and looked up towards Kamakura, there was still no train. The clock was ticking towards six PM, but the sky was still light, with just a tinge of red in the west.

"What are we doing tomorrow?" He asked. There had been a lot of fairly dull experiments in the last week, mostly using a trolley to measure things like gravitational acceleration. There was no interest in just seeing things that were easily broken down and understood.

"Maybe we can make a rocket so you don't get bored?"

"Seriously?"

"A bottle rocket, yes."

"You can go and fetch them."

"That supposed to be helping? This is when you're supposed to have a contest to see whose rocket goes further."

"Well, it won't be much of a contest with you," she said, looking at her phone. Some kind of notification seemed to have gone off.

The moment she looked at the screen, her shoulders shook and her expression clearly tightened. She soon looked away from the screen but then checked again, and the blood drained from her face. Seeming to remember something, she hid her phone. Putting it face down on her thighs and then covering it with both hands.

"What's wrong?" Asked Sakuta.

"Nothing," she replied without looking at him, surveying the other people waiting for their train. There were several Minegahara students and groups of students scattered about the platform. While she was doing that, her phone buzzed.

"Futaba?"

"…It's fine," she insisted. It didn't look like it was 'fine' at all, her reactions were delayed and her voice was faint. Looking, he could see that her hands in her lap where shaking too, in a way that had nothing to do with her phone's vibration.

"Someone reply?"

Rio simply gave a small nod.

"Can I look?" He asked, gesturing towards her hidden phone with his eyes.

"No."

Even so, Sakuta reached out his hand and touched the phone case between her fingers.

Hunching slightly, Rio didn't really resist him pulling the phone out, essentially letting him look.

He checked the phone in his hand. Shown on the screen were several direct messages.

"That's Minegahara's uniform, right?"

Said the first message.

"I used to go there, I can tell."

Came the second after mere seconds.

"I'm nearby today, let's meet up?"

The third continued, and as he was reading it, several short messages came in succession:

"I can pay my way, 15k?"

"If you don't, I'll tell your school."

"Risky, ain't it?"

"Hey, let's meet, will you?"

Rio, watching from his side, gripped at the hem of his shirt uneasily, her shaking intensifying, directly showing him how uneasy she was.

"So people like this actually exist," he said as he manipulated the phone, writing out a message. Even as he did, the messages didn't stop.

"I wanna meeeeet."

"I'm waiting."

"Oi, you listening?"

"Don't blame me."

The piled up as he was typing. It was an annoyance, but Sakuta completed the message he had been typing.

"Azusagawa?"

He sent it regardless.

"What was that!?" She asked.

He showed the screen to Rio, the message still showing.

"I'm calling the police."

At that message, the phone had fallen dead silent, the messages stopping.

"It should be fine now," he said.

"…Delete it."

"Hm?"

"Delete… that account."

"Got it…" he said, keeping the screen visible to Rio so she could make sure he was doing it correctly as he deleted the account. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah," she answered before they boarded the train to Fujisawa. A group of older women returning from Fujisawa had bags of souvenirs, and there were also young couples that seemed to have gone to the beach along with university student groups.

Sakuta guided Rio into an empty seat right in the middle of the carriage. For the entire time, she kept her grip on his shirt. He could feel the warm gazes from around, they apparently looked like a new couple.

"Sorry," Rio said quietly, "It's what I deserve, but…"

Her body and voice both held a deep fear, she was utterly terrified.

"I don't really get it… I'm just really scared…" she continued, her shaking still not having stopped, as he could tell from where their shoulders were touching.

"Emails and messages stab right into you," he said in his usual tone, still looking forwards.

Rio made a questioning noise.

"It's something… the counsellor told me when Kaede was bullied, humans take in about eighty per cent of their information in through their eyes."

"…That seems likely."

"That's why there's more impact from a message or a letter telling you to die than from just being told it verbally."

On top of that, they were sudden too, if there was someone in front of you, you could generally gauge how the conversation was going and be ready for it, but a digital letter sent out of nowhere could easily surprise you and suddenly gouge malice into your heart before you were ready.

That was exactly the situation that Rio was in now.

Arriving at Fujisawa Station, Sakuta passed through the Odakyu-Enoshima Line ticket gates. Normally he'd walk on home from here, but he couldn't do that today.

At a glance, the platform was long enough that it looked like a terminus. However, even without a dedicated rail, you could catch the train both up and down the line through the switch back towards either Shinjuku or Katase-Enoshima.

"Um… I'm sorry," Rio apologised as they were walking alongside the other passengers. She was probably apologising for causing him trouble or being a nuisance.

She couldn't remove her hand from his shirt, possibly because of how long she'd held the grip.

"I got to see you being cute, so I'll just brag about it to Kunimi."

She glared at him wordlessly, but still in the midst of her fear, she looked closer to crying.

They boarded the train as it arrived. He couldn't leave her alone like this, so Sakuta was planning on taking her home.

The white train with a blue line on it left the station right on schedule. Because Rio lived near Honkugenuma Station, which was only one stop down the line, it didn't take long to arrive. From there, they walked for about five minutes.

"We're here," murmured Rio quietly, stopping on the corner of a quiet residential street. It was a calm street with detached houses lined up along it. The biggest buildings of flats nearby were only about five storeys tall and the sky seemed more open.

Rio put her hand on the wide double gate. Above it was an archway decorated with delicate ornaments, just looking at it gave the impression that rich people owned the house.

Entering, it grew even more apparent, tasteful, wide slabs of stone paved the way to the fashionable, cuboid house. There was a large garage to the side that looked to have an automatic door on it, it could easily fit three cars inside.

"This is definitely something," Sakuta couldn't help but say.

"It's just a cold-looking house," Rio said unimpressed.

"Well, it doesn't look like anyone lives here, no," he agreed. It felt like something you'd see on a TV show to promote the Shonan area.

"That's normally where you disagree."

"Don't expect so much of me."

"Well, that's true."

They finally arrived at the door and Rio produced her key, unlocking the door. The lights were on, but no one was home. There was probably some sensor near the gate that turned them on.

The time was just passing seven, and even though the sky was light, it was starting to show hints of night.

"Make sure you lock the door," he told her.

"Azusagawa," she said, holding the door and looking back at him with an uneasy look on her face.

"Hm?"

Honestly, he knew what she was going to say without asking. She was still scared because of the message from some unknown man, and couldn't shake it off.

"Um… I want you to stay here tonight," she said faintly, but still clearly.

"Your parents?"

"My Father has gone to Germany for work, and Mother is in Europe for a business meeting."

"That sounds like something out of a drama."

"It happens fairly often for us."

"Just making sure you know, but I am a guy."

"If anything happens, I'll tell Sakurajimsenpai about everything that you did or didn't do."

"Just stick to the things I did."

"I trust you."

"I'd personally rather be the kind of guy you felt on guard around though."

"Idiot, get in."

"'Scuse me then."

He went inside and the silence deepened. The crinkling of their uniforms sounded awfully loud in the quiet. The entrance was more of an atrium, so that would probably happen.

Following Rio, he stepped into a similarly huge living room. It was probably about twenty tatami mats in size, or about thirty metres square. The decoration was relatively monotone, based on black and white. In front of a comfy looking sofa was a massive sixty-inch TV, and a well-maintained garden was visible through the window.

The kitchen was open plan, and within the glass-fronted cabinets had spices and tableware lined up in them like a showroom. The hall itself was all lit fashionably with indirect lighting.

The entire area was simple and refined, but still had an air of luxuriousness about it, the kind of house anyone would want to live in.

However, there was something missing from the house in Sakuta's opinion. He could feel it even before entering the house. It had no scent to it, no character.

As a place to store things, it was wonderful, but it somehow didn't feel like Rio lived here, there was no warmth to the house. He was assaulted by the sensation of being lost in an unfamiliar place, just standing there made him uneasy.

"Are your family often not at home?" He asked.

"That's not the case."

"I see."

"Only for about half the year."

"Oi, that's often."

It was too often. When she had denied it, Sakuta had expected something like two or three times for a year. But at the same time, he could strangely see it being the case, the house wouldn't feel like this if that weren't the case, if her parents came home each night, that wouldn't have happened.

"Father rents a room close to the hospital, and Mother is often abroad for her business, so this is normal."

"In what world is this suppose to be normal?"

Now he understood why the other Rio was so at home with cooking and washing, because she lived alone here for half the year, so of course she was used to it.

"This is normal here. Neither of them are suited to being parents," she told him unconcernedly, almost as if informing him of something that was common knowledge. It looked like she didn't feel anything about that anymore, she had given up long ago and it had become normal… That was the impression Sakuta got. "It seems that Father married for success within the hospital."

"The hell?"

"Apparently, it's a world you cannot succeed as a bachelor."

"And your mother agreed?"

"Mother married because she wanted the title of 'Professor Futaba's Wife', so they both had the advantages. They both do what they like as well, so neither of them are unhappy. You have a surprisingly old-fashioned way of thinking."

"Well, I'm a primitive that doesn't have a smartphone in this day and age."

"Where'd that come from?"

"My cute little junior said it."

"Ah, Laplace's Imp from before, she has a point," said Rio, laughing slightly. She normally wouldn't have laughed at something like that. He didn't know if she realised, but she was distracting attention by forcing herself to laugh. Rio quickly turned on the necessary lights and pressed the button to fill the bath.

"Once it's done, go on ahead," she told him.

"Sure thing," he answered, reluctant to tell her that he'd go after in this situation, so took her invitation and was soon entering the bath.

Just as he was considering that and entering the bath, Rio told him, "Don't come out until the washing and drying is done."

"How long?"

"Thirty minutes."

"Are you trying to kill me?"

Mercilessly, no reply was forthcoming.

Switching with Sakuta, who was now light-headed, Rio spent an hour bathing. She told him to wait outside while she did. Apparently, she really didn't want to be alone. With no other options, Sakuta sat himself down against the wall outside, just as he had talked with the other Rio twice before.

"Azusagawa."

"I'm here," he answered.

"Right…"

Silence fell for several moments, before, "Azusagawa?"

"Here."

"Right…" Before once more, "Az-"

"I'm still here!"

The conversation repeated several times.

"Say, Azusagawa?"

"This is annoying, want me to just get in with you?"

"…If you keep your eyes closed the entire time," she answered after a slight pause. Rio would absolutely never say that normally, it was proof of her doubt.

"No way, that'd just be torture."

"Sing a song or something then."

"That's even worse!"

After Rio finished her long bath, they had a simple meal. Using that wonderful kitchen, they had prepared cup ramen. Sakuta couldn't help but laugh at the amusing scene, but Rio didn't seem to see anything odd about it. She lived here though, so that was only natural.

While they waited the three minutes, he phoned home and let Kaede know that he wouldn't be coming home tonight. The two of them then sat down in front of the TV and ate their noodles. Instead of music, Rio put a foreign drama on the Blu-Ray player and they whiled away the time.

Though that said, trying to appreciate a drama for five consecutive hours certainly did wear on them.

"Let's sleep," said Rio as the clock hands swung around to half-past one in the morning and their eyes grew heavy.

Rio, having been wearing pyjamas since she left the bath, stepped onto the stairs. They were the fluffy pyjamas he had seen in one of the photos before. The bottoms were shorts, so her legs drew the eye a little.

Thinking that he couldn't just follow her to her room, Sakuta stopped at the bottom of the stairs. As he did, Rio noticed him stop and turned around mid-way up the stairs.

"We'll sleep in the living room actually," she decided.

"What a shame, I thought it was my chance to pay my respects to your room."

"It's because you talk like that that I don't want to show you. You'd talk to Kunimi about it too."

"Well yeah, I already said."

"Hahh…"

Rio returned to the living room and used the sofa in place of a bed. Sakuta… after moving the table next to it a little to make some space, quietly lay down on the floor.

The carpet was soft, so it wasn't uncomfortable. If anything, it was fairly nice, a big change from Sakuta's own floor.

"Night then," he said.

"Yeah, night"

While they were watching the TV, Sakuta had been yawning constantly, but now that he lay down, he wasn't sleepy in the slightest.

It was convenient at first when he decided to stay up until Rio had fallen asleep, but… It was already close to an hour since Rio had laid down on the sofa. Guessing from her uneven breathing, she definitely wasn't asleep.

Slowly, she let out a long breath, the kind you did when mentally sorting something, an intent sigh.

As he listed, Sakuta gazed up at the ceiling, cast in a pallid light from the faint illumination through the crack in the curtain.

After a while, Rio spoke:

"Azusagawa, are you awake?"

"I'm asleep."

"So you are up."

"I'm sleeping now," he said, forcing a yawn. He wanted Rio to fall asleep, if she was awake, her unease would just create worse thoughts. Nothing was better than sleep when you were troubled, you could think later.

"I think I was scared," she admitted.

He gave her no answer.

"I've got you and Kunimi now, but I was sure I'd end up alone again."

"Why'd you think that?"

"I wasn't so uneasy until I entered high school. I was always alone, whether it was at home or at school. Then I met you and Kunimi and grew to dislike it…"

"Kunimi's a bad guy, huh?"

"It's half your fault. I didn't enjoy going to school up until middle school, but after high school, I enjoyed it a little."

"Just a little?"

"Well do you enjoy school?" She asked.

"Nope, just a bit at best."

"It's the same," she said.

But that 'just a little' had made Rio uneasy. If people came to enjoy something, they would want it to continue forever, and if they thought they might lose it, they would grow uneasy. "When Kunimi got a girlfriend, I was terrified…"

"That's where you're supposed to think 'why her?'."

"I did…"

"So you did, nice, Futaba."

"But a gorgeous girl like her suits him. I wouldn't go together with him."

"Man, Kunimi's awful, he just keeps making you sad."

"You can't talk either."

"Huh?"

He'd thought he was safe, but apparently not.

"You got a beautiful girlfriend yourself, so I thought you'd stop caring about me."

"Moron," he snorted, "It's true that I'm head over heels for Mai-san-"

"That's the first time I've heard someone say head over heels, when was that even used?" Rio laughed/

"But I'm going to have you be my friend for the rest of my life," he finished.

"You don't have friends either, huh?"

"That's right, so don't just fade out, I'll cry."

Rio didn't answer, seeming to keep her distance.

"Besides, you don't get a thing."

"About what?"

"You've fallen for Kunimi, but you don't get him at all."

"That's not tr-"

"It is true," Sakuta interrupted her, "I'm borrowing your phone."

He turned on the phone he was still looking after, the backlight illuminating his face.

"What are you doing?"

"I'll show you just how amazing Kunimi is, you'll fall for him all over again."

Yuuma's phone number was displayed on the screen, and Sakuta pressed the call button.

"Azusagawa, you can't!" Rio cried, bolting upright, "He'll think I'm ridiculous, calling at this time of night…"

On her face were panic and confusion… and also the feelings of a maiden in love. A desire to not have Yuuma hate her was written on her face.

"It's too late," said Sakuta as he put the phone to his ear and listened to the dial tone. However, at half-past two in the morning, it was unlikely he'd pick up, but Sakuta didn't doubt him.

The call connected on the sixth ring.

"Ngh, Futaba?" Came Yuuma's sleepy voice, he really had been asleep it seemed.

"It's me."

"Sakuta, what?" Frankly speaking, Sakuta was disappointed, that reaction was too dull. Even so, realising who it was without Sakuta naming himself was just like Yuuma.

"Futaba's in trouble, come to Honkugenuma Station right now."

"Right, got it," he said, his tone suddenly changing, like he had leapt out of bed, "I'll be right there."

Immediately after giving his short answer, Yuuma hung up. Because of the volume, Rio had been able to hear the last sentence as well.

Sakuta turned the phone off again and stood up, Rio just watched him blankly from the sofa.

"Kunimi's coming," he told her.

"You're insane."

"Kunimi's the insane one, agreeing to come right away at this time of night.

Yuuma lived to the north of Fujisawa Station, about three or four kilometres from here. The trains obviously weren't running, so he'd have to find some other way there, and that would take a fair amount of time.

"You should wash your face," he told her. She hadn't been crying, but her eyes were puffy, "get dressed too."

Her fluffy pyjamas were fairly cute, but he couldn't take her out like that.

"Are you telling me to dress up?"

"Just get changed normally."

"Wait outside then."

Sakuta walked out to the entrance, leaving Rio in the living room.

It was about fifteen minutes since he had stepped outside, and his backside was getting quite familiar with the stone slabs he was sat on.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," said Rio somewhat shyly.

It seemed like she had washed her face and freshened up like Sakuta had said, and her hair was held up by a scrunchie. She was wearing a baggy T-shirt that didn't show off her body. She was covered from head to toe, wearing jeans under the shirt, only showing her ankles.

He looked closely at her outfit in deference to the time she'd kept in waiting.

"W-what?" She asked, putting herself on guard.

"It doesn't show enough, do it again," he said, pointing inside.

"I don't want to keep Kunimi waiting," she said, walking off towards the station. Her sandals had slight heels, not even making her taller by five centimetres. That was the most she could do right now it seemed.

"Well, it's a good effort for you."

"Why do you have to talk down to me like that?"

"I just think that if you're wearing that kind of top then you should wear shorts underneath."

As she walked, Rio looked down at her hips.

"Then it would look like I wasn't wearing anything."

"That's good, presentation is important."

"…Um, Azusagawa," she suddenly spoke, her tone dropping.

"Hm?"

"Is this really not good enough?" She asked, looking uneasily up at him.

"Who knows, I don't know Kunimi's tastes."

"I was asking for your opinion, as a boy," she said, her angry voice belying her nervous gaze.

"I think it's good, very you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Sakuta was sure that nothing he said would get rid of those feelings, that was why they were going to meet Yuuma.

Of course, it being three AM, they didn't encounter anyone, the first person they saw was when they arrived at the station, a silhouette straddling a bike just by the ticket gates, wiping the sweat from their forehead with their shirt sleeve,

"You're late," he said with a laugh, noticing Sakuta and Rio and riding gently over to them. Yuuma came out into the light. Sakuta really hadn't expected him to already be here, he must have raced off immediately after he had finished on the phone and ridden full pelt.

"You're just too early."

"You were the one that told me to come flying, Sakuta."

"What, are you just made of muscle?"

"Well, close enough," he said before moving on from Sakuta and looking at Rio, "are you okay, Futaba?"

"Eh?" She answered.

"Did Sakuta do anything to you?"

"As if I would."

"I was sure you'd gone after her or something."

"Why would I have called you then?"

"Maybe a guilty conscience? Actually, I guess you don't have a conscience like that."

Even though he'd ridden here so late at night, Yuuma was just the same as always.

"Why…" said Rio with a sigh.

"Why…" she repeated. And then everything all happened at once.

Tears welled up in her eyes and then tracked down her cheeks, dripping off like heavy rain onto the asphalt.

"Why… why…" she kept repeating.

"Don't make her cry, Kunimi."

"This is my fault?" Yuuma winced at Sakuta's reproach, probably even more than he would have had he known the situation.

"It's definitely your fault."

"Well damn," said Yuuma, scratching his head in real worry.

"It's not his fault…" Rio said tearfully, wiping at her face with both hands, almost like a child would cry.

"It's not his fault…" she repeated, to make sure it had gotten through her tears, "Don't cause trouble…"

She moved her hands from her face and glared at him, but in this situation, he couldn't see anything but a child ready to cry.

"You've got a pretty cute way of crying," said Sakuta, making her look down in embarrassment.

"Don't ask me… It's been so long…"

Maybe she didn't know how to cry because of that, she had just grown into high school with the same way of crying as a child.

"But… But…" she started, once again becoming overcome with emotion and starting to cry again, "I… I…"

She sniffled, her face already messy.

"I wasn't alone…" she finished, "I wasn't alone…"

Rio was crying with a peaceful expression, so Sakuta didn't say a word. Yuuma likewise, while not understanding the reasoning, quietly watched over her. Rio repeated herself several times, murmuring to herself. She tried to stop her tears, but was assaulted by a new wave each time.

"Sakuta."

"Hm?"

"Go buy me and Futaba a drink."

"I don't get why you're exploiting me, ain't the foggiest."

"We've got to rehydrate," Yuuma said triumphantly.

"Sure, it ain't great though, but well, today's special."

"I'm fine with something fizzy, what about you, Futaba?" Yuuma asked.

"I'll have an iced coffee," she said, still looking firmly towards the nearby convenience store even as she cried. Apparently, a vending machine wasn't good enough.

Grumbling "Don't blame me if you can't sleep," Sakuta gave in and heading in.

Sakuta, having entered alone, picked up a blue-labelled sports drink from the shelf. A two-litre bottle just to annoy Yuuma. He took it to the till and had the university-age looking person manning it add an iced coffee to the order. As he did, the fireworks display next to the till caught his eye. He picked one up and added that before paying the total.

"Thank you for your patronage," the attendant said listlessly as he left.

When he exited, he arrived next to Yuuma and Rio, and Rio's face was slightly red.

"Did he say something perverted," asked Sakuta.

"He didn't, it was about my clothes…" Rio told him quietly, and judging from her reddened cheeks, it was probably praise. That was Yuuma for you… he understood.

Sakuta passed over the coffee in his hand with a straw already inside. Then he took the bottle from the bag and handed it to Yuuma, it was the one from Mai's advert.

"You've been totally domesticated by Sakurajimsenpai, haven't you," Rio laughed, traces of tears still on her face, but finally having stopped crying.

"He's devoted in the weirdest ways," Yuuma said, not complaining about it not being a fizzy drink, nor even commenting about the bottle size. Actually, he drained half the bottle in a single draught. Apparently, he really had been thirsty. He put the bottle and what was left in his bike's basket.

"So what are we doing now?" Yuuma asked, still sat on his bike. The time was passed three AM.

"This," Sakuta answered, putting the bag in his basket as well, letting the fireworks set he had just bought show itself.

"Is there even anywhere nearby we can light fireworks at this time of night?"

Looking in both directions, it was a completely residential area, so he could understand Yuuma's feelings.

"What about the beach?"

"It's a fairly long walk from here," said Rio calmly, the most familiar with the area.

"If I ride with Futaba on the back of the bike, and you run, it should take about ten minutes."

"You do know it's my bike?"

"What, you're saying that Futaba should run?"

"I'm saying you should," Yuuma laughed as he surrendered the bike to Sakuta. He was stretching, particularly his Achilles tendon, completely ready to run.

"Well, making you run wouldn't be too different from just walking."

"Don't make fun of me. I'd have to take breaks, it'd take longer."

"Don't sound so proud about it," Yuuma cackled, but soon remembered what time it was and stifled his laughter.

"Futaba," said Sakuta, urging her to get on the bike.

"I'm going on ahead," said Yuuma, meaning that Rio couldn't refuse, nor would she hold back.

"We'll get arrested for riding on one bike together," she said aghast, but still sitting side saddle on the rack on the rear, holding tightly to the saddle.

"You could hold on to me instead you know."

"You really are a pervert."

"It was a jo-oooh."

The strange noise was because Rio had unexpectedly grabbed onto him, putting her arms around his waist and clinging to his back, a soft sensation across his back.

"I'll make sure to tell Sakurajimsenpai you were lusting after me."

"She'll start scolding me, I'll look forward to it.

"And that's why you're a low-life."

Laughing at that, Sakuta started pedalling, snaking left and right until he got speed up.

"M-moron, ride straight," Rio panicked, a rarity for her.

"You're heavy," was all Sakuta offered.

"Die."

Somehow he corrected their course and they caught up with Yuuma.

"You pair are enjoying yourselves," he said with a laugh as he looked at them.

"I'm not enjoying myself at all," Rio said embarrassedly, as any normal girl would after having her weight commented on.

Fifteen minutes later, after leaving Honkugenuma Station, they were one station south at Kugenumakaigan Station and reached Kugenuma. It was a corner of the Shonan area facing out into Sagami Bay. The area was a park that faced out onto the beach and had maintained paths down to the san. There were also areas set aside for beach volleyball and skateboarding, though Sakuta had never used those in his life…

Enoshima was visible off to the east, and because of the distance, the Benten bridge looked like a narrow tightrope.

"Hey, Sakuta," said Yuuma.

"What?"

"The wind's a bit strong, isn't it?"

The three of them had lined up with their backs to the sea, Sakuta first, then Rio, then Yuuma, making a wall against the wind, but the candle wouldn't light.

"Apparently there's a storm coming in tomorrow night."

The wind itself was damp.

"Get in closer, Kunimi, use your massive body to block the wind," Sakuta said.

"You too," he answered, as they gathered in closer, sandwiching Rio.

"Y-you're too close," she protested quietly, but they pretended not to hear her, "I said you're too close."

Rio curled up between the two of them.

"Ah, it's lit!" Yuuma cheered in joy from where he was holding the match, "Futaba, hurry."

At his urging, Rio put the end of the firework she was holding near the candle's small flame. It lit perfectly, green sparks spurting out, changing to yellow and then finally pink.

Sakuta and Yuuma both lit their own, creating an island of light around the three of them.

The scent of scorched gunpowder really brought the summer home.

Because of how long it took to get them lit in the first place, there was an odd sense of accomplishment when they finally caught. They then almost competed, lighting firework after firework.

After a while, the wind stopped, and the three of them reached out for sparklers as if it was almost planned, lighting them on three, all of them quietly snapping away as they shed sparks.

"Aren't you going to ask, Kunimi?" Rio asked, her gaze unwavering from her sparkler.

"Hm?"

"About me?"

"Back when Sakuta called me, obviously I wondered what was going on," said Yuuma unconcernedly, Rio watching his face from the side, "But then when I saw you crying earlier, I decided it didn't matter."

"Forget that…"

"Ah."

"Oh."

Sakuta and Yuuma's sparklers both ran out nearly simultaneously.

"Fuck, we lost!" Said Yuuma, stretching and standing. It wasn't like they'd really made it a contest, but Sakuta felt the same way, "We should be able to see them from here," he added, looking towards Enoshima.

"Huh? See what?" Asked Sakuta.

"The Enoshima Fireworks, they're next week, right?"

Sakuta stood as well and moved next to him. The moderate distance certainly did seem like it would make the fireworks easily visible.

"I said that last year, you know?" Rio said, her sparkler still lit.

"Did you?"

"I did, then you both said 'I want to seem them up-close'."

In the end, there had been lots of people, it had hurt their necks, and the sound had been overwhelming.

"Shall we watch them from here this year then?" Asked Yuuma with a carefree smile on his face as he looked back at Rio.

"Don't you have plans with your cute girlfriend?" Asked Sakuta in place of Rio, who didn't answer immediately.

"Ah, we're having a bit of a fight," he answered with a forced laugh.

"You see?" Sakuta turned back to Rio.

"What about you, Azusagawa, don't you have plans with Sakurajimsenpai?"

"Her agency has banned us from dating for now."

"Well, she is really famous," Yuuma laughed at his misfortune.

"I've got work that day, but well, I can just get Koga to switch with me."

"Koga's plans don't matter then?" Asked Yuuma with an appalled laugh.

"What about you, Futaba?"

"I don't really have any plans."

"It's decided then," Yuuma said.

"And as thanks for today, you've got to wear a yukata," added Sakuta.

"Eh?"

"Oh, that'd be nice," Yuuma said.

At that, Rio shook clearly.

"It's hard to get them on though," she complained quietly without really complaining.

"So you need some help to get it on."

Realising what she'd implied too late, Rio glared at him, approaching him and lightly punching him in the shoulder.

"Say," Yuuma spoke from where he was still looking towards Enoshima, "Is the sky getting brighter?"

Looking from Mount Fuji to the west towards Enoshima to the east, they saw Yuuma was right, the eastern sky was definitely lightening.

"This is the first time I've spent a whole night like this," said Rio, "what on Earth am I doing?"

"Something stupid, obviously," Sakuta spoke his mind.

"It definitely is," Yuuma agreed.

She then let out a sigh before murmuring, "It's such a disappointment."

"She's talking about you, Kunimi."

"Nah, it's definitely about you."

"It's both of you," she said, making the pair exchange uncomprehending glances. Seeing their confused expressions, Rio laughed slightly, "I wish you'd both been girls."

Once more, Sakuta and Yuuma exchanged glances.

If they were girls, there would have been less distance between them, they could have talked about more things, she wouldn't have fallen for Yuuma and they could have stayed friends forever.

That was probably what she wanted to say.

"You need to wear a skirt from tomorrow, Sakuta."

"I've always wanted to try one," Sakuta added immediately to Yuuma's suggestion.

Rio laughed loudly.

"You idiots," she looked happily at both of them, "you really are, you're the worst, but…"

Here, she stopped.

"But?"

"Nothing."

"Seriously, what?"

"I'm not telling you."

"The hell?"

Sakuta and Yuuma both voiced their displeasure, but she wouldn't say, so they stopped asking her. They could imagine what they'd say easily enough as well.

"You really are, you're the worst, but that's why we're friends."

They were sure it would be something like that.

"Kunimi," Sakuta said, flinging a phone towards him without waiting for a response. It was Rio's phone, still in his care.

"Hm? Woah." Even with his surprise, he easily caught in one-handed, a question on his face, but when he saw Sakuta arranging Rio at his side with the sea as a background, he made a sound of understanding, standing on her other side.

"W-what?" Asked Rio, uncomprehending.

"It's fine, it's fine," Yuuma insisted, pointing the lens towards them and opening the camera app, stretching his arm out to the limit to get them all framed.

"What's made by fermenting milk?"

"Cheese," Rio answered monotonously. A moment later, the pleasant shutter noise echoed around the beach.

From then until the sun rose, Sakuta and the others just chatted. About if Rio was aiming to be a doctor like her father, about getting aroused by unsociable nurses, about if she wasn't aiming to be a doctor, about how Yuuma had bad taste in girls, how she had her own good points, and how they were fighting… they just said what they wanted to without hesitance or restraint.

As the sun rose they talked about how it looked great and was emotionally moving, but the bright sun on their tired eyes wasn't enjoyable, so they left the beach.

Of course, they collected all of the rubbish from the fireworks, putting the cinders in a bottle filled with seawater like skewers they were finished skewers.

"Ah, the trains should be running now," said Sakuta as they walked up to the Katase-Enoshima Station, the red building based on the Palace of the Dragon King. They parted with Yuuma at the ticket gates.

"Thanks then, see you."

"Yeah," Yuuma replied as he rode off, soon speeding up and disappearing past the building.

Right up until the end, he hadn't asked Rio a thing.

"I can get why you fell for him I guess."

"What brought this on?"

"Kunimi's just too good a guy."

"You are too," Rio said as she passed through the ticket barriers. Sakuta walked after her.

"Don't lump me in with that bastard."

"So you get shy too," laughed Rio without turning around. They boarded the train at the platform amongst the other few passengers. They were mostly youths, university students mainly. They seemed to have been out all night and drifted to the station in the morning like Sakuta and Rio had. About half of them seemed to be exhausted, and they could even hear people sleeping.

The train quietly left the station.

"Azusagawa," Rio's voice broke the characteristic quiet of the early-morning train carriage. Her gaze was watching the passing scenery through the window opposite.

"If you're scared, I can stay today too."

"That's fine, I just want to go home and sleep now," she said while suppressing a yawn.

"I agree there," Sakuta said, her yawn prompting one of his own, "so?"

"It's about the other me."

"Well, I figured."

"She'll be worse off than me."

Sakuta looked sidelong at her, trying to divine her meaning.

"She hates me," Rio added.

"I see."

"She hates me, the proof of her wants to be desired by men. I disgust her, and she thinks I'm not her." That was probably why there were two of them, "But however much she hates me, and is disgusted by me… I'm sure she still knows that it's still her."

"It sounds awful."

"It is." The other Rio hating this Rio meant that in the end, she was hating herself, there was no word for it other than awful. "So please, look after the other me."

"I will, but."

"But what?"

"In thanks, make me coffee whenever I turn up at the lab."

"Sure. It's not mine, but… I guess it'll be fine?"

Rio didn't hide her unease.

"Who knows, I don't. But when I saw you crying, I just kind of got it."

It might have been his imagination, but that might have been what Rio had really wanted, that's what he thought at least.

"Forget that already, it's really embarrassing…"

Rio hunched in on herself as the train stopped at Kugenumakaigan Station and then left again, arriving at Rio's station, Honkugenuma Station after about a minute.

"Ah, your phone?" Sakuta asked, still having it.

"Keep it, for a while at least."

Judging by her face, she didn't even want to touch it.

"Sure, night then."

"You too," Rio waved, smiling gently in the morning light. Even for Sakuta, who had known her for over a year, that smile made his heart skip a beat.

Rubbing at his sleepy eyes, Sakuta got home at around half-past five. Everyone seemed to be sleeping inside, but as Sakuta was taking his shoes off:

"Welcome back," Rio greeted him.

"Yeah, I'm home…"

"You look tired."

"Futaba, here," he handed the phone to her as he went inside, "She probably won't do it anymore.

"…I see," she said, casting her eyes down at the phone. The photo of Sakuta, Rio, and Yuuma had been set has the lock screen.

Rio was looking blankly at the camera in the middle, Yuuma was smiling brightly on the right, and Sakuta was on the opposite side, only half visible. The sea was in the background, with Enoshima and the lightening sky. It was by no means a professional photo, and wasn't cleanly taken, but was the best they'd taken.

"I'll tell you everything properly later, but I'm tired now, going to sleep."

He staggered into the living room and dropped himself to the floor, he didn't want to move anymore, and couldn't in fact. As he closed his eyes, he was immediately swallowed into dreams.

That was why he didn't hear Rio speaking to him, and didn't notice the sound of the door closing after a few moments.

That evening, when Sakuta woke up, Rio wasn't in the house.

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