“Alright then, Ayase Junior, see you the day after tomorrow.”
Aina Saiten stood at the entrance to the Subway Station, the evening breeze teasing the loose strands by her ear.
She wore a smile as she waved at Chinatsu Ayase.
“Mm-hmm, bye-bye, Senpai.”
Chinatsu Ayase responded with a gentle smile, her posture elegant, the hem of her black skirt swaying lightly in the breeze. “Take care on your way.”
After saying their goodbyes, Aina Saiten turned and blended into the stream of people heading home from work, her steps unconsciously becoming lighter.
This afternoon, following Chinatsu Ayase around the Company to familiarize herself with the environment and her future responsibilities, the amount of information had been considerable, but everything was orderly, and the atmosphere was much better than her previous Company.
More importantly, the weighty job—one that concerned the future of both her and Akane—was now truly in her hands.
Afterward, they had dinner together, and Chinatsu Ayase had kindly said she’d arrange the onboarding as soon as possible, even mentioning some potential opportunities for advancement.
Stepping onto the train home, the subway car was as crowded as ever, filled with a mix of weary scents.
But Aina Saiten leaned against the rail beside the door, her mood skipping with the bright neon lights flashing outside the window.
She calculated that with her official start at the new job the day after tomorrow, tomorrow she would have a whole free day.
Thinking of this, her heart stirred—
It seemed like ages since she’d taken Akane out for a proper day of fun.
When was the last time the two of them went on a carefree date?
Her memory was a little hazy—it always seemed as if work, rent, and endless expenses filled every gap.
A thread of guilt quietly slipped through her heart, stinging faintly.
This past year or two, Akane had followed her, but truly, they hadn’t enjoyed any particularly comfortable life.
Although she did her best and was confident that Akane had never truly wanted for anything material or suffered hardships, those romantic dates, surprise gifts, or spur-of-the-moment trips, as depicted in shōnen manga, all felt far from their reality.
She knew better than anyone that, with Akane’s striking looks and gentle temperament, if he wished, he could easily attract the favor of women far wealthier and higher in social standing than herself, and live a completely different, more comfortable and easy life.
Yet Akane always chose to stay by her side, keeping watch over these days of modest means but peace.
This wholehearted trust and companionship had always been Aina Saiten’s strongest pillar and her warmest source of comfort.
Once the new job settles and my income rises, I must make it up to Akane… take him to that hot spring inn he’s always wanted to visit, buy that shirt he’s eyed so many times but never mentioned…
She made plans silently in her heart, the corners of her lips curving gently without realizing it.
However, when Aina Saiten opened her front door with her key and found the familiar entryway swallowed by total darkness, her light mood was doused in an instant, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her.
The house was utterly silent, not a hint of light anywhere. Even the small, warm hallway lamp that Akane usually left on for her was off.
A vague sense of unease crept up her spine.
“Akane? Akane? Are you home?”
She raised her voice as she called out, fumbling for the switches and turning on the lights in the entryway and Living Room.
The sudden burst of white light was a bit harsh, dispelling the darkness but revealing a room that was too tidy— and too cold.
As she bent to change her shoes, her gaze swept quickly over the quiet Living Room—no figure curled up on the sofa, no half-finished glass of water on the coffee table.
Usually, at this time, Akane would either be in the Kitchen preparing a simple dinner, or curled up on the sofa watching TV or reading.
“Maybe Akane’s not feeling well again and is asleep in bed?”
She muttered to herself, recalling the last time Akane had gone to bed early due to a mysterious fatigue.
“Last time it was like this too… Could he be ill and not telling me? Tomorrow, I have to take him to the hospital for a proper checkup.”
Worry hastened her steps as she nearly ran down the short hallway to the Bedroom door.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heartbeat, and turned the doorknob—
The Bedroom was also pitch-black, with only a faint light filtering in from a neighbor’s window outlining the indistinct shapes of the furniture.
She flicked on the Bedroom light.
The bed was empty.
The quilt was laid flat and smooth, just as Akane had carefully arranged it that morning before she left, not a wrinkle in sight.
The pillows were neatly lined up, not a trace of an impression.
The room was clean and tidy, but so devoid of any sign of life, it felt as though no one had set foot in it all day.
“Akane isn’t home?”
Aina Saiten froze in the doorway, unable to react for a moment.
This was entirely out of character for Akane.
He rarely went out without telling her, let alone staying out this late.
A surge of foreboding squeezed her heart so tightly she could barely breathe.
Frantically, she fished her phone out of her bag.
The glow of the screen lit her face, now drained of color.
Suddenly, she remembered—before dinner with Chinatsu Ayase, she’d sent Akane a message, telling him she wouldn’t be home for dinner tonight and that he should eat on his own.
Caught up in anticipation of her new job and chatting with Junior, she hadn’t noticed whether Akane replied.
Now, opening the chat, her message sat there, unanswered.
This… this was almost the first time this had ever happened.
Even if Akane couldn’t reply right away, he always explained later. He would never just disappear like this.
Her heart pounded furiously, and cold sweat broke out on her palms.
Hardly thinking, with trembling fingers she found the pinned contact in her address book and hit dial.
The regular, drawn-out “beep—beep—” in the earpiece was like a hammer beating against her strained nerves.
During those few seconds of waiting, countless terrible scenarios flashed through her mind: car accident? sudden illness? ran into someone dangerous?…
Even that inexplicable heart flutter from noon came back to her now, stacking atop her current anxiety until even her fingertips turned cold.
“Hello, Akane? Why aren’t you home?”
As soon as the call connected, Aina Saiten blurted out the words, her voice sharp with urgency. “Where are you right now?”
But there was no immediate reply in that familiar, gentle, and slightly dependent voice of Kaoru Hoshitani.
Instead, there was a faintly noisy whooshing in the background, like wind blowing through a wide, empty place, with distant, blurred sounds of the city woven in.
This strange background made Aina Saiten’s heart sink further.
“Hello? Akane? Can you hear me? Don’t scare me, please!”
Her voice trembled more and more, unconsciously.
The silence and strange noise on the other end felt like a cold hand closing around her throat.
“Say something, Akane! Where on earth are you?!”
“I… I’m here, Aina…”
Just as Aina Saiten’s fear was about to reach its limit, Kaoru Hoshitani’s voice finally came through, intermittent and faint, as if carried from far away, or as if he was desperately trying to suppress something.
But that familiar sound let Aina Saiten’s taut nerves loosen just a little, and she let out a long breath—only then did she realize she’d been holding it in.
“You scared me half to death, Akane!”
She chided with a mixture of relief and exasperation, but then, sharp instinct caught the odd tremor in her Boyfriend’s voice.
“…Huh? Were you… crying?”
“No… No, I wasn’t.”
The voice on the phone rose a little, trying to sound clearer and normal, but that effort only made it more obviously forced.
“Just now… maybe the signal was bad. It’s windy.”
Aina Saiten frowned.
Windy?
Where would there be so much wind?
But she was more concerned with his safety and whereabouts, so she followed up:
“Oh, is that so… Then where are you, Akane? Why aren’t you home yet?”
There was a second or two of silence on the other end; the wind was still blowing.
Then Kaoru Hoshitani spoke again, a little faster than usual: “I’m at… at the Supermarket buying stuff. The big Supermarket near our place… Around this time at night, they discount some fresh foods and ready meals, it’s cheaper.”
That explanation was reasonable.
Akane did sometimes go out at night to buy discounted groceries.
Aina Saiten relaxed more than halfway—maybe it was just her nerves getting the better of her, or maybe just a side effect of her job.
She really had been overthinking.
“Alright then, do you need me to pick you up from the Supermarket? Carrying groceries must be heavy, right?”
She asked with concern.
“N-no need!”
Kaoru Hoshitani refused a little too quickly. “I… I didn’t buy much, I can be back soon. You just got home, you must be tired, just rest at home.”
His thoughtfulness was the same as always, and Aina Saiten felt a warmth in her heart.
“Alright then,”
She conceded, her tone softening. “I’ll wait for you at home. Be careful on your way, watch out for cars.”
“Mm, I got some… discounted bento and fruit.”
Kaoru Hoshitani’s voice seemed to drift further away, the wind growing clearer in the background.
“I… I’ll be back soon.”
“Alright, go check out then, and really, be careful on your way.”
Aina Saiten couldn’t help but add one more reminder.
“Okay.”
The call ended.
Aina Saiten stood for a while in the suddenly quiet Bedroom, holding her phone.
That inexplicable sense of unease hadn’t dissipated with the call—instead, it hung around like a thin fog.
Akane’s voice… there was definitely something off.
Not just hoarse, but with a deep, suppressed fatigue, and even… emptiness?
But maybe she really was just being too sensitive.
He could just be tired from walking, or maybe had caught a chill.
She shook her head, trying to dispel the needless worries.
She walked to The Kitchen and opened the fridge; there really wasn’t anything ready to eat.
She decided to boil some water—when Akane came home, they could share a simple late-night meal, and she’d ask him properly what was wrong.
Yet, no matter how she turned it over in her mind, Aina Saiten could never have guessed—
At that very moment, in physical terms, Kaoru Hoshitani was separated from her by nothing but a few floors of concrete and steel.
In a straight line, less than ten meters away.
Because Kaoru Hoshitani, who had just finished the call with her, was not in any Supermarket.
He was alone, standing at the edge of the Rooftop of their seven-story Apartment Building…