Chapter 14: Hostile Ally【P3】

Toma

A synchronized snicker comes from across the room.

“No, not like that!” I look down into my empty palm, reading from it like a script. “It’s the name of the astronomy club. A small group of passionate students. My kind of people. They have an observatory for a clubhouse, provide data to the national databases, and best of all? No ridiculous entry requirements.”

“Toma. You hate staying up late. I’m surprised you aren’t already knocked out at my feet. I figured I’d need a giant spatula to scrape you off the bed later.”

“That is the weakest alibi I’ve ever heard.” Asuka slowly shakes her head, giving Ryota a flat, down-turned grimace. “Toma somehow always finds a way into girls’ circles, but this is a new low.”

He matches her expression even drier. “Some men simply lack restraint. Toma, as a fellow man, I cannot condone falling for the primitive temptations of—”

“Ryota!” I point across the gap at the flat, trembling jacket over Sora’s muffled snickers and shaking shoulders. “Why are you siding with her? Back me up!”

He shrugs his shoulders. “Hey, I am just siding with the winners. Can’t be seen with a lost cause.”

“Be nicer, Toma.” Anza nudges my shoulder with her foot.

Why is everyone ganging up on me?

She lets the book drop onto her chest. “For all you know, Ryota is your only chance at a male friend here. Takeshi isn’t going to drop out of the sky in a lifeboat. There are no second lotteries at this school.”

“You tell him,” Sora groans, shoving a weak fist into the air. “Tell that brute what women really—”

Squeezing my eyes shut, I pinch the bridge of my nose. “It. Is. An. Astro—”

“Toma.” Anza looks up at me with deadpan, half-lidded concern. “I thought I knew you. But this side of you... it’s terrifying.”

“T-the—you—m—why—my” My words shatter into a long sigh. “Thanks, guys.”

Sayoko

I stare at the screen, refreshing it once more.

Should I…

Shaking my head, I lean deeper into the pillow. Who actively invites an earful anyway?

Tucking myself in deeper, I roll onto my side. I suppose I should be glad to be left alone—

The bathroom door opens.

The phone display goes black as the boy steps out with damp hair. He says nothing, avoiding my stare as he vanishes behind the capsized table.

I pick up the umbrella leaning against the bedside table.

Tock. Tock.

The tip taps against the wood as I call out, “Lights.”

His silhouette rises from behind the table, shuffling toward the wall switch.

The room plunges into darkness, letting the faint, amber glow of the city lights speckle through the window pane.

I point the umbrella into the dark, waiting for the rustle of sheets and sounds to settle.

A quiet sigh slips past his lips. “Goodnight.”

The room falls into stillness. The umbrella is set to rest.

Pulling the blanket over the screen to mask the blue glare, I give the messages app another refresh.

Jiro

What a day.

I still cannot believe I am actually sleeping in a real bed. I guess all that preparation for locating outdoor sleeping spots was unneeded.

My eyelids slowly drift shut, darkness melting into darkness.

A stuttered inhale ripples through the dark.

Opening my eyes, a stifled sniffle follows across the divider, accompanied by the soft rustle of sheets.

“Are you—” I pause.

Jiro, do not risk it. Think about the soft, soothing sheets…

My voice betrays my better judgment. “—alright?”

The rustling stops.

…

Her voice travels from the dark, catching on another stammering breath, “I... I have nobody to call upon.”

Sayoko

I press my face deeper into the pillow, wetting the fabric with two damp dots.

“We sometimes… have that. It’s not fun.”

My head tilts up from the pillow. “S-silence! I am trying to sleep!”

...

A faint blue glow washes over the ceiling on the other side of the dividing table.

“Five... four...”

I reach for the umbrella.

“Seven... two...” the numbers continue.

“W-what are you doing?”

He stops.

“Giving my student ID number. Are you typing it in, or do I need to—”

“But why would you…”

Jiro

“I guess I... don’t know.”

A soft sniffle returns from the dark. I continue reading out the digits—

“B-but I don’t even know your name.”

...

“You can call me. An ally.”

【 ？ ？ ？ 】

Deep pond far below,

Where the stone fireflies gleam,

Holding back the dark.

One apartment window ignites while another winks out.

An orchestrated sequence, as if coordinating a performance just for me. Or maybe the city’s way of whispering goodnight. I never quite understand its cadence.

“Leonard.” My words fog the glass before me.

A dry rasp of paper shifts behind me, then falls still.

“Do you know what the problem is with being high up—with reaching what they call ‘the top’?” The paper settles with a light thud. A soft clink parts the silence as glass lifts from wood.

My hand finds the fabric.

Leaning aside, I let my weight carry me sideways until the long velvet sweeps the window completely shut. Tucking the city in.

“We stop looking up.”

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Discover what happens next in: Chapter 15: Opening Conclusion【P1】

Written by Limited_Infinity. Extras, official publishing platforms and updates are publicly available only on the Patreon page “_Limited_Infinity_”

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