The apartment where Ryūta lived was located near the center of the ground floor of a three-story residential building. Sanae followed the boy all the way to the kitchen, where, after a brief expnation, she began preparing dinner. The main course was made of vegetables, complemented by cheese and tofu found in the fridge, and the fruit sad was sweetened with honey. As they finished eating, the girl fell into thought, which her host also noticed.   “What's wrong?” Ryūta asked while washing the dishes.   “Kagayaki-kun...” Sanae began. “I’m really grateful that I can stay here, and... and I truly don't want to cause you any trouble and... I’m not even sure if it’s appropriate for me to just be here like this, so…” She would have continued stammering if the boy, now slightly impatient, hadn't cut her off.   “Seriously, what is it?”   The girl finally mustered all her courage, took a deep breath, and blurted out, “Could I use your bathroom?”   “Oh, that’s all? I thought it was something serious,” Ryūta said with relief.   “This is a serious matter!” Sanae insisted.   “Sure, sure…” The boy waved her off, then added with a kind smile, “Make yourself at home.”   “O-Okay!” The girl nodded, then once again looked worried.   “What is it now?”   “Just one more tiny thing…”   “What?” Ryūta asked, trying to show with his eyes that he was starting to get tired.   “I don’t have any change of clothes. Could you possibly help me out?” Sanae pleaded, putting her hands together, hoping he wouldn’t be angry.   “Why is she acting like it’s some kind of disaster...?” Ryūta sighed to himself. Then, slightly embarrassed, he said, “Well, I can give you pajamas, a towel, and a toothbrush… but not that...”   “That?” the girl repeated, confused.   “That,” the boy confirmed, this time with a serious look.   “That...”   Sanae paused for a moment, then, once she realized what he meant, she blushed a deep red and said, “I-I have that! I always carry a spare just in case!”   Although Ryūta couldn’t even imagine what kind of accident might’ve led to such a precaution, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know either. Still, he couldn’t hide the surprised look on his face, and the girl noticed it.   “You know, one time I sat on something wet on a park bench and it completely soaked through, and I didn’t have a change with me, and...” She realized she had probably overshared and cut herself off. “Anyway, the point is, I have one!”   “You know... I didn’t ask you to tell me...” Ryūta deflected the bme, even though he knew deep down it was his fault.   After the awkward exchange, the boy finally gave Sanae directions and handed her everything he thought she might need, then left her to herself. Less than fifteen minutes ter, he heard her voice again. She was peeking out from behind the bathroom door.   “Kagayaki-kun! Do you happen to have a hairdryer?”   “Yeah, it’s on the top shelf of the cabinet. But I’m not sure you can reach it, so I’ll get it down for you,” he replied, already springing to his feet before his guest could react.   “Wait a sec! I’m still–” Sanae started, but once again, she couldn’t manage to get the words out in time. Ryūta appeared at the door in an instant, and by the time he noticed she was standing there in nothing but a towel, it was already too te. He couldn’t stop his momentum, only just managed to veer off course at the st second, and ended up crashing straight into the cabinet.   “Are you okay?” Sanae asked, worried, looking at the boy lying on the floor.   “Yeah, I’m fine,” he assured her, and his voice suggested he was telling the truth.   “Then why aren’t you opening your eyes?” she asked, puzzled.   “Because if I did, I’d see something you probably don’t want me to,” Ryūta replied as he got up from the floor, keeping his eyes tightly shut. He reached up to the shelf for the hairdryer and, feeling his way along the wall, handed it to Sanae, who was crouching in embarrassment. Then he quietly left the room.   “Good thing Utsushino-san is so shy... Most girls would’ve smacked me first and only blushed afterward,” Ryūta exhaled in relief.   A few minutes ter, when his guest finally stepped out of the bathroom fully dressed and with dry hair, he took her pce.   “Wait a second... Aren’t her eyes green? I could’ve sworn they looked red just now... Must’ve been my imagination,” he thought, shaking his head as he began his nighttime routine.   By the time Ryūta returned to his room after showering and id out his futon, Sanae was already asleep. Although judging by the look on her face, she didn’t mind anything that had happened that evening.   The next morning at ten, the boy was still deep asleep and wouldn’t have woken up if a distinct smell hadn’t hit his nose.   “What is this? Fried eggs?” he mumbled half-asleep. Once fully awake, he followed the scent straight to the kitchen.   “Finally, you're up!” Sanae said with a smile as she was rolling the omelet.   “What are you doing?” Ryūta asked in surprise, staring at his guest wearing a kitchen apron.   “Last night you told me to make myself at home, so I thought I’d make breakfast. I hope you don’t mind...” she expined, sounding a little unsure.   “No, not at all, I’m just a little confused. Where did you find eggs?”   “There weren’t any in your fridge, so I went out and bought some. I also got that pastry you and Takeda-kun were eyeing the other day. I figured you’d end up trying it sooner or ter, right?” Sanae said proudly.   “Yeah... Wait a second, that’s a two-hour trip! What time did you even get up?” Ryūta was caught up on the time, and after thinking it through, he completely freaked out: “No, wait, why did I just wake up now?! What about school?! We’re already te!”   “Don’t worry, we didn’t miss anything. There’s no css this morning,” the girl replied, and Ryūta calmed down as if by magic.   “What?”   “There was a small accident at the school. But I’m almost done here. Go wash up in the meantime!” she said, then used both hands to gently shove him out of the kitchen.   “W-wait... All right, all right, I’m going!” he finally agreed, but after a few steps he paused.   “Is everything okay?” his guest asked again, concerned.   “Thank you, Sanae,” Ryūta said with a smile, then, continuing toward the bathroom on his own, he left the girl behind, who couldn’t stop smiling at the fact that he had called her by her first name.   With sparkling eyes and a cheerful hum, she began setting the table.   After having breakfast and tidying up, they headed to school, and on the way, they returned to the topic of the morning without csses.   “So some lunatic crashed into the school gate early this morning, and because of the investigation they decided to cancel the morning lessons,” Ryūta recalled Sanae’s earlier words, to which the girl nodded in confirmation. “Wow, and here I was all worried we’d be te... Was anyone hurt?”   “Just the driver. But even he got off with just a concussion, so nothing serious,” Sanae replied, then added, “Except for the damage...”   “I see... But seriously, what got into him?” the boy wondered, but realizing they knew too little to draw any conclusions, he quickly switched gears. “Wait, how come you knew about this, and I didn’t?”   “Uh, well...” the girl began.   “You didn’t, did you?” Ryūta narrowed his eyes.   “What do you mean?” Sanae asked innocently.   “You went to school this morning without waking me up, didn’t you?” he snapped at her, but made sure not to sound too angry.   “Y-Yeah...?” Sanae replied uncertainly, then added in her defense, “But skipping school isn’t exactly out of character for you!”   “And here I was starting to like you...” Ryūta grimaced, making the girl ugh.   “Just kidding! I’d never do that! Naonon called me this morning, that’s how I found out,” she finally admitted.   “I see, so from the president... I guess she went in early for something.”   “Yeah, she and Takeda-kun,” Sanae added.   “Hmph... And yet nobody told me...” Ryūta grumbled, then let it go.   By the time they reached the school, the car that had caused the accident and the debris had already been cleared away. Only a few pieces of stone were still scattered along the sidewalk, remnants from the wall that surrounded the building. As they stepped over where the gate had once stood, they spotted Shinji in the courtyard, who immediately called out to them.   “Good morning!”   “Goo-d morning? What? It’s almost noon!” Ryūta replied in confusion.   “Oh, right...” the other boy said, gncing at his watch. “I got so caught up keeping people away from the school until the investigation was over that I completely lost track of time.”   “You mean you’ve been here since morning?”   “Actually, I came in even earlier than usual. But it didn’t help much, since I ended up having to stay and assist. The student council stuff was left to Nao,” Shinji added.   “That can’t be easy...” his friend offered, though it was clear Shinji didn’t really need sympathy.   “You get used to it. And I found out a few things about the accident too. But I’ll tell you ter. Let’s go. We’re going to be te!” he said, and with that, they started walking toward the building.   “I honestly thought we were already te...” Ryūta remarked, prompting a surprised look from Shinji.   “Wait, didn’t Sanae tell you?”   “How would she have?” Ryūta muttered, turning his gaze away like someone ready to deny everything.   “Didn’t she spend the night at your pce?”   “You knew?!” Ryūta froze in his tracks.   “Yeah, Sanae told Nao, and I overheard it by accident. That’s why I didn’t call you,” the boy expined. Then both of their gazes turned to the girl, who gnced nervously at the boy who had saved her st night.   “I’m sorry! It just slipped out…” she mumbled with her eyes downcast. Ryūta sighed.   “So what now?” he asked.   “What do you take us for? Of course it’ll stay between the four of us,” Shinji assured him, then added, “But be more careful next time!”   “Will do,” Ryūta replied, not even noticing that his friend hadn’t been talking to him.   “That was for Sanae,” said the boy with gsses, now turning toward her. “Judging by Ryūta’s reaction, he clearly understands what kind of consequences there could be if this got out, so I don’t doubt you had a good reason for such recklessness. But you should be more careful about when and to whom you tell things, and maybe don’t start with the student council president, especially not over the phone.”   “I’m sorry! I’ll be more careful next time!” Sanae said, on the verge of tears, that made the boy feel a little guilty, so he smiled and ended the topic.   “Good. Then let’s get going already!” he said, and a moment ter, they were on their way to the cssroom, where the first css of the day had started.