Chapter 4

[Mia's POV]

"See you at night, Kaito."

I hug Kaito as he walks me home again today.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I won't be able to call you today. I'm so sorry!"

Kaito bows lightly.

"No, it's okay. Let's do it another time, okay?"

"Yeah, thanks."

Kaito smiles.

Yeah, Kaito is still cooler when he smiles.

"Well, see you tomorrow, Mia."

I waved to Kaisho and entered the house as soon as he was out of sight.

"Alright!"

Today is Friday. And tomorrow I have a date with Kaito.

And that, too, in a dignified manner.

I went on one date with Akito when we were dating, but that time I went in a bit of a disguise.

That was fun, though.

"Ah."

Speaking of which, where is my bag now?

If I remember correctly, it's in Akito's room.

I'm pretty sure I went on a date in Akito's room......

I explore the room anyway.

But I knew it wasn't there.

"Akito's room, hm?"

What should I do? To be honest, I feel awkward.

I mean, we broke up, right?

It's hard to say, "I left my bag at Akito's room on our last date at home, so please let me come in."

"Haa."

But I can't say that, can I?

Well, I don't have a choice. This is for the last time.

***

Ding-dong.

Akito's house is a couple of minutes walk away.

So I got there quickly.

A few seconds after pressing the intercom. The front door opened.

"Oh, isn't that you, Mia-chan?"

It was Akito's mother who answered.

"Hello."

I greet her, albeit a little, or rather quite awkwardly.

Haruna-san, or rather, Akito and my family each know we are dating.

Akito hasn't told her yet, has he?

If he had told her, she wouldn't have greeted me with such a smile.

"Oh, hello. I'm sorry, but Akito is not here right now."

Haruna-san lowers her eyebrows a little.

"Ah, do you want to wait inside?"

"No, no, I just came to Akito ...... Aki-kun's room today to pick up something I forgot."

I called Akito 'Aki-kun' again because that's what I had called him when we were dating.

If I suddenly started calling him Akito, it would look suspicious, right?

"Oh, I see. Then you can take it and go on your own, okay?"

"Yes, but that would be bad for Aki-kun."

"No, it's okay. You're dating, right?"

Throb.

Seeing Haruna-san with a smile on her face made my heart ache.

"......Y-Yes."

I'm sorry! I'll be sure to report back to you when I make up my mind!

I entered Akito's room, filled with guilt.

It hasn't been a week since the quintessence, so it hasn't changed.

Akito's room is a normal room with a bed for one person, a desk, and a bookshelf.

Where is it? If Akito finds it, he will bring it to me as a quicksand, maybe under the bed?

I looked under the bed and found my black bag.

"Yes!"

I pick up my bag.

"Hmm?"

There was a small box in the back of the bag.

"What is it?"

Unable to contain my curiosity, I took out the box and opened it.

"......Eh, what's this?"

A gravelly voice escaped my mouth.

There it was: a large quantity of papers and photographs.

They were all movie tickets and purikura (photo booth) pictures that we had taken.

"......W-Why?"

This amount, maybe all of them. Everything we've ever been on a date with.

I don't even know if I have it at home.

"......Why? You didn't dislike me."0

--- "I didn't want to defile it."

--- "Obviously, it's not a good match, right?"

"......."

I put the box back and ran out of the house.

Before I left the house, Akito's mother called out something to me, but I couldn't stop.

I can't express it in words. My heart was aching so much that I couldn't help it.