When Tachibana Rui opened her eyes, the reassuring presence beside her that made one reluctant to leave was already gone.
"It's already 6:30..."
She grabbed her phone and murmured.
The morning sunlight drilled in through a small gap in the curtains, bringing warm-colored brightness to the room.
Dazedly collapsing back onto the bed, she stared blankly at the ceiling for a while. Her head slowly became clear. Thinking of everything that happened last night, how she actively cooperated to the point of nearly wanton abandon.
I must have gone crazy...
But it really felt so good...
The back of her hand covered her eyes. Tachibana Rui's heart was in turmoil. Chaotic emotions and thoughts collided, but she couldn't come to any conclusion.
After a moment, she sighed, stopped dwelling on it, and sat up straight with her hands supporting her body.
Lying flat before was fine, but with this movement she immediately noticed something wrong with her body - a kind of soreness that wouldn't normally be there, filling her limbs and bones, transmitted to every corner of her entire body.
Including her cheeks and the root of her tongue.
Last night she hadn't noticed because her emotions were running high, but after a night, her body which had far exceeded its usual amount of exercise began voicing its protest.
Tachibana Rui pinched her shoulder. Resentment began to rise, but in the next moment, seeing her underwear and dress neatly folded at the foot of the bed, this mood slowly changed to pleasant.
She was someone with delicate thoughts. Although this was just a small gesture, it was thoughtful enough and could easily touch her heart.
After changing clothes and opening the door, she first smelled the fragrance of food.
"Good morning, Rui. I was just about to call you to get up."
Murakami Yuu was bringing the breakfast prepared in the kitchen to the dining table.
"Good morning, Yuu. What time did you get up?"
Tachibana Rui came to the kitchen to help carry the food together.
"Around 5:30."
"You woke up that early?"
"My biological clock is like that. Can't help it."
Murakami Yuu didn't tell the truth. In fact, he had woken up early because of Tachibana Rui. His arm had gone numb from being pressed by her head. When he woke up and saw Tachibana Rui sleeping soundly, he didn't think to wake her.
Tachibana Rui nodded without suspicion.
"You don't need to help here. Go wash up first. I've prepared a new toothbrush and towel for you. They're all at the sink. You'll see them when you go over."
Murakami Yuu took the ladle for serving soup from her hands and set it aside, then lowered his head and lightly traced her nose bridge with his fingertips:
"Don't look so restrained. Just treat it like your own home."
This action made Tachibana Rui's cheeks burn. Clearly they had done even more embarrassing intimate positions before, yet now she felt somewhat shy over such a small gesture.
How strange.
Following Murakami Yuu's meaning, Tachibana Rui nodded and came to the bathroom. Looking at herself in the mirror, sure enough, the redness of her complexion was much higher than usual. Moreover, her eyes were also unusually moist, emanating a different meaning. Observing from below was like viewing another unfamiliar self from an observer's perspective. She was somewhat unaccustomed to it.
She thought of that day when she truly became involved with Murakami Yuu. At the mixer, she had been troubled and wanted to become an adult, and Murakami Yuu who entered her vision was the person selected to implement this goal.
When they first met, he appeared cold on the outside, but after getting to know each other, he was gentle with her. That intensely affectionate, closely fitting way of getting along was like a prince and princess from a fairy tale poem.
Thinking about it now, it was so good that she chose to give her first time to him then.
Tachibana Rui couldn't help but smile.
She lowered her head to unwrap the brand new toothbrush. As she was about to squeeze toothpaste, she froze.
In the holder specifically for placing toothbrushes within her line of sight, there were two toothbrushes - one black and one white.
But Murakami Yuu lived alone. There was no one else at home. She remembered when she came here last time, there was only one black toothbrush.
The white toothbrush was still very new. The soft bristles on the brush head had no trace of disarray.
Tachibana Rui squeezed on toothpaste and began brushing her teeth, but her expression slightly cooled. Her state of mind was dispersing in a not-so-good direction.
She was thinking about who the owner of this toothbrush was. Murakami Yuu's relatives? Friends? Or... another woman?
Her emotions changed from elevated to depressed, as if she had been dragged out of a false fantasy realm. She had to consider the factual truth.
Suspicion was taking root and sprouting. She really wanted to actively ask, but it was also at this time that she suddenly realized the relationship between her and Murakami Yuu wasn't clear.
From the beginning of their acquaintance to now being familiar and knowing each other, it had always been like this. There was no verbally expressed relationship.
This meant she didn't have the qualifications to actively ask.
Friends... Murakami Yuu helped her solve her sister's matter. She was the party seeking help, and he was the party extending aid. Did this relationship count as friends?
Lovers... They went shopping together, went to hot springs together, woke up in the same bed together, did many things that couples would do. But did this make them lovers?
These feelings of acting according to her heart's hopes began to become unclear.
The sense of security brought by the warming relationship that she had felt from last night until just waking up now became as illusory as a mirage. The warmth and feeling of being loved filling her heart were slowly dissipating.
Being with Murakami Yuu was like fireworks exploding in the air, a dragonfly touching the water's surface, all things growing and withering rapidly in super speed - thrilling enough, but also very brief like a flash in the pan.
They had known each other for less than a month. The time spent together added up was only two or three days. Their understanding of each other only remained on the surface. They weren't as intimate as she thought.
This process from ignoring to becoming aware left her at a loss. There was a powerless, empty feeling in her heart.
After that, having collected her depressed emotions and finishing washing up in the bathroom, Murakami Yuu was sitting at the dining table browsing his phone, waiting to eat breakfast together with her.
Small bowls of white rice, kombu tofu miso soup, grilled salmon, tamagoyaki, and a little pickled vegetables.
Compared to her usual simple meal of pickled vegetables with porridge when alone, today was a very standard Japanese breakfast. The portions weren't much, but it excelled in diverse combinations and rich nutrition.
After all, they had both been somewhat overworked last night. It was only natural to reward their bodies properly.
"If the rice isn't enough, I'll get you more. The salmon too - I grilled two extra portions. There's more in the kitchen."
"Thank you."
Tachibana Rui sat down beside him.
"I told you not to be so restrained. There's no one in this house who requires you to speak in that tone."
Murakami Yuu rubbed her head.
Tachibana Rui's heart was in chaos at this moment. She shrank her neck to escape his control, then forced a smile in response.
After a moment of slight surprise, Murakami Yuu withdrew his hand. Seeing her eyes that only stared tightly at the table without looking at him once, his lips pressed together slightly. He silently picked up his chopsticks without speaking, but didn't use them immediately.
Only silence remained at the dining table.
"Rui."
Murakami Yuu let out a light breath. He had already thought it through before anyway. Now he just had to lay it all out honestly:
"I want to talk with you about our relationship."
...
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