Part 5 — Space Is Not Distance
The door closed behind them.
Cool air met their faces as they stepped outside, the house shrinking quietly behind them.
They walked for a few moments in silence.
Then Akari spoke, casual but deliberate.
"Kaito, we're going to talk with someone."
Kaito glanced at her. "Someone?"
Renjiro kept walking, eyes forward.
Akari continued,
"While we do that, you'll buy the birthday decorations."
Kaito stopped for half a second.
"…Birthday?"
He frowned.
"My birthday's still far. Why now?"
Akari turned to him, a small smile forming.
"It's not yours."
Kaito blinked. "Then whose?"
"Mimi's," she said simply.
"Tomorrow."
Kaito's confusion lingered, but he nodded slowly.
"…Oh."
Renjiro spoke without turning back.
"Don't forget candles."
Kaito sighed.
"Of course."
They continued walking—
three figures moving forward, each carrying a different weight.
Behind them, the house remained still.
And inside it, two siblings were about to face a silence that would not stay gentle for long.
The door closed.
Not loudly.
Not gently either.
Ayame stood there a moment longer than necessary, listening to the fading sound of the front door closing.
She didn't move right away because the silence that followed felt heavy — the kind that comes after people leave while something unresolved remains behind.
The house felt… paused.
Not silent.
Waiting.
She turned toward the stairs.
Haruto's door was shut.
Locked.
That told her something important — Haruto only locked his door when he wanted distance, not privacy. Locking meant he didn't trust himself to speak calmly if someone came in.
So she didn't knock.
Instead, she walked up slowly and stopped just before the landing. The lock was still turned.
That hadn't changed.
Meaning his anger hadn't cooled yet.