"Being in a relationship is rotting your brain, Aoshi!" Takuma groans. "Three hours in and you still haven’t unlocked a single bonus scene! What happened to the careful, strategic Aoshi who always picked the best routes to unlock the hottest scenes?"

"Has it ever crossed your mind that maybe you’re the one with the problem, not him? Seriously — what kind of sane person would actually enjoy a game like that?" Ayane scolds him.

"Hey, there’s nothing weird about this game! You’re a gamer too, and I don’t judge the stuff you play!" Takuma fires back.

"There’s a huge difference between playing FPS games like I do and playing..." Ayane snatches the game case out of Takuma’s hands, glaring at the cover in disgust. "’My little sisters don’t want to start middle school as virgins, so they asked me to...’ Ugh, God, I feel sick just reading that title!"

"Come on, calm down. There’s no need to argue over something so stupid," Aoshi steps in, trying to defuse the tension. "Anyway, thanks for coming to keep me company today. But I think I’d like to rest for a while now — it might not seem like it, but lying in bed all day is more exhausting than you’d think. Besides, I’m starting to get a bit of a headache."

"Yeah, I can imagine that garbage frying your brain cells."

With that, Ayane and Takuma gather their things and, after a quick goodbye, leave the apartment.

And yet, resting isn’t the real reason Aoshi asked them to leave. Nor is the headache. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

KNOCK KNOCK!

Barely five minutes after Ayane and Takuma leave, someone knocks on the door — Miori Yukinaga.

This time, she’s wearing a modest floral dress, its skirt ending just above her knees, with only the faintest hint of cleavage. In her hands, she carries a wicker picnic basket.

"Good evening, Aoshi," she greets him with a bright, gentle smile. She steps into the apartment as though she belongs there, moving with such effortless familiarity that, for a brief moment, Aoshi almost feels as if she lives there instead of Eliss.

Then she kneels down beside his futon.

"How are you feeling today, Miori? Everything okay?" Aoshi asks, his voice caught somewhere between caution and disbelief — he still can’t quite process the fact that she truly came yesterday to apologize, and that she returned again today carrying something that smells sweet and delicious.

"Y-Yes, Aoshi... and you seem to be recovering quickly too," she murmurs shyly, her cheeks faintly flushed pink. "I-I don’t know why, but I’ve felt especially happy since this morning. Maybe because I knew I’d get to see you again tonight?"

Miori suddenly stops herself, quickly covering her mouth with one hand.

"Oh, sorry — you have a girlfriend now. I shouldn’t say things like that, but... the words just come out on their own, so please don’t pay any attention to them..."

She gently sets the picnic basket down on Aoshi’s stomach.

"I-I made them myself this afternoon, just for you. They say sweets are the best thing while recovering, so, um... I hope you like them..."

Miori slowly lifts the lid of the basket.

Dango, dorayaki, and a slice of strawberry shortcake. There’s also a thermos of tea, two teacups, and a fork for the cake.

M-Miori... she really made all of this with her own hands, just for me? But why...? Back when we were together, she never did things like this. I don’t understand...

Aoshi slowly pushes himself upright, resting his back against the low table.

"T-Thank you, Miori... they look really delicious," he murmurs with a faint smile.

Then, with slow, hesitant movements he cautiously extends his hand toward one of the dorayaki.

I-I guess accepting these sweets means I’ve forgiven her for what she did... right?

Or maybe I already forgave her the moment I told her she could come here whenever Eliss isn’t around. I’m basically acting like one of those guys who invites his mistress over while his wife’s away...

Then again, it’s not like Eliss is really my girlfriend, just like Miori isn’t really my mistress — so I can’t exactly call it cheating... I think.

"These are amazing! Seriously — I’ve never had dorayaki this good in my entire life!"

He even talks with his mouth full? Gross... though of course they taste good — I had them made by the pastry chef at my house. Anything less would’ve been ridiculous.

"A-Aren’t you going to have any?" Aoshi asks, offering her the basket of sweets.

"I’d really love to share these with you, believe me. Not to brag, but I think they turned out pretty well. Unfortunately, I can’t. I... I... damn it, I’m so embarrassed to admit this..." she murmurs, lowering her gaze sadly. "Renji forbade me from eating sweets, fried food, or fast food so I wouldn’t gain weight and embarrass him. I think it’s been two years since I last had a dorayaki... honestly, I can’t even remember what they taste like anymore."

"T-That’s not fair! It’s not fair that that bastard keeps treating you like this! It’s not fair that you have to live in fear that that monster might hurt you! There has to be something you can do to get out of this situation!"

"I’m afraid there isn’t. I’ve tried everything, and there’s nothing I can do. Renji’s family is one of the most powerful in all of Tokyo, and my family’s business depends on them. In other words, I have no choice but to keep my head down and stay quiet if I don’t want to cause serious problems for my parents..."

Aoshi has no way of knowing that the only truthful part of Miori’s story is the fact that Renji’s family lives in Tokyo. His father is a factory worker, and his mother runs a small ramen stand — a modest family with absolutely nothing in common with the powerful business dynasty Miori has just described.

"...but enough about me. I didn’t come here to make you depressed or upset by talking about my life. Let’s talk about something happier instead, okay? Tell me about you and Eliss — I’m dying to know! How did you two meet and fall in love? And how are things between you now? You honestly seem like such an adorable couple — I really mean that! Come on, I want every detail — I absolutely love romantic stories!"

Then she pours tea from the thermos into the small teacups and hands one of them to Aoshi.

"Well, um..."

Aoshi hesitates for a moment, lost in thought.

"Eliss and I met on the very same night you — um, the night Renji forced you to leave me. You could call it love at first sight... no, actually, even more than that — a real lightning strike. It was so sudden and overwhelming that she moved in with me that very night, and just ten days later, after our first kiss, we officially became a couple. Honestly, since then I haven’t really had a single reason to complain — she’s beautiful, kind, sweet, caring... I honestly don’t think it’s an exaggeration to call her the perfect girlfriend."

"I-I see... I’m really happy for you — I truly mean that," Miori murmurs, forcing out a smile worthy of a movie star’s performance.

A deception layered upon another deception: she pretends to be melancholic while simultaneously pretending to hide that fake sadness behind a smile.

The performance is so convincing that it produces exactly the reaction she hoped for from Aoshi.

"W-What’s wrong, Miori? You say you’re happy for me, but you really don’t look like it... Did something happen?"

"No, no, everything’s fine. Really. I’m just a little tired and worried — I haven’t heard from Renji since last night, and I’m scared he might be out causing one of his usual problems. Actually... I should probably go home now," she says, slowly rising from her crouched position beside the futon.

"Goodnight, Aoshi. W-We... we’ll see each other tomorrow... if you’d like, of course..."

"O-Of course. I like talking to you too," Aoshi replies with the same shyness, a faint blush spreading across his cheeks. "Goodnight, Miori."