After dinner, Saori, as usual, eagerly took on dish duty. Normally, Shiratori Seiya would help her so they could finish faster.
But after hearing Saori's inner thoughts earlier, he figured it might be good to let her do something on her own.
Come to think of it, that was the first time he realized Saori felt that way.
She hadn't said it directly, but looking back, he could sense that—whether intentionally or not—she seemed to be comparing herself to Shione and Mio.
Shiratori Seiya had always assumed that with her innocent, pure-hearted nature, she wouldn't dwell on stuff like that.
But now it looked like he'd underestimated how complicated a girl's feelings could be.
Seiya narrowed his eyes, thinking about how to arrange Saori's future path so she could shake off that inferiority complex hiding in her heart.
He wasn't about to slow down his own progress for her sake. So his options were either to give Saori some serious emotional support and help her accept the situation, or help her gain her own fame and recognition.
He mentally ran through all the career paths related to kendo: PE teacher, kendo instructor, police officer… Outside of those, the only thing left was opening a dojo.
But opening a dojo didn't exactly print money. It'd be lucky not to run at a loss.
And to actually gain recognition, he'd need a solid chunk of change for promotion and training…
After roughly calculating the required funds, Shiratori Seiya smiled bitterly.
This is gonna be a long, hard road…
Sitting on the sofa, Seiya traced his fingers over the detailed photography notes filled with annotations. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed inwardly:
"Mio… you really need to work harder."
The image of the girl's forced, strained smile as she got out of the car this afternoon flashed through his mind. His brow furrowed unconsciously.
To be honest, he still hadn't figured out how to deal with Takahashi Mio's strict father.
Whoosh.
Just as he was lost in thought, Saori—finished with the dishes—pushed open the sliding door. Seeing Shiratori Seiya sitting on the sofa deep in thought, her clear eyes flickered twice. Then she sat down beside him, tilting her head in confusion.
"Seiya… does your hand still hurt?"
Feeling her lean closer, Seiya immediately snapped back to the present. He glanced at her, using the book to shield his hand, and shook his head.
"It doesn't hurt anymore. I'm fine."
Hearing that, a flicker of disappointment passed through Saori's eyes. She pressed her lips together, as if she wanted to say something more.
But Shiratori Seiya looked at her profile, lowered his gaze, thought for a moment, and asked:
"Saori, let me ask you something."
"Even if you ask ten thousand times—Saori still likes Seiya."
"…"
Shiratori Seiya paused, then couldn't help saying:
"Where do you learn all these sweet lines? Are you secretly reading shoujo manga or something?"
"Hmm…"
She clamped her lips shut again, as usual, saying nothing—like her brain had temporarily crashed.
Seeing that, Shiratori Seiya narrowed his eyes warily. After a moment, he asked:
"Actually, Saori… you're not actually an idiot, are you?"
Hearing his words, Saori tilted her head. Her loose hair slid over her shoulders, and she spoke in a dazed tone:
"Saori was never an idiot."
"You're trying to trap me, aren't you?"
"'Trap'?"
She blinked her clear eyes, repeating the word in confusion.
"Saori only has genuine feelings for Seiya…"
"…"
Meeting the girl's moist eyes, Shiratori Seiya felt the conversation was about to go off the rails again. He reached up and rubbed his temples.
"Alright, alright. But what I wanted to ask was—Saori, what if aunt and uncle hadn't agreed back when you first started learning kendo?"
"…"
His words landed, and silence fell over the room like a stone dropped into a swamp—no ripples at all.
"Saori?"
Seeing Saori frozen stiff, Shiratori Seiya nudged her shoulder.
The girl lifted her face, looked at him, and said:
"Saori is thinking."
"Thinking about what?"
"Why wouldn't they agree…"
She paused, then continued:
"Seiya was clearly doing what's best for Saori. Mom and Dad knew that, so why wouldn't they agree?"
Exactly.
Recalling Saori's family situation back then, it wasn't even his place to say. After she went home and told her parents about it, she joined the kendo club and started training with him every day.
But now, the situation was completely different.
Shiratori Seiya had speculated about Saori's parents' mindset at the time—probably something like: "Ah, she's already like this, just let her do whatever she wants." They likely never thought she'd make a career out of it…
After thinking for a moment, he continued:
"What if aunt and uncle really didn't agree? Like, if they looked down on kendo, or didn't like you training with me?"
"Then we'll elope. After we have kids, we'll come back. Mom and Dad won't be able to say no then."
"…"
Shiratori Seiya rubbed his brow, feeling that no matter how the conversation went, it always circled back to marriage and kids.
It seemed he wasn't going to get any useful ideas from her. So he decided to figure it out on his own first. He glanced at the clock.
"Saori, it's getting late. You should head home."
"Oh."
Hearing that, Saori also looked at the time. Seeing the hands pointing to eight o'clock, she obediently nodded and shuffled toward the entrance.
The reason she was so obedient was because they'd made a deal on the first day she ate at Shiratori Seiya's house: she had to go home on time, or she wouldn't be allowed to come back.
He'd said it pretty strictly, and Saori didn't dare test him. Besides, for her, leaving on time every day felt satisfying enough.
But unlike usual, this time after putting on her shoes, she paused at the door. Her hand rested on the doorknob, as if remembering something. She turned to Shiratori Seiya.
"Seiya… Saori's competition starts next Monday, but Saori's turn is Wednesday at four in the afternoon."
She pressed her lips together and asked timidly:
"Will Seiya come cheer for Saori?"
Looking at the girl's bright, hopeful eyes, Shiratori Seiya remembered she was participating in the national tournament.
Come to think of it, the last time he watched her compete was several years ago.
And this seemed to be the first time she'd ever invited him to watch her competition.
In a way, that made it a first.
Shiratori Seiya mentally reviewed his schedule for next week. Nothing seemed to conflict.
The only possibility was that he might have to go home with Mio once, but that could be moved to Thursday…
Thinking this, he nodded.
"I'll be there."
"Thank you, Seiya."
"Saori will win."
"…"
Standing at the door, watching the girl leave, Shiratori Seiya glanced in the direction of his neighbor's apartment at the end of the hallway.
It was completely silent.
They'd clearly moved out. They'd even cleaned up before leaving—not a single trace left behind.
No tearful goodbyes like in some drama. No final wave.
Shiratori Seiya felt no regret. If anything, he felt relieved.
He wasn't a social person by nature, and he quite liked neighbors who came and went quietly.
He hoped the next neighbor would be the same.
That was what he thought…