Chapter 158: In the Quiet Between Days
Yukima Azuma's room was still cloaked in silence, the night's hush barely disturbed by the soft breathing of the three people inside.
Miyamizu Mitsuha lay in a deep, tranquil sleep on the bed, her face peaceful under the dim light that filtered in through the slats of the curtains. At her bedside, Kato Megumi and Kasumigaoka Utaha remained quietly seated, backs straight and faces unreadable.
"...What do you think?" Kasumigaoka finally murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.
Megumi's response came softly, almost reflexively. "Azuma-san must have his reasons. I don't want to cause him any more trouble."
A quiet "Oh" was all Utaha could muster, though her eyes lingered on the sleeping form in the bed with unreadable intensity.
Then, a beat later, Megumi added with a trace of hesitance, "Actually... I can understand Kasumigaoka-senpai's feelings."
"You don't need to comfort me," Utaha replied, sharper than necessary—but not unkindly.
"Um," Megumi said quietly, folding her hands in her lap.
No more words followed. The conversation, short and brittle, fell into silence once again.
Time dragged on. The digital clock on the nightstand flicked past 11:40 p.m., then 11:55. Midnight approached slowly, the turning of the day marked by nothing but the soft tick of seconds slipping by.
Both girls had stayed longer than they intended. Concern, suspicion, confusion—they were emotions too heavy to resolve in one night, but they couldn't bring themselves to leave. Not yet. Not until they understood the full truth.