By this hour, the autumn breeze had turned cold.
Going out without a jacket would've been asking for trouble.
Throwing on a coat, Aoki Kei stepped outside with Yamada Ryo.
He wasn't too familiar with the neighborhood yet, having just moved in recently, but he still remembered the key landmarks—like the station.
They walked at a relaxed pace, neither of them speaking, just letting the night settle around them.
Crossing a few intersections in silence, it was Ryo who eventually broke it, bringing up something out of the blue.
"Hey, Suki-san. That hotpot was actually pretty good. Your cooking's improved."
"Mm," Aoki Kei nodded, accepting the compliment, but then added modestly, "But honestly, making hotpot doesn't take much skill. The soup base was store-bought—I just prepared the ingredients."
"Still. The fact that you can do it at all is pretty impressive."
"Why does that sound like something a proud parent would say about their kid? ...Anyway, if you liked it, feel free to come over again. I don't mind hosting."
"Too much hassle. Next time, why don't you come over and cook at my place?"
"Ryo-sama, you know you're not paying me, right...?"
Their chat wandered from topic to topic, casually skipping along—sometimes dying off, sometimes picking up again just as suddenly.
That was always the vibe between them.
Their wavelengths matched, but their conversations had a habit of popping in and out like flickering radio signals.
They talked a bit more—about practicing new songs, and about some YouTube clips that featured both of them.
Then, after a turn at the corner, they reached the station—not far from Aoki's place.
The station was full of people.
Red and green lights flashed at the intersection as a gust of wind cut through, heavy with early autumn chill.
Just before stepping into the station, Ryo—who was half a step ahead—suddenly stopped.
She turned to face him.
"Hey, Suki-san," she said again.
Her tone was casual on the surface, but something about it felt… different.
Less like small talk, more like something deliberate.
"About that stuff… next time something like that comes up, could you tell me before someone asks about it?"
She was talking about his decision to move—renting a new place.
Strictly speaking, she had no right, no real reason to say something like that.
And yet... she wanted to.
No justification, no reasoning. It was selfish.
But she said it anyway.
Even though she knew it was probably a little too much—crossing a line friends normally wouldn't.
They were close, sure. But just "close friends."
And friends who pushed too far... well, they wore out their welcome.
Across from her, Aoki stopped walking too.
"Hm?"
He blinked, taken aback for a second.
But he caught on quickly.
And without asking for a reason, without pressing the issue, he simply nodded—calmly, decisively.
"Yeah. Sure."
The traffic light they had already crossed flicked from green back to red.
Ryo let out a quiet breath, like she was relaxing.
No questions, no resistance. He just agreed.
She looked up at him, still standing in front of the station.
There was a moment of silence—
Then, as if asking herself as much as him, she spoke again.
The aloofness in her tone was less than before.
Less than when they first met.
Less than after all the times Aoki had quietly let her be herself.
Less than just moments ago.
She asked softly, "Am I being unreasonable?"
...
Was she?
A breeze rolled in. Aoki Kei noticed for the first time how lightly dressed she was for the weather.
Her golden eyes locked onto him—clear and beautiful, framed by delicate features and that signature teardrop beauty mark.
She looked like she stepped out of a painting.
The wind played with the ends of her sapphire-blue hair.
Would someone else have found her unreasonable? Maybe.
But Aoki—he couldn't bring himself to be annoyed by her, no matter what she said.
Ryo was strange, sure. But she'd always been strange.
What was a little more weirdness on top of everything else?
Besides… that wasn't "unreasonable." If anything, it felt more like—
...
He took a breath and shook his head.
"No," he answered simply. "You're not."
After that, there was a brief pause— Then, just like earlier, Aoki Kei abruptly changed the subject.
The walk from the apartment to the station wasn't far, but from the station to Ryo's home—a full-on villa that was another story.
He slipped off his coat and held it out to her.
"It'll probably get colder later. Wear this on your way back."
Ryo blinked, stunned for a second.
Then she quickly came to.
No hesitation, no protest. Just a quiet, "Thanks."
She reached out and took the coat from his hands.
It was still warm—still smelled like him.
The coat was a bit too big, and once she put it on, the sleeves practically swallowed her hands.
...
She didn't say anything else.
Just took a step back and spoke, "Well then, I'll head out."
Her voice was as calm and unreadable as always.
Aoki couldn't remember what the sky looked like that night— but he remembered her voice perfectly.
Just before turning to leave, standing there at the station entrance, Ryo hugged the coat around herself, sleeves covering her hands.
Then, in a whisper only he could hear, she added—
"Bye, Suki-san who likes touching people's legs."
He froze for a second, then gave a soft, helpless laugh.
And then, he replied—also just loud enough for her to hear, over the background noise of the crowd:
"Later, you bass player with the stash of R18 doujin."