"…And the office building we were eyeing—everything's finalized."
All the paperwork is done, and the renovation company will submit the design proposal within two weeks. That's about it."
Kisaki Tetta closed his notebook and adjusted his glasses as he finished his report.
Then, he turned to look at his older brother, awaiting further instructions.
"Thanks for the hard work, Kisaki. Have some tea, relax," Kyousuke replied casually, lying lazily on a recliner.
Watching his boss laid-back posture, Kisaki sighed and took a sip of the tea on the table.
"Even though the purchase is complete, I still need to say it—buying an office building outright really isn't necessary."
"From both a business growth and investment perspective, it's not the best move. The company's bound to grow, and we'll need to move to a busier area, a larger building eventually."
"If this was an investment, the return on this one's only 4.6%. With the current economy, I don't see that going up any time in the next five years."
"But it's a safe investment. With real estate, you have to think long-term. Five years isn't enough. You've got to look ten years ahead. You're still a bit too young, Kisaki."
"But don't forget—we bought this building with a bank loan. The interest alone is no small amount."
"We're covering that with the rental income, aren't we?"
"…."
Logic told Kisaki something was off about that, but for a second, it actually sounded convincing.
"No—look, using a huge amount of capital to buy property during the early stages of a startup just isn't smart!"
"This was a vacant office building with no lease contract—those are rare! I had to grab it when I saw it."
But… this is Suginami Ward. You can find fully-rentable office buildings on every block.
The retort rolled around on Kisaki's tongue, but in the end, he swallowed it.
His brother might be a genius in some areas, but he really was reckless.
That building cost nearly 400 million yen—enough to fund a top-tier anime production.
"Well, Sword Art Online is about to release. If I really wanted, I could pay off the loan immediately. Then we'd basically be saving on rent, so it's pure profit. Making money before we even start operations—that's promising, don't you think?"
Kyousuke waved dismissively.
He had enough money in the bank to buy the building outright but wanted to keep some liquid for spending.
His savings, which had dropped to around 200 million yen after the purchase and renovations, had already rebounded to 300 million thanks to book sales and reprints after the signing event.
"…."
Well, with his talent and work ethic, his recklessness didn't really affect the bigger picture.
He could afford to be reckless.
In fact, Kisaki had decided to follow him because of that overwhelming strength. Right now, his own 1% equity in the company was already growing rapidly.
Kisaki fell silent, placing his notebook on the table and leaning back in his chair just like Kyousuke.
He sipped his tea and took in the peacefulness of the night.
In the garden, the landscape lights weren't fully on, but the solar lights under the plants gave off a soft glow—enough to illuminate the space comfortably.
The cherry blossoms bloomed thickly on the branches, glowing faintly under the lights—like pale fireflies, mysterious and dreamlike, as if they didn't belong to this world.
Thanks to her, this garden looked too beautiful to be real.
It was only now that Kyousuke understood why this cherry blossom tree was called Edo Higan Zakura.
If the mythical Sanzu River really existed, the boatman ferrying souls would probably be waiting quietly beneath a tree just like this.
Across the table, Kisaki Tetta was also gazing at the cherry blossoms.
Spring is for night, Summer for stars, Autumn for the full moon, Winter for the snow…
Just like his brother once promised—three years after they met, in the spring, the two of them sat in a mansion like this, sipping osmanthus tea and admiring the night.
They sat on opposite sides of a white foldable round table.
A glass teapot of pale yellow osmanthus tea sat in the center.
The garden was so quiet there was barely even wind; only faint chatter from pedestrians out on the street could be heard.
The cherry blossom tree, glowing softly, filled the entire view. Tranquil. Peaceful. Kisaki had never imagined he'd live a moment like this.
It was perfect.
Following his brother really had been the best decision of his life.
He had some complaints about how long it had taken Kyousuke to host this housewarming party, but knowing his brother's personality, he was satisfied nonetheless.
Naturally, others had come too—close associates from the organization—but most had already gone home. Kisaki had stayed behind because he still had reports to deliver.
"This sakura—isn't it a shidarezakura, a weeping cherry from the Edo Higan variety?" Kisaki asked.
"Yeah, beautiful, isn't it?" Kyousuke opened his eyes, glancing over.
"Weeping sakura really does have a different charm from the usual Somei Yoshino… but isn't this a variety from Kyoto?"
Kisaki was surprised his brother hadn't dumped the home and garden planning on him.
He had started studying landscaping and interior design ages ago just for this.
"Yep. I picked it myself in Kyoto. Supposedly a direct descendant of the ancient Jindai Zakura."
Hearing that, Kyousuke even sat upright in pride.
"Well, that's a surprise—didn't expect you to have this kind of aesthetic side," Kisaki remarked.
"Haha, a pure-blooded single like you wouldn't understand this kind of thing."
"…My high school romantic comedy is just getting started, thank you very much!"
"Some members of the organization are asking whether we should expand our territory to Toshima Ward. I mean, it's kinda odd for our leader to be going to school in someone else's turf."
"You guys decide that stuff. Or hey—Kisaki, why don't you take over as the third-generation boss? Honestly, we should've stopped playing that game after junior high."
"No way. Without your name as our leader, Rampaging Angel and Bunkyo Ward would fall into chaos in no time."
Kisaki didn't take offense at his former dreams being called a "game."
He knew—deep down—that in his boss eyes, all this gang stuff really was just child's play.
At the beginning, the group had supported Kyousuke. But now, the help they offered was almost negligible.
To Rampaging Angel, Kyousuke, the second-gen boss, might not have done much apart from a couple solo raids and some coaching at Higashi's kendo club but that didn't matter.
As long as he remained their leader, the group thrived under his shadow.
He was like a banner.
A sun hanging high in the sky.
Everyone could see him, feel his brilliance.
No rival group dared step into their territory.
And new members kept arriving, drawn to his strength.
"What a pain…" Kyousuke sighed he hadn't been to a single gang meeting in nearly half a year.
The joy of cherry blossom viewing was already fading. He reached for his teacup—then suddenly paused.
The light from the living room cast a shadow behind the teacup, and within that shadow, there was a speck of even deeper color.
It was an ant.
Tiny, with two twitching antennae probing the air, trying to locate the source of that sweet scent.
Its head cautiously poked out of the shadow and into the glow of the living room lights—only to jerk back immediately.
It hovered in place for a moment, then began climbing toward the cup.
First, its antennae touched the smooth surface of the cup.
Then, with surprising resolve, it began to ascend. Strange, really.
The glass looked far too slick, yet the ant scaled it with ease.
On the turquoise glass of the teacup, the black ant almost blended into the dark swirls of the design.
It looked like a lone mountaineer mid-ascent.
"Old but gold," someone thought, watching its nimble movements with admiration.
He knew that in ant colonies, the foragers were usually older, more experienced worker ants.
Halfway up, its antennae twitched again, as if double-checking its direction.
Finally, it reached the rim of the cup, its antennae now dancing rapidly—was it excitement, or was it analyzing the honey content in the osmanthus tea?
If it were Sakura, she'd definitely hide the cup the moment the ant left to report back.
Thinking this, a smile unconsciously crept across his face.
"Huh? Why's there an ant here?" Kisaki Tetta finally noticed something odd and reached out to remove the tiny intruder for his brother.
"Don't move," Kyousuke said, raising a hand to stop him.
Just as the ant began climbing down the inner wall of the cup, Kyousuke pulled out his phone, snapped a photo, typed a message, and sent it.
Elsewhere, in a hospital room, Sakura had just been awakened by a nurse who'd given her an injection of something and was now wide awake, unable to fall back asleep.
When her phone chimed, she grabbed it eagerly.
————————————————————————
"An ant climbed onto my cup. For a second, I thought it was you, greedy little Sakura." —Kyousuke
————————————————————————
In the photo, a tiny ant stood on the rim of the turquoise glass teacup, looking vaguely dazed and confused.
"Pfft… Wahahaha—!"
Even though her whole body ached, Sakura couldn't help bursting into laughter the moment she saw the message.
The motion tugged at her wounds, causing her to wince but the pain only made her laugh harder.
Standing beside her, Yamauchi Makoto, her mother, immediately guessed who the message was from.
Seeing her daughter laugh like that, she almost cried.
The surgery had been over for days, and though they said all the sleeping meant fast recovery, watching her once-lively daughter lie so still all the time had slowly worn her down with worry.
But she couldn't let herself cry.
If she did, her daughter would only feel worse. A mother should never make her sick child the one offering comfort.
"I'm stepping out for a bit," she said softly, giving Sakura some space.
"Mm-hmm, thank you, Mom," Sakura replied cheerfully.
She instinctively moved to hit the call button—but paused.
Her voice was still too weak.
If Kyousuke heard her like this, he'd definitely worry.
So instead, she typed out a reply:
————————————————————————
"Whaaa! Did you just call me an ant? That's so mean! I'm mad. Super-duper mega mad!" —Yamauchi Sakura
————————————————————————
Attached was a sticker: Sakura puffing out her cheeks in mock anger, her delicate finger pointed fiercely at the camera.
She had an entire collection of custom stickers—only ever used with three or four special people.
Looking at the message, Kyousuke's smile softened even more. His fingertips lingered gently over the screen.
But what's the connection between ants and love? How could one tiny ant make Big Bro look this giddy?
Kisaki Tetta was full of questions.
Shouldn't he be jotting this down in a reminder to call pest control tomorrow? Clearly, when it came to romance, he still had a lot to learn from his brother.
————————————————————————
"But Sakura is a little glutton."
"Hey! I may be a glutton, but you can't just say it like that! I don't care—I'm punishing you. You have to sing me a song!"
————————————————————————
Bathed in the screen's soft glow, Sakura's face brimmed with longing.
She missed him.
She wanted to hear his voice, see his face... run her fingers over his brows, his nose, his lips...
Reading her message, with her cute little sticker of mock rage, Kyousuke hesitated, then looked over at Kisaki.
"Kisaki."
"Yes, Big Bro?" Kisaki straightened, noticing the serious look on Kyousuke's face.
"I'm about to reveal my biggest secret. Can I trust you to keep it?"
"Of course! You can always count on me!" Kisaki thumped his chest. He had no idea what was going on, but his loyalty was unwavering.
"Good… that's what I hoped."
Kyousuke glanced up at the second floor.
Shouko's window was open.
She was inside, watching anime—part of their curriculum, though the main focus was vocal training.
That wasn't the problem.
The problem was, if he sang, Shouko would hear it too.
Sure, she already knew how bad his singing was, but still… it was embarrassing.
He gave Kisaki one last meaningful look. Kisaki swallowed hard, suddenly feeling the weight of a sacred mission.
Kyousuke pressed the record button, took a deep breath, and began to sing:
"The crimson sun sinks into the desert."
"A big ol' monster, living its slow, lazy days."
"One morning, it woke up—"
"And from afar came a caravan of camels…"
Kisaki's solemn expression crumbled the moment Kyousuke opened his mouth.
He hadn't even finished one line before Kisaki squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth in secondhand pain.
Three years as student council president, countless moments of social suicide—Kyousuke had gained nerves of steel.
He was a master of pretending everything was fine, even when it clearly wasn't.
If Sakura wanted to hear him sing, then he'd sing—seriously, wholeheartedly.
In the stillness of the night, his off-key melody drifted upward, seeping into Shouko's room, into Naoka's study.
Shouko paused her video and walked to the window, looking down at Kyousuke.
Her face showed first surprise, then a tender smile as she listened closely.
So nostalgic.
All these years later, and Kyousuke-kun's voice was still as… unique as ever.
It was his voice, after all, that had taught her how to sing… how to speak.
"I want to see the sea…"
"I want to love and be loved…"
"Even if I'm a monster, I still have a heart~~"
Eyes glistening with emotion, Shouko softly sang along.
Below, Kyousuke didn't even glance at Kisaki.
Back in grade school, he'd thought the song was about Shouko. But now, he realized—it was about himself.
"Then let's go, Let's leave this desert behind, And head toward love…"
"And the sea~~"
He ended the song, lifted his finger, and hit send.
"Well? Amazing, right?" he said, face blank, voice deadpan.
"Yep… you've got the aura of a true boss." Kisaki nodded solemnly.
————————————————————————
Back at the hospital, Sakura had already lain down during the wait.
She tapped play.
The song was awful—objectively awful—but as she listened, the pain in her body seemed to fade.
Comforted, she slowly drifted off to sleep.
When Yamauchi Makoto returned, this was what she saw: her daughter, fast asleep, still clutching her phone.
The voice message hadn't even finished playing.
"Heh, after all these years, Kyousuke still sings like a dying cat."
————————————————————————
The next day, as Kyousuke was sunbathing in the courtyard, he got an unexpected call.
"Hello? Good morning, Hiratsuka-san."
The call was from Hiratsuka Shizuka, a friend of Okudera Miki.
They had only exchanged numbers out of courtesy, and although they occasionally dined together at Entei, they weren't exactly on morning-call terms.
"Morning, Hojou," came her voice, completely unreserved.
Apparently, the idea that they weren't close was only in Kyousuke's mind.
After all, this wasn't the first time Shizuka had been carried home by him and Miki after drinking too much.
In her eyes, he had already made it into the friend zone—just one tier below Miki, of course.
"Are we meeting at Miki's for a meal today?" That was the only reason he could think of for her to call.
"No, no. Didn't we just eat together the day before yesterday? I haven't even thanked you for seeing me home yet," Shizuka replied.
"You're Miki's best friend. Something like that doesn't need a special thank-you."
"Ah, well, the thing is…"
After saying that, she went quiet. Kyousuke waited a few seconds before prompting her.
"Is there something you need help with?"
"Not exactly help… but it's something only you can do."
"Huh?"
"Do you remember the first time we met?"
"Sure, at that bar in Shinjuku."
"And do you remember what you said to Miki on the way there?"
Her tone began to grow more serious, and memories started resurfacing for Kyousuke.
A bad feeling crept in.
"Miki mentioned it was a shame you were already in high school."
"Otherwise, you might've been one of my students. And what did you say to that? You remember, don't you?"
Of course he remembered.
With a brain brilliant enough to single-handedly push human civilization forward, how could he forget?
Especially since he had mistaken it for a message from the gods of fate themselves.
Before he could respond, Shizuka pressed on.
"You said, 'If I could, I'd love to, but transferring isn't really an option now.' Right?"
"Yeah… I did say that."
He already knew where this was heading, but Kyousuke still admitted it right away.
In many ways, he was flexible with the truth—but not when it came to someone he liked.
He was always honest with them. The only lie he'd told so far was about his age to Miki. And now… was this karma catching up?
"Then transfer to Soubu High School. I'll take care of all the paperwork."
"Does Miki know about this?" If she was the one asking, he'd bite the bullet and go apologize to Eriri on his knees.
"On the day Entei opened, Miki showed up at my place in the middle of the night and drank three full bottles of sake."
"Usually, she's the one telling me to drink less—but that night, I was the one holding her back."
"She cried the whole time. Do you have any idea how heartbroken she was when she found out you were just a middle schooler?!"
Shizuka shouted down the line.
She had waited until now to bring this up—to deliver a lesson.
To make this little punk feel what it was like to have his carefully laid plans and dreams shattered.
A guy like that needed a little… discipline.
"I'll go talk to Miki later."
Even though she hadn't said it outright, Kyousuke had pieced it together.
Miki would never ask him to do something that might trouble him.
That graceful, mature woman—what made her so captivating was her empathy and understanding.
Back when Shizuka had mentioned that night, he hadn't noticed anything strange when he visited Entei the next day.
Miki was as elegant as ever, still carrying that alluring hint of cigar fragrance.
She always kept her feelings to herself—never made things difficult.
This whole transfer idea? It was entirely Shizuka meddling in things.
"I'll enroll at Soubu High."
"That's more like it. See you at the start of the term."
The call ended.
Kyousuke stared at his phone for a couple of seconds.
What was with that smug tone in her voice?
Did she think that just because he was going to Soubu, she had him wrapped around her finger?
The only reason he agreed was guilt toward Miki.
Shizuka had absolutely nothing to do with it.
'Eriri. Senior Kasumigaoka. Naoka...'
Ugh. Headache.
Standing alone in the courtyard, Kyousuke felt the headache settle in.
He was the only one home today—Shouko had gone to her training center, and Naoka was out fabric shopping.
He hopped on his bike and headed straight for Entei.
In the kitchen, Okudera Miki was prepping ingredients for the day.
Sunlight spilled in through the door, and when she turned around, she was stunned to see Kyousuke standing there.
"Oh! Kyousuke, what brings you here?" Her long lashes blinked in surprise, those pale gray eyes instantly lighting up.
"Why? Not happy to see me?"
"Of course not." She smiled.
They'd only seen each other two days ago—by their usual rhythm, it would've been a few more before the next visit.
"I was starving. Got a craving for your cooking." Seeing how genuinely happy she looked, Kyousuke's gloomy mood lifted right away.
'Sigh.' He'd made such a wonderful woman cry.
Coming here was the least he could do—for himself, as punishment.
After the meal, he chatted with Miki upstairs for a bit before heading home.
He called Sakura to let her know about the school transfer and explained why.
She laughed, clearly amused, and agreed without a second thought.
That night, he brought it up with Shouko and Naoka.
Shouko, of course, would be transferring with him to Soubu High.
Naoka, on the other hand, decided to stay at Toyogasaki.
Kyousuke and Shouko understood completely.
Just like Shouko had been willing to skip high school to pursue voice acting, Naoka had been chasing her dream since elementary school.
The textile club at Toyogasaki could do wonders for her aspirations.
"Don't look so down, Naoka. We all live together, remember? We see each other more now than we ever did in elementary school," Shouko said, gently holding Naoka's hand.
"Yeah! And our schools aren't even far apart. After classes, Shouko and I can swing by your place and we can all go out to eat or shop together," Kyousuke added.
Their house was right between the two schools—Toyogasaki to the left, Soubu High to the right.
"Kyousuke, you better take care of Shouko! Don't let anyone mess with her!" Naoka said firmly, looking up at him.
"Obviously."
"Hehe, I'll take care of myself too, Naoka," Shouko said with a sheepish smile.
Now that things were settled at home, next up were Eriri and Kasumigaoka-senpai.
Just thinking about that made Kyousuke want to curl up and sleep.
————————————————————————
The next day, 10 a.m., Kyu-Furukawa Gardens.
"You're here already?" Eriri asked in surprise.
She was still in her pajamas when she got the call and had rushed down to open the gate for him.
"It's already ten. Don't tell me you stayed up late again? Also, your pajama strap is slipping."
Looking at the sleepy-eyed girl with messy bed hair, Kyousuke pointed to the white lace strap of her nightgown.
The strap had slipped off her shoulder, revealing a large swath of porcelain-white skin that practically glowed in the morning sunlight.
Eriri had grown into her figure quite nicely—enough to give a certain someone a serious case of dry mouth.
"Waaah! Pervert! You creep!"
In an instant, the grogginess vanished from her face, replaced by a blush that bloomed from her ears to the tip of her nose.
'Bang!'
The front door, which had just been opened, slammed shut again.
Kyousuke, guilty as charged, didn't dare laugh—he simply stood outside in silence.
About five minutes later, the door opened once more.
Eriri had changed into a yellow skirt, her fluffy blonde hair now tied into twin tails.
She'd even pulled on a pair of black cotton tights over her slender, shapely legs—spring mornings were still chilly, and it seemed she'd picked up someone's habit of hating the cold.
"You can come in now," she said, her face still flushed, her voice laced with embarrassment.
"Thanks for having me," Kyousuke replied, sounding unusually polite.
"When did you become so well-mannered?" Eriri shot him a curious look over her shoulder.
"I've always been polite, thank you very much!"
"Really now?" She gave him a skeptical glance.
"Is Aunt Sayuri not home today?" Kyousuke glanced around the living room.
Usually, when he visited, Sayuri would be downstairs watching TV or enjoying a cup of tea. As for Mr. Spencer, it wasn't a weekend, so he was already at work by now.
"Mom went to a flower arrangement event," Eriri said as she started up the stairs.
[TL Note – You're death my boy…]