It was strangely a very, very cold morning.

At least, that was what Gin felt after his eyes barely opened and his consciousness ever so slowly resurfacing from what seemed to be a pleasant slumber. A silent yawn was let out, the blanket was unwrapped from his clutches, and he felt the coldness further directly onto his bare skin.

"…"

The man was still very much in between being awake and asleep, but he nonetheless got up very silently and rummaged through his suitcase and pulled the first shirt he could feel to save him from the cold.

Finally stood, he took a quick glance on the other futon where Rin is still sleeping with her blanket similarly wrapped tightly on her, and slid the paper door open and close very slowly so as to not make even a minute sound.

He would take on every effort to make things as silent as possible, even if the normal things had to take time just to achieve complete silence. For many years, it has been how Gin has lived his life even if he is on his own.

"Oh, right… We don't have food."

The date is May 15th.

As Gin had already confirmed last night upon turning on the appliances throughout the house, he did not find a hint of food anywhere apart from bringing out coffee pods and tea from the cabinets.

After giving his face a rinse, he then turned to the dining table where he saw a box of fried chicken and several packs of energy jelly, which he ignored.

He debated whether to go to a convenience store at that moment or not, but he ultimately decided to step outside later as he figured he would be lost in the neighborhood after being gone from the town for five years. Instead, he slid the sliding doors leading to the porch open to let some air in and headed to the kitchen to load the one of the coffee pods to the machine.

Having the moments of silence only interrupted with the occasional sound of cars passing by, he took the opportunity to once again give the interior of the house another look in the day, illuminated by the sunlight confidently entering the house through a window situated on its east, which similarly shone on the bedroom that woke Gin up.

Now being given a moment to immerse himself and appreciate the reality that they are back to such a familiar place, he gingerly sat on the sofa in the living room and started browsing Witter to see if he had missed any important notifications.

Then… the door of the bedroom audibly slid open with Rin exiting with a yawn and stopping just before the welcoming window where her presence was highlighted by the sun's light.

It was at that moment that Gin had been completely woken up, eyes wide, and losing the grasp on his phone.

He was conflicted as to whether how he should feel with the seemingly immaculate sight.

Rin's white hair beautifully lustered with every strand individually shining just as much as her eyelashes of her still mostly closed eyes before the sun's rays. Her inner silhouette was accentuated within a button down, white long-sleeved shirt that fitted her too largely. Beneath, the oversized shirt gave the illusion of her legs bared amid the presence of short garment's hem peeking from the ends of the large shirt.

[https://i.imgur.com/90VvG1r.jpg]

Thus, her eyes opened wholly and her head turned to the man sitting strangely dumbfounded on the couch.

"**Good… morning…"

Petrified, still, he was not able to give out a response aside from a long silence, until he slouched and slapped his hand to cover his face.

"Ahh, shit. Shit…"

"Language… it's early in the morning…" Rin mumbled as she walked to the bathroom while watching the distress on Gin.

But not even a minute has passed, and she came running out of the bathroom now also wearing a panicked look with her cheeks slightly flushed red, and clutching on the shirt she is wearing as she darted a confused gaze towards Gin.

As though she was about to exclaim something, Gin raised his hand with a stop gesture, and with eyes that could not look at her directly.

"First… go get changed and let's eat… then we'll talk about that."

The fried chicken remained good even if it was heated in a microwave, and yet the two sat down on the dining table opposite to each other, somehow not able to taste anything with the heavy and awkward air suddenly present in the house. Eyes did not meet, and flinches were observed as if some memory keeps rewinding in their minds.

With only two cups of hot coffee on the table, the couple let out a heavy sigh.

"Sorry."

"I'm sorry."

Mutually, the two of them expected their first words to be apologies as they looked at each other's slightly depressed expressions.

"I guess we were both… caught up in the moment," said Rin weakly.

"I suppose I got too comfortable in this place like it's a second home…

Considering we were probably on the same page at that time, let's just forgive ourselves for this."

"Y-Yeah…"

With the awkward air still showing no signs of dissipating, it would seem that there was indeed a memory that keeps reminding them of before they woke up for this day.

▪ ▪ ▪

It was very unusual. Rin, who has the tendency to enter uninterrupted deep sleep quite quickly, woke up all of a sudden in the middle of the night seeing Gin from the other futon dimly lying down with his hands at the back of his head.

"Mm… Are you still awake… Gin…?"

"It's rare for you to wake up at this time."

"Couldn't sleep?"

"I guess. Just doing a bit of thinking."

"Yeah…?"

"I was really sleepy, but then my brain suddenly wouldn't want me to. I reflected on the things that happened over the past few months…"

"There you go again…"

"Well, even after all that had happened, we're still here. You are still here.

Now we suddenly find ourselves in Japan—from Tokyo now we're back here in Kyoto where we made our first memories in the country back then.

I guess… I'm just happy to be back… and that I'm glad I am given a new chance to be with you."

A muffled chuckle then sounded from beneath Rin's comforter.

"You didn't really ask but I'll say it anyway… thanks for taking me here with you. I'm really enjoying the time we had here, and I look forward to more.

Somewhere deep in me I might have really wanted this. Maybe I really just wanted to take a rest in somewhere far… somewhere I wouldn't be reminded of the painful things we went through back at home. Honestly, I feel really relaxed right now, like there's nothing for me to worry about.

So… yeah. I'm just really, really happy with you here right now."

Even in the dim room, in Gin's eyes, it felt as if Rin was still able to beam the entire room with a smile as bright as the sun. He was suddenly entranced by the sight, and before he knew it, tears were already streaming from his eyes.

"Ahahaha… I'm such a mess aren't I…"

"Well, I fell in love with that mess, so what does that make me?"

"The roomba?"

"You don't even own one, silly."

"Well, yeah, I don't really own you, but I love you."

"Hahh… and we're back to the banter."

Silence, all of a sudden.

Their eyes met and locked for who knows how long. Their hands then emerged from the blanket, their fingers locked, and almost at the same time, they commenced the slowest race on whoever gets up first, from which Rin won and faced towards Gin, where their lips gently met.

▪ ▪ ▪

"…"

"…"

"Why did you have to snatch my shirt… I didn't even notice that happened until I saw your earlier. It was so cold when I woke up…"

"I-It was really comfy…! I couldn't help it…

But it really surprised me when you suddenly knocked yourself out… I was worried for a sec, you know."

"I'm sorry… but I had to, otherwise… I might have regretted it."

Ever since Gin emerged from a year of being experimented on, his six year-old self became as good as a disabled person with most of his feelings and emotions detached from his own self, which is why the desires of man did not show up in him until only a few years ago.

In the heat of that moment, Gin was bound to have done something he could not turn his back from, but at the last minute where he came to his senses, he swiftly swiped his jaw and immediately passed out.

"I understand…

But you were heavy! I managed to move you back to your futon but it took me a while…! As punishment I nabbed one last kiss then I went back to sleep."

"What would have happened if I actually woke up that time? I knocked myself out so I wouldn't go any further with you… Hahh…"

"M-My bad on that one…"

"Remember that I'm doing all I could so that I wouldn't lose you and your parents' trust in me, and I don't want to let Rena and Kobana down."

With the mention of two names, the mood immediately became serious.

Perhaps unnoticeable, but their view on their relationship ultimately shifted upon meeting Kobana and Rena Azuki who, while they are now living their peaceful life with their son, came from a past where they walked on a tight rope with Rena's unexpected bearing of a child.

Frankly, they became scared. Several years into their relationship, it still felt as though they are children that are only beginning to shape up their resolve towards a future they both envisioned. Gin and Rin at that moment became grounded with reality, and once again became aware that they are not yet in a place where they could bear the responsibility.

"We just came out of a predicament just months ago… we really shouldn't be making another one…" the silence was broken by Rin.

"Let's watch out of each other from now on…"

Reflecting on their actions and finally reaching an agreement, Rin stood up to gather the dishes while briefly seeing from the corner of her eye that there was still unease on Gin's visage.

"You always beat yourself up with all sorts of things. Try not to let it get to you, okay, Gin?"

"Yeah…"

Ginji and Kuroko were always open to admit that being coincidences can sometimes be a curse as they could peer on Gin's memories and past feelings in his darkest times.

But Gin himself is also a coincidental existence—that of Eijiro Kurogane, his uncle…

"This is seriously messed up… why of all times…"

…Which ultimately made him understand Ginji and Kuroko's sentiments, but for a different reason.

Rin then walked back towards the dining table with a cloth on her hand and wiped the table while Gin remained sat.

"Oh, right. We should probably be heading out to buy ingredients for our food. Since the caretaker is arriving in the afternoon… maybe we should go out now?"

"Mhm, yeah… but just give me a second then we'll head out…"

"Like I told you… you really shouldn't put yourself down too much…" Rin sighed a slightly annoyed one.

"No, that's not it."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I… I can't stand up right now."

Rin took a moment, but suddenly whipped Gin's face with the cloth with a sharp sound, for some reason, and walked away feeling an in-between of being embarrassed and laughing out loud.

Whatever memories could Gin have seen?

…

In a matter of a few hours, they got back to a more grounded way of living, contrasting from the full week they hopped from one restaurant to another to living in the way they are most used to anew and it tested how much Gin now know of the Japanese cuisine.

As scheduled in the afternoon, the caretaker of the house arrived handing out the keys of the house after a tea intermission and short introductions.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

By the time the night arrived, the silence was broken briefly by the sounds of water reverberating minutely, and a deep sigh followed.

It was not as though Gin was tired, but finally dipping in the hot spring soothed his body. He rested his arms on the stones surrounding the bath, placed a towel on his forehead, and closed his eyes…

"…!"

Only to open them immediately with a flash of a memory.

"Aaaaggggghhh, man…

Dammit, you've changed, Gin…"

Hearing the clatter of the sliding door from the other side, he immediately ducked his head down into the water, but the surface of his face ended up slapping to the water before he sank, making loud noises.

"Woah! What's going on in there?!"

"Nothing."

He emerged with a reddened face from the sharp pain more than any other reason.

"Haaaaahhhh… It feels nice to be back on a hot spring again…

Doesn't everything remind you of when we were first here?"

"Sure does, minus the fact that we're here for a vacation, or more like an escape."

"That's one way to put it. We were with Jean back then, but I really hope we get to come back with everyone at some point."

"That sounds slightly like a pain for me, but…"

"…It'd be great if we gather together a lot more. But aside from Jean, Akira, and I, you guys will be graduating students soon."

"It didn't really occur to me, but only half of the original TAC remained studying, huh.

Ugh… once we're back home I'll be studying again…"

"Just think about that when we're actually home. We have more than a week left here, so let's just enjoy it in the meantime. That's why I said this trip is an escape, anyway."

"Point taken."

Retiring for the night, there was not a mention of the past occurrence from the previous day. The lights of the room shut, and they laid down of the still spaced-out futons. This time, the two of them slept soundly with minds devoid of anxiety.

▪ ▪ ▪

The next day, the couple went to a bike rental shop and rented two bicycles until the end of their trip—something they wished they could fit on their schedule in Tokyo, but could not. However, it did seem that the postponement was well worth it as they could pedal on the quieter streets of Kyoto feeling the breeze considered cold to their touch, as they are somewhat far from the spots where tourists are most likely to be found.

Then, as they went back around the proximity of their residence, they decided to turn from their house and reached a much busier part of the neighborhood where a hit of nostalgia had arrived upon them.

The crossroads reminded them of the sight of working adults waving at them on the other side of the road. It made them realize how much things have changed in just a few years. They team from the Anew Co. closely related to Gin the most moved their work to Kyoto, then some of them got transferred back to Orio where an official branch has been established. After reminiscing, they asked if they could pay a visit to the Anew office, where they were welcomed by Ayato Kaminari and Hina Itori upon receiving permission which was probably approved due to Gin being a former subject of their company.

After a lengthy chat and catch-up, they crossed the road towards where the second branch of Giotto's is, and still situated for a late lunch. As they have expected, they saw unfamiliar faces in their crew, but the ever outgoing Shun Kirishima had noticed them in a flash. After partaking from a very familiar menu, they briefly stepped in the back of the restaurant to greet the kitchen staff they once worked with a few years ago, and pedaled back to their home with the feeling of satisfaction.

"You know… so much changed, but this house seems like it was trapped in time, don't you think?" asked Rin, as she enjoyed the comfort of lying on Gin's lap as they observe the beginnings of the sun setting from the engawa of the house.

"Yeah, it's as if we arrived here just like how we left it way back."

"Hmmhhh… it really feels so peaceful being in traditional house… We've only been here for a few days and I already feel at home…

I wish Orio was able to preserve most of the heritage houses we had."

The history of Orio was somewhat cold in a sense that they were not remembered well and lacked the significance it should have been given. Late in the 20th century, Orio was influenced by Japan's steady economic growth, but in a poorly executed manner of wanting to push modernity. The leadership at that time, however, did not bat an eye on replacing heritage sites with more contemporary structures, which led to a drastic increase in conflict among political and academic bodies. It was thankfully appeased upon the conclusion of the elections. The new administration knew that a compromise would not be accepted anymore, therefore the movement was halted and then began the focus of preserving the remaining sites that Orio still has to this day.

While the country had a rich history, it was almost brought to the brink of disappearance. There is no consistent architecture—they appear as though very globalized, but the bright side of it all brought about multiculturalism. People of different races either migrated or frequented Orio as it became a place of diversity for some.

The country may have maintained some of its past, but what its future could entail is erecting a global city if given a few decades.

…

"Then… maybe once I've saved enough again, I might retrofit a porch like this on the concrete part of my lawn where most of my solar panels are at."

"I'll have to agree that your white house definitely needs more color."

"I think it's fine the way it is, though…"

"Hahh… Sometimes I question if you're actually an artist or not…"

"What do you mean…"

"You really need to see your house at a birds eye view again. And you can even do it physically. That will definitely give you some kind of perspective as to what I'm talking about."

"I don't really follow, but I'll do it anyway."

"Enough…

What do you think about running in the morning, just like how we did in the past?"

"Sure? We really should have been doing it anyway, especially you since you just got out of physical therapy."

"Well… that's part of it, but I already gained almost 4 kilos in just a week here… I feel like my belly is starting to become plump."

"You really shouldn't be worrying about that after you had a massive drop in your weight. I think it's good that you're gaining them back… maybe more?"

"Say any more than that and I'll sack your face."

"It didn't really seem plump, tho- Ah, not again…"

Because of the topic, it did appear that a memory has once again resurfaced from Gin that he didn't want to remember this soon.

To hide his already hidden embarrassment, he prompted to touch Rin's stomach only to pause at the last second. He then looked at her only to see nonchalance which he considered as a "yes, you may".

His palm then landed on the lady's stomach, met with a feeling of softness under the layer of fabric. Unable to help himself, he gave it a light pinch which Rin did not seem to mind.

"…

We'll run tomorrow anyway, but you're absolutely fine, I'm telling you," Gin assured as he slowly rubbed Rin's somewhat pillowy abdomen.

"Hmph. I see.

It's getting cold. Let's get inside."

▪ ▪ ▪

At some point in the couple's first week back in Kyoto, Gin had once again had a night where he had randomly woken up and could not make himself return to sleep. This time, however, nothing was weighing on his mind, to which he questions why he was suddenly up.

Feeling somewhat helpless, he got up as silently as he can to not wake up the sleeping beauty beside him. He picked up his phone that told the time was already the second hour of a new day.

After successfully leaving the room without a sound, he opened the doors of the porch enough that he fits and immediately closed them. After a breath of the night's cold air, he stepped out of engawa with outdoor slippers on, and leaped forwards as he grabbed back his footwear in the air and landed on the roof of the house barefoot—again, to make the smallest sound.

A jacket had sufficed in the small elevation, thus he began to watch the sky which its moon peeks out from time to time over the thin layer of clouds. For a moment, Gin regretted not bringing his camera out with him, but he quickly realized that he does not own a tripod, that the roof is not flat enough anyway, and that he has no experience in astrophotography even if he knows the workings of a camera.

"I don't think I have insomnia, though…

Maybe we should watch all the current episodes tomorrow."

Without much to think about apart from coming up with ideas to make him fall asleep that ended with nothing, he slowly fell on a daze watching the sky anew… until he sensed a presence on the same roof as the moonlight breaks through the clouds.

"**Hello," Gin greeted, nonchalantly.

"**It has… been a while?"

"**It has indeed."

"**You don't seem that surprised."

"**I am still a kid at heart. I had a fleeting thought that I might see you or some others like this. I never thought it would actually happen, though.

**But now that you're here, I want to thank you for giving me the idea of leveraging the earth to its whole. It has saved me a couple of times at this point."

Five years in, and Gin was suddenly reunited with a brief encounter with a man he met only for a short while that imparted the idea of the Step to him.

"**I am quite flattered. But think fast-"

All of a sudden, the man crouched with his leg on a position ready to swipe Gin with a kick. He, however, flickered and safely landed on the front lawn of the house, and jumped back up all the same.

"**That was really impressive. To think that you could move like that without making a sound truly is an amazing feat. It's like you are a different person from before.

**I could not even be that fast even if I try."

"**Please lower your voice, Nii-san. I don't want my partner waking up because of this."

"**Oh, I'm sorry about that."

A weak chuckle after, the man joined Gin in stargazing as he sat with him on the roof.

"**Say… are you actually a shinobi?"

"**Indeed I am. But not to be confused with the way we are portrayed in media, or even from hundreds of years ago—we've long cut our ties with political bodies and we're now independent.

**Most of us move on our whims, just like how I'm patrolling the neighborhood to see if there is anything untoward happening. We are a shrinking community, basically."

"**Do the shinobi have wives or partners, then?"

"**That's a strange question… of course we have lovers. We're only humans, after all. I suppose a purpose of the ninja now is to protect those they hold dear, and it could mean anything.

**The meaning of being a shinobi has ultimately changed. Aside from learning the ways of stealth, covertness, and other strategies derived from ninjutsu, a person that is several times faced with a situation for the sake of protecting their loved ones could perhaps be considered a shinobi already."

"**Hmm… a traitor of the state, an assassin, terrorists, a truck… perhaps I am one of you?"

"**I don't dare to ask where you're from as we're basically strangers, but you live in a crazy place, huh.

**Wait, a truck?"

"**A truck, yes."

"**Okay…? If your claims are true, then in my eyes, you are already one. Officially, no, as it requires an approval of a master."

"**Oh, you aren't one."

"**Not yet, at least.

**Why are you on this roof at this hour, anyway?"

"**I suddenly couldn't sleep and killing time until I get sleepy. But now I'm suddenly thinking about my lover.

**Is your wife also a ninja, Nii-san?"

"**She's not, although she knows a little about me being one. She's just a regular employee at an online radio company.

**You? Are you married now?"

"**Maybe in a few years, I don't know yet.

**I guess I'm a little confused since I'm mostly clueless about this romance thing. I'm suddenly seeing a progress where sometimes I just don't know what to do. What do you think?"

"**Honestly… The way I dealt with it is that I was just open with my wife. Sure, I didn't tell her everything about me being a shinobi, but I generally just tell her how I feel about things truthfully.

**My wife hates it when our talks get overly serious so we tackle serious things with a lighter tone. If in the process we were disagreeing more than we see eye to eye, then perhaps it was not it. But evidently, I'm still with her."

The man lifted his left hand which revealed a luster from his ring finger illuminated by the moonlight.

"**Well… we've had our fights but we have mostly been on the same page."

"**Sounds like you love each other dearly, then. My wife has seen me on my strongest and my weakest. When you see each other everyday, it gets easier to see if the other is putting up a strong front. Being vulnerable isn't necessarily bad when you understand the limits of each other. I guess mutual respect is very important.

**It sounds like you are doing well with her, though. Just take my words as ramblings of an old man, then."

"**Thank you for the encouragement.

**With that said, I'm think I should go back to sleep now. I hope you have a good night, Nii-san."

"**Rest well, then. Keep it up until you tie the knot, and then until after!"

"**Haha, that is a given."

▪ ▪ ▪

It was already bright in the morning that the sunlight had long passed over where the futons are situated. Rin had audibly slid open the door of the bedroom and saw that Gin is still tossing on turning on his bed with his hair turning into a mess. By that time, Rin had already folded and set aside her sheets earlier, and so she laid down with her side on the tatami and floor beside the sleeping man, and observed if he would wake up in a few minutes that her patience would allow her. Right as the sleepiness began to rub on her, she started calling out.

"Pooootaaaatoooo~" she repeated multiple times with the occasional 'wake up', until Gin lets out a groan and opened his eyes, facing Rin.

"He really has long eyelashes, huh," she thought to herself as she watched Gin's eyes slowly blink.

"**Good morning…"

"It's already past ten."

"…"

"…"

Regardless of the sleeplessness, it would seem that he still managed to sleep for a total of eight hours. Seeing Rin's presence, Gin then pulled her to his chest and gave her hair a few strokes until he began drifting away to sleep anew. To reciprocate, Rin returned an embrace as she caressed his back…

"Ahhhck- Ow, ow, ow, ow… I'm up…"

…and pinched his side that left a stinging pain, enough to wake Gin up.

"It's not everyday you sleep for almost 12 hours."

Rin pointed out as she watched Gin on the dining table thanking for the food in a small voice.

"I didn't, though. I snuck out around the night to get some fresh air since I couldn't sleep.

Yum."

"Something happened?"

"Nothing really. Anyway, do you remember the guy I almost bumped into the last time we were here?"

"Uh, you could have bumped to so many people, so no."

"The one I thought was a ninja."

"Ohhh. I remember him."

"We somehow talked on the roof for almost an hour last night. Turns out I'm qualified to be one of them."

"Seriously? Did you forget to take your pills?" she retorted sarcastically.

"Rude. He was such a nice guy, you know.

He told me there is a kimono rental near Arashiyama since we're going there later anyway."

"I'm up for it if you want to. I want to try it at least once."

"Thankfully it's not yet so warm otherwise it will probably feel hot for you. I guess the temperature here is similar to Payns when it's summer."

"I can imagine myself wanting to go to Payns right after we step out of the airport back home."

"By the time we're home we will probably get rains a lot. It'll get cold, yeah, but we'll have to deal with flooding again."

"Anyway…! Do we head out at around lunch?"

"That sounds good."

~ ~ ~

Choosing to ride the Randen line, they arrived at the station nearest to the bamboo forest at around 1 in the afternoon where, conveniently, a kimono rental shop was found at a walking distance after snapping a few pictures at the kimono forest. However, the hunger got the better of them, thus finding themselves at a restaurant with healthy servings of soba, udon, and shrimp tempura.

But in no time, Rin was fitted with a muted pink kimono as per her own choice. To no surprise, Gin marveled at the sight of Rin in the traditional clothing with her face touched up and her hair done with a floral hairpin, praised by him and the staff that helped her dress up. 'Stunning and unique', they commented.

At that point, Gin was once again overcome of the thought of gifting her significant other with another hair accessory.

Nonetheless, they set out to walk the kilometer towards the bamboo grove.

It was a midday in Friday. Although it was a weekday, they had expected that there will still be a lot of people on the streets surrounded by plentiful greens. Yet, the paths were quiet with a few people walking with them.

As the weather was pleasant, patches of sunlight come through the coverage of leaves that shades the pathways. Looking up, the sight of the towering bamboos never got old in their memories. The pace they walked gradually became slower and slower, as they took their time taking in the beautiful sight.

Occasionally, the click of a camera, pointed at Rin, would be heard when the two of them stop on their treading. Rin knew fully well that Gin is not one to want to be taken a picture of, yet she snatched the camera from his hands nonetheless in the pretense that she wanted to capture a few images of the scene, although not entirely untrue as she wanted reference images. For someone very aware of their surroundings, it was always difficult to get a stolen shot from Gin. The lady continued to find the right opportunity, and a candid photo of Gin has been captured amidst the passing of the wind through the forest.

He realized not long that his self has been immortalized into an image, as though dying inside from the look in his face. But he couldn't help but shrug seeing the gap between Rin's cheeky smile and her outfit.

After being done from reexploring the place, they went back to the kimono rental shop to return the clothes and for Rin to get changed back. But just when Gin thought that it was time to return home, he suddenly found himself being pulled to Rila*kuma cafe that they passed by earlier when walking towards the bamboo forest. "That's so cute…!" Rin reacted and exclaimed upon her first viewing of the cafe, but one look at Gin's silent expression and she could tell that he had the same reaction in his mind, in uppercase however.

After reserving a table in the second floor of the shop, they went back downstairs where the cafe is selling plentiful of Rila*kuma goods.

"Now that I think about it, Rin… we didn't even think of going to a themed or a collab cafe when we're in Tokyo."

"Goes to show there's so much to do there when you're touring…"

"Ohh, I like that coin purse. Do you want one too?"

"I think I've reached my quota on how much goods I've allowed myself to buy…"

"I guess our suitcases are getting filled fast with souvenirs, huh…And we'll have to buy even more while we're here."

After a bit of a long wait, they were finally able to get their seats upstairs, ordering two identical themed matcha parfaits to which they struggled on where to even begin eating it from.

"What in the world…"

"Something wrong, Potato?"

Lifting his phone, Gin showed the contents of its screen towards Rin, being the weather in the area for the next five days.

"Wait, 30 degrees so suddenly in two days?!"

"It's insane how the weather changes so suddenly. I guess it's this country's turn in summer now."

"Ugh… I hope it's not yet so warm before we leave…"

"We'll have the AC all to ourselves, you know.

Anyway, anything you still want to do for next week?"

"Nah. I just want to chill from tomorrow until we fly back. Going out nonstop back in Tokyo is finally getting to me. Maybe I'll just edit the photos I took when we're just lounging around."

"You know I've taken too many photos when I've already filled an SD card full of them."

"Don't think I didn't know how much you took of me."

"Guilty as charged."

"Let's get ice cream for takeout before we go home later."

"You still have room? I'm definitely going to make a pillow from your stomach at some point."

"Am I really getting rounder?!"

"I'm kiddiiing. I think it's much better if you gain more then get back to a better weight. Still, your diet has really changed in the past two months, I guess."

"I still want the ice cream though…"

"I never said we can't."

"Do you even know that you've been spoiling me too much recently?"

"Believe me, I'm well aware. I've known since I started taking care of you."

"…"

Rin sighed and sulked, "How come you always have a comeback ready for everything…"

"I'd be more surprised if you haven't been used to it yet after all these years."

"See?!"

"Pfft… Let's get the ice cream then we're out of here."

"…

Fine."