Episode 6

My head is pounding. The moment I let my guard down I’ll fall asleep, so I pinch my cheek at intervals and alternate coffee and energy drink down my throat.

Two things I can’t stand, mixed together in my stomach, turning into nausea.

Just a little more — it should be nearly over — and yet my head and hands won’t do what I tell them.

A few more hours until dawn. There’s no time—

The only sounds in the silence are the mouse and keyboard. Directly ahead, a monitor glowing alone in the dark.

The light from the screen blurs in my vision. The text on it won’t come into focus.

Hm…?

It should be a world of perfect quiet with no one in it — but from somewhere far away I hear hurried footsteps. The sound of automatic doors opening.

“Senpai!!”

A voice I know. But a tone I’ve never heard from it before.

“What are you doing!!”

A figure comes into sight, dropping everything in their arms and breaking into a run. For a ghost, they seem rather agitated.

“Hey! Senpai!”

A hard impact. The full weight of another person against my whole body. I’m being held—?

My awareness slowly sharpened, but I couldn’t make sense of the situation.

“Um— what—”

“It’s me, senpai.”

Slender fingers brush the hair from my face. We’re on the same floor every day — and yet it feels like I haven’t seen her in a long time.

“Seriha… sorry, I think I blacked out for a moment. I’m okay now — probably.”

“I’m sorry… this is my fault…”

Large eyes filled with tears meet mine. Why does she have that expression?

And for that matter — how did she get here? The last train has been gone for some time, and I hadn’t told anyone I was still in the office.

“Tell me what needs to be done. I’ll ask questions later — for now, I just need you to trust me.”

Those large eyes didn’t waver. The serious register of her voice stayed with me.

— Trust.

A word I used to love, that I’d stopped using somewhere along the way. A word everyone else uses without thinking. I really am a hopeless person.

“…Okay.”

Normally I’d have found some excuse or another to push her away. But right now I didn’t have the space for that, and before I’d even thought it through I’d handed everything that still needed doing over to her.

My head drops forward. The headache is fierce. I try to pinch my cheek but my arm won’t lift properly.

“Senpai — over here. Please lie down. It’s a bit hard, but bear with it.”

On the floor, a large blanket has been spread out — with a pillow, carefully provided.

“I’ll come get you when it’s done. Rest for a little while, all right?”

A voice whispering close to my ear. Comfortable, with a slight ticklish warmth to it.

How many days has it been since I last lay down and properly slept? For just a moment I thought I felt something warm against my cheek. I no longer had the space to wonder what it was.

◇

A rhythmic tapping sound. Even, steady — tap tap tap.

I try to push myself upright and a small sound escapes me at the protest from my body.

“Good morning, senpai. Did you manage to rest a little?”

“…Morning. Well enough, thanks to you. Still pretty rough, though.”

I force my complaining body to stand and look at the monitor Seriha is facing.

Just past five. I’d slept for about two hours, apparently.

On the screen: the draft of an email announcing completion of the work.

“Wait — is it already finished?”

“Of course it is! You know how capable I am, don’t you? This was nothing.”

Her rather assertive chest puffs up proudly.

“Though — senpai had done most of it already. All I did was the final touches.”

I told a bit of a fib, she says, laughing with a guileless expression. Something in my face softens.

“Give me about five more minutes. Just a little longer.”

“And once we’re done — it’s time for the long-awaited interrogation~”

She makes exaggerated flustered noises as she types. I let out a quiet breath.

I’d caused Seriha a tremendous amount of trouble.

If I’d been honest from the start, things wouldn’t have gotten so bad. I needed to tell her everything I could. That much I could think clearly, even with a head that still wouldn’t quite focus.

◇

That far more work had landed than I’d let on. That I’d lacked the courage to involve her, a misjudgement entirely my own. In the still-dark office, I told her the full story of what had happened as thoroughly as I could.

“I see. Honestly, I had a feeling something was off. Because up until a little while ago you seemed fine, and then suddenly your colour went bad and you just… stayed at your desk for days without moving.”

“It’s my fault. I caused trouble for you. And even though I caused trouble — I couldn’t do anything about it.”

She drops her gaze and murmurs — and also.

“I think senpai was at her limit. And I felt like if I pushed any harder you’d break — so I turned a blind eye. I was running away from senpai.”

I’m sorry, she says, bowing her head deeply. I try to reassure her.

There’s nothing for her to apologise for. Every bit of it was because I couldn’t be clear.

“None of this is your fault, Ichikawa-san. It was just me not handling things well.”

The moment I say it, my head drops again. Some time having passed since I woke up, the drowsiness has crept back. I should send Seriha home and take the day off.

“Senpai, you’re at your absolute limit.”

She gives a small, deliberate hmm, then slaps both knees as if reaching a decision and announces it plainly:

“Work is done for today! The rest is for the client to sort out! Senpai, we’re going home!”

A small yeah, and I let myself be led out of the building by her hand and into a taxi.

…A taxi?

The gentle rocking of the cab and the comfort of the cool air pulled my consciousness away.

“Go to sleep. Should I wake you when we arrive?”

Her whisper sounds like a lullaby. I’ll figure out the details later. Before I could reply, I’d already let go.