The rain continued to fall without end.

“Mmm... mmm... ah... hey! Huff... huff...”

“One more set. Hang in there.”

“Eek! Mmm~~ o-o-o-oysters!!”

“Come on, just five more.”

Beads of sweat, warmed by sunlight, rolled from her neck down to her lower belly, like a golf ball racing across the green, landing precisely within the vertical line of her navel.

Her taut, sun-kissed stomach bore two subtle hollows on either side. The muscles weren't sharply defined, yet they were a blend of softness and firmness, like a non-Newtonian fluid—yielding gently under a soft touch, as if the girl's breath would answer with equal tenderness.

“I’m... I’m going to die...”

The setting was the Jinguuji family’s living room. Sakurow Sazakura lay flat on her back on the floor, gasping loudly for air, her dark short hair splayed out behind her like the ripples a diver makes after plunging into the water.

Her upper body, clad in a sports tank, rose and fell with each breath. Beads of sweat rolled down her neck, and if you looked closely, you could see a faint mist of heat rising from her flushed skin.

Her feet were pressed together, covered in white ankle socks; through the mesh, her ten toes wriggled slowly.

The boy was pressing down on the tops of her feet.

A little more pressure and all ten toes, hidden beneath the socks, would curl up in unison, neat and ordered, like synchronized lights changing in time.

“Last one, very good.”

“Phew! Ha... ha... ha...”

“Huff... ha... Moon, water, water...”

Jinguuji Moon picked up the sports bottle placed nearby. Sakurow Sazakura took it and sipped slowly.

“That’s enough for today, isn’t it? You’re training by yourself every day after school—you’re really pushing yourself, aren’t you?”

After several moments of catching her breath, Sakurow Sazakura slowly sat up, wiping her face with a towel. Her bangs, damp with sweat, stuck to her forehead.

“It’s because everyone has high hopes for me. My goal for the sports festival is to win every single event!”

“That’s impossible, no matter how you look at it.”

“Oh, come on, what matters is the spirit!”

Sakurow Sazakura sipped her water in small gulps, resting for quite a while before offering a weary smile.

“Sorry for dragging you along for so long... Oh, look at the time.”

“You must be hungry, Moon. I’ll go make you something to eat.”

“Honestly, I can’t believe Mom and the others just left us here and went off to Hakone for a hot spring trip. I wanted to go too!”

Seeing her pout and complain, Jinguuji Moon gave a small, amused smile.

“It’s fine, Sazakura. Go take a bath first—I’ll handle dinner.”

“Ah... That almost sounds like you’re saying I stink of sweat.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Then come smell for yourself.” The girl spread her arms, as if inviting a hug.

“Sazakura, you’re such a pervert.”

“So you are disgusted by me!”

Jinguuji Moon sighed. Facing the sweat-drenched, red-faced girl—who seemed to be radiating heat—he opened his arms and leaned forward, preparing to embrace her.

His figure grew rapidly larger in Sakurow Sazakura’s eyes. But just as he was about to touch her, she suddenly realized what was happening, scooted back, and dodged his touch.

“What’s wrong?” Jinguuji Moon asked, puzzled.

She lowered her gaze, unable to meet his eyes, blushing with embarrassment. Even her breath felt scorched, and her heart pounded violently.

“On second thought, never mind. It’s too... too embarrassing. I—I’m going to take a bath!”

With that, Sakurow Sazakura sprang up and fled to where Jinguuji Moon couldn’t see her.

He shook his head helplessly, walked into the open-plan kitchen, and began to ponder what to cook.

“Hey, Moon.”

Sakurow Sazakura peeked out from behind a corner, only half her face visible, her amber eyes glimmering playfully at him.

“Hmm?”

“When I come out of the bath, I’ll let you smell.”

With that, she dashed into the bathroom, cheeks burning, leaving the boy standing there, both amused and exasperated.

Well, I’ll just make her favorite dishes.

After dinner, Sakurow Sazakura, now dressed in pajamas, lay sprawled on the living room sofa reading manga. Jinguuji Moon emerged from the bath.

“Are you staying over tonight?”

“Mm... I’m so tired I can’t even move. I absolutely don’t want to go out.”

“I see.” Jinguuji Moon nodded, heading upstairs to his room, taking out bedding from the closet and spreading it on the floor.

He was quite certain Sakurow Sazakura would come to sleep in his room.

Jinguuji Moon was not a dense person; he knew well that his relationship with Sakurow Sazakura had long since surpassed the boundaries of ordinary childhood friends.

Normal childhood friends didn’t embrace, didn’t ask for kisses, and certainly didn’t share a bedroom.

But Jinguuji Moon didn’t mind. In fact, he hoped this relationship, deeper than mere childhood friendship, might help him reclaim what he felt was missing inside himself.

Perhaps, one day, this girl called Sakurow Sazakura would help him rediscover the most essential human feeling—would teach him what true love was.

He wanted to believe, to believe that he loved his childhood friend.

He always had, and still did.

***

That night, Jinguuji Moon lay on the floor of his bedroom. Moonlight streamed through the gap in the window, spilling across his pillow.

He rolled over, away from the light, and found himself looking straight into the eyes of the girl lying on her side in his bed.

“Moon, can’t sleep?” Sakurow Sazakura asked softly.

“Not really.”

“You can sleep up here, you know. I don’t mind.”

Jinguuji Moon turned away from her again. “No need.”

“You’re so shy,” Sakurow Sazakura laughed.

The room fell quiet again, with only the sound of pajamas rustling against bedding as she turned over.

Hearing her shifting about, Jinguuji Moon closed his eyes.

Even as he heard the blanket lift, the soft footsteps as she tiptoed to his side, and the gentle sound of her sliding into his bed—

Even when she hugged him from behind, her breath warm and sweet against his neck—

He did not open his eyes.

...

...

September 19th, Saturday.

Rain.

Because You Miyagi was coming in today, she was covering his shift. Though the hourly wage of 1,150 yen stung, Jinguuji Moon really didn’t want to go out in the rain.

He sat on the living room sofa reading a novel, while Sakurow lay at his side, holding a manga above her head.

Her long, toned legs were draped over his knees. In her loose T-shirt, each time she turned a page, a sliver of fair skin flashed at her midriff.

Is this really a comfortable way to read? Jinguuji Moon wondered.

He glanced at the title of the manga in her hands. “Is that the one President Hoshinomori lent you last week?”

“Yup... Just one more volume left, and I promised to return it on Monday. We’re swapping notes.”

“You two are really close.”

“I told you, it’s not like that. Who wants to get chummy with a rival in love? I’m just using her to mooch free manga.”

“Sure, sure.”

He was used to her stubbornness by now.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling window, rain pattered in the garden. Kokoro crouched by the glass, her tail, splayed on the floor, swaying in sync with the bare tree bending in the wind.

Suddenly, Sakurow Sazakura closed her manga, sat cross-legged on the sofa, and looked toward the garden.

“It just keeps raining,” she said.

“Yeah.”

“I just hope it won’t rain during the sports festival.”

“The forecast says it’ll keep raining all week.”

“You still believe the weather forecast?”

“If you make a teru teru bozu and hang it up, maybe I will.”

“You said it.”

Sakurow Sazakura jumped off the sofa, somehow produced some white cloth and scissors, and started working at the dining table.

Jinguuji Moon’s attention drifted back to his book.

Time passed, the rain outside didn’t cease, and eventually Sakurow Sazakura’s voice called out.

“Done!”

“I wonder who first thought of this—teru teru bozu. The first person to do it must have been laughed at.”

“It actually comes from China, I think. They called them ‘sunshine maidens,’ and it’s said to have come over during the Heian period.”

“Is that so? But the teru teru bozu is a boy, isn’t it?”

“Who knows? Things change, otherwise it’d just be copying.”

Sakurow Sazakura nodded sagely, then laughed. “You’re the same as ever, Moon. You know so many odd things. Where did you even learn all that?”

“Are you just pretending to be smart to make fun of me?”

Moon glanced at her. “Read more books.”

Given such a haughty reply, Sakurow Sazakura wrinkled her nose in mock annoyance, but soon grinned, picking up the two teru teru bozu she’d made and sitting beside him.

“Tada!”

“What are these?”

“Can’t you tell? This one’s me, and this one’s you.”

Jinguuji Moon examined the two white dolls, finally spotting a difference. He pointed at a black line on one teru teru bozu’s head.

“Is this your ponytail?”

“Doesn’t it look like me?”

“Not really.

“It’s not as cute as you.”

Sakurow Sazakura giggled, gently bumping her head against his shoulder—a subtle show of delight.

She went over to the window and set the two dolls on the floor, stopping Kokoro, who was about to investigate.

“No, Kokoro! Don’t mess with them.”

“Meow~”

Jinguuji Moon watched her. “Aren’t you going to hang them up?”

Sakurow Sazakura crouched down, lightly poking the dolls so they swayed precariously.

“Mm, I just feel like... Hanging them by the neck is kind of creepy.”

Jinguuji Moon froze for a moment, then, after a long pause, turned another page and said calmly, “You’re overthinking it, Sazakura. They’re just teru teru bozu.”

“Yeah.”

“Hang them up, otherwise they won’t work. Didn’t you want to win all the events at the sports festival?”

At his words, Sakurow Sazakura glanced, perhaps unconsciously, toward another room, then fetched some string and hung up the teru teru bozu.

“What do they look like?” she asked.

Jinguuji Moon glanced up. The black ink hadn’t fully dried, bleeding into the white cloth. If you saw something like that at night, it’d probably give you a fright.

“Doomed lovers,” he replied.

“Do you want to get hit?”

“At least they’re a pair,” he argued.

Sakurow Sazakura thought it over, then nodded. “Fine, I’ll forgive you.”

What? That’s forgivable? Jinguuji Moon could only laugh wryly.

So, on that peaceful weekend afternoon, two former lovers—childhood friends—sat together by the floor-to-ceiling window, leaning on each other.

“Say, Sazakura, why did you want to become a sprint champion?”

“What?”

“I mean, your dream.”

“Oh, there’s no big reason. I just feel like, after training for track and field for so long, if I don’t achieve something, all that time would be wasted.

“So, obviously the higher the goal, the better. Once a goal gets high enough, it becomes a dream, right?”

“When a goal gets high enough, it becomes a dream... Hard to believe I’d hear that from you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you looking down on me?”

“Not at all. I’m complimenting you.”

“You’d better be.”

“So, why did you start track and field in the first place?”

“Eh? Why are you suddenly so interested in me today, Moon?”

“I’m just thinking about the future, about what kind of person I’ll become.”

“Is this a life consultation?”

“It sounds a bit annoying when you put it that way, but close enough.”

“Don’t you have anything you want to do?”

“Honestly, not really.”

“Come on, you used to say you wanted to be the greatest soccer player in the world. Now you sound like an old man.”

“Me? When did I say that?”

“Second grade.”

“You remember things from that long ago?”

“I remember everything about you, Moon. Everything.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Hearing his tone, Sakurow Sazakura felt he was just brushing her off and grew sulky, letting Kokoro go.

Kokoro glanced at them, then ran under the curtains, hiding her plump body.

Jinguuji Moon was still pondering the future when, unexpectedly, a force pressed on his back—Sakurow Sazakura pounced, pinning him to the floor.

“Sazakura?”

“It’s your fault, always saying things that make me angry. But I can’t hit you or yell at you, so I have to punish you like this.”

She gazed down at the boy beneath her, earnest but hesitant, as if afraid to touch the heart he had hidden away. Unable to get closer to his emotions, she could only tease his body in ambiguous ways.

Jinguuji Moon watched her quietly, letting her hands rest on his shoulders. His eyes showed no sign of emotion.

“I’ve become this way, all because of you, Moon.”

Her face drew closer, her breath hot against his cheek. Jinguuji Moon turned his head, pressing his ear to the floor as the drumming of rain outside poured into his senses.

The girl lowered her head and gently bit the exposed skin on his neck.

He looked out the window.

The rain kept falling.