Kaoru hadn't moved from the bench.
Minutes passed like water dripping from a leaky faucet—steady, annoying, impossible to ignore. The stars above twinkled like distant lies. The can of grape juice sat untouched beside him, now lukewarm. He was still staring at it when his phone buzzed.
He didn't check it.
Instead, he exhaled and ran a hand through his hair. That thought—"I'm tired of it all"—still echoed in his head. But he wasn't going to spiral. Not tonight.
"who am I kidding.. I'm not gonna be dramatic," he whispered to himself, voice cracking just a little. "I'll just… sit here."
And he did.
Until the soft crunch of gravel snapped him out of his daze.
He blinked and looked up.
Aya was standing there.
No umbrella. Her dark coat slightly damp at the sleeves. Her short hair tucked neatly behind her ear. A quiet look on her face—neither angry nor concerned. Just… observing.
He didn't move.
She didn't say anything.
Instead, she walked over and sat beside him. Calmly. As if this was all planned.
"Hey," she said, voice barely above the night wind.
"…Hey," he replied.
Silence again. But it wasn't awkward.
The kind of silence that understood them both too well.
They sat like that for a few more minutes before Aya broke it. "Didn't think I'd find you here."
Kaoru gave a half-smile. "Didn't think I'd be here either."
Aya's eyes drifted to the can. "Juice?"
"For Kaede."
"You forgot, didn't you?"
He groaned. "Completely."
She chuckled. "She's probably plotting your doom."
"Probably."
They both laughed softly. The breeze picked up. Aya tucked her hands into her coat pockets.
"Wanna walk?" she asked after a pause.
Kaoru stood up slowly. "Yeah."
They walked under streetlamps that glowed like lonely halos.
Kaoru kept his hands in his hoodie pocket. Aya walked slightly ahead, her pace slow, her steps steady. The night air was crisp—almost biting. But not uncomfortable.
They talked.
About groceries.
"Of course.. who expected that?" (Narrator)
How tomatoes were weirdly expensive lately.
About manga drafts.
How Kaoru kept redrawing the same panel until it blurred together.
About a dumb show Naoki recommended that turned out surprisingly good.
None of it mattered.
But it was the kind of nothing that felt safe.
Then, after a lull in the conversation, Kaoru said:
"You ever feel like everything's going too fast?"
Aya glanced at him.
"Like… you're just running on instinct, but your heart's stuck in another place."
She didn't answer right away.
Instead, she looked up.
The sky was wide, dark, and quiet.
"…Yeah," she said finally. "A lot, actually."
Kaoru nodded slowly. "I don't even know if I like being Erebus Kyrielight sometimes. I mean, I love creating. But the name… the title… the expectations…"
"It's heavy," Aya finished for him.
"Exactly."
More silence.
Then, Aya turned toward him, her expression softer now.
"You know," she said, "you're allowed to slow down."
He looked at her, surprised.
"I mean it," she continued. "You don't have to chase all one hundred mangas like it's a race. No one's holding a gun to your head."
"Yeah, but…" He hesitated. "I feel like I have to. Like, if I don't keep making stories, I'll disappear."
Aya tilted her head. "You ever think… maybe that fear is why your stories matter so much?"
Kaoru blinked.
She shrugged. "You put all that into them. That feeling of being human. That fear. That fight. That's what people connect to."
He looked down at the pavement.
"…Thanks," he mumbled.
Aya smirked faintly. "You're welcome, you dramatic idiot."
They passed a small fountain.
The water shimmered faintly under the moonlight.
Kaoru noticed Aya glance at the benches nearby. Her gaze lingered just a second too long.
"…What?"
She blinked. "Huh?"
"You hesitated," Kaoru said. "You were thinking something dumb."
Aya groaned. "Ugh. I hate that you can read me."
"So? Spill it."
She looked away. "I just… wondered if this looked like a date."
Kaoru.... is just confused?
"Really." (Narrator)
Aya looked horrified at her own words. "Wait, no—I mean—not like that, I just—ugh—"
He raised an eyebrow. "You're saying this doesn't look like a date?"
Aya narrowed her eyes. "Don't mess with me."
Kaoru grinned.
For the first time all day, it wasn't fake.
"I mean," he said, "if it were a date, you should've at least let me buy you a snack."
She rolled her eyes. "If this is your idea of a date, it's terrible."
"I'm trying my best, alright?"
They both laughed again, tension finally releasing into the air.
But beneath the joke, something lingered.
Aya glanced at him again, this time quieter.
"I wouldn't mind," she said softly. "If it was.."
Kaoru's breath hitched slightly.
But before he could say anything, Aya looked away, brushing her bangs aside.
"Let's keep walking," she said quickly.
Kaoru nodded.
They kept moving, side by side.
At the park's exit, they stopped.
The streets beyond glowed faintly. Home was that way.
"Kaede's probably asleep by now," Kaoru said, checking his phone.
Aya crossed her arms. "Which means she'll wake up at 3 a.m. and throw a tantrum for the juice."
"…I'll just tell her it was sold out."
"She'll call you a liar."
"She always does."
Aya chuckled, then looked at him again.
Softer now.
"I'm glad I found you tonight," she said.
Kaoru looked at her.
And for once, he didn't deflect with a joke.
"…Me too."
They stood there under the streetlamp for a moment longer.
Then, without another word, they both turned and started walking back.
Together.
After a while, They stood together at the last turn of the block, where the street split into two quiet lanes.
Aya stopped. "This is where we part ways, yeah?"
Kaoru nodded. "Yeah."
There was a beat of silence—slightly too long. Kaoru rubbed the back of his neck.
"…Get home safe."
Aya gave a small smile. "You too."
Another pause. Kaoru opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, then decided not to. He just gave her a light wave and turned.
Aya watched his back until he disappeared around the corner, hoodie fluttering slightly in the wind.
Then, only the distant hum of a vending machine and the sound of her own heartbeat kept her company.
Back in her bedroom, Aya tossed her coat onto the back of her chair and collapsed onto her bed with a dramatic flop.
She stared at the ceiling.
Her room was quiet, dimly lit by the glow of her phone screen on the nightstand. Kaoru hadn't messaged her. Not that she was waiting.
…Okay. Maybe she was. Just a little.
"Tch. Clueless idiot," she muttered, rolling onto her side.
She didn't know what had gotten into her. That whole walk through the park… the talking, the laughing, the almost moments. She wasn't used to that kind of thing. Not with him. Not with anyone.
But something about the way he'd looked tonight. Not his usual deadpan or exaggerated reactions, but something… real. Vulnerable.
And the fact that she noticed?
Ugh.
She pressed her face into her pillow and groaned.
"This is dumb…"
Eventually, exhaustion caught up to her. The room faded into silence. Her eyes fluttered closed.
And then—dreams.
She was back in the park again. But everything was dream-colored: slightly too vivid, like a watercolor palette someone forgot to clean up.
Kaoru sat beside her on the bench again, only this time he wasn't looking away or making awkward jokes. He was looking at her.
Sincerely.
Softly.
"Hey," he said, voice warmer than it had any right to be.
"What?" she snapped back instinctively.
But he just leaned forward—close enough that her breath caught—and pressed a feather-light kiss to her forehead.
The world tilted.
Aya blinked.
Then again.
And again.
Kaoru kissed her forehead again, like some sort of gentle loop. Each one softer, slower, more intimate than the last.
And worst of all?
She didn't hate it.
No, her dream self just stood there, wide-eyed and warm-cheeked, while Kaoru did the kind of things no idiot manga protagonist should be smart enough to do.
"You're such an idiot," she muttered in the dream, even as he leaned in again.
"I know," dream-Kaoru replied.
Another kiss. Another breath caught in her chest.
And then—Aya jolted awake.
She sat up so fast her blankets flew off.
Her heart was pounding.
She blinked at the clock. 2:36 a.m.
"Nope," she muttered. "No. Absolutely not."
She collapsed back into bed with a loud thump, then groaned into her pillow.
"What the hell was that?!"
She knew dreams were supposed to be weird. But that?
Forehead kisses?
Of all things!?
"Who even likes those?" she said, her voice muffled by cotton and frustration. "That's such a stupid, affectionate, dumb…"
Her words trailed off into another muffled groan.
She didn't even like forehead kisses.
She rolled over, face now staring up at the ceiling like it had answers.
It didn't.
"Stupid subconscious," she grumbled.
The worst part wasn't even the dream. No. The worst part was the feeling.
The warmth that still lingered behind her ears. The ghost of a touch that hadn't even happened.
She slapped her cheeks gently. "Get it together. It's just Kaoru."
Kaoru, who once nearly burned toast with a rice cooker.
Kaoru, who couldn't tell when someone was clearly flirting with him at the fan meeting.
Kaoru, who had no idea she'd noticed the way his hand brushed hers slightly on the park path.
He was a walking trope.
A clueless, oblivious manga protagonist written by the gods of cliché.
And yet.
And yet.
Aya let out a long sigh.
"I need therapy," she muttered, throwing her blanket over her head.
Sleep didn't come easily after that. Every time she closed her eyes, dream-Kaoru was back. Forehead kisses and all.
By 3:20 a.m., she gave up and reached for her phone.
There was a new message from Kaoru.
Kaoru:
"Did you make it home alright?"
Just that.
Simple. Sincere.
She stared at it for a while.
Then typed slowly.
Aya:
"Yeah. You?"
His reply came less than a minute later.
Kaoru:
"Still alive. Kaede yelled at me for forgetting her juice."
She smiled.
Then typed again.
Aya:
"Deserved."
Another message popped up.
Kaoru:
"Thanks for tonight. I think I needed that walk more than I thought.
You always know what to say."
Aya bit her lip.
She didn't reply right away.
Instead, she set the phone down and lay back, heart doing little flips she refused to acknowledge.
She let out a frustrated groan as she rolled onto her stomach, burying her face into her pillow. This was stupid, she was being ridiculous. She didn't get flustered over a dream of Kaoru giving her forehead kisses, damn it. It was too... too affectionate, too intimate.
The dream had been stupid.
But the warmth?
That was real.
And maybe… just maybe… she didn't hate that either.
"…Damn it," she whispered into the dark again.
She muttered once more, her voice somewhat muffled by the pillow, a image of Kaoru kissing her forehead was replaying in her dream on a loop.
"…I don't even like forehead kisses…"
Sniffle.. sniffle...
---
End of Chapter thirty-four.