Warm sunlight.

Cicadas, noisy yet brimming with life. A breeze laced with the smell of food.

And right in front of her, hands on her hips, bouncing around and complaining in that clear, tinkling voice—her little sister, Yotsuha.

Alive. Truly alive.

Not an illusion, not a dream.

A tidal wave of regained joy crashed over every nerve in Miyamizu Mitsuha's body.

She could even hear her own heart beating strong again, loud and clear.

Thump, thump, thump—pounding her ribs, sweeping away the ice-cold stillness and despair from before.

"Yotsuha…!"

Her tears burst their banks—not bitter with despair this time, but scalding, rushing relief.

She stopped caring about how she looked and lunged forward, wrapping her still-grumbling sister in a fierce, crushing hug—so tight it felt like she might press the girl into her very bones and blood.

As if the moment she let go, Yotsuha would vanish again.

"Wah! Sis! What are you doing? That hurts! I can't breathe!"

Startled by the sudden bear hug, Yotsuha squirmed and complained, her little face scrunched up.

"What's gotten into you all of a sudden?!"

At the dining-room door, Mitsuha's father had just turned to go in. Hearing the commotion, he looked back, and his brows knit in displeasure.

"Mitsuha, shouting and tugging like that—where are your manners? What kind of young-lady etiquette is this?!"

Only her grandmother, Miyamizu Hitoha, stopped in her tracks. Those clouded eyes that had seen through the world rested quietly on her eldest granddaughter's loss of composure. Deep within them flashed the faintest hint of comprehension—and inquiry.

This child Mitsuha has been unusual since yesterday. That nightmare, and now this overly intense display of emotion.

Just then, a clear, gentle voice—carrying a strange penetrative quality—rose from not far away, neatly cutting through the fuss at the door.

"Mitsuha."

That voice…!

Mitsuha's head snapped up from Yotsuha's shoulder; through tear-blurred eyes she looked toward the sound.

Under the shrine's torii, a figure stood smiling at her, bathed in the golden afterglow of the setting sun.

Rei Ao.

He wore well-tailored modern casual clothes that looked both comfortable and expensive—spotless, utterly out of place amid Itomori's plain, everyday clothing. Soft black, tousled hair framed skin that seemed even fairer by contrast. His features were so finely shaped they looked hand-carved by God, and together they were breathtaking.

But it wasn't just his looks.

It was the transcendent, tranquil aura around him—as if he weren't standing at a country shrine's gate, but above the clouds, looking down on all beings. That natural air of refinement and aloofness, so unlike everything around him, was impossible to ignore.

Yotsuha, their father, and their grandmother all turned at once, surprise and puzzlement rising on their faces.

Who was this man?

There was absolutely no one like him in Itomori. Honestly, even in Tokyo you wouldn't easily run into someone with a presence like that. He looked like a model stepping off the cover of a fashion magazine or out of a haute couture ad—or perhaps… something even more beyond.

And the key was, he'd called Mitsuha by name—and sounded familiar, too.

Yotsuha was the first to react. Eyes wide, she looked Rei Ao up and down, then nudged her sister with an elbow, lowering her voice, excitement and teasing mingling together.

"Sis, look—did that super handsome guy just call you?"

"You two know each other? Don't tell me… he's your boyfriend? You really kept this one hidden, huh?"

"Eh?! B-boyfriend?!"

Jolted back to herself by her sister's words, Mitsuha turned beet red like a ripe apple.

She looked up in a panic—right into her father's suddenly sharp, complicated gaze, and her grandmother's calm yet somehow deeper one.

"N-no! Don't jump to conclusions!"

Flustered, she waved both hands and denied it, heart hammering out of control—partly because of Rei Ao's sudden appearance, partly because of the suffocating family misunderstanding.

"He's just… just a friend of mine! Yes! Just a friend!"

A friend? From where?

Miyamizu Toshiki's brow furrowed even tighter, his suspicion not easing in the slightest.

Mitsuha's scalp prickled under their stares; she wanted to escape this mortifying scene immediately.

She all but stumbled in her haste toward Rei Ao, grabbed the sleeve of his immaculate jacket, and whispered, "W-why are you here…? Let's—let's talk somewhere else!"

Without waiting for his reply, she ducked her head, cheeks burning, and practically dragged him out of the family's line of fire.

Rei Ao let her pull him along, the faintest playful smile at the corner of his lips. He matched her pace with unhurried ease.

Behind them, the three members of the Miyamizu family exchanged looks.

Hands clasped over her heart, eyes sparkling, Yotsuha watched the pair hurry off. "Dad, Grandma, did you see that? He's so handsome and has such presence—like a big star from Tokyo. And Sis actually knows someone that amazing. They must be more than just normal friends!"

Father: "…"

He watched his daughter disappear at the end of the path with that striking stranger, a tangle of feelings in his chest. On one hand, shock at the man's exceptional bearing. On the other, a prickly unease—like his "precious cabbage" being rooted up by some top-of-the-line boar.

His relationship with Mitsuha had long been strained, but that man was far too unusual. How did Mitsuha know someone like that?

He said nothing, turned, and went back inside, his shoulders heavy.

Grandmother Hitoha kept gazing in that direction. A glint flickered in her aged eyes as she murmured something only she could hear.

"O wind that brings change… where exactly will you blow?"

~~~

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