With Kuroneko's shameful escape, the bathroom finally became quiet.
"...It's all the world's fault."
Sora muttered a complaint in a low voice and continued washing up.
A moment later.
Sora, dressed in pajamas, left the bathroom. He saw that the lights in the living room were off, but a faint glow came from the direction of the sofa—clearly, someone was playing on their phone.
"Ruri, I'm done washing," Sora called out softly.
Ruri quickly stood up. She swiftly raised her eyes, darted a glance at Sora, then blushing, averted her gaze and raised a hand to tidy the loose hair by her ear:
"I'll take Sora to the room."
"..."
The two tiptoed down the hallway and soon arrived at Ruri's room.
Pushing the door and entering.
Ruri turned on the light. Keeping her head down to avoid eye contact, she whispered:
"The futon is already laid out. Sora, you rest first... I'm going to take a shower."
After speaking, the girl hurried away without even lifting her head.
Having just taken a shower, Sora naturally wasn't sleepy. He curiously surveyed Kuroneko's room.
The room wasn't large, but it was clean and tidy. There were no strange odors, nor were there clothes thrown randomly on the floor. There were, however, many mysterious props—
For example, a divination crystal ball on the desk.
On the bookshelf were obscure works like Divination and Occultism. Of course, there were also many manga and light novels.
In the corner lay a rug painted with a complex otherworld summoning magic circle.
A dreamcatcher hung at the head of the bed.
The walls were plastered with posters of 2D characters, including the Queen of Nightmares and various magical girls.
On the desk, there were only a few serious books, but many figures of game and anime characters.
Sora noticed a photo frame sitting in the corner of the desk. Impressively, it held the group photo they took when they played at Mount Takao. He didn't expect Kuroneko to actually print the photo out and frame it.
Not only that, but beside it was a black-covered notebook with the girl's handwritten text on it:
[Chronicle of Destiny].
Followed by parentheses specifically containing Izumi Sora's name.
"This name... is really full of chunibyo energy."
Sora complained softly.
He wanted to see it.
He really wanted to see how Kuroneko recorded him in her diary.
But do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself.
Sora didn't like others casually reading his diary. Judging others by his own standards, he didn't touch the [Chronicle of Destiny]. Instead, he obediently started playing on his phone.
Half an hour later.
The time had already reached the early hours of the morning. Ruri, wearing pajamas, fragrant and soft, finally quietly pushed the door open and entered the room.
"You're back?"
Sora looked up.
"Eh... Sora hasn't gone to sleep yet?"
Ruri's pretty face flushed slightly. After washing up, the girl's sense of shame had quietly cooled down significantly, and she could barely manage to look people in the eye again.
"I'm not sleepy right after taking a shower," Sora said softly. "I figured I'd play on my phone and wait for you to come back."
Ruri walked to the side of the bed with a blushing face and sat down, hugging her knees:
"It's already very late, and we have to get up early tomorrow. Sora should rest early, right?"
Hearing this, Sora put down his phone. "Goodnight."
"...Goodnight."
Sora hadn't lied; he truly didn't have trouble sleeping in new places. Less than three minutes after lying down, he successfully fell asleep.
"I'm so jealous... Isn't the speed of falling asleep way too fast?"
Ruri lay on her side, hugging a body pillow, and looked at Sora with a resentful gaze. Although her body was very tired, perhaps due to the presence of an unfamiliar boy in the room, she had absolutely no sleepiness right now.
Amidst her wandering thoughts, the terrifying image she had seen in the bathroom involuntarily surfaced in the girl's mind once again.
"Ahhhh! Seal it! Hurry up and seal it in the depths of the Abyss of Darkness! Never think of it again for eternity!"
Ruri hurriedly shook her head in embarrassment.
Unfortunately, the more she tried to forget, the harder it was to forget.
After tossing and turning for an unknown amount of time, Ruri finally drifted off to sleep.
The night passed without words.
The next day.
6:00 AM.
As the vibration of the alarm clock sounded softly, Sora quickly opened his eyes.
Although Mrs. Gokou had discovered his staying over, Ruri didn't want her two younger sisters to find out. So, Sora had made an agreement with Kuroneko last night to wake up early this morning and leave quietly.
"Phew..."
Sora sat up and gently rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers.
"To think I actually had a nightmare."
It was probably because the impression of the late-night subway yesterday was too deep. In the dream, he and Kuroneko had returned to that subway station, and the scene felt exceptionally real even now.
Collecting his thoughts, Sora quietly put on his clothes and then looked towards the bed.
He saw Ruri's small body curled up into a ball, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed, seemingly not sleeping peacefully.
Seeing that she was still sleeping, Sora pondered for two seconds and didn't wake her up. After all, many girls get cranky when woken up. He took out a sticky note, prepared to write a message, and then leave quietly.
Just as he finished writing the message, a soft hum from the girl echoed in the room, and Ruri groggily opened her eyes.
"Good morning."
Sora stepped forward and greeted her softly.
The girl's unfocused gaze quietly came into focus, landing on Sora's face.
Their eyes met.
Ruri quickly sat up, her voice tense: "Sora, are you... alright?"
Sora was confused. "What could be wrong with me?"
"Last night in the subway, Sora..." Ruri started to say, then quickly realized. "Sorry, I had a nightmare last night. In the dream, Sora and I returned to that subway station, and Sora encountered danger trying to protect me."
Hearing this, Sora's heart skipped a beat. "I also dreamed about that subway station."
"Eh?"
The two shared the contents of their dreams, only to surprisingly discover that their nightmares were exactly the same.
"The subway station last night really was a spacetime singularity!" Ruri looked over nervously. "After we fell asleep, our souls were pulled into it!"
"Having the exact same dream is indeed very strange." Sora frowned, his tone grave. "However, there are also examples of dream synchronization in the world... Let's not panic just yet. We'll see how it is the next time we sleep."
"We can only do that..."
A moment later.
Under Ruri's guidance, Sora quietly left the Gokou residence. The journey was safe and peaceful, without any accidents.
"Phew..."
Arriving outside, Ruri exhaled softly, setting her mind at ease:
"At least Hinata and Tamaki won't find out."
The sky had quietly brightened.
However, it was still early, and there weren't many pedestrians on the road.
Sora waved goodbye. "I'm heading back first."
"Sora, don't take the subway." Ruri hurriedly and nervously instructed. "Take the train back."
"I understand." Sora nodded in agreement. "I promise not to go to the subway station."
"That's good..."
It was still early, so Sora wasn't in a hurry to go back. He ate breakfast first, and waited until the streets became lively before unhurriedly returning home safely.
"Servant, you're back."
A blonde loli was pacing at the door. Seeing Sora appear, her eyes lit up, and she quickly trotted over.
"What are you doing pacing around at the door?"
Sora asked curiously.
"Hmph, I wasn't specifically waiting for you at the door. It's a coincidence... just a coincidence!"
Sora: "..."
"Speaking of which, does Servant have free time today?" Yamada Elf looked over expectantly.
"As thanks, I'll begrudgingly accompany Servant to play at the zoo for a day. I've already bought the tickets... It's not like I want to go on a date with Servant!"
Sora: "..."