It was 10:00 PM at the Hiratsuka home.
Ryosuke, wearing a thick cotton jacket, was sitting in the living room kotatsu (heated table) peeling an orange. He shifted his gaze to the side. Next to him was a woman curled up in the kotatsu, her face resting on the table, a seemingly useless person who only knew how to close her eyes, open her mouth, and ask to be fed. Ryosuke sometimes doubted his Shizuka-nee's true motive for taking him with her when she left home. Did she just want to save money and hire a caretaker to look after her?
"Ah~" Hiratsuka Shizuka closed her eyes, her red lips slightly parted, emitting a pleasant sound.
Ryosuke silently handed the orange slice to her. Hiratsuka Shizuka flared her nostrils, like a carp spotting fish food. She stretched her neck and bit down on the peeled orange. Her cheeks puffed out as she chewed the sweet and juicy fruit. Finally, her throat moved, and she swallowed the orange.
She let out a lazy sigh, "Mmm, eating oranges inside the kotatsu in winter is truly the happiest thing in life."
Ryosuke looked at his fingers with disgust. "Hey, you got your saliva on my fingers again. If you do that one more time, I won't feed you," he grumbled. He then skillfully pulled out a tissue and wiped his fingers.
Hiratsuka Shizuka opened her eyes and laughed triumphantly. "Ryo-chan, you promised to take care of me forever, I remember that." Ever since returning home for the Obon Festival this year and hearing his father's harsh words, she had completely given up and embraced a life of leisure. Come to think of it, even if I never get married, having a reliable younger brother to take care of me for life isn't so bad.
"Nee-chan, when are we going back this year?" Ryosuke asked casually, tossing the wadded tissue aside.
Hiratsuka Shizuka considered it. "The old man is in Kyoto for the next few days. We won't go back to Chiba this year. Let's celebrate the New Year here in Tokyo."
Ryosuke was slightly surprised by the news. What was his usually traditional and strict father doing in Kyoto instead of the family home in Chiba for the New Year?
A wave of drowsiness washed over Ryosuke, and he yawned.
"Are you tired? Go take a shower and get some rest, Ryosuke," Hiratsuka Shizuka's voice was muffled as her face rested on the warm table.
Ryosuke nodded and headed to the bathroom with a change of clothes. He realized his sleep hadn't been great lately. He had started having a strange, continuous dream, and he wasn't sure when it began. In the dream, his name was Naoto.
Normally, all elements that appear in dreams are based on existing memories. But people often forget the details of their dreams upon waking. However, this continuous dream was eerily realistic, as if he were in another true world. Only occasional scene changes, like vanishing or completing pixel dots, reminded him that it was a dream. The technology in this dream world was far less developed, and things like immersive holographic game pods didn't exist. Am I stressing out too much from writing Sword Art Online and suffering a mental breakdown?
The heroine of the dream was a long-haired girl whose face he couldn't see clearly. He remembered first seeing her back on a cliff edge. The girl's long black hair danced in the wind on the mountaintop, and she was trying to walk forward. A name inexplicably surfaced in Ryosuke's mind—Sayuka. Since a bottomless abyss lay ahead of the girl, he strained his lungs and loudly called out the name, trying to make her stop. But every time the girl was about to turn her head, he would wake up from the dream.
Recently, the dream had shifted and gained new content. With each entry into the dream, the girl turned her head slightly more. Just as he was about to see her face clearly, the scene would abruptly switch to a classroom on a school campus, much like playing a Galgame.
Then one day, the school's unreachable beauty, Sayuka, got sick. Because of her proud, difficult, and extremely sharp-tongued personality, Sayuka had no friends at school.
Driven by curiosity about this unique dream, Ryosuke decided to explore it. He took the initiative to visit and take care of the sick Sayuka, wanting to see the story progress. The reason for his proactive exploration was simple: this dream was too unusual. He was certain he didn't know anyone named Sayuka in real life, nor anyone with a similar personality. There wasn't even any information about Sayuka and Naoto online. So, Ryosuke decided to "conquer" the dream as if it were a game.
He was meticulous and devoted in caring for the sick Sayuka, never backing down from her biting sarcasm. He focused all his gentle consideration and understanding on Sayuka. Although he couldn't see her face, Ryosuke proceeded with a steady, step-by-step strategy.
He eventually found that Sayuka was fundamentally a good girl. She was serious, diligent, hardworking, capable of independent thought, and didn't follow trends. She could be described as a genuinely independent woman of the new era.
Perhaps because of the time they spent together while she was sick, Sayuka started to become bolder. This unreachable beauty, who was usually dismissive of others, often waited specifically for him after school. She paid no attention to the gossip of others, and Ryosuke did the same. They often found an empty classroom to share small everyday moments. Over time, their relationship deepened.
Later, Ryosuke realized that Sayuka's sharp tongue and mean-spirited facade were merely armor protecting herself. Once that cold armor was opened, the fire in Sayuka's heart was revealed.
One day after school, as they walked home, Sayuka proactively took his hand, and they strolled down a tree-lined path. The almost real, soft sensation made Ryosuke wonder if he had somehow crossed over into another world.
The water from the showerhead turning cold brought Ryosuke's mind back to reality.
Hiratsuka Ryosuke turned off the shower, dried himself, and put on his pajamas. As soon as he reached the living room, he saw a "mini Hiratsuka Shizuka" had appeared in the kotatsu. Nibutani Shinka was in the exact same pose as Shizuka, curled up inside the table with her face resting on the top.
She twitched her ear when she heard Ryosuke, but didn't open her eyes. She just asked sleepily from the table, "Ryosuke, I'm not going back to Kyoto for the New Year this year. Will you take me to Chiba to visit?"
"No, because I'm celebrating the New Year in Tokyo this year, not Chiba."
"Really?!"
Shinka, who a moment ago looked like a boneless slug, immediately sat up straight. A look of surprise and delight appeared in her eyes as she looked at the boy who had just showered.
Ryosuke nodded.
Shinka cheered loudly, "Yay! Ryosuke, we can watch the Kōhaku Uta Gassen and stay up late tomorrow night!" She continued, "The day after tomorrow is New Year's Day. Should we go to the shrine to pray together? I have great luck, I can share some with you."
Ryosuke quickly waved his hand, stopping the excited Shinka from continuing her rant. "We'll talk about it tomorrow. I want to sleep now." He was already very tired, and he didn't know how long Shinka would talk if she got carried away.
Shinka crawled out of the kotatsu and patted her small butt. "Then I'll head home now. It's a deal, you're spending the New Year with me!"
"Fine, fine, now go home quickly."
After his childhood friend left, Ryosuke went back to his room and lay on the bed, letting his mind wander. The frequency of the dream was increasing. He wondered when he would finally complete it. Will Sayuka appear in the dream tonight?
He closed his eyes, his breathing steadied, and he gradually drifted back into the dream he was waiting for.