Saturday morning sunlight spilled through the window, golden and soft, casting a warm glow across the room. Yui stirred first, blinking sleep from her eyes as the scent of breakfast drifted through the door. It smelled like grilled fish, miso soup, and something else — probably simmered vegetables.
She rubbed her eyes and sat up slowly, glancing over at Ayumi, still curled up under the covers. Quiet breaths, face half-hidden in the blanket.
Yui stood, stretched, and padded out of the room. Her mother was in the kitchen, wearing her usual pink apron, humming a song from the radio.
"Morning," Yui mumbled.
"Morning, sweetheart," her mom replied, flipping something in the pan. "Brush your teeth before you eat."
Yui made a face. "I know…"
She shuffled into the bathroom, tied her hair up sloppily, and stared at her own reflection for a moment. Then she brushed her teeth in silence, foam in her mouth, head still groggy with sleep.
As she rinsed, a thought sparked.
Maybe she should invite everyone over today.
It was Saturday. No school. The weather looked nice. And… she didn't want to be alone with her thoughts. Not in that way. Not with that silence.
She grinned a little, spat into the sink, and hurried back to her room.
"Ayumi," she whispered, pushing the door open, "wake up—"
"I'm up," Ayumi yawned from under the blanket, already sitting up and stretching like a cat. Her hair was a mess.
Yui blinked. "You're awake?"
Ayumi sniffed the air dramatically. "I smelled your mom cooking. I love her food. What is that, grilled mackerel?"
Yui wrinkled her nose. "Yeah. I don't like fish in the morning."
"You're so picky," Ayumi grinned. "You'd probably eat cereal every day if they let you."
"Cereal is reliable," Yui muttered.
As Ayumi laughed, Yui pulled out her flip phone and opened Mixi. She clicked into their group thread and started typing.
yui: hey wanna come over today?
yui: just hang out at my place. nothing special
yui: bring snacks if you want
Responses trickled in almost immediately:
haru: i'll come if you have air conditioning
haruka: yay!! i'll bring pudding
daichi: sounds good, i'll come after breakfast
kaito: okay… can i bring my card deck?
airi: if someone saves me from boredom, i'm in
Yui grinned. "They're all coming."
Ayumi beamed. "This is gonna be fun."
After asking her parents — and getting the usual lecture about being quiet and helping out when told — Yui texted the group again to confirm.
yui: parents said yes. just don't break anything
haru: no promises
haruka: i promise!!
airi: haru don't be a menace
—
By noon, everyone had arrived.
Yui's room wasn't big, but they made it work. Daichi sat cross-legged on the floor, flipping through one of Yui's manga volumes. Kaito was carefully organizing a small card deck in his lap, hyper-focused as always. Haruka and Ayumi were braiding each other's hair on the futon, while Airi leaned against the wall painting her nails like she was at a salon.
Haru had claimed Yui's desk chair and was spinning in it obnoxiously.
"Can you not?" Yui asked flatly.
"I'm thinking," Haru replied, still spinning. "It helps me think."
"You don't even do anything that requires thinking," Airi said without looking up.
"Ouch. That was uncalled for," Haru said, clutching his chest dramatically.
Kaito let out a quiet laugh.
"Don't encourage her," Haru muttered, slumping in the chair.
Ayumi looked over, smiling. "Hey, Haru, maybe if you spun hard enough, you'd travel back in time and fix your whole personality."
"See, now you're just bullying me."
Daichi chuckled, still flipping pages. "Yui, you have volume nine? I stopped at eight."
"Bottom shelf," she pointed. "Careful, it's stacked sideways."
He reached for it. "Thanks."
Meanwhile, Kaito cleared his throat softly. "Anyone want to play with me? It's a new card game, um… it's not hard."
"I'll play," Haruka said quickly, hopping over beside him. "You'll have to teach me, though."
Kaito nodded, already beginning to explain the rules in a quiet, focused voice.
Ayumi glanced around the room. "This is kind of nice, huh?"
Yui nodded, lying on her stomach with a pillow under her chin. "It's perfect."
For the next hour, they played, talked, teased, and snacked on the crackers and melon bread Haruka brought. The heat outside didn't reach them. In this little bubble of laughter, snacks, and light arguments over card rules and who cheated at rock-paper-scissors, nothing felt wrong.
Airi lay on her back across Yui's bed, flipping through a magazine she found on the floor. "Okay, I'm officially bored," she said dramatically, flopping her arm over her face. "Why don't we go out? Like actually out. There's a new arcade that opened nearby."
Haruka sat up from her spot near Yui's closet. "We could go to the arcade! There's one near the train station, right?"
Daichi raised an eyebrow. "Last time we went there, you blew 700 yen trying to win a plush banana with legs."
"And I have no regrets," Haruka said proudly.
Kaito shifted in his seat beside the bookshelf, rubbing the side of his neck. "I've never actually been to an arcade with… friends before."
"You'll love it," Ayumi said with a grin. "You've got the vibe of someone who'll dominate the rhythm games."
Airi sat up suddenly. "Arcade, then? That's what we're doing? I want to take those weird sticker photos. The ones that make your eyes huge. Purikura, right?"
Yui looked around the room at her friends — squished onto her floor, on her bed, leaning against her desk — and nodded softly. "Yeah. Let's go."
Her parents gave the okay with the usual conditions — don't be loud, help around the house later — and after everyone made their way out the door, the group began walking through the neighborhood toward the local arcade spot near the station. The building was a little old, plastered with posters and banners for new games, with catchy music thumping from inside.
Yui wore her lavender top and denim shorts, a simple white hoodie tied around her waist. Ayumi had her gray hoodie and soft skirt, holding a lemon soda from the vending machine. Haruka skipped ahead in her red windbreaker jacket and pigtails bouncing. Daichi wore his usual slouchy T-shirt and jeans. Kaito was dressed in a black sweater and shorts. And Airi was wearing a pink dress.
Inside, they split into different machines and games — Haruka challenged Daichi to a racing game and screamed the entire time; Ayumi and Airi ran to the purikura booth and immediately started posing. Kaito was quietly, terrifyingly good at Dance Dance Revolution, while Ayumi tried to keep up beside him and nearly fell three times.