Akira climbed the stairs back to Satomi's apartment; the bag containing the clothes for Rina and Ayaka in one hand, Valerius's card in his pocket. The hallway was very quiet, the kind of quiet in the early morning where your own footsteps sound too loud.
He knocked once. The door opened before his knuckles pulled back.
Satomi stood there, still in the loose silk robe, but her expression had shifted from the composed warmth of earlier to something sharper. Focused.
Her eyes went to the bag first, then his face, and she stepped aside without a word.
Inside, Ayaka and Rina were awake.
Ayaka was sitting upright on the couch in one of Satomi's oversized sweaters… dark gray, the sleeves rolled twice, falling past her thighs. Rina was curled in the armchair wearing a similar sweater, but hers was cream-colored; her legs were tucked under her and her hair still messy from sleep.
They both looked up when he entered.
