Saturday, Morning
Yoru stood in the shower, washing off all the sweat from his morning cardio.
With a splash of body wash and a rinse of water, the sticky, gross feeling was gone.
Looking in the mirror, he struck a few poses. It had been almost a month since he started dieting.
Progress was still minimal, but he had lost about 15 kilograms.
A beginner's weight-loss bonus, he figured. It'd only get harder from here.
Yoru wasn't just some gluttonous chubby guy—his body constitution made it significantly harder for him to lose weight.
Even his dad worked out constantly but stayed pudgy.
"Looks like it's grown again. These briefs are getting tight," Yoru muttered, thinking about the usual Hentai he read.
His favorites were ones about fat otaku guys—guys like him.
They'd use their absurd bodies to conquer high-class, snobbish, beautiful girls who secretly looked down on fat nerds. After a few rounds, the girls would become obsessed with them.
It was unrealistic, sure.
But it felt good to read.
Once clean, Yoru dried himself off, got dressed, and walked out of the bathroom.
Living room.
Gabriel lay on the couch with her new laptop, barefoot, her pale feet dangling over the armrest.
When she saw Yoru, she waved him over.
On the table were Yoru's game console and cartridges—Gabriel had already played through them all.
"What should I download first?"
Gabriel scooted over to make room.
"Account setup's done..."
"Install an antivirus first. The default browser isn't great—replace that. Then get a VPN accelerator."
Yoru didn't sit down. Instead, he squatted beside her.
The couch was small—if he sat, he'd be pressed up against Gabriel.
People said foreigners were more open, and cheek kisses were just casual greetings. It really was true.
Yoru reached over to help her operate the computer, downloading everything one by one.
Looking at her bright eyes as she lay on the couch, Yoru smiled a little.
"Alright. Now we just wait for the downloads."
He got up, picked up his game console and cartridges, and put them away in his room.
"Aah~"
"So excited~"
Gabriel rolled on the couch, a far cry from the composed girl she was when they first met.
Soon, Yoru came back out after putting everything away.
"Gabriel, can you tell if I've lost a bit of weight?" Yoru asked.
"You have!"
She didn't even look up—she'd already noticed. The change was small, but visible.
She saw him every day at school, after all.
Yoru smiled happily, then helped Gabriel finish installing the basic software and started downloading games.
"I wanna play Genshin!"
Gabriel couldn't wait. She clicked download like her life depended on it.
Genshin Impact had become wildly popular in Japan lately—a cultural phenomenon.
At school, the boys talked about it nonstop. Gabriel had heard enough to make her ears numb.
She couldn't hold back anymore.
"Genshin will take a while to download. I'm heading out to buy some stuff. You coming, Gabriel?" Yoru shrugged.
He needed to buy some cat supplies.
"Later." Gabriel kept her eyes glued to the screen, waving goodbye as she kicked her legs in the air.
Yoru tried not to stare at his friend's unintentionally exposed soles.
Before leaving, he petted San-san, who lay by the entrance—the couch was completely claimed by Gabriel.
It was about 10 in the morning.
Yoru headed to the pet clinic where he'd once met Yukino. She wasn't there this time.
Yoru casually asked the lady at the counter and found out that Yukino only came to work here during long holidays.
After buying some supplies to help with cat fur maintenance and digestion, he stopped by a nearby convenience store.
He picked up lunch—just a clean box of sushi, a few bottles of coffee, and some sugar-free juice—then walked home.
It was Saturday.
The residential area finally had a bit of life. People could be seen walking around, cars passing by.
"Huuh..."
Dragging his heavy body, Yoru felt a bit tired, so he took a break in a small neighborhood park.
Calling it a park was generous—it was about the size of a classroom, with a children's slide and a few workout machines.
Clack—
He took a sip of coffee while scrolling through the news.
The World Cup was still trending. Even though Japan had been knocked out, the hype hadn't died down.
The checkered team that beat the Blue Samurai also took down Samba—highlighting just how strong the Japanese team had been.
Even Portugal had been eliminated in an upset.
Looks like the title's going to Mbappe again.
Taking a familiar gulp of black coffee, Yoru stretched and happened to spot someone biking past.
The more he looked, the more she resembled Nanami.
"Maybe I'm just seeing things."
Yoru didn't think much of it. He finished half his coffee and got up to head home.
Just as he neared his apartment, Nanami rode her bike straight toward him, glancing around as if searching for something.
Yoru noticed her, but she didn't seem to recognize him until they were nearly face to face.
"Kitakami-kun?" Nanami called out with surprise, stopping her bike.
"I remember you live around here, right?"
"Yeah, what a coincidence. Are you looking for something?" Yoru nodded slightly.
"Do you know where this place is?"
Nanami looked relieved as she walked her bike over to him and pulled out her phone.
It was a pretty standard Smart phone—not the latest model.
'Seems like she's not very well-off,' Yoru thought.
At Shuchiin Academy, most students used iPhones.
She unlocked the screen and showed it to him.
"This is the place—I've been trying to find it forever."
Nanami smiled a little awkwardly while studying Yoru's face.
"This is my apartment building," Yoru said, surprised at first, then quickly understanding.
Of course, the rent had dropped noticeably. It was natural more people would want to move in.
The only issue was that the landlady's handwritten directions were vague and hard to follow.
"Huh? Seriously?" Nanami was visibly surprised.
"If you're heading there, follow me," Yoru tilted his head toward the direction.
Nanami immediately started walking her bike and followed behind.
She was looking to rent a new place, and this building was the only one that matched her needs—close to school, cheap, and quiet.
"Kitakami-kun, how's this apartment overall?" Nanami asked from behind.
"Not bad. It's pretty new, cheap, not many tenants. There are still open units," Yoru recalled.
The first floor had parking and mailboxes.
He and Gabriel lived alone on the second floor. The third and fourth floors only had a couple of residents, whom he'd run into once.
Nanami looked visibly relieved, her expression lightening with anticipation.
Soon, they reached Yoru's apartment complex.
Nanami looked at the building entrance and remembered how Yoru had helped her that day. She also recalled what Sorata had told her.
"I can help you get in touch with the landlady. Wanna come up to my place and wait?" Yoru casually offered outside the building.
Gabriel was at home, so there was nothing strange about it.
"Eh?"
Nanami froze for a second, caught up in her own spiraling thoughts.
What if he's targeting you?
Maybe he's trying to get close, help you out, bring you food so you get used to him—and then drug you...
He's a thief... a disgusting fat creep.
Aoyama-san, stay away from him. He's dangerous...
Sorata's warning replayed in her mind, word for word.
She couldn't stop herself from falling back into worry and doubt.
But if she did go up now and saw Gabriel—she'd realize she was just overthinking and would definitely feel guilty afterward.
With her personality, that guilt would likely last for a while.