The semi-truck finally pulled to a stop in front of an old general store on the edge of a suburban alley. The four of them climbed down, their faces haggard and worn with exhaustion. They ascended a creaking iron staircase, each step groaning under their weight until they reached the top floor. There stood a small, cramped room fronted by a spacious balcony. An aging pavilion sat perched in the corner overlooking the street, while the other side was adorned with laundry dancing in the night breeze, hanging from a line tied to a rusted, nearly collapsing iron pole.

  Yumi surveyed the surroundings, struggling to make sense of the sight before her.

  "Is this boy allergic to tidiness—or cleanliness in general?" she remarked to Hana.

  "I've grown familiar with this view. So... it's normal if you're shocked," Hana replied nonchalantly.

  "Just look at him. He's carrying rotten food in his backpack and hasn't even bothered to throw it out. And look at those clothes; they've probably been hanging there for two days," Yumi said.

  "Two days, you say? Those have been hanging there since last week," Hana answered airily.

  "What? Last week? How can you even be friends with him?" Yumi asked in disbelief.

  "Hey, you don't know him yet; that's why you see it that way. Trust me, the more you get to know him, the more you'll want to be around him. Arata is a fun and exciting guy," Hana assured her.

  "Ugh, whatever. Let's just go home. I've missed two days of work because of this ridiculous idea of yours," Yumi grumbled.

  Meanwhile, on the other side... a silly bickering session was unfolding, teetering on the edge of minor violence.

  Kato: "Are you sure you put it here?"

  Arata: "Yeah, in the usual spot." (He began rummaging under the doormat and through dried-out flower pots).

  Kato: "Come on, try to remember where you actually put it. If it were in the 'usual spot,' we would have found it by now..." (He was starting to get annoyed).

  Arata: "As I recall, I put it here, under this pot." (He lifted a dead plant in a pink pot).

  Kato: "Oh God, why have these past two days felt so incredibly heavy to get through..."

  Arata: "Hey, don't bring God into this trivial matter." (He let out a laugh).

  Kato: "Why is everything so trivial to you? Aren't you worried about where you're going to sleep? We could have just gone home and slept soundly in our beds to wash away the exhaustion of searching for you for two days. Honestly, you..."

  Arata: "Maybe it fell out in that meadow..."

  Kato: "Arrgghh! You just said it was in the usual spot!" (He muttered under his breath).

  Arata: "Let's just break it open." (He stood up and pulled a crowbar from beneath his bedroom window).

  Kato: "Let's do it!" (Suddenly, his face lit up with an intense, eager look).

  Arata: "Alright... I'll pry, you push." (He dropped into a sturdy stance).

  In an instant, they became a solid team, despite having been at each other's throats just seconds ago. They were completely unaware that their foolish antics were being watched by two girls who had been listening to their utterly pointless conversation.

  Kato: "On the count of three..."

  Arata: "Three...!"

  CRACK! The door burst open. They tumbled into the room, erupting into foolish laughter.

  "Where did you throw counts one and two?" Kato asked through a wide grin, followed by Arata's own laughter. Kato got up first, then helped Arata to his feet. As Arata stood up, the sound of metal hitting the floor echoed through the room.

  Clink..!

  A sharp metallic clink echoed as it hit the floor.

  "Did you drop something?" Kato asked, peering down at the floor.

  "Seems like it," Arata replied nonchalantly.

  "The key! There it is...!" they both exclaimed in unison, followed by another round of foolish laughter.

  On the other side, the two girls stood there, mouths agape, witnessing the sheer stupidity of it all.

  "How can those two even be friends? They're equally dim-witted," Yumi remarked, her voice laced with bewilderment.

  Hana swiped a hand across her forehead, unable to hide her exasperation at the boys' ridiculous antics.

  "I've grown used to this kind of nonsense," Hana said coolly, already turning to walk toward the pavilion.

  ---

  "Gratitude Won't Fill a Belly"

  "Go take a shower," Kato commanded as he tossed Arata's motorcycle keys onto a small table. "Clean yourself up, and for heaven's sake, throw out whatever is rotting in that bag!"

  Arata let out a soft chuckle. It was his first real laugh since they had found him in that meadow, though his head still felt a bit heavy.

  "Thanks, man," Arata said sincerely.

  Kato stopped at the doorway, glancing back with a faint smirk. "Hey... don't just thank me. Gratitude won't fill our bellies. Nothing in this world is free, pal! You've put us through enough today, and we're starving!"

  "I've ordered cup noodles and cold sodas. You're picking up the tab!" Kato pointed a thumb toward the general store downstairs. "We'll be waiting for you at the pavilion."

  Without waiting for a reply, Kato led Hana and Yumi toward the wooden pavilion at the edge of the balcony. Yumi lingered for a moment, her gaze lingering on Arata as he tended to his backpack, before finally following Kato's lead.

  Arata set the "death-scented" backpack near the bathroom door, then pulled the black gem from his pocket. Under the dim light of the room, the gem appeared even darker, more fathomless than before. He clicked the gem back into its frame and slid the necklace back over his head.

  At the old wooden pavilion, the tension slowly began to thaw. As agreed, cup noodles, piles of snacks, and several cans of soda were now laid out between them. Kato, Hana, and Yumi ate ravenously. The exhaustion of searching for Arata for two whole days seemed to vanish with every mouthful of warm noodles and every gulp of cold soda.

  "Ah... that kid is always doing something dangerous," Kato said, chewing his noodles heartily. He shook his head, remembering how many times Arata had nearly made their hearts stop.

  Hana nodded in agreement. She took a sip of her soda before chiming in. "Yeah, really. Just last month we found him in the hospital after he went missing for three days. He got into an accident while riding out alone." Hana shot Kato a meaningful look. "It seems you need to keep a closer eye on him, Kato, before he pulls any more weird stunts."

  Kato choked slightly on his food, looking at Hana with a furrowed brow. "What? Me? How? You know yourself you drag me along every time I actually have free time," Kato replied defensively. "Besides, Arata likes being alone. He's the type who hates bothering people, which is why he usually leaves without a word."

  "Not bothering people?" Yumi asked, her tone sharp. One eyebrow arched high. She set her chopsticks down with a small clink against the rim of her bowl. "Didn't we all end up here, wasting two days of our lives, precisely because of him?"

  Instead of being offended, Kato burst into laughter, nearly spitting out a few strands of noodles. "Ahahaha! That's just business as usual, Yumi. You're just the only one experiencing it for the first time."

  Hana offered a small smile at Yumi's annoyed expression, while Kato continued, wiping a drop of broth from the corner of his lip.

  "We're used to his antics by now. But at least this incident was useful for something," Kato added with a casual yet knowing tone. "We've added a new coordinate to our search map. Usually, if he goes missing, we check the school; if he's not there, we check the workshop; if not there, then this house. Well, now that meadow from yesterday will be the newest addition to our collection of places to look when he vanishes again," he concluded with a loud laugh, as if Arata's habit of disappearing was nothing more than a routine sport.

  Yumi only snorted, but she couldn't deny that the bond between Kato, Hana, and Arata was truly unique. They had grown so accustomed to Arata's madness that their worry had long since merged with a sense of humorous resignation.

  Arata finally emerged, wearing clean clothes, his hair still damp, and carrying the scent of soap that—at the very least—managed to overpower the stench of the "rotten rations" from earlier. He walked slowly toward the pavilion, feeling a bit awkward as he heard his name being tossed around in Kato's laughter.

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  "Hey... look at our hero! You look a lot fresher than when we found you," Kato teased with a wide grin. He scanned Arata, noting the clean clothes even though the exhaustion still lingered in the dark circles under his eyes. "You sure you're okay? Didn't leave any body parts behind in the woods back there?"

  Arata only let out a soft huff at the jab. He pulled up a wooden chair and sat among them. "Yeah, I'm fine. Where's my share?" Arata asked, his eyes sweeping over the pile of food.

  "Here," Kato answered curtly, sliding over a cup of instant noodles that was still steaming.

  Arata looked around the table, his brow knitting together. "Just this? Where's my soda?"

  "I already drank it," Kato replied nonchalantly, without a hint of guilt. Before Arata could even protest, Kato continued, "Hey, just eat first. It's not good to drink soda when your stomach has been empty for days. Just think of it as me saving your digestive system."

  "You... you always have an excuse," Arata muttered in resignation.

  He peeled back the lid of the noodle cup. The savory aroma of the broth immediately wafted out, triggering an overwhelming hunger in a stomach that hadn't been fed in two days. Without wasting a second, Arata began to eat ravenously, as if those instant noodles were the most luxurious meal he had ever tasted.

  Kato, Hana, and Yumi sat in silence, watching Arata eat like someone who hadn't seen food in a year. The atmosphere suddenly went quiet, save for the sound of Arata slurping the broth with pure relish.

  "Hey man, don't rush," Kato said finally, his voice shifting to a slightly more serious tone. He leaned back against the pavillion's railing. "We'll wait for you to finish eating. But after that, don't expect things to just slide. You have a lot of explaining to do about what actually happened over the last two days."

  Hana nodded in agreement, while Yumi kept her sharp gaze fixed on Arata.

  "So, tell us about your trip. Why did you end up there, instead of the initial campsite we planned?" Kato asked, beginning the interrogation with his arms crossed over his chest.

  Hana's eyes suddenly narrowed as she looked back and forth between Kato and Arata. "What? You two planned a camping trip without telling me?" she asked, her voice rising with annoyance.

  "Oh, no! It wasn't like that, Hana!" Kato answered nervously, waving his hands in the air in a desperate attempt to diffuse the situation.

  "Actually, that was exactly the plan," Arata cut in loudly, his face a picture of innocence.

  Panic instantly washed over Kato's face as he realized Arata had just "betrayed" their secret arrangement.

  "I reminded your boyfriend to invite you, Hana. But he didn't agree. He said it would be more fun if it was just the two of us," Arata added provocatively.

  Kato flinched, his face turning pale. "Hey, man! Don't make things up!" he cried out in worry, especially as he saw the spark of fury igniting in Hana's eyes.

  Arata burst into a fit of boisterous laughter at the sight of his best friend's panicked expression. "Hahahaha!"

  "You jerk! I'm not speaking to you!" Hana snapped, turning her face away from Kato.

  "Hey, look what you've done!" Kato protested to Arata, who was still laughing triumphantly.

  "No, no... I'm just kidding," Arata said, wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes from laughing too hard. He took a breath to compose himself and returned to a more serious expression.

  "But why did you go alone? Without inviting me?" Kato asked again, his voice now laced with genuine curiosity.

  "You were busy on your date with Hana, so I just went by myself," Arata answered casually.

  "Well, at least you could have told me..."

  "I intended to tell you once I arrived," Arata defended himself. "I thought that was the spot. I headed into the tall grass, going deeper until I hit the forest. I thought I'd find a good campsite there, but then I slipped. That's when I realized my necklace was gone. I got lost trying to find my way back, and well... maybe because of exhaustion and lack of water, I passed out. That's pretty much how the story goes."

  Arata finished his explanation by slurping down the last of his instant noodle broth until the cup was empty.

  "Then why were you so weak? Why didn't you eat, even though you brought a lunch box?" Kato asked again, trying to find the logic in his friend's story, which felt a bit off.

  "Oh, that... I forgot," Arata replied quickly. "I tied the food to the backpack on my bike. My plan was, once I found the perfect camping spot, I'd go back for the bike and bring it as close to the site as possible. In the meantime, I left it parked by the side of the road."

  Kato nodded along, getting caught up in the story. "Man, that should have been an exciting adventure for us..."

  Suddenly, Kato froze. He just realized that Hana was watching him with sharp, narrowed eyes.

  "You mean, you two really planned to go together? So what Arata said was true?!" Hana barked. Her anger flared up again.

  Arata burst into laughter again between his last bites of noodles, thoroughly enjoying the chaos he had created.

  "No, that's not what I meant!" Kato tried to defend himself in a panic. "It's... I mean, it's too dangerous to take you to a raw location like that before we check it out!"

  "So it is true! You guys really planned to leave me behind! I don't want to talk to either of you!" Hana said, truly annoyed. She turned her face away, crossing her arms over her chest.

  "Hey... don't drag me into your lover's quarrel," Arata chimed in, trying to withdraw himself from the heat of Hana's anger.

  "Why didn't you eat it before you set out?"

  The cold question slipped from Yumi's mouth unexpectedly. It was a simple question, yet it hit the mark. Instantly, Arata's laughter died down, and the bickering between Kato and Hana ceased. The pavilion suddenly swayed in the night wind, letting out a creaking sound that broke the silence.

  Arata stunned for a moment, his mind racing to find a loophole. "Ehh... well... I left in a hurry," Arata answered while forcing a small laugh. "So when I got there, I was just so excited and enthusiastic. I should have eaten before exploring, but yeah... I chose to scout the field instead. It was beautiful, and eventually, I just went in too deep," Arata said, trying to sound calm.

  "You made your own food?" Hana asked curiously, her eyes narrowing dismissively. "You can't even brew instant noodles properly without my help."

  "Oh, no... Sora was the one who made it..." Arata answered spontaneously, but a split second later, he froze. "Uh..."

  "What? Sora, Uncle Kenzo's daughter from the workshop?" Kato asked with an enthusiastic, probing tone.

  "Really? Are you two dating?" Hana chimed in. Her anger toward Kato was momentarily forgotten, swept away by this hot piece of gossip.

  "Hah... no! It's not like that! That's not what I meant!" Arata tried to defend himself, but he could feel his face beginning to heat up.

  "She made you a lunch box; that's a sign of affection! Honestly, you... you have nothing but oil and engines in that brain of yours!" Kato said, shaking his head.

  "No, don't make things up!" Arata snapped back.

  "And then you didn't eat it at all?" Hana asked, her voice tinged with a growing sense of horror.

  "You're in big trouble, pal... I hope you'll be okay when you have to explain this to Sora," Kato said, wearing a look of mock sympathy.

  "What? It's no big deal; I just forgot to eat it," Arata replied, still trying to play it cool.

  "It's a catastrophe, man! You've ruined your life!" Kato exclaimed.

  "He's right. You're in deep trouble," Hana added, heightening the dread in the pavilion's atmosphere.

  Yumi, who had been listening with a flat expression the whole time, finally spoke up sharply. "How can someone put in the effort to give you a meal, only for you to ignore it and let it rot?"

  "I forgot! It wasn't on purpose! It's not a big deal, I can explain it later," Arata pleaded, starting to feel cornered.

  "For once, use that thing inside your skull," Yumi retorted cuttingly. "Do you have any idea how she'll feel if she finds out that meal rotted without being touched?"

  "I fainted! Listen, I was unconscious! What exactly was I supposed to do while passed out?!" Arata asked, his frustration boiling over.

  "YOU SHOULD HAVE EATEN IT!" the three of them shouted back in perfect, thunderous unison.

  "You should have at least tasted a little bit in front of her before you left!" Kato added, fanning the flames.

  "Hey, don't overdo it! I was in such a rush, I almost forgot to pick the lunch box up!" Arata tried to defend himself again.

  "You almost forgot?" Hana asked in an intimidating tone, as if it were a mortal sin.

  "How did she end up giving you a lunch box anyway?" Kato asked curiously. Hana and Yumi now stared at Arata intently, waiting for the rest of the story.

  "Well... I was telling the others at the workshop while asking Uncle Kenzo for some time off. Sora was there at the cashier desk. She overheard the conversation and asked where I was traveling to," Arata recounted.

  "And then?" Kato asked with a dead-serious face, as Hana and Yumi leaned forward in sync.

  "Hey... do I really have to tell you everything?" Arata protested.

  "ABSOLUTELY!" Hana barked. Kato and Yumi were startled to see Hana looking that intense.

  "Fine," Arata groaned, yielding to Hana's demand. "I told her the truth."

  "After that?" they asked again, almost in a chorus.

  "Well, I said my goodbyes and went home after work. Sora told me to come by the workshop again before I left the next morning. But I forgot, and then she called me while I was on my way. I had to turn back to the workshop, and Sora handed me the lunch box. She also asked me to take some nice photos of the scenery..."

  Arata suddenly trailed off, his eyes widening. "Oh no... the photos! I forgot to take the photos!"

  "Oh God... you truly are heartless!" Hana cried out, massaging her temples as if she were the one feeling Sora's heartbreak.

  "You're finished, Arata. It's over. Completely over," Kato added, shaking his head dramatically.

  "Wait... so you work at a workshop?" Yumi asked suddenly, her voice cutting through the escalating romantic drama.

  "Hey, Yumi! Come on, don't change the subject!" Hana and Kato protested together, unwilling to lose their momentum in tormenting Arata.

  "Sorry, Arata... I can't help you this time. You're on your own," Kato said, making the atmosphere feel even more ominous.

  "Hey... why are you three constantly ganging up on me?!" Arata tried to stand his ground, though his voice was shrinking. He felt far more pressured being interrogated by his friends than he had when facing the monster chasing him in the meadow the other day.

  "Hey, young man, try using some logic for once!" Hana pointed her plastic spoon directly at Arata's nose. "You told a girl whose father is incredibly kind to you that you were going on a trip. You didn't invite her—even though if you had, her father definitely would've said yes. Since she wasn't invited, she decided to make you a lunch box as a gesture of support, buuuuuut... you didn't eat it! You let it rot! You almost forgot to even pick it up, and to top it all off... you forgot to take a photo for her. You've truly broken the heart of a girl as beautiful and gentle as Sora!"

  Hana let out a long, frustrated sigh. "Your mistake is unforgivable, Arata!"

  "I'd also finish off anyone who did that to me," Yumi added in a bone-chillingly cold, cynical tone. Her eyes pierced through Arata as if he were a target marked for immediate execution.

  "Hey... Yumi... that's a bit much," Kato whispered, visibly shaken by the lethal aura radiating from her. He edged slightly away from Yumi.

  Arata could only gape in silence. He glanced through the crack of his bedroom door at the "backpack of doom" lying on the floor. He finally realized that the chaos back at the meadow was nothing compared to the "apocalypse" that would descend if Sora ever found out what happened to her lunch.

  "Why is everything so complicated? It's just a forgotten lunch box that went bad and a scenery photo I missed," Arata muttered in self-defense, leaning his back against the cottage pillar with a look of extreme distress.

  "You really are something..." Kato said hopelessly, shaking his head at his friend's total lack of emotional awareness.

  "Heartless," Hana snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.

  "Zero empathy," Yumi chimed in, short and sharp, delivering the final verdict of the night.

  Arata looked at each of them one by one, his face a mix of confusion and a growing sense of guilt. "Am I really that terrible?" he asked softly.

  "YES!" the three of them answered in unison, their voices echoing across the quiet convenience store balcony.

  The meeting finally came to an end. Kato, Hana, and Yumi decided to head home and let Arata rest, though their lingering scoldings could still be heard echoing down the stairs. Arata returned to his room, unpacked his bag, and tried to wash Sora's food container. But the foul smell wouldn't budge. He decided to deal with the rest of it tomorrow.

  He closed his eyes, but the warm thrum from his gem seemed to remind him that there was no more time for peaceful rest. Tomorrow, he would have to face Sora.

  Deep within the dark of the night, a pair of eyes watched him from afar. Sharp and unwavering, not a single one of Arata's movements escaped that gaze. An invisible transmission of information surged toward the sky, piercing through at the speed of light toward a recipient on the other side of the dimension.

  From above, Arata's room was now surrounded by a translucent shell of energy, glowing as it encased the small building. A defensive dome—and three silhouettes standing tall and firm.