The junk room on the third floor was covered in dust, and the sound of rummaging through things echoed now and then.
Several dust-covered boxes had already been opened and set aside.
Mop, broom, vacuum cleaner, garment steamer, home appliance repair tools... all piled up here.
A single rectangular window at the top of the junk room let in dim light, illuminating the person rummaging through the boxes.
Being close to the ceiling, the sound of the rain was much louder, fine and speckled, filling the ears.
Uesugi Sakura waved away the visible dust in front of him with his hand, turning his head and squinting his eyes.
Then he bent down and pulled out a small box labeled "Sakura" from the pile of junk.
With the faint light from the rainy day outside, he opened the box.
Most of it was stuff related to childhood memories, rather than anime and manga merchandise like "Cardcaptor Sakura" or "Dragon Ball."
It was textbooks from his childhood, a Kendama his father bought but he never played with, and some books he didn’t much like to read.
A mix of things, with the most being handmade gifts from little Hanabi.
Pepper made of paper, a shark, two little figures holding hands, New Year’s greetings, a greeting card... all neatly stored in this box...
Each item was a fragment of their childhood friendship.
Seeing these things, the image of a delicate little girl handing over things cautiously with both hands immediately came to mind.
’This is... for... for brother Sakura...’
Uesugi Sakura continued searching through the box, trying to recall the painting but couldn’t quite remember.
But he knew it was the first painting she ever gave him.
He kept searching, many things being sifted out.
"It’s not in this box."
There was the sound of the lock turning.
With a click, Uesugi Shio stepped in from outside, holding a plastic bag, putting the keys back in her pocket, and closing up the umbrella covered in raindrops.
Coming in, she put the umbrella in the stand by the wall, put on slippers, and entered the house.
Standing at the top of the stairs, she looked up at the light and shouted:
"A-Sakura, come down to eat the bento."
Uesugi Shio called out a few more times, and when she still heard no movement, she put down the plastic bag containing the bento and drinks and went upstairs.
Uesugi Shio, following a small ladder, saw Uesugi Sakura coming down from the attic covered in dust.
She immediately asked, "A-Sakura, what were you doing in the junk room?"
"Looking for something."
"Didn’t find it?" Uesugi Shio saw him empty-handed.
Uesugi Sakura seemed anxious, quickly putting away the ladder and running to the washroom to wash his hands.
"Are you still eating dinner?" Uesugi Shio asked from the doorway, with a few raindrops still clinging to her hair.
"Yes, but later. Shio, could you please heat up my bento?" He shook his hands clean of water and looked at himself in the mirror.
Uesugi Shio was curious about his anxious demeanor, "Heating up the bento is no problem, but what are you looking for?"
"A gift," Uesugi Sakura closed the washroom light and came out, "A gift Hanabi gave me."
Uesugi Shio’s eyes followed him, "Shouldn’t gifts be stored in a special box? Why are you looking for it in the junk room?"
Why was the gift in the junk room?
Hearing her cousin’s normal tone, Uesugi Sakura was suddenly stunned.
Why... did he look for the gifts she had given him in the junk room...
The image of the little girl worrying when giving him gifts suddenly flashed in his mind again.
The way the little girl cherished each gift she received.
The air fell silent for a few seconds again.
He walked to his room.
Uesugi Shio watched his somewhat baffling back for a moment, then went downstairs to the kitchen to heat the bento she had just bought.
The drizzling rain covered the entire city of Tokyo, making everything gray and murky.
Shinjuku Police Station, Chief’s Office.
Through the transparent floor-to-ceiling windows behind the desk, several high-rise buildings in Tokyo were visible.
Hanamaru Hiroki sat on a leather chair, listening to the report brought by his subordinates.
"The Kitagawa Association wants to advance into the underground idol industry?"
"Police Chief, could it be that they want to use this to gather the people they need? Kitagawa Association controls the adult entertainment industry nationwide," a police officer said.
"I won’t rule out this possibility," Hanamaru Hiroki pondered for a while, "Okay, go call Suzuki; I have some tasks for him."
"Officer Suzuki? Okay, got it."
"Then I shall take my leave, Police Chief."
Hanamaru Hiroki withdrew his gaze from the closed door, turned his head to glance at the large cherry blossom badge on the wall, ready to consider the information he had just received when the phone rang.
It was a personal call.
Hanamaru Hiroki stood up from his chair, turned, and walked to the transparent floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the gray and rainy Tokyo outside.
He answered the phone.
"Calling me at this time, is there something you need my help with?"
Hanamaru Hiroki gazed at the endless stream of cars below, raindrops gathering on the transparent glass, forming curving pale watermarks as they slid down.
’I want to apply for a visa to the UK.’
Hanamaru Hiroki suddenly laughed, lifted his head, and said into the phone: "Can’t you handle this yourself? You should have some savings from participating in competitions; getting a financial statement and securing a visa isn’t difficult."
’The visa takes a month to process; even a tourist visa is the same.’ Uesugi Sakura didn’t catch any change in his father-in-law’s tone, his voice equally calm.