Green plums cannot become lovers.

An and Asuka lowered their heads, pressing intently. They pressed very carefully, as if they were dealing with something that needed repair, neither hasty nor impatient, neither too light nor too heavy.

Himegami Karen looked at his lowered eyelashes, his slightly pursed lips, and his hands—those hands that played guitar, wrote sheet music, and danced across the keyboard—now holding her ankle and massaging it gently.

Her heart was beating fast, not because of pain, but because of something else.

"Alright." An and Asuka let go of her hand. "You should be able to walk tomorrow, but it would be best to rest for another day."

“…Thank you.” Himegami Karen quickly withdrew her foot, her face and ears still red.

At that moment, Hanami Anina pushed open the door and came in, carrying a bag from a pharmacy. When she saw Himegami Karen blushing and pulling her foot back, she paused for a moment.

"what happened?"

"nothing."

"nothing."

The two answered in unison.

Hanami's gaze swept between the two of them, a slight smile playing on her lips, but she didn't press the matter. She placed the bag on the table and said, "Bandages, anti-inflammatory medicine, and a pack of pain relief patches."

"Just leave it there, we'll change it again tonight." An and Asuka stood up and stretched their legs, which had been squatting for a long time.

The sunlight outside the window shifted a little further, falling on the tatami mats and into the space between the three people. A breeze blew in through the window, carrying the coolness of the mountains and the sulfurous smell of the distant hot springs.

When Banai saw Anna sit down next to Himegami Karen, she reached out and touched the bruises on Anna's ankle, clicked her tongue, and said, "It's so swollen, it looks painful."

"It's okay, Asuka already pressed it for me."

When Banai saw Anza say "Oh," she glanced at An and Asuka with a hint of mockery and something else in her eyes.

An and Asuka pretended not to see it.

Volume 1: Chapter 280 Night Raid Fails

All plans were cancelled because the girl was injured.

We had originally planned to visit the market at the foot of the mountain the next day, try some local specialties, and then take a walk along the stream that was said to have beautiful scenery.

These plans were put on hold, and the two of them tacitly stayed in the hotel. One sat by the window reading a book, while the other lay on the tatami mat scrolling through her phone, occasionally glancing up at Himegami Karen leaning against the bedding to make sure she was alright.

They couldn't just leave the girl alone in the hostel while she went off to play. This wasn't something that needed to be discussed, or even spoken aloud.

"I'm sorry." Himegami Karen leaned against the pillows, her injured foot propped up slightly by the blanket. Her voice was soft and apologetic, as if she had done something wrong.

"What's there to apologize for?" Bana saw Anja look up from behind her phone, her tone a little reproachful, but mostly dismissive. "We did it voluntarily, right, Asuka?"

“Hmm.” An and Asuka closed their books and looked at Himegami Karen. “We’d rather be with you than see the scenery outside.”

He spoke in a very calm tone, but Himegami Karen's eyes still welled up with tears.

She lowered her head, her fingers tracing invisible circles on the blanket, and whispered a "thank you," her voice muffled, as if something was blocking her throat.

The three of them spent the whole day in the room.

The scent of nature grows stronger at dusk, mingling with the fragrance of unknown flowers and plants drifting in from outside the window, filling the entire room.

Dinner was eaten in the room again. The owner brought out three identical meals, with various side dishes neatly arranged in lacquer boxes.

Hana saw that Anja was eating very quickly. After finishing her own food, she would take food from Himegami Karen's bowl. Himegami Karen let her take food, occasionally reminding her to eat slower.

An and Fei Niao ate at a leisurely pace, occasionally glancing up at the sky outside the window. The sun was almost completely setting, and it was getting dark soon.

Before going to bed that night, An and Asuka went to Himegami Karen's room again.

Hanami Anzu was sitting next to Himegami Karen, rummaging through the pharmacy bag in her hand, looking for pain relief patches.

Seeing Anwa and Asuka enter, she handed them the bag. Anwa and Asuka took the bag and knelt down in front of Himegami Karen.

"Stretch your foot out."

Himegami Karen hesitated for a moment, then slowly pulled her feet out from under the covers. She was wearing light pink cotton socks with a white lace trim around her ankles.

An and Asuka helped her take off her socks very gently. When their fingertips touched her ankle, they could feel her skin become slightly cool. The swelling in her ankle had subsided considerably, and the purplish-blue color had faded, turning into a light red, a sign that the bruise was slowly dissipating.

An and Asuka placed her feet on their laps, covered them with their palms, and gently pressed them. He pressed very lightly, just to check for any obvious pain. Himegami Karen did not pull her feet back, but her fingers gripped the blanket tightly until her knuckles turned white.

"Does it still hurt?"

“A little,” Himegami Karen’s voice was soft, “but much better than yesterday.”

An and Feiniao nodded, took a pain relief patch out of the bag, and tore open the packaging.

The scent of the plaster filled the air, cool with a hint of spiciness, like a blend of mint and ginger. He applied the pain-relieving plaster to Himegami Karen's ankle, pressing it in with his palm to make the edges adhere better. The warmth of his palm seeped through the thin plaster and onto her skin.

"Alright." He let go of her hand. "She should be able to walk tomorrow."

"......Thanks."

Himegami Karen quickly pulled her feet back under the covers, as if afraid he would see something. Her cheeks were faintly pink in the lamplight, whether from the covers or something else, it was hard to tell.

Hanami Anzu leaned against the quilt beside her, watching the scene unfold with a slight smile on her lips, but she remained silent.

"Alright, you guys should rest now."

After finishing with the girl, An and Asuka left.

It was quiet outside the window. There were no insects chirping or wind blowing. Only the occasional call of some bird in the distance could be heard, one call after another, as if it were counting down the time.

The next day, Karen Himegami's ankle was indeed much better. She tried to stand up and walked a few steps in the room. Although she was still limping, she no longer needed to be carried.

She was as happy as a child, pacing back and forth in the room several times, but was soon pulled back by Anna Hanami.

Unfortunately, it rained today.

The rain started falling in the early morning.

Anhe Feiniao heard a soft rustling sound on the roof in his sleep, like someone gently tapping the tiles with their fingertips. He opened his eyes, listened for a while, and then closed them again.

When I finally woke up, the rain was already pouring down. Raindrops hung from the eaves, forming a transparent curtain that blurred the outside world into a hazy, gray watercolor painting. Far away...

The mountains were no longer visible, and the trees nearby could only be seen in a rough outline. Occasionally, a gust of wind would blow, distorting the rain curtain and revealing a small patch of clear scenery, which would soon be filled with new raindrops.

The rain at the end of summer seems to be the last struggle of summer, falling gently and unhurriedly, as if it is a long farewell.

Raindrops patter on bamboo leaves, making a soft rustling sound; they splash on stone slabs, creating tiny droplets; they drip from the roof tiles, forming fine streams that carve small craters into the stone slabs. Free from the clamor of the world, the sound of the rain is purer, striking all things and bringing vibrant life.

The three of them sat side by side under the eaves, watching the rain.

Anna was wearing slippers, her feet out, toes sticking out into the rain, letting the rain wash over her toes. The cool rain splashed on the backs of her feet, trickling down her skin, but she didn't pull them back, just left them there, as if savoring the last bit of coolness in summer.

Himegami Karen sat beside her, her injured foot tucked under her yukata, her other leg sticking out like Hanami Anna's. An and Asuka sat on the far side, both their feet tucked under the eaves, quietly watching the rain.

Time flies.

"Hana suddenly sighed. She looked up at the rain curtain hanging from the eaves, the rain falling on her face and running down her nose, but she didn't wipe it away.

"Yes, that's fast." Himegami Karen nodded in agreement.

An and Asuka nodded slightly. Almost a month has passed since they returned. The golden wheat fields of early August are still vivid in their minds, and now it's already the end of August.

He'll be leaving in a few days.

"By the way, Asuka, what kind of farewell gift do you want?" Himegami Karen suddenly asked.

An and Asuka were taken aback.

Gifts for parting? Only these two girls could come up with that.

However, after thinking for a moment, he said, "As long as you stay by my side, that's enough."

This wasn't just empty talk or politeness; he genuinely felt that way. He lacked nothing, except time—time to spend with them.

The month since he returned from Tokyo was both the slowest and the fastest month of his life in recent years. It was so slow that he could remember every afternoon he spent with them, yet so fast that he hadn't had time to finish everything he wanted to do.

The rain was still falling, the water from the eaves forming thin streams that dripped onto the bluestone slabs with a crisp, rhythmic sound. A breeze blew, carrying the raindrops under the eaves, onto the hems of the three people's clothes, cool and carrying the scent of earth and grass.

“Stay by my side…” Anna Hanami repeated softly, her voice very low, as if she were savoring the taste of those words.

She turned her head and looked at An and Asuka, her gaze filled with seriousness, tenderness, and something he couldn't quite understand.

"Then we won't stand on ceremony." Himegami Karen turned her head, a smile playing on her lips. "From now on, I'll be bothering you every day, so don't find it annoying."

"Will not."

The three of them fell silent again. The rain had lessened at some point, turning from a dense drizzle into scattered raindrops that fell into puddles, creating ripples.

The sky was still overcast, but the clouds seemed to have thinned out. Occasionally, a beam of light would leak through the gaps in the clouds and fall on the distant mountain ridge, illuminating that small hillside.

The cicadas' chirping hasn't returned yet, but birdsong can already be heard in the distance, delicate and crisp, as if testing whether summer is truly coming to an end.

It was late at night, and all was quiet.

The drizzle was still falling, but it was lighter and softer than during the day, as if someone was whispering something from a very, very far away place. You couldn't hear what they were saying, but you could feel the presence of that voice.

The lights in the corridor were off, except for a small lamp under the eaves, which shone dimly, illuminating the wet flagstones and the curtain of rain hanging from the eaves.

An and Asuka lay in the bedding, their eyes closed, not yet asleep.

Suddenly, a voice came from outside the door.

It was very light, like something gently rubbing against the wooden floor. If it weren't for the deep of night, and if he weren't still awake, he wouldn't have noticed it at all.

He stared at the paper covering the sliding door. The paper was off-white, gleaming with a faint warm glow under the corridor light. A thin crack ran along the paper, from the upper corner of the door frame to the middle, like a dried-up stream.

The sliding door was gently pulled open.

The first to peek in was Anna Hanami's head. She was wearing a yukata, her hair was loose and hanging over her shoulders, and she had a guilty look on her face. Her eyes were wide open as she scanned the room before landing on the spot where An and Asuka were lying.

She noticed him looking at her, paused for a moment, then put a finger to her lips, signaling him to be quiet.

An and Asuka didn't speak, they just stared at the sliding door.

Anna Hanami squeezed in sideways, followed by Karen Himegami. Her movements were much lighter than Anna Hanami's, almost silent, like a petal blown in by the wind.

She was also wearing a light-colored yukata, with a tightly tied belt that accentuated her slender waist. Her hair was loose, with slightly curled ends that shimmered softly in the corridor light.

After the two people came in, they gently closed the sliding door again. The crack in the paper covering closed up again, as if nothing had happened.

The room darkened. Only the faint moonlight seeped in through the cracks in the window and the dim, yellowish light of the distant corridor lamp seeping through the paper covering. Three figures moved blurry and swayed on the floor, like reflections in water, unreal.

“You guys…” An and Asuka sat up and lowered their voices.

"Shh—" Banai saw Anja squat down and lean close to him, "Don't talk, you'll disturb others."

An and Asuka glanced at her, then at Himegami Karen. Himegami Karen stood behind Hachimi Anna with her head down, her fingers gripping the sash of her yukata tightly.

Her cheeks flushed a faint pink in the dim light, like cherry blossoms about to bloom in spring. She wore light pink cotton socks, the same as yesterday, with the bandages still on her ankles, revealing a small patch of flesh-colored skin at the edge of the socks.

"What are you doing here?" An and Asuka asked.

When Hana saw that Anzu didn't answer, she simply sat down next to him, her shoulder touching his. Karen Himegami also sat down on his other side, the three of them in the same position as they had been under the eaves during the day, only the background had changed from the rain curtain to a dimly lit room.

"I can't sleep."

"Me too."

An and Asuka remained silent.

Hanami Anna gathered the hem of her yukata and stretched out her legs. Her toes brushed against An and Asuka's legs; she didn't pull away, and he didn't flinch. Himegami Karen turned to the side and rested her head on his shoulder, her movements gentle, as if afraid of hurting him. Her hair brushed against his neck, tickling him.

"Asuka." Anna's voice rang out in the darkness.

"Ah."

Was what you said during the day true?

"Which one?"

"As long as we're here with you, that's enough." She paused. "Don't you want anything else?"

An and Asuka thought for a moment.

"real."

Seeing that Anzu didn't ask any more questions, Bana reached out and groped in the darkness to find his hand, then took it. Her hand was small, her fingers were cool, but her palm was warm.

An and Asuka didn't pull their hands back or retaliate; they simply let her hold them. Himegami Karen's hand also reached over from the other side, resting on his arm, her fingertips gently tapping his sleeve.

The three of them sat there in the darkness, listening to the rain and each other's breathing.

No one spoke, no one moved. The silence wasn't an empty silence that needed to be filled; it was a rich silence that needed nothing at all. It was as if three people had created a small space where time wouldn't pass, the rain wouldn't stop, and summer wouldn't end.

After an unknown amount of time, Himegami Karen's breathing became even and long. She leaned on An and Asuka's shoulders, as if she had fallen asleep. Bana noticed that Ana's fingers were still gripping his, not letting go.

"Go to sleep," An and Asuka whispered.

“…Hmm.” Banami An [Ryou 4 VII 彡?V-Koshiina responded softly, as if she didn’t really want to talk.