Holding Sajuna's hand, Akira and she boarded the train, beginning their journey home.
The sky was already starting to darken, and it was past the rush hour for office workers, so there weren't many people in the train car, allowing Akira and Sajuna to sit in two adjacent seats.
Sajuna, who had been playing actively on the beach, was clearly tired. As soon as she got on the train, she closed her eyes, overcome with sleepiness, and quietly fell asleep leaning on Akira's shoulder.
Unlike the rest they had on the bus on the way to the beach, Akira could clearly hear Sajuna's breathing as she slept, and the constant, seemingly unintelligible mumbling from her mouth.
Akira adjusted Sajuna's posture as she leaned against him, making her more comfortable while sleeping, so she wouldn't wake up with a numb body part.
Gently embracing Sajuna in his arms, Akira felt as if she had curled into a ball. Her hands, which had been resting by her side, had somehow crept up to Akira's chest, lightly gripping the fabric of his shirt.
Akira couldn't resist kissing Sajuna's forehead, then held her protectively in his arms to avoid bumping into passengers getting on and off in the aisle.
After several tens of minutes on the train, they finally arrived at their stop. Akira patted Sajuna's back and gently pinched her cheek.
Sajuna's face slowly showed a silly smile, then confusion, as she rubbed her eyes and saw Akira in front of her.
"Aki-Kun, have we arrived?"
"Yes, it's time to get off."
After getting off the train and swiping their cards through the station gate, Akira and Sajuna truly walked onto the street leading home.
The night sky of Saitama Prefecture always seemed to be densely dotted with stars. Even in the newly darkened sky, countless stars could be seen roaming through the starry sea.
The night breeze gently blew, and the leaves of the large trees lining both sides of the road rustled, making the gradually less populated street feel even more desolate.
Sajuna's house was not far ahead. Recently, at the request of Sajuna's parents, Akira occasionally came to Sajuna's house for dinner.
Unlike his previous visits to simply see Sajuna, since Sajuna's parents returned, Akira's frequency of eating at Sajuna's house had decreased significantly.
After all, even if he was Sajuna's boyfriend, always acting like the man of the house was quite annoying.
Akira felt that what he needed most now was to maintain a proper distance with Sajuna's family, just as Sajuna's Papa-san had said.
What he wanted to see was not how much he respected his father-in-law or Sajuna's family, but only how much he cared for Sajuna.
He hoped that he was also someone who understood hierarchy and the closeness and distance of relationships.
Such things are easy to say but often difficult to do.
Akira was not someone who didn't understand hierarchy, but with his not-so-high emotional intelligence, he often revealed his ignorance and timidity when facing certain situations.
However, the good thing was that his social skills continued to grow, increasing his overall affability, preventing him from being needlessly envied or disliked.
The two walked slowly along the street. The nameplate hanging at Sajuna's doorstep not far away reflected a faint light under the illumination of the streetlamp.
Sajuna leaned gently on Akira's arm, walking slowly. The leather shoes she wore no longer made soft clicking sounds; it seemed she had to wait for Akira to take a step before she would follow.
"Sajuna."
Akira suddenly wanted to call Sajuna's name.
"Aki-Kun."
Sajuna responded, "What is it?"
Akira didn't reply, and although the scene became quiet again, neither of them felt any awkwardness.
In their sweet days of mutual companionship, wasn't it normal to spontaneously call out the name of your beloved?
There was no need for any reason at all.
Even Sajuna's answer was merely to express the meaning of "I'm here."
The two walked to Sajuna's doorstep. The dim yellow light shone on the two people standing at the entrance. Sajuna stepped forward and pressed the doorbell.
"Coming!"
Sayouye's mom's gentle voice came from inside the house, followed by some hurried footsteps.
"Welcome home, Sajuna-chan."
Sayouye's mom immediately opened the door, smiling at the two people standing outside.
"You really brought Akira-kun over today, didn't you?"
"I said Sajuna was coming home late today because she was definitely out with Akira-kun, but Papa-san wouldn't admit it."
Sajuna blushed, glancing at Akira beside her.
"Oh, Akira-kun, why don't you stay for dinner too?"
Sajuna looked at Akira with anticipation in her eyes.
"Although it's a bit late, we haven't really eaten yet, waiting for Sajuna to come home."
Sayouye's mom explained, "It saves you the trouble of cooking when you go back."
"After all, Akira-kun lives alone, so it's better to make things convenient if possible."
Sayouye's mom took Akira's arm and led him into the house. Sajuna also reacted, taking Akira's hand.
Without any further ado, after Akira finished eating at Sajuna's house, he said goodbye and left.
Leaving Sajuna's house, Akira slowly began to run towards his own place.
The night breeze was gentle, and the bright moon was slowly climbing into the night sky, making the surrounding stars lose their proper radiance. Akira ran all the way up to the pedestrian bridge. The continuous steps made Akira involuntarily slow down, and he began to stroll slowly across the bridge.
There were only a few people on the pedestrian bridge. Akira listened to the roaring cars constantly passing beneath the bridge, and couldn't help but lean on the railing, watching the cars passing beneath his feet, his gaze a bit unfocused and difficult to concentrate.
After watching the cars passing beneath him for a while, Akira seemed to grow tired of it and looked into the distance. The rest of the night was a blur of lights and revelry, and the endless stream of cars below spoke of the city's unrestrained clamor. In countless tall buildings, countless figures were bustling about.
In Akira's eyes, these people had no names, but were symbols of society, showcasing the ordinary and mundane lives of countless individuals.
Akira leaned on the railing and watched for a while, then couldn't help but laugh. He really had been a bit neurotic and melancholic lately.
Life is short, a mere hundred years. If one always keeps every little thing in their heart, they will never live their own life well.
Life is inherently simple. As long as one doesn't have too many desires, or doesn't crave immediate gratification of their desires, one can manage their life in an orderly fashion.
But Akira wanted to do something else, just like how he suddenly wanted Sajuna to experience the happiness of tiptoeing, so he found an opportunity to do it on the stairs.
Living in the moment and making wishes come true, that was the goal for him and Sajuna to be even happier.