Sneaking out was no problem for Keisuke Akaashi. So, as always, he slipped away through the front door.

He didn't care if he bumped into the house staff at such unconventional time. They never tried to hold him back. They could do nothing more than report his absence to his parents, something they generally avoided doing because of the tensions that it generated in the family. Not only that, but they knew how hard Ichiro Akaashi was on his son, and if they could spare him from further bullying, they had nothing to lose.

Well, there was the gardener who never deprived himself of denouncing him, but that was another story. All because he had the misfortune to hide some cigarette ends in his geraniums...

Outside, the darkness reigned, and the lamp posts already projected their halo of light on the pedestrian streets. Skate in hand, with a lit cigarette between his fingers, Keisuke enjoyed every moment of this peaceful evening. He greatly appreciated the quietness of the night. Moreover, it often happened to him to improvise night walks just to enjoy this calmness, when there was no soul alive in the vicinity and only the distant hum of a motor disturbing the silence.

It was soothing.

A slight breeze glided through Keisuke's neck as he rode quietly in the dim light. Above his head, the weather was starting to deteriorate. Heavy spring clouds were beginning to form, and the boy briefly wondered if he would get caught in the flood on his way home. It was very likely.

He hoped he wouldn't.

After a while, the young man left the main road and bifurcated into one of the transverse alleys. He crossed these streets that he knew by heart, after frequenting them for so long, until reaching the drugstore where he had become accustomed to buying his favorite cigarettes. Three years ago, Keisuke showed up at that store with a fake ID. The seller, a boy of some years his elder, seemed skeptical at first, but he had not sought to dig further. And as the young man came regular in the small drugstore, the merchant had finally stopped asking for his card to attest to his age, something that Keisuke appreciated well : At about the same time, his mother had confiscated his fake ID.

Now, the two of them got along quite well. Especially since, from time to time, the elder had some weed or pills to sell to him. But that was another matter.

—Hi, greeted Keisuke as he pushed the door of the drugstore, his skateboard under his arm.

The boy squinted his eyes due to the aggression that they were undergoing, accustomed to darkness since then. He took a few moments to get used to the lighting, moments that allowed the employee, Tokumo Arai, to raise his head from his laptop. A broad smile took place on his lips, decorated with a silver ring.

—Hi man, exclaimed Arai with enthusiasm before exchanging a check with his new client. You haven't been around for a while, I was beginning to think the cops had caught you, he added as a joke.

The merchant laughed as he saw the young man's eyes roll up, apparently thinking that he would have preferred his theory to reality. 

—I would have come last night if I didn't have this damn family gathering, Keisuke sighed, sticking his hands in his pockets.

—Oh, oh? Replied the seller. What's that about?

While waiting for the rest of the explanations, Arai laid a pack of cigarettes on the counter, already knowing by heart the brand that his customer used to clam him.

—It was my birthday, announced the dark-haired boy quietly, a grin now clenched on his lips as he laid down some coins on the counter.

—Happy late birthday, man, exclaimed the merchant with an energetic voice. Here, he said as he put a little plastic bag on the table. It's on the house.

Akaashi grasped the bag with gratitude, suddenly remembering that his own supply of weed was coming to an end. This little last-minute attention couldn't come at a better moment, especially with the upcoming party he was attending.

—Thanks.

—How old are you, now? Asked Arai with interest.

—Eighteen.

—HA?

The salesman seemed to be a little bit confused, but he finally burst out laughing when Keisuke presented him his – real – ID card, more amused than offended for being fooled for so long.

—Bastard, I believed you.

—I know, said Keisuke calmly, with a slightly haughty air. That's why I always came here.

—I could have lost my job, joked the elder while crossing his arms on the counter. Wait a little while until karma takes its revenge. You're gonna regret it, man.

—That's the problem of future me, grumbled the dark-haired boy while shrugging his shoulders. You sold me some Ecsta' last week, he recalled with a mocking tone. I think that's a much more important reason to fire you.

Arai pretended to chase away the words of his interlocutor with a vague gesture of the hand in the void. He changed the subject while counting the coins he had just received.

—I don't have time to wait for your smoking break, said the student, putting away carefully what he had just acquired.

—Party? Easily guessed the seller with a little smile amused. I guess it's because you're going to bring your friend with benefits over there that you don't allow yourself to be late, he added, eyebrow-toying.

The last time they had a conversation around a joint, Keisuke briefly mentioned his relationship with Hoshino, while preserving the young woman's identity. He had merely recounted their meeting and a brief physical description, saying enough things to awake his curiosity, but just not enough to make him able to identify her. And when Keisuke had added that he used to meet her often, Arai didn't believe it, convinced that his interlocutor would eventually get tired and move with another girl. What a surprise when Keisuke replied positively.

—Yeah, you could say that, Keisuke answered quietly. But I'm in a rush, he added, glancing at the time his phone was showing.

His reply made all traces of amusement disappear on the merchant's face, replaced by a surprised look. His eyebrows rose so high that they disappeared under the curtain of his hair.

—Nah, you swear you haven't changed your girl? Asked Arai in a doubtful tone. Like, no more one-night stands?

—For now, yeah, I think so.

—Wow, he let go before blowing an impressed whistle. I didn't think the Don Juan would turn into Romeo. I mean, Romeo on your scale, eh, he quickly corrected himself.

—She doesn't get on my nerves, that's cool, the student replied.

The conversation ended after a few more banalities, while Keisuke rolled a joint. He then left the drugstore, meeting the soothing night again. The flame of his lighter lit up before, as soon as its task was completed, disappearing a few moments later.

On the way, the first effects of the dope didn't take long to come, and it was in a state of slight trance that Keisuke arrived at the Hoshino residence. Having already escorted the pretty brunette to the gate of the property, he knew the way from the bus stop. She lived a hundred yards away in her grandmother's house. Grandmother who was, according to her words, a grumpy witch. She had confessed to him that she always pass through the window of her room when she was going out. She even vaguely told him which one it was and how she would get back there without getting caught.

A stratagem, according to him, quite tiring while the concept of doors exists.

As he ventured for the first time beyond the gate of the property, the young man scrutinized the surroundings. His thoughts were not the clearest, and neither were his gestures, but he remembered Hoshino's warnings about the gravel surrounding the house. She had told him to avoid stepping on it as much as possible, Mikoto's room being on the ground floor. He therefore applied her advice, unwilling that the sixty-year-old caught him there.

However, he laughed a little as he thought about what he could possibly say to justify himself. Nothing bad, but nothing that cannot delight an old angry lady.

When he felt he had gotten close enough to the right window, Keisuke hid his skateboard under the porch and then armed himself with a small gravel. He managed, at the first shot, to throw it against the glass of the window. The sound produced by the stone was light, but more than enough to notify the young woman of his presence. No light was shining from the inside, but he could see the contours of her figure as she approached to open it. He watched her step over the frame, jam something to keep the window half open, take a few steps up on the roof, then descend with the gutter and land gracefully on the ground a few meters from him, as if she had done this all her life.

Maybe she had some acrobatic skills after all.

Hana wore a simple mid-thigh skirt that she had paired with her favorite lace-up boots. On his shoulders hung her handbag and a dark leather jacket. Her eyes were elongated with eyeliner, and her long eyelashes were enhanced by a thin layer of mascara. Her lips, covered with the usual balm that tasted like peaches, were bent in a slight smile as she saw that the boy's gaze was wandering on her bare legs.

—Do you think I should change clothes ? She asked when she came to her height. With the meager indications you gave me, I didn't really know how to dress...

The young man's eyes rose quietly on the brunette's face. He seemed to consider the question for a moment before shaking his head negatively.

—No, it's fine, he replied, burying his hands in his pockets.

Hana didn't answer anything, and they both set off for the evening.