The setting sun cast long shadows across the hotel room as Raika adjusted the blanket over Raito one more time. His face was still pale, and a thin sheen of sweat clung to his forehead, but his breathing had evened out slightly compared to before. Sitting beside him, Raika gently touched the back of his hand with a worried look.
"He's getting better… right?" she asked quietly.
Detective Yumi, standing near the doorway with her arms crossed, nodded after a pause. "Yeah. His fever's going down. Slowly, but it's better than before."
Akemi, lounging half-heartedly on the couch, twirled a strand of her hair. "We've been holed up here all day. I think he just needs more sleep. Maybe it's better if we let him rest without us hovering over him like nurses."
Raika looked down, reluctant, but finally agreed. "Maybe you're right… He looks more peaceful now than he did earlier."
The school group had organized another small trip — a casual visit to the mall nestled near the base of the mountain, before the snow got heavier again. A chance to unwind, shop, and enjoy some normalcy before the school trip ended. It was supposed to be a lighthearted evening.
After carefully checking that Emi was snuggled warmly in her stroller and that Raito's blanket was tucked up to his chin, the three girls quietly gathered their things.
"If he wakes up and we're not here…" Raika murmured, glancing back anxiously.
Yumi gave her a reassuring smile. "We'll only be a call away. Besides, it's not like we're leaving the country. It's just the mall. If anything happens, we'll rush right back."
Akemi stretched with a catlike motion and yawned. "Yeah, yeah. Come on, if we keep standing here staring at him, we'll never leave."
Reluctantly, they slipped out of the room, pulling the door closed with a soft click.
The school group had already gathered near the hotel's lobby. Several students buzzed with excitement, bundled up in coats and scarves, chattering about food courts, game shops, and souvenirs. The teacher in charge was already taking a headcount.
Yumi, still in her usual practical coat and gloves, found herself automatically pushing Emi's stroller alongside Raika and Akemi as they headed toward the waiting bus.
She glanced back toward the hotel once before sighing quietly. Somehow, the thought of leaving Raito behind made her chest feel heavier than it should.
"You miss him already, don't you?" Akemi teased, sidling up next to her with a sly grin.
Raika snickered, catching on immediately. "Wow, Yumi-san, you really are hopeless without him, huh?"
"I-I'm not hopeless," Yumi protested, turning a shade pinker under her scarf. "I'm just… just used to him being around, that's all."
"Sure, sure," Akemi said with a mock-serious nod. "Totally believable. Not suspicious at all."
Raika giggled as she loaded the stroller into the luggage compartment under the bus. "Well, it's kind of weird without him. Like we're missing a grumpy old man who's pretending he's young."
Yumi made a sound like she wanted to protest again, but she just sighed and climbed onto the bus after them.
Akemi flopped into a window seat, looking out at the swirling snow beginning to pick up. She smirked to herself, amused by how easy it was to fluster Yumi.
Raika settled in next to Emi's seat, pulling out a toy to keep her occupied for the ride. Yumi sat across the aisle from them, looking both slightly annoyed and slightly... wistful.
As the bus rumbled to life and pulled away from the hotel, none of them could have guessed how different things might feel when they returned.