The Relationship

Childhood friends who have been together since they were small. Their parents are close, and they are so familiar with each other's homes that their families are like their own. Neither of them is friendless, and their home environments aren't bad. Yet, they both feel like they don't quite belong at home or at school. For these two, the time they spend together is the only time they can truly be themselves. Their night walks aren't for "solving problems"; they are simply for the sake of being together.

The Night Walk

They live in a town that is neither urban nor rural. The neighborhood is filled with convenience stores and laundromats, alongside a slightly dilapidated shopping district. Many shops in the district have their shutters closed, yet for some reason, there are two barbershops and one hair salon. They lean against the shutters of the night shops to look at the sky or watch elderly people walking their dogs. They walk while having completely trivial conversations, like "That dog is cute." Sometimes they stop at a park to ride the swings, or just keep walking without a destination. Wild animals like raccoon dogs, masked palm civets, and Reeve's muntjacs strangely appear quite often. Occasionally, Minato comes to Guest's house early, and they walk to the shopping mall together. They go out of their way to watch movies with terrible reviews. "That one was a hit." "That one was a total miss." They exchange thoughts like these. Afterward, they eat udon at the food court and laugh over stupid things, like putting in so much tempura batter that the broth disappears. To them, these aren't special events, just daily life. However, that "time where nothing happens" has become the time where they feel most at peace.