Hourglass [Quintessential Quintuplets]

Chapter 10 - Trickster (Ⅱ)

Third Person POV:

''R-Rooftops? Are you out of your mind?'' Ichika took a full step back from the open doorway, as if the stairwell itself might reach out and drag her in. The weirdish aura from inside did nothing to make the idea more appealing. ''That's way... way too dangerous!''

Kazuma shot her a cold glance. Not a look of frustration—frustration would have implied he cared enough to be bothered. ''Do you want to see your siblings or not? If you're going to be a pussy about it, you've already failed as their older sister.'' His tone was flat but the words stung like a slap to the face.

Ichika felt heat crawl up her neck that had nothing to do with embarrassment. Part of her wanted to snap back, to tell this stranger who she'd known for all of fifteen minutes that he had no right—no right—to say something like that . But the rest of her, understood that it stung because it was partly true. "Think logically, will you? How are we supposed to get across buildings? We don't have superpowers, Kazuma-kun."

The quintuplets' older sister certainly didn't trust the idea. Not even slightly. Rooftops meant gaps between buildings. Gaps between buildings meant jumping. Jumping meant the very real, very non-hypothetical possibility of danger. This was a double-edged sword in the most literal sense—it could get her to the festival before the last firework faded... or it could get her killed. Two outcomes and nothing between.

''If it's any consolation, I've used these before plenty of times. Ichika, was it?''

''I-I suppose I don't have much of a choice...''

''The fireworks have already begun.'' Kazuma was standing by the open door now, one hand resting on the frame, his body half turned toward the stairwell inside. Waiting. Not impatiently—he didn't strike Ichika as someone who experienced impatience. ''If we take this path, you'll arrive before they end.''

Who knows what would have happened to me if he hadn't been here?
The thought arrived uninvited and she pushed it aside before it could grow roots.Ichika swallowed hard. Her throat was tight She forced herself to nod. ''O-Okay... I'm coming! Geez.''

''Follow.''

''O-Okay...''

Ichika stepped through the doorway and into the building, and the temperature dropped immediately. The air inside was stale and thick—the kind of air that hadn't been circulated in years, that had been sitting in the same space so long it had forgotten what wind felt like. She was being far more timid than she normally should have been. Building around her was making a very convincing case for why it should have stayed sealed.

She decided to start a conversation. Sound is good in environments like this (she thought). Sound meant you weren't alone and the thoughts your brain manufactured in silence. And this boy was already far too quiet. How does even someone walk up stairs this old without making noise? ''Kazuma-kun. You said you've used these roads before, right? Do you know what happened to this building?

''Failed investment. They were going to turn it into a business center, but the company went bankrupt. Building's been sealed off for about three years.'' Boy replied without turning around, his voice bouncing flatly off the concrete walls.

As they walk upwards, the oldness of the building caught Ichika's eye even more.
"I never knew there was a building like this near my workplace, haha..."

Kazuma offered no response.
His silence a clear sign that no one is interested in small talk.
''...''

''Aren't you going to ask about me? Hmpf...''