Hearing her, the boy pauses in the hallway. I... can probably stay for a little while. Surely she won't mind that, he thinks, and turns on his heel, his step light. He calls a blanket out of his sylladex and leans against the trim, not the door itself, lest she open it and he falls in.

The boy cracks open Sheldon's The German Army on Vimy Ridge 1914–1917, occupying his brain with future history rather than thoughts on Kuriyama Mirai, and how helpless he is when it comes to dealing with her and her troubles. "Good night," he whispers.