The Binding Vow of Lazarus

Chapter 74

The doors swung open with a velvet hush, revealing the warmly lit interior of the restaurant's grand party room—high ceilings, string lights, and the low buzz of early mingling. Satoru stepped in with an excited bounce in his step, flanked by Suguru, Rin, and Nanami.

"Alright," Satoru grinned, clapping Suguru on the back, "I'm officially declaring you the winner for my birthday this year. Look at this place!"

"Well, hopefully the food is good too," Rin teased.

"It had better be for these prices," Nanami muttered under his breath.

Satoru was in the middle of a smug reply when his eyes caught movement near the far side of the room, a quiet rustle, a soft flick of a sleeve. The laughter stopped in his throat.

She was there! Sarah.

She hadn't seen him yet. She was slipping out of her warm coat, one arm at a time. Unhurried like she didn't know she'd just dropped a grand piano on his ribcage.

The cream sweater she was wearing underneath hugged her gently and it looked soft and warm, like his memory of her touch. Her hair was a little longer than he remembered, brushing just below her shoulders now, and there was a brightness in her eyes. Not the desperate kind and not that horrible I'm-trying-to-hold-it-together kind.

She looked good. She looked healthy.

Unfortunately, none of that softness and warmth was directed at him, because beside her, chatting and clearly comfortable, was Haibara.

Satoru clicked his tongue, involuntarily. Rin, who was watching him like a hawk, gave him a tight, apologetic smile. "Don't start," she warned softly, "It would've been weird to invite one without the other."

"Yeah," Suguru agreed, though his voice had a faintly mischievous lilt, "Although honestly I am surprised Haibara showed up to this with her."

Nanami deadpanned, "Why wouldn't he come? You think he'd let his girlfriend come to her long-time crush's party alone?"

Satoru's grin crept back, sharp and amused. "Soooo, you're saying he's worried?"

"I'm saying," Nanami said with the tone of a man who regretted every choice that led to this conversation, "do not take that as a positive."

But Satoru was already halfway to smug with his foot on the pedal. He wasn't sure what kind of expression he was wearing—maybe something dangerous, maybe something stupid—but the truth was simple.

Sarah was here for his Birthday party!

Satoru barely heard Nanami's last muttered warning—probably something boring about dignity and restraint—because he was already striding across the floor toward her.

His feet had decided before his brain caught up. And it wasn't like he had a plan or anything. He just figured, hey, birthday boy perks: surely he could say hello to someone he hadn't seen in forever. Even if his stomach did somersaults every time her eyes blinked too slow.

But just as he made it halfway across the room, a tug yanked him back by the hem of his shirt.

"Slow down, champ," Rin hissed, her fingers still gripping the fabric like a leash on a particularly dramatic golden retriever.

He spun around, eyes wide and innocent. "What? I'm just gonna—"

"No." She gave him a look that could extinguish birthday candles from across the room. "Keep. It. Cool. Keep it calm. Do you remember what we talked about? No interference. We are in 'observe and report' mode, Gojo."