The road she hadn't walked for a year felt both familiar and unfamiliar. Brilliant lights and the bustling crowd seemed to blur in her vision. In that moment, it was as if she could only hear the footsteps and breathing of the boy walking beside her. In contrast, the uneventful days without festivals always grew wild and cluttered like a vast plant spreading leaf after leaf, day after monotonous day.
For a long time, Karuizawa Kei had been terrified of that sense of endless desolation. It clung to her like moss, refusing to rot, refusing to disappear, threatening to bury her in a lightless corner forever.
"It feels nostalgic," Kitagawa Ryo finally said, breaking the haze of her drifting gaze.
"You went to London after all. It must be different from Tokyo."
"Let's go somewhere quieter. It's too crowded here."
Kei tugged on Ryo's hand, leading him toward the outskirts of the street, away from the noise.
"Why? Do you need something?"
Though unsure of her intentions, Ryo let himself be pulled along.
"If I don't have anything in particular, does that mean Ryo doesn't want to be alone with me?"
"That's not what I meant."
He had been a little concerned that she'd been in low spirits lately, but seeing her act as playfully stubborn as ever reassured him.
"I just want to be alone with Ryo, that's all."
It was a direct and open confession, but unlike her previous obsessive declarations, she now seemed more like a normal girl her age. There was even a hint of light makeup on her face, and her every expression radiated youth and vitality.
"I knew Ryo wouldn't refuse. Because it's Ryo."
Her smile was lovely. Perhaps because they'd left the noisy downtown area, the scents around them had changed—from food stalls to a curious freshness, a mix of floral and earthy greenery.
"It's so beautiful," she murmured, gazing up at the fireworks blooming and fading above the remote lawn they'd reached.
Ryo watched her face illuminated by the light. She looked like an ordinary girl simply smiling at something beautiful.
"The stars shine so that everyone can one day find their own star."
Only in the gaps between fireworks could you see the brilliance of the stars.
"That's from The Little Prince."
Kei nodded, stretching her hand toward a distant star as if trying to catch it.
"If someone loves a flower that exists only one in the millions and millions of stars, then when he looks at the stars, he'll feel happy. 'My flower is out there somewhere.' But if a sheep eats that flower, then for him, all the stars go dark."
"That was the lesson the Little Prince only understood after leaving the rose. Only after leaving did he begin to grow, to meet others, to visit other planets."
Her words seemed to hint at something deeper. She clasped her hands behind her back and continued softly.
"To grow, one needs someone they love most. To grow, one needs a regretful parting. Don't you think so?"
Kei was gradually lifting her mask. Her emotions poured out beneath the starry sky.
Ryo noticed. And finally, he smiled.
"Are you hoping I'll leave, Kei?"
"Of course not..."
She instinctively denied it, unable to meet his gaze. Her fingers nervously pinched the hem of her yukata.
"I don't want to lose Ryo."
Once again, she seemed trapped in familiar contradictions and fears. Ryo remained silent, waiting for her to continue.
When Shiina Hiyori, through her earpiece, gave the prearranged cue, Kei finally summoned the resolve.
"I want Ryo to leave Tokyo... That's all I came to say tonight."
"...What?"
The unexpected words cut right through Ryo's composure.
"I want you to stop only looking at me. You don't have to stay by my side."
Her tone was firm, nothing like her earlier hesitations. In fact, the more she spoke, the steadier she seemed.
This girl, who used to cry at the slightest bullying, who had sobbed in his arms just days ago, was now forcing a smile as tears welled in her eyes.
"Ryo's life will go on. There's no need to remain trapped by the past."
Even as her facade cracked, Kei continued, and Ryo listened silently.
They had leaned on each other for protection on that sandbox long ago, projecting all kinds of love—familial, platonic, maybe even romantic—onto one another.
Pain twisted in Ryo's stomach.
"I think my mistake was wanting just a small boy who could protect me. But Ryo gave me something greater than that. He grew into someone incredible. He read more than me, went more places than me. He's no longer the boy who built sandcastles with me. He'll meet more people. He'll go further. He'll become someone even more amazing."
Tears rolled down her cheeks like fallen pearls, soaking into her hair.
Crying had once been a weapon, but now, Kei cried in silence, purely and honestly.
"I used to wish you were just a normal boy. I didn't need anything special. Just someone to protect me."
Kei had never longed for grand declarations of love. All she'd wanted was one simple plea: "Don't hurt me."
"I like Ryo."
But...
"I hope Ryo doesn't like me."
She was seeking a feeling opposite of love.
"Think of me as a friend, a sister, a childhood companion turned stranger—anything. Just let me walk this road alone."
"Can you really do that, Kei?"
Ryo understood her like she understood him. He knew how parasitic her dependence had once been.
"Of course."
Her smile was bathed in firelight. Her shadow stretched long behind her.
"I've already seen the best, kindest, most wonderful 'host.' I won't settle for anyone else."
And under the grandeur of the fireworks, her smile burned itself into the night.
This was our best possible ending.
To be honest, I only had one strength. I was average at studies, sports, even socializing.
But lying to myself? I excelled at that.
I learned long ago that to deceive others, I had to deceive myself first.
I taped together my shattered pride, forgot the thumbtacks in my shoes, the animal corpses in my desk, the water poured over my head.
I even harmed myself to escape it all, slashing a cruel scar on my scalp.
But tonight, I would tear down the walls I built.
I would stand before him and prove I could survive alone.
Even though I could've kept lying, kept using him, kept him by my side.
Even though he said he needed someone to depend on.
Even though I'd always acted to protect myself.
I chose to push him away.
Because he has his own life, dreams, struggles. He walks a road parallel to mine.
And for some reason, that decision filled me with a tiny sense of pride.
Playing the role of the strong, the selfless—it felt surprisingly good.
Because for the first time, I finally understood my own feelings.
Karuizawa Kei simply liked Kitagawa Ryo.
So, just one last lie.
This time, not for myself.
But for him.
-------------------------------------
Last night, Kitagawa Ryo dreamed of the past.
Back then, both he and Karuizawa Kei were still just children. It must have been because he had seen Karuizawa again at the wedding yesterday, after such a long time.
In the first-class cabin of a flight bound for Tokyo, Kitagawa Ryo sat alone. No other passengers were aboard.
After all, it was a red-eye flight. If it hadn't been for the need to rush, he wouldn't have booked it in the first place.
The plane departed from London, heading toward Tokyo.
Over the past ten years, Kitagawa Ryo had flown this route probably over a hundred times. The scenery outside, the in-flight meals—he was long used to them. Yet somehow, this time felt different.
He let out a quiet sigh, trying to rest his chin in his hand. But as soon as his fingers brushed against his face, he felt the cold, hard touch of the ring on his skin.
Marriage—it had just happened yesterday.
Being nearly thirty, he could no longer put it off. Constant pressure from his parents had eventually led him to obediently accept the engagement.
Compared to marrying a complete stranger, he figured it was better to choose someone he'd known since back then—Horikita Suzune.
In the end, no matter how far he wandered, he always returned to the same place.
He exhaled again, white breath fogging up the window, which he then wiped clean with his hand.
It was deep autumn in Tokyo now, and it had been a long time since he'd seen the city's autumn landscape.
In the past decade, although he traveled between Tokyo and London, he had spent most of his time in London overall.
Kitagawa Ryo stared at the ring on his left ring finger. It cost fifty thousand dollars, and yet, when it pressed against his skin, it still felt unpleasantly stiff.
The ring finger is said to be connected to the heart. That's supposedly why wedding rings are worn there.
"Marriage."
Even now, it didn't quite feel real.
The idea of living with Horikita Suzune still felt distant and vague. It was all so hazy.
It felt more like he was running away, especially since he had flown back to Tokyo the very next day after the wedding.
Kitagawa Ryo thought again of the dream he had last night.
Under the dim glow of a streetlamp late at night, near a small apartment building on the street in front of the station.
Under that amber light, on a road where only the two of them existed—a boy and a girl.
They were both still children in that dream. They wanted to grow up quickly, but they just couldn't.
He and Karuizawa Kei had taken a photo together.
It was their second photo. In reality, they only had three photos together.
The first was on the website of an elementary school in Tokyo, under the alumni tab. No one would find it unless they specifically looked for it.
The third photo was in his wedding album. Karuizawa Kei had attended the wedding as a 'friend' and stood to the far left, next to Shiina Hiyori.
He recalled a few more scenes.
The two of them reading "The Little Prince" with their shoulders touching; dresses in black, white, and blue; a cake adorned with rose decorations.
And the last summer fireworks festival they attended together.
-------------------------------------
In the past decade or so, Karuizawa Kei had always avoided any contact with Kitagawa Ryo. That's why, on the very night following Kitagawa's wedding, she had already returned to Tokyo.
Whether it was due to some untapped potential within herself, or perhaps Kitagawa had quietly lent her a hand behind the scenes, Karuizawa had somehow managed to survive all on her own until now. Amidst the bustling streets of Tokyo, she carried bags of groceries she had just bought from the supermarket.
At yesterday's wedding, she hadn't taken a single bite of that towering cake—at least ten tiers tall. Today, she planned to bake one for herself.
She had long since become adept at making her own sweets, even decorating them with buttercream roses. But today, she had broken her routine and bought a real rose—a vibrant red bloom now cradled in her arms.
The thick layer of fallen leaves beneath her feet crunched with each step, like shattering glass—cold, brittle, and sharp.
Standing at one side of the street, Karuizawa was suddenly struck by an intense sensation.
Across the road, through the passing cars and crowds, she thought she saw a figure resembling Kitagawa Ryo.
But when she rose on her toes to look again, the figure was already gone.
The fallen leaves swirled up into the sky with the wind. Karuizawa looked down at the rose in her arms.
It trembled quietly in the breeze.
At last, something that began had come to an end.
[Congratulations, Player, you have reached Ending: White Rose.]
[White Rose: If you marry the red rose, in time, it becomes nothing more than a mosquito stain on the wall, while the white rose remains a beam of moonlight in your heart. But if you marry the white rose, she becomes a grain of rice stuck to your shirt, while the red rose becomes a cinnabar mole etched in your memory.
The longer the memory, the more distorted the recollection.]