The rooftop door creaked shut behind Miyuki, and her footsteps faded down the stairs, leaving me alone with the hum of the city.
The cool wind brushed against my face, but inside, my blood burned. Her worried voice still lingered in my ears, her eyes still carried that fake innocence yet I knew how those very lips would later call me weak, how those same eyes would look at me like I was nothing but trash at her feet.
I gripped the railing until my knuckles whitened.
"Tomorrow… huh? The day you change my life again."
Time-6:23 PM-------
When I returned home, my father was already asleep in the living room, TV was still on. My mother was in the kitchen, drying dishes. She glanced at me, smiling gently.
"You're home late, Haruto. Did something happen?"
Her words were soft, warm exactly the way a mother should be. But I couldn't erase the memory of her voice in the future: 'We don't need you. We never did.'
I forced a smile. "Just stayed back a little."
She studied me for a moment, perhaps noticing the faint tension in my voice, but said nothing. Instead, she placed a plate of cut fruit on the table. "Don't push yourself too hard. You've always been too serious about everything."
I wanted to scream. To ask her why. Why she destroyed everything. Why she chose him. But I bit my tongue. It wasn't time yet.
That night, lying in my bed, sleep wouldn't come. My mind drifted, memories mixing like a broken reel of film.
Miyuki's soft smile during our first dates.
Souta's laughter as we played soccer after school.
My mother humming in the kitchen when I was small.
All of them, once precious.
All of them, poisoned.
Flash
Souta's mocking grin as he pushed me down.
Miyuki's voice dripping venom: "He gives me everything you never could."
My mother's cold words: "We never needed you."
"Damn it!" I sat up, clutching my head as the pain stabbed like knives.
The memories weren't just returning they were carving scars into me all over again.
But mixed in that pain… was clarity.
If Miyuki would confess tomorrow… then this was the root. The start.
And this time, I wouldn't let things flow the way they once did.
The next morning, I dragged myself to school, my body sluggish but my mind sharper than ever.
Inside the classroom, Souta was already there, laughing with his soccer friends. He noticed me and waved casually. "Yo, Haruto! You look dead, man. Studying too much again?"
His voice was friendly. Too friendly.
But I caught the flicker in his eyes that same arrogance, the hidden envy he thought I never saw.
I smiled faintly. "Something like that."
Miyuki walked in a little later. Her gaze brushed mine, her cheeks flushing for just a second. She quickly looked away, fiddling with her bag straps.
So, it's really coming. The confession.
The first domino.
I leaned back in my chair, watching them both with calm eyes. To everyone else, I was still Haruto Kurogane, the diligent honor student.
But inside, I was the man who had already died once.
This time, I would rewrite everything.
And if fate wanted to play the same game again
I would break the board.
The morning dragged on with its usual lessons. My mind wasn't on equations or history dates dateit was on the storm brewing beneath the surface. Souta's fake laughter. Miyuki's nervous glances. My own heartbeat, ticking like a clock toward tomorrow's confession.
Time-12:30 PM-----
When the lunch bell rang, I slipped out before Souta or Miyuki could call me. I didn't want to see their faces, not now. My feet carried me toward the courtyard, to the shaded bench beneath the cherry blossom tree.
"Haruto-kun!"
I turned. A cheerful voice, warm and commanding at once.
Standing there with her bento box in hand was Akasaka Yui, the school's student council president.
Yui was the kind of girl everyone admired. Smart, approachable, beautiful in an elegant way that made her stand out from the others. Long chestnut hair tied neatly into a ribbon, sharp glasses framing bright amber eyes that always seemed to notice too much.
Unlike Miyuki's fragile sweetness, Yui radiated strength and kindness the kind that came from hard work, not deception.
She sat down beside me without hesitation. "Skipping lunch with your class again? You'll make them sad, you know."
I gave a small laugh. "Doubt they'd care."
Yui pouted playfully, poking her chopsticks at me. "You always say that, but I know the truth. You're too dependable for your own good. Even back in middle school, you helped with every event, every cleanup. Do you think I've forgotten?"
Her smile was genuine, the kind that warmed the icy edges of my chest for just a moment.
"Still… I don't mind," she added, opening her bento. "I'd rather eat with you than in that noisy council room anyway."
I studied her for a moment, unable to stop the thought: She's different.
Different from Miyuki. Different from my mother. Different from anyone who had betrayed me.
For the first time in what felt like forever, I allowed myself to relax, even if only slightly.
And she asked with a sharp tone"Where is your lunch haruto-kun? Did you forgot your bento box? "
I replied with a soft tone " No i was on my way to cafeteria to buy something for me to eat"
"If you want i can share my lunch with you".she asked me with a cute face close towards my face.
"No i will buy something from cafeteria and also i am sure this much food won't be enough for you"I laughed at her. Her expression changed..
She jabbed her chopsticks at me. "Don't make fun of me and eat this."
I chuckled despite myself. "Truly, the unsung warriors of hygiene."
"Exactly!" she said proudly, before carefully pinching a piece of tamagoyaki with her chopsticks. Without hesitation, she held it toward me. "Here. Eat."
I hesitated. "I'm not a kid. I can eat myself."
She tilted her head, a mischievous glint in her amber eyes. "Then prove it take it before I shove it in your mouth."
"…You wouldn't dare."
"Oh, I would."
For the first time in days, I laughed really laughed. Giving in, I leaned forward and took the egg roll. "Fine, fine. Happy now?"
"Ecstatic." She grinned, clearly pleased. "You know, Haruto, you should laugh more. You look scary when you're always frowning. The underclassmen think you're some kind of delinquent."
"Great. So I'm the misunderstood scary guy."
"More like a misunderstood softie," she teased. "But don't worry. I'll spread the truth for you Haruto the Reliable, Defender of Mop Buckets."
I groaned, covering my face. "Please don't."
"Too late. It's already my campaign slogan for next year."
I couldn't help it. Sitting there with Yui, trading playful jabs, it almost felt normal. Like the weight of betrayal, revenge, and broken trust didn't exist.
But the warmth was fleeting. Today… everything will begin.