White Day.
The karmic sequel to Valentine's.
The day boys are expected to give back to girls who confessed.
With chocolate. With gifts. With emotional clarity.
Unfortunately, I am a disaster of a human being and emotional clarity is a foreign concept.
But the world didn't care.
7:30 AM – My Apartment
Aya stood in the doorway with crossed arms.
"Today's the day."
"I know."
"You have options."
"I know."
"You've had literal months."
"I KNOW."
She smiled a little.
"Then stop looking like you're about to vomit on your own feelings."
"That is exactly what I'm about to do."
She sighed.
And pulled something from her hoodie pocket.
A small box. Labeled "Emergency Backup Chocolate – In Case He Forgets."
"You really didn't trust me, huh?"
"Trust? I live with you, Haruma. I've seen your brain. It's mostly panic and repressed affection."
At School – 9:00 AM
I found Kokoro waiting by the shoe lockers.
No note. No message. Just her. In her usual deadpan glory.
"I came for your answer," she said.
"Already? I haven't even made it to my homeroom."
"You've had weeks. The bell doesn't stop your heart from knowing things."
I opened my mouth to respond.
Then closed it again.
Because she wasn't wrong. And she knew it.
She stepped closer.
"No matter what you say," she whispered, "I won't regret falling."
Then she walked away.
Just like that.
Leaving me with nothing but the sound of my own heartbeat screaming through my skull.
Classroom – 10:30 AM
Sensei called me into the hallway.
No reason. No explanation.
Just, "Kazuki. Hall. Now."
I followed, as usual, into my own demise.
"Do you know why today matters?" she asked.
"Because I'm emotionally cornered on a nationally recognized gift-giving holiday?"
"Because it's your reset point."
I blinked. "What does that mean?"
"It means… this is the moment where you stop being the victim of your thoughts and start becoming the author of them."
I stared.
Because for once, she wasn't teasing.
She was just… earnest.
She pressed something into my hand.
A sealed envelope.
"Whatever's in there," she said, "give it to the one who breaks your loop."
Lunch Break – 12:00 PM
The Love Arc Management Committee (read: Aya and Kokoro in an awkward truce) arranged a "Neutral Chocolate Exchange Zone" in the courtyard.
Each girl sat at a picnic table, far enough apart to maintain plausible deniability.
Both of them had small white boxes in front of them.
Waiting.
I stood in the middle.
Box in my hand. Envelope from Sensei in my pocket. Brain on fire.
Everyone was watching.
Literally everyone. Even background characters with no names.
I took a breath.
And walked—
Straight into the faculty building.
Because if there's one thing I learned by now—
My brain will always sabotage me.But my feet?They know where I really want to go.
Infirmary – 12:05 PM
Sensei sat by the window, sipping tea like she hadn't just detonated an entire romantic minefield.
I stood in the doorway.
Then held out the envelope.
"You said this was for the one who breaks my loop."
She raised an eyebrow.
Took it.
Opened it.
Read silently.
And smiled.
"Kazuki, you absolute coward."
"Thanks. I try."
She stood. Crossed the room.
And hugged me.
Gently.
No fanservice. No teasing.
Just warmth.
"Whoever you choose," she said, "you've already grown."
Courtyard – 12:30 PM
I finally returned.
Aya was still there.
Kokoro too.
The silence between them was louder than an orchestra.
I approached slowly. My heart doing somersaults. My soul crawling.
And I sat down.
Between them.
"I'm not good at this," I began. "I know that."
Kokoro didn't move.
Aya folded her arms.
"But I think... I finally get it."
They looked at me.
Expecting.
Terrified.
Hopeful.
"I don't want to escape the chaos. I just don't want to lose the people who stood with me through it."
They blinked.
I placed the chocolate box on the table.
And split it in half.
"I know this isn't the answer either of you wanted," I said. "But it's the most honest I've been."
They stared.
Then Kokoro, slowly, began to laugh.
Dry, sharp.
Like she was too tired to cry.
"Of course you'd split the chocolate."
Aya just sighed.
"I should've expected this."
But neither of them walked away.
They each took a half.
And quietly, heartbreakingly…
Stayed.
That night – Rooftop
I sat under the stars, alone.
Processing.
Surviving.
Trying not to imagine what Volume 2 would look like now.
Then Aya appeared.
Wearing pajamas. Carrying hot cocoa.
"I told Kokoro we'd both kill you if you pulled a move like that."
"Did she agree?"
"She offered to sharpen the knife."
"…Fair."
She sat next to me.
"You're gonna have to choose eventually, y'know."
"I know."
"And until then?"
"…I keep writing. And hoping no one realizes I have no plot outline."
She chuckled.
And leaned her head on my shoulder.
"We already know. We're just waiting for you to be the story."
Elsewhere…
Kokoro wrote another note she'd never send.
"He's a mess. But he's my mess.And one day, when he's done surviving…Maybe I'll be the part of him that lives."
She folded it.
And placed it next to the first one.
A little box of thoughts.
Waiting to be read.