—Naoaki's POV—
The dream came again.
This time, I was standing under a red-leafed tree, wind slicing through the silk of my clothes like a memory half-lived. I was holding someone's hand.
He didn't have a face.
Just warmth.
And then—he let go.
Just like that.
He turned and walked into a field of white, and I stood there, screaming after someone I didn't know but somehow already loved.
When I woke up, my hands were shaking.
I didn't tell anyone. Not my mother. Not Akane. Not even my reflection in the mirror.
Because how do you say "I think I'm dreaming someone else's life" without sounding like you've completely lost your mind?
Still, the feeling stuck. Heavy and quiet, like something left unsaid.
When I got to school, Ren was already there—headphones on, leaning back in his seat with his eyes closed. But I could tell he wasn't sleeping. His jaw was clenched, like he was angry at something, or trying not to remember something.
I sat behind him again, like always. My usual seat. My usual heartbeat, trying to ignore the way it sped up when he ran a hand through his hair.
"Did you sleep okay?" I blurted before I could stop myself.
He turned slowly. "What?"
I looked away. "You just… looked tired yesterday."
A pause.
Then:
"Maybe I had bad dreams."
He said it so flatly I couldn't tell if he was mocking me or answering seriously.
> We're both having them, aren't we?
The same dreams. Or at least… they come from the same place.
I swallowed hard. "Me too."
He blinked, just once.
Then looked away, like he didn't want to talk anymore.
At lunch, it rained again. Third day in a row.
Akane offered me her pudding. I declined. I was too busy watching Ren from across the courtyard as he sat on the steps alone, legs stretched out like he had no place to be.
"I heard he transferred from a private academy in Tokyo," Akane said, following my gaze. "Some elite school. Must've had a reason to leave."
"Maybe," I muttered.
Maybe that reason was me.
Maybe we already knew each other before.
Maybe in some life I was the reason he left.
That night, the dream came again.
But this time… his face was clear.
It was Ren.
Not as he looked now, but close enough.
Longer hair. A scar over one brow. A sword at his hip. A war in his eyes.
And he was dying.
In my arms.
> "You'll find me again," he whispered in that other life.
"Even if you forget. I'll remember enough for both of us."
I woke up gasping. My sheets damp with sweat. My heart pounding like it knew something my brain hadn't caught up with yet.
I sat up and whispered into the darkness.
"Ren… have we done this before?"