"By the way, Ryo, when you're performing in a play, have you ever thought about bringing a character back to life?"
Sakayanagi Arisu asked naturally. She was sitting properly in Kitagawa Ryo's room, No. 408, with an open book on her knees and her cane resting beside her.
It was close to 6 p.m., and about twenty minutes earlier, Sakayanagi had knocked on Ryo's door.
"Characters in a play don't exist to begin with, so how could they be resurrected?"
Ryo set his book down and replied casually:
"What, should Hamlet come back to life and fight for the Holy Grail?"
"Rebel against his noble uncle?"
But Sakayanagi wasn't in the mood for Ryo's jokes today. She gazed into his eyes and said:
"Let me rephrase."
"Is there any character in a play you think shouldn't have died? Or rather, someone you wished had lived on?"
Ryo hadn't expected such a question from her. If it were Karuizawa Kei or Shiina Hiyori, maybe it wouldn't have surprised him. But from Sakayanagi, it was unexpected.
He thought about it seriously for a moment, then shook his head.
"No."
"Why not?"
Sakayanagi gave a faint smirk—the kind where her lips curled but her eyes remained emotionless. She was good at that kind of fake smile.
"Because death is part of a character's construction. Many times, it's precisely because of their death that a character's essence is fully revealed."
Ryo nodded and added:
"Life only happens once. That's why a decision to give it up—for a belief, for someone, for something—is so striking."
"Life is a person's final asset."
Sakayanagi pondered aloud:
"It's true people often say that it's precisely because death only comes once that tragedies are so moving."
But then, she gave a mischievous smile, her slender fingers touching her lips:
"But what about in reality?"
"Everyone has someone they'd like to bring back, right?"
"Even though we all know death can't be reversed, people still pray for miracles."
She smiled a little bitterly.
"Yeah, they do."
Ryo answered simply, thinking back on many moments from the past. He remembered the final photo that Hotaru had left him.
"So, why do people live?"
"When someone dies, it brings sadness to those who are still alive."
Ryo looked at Sakayanagi. She was probably the smallest girl he knew. Sitting curled up with her knees drawn in made her seem even smaller.
"But people all die eventually."
She murmured.
Even if they give their all, gain all the knowledge, leave behind all their achievements—death awaits at the end. That outcome, which erases everything, can feel tragic, even make life seem meaningless.
To know, to feel, to gain, to lose, to pursue... Even knowing there's a void at the end that erases all, human will still struggles in the face of death.
It's an unpassable boundary—an absolute end.
"Even though we know we'll die and lose everything, why do people still want to live?"
Sakayanagi only had vague memories of her mother. After all, her mother passed away when she had just started forming memories. Most of what she knew came from what her father had told her.
According to him, her birth had been her mother's insistence.
In truth, her arrival had ruined all three lives:
Her father, her mother, and herself.
From a certain point of view, Sakayanagi's birth ended her mother's life and took from her father the only woman he had ever loved—and still hadn't forgotten. Yet, he still poured all his strength into raising her, giving her the best education and love.
Sakayanagi understood this deeply.
When she was little and once visited the White Room with her father, she had sensed the hesitation in his voice.
"They're just imprisoned in that facility, constantly used to extract data."
She remembered her father saying that while wearing a pained expression.
So she had asked him bluntly:
"Father, do you hate this place?"
"I think... it was just the beginning of misfortune."
After hearing his response, little Sakayanagi had already made up her mind:
"Don't worry, I'll destroy this project for you. I'll prove that genius isn't something education creates—it's decided the moment someone is born."
"I won't lose to any child raised in that facility."
"With the excellent genes I've inherited, I'll stop this."
For many years afterward, Sakayanagi carried that vow.
Ryo didn't immediately answer her earlier question, so Sakayanagi began answering herself.
"Is it because of DNA? For someone's sake? Out of love? A sense of responsibility? Or maybe divine will? The universe's intent? There are so many reasons—and maybe they're all true."
She placed her hand over her heart—the place that carried the condition she inherited from her mother.
"So, what about you, Ryo? What do you live for?"
She looked at him. It was the first time Ryo had seen Sakayanagi wear such an expression.
Sensing his confusion, she smiled and gently shifted the topic:
"Actually, just a few months ago, during the summer before my final year of middle school, I went on a secret trip. After several train transfers, I finally reached the seaside. My father had always forbidden me from going to dangerous places like that, so it had been years since I last saw the ocean."
A trace of loneliness appeared on her face:
"I used to go there a lot when I was little. Back then, I could still run on the beach and feel the waves."
"Now that I'm older, I can hardly even walk on sand by myself. A cane is useless in sand, you know."
"Isn't it ironic?"
Ryo followed her gaze to the cane she always carried. For Holmes, it might've been an accessory or weapon. But for Sakayanagi, it was a tool—one that let her move forward.
"That day, my sun hat got blown away by the wind—it was a gift from my father."
"Even a five or six-year-old child could've easily retrieved it."
"But I couldn't."
"Just speeding up made me so dizzy I nearly lost consciousness. Thankfully, there was a shaded bench nearby where I could rest."
Sakayanagi removed the white beret from her head and placed it on the table in front of her.
"I watched that hat drift all the way into the sea."
"This one is the replacement my father bought afterward."
After telling her story, she put the hat back on.
"Back then, I asked myself the same question I just asked you."
"Why do people live?"
The meaning of life—perhaps one of the ultimate questions humanity seeks to answer.
Philosophers had been pondering it since ancient times.
In his previous life, Ryo had seen many patients in intensive care. They endured extreme pain and harsh treatments. Even at the brink of suffering, they still clung to life—they still wanted to live.
"When life is distilled to its core, it's just life and death, and pain."
Sakayanagi stood up. It seemed she wasn't really expecting an answer from Ryo—just sharing her thoughts and confusion.
Before leaving the room, she playfully messed up Ryo's hair, like a mischievous child.
-------------------------------------
"Ryo, open the door."
It was close to midnight—around 11 p.m.—when the knocking came, along with a soft voice.
The one who slipped in effortlessly after the door opened was Karuizawa Kei. She was already well-versed in sneaking into Kitagawa Ryo's room at this hour, making barely a sound as she entered.
Ryo, who had just been about to go to bed, wore nothing but his pajamas. His hair was still damp from a recent shower, and he yawned as he shuffled over in slippers to get Kei a pair of indoor shoes.
"It's late. What's up, Kei?"
"Can't I come over just because I want to?"
Kei made a face, scrunching her little nose.
"Did you make any sweets tonight?"
"I baked a tray of cookies. Want some?"
Ryo sighed. He had planned to save them as snacks, but Kei's sense of smell was astonishingly sharp.
"Yes, please!"
She flipped on the living room light and cheerfully answered.
Crunch.
She popped cookies into her mouth two at a time, scarfing down several before finally slowing down.
"You know, your baking's good enough to open a shop. You'd definitely be popular."
"Eating too much at night will make you gain weight."
"Just this once."
Kei brushed crumbs from the corner of her mouth and chugged down a bottle of water. Her throat moved gently with each gulp, the motion revealing her slender neck. As she tucked loose strands of hair behind her ear, Ryo caught a glimpse of her delicate, glimmering earlobe nestled in her golden hair.
"Hm? Why are you staring at me like that?"
She set the bottle down and smiled, her eyes blinking playfully.
"You always drink water like you've just crossed a desert."
"Small sips at a steady pace are the fastest way to recover energy."
She popped another cookie into her mouth, letting the sweetness spread over her tongue.
"By the way, I got chosen as Class B's leader today."
Her voice carried a hint of pride—almost as if begging for praise.
"You already picked a class leader? That's a bit hasty, isn't it?"
"Not really. Everyone in B Class is super sweet. Plus, the homeroom teacher appointed me directly, so it just sort of happened."
Kei recalled being called out by Hoshinomiya Chie after class and added cautiously:
"Our homeroom teacher seems to have a lot of hostility toward Class A's teacher."
"She basically outright told me to go after A Class."
"If you're going to make a move, you need absolute certainty."
"Ayanokouji Kiyotaka doesn't play fair."
Ryo offered his advice just in time. B Class's way of doing things made it hard to counter someone like Ryuuen Kakeru or Ayanokouji, who didn't care about boundaries. But Kei wasn't like the old Ichinose Honami, so he simply gave a light warning and didn't push further.
"Speaking of which, I saw Kushida Kikyou at the shopping center today. She's apparently in A Class now."
"I was the one who placed her there."
Ryo explained calmly:
"I always felt something about her was unstable. Even back in middle school, it seemed like she was hiding something."
"The more friends you have, the more problems you carry. She probably gets used as a dumping ground for everyone's secrets every day."
"Several students in B Class already exchanged contact info with her. At this rate, she'll have the whole grade's numbers by the end of the week."
"She was ranked A in coordination, after all."
Ryo grabbed a still-warm cookie and bit into it himself.
"At least your class has picked a leader. My class is still undecided."
"It seems like Honami and Arisu are both interested, but I can't judge who'd be better right now."
"Hmm..."
Kei's movements slowed. After a moment of silence, she asked:
"Why don't you take the lead in D Class? If you did, Honami and Arisu probably wouldn't get involved."
"Because I don't want to. That's all."
Ryo shook his head.
"If my guess is right, more than ten D Class students already blew through over 50,000 points today."
"...Yeah."
Kei knew what D Class was like. At Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, one student's mistake could drag the whole class down. There were at least seven or eight students like Yamauchi Haruki in D Class.
While other classes required careful scheming to stir up internal strife, D Class would start fighting on its own—boy vs. girl, boy vs. boy, girl vs. girl—it didn't matter.
Suddenly, Kei gave a strange smile:
"You know, I think D Class's eventual leader won't be Honami or Arisu."
"It'll be Airi."
She stretched with a soft sigh, showing off her elegant curves. Then she nodded with a mischievous glint in her eyes:
"That's exactly the kind of ridiculous thing they'd do."
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