Outside.
On a wooden bench.
Unable to sleep late at night, Toru looked up at the stars. Far from the noise of the city, he could see a sky full of brilliant constellations.
Like the shimmering colors of a kaleidoscope, dazzling and radiant.
Footsteps sounded at the cabin door.
Toru turned and saw Kita stepping out, wrapped in a fluffy pajama set and holding a small blanket in her arms.
"Why didn't you bring another blanket?"
Before Toru could finish speaking, Kita slipped into his embrace and pulled the blanket over both of them.
So that was why she had brought only one.
Two people sharing a single warm blanket.
Kita-san, you're quite clever.
"What's wrong? Why the sudden affection?" Toru asked gently.
Kita paused for a few seconds.
"Toru-kun, even though you turned me down once, I still want to say it again…"
After a brief silence, she said earnestly, "I like you. More than anyone else."
Perhaps it began as something shallow, love at first sight.
That night on the rooftop watching the stars, that performance on stage, his dazzling presence had etched itself deep into Ikuyo Kita's heart, impossible to forget.
Life is short, why should a girl question the reason for her feelings?
"I understand, but I can't accept your feelings."
Toru could feel her warmth, her fragrance so close to him.
He would regret it, which was why he couldn't accept her.
In the next simulation, he could give Kita a perfect life. There was no need to involve her in one destined for tragedy.
"Do you like me?"
"I do."
"Do you want to be with me?"
"I do."
Kita fell silent for a long time.
She gently pulled away from Toru's warm arms, and as she did, the blanket slipped to the ground.
The winter wind brushed her hair, adding a touch of disheveled beauty.
Kita looked straight into his eyes.
The moonlight was reflected in Toru's gaze.
Without a word, the girl leaned forward and kissed him softly.
Seconds passed. Under the moonlight, their silhouettes drew apart, then instinctively came together again.
Once.
Twice.
…
◇
[You are now in a relationship with Toru Kitahara.]
"What a difficult man to deal with."
Kita exited the simulation and lightly touched her lips. Her adorable face quickly flushed pink like cherry blossoms.
She hadn't planned to kiss him so suddenly.
But that stubborn Toru needed to be taught a proper lesson, or he would just keep teasing her.
"Starting tomorrow, I'll get closer to Kitahara-kun in real life."
Kita thought to herself, if the simulated Toru was that wonderful, then the real one must be too.
Even if they couldn't be lovers, being friends would still be nice.
[After becoming a couple, you two no longer held back your feelings, soon becoming inseparable. Yet sometimes, you caught a faint trace of sorrow in your boyfriend's eyes. It was as if he hadn't truly wanted to date you, but had given in because of your confession.]
[You suspected there was more to the story.]
[When you confessed, he had told you he only hoped you wouldn't regret it.]
[You couldn't understand what there was to regret. As a boyfriend, Toru was attentive and charming. Every moment spent with him felt dreamlike. So beautiful it bordered on unreal, fragile as glass.]
[In February, Toru began keeping a journal of your relationship. He recorded the events of your days together in concise, thoughtful words.]
[To him, every day you shared was a continuous series of miracles.]
The words were filled with sunlight and warmth, yet Kita felt a sorrow she couldn't explain.
She was now certain of it, Toru was hiding something from her.
[Perhaps it was love that changed him. His violin began to breathe with new life. Toru no longer felt like that untethered wind. You couldn't quite describe it, but one day during practice, as you looked out the window at the cherry tree sprouting fresh buds, you seemed to understand, Toru had become the spring breeze of April, free and gentle.]
[In March, the third round of the Fujiwa Competition did not halt your progress. Your piano developed a voice all its own, and Toru's violin performance drew cheers from the entire audience. You both advanced to the finals, and most of the judges secretly regarded you as the likely champions.]
[Everything seemed to be going perfectly.]
[With success in both love and music, you couldn't imagine how wonderful the future might be.]
[Perhaps you and Toru would build a happy home together, have two children, watch them grow, and stay together until your hair turned white... You believed it with all your heart.]
[But you were still young then, too young to realize that every gift from fate comes with a hidden price.]
"Hm?"
Ikuyo Kita hadn't even had time to enjoy the happiness before she reached the final entry.
She wasn't sure whether the simulator was just teasing her.
[Before the finals, during spring break at the end of March, you two went on another trip but this time, a pilgrimage to famous ramen shops.]
[During the trip, you noticed that Toru's appetite was small. He could barely finish half a bowl of ramen. He also rarely ate fruit or sweets.]
[By the end of the trip, you had gained three pounds, while he had lost five.]
A pang of worry struck Kita. She wondered if her boyfriend was doing it on purpose.
She sat up in bed and glanced outside the window.
Night had already fallen.
The simulation that had started that afternoon had gone on for several hours.
With the special events and the real-time immersion, she could hardly tell simulation from reality anymore.
[Time passed.]
[In the warm April sunlight, a new school term began.]
[The season of falling cherry blossoms.]
[Everything was beautiful…]
[You and your boyfriend were finally assigned to the same class. Hitori Gotoh was there too. When she saw how close you two were, she couldn't help but show a hint of sadness.]
I'm sorry, I'm really sorry!
Gotoh-san, I'll make it up to you in real life!
Please, don't look at me with those pitiful eyes…
[Mid-April.]
[The finals of the Fujiwa Music Competition finally arrived. Toru brought an original composition. Although the event didn't strictly forbid original pieces, performing one at such a major competition was a bold, even reckless choice.]
[Several judges sighed quietly, thinking the young prodigy too impatient, unwilling to settle down and mature.]
[Yet others believed that Toru was never meant to be a rigid performer. His music was like a bird in flight, too alive to be caged by rules.]
[But no matter what anyone thought...]
[Once Toru stepped onto the stage and drew the first note from his violin, all doubts fell silent. All praise fell silent as well. You sat behind him at the piano, accompanying him, watching his back. The same back you had once seen before.]
[In that music room, under the setting sun, the boy had seemed to unfurl golden wings from his shoulders, gazing far into the distance, his thoughts carried away.]
[The piece ended.]
[Inside the grand concert hall, not a sound was heard.]
[Only after a long silence did the judges offer their praise.]
[But Toru could not hear them. He collapsed on the stage.]
[Once again, he had fallen unconscious. This time, even more severely than before.]
[Your world turned gray in an instant…]
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