Sena, Another Sky: On the Road You Didn't Take - I've been waiting for those words.
The silence of the waiting room felt strangely heavy.
Haruto sat slumped on the sofa, unable to move. Sena, who had been here just moments ago, had returned to Studio C for her shoot.
"You look terrible, you know."
Before he knew it, a white ball of fluff was perched on Haruto's lap. Round black eyes gazed up at him with concern.
"I'm fine..."
He started to say it, then stopped.
There was no way he was fine.
Two worlds overlapped in his vision. The world with Sena, and the world where Ren said he would protect him. And he had to choose one. The one he didn't choose would vanish.
*(There's no way I can choose something like that.)*
His mind was a complete mess.
"That photo, do you remember? The one from Minatozaka Shrine."
Kapimaru tapped Haruto's smartphone with a tiny paw.
"The one that was all distorted?"
"Yeah. It's proof that the boundary between world lines is getting thinner and thinner. The more you waver, the closer the two worlds get, and they're trying to collide."
"...So you're telling me not to waver."
"That's not it. I'm just telling you the facts. Choosing is up to you."
The fluffy body hopped lightly off Haruto's lap.
"I forgot to mention."
When Kapimaru looked back, his eyes seemed just a little more serious than usual.
"When the boundary gets thin, the singularity becomes more and more unstable. Your emotions will start shaking the world directly."
With that, Kapimaru faded away as if dissolving into the air.
Haruto picked up his phone. The photo from Minatozaka Shrine. The stone steps twisted in an impossible direction. Beyond the torii gate, a black shadow.
"...Unstable, huh."
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The next day.
Third floor of the photography studio "Hakosta," Studio C.
Filming for the movie version of *Aoharu Refrain* was reaching its climax. Today's scene was on the rooftop set. A scene where the protagonist, played by Haruto, confesses his feelings to his best friend.
"Ready, action!"
The assistant director's voice rang out.
Haruto took a deep breath. In front of him stood the actor playing his best friend.
"Hey, so, I..."
The lines wouldn't come.
Noise raced through his head.
—A classroom scene.
—Ren's face.
—A voice saying, "I've been waiting."
"...Haruto?"
His co-star called out to him, sounding worried.
"Cut! Shirosaki, what's wrong?"
The director's yell snapped Haruto back to reality.
"S-sorry! One more time!"
"...No, let's take a short break. You look pale."
The director sighed and gave the staff instructions for a break.
Haruto hung his head.
*(This is bad. I can't focus.)*
His chest felt restless. It had been like this since yesterday. Whenever the camera rolled, memories from the "if" world inevitably flickered. Ren's face, his voice—he couldn't get them out of his head.
"If you're not feeling well, don't push yourself."
Suddenly, a voice came from behind him.
He turned around to find Kurose Ren standing there.
Short black hair. Sharp, indigo eyes. As usual, his expression didn't change much. But his voice carried just a hint of concern.
"Ren... you don't have a shoot today..."
"I was just passing by."
Ren said that and lined up next to Haruto. Because of his tall frame, Haruto had to look up at him slightly. Left-handed Ren was unconsciously rubbing his right knee with his right hand.
The place he'd injured back in middle school.
"You've been weird lately. You never used to mess up like that."
"...I know."
Haruto gave a wry smile. His double tooth peeked out a little.
Ren watched Haruto in silence for a moment. Then, he abruptly held out the paper bag he was carrying.
"You haven't had lunch yet, right. Eat this at least."
Inside the paper bag were several sweet buns from the convenience store "Poplar-to." A melon bread, a cream bun, a yakisoba bread.
"What's all this, you bought a ton! I can't eat all this!"
"Pick the ones you like. I'll eat the rest."
Ren said it bluntly. But the tips of his ears were just slightly red.
Haruto couldn't help but laugh. This side of him was exactly like the Ren in his "if" memories. Awkward, but kinder than anyone.
"Thanks. I'll take you up on that, then."
He picked up the cream bun.
Once Ren confirmed Haruto had started eating, his mouth relaxed just a little.
"...A long time ago, you helped me out."
Ren murmured quietly.
"Huh?"
"...Never mind. It's nothing."
Ren started to say something, then closed his mouth. He pressed his lips together tightly, as if swallowing something. Then,
"I need to talk to you. Do you have time after the shoot today?"
"Yeah, I do..."
"Then I'll be waiting at the park with the cherry blossom trees."
With that, Ren walked briskly out of the studio.
Haruto watched Ren's back as he bit into the cream bun.
*(I wonder what he wants to talk about.)*
His chest felt slightly restless again.
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The shoot ended just past four in the evening.
Haruto changed quickly and headed for the "Cherry Blossom Park," a fifteen-minute walk from Hakosta. It was a small, cozy park at the edge of the Minato Ward district.
Cherry blossom season was long over, and the trees were lush with green leaves.
Ren was sitting on a park bench.
His deep indigo eyes were gazing at the distant sky. The wind blew, swaying his black bangs. The silver-dyed tips caught the sunlight and gleamed.
"Did I keep you waiting?"
"No."
Haruto sat down next to Ren. The bench was a little cold.
Silence fell between them.
The only sound was the wind rustling the cherry blossom leaves.
"You know I quit karate back in middle school, right."
Suddenly, Ren spoke.
"...Yeah."
He knew.
Summer of their second year of middle school. Ren tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during practice. Six months for a full recovery. Ren, who had been the ace of the karate club, vanished from the dojo after that.
"Back then, there was someone who passed by my house every day."
Ren continued, still looking into the distance.
"He'd stop in front of my house for about five minutes, then leave without doing anything. That went on for about a week."
Haruto's chest tightened painfully.
"...That was."
"It was you, Haruto."
For the first time, Ren looked Haruto in the eye.
His indigo eyes took on a purplish hue in the evening sun.
"You came all the way to my house, but you never called out to me. ...Why?"
Ren's voice sounded accusatory, yet somehow lonely.
Haruto was at a loss for words.
Why—.
He knew.
Because he was scared.
He didn't know what to say to Ren, who was depressed from his injury. He couldn't casually ask, "Are you okay?" Saying "Hang in there" would have been even worse. He just felt pathetic for being unable to do anything, so he always ran away.
"I, back then—"
The moment he started to speak.
*Thud.*
Something flooded into his head.
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—Images.
The place was an old karate dojo. Cracks ran through the walls, and a single bare lightbulb hung from the ceiling.
There, he saw Ren in his second year of middle school.
A bandage wrapped around his right knee, he sat hugging his knees in the corner of the dojo. His eyes were vacant, seeing nothing.
"...It's no use. I can't do karate anymore."
His voice trembled.
That's when it happened.
*Clatter, clatter, clatter!*
The dojo door burst open with force.
"Ren!"
Standing there was Haruto himself.
A middle school Haruto with slightly brownish hair and bedhead stood there, breathing heavily over his shoulders.
"...Haruto? Why—"
"Of course I'd come! You weren't coming to the dojo, so I came to you!"
Haruto strode boldly into the dojo and grabbed Ren's arm.
"Get up! Ren!"
"Stop it! My leg is—"
"It's just not healed yet! You're giving up way too soon!"
"You don't know anything!"
Ren raised his voice for the first time. Tears welled up in his eyes.
"What could you possibly understand about me! Karate was everything to me! And now I can't do it—"
"I do understand!"
Haruto shouted.
"I know how much you put into karate! I saw you staying late at the dojo practicing every day! I know you worked harder than anyone! So—"
Haruto grabbed Ren's shoulders with both hands.
"It's gonna be okay! You can do it! I'll be watching you the whole time! I'll come every day! So don't give up!"
Ren stared up at Haruto, dumbfounded.
A single tear traced down his cheek.
"...Every day?"
"Every day! I promise!"
Haruto looked straight into Ren's eyes.
Those eyes were so earnest, so stupidly passionate, that Ren couldn't help but let out a small laugh.
"...Alright. If you're going to go that far."
————
The image switched.
The next day. And the day after that.
Haruto really did go to Ren's house every single day.
He'd drag him to the dojo, look at his bandaged leg, and keep shouting that it would be okay. At first, Ren seemed annoyed. But gradually, the time he spent standing in the dojo grew longer, and then—.
"Look, Haruto!"
The tournament finals.
Ren defeated his opponent, and the referee declared his victory.
It was his first championship.
Ren ran straight over to Haruto, who was outside the court, and hugged him.
"Thank you... thank you, Haruto!"
Ren laughed, his face a mess of tears and sweat.
Haruto laughed too and slapped Ren on the back.
"See, I told you! It's gonna be okay!"
And then—
The moment something crystallized clearly deep within Ren's heart.
*(No matter what happens, I will protect this guy.)*
It was trust, friendship, and then—love.
From that day on, the way Ren looked at Haruto held just a little more warmth.
———
The images cut off.
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"...Haruto?"
When he came to, Haruto was crying.
On the bench in the Cherry Blossom Park, Haruto sat alone, trembling.
"Sorry, Ren... I'm sorry..."
He couldn't get his voice out properly.
*(In the "if" world, I was by Ren's side.)*
*(But in the main timeline, I was scared and ran away.)*
Even though he was the same person, it was completely different.
The version of himself in the "if" world was so much more straightforward, so much stronger.
He couldn't believe that person was the same human being as who he was now.
"...The you right now."
Ren quietly opened his mouth.
"Isn't the Shirosaki Haruto I know."
"Huh—"
Haruto looked up.
Ren's indigo eyes pierced straight through him. They weren't cold. If anything, they held a mix of worry and a little loneliness.
"The Shirosaki Haruto I know is the idiot who stopped in front of my house back then but still couldn't call out to me. But I also know you were struggling with it the whole time. You came. Even if you couldn't speak up, you made it to that place. In your own way, you did your best."
"Ren..."
"The you right now is being crushed by something and losing sight of yourself. ...I can tell."
Ren stood up.
"We're going back to the shoot. The director's a pain."
"Wait! What's that supposed to mean—"
"It means exactly what I said."
Ren started walking without looking back.
Haruto stood up too and followed his back.
The two of them walked along Marina Street.
The sun setting over Tokyo Bay dyed the sea a deep crimson.
The sound of waves could be heard in the distance, the scent of the tide mixing with the wind.
"...The Shirosaki Haruto I know."
Ren, walking ahead, murmured quietly.
"Is an idiot who can't leave someone alone when they're down. Without thinking at all about how he might look, he just shouts out, 'It's gonna be okay!' That's the you I know."
"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"
"I don't know."
Ren glanced back slightly. The corners of his mouth relaxed just a tiny bit.
In that instant—
*Warp.*
The world distorted.
"...Huh."
Next to Ren stood another Ren.
The same face. The same black hair. The same indigo eyes.
But slightly different.
The other Ren looked straight at him and said in a clear voice,
"I'll protect you, even if it kills me."
It was the Ren from the "if" world.
His eyes were filled to overflowing with the passionate feelings that the main timeline Ren kept hidden
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