Morning light filtered thinly into the six-mat room. Takemichi sat on his futon, staring at the drawer. The notebook was there. But this morning, he still hadn't opened it. When he'd returned from Kitahara Psychosomatic Medicine last night, Takemichi had collapsed onto his futon and fallen asleep immediately. He hadn't dreamed. For the first time in a long while, he hadn't dreamed. He reached for the drawer. The name Minakami Souta wasn't what frightened him. He knew he could see it—knew that much now. So this morning, he didn't need to open it yet. Takemichi closed the drawer instead. He was able to close it. Just that small act felt different from last night. He picked up his smartphone. He opened his contacts for Yuu. He typed out a short message. *Come to the rooftop this evening.* After sending it, he stared at the screen. Facing Yuu before Hinata—that was the order Takemichi had decided on. He understood that standing before Hinata without first acknowledging to himself, in his own words, how he'd used Yuu as a vessel wouldn't be honest. He'd been thinking about it the entire way to the psychosomatic clinic last night. The reply came a few minutes later. *Understood.* That was all. Takemichi looked at his left wrist. He rolled up his shirt sleeve and examined the burn scar. An old wound, rough to the touch. He felt no urge to hide it. He left his sleeve as it was and stood up. ────── That evening, climbing the stairs to the fourth floor of Kaminari High School, Takemichi listened to the sound of his own footsteps. He turned at the landing. The broken padlock hung there as always. He pushed with his shoulder, and the heavy iron door swung open. The May dusk spread across the rooftop. The edge of the sky was beginning to stain orange. The elevated JR Kaminari Line visible from the north fence caught the slanting light and gleamed dully. The rooftops of the Komatsuhara residential district stretched into the distance. Takemichi stood before the north fence. Behind him, the iron door opened. It was Yuu. Her lustrous silver hair swayed in the evening breeze. Her golden eyes looked at Takemichi. The silver ring on her left ear caught the light. She came to stand beside him, positioning herself before the fence. She said nothing. Takemichi said nothing either. The 6 p.m. train arrived. The roar of the JR Kaminari Line transmitted from the elevated track to the rooftop. The air trembled. Takemichi's back stiffened for just a moment. But he didn't run. The edge of a flashback came—an image of his comrades falling appeared for just an instant at the periphery of his vision. Takemichi received it with his eyes open. He didn't run. He took in all the trembling, stood still, and waited. The sound of the train faded into the distance. Yuu watched his stillness. Takemichi kept facing forward and opened his mouth. "[serious]It's called time leap. It was an ability I had." Yuu didn't move. "[serious]I could jump to the past. My consciousness alone would return to my body, and I could change history. I repeated that dozens of times." His voice was hoarse. But he continued. "[sad]Every time I changed something, someone else died. I'd change it again, and someone else would die. I remember all their faces. Their names too. I remember everything." Yuu didn't turn the page. She simply listened, facing forward. "[sad]The ability disappeared. When the final conflict ended, it was gone. Only the memories remained. Memories from dozens of timelines, all crammed into my head." His voice shook. Still, he continued. "[crying]I could only take off my mask in front of you. Not because you saw through my pain. I was using you—as a place to deposit my suffering." The moment he spoke the words, pain shot through his throat. He hadn't realized it would hurt this much. "[crying]I'm sorry. I've been doing that the whole time." Tears came. They wouldn't stop. Takemichi tried to wipe his face with his sleeve, then stopped. His left wrist with its burn scar was exposed to the sunset. He didn't hide it. Tears traced down Yuu's cheeks. A long silence stretched. Thin clouds extended across the rooftops of the residential district. Somewhere in the distance, voices called out to one another. Then Yuu turned to face Takemichi. The expression on Yuu's face tonight was one he'd never seen before. Not the face that had questioned him sharply on the rooftop, not the face that had quietly placed her hand on his in the used bookstore, not the face that had shed a single tear and walked away. It was the face of someone who had finally set down something heavy. Yuu smiled gently. Her golden eyes narrowed. Takemichi knew that smile was real. Yuu's hand gripped his right hand once. Her fingers were cold. Her grip wasn't strong. But she held it. Certainly. Then she let go quietly. "[gentle]Go on. There's someone waiting for you." It wasn't a rejection. Takemichi understood that Yuu had let go of her own will. Not because someone told her to. She had chosen it herself and let go. Takemichi nodded. No words came. He ran toward the iron door. ────── The moment Takemichi burst through the gates of Kaminari High School, the sunset hit his face directly. He ran. The stone pavement of Komatsuhara Central Street Shopping District flowed beneath his soles. He passed in front of Yamakita Bento. The banner swayed in the wind. The smell of meat grazed his nose. Tears came as he ran. A different kind of tears than on the rooftop. There was a sensation of something coming undone. What had been bound was slowly, gradually loosening. He passed in front of Cafe Harunoki. The four window seats came into view. Master Zenzo was polishing something in the back. The place where Takemichi and Hinata often came. His feet almost stopped, but they didn't. There was no reason to stop. He didn't need to stop anymore. He turned onto the path to Hibari Park. The park appeared between the trees. The streetlights weren't on yet. The orange of the sunset fell on the ground. Two swings swayed slowly despite the absence of wind. A bench came into view. That bench. The one where the two of them had sat side by side. Hinata was sitting there. With the sunset at her back, her hands resting on her knees, she sat alone. Her black, lustrous long hair spread across her back. Her aquamarine eyes lifted at the sound of Takemichi's running footsteps. Hinata's body went rigid. There was anger in her eyes. There was sadness. But beneath it all, the largest thing present was fear. The fear of being offered another false smile. The fear of being told "It's okay" again. Takemichi didn't slow down. He stopped before Hinata. He said nothing. Before words could come, he spread both arms and pulled her into an embrace. Hinata's body went stone-hard for just an instant. But Takemichi's arms didn't release her. His body heat transferred to hers. The sound of his heartbeat reached her ears. "[crying]I'm sorry. I finally came home." Just one sentence. Hinata's body began to tremble. A sound came from deep in her throat—a torrent of sobs. For a year and a half, she had accepted his false smiles, tried to stay beside him anyway, screamed on the rooftop, watched through glass, and sat alone on this bench. All of it came pouring out at once. Hinata's arms wrapped around Takemichi's back. She pulled him close. Her fingers gripped his back. It was the grip of someone who wouldn't let go. Takemichi's left wrist with its burn scar touched Hinata's back. He didn't hide it. The sunset fell over Hibari Park. The swings swayed slowly. ────── Yuu remained alone on the rooftop. After Takemichi left, Yuu rested her hand on the fence and looked out at the northern view. The JR Kaminari Line elevated track and the residential rooftops. The view Takemichi had gazed at alone every day. Tonight, for the first time, Yuu saw that landscape with her own eyes. The sunset was staining the school building red. Behind her, the iron door opened. Yuu didn't turn around. She could tell from the footsteps. Heavy, large footsteps. They approached slowly and stopped a short distance from her. It was Riku. Black hair cut short with a single streak of red mesh. Cold crimson eyes looked at Yuu's profile. A frame of 182 centimeters stood on the twilight rooftop. The scar on his left eyebrow caught the orange light. Riku knew Yuu would be alone on the rooftop. He was that kind of man. Riku looked at Yuu's face. Words wouldn't come. The face he'd seen at the school gates—the frightened face of a girl painted over with self-denial—was different tonight. Something had changed decisively. The girl who had been breaking apart was standing on her own two feet. There were traces of tears, yet her face was clear. Riku's knees gave way. He sat down on the concrete. He leaned his back against the iron door. His 182-centimeter frame shrank like a child's. From Riku's mouth came a name for the first time. "[sad]Takao..." His voice was hoarse. "[sad]I... could never tell Yuu about you." It broke off. Time passed before the rest came. Higurashi Squad—the delinquent gang Riku had belonged to during the Tokyo Manji Gang's final conflict. About thirty members based in eastern Tokyo, fighting continuously. Takao had been among them. He'd been beside Riku. He'd fought to the end and died. "[crying]I couldn't protect him. So I..." His voice shook and stopped. He'd been trying to fill the guilt of losing Takao by protecting Yuu. The true reason he'd kept his sister bound in overprotection was finally put into words tonight. Riku's shoulders trembled as if collapsing. Yuu slowly crouched before her brother. She cradled his head in both hands. "[gentle]I knew." She whispered it. Riku's body went rigid for just a moment. "[gentle]I understood a long time ago." Yuu had simply waited for the day Riku could say it himself. She had never blamed him. Never asked. She had waited for that day to come. Riku's shoulders shook in small tremors. He was crying without sound. Above their silence, the final JR Kaminari Line train of the day ran past. The roar came, passed through, and faded. The quiet that followed remained on the rooftop. ────── On the bench in Hibari Park, Takemichi and Hinata still hadn't moved. With no sign of Hinata's tears stopping, Takemichi held her in silence. He didn't try to say anything. He understood that staying like this was more right than words. Hinata kept her face buried in Takemichi's back, holding all her jealousy, possessiveness, and anger, yet refusing to let go. Takemichi received it. He didn't run. Takemichi's left wrist with its burn scar was illuminated by the sunset. Not hiding it. That was Takemichi's answer for tonight. Gradually, Hinata's breathing began to calm. The trembling subsided. Hinata lifted her face from Takemichi's arms. Her eyes were red. Traces of tears remained. Her aquamarine eyes looked at Takemichi's face. Takemichi met her gaze directly. It wasn't a false smile. There was nowhere he was running to. It was a tired face. But it was a face that was here, now. Hinata received that face. With tears still in her eyes, Hinata smiled. Night had come to the park. One streetlight, then another, began to glow. A soft circle of light formed around the bench. Beyond the distant JR Kaminari Line elevated track, the silhouette of Kaminari High School's building was visible. The rooftop was there. In Takemichi's room, the notebook remained in the drawer. Minakami Souta's name wouldn't disappear. Takemichi knew that not forgetting was the only way to honor the dead. Living on with memories that wouldn't fade—that was the answer Takemichi had found tonight. Not everything was resolved. The notebook was still there. Memories from multiple timelines would still be in his head tomorrow. His next appointment with the counselor from the Kaisei system was the day after tom