Every morning the same morning comes. So I will keep protecting the one who loves you most.
Haruto lives in an ordinary provincial city, enjoying a peaceful high school life. Clear skies, the same classroom, the unchanging smiles of friends. Every morning his little sister Hina jumps into his bed, his childhood friend Mao greets him with a smile, and his junior Hinata waits for him at the shoe lockers. Haruto has no idea why he's so popular. He just accepts the gentle days as they come.
Then a transfer student named Tsukasa appears. She's a tsundere—always putting up a tough front, ye
Every morning the same morning comes. So I will keep protecting the one who loves you most. - Rewinding Monday — The Eyes You Must Not See
"Big brother, it's morning! You're gonna be late again today!"
A heavy thud landed on his stomach, forcibly dragging Haruto's consciousness to the surface. He knew before he even opened his eyes. This was the daily ritual — his little sister's human cannonball.
"…Hinata, it's still early today, isn't it?"
Muttering in a sleep-slurred voice, Haruto cracked his eyes open. His entire field of vision was filled with his middle-school sister's smiling face. Hinata, her short black bob bouncing, was straddling his chest. Still in her pajamas, she had both hands planted on his shoulders, leaning forward like a puppy begging for food.
"It's not early! Look at the clock — it's 7:15! If you don't get up, the tamagoyaki's gonna get cold!"
Haruto reluctantly sat up. Hinata nimbly hopped off the edge of the bed. The air around her was always bright — like morning light itself. Haruto roughly pressed down his bedhead with one palm and blinked his dark brown eyes.
The morning in Tokiwa City was quiet. From outside the window came birdsong and the sense of the Kiri River flowing in the distance. This town sat in a basin surrounded by mountains, and the sky was wide. Ever since Haruto could remember, he had lived inside this scenery. A second-year at Tokiwa Prefectural High School — an ordinary high schooler you could find anywhere. That was who Haruto was.
He washed his face at the sink and changed into his uniform. He buttoned his white shirt up to the second button and tied his necktie loosely. The self reflected in the mirror had terrible bedhead, but was otherwise a normal high schooler. Average build, not in any sports club. If he had to name something — maybe the faint old scar on his left wrist.
Haruto stared at that scar for just a moment. A thin white line, like a cut from the corner of a student ID. He couldn't remember when it had appeared, no matter how hard he tried. Well, it wasn't a big deal. Haruto gave up on fixing his necktie and headed to the living room.
On the dining table, the breakfast Hinata had made was laid out. Tamagoyaki, miso soup, rice. Hinata was remarkably capable for a middle schooler, and every morning she prepared Haruto's portion too.
"I made the tamagoyaki a little sweeter today. You like sweet things, right, big brother?"
Hinata smiled brightly as she took off her apron. There was no guile in that smile, and Haruto always thought — why am I being woken up so carefully? He hadn't asked for it, and yet Hinata woke him every single morning. As if doing so were the most natural thing in the world.
"It's not like I can't get up without you waking me, you know."
"Liar! I know you hit snooze three times! If I weren't here, you'd be late every day!"
Haruto couldn't argue, so he put the tamagoyaki in his mouth. It was good. Hinata's tamagoyaki always had a stable flavor. Sweet, fluffy — eating it put him at ease.
After finishing breakfast, he headed to the entryway, and Hinata was already there waiting. Still wearing her backpack, she was lining up his shoes for him.
"…Big brother, be careful today too, okay?"
Her voice was different from its usual brightness — a quiet tone. Haruto looked up while tying his shoelaces. Hinata was smiling, but her eyes seemed, just slightly, to be holding something back.
"Yeah. You too, Hinata."
Haruto replied that way and left the house. Behind him came the sound of the front door locking. Hinata's quiet voice lingered in his ears, just a little.
The route to school ran along the embankment of the Kiri River. This river, flowing through the center of Tokiwa City, was woven into the town's life, and in the mornings it bustled with people walking their dogs and jogging. Haruto walked slowly, bathed in the morning sun reflected off the water's surface.
Partway along the embankment, beneath a cherry tree, stood a girl with long black hair. She had gathered her glossy black hair — reaching to her waist — into a single tie, and was gazing at Haruto with soft brown eyes. Wearing the Tokiwa High uniform, her white socks floated in the morning light.
"You're late, Haruto. You got Hinata-chan to wake you again, didn't you?"
It was his childhood friend, Mao. She laughed and fell into step beside him. The height difference was about ten centimeters. Mao had to look up slightly. That sense of distance had never changed since they were little.
"It's not like I got her to wake me."
"Liar. There's no way you can get up on your own, Haruto. Ever since elementary school, I was the one who came to pick you up."
Mao said that and gave his arm a light poke. Her laughter was pleasant to the ear, like the murmur of the river.
The two walked side by side along the embankment. Haruto glanced at Mao's profile. Since long ago, it had been natural for Mao to be at Haruto's side. Their houses were close, and they'd walked this embankment together since kindergarten. Even when Haruto fell and cried, Mao had taken his hand.
"By the way, you almost drowned in this river once when you were little, didn't you, Haruto?"
Mao suddenly brought that up. Haruto tilted his head.
"…Did that happen?"
He searched his memory, but nothing came up. Almost drowned in the Kiri River? Him? Haruto furrowed his brow.
"You don't remember? I saved you back then!"
Mao puffed out her cheeks in a pout. That expression was exactly the same as when she was little, and Haruto couldn't help but laugh.
"Sorry, I really don't remember."
"Geez… my brave act has been erased from existence."
Mao heaved an exaggerated sigh. But her eyes were smiling. Unaware of the weight of Mao's words, Haruto kept walking as always.
When he arrived at school, a small figure was bouncing up and down in front of the shoe lockers. A bright chestnut short bob swayed with the movement. Round, large black eyes spotted Haruto and sparkled.
"Senpai! Good morning!"
His kouhai Hinata came running over with a beaming smile. She was a year below him, and every morning she lay in wait at the shoe lockers like this. At 152 centimeters she was petite, and the way she looked up at Haruto was like a small animal.
"Morning, Hinata. You're energetic today too."
"Yes! Just getting to see you, senpai, makes me able to do my best all day!"
Hinata declared it with straightforward eyes. A kouhai with no guile — like the sun. More than embarrassment, Haruto found her innocent manner adorable, and naturally smiled.
Hinata opened his shoe locker without permission and took out his indoor shoes.
"Here, senpai! Go ahead!"
"No, you don't have to go that far."
"It's fine! I'm doing it because I want to!"
Hinata held out his indoor shoes with both hands, smiling. At that innocence, Haruto accepted them with a wry smile.
Just then, Hinata's gaze drifted toward the school gate. Her expression clouded for just an instant. When Haruto turned around, an unfamiliar female student was standing there.
A bright brown side ponytail. The ends flipped up slightly, and she unconsciously brushed away her bangs as they threatened to fall over her eyes. Her amber eyes, catching the morning light, were translucent like honey. Wrapping her petite body in the uniform, she stared fixedly this way.
Haruto noticed her gaze. He noticed — but he couldn't tell what those eyes were saying. She immediately looked away and walked toward the school building.
Hinata was unconsciously gripping Haruto's sleeve.
"…Senpai, that person is a transfer student, right?"
"Yeah, I think she's the girl who came to Class 2."
Hinata looked like she wanted to say something, but in the end said nothing and put on a smile.
Room 203. In the classroom of Class 2-C, Haruto's class, several students were already there. When Haruto took his seat, Mao in the desk beside him gave a small wave.
The corner of the classroom, the very back seat by the window. There sat the transfer student from earlier. She had her chin in her hand, gazing out the window. Her side ponytail swayed gently in the wind.
When Haruto casually turned toward her, she was looking at him too. Their eyes met. Her amber eyes captured Haruto.
Those eyes wavered for just a moment, as if about to cry.
Haruto's heart jumped. They were eyes that seemed to want to say something, that seemed desperately to be holding something back. But she immediately averted her gaze out the window and brushed her bangs aside as if nothing had happened.
It was his imagination. Haruto decided to think so. He'd just made eye contact with a transfer student. Nothing more, nothing less.
Lunch break. As Haruto spread out his bento on his desk, a shadow suddenly fell over him. When he looked up, the transfer student was standing there. Seen up close, she really was petite. More than fifteen centimeters shorter than Haruto. She had her arms crossed, wearing a slightly displeased expression.
"Have you lived in this town your whole life?"
At the abrupt question, Haruto stopped his chopsticks. Her voice was lower than he'd expected, and a little hoarse.
"Yeah, since I was born."
When Haruto answered that, she lowered her eyes for just a moment. Her long lashes cast shadows on her white cheeks.
"…I see. That's nice."
She murmured quietly and smiled. It was a smile that seemed to be putting up a brave front, yet somehow lonely. Seeing that smile, Haruto felt something stir deep in his chest. He didn't know why. He didn't know why, but it was a strange sensation — like he wanted to keep looking at that smile forever, yet like he was looking at something he shouldn't.
"Um, you're… Tsukasa-san, right?"
"You don't have to use '-san.' Tsukasa is fine."
Saying that, Tsukasa spun around and returned to her own seat. Haruto gazed at her retreating figure, forgetting even to eat his bento.
After school. Haruto headed with Mao to the Literature Club room at the east end of the third floor. The room had three old bookshelves and four desks. The setting sun poured in through the window, dyeing the whole room orange.
Mao faced her desk, writing a novel in a notebook. The stories she wrote were always gentle and delicate. Beside her, Haruto pretended to write a short piece for the club journal while gazing out the window.
"Haruto, this club room always smells the same, somehow. Old books, and the sunset coming through the window. It feels like it never changes."
Mao murmured softly. Haruto brought his gaze back from the window.
"Because it's the same every day, maybe that's what makes it reassuring?"
"Yeah. When you're here, Haruto, I feel at ease."
Mao looked up and smiled softly. Her black hair, lit by the sunset, looked tinged with blue. Haruto accepted that smile, as always.
After returning home, he was about to take off his uniform in his room. Haruto stood before the mirror and happened to look at his left wrist. The faint scar. An old, white line.
A mark like a cut from the corner of a student ID. But he had no memory at all of when or how it had happened. Haruto tilted his head. Had he cut himself again without noticing? It wasn't a big deal. Thinking that, he stepped away from the mirror.
Around the same time, on the school rooftop, Tsukasa was alone, gazing at the sunset through the fence. The wind swayed her side ponytail. Her amber eyes reflected the sinking sun, wavering unsteadily.
In Tsukasa's hand was an old notebook. The cover was worn, and the pages showed signs of having been turned over countless times. She opened it. In it, records of the same week were written over and over, dozens of times.
The last page. In trembling handwriting, it was written:
Mao — vanished.
Hinata — vanished.
Haruto — none.
Tsukasa gripped the notebook. Her fingertips went white. Biting her lip, she murmured softly.
"…Monday again."
That voice reached no one. The sun sank, and the sky dyed indigo. Tsukasa closed her eyes. Tomorrow, she would have to live the same day over again. That quiet despair, and the prayer that she at least want
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