The story takes place at a boarding school where four students—Kanato Fuura, Hibari Watari, Akira Shikinagi, and Seraph Dazzlegarden—formed VOLTACTION, a popular VTuber unit under NIJISANJI that uses special skills to bring happiness to everyday people.
The protagonist, however, is not one of them. Sumire Takanashi, a quiet first-year high school student who tends an old greenhouse behind the school, is secretly in love with Kanato. She can never bring herself to speak to him. Her days are spen
The Unseen Heart Behind the Stage - Thursday of Ruin, Crimson-Black Petals
Morning homeroom ended, and the classroom grew a little noisier.
From my seat, I found myself staring at the empty desk diagonally in front of me. Shiina Tsugumi's seat. She hadn't been there since Monday morning. A single pink mechanical pencil lay abandoned on the desk. That alone was proof that Tsugumi had, without a doubt, been here.
(*Tsugumi*)
A dull ache throbbed deep in my chest. I remembered the message she'd sent me last night.
*"Sorry, just wait a little longer. I'll make sure Sumire's love comes true."*
I still couldn't understand what those words meant. But there was one thing I did know. Tsugumi was trying to do something for the sake of my love. And whatever it was, it surely wasn't anything ordinary.
(*It's my fault.*)
That thought pressed down heavily at the back of my throat.
The classroom atmosphere was the same as always. Someone was laughing, someone else was talking about homework. No one seemed to care that Tsugumi wasn't there. The teacher had said, "Shiina is absent due to illness," so everyone simply accepted it.
But I knew. Tsugumi didn't have a cold.
Under my desk, I gripped my phone. I opened my chat with Tsugumi. The last message still hadn't been read.
(*I have to find out.*)
Somewhere in my heart, a small voice spoke.
(*I have to find out where Tsugumi went.*)
I stood up.
It was the short break before first period. The hallway was crowded with students changing classrooms. I walked along the wall, heading toward the school store "Canaria" at the east end of the main building's first floor.
The school store wasn't as busy as it got during lunch, but there were still a fair number of students buying bread and drinks in the morning. The woman at the register, Miyamae-san, was a kind-looking woman in her fifties, famous for remembering every student's face and name.
From behind a shelf, I watched her. Right now, there were no other students at the register.
(*Now.*)
I took a deep breath and stood in front of the counter.
"Um... Miyamae-san?"
My voice was too quiet. Miyamae-san was organizing something below the register and didn't notice me.
"Um, excuse me."
I called out again, a little louder this time.
Miyamae-san looked up.
"Oh, Takanashi-san. Good morning. What can I get for you today?"
Miyamae-san smiled warmly. I shook my head.
"Um, it's not about buying anything... I wanted to ask you something."
"What is it?"
Miyamae-san placed both hands on the counter and leaned in toward me.
I felt my throat going dry as I forced the words out.
"It's about Shiina Tsugumi... did you happen to see her Monday morning?"
Miyamae-san's smile clouded slightly.
"Shiina-san... ah, that cheerful girl. I haven't seen her lately. Has she fallen ill?"
"That's... what I don't know. I can't reach her either."
My voice nearly faded to nothing by the end.
Miyamae-san placed a hand on her chin, thinking.
"Monday morning, hmm..."
Then her expression suddenly shifted.
"Oh, now that you mention it."
She lowered her voice.
"Monday morning, before dawn. I come in early for the store's stock deliveries. And I saw a girl walking alone from the direction of the girls' dormitory."
My heart lurched.
"That was..."
"It was Shiina-san. She has that chestnut-colored hair, right? It's rare to see a student walking outside at that hour, so I remember it clearly."
"Which way was she heading?"
My voice trembled.
Miyamae-san tilted her head slightly.
"Well, she was walking toward the back garden. There's nothing over there but the greenhouse... maybe she went to look at some unusual flower?"
I felt the blood drain from my entire body.
My fingertips went cold. The feeling left my legs.
(*The greenhouse.*)
(*Tsugumi went to that flower.*)
"...Thank you very much."
With just those words, I fled from the school store.
I walked quickly down the hallway. No — I was nearly running. Students around me stared in surprise. But I couldn't bring myself to care.
(*Tsugumi met that flower.*)
(*And then she disappeared.*)
(*It's my fault.*)
(*Because I fell in love with Kanato-kun.*)
(*Because I touched that flower.*)
Even after returning to the classroom, none of the lesson content entered my head.
The teacher's voice echoed from far away. The characters written on the blackboard looked like meaningless symbols.
(*Tsugumi, where are you?*)
(*Are you safe?*)
(*Please, answer me.*)
Under my desk, I checked my phone again and again. But the screen never changed. The only message from Tsugumi was still that single one.
I couldn't breathe properly. My chest felt constricted, and I couldn't get enough air.
(*When lunch break comes, I'll go to the greenhouse.*)
That's what I decided.
The lunch bell rang.
I left the classroom immediately, avoiding anyone who might call out to me, and headed for the back garden. From behind the main building, I entered the path through the wooded grove. Sawtooth oaks and konara oaks grew thick on both sides, leaving the path dim even at midday. The air smelled of earth and damp fallen leaves.
(*Did Tsugumi walk this same path?*)
The thought made my legs tremble.
Past the grove, the old greenhouse came into view. A structure of steel and glass, over a hundred years old. Victorian style, apparently. Several panes were broken, and it leaked on rainy days.
I took the old brass key from my pocket. The key that only I, as the greenhouse's caretaker, possessed.
With shaking hands, I slid it into the keyhole.
*Click.*
I opened the door.
A thick smell of soil and greenery hit my nose.
Inside the greenhouse, it was slightly warmer than outside. Light filtered through the glass, floating hazily in the dusty air.
Section one: seasonal flowers. Section two: herbs.
And section three.
Soil where nothing should have been planted.
There, that flower was blooming.
I stood before section three.
And then I saw it.
A yellow ribbon, lying on the floor.
"...Huh?"
The sound escaped my lips.
I crouched down and picked it up.
A yellow ribbon. The one Tsugumi had worn in her hair every day since the entrance ceremony. The one she always used to tie up her ponytail.
In my hand, it smelled of cold earth.
"Tsugumi..."
My voice shook.
Right beside it.
A single petal from that flower had fallen to the ground.
It was discolored, dark red, rotting.
I held my breath.
(*Tsugumi came here.*)
(*She touched that flower.*)
(*And then she disappeared.*)
I was certain. There was no room for doubt anymore.
"Tsugumi... where are you..."
My voice echoed through the greenhouse.
"Please... answer me..."
Tears spilled over. They wouldn't stop.
I clutched the yellow ribbon to my chest and collapsed to the ground.
"Tsugumi... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
I cried, stifling my voice so no one would hear. But the tears alone wouldn't stop.
They fell onto the soil, making small dark stains.
The stem of that flower swayed faintly, though there was no wind.
"Tsugumi, where are you?"
I repeated it over and over.
But the question simply vanished through the broken glass of the greenhouse, into the sky where rain clouds were spreading.
Afternoon classroom.
The air had changed.
At first I thought I was imagining it. But I wasn't.
In the gaps between the sounds of textbooks opening, I could hear it.
"Hey, I heard Shiina disappearing is her fault."
"Wait, seriously?"
"Apparently she's been doing something weird in the greenhouse."
"Creepy..."
Whispered voices — but clear enough to hear.
I gripped my textbook. My fingertips went white.
(*That's wrong.*)
(*It is my fault, but that's wrong.*)
(*Tsugumi did it for my love.*)
But there was no way I could say that.
Break time came.
I stayed in my seat, staring at my desk.
My classmates gathered in groups. They chatted happily. But around me alone, there was a hollow space, as if a hole had opened up, and no one was there.
When our eyes met, they awkwardly looked away.
When I tried to speak, the topic changed.
It wasn't blatant bullying. No violence. No direct insults.
It was just that no one talked to me.
It was just that everyone avoided looking at me.
(*I want to disappear.*)
From deep in my heart, a dark feeling welled up.
(*If I didn't exist, Tsugumi wouldn't have disappeared.*)
(*If I didn't exist, I wouldn't be a burden to everyone.*)
(*Everyone would be better off without me.*)
I hung my head over my desk and clenched my fists.
In my pocket was the yellow ribbon. Tsugumi's ribbon. I held it gently.
(*Tsugumi.*)
(*What should I do?*)
No answer came.
After school.
I left the classroom alone, trying not to be seen by anyone.
I thought I heard whispering behind me. I turned around.
But no one was looking at me.
(*It's my imagination.*)
(*It's just my imagination, right?*)
I tried to believe that. But somewhere in my heart, I knew.
It wasn't my imagination.
Everyone was avoiding me.
It felt like an illusion — as if my existence was being erased from the classroom.
I bit my lip. I tasted iron.
When I stepped out of the main building, the sky was heavy with clouds. It looked like it could start raining at any moment.
I walked through the wooded path and headed for the greenhouse.
(*I don't want anyone to see me.*)
(*I want to be alone.*)
(*There's something I want to ask that flower.*)
I opened the greenhouse door.
Inside, it was dim. The overcast sky's light filtered weakly through the glass.
Section three.
That flower was glowing faintly.
Even though it wasn't bathed in moonlight.
As if it had been waiting for me.
*—You came.*
A voice echoed in my head.
The flower's voice.
*—This is about your friend, isn't it.*
I stood before the flower. My legs were shaking.
"...Give Tsugumi back."
My voice trembled.
*—You want her back, do you.*
The flower seemed to be smiling.
*—Then let's make a deal.*
"A deal..."
*—I will grant your love.*
*—In exchange, you will give me every memory of being loved by someone.*
My body froze.
(*Memories of being loved by someone.*)
Tsugumi's smiling face rose in my mind.
"...No."
I shook my head.
"I can't do that."
*—You can't, can you.*
The flower slowly swayed its leaves.
*—If you offer up the memories of being loved, that girl might return, you know.*
My breath stopped.
(*Tsugumi will come back.*)
(*If I offer up the memories of being loved.*)
In my mind, Tsugumi's smile and Kanato's gentle smile surfaced at the same time.
My chest felt like it was being torn apart.
"...But."
My voice was hoarse.
"If I lose the memories of being loved, then I..."
*—You were never loved by anyone to begin with.*
The flower's voice rang cold.
*—Your love is a cheap thing, purchasable with your memories.*
Those words pierced deep into my chest.
(*A cheap thing.*)
(*My love is a cheap thing.*)
(*That's right. My love is nothing compared to Tsugumi's life.*)
*—If you refuse, then next time, you yourself will simply disappear.*
The flower pressed further, as if twisting the knife.
*—Would that be acceptable?*
I couldn't answer.
My throat trembled, and no voice came out.
(*Disappear.*)
(*I would disappear.*)
(*If that brings Tsugumi back...*)
Deep in my heart, a small voice spoke.
(*That's fine.*)
(*Someone like me can disappear.*)
But right beside that voice, another voice screamed.
(*No.*)
(*I don't want to disappear.*)
(*I don't want to never see Kanato-kun again.*)
I fled from the greenhouse as if screaming.
Outside, it had started to rain.
The cold rain fell mercilessly on my face, my hair, my clothes.
I ran.
Without knowing where I was going, I just ran.
Through the wooded path, running toward the dormitory road.
I was out of breath. My legs tangled.
Still, I couldn't stop.
(*Tsugumi.*)
(*I'm sorry.*)
(*I still can't decide.*)
(*I still want to see Kanato-kun.*)
Tears overflowed, mixing with the rain, streaming down my cheeks.
That's when it happened.
Under a distant streetlight, I saw a figure.
A tall male student.
Bla
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