"Do you want to come sit in my room for a while?"
Standing outside Kitagawa Ryo's room, Horikita Suzune extended an invitation to Sakayanagi Arisu, who had just stepped out after the door closed behind her.
"Sure."
Arisu nodded without hesitation. They weren't the same kind of person, but they had experienced the same kind of thing. The worst part of a conversation is having nothing in common to talk about—but that wasn't a problem between them.
The person in that room was more than enough to steep several pots of tea over.
Neither of them spoke again until they entered Suzune's room. Both were holding back, knowing the moment they opened their mouths, they'd talk about him—something not fit for others to hear. So, in silence, observing one another, they stepped into Horikita's room in quiet lockstep.
"I don't have coffee here. Green tea okay?"
Suzune asked while opening a cupboard in her kitchenette. Her room, much like her reputation, was clean and almost piercingly orderly.
"That's fine."
Arisu kept her words brief, as if she'd used up all her strength back in Ryo's room—or perhaps saving what was left for the coming conversation.
She scanned the room's decor before settling her gaze on Suzune, who was preparing the tea. What surprised Arisu was how skillfully and gracefully Suzune moved. Her motions were no less elegant than a tea ceremony club member's, and she exuded a gentle air that didn't match the severe neatness of her room.
It wasn't the kind of gentleness that comes from forced restraint. It was like spring rain—soft, natural, and deeply ingrained.
The tea was served quickly. Arisu, who usually preferred coffee, didn't drink right away. She simply held the cup and sat quietly.
On the other hand, Suzune sipped without concern. The sound of her swallowing wasn't loud, but in the silence, it echoed like a drop in a well.
That was when Arisu noticed the small fishbowl on the coffee table, containing two red goldfish.
While Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School didn't allow pets, Ryo had once said, "As long as no one finds out, it's fine. Even if they do, it's just a matter of paying some private points."
After all, the school made it clear: private points could buy you anything.
Still, Arisu found it amusing, considering Suzune was a student council member. Then again, so was she. If anyone was guilty of breaking the rules, neither could claim innocence.
Seeing Arisu's gaze on the goldfish, Suzune took it as a good opening topic:
"Ryo got these for me the last time the drama club went out."
"But isn't it said that you shouldn't keep goldfish in pairs?"
Arisu asked seriously, as if they were actually talking about fish.
"That belief comes from studies suggesting that two fish of the same breed in one bowl might compete—over territory, food, or whatever else."
Suzune stood, retrieved a container of fish food, and calmly sprinkled it into the tank.
"But that's not always the case. These two have never fought."
"Some say a single fish gets lonely too."
"Maybe."
Arisu wisely ended the conversation there. She knew if they continued, those fish would inevitably become symbols—representing memories uniquely Suzune's. Those memories would soon grow, stretching into towering monsters that loomed between them.
"Can you tell me about your dream with Ryo?"
Sensing that, Arisu chose to seize control of the conversation.
"It was just a self-important little sister pulled out of her shell by a frivolous cousin."
"Cousins? But that's..."
"Forgot to mention—no blood relation. And in that story, the one who's actually Ryo's sister is you, Arisu-san."
Suzune nodded seriously, lowering her gaze as she continued sipping her tea.
"I'm not the Horikita Suzune from that story. My feelings for Ryo aren't built just on those memories. They're just the starting point of our real relationship."
"If anything, it's like watching a movie starring myself. Or maybe it's just one possible future."
She set her teacup down and looked straight into Arisu's eyes:
"What about you?"
Arisu smirked inwardly. Suzune had said so much yet revealed so little—vague sentiments without a shred of concrete memory.
But that made sense. Shared memories remembered by only one person are painful. And exposing memories unique to two people so casually would feel like betrayal.
Unless it came after victory.
After all, the big screen at the wedding was meant to showcase that.
So Arisu responded just as concisely:
"Ryo cured my heart disease. As you can see."
Suzune seemed to have expected that answer, and smoothly shifted the topic:
"So, does that mean you can participate in this summer's special exam?"
"Yes. The student council withdrew my application due to a clerical error."
Even Arisu couldn't suppress the slight rise in her voice, the glimmer of anticipation in her eyes.
Unlike the simulations where her condition was cured at age thirteen or seven, in reality, Arisu had suffered congenital heart disease for nearly seventeen years.
She remembered walking alone on the beach before school started. The wind blew off her hat—a precious gift from her father. She tried, truly tried, to retrieve it.
Something any six- or seven-year-old could do easily.
But she couldn't.
All she could do was watch helplessly as the hat vanished from sight, carried by the wind into the deep blue sea.
That was a profound kind of powerlessness.
She once read a story about two people lost in a desert. They found a half-full bottle of water.
The optimist said: "Wow! Lucky us—half a bottle left."
The pessimist said: "Ugh. Only half left."
The optimist survived. The pessimist collapsed just before reaching the oasis.
The moral, in bold: [Always face life with optimism.]
If Arisu believed in that, she might've comforted herself:
"I'm lucky! My heart disease isn't fatal!"
"I'm lucky! I can walk with a cane!"
"I'm lucky! My father loves me!"
But that was never the issue.
It wasn't about seeing a half bottle as half full or half empty.
It was that, despite only having half, all she could see was the full bottle others had.
Even if she looked down on someone like Yamauchi Haruki, expelled from their class, if they ever bumped into each other, she'd be the one to fall.
Arisu was, from the very start, a bundle of contradictions.
She believed she was the genius product of elite parents. Yet that same gene gave her a defect.
She had to admit it. Face it. Be constantly reminded:
"You are a child with congenital heart disease."
And now, the memories of those two other versions of herself clashed with the current Arisu.
Because those memories denied her.
The only part she could truly resonate with was the overwhelming emotion they felt for Kitagawa Ryo.
And now that emotion had weight—because he had genuinely cured her.
Layer upon layer, like sedimentary rock, it settled in her heart.
Truth be told, Arisu now resembled her first simulation self: the girl who held onto a single glance from Ayanokouji Kiyotaka in the White Room for nearly a decade. Compared to that, her memories with Ryo were overwhelming.
To Arisu, this reality felt more artistic than any famed gallery or exhibit—vast, sweet, and intoxicatingly beautiful.
Suzune watched Arisu's expression and felt a strange unease. Her fingers began to fiddle with the ends of her long hair.
Just earlier, she had worried Arisu would be upset about missing the special exam with Ryo. But now that Arisu was joining, it felt... off.
She could sense it clearly. Arisu's emotions were more intense—like something suppressed for too long finally bursting out.
Even without counting the memories, Arisu had known Ryo for three years. The memories only added a layer of destiny to their bond—but they were still new.
A sudden thought occurred to Suzune:
Could the other girls who had known Ryo even earlier… have gone through similar simulations too?
The idea felt absurd—but it also made perfect sense.
Suzune suddenly understood the weight behind Ryo's earlier phrase: "Everyone."
Her earlier unease intensified. She stood up and refilled her tea. Maybe because it had gone cold, she drank it all in one gulp.
After all, if she were honest, she was still just a traditional girl at heart.
More than love that grows over time, she yearned for love born in an instant—love that feels fated, like something out of a fairytale.
It was childish, maybe, and that's why she never told anyone.
Suzune had never been one to talk about romance.
She had gone over that dream with Ryo countless times, and finally pinpointed the exact moment she had fallen:
She was in the back kitchen of a sweets shop called Hotaru. Ryo was baking pastries, calm and methodical. The air was warm, filled with the scent of butter and sugar. She heard soft sounds: cream being spread, butter sizzling, oven doors opening and closing...
It felt like a space torn out of time—quiet, distant from the world, where she could think about anything, or nothing at all.
For the longest time, she thought she loved that moment because it relaxed her to the point of numbness.
But now she realized something deeper:
Maybe it was simpler than that.
She just cherished the time she spent alone—with Kitagawa Ryo.
-------------------------------------
The drama club—a strange organization whose true purpose was goofing off and getting off-campus, yet somehow managed to win awards every time.
Even though he saw right through it, Student Council Vice President Nagumo Miyabi still couldn't shut it down.
The club had enough members, earned honors, and met all the criteria set by Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School. At this rate, they might even win a "Top Ten Clubs" award by year's end.
Still, Nagumo kept a close eye on their activities, hoping to catch them slipping.
"Vice President, this is the drama club's application for today. Same as always—they're asking to go off-campus for a drama competition."
The student council secretary, Tonokawa, stepped up and handed Nagumo a physical copy of the document.
"Hm... this time it's downtown?"
Nagumo raised an eyebrow. The drama club normally applied for competitions as far away as possible, practically shouting, 'Yeah, we're totally just on vacation, try and stop us!' But this time, the event was within Tokyo city limits.
"The competition itself checks out. There really is a major tournament happening soon."
"Then approve the request—but reduce their leave time slightly and tighten the review process afterward."
"Understood."
Nagumo casually threw a small wrench in the drama club's plans, then forwarded the information to Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
The two had previously reached a bare-minimum agreement—neither trusted the other, but they occasionally shared information like this.
Class 1-A had just finished their lesson when Ayanokouji opened his phone and saw Nagumo's message.
He, too, felt Kitagawa Ryo's actions were a bit suspicious. But what troubled him more was the lack of tools at his disposal.
His carefully scouted candidate, Kamuro Masumi, had been thrown off course thanks to Kitagawa Ryo's sudden interference, and the reliable Katsuragi Kouhei wasn't the ideal fit for this sort of job.
"..."
Ayanokouji never doubted he was the strongest product of the White Room. But even he found this absurd.
That man—Ayanokouji Atsuomi—had really only sent him one collaborator from the White Room.
And that one, Yagami Takuya, he had personally eliminated.
It looked like any real move against Kitagawa Ryo and Class 1-D would have to wait for the special summer exam.
A luxury cruise to an uninhabited island overseas.
What Chabashira Sae had casually mentioned earlier, as if encouraging them for the finals, had actually spoiled part of the plan.
Sitting alone in his seat, Ayanokouji gazed at the blue sky outside the window and began piecing together an initial plan.
Nearby, the girls were chatting excitedly—summer was approaching.
"I can't wait for the beach trip! Want to go swimsuit shopping in a few days?"
A few nearby boys perked up at the mention of "swimsuits."
Ayanokouji paused for a second. What caught his attention more was the first part:
The beach.
Come to think of it, he'd only ever seen one.
Through a VR headset.
A virtual sea.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To Read Advanced Chapters, and support this novel, please join me on [email protected]/geats2000
(Note: Replace "@-" with "a" on your web browser.)