Aoi's eyes widened.
"What… are you trying to say?"
Souma looked away for a moment. His fingers trembled slightly at his sides.
"That's why… let's go somewhere quieter. I'll explain everything."
Aoi stared at him in silence.
Farther away, near the school gate, Takeo watched the two of them with his hands in his pockets. A tired little smile crossed his face as he muttered to himself,
"Ah… so he's finally going to confess to Aoi? About time."
Without realizing Takeo was still watching them, Aoi and Souma began walking down the cold night street.
The streetlights barely illuminated the road ahead.
Neither of them spoke.
Only the December wind moved through the trees.
After several minutes, they arrived at a small, nearly empty park and sat down on a wooden bench.
Silence.
Souma was sweating cold.
His hands kept gripping his knees over and over again.
Finally, Aoi took a slow breath and asked quietly,
"So… tell me."
Souma lowered his head.
"It's a long story…"
He closed his eyes for a brief moment.
"But before anything else… I need you to understand something."
His voice trembled.
"I never wanted to hurt anyone. I truly never meant any harm."
Aoi stayed still.
"I'm listening."
Souma took several seconds before continuing.
"When I was a kid… I used to live in that small town near the beach we visited."
Aoi blinked slowly.
"Oh… that beach…"
She remembered the trip.
"So that's why your family knew the place… but what does that have to do with anything?"
Souma slowly tightened his hands together.
"Everything starts there."
The wind blew harder.
And then—
His voice began to shake.
Souma was six years old.
That morning, he ran out of the house while hurriedly slipping on his crooked sneakers.
"Mom! I'm going to play with the others!"
His mother appeared from the kitchen doorway.
"Alright, but don't go near the road, okay? There's a cliff over there."
"I won't! Don't worry!"
And then he ran off down the street.
He stopped by one friend's house.
Then another.
And another.
Soon, all four boys were together.
"Let's play near the lake!" Souma said excitedly.
The others immediately agreed.
When they got there, one of the boys pulled a baseball bat out from the hollow of a tree where they always hid it.
Souma grinned brightly.
"I brought a new ball today! And my glove too!"
Ryu spun the bat over his shoulder.
"Then pitch already. I'll hit it like a pro."
The boys took their positions.
Souma threw the ball.
Ryu swung hard.
The ball flew deep into the trees.
"Hey! My ball!" Souma shouted before running after it.
He searched through the bushes.
The trees were too dense.
After several minutes wandering alone, he muttered,
"There are too many trees… I can't tell where it landed…"
A few more steps.
Then he realized something.
"Oh no… I'm near the road…"
And then he saw it.
The ball was lying right in the middle of the asphalt.
Souma walked up to the roadside barrier and looked beyond it.
On the other side—
The sea.
The cliff.
The cold wind blowing violently against the coast.
"I'll just grab it really quick…"
He hurried across the road.
Picked up the ball.
And sighed in relief.
"This curve is way too shar—"
Then he froze.
A car suddenly appeared around the bend.
Too fast.
Souma's eyes widened.
In that instant, the world stopped.
He saw his mother.
His father.
His grandmother.
Memories flashing through his head all at once.
The ball slipped from his hand.
He shut his eyes tightly.
Waiting for the impact.
But then—
A violent gust rushed past his body.
A metallic crash exploded across the road.
SCRAAAAASH.
Souma remained frozen for several seconds.
Teeth clenched.
Body trembling violently.
Then he slowly opened his eyes.
Looked around.
The roadside barrier had been destroyed.
Twisted apart.
A huge section of it had vanished over the cliff.
"W-what… was that…?"
His legs nearly gave out beneath him.
Souma slowly approached the edge.
Looked down.
And saw it.
A completely destroyed car at the bottom of the cliff.
His vision lost focus.
"W-what… did I do…?"
One arm hung limply out through the broken window.
Then—
"Souma?! Where are you?!"
Ryu's voice echoed from the trees.
Souma slowly turned around.
Ryu came running out of the forest.
"Oh, there you are… what happened?"
Then he noticed the destroyed barrier.
"Souma… why is this broken?"
Souma couldn't answer.
He only trembled.
Eyes wide.
Breathing unevenly.
"Hey… say something."
Ryu stepped closer.
And then he saw the car below.
His hand instantly covered his mouth.
"T-there's a car down there…"
Silence.
Slowly, Ryu turned toward Souma.
"Did you do this?"
Tears filled Souma's eyes.
But none of them fell.
Ryu clenched his fists tightly.
"They told us not to play here."
"B-but you were the one who hit the ball…"
Ryu frowned immediately.
"So now you're saying it's my fault?!"
"N-no… I just…"
But Ryu ran back into the forest.
Leaving Souma alone.
The wind felt colder now.
Much colder.
Souma looked one more time at the destroyed car below.
Then he ran.
Through the forest.
Past the other boys.
"Hey, Souma! What happened?!"
But he didn't answer.
He just kept running until he reached home.
He opened the door, breathing heavily.
"H-hi…"
His mother appeared from the kitchen with a smile.
"Welcome back. You didn't go near the road, right?"
Souma froze.
His eyes trembled.
So did his mouth.
"N-no…"
She smiled in relief.
"That's good. I'm making your favorite dinner tonight."
"O-okay…"
"Hm? You don't sound excited."
"No… I am… I'm just tired."
He immediately went to his room.
Sat on the bed.
And stared blankly at the wall while trying to breathe normally.
But the image of the car wouldn't leave his mind.
Then—
Knock knock.
A tapping sound on the window.
Souma looked over in fear.
Ryu was standing outside.
When Souma opened the window, Ryu spoke quietly.
"I won't tell anyone what you did."
Souma remained silent.
"But from now on, you'll do whatever I tell you."
The boy lowered his head.
"…Okay."
The next day, a resident discovered the car at the bottom of the cliff.
Ambulances arrived.
Firefighters.
Then reporters.
The entire town started talking about it.
That morning, Souma's mother commented,
"There are ambulances and even reporters near the road."
His father answered seriously,
"Don't go near there."
Souma only nodded weakly.
"O-okay…"
His mother watched him quietly for a few seconds.
"You don't play outside anymore…"
"It got boring…"
A little later, Ryu showed up again.
And while they watched the commotion near the cliff from afar, Ryu whispered,
"This is all your fault."
Souma lowered his head.
"Give me your lunch again tomorrow. Or I'll tell your mom everything."
"…Okay."
Several days later, Souma saw a newspaper headline on the living room table.
"MAN NAMED SAKAMOTO HIROSHI FOUND AT BOTTOM OF CLIFF."
His heart nearly stopped.
That night, he secretly took the newspaper into his room.
Read the entire article alone.
"Man leaves behind wife and six-year-old daughter."
His hands began trembling.
And then he kept reading until he saw their names.
"Sakamoto Yukiko and Sakamoto Aoi."
"…A daughter…?"
He cut out that part of the article.
The wife.
The daughter.
And stared at the paper for a long, long time.
A tear silently rolled down his face.
Years passed.
At fourteen, Souma went on a school aquarium field trip.
While the students walked around in groups, he stood alone watching a dolphin swim behind the glass.
"It must be awful being trapped in there…"
he murmured softly.
"Why is it all alone…?"
Then he noticed three girls farther ahead.
Uniforms from another school.
Souma absentmindedly walked behind them—
Until he heard someone say:
"I need a headcount! Kanzaki Mio, Hatase Hina, and… Sakamoto Aoi!"
His entire body froze.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
He turned his head.
A dark-haired girl stood there while "Hanae-san" laughed with an arm around her shoulder.
Souma's eyes widened.
"Sakamoto… Aoi…?"
Hanae noticed him standing there.
"Is something wrong?"
Souma quickly snapped back to reality.
"A-ah… sorry. I was just looking for my group."
But even after walking away…
He kept staring at Aoi from afar.
Trying to confirm it.
Trying to understand.
Until Mio finally noticed him.
"Is that guy following us…?"
Souma immediately looked away and pretended to watch the fish.
But on the bus ride home, he stared out the window thinking:
"She's connected to Hiroshi…"
"To the man I…"
A paper ball suddenly hit him in the face.
Some old classmates laughed.
Two girls whispered nearby.
Souma shut his eyes tightly.
"I can't stand being here anymore…"
At fifteen, he decided to move to Hoshimi.
"It isn't fair for me to keep living normally…"
He visited the city alone.
Passed by the hospital.
The school.
Until he eventually sat down in a park without knowing what to do.
Then he heard a familiar voice.
"I like this drama."
Souma looked up.
And saw Aoi walking with Hina and Mio.
His heartbeat skyrocketed.
"It's her…"
After Mio said goodbye and left, Souma began following Aoi from a distance.
"Damn it… I look like a stalker…"
Even so, he kept walking behind her.
Until he saw her enter her house.
He slowly walked past the front of it.
Thinking:
"Ring the doorbell."
"Ask her."
"Confirm it."
But he couldn't do it.
He stopped at the next corner.
Covered his eyes with his arm.
And muttered to himself,
"You coward…"
After that, Souma started researching Aoi.
Not long later, he requested a transfer.
Moved alone to Hoshimi.
Got a part-time job at a convenience store.
And on his first day at school, he stood outside classroom 2-B thinking:
"I just need to tell her."
"That's all."
Then the teacher said:
"You may come in."
Souma opened the door.
And found Aoi sitting there.
The two stared at each other.
Then he quietly said:
"Y-you're here… Sakamoto Aoi…"
Now—
Back in the present.
The silence in the park felt unbearably heavy.
Souma sat beside her on the bench.
Aoi remained curled up, hands covering her head.
Then he quietly said:
"I've been trying to tell you this for a long time…"
But Aoi didn't respond.
The seconds felt like minutes.
Then suddenly, Souma stood up.
Dropped to his knees.
And pressed his forehead against the cold concrete.
"I'M A COWARD!"
His voice broke through his sobbing.
"I tried so many times… but I could never say it!"
Tears poured endlessly from his eyes.
"I CAUSED YOUR TEARS! I CAUSED YOUR SUFFERING!"
His body shook violently.
The park fell silent.
Only the wind moved through the trees.
After several seconds—
Aoi slowly lowered her hands.
"Souma…"
Her voice came out weakly.
"Get up."
He slowly lifted his face.
His eyes were completely red.
Aoi still stared at the ground.
Her hair hid part of her face.
"I… don't know what to say."
She tightened her trembling hands together.
"I don't know what to think…"
"Aoi…"
More silence.
Long.
Heavy.
Then she quietly whispered:
"I want to be alone…"
Souma shut his eyes tightly.
Fresh tears immediately welled up again.
But he wiped them away quickly.
"You… have every right to hate me."
Aoi didn't answer.
She stayed motionless.
Still staring at the ground.
Then Souma slowly stepped back.
"See you… Aoi."
And he walked away alone through the empty street.
As he walked, one thought repeated endlessly inside his mind.
"What have I done…"
"What have I done…"
Aoi remained sitting on that bench.
Her hands trembling silently.