Chapter 29: Since She Came to Visit, We Decide to Build a New Relationship

The next day, as soon as I woke up, I started getting ready to go out.

Of course, it was to visit Haruto.

Leonia—no, Reona—had told me Haruto would be fine.

But I still couldn’t help worrying.

If he was conscious, I wanted to apologize sincerely. If he was still asleep, I wanted to take care of him.

At the very least, it was my way of making amends.

Honestly, no matter what happened, I knew that guy would just laugh it off like last night and forgive me.

Saying he didn’t value his own life—such a devoted, yet unbearably sad thing to say.

I couldn’t just take advantage of that kindness.

So I prepared as best as I could and set off for Haruto’s house—or at least, that was the plan.

"Luna, big sis, there’s a visitor!"

Almost immediately, Hoshiko’s voice threw a wrench in my plans.

"Who is it? This early in the morning?"

I asked who it was, but Hoshiko just shook her head stubbornly, refusing to say.

From her reaction, it wasn’t a stranger.

Someone she knew—either sworn to secrecy or choosing to stay silent on her own.

Then she just went back to her room.

It wasn’t unusual for Hoshiko to play little tricks like this, sometimes with a hint of mischief.

—Though about 30% of the time, she did it for my sake, which was honestly kind of annoying…

But since I was used to it, I didn’t bother getting mad. Reluctantly, I headed to the front door.

At least I was already dressed.

And then—

"...Luna. Sorry, I know it’s rude to drop in like this..."

"Minami..."

Standing there was a petite girl with an apologetic look on her face.

---

My plans had been completely derailed.

Faced with Minami’s dejected expression, I didn’t know what to do, so I ended up inviting her up to my room.

"Sorry, were you about to go out?"

"Yeah, well..."

It seemed what Youta had said in my dream was true—the irrational hostility I’d felt toward her was gone.

Before, just seeing her would make dark impulses surge inside me, but now I felt completely neutral.

Now I could talk to her calmly, like in the old days—

…Yeah, right.

If it were that easy, I wouldn’t be struggling so much.

An indescribable guilt swirled in my chest—knowing that all that malice had been one-sided.

Even if it had been planted and amplified by someone else, those feelings had still been mine.

The awkwardness born from that guilt wasn’t going away. If I left it like this, it would only fester. Time alone wouldn’t heal it.

"...It hasn’t changed at all."

While I was lost in thought, Minami sat down and murmured that as she looked around the room.

The pink wallpaper, the small rabbit plushie.

Of course, in her mind, she had memories of spending time here with Luna.

I couldn’t bring myself to be angry, but it left me feeling hollow.

Even if my disgust at being Luna had faded, the truth remained—I had no connection to that past.

I could build a "from now on..." but there was nothing I could do about "back then..."

Leaning back against the soft cushion, I just watched her.

"But at the same time… you’ve changed a lot."

"...Huh?"

Her sudden contradiction made me frown in confusion.

This room hadn’t been redecorated in years.

Maybe it still reflected the time when I was Youta. The pale blue walls had been my favorite since I was little.

"The animal jigsaw puzzle that used to hang on the wall is gone too..."

Which made what Minami was saying completely strange.

Luna never even had a jigsaw puzzle.

"Your favorite color isn’t pink—it’s blue. Back when we all studied together as friends, you told me that, remember?"

I froze.

The way she spoke—it was almost like—

"I’m really sorry I couldn’t remember until now... Luna—no, Youta."

Youta.

That was... my old name.

And now, without a doubt, Minami had just called me by it.

---

"The one who cut the thread... was Kurosaki-kun."

"...I see."

While I stood there dumbfounded, Minami explained everything to me.

Over the past few weeks, she’d felt vague doubts about things that never quite added up.

But she could never grasp the full truth—until she recreated the past with Haruto and finally remembered everything.

It was hard to believe.

But the girl in front of me was recounting our shared memories with perfect clarity. I had no choice but to accept it as the truth.

It didn’t seem like she was just parroting something Haruto had told her, either.

...Which meant my outburst back then had been a complete misunderstanding.

"Akashi Minami—I’ll kill her."

That vile, wretched declaration echoed in my mind again.

And it wasn’t just that.

Even if I hadn’t said it to her face, I’d thought terrible things about her—over and over.

"I’m sorry, Minami..."

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

...I knew an apology wouldn’t be enough to fix anything. But I couldn’t not say it.

Minami blinked in confusion.

"...Why are you apologizing, Youta-kun?"

"Well..."

I hesitated. Putting it into words felt wrong. Hearing it would only hurt her—what I’d felt went beyond malice or hatred. It was pure hostility.

"I’m the one who should be sorry. I’m sorry, Youta-kun... You reached out for help so many times, and I... I never understood."

...But watching her confess like this, staying silent about my own sins felt dishonest.

Even if she despised me for it, I had to say it.

"I... thought awful things about you too. Things I can’t even say to your face. So you don’t have to apologize."

"I’m sorry... All this time, I kept wondering why my best friend wouldn’t talk to me... I’m so sorry..."

Tears spilled down her cheeks as I pulled her into a hug. She buried her face in my chest, crying softly.

I was on the verge of tears myself, but I held them back—partly because of my promise to Haruto, but mostly... just stubborn pride.

---

"Youta-kun... There’s something I want you to have. Is that okay?"

Minami’s eyes were still red when she spoke. She pulled out a small, wrapped case.

"This is...?"

"For last Christmas... I was going to give it to you. But I never got the chance."

I searched my memories—the gift exchange that got interrupted when Legion showed up. The day I never came home.

"...Can I open it?"

"Mm..."

With her permission, I undid the ribbon. Inside was a delicate necklace.

A blue glass pendant—and maybe I was being conceited, but I knew she’d picked it with Youta in mind.

"This..."

"I always wanted you to wear it. Maybe it’s too late now, but..."

Her eyes never left mine as she spoke. There was something almost like a love confession in her tone.

No, it was exactly that. I understood instinctively.

This was her way of moving forward.

But I shook my head.

"...I can’t accept it."

Her face fell. To her, those words must have sounded like rejection.

But that wasn’t what I meant.

I touched the chain around my neck and showed it to her.

"...Oh. So it really is too late, huh?"

"Yeah. I think... this is the one I’m meant to wear. So I can’t take yours."

The silver pendant Haruto had given me—shaped like wings, a symbol of the hope he’d given me.

"Besides... I don’t deserve it. Not as Youta anymore."

"What do you mean...?"

I nodded silently, and she seemed to understand.

"But... if you’re okay with it, I’d like us to start over. As friends."

At my request, her face lit up—and she nodded happily.