Chapter 28 — You Have Become a Human
Music Recommendation: (Kenshi Yonezu) - (Spinning Globe)
...
"Hey~ Cute little Tomori found time to visit me today? Don't you have band practice with the others?"
The handsome boy with jet-black hair gave her a gentle wave, though his once-glossy shoulder-length hair had lost its shine.
His hoarse voice was like a rusty saw, slicing straight through her heart.
Tomori silently sat beside Kazami Haru, grasping his pale, emaciated hands, her grip soon softening, as if afraid she might hurt him.
His illness had left him unable to swallow food, surviving only on basic nutritional support. He had wasted away, yet his face still bore that same gentle smile.
The once-powerful hands that danced over keyboards could no longer press a single key.
"…Haru, I'm sorry."
The pain in her heart was clearer than ever. She had thought she could endure it, but the moment she stepped into that room, her soul began to tremble uncontrollably.
Her body, bound by emotion, was frozen.
Her words, stifled. Just like always.
She hadn't changed.
"Why is it that the most important words… are always the hardest to say?"
Drip…
Warm, clear tears slid from the corners of her eyes. The girl named Takamatsu Tomori reacted uncontrollably, without even realizing she was crying.
Huh… tears?
This isn't how it should be—
I must have made a mistake again.
Like always.
"It's all my fault! I'm the reason Haru ended up like this! Whether it was forming the band or composing music, it was always Haru who handled everything! Whenever something went wrong, Haru fixed it perfectly, while someone as useless as me just sat back and took the credit!"
"Even when I rejected his confession—it wasn't because I really felt that way! I only thought Anon was better, more worthy of him than someone like me… who isn't even human!"
"So I rejected him—but the truth is, I—"
Scorching tears gushed from her amber, jewel-like eyes. She had always chased after that elusive "treasure" that would make her cry.
Now that she had found it, she realized she could never grasp it again.
All she ever wanted was to feel like a normal person, someone who understood what "normal" even meant.
But if it meant experiencing such a painful farewell, then maybe… she was better off never becoming "human."
The boy gently wiped the tears from her cheek with his left hand.
Seeing her finally pour out her true feelings, speaking the words that were always so hard to say, he smiled, a smile unlike any she had seen before.
"Tomori—"
"You already became human… a long time ago."
[Your battered body, unsurprisingly, could not overcome the terminal illness. With heart failure, you passed peacefully as the warm spring arrived.]
[Outside your window, the blooming wisteria hung like swarms of fluttering butterflies, spring's arrival bringing forth a sky full of purple wings.]
[Wisteria symbolizes "born of love, died for love."]
[The first song you left her, "Wisteria Bird," simply expressed this most fundamental emotion.]
[You were buried in the Togawa family's designated wisteria garden, often visited by mourners. Chihaya Anon and the aloof Shiina Taki came often, sometimes even running into Nagasaki Soyo, visiting secretly.]
[That lonely girl chose to spend the rest of her life with the wisteria you gave her.]
[And when the dream you and she shared was finally fulfilled, she was laid to rest beside you.]
[Simulation complete.]
Kazami Haru slowly closed his eyes, lost deep in thought.
A long while later, he finally exhaled.
This simulation had affected him more than he expected. Even now, the emotions were overwhelming.
The memory of Tomori crying and baring her soul in the end, that was hard to shake.
The simulator had claimed this wouldn't impact his real emotions. But just watching the playback, not even entering the full immersive mode, had nearly broken him.
Still… at least it was just a simulation.
Taking a deep breath, Haru steadied himself and looked at the final results screen.
[Simulation Complete]
[Score: 68 – "Good"]
[Evaluation: Who wakes from a grand dream first? Only I know the life you've lived. Yours was a magnificent journey, marked by emotional conviction and relentless trials. With determination few could match, you climbed the greatest mountains in life. Yet you were also like a fleeting bubble, your final light just out of reach.]
[Love, though beautiful, did not let you steer your fate. Even as you and she longed for one another, you remained distant—like parallel lines that came close but never met. Had you acted more decisively in those moments, the outcome might have been entirely different.]
[You've earned a "Good" rating and the following reward: Guitar LV1.]
[Choose two of the following simulation rewards:]
Song: "Wisteria Bird" (The first song written by Takamatsu Tomori in this simulation)
Enhanced Physical Health (Your body is your foundation)
Love's Cuisine LV2 (A cooking skill gifted by Chihaya Anon, full of girlish affection)
Even after all that effort… only 68 points?
"Then how did he manage to get a score of 82 and an 'excellent' rating from Ryo-san if the simulation is this difficult?"
"Is it purely because Ryo-san isn't like ordinary people?!"
But thinking carefully, it seemed reasonable. After all, in this simulation, he never really got together with Takamatsu Tomori in the end. He even came close to having a successful romance with Anon-chan instead.
In the context of a love simulation, this was practically off-topic.
Getting even a passing score of 60 might have been due to his efforts in the simulation and the mutual feelings between him and Tomori.
"So, what should I do about the rewards?"
This time, the rating was only "Good," which meant he could only choose two out of the three rewards.
All three were very appealing to Kazami Haru, especially after experiencing a simulation where his weakened immune system led to death—making the "Physical Health Enhancement" reward feel essential.
That left the other two options: Anon-chan's cooking skills or Tomori's music composition.
From a rational point of view, the cooking skills were clearly more practical.
Though the composition had great sentimental value, it was still just a song created in the simulation for Tomori.
No matter how much emotion it contained, it was something that only the simulated version of him experienced.
For the real Kazami Haru, back in reality, it wasn't particularly useful.
Anon-chan's cooking skill, on the other hand, was genuinely practical. Learning it would mean he could cook for himself and save a lot of money.
"I even had to painfully reject Anon in the simulation, so I guess I'll pick her skill here."
After thinking it through, Kazami Haru decided to go with the cooking skill.
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