Chapter 8: A Past That Won't Fade

It had been a quiet day. Haruto Kirigami maintained his routine of going to classes in silence, not speaking unnecessarily, and going unnoticed. It was another normal afternoon in his uneventful high school life.

That was, until he heard her voice.

"Haruto…?"

His whole body tensed at the familiar voice. He hadn't heard that voice in years, but it was unmistakable. Gradually, he turned his head towards the intersection of the hallway.

There she was—Hyuka Ayomi.

For a moment, time was suspended. Haruto's mind flashed back to memories he had long suppressed. A younger Haruto, standing in front of this same girl, gathering all his courage to confess.

"I like you. Please go out with me."

"No… I can't."

And then she ran away.

Now, here she was again. Older, slightly different, but still the same Hyuka Ayomi from his past.

Their eyes met.

Haruto willed his emotions to stay hidden, his face as unreadable as ever.

"Haruto," Hyuka said again, her voice softer this time. "It's really you."

He gave a short nod. "Yeah."

There was a brief silence before Hyuka took a step forward, hesitating. "You've… changed."

"People change," Haruto replied flatly.

Hyuka nibbled on her lip, as if she wasn't sure what to say next. Her mere presence made the air seem thicker.

Haruto believed he had closed the chapter. That the past was irrelevant anymore.

But then why did his chest ache?

Unknown to Haruto, someone else was observing.

Nasaki Kitta had been standing there, unobserved. She hadn't intended to listen in, but she knew Haruto well enough to realize something was wrong.

She had never seen him respond to anyone like this before. His normally inscrutable face looked too controlled, his stance a little too rigid.

Most wouldn't even notice.

But Nasaki did.

When Hyuka finally turned and walked off, Nasaki acted.

Haruto hardly had time to take three steps before Nasaki fell into step beside him effortlessly.

"Well, that was interesting," she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Haruto glared at her. "Were you spying?"

Nasaki smiled. "I prefer to call it 'observing.'"

He groaned. "Not everything must be observed."

"Perhaps," Nasaki shrugged. "But I couldn't help but notice something. You were behaving oddly."

Haruto scowled. "I wasn't."

"You absolutely were."

Haruto halted. "It doesn't matter."

Nasaki also stopped, regarding him intently. Her face softened. "Liar."

Haruto bristled.

"You claim it doesn't matter, but your hand was shaking," she remarked.

Haruto glanced down. His fists were clenched. Had they actually been shaking? He hadn't even realized.

Nasaki let out a sigh, then stepped forward. "You can pretend all you want, but I see it."

Haruto remained quiet.

"If you ever feel like discussing it," Nasaki went on, "I'll listen."

Haruto looked away, not sure what to do. Part of him wanted to push her back, but part of him—that he didn't know—sighed with relief.

He looked away again. "…I'll remember that."

Nasaki smiled gently. "Good."

And like that, she dropped the matter and walked ahead, as if everything was normal.

Haruto gazed after her for a moment before letting out a sigh and following.

That evening, Haruto was in bed, gazing at the ceiling.

He hadn't thought of Hyuka Ayomi in ages.

At that time, he had been different. More optimistic.

He had believed if he worked hard, if he became someone deserving, perhaps… just perhaps, someone would accept him.

But Hyuka hadn't.

And then there had been the rejection, after which the bullying had intensified. The whispers. The giggles. The pretended sympathy.

"That guy actually believed she'd go out with him?!"

"Wow, how humiliating!"

"Did you see her fleeing?!?"

That was the moment when something inside of him had shifted.

He had lost interest.

Or at least, he had tried to convince himself he had.

But today. something woke up within him again.

Not love. Not desire.

Just. the acrid taste of what had been.

He exhaled a deep breath. "It doesn't matter anymore."

But even while he spoke, he knew he was deceiving himself.

---

5. The Next Day

The next day, Haruto was even more tired than usual. He hardly listened in class, blankly staring at his notebook.

During lunch, he was sitting outside by himself.

That's where Nasaki caught up with him once more.

She sat down next to him, without permission. "You look like you didn't sleep."

Haruto let out a breath. "I slept fine."

"Liar," she said once more.

Haruto glared at her. "You enjoy saying that, don't you?"

"I only say it when it's true," she said with a grin.

There was silence between them. A comfortable one.

Then Nasaki spoke up again. "So… was she important to you?"

Haruto blinked. "Who?"

Nasaki rolled her eyes. "Yesterday's girl. The one who turned you down."

Haruto paused.

Was she significant to him?

"…She was just my past," he said after a while.

Nasaki examined his face. "And yet, you still dream about it, don't you?"

Haruto's breathing caught.

He shifted his head away. ".You really don't let things go, huh?"

Nasaki smiled. "Nope. Not when it's about you."

Haruto took a deep breath but didn't protest.

Maybe, just maybe…

It wasn't so bad having someone notice.