Questions and Answers

Daiki walked home alone, his footsteps heavy, his mind swirling with thoughts. Today had been one of the worst days of his life. The weight of everything pressed down on him, making it hard to breathe. When he finally stepped into his house, he looked pale, exhausted, and defeated. His parents immediately noticed something was wrong.

"Daiki?" his mother, Misaki, called out, concern laced in her voice.

But he didn't respond. Without a word, he headed straight to his room and shut the door behind him, locking it. His parents exchanged worried glances, but when his father knocked softly and asked if he wanted to talk, Daiki only replied, "I'm not in the mood. Please, just leave me alone."

As dinner time approached, Misaki decided to try again. She walked up to his door and knocked gently. "Daiki, it's time for dinner."

There was a pause before his muffled voice responded, "I'll pass, Mom. I don't have an appetite. You guys should eat without me."

Misaki frowned, placing a hand against the door. Something was wrong. "Are you feeling sick?" she asked. "Did something happen at school?"

A long silence stretched between them before Daiki finally muttered, "Mom… please, don't waste your time."

Her heart ached at his words. "Daiki, I'm your mother," she said softly. "You know you can tell me anything. Is it about school? Your friends?"

Another silence. Then, the door clicked open.

Misaki looked at her son, really looked at him. His eyes were red-rimmed as if he had been holding back tears. His usual liveliness was gone, replaced by a hollow emptiness.

She smiled gently, stepping inside. "I was wondering if you were just going to let me keep standing there."

Daiki sighed. "Sorry about that…"

She sat on the edge of his bed and patted the spot beside her. "Come sit."

For a moment, he hesitated. But then, with a tired sigh, he sat down beside her, his shoulders slumped.

"So, Daiki," she said, her voice warm yet firm. "What's wrong?"

He stared at the floor, his hands clenched into fists. "I just… I feel like everything is falling apart," he admitted in a low voice.

Misaki's expression softened. "What happened?"

Daiki looked at her and asked, "See, Mom… do you think people can just… change all of a sudden? Like… people you thought would always be there for you?"

Misaki tilted her head slightly, her gaze softening. "Change is a part of life, Daiki. People grow, and sometimes, they grow in ways we don't expect. Why are you asking that?"

Daiki sat down beside her, his shoulders slumped. "Today was… just terrible. Riku's been acting weird. He avoided us, left without saying anything. And Suzume didn't even come to school. Then… Ayaka and Riku left without me. They didn't even say goodbye. I thought we were always gonna be together, you know? The three of us."

Misaki listened quietly, her heart breaking a little as she saw how much this weighed on him.

"I don't know what I did wrong," Daiki continued, his voice cracking slightly. "I keep thinking maybe I missed something. Maybe I wasn't a good enough friend. But it hurts, Mom… it really hurts to be left behind."

Misaki gently placed a hand on his back, rubbing it comfortingly. "Sweetheart, sometimes people drift apart, not because of something you did, but because they're struggling with things they don't know how to talk about. That doesn't mean your friendship meant any less."

Daiki looked down at his hands, clenched together tightly. "It just feels like everything's falling apart. And I don't know how to fix it."

She gave him a warm, gentle smile. "Maybe you don't have to fix everything right away. Maybe the best thing you can do right now is take care of yourself and let the people who care about you come to you when they're ready."

Daiki was quiet for a moment before whispering, "What if they don't come back?"

Misaki leaned in and pulled him into a hug. "Then you keep moving forward, Daiki. And I promise, you'll meet new people who will stay. People who will choose you—not out of habit, but because they truly care."

Daiki clung to her for a moment, the tears he had been holding back finally slipping down his cheeks. "Thanks, Mom…"

She kissed the top of his head and whispered, "You're stronger than you think, Daiki. You just don't see it yet."

He nodded slowly, still tucked into her arms. "Maybe I'll try to eat something after all…"

Misaki chuckled softly. "Good. Come down when you're ready, okay?"

As she got up and walked toward the door, Daiki finally felt a small warmth inside the emptiness. Maybe things weren't alright now—but somehow, they would be.

**After dinner, Daiki went to bed, his mother's words echoing in his mind.**

_"People change."_

Those words lingered in his heart as he drifted off to sleep, hoping that tomorrow might be different.

The next morning, after getting ready for school, Daiki stepped outside. To his surprise, Riku and Ayaka were waiting for him by the gate. For a moment, his heart sank. The image of yesterday flashed in his mind—how they'd left without him, how he'd waited, and how alone he had felt. A shadow of sadness clouded his face, but he quickly pushed it away and put on a smile.

"Good morning," he said, waving at them cheerfully.

They waved back like nothing had happened.

Walking up to them, he said with a forced chuckle, "Riku, you're lucky you didn't run off to school like you did yesterday."

Riku scratched his head awkwardly, laughing. "That won't happen again, I promise. So, forget about it, okay?"

Daiki gave a small smile, pretending not to care. Ayaka stood quietly beside them, her eyes lingering more on Daiki than Riku.

When they arrived at the school gates, Daiki paused and stared up at the building like it was a prison.

"Another day of hell," he muttered under his breath.

Ayaka giggled. "Come on, it won't be *that* bad."

Riku chimed in with a smirk, "Man up, it's just a few hours. You're not gonna die."

Daiki sighed. "Few hours, huh... nothing I can do about it."

The three of them walked in and parted ways for their classes.

When Daiki entered his classroom, he was greeted by an unexpected voice.

"Good morning, Daiki," said Suzume, smiling softly.

Daiki blinked, surprised. "Oh, good morning."

She tilted her head playfully. "Wow, no zombie face today? That's new."

"Zombie?" he scoffed. "And yet you're still brave enough to talk to one?"

She laughed. "You're funny."

As he walked to his seat, Suzume followed beside him.

"Why weren't you at school yesterday?" he asked.

"Oh, that... I had some personal stuff to deal with," she replied vaguely.

He nodded. "Alright."

She nudged him with a teasing grin. "What's this? Did you miss me? Were you lonely?"

Daiki shrugged her finger off his shoulder and muttered, "You wish."

She pouted. "You're no fun." With that, she headed back to her seat.

Daiki watched her walk away, the corners of his lips barely curling upward.

Quietly, he whispered, "...I did."

---

**Break time came, and Daiki was heading to his usual lunch spot.**

Oddly enough, he was looking forward to eating with Suzume today. Maybe they'd laugh, maybe she'd tease him again—it was something to look forward to. But on his way, he bumped into Ayaka.

"There you are," she said, slightly out of breath.

"Oh, hey. What's up?" Daiki asked.

"You busy right now?" she asked, scanning his face.

"Not entirely. I was just about to grab lunch."

"Great," she smiled. "Then you're not busy. Come with me."

Before he could protest, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him toward a quiet corner of the school.

"H-Hey, Ayaka—what's going on?" he asked, confused.

Suddenly, she pinned him to the wall with both arms on either side of him. Daiki's eyes widened.

"Ayaka—what are you doing?"

Without hesitation, she looked him in the eyes and said, "Daiki, I'm in love with you. Go out with me."

Daiki's smile dropped. A heavy silence filled the air.

"Is this a joke?" he asked, his tone serious, almost cold. "Are you trying to mess with me?"

But Ayaka's expression didn't change. She held her ground.

"I'm not joking. I'm telling you how I feel."

Daiki gently pushed her hands away and took a step back.

"Don't," he said. "Don't do this. If you want to fall in love with someone, don't let it be me. I won't be able to return it... not in that way."

Ayaka's confident expression cracked. Her eyes widened in disbelief.

Then, she forced a laugh. "Chill, dude. It was just a joke. We just wanted to mess with you—like old times."

"We?" Daiki questioned.

Riku stepped out from behind a wall, waving awkwardly. "Yo."

Daiki exhaled hard, like he'd just escaped something heavy. "Oh, thank God it was a joke... I really thought you were serious."

They all laughed—Daiki louder than necessary, Ayaka trying to play along, hiding the sting in her chest.

Behind her laughter was pain—because it *wasn't* a joke for her. But now she had her answer.

---

Daiki rushed to his lunch spot, hoping Suzume was still there.

"Please be there," he muttered to himself.

But when he arrived, the bench was empty. No trace of her. He frowned.

"Man... today's just getting messier."

He sighed, sat alone, and ate in silence.

---

**Just before the end of break, while walking through the hallway, Daiki heard raised voices.**

He turned the corner and saw two students—a couple—arguing with someone. As he got closer, his chest tightened.

On the ground, surrounded by a scattered lunch box and spilled food... was Suzume.

Her hands trembled. Her eyes were glossy with tears.

"Suzume?" he gasped, rushing to her side. "Hey—Suzume!"

She looked up slowly. "Daiki...?"

His heart broke at the sight.

He stood up and faced the couple, fury boiling in his chest.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded.

"Huh? Who the hell are you supposed to be?" the guy sneered.

The girl added with a smirk, "Let me guess... her knight in shining armor?"

They both laughed.

Daiki didn't.

Without another word, he grabbed the guy by the collar and punched him square in the face. Suzume was dazzled by the sight. The student stumbled back, clutching his cheek in disbelief.

The girl screamed and rushed to her boyfriend.

"You okay?!"

He shoved her off and lunged at Daiki, throwing a wild punch. Daiki dodged effortlessly, sidestepped a kick, then struck him hard in the stomach. Before the boy could fall, Daiki caught him, pulled him close, and whispered coldly:

"If I *ever* see you near her again... I'll make sure you can't walk out next time."

The guy scurried away, dragging his girlfriend behind him.

Daiki turned back and helped Suzume up gently.

"Let's get you to the nurse," he said.

---

**At the nurse's office, Suzume sat on the bed with bandaged hands. Daiki sat beside her, watching quietly.**

"Thanks... for helping me," she said softly.

"Don't mention it," he replied, eyes still full of restrained anger.

"Why were they bullying you?" he asked after a moment.

Suzume looked down. "The girl... she used to be my friend. She liked a guy in our class. But he didn't like her—he liked me. He asked me out... but I turned him down."

Daiki's jaw clenched. "So *that's* why?"

She nodded. "She found out... and turned on me."

"And yesterday... that's why you skipped school, isn't it?"

Suzume looked up at him, shocked. Then, slowly nodded. "Yeah. I just didn't want to deal with it."

Daiki balled his fists, trying to calm his rage. "Those cowards…"

She smiled weakly. "Thanks again, Daiki. Really."

He looked at her and said, "So that's why you don't talk to anyone. Because anyone who tries gets dragged into it."

"Yeah," she whispered.

He let out a breath and smiled softly. "Well, I guess that means you'll just have to stick with me, huh?"

Her eyes widened, cheeks tinting red. She looked down. "Sorry I didn't eat lunch with you…"

"Don't apologize," Daiki said quickly. "I was caught up in some business too with my friends ." She shaked and her head and said " Even if, I'm still sorry. "

Daiki paused and smiled gently as he looked at Suzume and said to her " you are really nice , you know that. Then in that case, let me apologize, I'm sorry I also couldn't eat lunch with you, I'm sorry I didn't come in time to stop them. I'm sorry you had to go through that alone, I'm sorry, please forgive me."

Suzume looked at him, eyes gleaming. "Daiki... it's okay."

He looked at her for a long moment and smiled gently.

"Thanks, Suzume."