Silence.
Not the comforting kind that lingers after a summer rain, but the kind that seeps into your bones. Heavy. Hollow.
It was the third time I caught myself staring at the same math problem.
My pencil hovered over the paper, unmoving.
Outside the window, cherry leaves fluttered, catching the sunlight in patches—like flickering memories.
But something wasn't right.
Not with the question, not with the air.
With me.
Or… maybe, with him.
---
Kanzaki Riku.
Back row, near the windows.
Half in shadow, half in sun. Like a character from a dream that refused to fade.
Our eyes met for a fleeting second.
Not a glare. Not a greeting.
Just a moment that lingered far too long.
And in that stare, there was something I couldn't name.
Recognition? Pity?
...Fear?
---
Break time.
I didn't plan to speak with anyone. But before I could walk away, his voice stopped me.
> "Still chew your pencil when you're stuck, huh?"
I blinked.
That wasn't just a random observation. That was personal. Intimate.
I turned slowly.
> "…You noticed?"
> "I always notice," he said. Casual. Too casual.
We stood there for a moment, neither moving.
Then the conversation pivoted—like a curtain dropped before I could peek behind it.
Bread in the cafeteria. The math teacher's accent. The upcoming PE test.
It felt like talking to someone who was pretending to meet you for the first time—even though they already knew your ending.
---
Lunch. Rooftop.
The sun stung my skin. A breeze tugged at my uniform. I stood by the fence—not too close.
Looking down made my throat tighten.
Then it came. Not a memory. Not a dream. Something in-between.
> Screaming.
A high-rise window.
Reiji's back turned.
Ayaka—crying, whispering something I couldn't hear.
I stumbled backward, hand gripping the metal bars.
What the hell was that?
Why did it feel… real?
---
Back in the hallway, I passed by the teacher's office. Matsuda-sensei's voice floated out, calm and low.
> "The Kanzaki siblings… different families, yes, but the ties were never truly cut. Some roots just run too deep to forget."
Wait. Kanzaki?
My ears rang.
Ayaka. Riku.
Same surname? Could it be just a coincidence?
But something in my gut said otherwise.
If she knew something… if he knew something…
Then why are they pretending like strangers?
---
That night, the dreams returned.
But this time, they weren't mine.
I was in the back seat of a car.
Rain splattered against the windows. Someone was yelling. Screaming.
Then: a flash. Metal crunching. A child's scream.
> "Nii-chan…!"
I turned.
Yui. Crying.
Blood on her forehead.
Her small hand reaching through shattered glass.
I woke up with a jolt, gasping.
Sweat soaked through my shirt. My breath was ragged.
2:47 AM.
I checked my phone. A flicker of a notification—then gone. But I caught a glimpse.
> [Ayaka: "Please… let me try again. Just once more."]
I sat there, staring at the black screen.
My hands trembled.
Was it real? A glitch? Or…
Was she remembering too?
---
Next morning, as I dragged my tired body through the hallway, I saw Riku again.
He didn't smile.
His eyes were dark, unreadable. Like he saw something in me I couldn't.
> "You've changed," he said. "Did something happen… or did I just forget who you really were?"
I didn't answer.
Not because I didn't want to.
But because deep down…
I didn't know either.
---
[END OF CHAPTER 5]
---