Akari's Fall
"To feel someone else's pain…
is to finally touch your own."
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[Scene opens]
On a shattered rooftop in Ningenai — the wind is sharp, the night quiet.
Saito walks up slowly.
He was drawn here.
Not by footsteps, but by a voice.
A small one.
Akari's.
---
He sees her.
Tiny frame. Standing near the edge.
Back turned.
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Saito (gently):
"Akari…? What are you doing up here?"
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Akari (still facing forward):
"Everything looks smaller from up here… doesn't it?"
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Saito's breath slows.
His steps, careful.
He begins moving toward her.
---
Saito:
"Looking down is easy…
But falling down…
That never is."
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Akari (half-laughs):
"I've already fallen before.
No one caught me then."
---
Saito freezes.
She's thirteen…
But that voice carries the weight of someone who's already given up.
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Saito (softly, emotional):
"I'm here now.
I'm with you."
---
Akari (finally turning to face him):
"No.
You're not.
You don't know pain like mine.
You were born perfect."
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Saito (voice breaking):
"I was perfect…
But I was completely broken inside.
I thought feeling made me weak…"
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Akari:
"Then feel, Saito.
Prove it."
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He takes another step.
She wobbles near the edge.
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Saito (shouts):
"AKARI—!!"
---
She doesn't fall.
But her foot slips — for a second.
And in that second, Saito lunges and grabs her hand —
tight.
---
Saito (tears falling, hand trembling):
"I won't let you go.
I've been running from myself all this time.
But not anymore.
If I save you… maybe I can finally save what's left of me too."
---
Akari (in shock):
"Y-You're shaking."
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Saito:
"Because I'm scared.
Because for the first time…
I actually feel alive."
---
Akari looks at him.
Really looks.
Then her tears fall —
Not hidden.
Not ashamed.
Real.
---
They both sink down to the rooftop floor — still holding hands.
---
Akari (cracked smile):
"I was never perfect…
But I just wanted someone to see me…
Without fixing me."
---
Saito (softly):
"I see you now.
Because for the first time…
I'm starting to see myself too."
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[Scene fades]
Moonlight spills across the terrace.
Saito's eyes… don't look perfect anymore.
They look warm.
Still scared.
Still lost.
But real.
His hand still holds hers.
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Final Narration (Saito's inner voice):
> "I wasn't saving her…
I was seeing myself inside her pain.
Maybe that's what humanity really is —
When we hear our silence
inside someone else's broken voice."
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End of Chapter 11