The Final Farewell

The evening breeze of late summer wafted through the hospital room, hinting at the coming autumn. Outside the window, ginkgo leaves were beginning to show hints of color. The setting sun cast a gentle crimson glow on the white walls of the room.

Sora stood by the window, watching students making their way home from school. Their uniforms brought vivid memories flooding back of days long past.

"Sora..." Yuta's voice was hoarse as he called her name. His eyes still held the same kindness they had in high school, though deep wrinkles now mapped the passage of time across his face. Yet the way he looked at her hadn't changed at all.

"Yes?" She tilted her head just as she always had. Sora gently wrapped her hands around Yuta's aged ones.

"Do you remember? The day we first met?"

A gentle smile crossed Yuta's face at Sora's words.

"Yeah... you somehow knew my name right away."

"I did. It just came to me naturally. It still feels mysterious even now."

---

It was a May morning filled with expectation and curiosity. When Sora entered the classroom as a transfer student, a hush fell over the room as if all sound had ceased.

Her black twin-tails shimmered softly in the sunlight streaming through the windows. With a gentle smile, she introduced herself: "Nice to meet you all. I'm Sora. I'd be so happy if we could all be friends♪"

She then began hugging each classmate in turn. Amid the confused reactions, Sora kept laughing joyfully, declaring "Now we're friends!" to each person.

Then her gaze fell on Yuta, sitting by the window. "Is the seat next to Yuta-kun free?" she asked, causing a stir throughout the class. How did this new transfer student know his name?

But Sora just tilted her head and said, "I just had a feeling somehow."

---

"Since that day... you haven't changed at all."

Yuta's voice trembled.

"But I..."

Sora quietly shook her head, squeezing his hand more tightly.

"Yuta, you'll always be my friend."

"But I... I betrayed you," Yuta's voice caught. "Your grandfather asked me to... watch over you. In exchange for Asuka's medical care..."

---

"I knew," Sora smiled softly. "About grandfather, about Asuka-chan, everything."

After school in the classroom, Sora vividly remembered the day Asuka's condition had worsened. Yuta had been crying, face down on his desk. When she gently placed her hand on his shoulder, he looked up in surprise.

"It's okay," Sora smiled kindly. "Shall we go visit Asuka-chan together?"

Sora reading books at Asuka's bedside. Asuka's expression gradually brightening. Haruka bringing freshly baked bread, the four of them sharing those warm moments together.

Sora had known about Yuta's monthly reports to her grandfather. But that didn't matter to her. What mattered was that Yuta treated her as a normal friend. And that alone brought her true happiness.

---

"Why...?" Tears welled up in Yuta's eyes. "Why would you forgive someone like me?"

"Because," Sora smiled innocently, "Yuta was one of the few people who treated me like a normal friend. That alone made me so happy."

Memories of walking home from school came flooding back. "Let's go home together," she would say, walking beside Yuta. Their casual conversations as their shadows stretched long in the evening light.

"Sora..." Yuta's voice trembled again. "I've... always..."

As his words trailed off, Sora gently squeezed his hand.

"I'm sorry, Yuta. I don't quite understand those feelings. But..."

Sora gazed out the window. The sunset painted the sky in a warm amber hue, casting the same gentle light as those walks home long ago.

"I'm so glad I met you. The walks home together, taking care of Asuka-chan, the fun times in class—they're all precious memories."

Ten appeared at the windowsill, silently watching over them. The ginkgo leaves swayed in the breeze, casting gentle dappled shadows across the room.

"I'm glad... I met you... Sora..." Yuta's voice grew fainter. "Really... glad..."

With those words, the strength gradually left his hand.

As Sora gazed at Yuta's peaceful sleeping face, she felt confused by the strange sensation welling up in her chest. Was this what humans called "farewell"? Was this the "loneliness" that humans felt?

"Hey, Yuta," Sora whispered. "We'll see each other again tomorrow, right?"

The same words from their after-school partings long ago. But this time, there would be no response.

The setting sun painted the sky a deep crimson. Ten's eyes shimmered with an understanding far beyond human comprehension.

As the last light faded, Sora etched another experience of "eternal farewell" into her heart. Though she had experienced many partings—with Ume, Ren, and Asuka—saying goodbye to Yuta carried a special weight.

Though she couldn't fully comprehend it, there was something warm yet painful she could definitely feel in her heart. A feeling unique to Yuta, who had always been her "normal friend" since the day they first met.

The breeze through the ginkgo trees gently stirred Sora's hair.