Chapter 10 - Is It Her ?

Tuesday — After school

The sky was thick with clouds, grey and unmoving, as if the city had collectively decided not to feel anything for a while.

Reiji Kazama sat on the fire escape outside the school building, where the cigarette butts and broken chalk lived. He didn't smoke. Just liked the smell. It reminded him of his uncle's shop. Of loneliness with a hint of comfort.

He hadn't drawn anything since the festival.

Too much noise in his head. Too many almosts. Almost confessed. Almost ruined everything.

Almost stayed.

---

The door creaked behind him.

"Figures you'd be here."

He didn't have to look. Sakura Inoue.

Always composed, always tidy. Her shoes didn't even scuff the steps as she sat down beside him.

"You skipped cleaning duty."

"I wasn't assigned."

"You always say that."

He grunted. "Guess I'm predictable."

"Not anymore."

She pulled her knees up to her chest, rested her chin on them.

"You've been… different lately."

He didn't respond.

"Is it her?" she asked softly.

That made him turn.

Sakura wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were on the rusting stairwell railing, as if afraid of whatever might be on his face.

"I saw you two. At the festival. The way you looked at her."

Silence.

"You looked… happy," she said. "Not fake-happy. Not the 'I guess life is pain and we deal' kind of happy. Just… real."

His throat felt tight.

She laughed once, but it was small and bitter. "You know, I think I used to like you."

That hit harder than it should have.

"I thought… maybe, if I could fix you, you'd see me."

Reiji turned away. "I'm not broken."

"I didn't say you were. I said I thought that. Back then. Idiot me."

She stood.

"I guess I hated her for it. For changing you in a way I never could."

He finally spoke. "She didn't change me. She just… didn't look away."

Sakura blinked. "Is that all it takes?"

"Sometimes."

For a long second, neither of them said anything. Just the wind between rusted rails.

Then Sakura smiled faintly. Not kind. Not cruel. Just real.

"You really like her."

"…I don't know what I'm allowed to feel."

"That's not the same thing as not knowing."

She looked at him one last time. Her voice was calm, but her eyes shimmered.

"I'll stop watching you now."

She turned and left.

---

Later — Boys' Restroom

Reiji stood at the sink, water dripping from his face. Not because he'd washed it. Because something inside cracked wide open.

The tiled floor blurred. His breathing hitched.

No punches. No yelling. Just… silence. Heavy and echoing.

He gripped the sink tighter.

Why does it feel like something's falling out of me?

Why do I feel like a kid again?

He didn't cry. Not fully.

But his face stayed wet long after the tap stopped.

---

Evening — The Park

He didn't know why he walked there.

Maybe because it was quiet. Maybe because it smelled like autumn. Maybe because part of him hoped they'd be there.

And there they were.

Asuka Minazuki, seated on the bench in her cardigan, arms wrapped around a napping Yume, whose head rested on her lap.

They looked like a painting. The kind that felt too soft to be real.

Reiji stood behind the tree line and watched. He didn't move. Didn't call out.

Just… watched.

He thought of the words he'd almost said that day. Of the ones he did say.

"I hate everything."

"But not you."

And now he wondered if maybe that was enough.

He turned around and walked away. Slowly.

One foot in front of the other.

Even though every step felt heavier than the last.

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