Chapter 2: Hearts Misaligned, Trust Eroded
Translator: Soafp
By early summer, when the scent of the rainy season was beginning to thicken in the air, the closeness between Sakura and Kurosaki only continued to deepen. They spent more and more time together outside of club activities, and even on weekends, they often went out under the pretext of track practice or meets.
Sakura hardly spoke to Ao anymore, and when their eyes met, there was a certain coldness in her gaze. Ao felt a growing, indescribable loneliness.
Her eyes no longer sought him. They were always looking toward Kurosaki now—
As if Ao's presence had never existed to begin with.
“Hey, Ao… lately, Ichijou-san's always with Kurosaki-senpai, huh?”
It was lunchtime on a certain day when Kazama Hayato, Ao's close friend, spoke to him with a worried look on his face.
His words gave shape to the discomfort Ao had been feeling for some time.
“Yeah… I guess she's just really into track practice these days,”
Ao answered, trying to sound indifferent.
But Hayato's next words clamped down tightly on Ao's heart.
“I heard some bad rumors about Kurosaki-senpai…”
Choosing his words carefully, Hayato told Ao that Kurosaki had apparently gotten close to other girls before—only to toss them aside once he lost interest.
One of the girls had even stopped showing up to club activities afterward.
The vague sense of unease Ao had felt until then suddenly crystallized into solid mistrust.
So he really can't be trusted.
What if Sakura was just being used by him?
That thought squeezed at Ao's chest.
Unable to hold it in any longer, Ao decided to confront Sakura directly.
That day after school, he waited near the track club's clubroom until she came out.
“Sakura, can we talk for a minute?”
Sakura looked a bit surprised by the seriousness in his voice.
“What's up, Ao? You're being all serious all of a sudden.”
“You shouldn't trust Kurosaki-senpai so easily. There are some bad rumors going around about him.”
Ao tried his best to stay calm but firm as he spoke, relaying what Hayato had told him.
He told her honestly that Kurosaki had done similar things in the past, and that he was worried Sakura might get hurt.
But Sakura, who had full faith in Kurosaki, didn't even try to listen.
Instead, she cut him off with a sharp tone.
“What are you talking about, Ao!? Senpai's not like that at all! You don't even know him!”
She got more emotional than Ao had ever seen her, lashing out with a mix of distrust toward him and blind faith in Kurosaki.
“Why would I believe some baseless rumor like that!? Senpai is kind and always supports me!”
Her voice trembled. That tremble told Ao just how deeply she trusted Kurosaki.
Then came the words that stabbed deepest.
“You have nothing to do with this anymore! So stop getting in my way!”
Ao was left speechless by her intensity.
He hadn't imagined she'd get this upset.
From that day on, Sakura began openly avoiding Ao.
She started going to and from school exclusively with Kurosaki, and at school, she no longer even tried to make eye contact.
If Ao tried to speak to her, she would walk right past him with a smile, chatting with Kurosaki, as if Ao wasn't even there.
It was unbearably painful—like his very existence was being denied.
One lunchtime, Ao was eating alone when Sakura and Kurosaki passed by nearby, laughing happily together.
Without thinking, Ao called out to her back.
“Sakura, hey—”
But she cut him off coldly, her voice devoid of warmth.
“We're not even friends anymore. Don't talk to me. Just leave me alone, okay?”
In that moment, a despair deeper than anything Ao had ever felt pierced through him.
The childhood friend who had always been by his side—
Had severed ties with him completely.
Without a sound, Sakura vanished from Ao's world.
Under the overcast rainy-season sky, Ao stood alone, drenched by the falling rain.
The sound of cicadas rang out unnaturally loud in his ears.
And in his heart, it felt as though he was sinking into darkness.
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