Chapter 108: Thunder and an Encounter

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Translator: Soafp

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Thunder rumbled from the sky. Like an ominous premonition, the low, heavy sound enveloped the city.

The clock’s hands pointed to 6 PM. After school, the school building was deserted, utterly silent. I passed through the school gate and silently looked up at the sky. Swollen black clouds blanketed the sky, and raindrops began to fall. Cold droplets landed on my cheeks and shoulders.

Without worrying about getting wet, I walked through the main gate into the school grounds. The rain gradually grew heavier, creating large droplets on the asphalt. Still, my feet didn't stop. I had built up everything for this day.

The entrance hall was empty. The rows of shoe lockers stood lonely, and only the echo of my footsteps disturbed the silence. The damp air tickled my nose, and outside the window, a flash of lightning briefly lit up the surroundings.

I climbed the stairs one step at a time. My steps were filled with determination, but inside, I felt heavier than ever before. I touched the cold handrail and simply kept going—up, up. The eerily silent school building grew darker as the hallway lights had gone out.

In my mind, the events up to now started to surface naturally.

Suddenly, my eyes fell on the familiar classroom.

Come to think of it, that's how I parted with Miyabi… I still remember her cold words in that sunset-lit classroom: “I have to give him an answer.”

Back then, I was… truly desperate. She was everything to me. At school, my eyes always followed her. Just being with her made my heart feel warm. Even without saying anything, she understood me… she was that important to me.

That's why the words, “I've decided to go out with Yuji Godai,” hit me like a bolt of lightning.

“He said he'd make me the protagonist of his story.”

That line still grips my heart to this day.

Even when I desperately told her, “I'm trying to fulfill that promise!” she simply said, “Do you know how many years I waited?”

“How many years do you think I waited…?”

I had never seen her look at me with such cold eyes before. I could do nothing but crumble to the floor, sobbing. Before I knew it, she had become a different heroine, someone I could no longer reach. She was right. If I had just expressed my feelings properly back then… I finally understand how foolish I was.

Aoi said harsh things too. “Don't ever talk to me again.” That hit hard… honestly, it cut deep.

“You're a coward who doesn't try, can't get results, and breaks promises.”

Aoi turned her back on me, saying, “I've just been confessed to, too.”

“You were just pretending not to see us, weren't you?”

Her angry voice continues to pierce my heart.

But… after that, I won an award. When my father called to say I'd been listed for the Namiki Prize, I was alone, stunned, and could only laugh. As the youngest ever recipient—under the pen name “Hajime Rangaku.”

Ironically, just after my bonds with Miyabi and Aoi were severed, my novel was recognized. The story I wrote for those two, which I thought would go unnoticed, unexpectedly saw the light of day.

The rain grew even stronger, battering the window panes violently. It felt like someone was reaching out from the darkness. Even so, I didn't stop. I felt like if I did, I might never be able to move again.

Godai… that night still haunts my dreams.

Miyabi and Aoi were about to be… and all I could do was pound on the door. I threw myself at the locked karaoke room door again and again, but it wouldn't open. In the end, I punched it. My knuckles bled and throbbed with pain, yet I still couldn't protect them.

In the end, it was Kyoko-neesan who saved them. She kicked the karaoke door open with force.

That's when I truly realized: I didn't have the power to protect anyone yet. I was so pathetic, unable to do anything on my own—it was frustrating, humiliating, and I couldn't stop crying.

But the one saving grace was that because of all that—and the incident with Godai—Miyabi and Aoi finally began to understand me. They saw how hard I fought to protect them, and slowly opened their hearts again.

The time we couldn't express in words started to melt away, little by little.

It felt like the long-frozen relationships were finally thawing.

Midway up the stairs, I put a hand on the wall and exhaled softly. My breathing echoed in the narrow space, the only sign that this place still had life. One of the fluorescent lights on the ceiling flickered. Thunder roared again, and my shadow stretched out eerily.

Marin… Meeting her was kind of mysterious.

When we first met on the publisher's couch, she had this dignified air yet seemed approachable, and I was instantly drawn to her. I never imagined someone would treasure my work that much.

“I'm actually an actress, but there was a time when I was thinking about quitting.”

She confessed that honestly, with sincerity and a pure heart. She said reading my work gave her the courage to believe in her path again.

“It felt like fate—like I became an actress just to be in this movie!”

Her words moved me deeply. That my story could support someone's life like that. A novel I wrote just for Miyabi and Aoi had unknowingly become someone else's light.

Kagura also left a strong impression. She was the pushy type, a little overwhelming, but… that kind of closeness was comforting too.

“Sensei~! I'm your biggest fan! Please shake my hand!”

I was really startled when she suddenly grabbed both my hands. A woman with two careers—actress and singer—captivating so many with her talent, and yet she cared about someone like me.

“Aw, Sensei, are you blushing? So cute~”

When she laughed like that, it was so embarrassing I turned bright red. But being near her somehow gave me energy.

As for Ranko—we met at a café. When she mentioned “sugar dating,” I was surprised, but I'll never forget the straightforward look in her eyes.

“I was really happy then. Do you remember when we first met, Sensei?”

“I had just dropped out of high school and come to Tokyo, not knowing left from right. I only had a dream, thinking it'd all work out—but nothing did. My illustration work was going nowhere, I was broke…”

When she showed me that kind of vulnerability, for some reason, I felt as though I had been saved too.

“Your words have always been a treasure to me, Sensei. That's why… this time, I want to be your strength. I want to stay by your side.”

I think back—there were so many people. I'm glad I met them. Truly, from the bottom of my heart.

I reached the top of the stairs. At the end of the hallway was a door with a sign: “Rooftop Access Prohibited.” I placed my hand on the doorknob and closed my eyes for a moment.

The last thing I remembered was Konatsu-chan.

That time we ran into each other by chance in the hustle of Shinjuku. When I said, “Suz…chan?” she shouted.

“Don't call me that name!!”

Anger, pain, desperate denial—it was the first time anyone had thrown emotions like that at me. Her fists were clenched, her entire body trembling. Her whisper of “Why did you remember…?” pierced my chest.

I understood. Those emotions were real. That was her true cry.

She had been searching all this time—for Mizuki, for her past. She had been chasing the mystery of the girl named Suz-chan's death all on her own.

Even though she was scared, even though she was lost, she never stopped.

She had already stood in the places I pretended not to see.

That tremblingly outstretched map in her notebook—it felt like it was telling me to move forward.

Because Konatsu-chan was there, I was finally able to face the past I had kept running from.

Her shout, her tears—everything about her pushed me forward.

That's why now… I've decided I won't run away anymore.

I opened my eyes quietly and gripped the doorknob tightly.

“…Let's go.”

I murmured softly, then opened the door. Cold rain struck my cheek, and lightning flashed close by. I stood at a height overlooking the school building, the sky swirling with black clouds.

There was no one on the rooftop. I walked to the center, drenched in the rain.

My hair and uniform grew heavy with water. Still, I didn't avert my eyes—I looked up at the sky.

A metallic sound rang behind me. The door had opened.

Footsteps echoed, stepping onto the wet floor, barely audible under the rain.

I didn't turn around. I kept my eyes forward.

Silently, I repeated my vow in my heart: “I won't let anyone be taken away again.”

I clenched my fists. I could feel power gathering in my body.

A voice came from behind.

“I've been waiting… for you.”

I turned around slowly.

Standing there was a man in a black raincoat.

Amane Mizuki. The smile on his lips held something darker than the night.

“So we finally meet, Hajime-kun. I never imagined you'd come all this way on your own… It really worked out perfectly. Even the weather seems to be on my side.”

His voice was low and calm. Yet, behind his eyes, madness lurked.

The rain fell mercilessly between us, forming small puddles at our feet. Thunder rumbled again in the distance.

I no longer averted my eyes from the reality I had tried so hard to ignore.

While the rain struck me, I quietly opened my mouth.

“I came… to see you.”

Mizuki's expression shifted slightly.

“Oh… So you plan to face me alone?”

“No.”

I took a step toward him.

“I came to end everything.”

The moment I said that—before the words even finished—a blinding flash of lightning tore across the sky.

The entire rooftop was bathed in bluish-white light.

In that light, Mizuki's and my shadows stretched long—and crossed paths.