4 – Summer’s end

Mari’s mother decided to stay in Sakurada, but Mari was ultimately taken into custody by the Administration Bureau. Kei didn’t know how it all went down between Mari, her mother, and the Bureau. No doubt there was a lot of worrying, difficulty, and compromise before they could reach an agreement.

He did know that Mari’s mother was incapable of receiving full custody of Mari. But she never forgot about her, and remained close enough to her to visit whenever she pleased. That was the end of it– and Kei could only shake his head. Things certainly weren’t over between Mari and her mother, at least. But they had a long road ahead of them, and that wasn’t a place for Kei to intervene.

It was Tuesday, August 31st, the last day of summer vacation. Kei laid in bed alone in the Nakano family outbuilding reading a book as it rained heavily outside. He was once again trying to get through the mystery novel that he kept having to put on hold. He had bought it before summer even started, and definitely figured he would have finished it long ago, yet there he was.

Just as he was digging into the final chapter, a knock sounded at his door. Two clear knocks, in a bouncy rhythm. The light style of knocking didn’t at all fit the gloomy day. Kei had all but confirmed that he was cursed to be interrupted while trying to read that particular book. Slapping the book shut, he got up from his bed.

He opened the door to find Souma Sumire. She stood under a red umbrella, carrying her typical smile. “Good afternoon, Kei.”

“Are you sunburned?” he asked.

“You think so? I don’t see a difference,” she responded, glancing down at her arms.

“Did you go to the beach or something?”

“No, not this summer. I was planning a trip to the mountains today, though.”

“The mountains?”

“Mhm. I wanna climb up somewhere high, so I can look off into the distance.”

“But it’s raining today.”

“The forecast says it’ll clear up by evening, though, and the sunset is beautiful after the rain. I wanna go see it as the perfect end to the summer.” A light sheet of rain fell behind Souma Sumire, coating the surroundings with a background noise. She tilted her head like a cat brimming with curiosity. “Do you have some free time?”

And so, Kei and Souma walked side by side in the rain. Souma carried her red umbrella, and Kei carried a clear plastic umbrella that he had recently purchased at a convenience store.

Their umbrellas amplified the sound of the falling rain as the humid air carried the evaporated moisture of the warm summer days. Kei looked up at the sky, and his umbrella gave the illusion that he was staring up through a transparent layer of water. But of course, he was on solid ground. He wouldn’t be able to breathe otherwise.

“And just like that, summer’s over,” Souma commented.

“Just summer vacation. Everybody can choose for themselves when the actual summer is over,” Kei rebutted.

“Fine, then. I say that summer ends today.”

“Very well.”

“So, Kei. Did you find your answer?”

“Answer?” Just as he asked the question, he comprehended what she meant.

Summer. Souma Sumire’s determined interval. Looking back on it, Kei had been wondering what that period would entail for quite some time.

Souma Sumire halted in place. She was in front of a bus stop that had a bench with an overhang to protect from precipitation. She folded up her umbrella and sat down.

Kei remained standing, holding his umbrella. “What, you’re gonna take the bus?”

“No, not really. It’s just nice to sit down where I won’t get wet.”

“But now the bus might stop when it doesn’t have to.”

“Well, I could get on if that happened. I’m going to the mountains, after all. I’m gonna see a beautiful sunset. How I get there doesn’t matter. Just stick with me until I go, okay?”

Kei glanced at the timetable. The next bus was scheduled to come by in 20 minutes. With a small sigh, he sat down next to her.

“Who’s the android?” Souma Sumire asked.

Kei answered, gazing at the rain-soaked timetable. “I’ve read all sorts of novels about androids. I kept having to put off this mystery novel I was into because of it. Thanks to that, I haven’t even seen the culprit get caught yet.”

“And?”

“I thought about why you might ask that question, and I think I might have a piece of it.” He could only hope he had caught on to what Souma really wanted to think about. He answered, “When I read about androids, all I can think about is humans. What makes a human? What do you need to add or subtract from a human in order to get an android? When I put it that way, only one answer came to mind.”

To think about androids was to think about humans. Kei had spent the entire summer thinking about humans. It started with Haruki Misora, but expanded to all sorts of other people. Back on April 28th, Kei, Haruki, and Souma had all gathered together for the first time. Souma Sumire posed her question so they could all think about humans, under the guise of creating a reason to get them back together.

Really, there was only one answer.

“None of us are androids. No matter how I think about it, we all must be human.”

“But this is a supposition. You’re supposed to assume at least one of us is an android.”

“If one of us were, we’d all have to be. Everyone is shaped by the people around them, after all. In that sense, everyone is created by other humans.”

Thought, reason, philosophy, and value are all created concepts, Kei thought. All humans are created by the people around them, even me.

Souma chuckled quietly. “Yeah. You’re probably right.” She turned her gaze to a place far away. She seemed to be looking even farther off in the distance than the rain clouds overhead. “Tell me something, Kei. Why are you here in this town?”

“What do you mean, why?”

“What made you want to abandon your parents so you could live here?”

Kei had no idea how she could have known that. But still, it didn’t seem all that strange. Someone like Souma Sumire was bound to know that about him. Really, it was only natural that she should know. He genuinely wasn’t surprised. “Because abilities are just so interesting,” he responded.

The possibilities that were held within the city and its abilities held tight to Kei’s will. The latent power of the city had captured Kei ever since that day two years ago. He wanted to explore the city, and find what lay beyond the walls of reason and reality.

Souma gave Kei a sideways glance before facing him straight on. “So, the same reason you gave me for wanting the reset earlier?”

“Mhm.”

“The reason why you want the reset applies to every ability within Sakurada?”

“Because it’s convenient.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“Sorry, but it’s the truth.” Kei hesitated for a second, then continued, “…I used to be just like Haruki. Just like her, when I was young, it seemed to me that everything that made up the world, and all of its rules, were sad.”

Haruki had said everything was sad. Everything that lived would die. Anything with a shape would eventually break. Those rules of life were inescapable, and that was sad. Kei used to share that exact sentiment.

“I had given up a long time ago. Everyday life was sadness incarnate. As long as the world was defined by those rules, there was nothing I could do. All there was was lifeless acceptance.”

That was the way he thought it would stay. It was horrible, but there was nothing that could be done except give in. But.

“But then, I found this town, and things were different.”

“Because of Sakurada’s abilities?”

“Yeah. Right in front of me, the rules of life that I was forced to previously accept were effortlessly broken.”

The keychain which had nothing left but to be thrown away was able to be restored to its original form. It was a small, meaningless event. It couldn’t be called a miracle. But it opened up new possibilities Kei didn’t know he had. What if there were more unknowns? What if there was something else he could do? What if he didn’t have to give up?

Sakurada’s abilities transcended every rule he had ever previously known, right to his face. He was shown the possibility of all the sadness and pain he had previously encountered being wiped away.

Souma Sumire nodded. “You stayed in Sakurada so that you could take back all the things you had given up on, one by one. And the reset fit right in, so you could have the power to try again without giving up.”

“It’s incredibly convenient. Her ability, of course.”

Kei could only imagine the number of problems that could be solved with a single do-over. How much sadness could he wipe away with his own hands by undoing the past? “I’m gonna make good use of Haruki Misora. I’ll use her for my own sake.”

“Use,” Souma lightly chuckled. “You really show off your bad streak when you start talking like that.”

“Well, yeah. I’m not a good person or anything.”

“So you’re just like Haruki. Just like the girl you admitted fit your ideal of goodness, you feel sad about a lot of things.”

“I’m nothing like Haruki. All it comes down to for me is that I just can’t handle it when I’m sad.” He only wanted the sadness to go away because it hurt. He wasn’t like Haruki, who could feel true sorrow without personal attachment.

Souma smiled, whispering, “You know that you just put yourself in a contradiction.” Kei knew that without needing to be told. But she continued, “You say that you don’t want to give things up, but I’ve watched you cut away your options without even blinking. Your heart is kind, so it feels pain, but you dismiss it as cruelty.”

Kei shook his head inwardly. That’s not true. It’s just not true. After all, the greatest contradiction of them all arose as soon as he entered the city.

“You know something, Kei? I think you deserve to be thrown a lifeline.”

Her words shocked Kei so much, he couldn’t help but repeat them. “A lifeline?”

“Yes. You need a lifeline, so you can feel better. So here, I’ll give you the words you need.” Souma Sumire shifted her gaze. Her eyes straight on Kei, she spoke. “You… are a bad person. Incredibly, horrendously bad. You don’t deserve forgiveness for what you did to your parents.”

Kei nodded. “Yeah.”

That was his great contradiction. Sakurada’s abilities drew him because he hated sadness, he hated pain, he hated settling. Yet as soon as he learned of his ability, he abandoned his own parents. At that moment, Kei became a bad person. No ifs, ands, or buts.

“Deep down, you want to be honest, and you would go to war with anyone and everyone over your sense of righteousness. You’re intelligent, and yet still incredibly childish. But your rational side refuses to let you accept yourself as a truly just person.”

Souma’s voice had quieted down significantly. It was as though her voice were mixing in with the rain.

“You wanted to help Mari all along, didn’t you? You could barely hold yourself back. But you’d never let yourself. How could you, someone who abandoned his birth parents, dare to condemn a mother for abandoning her child?”

Kei knew. It wasn’t like he could forget. He knew exactly what he had been thinking the first time that he learned of Mari. So he had no response. Unable to block his ears, Souma’s voice kept streaming in.

“You made Haruki your scapegoat. If you couldn’t save Mari, then you could just use Haruki. You needed that justification. It made you weak, it made you cunning, and it made sure that the bad person inside you never got the chance to become a good person.”

She’s exactly right, Kei thought. I’m weak, and cunning, and that’s all there is to it. Everything proved it, even the current moment. He felt so much better since she had laid it all on the table.

Souma Sumire smiled, gentle and soft. “So here, I’ll give you justification. Here’s your excuse to do what’s right.” Her eyelids slid closed. “Haruki is changing. She will come to know all sorts of new emotions. She’ll learn from you. You tell her that listening to music calms you, and she’ll believe that it’s calming. You tell her that the sky looks beautiful, and she’ll believe it’s beautiful.”¹

Her eyes slowly reopened, and Kei saw himself reflected in her pupils. He looked absolutely pathetic. Like a small, weak child, left all alone. Embarrassing as it was to admit, Kei lacked the capability to be strong in that moment.

Souma continued her quiet monologue. “Asai Kei. You must be a good person, for Haruki Misora’s sake. Someday, your beliefs may catch up with your feelings. But until then, make Haruki Misora your excuse. Guide her gently, and show her the right way to experience her emotions.”

Asai Kei had never felt true salvation more intimately than the moment those words were said to him. They were exactly what he wanted to hear, so much so that it made his cheeks start to burn. Somehow managing to keep his voice level, he responded, ”I’ll do as much as I can.”

Souma Sumire chuckled. “Somehow, whenever we’re together, we end up talking about Haruki.”

Kei smiled, bending corners of his mouth upwards. “Yeah, you’re right. I wonder why that is?”

“Well, that’s obvious, isn’t it?” Souma’s smile changed. It became malicious, like that of a feral cat who could never be tamed. “It’s because you love Haruki Misora.”

Kei closed his eyes lightly, answering, “That makes sense.”

“Aw, bummer. I totally thought you were gonna deny it,” Souma whispered, her chuckle floating through the rain, seeming to blend right in with the environmental sound.

After that, Kei and Souma talked for a while longer about nothing in particular. They discussed the future, the past, and the sunset.

Kei couldn’t help but ask, “So, why did you want Haruki and I to meet in the first place?”

Her answer was odd, and didn’t seem at all like an answer.

“I love communicating.”

She wanted to exchange all kinds of words with all kinds of people, from the greatest of blessings to the smallest of formalities. Something about the way she answered struck a chord with Kei, and he agreed. It was clear that she was trying to share something important: how to share the right words in the right way.

The rain continued falling. Something about the rain that day seemed so sincere, like a kind smile from just the right person. It made for a soothing atmosphere.

Eventually, the bus arrived, and Souma Sumire stood from her seat. “Wanna come with me to watch the sunset?”

After thinking it over, Kei shook his head. “I’ve got a book to finish.”

“I see. In that case, goodbye.” With a light wave, she turned to board the bus.

Was she seriously going to climb a mountain just to watch the sunset?

Kei just didn’t understand that girl.

✽

The following day, September 1st. Kei was alone on the southern school rooftop following the school’s opening assembly. Nobody had called him there. He simply got the urge to go.

The rain had lifted just before dusk the prior night, which gave way to clear blue skies above Kei’s head. A solitary cloud floated in the distance, staying in place due to the day’s lack of wind.

September had begun and summer vacation was over, but Kei wasn’t ready to admit that summer had ended yet. After all, the cicadas were still grandly chirping, and the warm atmosphere was enough to have quickly evaporated the puddles leftover from the rain.

Kei leaned back against the roof fencing and looked up at the sky. The blue sky felt so expansive that he almost expected to melt into it. Though he had gone up to the roof planning not to think about anything, his mind wandered towards his conversation with Souma the prior day. She really knew how to pick the right words, he thought.

He heard the sound of the rooftop door opening. Standing in the doorway was a single girl.

Haruki Misora. She had become so familiar to him, yet at first glance, he could hardly recognize her.

Her expression was blank, as always. Her eyes were lustrous as jewels, as always. Her hair swayed in time with her well-paced steps. But her hair was cut just above her shoulders.

“You cut your hair,” Kei remarked.

Haruki Misora looked a little more sporty with her hair cut short. She nodded in response. “I followed your instruction.”

“My what now?”

“You told me before that I should cut my hair.”

“O-Oh.” He certainly had said that. A whole two and a half months ago. He didn’t know why she jumped on it now of all times, but there was only one appropriate response. “It looks really good, Haruki.”

She tilted her head slightly. “Thank you very much.” Then, she smiled. Her smile was incredibly natural, spontaneous, and easier to describe as cute than beautiful.

Kei was suddenly struck with vertigo. He had never felt so upset by a girl’s expression before. It was so ridiculous, he smiled reactively. Look at me, acting like a lovesick schoolboy. “Could I touch your hair?” he asked. For whatever reason, he had been struck by the desire to touch the girl’s shortened hair.

Haruki nodded meekly, placing herself directly next to Kei.

Kei pulled up his right hand and touched her hair. He started at the top of her head, moving down to her ears. Her hair was very thin, yet soft to the touch, and warm from the summer sunshine. It felt like petting a cat’s back.

“I went to visit Mari yesterday,“ Haruki remarked.

“I see. What did you talk about?”

“We did not talk.”

“Why?”

“She was with her mother. I thought it best not to make my presence known.”

“Oh, that’s good, then.”

“Yes. It is very good.”

“Did it make you feel lonely?”

“No. Why would it?” Haruki tilted her head, as if the very purpose of the question had evaded her. She still was incredibly pure.

Kei took his hands and put them around Haruki’s head, pulling her close. He snuggled up to her like he would a blanket on a chilly morning. He didn’t have a reason why. Something within him simply wanted to try it.

Haruki offered no resistance, and her head settled into Kei’s chest. He could feel the warmth of their bodies mingling at the point of contact. It brought contentment from deep within him, but why?

Suddenly, something Souma Sumire had told him in a conversation long ago resounded in his head.

In those times, you just need to do away with words, and embrace the other person. Show them what love is from the bottom of your heart.

She had definitely been talking about times like the one he found himself in. No other options came to mind.

Haruki spoke, though her voice was muffled from having her face pressed into Kei’s chest. “I have been thinking about a zeroth rule.”

“For your ruleset?”

“Exactly that.”

Haruki Misora had previously shared her three rules. They were remarkably similar to the Three Laws of Robotics. Or at least, two-thirds of them were. Kei had also mentioned a Zeroth Law applied in post, and had come up with a challenge for Haruki.

Give it some thought. If you had a zeroth rule, what would it be?

“I have discovered my zeroth rule.”

“I’d be greatly interested in hearing it.”

“I will follow after you, putting my trust in anything you do and say.”

It was exactly what Asai Kei had been waiting to hear. He had obtained the reset ability, just as he set out to do.

In reality, the Zeroth Law of Robotics was quite simple: Humanity as a whole is placed over the fate of a single human. An incredibly logical addition.

Kei thought about sharing that, but stopped himself. It would have been pointless.

Haruki Misora continued, “I am certain that without your involvement, Mari would still be sad right now.”

“Hard to say. It’s not a given that everything will go well for her.”

Asai Kei’s ability was to remember everything he experienced, and he had no way of canceling its use. The same was not true for Mari’s mother, however. As soon as Sakagami removed his hand, Kei’s ability ceased on her. She could very well forget her love for Mari. History had every chance of repeating itself.

Haruki spoke. “The day before yesterday, Mari was smiling. You did just as you said, and wiped away her tears. I consider that to have been the right thing to do.”

She was wrong. “The only tears I wiped away were yours.”

Still pressed into Kei’s chest, Haruki tilted her head, then nodded. Kei could feel each individual movement.

“In that case, you wiped away the tears of the both of us. That would not have been possible were I following my own rules.”

Everything should have been going the way Kei had expected. But for some reason, he was overwhelmed with the desire to cry. He realized that the way things were progressing, he would end up squeezing Haruki far too hard, so he let go of her.

Haruki Misora stood up straight, looked directly at Kei, and declared, “I have been searching for my emotions for quite some time.”

Kei figured he knew where she was going. Most likely, she was about to proclaim a devastating misunderstanding. He knew she would, because he had spent all summer thinking about her. He had considered her words, her actions, her decisions, taking care not to overlook anything.

I probably understand Haruki Misora’s emotions better than anyone else right now. Almost certainly more than Haruki herself. She still wasn’t used to her emotions, so she was mistaken. It would have been better to stop her from continuing altogether. But, before he could muster up the courage, she said it.

“I am quite certain that I like you.”

She said it so happily. But she was wrong.

Kei slowly shook his head. “I’m glad that you think so highly of me. But I’ll tell you right now, it’s not romantic.”

She tilted her head meekly. “Why do you think that?”

“Because I’ve been thinking about you. I can figure out that much.”

She wasn’t used to emotion, so she was confusing her trust in him as romantic attraction. She had never even held herself in a special regard, let alone somebody else, so she simply wasn’t used to how it felt.

Kei managed to force out, “I don’t think falling for you is a good idea, given the way you are right now.”

Confusion clouded over her eyes. “I do not understand.”

“Yeah, I figured that.”

Kei put his hand on her shoulder. It required a great deal more courage to overcome his hesitation than touching her hair had.

Her summer uniform was thin and sleek, and the skin underneath was soft. He could feel the warmth of her skin and the shape of her bones being etched into his mind. The girl’s hair brushed against the back of his hand, and it tickled ever so slightly.

“May I?” Kei asked.

“Yes,” Haruki replied.

Kei brought his face closer to hers. Haruki didn’t close her eyes. Kei kept his own eyes open as well, perhaps out of an unfounded stubbornness.

Her lips were warm, and left no special sensation of taste.

Their lips parted, and after he put a slight distance between them, he asked, “Are you happy?”

He took a breath, and as the glow faded away, the girl spoke in a low voice.

“I don’t know.”

Perhaps she was just talking to herself. Her voice was incredibly low and small.

But Kei still heard it loud and clear.

He softly shook his head. “I’m not particularly happy.” He couldn’t even bring himself to sigh.

Haruki just isn’t capable of falling in love yet.

Of course, Kei knew that applied to himself as well. Perhaps his feelings could be compared to romantic attraction, but the core structure was different. It was far too early to start ascribing emotions as a reason to stay together.

“What matters is, by working together, we were able to wipe away Mari’s tears.”

Why did he spend that time hugging her for no reason? There was no need to take actions that would cause childish misunderstandings.

“Our abilities combined have the power to erase other people’s tears. That’s the most important takeaway. As I said, we could overcome most problems by working together. We can’t accomplish much on our own. So, our abilities will be the reason for us to stay together.”

Haruki continued to stare at him. Most likely, she had no idea what Kei was talking about.

Forcing a smile, Kei asked, “Do you have a save, Haruki?”

She nodded. “Yes, from two days ago, right before I went to bed.”

A small, distant cloud floated by itself in the sky.

Perhaps our meeting on the rooftop today was more fortunate than it seems. Kei couldn’t let things stay the way they were. It’s disgusting of me to kiss her just to prove that she doesn’t love me.

“Go ahead and reset, Haruki,” he commanded.

She would follow his order without hesitation. She had confessed to liking him, accidental or otherwise, and yet she would still eliminate that event herself. Of that he was certain.

But, the next time he saw her smile, he wouldn’t get that genuinely shaken reaction that he had felt just earlier. If nothing else, that made him feel a little lonely.

✽

Time was reverted back to 8 PM on August 30th due to the reset. Kei spent that evening exactly as he had the first time. He followed his memories, saying the same words, showering at the same time, and going to bed at the same time.

The following day was August 31st, the last day of summer vacation. It rained that afternoon, just as he remembered. He was alone in the Nakano family’s outbuilding, lying down on his bed to read a book. The same book that he read prior to the reset, of course.

Just before starting the final chapter, Kei began to anticipate Souma Sumire’s arrival. But he turned one page, then another, and no matter how much more he read, there was no knock on his door. Kei finished his novel, the rain stopped, and dusk settled in, but Souma Sumire did not appear before him with her red umbrella.

Kei glanced out his window. He beheld a beautiful sunset, similar to the one he saw before his first meeting with Souma by the tetrapods. He wondered if Souma was seeing the same sunset from atop the mountain.

Why didn’t she show up today? What changed from before the reset?

He didn’t know. Anxiety swept over him. Every other time, changes following a reset only happened due to his direct involvement.

He called Souma Sumire’s home, but nobody answered. He had no choice but to go to sleep as anxiousness continued to wrap tighter around him.

Then, September 1st.

Asai Kei discovered that Souma Sumire had died.

✽

Souma Sumire had lost her footing as she was mountain climbing in the rain. At least, that was how the story went, since there were no witnesses. She fell into the surging river below, and was swept downstream. Somebody happened to discover her and contacted the authorities. By the time the ambulance arrived, she had already gone cold.

I thought we were supposed to be in the warm season. That was Kei’s initial reaction. He didn’t know why he would think something like that. Even the raindrops are starting to get warmer, so how could she have gone cold?

If it was supposed to be a joke, it wasn’t funny.

He just found it so hard to believe.

Souma Sumire. He had never even considered the possibility of her dying.

It wasn’t long after walking into Nanasaka Junior High that he heard about it. He didn’t attend the opening ceremony. Instead, he walked up to the southern school rooftop, laid down, and looked up into the sky.

The wide expanse of blue felt like it had gravitational pull. It took up his whole range of vision, and he half expected to fall into it.

Is that basically what happened to Souma?

Kei started to laugh, his voice dry and weak. He still couldn’t bring himself to cry. He laughed, getting louder and louder to the point of sounding maniacal, then all of a sudden, he was asleep. He didn’t want to think about anything.

Seconds, minutes, hours. It didn’t matter. At some point, he opened his eyes, and found Nakano Tomoki beside him.

“Hey there, Kei,” he greeted.

“‘Sup, Tomoki,” Kei answered.

They were both silent for a while afterwards.

The sun was still high in the sky. It was probably still September 1st, which meant Kei couldn’t have been asleep for long.

Tomoki slowly began to speak. “I… saw Souma yesterday.”

“When?”

“Just before noon. I got home, and she was just there.”

“And?”

“She asked me to send a message into the future. She told me to send it forward two years, to herself.”

It didn’t make any sense. With nothing else to do, Kei looked back towards the sky. The deep, deep blues almost seemed to match the color of darkness.

Maybe I’ve been falling towards the sky this whole time, even while I was asleep.

It wasn’t really a line of thought worth pursuing. But maybe, if he kept falling and falling all the way to where it ended, he’d find Souma there.

“That’s all, really. I just thought it’d be worth telling you.” Tomoki stood up, offering neither complaints of his own sadness nor comforting words for Kei.

Staring into the sky, Kei asked, “What’d Souma say?”

“Hm?”

“What did she want to tell herself in two years?”

In a sigh, Tomoki said, “Can you hear my voice?” He confirmed that was all, and left the rooftop.

Can you hear my voice?

Kei didn’t know what it meant. He had no idea what Souma Sumire could have intended.

It’s been like that the whole time, he thought. I’ve never been able to figure out what Souma Sumire wanted. It was as though she had always been on a different level of understanding than him.

She always seemed to know everything about him, and he didn’t know how or why. She was like a daring, high-minded, and carefree stray cat who would suddenly appear, stay by his side, then disappear at a whim.

She had always been like that.

But despite the way things had always been, she didn’t show up to the rooftop.

Kei stayed on his back, continuing to stare up at the sky.

Before he knew it, the sun had set. As the rooftop was bathed in the sunset colors, Kei heard the sound of the door opening.

It might have been nice to feel the expectation to see Souma there. But he knew that it was only Haruki Misora at the door.

Kei had woken up, but didn’t feel like standing, so he continued to stare into the southern sky, now dyed a bright red. The setting sun approached on the right as the dark blue night colors seeped in from the left.

Kei heard Haruki Misora’s evenly paced steps as she approached, then saw her standing beside him. Her hair was cut short. It wasn’t surprising any more.

Kei looked up at Haruki, still laying down. “So you’re still at school.” It was only the opening ceremony day, so school would have let out at noon.

“I was waiting for you.”

“Me?”

“Yes. I waited at the shoe lockers, but you never arrived, so I went looking for you.”

“Why?”

“I have a request to ask of you.” Angling slightly down, she asked, “We must reset. We should be able to go back two days. Please help her.”

Oh, right.

Haruki Misora had no way of knowing that she had already reset. What was more, Souma Sumire’s death occurred within 24 hours of the reset, the only time that they couldn’t make up for.

“We can’t reset. We already did.”

“Even a reset was incapable of preventing her accident?”

“That wasn’t the problem.”

Souma Sumire had been alive before the reset.

She died because Kei had told Haruki to reset over some stupid kiss. He used the reset for whatever he wanted, throwing caution into the wind, and she died as a result.

Kei turned back towards the sky. He gazed at the meeting point between dusk and night, remaining incapable of answering Haruki’s questions. He hoped that if he just shut up for long enough, she would leave. Surely she would just go back home. But instead, she sat down next to Kei. Sitting down on his left, she asked him a question.

“Are you… crying right now?”

It brought back memories.

Memories of the question Souma Sumire asked from atop the tetrapods when they first met.

Are you crying?

Kei touched his cheek. Just as he figured, there were no tears.

Why couldn’t he cry? He was already so upset. He was already so frustrated. All he wanted to do was scream, so why couldn’t he manage just a few tears?

Nodding softly, Kei answered, “Yeah. I am crying.”

He may not have been able to shed any tears, but he was crying in his own way. He was crying and screaming, venting all his emotions at once in a great cavalcade.

All of a sudden, tears began dripping from Haruki Misora’s jewel-like eyes. They tracked down her smooth, white cheeks, below to her chin, then dropped to the ground below. The first was small, like a grain of sand. The second was slightly larger. Then, they began falling in unending rivulets.

“Are you sad?” Kei asked.

It was such a dull question. As if he needed to go out of his way to check. But there was no way to take back his sluggish reaction.

Unexpectedly, Haruki shook her head. “I am not the one who is sad.” Her tears continued to spill, each shining in the setting sun.

Nothing deserved to be beautiful in the world. Everything seemed to have been sullied. But the tears she cried were beautiful. Even in a world where Souma Sumire died, tears were still beautiful.

“You are the one who is sad. I am crying because you are sad.” With that answer, Haruki Misora continued to cry. Bursting into tears, even her sobs eventually started leaking out.

And so, the girl cried in place of the boy. She continued to cry beside the boy.

The sun continued to set, eventually casting the small world atop the rooftop into darkness.

At that point, the boy understood. The season was over.

That day, Asai Kei recognized the end of summer.

Two years later – August 30th (Wednesday)

Asai Kei and Haruki Misora, now first-year high schoolers, sat together atop the tetrapods. A peaceful sunset sank into the skyline.

As the last of the light slipped behind the distant mansion on the horizon, Murase Youka made her appearance. By the time that the pinks of the sunset had completely dissolved into nighttime blues, Sakagami Yousuke had shown up.

Everyone who had the abilities needed to extract Souma Sumire from the photo had arrived.

Sakagami had moved away from Sakurada in the winter two years past. But Kei knew that each year, around the anniversary of Souma’s death, he came back for a visit.

Everyone was ready to carry out the plan. Kei had gone over each person’s ability and their role to play the day before.

We’re going to bring Souma Sumire back to life.

At first, Murase Youka seemed a bit opposed to bringing someone back to life, but she ultimately acquiesced. No doubt her hesitancy came from being reminded of her brother, who had passed away in an accident. Quite to the contrary, Sakagami Yousuke had been on the ‘bring Souma back to life’ crew since day one. And not day one of the plan, but day one of her death, since two years prior. His feelings towards Souma were on par with religious fanatics.

Haruki had already saved on the 28th, before the situation was explained to the both of them. That put all of their preparations in order.

Of course, the 28th was two days ago, before Sakagami even arrived in Sakurada. Naturally, that made it a time before he learned of the plan to bring Souma out of the photo. Kei had intentionally chosen that time so that when all was said and done, Sakagami wouldn’t remember a thing.

Maybe it was the right call, maybe it wasn’t. He didn’t know. Maybe this situation has no right answer.

Kei fumbled around, still not having found his words despite all the prep time. After a business-like greeting towards Murase and Sakagami, he pulled the photo out of his pocket.

Two years ago, Sasano Hiroyuki took a picture of the very tetrapods they were beside. In it was Souma Sumire from two years ago.

Kei, Haruki, Murase, and Sakagami; each of them took a corner of the photo. Applying a bit of force, the photo tore with a soft rip. Immediately, a white light like a camera flashed engulfed their vision. Sakagami made a noise in surprise.

Kei closed his eyes once, and reopened them.

The temperature didn’t seem to have changed.

It was just as quiet as it had been before.

But the sunset, previously sinking behind the distant mansion, was still up in the sky. It was almost like they went only ten minutes back in time. But of course, the world they were in was a reconstruction of two years ago.

And so, he turned around, and there atop the tetrapods was Souma Sumire.

She was only a second-year in junior high, but she still managed to look mature. At the same time, she appeared to be a childish, mysterious girl. Her right hand was stretched out towards them, as if offering something. In that hand was the MacGuffin.

The thought of calling out to her didn’t even cross his mind.

She didn’t say anything either, simply staring at them, her lovely smile accented by the sunset.

It was the girl who had died two years ago. That stray cat of a girl, daring, solitary, and carefree. But at the same time, she was the girl who meticulously crafted and carried out an exacting plan, pulling it off with ruthless diligence. He thought that now he could appreciate just a little more of the emotion that went into her smile.

An android girl.

A girl who was bound to the future, as if following a set program. She had died for the sake of that future. More precisely, she had allowed herself to die for it.

Sakagami stood gaping for a while, dumbfounded. Then, he began to climb up the tetrapods, practically sticking to them. Murase followed behind him.

Kei let out a breath. At some point, he had stopped breathing. I’m definitely nervous, he thought.

Haruki Misora stood with her back to Souma, only looking at Kei. At first glance, her expression seemed as neutral as ever, but there was no doubt that several emotions were packed behind her gaze. She quietly asked, “Will you not go to her?”

Smiling, Kei shook his head. “I don’t think so. It feels like this isn’t the time to chat with her.”

Could the three of them ever return to the way things were?

Could they ever create another space like that rooftop?

That would be difficult to pull off. But that was only inevitable. The time where they could be together in ignorant bliss had ended two years ago.

Sakagami shouted something, still facing Souma. Murase was behind him, and seemed to be in a bit of a bad mood. Finally, Sakagami touched Murase and Souma’s shoulders. Left hand on Murase, right on Souma.

Murase turned around to look towards Kei, and her voice carried over. “Whole body, resets.”

With that, Murase’s entire body would be immune to the power of resets. Thanks to Sakagami, that property would be carried over to Souma. Resetting now had no bearing on them.

Quietly, Kei spoke.

“Haruki, let’s reset.”

End of Chapter 3

1. A notable aspect of this sentence is that Haruki’s given name, 美空, Misora, literally means, “beautiful sky.” This doesn’t seem to be much more than a secondary element of the sentence structure, though. ↩︎