Chapter 0: Prologue

Even now, as a high school student, I remember it well. The elementary school classroom floor that creaked when you stepped on it. The lively voices echoing across the small playground. The battered desks with holes here and there.

I hated Japanese class. Math class put me to sleep. During social studies, I secretly talked with the guy next to me about the anime we watched the day before. I kind of liked those empty, repetitive days. And on that day, too, I thought those days would just continue.

After school. In the corner of the classroom, a group of girls had gathered, making a fuss. “That’s amazing, Ayano-chan!” “It was so good!” “Let us read the next part when you write it!”

Everyone was saying things like that, praising a single girl. But to me, that scene was just another familiar part of everyday life.

My childhood friend, Ayano Yumemigasaki, had been letting people around her read her original stories for the past year or so. She was showered with unsparing praise, constantly being called a genius or a master author. At the time, I was far removed from such a noble hobby as reading, but I was always half-forced to read Ayano’s novels. However, when I actually read them, even someone like me who didn’t usually read honestly thought Ayano’s stories were genuinely interesting.

“As expected, Ayano-chan really is the daughter of Kaidou Ichika-sensei! Such amazing talent!” someone blurted out.

Ayano’s parents were divorced, and she was living alone with her father. And her mother was the famous novelist everyone knew, Kaidou Ichika. That was something every classmate was aware of. Perhaps because of that, many in Ayano’s class took an interest in novels.

The girl who had mentioned her mother’s pen name, Kaidou Ichika, panicked and shut her mouth. “Ah! S-Sorry! I shouldn’t have brought up your mom…”

At that time, it hadn’t even been a year since Ayano’s parents divorced. Our classmates were considerate of Ayano, who was likely still in shock over it, and tried not to bring up Kaidou Ichika’s name as much as possible.

Ayano quietly shook her head. “…No. It’s okay. I don’t mind anymore.”

Her voice was so small it seemed like it would fade away. Looking closely, she looked pale. Perhaps noticing that Ayano was acting strange, the girls then proceeded to shower her novel with every compliment under the sun. Once they ran out of things to praise, they all went home satisfied.

However, Ayano didn’t go home with that group. Instead, she came over to where I was hastily working on a math worksheet in the corner of the classroom.

“Ko-chan, what have you been doing this whole time?” “…A math worksheet.” “Ah. Come to think of it, you were asleep during math class the entire time.” “But I’m almost done. What about you, Ayano? Aren’t you going home with them?” “…Yeah. I’m just not in the mood today.”

Perhaps hearing Kaidou Ichika’s name earlier reminded her of the mother who had left home; Ayano’s expression was still clouded.

“I see…”

When I shifted my gaze back to the math worksheet, Ayano let out a faint, trembling voice. “…Hey, Ko-chan.” “Hm? What is it?”

When I asked back without taking my eyes off the worksheet, Ayano sat down in the seat in front of me and whispered, “You’ve already finished reading it, right?”

My heart skipped a beat, but I understood her intent and pulled out the notebook I had borrowed from her two days ago from my bag. This was the notebook Ayano had been using to write her stories lately. Because it was frequently passed around the class, the edges were a bit faded. When I placed the notebook on the desk, Ayano traced the cover with her finger and asked point-blank, “What did you think?”

With a gloomy, clouded expression, Ayano’s eyes stared intently at me. I hesitated to answer and looked away.

“A-A minute ago, those guys said plenty, didn’t they?” “I want to hear your thoughts, Ko-chan.” “No, but…” “Please. Tell me.”

Ayano grabbed my hand as if pleading and leaned her face in close. My gaze was naturally drawn to her earnest eyes. For a moment, I considered stringing together some generic words to gloss over the situation, but the sheer strength of Ayano’s grip on my hand overwhelmed me, and I backed down.

And so, giving in, I answered honestly.

“……It wasn’t interesting.”

In the classroom, which was suddenly empty except for me and Ayano, the occasional voices of students playing on the playground drifted in. I figured that after hearing my thoughts, Ayano would snap back with something cheeky like, “What’s so boring about it?” or “You just don’t understand novels at all, Ko-chan.”

However, her reaction was completely different from what I expected. Tears welled up in her eyes, and her lips began to tremble uncontrollably.

“A-Ayano…?”

Caught off guard by this, I didn’t know what to do and just stared blankly at her face. Through my mind, which had gone completely blank, her feeble voice echoed.

“I see… I knew it… I knew that you, Ko-chan… That only you would…”

As she said that, a single tear rolled down her cheek and dropped onto the notebook on the desk. Seeing that, I finally realized the mistake I had made.

I have to apologize! Thinking that, I somehow managed to open my mouth. “A-Ayano, I—”

But my words were cut off. “Sorry. …I’m going to go home now.”

Spitting those words out, Ayano turned on her heel and bolted from the classroom. All that was left behind was the notebook abandoned on my desk, and the guilt of hurting my childhood friend.

I shouldn’t have been so honest… I should have at least said it a bit more gently…

Burdened by irreversible regret, I let out a heavy sigh and slumped over my desk. “Tomorrow, when Ayano comes to school, I’ll apologize first thing in the morning…”

But the tomorrow I was waiting for never came. Because after that day, Ayano suddenly moved away and transferred to another school.

If only I hadn’t said bad things about her novel back then… If only I had chased after her right away when she ran out of the classroom…

Would something have changed?