Chapter 88 - Fractured Reflections
The cold breeze sweeping across Hoshikawa City carried the scent of early autumn, curling through the gaps in the classroom windows and brushing past Naoto's nape like an invisible hand. He sat alone in the empty classroom after school, sunlight splintering through the blinds into slanted golden beams that made the dust in the air seem like frozen rain.
His hands trembled slightly as he held the letter he had found that morning in his shoe locker—a letter from Himari.
"Naoto, I wonder how long we can keep dancing around this truth. There's so much I still haven't said. But if I were to disappear one day, I want you to know: You saved me. And yet, you belong to a world I can no longer enter."
Her handwriting was delicate, familiar. But what shook him most wasn't the words—it was the finality in them. He had read them over and over again, and each time, it felt like a new wound.
"You're still here?" a soft voice interrupted. It was Rika.
She stepped into the room with a quiet hesitance, her schoolbag loosely slung over one shoulder, her hair tied up differently than usual. Naoto quickly slipped the letter into his notebook and gave her a faint smile.
"Just thinking," he replied.
Rika walked over and sat on the desk in front of his, her eyes scanning his face with unreadable emotion. "You've been distant lately. Not just with me—with everyone. Even Souta noticed."
Naoto looked away, eyes fixed on the falling leaves outside. "I didn't mean to be. There's just... a lot going on."
"Is it about your mom? Or... her?" Her voice caught slightly at the end.
Naoto's silence was answer enough.
Rika inhaled, holding it before letting it out in a tired sigh. "You know, I used to think if I got close enough, you'd open up. That you'd look at me the way you used to look at her. But maybe that's not fair. Maybe you were never mine to begin with."
His head snapped toward her. "Rika—"
She held up a hand. "I'm not mad. I'm not even sad anymore. I just want to stop pretending." Her voice was steady, but her eyes shimmered. "I hate the way my heart aches when you're hurting and I can't do anything."
There was a long pause, filled only by the whisper of wind.
Then Rika added softly, "Souta said he saw you talking to her outside the hospital last week. Did she tell you she's leaving?"
Naoto's throat tightened. He gave a stiff nod.
"Then why are you still here?" she asked. "Why aren't you chasing her?"
He let out a bitter laugh. "Because chasing her means letting go of everything else. Of this place, of this life... of you. And I don't know if I'm strong enough to do that."
Rika reached forward and touched his hand briefly, a small act of kindness. "Then maybe it's time you decided what part of your heart you want to keep."
---
That night, Naoto stood outside the hospital where Himari's mother was staying. The building glowed like a lantern in the dark, silent and heavy. He clutched the letter tightly, unsure whether he was here to confront her or simply to say goodbye.
Through the glass doors, he saw Himari sitting by the garden, her figure illuminated by moonlight. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall of ink. She looked up as if she had sensed him.
"Naoto," she whispered as he approached.
He sat beside her, the bench cold beneath them.
"I got your letter," he said.
She nodded but said nothing.
"Why are you disappearing again? Why won't you let me fight for you this time?"
She looked at him with eyes that held lifetimes of pain. "Because love isn't always enough. And because some goodbyes are better than dragging someone into a tragedy."
"I decide what tragedies I face," he argued.
She laughed quietly, bitterly. "You're still the same. Always carrying the weight of others. But Naoto, not every wound you see needs your bandages."
"But I love you," he said. The words tasted like blood.
She froze, the air between them tightening.
"I know," she whispered. "I love you too. But sometimes... loving someone means walking away."
Naoto closed his eyes. The wind howled through the trees. The hospital lights flickered faintly behind them.
"Then let me walk with you," he said.
She shook her head slowly. "No. You have a life here. You have people who need you. And I... I have a past that won't let me go."
He turned toward her. "Then let me help you let go."
For a moment, she looked as though she might allow it. Then, as tears filled her eyes, she stood.
"Goodbye, Naoto."
And with that, she turned and walked into the shadows of the hospital garden, leaving Naoto alone in the dark with nothing but the rustle of leaves and the echo of unspoken love.
---
Back at home, Naoto stood by his mother's bedside. Her breathing was steady for once, her face calm. He sat and took her hand.
"I miss Dad," he whispered.
His mother squeezed his fingers gently.
"I think... I finally understand what you meant when you said love can hurt and still be beautiful."
She opened her eyes slowly. "And do you still love her?"
He nodded. "With everything I am."
She smiled faintly. "Then don't run from it. But don't forget the people who are still here."
Naoto swallowed the lump in his throat. "I won't."
As night fell completely over Hoshikawa, Naoto stared out the window, memories of Himari dancing with the autumn wind. He knew the road ahead would not be easy, and choices still had to be made.
But for now, he allowed himself to grieve, to remember, and to hold onto the pieces of a love that had shaped him.
Even if it was fading into the shadows.