Hoshi Ga Hatetemo Kimi Wa Nare Chapter 3 By: thai130898

"Hah--"

I carried the case with the recording equipment into Rukina's room and took a breath.

I chugged a can of tomato juice I took from the fridge and got lost in thought.

I was pondering about the boy named Tsukishiro Ikki.

The future where he commits suicide on the promised day hasn't changed so far.

Well, that's to be expected. While I've made some progress regarding his noise, we haven't reached a fundamental solution. The inexplicable noise that assails him must be painful to a degree I can't even imagine.

But. Lately, watching him gave me a sense of relief. He talks with Rukina often, and somehow, I felt he had become more human than when we first met.

Perhaps-- to the extent that it made me feel that way, he had been looking like just an ordinary boy you could find anywhere these days.

With that in mind.

Today, Tsukishiro Ikki was clearly acting strange.

"...I wonder if I stepped on a landmine."

To be precise, he started acting strange partway through today.

If you ask me since when, I can't give a specific timing, but by the time I noticed, all of his spirit had vanished. It was exactly as if his soul had left his body.

On the way back, Rukina and I called a taxi, but he alone left a LINE message saying he "had something to do" and disappeared into the streets of Sakae.

Should I have stopped him back there?

Should I have chased after him instead of prioritizing not leaving Rukina alone?

I had a strange sense of foreboding.

On a whim, I headed to the small room I had lent to Tsukishiro.

My purpose was his personal belongings-- a pass to peek into his future.

Ordering Tsukishiro to do his laundry and bathing outside, this was my real objective. To periodically create time when he wasn't in his room, and to use that gap to see his future.

I checked every day. Whether the future where he commits suicide on the promised day had changed. And, just in case, whether he had taken his own life halfway through our promise.

So, this is the usual check. Just by doing the routine I've been doing for three months, nothing different will happen. Telling myself that, I touched the charger plugged into the outlet.

--It was the worst possible result.

"You've got to be kidding me!?"

What floated up was the sight of a familiar boy being slammed into a train.

And, a sensation only I could understand. The exact time of the scene I saw.

December 3rd, 2023. 6:39 PM.

Just thirty minutes from now.

"!! That idiot!!"

With future sight, once you see a target's future, you can't see their future at any other time.

But I had thought that if that person's future changed and they were to die before that time, it would be a different story. And that hypothesis was correct. Perhaps because no further time exists for that person who dies, the relevant time for the future sight is apparently updated to that final moment.

"I knew it, something happened at the studio earlier...!! What should I do, what should I do...!!"

I trembled with fear. At the sudden, close presence of death, my mind was in utter chaos.

However, my thought process, activated by the crisis, surprisingly quickly spat out a single conclusion.

I will not let him die.

I pulled out the charger and focused my consciousness again.

To foresee his final moment more clearly.

--A train platform. Probably the subway. The moment Tsukishiro jumps in is projected there. The destination sign on the first train car reads "Meijo Line (Clockwise)." It's the municipal subway's loop line that goes around Nagoya city, an essential part of Nagoya's transportation.

"...Guh!?"

Suddenly, I was hit by a violent dizzy spell. A side effect of a deep future sight. But I couldn't be bothered with that. His remaining lifespan was a provisional thirty minutes. If that time passes, there's no getting it back.

"...There are few clues. Which station is this?"

The subway platforms all look the same, making it hard to distinguish them.

I wiped away the beading sweat roughly, gritting my teeth in pain as I peered even deeper into the future.

--Zooming out the view... the electronic display board... "18:40 Meijo Line Clockwise--" "Geh, goh!!!!"

I gagged violently. Tormented by a severe headache, I gripped my long bangs tightly and somehow endured it.

I got a big hint. A station where the Meijo Line clockwise train departs at 18:40.

If I can just identify that, I can stop his suicide.

I dashed out of the room. I grabbed my phone lying in the living room and launched a transit app. I set the departure time to the relevant time and was about to do a brute-force search of all the Meijo Line stations I could remember-- but I luckily found it on the second try. The station on the Meijo Line clockwise with an 18:40 departure.

"'Atsuta Jingu Nishi'... By train it's about twenty minutes... no, that's no good, I can't concentrate on future sight on a train!!"

Atsuta Jingu, the massive shrine situated in the center of Nagoya City where the famous Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi is enshrined. Atsuta Jingu Nishi Station is one of its nearest stations. From Nagoya Station where I live, taking the subway involves a transfer. There's no way I can travel while using future sight.

Besides, first of all, as an actress, I rarely took trains other than the Shinkansen.

My only option was to change the future inside a taxi.

I put on my mask and sunglasses, threw on a jacket, grabbed an empty trash bag in case of vomiting and my wallet, and flew out the door. Waiting for the elevator was frustrating. Once on the ground, under a dark, overcast sky, I ran towards the main street in search of a taxi.

"To Atsuta Jingu Nishi subway station, please. Hurry."

I told the driver concisely, and once seated, I closed my eyelids and dived into the darkness with the charger.

In the future I just saw, he jumped at the very back of the platform, where the train's momentum is strongest. I know the position. All that's left is my action.

First, the future where 'I appear at Atsuta Jingu Nishi station.' As a result of seeing his future, I use my future sight to confirm what happens to his life with my changed actions. However, there was no change.

Next. I peeked into the future where 'I kiss him if I see him.' --But, it doesn't change. That idiot!!

Next!! What if 'I reveal my identity to the people waiting for the train, tell them he's a suicide attempter, and restrain him with the help of those around'?

--It doesn't change.

...R-right. What if 'I press the emergency stop button before the train arrives'?

--It doesn't change.

"...Why, the hell!!!!"

I instinctively punched the door sideways. I couldn't bear the recoil and ended up vomiting into the trash bag I was holding.

"M-miss!? Are you okay-" "Just go-!! Hurry up!!"

I had no composure to maintain appearances. Ignoring the bewildered driver, I dived back into the virtual future world.

A full nelson from behind. A kick to the groin. Throwing a puke bag-- but no matter what I did, he didn't stop. The coming future was always the same crimson tragedy.

Why. How. No matter what, this is just too strange.

The future has never been this unchangeable before.

No, even if it doesn't change, there should be some variation in the scene I see.

For example, it's not just Tsukishiro jumping alone, or something.

For example, the jumping position shifts back a few meters, or something.

For example, the force of the jump weakens and his posture changes, or something!

And yet. No matter what I do, no matter how I interfere, the future where he gets hit by the train doesn't change. He gets struck by the train at the exact same time, same place, and in the same posture.

...No way. I won't make it?

A traffic jam? A car accident? It occurs to me that I might not even arrive at the station by the designated time. In that case, it's only natural that the outcome remains the same no matter what I try to do. Because that's just an intention, and it won't be executed in the actual future.

"Driver!!!! How much longer until Jingu Nishi!?"

"Y-yes, there's traffic... so it'll take another thirty minutes, I think."

I checked the time on my phone. 6:16 PM. There was no way I'd make it by the scheduled suicide time of 6:39 PM.

"...Damn it!!!!"

Spitting a curse that was both angry and impatient, I instinctively punched the car seat.

Would this not have happened if I had taken the train... no, don't give up yet!!

I slammed a 10,000 yen bill at the driver and jumped out of the stopped taxi. I heard a voice calling me to stop, but I ignored it and started running down the road where cars were lined up at a traffic light.

Of course, I wasn't going to run there. My objective was singular.

"Mister!!"

I placed my hand on the shoulder of a driver on a large motorcycle waiting at the front of an intersection for the light to change.

"Hm?" The full-face-helmeted rider turned around, and his movement stopped.

Though his face was invisible, his astonishment was clearly conveyed. Because--

"Ho- Hoshimiyuu-!?"

--I had undone my disguise of mask and sunglasses.

I pleaded with him, using the upward glance I had cultivated during my life as an actress to inspire a desire to protect.

"...Please don't ask for a reason. Just, I need you to take me to Jingu Nishi station right now."

"Riding double?"

"Riding double."

"Leave it to me!!!!!!"

Receiving an acceptance even louder than the bike's exhaust, I put my disguise back on, donned the helmet tossed to me by the rider, and jumped onto the back seat.

With good timing, the light turned green.

In an instant. With a roar, the iron horse carrying us left the scenery behind.

While nearly being blown away by the relative blast of wind, I clung to the rider's waist and held on tight. My upper body was jolted like a rodeo with every rough lane change worthy of a violent video game, but speed was the priority.

"Mister!! Thank you!! You're a real lifesaver!!"

The reply came in the form of the accelerator. The bike, gaining even more momentum, shot through an intersection that was about to turn red at a furious speed, and tore through a sharp curve with a drift that left tire marks.

I peeked at the bike's tachometer. It was going 140 kilometers per hour. No wonder the wind piercing my fingers was so sharp. The temperature was supposed to be around 10 degrees, but the wind chill felt like it was well below freezing.

As a meager resistance, I slipped my fingers inside my sleeves. It was a small comfort that my head was protected from the freezing wind thanks to the helmet.

"Hoshimiyu-chan!! By what time do we need to get to Jingu Nishi!?"

"As soon as possible!! Do you know what time it is!?"

"It's 6:32 PM!!"

"Thanks!! Please keep rushing like this!!"

Seven minutes left.

A small amount of time squeezed out by a speed that completely ignored traffic laws.

The remaining problem was that in the future sight within the taxi, the future couldn't be changed.

The 'future where I don't arrive in time' has now been eliminated, so for him to complete his suicide, he should have to shake off my restraint, but.

--Is this really, going to be okay?

I thought, while taking the cold, skin-piercing wind with my whole body.

Something feels off. A bad premonition that I'm overlooking something fundamental invades my brain and won't stop. But without resolving it, the time came.

"Hoshimiyu-chan!! We're here, Jingu Nishi!!"

The bike stopped on the side of the road.

On the subway entrance right next to us were the words "Subway Atsuta Jingu Nishi Station Exit 1." I made it in time.

I hurriedly got off the bike and tossed him the helmet.

"Thanks, mister!! Try not to get caught!!"

"It was like a dream!! I don't know what you're doing, but get it done before it starts raining!!"

With a sharp thumbs-up, the rider gallantly sped away.

I ran down the stairs leading to the subway, tapped my IC card on the automatic ticket gate, and went inside. I went down another flight of stairs indicated by a sign that read "Meijo Line Clockwise."

As soon as I arrived on the platform, I forgot I was out of breath and searched all around for Tsukishiro.

It was Sunday, but it was a relief that there were few people.

In the closed air peculiar to the subway, I ran to the back end of the platform where the clockwise train arrives. That was the place where Tsukishiro would throw himself onto the train in a few minutes-- or, it was supposed to be.

The person in question was nowhere to be found. Three minutes until the future I just saw. He should be on standby by now, or he won't make it in time for the event.

--The future has changed?

I don't know what the factor was, but was Tsukishiro's suicide prevented by my actions?

Considering that his suicide didn't change in the future sight in the taxi, the only other possibility I can think of is a change in traffic volume due to the motorcycle's reckless driving--

Suddenly. A terrifying chill ran down my spine.

As if urged on, I looked around the platform frantically. Just as I thought. Something's wrong.

The final moments of Tsukishiro I saw earlier. The background of that and this platform don't quite match up.

The electronic display board showing "18:40 Meijo Line Clockwise," which should have been in frame in the future sight, isn't nearby. It's hanging from the platform ceiling at least twenty meters away from me.

"...What? What's going on? I don't get it, I don't get it!!"

My hands were shaking. My breathing was ragged. An unbearable chill licked at my entire body.

6:37 PM

Two minutes until Tsukishiro Ikki's final moment.

"Think, think, think!!!! ...That's right, his charger!!"

I hurriedly searched my jacket pocket... but a chill ran through my insides. I couldn't feel the charger.

--The taxi. My haste in getting out, not even checking for forgotten items, was fatal.

A bone-chilling sense of loss made my breathing become ragged.

Now, there was no way to confirm his future. Whether the future had changed, or not. Whether he was alive, or dead. --Even that, I didn't know.

"R-right!! My phone!!"

I took out my phone and made a call. The recipient, of course, was the suicide-aspirant-- Tsukishiro Ikki.

"Please, please, please, please..."

I muttered like a curse, clutching at straws.

I desperately held down my numb, trembling hands and listened for the periodic ringing tone.

There's no way he'll pick up,' a voice in my head said. While about to be crushed by anxiety, I focused all my nerves on the phone as if to escape the freezing fear. And then--

"...What is it?"

Miraculously, the call connected.

"H-hello!? Where are you right now-" "Where are you right now?"

What interrupted me was Tsukishiro's calm voice.

It was a terribly flat tone, like a mixture of question and disappointment.

"A-Atsuta Jingu Nishi, but."

"...It's hard to hear through the noise, but did you say Atsuta Jingu Nishi?"

"Yes. ...M-more importantly, did you stop yourself from jumping!?"

Irritated by Tsukishiro's unusually calm tone, I couldn't help but raise my voice.

"--That's not the place."

My breathing stopped. For a few seconds, my vision went completely white.

Belatedly, I recognized the meaning.

He hadn't stopped his suicide. Nor had he changed locations from Atsuta Jingu Nishi.

The suicide spot was different from the very beginning.

Because the suicide location was different, no matter how much I struggled, the future didn't change. No matter how desperately I tried to stop his suicide at Atsuta Jingu Nishi station, he wasn't there, so of course it wouldn't change.

An announcement that the train was approaching was playing on the platform.

From the other end of the phone, the same announcement could be heard.

It was only then that I realized I had made a terrible mistake.

Trains run on the same track, with multiple cars running at intervals. Therefore, there can be several stations with the same departure time.

Seeing the departure time written on the electronic display board at the moment Tsukishiro committed suicide in my future sight, I searched for the 18:40 departure on the app. Luckily, a station name came up quickly, and I headed for Atsuta Jingu Nishi.

I was wrong.

It wasn't that I found it by luck. It was just that on the Meijo Line, there were multiple stations where a train departed at 18:40. Atsuta Jingu Nishi was just one of them that came up.

For me, who had taken the train an absolutely small number of times, there was no way I could have noticed.

"The, the station!! Which station is it!! I'm coming right now, so wait!!"

Knowing it was futile, I ran with all my might.

I ran up the stairs, passed through the ticket gates, and flew out of the station. The night sky was cold and stagnant.

It was all my fault.

I was somewhat optimistic about the change that occurred in him and allowed him to act alone despite feeling something was off.

I decided on the station based only on the departure time and didn't consider other possibilities.

"--The train should be here soon."

That is the result.

To lose a single, irreplaceable life.

"Y-you liar!! You promised you wouldn't die yet!!"

"...Sorry. Regarding that, I apologize."

An all-too-honest apology. That, rather, made me strongly feel the end.

Because that was no different from a suicide note.

"H-hey, please, Tsukishiro, I'm begging you, stop!! Come back!! Don't die!! Please!!"

"--Well then, see you, Hoshimiya Miyuki."

"Wai--!!!!!!"

I screamed. But all that reached my ears was the empty dial tone indicating the call had ended.

The steady electronic tone made my eardrums vibrate a few times, and then it stopped.

Yes, just like.

As if the sound of someone's life had vanished.

"Ah, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa----!!!!"

Without understanding why, I let out a roar.

At the same time, rain began to fall. The sound of rain and the bustle of the crowd. The damp smell of grass and trees.

I fell to my knees.

I don't know where to direct these feelings that have nowhere to go.

Unable to bear it, I just vomited out black passions as if to expel them from within.

But everything. The large tears, the repeated sobs, all of it melted into the rain as if to say it had no value, and poured down on me as if returning to my body.

--In the end, can the future not be changed?

The fate that Tsukishiro Ikki would commit suicide.

And even my own fate.

The cold rain only grew stronger.

***

It was a quiet night.

Only the sound of raindrops grazing the air reached from beyond the window, and even in the center of bustling Nagoya, it masked the noise of people and cars. In the dark room with no lights on, I huddled with my knees to my chest. Without even drying my wet hair, I had become a part of the darkness.

Fate cannot be changed. One is not permitted to resist the decision of a great will that is thrust upon you, whether you like it or not. No matter how much you can peek into the future, no matter how many times you can redo it, the result does not change.

 

That's why Tsukishiro Ikki died.

I couldn't change it.

Struggling, suffering, and yet finally grasping a future of life. Repeating it countless times, a timeline of life spun upon countless deaths. And yet, after all, only the process was changed, with no difference in the final destination.

My actions were all meaningless, nothing more than self-satisfaction.

--Another six months.

There was still that much time until the 'promised day.'

The time I spent with him was less than half of that. In that case, even if he had survived today, surely somewhere in the future, I would have been unable to save Tsukishiro and let him die.

I stared blankly at the pitch-black wall. A deep part of my mind was refusing to think. If I cast aside all my dignity as a living being, I would no longer be captivated by negative emotions.

Fate cannot be changed. If so, then I won't resist anymore.

"..........Haha,"

A single teardrop traced a path down my cheek.

Everything, surely, is meaningless.

Because in the end, it all disappears.

Memories, tears-- even the proof of having lived, all of it.

And so, everyone and everything is forgotten with time.

If that is the providence of this world, then I should just accept it with resignation.

I exhaled towards the void. It was a stagnant, heatless breath.

I could feel my spirit crumbling. If I reached the lowest layer, I surely wouldn't be able to come back. My consciousness was being swallowed into the bottom of such a muddy swamp.

--Just before that.

"...You seem pretty down."

From within the darkness, a chilled voice spoke.

In the next instant, with a click, the room light was turned on.

At the sudden downpour of artificial light, I instinctively narrowed my eyes.

After about three seconds, my eyes adjusted a little, and I perceived a figure standing at the entrance.

Standing there was.

"T-Tsukishiro... why... how...?"

The boy who should have thrown himself in front of a subway train and died just moments ago, Tsukishiro Ikki.

From his hair, a little long for a boy, drops of water dripped down regretfully.

His weak posture made it look as if his whole body was crying.

But strangely, I also felt as if the poison that had invaded him was flowing away.

"At the very last second, my legs wouldn't move."

It was an endlessly flat voice.

"It's because of your phone call."

His expression, his rusted eyes that seemed to despair of this world, were yet fundamentally different somehow. The emotion that should have been so familiar was nowhere to be found, as if covered in a fog.

"In this filthy world full of noise, because you got involved. I... I couldn't take that last step. ...Dammit, dammit..."

A soggy, messy voice.

But those words were what I had been seeking all along.

I stopped Tsukishiro's suicide and spent many hours with him.

I took him various places to test the noise, roped him into karaoke when he seemed bored, and had him witness a live recording when I found out he was a Hahyuu fan. Besides that, I lived my life paying close attention to detail so that he might reconsider suicide, so that he might feel even a little bit of enjoyment each day.

There was the primary goal of erasing his noise, but.

Even if that ended in failure, it was also because I wanted to overturn the ending of "death" that he so desperately desired.

I don't think he wanted this.

For Tsukishiro, this world is apparently too noisy. So much so that he would consider death. But now, even in that situation, he can no longer escape into death.

It is, without a doubt, my victory.

But that is surely tormenting him beyond measure.

The living hell he once spoke of. I, who have bound him there, must be deeply resented.

"...Tsukishiro,"

I staggered towards Tsukishiro, whose painful appearance looked as if he was about to burst into tears at any moment.

He looks truly pained. Just watching him makes me feel constricted.

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

I'm sorry for dragging you into my selfishness.

Softly, I extended both my arms to him. And I embraced his wet body.

"You, idiot..."

Surely now. You're being crushed by two fears, aren't you?

The fear of living, and the fear of choosing death.

I think that is extraordinarily painful.

But, I'm sorry. I can't help but think it.

I'm glad that you're alive.

"W-what is it?"

I still gently embraced the bewildered him.

Warm. He's sturdier than I thought. His shoulders rise and fall slowly with his breathing, and if I press my ear against him, I can even hear his heartbeat.

Ah, that's right.

Life, it burns like this.

"...How nice,"

"What is?"

Tsukishiro pulled me off annoyedly as I murmured with a dangerous heat.

"Just let me sleep. I've had enough. Leave me alone."

Saying only that, Tsukishiro disappeared into his room, as if dragging his body.

I was left alone. I started walking sluggishly, touched his soaked sneakers that were thrown off at the entrance, and then I peeked.

His future-- his final appearance.

"...Just as I thought..."

The powerless murmur seeped into the room and faded away.

He was the same kind.

He was a person who could have understood.

--But, in the end, he left me behind too.

＊＊＊

December 4th (Mon) I almost impulsively killed myself yesterday, but I couldn't. What am I supposed to do? Should I go back to my old house? But moving the futon and stuff is a pain, so whatever.

December 7th (Thu) Rukina gave me the audio file for that song the two of them made. I put it in a playlist for now. But I couldn't bring myself to listen to it.

December 10th (Sun) There was a supermarket shopping bag in the kitchen, and I thought she forgot to put away vegetables or something, but it was a ton of medicine. I think it's Rukina's tranquilizers. Is she still taking them?

December 19th (Tue) Went to work. Ugh, writing in this diary is starting to feel like a drag.

I was walking through Nagoya Station.

As Christmas approaches, Meieki is gorgeously decorated with colorful LED lights.

It's incredibly annoying. Because of it, the population density increases. I got to leave work early because I wanted to go home when it wasn't crowded, but this completely defeats the purpose.

I pushed my way through the waves of people walking about as they pleased... but my path was blocked by a young woman dressed in a Santa costume.

"--, --!"

Since I was wearing earphones, I couldn't hear her cheerful voice. Solicitors and touts in the city usually give up if you ignore them, but this woman was being unusually persistent.

"I can't hear you."

Getting annoyed, I showed her the text on my phone.

I thought she would give up at this, but for some reason the woman took out her phone and replied.

"Assorted sweets are 50% off!! Would you like one?"

The woman held out a bag of sweets, likely leftovers, with a smile that knew no impurity. That carefree smile was detestable. It seemed she would persist no matter how many times I refused.

I didn't want to get any more involved. I took out my wallet and handed her a thousand-yen bill at random.

"Thank you!! Merry Christmas!!"

What I received was a bag of sweets for children, with a two-head-tall Santa drawn on it.

Having returned to Hoshimiya's house, I exhaled my accumulated fatigue with a sigh.

I'd been forced to take something I didn't want. What should I do?

On a whim, I headed to the counter kitchen. I was sure there was a snack box for Hoshimiya in one of the cupboards. I figured I could just toss it in there.

For now, I opened the cupboard at the very back of the kitchen-- and gasped.

What jumped into my view was the mountain of medicine that had been in the kitchen just the other day, which I had also written about in my diary.

Thinking back, something similar had happened before. When I found the tablets Hoshimiya had left at the entrance.

However, this time was different from those. Both the type and amount were on a whole other level.

"--What are you looking at?"

I spun around as if shot. Standing behind me was Hoshimiya, with strikingly lifeless eyes.

"What do you think you're doing, rummaging through someone else's cupboards? Do you understand you're a freeloader?"

"S-sorry about that... but!! What is this? This isn't tranquilizers, is it?"

I don't have any special knowledge of pharmacology, but I can tell that this amount couldn't be just from tranquilizers. Clearly, something extraordinary must be happening to her body.

"Answer me. Is Rukina sick? Why were you hiding it?"

Hoshimiya didn't answer.

But her ash-gray eyes were veiled with a disgust, as if looking at filth on the roadside.

"Wh-what, am I saying something strange...?"

Still. Hoshimiya didn't answer.

An uncomfortable atmosphere flowed. From the other side of it, she directed an expression akin to contempt at me.

Eventually, her lips moved slightly. What came out right after wasn't words.

It was just a sigh, one that seemed truly annoyed from the bottom of her heart.

And then.

"--They're all mine."

At those words, chilled to the core, I felt the world freeze over.

"Why was I hiding it? Isn't it obvious? Why would I have to brag about it? The age where I want praise for taking my medicine ended when I was at Tsubame-en."

"Th-that's not it. If you're sick with something, if you told me, there might be things I could do to help..."

"A guy who's trying to commit suicide? Are you out of your mind?"

It was a piercing voice.

Overwhelmed by its sharpness, I couldn't say anything back.

"...I'm over here desperately connecting my future with medicine. And a guy who wants to die despite being perfectly healthy is going to help? That's just ridiculous. Stop messing around, Tsukishiro Ikki."

It was a bottomlessly cold voice.

As if pushing aside the speechless me, Hoshimiya slammed the cupboard shut. She snorted, then turned her back and started to leave.

"H-hey, wait a minute!!"

I hurriedly grabbed Hoshimiya's shoulder.

"...Hoshimiya. I don't want to think about it, but... do you know?"

"Know what?"

"...Your own, remaining lifespan."

A deep silence enveloped us. Losing patience with the silent Hoshimiya, I added more words.

"I thought it was strange from the beginning. The deadline of our promise. The reason you set such a half-baked period like nine months--"

"That's right, because I'm going to die."

A complete reversal. Hoshimiya's words, stated so plainly, made me feel as if I'd been pushed off a cliff.

"June seventh of next year. I'm going to die. Crying and cursing my unmoving body and miserable life, I'm going to rot away while throwing an ugly tantrum. --So, beyond that, I can't look after you."

Hence, the time limit.

A strange rule established to match a life with a deadline.

"You probably don't know, but the day I retired from the entertainment industry was also June seventh of this year. For my last year, I wanted to live as I pleased... since I'll be forgotten anyway."

"B-but, isn't it strange that your death is decided? You can change the future, can't you?"

That's precisely why we had the promise.

If that premise collapses, then this unprecedented life-prolonging measure wouldn't have been established in the first place.

While knowing somewhere in my head that it was futile, I tried to find hope in it, but,

"Impossible."

Hoshimiya's simple words cut it down without mercy.

"I wonder if you remember. The rule of future sight... 'If the person themselves learns of the future that was seen, that future becomes fixed.' In other words, what do you think happens when I see my own future?"

"...Hoshimiya's future becomes fixed at that point."

What a difficult story. While changing my future-- no, while probably saving several people from the darkness of misfortune, Hoshimiya alone cannot change her own future.

Even if it was the worst possible ending, death.

"I didn't want to suffer, and I even thought about dying before then. Just like you. But it's probably no good. A future that's been fixed once can't be changed no matter how much you struggle-- I've tried, a lot."

Hoshimiya has absolute faith in her future sight. It's something backed by extensive verification. The reason she was so obsessed with clarifying the rules was... because she wanted to change her own fate.

"--Isn't there, something that can be done..."

What I finally managed to squeeze out was such a meaningless lament.

"There isn't."

Hoshimiya denied my weak, will-less murmur as if spitting it out.

"I've been frail since I was young. I almost died from a slight cold once. And I was afflicted with a strange illness. ...So, when the power of future sight came to me, I looked at my own future. I wanted to see myself grown up, becoming someone's bride, being happy-- but,"

Hoshimiya looked down. Her jewel-like eyes were covered and hidden by her bangs.

"I couldn't become an adult. I wasn't happy at all. Do you understand how I feel? How I felt when I tried to see a happy future, only to be shown myself dying while throwing an ugly tantrum."

I can't answer. My mouth is going dry.

"--Hey. Why did it turn out like this?"

Hoshimiya's murmur quickly lost its strength.

"I wish I couldn't see the future."

I can't answer that SOS.

"A name like Miyuki... haha, it's perfect, isn't it? 'Not yet happy'... or something. For me, whose death is decided, even the 'not yet' is more than I deserve."

It was a voice clearer than ever before.

A bottomless darkness, unmixed, to the point of being beautiful.

What it indicated was just one thing. "Resignation."

How much pain must it be, to know of your death in advance?

There were things she wanted to do. Ideals she wanted to become. She probably had a career plan she envisioned, and maybe even someone she wanted to spend her time with.

All of it was denied. No matter how much she wished for it, no matter how desperately she tried to grasp it, it would slip through her fingers like water. That was her future.

And yet. I.

In front of someone like her, I was spouting about committing suicide.

While having a future that stretched out infinitely before me, I was trying to throw it away without understanding it.

A piece of trash like me has no right to say anything to her.

"...That's enough, isn't it? You, don't you dare tell Rukina about this..."

Hoshimiya's movement to leave froze.

It wasn't that difficult to guess the reason why.

"...Big sis. Are you going to die?"

From behind Hoshimiya, Rukina's trembling voice could be heard.

That trembling was not from fear or shock, but rather-- it was close to hatred.

"...R-Rukina... no, that's..."

"--Traitor."

A single, quiet word. Spitting it out, Rukina turned on her heel as if to flee.

"Rukina-!!"

Hoshimiya's cry was in vain, as Rukina retreated into her own shell (room).

The sound of the door being slammed shut echoed unusually loudly.

Hoshimiya's arm, which had been reaching for Rukina, fell limply. Hoshimiya glanced at me with hatred for just a moment, but without saying anything, she too left for her own room.

The silence was painful. I couldn't feel any noise or anything, yet that was the most grating thing of all.

Today is Christmas. In my hand, a festive package of sweets. The smile of the cartoon Santa was so out of place that I threw it away without thinking.

Why. Just how did it come to this?

Without understanding, only the sun set.

December 27th (Wed) I haven't been able to talk to Hoshimiya since then. Of course. What in the world are you supposed to talk about between someone who's destined to die, and someone who knows it?

December 31st (Sun) One way or another, this year is over. There's less than half a year until Hoshimiya dies. What on earth can I do for her? ...I couldn't do anything for Mom.

The year turned.

I didn't listen to the New Year's Eve bells, nor did I worship the first sunrise, so I don't really feel like I've reached a turning point.

However, I did feel like it was about time to take a step forward.

I left my room and went to the living room. Steeling myself, I spoke to Hoshimiya, who was watching the New Year's special with emotionless eyes.

"...How are you feeling, are you okay?"

"Thanks to you, I'm at my worst."

It was a reply that contained a hard resonance.

I couldn't help but swallow hard.

"...Happy New Year, I guess?"

"There's nothing to be happy about."

At her voice, like shards of glass, I couldn't reply well.

As I was flustered, at a loss for words, Hoshimiya turned off the TV. She chugged a can of tomato juice like it was alcohol and glared at me with cold eyes.

"From my perspective, it's finally here. The year I die. My lifespan, decided many years ago. There's nothing to celebrate at all."

I can't say anything. I don't even know what I should say.

"...There's one thing I've decided."

Whether she sensed my inner turmoil or not, Hoshimiya began to speak abruptly.

"That promise is off. You were going to break it and die anyway. There's no point to this farce."

It was a dismissive voice. No, surely, that's how it really is.

"--In the end, you know, it was a futile struggle from the very beginning."

Hoshimiya hugged her knees as if she were cold, sitting on the sofa with her legs drawn up.

"I didn't want to die. But the future can't be changed. So I thought, it would be fine if I just found a way to change the future beforehand."

"But it was no good, right? You tried various things."

"Right. That's why I made that promise with you. It's ridiculous that you, who are healthy, want to die, while I can't live just because I'm sick. I was envious, and frustrated, and jealous... there's no way I could accept something like that."

I remember what she said under the starry sky four months ago.

To think the 'dying person' she was talking about back then was actually Hoshimiya herself.

"That's why I stopped you. To find the way to play the correct tone... no, even if I couldn't find it, I thought I'd make it so you could never die again."

"..."

"And I also had the shallow thought that in the process of changing your future, I might find a way to change a future that had already been fixed. If I didn't think that way, I felt like I was going to be crushed."

Hoshimiya buried her face between her hugged knees, as if hiding.

"But the root of it was probably different."

A small, and terribly wavering voice.

It was the painfulness of a child on the verge of tears.

"I..."

As if squeezing it out, Hoshimiya continued.

"--I wanted to accept my own death."

Eh... a soundless voice escaped my lips.

"The day I die is decided. But I didn't want to accept it, so I struggled to the point of death. I struggled, and struggled, and struggled struggled struggled struggled struggled----!!"

It was a scream akin to a curse.

It was a fragment of emotion, incredibly pure and so earnest it was painful.

As if to calm her boiling heart, Hoshimiya took repeated, ragged breaths.

At her painful appearance, a warm ache spread in the back of my eyes.

"And so, I kept struggling... and in the end... nothing changed. ...If that's the case, there's nothing more I can do, is there? If I can't change the decided future, the only path left for me is one... to give up and accept it."

I wonder after how much pain she came to that conclusion.

I remembered the time I put away the remnants of my dream.

For me, eSports was proof that I lived. It was a dazzling mountain I climbed three-legged with my mom. To have that knocked down by some drowsy driver, and yet still try to rouse myself and climb again.

But I no longer had the strength to climb. No matter how much I yearned for it, gritted my teeth, and sometimes even hurt myself to aim for the summit, it was no good.

When I finally gave up on climbing. What did I feel? Was I frustrated? Was I sad? Did I curse my unreasonable fate, shed tears of blood, and resent this rotten world?

No.

Somewhere, I was relieved.

My heart became light, as if a suit of armor had fallen off.

"If you had slipped past my interference and died... that would have been it. I would have thought that 'death,' after all, is a decided fate that humans cannot change."

What Hoshimiya is saying is, in other words, just that.

If you give up and accept it for what it is, you are freed from the suffering of resistance. You no longer hurt yourself over things you can't change no matter how much you struggle.

"Originally. Your way of thinking was so similar to mine it was irritating. Having only the worst possible future, and thus developing a destructive way of thinking. --But in that, there was a certain sense of security."

In her eyes as she said that, there was no light. It was a murky color, unbecoming of Hoshimiya.

"...That's why. I made that proposal to you. Because I didn't want to sever my connection with you."

That is surely similar to conformity psychology.

That similar view of life and death caused a dangerous resonance, like holding hands and jumping together. That's why Hoshimiya managed me within arm's reach.

To keep me from dying... and on the other hand, to see me to my death. It's terribly distorted.

Surely, a part of her instinct desired my death, but her reason couldn't accept it. That's why she devoted herself to me so much.

"But you... are no longer by my side. You're looking down from the sky at me, who continues to fall."

But I betrayed it all.

After trying to commit suicide again and trampling on her kindness, I even took away her instinctual desire.

"Because you, far from the promised day, will never commit suicide again, will you?"

"...,"

"Your death anniversary is September 1st, 2091. As for how you die... I couldn't tell because you were surrounded by machines I'd never seen before. But at least, it wasn't a lonely death."

Hoshimiya glanced at me sideways, narrowing her eyes. She seemed to want to say it was unexpected.

"You're not surprised. I thought I'd get to enjoy your reaction more. Your future is fixed, you know?"

"I somehow... already knew."

The memories I've made since I started living in this house. Going to karaoke, catching a cold, and passing it on. Besides that, she made me a matsutake feast, I accompanied her to Hahyuu's recording, and we went to the zoo. I became able to handle my part-time job without difficulty, and even got Rukina to smile at me.

These memories were dazzling, beautiful sounds, far too precious to let go of life for.

"'Are you going to be satisfied with a substitute, and live on blissfully by yourself?'"

The searing wound of the past. I still don't have an answer.

But.

"Knowing that you're going to die, I finally understood. The weight of a life."

Right next to me is a girl struggling before her decided death, and yet I'm not strong enough to wish for death, and I also think I'm not weak enough to escape into it.

"...Hmph. So, I'm getting off here. You can just go on living somewhere. As for me, just as in the future I saw, I'll die ugly, screaming like an idiot, unable to accept it until the very end."

Her small shoulders were trembling.

It sounded like she was speaking fluently as if it were someone else's problem, but fear and rejection were seeping out.

"Aah, why does it have to be me?"

With an unbalanced voice, where bravado was piled on top of those negative emotions.

"There are plenty of bad people in the world. Why, just why, do I have to be the one to die... What was I born for?"

"...,"

"--I don't want it,"

Hoshimiya said, as if gazing at some distant place,

"I don't want to be forgotten..."

It was an endlessly earnest tone.

And on top of that, it was a voice that understood it would not come true.

There's no way I can let that stand.

To the girl on the verge of being broken by the world's malice, I nevertheless stated strongly, as if thrusting it at her.

"My story isn't over yet."

Hoshimiya frowned suspiciously.

"Hoshimiya. You said it the other day, right? That you have nothing to get help for from a guy who wants to die."

"...Could it be you're saying you'll help because you don't intend to die now? How foolish. Even if you helped me, the result..."

"Do you even know that?"

At my confident words, Hoshimiya let out a small "Eh?"

"Do you know everything? Just because it's all been 'that way' until now, can you declare that the next future sight will be absolute too?"

"--That's why, all of it is..."

"Yeah, you probably tried it. It probably didn't change. For now, it might be 100%."

I sat down next to Hoshimiya. The sofa sank with a thump from my weight.

"But this might be the first example. Maybe it's not 'absolute,' but 'almost.' The future is the future. It hasn't passed yet. That's why I'm alive right now."

Certainly, there might be a part of it that becomes easier by accepting an unavoidable fate.

But. I can no longer affirm that.

Because the result I chose was the worst possible folly, to kill myself.

"To give up when you know you're going to die, that's no different from suicide. If so, just as you stopped me, this time I'll stop your suicide. No matter what."

Surely, Hoshimiya had been fighting all alone.

It seems she hadn't told Rukina about her fatal future, and coming from a children's home, she has no other blood relatives. She must have fought on without telling anyone her painful feelings or anxieties.

But now it's different.

Now, I, by her side, know it.

Then Hoshimiya suddenly threw herself into my chest, as if collapsing.

She was warm. From that warmth, I felt an undeniable sense of life.

"...Thank you, Tsukishiro. ...sob, but it's no good..."

"What's no good about it? It's too early to give up. There's still nearly half a year left."

"It's no, good."

Contrary to her weak, sobbing voice, Hoshimiya was stubborn.

"Because I... should already be dead."

"...What do you mean?"

After a few seconds' pause, and two or three breaths, Hoshimiya continued with her face buried.

"The symptoms of this disease, you see, are the functional decline of multiple organs and hematopoiesis. In the final stage, the body weakens, and most die of heart failure. Actually, the doctor gave me a life expectancy... and that day has long passed. Because I saw the future, my death is fixed on June seventh, but in reality, my body is so worn out that it wouldn't be strange if I died right now... aha, so I guess it really can't be changed from now..."

Whether the future was fixed or not, her lifespan didn't change significantly, is what that means.

At this point, it's no longer a matter of future sight and so on.

Whether the disease can be cured or not... that, of course, was a realm beyond my control.

"When I went to the hospital the other day, they said it was a miracle. That it was amazing. For me, who knows the day I'll die, it wasn't any comfort at all. ...sob, but, really, it's getting tough."

"B-but you... you're still completely-" "The stairs."

Hoshimiya murmured, cutting me off.

"The stairs... I can't climb them anymore. My legs, they have no strength. Actually, I throw up sometimes. ...Aha. I'm not blaming you, but ever since your suicide attempt the other day, something's been... off with me."

It was a terribly dry laugh.

"You know how they say illness begins in the mind? Surely, my head re-recognized that I'm going to die soon, and my body, which had been working so hard until now, has reached its limit."

Sniffle. The sound of Hoshimiya sniffling.

"So. No matter what you do, my future-- death by illness, can't be overturned now. ...Sorry. That's why your plan is fundamentally misguided."

Wiping her eyes, Hoshimiya moved away from me and stood up.

Her movements were as slow as those of a withered old person.

"--But,"

Softly. Hoshimiya looked at me gently with slightly red, swollen eyes,

"That just now, made me a little, happy, I think."

It was faint, but she certainly smiled. That smile was not that of the actress Hoshimiya Miyuki, but had the ephemeral sound of a single girl. I just watched her small back as she left.

That weakness, that fragility, faintly stirred an emotion similar to the desire to protect, sleeping deep in my heart.

"--That doesn't mean I can just stand by and watch."

I clenched my fist. Quietly, but clearly, while murmuring.

An emotion akin to tenacity welling up from within myself struck a heavy, resounding single note.

January 2nd (Tue) It's foolish to think the future is decided.

I won't let it end like this. Absolutely not.

In my room, with my back to the wall, I was staring into the void.

I blocked out almost all sensory information, keeping my brain in full spin. And yet, not a single concrete plan came to mind. For the great actress representing Japan, Hoshimiya Miyuki, she must have already exhausted investigations with famous doctors and large hospitals all over the world.

And still, it was no good. Her fate, a bitter end, remained unchanged.

If so, what is it that I can do?

"I don't want to be forgotten..."

Her deepest wish.

That's why she delved into people's memories.

She conquered the world as an actress and became a national superstar.

As an utaite, she captured the hearts of the youth and became a leading charismatic figure in the Dorothy community.

But that fame only lasts as long as she's active.

As time passes, her name will inevitably weather away.

"...Come to think of it, she retired as an actress, but what will she do as an utaite?"

Suddenly curious, I started up SNS. I opened Hahyuu's account, which I used to peek at often.

The previous notice about releasing a new song had been retracted with an apology. She should have recorded "Hakoniwa UTOPIA," but it seems she hasn't released it on YouTube. Probably, or rather, almost certainly, my suicide attempt is the reason. Since then, there have been almost no updates.

She's only tweeted two things. "Sleepy" and "Kinda tired."

On SNS, for Hahyuu who had suddenly stopped tweeting, a flood of comments poured in. From kind ones like "Are you doing well?" and "It's cold this year, so please take care of your health," to heartless ones like "Oh, retiring?" and "Good riddance to a deluded amateur."

...In both the entertainment world and the utaite world, Hoshimiya moved a great number of people.

On an impulse, I picked up my wireless earphones. I took them out of the case, put them in my ears, and scrolled through my phone. I played the playlist of songs sung by the utaite "Hahyuu."

First, "Kaikou FIRE FLOWER." A song made by a certain middle school girl who didn't know the English word for fireworks is 'fireworks'-- and the song I was listening to when I met Hoshimiya.

The clear singing voice of Hoshimiya Miyuki as "Hahyuu" flowed out, a voice I didn't recognize as hers even after spending several months together. A high, pure, and yet sentimental cry that matched the shadowy melody.

What was she thinking while she sang this song? Knowing she had little time left to live, what feelings did she hold as she made her throat tremble?

What played next was "Houkai SYMPHONY." A song with the theme of a girl traveling alone in a ruined world, searching for a reason to die. Now I can see that this too was an expression of the anguish Rukina suffered alone after she became a shut-in.

Next was "Shuuen WORLD LEAPER." A hopeless song about a girl who gains the power to travel between parallel worlds, only to learn she dies quickly in every timeline, and in despair, takes her own life faster than in any world she had seen. Struck by Hoshimiya's painfully beautiful voice, a single tear traced its way down my cheek.

"Danshari EVERYDAY," "Chouetsu PHILOSOPHY," "Rinjuu FAIRY TALE"-- in all of them, the faces of Hoshimiya and Rukina flickered behind the song. In all of them, their faces were twisted in pain, yet while holding a noble will not to be defeated, they were beaten down by some great force and were tattered and wounded.

...Why do you two have to go through something like that?

A girl who, while making her own talent bloom, was shown a life that was too short in advance, and,

a girl who was exposed to the vile malice of humans and closed her heart to protect herself.

Why is this world so unreasonable-- just as I clenched my fist, pokon, a notification sound from my phone rang. I looked down at the screen. It was a tweet from Hahyuu.

"A little late, but happy new year everyone."

Without a moment to think, Hahyuu's tweets were posted one after another.

"Sorry for making you worry. You know, I was feeling down because I had a lot on my mind."

"I found myself wondering, is there any meaning in me singing..."

Instantly, comments flooded in from all over Japan-- no, all over the world, in response to those tweets. Most of them were contents that showed concern for the utaite Hahyuu's health, comforted her, and expressed a desire to continue listening to her songs forever, fully affirming Hahyuu.

But. That's precisely why. That pure wish is what mercilessly gouges Hoshimiya's slender, weakened spirit.

Because that is a future she herself wishes for, and one that will never come true.

Not a single person is happy with this.

Some cheer for someone, are healed by listening to their voice, and use it as vitality to live for tomorrow... while others meet expectations, express their emotions with all their might, and use that as a source of strength to live.

A perfectly healthy, bright, and happy world. And yet, why is the future a dead end? What went wrong? What did they do? Why did it have to turn out like this?

There's no solution. There's no enemy. If all one can do is silently accept a hollow fate with nothing to fight against and no target for one's anger, then perhaps, this world, it might as well be--

"Rukina!!"

At the voice that suddenly reached my ears, I shot my head up.

It wasn't an auditory hallucination. Right now, both my eardrums were definitely vibrated by Hoshimiya. I was stunned for a moment, but I quickly realized where it was coming from. From the wireless earphones I was currently wearing.

"Look up and see, the shining sun. Believe in yourself and move forward, happiness is waiting there for you"

The nameless song the Hoshimiya sisters made together. The gentle song the two of them composed and performed, just for the two of them.

To a calm melody that brings to mind an idyllic plain, a clear voice singing with what sounds like pure joy flows at a tempo as if skipping.

"Even if God is mean to us, in a reborn future"

"I'll show you I can meet you once again"

It wasn't Hahyuu's, but the singing voice of Rukina's sister, Hoshimiya Miyuki. A selfish, slightly foul-mouthed, and sometimes lying... but actually kind girl, who could care for others from the bottom of her heart.

"At some point, I realized that sad days would come too"

"But at times like that, if you sing loudly, it should become fun"

"Let's bang on the desk, make the tea bowls ring, and play a clumsy song"

Yes, and then, the lyrics that follow--

"Looking up!!"

--Keep looking up. To me, who's bad at English, it sounded just like a certain girl was calling out "Rukina." I wonder just what kind of wish was put into it.

To me, it couldn't seem like anything but a message directed at a girl who had despaired of the creatures called humans, put a lid on everything, and could not look forward.

"--'Is there any meaning in me singing'... is that what she said?"

And that's precisely why I couldn't suppress my irritation at Hoshimiya's tweet.

"Of course there is. Thanks to your song, your precious little sister was saved, wasn't she?"

The reason Rukina has been able to be active as Danshari D up to this point is, without a doubt, because of Hoshimiya's existence.

The two of them made a song, sang it, and just from that, Rukina was able to find a reason to live.

"Even if God is mean to us, in a reborn future"

"I'll show you I can meet you once again"

Don't lose. Don't just be beaten silently. No matter what, defeat the unreasonable.

"The future is shining in lapis lazuli!!"

The lyrics seemed to say just that.

"--That's right."

What I can do for her.

What she is wishing for.

What she has given up on.

To smash the arrogant absurdity, this is the only way.

"You two are the ones most saved by music, aren't you?"

In my mind, a single future was floating.

A future drawn with ideals, similar to a wish, that can be peeked at even without the power of future sight.

"If you guys don't believe in the power of music, what are you going to do?"

People call that, hope.

Someone said that hope has the power to change people.

***

"Rukina."

I said, first thing upon entering her room.

Rukina, like a small animal that's found its predator, dove into the closet.

"Wh-what. Don't come in."

A muffled voice that sounded frightened. The hostility was unconcealed.

The room was in a terrible state. Cords ran wild everywhere, not even connected to their terminals. The display was overturned, and the keyboard had been smashed against the wall, with key blocks scattered about. Clearly, it had been trashed. The reason... was not hard to imagine.

"Rukina. You don't have to show your face. Just listen to me."

"No. I won't listen."

"Shut up. I'm going to keep talking anyway. If you don't like it, come out and try to stop me."

There was no reply. In that case, I just have to do as I declared.

"Rukina. I have a favor to ask."

"…Shut up."

"I need your power. It's a little tough for me alone."

"Shut up."

"You said you have connections with famous people in the Dorothy community, right? I need you to lend me some of those connec--"

"Give me a break!!!!"

BAM!! The closet door was struck fiercely from the inside. I grabbed the door as it flew open from the impact. In the dark space that opened up, a girl, even thinner than when I'd seen her a little while ago, was huddled.

Her unhealthily gaunt cheeks, stained with anger and despair, and her eyes, full of dark circles, captured me.

Her inhuman beauty was nowhere to be seen.

"...Hah, hah, don't mess with me. I don't care anymore. My sister is abandoning me too. Betraying me!! Even though she said we'd always be together!! ...I don't have anyone on my side. Don't come near me!! You're just a stranger!!!!"

"...That's pretty amazing."

At my reply, which paid no mind to Rukina's verbal abuse, she seemed to flinch a little.

"What is? Can't you understand Japanese?"

"Rukina. You've become able to be so assertive with a stranger, with me. ...Sorry, but I've heard. Why you became a shut-in. Why you became afraid of people-- of men."

Flinch. Her small shoulders shook. I had pierced the softest part of her heart. It was no wonder.

"And your sister analyzed it like this. 'It would have been better if she had a personality that could fight back, but she's a quiet girl.' And so, you became a good target for bullying."

A pillow was thrown at my face. But I continued, unfazed.

"And yet, you can fight back against me. That's right. You just chose not to fight back."

The first time I met her, she suddenly sprayed me with insecticide. That must have been a last resort. Because she must have felt that if she didn't do that, her last sanctuary would be threatened.

But. It must have been different in the past.

"With the bullying, there was room to escape. So you ran without making a scene. You deceived your hurt self, neglected it... and as a result, you were deceived by some piece of crap, made into a toy, and reached your limit."

"Shut up!!!!"

Rukina's fist flew. It hit me squarely in the stomach, but it was sadly ineffective.

"What!! Do you know about it!!"

"I do know. ...Because I was the same way."

I, too, ran away to a convenient place as if to hide from the encroaching noise. When my mom died, I lied to my teacher that it was a good opportunity because there was something I wanted to do. Even though I was about to drown in a sea of pain and despair, I gave up on facing it and just sank.

And then, without even understanding the value of life, I tried to throw it all away.

No different from Hoshimiya Rukina.

"~~'!! That's in the past!! It's too late now!! Don't preach to me about it!!"

"Yeah, it's the past. It's already over. What's important is the future, right? That's why I came to talk."

The sound of rejection didn't disappear from Rukina's eyes. But I had no intention of stopping either.

"Are you satisfied with it ending like this? Whether you cry or scream, the fact that Hoshimiya is going to die soon won't change, you know? Are you really okay with spending the last remaining time sulking until the end? Are you going to say that once time passes, it's in the past so it can't be helped? ...It'll be too late once she's gone."

Rukina glared up at me as if I were her parents' murderer.

"...Rukina. Don't you love your sister? Are you okay with her dying like this, cursing a life that should have had happy memories, denying all the time she spent with you? Are you really okay with letting someone you love die with a clouded face, to have an end like that, with no regrets?"

"...,"

"I hate it. I can't forgive that. I don't want her to die suffering and thinking, 'what a bad life it was.' If she's going to die, I at least want her to be smiling."

Hoshimiya once asked me, "Did you live life to the fullest, enough to die with a smile?"

Surely, she had lived her life aiming for that.

Becoming an actress. Always having her antennae up so that Rukina could live a proper life. Her activities as the utaite Hahyuu.

It was all for the sake of ending her own life without regrets.

And yet. A new "Aichi's Heroine" was born to replace her right away, and she and Rukina parted on bad terms. As for Hahyuu, at this rate she'll just fade away.

For everything she had built up to drive her to despair was far too ironic. There was no way I could allow that.

"I have an idea. A plan to make her end, at the very least, a little bit better. But for that, I need your power, Rukina. So, I want you to cooperate."

I bowed my head. But Rukina said nothing. In fact, she turned her face away.

"...If you're just going to keep falling... then do as you please. I'm no longer going to choose my methods. I'll change the future my own way."

I lowered myself. I spoke to the girl who looked like an abandoned kitten, trying to meet her gaze as much as possible.

"In the song you two made, there's the lyric 'Looking up,' right? Whose idea was that?"

"...My sister's."

"Right. Because she's clearly saying it. To you, Rukina, 'keep your head up'."

Silence fell.

A minute, two minutes passed. Rukina remained with her head down.

I let out a light breath and stood up. But a voice called out as if to stop me.

The doll-like girl was not looking down.

From her lapis-lazuli eyes, a drop of determination trickled down.

"...Comrade."

"What is it?"

"The plan. ...Let me hear it."

"That's more like it."

January 4th (Thu) I've secured Rukina's cooperation. Considering her influence in the Dorothy world, there aren't many people this encouraging. It seems she's already approached several people, and we're waiting for replies.

January 10th (Wed) There's been so little progress that Rukina started crying. It must be frustrating, but there's nothing I can do for her either. For now, we just have to do what we can.

I was in the kitchen, putting a pot on the stove.

For the past two days, Hoshimiya hasn't been eating properly. I understand she's not feeling well, but at this rate her body would get weaker. So, I'm making the representative sick person's food, porridge.

When I was a child and caught a cold, it was standard to have nori tsukudani as a side for my porridge. The gentle texture of the porridge and the exquisitely balanced umami and saltiness of the nori tsukudani were a crystal of superiority that could only be tasted when I skipped school. I want to have Hoshimiya taste that flavor too.

If you told me I'm being sentimental because I know Hoshimiya's fate, you might be right. But if I cover up that emotion with pointless pride, I'll surely regret it down the line.

I ladled the finished porridge into a bowl and decorated the center of the white pond with deep green nori tsukudani.

"Hoshimiya, I made you some porridge."

I called out to Hoshimiya, who was lying in her bed in her room. She replied with a "...Mm. Mmm," that made it unclear whether she was awake or asleep, and slowly sat up.

"...Thanks. ...Yeah, today, I might be able to eat."

She, wearing a white camisole and a tomato-patterned gown, took the bowl and spoon.

It was clear outside. Bright light was streaming in through the lace curtains on the window. Combined with the heater that was always on, it was almost too hot for me, but it seemed just right for her.

"...Nom. ...Yeah, it's good."

"I see."

"It's the nori tsukudani. You get no credit."

"I'm the one who chose it. I'm definitely taking half the credit."

It was a silly conversation.

Hoshimiya spitting venom like this is surely a sign that she's on the mend. That's good. Hoshimiya's health was the only bottleneck. If she gets better like this, she won't be a drag on that matter I'm working on with Rukina.

--Or so I thought, for a moment.

Hoshimiya's hand stopped. Her trembling eyes stared at nothing. Her face turned pale in an instant, and her breathing became ragged. There was an unsettling sound. The next moment, Hoshimiya slapped her right hand over her mouth. I instinctively grabbed the trash can.

Just like that, Hoshimiya threw up.

With a large jolt, she brought up the porridge she had just eaten.

A sharp, strange smell filled the air. My ears ached with a splitting noise.

Thanks to the trash can, a major disaster was avoided, but in contrast, the damage to Hoshimiya seemed immense.

"...I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Spilling large teardrops, Hoshimiya repeated herself as if broken.

Her crying figure was so painful it was hard to even look at directly. Unable to say anything in return, I just kept rubbing her all-too-small back.

"...Pathetic."

At that self-deprecation, which seemed to have slipped out unintentionally, the back of my eyes grew hot.

In the end, Hoshimiya couldn't eat anything that day.

January 15th (Mon) I've finally reached the person I was aiming for. Somehow, I managed to get them to make time for me from 1 PM the day after tomorrow. I absolutely have to get a 'yes' from them then.

"...Are you really okay, Rukina?"

".... I'm scared. But I'll go."

"Got it. I'll support you with all my might."

"I'm counting on you. Comrade."

Rukina, in her going-out style of a knit cap, a large scarf, and a coat that covered her entire body, declared in a small but powerful voice.

We had come to a seaside park in Tokyo.

This was the meeting place with the person who held the key to a 'certain request' I had asked Rukina to arrange.

They were the ones who specified it. We were planning on some coffee shop, but if we can negotiate in a space with little noise, there's no reason to refuse.

About twenty minutes until the appointed time. We arrived early because of the Shinkansen. There's no harm in arriving early. Or rather, since we were the ones asking, it was polite to be here first... that was my thinking, as someone with no social experience. --However.

"...Comrade. There's someone already here."

Rukina's words sent a chill through me.

An elderly man was already sitting at the designated table bench.

The convenient thought that it was just an unrelated person who happened to be sitting there first crossed my mind, but it was immediately blown away. The man was the very face I had seen online.

His hair, turning white, was slicked back, and his deeply chiseled face made his wrinkles and glasses seem to have merged. A high-class-looking indigo suit. A formal attire, but against the backdrop of the white sandy beach and the blue sea, he had a mysterious atmosphere that seemed to blend with the sound of the rustling waves.

At the unexpected situation, Rukina was trembling with a face like a lost child.

"It's okay, Rukina. We're not late. Just be confident."

Seeing Rukina nod weakly, I felt a little relieved. I slowly approached him.

I stood almost right in front of him, but he wouldn't even glance my way. With a stern face, he furrowed his brow even more and typed on his laptop. A little scary. It seems the luxury of him speaking first was not to be allowed. I steeled myself and fearfully spoke up.

"Um... Mr. Azekura, I presume?"

"Late."

From the other side of the noise, a condemning voice could be heard.

"The youth these days are no good. Can't you even keep to the meeting time?"

My heart leaped in shock. I quickly took out my phone and opened the email from Azekura that Rukina had forwarded to me. The meeting time was clearly stated as "13:00."

"E-excuse me, Mr. Azekura. We were informed that the meeting time was 13:00..."

"I know nothing of that. I came here at twelve."

"What is this old guy talking about," I couldn't say, and swallowed the words.

There was a can of coffee by his hand. Could it be he was having lunch here?

"In the first place, it's unthinkable for someone asking a favor to arrive at the last minute. Arrive early, prepare, reconfirm the details, and when the other party arrives, don't jump straight to the main topic, but warm up the atmosphere with small talk. That's common sense. A business negotiation is only successful when you make the other party feel good. I don't suppose you were just planning on making your request, were you? If so, then go home. I have no time to indulge in your games. It's a waste of time."

To me, who was just a high school student until recently, I don't even know if Azekura's lecture is correct.

I think it's too strict, but if he says that's the way of the world, I have no choice but to accept it as such.

"I-I apologize. I'll be more careful in the future."

"Whether there is a 'future' or not depends on you."

"...We intend to make you understand that this is not a game."

"Hmph. Well, fine. Sit down."

Giving a light nod, I sat across the table from Azekura.

Rukina, who had completely shrunk in on herself, managed to sit down next to me while I pulled her by the hand.

I had prepared for a freezing environment on the coast in midwinter, but thanks to the brilliantly shining sunlight and the calm wind, it wasn't that cold. In fact, it was even a little warm.

Azekura finally took his hands off his laptop and turned his gaze to us.

"Again, I am Azekura. ...Hmph, Danshari D, is it? I've heard the name. But your level of fame is such that if Yuzuriha Minori hadn't asked me, I wouldn't have bothered to make time to meet you."

"We are grateful to Ms. Yuzuriha."

"First, let me say this. What I accepted from Yuzuriha Minori was only 'to meet with Danshari D.' I never said I would listen to your request. With that in mind, try to get me interested."

Azekura applied pressure with blunt, outspoken words. It was just as "Yuzuriha Minori," one of Rukina's connections, had said.

"A mean man." And also, "a workaholic, for better or worse." Apparently, if it leads to money, he has the power to push through even some unreasonable demands... This guy is seriously annoying.

His condescending tone, and he's saying whatever he wants because Rukina and I are kids. No, judging from this man's attitude, he's probably like this with everyone as long as he's in a position to choose.

"...Danshari D established a solid position in just two years since their debut. Now, even top-tier utaite--"

"Stop."

Azekura cut off my statement, calling for a halt.

"What is that?"

"...What do you mean?"

"I'm asking what you are doing, when you haven't done what you should do first."

His words made me realize. Even though he had just told me, I had already forgotten.

--When the other party arrives, don't jump straight into the main topic, but warm up the atmosphere with small talk.

"I apologize. Uh... well, to, today we came by Shinkansen--"

"This is not a conversation!!"

SLAM!! The table was struck violently. It was loud enough for a jogging woman to look over to see what was happening. My ears ached at the explosive noise.

"Introductions!! I still don't even know if Danshari D is a duo name, nor do I know your real names!! I'm appalled at this lack of manners. Ask your parents to let you redo elementary school, you idiots."

Azekura roughly folded his laptop and started packing up to leave.

This is bad. If he leaves now, the plan will come to nothing.

I tried to squeeze out some words to recover, but my mind was blank and nothing came out. I, who have never desperately tried to clear my name or stood up to adversity, didn't know what to say.

"...I don't... have parents."

Suddenly, from next to me, a slender voice was spun.

It was from Rukina, who was tightly gripping the hem of her coat and holding back tears.

"I see. I will apologize for that. But do not use it as an excuse for your lack of manners."

"I'm sor, ry... I will be, careful."

I couldn't believe the scene before my eyes. Rukina, who had been so afraid of others, Rukina, who had shrunk back when yelled at by Azekura, was forcing out her voice while trembling.

It was all, surely, for Hoshimiya's sake. For her beloved sister who had become her heart's support, Rukina was suppressing her trauma.

...What am I doing? And I said I would support her.

I jumped from the table bench and pressed my head to the ground.

"What is this imitation?"

It was a cold voice, as if he had given up on me.

"Stop that. I only work if it makes money now, or if it will make money later. I am not moved by sentiment. Unless that itself becomes entertainment."

"Could you at least listen to what we have to say?"

"Tedious. There's no value. Because you called me out here, my work time has been reduced. It's already a negative. To overturn that--" "People! We'll involve a lot of people!"

I desperately raised my voice as if to overwrite Azekura's words (noise).

"If this goes well, I'm sure many people will enjoy it. They'll spend money. ...We are not interested in the money. We don't need a single yen of the money generated."

Zaa, the sound of ripples could be heard. Azekura said nothing.

"And, this surely has dramatic potential. Mr. Azekura, I believe you could even present it in the form of a documentary. We would have no objections to that. Of course, if we are nothing but noise in it, you can act as if we don't exist."

"...Hmm. In what you've just said, I see no merit for you. If money and fame are not your objectives, then what is it that you desire?"

I raised my face. Azekura was looking down on me as if appraising me.

What the two of us desire.

That is already decided.

"--The smile of a single girl."

Azekura's eyes narrowed as if in disbelief.

"That is good. We won't be competing."

Azekura put his laptop into his bag. He also folded the trackball mouse and the phone charging cable extending from the laptop and stored them in the bag's pocket.

Fearing he would leave if things continued this way, I was about to open my mouth again when,

Azekura sat down on the bench with a thud.

"To come all this way and cut my losses without even hearing the story would be a foolish move."

My eyes met Rukina's. I nodded without thinking, brushed the sand off, and sat on the bench.

"Thank you, Mr. Azekura."

"No need for thanks. Rather, this time I shall hear your names."

"Ah, yes. I'm Tsukishiro Ikki. I've never touched Dorothy, and Danshari D is her solo activity name."

I held out my palm, prompting Rukina to introduce herself.

She, incredibly, met Azekura's eyes and spoke.

"Hoshimiya... Rukina, ...is my name."

"...Hoshimiya, you say?" Azekura latched onto Rukina's statement.

Golden hair that shone brighter under the sun, blue eyes reminiscent of lapis lazuli. He scanned her un-Japanese appearance as if licking it over, and frowned.

"You said you have no parents. The actress named Hoshimiya Miyuki is the same. Is there any relation?"

"...She's my big sister."

The color of Azekura's eyes changed. He began to stare intently into Rukina's eyes as if pondering something.

"Does Hoshimiya Miyuki have anything to do with your request?"

"...My sister is the person concerned."

A wicked grin spread across Azekura's lips. It was obvious what he was thinking. He was surely calculating how much value he could generate by using Hoshimiya Miyuki's name recognition.

A workaholic for better or worse'... If we drop Hoshimiya's name, he'll be on board in a flash.

I didn't even need to hear the answer.

Azekura, in a complete change from before, plastered a gentle smile on his face and said,

"Speak. I will listen to anything. I promise to cooperate with all my strength."

The noise dissipated.

Finally, I could hear his real voice.

We've overcome a big wall. If so, then I have to work hard on my end too.

Azekura held out his hand. I grasped it firmly.

January 17th (Wed) Secured Mr. Azekura's cooperation. I wondered what would happen, but thanks to Hoshimiya, it worked out somehow. Even though I'm doing this for Hoshimiya, it ended up with Hoshimiya helping me.

Thankfully, he'll apparently cover the preparation costs. I said I didn't need it, but he said that if the project is completed, he'll also pay me money to monopolize the rights. Is this what it means to be an adult?

January 24th (Wed) Got a message from Mr. Azekura. He seems to be proceeding with various arrangements. But, as expected, it seems to require a certain amount of time, and I was asked to wait until mid-February. For now, what I can do is to make sure Hoshimiya can live with as little burden as possible.

February 6th (Tue) Hoshimiya's health seems to be on an upward trend; she polished off a cup of noodles. When I contacted Mr. Azekura, he said preparations were in the final stages, and we should start around the 15th.

"Hey, Tsukishiro."

Hoshimiya, who was sitting on the sofa and dangling her arms, neck, and legs to rehabilitate her rusted muscles and joints, suddenly murmured.

"What is it, are you hungry?"

"What about you, aren't you hungry? There's something I want to give you."

Rustling, Hoshimiya took out a small wrapped bag from the small storage compartment built into the sofa.

"It's Valentine's Day today, right? I thought I'd give you some chocolates."

"Eh, seriously? Did you buy them? If you had told me, I would have bought them."

"Stop that, you'll become a sad boy buying chocolates for himself. I bought them online, so don't worry."

"I see, thanks."

I took the bag and immediately opened it. Inside were five or six cute, small chocolates about the size of a one-yen coin. I scarfed them down all at once.

"Ah, hey, what kind of way is that to eat!?"

"Huh? What is it?"

I munched on them noisily. I wonder what she's raising her voice about.

Seeing me like that, the girl who was once Japan's great actress let out a big sigh and said,

"You know... these are Valentine's chocolates from the Hoshimiya Miyuki, you know? And handed to you personally. Only you. Isn't there, like, a more heart-pounding emotion or something?"

"Of course not. It's you and me. I'd be more surprised if you were expecting that."

I certainly don't dislike her. To the extent that I can honestly think that, I have a favorable impression of the girl named Hoshimiya Miyuki. Her perfected humanity is, at this point, beyond doubt.

But that and this are two different things. I, who have lived for just under eighteen years, can clearly say that it is false to declare that all affection for the opposite sex is romantic love.

"--I was expecting it, just a little."

That's why. At those words from Hoshimiya, my thoughts stopped for a moment.

"Hey, Tsukishiro. What are we?"

Without giving my head a chance to settle, Hoshimiya piled on the next words.

"That promise isn't even in effect anymore. We're not friends, not lovers, not family. And yet, we're living together, you're taking care of me... what exactly is our relationship? I've been thinking that lately."

"...,"

"Why do you bother with me? It's not like you've moved out of your family home, you have a place to go back to. So why are you still with a woman like me?"

"...Because I can't pay for the matsutake."

"Fifty thousand yen for one is obviously a lie, you idiot. Besides, those are just similar looking not real one, super cheap."

I couldn't answer. What she was saying was a natural question. Since I haven't told Hoshimiya about my conspiracy with Rukina yet, from her perspective, there's no longer any reason for me to be here.

"...I'll tell you a hope, something I wish were true, okay?"

"...What is it?"

"Like maybe, you've fallen in love with me."

With that one phrase, I felt like something had clicked into place.

As if the last piece of a puzzle had been found. As if a gear had engaged in a spinning engine. Suddenly, an answer that had been invisible until now surfaced.

What it was. For a moment, I didn't understand.

But I understood. I understood, but I couldn't say it out loud.

"--Just kidding. I just thought I'd say it."

Perhaps finding my stiffness suspicious, Hoshimiya gently averted her gaze.

"...Don't say weird things."

"Because, isn't it sad? I wanted to have a youthful experience or two myself. But I was scouted, accepted, and became an actress. --Because I knew the time I had left was short."

I wonder how much resolve that took.

The tone of anguish held by Hoshimiya, who was fated to die early on and had to choose the path of least regret in light of her few remaining years, is something I can't even imagine.

"I thought that if I became an actress, everyone would remember me even after I died. That's why, even as my peers and rivals dropped out one after another, I worked hard. I didn't want to be buried among the masses."

Hoshimiya suddenly looked up at the ceiling. It looked as if tears were faintly welling up in her eyes.

"But reality is harsh, isn't it?"

Hoshimiya, still staring into the void, looked terribly ephemeral, as if she might just disappear somewhere.

"Everyone forgets anyway. A new Aichi's Heroine was born right away. --Tsukishiro, do you know the face and name of the top idol from thirty years ago? The proof that I lived will only remain in some corner of the internet. So, at the very least, I want you, of all people, to remember me sometimes."

Hoshimiya's teary eyes suddenly caught mine.

"Anymore, that's all I can wish for..."

From those two eyes, a teardrop welled up and trickled down her cheek.

"--Tsukishiro. I think, you know, I'm in love with you."

As she said that, Hoshimiya smiled. Spilling tears, that smile, coated in a resignation that seemed tired of even cursing the fate surrounding her, stirred my heart more than any smile I had seen in my life.

"I'm so easy, aren't I? I'm amazed at myself. Just because you were a little kind to me when I was weak. Even though you're a guy who did something as ridiculous as trying to commit suicide... I love you."

I couldn't answer anything. My mind was already a mess.

"--Ahaha,"

Hoshimiya gave a dry laugh at me, who wasn't even aware of the expression on my own face.

"My great acting isn't to be underestimated yet. What's with that face, you idiot, of course it's a lie. Honestly, you're so gullible. When I'm dead, be careful of scams."

Pat, pat. Hoshimiya patted my shoulder several times. Her all-too-deliberate cover-up didn't even have a hint of deception. To call herself an actress with this, she's got some nerve.

But. From that action, Hoshimiya's disappointment and bravado were clearly conveyed, and I couldn't even stand to be there anymore.

"--Don't just think in the worst direction. Illness begins in the mind, you know."

I stood up abruptly, then flowed out of the living room and into my own room.

With the door at my back, I was lost in thought in the dark room.

What comes to mind are the memories of this strange cohabitation for the past half-year.

I was taken out to play several times under the guise of an operation to eliminate noise, and each time I was shown her smile, shining like a starry sky. For the past two months, that has been smoldering.

As I told Rukina the other day, that fact itself was enough of a reason to rouse me to action.

But that's all it is. It should be just that. And yet, I don't know why a deep part of my heart is raging with such heat.

No, it's not that I don't know. It's just that I had unconsciously pushed it out of the frame.

But that was no longer possible.

Any longer, I couldn't continue to deceive myself and turn my eyes away from the truth.

"...I had also fallen in love with Hoshimiya."

Without even being able to sort out the emotions I was certain of.

The plan reaches the day of its execution.

February 14th (Wed) I'm kind of tired. The plan starts tomorrow, so I'll just go to sleep.

"Hoshimiya."

After making nabeyaki udon for Hoshimiya, whose condition had improved, and after she had finished it, I called out to her.

"Hmm? What is it, Tsukishiro?"

I couldn't sense any negative emotions from her tone of voice.

I don't know if what happened yesterday was discarded from her brain's folders, or if she was acting as if nothing was wrong after firmly engraving it in her heart.

In any case, as long as she wasn't dragging it out, either way was fine with me.

"Hey, let's go out for a bit." "No."

It was an instant reply. I had a faint feeling it would happen, but I couldn't help but give a wry smile at her all-too-refreshing refusal.

"Why not? It's still on the warmer side today, you know?"

"It's not the cold. I can hardly walk."

"I've prepared a wheelchair."

"That's why I said no. You're not my caregiver."

"It's not like everyone pushing a wheelchair is a caregiver. It could totally be a lover, a spouse, a parent, a sibling, or a friend."

Hoshimiya, looking troubled for a response, averted her gaze with a look of distaste, but she wouldn't nod her head. However, I needed her to come outside with me. No matter what.

I took out my smartphone.

I slid my finger across the screen and launched a certain app.

To Hoshimiya, who looked at me quizzically as I started fiddling with my phone, I showed it to her like Mito Komon's inro.

"--!! Th-this..."

What I showed Hoshimiya was MobaPane's record mode. A screen where you can see a list of scores for each song.

Currently, it's sorted by score. Meaning the one at the top is the song with the highest score I've played.

"Danshari EVERYDAY". Danshari D's debut song, and its difficulty (level) is-- SS.

Next to the song title, the red letter 'F', the mark of a Full Combo, was shining.

"How about that. I got a Full Combo. You remember, right, about the reward? The one where you said, 'I'll grant you any one thing you ask'."

After my arrangement with Mr. Azekura, I had been aiming for a Full Combo in secret from Hoshimiya.

Even if all the preparations were complete, it would be meaningless if the key person, Hoshimiya, didn't leave the house. And with her current state, that possibility was quite conceivable. That's why I begrudged even the time for sleep, repeating just one song thousands of times, to finally return to my former starting line.

To drag Hoshimiya out of the house, on this very day.

"...,"

Blankly. Hoshimiya's mouth hung half-open.

"What's with that face?"

"No... I mean, eh? You're using it for something like this? The reward."

"Yeah. Because today, no matter what, I need you to come with me."

I held out my hand to Hoshimiya. It might be a harsh request for her in her weakened state, but there's little time left. We can't afford to waste it.

"...Why are you being so persistent?"

"Because if you give up, you can't get a Full Combo. I'm used to persevering for the result (high score) I want."

Hoshimiya, after letting out a large, listless sigh, took my hand.

***

When I opened the door, I heard Mr. Azekura's low voice say, "So you've come."

"Hello. Sorry, we're late. The roads were congested..."

"It doesn't matter. Even Buddha forgives up to three times."

I gave a wry smile inwardly at how completely different his attitude was from that time at the seaside park.

It was a small, ten-meter-square room. The walls were paneled with a cork-like material, and perhaps because it absorbed the sound, there was almost no echo despite the room's small size. Maybe because the air was being circulated, it wasn't stuffy either. The room was warmed to a comfortable temperature.

"I've brought Hoshimiya Miyuki."

Saying that, I introduced the girl on my back. With a single phrase, "It's fine to go out, but carry me," I had deliberately carried her on my back.

"A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Hoshimiya Miyuki. I am Azekura. It's an honor to meet a national treasure of Japan."

"Oh my... ahaha, not at all, and now, I'm just a sick person."

Going with the flow, Hoshimiya shook hands with Mr. Azekura.

Mr. Azekura, perhaps upon seeing the emaciated Hoshimiya, frowned with a pained expression.

"...I can't force you to overdo it. If you feel any change in your condition, tell me immediately."

"Eh, ehehe... even so, I'm feeling quite energetic today~"

At Hoshimiya's weak laugh, a heavy emotion weighed down on my stomach.

"So, Tsukishiro, what is this place?"

"Well, don't be hasty. What do you think she's doing?"

Where I pointed, a petite girl with blonde hair was bustling around multiple displays and cords. It was Rukina. She had arrived on-site before us and had taken the initiative to start the necessary preparations.

"Rukina...?"

And Hoshimiya, who probably had no idea about any of this, sounded as if she had seen a ghost.

"Big sis. You're finally here."

Rukina, seeming to have noticed us, trotted over to Hoshimiya like a small animal.

"Rukina... how did you get here?"

"Of course. By taxi."

"A-alone?"

At Rukina's short "mm" of a nod, Hoshimiya's mouth still seemed to be hanging open.

Considering the Rukina up until now, it was a natural reaction.

She has been a shut-in for over two years and still hasn't overcome her anthropophobia.

And yet. She had hailed a taxi by herself, given the destination, and on top of that, had been bustling around preparing something while being alone with a strange man. That Hoshimiya Rukina.

"Hoshimiya, surely, this is it, isn't it?"

To Hoshimiya, who let out a stunned "eh?", I added more words.

"It's the 'future of Rukina if I let you be a freeloader' that you talked about once. The figure of her still being a little scared, but behaving like a proper person. Isn't this it?"

The biggest reason Hoshimiya had once approved of me becoming her housemate-- Hoshimiya Rukina's reintegration into society.

The world line where the girl who had shut herself in a shell is saved, guided by the power of the girl who peeks into the future.

This wasn't something I induced. It's true I got Rukina involved, but her own strength in spontaneously confronting Azekura and winning his cooperation was also great.

Whether that became her confidence, the fact that she could now set up the equipment without shrinking, even if they couldn't chat friendly, even when alone in a room with him, was nothing but Rukina's growth.

"It's for Hoshimiya's sake."

Still unable to fully grasp the situation, Hoshimiya's eyes darted back and forth like a lost child's.

"Everything, Rukina did it for you, Hoshimiya. What do you think this equipment is for?"

In the soundproofed room, there were various machines large and small, cords running across the floor, a condenser microphone fixed at a height of about 1.3 meters, and a mesh pop filter like a tennis racket to block out breath sounds. This combination must have been a familiar sight to her.

"...Hahyuu's, song recording...?"

"You'd think so. But it's a little different. Rukina, explain it."

Rukina nodded, and while glancing at the elderly man dressed in a well-tailored suit, she whispered.

"Big sis. The name... Azekura Kouichi. You've heard it, right?"

"...Eh, that music producer? No way, this is him?"

"Mm. A famous producer who also works on idol songs, a composer who also makes game BGM... the leader of 'Project Otoumi Riko,' Mr. Azekura Kouichi."

Three years ago. Based on the voice data of the young top voice actress, Yuzuriha Minori, a project to create a new Dorothy character was launched.

That character's name is "Otoumi Riko."

Mr. Azekura Kouichi is the originator of that production project.

"Could it be... Rukina, no way..."

Rukina affirmed with a smile like the surface of water.

"With Hahyuu's voice, we're going to create a new Dorothy character. For that purpose, everyone has gathered."

Starting with me and Rukina, Azekura Kouichi... and though not in the room, the members of the project team trusted by Mr. Azekura, who rushed from Tokyo to Nagoya just for this. All of them had gathered to make the singing voice of Hoshimiya Miyuki-- "Hahyuu," resonate forever.

The breath of the girl on my back was trembling.

It wasn't because she was freezing. Rather, it carried an unprecedented heat.

"My own Dorothy character...?"

"Mm. Another big sister, one who reproduces your singing voice."

Rukina gently wiped away the tears overflowing from Hoshimiya's eyes.

"Big sis. The origin of 'Hahyuu.' Do you remember?"

"...Eh."

"Miyuki. A happy future. happy future-- shortened to Hahyuu. Don't tell me you've forgotten."

I too was extremely surprised when I heard this for the first time.

The charismatic figure of the utaite world, Hahyuu. The meaning held by that name.

"The song we made together. The last lyric is 'The future is shining in lapis lazuli!!'. My and my sister's future. Wishing for a wonderful future, a shining future, my sister started as 'Hahyuu'."

"...That's right, it was."

"But. At that time, big sis, you were being self-deprecating about your own name, saying it meant 'not yet happy.' I will never allow that."

To Rukina, Hoshimiya Miyuki is a symbol of hope. Her beloved real sister, an actress representing Japan, and a top utaite supported by the youth, she is a person worthy of Rukina's respect, admiration... and all other positive emotions.

That's why she won't allow it.

To fall into becoming an ugly existence that is pessimistic, servile, and only resents fate as she withers away.

"My sister is an amazing person. There's no way she should end in a place like this. She's a person who should be active for much, much longer."

That absolute trust shapes the ideal "Hoshimiya Miyuki."

It becomes the compass that shows the way for the "Hoshimiya Miyuki" who has lost herself.

"That's why. I planned it with my comrade. Because I want my sister to keep singing from now on."

Rukina held out the headphones to Hoshimiya.

They were the ones Hoshimiya used when she recorded songs as "Hahyuu."

"The language of the lapis lazuli jewel is 'eternal vow.' For a long, long time. To make the singing voice of the utaite 'Hahyuu' continue to resonate into the future forever. That is the vow. I am here for that purpose."

Deep within her pure, lapis-lazuli eyes, a contradictory, passionate sound was certainly being played.

"Everyone, from all over the world... will make songs with my voice, forever...?"

Hoshimiya's voice grew even hoarser. That coreless voice, however, held not a speck of sorrow.

Hoshimiya's body gradually gained mass.

It was as if her soul had returned to her body.

"Yeah. As long as Dorothy exists, you will always be there. Every time you sing a new song someone made, your voice will move someone's heart in the future."

Pat. A small palm was placed on Hoshimiya's head.

It belonged to the only person in this world who shared her blood, her little sister, who revered Hoshimiya and was doted on by Hoshimiya.

Rukina narrowed her blue eyes gently and smiled at Hoshimiya with a beauty like a painting.

"I'm sorry for calling you a 'traitor.' The truth is, I love you, big sis. I wanted to be with you forever, but I couldn't. So, at the very least--"

Rukina gently stroked Hoshimiya's head and said,

"--Fore~ever. Let's sing together? Big sis."

From Hoshimiya's eyes, a single teardrop flowed down.

Once it broke, it seemed there was no stopping it.

The broken tear ducts didn't know when to stop, violating Hoshimiya's face with tears, and slowly soaking the area around my shoulder where I was carrying her.

It was warm. The lukewarmth that would normally feel unpleasant, the noise of sniffling by my ear, I even felt a certain kind of comfort in it.

Quietly accepting death-- no, from the girl who had hated and given up on everything, an overflowing desire for life, joy. No matter what anyone says, it is brave, noble, and beautiful.

Hoshimiya Miyuki, with her weakened body, continued to cry powerfully.

As if to vomit out the dim, ugly something that was about to swallow her.

In that room, a single note of unprecedented beauty resounded endlessly.