Rin had never seen her up close before.
Hikari Minamoto.
They were in the same school—Hoshikawa High, nestled on the slopes of Kanemachi City—
but different classes. She was the quiet type. No rumors, no clubs. Just… there. Always alone.
Always unreadable.
But now she stood across from him, on the rooftop ledge, with the icy January wind curling
through her long black hair.
"You too?" she asked again.
Rin stared at her, stunned.
This wasn't happening.
She wasn't supposed to be here.
No one was supposed to be here.
"…What are you doing?" he finally managed.
Hikari's voice was even. Detached. "What does it look like?"
"You shouldn't be here."
"Neither should you."
He flinched.
A silence fell. Snow drifted between them, soft flakes settling on the frosted edge of the
metal railing.
She stepped off the ledge—not back, but to the side—sitting down with her legs dangling
over the concrete. Her school shoes tapped softly against the outer wall.
"I thought I'd be alone," she said again. "Turns out grief has a schedule."
Rin's heart pounded. He still hadn't moved.
"You knew her, didn't you?" Hikari asked. "Shizuku Masahiko."
Rin nodded slowly. "…She was my girlfriend."
Hikari closed her eyes. "She was the only person who smiled at me… even when I didn't
smile back."
That stopped Rin.
"…What?"
"She used to give me candies near the Tsukiyama back gate. Wrote little messages on the
wrappers. I never knew why."
Hikari's voice cracked a little. "She didn't even know my name the first few times."
Rin said nothing. He didn't know what to say.
"She was sunshine," Hikari whispered. "And people like us… we can't handle the sun, can
we?"
Rin finally stepped down from the ledge. His knees were weak, his throat dry. "Why are
you—why were you going to…?"
Hikari didn't answer immediately. She picked up a snowflake on her glove and watched it
melt.
"My mom overdosed three months ago," she said. "Left me with a father who drinks to
forget. I sleep through shouting, study through bruises, smile through the cracks."
Rin's breath caught.
"And then… Shizuku died. And I thought, 'even the kind ones disappear.'"
She turned her eyes to him, for the first time really seeing him.
"So I came here. To make it all stop."
Rin walked slowly toward her, like any sudden move would shatter both of them.
"…I thought I was the only one who felt like this," he said.
"You're not."
More silence.
The city lights of Kanemachi blinked below—trains crossing bridges, vending machines
glowing like lighthouses—but the rooftop of Hoshikawa High felt like another world.
Rin sat beside her.
Not on the ledge.
Not close.
But close enough.
"I didn't come here to stop you," he said. "I just… didn't think I'd stop myself either."
Hikari nodded. "Then maybe it's good we both failed."
They sat there a while. Not talking. Just breathing.
Alive.