"Sakuta-kun what are your favorite phrases to hear from others? Mine are "thank you", "you did your best" and "i love you"" she says right before hugging me from the back, startling me.
"You did your best" she seemed to be comforting me, even though she was suffering just as much
"No I didn't, i could have taken more care of her, could have noticed her torment and her bruises." I felt her flinch the moment i started talking, almost like she didn't believe that i actually said something.
After some time she let go of me and stood up "sakuta-kun you are amazing, most would just accept that and say that they truly did their best, even if its just to escape from that pain, but you, you didn't, you are being stubborn and not accepting that, but it's the truth, there's no way anyone would have seen that, it's okay, you still are young and had no fault in that."
"Why are you helping me, someone that you shouldn't even know?"
"Because i believe that the reason of our existence is to become kinder each day, i hope that the me of today is a kinder person than i was yesterday!"
"such an different way to view the reason of our lives. But what i meant was, you are suffering yourself, so why help me?" Her eyes were wide open the moment i said that.
"Because this suffering i have already felt, i already know it and how it feels, and i already have an way ahead, but you don't, you feel like you have lost everything, and I'm scared of what you might do if no one drives you on the right direction…"
I'm looking at her the entire time, until she stops, even though it looks like she's holding herself back from saying more i decided to not press, and then i look up, to stare at the blue sky above myself. "You do know me after all, but how?"
"One day you will know, who i am and why you are the man i love."
She said right before disappearing, and if i didn't have such an feeling, of missing something, i would have thought that she was just an piece of my imagination, but she definitely was here, makinohara shoko-chan, thank you, for giving me an away ahead, for helping me at this moment, i promise to you, that whenever we met again, i will help you with your pain, just like you helped with mine.
in an street somewhere on that same city
"ugh what is this? What happened?" Shoko said before looking around, recognizing where she met sakuta after kaede recovered her memory, but with no sakuta suffering nearby, just a note right in front of her, she took it and read
"you will be stuck here, he has everything to achieve the happy ending without your help, but we shall let you be here, you will be stuck at this age until the time he met her, you will study there and may not tell him anything about the difference, let us have our fun!!"