"What are you doing?"
At that moment, Honoka's parents rushed out, pushing Nao off Honoka and checking on her condition.
But Honoka paid no attention to her mother. She simply wiped her tears over and over, murmuring to herself.
"I'm not... I didn't..."
Watching from the sidelines, Hakuto stepped forward and helped Nao up from the ground.
He didn't say anything, because he knew this wasn't the place for words.
"If you still consider Iori your friend, go find her and make up with her... Otherwise, you'll truly regret it..."
After saying this, Hakuto didn't care whether Honoka heard him or not. He simply supported Nao and quickly left the scene.
Before long, the two of them returned to the park they had been in that afternoon. Same park, same scene—only now, someone's heart was restless.
"I've never seen you like that before. What's wrong? Did something suddenly come to mind?"
Nao looked at Hakuto and, for some reason, smiled.
"Strange. I thought you'd take this opportunity to mock me mercilessly."
"I do have some sense, you know..."
Saying that, Hakuto handed Nao a drink he had just bought from a vending machine.
Nao looked at the drink in his hand, slowly reached out to take it, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke.
"Hakuto, you probably know that I have an older brother, right?"
"You've mentioned him before..."
As someone who had been subjected to experiments because of his supernatural abilities, Hakuto felt sympathy for Nao's brother, but there was nothing he could do.
"I never really said this before... Actually, my brother and I were sold to those scientists by our mother..."
"You can tell me more if you want. I might be a good listener..."
"Yeah, I suppose that is one of your specialties..."
"This isn't the time to tease me, is it?"
Nao glanced at Hakuto beside her, then started her story.
"My family was poor, not much better off than Otosaka Yuu. My mom raised me and my brother alone. Life was tough, but we were happy..."
"It all started when I got accepted into a national university-affiliated high school..."
"I was so excited to share the news with my brother and mom. Don't be fooled by how I bicker with you all the time now. Back then, I might have even managed to get that fifty thousand yen out of you..."
She smiled as she spoke, but it wasn't a smile of joy. It was more like an attempt to dispel the heavy atmosphere.
Hakuto didn't say anything. He simply listened quietly.
"It's a pity I didn't meet you back then..."
"My brother was a great guitarist. A record label had taken an interest in his band, and he was about to start earning money."
"Our financial situation was improving, and everything seemed to be heading in a good direction..."
"I thought things would keep getting better. But... in the end, I never went to that university-affiliated school. Instead, I was sent to a fully residential academy..."
"It was my mother's decision. She wanted both my brother and me to attend that school."
"My brother didn't understand why. He had no academic talent at all—his only skill was playing the guitar."
"He was completely against it. To him, studying was pointless when he could just start earning money right away..."
"But in the end, he still went... because that was the first time I saw our mother kneel before us. The mother who had raised us alone knelt in front of me like that..."
"So, I went to that school. It really looked like a normal school, and I made new friends quickly..."
"But even though we were at the same school, I almost never saw my brother. And every day after class, I had to undergo medical checkups, like some kind of experiment..."
"My brother, on the other hand, was subjected to horrific experiments every day. His ability allowed him to manipulate air vibrations at will..."
"With that ability, he could make his guitar produce all kinds of sounds during concerts."
"Maybe it wasn't as powerful as your computational abilities, but for someone who loved music, it was the perfect ability..."
"And that's exactly why the scientists targeted him. They believed his ability could disrupt communications and even hijack radio signals."
"They had all sorts of ideas and performed countless experiments on him..."
Nao let out a sigh. Though she had only spoken a few sentences, it seemed to have drained all her energy.
But after a brief pause, she continued.
"The next time I saw my brother was about a year later. He was no longer the brother I remembered... He didn't even recognize me..."
"That was when I realized... the friends I had made at that school were all fake, planted by the scientists."
"The daily check ups I received were just because I had a higher chance of developing supernatural abilities..."
"I was lucky enough to escape from that school. I joined Hoshinoumi and met someone I could trust..."
A memory-jumping ability user... Hakuto couldn't even remember his name anymore.
Even though his computational power could infinitely enhance his brain, he hadn't had that ability in his previous life.
"My brother is now in a psychiatric hospital far away... If you have time, I'll take you to see him."
"Okay."
Hakuto didn't say much. He simply responded softly and stayed quietly by Nao's side.
"Oh, right..."
Nao reached into her pocket and pulled out a Walkman, handing it to Hakuto.
"Zhiend's music. My brother's favorite band. Give it a listen."
"Alright."
Hakuto took the Walkman, inserted the earphones, and let the music wash over him.
The moment the sound played, a melody that resonated deep in his soul made him pause.
He felt as if he were standing in an open grassland, the breeze brushing against him, filling him with serenity.
"It's really good... It feels like it pierces straight through me..."
"You get it! Want to go to Zhiend's concert with me? I heard they'll be performing in Tokyo soon."
Hakuto looked at Nao's smiling face.
It was hard to believe that the girl who had just been recalling such painful memories could cast them aside the next moment.
Maybe that's why she was able to become the student council president...
"Hey! I'm asking you a question. Are you coming or not?"
Hearing her question, Hakuto smiled.
"Are you asking me out on a date?"
"Huh? Are you joking?"
"Eh? Isn't it? I got excited for nothing..."
"Huh? If you don't want to go, just say so. No need to make excuses..."
"I never said I wasn't going. I'll just think of it as overtime."
"You never work overtime."
"The student council president is a special case."
"Huh? Are you saying you like me? For real?"
"For real."
"Nice!"
Nao gave him a thumbs-up.
Hakuto didn't say anything. He just handed the Walkman back to her.
But she didn't take it. Instead, she stood up and dusted off her clothes.
"Keep it. I have a few more."
"What's this? A token of love?"
"? You're acting really weird today. Is this a side effect of your computational power?"
Hakuto looked at the Walkman in his hand and chuckled.
Then, he casually said,
"Taking this won't make me save the world, right?"
"Still holding on to that chunibyo habit?"
"No... Just saying."
He stood up and walked beside Nao.
Side by side, the two of them strolled off into the distance.
"By the way, were you serious about what you said earlier?"
"Yeah, I was."
The End
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