In a university in Japan, the welcome ceremony for the newly admitted students had just concluded.
On the stage, the principal and teachers were sitting upright, with a large screen behind them displaying welcome slogans for the new students.
Below the stage, the students were neatly arranged, each one full of youthful energy and expectations for their university life.
"Everyone, a beautiful university life is waiting for you. Go ahead and embrace your youth to the fullest!"
With the host's closing remarks, the welcome ceremony came to a successful end.
On a bench in the playground, a girl with white long hair tied in a side ponytail was wearing a light pink casual outfit.
She was holding a handheld camera in her hands, with a lollipop in her mouth.
Her delicate face revealed a faint expression of unhappiness.
The girl's exquisite appearance caused some infatuated boys to stop and stare. Of course, there were also bold boys who walked up to her to strike up a conversation.
"Hello, student. May I ask if I can..."
"Sorry, I have a boyfriend."
The girl's response was brief, without even lifting her head, as she continued fiddling with the camera in her hands.
This short reply caused the boy who tried to start a conversation to feel awkward. In an attempt to save face, he stubbornly said:
"Sorry... that's not what I meant."
"Hmm, do you have any other intentions?"
"At least tell me your name..."
Upon hearing this, the girl put down her camera and finally looked the boy in the eye.
A few seconds later, a faint smile appeared on her face.
"Tomori Nao... but you can also call me Shiratori Nao..."
One person, two surnames. This, in Japan, clearly implied something, and there was no need to make things awkward.
...
After the boy left, another girl with pink hair styled similarly to the one belonging to Nao approached her.
The two seemed to know each other and didn't say much. They simply sat quietly together.
"You didn't come to find me just to sit here, did you?"
"Who... who came to find you? I just happened to run into you," Nino said, crossing her arms.
"I didn't expect you to be in the same university as me..."
Nao took out her lollipop and offered it to Nino, but Nino shook her head and refused.
Nao shrugged and put the lollipop back in her pocket. "I remember your original plan didn't mention going to university, right?"
"You peeked at my plan?"
"Hah? You just left it on the table. It would be impossible not to see..."
"You..."
Nino shook her head and decided not to argue about it. After all, it was just a plan—a useless piece of paper.
"Can I ask why?"
Nino nodded.
"There's no particular reason... It's just that Hakuto mentioned wanting to experience university life. I thought if he didn't come, I'd do it for him."
"And you?"
"Me? Someone promised to accompany me to university, but it turns out they still haven't come..."
The two fell silent. An oppressive atmosphere lingered between them.
"Hakuto... do you still keep in touch with him?"
"One year ago..."
"What do you mean?"
"The last time he sent me a message was a year ago, and as for phone calls, don't even mention it."
Nao's eyes held a trace of resentment, but more than that, she was still worried.
"A year, huh..." Nino was in a similar situation. Over the past year, she had sent countless messages, all of which had disappeared into a black hole.
She felt helpless. She didn't even know where Hakuto was now...
Nino knew that Nao used to have a strong ability to network, and since her connections were highly intertwined with Hakuto, she might know something.
"Do you have any news about him?"
Upon hearing this, Nao nodded. Then, she suddenly took out her phone and said, "Did you see the news from Russia a few months ago?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
A few months ago, Nino was still preparing for the college entrance exam. She had been focused on taking Hakuto's place and working hard to get into university.
"In Russia, a high-rise building was attacked by artillery fire, but the authorities didn't mention the attackers..." Nao raised an eyebrow.
"Terrorists? Foreign incidents like that shouldn't be rare, right?"
"Yeah, but Shunsuke felt something was off, so he sent someone to investigate."
Nao crushed the chocolate bar in her mouth and continued.
"What I'm about to say is a story from a little girl who was at the scene. I don't remember all the details, but I'll tell you what I can..."
Nao cleared her throat. Under Nino's puzzled gaze, she continued.
"I didn't know what was happening at the time. I just remember being squeezed in the crowd. With my height, I couldn't see anything."
"Later, I heard a loud rumbling sound. It was like a truck crashing into a wall..."
"When I came to my senses, the people around me were scared and moved away. That's when a charred silver piece fell at my feet."
"It looked like an earring. I instinctively picked it up, and soon after, a big brother with long hair appeared out of nowhere. He was looking around as if searching for something..."
"I still didn't know what was going on, but I was sure he was looking for the silver piece I had just picked up. I handed the silver piece back to him."
"That big brother was really handsome. He smiled at me with such a gentle smile and said thank you. Then he put the silver piece back in his bag."
"That's when I saw that the big brother had his hair tied up with a golden hairpin, but for some reason, he took off the hairpin and put it back in his bag..."
Because Nao couldn't remember the details very clearly, she mostly conveyed it in her own words, but the meaning was pretty much the same.
"Although I didn't describe many details, you should be able to guess who I'm talking about..."
Nino didn't respond. She simply nodded silently.
Long hair and a golden hairpin—just those two features were enough for Nino to know exactly who Nao was referring to.
Nino suddenly added, "Yotsuba has been insisting on going to China recently. This news should calm her down a bit..."
Time was running out.
Two years, just a few months left.
In truth, Nao had kept many things from Nino. There was no point in sharing them; it would only cause more trouble.
For example, the high-rise building was definitely not attacked by terrorists. Judging by the situation, it might have been Hakuto who demolished the building.
Nao patted her skirt and slowly stood up.
"At least I can confirm that Hakuto is not in immediate danger..."
Meanwhile, far away in China, Hakuto was thinking:
"(눈_눈)...? Who started a fire on the mountain?"