Chapter 31: He Came Back, But He Didn't Bring the Past With Him
Yumi never thought she'd see him again.
Not in sunlight.Not in uniform.Not with her name still folded in his silence.
But there he was.Standing by the courtyard gates like nothing ever happened.
Like he hadn't vanished two years ago and taken her heart with him.
She didn't run.Didn't cry.Didn't scream, "Why?"
She just stared.
And when he walked closer, she noticed it first:
His eyes didn't reach for her.
They looked through her —Like he was afraid of what remembering might do.
"Hi," he said.
It was the same voice.Lower now. Rougher.But still him.
Yumi almost laughed.
That was it?Hi?
After two years?
After sleepless nights, empty sketchbooks, unanswered prayers to no one in particular?
"You're late," she said, voice steady but fraying.
"For what?"
"For forever."
He smiled, then winced — like the words stung more than they should.
"I didn't think you'd wait."
"I didn't," she lied.
But she didn't look away.
And neither did he.
They walked.
Through the halls.
Past people who pretended not to stare.Past places where memories still clung to desks, windows, shadows.
She spoke first.
"How long are you staying?"
"I don't know."
Pause.
"I didn't come back for school."
Her chest tightened.
"Then why?"
He didn't answer right away.
Then quietly:
"To see if you still looked at me the same way."
She stopped walking.
"Akiro."
He turned.
"You left me."
"I know."
"You didn't say goodbye."
"I didn't think I deserved to."
The silence hurt more than the words.
She didn't slap him.Didn't cry.
She just whispered:
"I forgot how to love someone who isn't already halfway out the door."
He didn't move.
Neither did she.
The distance between them felt exactly like two years.
But for a second,the old rhythm returned.
The air between their breaths.
The weight of unfinished sentences.
The ghost of a kiss that still hadn't faded.
Then the bell rang.
And it was gone.