Some people aren't meant to be fixed — just understood."
---
Scene:
An old park in Ningenai — long forgotten.
Dry leaves everywhere.
The swings creaked louder than the people ever did.
And on a quiet bench... sat Aira.
A girl who always looked like she was apologizing —
For simply existing.
---
Saito had changed a little since meeting Kuro.
But one thing was still missing inside him — empathy.
He only observed emotions...
He didn't feel them yet.
Aira's legs were slightly folded —
Her walk was uneven.
She never showed her full self when people were around.
Saito walked up to the same bench — quietly.
Saito (gently):
"Can I sit here?"
Aira flinched slightly — then nodded yes.
Silence.
Neither of them said anything for a while.
---
Aira (with a light laugh):
"You're that guy, right?
The perfect one?
People say you look like a painting."
Saito blinked — painting?
Saito:
"I'm just… what they made me into."
Aira:
"I'm what… no one ever wanted to make."
---
For the first time, Saito felt something…
A kind of quiet pain that didn't scream — but stayed.
He looked at Aira's legs for a second —
But she quickly changed the topic.
Aira (smiling, but voice cracked):
"People say things like —
'You're great… but if you were just a little better, you'd be really cute.'
And every time,
I wondered if I could be… fixed."
Saito:
"You don't want to be fixed?"
Aira (hesitant):
"No.
I just want someone to like me… as I am."
---
Saito went silent.
No one had ever told him that before.
He always thought —
"Only the best version of you deserves to be loved."
Saito (to himself):
"Then... is the person I am just a mask?"
---
Aira pulled out a tiny diary and started writing.
Saito (curious):
"What do you write in there?"
Aira:
"Things I never got to say.
My flaws. My dreams.
And sometimes…
the angry things I'm too scared to say out loud."
Saito:
"Can I read something?"
She paused.
Then slowly handed him the diary.
Saito read one page:
> "I can't run…
but my thoughts never stop.
I try to look cute…
so people won't look at my pain."
---
Saito's throat tightened.
He closed the diary — and looked at her.
Saito:
"You don't need fixing.
You're already… real."
Aira's eyes filled with tears — but she smiled.
Aira:
"You're the first person who didn't try to change me."
Saito (softly):
"Maybe… you're the first who ever taught me how to feel."
---
Suddenly, from the corner of the park —
The Mirror Man appeared in a reflection.
Same face as Saito. Empty eyes.
Mirror Man (hauntingly):
> "You're no longer perfect...
and now you've started feeling pain."
---
Saito turned quickly — but the reflection vanished.
Aira noticed something shift in his eyes.
Aira (lightly):
"Feels like… sometimes we're running from ourselves, right?"
Saito nodded.
And then, for the first time —
She gently held his hand.
No reason. No drama. Just warmth.
---
Aira (smiling through tears):
"Whether you're perfect or not…
I hope you come back to this park.
Sometimes for me.
And sometimes…
just to listen to yourself."
---
Chapter End Note (Saito's inner voice):
> "Aira taught me that living with flaws…
is also a kind of strength.
I never noticed her limp…
Because her courage…
walked straighter than anyone I'd ever seen."
---
TO BE CONTINUED…