*Beep…*
*Beep beep beep…*
In less than five seconds, the call connected.
Haizaki did not speak first. On the other end of the line, there was only the sound of clear, steady breathing.
"Hello. I'm Yusuke Haizaki."
In the end, Haizaki chose to break the silence.
"I'm Kasumigaoka Utaha."
The girl's voice was calm. It felt completely different from the impression given by her emails, yet Haizaki could still sense the suppressed excitement in her tone.
Haizaki looked out the window at the scenery beyond.
At the very least, his return could change the direction of the future.
On the other end of the call, Utaha tightly gripped her phone, her fingers slightly pale.
There really was someone else in this world.
That was truly wonderful.
She felt a little happy.
On the 5th, she had not noticed any changes in the world. As usual, she took leave from school, stayed at home, and worked on her writing to meet deadlines. Even when emails sent to her editor received no replies, she did not notice anything unusual.
It was only the next day, the 6th, when she could no longer tolerate surviving on bread and milk alone, that she left her room and went downstairs. To her surprise, her parents were nowhere to be found. With no other choice, she went outside—and what she saw made her heart tremble.
The streets were devoid of people, utterly silent.
The world had changed drastically, yet she had been completely unaware.
With fear and unease in her heart, she went to Toyogasaki, hoping there might still be people there. Instead, she was met with a despairing reality.
She subconsciously felt as though the entire world had abandoned her.
Everyone had disappeared, leaving only her behind.
She returned home in a daze, curled up alone in a corner, and eventually fell into a hazy sleep.
When she woke again, she numbly browsed the internet, until she finally discovered a message post.
There was still someone in this world, in Chiba, Japan.
A spark of light appeared in her lifeless eyes. Hope surged continuously within her heart. She completely disregarded her appearance as her trembling fingers edited and sent an email.
She had initially worried about the other party's character. After contacting him, she even prepared herself for questions about her exact location, rehearsing how she would respond. But in the end…
Email after email, call after call, sank like stones into the sea, without any response.
Hope shattered in an instant.
From despair to hope, and then from hope back to despair—the emotional rollercoaster was so intense that it even gave rise to thoughts of suicide.
What meaning was there in living alone?
No parents, no editors, no classmates—no familiar people, no strangers left in her life. What meaning was there in living alone?
Until the phone rang that morning. The number displayed made her jolt as hope surged up once more.
It was the number she had called fifteen times the night before, until she finally broke down crying in despair.
"Yusuke-san, do you know what happened to this world? Why has everyone disappeared except us?"
"I'm sorry. I don't know."
"You don't know either? Then… what should we—"
Utaha's words came to an abrupt stop. After the initial joy, she calmed down slightly, and her vigilance rose once more. Even if he was one of the only two people left, could she trust him?
Well aware of her own appearance and charm, Utaha could not help worrying whether, after meeting, he might harbor improper intentions toward her—or even resort to force.
Women held an inherent disadvantage when facing men.
"I'm currently in Chiba. I plan to leave Chiba on the 10th and head to Haneda Airport. If you don't mind, Kasumigaoka, you can come to Chiba and meet up with me. Or I can go to where you are and meet you."
"What are you going to Haneda Airport for?"
Under the current circumstances, what could one possibly do at an airport? She could not understand Haizaki's purpose.
"To fly an aircraft back to the Eastern Union…"
"Huh???"
The girl was utterly stunned.
No matter how she thought about it, Utaha could not imagine that the boy on the other end of the line planned to fly a plane back to his country. Was he serious?
"I want to go back and see the situation in the Eastern Union. My home is there. Even if one day I truly have to die, I want to die on my homeland's soil."
Haizaki's tone was heavy. Utaha could understand his thoughts. If it were her, she would also want to go home and take a look.
"Can you fly a plane?"
"Yes. Otherwise, I wouldn't be thinking about going back."
"Right now, the network, communications, and power are still functioning. But as time passes, all of these will inevitably collapse. By then, we may not even be able to contact each other."
Utaha frowned. She knew Haizaki was stating the truth.
"Now that I know there are still other people, I've decided to depart for Haneda Airport today and make preparations for the flight. If you trust me and are willing to leave with me, please contact me before noon on the 10th. If communications are cut off, then before the agreed time, go to Haneda Airport."
"Do we really have to leave?"
Utaha suddenly wondered whether Haizaki was pressuring her, forcing a decision to meet him sooner.
"Yes. I've already decided."
Based on his memories of Utaha, Haizaki felt immense pressure. Gaining her trust in a short time would be harder than climbing to the heavens.
Making a rash request to meet would only earn him a merciless rejection.
Abandon her and leave? He could not do that.
Persuade her? Under the current circumstances, how could he persuade her? More persuasion would only heighten her vigilance.
Moreover, he did not have more time to waste in Japan. Now that he understood the assistant's situation, he could begin the next stage of his plan.
In the end, Haizaki could only choose an indirect form of pressure, prompting Utaha to contact him of her own will and choose to meet him in person. After that, he believed that with long-term interaction, the two of them could establish a good relationship.
And if the worst-case scenario occurred, then—
"Kasumigaoka-san, I hope you stay strong and live on. Only by living is there hope. Maybe after a year or so, the world will return to normal, and your parents and family will appear before you again…"
Don't let yourself be defeated.
"Goodbye. We'll contact each other again next time…"
"…Mm. Goodbye."
She hesitated, wanting to say something more, but ultimately chose to say nothing.
Haizaki hung up the phone.
Next, he could begin the next course of action.
The straight-line distance from Chiba to Haneda Airport was thirty-two kilometers.
The police helicopter's range was sufficient.
The weather today was clear, suitable for flying.
On the other end, after ending the call, Utaha leaned against the wall, clenched her teeth, and took deep breaths.
She was facing the most difficult decision of her life.
Trust, or distrust—an important choice that would determine her future.
"There are only two of us left, and you won't even show a little goodwill?!"
The boy named Haizaki spoke objectively and rationally, yet he placed the cruel reality directly in front of her and made her choose for herself.
"Couldn't you at least say things like 'I won't hurt you,' 'I won't do anything to you,' 'please rest assured,' or 'please trust me'?!"
But to be honest, Utaha also knew that if Haizaki had truly said those things, she would have trusted him even less.
Rather than suffer humiliation and endless torment, it would be better to live alone—or die.
But death… made her heart tremble. She harbored fear toward it.
She still had unfinished matters, dreams, and so many beautiful things in life she had yet to experience. She was not willing to end her life just like this.
Yet, rejecting Haizaki and living alone caused a constant, throbbing unease to rise within her.
Clearly, there were still people in the world, yet she would choose to live alone—truly alone.
Could she really do that?
After a year or so, everything would end… haha, how could that possibly be true?
Utaha did not believe the world could ever return to how it once was, even though her heart still longed for the beautiful past.
Only after losing it did one truly understand the value of the life they once had.
...