Chapter 1: Past Life
Several years earlier, on a hot summer day in a residential area of Japan,
the summer sun scorched the spanse of asphalt with its rays.
Here, a little boy and girl were saying their tearful goodbyes to each other.
"Don't go, Haru-kun!" the crying girl said. She clung to the boy beside a
parked moving van. Her name was Miharu Ayase, and she was only seven
years old at the time.
"Don't cry, Mii-chan," the little boy said. "We'll meet again, okay?" he
added, trying to reassure the sobbing girl.
His name was Amakawa Haruto, and he was seven years old at the time.
Haruto was about to move far away to the countryside with his father; his
parents were getting divorced, and he didn't know when he'd see Miharu
again, as he and his father had no plans to return anytime soon. His mother
was staying in the area with his little sister, but they had already terminated
the lease on their rented apartment.
Haruto's father and Miharu's parents were standing back and watching on
with rather regretful expressions.
"No! I don't want you to go, Haru-kun!" Miharu pleaded through her
sobs.
Seeing her tears made Haruto want to cry too, but he couldn't. He had to
be brave in front of Miharu. That's why he continued to act tough, telling
Miharu that it'd be alright and that they'd see each other again. He wanted
her to stop crying... even though he was frustrated and upset himself, and
wanted to bawl, too.
Haruto loved Miharu...
And Miharu loved Haruto.
Their meeting had been a twist of fate; their parents just happened to
move into the same newly built apartment building, just happened to lease
rooms next to each other, just happened to have kids born in the same season
of the same year. Thanks to that series of events, they somehow ended up as
family friends. Haruto and Miharu were even named for the same reason:
they were given the name haru after the Japanese word for spring — the
season they were born in. As both of Haruto's parents worked full-time, the
boy would often end up at Miharu's place. Since the two of them had been
raised together since they were babies, they were perhaps the epitome of what
one would call "childhood friends." That was probably why they were
naturally drawn to each other before they even knew it themselves. Though
they had no idea what love meant at the time, they knew they were incredibly
precious to each other. It didn't matter whether or not they had a reason for
falling in love, they just did.
They were, plain and simple, head over heels for one another.
"Haru-kun, Haru-kun... Stay with me..."
Haruto wanted to do something to stop Miharu's tears. Seeing her sad
made him sad too. But Miharu's tears showed no signs of ceasing — she only
continued to bawl, leaving Haruto at a complete loss. He felt powerless. What
could he do? He couldn't even prevent this farewell with his most beloved
childhood friend from happening. With that thought, Haruto clenched his fist.
Haruto was happy simply being together with Miharu, but that wasn't
possible for him right now. They were still children, after all. Instead, he
would make it possible one day — one day, he would be next to Miharu,
walking alongside her forever. That's why he had to convey his feelings to
her; it was the only thing he could do in this moment.
"I'll come get you when we're bigger! We'll get married!" Haru said,
mustering all his courage to make the first and last confession of his life.
"That way... we'll always be together, I'll always be beside you, and I can
protect Mii-chan with my life!"
Thump, thump. He could hear his own racing heartbeat.
"Is that... okay?" Haruto asked with a trembling voice.
Miharu had stopped crying at some point, staring at Haruto's face blankly
instead.
"Yes," she answered after a beat, beaming with a dazzling bright smile.
"Yes! I want to marry Haru-kun!"
Seeing her smile made Haruto so happy. He vowed to fulfill that promise.
No matter how many years passed... He would protect it — he would protect
her smile. And so, with that promise and a small kiss goodbye, Haruto and
Miharu went their separate ways.
It was a faint and fleeting promise, with no binding power behind it at all.
It was an innocent promise, made when they had no idea what the future
held... But that promise was wedged firmly into Haruto's chest, continuing to
support his life to a nearly foolish degree.
After their separation, young Haruto pushed head-on into moving
forward, dreaming only of his reunion with Miharu. He wanted to see her...
but in order to do that, he couldn't afford to stop. As long as he put all of his
effort into everything he did, he believed that their reunion would come
faster. He threw himself into his studies and helped with the chores on his
family's farm. His strict grandfather even taught him ancient martial arts to
train his mind — which was rare to see nowadays. Thanks to that, Haruto
grew into a diligent and honest adult. And his unwavering efforts didn't go
unanswered: his father allowed him to enroll in a famous prep school in the
town where he and Miharu grew up. As a result, Haruto reunited with Miharu
in the most shocking way...
In another twist of fate, the two of them enrolled into the same high
school.
Though they were in different classes, the sight of Miharu's name on one
of the class lists made him freeze in shock. He froze once more when he saw
her. The sight of Miharu in a school uniform took his breath away. There was
no mistaking her — despite the time that had passed — because she had
always been precious to him. She was so near, yet so far.
Her silky-straight black hair reached all the way down her back. Her facial
features were elegantly refined, and her skin was porcelain-white. She had a
small stature, but her figure was well-balanced, and though she seemed
somewhat reserved, she had a certain graceful air about her that attracted the
gaze of anyone around her.
Miharu had grown into a picture-perfect beauty.
Haruto felt his heart skip a beat — he was overwhelmed with joy at seeing
his beloved childhood friend again. Yet, at the same time, he was
dumbstruck... Next to Miharu was a boy that Haruto didn't know. Seeing
Miharu chatting intimately with this unknown boy shook Haruto to his core.
He lost the will to talk to Miharu on the day of the entrance ceremony. On
that day, Haruto went home deep in thought.
It wasn't as if he fully expected their promise to be unconditionally
fulfilled upon their reunion... but Haruto's memories with Miharu were
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special to him. And it was because of those memories that he'd been able to
come this far without wavering. The thought of Miharu forgetting their
promise — the thought of there no longer being a place for Haruto — made
him feel as though he'd lost his way. They might never be able to return to
their past relationship. Miharu might have someone else she loves... and
Haruto may have been the fool for having such dreams. And yet, even so,
Haruto still wanted to talk to Miharu. Tomorrow, he'd gather the courage to
do so.
But then... Miharu disappeared from Haruto's sight. She was absent for a
few days after the entrance ceremony before suddenly dropping out of school
completely.
There were several other students who dropped out in a similar fashion to
Miharu, which caused quite a bit of a commotion amongst the students. But
the school never disclosed any details, citing the protection of personal
information. As he was but a helpless high school student at the time, Haruto
could only watch as time passed by with no further hints or leads. He came to
resent himself.
Why didn't he speak to Miharu on the day of the entrance ceremony?
If he had spoken to Miharu that day, at that moment, the future might
have turned out differently. He had no proof, but he couldn't help believing
that. With nothing left in him but regret, Haruto's feelings for Miharu
intensified and grew twisted.
He couldn't give up. He didn't want to give up.
A silent scream of agony reverberated through his body. He'd received
romantic confessions from girls before, but the thought of a future with a
woman other than Miharu left him with an indescribable sense of panic and
guilt. And yet... despite his strong feelings, there wasn't a thing he could do
to find Miharu. With no path to follow, Haruto became more and more
detached from the world around him.
◇◇◇
Four years passed since Miharu's disappearance.
Now, in the present day, Haruto was a 20-year-old sophomore attending a
university in the city. But time had stopped for the young man. He might
have been attending university, but he didn't put effort into his studies and
had nothing he wanted to do, other than a part-time job at a tidy little cafe. He
woke up in the morning, went to university, went to work, and came home —
every day was an unchanging, fixed routine. To an onlooker, it might have
seemed normal for a university student. But that's all it was. Haruto was
wandering aimlessly with no goal, and time continued to pass in the world —
until that day.
It was in the middle of summer; just like that summer day when he parted
with Miharu, the sun hovered in the clear blue sky and shone down brightly
on the asphalt-covered ground. But contrary to the summer weather, Haruto's
expression was cold as he boarded the bus near his university campus. As it
was still early in the afternoon, there weren't many passengers on board yet.
After a few of them had gotten on, then off, there were only three passengers
left on board: Haruto, a female student probably on her way home from
extracurricular activities at the high school associated with Haruto's
university, and a primary-school-aged girl. Other than the occasional
announcement from the bus' PA system, the rumble of the engine was the
only sound that could be heard as Haruto stared out the window at the
passing scenery.
...Hm?
Haruto suddenly felt someone's eyes fixed on him. At the other end of the
gaze was the primary-school-aged little girl.
She's... Endo Suzune-chan, if I recall correctly.
It just so happened that Haruto knew this girl. One time, she'd fallen
asleep on her way home and missed her stop. She burst into tears when she
realized how lost she was, and Haruto had helped her back to her house.
Every now and then they'd end up on the same bus again, with Suzune
looking his way. It made an impression on him. This time, Haruto returned
her gaze and watched as she panicked and looked away.
...Did I do something wrong...?
Nothing came to mind, obviously. The only time he'd ever spoken to her
was the time he'd saved her. He'd taken her to her house and was thanked by
her mother, so it was hard to think of any issues.
Was he just imagining it...? He considered asking her directly, but didn't
want to be mistaken and end up coming off like a creep. After all, people
were extremely wary of child predators nowadays.
No matter how you look at it, only a creep would talk to a little girl they
barely know on the bus, right?
Yeah, better not. It was a little bothersome, but Haruto gave up with a
small sigh and forced Suzune's gaze out of his mind.
" —!"
The bus gave a sudden, lurching jerk. Haruto felt a soaring sensation
before intense pain rippled throughout his body — he was launched through
the air and slammed into the roof.
"Gah... hah..."
Everything hurt. He couldn't breathe.
His body felt hot, like it had been doused in boiling water. The horribly
crushed interior of the bus reflected in his darkening vision as his
consciousness rapidly slipped away.
D-Did we... crash...?
Despite his extremely hazy mind, Haruto somehow managed to process
that thought. He was aware of his probable death. Everything should have
been in pain, yet he was slowly losing feeling in his body instead. He could
tell he was on death's doorstep. With that thought, he was suddenly wracked
with fear.
"Nnnh... gah..."
He mustered the last bit of strength he had to open his mouth, but all that
escaped was a cough filled with blood.
Mii... cha...
As his heart called out Miharu's former nickname, a single teartop fell
from his eye and mixed with blood. But just as Haruto was about to lose
consciousness...
Haru...
A melodic voice echoed in Haruto's head. At the same time, a huge,
circular, geometric pattern started to rise from the ground, emitting a glowing
light.
"And now, the news. A truck collided with a bus in the Tokyo
metropolitan area at 3:23pm today. Three passengers on board the bus have
been confirmed dead, while the drivers of both vehicles are critically injured
but miraculously alive. The cause of the accident was determined to be the
driver of the truck falling asleep at the wheel..."
Prologue
In a world far, far away from Earth...
There was a boy.
A boy who knew that there was no salvation in this rotten world.
Here, the strong would eat, while the weak were eaten — that was the
irrational law of this world. Scavenging for leftovers, begging on the streets,
suffering violent abuse, and being forced into crime... Every day, this boy
was exploited as a slave. His mind had long since been worn down. And yet,
the boy still thirsted for something more.
He wanted to live — live, and kill a certain man; he'd go so far as to eat
dirt to get it done. He clung to that one desire...
The morning sun shone through the window of a dimly lit room, just
barely casting light on the interior. The smell of rusty iron permeated every
inch of the small room. Dead bodies were scattered about the blood-soaked
floor; a single sack sat in the corner. It was a sack just big enough to fit a
small child—
"Mm! Mm, mmrgh!"
A muffled sound came from inside the squirming sack. The boy's heart
thundered in his chest. He held his breath to stop his trembling and
approached the sack. Fearfully, he untied the drawstring. The sack fell open
with a soft sound. Sure enough, there was a young, pretty girl in an elegant
priestess dress curled up inside. She had long, cascading lavender hair and
purple eyes.
Ah, I knew it.
The boy had known.
In this world...
There was no salvation.