Chapter 10 - Chapter 8

Chapter XXX: Parallelism, Part 1 In the midst of December, Kota's been working in a competition for journalism and has been hired as an organist for a marriage but frankly, the day of the marriage coincides with their school's foundation day. Due to his busy schedule, he sometimes have no more time for hangouts and games despite his friends want him to have a break. Upon arriving at the school, he participates in the parade. After the parade, he tries to make an excuse to the class representative and the homeroom teacher. They all approve his excuse so he goes to the wedding. When he arrives there, he has to wait for 30 more minutes due to the preparation. After waiting for at least an addition of 15 minutes due to a problem, it officially started. He goes back to the school after the wedding is finished.  As he walks to the entrance, he has to help a lot of them for the incoming parade as well as the stalls. For the whole afternoon, he does it and after helping them out for the whole day, he finally gets home. As soon as he is about to seat at the living room, darkness surrounds as his vision fades away. As his vision fills up, he then hears a loud thump on the floor. He wakes up to find himself inside a void. He walks around, suddenly slips his foot, and ends up falling to a pit of negativity. As he is falling,"You were never open to me!""You're much worse than anyone else.""He's too serious, just leave him alone""He's better off to himself""You're just a nuisance in this household""He once told me that you look and act like an old man""You're such a disappointment!""Oh, he's just a nobody""Get out of this group, you don't belong here!""You're not suited for her! What a dope!""You are very clingy like a barnacle to a whale!""What is it with you?!""You're a madman""You're such an introvert!""I'm better off without you""You're just an outcast!""You are such a boring person""How could you call yourself good or cool? You're just a creep! Nothing but a complete weirdo!""You're just nothing! A guy who just doesn't care about his friends, what an imbecile!""Am I really a bloody useless nuisance? Am I really like this?"¸ he asks to himself. He then falls to a pond of something peculiar. He stands up and wonders around the area. The scene switches to a classroom where one corner is full of students, crowding a musician and the popular students, while one is being isolated from the rest. The isolated one is a scruffy haired-bearded guy listening to depressing music. Kota could intervene but he is perceived as a ghost. He looks at what the guy is writing and it's about being the class ghost. As the guy turns the pages, Kota gets a glimpse of many poems about being broken, friendless, and a failed relationship. He goes through the mind of that guy and he is shock to find that they're almost similar, indicating that the guy is the Kota of that realm. The guy then brings out his phone and looks at a horde of messages but have not yet been seen. The guy says,"I have sent her my explanation and the video of the cosplay event. She is active, so why can't she see it? Does she still has a grudge on me? Is it really difficult to approach me? I understand that she has many things to do and many friends but this has been so long." He also adds,"After the reconciliation, she is still cold. My only problem, is I still love her but, does she still love me? She's already Bi and saying that I can't force someone to do anything is mature enough. But why can't I take my mind off of her? Of all the things that I had given her 3 years ago and recently, why haven't I received anything from her? These is no hope to be back together. It's useless. It's hard to move on. We don't even talk more often in online and she's like a big sister to me in real life. It's very complicated enough for me to understand. A hurtful memory with no good ones is a memory embedded in sorrow, grief, and depression." Kota goes outside of the classroom to find the Akiko of that world. As he is running, he thought,"I feel bad for that guy. Of course he's the me in this realm but why is nobody comforting him. If I get depressed, I need comfort immediately or else, I'll end up being crazy or ill-stricken." While roaming around the school grounds, he stumbles upon a girl with long wavy and lengthy hair, wearing a purple jacket around her waist, and hanging out with his friends. Although he is invisible, Kota hides behind the bushes as they get closer. They seat on the benches next to the bush as Kota listens to them carefully. Her friends asks her something about the guy, and she tells them that he's just a nobody. He tries to interfere but gets interrupted by a shifting void, pulling him out and he begins to hear someone calling his name. He opens his eyes to find himself in a hospital room. The door opens and a shocked Akiko comes in. She sighs of relief, and says,"Oh, glad that you're awake. I'm worried about you while your mother's been panicking the whole time since she saw you lying on the floor like a corpse.""You know, there's something troubling me", he says.