[Scene: A quiet rooftop of a high school, wind brushing against the chain-link fence. The sky is overcast, a dull gray pressing down.]
HANA: (leaning against the fence, staring down at the world below) "Do you ever think about jumping?"
TAKUMI: (startled, setting down his canned coffee) "That's… a dangerous thing to ask."
HANA: (smirks) "You didn't answer the question."
TAKUMI: "No. I mean—I've thought about what it'd be like. But actually doing it? That's different."
HANA: (tilts her head back, eyes half-lidded) "Hmm… I don't think it is."
TAKUMI: (frowns, gripping his can tighter) "Hana, if you're seriously—"
HANA: "Relax. I'm not about to throw myself off the edge. I just wonder… if falling feels like flying before the ground reminds you otherwise."
TAKUMI: (quietly) "That's a messed-up way to put it."
HANA: (shrugs) "Reality is messed up. I think about it a lot. How easy it is to disappear. How insignificant we are in the grand scheme of things. You ever look down at the city and realize that it wouldn't even pause if you were gone?"
TAKUMI: "That's not true. I'd notice. Your classmates would notice. Your family—"
HANA: (laughs, a sharp sound that doesn't match her expression) "Family, huh? You think the people who pretend I don't exist unless I do something wrong would notice? If I disappeared, my mom would probably just complain about the mess I left behind."
TAKUMI: (gritted teeth) "That's not—"
HANA: "And the class? Do you think they care about me? They don't even remember my name half the time. I'm 'that girl in the corner.' The 'quiet one.' The one who exists as a background character in their stories."
TAKUMI: (pauses, watching her carefully) "You're more than that."
HANA: (finally looks at him, eyes unreadable) "Oh? And what am I then?"
TAKUMI: "Someone who thinks too much. Someone who probably reads too much dark literature and lets it consume them. Someone who talks like they're detached, but really, really wants someone to prove them wrong."
HANA: (blinks, then chuckles softly) "That's quite the analysis."
TAKUMI: (leans forward, resting his arms on his knees) "I just… I get it, you know? The feeling like you don't belong anywhere. Like there's a weight inside your chest that won't go away. But disappearing won't fix it. It'll just leave a hole in the people who care."
HANA: (whispers) "You assume there are people who care."
TAKUMI: (dead serious) "I do. Because I'm one of them."
[Silence. The wind howls slightly, rattling the fence. Hana closes her eyes for a moment, then exhales.]
HANA: "...You say things like that, and I might start believing you."
TAKUMI: (smirks slightly) "Then I'll keep saying them. Until you do."
[The bell rings in the distance, signaling the end of the break. Neither of them move immediately. Then, Hana pushes off the fence and glances at Takumi.]
HANA: "Race you to class?"
TAKUMI: (grinning) "You're on."
[They take off running, the heavy conversation left behind, at least for now. The rooftop remains silent, but not as lonely as before.]