Chapter 70: When Memories Bleed Through
The late afternoon sun filtered gently through the half-drawn curtains of Naoto's room, casting warm, golden light on the floor. The air was still, the silence broken only by the rustle of papers and the ticking of the wall clock. Naoto sat at his desk, his eyes unfocused, staring down at a photograph he had found tucked inside one of his old schoolbooks.
It was a picture from years ago—him, a girl with long chestnut hair, and his parents. They were smiling, caught mid-laughter, their joy frozen in time. The girl was Himari.
His fingers traced the edge of the photo. It was worn and faded, but the feelings it brought back were fresh, almost overwhelming. Her laughter. Her hand in his. Her promises.
A knock at the door snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Come in," he said quietly.
Rika stepped in, holding two cups of hot cocoa. Her eyes instantly fell on the photo in his hands.
"Who's that?" she asked, her voice soft, but something unreadable stirred in her expression.
Naoto hesitated, the weight of countless secrets pulling at him. But then he sighed and gestured for her to sit beside him.
"Her name is Himari Shirosaki," he said. "She's... someone very important to me."
Rika sat without speaking, setting the cups on the desk. She waited.
"We grew up together," Naoto continued. "She was... my light back then. Before everything changed. Before my mom got sick. Before I started working for your father."
Rika blinked. "Is she the one you keep calling late at night? The girl from the calls you always take outside?"
He nodded slowly.
"Why haven't you told me before?"
Naoto looked down at his hands, as if the answers were etched in his skin. "Because I didn't want to hurt you. Or confuse you. I didn't even know how I truly felt until recently. And... I still don't."
Rika leaned back, letting the silence fill the space between them. Her emotions warred inside her—jealousy, understanding, sadness, confusion.
"She's coming back, isn't she?" she asked.
"She already has."
Rika blinked, stunned. "What? When?"
Naoto sighed. "She's been here for a while, Rika. She's even part of our friend group. You know her as Mei."
The world seemed to pause.
"No... That can't be. Mei...?"
He nodded. "Her real name is Himari. She didn't want anyone to know. She said she needed to see me... the real me. Not the version weighed down by the past."
Rika stood up, the movement sharp, her eyes wide. "You mean all this time—while I was falling for you, while I was trying to understand you—she was watching? Playing a role?"
Naoto stood too, gently taking her hand. "No. She wasn't playing. She's just as broken as I am. Just as lost. I didn't even know she was Mei at first. But when I found out, it all started to make sense."
Rika pulled away, turning to face the window. "And what about me, Naoto? Where do I stand in all of this?"
He couldn't answer right away. The silence grew heavy.
"I care about you. So much. You helped me find warmth again. But my heart... it's still stuck between the past and the present."
She closed her eyes, swallowing the lump in her throat. "I deserve better than being someone's second choice."
"You're not," Naoto said firmly. "You're someone who changed me, who showed me what friendship means. What hope feels like."
Rika didn't reply, but her trembling shoulders spoke volumes.
**
Later that night, Naoto sat under the stars in the garden behind the house. Himari—no, Mei—approached quietly.
"You told her," she said, sitting beside him.
He nodded.
"She deserves the truth," he whispered. "Everyone does."
Mei looked up at the stars. "Do you remember the night we promised to find each other again no matter what?"
"Of course I do."
She smiled faintly. "I'm sorry I left. I thought I was protecting you. But I only made things worse."
Naoto took her hand. "We were just kids. None of this is easy."
They sat in silence for a long time, two souls tangled in time and truth.
Inside the house, Rika lay awake, staring at the ceiling. Her heart ached, not from betrayal, but from the realization that some connections can't be undone.
And outside, as the stars whispered their cold secrets, the storm beneath all their lives quietly shifted.
To be continued...