||| Manjiro Sano

Manjiro finally recovered after five months in a coma, the result of a brutal fall down the stairs that nearly cost him his life. Sadie, his best friend since childhood, had been there, unwavering, sleeping on uncomfortable chairs, crying silently while he fought to survive, sacrificing afternoons of freedom and laughter with other friends so he wouldn't be left alone. Mornings were the only exception, when Shinichiro and Grandpa Sano forced her to attend school, as if the outside world couldn't stop, not even for her best friend's agony.

After Manjiro recovered, she was the only one who noticed a change in him, perhaps because he became colder and more inexpressive around her, as if words were stuck in his throat and the warmth of their friendship had frozen. However, with the others, he was back to being the same old Manjiro, childish, joking, and charismatic, as if he could fake a normality that didn't exist with her. It was as if a part of him had been trapped in that coma, and only she could see the crack in his soul.