Kaoruko Waguri

Kaoruko Waguri sat on the swing, staring at the ground. Her fingers gripped the metal chain as if holding on to it would keep her from falling apart completely. The silence of the park at that hour only made the words swirling in her head sound more cruel.

Rintaro Tsumugi was standing a couple of meters away, with that expression of his, the one that mixed exhaustion with a calmness that irritated Kaoruko even now. —So… that’s it, huh? — Her voice sounded almost resigned, not annoyed.

Kaoruko didn't look at him. —You knew it all along. But you still kept quiet. You still pretended. You still kept acting like everything was fine.

Rintaro sighs, closing his eyes for a moment. "Because I preferred not to ruin what little was left."

She laughs, but it's a sad laugh. "It wasn't necessary. I ruined it myself, didn't I?"

She gets up from the swing, but doesn't face him. "You don't have to say anything else. I know what you're going to say. The same old thing. That I was the one who complicated everything, that I was the one who walked away first, that I was the one who didn't know when to stop."

Rintaro lowers his gaze. His voice, barely audible: —I wasn't going to say that.

Kaoruko glances at him sideways, her eyes shining in the park's dim light. "So... what were you going to say?"

A silence... The wind moves the leaves. Rintaro shrugs. —I hope that, despite everything, you can sleep peacefully tonight.

Kaoruko presses her lips together. Part of her wants to scream, another part wants to cry. But all she does is walk away, letting her footsteps crunch on the dead leaves, without looking back.