We finished lunch. I thanked Chiori politely — the food was simple, but surprisingly good.
She just nodded without even looking at me.
> "As always. Emotionless. And yet… I find it comforting. Peaceful."
— Math starts in five minutes, — she said, checking the schedule. — Do you like the subject?
— Huh? Well… I guess I'm neutral about it. Not a fan, but I get by.
— I see...
> "She really feels like she's from a different world. So calm. So quiet… but like she's hiding something deeper."
— Alright, class, time to begin! — the teacher entered. — Everyone to your seats!
Math. The teacher's monotone voice. The squeaking marker on the board.
Boring.
— Fio, — Chiori leaned over to me, — want to talk? You look just as bored as I am.
— S-sure… let's.
— You start.
> "Why me? Oh well..."
— Uh… tell me about yourself?
— You're actually interested?
— Well… yeah.
> "Even if I'm not sure why I am."
— Alright. My name's Chiori, you know that already. I like reading.
I grew up in a small neighborhood. Without parents.
My heart skipped a beat.
— What happened to them?
She paused. Her voice dropped to a near whisper.
— A car crash. I was in the car with them. I was three years old. We hit another vehicle… head-on. They died instantly. I survived. Barely.
> "…a car crash… three years old… head-on collision…
No way… it's the same one I was in. That day with Dad…"
— After that… I lived on the streets. Until I was six. I starved. Sometimes people gave me food or coins. Not out of pity — just because they couldn't bear watching a child die right in front of them.
> "It's all too familiar..."
— Then I was taken. A gang kidnapped me. I realized… they planned to sell my organs. In that basement, there was another kid. A boy. Around six years old. He…
She hesitated.
— He killed them. All of them. Without hesitation. Like he'd done it before. I remember how he moved — fast. Like lightning. He saved me… and didn't even look back.
My whole body went cold.
— I don't remember his face… just his eyes. Dark. Fierce. As he left, he carried a bag. I think… it had organs in it.
> "That… was me… It had to be her… And the crash… did our parents die because of each other?"
— I spent three more years in poverty. Then, one day, a boy appeared. Around nine years old. He walked up, handed me an envelope. Inside was a million yen. He didn't say a word. Just… left.
— I believe it was him. The one who saved me. My hero. Even if his hands were covered in blood.
> "I gave her that envelope… I saved her… I killed those people…
If that was Chiori… why didn't I realize it back then?..
And if that crash took both our parents… does that mean… they died because of each other?"
I looked at Chiori. She was calmly staring at the board, like she hadn't just shared something earth-shattering.
But inside me… something was cracking apart.
> "The world is too small. Or maybe… fate isn't done with us yet."