Finale Chapter End

It had been exactly one month, and the season when the early-blooming cherry blossoms began to bud had arrived.

On the school rooftop stood a lone girl.

Leaning against the safety fence, she narrowed her eyes in comfort as the gentle spring breeze brushed her cheeks.

A peaceful moment during lunch break. She waited calmly for someone... or so it seemed.

"Hold it! Where do you think you're going, Keita?"

"Y-You've got the wrong idea, big bro!"

"Big bro!? Just because we're childhood friends doesn’t mean you get to call me that! And I’m not giving my little sister to you!"

From the open window below, loud footsteps and an overly lively exchange echoed up to the rooftop, making her scowl in clear irritation.

"Uh, you don’t need to worry about that! We’re not even dating yet!"

And then, the boy’s voice rang out as the final blow.

Yes.

Even now, a month later, Hinata still hadn’t given Keita a clear answer to his confession.

—or rather, he hadn’t let her.

As he put it, “I made a big show of confessing, so I’m not gonna pressure you or anything.”

If she was afraid that her feelings might change if her memories disappeared again, then he was willing to wait—however long it took.

And true to his word, once they returned from the trip, Keita went right back to his usual self.

That comfortable distance between childhood friends who were always close by.
Once things settled into that rhythm, it became too awkward to break it without a proper push, and so the days just kept slipping by.

“…Memories, huh.”

Hinata muttered, glancing up at the sky.

She was thinking about something that happened just the other day.

She had to run an errand that afternoon and figured it wouldn’t snow in March, so she walked home alone. But then, unexpectedly, snow began to fall from the sky in soft flurries.

Normally, she would’ve gone inside and waited for it to stop.

But strangely enough, she didn’t feel afraid.

In fact, she even found the sight of it falling… beautiful.

Her heart was so calm that she couldn’t even understand why she’d been so afraid of it before.

Yes—she’d changed. Even she could tell.

It wasn’t something she could pinpoint.

But the snowman in her heart had melted completely, and in its place, something warm had begun to fill her chest.

…If she told him that they no longer needed to hold hands on snowy days—what kind of face would he make?

It had always been their unspoken rule, so maybe he’d look just a little sad.

Or maybe… he’d be happy. Happy that from now on, they could simply walk side by side.

As she was lost in thought, she heard the clack clack of someone climbing the stairs. Hinata turned toward the door.

“Sorry I’m late. Your brother got a hold of me and wouldn’t let go… You look kinda happy though. Something up?”

“N-No, it’s nothing. And hey, I was the one who asked you to come up, so don’t worry about it. My idiot brother always messes with you, but he’s been worse lately. Seriously, it’s a problem.”

“It’s fine. When I think about how we ended up taking the last train home that night, it makes sense. He was furious. I think it just shows how much he cares about you, Hina-chan.”

“Mgh… Well, if you’re okay with it, then I won’t say anything. …Here.”

Keita, who had looked genuinely apologetic for being late, now seemed unusually cheerful. Hinata puffed up her cheeks at that, but quickly composed herself. Without letting him speak, she pulled out a wrapped package from her bag and handed it over.

“Uh… What’s this?”

“Come on, today’s March fourteenth. …You didn’t give me chocolate back then, but you took care of me when I was sick. This is to say thanks.”

It was a small brown box tied with a pink ribbon.

Inside were several pieces of handmade white chocolate, each radiating warmth and care.

Hinata ignored the painfully obvious comment—“Isn’t this kind of gender-reversed?”—because honestly, who needed to say it out loud?

Instead, she told Keita to eat one right away.

He happily popped a piece into his mouth—but almost immediately:

“Ugh… so sweet…”

He let out a quiet groan.

Seeing his reaction, Hinata smirked.

But it wasn’t just a prank. She reached into her bag, pulled out her favorite canned coffee, and handed it to him, telling him to take a sip.

“…Ah. The bitterness balances out the sweetness… It’s actually really good.”

“Not bad, right?”

Pleased by his unintended compliment, Hinata casually tossed a piece into her own mouth, then followed it with a gulp of coffee, just like he had.

“…After we talked that day, I decided to change the way I thought about things. If I can’t drink it black, it’s okay to add sugar and milk. Or have it with something sweet. You don’t have to keep liking things the same way forever. It’s okay to discover a new kind of ‘like.’ You might laugh and say that’s obvious, but I didn’t even realize something that simple. My thinking was just that rigid.”

Then she turned to face him squarely.

“…I like you, Keita. I mean—it's embarrassing to say it myself, but… I like you as a girl.”

“Wha—”

“I’m not saying it twice!”

Keita was caught completely off guard, left standing there dumbfounded as Hinata quickly turned her back to him.

But once she’d said it, her heart felt strangely at peace.

Confessing to the boy who had once said he’d make her turn around and face him—it was, in a way, her final act of pride.

Not someone else.
Not a different person reborn.

But the girl who had stubbornly remained herself all this time, even after everything.

And now, she knew.

That she wanted to keep spending time—slowly, gently—building a future with the person who had always been there by her side.

It was deeper than something you’d simply call “love.”
A feeling that made you wish it could last forever.

This feeling, without a doubt—