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Chapter 26 — The First Time I Saw That Expression on Her
🕑 Added 2025-05-05 04:10:22 +0000 UTCWinter rain felt different from any other.
Tap tap tap…
The crisp ticking echoed near the ear, rain pelting the top of a dark gray umbrella with clear, brittle snaps.
Droplets clinging to the umbrella's frame slowly slipped off, their descent corroded by the cold air. They landed on an exposed palm like icy needles, stabbing one by one.
With the wet chill came a penetrating cold, as if it could freeze even emotions in the heart of winter.
The curtain of rain blurred the distant neon lights, and blurred the view in front of the girl's eyes.
She stood in silence, head lowered. The mist in her eyes wasn't just from the rain, there was something else. Her face, usually sweet and gentle, now looked fragile and drained, soaked in sadness.
"Tomori, you should get home before the rain gets worse."
"If you end up catching a cold from getting soaked, Taki's gonna come knocking on my skull with her drumsticks tomorrow."
Kazami Haru let out a quick, self-deprecating laugh—but his face quickly returned to calm.
Even after all this time together, it was still so hard to get her to open up?
He couldn't help but feel a little like a failure.
"—Haru."
The girl pressed her right hand tightly to her chest. Her heart pounded wildly, making her blood rush and churn.
Her throat was caught, as if something was stopping her from speaking. No matter how she tried, the words just wouldn't come out.
It was always like this.
It had always been like this. The important words, never made it out.
She watched the boy with black hair smile and wave before turning to leave. Her right hand reached out, as if to grab onto something, but it only grasped a handful of cold air.
Rain, sharp and bitter from the wind, slammed against her exposed hand. Just like her light, fading away.
…
[Takamatsu Tomori is someone who struggles to express her feelings. Faced with your confession, she simply stands there in silence. She tries to speak, hesitates, but the words never come.]
[Even if her heart is aching, the tears don't fall. In the end, all she can do is bow her head and apologize with deep sincerity.]
[Maybe her thoughts are more complicated than you could ever know, but they remain hidden from you.]
Kazami Haru: "?"
Wait—where's Tomori?
Tomori rejected my confession? Why the hell would I be dreaming something like this?
This isn't even some light rejection. This is brutal.
Right now, Kazami Haru's whole mental state was borderline shattered. He'd considered every outcome, but somehow never imagined this one.
They were practically at the final stages of a dating sim. The only thing left between him and Tomori was the thinnest of veils, he was this close to popping the champagne.
She relied on him so much. Honestly, if he'd confessed earlier, she probably would've said yes without hesitation.
So how? after spending so much time together, did it end in rejection?
Where did it all go wrong?
[The next day, your body can't keep up with the exhaustion brought on by a weakened immune system, so you decide to take the day off. From the band's Line chat, you learn that practice is canceled for the day. You finally relax, planning to rest at home.]
[Maybe yesterday's failed confession hit you harder than expected. Your body feels weak. Even your dominant left hand feels numb.]
[Just as you're about to drift off, there's a knock at the door.]
[Chihaya Anon is standing there, her cute smile flashing a tiny fang. She must've heard from a teacher at school that you were out sick, so she's come over with a lunchbox to check on you. You're not surprised—]
[Ever since she found out your address, she's been showing up often.]
[In MyGO, aside from Tomori, Anon is probably the closest to you. Maybe because she joined right after the two of you. Cheerful, kind, and full of life—she's always been the bridge between you and Tomori.]
[But today, Chihaya Anon is acting just a little different.]
[That bright smile she always wears, faded. Her right hand subconsciously plays with a strand of her sakura-pink hair. You've known her long enough to notice: this is what she does when she's nervous or conflicted.]
Wait—
Kazami Haru felt it. A strange premonition, creeping in.
[As if making up her mind, Chihaya Anon suddenly leans in from the side of the bed and presses down on your shoulder. A faint scent rises from her. Soft and sweet, and it stirs you from your fatigue.]
[For the first time, you see that expression on her face—so serious, so intense.]
PIC: Anon
[Chihaya Anon confessed to you.]
He was genuinely surprised—but not entirely.
In fact, Kazami Haru had more or less expected things to go this way.
From the beginning, his relationship with Chihaya Anon had been pretty solid, and it felt natural that her feelings would deepen over time. To him, it wasn't exactly out of nowhere.
Even from just reading plain text simulations, he could sense that Anon's feelings for him weren't just "bandmate level."
They were already close to the kind of emotional dependency he shared with Tomori.
What caught Haru off guard, though, was just how decisive Anon turned out to be.
As if hesitation simply didn't exist for her, she came straight to him the very next day after his confession to Tomori had failed. No delay, no second-guessing. She moved so fast, he almost wondered if she'd been secretly watching the whole scene unfold.
If she'd been around during World War II, they wouldn't have needed anyone else to execute a blitzkrieg.
[Faced with Chihaya Anon's confession, you decide to—]
[1. Accept]
[2. Reject]
[3. Enter virtual reality and play it out yourself]
The sudden appearance of options made Kazami Haru freeze for a moment, but he quickly understood.
There were only two real choices. That alone hinted this might be one of those rare "special" decision points.
If he didn't choose fast enough, the simulator would automatically move things forward.
No more time to think. If he let it autopilot, there was no telling how badly it could screw things up.
He felt a pang of guilt toward the sweet Anon, but after a mental burst of calculations, he ultimately chose: Reject.
[You know full well the feelings Chihaya Anon hides in her heart, but you also know that you simply can't give her the answer she deserves.]
[Because you understand your own feelings better than anyone else. Even after Takamatsu Tomori rejected you, your heart still belongs to that small, animal-like girl. Accepting Anon's confession would only be running away, it wouldn't be fair.]
["I figured as much. I kinda knew it already, hehe~"]
[After a brief pause, Chihaya Anon spoke up again. A radiant, adorable smile instantly bloomed on her face, as if that flicker of heartbreak from earlier was just your imagination.]
[You know better than anyone: she's a master of reading the room. And beneath that smile, no one can see what she's really feeling.]
