I am the emotional sustenance of your deceased

[I thought SPACE would continue, but SPACE is over.]

[I thought... Chitose would stay by my side forever, but Chitose is leaving too.]

How can this be...

Obviously, everyone agreed to stay with me forever.

But his parents are gone, his sister Qiansui has passed away, his grandmother is old, his home is gone, and Xiaosui wants to go home.

How come... I'm the only one left in the end?

Yao Lenai picked up her guitar bag in confusion and took out her guitar. Her palms pressed against the guitar again and again, and the pain in her heart was indescribable.

In that case, let’s play it.

Let out all the indignation and helplessness in your heart.

"Escape OK."

"what?"

"The title of the song: The song you and I never finished writing."

A simple and relaxing tune sounded, and Chitose Haizuka looked sideways in the empty cafe.

She looked at the kitten playing the guitar, but couldn't tell what the other person was feeling.

【But I think it should still be delicious. 】

The song "Escape" came to an abrupt end when it was three-quarters played, and they had not yet written the lyrics for the remaining quarter.

"It's a pity that you're leaving. We haven't finished writing the song yet." Lenai put down the guitar, his eyes burning. "Do you think we'll meet again?"

"Huh? It's not like I won't be back." Chitose rolled his eyes at Lenai.

"I'll save some money this summer and work part-time while I'm in school. We'll definitely be able to meet again."

"Really? Really...you'll come back to see me during the summer vacation?"

Lenai blinked, her imagination already beginning to run wild at this point.

During summer vacation, we can go out together to catch cicadas, fish in the streams, and participate in summer festivals and fireworks displays...

Will we be able to form a new band by then? Can we continue to compete with each other on guitar?

[It seems that everything will not be too bad, everything... is still full of hope. ]

"You were so dejected just now, why are you smiling again now? You little fool."

"Because you gave me new hope."

The scorching hot summer wind rushed in from the open translucent glass windows, blowing up the girls' bangs.

Lenai looked into Chitose's eyes. What kind of eyes were they?

It’s full of hope, full of youthfulness—but also filled with sadness and confusion.

Thank you for your promise to me.

Just knowing you'll come back makes me feel hopeful.

Because this little bit of light is one of the main motivations that keeps me alive.

"Why are you crying?"

"Reluctant to part with it."

The hot tears slid down, dripping on the piano without making any ripples.

"I can't bear to leave Ye, I'm already an adult."

When Chitose wiped away Rakuna's tears, she found herself crying too.

Tears are so real that you can’t just say “I’m not sad” and avoid crying.

Tears contain human emotions. Just by looking at each other's tears, you can tell whether the other person is sincere.

"See you during summer vacation, we'll continue playing guitar together."

"Yeah! Together."

Kaname Rakuna couldn't bear to continue staring at Chitose Noshiro, so she ate her matcha parfait in small bites.

The sweet and wonderful ice cream rolls and dances on the tip of your tongue, and every second is a gift from God.

"This matcha parfait is so delicious."

Tears mixed with it and flowed between her lips and teeth. Rana tried hard to make herself laugh but couldn't do it.

That's the way it is.

……

【Going to Meiji Jingu Shrine with Xiaosui. 】

Someone is holding a wedding there, and the bride, dressed in a white wedding gown, is as light as a cherry blossom.

The wind chimes beneath the sacred tree swayed and whimpered. Xiao Sui said the air here smelled like "never parting."

【Xiao Sui is a fool.】

I've secretly written "To Rakuna and Chitose Haizuka" on a wooden sign. I wonder if the gods will remember it.

……

We're going to Sensoji Temple. We're out of money. Our pocket money is gone.

【Pocket money, dead! 】

I was wearing a rented pink yukata, sharing a strawberry daifuku with Xiao Sui. It was given to me by the shop owner because she saw how cute we were.

【Fortunately, we are cute enough and very lucky. 】

The lanterns at Kaminarimon swayed in the wind, as if to say welcome back. I drew a lucky number, and Xiaosui said she'd fold the paper into a paper crane and put it in her wallet.

[But she is so clumsy that she doesn't know how to fold it.]

【Xiao Sui drew a very bad luck.】

……

Watching the rain at Shibuya Crossing. Chitose Haizuka is a stupid cat.

The crowd dispersed and gathered like a tide. Xiao Sui suddenly pulled me into his arms, and with such force that he nearly dropped his umbrella.

She said the movement of people was more spectacular than the migration of penguins.

The angle of the umbrella just hid my burning cheeks. I couldn’t see the scenery outside, but I knew that the beauty of the world was falling beside me.

【Xiao Sui is so cute. 】

……

Yao Lenai put down the pen in her hand. Behind her was a cardboard box containing notebooks that had been violently opened and had been covered in dust.

She couldn't fall asleep for a long time tonight. After thinking about it, she decided to write something to record the last days she spent with Xiaosui.

They have been traveling around these days and taking in the romance and prosperity of the city.

I really hope these good times will never end.

But that's not the case.

Xiaosui will leave tomorrow morning, going to a world without Kaname, and will not come back until several months later.

What does a few months mean?

A few months means that Lenai will have to live in boredom for hundreds of days and nights.

A few months meant that Lenai had to endure thousands of hours without sunshine, breeze, or fresh air.

It really makes people lose the motivation to live.

【But Chitose will come back. 】

But Chitose said she would come back.

Wouldn't you feel better when you think about seeing Chitose Haizuka again?

Yao Lenai stared at the words he had written down in a daze, and finally chose to close the notebook.

"Ugh."

During the day today, SPACE began to be dismantled.

It is expected that the new building will be built in half a month. The efficiency is really high, and SAPCE will completely disappear from this land.

Are all her memories of her childhood going to disappear?

"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing? Why are you still standing there?!"

Chitose Haizuka, who had been watching Lenai from behind for a while, slapped him on the back, trying to pull Lenai's mental power back to the real world.

"Years old? Why don't you rest yet? Don't you have to get up early tomorrow..."

"No big deal! How about I take you to a romantic place?"

"There?"

Normally, Chitose wouldn't say "romantic", but today she even added the word "very" for emphasis.

What is it about it that makes Qiansui keep praising it?

Kaname's heartstrings were touched, and she stood up with Chitose holding her hand.

"Just follow me and you'll find out, little house cat Lenai."

"Okay...I believe you...Wildcat Xiaosui."

Ch386. You and I, a night written together

Street.

Streetlights, streets, traffic lights.

Traffic jams, drunks socializing, overpasses.

Trams, alleys, streets.

The scenery changes along the way, and every blink of an eye seems like a transformation of time and space.

A feeling of reluctance and anticipation intertwined in her heart, and Kaname Rakuna's hand and Chitose Haizuka's hand were practically connected together.

"It's raining," Chitose murmured.

But none of them brought an umbrella.

"It doesn't matter. It's almost here, right?"

Lenai pointed across the street and memorized all the night scenes related to Chitose.

"Oh? Did you see that?"

"Well, it's SPACE, right?"

"Correct."

Chitose also pointed across the street, where the almost complete wreckage of SPACE lay.

The roof had holes in it and had been demolished, and the interior decorations had been moved away one after another. Now the once prosperous small landmark building was no more luxurious than a cemetery.

"How desolate! I never expected this. Why did you bring me to see this?"

They were holding hands and waiting for the traffic light, but at this moment Chitose grabbed Lenai and asked her to walk forward.

"Huh? The light hasn't turned green yet."

"Shall we do something a little out of the ordinary tonight? Like, run a red light."

Chitose Haizuka did not answer Kaname Rakuna's question. When she finished speaking, she had already led Kaname Rakuna to the back door of SPACE, which was the secret passage for employees.

"it is good."

Lenai stared blankly at the place where she once learned guitar with Chitose Noshiro, and the broken fragments of her memory became whole again.

"Cat, go."