She was confused, of course, but it hadn’t taken long for her to accept her new reality. This hospital room had all the proof she needed. When she looked in the mirror, she saw herself ten years older. When she looked at her arms, she saw how thin they had grown. There was no point arguing with the facts or insisting this wasn’t really her body. It was the one she had now. If she wanted to object, she’d have to use its mouth to do so.
This wasn’t an illusion or a dream. This was who she was now.
There was a small thunk from the far side of the room. The young man had finally set down his vase of flowers on the windowsill. Smiling gently at her, he walked over and sat down at her bedside, leaning his cane against the railing.
He’d told her that he’d been in an accident of his own at some point in the last decade. His left leg had been paralyzed in a car crash. The practiced way he moved around with his cane suggested that he’d been coping with the consequences for a while.
That wasn’t the only thing that had changed about him, of course; he looked very different now. He was a good foot taller than before, and his once-childish face had matured. There were dark circles under his eyes that looked like they’d been there for quite some time.
Still, Ruri had recognized him instantly.
There was no doubt in her mind—she could still see traces of the boy she’d known. He still had that little scar on his forehead, too—the one she’d noticed when he fell asleep before the used book sale.
It was Katagaki Naomi, now a decade older than she’d known him. And she was ten years older than she’d known herself. It still felt something like a dream, but she had to admit it was true. This was her reality, and she couldn’t choose another.
“Do you—”
Ruri looked up at the sound of Naomi’s voice, meeting his gaze. He had a strange little half-smile on his face; he still had a bit of that adolescent awkwardness about him, apparently.
“Do you remember the fireworks we saw that night?”
Ruri shook her head. She remembered very little from that outing.
“That’s all right,” he replied gently. It made Ruri feel a little guilty. She wished she could answer otherwise.
A small dark spot appeared on her bedsheet. Another followed a moment later.
Naomi was crying.
It startled her, probably because this was the first time she’d seen a grown man cry. Even knowing he was Naomi, it was still a shock.
“I missed you so much,” he said, his voice cracking with emotion. “I waited for you, you know. All this time.”
The tears kept falling, one after another.
It was the push she’d needed to strengthen her resolve. She was going to make the best of this. She would make a life for herself in this unfamiliar world, and she was going to repay him, as best she could, for his kindness and his loyalty.
She still felt anxious and uncertain. There would no doubt be all sorts of problems to overcome. But she would face them as best she could, with his help.
His tears were real, so she decided to trust him.
Ruri felt something touch her hand; he’d reached out to take it with his own. She accepted it and squeezed his hand back.
Maybe they’d held hands on their way to the fireworks festival. But if so, she didn’t remember it. As far as she was concerned, this was a first for them.
His crumpled, tearful face drew slowly closer. Ruri was a little frightened, but she pushed that feeling down and squeezed his hand harder.
It’s all right, she told herself. It’s him. It’s Katagaki-san.
“That book…” she said. It startled her as much as him—it felt like her mouth had moved on its own as soon as the words popped into her mind. It was something she remembered clearly from before the accident. Something she’d seen on the day of that used book sale.
That mysterious novel he’d found. The one with her name in the back.
Their book.
“What book...?” he murmured.
Ruri’s hand jerked up out of his on pure reflex. She placed both her hands on his chest and pushed him away with what little strength she could muster, sending him back into his chair.
Everything went pure white.
“You’re lying.” Ruri didn’t understand why she was saying this. And yet, it felt true.
“You’re not Katagaki-san.”
4.
NAOMI’S MIND shut down. The meaning what she’d just said wouldn’t register.
“You’re lying.”
Lying? About what?
He was Katagaki Naomi. He’d been Katagaki Naomi from the day he was born. Who else could he possibly be?
He bit his lip, his body trembling. He knew what she really meant.
He was himself. Katagaki Naomi was his name. But for her, there was another Katagaki Naomi.
Naomi’s heart thudded painfully in his chest. His mind raced wildly. He needed to calm down first, then calmly analyze the situation and find a way to resolve it.
She’d called him a liar. There had to be a reason. But judging from the expression on her face, she wasn’t entirely confident in what she’d just said. She was still uncertain, so she hadn’t made her mind up for good.
He just had to tip the scales back toward him.
He had plenty of material to help him do this. His words would be reinforced by the tangible, physical reality of the world they lived in. There was only one Katagaki Naomi here, and the boy she remembered was nothing but a quantum record inside a computer system.
He could bluff his way through this. He had no choice but to try. Long ago, he’d resolved to make a future for the two of them, no matter what it took.
Suddenly, the door leading to the hallway slid loudly open. Naomi and Ruri both turned toward it.
There was a figure in a kitsune mask standing just outside the room.