Summary:
Nine years after remaining behind on the Rainbow Line, Right returned briefly to his hometown—and saw the friends who no longer remembered him.
The icy evening wind cut across the bridge, ruffling Right’s dark blond hair. He rested his hands against the cold railing and looked out at the town below. Roads, cars, buildings—everything felt familiar, yet distant, like a photograph left too long in the sun. The last time he had been here was two years ago. This time, he would stay only a day, waiting for the train maintenance to finish.
Nine years had passed.
“Hey, don’t keep it to yourself. Share it with me too.”
The voice made his breath catch.
“How was college, Hikari?” Mio asked, already reaching for another piece of fish cake.
“It’s tough,” Hikari replied, laughing softly. “I’m working on water analysis now—trying to isolate certain elements. It’s frustrating, but interesting.”
“You always liked that kind of thing,” Tokatti said. “As for me, business management is killing me. Numbers, meetings, plans… I don’t know how people enjoy it.”
“I got my licence last week,” Mio added, a hint of pride in her voice.
“Oh?” Kagura tilted her head. “Police life already suits you.”
“I hope so.”
“And you?” Hikari asked.
Kagura spun once on the pavement, her coat flaring slightly. “I tried the latest summer outfits yesterday. The shoot went well. They said I might get another one soon.”
Right turned away at once, fixing his gaze on the river below as if it could anchor him. He pretended to admire the view, though his chest felt tight.
The four of them stood close together, talking and laughing easily. To them, he was nothing more than another passer-by on the bridge—someone to be ignored and forgotten the moment he passed. They didn’t know they had once shared everything with him. They didn’t know he had stayed behind while they returned to their normal lives.
They walked on, still talking.
Right stayed where he was.
When they finally passed him, close enough that he could hear their footsteps, he felt the urge to turn around, to call out, to follow them like he used to. If he tried hard enough, perhaps he could walk beside them again.
But some things could not be undone.
His heart felt unbearably heavy. He turned and began walking in the opposite direction.
Behind him, Kagura suddenly stopped.
He didn’t notice at first.
“What’s wrong?” Tokatti asked.
Mio slowed, glancing back at her. “Did you forget something?”
Kagura didn’t answer. She stared at the lone figure walking away, her brows drawn together, as if something had brushed against her memory and vanished just as quickly.
“…It’s nothing,” she said at last, forcing a smile. “Let’s go.”
They continued on, their voices fading into the evening.
Right stopped and looked back once more. The bridge was empty now. There was nothing between them—no shared past, no name, no proof that he had ever existed in their lives.
To them, it was only a brief moment.
To Right, it was a lifetime’s worth of loss.
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