After Haizaki escorted Utaha back to her bedroom, he prepared to leave.
Utaha reacted faster. She grabbed the corner of his clothes and stepped in front of him.
With a gentle smile, she softly unfastened the buttons of Haizaki's coat one by one.
The meaning was obvious—stay tonight.
"..."
This was not the first time Haizaki had slept in Utaha's room, nor the first time he had slept beside her. Yet at this moment, his heart still began to race uncontrollably.
His blood quickened, his breathing grew uneven, and his gaze drifted away, not daring to meet the girl in front of him.
"Thank you for your gift…"
Utaha expressed her gratitude once more, hanging Haizaki's coat on the nearby rack.
Then, from behind, the girl wrapped her arms around him. Warmth flowed through the points of contact, and a sweet, youthful fragrance spread through the air.
"As long as you like it, that's the best answer."
Haizaki suddenly felt something unusual at his neck.
He turned his head in surprise.
Noticing his gaze, the girl's fair face flushed crimson, as if overwhelmed by shame over what she had just done.
"Haizaki-kun, what should I do? I've completely fallen."
She hugged him tightly, her voice low and soft.
"I've already… fallen in love with you. In this life, it can only be you. So then… what about you?"
Perhaps it had started as gratitude toward the man who saved her life, but over ten months of living together day and night, she had gradually been drawn to—and captured by—the man named Haizaki.
The delicious food he cooked.
His persistence in training.
Their everyday conversations.
Cold wars or shared laughter alike—everything about him filled her heart.
It seemed she had lost this battle of love.
But so what if she lost? Was there really a winner or loser in love between a man and a woman? If she had lost, hadn't she also won?
She felt Haizaki's presence.
"Utaha…"
Haizaki slowly turned around, placing his hands over hers.
His black eyes met her wine-red gaze at close range.
"My feelings for you are a fact no one can deny."
He could not deceive his own heart.
"Mmm, I believe you."
She leaned against his chest and replied.
Yet there was one thing she still could not completely forget.
Because Haizaki's heart did not belong to only her.
In the past, she had not dared to confirm it, nor to bring it up, afraid it would affect the development of their relationship. But today—on this special day—perhaps she could finally ask.
"Even if those two girls appeared here, would you still choose me without hesitation?"
Even now, Utaha could not forget those two girls, and it weighed heavily on her heart. She decided that today, she would completely erase the place those two held in Haizaki's heart.
Only by fully occupying his heart would she feel that Haizaki truly belonged to her alone.
Hearing this, Haizaki froze. Images of Yukino and Iroha surfaced in his mind.
The cool yet gentle Yukino.
The cute yet scheming Iroha.
Lost in thought, Haizaki failed to notice that Utaha, pressed close to him, was gazing up at him with her wine-red eyes.
"You're not allowed to think about them…"
Catching the faint trace of lingering affection at the corner of his mouth, Utaha widened her eyes and protested unwillingly.
Even now, he still yearned for them.
Yukinoshita Yukino, Isshiki Iroha—
They had been gone for ten months, disappearing on their own and leaving Haizaki alone in this desolate world. What right did they have to remain in his memories even now?
If they had disappeared, they should disappear completely—taking all of Haizaki's memories of them with them.
Utaha was unwilling to accept this.
The one by Haizaki's side was her.
The one who had accompanied him through these ten months was her.
Not them.
Utaha's jealousy erupted in an instant.
Her arms tightened around Haizaki.
"Utaha…"
"Utaha…"
Haizaki shook her forcefully.
"Calm down, okay!"
"How can I calm down? The man I love is still thinking about other women—how do you expect me to calm down?"
She poured out her pent-up resentment and pain, tears sliding down her cheeks.
They were only unrequited loves. She had never even formed a deep relationship with Haizaki. So why, after ten months, had he still not forgotten them?
Why did he still keep their student IDs?
Did Haizaki still think of them every night when he saw those objects?
"Don't you know that women are the most jealous creatures in the world? If they were still in this world, I would have confidence in defeating them, but…"
The two tear tracks on the girl's delicate face were painful to see.
In his memory, he had never seen Utaha cry.
"Those who disappeared have already become your dreams and longings. How am I supposed to defeat them? Tell me, Haizaki-kun—what should I do to defeat them, to make them completely disappear from your memory? Should I disappear too, then you…"
Utaha weakly shook Haizaki's shoulders, her voice trembling, revealing the fragile side of a young girl.
"Utaha," Haizaki interrupted her in time, "I also want to forget, to make them disappear from my memory. But I don't have memory-erasing technology. I can't erase the memories of them from my mind."
If it were really that easy to forget someone, he would not have so many worries.
Moreover, weren't those memories the best proof of his previous life?
Humanity's struggle, perseverance, and sacrifice in that life.
If even he forgot, wouldn't the people in his memories disappear completely? All traces erased.
"Since that's the case…"
A very Haizaki–style answer.
Utaha pressed her lips together unwillingly.
But she understood—if Haizaki said he could forget them, then if he could forget them, would he one day forget her as well?
Suddenly, a terrifying thought surfaced in Utaha's mind.
A chill ran through her heart, and even she did not know why such a thought had appeared.
She immediately shook her head, casting away the bad thoughts. Then, fixing her wine-red eyes on Haizaki, she took a deep breath and spoke.
"I love you. I love you more than anyone else in the world. Since you can't forget them, then let me become the heroine who occupies the rest of your life…"
To take Haizaki completely for herself.
"I want to be the heroine of your life—the only heroine. Are you… ready?"
She lifted her chin and kissed him.
…