/ᐠ⎚⩊⎚ﾏ⟆

The campus in March was covered in cherry blossoms. On the first day of the semester, the laughter of freshmen overflowed along every path leading to the lecture halls. Amidst the commotion, Yuushi walked alone with his earphones in. It was a morning no different from any other.

A gust of wind blew.

Cherry blossom petals poured down like a shower. And through them, someone came running. Waving at a friend, face beaming with a wide smile even while panting for breath.

Tokuno Yuushi

His steps stopped.

'No, this is impossible.'

To be precise, he had no choice but to stop. It was as if his feet were glued to the ground. His brain gave the command, but his legs refused.

'Asahina Haruka.'

That face, which had only existed on a screen, was alive and moving in 3D under the sunlight. The long eyelashes. The round eyes. Even the habit of tilting the head. It was the moment the boundary between 2D and 3D collapsed.

The BGM that played when Haruka first appeared in the anime automatically started playing in his head. His heart skipped a beat, then began racing at double speed.