Chrono Reset

One Week Later

Kaito sat in his room, staring blankly at the wall. The darkness outside his window mirrored the emptiness he felt inside. It had been a week since Sayuri's death, but the grief still weighed on him like an anchor. His parents had tried to comfort him, but it was no use. He didn't respond to their concerns, and food had lost its taste. He barely ate now. All he could think about was that moment on the rooftop—the words she had screamed, her confession, and the tragedy that followed.

Kaito's mind kept replaying that instant, over and over. I should have been faster...

The guilt was suffocating.

Maybe if I hadn't left the rooftop...

His hand reached for his phone, the ringtone cutting through the silence. It was a message from Koji.

[Koji: Man... It's Sayuri's funeral today. You should come.]

Kaito stared at the message for a long moment, his thumb hovering over the screen. His mind screamed to just turn it off, to hide away from it all, but something deep inside him forced him to rise.

He stood slowly, his body feeling heavier with each movement. As he grabbed his jacket and slipped it on, his thoughts were still tangled in a mess of guilt and confusion. He walked downstairs, finding his mother sitting at the kitchen table, quietly sipping her tea.

"I'm going to Sayuri's funeral," Kaito said softly, his voice distant.

His mother looked up, her face etched with concern. "Kaito… you've been cooped up in here for a week. Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"I need to go," he replied, not meeting her gaze. "I need to apologize."

She nodded, her lips trembling as she forced a smile. "Take care of yourself. Don't stay out too long, alright?"

Kaito didn't respond, but the familiar warmth of her voice did little to ease his aching heart. He grabbed his bike and rode towards the funeral.

At the Cemetery

The cemetery was quiet, almost too quiet. The wind was gentle, but it couldn't calm the storm inside Kaito. As he parked his bike by the entrance, he saw Koji standing near Sayuri's mother. Koji was talking to her, but his posture was stiff, his words uncharacteristically slow. His face was pale, eyes red from crying.

Kaito's heart sank, but he walked towards them.

Koji noticed him first and gave a small, forced smile. "You came," he said, his voice cracking. "I didn't know if you would."

Kaito's throat tightened, and he struggled to say something, anything. The words didn't come.

Koji turned back to Sayuri's mother, who was standing by the grave, her expression unreadable. Kaito hesitated for a moment, then walked towards her.

As he approached, Sayuri's mother looked up. Her face was pale, but her eyes held an odd calm. Kaito's heart broke all over again. She was grieving, but her expression was one of acceptance, as though she had already prepared herself for this moment.

"I… I'm sorry," Kaito whispered. His voice felt foreign to him, barely audible over the rustling of the leaves.

Sayuri's mother nodded slowly, her lips trembling. She spoke softly but firmly. "You don't need to apologize. It's not your fault."

Kaito couldn't hold back the tears any longer. He had tried to keep them inside, to be strong, but in that moment, the weight of everything crashed down on him. He let the tears fall, his body shaking with grief.

"I should have been there... I should have done something…" Kaito's voice cracked as he spoke, the pain in his chest unbearable.

Sayuri's mother reached out, placing a gentle hand on his arm. "Kaito, it's not your fault. None of us could have known. We can't blame ourselves."

But Kaito wasn't sure he could believe that. He wasn't sure if he would ever forgive himself. He turned his face away, his gaze falling to Sayuri's picture. There she was—smiling, looking so full of life. The contrast between her smile and the empty silence around the grave felt like a cruel joke.

"Sayuri…" Kaito whispered, stepping closer to the grave. "I'm so sorry. I should have been there. I didn't… I didn't get to tell you how I felt."

He knelt down, placing his hand on the cold stone. His heart ached as he remembered her confession. I love you, Kaito. The words still haunted him.

A flashback to their childhood moment on the cherry blossom hill surged to the forefront of his mind.

Flashback:

Kaito was laughing as they ran through the fields, the petals of the cherry blossoms falling around them like confetti. It was a day like any other, full of innocent joy.

Sayuri tugged on his sleeve, pulling him to a stop. "Kaito!" she said, her face lit up with excitement. "When we grow up… can we get married?"

Kaito scratched his head, blushing slightly. "Huh? Well, maybe... but only if you get cooler than you are now."

Sayuri pouted, crossing her arms. "I'll be super cool! Just you wait!"

She then held out her pinky. "Promise?"

Kaito smiled warmly and linked his pinky with hers. "Promise."

The petals danced around them, caught in the breeze as they stood there, silent for a moment, eyes locked in a world that seemed all their own.

End of Flashback

Kaito stood at the grave, the memory of that moment, their promise, still vivid in his mind. It felt like a lifetime ago. His chest tightened, and the tears continued to fall, unchecked.

"Why… why couldn't I save you?" Kaito whispered, his voice cracking.

As he stood there, a hand gently touched his shoulder. It was Koji.

"I know you're blaming yourself," Koji said softly, his eyes filled with understanding. "But we all feel it. Don't carry this alone, alright? We all lost something today."

Kaito looked up at his friend, his eyes bloodshot and filled with grief. "I don't know if I can forgive myself, Koji…"

Koji said nothing, but his hand stayed on Kaito's shoulder, offering silent support.

The rain began to fall just then, soft at first, but soon it turned into a downpour. Kaito didn't move. He stood there, staring at Sayuri's grave, tears mixing with the rain as it fell in torrents around him.

"I promised you," Kaito whispered, barely audible over the rain. "I promised I would always be there for you."

But promises were broken, and Kaito didn't know how to fix what had happened. He didn't know if he could ever forgive himself.

Outside the Cemetery:

Kaito stepped out of the cemetery after a long while, the rain still falling heavily around him. He looked up at the sky, his expression filled with a mix of hopelessness and sorrow. His mind was a whirlwind of conflicting thoughts.

The words Sayuri had said to him echoed in his mind. I love you, Kaito...

But now, she was gone, and he was left with nothing but empty promises and unspoken words.

Kaito wiped his eyes, trying to clear the tears from his face. As he walked away, the rain continued to pour, but he didn't care. His heart was as empty as the sky above.