Kaede and Yumi walked side by side on their way to school. As they approached the gate, Kaede suddenly noticed Shina walking past them. Her eyes seemed empty, and her expression was filled with sadness. She didn't even notice Kaede as she continued on her way, seemingly lost in thought.
Kaede glanced back in the direction Shina had come from and noticed a group of girls laughing while watching her walk away.
Shina Hasena was Kaede's classmate—a quiet girl who rarely interacted with anyone. Eventually, she would be reported as having dropped out of school. Rumor had it that she didn't like the school and transferred somewhere else. After that, no one saw her again. What they didn't know was that Shina Hasena was already dead at that time.
The interaction between Shina and Kaede the previous day wasn't supposed to happen. In the original timeline, they were just classmates—never friends. They rarely spoke, and their relationship was almost nonexistent.
The reason why Shina always called Kaede "Mr. Smith" stemmed from an incident in the past. One lunchtime, Shina accidentally spilled soup on Kaede after tripping over a girl's foot from another table. Kaede glared at her in anger, but since it was an accident, he decided to let it go on one condition.
"From now on, you'll call me Mr. Smith," Kaede said, still annoyed but trying to control his temper.
Shina, flustered and apologetic, agreed, and ever since then, she had called him that whenever they interacted.
Because of what happened yesterday, the timeline was already beginning to change.
Class started as usual. After a few minutes, Shina arrived late, quietly opening the door and bowing as she walked to her seat. The lesson continued without much disruption.
When the lunch bell rang, students rushed to the cafeteria. Kaede found a seat at one of the few empty tables and began eating. Yumi wasn't there since she was busy with class officer duties.
As he ate, Shina approached him. The cafeteria was almost full because of a new food on the menu that everyone was crazy about.
"Um... Kaede... Can I sit here?" Shina asked timidly, pointing to the empty seat across from him.
Without thinking, Kaede nodded. "Yeah, go ahead."
Shina sat down, thanking him quietly. As they ate, she began to feel a little more comfortable around him. Wanting to break the silence, she started a conversation.
"Um... Ka-Kaede, have you tried the new food that came out the other day? Ever since it was released, the cafeteria's always packed," she said, trying to sound casual.
Kaede looked up from his food. "Yeah, I tried it. Honestly, I don't think it's that good. I don't get why everyone's obsessed with it," he replied, smiling as he scratched his head.
Shina's eyes widened in agreement. "Right?! I thought I was the only one who didn't like it that much!"
Gradually, the awkwardness faded. Shina continued sharing stories, talking about how much she loved the school library. It was her favorite place, where she felt safe and relaxed among the countless books. She even mentioned that she wanted to stay at this school until graduation.
Kaede listened, surprised by her enthusiasm. He had never seen Shina this open before.
After lunch, they went their separate ways. Shina had something else to do, so Kaede headed back to the classroom alone. As he walked through the hallway, he couldn't help but think about their conversation.
"Wait... Something doesn't add up," Kaede muttered to himself, pausing mid-step.
He recalled something in the past: Shina have dropped out because she didn't like the school. But based on their conversation, that wasn't the case at all.
"So why? Why did Shina just disappear like that? What's the real reason she left?"
A strange feeling settled in Kaede's chest. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that something was terribly wrong.