The Fake

On April 2nd, 1992, a 15-year-old Satoru headed off to his orientation at Kaiso high school alone with a newfound confidence. Wearing khaki slacks and an untucked white sweater, his now mercifully spectacled eyes sifted through the crowd of new students, pining for the unmistakable dark brown hair that fell atop her shoulders and merged with their silhouette. Not catching sight of her in the crowds of students, he climbed the stairs to the third floor and continued up to the roof.

Then he saw her, alone, gazing out across the pastoral mountain town while her shoulder-long chestnut hair curled in the spring wind. For so long she had been frozen in photos, in his memory. Just like seeing Hinazuki with her son, seeing her alive – really alive – growing out of her mother's shadow made his eyes brim with tears. In her loose-fitting carmine sweater that bunched up at her waist she turned back, brushing her wind-tousled hair from her widening brown eyes, and saw him.

At that moment the thoughts ran out of his head, all of his walls came down and he breathed out, "Kayo…"

Her expression suddenly grew joyful and she ran forward and embraced – near tackled – him, squeezing tightly and saying, "I missed you so much..."

"I…" the words caught in his throat as he pulled back and he realized his suspicion: he couldn't do it a third time.

"I-I am a fake! Kayo, I need to tell you something. Something hard to believe… and something you won't like," Satoru said.

"What do you mean? I don't think you're fake at all." Hinazuki asked, meeting his eyes now.

"When I told you I had decided to be honest with you, I wasn't really. I kept the truth from you to make you trust me, but now that you're out of that house I don't want to become close to you on the back of lies. I… I want you to choose to trust in me, Kayo. I hated myself for this, but when I was growing up I was never your friend. I ignored your suffering, you died while we were going to school together, a-and then I forgot about you! You and Hiromi!" Satoru escalated until he was yelling the words out, his voice cracking as hot tears began to run down his face.

"Died…? You're not making any sense, Satoru. You don't have to get so–"

"It's supernatural. Time, fate, I don't know! I lived until I was 29, you died when you were still 11. Someone you knew stole you out of your shed on your birthday… and froze you to death. But fate let me come back. That return was the first time we became friends and the second time I failed to save you. Then the last time I saved everyone, but the kidnapper got me. This is the third time I've come back, but I stopped him this time. My mom turned him in before he became a serial killer in this life," Satoru said breathlessly.

Hinazuki cast her eyes to the side, looking out at the mountains, and a long silence took the roof, breached only by the sound of distant wind and Satoru's panting.

"Dead, huh? Yeah… yeah I thought I might die," Hinazuki said with a sad little smile. "At first I was afraid of dying, but after a while I started to think that might be a relief. I stopped enjoying living and just shut down to everything, good and bad. You know how I was, how I still am."

"Kayo…"

She looked back into his eyes and continued, "But then I met you. You were the first person who made me want to keep living. When you saved me it felt like something out of a dream. I had friends, I had you, and – it's pathetic – but I actually felt like I had a mother. I didn't understand why you were being so nice to me, so saying that I died… makes sense. Even if you sound insane saying that you're twice your age, you were really different from the others inside so… I believe you."

"T-Thanks, now the secret's out I guess ha... Y'know, it still hurts me when I see you hurting. And I want to be there for you so... do you think we could still be friends?" Satoru asked.

"Pssh, you're an idiot. You're definitely an idiot," Kayo warmly said. "You've done so much for me, so if you're a fake student then you're a pretty good imitation. ...And I don't think you're a fake friend. You better keep hanging out with me cause I don't know anyone at this school. People here still think I'm weird – they should hear you! I honestly don't care what happened in past lives, but I am curious what I was doing when I became your age."

Satoru swallowed and told her the final piece of the story, "Well… you did great. In the life where you survived you even met someone… else and had a child together. That was the first time I saw you filled with happiness – without it being bittersweet."

Kayo's eyes flashed wide with fear before narrowing sentimentally, "I became a mother, huh? That doesn't sound like me. And who did I marry– wait, no, don't tell me. I-I don't want to know."

"Don't worry, you were nothing like your mother or even like your grandmother. I could see that you loved your child and– Um, yeah. I guess this is pretty weird to hear."

"Where were you though, Satoru? I mean– Well, what happened?" Hinazuki asked.

"I wanted to be there. That was the life the killer got me. He drove me into in a lake in winter and I was in a coma for 15 years. I heard everyone was really upset, which is more than I could say when the tables were turned. But it wasn't like I lost that time. I had already got to experience it just… not with you or Hiromi."

Without hesitating Hinazuki grabbed the fabric of his dress shirt and pulled him in close, leaning her head against his chest now that he had grown even taller than her. She slowly jolted him by tugging on his shirt.

"You keep saving me, huh?" Kayo murmured before shouting, "Who cares if you didn't before!? That doesn't matter! Without you, Satoru, I wouldn't be alive today. Or happy. So of course I'd want to stay friends, you idiot!"

Satoru leaned into her in return, tears running down his face once again.

"I didn't know you were coming today. You're– You're ruining my makeup haha..."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, and so glad that I can see you again."

The two reminisced about all the events of their younger lives and walked around the orientation together. When it came time, they walked home together before parting like they always used to, sharing a knowing glance.