Chapter 77 – There's No Such Thing as Regret Medicine in This World
Leaving the library.
Ishigami Yuu felt as if his whole body had transcended. By comparing himself to someone worse off, he had regained a bit of confidence—no, more accurately, he had started to become slightly arrogant.
Ishigami: ᕙ（￣^￣）ᕗ
So, Ishigami Yuu decided that once he got home, he would reward himself a little. Nothing too much, just play around two rounds of games, win one, and then start studying!
Winning one match shouldn't take too much time, right?
It was no longer early, and the number of people in the school had significantly decreased. Curfew time wasn't far off, and even the members of sports clubs were packing up and getting ready to leave. Ishigami Yuu could faintly see the sweat on their foreheads that hadn't yet been dried by the wind.
[Exercise]—these words appeared in Ishigami Yuu's mind.
Though it might seem unbelievable at first glance, this gloomy otaku had once joined a sports club back in middle school, and not just any club—it was the soccer club. But later on, feeling he didn't quite fit in, he had voluntarily withdrawn from the club.
The moment he left the club, Ishigami Yuu lost both his goal and the friends he had in the club, becoming a salted fish drifting along with the current of life.
In truth, he had once regretted it. But thinking back on it now, what's the point?
There's no such thing as regret medicine in this world. Even couples who break up and get back together don't bridge the gap that had formed between them. A broken mirror—how can it ever be whole again? Glue it? Forget it, glue's useless.
That was Ishigami Yuu's negative approach to life. In fact, he felt that people like Shirogane Miyuki, who were always motivated and driven, were the truly strange ones. Studying ten hours a day and still working part-time jobs—truly admirable. Ishigami Yuu thought that even if he died, he could never become someone like Shirogane Miyuki.
He wanted to open his eyes, but the darkness in front of him made it hard to see. On the contrary, closing his eyes and giving up thinking seemed to be the simpler way out. Faced with those two options, Ishigami Yuu naturally chose the latter—because nothing is easier than giving up!
"Sakurai-senpai, are you heading to the bike parking lot?"
Ishigami Yuu brushed away the thoughts in his head and, through the strands of his bangs, looked toward Sakurai Saki. From Ishigami perspective, Sakurai face was partly obscured by Ishigami own bangs, making Sakurai appear somewhat blurry.
Hearing that, Sakurai Saki turned to look at him and replied:
"Yeah, do you want a ride?"
The reason he spaced out earlier was because a few memories suddenly surfaced in his mind.
The memories that had once been buried had now become real memories.
'Nakano Nino…'
That was the name of the homeless girl he had saved.
He had remembered everything now, including that matter.
...
The sunset outside the window was beautiful. Standing on the balcony of the thirtieth floor, Nakano Nino leaned on the railing, gazing into the distant scenery. From here, you could faintly see Shuchiin.
Her sisters were probably eating out around this time, huh?
Nino held in her hands a childhood photo of the five sisters, flipping it back and forth as she looked at it.
She realized that the bond between sisters seemed to only go so far. Clearly, they shared blood ties, yet when they met her again these past two days, every one of them acted like they were facing a stranger.
Lately, Nino only dared go home when her sisters were out. She felt like an extra character in a horror story.
She felt completely unnecessary. Seven days of living like an invisible person had taught Nakano Nino a harsh truth—that was: [I'm not that important].
This world will keep on turning, even if one person disappears.
Looking down from above, Nino sighed:
"Thirty floors… so this is how high it really is?"
A height from which just one jump would shatter every bone in her body.
If she were to jump now, what would happen? She'd probably die, wouldn't she?
After all, she could now touch objects, and she had already been seen by others.
As she continued looking down, a sudden thought struck Nino—what if she just jumped?
When faced with danger, humans instinctively want to run away. And when standing at a great height, thay want to safely reach the ground—how does one escape that situation?
The shortest distance is a straight line. That's something she learned back in elementary school. The answer to that question was incredibly simple, and that was—to jump straight down!
Drawn by that strange thought, Nino's body began to lean forward.
The tips of her toes lifted, leaving the ground.
Just like that, she would jump—
Suddenly—
"Ring~"
The ringtone of her phone snapped her back to reality.
Nino stumbled backward several steps in fear, cold sweat forming on her forehead!
Even though she had jumped from buildings more than once before, and had even attempted suicide multiple times by throwing herself in front of trains, just now she had almost genuinely wanted to jump again!
Looking down at her phone, at first Nino couldn't react. A few seconds later, the fear in her heart turned instantly into joy.
Nino gleefully ran into the living room, rolling a few times across the sofa.
"It's over!" she shouted.
♡〜◝(ᵔᗜᵔ)◜〜♡
This kind of life can finally come to an end!!! She could finally return to her normal days!
Right after that, she excitedly picked up the call.
"Yotsuba, what is it?" Nakano Nino tried to hold back the emotion in her chest.
She had something she needed to confirm.
And that was—now that her presence was once again perceived normally, what would become of everything that happened before?
The fight with Sakurai Saki—if that could just disappear, how great would that be! That's what Nakano Nino was hoping for deep down.
If all of it vanished, then from now on, she would definitely treat him kindly! He would surely be her tutor properly too~
From now on, she would never look at him coldly again, nor argue with him; even if he cursed at her, it wouldn't matter! She'd even take a beating if that's what it took!
After all, this was someone who had helped her—and someone who completely matched her aesthetic taste!
As Nakano Nino imagined that future, a idiot smile naturally formed at the corners of her lips.
Nino: (๑≧▽≦๑)
[Nino, is your body feeling any better?] Yotsuba's concerned voice came through.
"My body?" Nino repeated.
Aside from feeling a bit weak, her body was in decent shape. Compared to that time she had nearly starved to death in front of the convenience store, Nakano Nino felt she was doing quite well now, even her mental state was stable.
[If you ask for any more days off, they'll call in our guardian.] Itsuki's voice echoed in from the background.
Nino more or less understood now.
It seemed the heavens were on her side!
The days she had been absent from school had all been taken as a legitimate leave due to health reasons.
"I feel a lot better now, I'll go to school tomorrow." Nino said, then hesitated for a few seconds before cautiously asking: "Did Sakurai-san see you guys today?"
Yesterday, she had only heard that Sakurai Saki had stopped by once, but didn't know any more details.
[Today, Sakurai-san praised me~ He said I had lots of potential to improve!]
(≧U≦✿)
Yotsuba's cheerful voice reached Nino's ears.
An answer Nino had already anticipated.
She remained silent for a few seconds, then adjusted her emotions.
"Then… did he mention me at all?" Nino's voice trembled slightly.
She didn't want to hear a certain kind of answer.
But Yotsuba straightforwardly said the very thing she didn't want to hear:
[No, he didn't mention you. But Nino, why are you asking? Didn't you say before that you didn't like Sakurai-san being your tutor? Or… did you change your mind?]
Upon hearing that, Nino collapsed onto the sofa, her eyes turning blank.
So it was just her overthinking things, after all. He must still hate her!
"After what I did last week, it's only natural to be hated..." she muttered to herself.
[You just said a few mean things and went into your room. If you apologize, Sakurai-san will definitely forgive you. He's really kind! He spent the whole session today praising me!] Yotsuba offered some comforting words.
Nakano Nino: (っº - ºς)!!!
OHHH!
Seriously?
Could today actually be her lucky day?
Wait a second… if she hadn't thrown his bag that day, maybe this was still salvageable, right? If she just apologized sincerely, he would definitely go back to kindly tutoring her again!
A teacher and student… such a close relationship, maybe it could even develop into something more?
Getting Sakurai-san to like her… it might not be impossible! Things weren't completely ruined yet!
[Hey! Nino, are you listening? Are you coming to the make-up study session tomorrow? It's after class in the library.] It sounded like Itsuki had taken the phone.
Nakano Nino sprang up from the sofa, exclaiming excitedly, "I'll be there!"
ദ്ദി ˉ͈̀꒳ˉ͈́ )✧
Then she even bounced on the spot twice like a little bunny.
[You hated him so much just last week, and now you've completely turned around. Nino, you're really weird!]
"Hmph, I just suddenly realized he's actually pretty nice—is that so wrong?" Nino fired back.
[Fine, fine… we're about to go get some ramen. Want to come? It's at the shopping street near our place.]
"Umu! Wait for me a bit."
[Hurry up~]
"Umu."
Nino ended the call and slumped back onto the sofa, letting her body drop like a weightless object in free fall.
She hugged her phone tightly to her chest.
In this moment, she felt like everything had come back to her.
Tomorrow, she could resolve everything with Sakurai perfectly!
All the unpleasant things piling up recently were finally turning around!
So it turns out… "regret medicine" really does exist!
———
8:00 PM.
Sakurai Saki was cooking dinner at home.
In his hand was a love letter, and beside him was a ghost girl with white hair and gray eyes, intently staring at the pan in front of her.
"Hamburger steak!" the girl urged. "Is it done yet? Sakurai-kun~ I'm starving~ super starving~"
( ´ཀ` )
"I don't recommend eating it raw, you'll risk getting parasites." Sakurai replied while flipping the pan gently. The hamburger patty flipped into the air, turning mid-air with precision.
Yakumo Shiro pouted, furrowing her pretty brows.
"But Sakurai-kun, I'm a ghost~ Ghosts don't get sick~"
(¬`‸´¬)
Sakurai didn't respond, simply watching the patty. Seeing that it was nearly done, he grabbed the tongs and placed it on a plate.
Honestly, he hadn't planned to cook at all. He had only gone upstairs to retrieve the love letter and ask Shiro a few things about Nakano Nino. But then Shiro suddenly said she wanted to eat hamburger steak. Since he had already stood her up once before, Sakurai Saki didn't turn her down this time.
Holding the plate and utensils, Sakurai Saki walked to the dining table under the glimmering eyes of Yakumo Shiro.
Shiro: (✪▽✪)
He cut a small piece and skewered it with the fork.
But before he could even lift it, the white-haired ghost girl launched herself forward like a whale breaching the surface and chomped down on the meat with a swift bite.
"Yummy~!"
With that praise, Sakurai Saki could see white steam rising from the meat.
He fed her a few more pieces.
Then Sakurai finally brought up the real reason he came.
"That girl I mentioned before—did you take some time today to observe her?"
Ghosts truly are extremely useful scouts — invisible, silent, practically perfect stalkers. And according to Yakumo Shiro, their movement speed is incredibly fast too, not inferior to the wind.
Aside from being unable to enter someone's home without permission from the owner, ghosts have virtually no weaknesses when it comes to gathering information.
"Nope, I was with you all day, remember? But I'm guessing she's already reestablished her connection with the world. Anyway… Sakurai-kun, you said you've regained your memories, right?" Yakumo Shiro said seriously after swallowing her bite of meat.
Sakurai Saki nodded.
The time he had used his power on Nakano Nino… was actually the result of an unintended trigger.
His skill, [Erase Existence], could be activated not only through eye contact — but also through thoughts. That was something Sakurai Saki had been completely unaware of. After all, that had been the very first time he activated that ability, so he still didn't fully understand how it worked.
At the time, he and Nakano Nino had been arguing in the hallway. Sakurai had briefly thought to himself: [Maybe she should just disappear already] — and then she really did disappear. What followed after was all the result of side effects.
Even so, Sakurai Saki had no regrets about what happened.
Whether it was using his power on her, or later saving her, he didn't feel remorse for either decision.
With the things she had done… if it had been anyone else, he would've crushed them long ago using psychokinesis or some other ability. It was only because the incident was related to Shirogane Miyuki that Sakurai had tolerated it for so long.
Expecting someone who possesses supernatural abilities that go beyond laws and rules to suppress themselves? No one could do that — except Sakurai Saki.
No matter how many external factors are involved, when someone makes a decision, the only person who can ultimately convince them… is themselves.
All the "self-restraints" Sakurai Saki imposed were nothing more than personal moral boundaries — and boundaries can always be redrawn.
For instance, his second rule: [Until I fully master my powers, I must not fall in love easily]. Even that rule left some wiggle room — take the word "easily." Which meant that if he did fall for someone for real, he wouldn't just walk away.
Rules were made to be broken.
As for saving Nakano Nino afterward… Sakurai Saki honestly didn't think too much of it.
He had told Nino already: at the time, he had simply acted out of a moment of compassion, nothing deep or complicated. That really was the whole reason.
"Say, Shiro — could you easily forgive someone you absolutely can't stand?"
Sakurai Saki looked at the white-haired ghost girl in front of him, who was eating her hamburger steak with a fork and knife, and asked out of curiosity.
"Nuh-uh~ No way! I hold grudges like crazy!"
(๑ᵔ⤙ᵔ๑)
Yakumo Shiro answered as she chewed, her voice slightly muffled by the food in her mouth.
She could touch objects and even eat real food.
Sakurai Saki felt she didn't resemble a typical ghost at all, but he still didn't know the full story. That secret… he didn't know when she would finally reveal it.
"Sakurai-kun, you're also the grudge-holding type, right?" Yakumo Shiro asked.
Sakurai Saki nodded.
"Mmm-hmm~ We really are kindred spirits~" She flashed a dazzling smile.
"I understand everything you're thinking!"
"For people like that, obviously—"
They looked at each other and smiled.
And in the very next moment, they shouted in perfect sync:
"An eye for an eye! Blood must be repaid with blood!"
(✿ ≖ᴗ≖)( ≖‿ ≖ )
Yakumo Shiro nodded in satisfaction, "That's more like it!"
Sakurai Saki was someone who responded to kindness with kindness — but if someone pissed him off, then they better not expect mercy.
Patch things up after a fight? You'd better be ready to pay back a few hundred times over!
Even with Shinomiya Kaguya, Sakurai Saki had rarely shown any gentleness.
The number of times the two of them had smiled at each other… was nearly zero!
Honestly, it was thanks to Shirogane Miyuki and Fujiwara Chika that the student council room hadn't turned into a battlefield already.