—Naoaki's POV—
It had been raining the day Ren first showed up at my school.
It was raining again now.
But this time, I wasn't standing alone in the hallway watching him walk away.
This time, I was holding his hand.
We stood under a streetlight near the bus stop, the world dimmed in silver-grey, the air damp with summer rain. The streets were nearly empty, and the silence felt sacred somehow—like the sky was holding its breath for us.
"I got the letter," Ren whispered.
I blinked up at him. "The one I…?"
He nodded slowly. "You wrote it before you remembered. Said you didn't know why you were writing it, but it felt like it was meant for someone. For someone you'd loved before."
My heart cracked.
"You kept it?"
"I kept every version of you," he said. "Even the ones that forgot. Even the ones that hated me."
We sat on the bench in front of my old middle school—somewhere we hadn't been in years, but had once made a vow without words.
He handed me the letter.
My handwriting.
Tear stains on the edge.
> "If we meet again in another life, I hope I don't recognize you right away.
Because I want to fall for you slowly, naturally—without destiny forcing my hand.
But if I do recognize you… please don't run.
Stay. Just once. Please stay."
I couldn't speak.
"I almost didn't," Ren said quietly. "When I realized you didn't remember me, I thought, 'Maybe it's better this way. Maybe he deserves a life without all this weight.'"
"But I remembered," I whispered.
"You did." He smiled gently. "Even if it was just through instinct. You still smiled at me the same way. Still held the umbrella over my head before your own."
"I was scared," I admitted, my voice shaking. "Scared that if I let myself love you again, I'd lose you. Like all the times before."
"Then let's lose everything else," he said. "Forget the rules. Forget the past. Just be here now."
I turned to him. "Then promise me something."
"Anything."
"Stay this time."
He leaned forward, his forehead resting against mine, the rain still falling softly around us.
"I will," he breathed. "Even if we only get this one life. Even if you forget me again. I'll stay."
We went home soaked in rainwater, laughter in our bones.
We fought sometimes. We cried, we healed.
He taught me how to trust a tomorrow.
I taught him how to live like today mattered more.
We didn't become legends or stories.
We didn't get reincarnated kings or soldiers.
We were just two boys—Naoaki and Ren—writing a new life together.
And for once…
We didn't have to be anything else.
Maybe the string wasn't broken after all—just waiting for the right hands to find the ends and tie them back together.
— THE END—