(Reina Aizawa's POV)
---
There was a time when Reina believed she had more time.
Time to fix things.
Time to understand him.
Time to save him.
But now that belief was starting to fray.
Because no matter how closely she watched Alex —
no matter how many pieces she gathered —
someone else was walking into the story.
And worse than that…
He wasn't stopping her.
---
April 14th – Thursday Morning
The hallway buzzed with morning energy — too much for Reina's current mood.
Girls in other classes passed by whispering again.
Not about midterms.
Not about club meetings.
Not even about Alex this time.
It was her.
> "She wore heels again today. Not loud ones. Like really quiet, expensive ones."
"I heard she trained in Europe."
"She used to perform with symphonies."
"She drinks her coffee without sugar."
"She makes eye contact when she talks to you. It's terrifying."
Airi Tsukishima had been at school for less than a week, and she already had her own fan club.
Teachers liked her. Students admired her. The music club was talking about her like she was a celebrity dropped into a classroom.
Reina tried not to care.
But she noticed.
She noticed too much now.
---
She sat at her desk during homeroom, half-listening to morning announcements, eyes drifting toward the window where a crow had perched.
Alex sat two rows in front of her. He tapped his pencil against the side of his desk absentmindedly, gaze glazed, as usual.
But something was different.
He seemed… lighter.
Not exactly happy. Not open.
But like some unseen burden had shifted a little.
Like someone had taken a piece of it off his shoulders.
> Was it her?
> Is she helping him?
> Or is she stealing the only part of him I haven't reached yet?
---
After School – The Old Music Building
Reina stood behind the old music room again, pressed close to the cold wall, listening.
A faint breeze stirred her hair.
Inside, the piano sang.
She recognized the melody. It was the same nocturne he'd played before, but slower now, more controlled. Still painful — but more present. Like he wasn't drowning in it anymore.
And someone else was in there with him.
Not a student.
Not a friend.
Airi.
She heard her voice faintly. A calm suggestion. A quiet correction.
No pity.
No warmth either.
Just… honesty.
And Alex answered her.
Spoke back.
Listened.
Reina stepped away before they finished.
The music hurt more than the silence.
---
She walked home alone, even though she usually waited for him.
He didn't even text to ask where she was.
That night, dinner felt like a stage.
Alex had cooked again — grilled salmon and miso soup. Simple, delicate.
Reina sat across from him, trying to look normal. Trying not to see his hands — those elegant fingers that used to avoid keyboards — now moving with subtle ease. Less fear.
She stared at her rice bowl, then finally asked:
"Do you like her?"
He blinked. "Who?"
"…The new teacher."
There was a pause.
A flicker behind his smile.
Then, "She's just interesting."
Her fingers clenched under the table.
"That's how it starts."
Another pause. Longer this time.
Then: "Are you jealous?"
She met his eyes.
"I don't know," she said honestly. "Maybe."
He didn't tease her.
He didn't laugh.
That scared her more than anything.
Because it meant he didn't think it was funny.
---
Later That Night
Reina sat in her room, lights off, window open.
The city below glowed like broken stars — headlights, signs, the faint glimmer of far-off trains.
She had tried writing a new rule in her notebook.
But everything she wrote sounded weak.
> Rule #5: Beat her to it.
Rule #5: Don't let anyone else save him first.
Rule #5: You're already falling in love. Stop pretending.
She scratched them all out.
Then she heard it — faint, from down the hallway.
A piano chord.
Soft.
Cautious.
He was playing again.
Not hiding anymore.
---
She stood outside his door.
Her hand hovered for a long time before she knocked.
Three soft taps.
"Come in," he said.
His room was dark except for the lamp on his desk and the silver wash of moonlight over his sheets.
He sat at the edge of his bed, fingers still half-curled like they remembered the piano.
Reina stepped inside.
Neither of them said anything for a few seconds.
"You're getting better," she said finally.
He didn't look up. "I'm just remembering things."
"You used to hide it."
"I still do."
"…Not from her."
That made him pause.
He looked up at her, slowly.
"She's not trying to make me stop," he said.
"And I am?" Reina asked.
He didn't answer.
But she already knew what he meant.
She had made him feel cornered. Watched. Pinned between her questions and her eyes that knew too much.
And Airi?
She hadn't asked anything.
She just listened.
---
Reina sat on the floor near his window, knees drawn up.
"I'm not trying to take anything from you," she said quietly. "I just… want to understand."
Alex was silent.
The silence lasted so long she almost gave up.
Then:
"You're different lately."
"How?"
"You look at me like I'm dying."
She turned away. Her voice caught.
> Because you are.
You will. In less than a year, you'll be gone. And I won't let it happen.
But she couldn't say that.
So she just said: "Then tell me what I'm not seeing."
Alex leaned back against the headboard, closed his eyes.
"I'm not someone who can be saved."
"Why not?"
"Because the version of me worth saving already died years ago."
---
Reina felt something twist inside her chest.
Tight. Sharp.
But she stayed where she was. Quiet. Unmoving.
If he ran, she wouldn't chase.
Not this time.
But if he stayed...
If he stayed even a little longer—
---
"Goodnight," she said.
She stood. Walked to the door.
Stopped, just before leaving.
And turned back.
"You don't have to let her fix you," she said. "You don't have to let me fix you either."
He looked up at her.
"You just have to want to live."
---
That night, she wrote in her notebook again:
> Rule #5: If someone else reaches him first — don't panic.
Run faster.
Speak softer.
Stay longer.
Make him believe he's still worth the ending you're trying to rewrite.