Watanabe Toru was lying on the bed, with the quilt only covering his lower abdomen, his head resting on his left hand, and he stared at the ceiling for a while.

There was silence all around and the moonlight was flowing.

I could hear frogs croaking in my ears, and for a moment I couldn't tell whether I was missing my hometown or if there were really frogs around the hospital.

Watanabe Toru was ready to sleep, adjusting his sleeping position and facing the floor-to-ceiling window.

Tokyo Tower emitted an orange halo. He stretched out his hand and pulled the light into his dream.

◇

At night, the dense woods cast layers of shadows, making this a quiet mountain trail.

Accompanied by the croaking of frogs and the guidance of fireflies, Toru Watanabe came to the end of the trail, where a shrine was located.

On the steps in front of the shrine, sixteen-year-old "Koizumi Aona" was curled up holding her soft, girlish legs.

Watanabe Toru walked up and sat next to her.

"If I don't go back, my family will be worried," he said.

"Koizumi Aona" still hugged her legs tightly and buried her face in her knees.

Watanabe Toru looked at the fireflies. Following the light of the fireflies, he could look down the mountain through the woods.

There is a small town there. The light emitted at night is not as bright and dense as Tokyo, but it is a little bit warm and quiet, just right.

"Is this your hometown?" Watanabe Toru looked at everything.

The night breeze was blowing softly, and the sound of the flapping wings of unknown insects could be heard from some tree.

In the forest, there are countless green fluorescent lights floating, and fireflies gather there.

"I didn't mean it." "Koizumi Aona" didn't speak for a long time, her voice was hoarse.

Watanabe Toru glanced at her, but she still buried her face in her knees.

"I know." He said, "Don't worry, I'm fine."

"Koizumi Aona" hugged her knees harder to prevent any wind from blowing in.

She curled up like a child who ran away from home at night, expecting her family to find her.

"I don't mean to blame you at all." Toru Watanabe continued.

"No matter what you have done, I will not blame you. If you make any mistakes, I will apologize for you. No matter if you are willful or displeased, others may not like it or even hate it, but I accept it all."

A firefly left the forest and flew over the shrine path.

"Why?" "Koizumi Aona"'s voice was dry.

Why?

What caused all this?

Is it the system's fault? Deliberately not making it clear? Vague concept?

What is the system? It’s him.

It is something we are born with, more intimate than our hands, feet, or looks, and something deep in our soul.

When it brings convenience, the system belongs to him; when it causes trouble, the system still belongs to him.

The only thing to blame is that he accepted the mission. Everything was caused by him and it was Toru Watanabe's fault.

"Koizumi Aona" should have spent her pure and happy new semester in this town, instead of going to a place like Tokyo to suffer the injustice of the eldest lady and be pointed at a gun.

Miki Kujo likes to be jealous and possessive, and her boyfriend is bent over by a woman and does what she does.

"Koizumi Aona" is not wrong, she has no obligation to accommodate others, and it's not like she wants to do this and take over other people's boyfriends' bodies.

The person who brought her from ten years ago to now is Toru Watanabe.

There is no need to worry about whether "Koizumi Aona" did anything wrong, there is no need to analyze her character, and there is no need to detail who should bear how much responsibility.

In the eyes of outsiders, there are thousands of reasons, but in his heart, everything is his fault.

It was him who made the sixteen-year-old girl experience everything she should not have experienced.

Anyone can blame her, except him.

However, he was not allowed to say this real reason.

Watanabe Toru was filled with guilt and couldn't help but reach out and caress the hair of "Koizumi Aona".

"I'm sorry." He was sincere and his voice was soft and sad, "I made you go through this."

This inadvertent movement has a tenderness that makes "Koizumi Aina" suffocate.

The sense of emptiness of being alone in the future;

The inferiority complex of being compared to these urban girls, Kiyono, Kujo, Asuka;

I know that I will be able to get into Waseda in the future, but I am unable to do so because I am unable to persist in working hard;

Surrounded by bodyguards and pointed at guns, Toru Watanabe remained motionless...

She has reached her limit and is on the verge of collapse.

"Ah——" "Koizumi Aona" burst into tears suddenly.

She fell into Toru Watanabe's arms, grabbed his clothes tightly with both hands, squeezed out the sound from her throat, and kept saying:

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... You're okay... That's great... I'm sorry..."

Watanabe Toru stroked her hair and watched the firefly dance. More fireflies flew one after another along the shrine path.

"It has nothing to do with you, it's all my fault."

No matter what Toru Watanabe said, "Koizumi Aona" just kept crying, and his clothes quickly became wet with tears.

Watanabe Toru felt even sadder.

"Koizumi Aona" didn't need to shed these tears at all.

Today is Friday. On this warm night, she should be with her family or with new friends, discussing on her mobile phone where to go on Saturday.

No, it should be morning over there at "Koizumi Aona".

She should get up in a hurry, put on a brand new skirt casually, grab some bread, and run to class.

Instead of being here, with the guilt of almost killing someone, shedding damn tears.

"It's all my fault, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Toru Watanabe has never been so sad.

I kept crying for a long time, and when Toru Watanabe's clothes felt like a glass of water was poured directly on his clothes, "Koizumi Aona" slowly turned into sobbing and gradually stopped crying.

"I'm sorry." she choked.

"This is all my fault, and I am the one who should say I'm sorry."

"I almost killed you."

"That's my fault too and has nothing to do with you." Toru Watanabe said firmly.

"Are you comforting me?" "Koizumi Aona" raised her face.

That sixteen-year-old oval face was beautiful, youthful, full of energy, and full of tears.

"No." Toru Watanabe shook his head and replied in a low voice.

"Why? It was me from the future who was curious about the handsome guy in Tokyo, so I took over your body, caused conflicts between you and your girlfriend, and made your life chaotic. In the end, I almost..."

Watanabe Toru closed his eyes.

In the heart of "Koizumi Aona", like him, she took all the responsibility for all these things on herself.

But she was innocent, and it was him who was really wrong.

"It's my fault." He patted her shoulder.

"Why?"

"I can't explain the reason. In short, it's my fault."

"What's wrong?" "Koizumi Aona" was dissatisfied and punched Watanabe Teru's chest.

Her hand touched the part wet with tears, and she reluctantly left his embrace.

"...Tomorrow, I'll help you wash it." She adjusted her skirt slightly and hugged her slender calves sheepishly.

"I wear one piece of clothing a day."

"Huh, rich man." "Koizumi Aona" said with a gloomy look on her face.

Rich people are high and out of reach.

She, a female high school student in the countryside.

"I often say something," Toru Watanabe looked at the small town in the distance, "My happiest period was not when I had one billion yen on me, but when I just came to Tokyo from Iwate Prefecture and held up advertisements under the scorching sun.

Cards, the time when you earn an hourly wage.”

"Liar."
To be continued...