The evening sky slowly shifted in color—
from gray, to pale blue, and then to gold.
Clouds still lingered, yet sunlight pierced through them, casting warm light over the small balcony.
Yuuto Kido stood beside Miku, his posture slightly straighter than usual.
For the first time in a very long while, his face no longer looked clouded.
His eyes reflected the clear sky above—calm, and quietly bright.
"Thank you, Miku… for the song," he said softly, his voice steady but full of meaning.
"It was… really beautiful."
Miku looked at him, her blue hair shimmering where sunlight bounced off the neighboring rooftops.
She smiled gently—her voice ringing clear, almost like a melody spoken rather than spoken aloud.
"You're welcome, Kido," she replied warmly.
"If you ever fall into despair again, just tell me. I'll always be ready to help."
Yuuto gave a faint smile—small, but sincere.
"Yeah, Miku. Don't worry. I… won't be like that again."
His voice didn't tremble.
His eyes, once dim and hollow, now reflected life again.
There was a small light there—fragile, but real.
They stood side by side, taking in the clearing sky—
until suddenly—
---
♪ Gimme, gimme your love sotto (Sotto)
(Hoo, huwa, huwa)
Yeah, yeah
Gimme, gimme your love sotto (Sotto)…
---
A bright and unexpectedly cheerful ringtone broke the quiet.
Miku blinked, surprised, then pulled a translucent flip phone from her pocket.
"Oh? It's a call from Kuroneko."
Yuuto blinked.
"That thing can make calls too? I thought it only worked for messaging."
Miku giggled softly—her laughter gently processed with a delicate digital undertone.
"Kido, there's a lot you still don't know," she said with a playful tone.
"The Chat Group system is far more complex than it seems."
She turned toward him.
"Well, I'll head inside for a moment. I should answer this."
Yuuto nodded.
"Yeah. Go ahead."
Miku stepped through the glass door, sliding it closed behind her with a soft click.
Her reflection lingered faintly on the glass.
Meanwhile, Yuuto remained on the balcony.
The evening breeze carried the scent of wet earth and fresh rain.
He looked at the sky glowing orange—
and for the first time, he allowed himself to simply appreciate it.
---
Inside the room, Miku answered the call.
"Hello, Kuroneko," she said, smiling in that quiet way of someone who had just touched someone's heart.
Ruri's voice came through—calm, flat, but clear.
"Hello, Miku. It's Kuroneko."
Miku walked slowly through the room, her steps light.
"What is it? You sound… serious."
"I found information about Yuuto Kido's world," Ruri replied immediately.
Her tone made Miku pause.
"Oh? What is it?" Miku asked, glancing at the window.
"Listen carefully, Miku. Yuuto Kido's world is peaceful. Just like mine," Ruri said.
"No magic. No monsters. No multi-world systems. Just a normal human world."
Miku nodded softly at her reflection.
"Ah… so we have another member like you?" she replied, trying to lighten the mood.
"Yes. But that's not the problem," Ruri said—quietly now.
"The problem… is him."
"Him? What do you mean? Did he have… a painful past?"
Miku looked at the balcony where Yuuto stood, his silhouette calm against the sky.
"Well… I'm not surprised. He did look like someone who had given up."
Silence through the phone—then suddenly:
"What?!"
A crash. Something had fallen off Ruri's desk.
"Damn it! We're late!" she shouted.
Miku froze.
"Kuroneko! What happened? What do you mean late?!"
Ruri exhaled sharply—frustrated, angry, and regretful all at once.
"Kido didn't just have a sad past," she said quietly.
"He's from a tragic manga world. The kind written specifically to break the reader's heart."
Miku's eyes widened.
She slowly turned toward the balcony again.
Ruri continued—her voice softer, heavier.
"In his story, he was betrayed by the two people closest to him.
Not because they were cruel—
but because they chose someone brighter than him.
And that someone… was his own brother."
Miku's grip tightened around the phone.
"Since then, his life collapsed.
He stopped trusting others.
And himself."
Miku said nothing.
She only watched Yuuto from behind the glass.
There he was—
standing quietly beneath the golden sky,
shoulders no longer slumped,
but still carrying a past heavy enough to drown someone.
"…Kido…"
The name escaped her lips like a prayer.
This time, she didn't see him as a "new member."
She saw him as a person—
a person trying desperately to stand again after being shattered.
And in that moment, Miku understood something.
Broken people are not meant to be pitied.
They are meant to be understood.
---
Ruri's voice returned.
"So, to make it easier… should I send the manga to the group for context?"
Miku stopped walking.
Her eyes shifted to Yuuto again.
"…Kuroneko," she whispered.
"If you send that—wouldn't it reopen his wounds?"
A pause.
Then keyboard tapping.
Then Ruri spoke softly.
"…If someone with trauma is forced to face their trigger…
they might break again. Flashbacks. Nightmares. Panic attacks.
Even physical rejection of reality."
Miku closed her eyes.
Her hair fell across her cheeks like a curtain.
"In that case… don't send it," she said—gentle, but firm.
"There's no need to drag him back into that pain."
Another pause.
"…Are you sure, Miku? Sometimes the truth must be faced."
Miku looked at the fading rain clouds in the sky.
"Yes," she said, certain now.
"He's lived with that truth long enough.
If the world is giving him a chance to start again,
then let him open his new chapter at his own pace."
Silence—then a soft, almost amused exhale.
"…Alright. You're the boss, Miku."
"We'll leave it. I'll hang up."
Miku smiled faintly.
"Mm. Thanks, Kuroneko. Bye."
The call ended.
Miku lowered the phone and looked again toward the balcony.
Yuuto still stood there,
hands in his pockets,
face calm beneath the golden sky.
She smiled softly.
"…Welcome to your new beginning, Kido."
---
POV: Kuroneko
In another world, Kuroneko set her phone down.
Her computer screen still showed the manga of Yuuto's world.
She leaned back in her chair, eyes narrow with quiet understanding.
"Hmph… who would've thought," she murmured.
"Someone from that kind of manga—the kind that even the readers regret finishing—ended up here."
She closed her laptop.
The room dimmed.
"A main character from an 18+ tragedy entering the Chat Group…"
A faint smirk curved her lips.
"And from… NTR, no less."
The last screen flickered out, leaving only the soft glow of the night.
Her violet eyes shone—not with pity,
but with interest.
"…The world really does pick strange people to save."
---
Meanwhile,
on a small balcony in a quiet ordinary world—
Yuuto Kido stood beneath the sunset,
one hand resting lightly against his chest
where a girl of light had once held him.
A new chapter had begun.