[Having made a rebellious decision, you head south with Yukinoshita Yukino, ignoring the Yukinoshita family's attempts to stop you and driving from Tokyo toward Miyazaki.]
[Of course, along the way you run into the usual annoyances found in road movies — for example, a rest-stop clerk who can't read social cues keeps eyeing you and Yukino, obviously wondering what your relationship is.]
Well — it's only natural someone would be suspicious of an adult man driving a frail, pretty patient long distances if they're the sort who likes crime novels.
["Excuse me—may I ask what your relationship is with that very cute girl over there?" the clerk asks carefully as you bring snacks and drinks to the register.]
"Aha — she's my girlfriend." Narumi replied.
[The clerk, who had suspected you'd give an answer like that, still looks doubtful: a genuinely affectionate couple wouldn't travel far while one partner was obviously sick. Rather than a romantic trip, your furtive, low-profile behavior looks more like a secret tryst.]
"Alright. Let me explain my dating philosophy: 1) find someone who makes you laugh. 2) find someone with a steady job. 3) find someone who likes doing housework. 4) find someone honest. 5) find someone whose hobbies line up with yours. 6) — don't ever let those five people meet. So…"
The clerk made that disgusted face people make when faced with a sleazy guy, rang up your items with evident scorn and practically shooed you away. You managed to escape the awkward situation.
[After almost a day and a night of driving, you arrive in Miyazaki. Unlike the travelers who camp out in the wild waiting for the comet to pass, you find a relatively secluded spot by the sea and park on the roadside.]
"Looks like we'll have to sleep in the car tonight."
When the car door closed, a salty, humid sea breeze slapped Narumi's face. He grabbed a blanket from the back seat and draped it over Yukino, who was already wearing an oversized jacket.
"I have a feeling we'll see the comet tonight — don't catch a cold, Miss Yukinoshita."
"Don't call me that in that weird, sarcastic tone."
His teasing earned a faint, annoyed protest from the girl.
"...Just call me Yukino."
There — with that came a little softness.
They walked side by side to a nearly deserted stretch of beach and sat where the sand was relatively clean and wide.
"I've got a hunch the comet will show up tonight."
Narumi gazed at the calm sea and, for the first time, felt a small pang that he'd never seen this view in real life outside the simulation.
"If we don't see it, we'll have driven all that way for nothing. Wishes won't come true either."
Wrapped in the blanket with her legs together, the black-haired girl fixed her eyes on the endless horizon.
"But at least in that moment you'll know what you actually wanted to wish for, right? Like flipping a coin — the instant it lands, the answer you secretly favored is already in your heart."
Narumi spread his jacket on the sand, lay back with his hands behind his head, and let the sea-and-sky view fill his sight.
"Wanna pass the time chatting? Like in my favorite romance film. The leads just talk for the whole movie, but their conversation is interesting — and that's how they learn each other's values and fall in love; it never feels boring."
"I don't want to play out some romantic movie with you—"
"So that was your point all along."
"...Whatever. Passing time with small talk is fine."
Yukino propped her cheek on her palm, forcing herself awake to stave off sleep.
"I just want this to end already."
She wanted to be freed from the nightmare of the simulation and get back to real life — that unvoiced wish was the only thing she hadn't told anyone.
"Has her self-destructive streak really gotten that bad…? This is troublesome…"
Of course, because they each held different pieces of the truth, Narumi misunderstood things perfectly.
"But anyway… thank you for taking me away from that place."
Yukino — rare as it was — offered a sincere smile. She wasn't rude; she simply found it hard to speak her heart.
If she didn't say some things now, she might never get the chance again.
"Lying in a hospital bed getting nutrients and IVs while the pills that keep my vitals stable don't seem to be helping anymore — it's awful. Besides…"
She paused; Narumi understood the implication she didn't voice.
"You don't have to thank me. Getting away from a family atmosphere like that is for the best."
Narumi waved it off. "Sometimes you need distance to get on with your parents — being physically apart can be the only way to make family feelings show up properly."
"...That constant tension is unbearable."
"And when our generation grows up, those of us who hated our parents' preachy control may end up becoming the same kind of adults — the dragon-slayer boy becomes the dragon, as they say."
Narumi narrowed his eyes and dozed, stating the grim thought lightly.
"...I don't want to become that kind of adult."
Yukino's fingers tightened on the blanket as she looked at his calm profile.
"And I don't think you will."
"Haha — who knows? If this were a game, Yukino, what you just said would be a flag."
"Yeah... and I probably won't even live to see that day."
"..."
The easy atmosphere stiffened; Narumi shifted his palm to brace on the sand, a little uneasy.
"Thanks for everything you've done for me so far… but I'm tired of the situation."
Yukino had had enough of being sick, of family members constantly on edge as if waiting for disaster, and of treatment that felt endless.
If her life ended sooner, maybe she could wake up from this nightmare and return to normal life. The only thing blocking her return to the real world was the enigmatic young man beside her.
"If I told you I wished I would disappear from this world tonight, how would you answer?"
For her, the moment of death in the simulation would be the moment of release from the nightmare — and also the last time she'd ever see Narumi.
Narumi froze. His casual, dismissive attitude dropped away; after a long silence he managed a bitter smile and looked away.
"...Then that feeling would disappear with you tonight."
On the quiet shore, it felt like Narumi had made a declaration of love — at least that's how Yukino heard it. But only he knew the truth: it wasn't what it seemed.