#haruki sumire

[doodlebugdraws]

Typical boy crazy teenage girl

[kaibutsushidousha]

Memory in Children: Mechanical Choices (Sagrada Reset 3) - Chapter 3: The end of a summer (2 years later/August 30th, Wednesday)

[INDEX]

The 16-year-old Asai Kei and Haruki Misora sat on the tetrapods under the quiet light of sunset. The silence continued until the twilight sank.

When the last bit of light disappeared under the distant buildings on the other side of the coast, Murase Youka appeared. And when the azure of night started to recolor the pink clouds of sunset, Sakagami Yousuke appeared.

The users of every ability necessary to take Souma Sumire out of her photo have gathered together.

Sakagami had left Sakurada two years ago at the end of the school year. But he always returned to the city around this time of the year, for the mourning rites on Souma's death anniversary. Kei already knew that.

That was their only window of opportunity. He already explained the purpose and usage of each ability in the previous day.

(We'll bring Souma Sumire back to life.)

Murase felt resistant to the idea of reviving the dead. But she ultimately agreed. She remembered her brother, who also died in an accident. Sakagami, on the other hand, actively wanted to bring Souma back from the dead. And it didn't start now. He had been like this since the day after Souma died two years ago. What he felt for Souma was close to religious worship.

Haruki Saved on August 28th, a date before Kei explained the operation. All preparations were already in order.

The 28th—two days before. That was the day Sakagami came to Sakurada. And before he learned about the plan to take Sumire Souma out of the photo.

Kei's choice of day to Save was very deliberate. It was timed so Sakagami wouldn't remember anything after the project's resolution. Kei didn't know if that choice was right or wrong. He believed there was no correct option on this one.

At this point, he couldn't find the words to say. He shared impersonal greetings with Murase and Sakagami and pulled the photograph out of his pocket.

It was a picture Sasano Hiroyuki took of those tetrapods 2 years ago. The image of Souma from 2 years ago was contained within the frame.

Kei, Haruki, Murase, Sakagami—each of the four grabbed a corner of the photo. With a tug, the picture is ripped apart, making a crispy noise.

Immediately after it, their sight is taken over by a powerful white light. A light like the flash of a camera. Sakagami screamed.

Kei closed his eyes for an instant and opened them back.

The temperature was not that different.

Same silence too.

But the sun that he saw sink behind the buildings was still in the sky. The scenery seemed like time was rewound less than 10 minutes. But the world recreated here was from 2 years ago.

As proof, Souma Sumire was there atop the tetrapods behind him.

The 14-year-old Souma was still the same mature-looking girl with mysterious hints of childishness. She was extending her hand in his direction. With the MacGuffin on top of it.

At the moment, the thought of saying something to her didn't cross his mind.

She was also looking at him without saying a thing. She had a beautiful smile under the sunset.

The girl who died two years ago. She looked daring, solitary, and capricious like a stray cat. But this girl planned everything down to every tiny detail and executed her design flawlessly. Now he could see a glimpse of the emotions hidden behind that smile.

The android girl.

The girl chained by the future. Her every action followed the codes of a program. The girl who died unable to break the chain of the future—the girl who arranged her own death.

Sakagami watched her with stunned awe.

Then he crawled up the tetrapods. Murase followed behind him. Kei sighed. He noticed he wasn't breathing. He chalked it up to nervousness.

Haruki Misora turned her back on Souma. It seemed like her usual behavior at first glance but there was a mix of hidden emotions in the gesture. Kei was the only one who saw it.

"Will you not go?", she quietly asked.

With a smile, Kei shook his head.

"I feel like my moment to talk to her is not now."

(Will we be a trio again? Will we be able to have a space like the one we had on the rooftop? That's probably asking for too much. There's no turning back. Our only chance to remain ignorant is two years in the past.)

Sakagami was shouting upon getting up close to Souma. Behind him, Murase looked displeased. Eventually, Sakagami touched Souma's and Murase's shoulders. Murase with his right hand and Souma with his left.

Murase looked at Kei, nodded, and spoke loud enough for him to hear it from over there.

"Body, reset."

With that, Murase was immune to the effects of the Reset. And so was Souma, via Sakagami's copy of Souma's ability. They could fully cancel the Reset's influence.

"Haruki, Reset.", Kei whispered.

[ultimatecutenesspeaks]

Bunny well it a way yes but soon it start to get weird he was always talking about it sister he even say what a wonderful friend I’m will be for her one day he invited me to meet her soon I’m was in a dark alley I’m was wondering where was kiyo then I’m turn around he was there with weapon ready to kill me it was then I’m notice he wanted to kill me so I’m would become friends with his sister then I’m run away and escaped I’m didn’t go to school for a while after this then I’m told the direction about it he say that kiyo has changed school all the sudden without any motives apparently

Ren: I see...

Sumire: Oh my...

Haruki: I'm so sorry.

*Izayoi wraps an arm around your shoulder and pulls you close to him.*

[butchkaramazov]

ok so polls aren't working for me but !!! beloved mutuals please pick a topic:

how does dostoevsky portray hereditary cycles of violence in the brothers karamazov?

how does religious faith break/reinforce the cycles of violence & trauma in dostoevsky's novels?

how does dostoevsky's narrative structure create a sense of entrapment for his characters?

what role does the moon play in haruki murakami's 1Q84 & how does it relate to the themes of duality?

how does the absence of the central female protagonist (sumire) impact murakami's sputnik sweetheart's exploration of gender, desire & the male gaze?

i had longlisted 15 topics but somehow narrowed it down to five 😔 which topic do you think is the most comprehensive &/or interesting?

[drop-the-curtain-123]

NAMES OF SIBLINGS: CLASS E

NOTE: doesn’t include Kurahashi and Mimura’s retconned (mentioned in one extra material, then not) brother(s).

Please credit me if you use my name ideas! I'd love to see what content you do with it :)

Hope you like it! I am open to feedback, questions if any, (about the themes™ or something else) and opinions. I'd love to talk more about my work.

Click on "ref." to see what the name is, well, referencing! it's a lot of Wikipedia nods and research from me.

ISOGAI (磯貝) Yuuma (悠馬)

Mother: Yukie (幸栄 "happiness, prosperous")

Younger brother, 6: Yutaka (裕  “affluence”)

Sister, 6 (twins):  Yuko (裕子, latter meaning “abundance”)

OKAJIMA (岡島) Taiga (大河)

Older brother, 16: Takumi (匠海 “sea, craftsman” as Taiga means “river”)

OKANO (岡野) Hinata (ひなた)

Older brother, 17: Sora (そら “blue sky”, as Hinata means "sunny place")

Younger brother, 10: Haruki (はるき “spring, radiance” to keep up the theme)

KATAOKA (片岡) Megu (メグ)

Father: Ken (健 “strength” versatility in both Japanese and English)

Mother: Valérie (ヴァレリ “valuable, strong”) Durack (デュラック ref.)

Older brother, 24ish: Jo (譲 “transfer” as Megu is also a JPN/ENG name)

KANZAKI (神崎) Yukiko (有希子)

Older brother, 19ish: Nobushige “Nobu” (陳重, “Father of japanese civil law” ref.)

(or Nobuyoshi 信義 “faith, justice” ref.)

KIMURA (木村) Masayoshi (正義)

Younger brother, 11: Brave (勇気) (canon name)

SUGAYA (菅谷) “Sosuke” (創介)

Father, 65: Isamu (勇 ref.)

Mother, 60: Setsuko (節子 ref.)

Sister, 30: Fuku (譜矩 “music sheet”, “carpenters square” ref.)

Chosen name: Aya (彩 “coloring”)

SUGINO (杉野) Tomohito (友人)

Younger brother, 10: Ichirou (朗 ref. who is mentioned by Tomohito in this)

TAKEBAYASHI (竹林) Kotarou (孝太郎)

Oldest brother, 25: Kohei (孝平, “filial piety”, like Kotarou, “flat”)

Older brother, 22: Koichi (耕, “cultivate” same “Ko” syllable as his brothers)

CHIBA (千葉) Ryuunosuke (龍之介) name credits from @fumiko-matsubara post!

Older sister, 18: Rena (れな “beautiful”)

Younger sister, 12: Kohaku (琥珀 “amber, jewelled”)

Youngest sister, 7: Yuko (優子 “tender, child”) 

TERASAKA (寺坂) Ryouma (竜馬)

Younger sister, 5ish: Ryoko (竜子 “dragon” (like her brother) “child”)

NAKAMURA (中村) Rio (莉桜)

Older brother, 20: Ren (蓮 “lotus” as Rio means "jasmine" and "cherry blossom")

HARA (原) Sumire (寿美鈴)

Father: Suzuo (鈴雄 “bell” (same kanji as Sumire), “male”)

Mother, from Shimane: Emiko (恵美子 “blessing, beauty (same kanji as Sumire), child”)

Younger brother, 9ish: Toshiki (寿樹 “longevity” (same kanji as Sumire), “trees”)

(or Susumu (進 “advance”))

Youngest brother, 6ish: Kazuma (寿馬 “longevity” (same kanji as Sumire) “horse”)

FUWA (不破) Yuzuki (優月) (from @xx0social-anxiety0xx)

Older brother: Minato (湊, ref.)

MAEHARA (前原) Hiroto (陽斗) (names from @maeiso-trash post, i just picked the kanji) 

Oldest sister, 19: Mizuki (美月 “moon, beautiful” as Hiroto means sun)

Older sister, 17: Kiyoko (喜洋子 “rejoice, ocean child” as her siblings mean sun/moon)

MIMURA (三村) Kouki (航輝)

Mother: Wakana/ (和可女 “harmony, capable, woman”)

or Tomoe (知永 “eternity, wisdom”)

MIYAKE (三宅 “three house”, from Okayama prefecture)

MURAMATSU (村松) Takuya (拓哉) ref.

Younger brother, 12: Sho (翔 ref., keeping the “JOHNNY oshi” theme)

YADA (矢田) Touka (桃花)

Younger brother, 9: Kentaro (健太朗 “healthy/strength, plump, cheerful”)

YOSHIDA (吉田) Taisei (大成) ref.

Mother: Sokhna (ソクナ “woman, wife”) N’Diaye (ンジャイ)

Father: Shigeo (重夫 “ ref.)

Older Sister, 20: Tomoko (とも子 “friend, child” ref.)

RITSU (律)

Older sister/prototype: Første Artillerimodell (F.A.Mo)

[ainanagirlies]

I HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN ABOUT THIS!!!!

the following is my lineup for the tournament, minus the main 16. the list hasn't been seeded yet - i'll get to that in the next day or so. as previously stated, kaoru is disqualified by virtue of already being canonically transfem💔

tsumugi takanashi

musubi takanashi

otoharu takanashi

banri ogami

sousuke yaotome

rinto okazaki

rintaro okazaki

ryo tsukumo

shiro utsugi

takamasa kujo

aya kujo

haruki sakura

zero

mr. (ms?) shimooka

douglas rootbank

sumire hanamaki

there are a couple of characters here who haven't shown up yet in the anime, but i really reeeeeeally want to have 32 contestants soooo whatever. the tournament is gonna be single elimination. in the case of a tie for any poll, there will be a 24-hour tie breaker repeat poll.

[imasallstars]

INTERDIMENSION FESTIVAL: IDOLM@STER★♥LOVE LIVE! UTA GASSEN

Information regarding the first IJIGEN FES 2023 live has been revealed! The live will occur in the TOKYO DOME on the 9th and 10th of December 2023. This first fes will feature three branches of IDOLM@STER performing with four branches of Love Live!

The voice providers participating in this stop are as follows:

DAY 1 ONLY

IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS 　Kotomi Aihara (Shiki Ichinose), Hiromi Igarashi (Anzu Futaba), Asami Takano (Frederica Miyamoto), Yuki Nakashima (Yuuki Otokura), Yuko Iida (Kanade Hayami), Honoka Inoue (Nanami Asari), Sumire Uesaka (Anastasia), Aya Suzaki (Minami Nitta), Miyu Tomita (Akira Sunazuka), Ru Thing (Syuko Shiomi), Teru Ikuta (Natalia), Hina Tachibana (Nagi Hisakawa), Nanami Yamashita (Yui Ohtsuki) IDOLM@STER MILLION LIVE 　Haruka Yamazaki (Mirai Kasuga), Azusa Tadokoro (Shizuka Mogami), Machico (Tsubasa Ibuki), Momo Asakura (Serika Hakozaki), Kotori Koiwai (Tomoka Tenkubashi), Atsuki Nakamura (Roco Handa), Emi Hirayama (Reika Kitakami), Yui Watanabe (Nao Yokoyama) IDOLM@STER SHINY COLORS 　Karin Isobe (Kogane Tsukioka), Chisa Suginuma (Mamimi Tanaka), Anna Yamaki (Sakuya Shirase), Shio Watanabe (Yuika Mitsumine), Yuina Mizuki (Kiriko Yukoku), Honoka Kuroki (Amana Osaki), Ryoko Maekawa (Tenka Osaki), Noriko Shibasaki (Chiyuki Kuwayama), Yuu Wakui (Toru Asakura), Rio Tsuchiya (Madoka Higuchi), Saran Tajima (Koito Fukumaru), Miho Okasaki (Hinana Ichikawa), Azusa Shizuki (Nichika Nanakusa), Aya Yamane (Mikoto Aketa)

DAY 2 ONLY

IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS 　Ayaka Ohashi (Uzuki Shimamura), Ayaka Fukuhara (Rin Shibuya), Sayuri Hara (Mio Honda), Amina Sato (Arisu Tachibana), Tomoyo Kurosawa (Miria Akagi), Hana Tamegai (Risa Matoba), Makoto Koichi (Haru Yuuki), Asaka Imai (Chie Sasaki), Natsumi Haruse (Kaoru Ryuzaki), Misaki Kuno (Nina Ichihara), Yuri Komori (Koharu Koga), Mina Nakazawa (Yukimi Sajo), Maki Hanatani (Kozue Yusa) IDOLM@STER MILLION LIVE 　Aimi (Julia), Miku Itou (Yuriko Nanao), Ibuki Kido (Kana Yabuki), Arisa Kori (Kaori Sakuramori), Yuri Komagata (Sayoko Takayama), Rie Suegara (Fuka Toyokawa), Saki Minami (Tsumugi Shiraishi), Rikako Yamaguchi (Rio Momose) IDOLM@STER SHINY COLORS 　Hitomi Sekine (Mano Sakuragi), Reina Kondo (Hiori Kazano), Mayu Mineda (Meguru Hachimiya), Hiyori Konno (Kaho Komiya), Haruka Shiraishi (Chiyoko Sonoda), Mariko Nagai (Juri Saijo), Wakana Maruoka (Rinze Morino), Akiho Suzumoto (Natsuha Arisugawa), Yuki Tanaka (Asahi Serizawa), Eri Yukimura (Fuyuko Mayuzumi), Sayaka Kitahara (Mei Izumi), Rina Kawaguchi (Luca Ikaruga), Haruna Mikawa (Hana Suzuki), Rena Ozawa (Haruki Iketa)

DAY 1&2

AQOURS (LOVE LIVE! SUNSHINE!!) 　Anju Inami (Chika Takami), Rikako Aida (Riko Sakurauchi), Nanaka Suwa (Kana Matsuura), Arisa Komiya (Dia Kurosawa), Shukai Saito (You Watanabe), Aika Kobayashi (Yoshiko Tsushima), Kanako Takatsuki (Hanamaru Kunikida), Aina Suzuki (Mari Ohara), Ai Furihata (Ruby Kurosawa) NIJIGASAKU SCHOOL IDOL CLUB 　Aguri Ohnishi (Ayumu Uehara), Mayu Sagara (Kasumi Nakasu), Kaori Maede (Shizuku Osaka), Miyu Kubota (Karin Asaka), Natsumi Murakami (Ai Miyashia), Akari Kito (Kanata Konoe), Coco Hayashi (Setsuna Imura), Maria Sashide (Emma Verde), Chiemi Tanaka (Rina Tennoji), Moeka Koizumi (Shioriko Mifune), Shu Uchida (Mia Taylor), Akina Homoto (Zhong Lanzhu). 　Support Member: Hinaki Yano (Yu Takasaki) Liella! (LOVE LIVE! SUPERSTAR!!) 　Sayuri Date (Kanon Shibuya), Liyuu (Keke Tang), Nako Misaki (Chisato Arashi), Naomi Payton (Sumire Heanna), Nagisa Aoyama (Ren Hazuki), Nozomi Suzuhara (Kinako Sakurakoji), Akana Yabushima (Mei Yoneme), Wakana Okuma (Shiki Wakana), Aya Emori (Natsumi Onitsuka), Yuina (Wien Margarete), Sakura Sakakura (Tomari Onitsuka) HASUNOSORA SCHOOL IDOL CLUB 　Nirei Nozomi (Kaho Hinoshita), Kokona Nonaka (Sayaka Murano), Nina Hanamiya (Kozue Otomune), Kotoka Sasaki (Tsuzuri Yugiri), Kanna Kan (Rurino Osawa), Kona Tsukine (Megumi Fujishima)

[denizeyuruyen]

"İlk kez karşılaştıklarında Myu'ya, Jack Kerouac'ın romanlarından söz etmişti Sumire. O zamanlarda Kerouac'ın romanlarındaki dünyaya kaptırmıştı kendini. (...) Montunun cebinde Kerouac'ın Yolda ve Yalnız Gezgin romanlarını taşır, vakit buldukça sayfalarını karıştırırdı. (...) Bunların içinde onu en çok çeken, Yalnız Gezgin'de yer alan, yangın gözetleme kulesi bölümüydü. Kerouac da dağ başındaki bir kulübede tek başına, yangın gözetleyerek üç ay geçirmişti. Sumire, özellikle şu kısmı seviyordu:

İnsan yaşamında bir kez olsun vahşi tabiatın içine karışmalı, ne kadar sıkıcı olursa olsun sağlıklı bir tek başınalığı deneyimlemeli. Tamamıyla kendine bel bağlamak zorunda olduğunu keşfedip, sonrasında kendi içindeki gerçeği, içinde gizlenmiş gücü öğrenmeli."

- Haruki Murakami - Sputnik Sevgilim

[lightingxrose]

Meet the muses and me

✃- - - - - - - - - - -

❛ ᥕᥱᥣᥴ᥆꧑ᥱ t᥆ ꧑y bᥣ᥆g ! ·﹆〻₎∖ ❀࿔₊°

———๑•̀ᴗ•̀) ̫ ─꒱ ❏. . . .23 . . ⸼۰ ۪۪۫۫ ❬“=

. . ⇢ I'm Lyonesse ˎˊ˗ ꒰ she/they ꒱

︶︶︶︶︶nickname:lyo︶︶︶︶︶

I rp as several muses, some of which include the following! They're listed by Fandom.

Bsd-Bungo stray dogs

Dazai-canon

Chuuya-canon

Fyodor-canon

Mori-canon

Gin-canon

Q-canon

Ren-oc

Daki-oc

Azusa(Charles)-oc

Irina-oc

Bleach

Renji-canon

Byakuya-canon

Hitsugaya-canon

Soi-fon-canon

Yumichika-canon

Naruto/Boruto

Naruto-canon

Hinata-canon

Temari-canon

Sumire-canon

Shiena otsutsuki-oc

Shiro okayama-oc

Naruko uzumaki-oc

Hueco mundo-oc

7ds-Seven deadly sins

Meliodas-canon

Ban-canon

King-canon

Diane-canon

Merlin-canon

Zeldris-canon

Lyonesse-oc

Enid-oc

Emrys-oc

One piece

Luffy-canon

Zoro-canon

Izumi-oc

Izou-oc

Miwa-oc

Black butler

Sebastian-canon

Undertaker-canon

Scarlett-oc

Xylas-oc

Dragon ball

Goku-canon

Chichi-canon

Supreme-Kai-canon

Black chichi-canon

Videl-canon

Android 18-canon

Vados-canon

Arinsu-Canon

Celera-oc

Mary-oc

Fairy tail

Laxus-canon

Natsu-canon

Gray-canon

Erza-canon

Lucy-canon

Juvia-canon

Mirajene-canon

Clara-oc

OBEY ME shall we date

Asmodeus-game

Yuki(mc)-game

Akari-oc

Miraculos Ladybug and Cat Noir

Marinette

Shadybug

Luka

Juleka

Sk8 infinity

Reki-canon

Langa-canon

Cherry-canon

Joe-canon

Gintama

Katsura-canon

Kagura-canon

Tokyo Ghoul

Kaneki-canon

Juzou-canon

Kurayami-oc

Sunako-oc

Diabolik lovers

Ayato-canon

Shu-canon

Laito-canon

Reina-oc

Darling in the franxx

Zero two

Assassination Classroom

Karma-canon

Nagisa-canon

Koro-canon

Roleplay rules

Importance level Please read the following carefully! Hello, and welcome, these are my roleplaying rules, I advice you to follow them, if you don't, I will NOT REPLY TO THE DM. Please continue.

STATUS ⚫

online●| offline

RULES

♡Please keep the replies 3+ lines. Use proper grammar. Please inform me before appearing for several hours. One liners are accepted. Please continue the Rp, I do not wish to be the only one, that keeps the roleplaying going.

◇Please continue the Rp, I do not wish to be the only one, that keeps the roleplaying going. a one liner Please don't use ** or - during our roleplay unless you're I cannot respond to: ((*sits on couch all day, switching channels, with nothing to do*)) This is because there is no interaction, so please keep interactions coming.

♧If neither of us have a plot, we can simply come up with one, but do not come up with something without effort. ((If you have read this far, type "I like sweets", in the chat)) Oc's can be realistic, or drawn, or animated. ★I do cannon ships!!! I don't roleplay with furries, or nekos.

♤Do not rush me to reply, or I will leave you on seen i have a life outside roleplay so don't expect me to reply quickly Do not control my characters, please.

□Author's Note: I do all sorts of rolaplays, BxB, GxG, and BxG, I'm mostly into BxB, but I'm open to the others, as long as there are good plots behind them. All rules apply, to all types of roleplays! Thank you for reading. Aus are always welcome

Oc's

Black butler

Xylas

Scarlett

7ds

LYONESSE

Enid

Emrys

One piece

Izou

Miwa

Izumi

Fairy tail

Clara

Dragon ball

Celera

Mary

Obey me shall we date

Akari

Naruto

Hueco Mundo

Naruko

Shiena

Shiro

Bungo stray dogs

Azusa(Charles)

Daki

Ren

Aloysiya

Irina

Diabolik lovers

Reina

Tokyo ghoul

Kurayami

Sunako

Other

Emilie

Haruki

Rucia

Lucifer

Lucas

Saruna

╰─▸ ❝ @lightingxrose has

. . . . logged off

‗ ❍ [love you guys ] ¡! ❞

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Credit:Lunette

[writingculturepoetry]

Book Review: Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami

"We were wonderful travelling companions, but in the end no more than lonely lumps of metal on their own separate orbits."

"Sputnik Sweetheart" begins with the unrequited love of Sumire for Miu that stays this way perhaps until the end. An interesting love triangle forms, when Sumire falls for Miu, where K has already been deeply in love with Sumire.

K and Sumire could connect themselves with each other maybe through an inevitable pain, or maybe they were the long lost other half of each other, or maybe they were just two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, or perhaps it was because they used to share the same stories or experiences or even mindset.

An interesting thing to notice is that when the characters in this novel fall for someone they shouldn't, they lose their real selves, their own soul. They become their own shadows, who seem to be the same as their real version, but not exactly the same. It happened with all three of them. First, Miu experienced it 14 years ago at 25 in a small Swiss town where one part of her happened to fall for the 50-year-old Spanish man, Ferdinando, when her other part couldn't particularly accept it. One night her shadow part saw her real version to have sex and enjoy it holding Ferdinando intimately. That night, she lost her real self and became a shadow of herself. Her other self left her with stealing her hair colour, period, ovulation and capability of playing wonderful piano. The second person in this book who experiences the same is Sumire. She fell for Miu who is 17 years older than her. Maybe a part of herself couldn't accept it and fell apart and she became her own shadow. From that day she could not think and write anymore the way she used to do. And the last person who went through the same experience was K himself. He lost himself in the Greek Island, where maybe deep inside he started liking Miu and somehow a weird unearthly music attracts him towards it and absorbs his real soul. The love triangle completes when Miu also feels something for K. But by that time, all these things came to an end and K had to leave the island for Japan with his shadow part.

But he knew that Sumire would come back cutting the dog's throat. Personally I reckon that "cutting the dog's throat" is a metaphor which actually means to make the dead's soul return to his body according to some ancient cultures. But here, it, as a metaphor, wants to say that leaving the wrong puzzle pieces of oneself is the way to return their shadows to their real selves. As Sumire wrote that if the shadow part of Miu rejected her, she would cross the bridge and cut the dog's throat with a sharp knife. She probably indicated to go to the other universe and make the real Miu come back and love her. But here once again I have to assume what happened in the other world. Perhaps Sumire happened to cross the bridge and go to the other world and there she proposed the real Miu. And that real Miu also rejected her. And then Sumire had to leave Miu and her dream of getting along with Miu. But maybe, just maybe somehow Sumire managed to "cut the metaphorical dog's throat" and returned Miu's shadow self to the real self. Because when we see Miu running her Jaguar in Tokyo 6 months after this incident, she seemed very clear, bold, real and much different from her past self in Greek Island.

Finally, the moment K becomes his real self again was when he left the "kind of" illegal affair with a married woman who is the mother of his pupil.

At the end of the story, Sumire calls K at one midnight from the telephone booth she used to call from before. She could not be able to explain everything to K. But it seemed that she forgot most of the incidents in the other universe. Even she didn't know where she was at that moment. But at least she remembered that she had cut the dog's throat and managed to come back to the real world where both she and K were looking at the same mouldy-coloured half moon. Sumire's real self realizes how much she likes K while she was far away from K and missed him so much. Perhaps Sumire realizes that K is her long lost other half.

[flowerish-cherry-blue]

book review: sputnik sweetheart by haruki murakami | 1999

summary:

sumire is in love with a woman seventeen years her senior. but whereas miu is glamorous and successful, sumire is an aspiring writer who dresses in an oversized second-hand coat and heavy boots like a character in a kerouac novel.

sumire spends hours on the phone talking to her best friend k. about the big questions in life: what is sexual desire, and should she ever tell miu how she feels for her? meanwhile k. wonders whether he should confess his own unrequited love for sumire.

then, a desperate miu calls from a small greek island: sumire has mysteriously vanished...

my opinion:

first of all, i will say that i liked sputnik sweetheart much better than kafka on the shore. the plot itself isn't bad if you consider it separately from the love line, which is kind of crazy here. sumire is a person who thinks she wants one thing, when in fact she purely morally can't get near it. miu tries to ignore her past. and k. tries to get over her feelings for sumire while trying to at least remain her friend. this isn't the first time murakami has brought up the subject of split personalities, it feels like he firmly believes that we can be split in half in the literal sense, and one half will live its posh life while another sit in a corner somewhere

sumire tries to write her own novel throughout the book, and the way her worldview changes shows that this may not be what she should be going for. always when we meet new people, they have a strong influence on us, which is what happened when the girl met miu. under the influence of her feelings, she comes to a new awareness of what she's doing, and i don't think that's a bad thing, because it shows that she's still developing as a character. but honestly, probably my favorite character in this book is k. he, despite his feelings for sumire, understands that they can't make it work, and so appreciates their friendship. but at the same time, while he still has some hope, i don't really like that he's starting a relationship with his pupil's mother, it doesn't seem quite right to me. however, no one called him a one-love man, had someone?

the plot development is pretty good, although Ii honestly never understood two things:

• what the twist with sumire's disappearance in greece was for, whether she was actually on the island or got into the reality of the second miu, remained unclear to me.

• the scene with k.'s pupil, how much chance is there that this boy is acting this way because he is also bifurcated? what if murakami wanted to show that absolutely everyone, adult or child, is subject to bifurcation? that's only worth speculating about.

so what we have here is a bit of a detective book, with a love line that is a mess, since no one got anywhere, and except for miu, everyone is a loner with undifferentiated feelings.

sputnik sweetheart is a really good read, especially in its genre, as i said, personally in my opinion, it is better than even kafka on the shore, despite all the complexity of explaining the nature of the relationship itself and what love is, comparing people's relationships to a satellite's, and the atmosphere of loneliness the author conveyed, it is just amazing.

my rating:

3.9/5

«sputnik … ?»

«the name of a literary movement. you know—how they classify writers in various schools of writing. like shiga naoya was in the white birch school.»

finally it dawned on sumire. «beatnik!»

miu lightly dabbed at the corner of her mouth with a napkin.

«beatnik—sputnik. i never can remember those kinds of terms.»

[doodlebugdraws]

Tales Of Houndstone High! Character line up

Sumire Haruki - an easily lovestruck Eevee girl who just wants a bad boy to sweep her off her feet. She may come of as a bit clueless and lovesick for any good-looking guy at first, but she’s known for her attitude and telling of anyone that talks bad behind her friends’ back.

Koyuki Matsuyama - a snow-white Vulpix girl that has befriended many ghosts and spirits, but was bullied out of her foster home because of it. Despite her outer cold appearance, she’s quite a ray of sunshine, with a contrasting warm personality. You’d think she should’ve been born a fire type!

Pochi - a scruffy Maschiff boy never seen without his giant dusty red storybook. He has a deep fascination with ghosts and the paranormal, but is often brushed off as being either creepy or childish because of it. He started the Tales Of Houndstone High! radio show to share the spooky history of Houndstone Woods to those who finally listen.

[kaibutsushidousha]

Memory in Children: Mechanical Choices (Sagrada Reset 3) - Chapter 3: The end of a summer (Summer ends)

Relevant note for Souma's conversation: the name Misora means "beautiful sky".

[INDEX]

Mari's mother decided to stay in Sakurada.

But Mari ultimately had to be taken by the Bureau.

Kei knew little about what Mari, her mother, and the Bureau discussed. He assumed there were a lot of difficult questions, painful choices, and compromises before they arrived at their final solution.

(The mother couldn't fully return to Mari, but she settled for not forgetting her daughter and visiting her whenever she felt like it. That was the conclusion. —No, that's not the right word...)

Mari's relationship with her mother wasn't concluded. It would continue indefinitely somewhere Kei is not supposed to interact with.

August 31st, Tuesday. The last day of summer vacation.

Its early afternoon was marked by rain outside the window.

Kei was alone in the detached room of the Nakano residence. He was reading a book on his bed. A mystery novel he started multiple times but always stopped partway. He bought it before this summer began. He thought it was about time he finished it, but things didn't go his way. When he was finally reaching the last chapter, someone knocked at his door.

Two clear-sounding knocks with a lively rhythm.

A knock pattern too pleasant for this gloomy rainy day. For some reason, Kei's reading of this book was always randomly interrupted. Kei shut the book and got off his bed.

He found Souma Sumire outside the open door. She had an open red umbrella and her usual smile.

"Hi, Kei.", she said.

"Were you tanning?", Kei asked.

She checked her arm.

"You think so? I'm not seeing any difference."

"Haven't you gone to the beach?"

"Not this summer. But I'm going mountain climbing today."

"Mountain?"

"Yup, I'm going somewhere high to watch everything from the distance."

"It's raining, though."

"The weather forecast said it'll stop before dusk. I'm doing it because I think the sunset looks pretty after the rain. That's what I'm going to watch on my last day of summer vacation."

The faint sound of the rain crept behind Souma Sumire. She tilted her head like a curious cat.

"Do you have time now?"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

And so, Kei and Souma walked side by side in the rain.

Souma's umbrella was red and Kei's was transparent. A plastic umbrella he bought at a convenience store the other day.

The rain was loud on his umbrella. The summer heat filled the air with steam. Kei looked at the sky, feeling like he was walking through thin layers of viscous water. But there was obviously no real water surface there. And no surface meant he couldn't unsubmerge.

"Summer is almost over.", said Souma.

"Only its vacation season. There's no consensus for when summer really ends.", Kei answered.

"Then my personal answer is that summer ends today."

"Ok."

"Hey, Kei, do you already have your answer?"

"What answer?"

Despite his question, he knew what she was talking about.

This summer. The timeframe Souma Sumire established. Looking back, it felt like this had been on his mind the entire time.

Souma stopped. They were in front of a bus stop. It had a bench and a roof to protect it from the rain.

Souma closed her umbrella and sat on the bench.

"You're going to take a bus?", Kei asked, still standing with his umbrella open.

"Not really. I just needed a dry place to sit down."

"A bus might get the wrong impression and stop here."

"Then I take the bus. I'm going mountain climbing. To see a beautiful sunset. How I get there doesn't matter. But can I ask you to keep me company until it's time to go?"

Kei looked at the stop's timetable. There were still 20 minutes before the next bus passed by. With a short sigh, Kei sat next to the girl.

"Who is the android?", asked Sumire Souma.

"I read a lot of novels featuring androids. Putting off the mystery novel I had already started before. Thanks to you, the culprit is still on the loose.", Kei answered, watching the rain-drenched timetable.

"And?"

"I feel like I figured out why you asked the question."

He felt that maybe he finally understood what Souma was thinking.

"Every time I speculate about androids, I'm thinking about humanity. What does it mean to be human? What needs to be removed or added to make one an android? That's the only possible track of thought.", Kei answered.

Thinking about androids means things about humans. This whole summer, Kei never stopped thinking about humans. The root point was Haruki Misora, but he also thought about many others.

April 28th. That was the day Kei, Haruki, and Souma first gathered on the rooftop.

Souma Sumire posed a random question to make them think about humanity. That was the question she chose to get the three to regularly meet.

There was only one plausible answer.

"None of us is an android. No matter how much I think about it, we're all human."

"But we still have to suppose one isn't."

"Then we're all android. We're all shaped by the influences of others. Every human being is the creation of another."

Kei believed every line or school of thought, every philosophy, and every value was artificial. He believed every man was a man-made product, and he himself was also someone else's creation.

Souma quietly giggled.

"Right. That must be it."

Afterward, she looked into the distance. Somewhere further than the rainclouds.

"Hey, Kei. Why do you live in this city?"

"What do you mean why?"

"Why did you ditch your parents to live here?"

How did she know that?

Strangely enough, this basic question didn't cross his mind.

Souma Sumire would know this much. It would have been weirder if she didn't. That was what he honestly believed in.

"I was interested in abilities."

The abilities in this city snared him with inescapable curiosity. Two years prior, Asai Kei was made a prisoner of those abilities. The wish to learn more about those abilities overrode his every bit of rationality.

Souma gave him a side glance.

"Is this the same reason why you're after the Reset now?"

"Yeah."

"And why do you want Sakurada's abilities, and the Reset specifically?"

"Because they're convenient."

"Not very convincing."

"That's actually the whole reason."

Kei had a moment of hesitation but then continued.

"I used to be like Haruki. Like the younger Haruki, I also believed that much of the world, if not its very structure, was constructed under awfully tragic rules."

Haruki said that the natural state of the world is tragic.

It was tragic that everything alive would eventually die. It was tragic that everything tangible would eventually break. Everything about those natural rules made her sad. Kei had those same sensitivities.

"I had already given up. Tragedy was steeped into everyday life. Those were the rules that composed the world and there was nothing I could do about it. So I accepted everything, or at least I believed I did."

He truly believed he did. He hated all that, but he fully believed he had resigned himself to what was impossible to fix.

"But arriving at this city, I learned that wasn't true."

"Because abilities are a thing in Sakurada?"

"Yeah. I watched as the rules I had given up on doing something about crumbled right in front of me."

When he had resigned himself to the need to throw away his keychain, it was fixed like nothing had ever happened to it. It was a trivial event. Calling it a miracle would sound cheap. But to Kei, it was an entirely new possibility. Since a possibility he had never considered existed, the world's faults could have solutions, and he would have no reason to give up on everything.

Sakurada's abilities transcended all rules to exert their effects. They had the intense potential to effortlessly wipe out the tragedy and suffering that he had internalized as something he had to simply accept.

Souma nodded.

"You decided to stay in Sakurada to wipe away everything you used to disregard as hopeless. For the same reason, you were attracted to the Reset because it's the power to try again without ever giving up."

"Her ability is very convenient."

How many problems can one remove by being able to redo one failure? How much tragedy can one wipe away with their own hands if one could redo the past?

"That's why I'm going to take advantage of Haruki Misora. I'll manipulate her for my own ends."

"Manipulate.", Souma giggled. "You always have to play the supervillain when we get to those kinds of subjects."

"I do. I'm no saint."

"Even though you're just like Haruki? Even though you see tragedy in pretty much everything, just like the girl you acknowledge as pure virtue does?"

"Haruki and I are not alike. Unlike her, I can't stand being sad."

He wanted to do away with all tragedies because he hated suffering from them. He hated the pain. He was different from Haruki, who only suffered from tragedies without having those negative reactions.

"Wow, you're pretty aware of the contradiction you're trapped in.", Souma whispered, with her smile still on her face.

(I don't need you to tell me.)

"I don't want to give up on anything, but you have no qualms about discarding what you have. You just say pain born from kindness is harsh and leave it at that.", Souma continued.

(No. That's not it. It's nothing like that. After all, what caused the greatest contradiction was my first step into the city.)

"You know, Kei, I think you need a little more salvation."

Those words were so unexpected that they made Kei flinch.

"What does salvation mean?"

"That you need someone to save you and make you feel at peace with yourself. I have the right words for you."

Souma Sumire moved her gaze—locking eyes with him before she spoke again.

"You're evil. A complete villain. Discarding your parents like that was unforgivable."

"Yeah.", Kei agreed.

That was the first contradiction burdening him. Despite being enamored with Sakurada's abilities because he hated tragedy, suffering, and the need to accept it, the first thing Kei did upon learning about them was to abandon his parents. Kei back then was an inexcusable evildoer.

"In your heart of hearts, you're someone who wants to never stop shouting the most ridiculously righteous things. Despite being pretty intelligent, you're more childish than anyone deep at your core. Nonetheless, your rationality doesn't let you label yourself as a good person."

Souma's voice was the calmest it had ever been.

It sounded like the rain.

"You wanted to help Mari all along, didn't you? You were dying to do it, no? But you couldn't allow yourself to do so. You thought someone who abandoned his parents had no right to condemn a mother for abandoning her daughter. Did I get all that right?"

He knew that. He obviously remembered it all. He couldn't forget what was his first thought when he learned about Mari. Thus, he didn't forget it. Unable to cover his ears, he listened to Souma's voice.

"So you used Haruki as an excuse. You decided this wouldn't be about saving Mari, it would be about establishing a means to manipulate Haruki. It was a necessary excuse. You're a weak and underhanded villain who can't allow yourself to be the saint you want to be."

(Exactly.), Kei thought. (I'm weak and underhanded. I mean, look at this. I'm genuinely feeling relieved for having her acknowledge it.)

Souma smiled, kind and tenderly.

"So I'll give an excuse. Just the excuse you need to keep doing what's right."

She lowered her eyelids.

"Haruki is changing. She'll be discovering a lot of new emotions. And I can confidently guess she'll learn them from you. She'll believe that the songs you find comforting are comforting, and she'll believe the sky is beautiful because you do."

She raised her eyelids back.

Kei's image was reflected in her black eyes.

He had a very pathetic face. The face of a feeble child left alone at home. He felt ashamed but couldn't find the strength to put on a braver face.

"Asai Kei, be the saint Haruki Misora needs. Keep playing the part until you sincerely believe that's who you are. Continue to be always kind, under the excuse that you need to teach Haruki the right emotions."

Souma's voice was chillingly calm.

Her words were the salvation Kei needed. They were everything he needed to hear, and that made his cheeks red.

With effort to bring out his strained voice, Kei answered.

"I'll do it... to the best of my capacity."

Souma Sumire giggled.

"Whenever I'm with you, we always end up talking about Haruki."

Kei smiled without really meaning it.

"Oh, that's true. I wonder why."

"The reason couldn't be more obvious."

Souma switched smiles.

Now to the mean-spirited smile of a stray cat who didn't let anyone approach.

"It's because you love Haruki Misora."

Kei softly closed his eyes.

"Oh, so that's what it was."

That was his answer.

"Meh, what a shame. I was expecting you to deny it."

Under the cover of the rain, she muffledly laughed.

As loudly as the rain.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Souma and Kei kept talking for a while.

Their chat was whimsical and rambling. About the future, about the past, about the sunset.

Kei tried asking a question.

"Why did you try to get Haruki and me together after all?"

She replied with mysterious words that didn't answer the question.

"I love messages."

She wanted to pass on a lot of happy words, or maybe even trivial words, from one person to another. That's what she said. On the emotional level, that answer was enough for Kei. She said it the right way, using the right words and the right tricks.

The rain continued to fall. The sound of the rain felt inexplicably honest that day. It felt like the gentle smile of someone who knew how to be not too close nor too far. A truly comforting rain.

The bus eventually arrived and Souma Sumire got off the bench.

"Wanna watch the sunset with me?"

After some indecision, Kei refused.

"I have a novel to finish."

"Ok. Goodbye, then."

She waved, turned her back to Kei, and rode the bus.

The bus loudly closed its doors and took off.

(Is she really going mountain-climbing to see the sunset? I really don't understand her.)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, September 1st.

Kei was alone on the rooftop of the southern school building after the first day of class.

No one invited him there. He just felt like going.

The rain was over before the previous day's sunset. The sky above Kei was a pristine blue. On a single fixed cloud floated in the sky. The wind wasn't blowing much that day.

Entering September, despite the summer vacation being over, Kei didn't believe summer itself was over. The cries of the cicada were still loud and the air was still hot. The puddles evaporated in no time.

Kei was leaning on the fence, watching the sky.

He wanted to dissolve into that sky. He was trying not to think about anything but what Souma said the previous day filled his memory. Kei believed she made a point to choose only the right words to pass on to Kei.

The door opened, making a small noise.

One girl stood there.

Haruki Misora.

She was a girl he was perfectly used to seeing, and yet he couldn't recognize her as Haruki at first glance.

She was expressionless as usual. Her eyes were like beautiful glass beads as usual. She walked toward him with a fixed pace. Her hair swayed following the rhythm of her steps. But her hair was cut slightly about shoulder length.

"You cut your hair."

She looked more sporty with short hair.

She nodded.

"I followed your instruction."

"My?"

"You told me before that I should cut my hair."

"Oh."

(I did say that. But that was 2 and a half months ago. Why now? Well, I'm confused but there's only one thing to say here.)

"You look great, Haruki."

She tilted her head.

"Thank you."

She said that and smiled.

It was a natural and effortless smile, as normal as they get, and tending more toward cuteness than prettiness.

He felt dizzy.

It was the first time a girl's expression had this much of an effect on him.

Kei couldn't hold back his laughter about this sensation. (It's like I'm some boy in love.)

"Can I touch it?", he asked. He felt like passing his hands through her short hair.

Haruki very earnestly nodded. And then she moved next to him.

Kei's right hand touched her hair, slowly stroking from the top of her head to next to her ear. It had very thin strands. A soft texture. Warm under the summer lights. Like the back of a cat.

"I saw Mari the day before yesterday."

"Oh. What did you talk about?"

"We didn't talk."

"Why?"

"Because she was with her mother. I didn't feel any need to interact with her."

"That's great news."

"Agreed. Very much so."

"Didn't you feel lonely?"

"No. Why would I?"

Haruki tilted her head like she genuinely didn't understand the point of the question. Even now, the girl was still exceedingly pure.

Kei moved both hands around Haruki, embracing her. Like one hugs a blanket on a chilly morning. This gesture had no deep reason. It was an impulse.

Without resistance, Haruki stuffed her head on Kei's chest. They could directly feel each other's warmth. It was inexplicably comforting.

Suddenly, Souma's words resurfaced in his head. Something she said long ago.

ー In this situation, you should give them a wordless hug. A loving, heartfelt one.

That must have been exactly what she meant. No other solutions came to mind.

"I thought about the Zeroth Law.", said Haruki, her words muffled because she still had her head pressed against Kei's chest.

"For your rules?"

"Yes."

Haruki Misora's three rules.

They resembled the Three Laws of Robotics. An exact match for two out of three.

He mentioned before that the Three Laws had a zeroth one. His words at the time:

ーThink about it. If you were to make a zeroth rule for yourself, what would it be?

"I found my zeroth rule."

"Fascinating news."

"I will obey you. I trust your every word and action."

That was what Kei was waiting to hear.

To obtain the user of the Reset ability. That's where this all started.

(The Zeroth Law of Robotics is actually a lot simpler than that. It's okay to harm a single person for the benefit of many. Pretty logical.)

He considered saying it out loud but decided against it. It'd be a pointless thing to say.

"I believe that without you, Mari would have remained unhappy.", Haruki Misora continued.

"I'm not so sure about that. It's still not guaranteed that things will work out."

Kei will never forget what he remembers through his ability. As far as he knew, his ability had no off switch. Its effects were eternal.

But that's not true for Mari's mother. When Sakagami's ability turned off, the effects of Kei's ability turned off along it. She is capable of forgetting her love for Mari. This situation can repeat itself.

"Two days ago, Mari was smiling. We erased a girl's tears, exactly as you said we would. I believe that was the right thing to do.", Haruki said.

(No.)

"The tears I wanted to erase were yours."

Haruki Misora tilted her head in Kei's chest but then nodded. Kei could physically feel her every movement.

"In that case, you erased two girls' tears. That could not have been accomplished by simply following my rules."

(Everything turned out as I wanted to. Then why do I feel like crying?)

Kei felt himself about to press her tighter, so instead he let go.

Standing directly in front of him, Haruki made eye contact and said:

"This whole time, I've been looking for my emotions."

He could guess what she was about to say. And he knew it was a huge mistake. Because he spent this whole summer thinking about Haruki Misora. He paid attention to her every word and action, not wanting to miss any detail.

(Probably no one knows Haruki Misora's emotions better than I do. I'm pretty sure I understand it better than Haruki herself. This girl is still not used to her feelings. That's why she's interpreting things wrong.)

He thought that the best thing to do here was to force her mouth shut. But before he gathered the courage to do so, she spoke.

"I most likely love you."

Her expression was happy. But it was wrong.

Kei slowly shook his head.

"I'm glad that you like me. But your feeling is not romantic."

She was visibly puzzled.

"What makes you think so?"

"I've been thinking about you for a long time. It's not hard to tell."

(When you're not used to your emotions, you can't tell trust and affection apart. The girl who can't see herself as special is not used to the feeling of someone being special.)

Kei forced the words out of his mouth.

"It'd be wrong to love you as you currently are."

Confusion was visible in her eyes.

"I don't understand."

"I didn't think you would."

Kei put his hands on Haruki's shoulders. Shaking off his hesitation harder than he did when playing with her hair.

Her uniform's blouse was thin and smooth, with her soft skin immediately below it. Kei could feel her temperature and the shape of the bones inside the skin. The tips of her hair tickled the back of his hand.

"Do you mind testing it?", Kei asked.

"I don't.", Haruki answered.

Kei approached her face. Haruki didn't close her eyes. Out of petty pride, Kei didn't close his either.

Her lips were lukewarm and flavorless.

After taking his lips away from hers, Kei asked:

"Did that make you happy?"

After taking a deep breath and waiting for the aftertaste to fade, she answered in a barely audible voice.

"I don't know."

It was like she didn't want him to hear it.

But her words clearly reached Kei's ears.

Kei shook his head.

"I didn't enjoy any bit of it."

He didn't even sigh.

(Haruki is not ready for romance yet.)

And the same applied to Kei. His feelings for this girl resembled romantic ones but were fundamentally different. It was too early to expect an emotional reason for the two to be together.

"We were able to erase Mari's tears because we worked together. That's all that matters."

(Why did I needlessly hug her? I shouldn't be doing anything that would reinforce her childish misunderstanding.)

"Our abilities combined have the power to erase tears. For now, that's all we need. We'd be hard-pressed to find a problem our combined abilities can't overcome. And we can't do anything on our own. Let's keep our abilities being the only reason to be together."

Haruki stared at him motionlessly. She didn't understand what Kei was saying.

"Haruki, do you have a Save up?", Kei asked with a forced smile.

She nodded.

"Yes. I saved before going to sleep 2 days ago."

Only a single immobile cloud in the distant sky.

What happened that day on the rooftop might have been a fortunate event. But Kei couldn't accept it. He couldn't tolerate himself kissing a girl just to prove that he didn't love her.

"Haruki, let's Reset.", Kei declared.

She obeyed without hesitation. She could erase her own confession of love, misguided or otherwise. He knew she could.

The next time he saw Haruki's smile, he wouldn't be as honestly shaken as he was this time. As far as he was concerned, that was the only real loss here.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The world recreated by the Reset started not long past 8 PM on August 30th.

Kei spent his evening exactly as his memories told him to. He spoke the same words, showered at the same time, and slept at the same time.

The next day was August 31st. The last day of summer vacation. In the afternoon, rain fell like he remembered. Kei was alone in the detached building of the Nakano residence. He was in bed reading a book. The same book he was reading pre-Reset.

(I'm about to get to the last chapter. Souma should be here at any moment.)

But when he got to the right page, no one knocked on his door. Without Souma showing up with her red umbrella, Kei finished his novel, the rain let up, and the sun set.

Kei had its eyes on his window. The sunset that day was as beautiful as it was the day he saw it from the tetrapod after first meeting Souma. At this moment, Souma was atop a mountain watching this same sunset.

(Why did she not appear today? What changed before and after the Reset? I don't know. I got an awful feeling about this. It's the first time something changed post-Reset without my interference.)

He called Souma's house but no one answered. Kei went to sleep still unable to shake off his anxieties.

And then, September 1st...

Kei was informed of Souma's death.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's been reported that Souma Sumire slipped while mountain climbing during the rain.

There were no witnesses to attest to the accuracy of the story.

She fell into a surging river and was swept downstream. Then someone found her body and called the police and a hospital. She had already gone cold when the ambulance arrived.

(And in such a warm season...)

The first question on Kei's mind was why this happened.

(How exactly does one go cold when even the raindrops are warm? What a sick joke. Not very convincing, Souma Sumire. Your death isn't possible.)

He heard about her death immediately after getting to Nanasaka Middle School.

Kei didn't attend the entrance ceremony.

He climbed to the rooftop of the southern school building, lay down on the floor, and watched the sky.

The vast blue sky was bizarrely drawing. It occupied his entire field of view in a way that felt like he was falling onto it.

(Did what happened to Souma feel the same way?)

Kei laughed with a coarse voice. For some reason, he didn't feel like crying. He laughed all he could, until he could no longer care, and before he knew it, he fell asleep. He didn't want to think about anything at that point.

After maybe seconds, maybe minutes, maybe hours asleep, he opened his eyes. How long he slept didn't matter, but when woke up, Nakano Tomoki was next to him.

"Yo, Kei.", he said.

"Hey there, Tomoki.", Kei answered.

Without further words, the two sat side by side in silence for a while.

(The sun is still up high. It must still be September 1st and I haven't slept all that long.)

"I saw Souma yesterday.", Tomoki dropped.

"When?"

"Not long before noon. She was in front of our house."

"And?"

"She said she wanted to send her voice to the future. To herself two years later."

It made no sense. Kei couldn't help lying down staring blankly at the sky. He was having a hard time distinguishing its deep, deep blue from the color of darkness.

(I'm still falling into the sky. That's what I've been doing this whole time I was asleep.)

These meaningless thoughts filled his mind. That maybe at the end of his upward fall, he'd find Souma.

"That's all. I felt like I needed to tell you."

Nakano Tomoki turned without voicing any of his sadness, grief, or consoling words.

"What did Souma say?", Kei asked with his eyes still on the sky.

"Hm?"

"What message did she send to herself from two years in the future?"

With a big sigh, Tomoki answered only "Can you hear my voice?" and left the rooftop.

("Can you hear my voice?")

It didn't make sense. He couldn't understand Souma's intentions.

(That's how it always was. I never once have accurately understood Souma's intentions. She was never anywhere I could make sense of. She was indecipherable while seeming to know everything about me. She always appeared daring, solitary, and capricious like a stray cat, stood next to me like that was her place to be, and then disappeared whenever she felt like it. Right, that's how it always has been. It's the usual, except this time she'll never come back.)

Kei continued to lie down on the floor watching the sky.

Before he knew it, the sun was setting.

He heard a quiet voice and the sound of the door to the twilit rooftop opening.

Ideally, he would have expected Souma, but for some reason, he knew it was Haruki who opened the door.

Kei sat up but couldn't find the will to stand, so he continued to watch the reddened southern sky. The sun was setting to his right and the azure night was coming from his left.

Haruki walked toward Kei with measured steps.

Her hair was cut short. That didn't surprise him anymore.

Sitting on the floor, Kei looked up to see Haruki.

"So you're still in school."

(The first day is just the entrance ceremony. You could be home before noon.)

"I was waiting for you."

"Me?"

"Yes. I was waiting by the shoe lockers, but you never came, so I went searching."

"Why?"

"I have a favor to ask.", she said, slightly downcast. "We have to Reset. You can return to two days ago. Please save her."

(Oh, right. Haruki doesn't know we already wasted the Reset. She doesn't know Souma's death within 24 hours after Resetting—the period her ability can't delete.)

"We can't Reset. The Save is already used."

"You couldn't avoid her accident even with a Reset?"

"That's not it."

Souma was alive in the pre-Reset world.

(She died because I ordered a Reset to erase our pathetic kiss, Haruki. Souma died because of my selfish and needless Reset.)

Kei turned his sight back to the southern sky. He watched the intersection between twilight and dusk. He couldn't give Haruki's question a sincere answer.

He thought that if he kept quiet, she would eventually leave the rooftop. He thought she would go away without a word. But instead, she sat next to him. Sitting immediately to his left, she asked:

"Are you... crying?"

That reminded him of what Souma said when they first met on the tetrapods.

ー Are you crying?

Kei touched his cheek.

No tears, as he suspected.

(Why can't I cry? I'm sad enough for it. I'm frustrated enough for it. I'm miserable enough to scream, so why can't I even cry?)

Kei subtly nodded and answered.

"Yeah. I'm crying right now."

(I can't shed tears but I must be crying on the inside. I must be sobbing and yelling my heart out.)

Suddenly, tears spilled out of Haruki's glassy eyes.

They traversed her fair cheeks unobstructed, built up at her chin, and fell straight down. The first droplet was small. The second was bigger. Eventually, the tears formed a continuous current.

"Are you sad?", Kei asked.

It was a really stupid question. It wasn't a thing anyone should ask for confirmation. But his thoughts were running hopelessly slow.

But Haruki denied it.

"I'm not the one suffering from this tragedy."

Her falling tears shone with the light of the sunset.

That was a moment when nothing in the world needed to be beautiful. Everything was supposed to be drowned in filth. And yet, her tears were beautiful.

Her tears were still beautiful despite Souma's death.

"You are. I'm crying because you're sad."

With that answer, Haruki cried. The teardrops got bigger, and later she started crying out loud.

The girl was taking the boy's place.

She kept crying next to him.

The sun slowly sank under the horizon. The curtains closed on the small world on the rooftop.

That's when it clicked on the boy.

The season was over.

Kei finally understood that his summer was over.

[ultimatecutenesspeaks]

Soon after the people of kurashiki return to normal then bunny goes firstly at the group bunny hey guys listen I’m sorry for everything I’m the end you guys where right I’m was a monarch I’m sorry for everything truly can you guys forgive me ?

*The group smiles at you, and Izayoi and Sumire go to you and hug you.*

Izayoi: Of course.

Sumire: We forgive you, senpai!

Mizuki: No worries, dude.

*The others nod in agreement, and Haruki rubs the back of his neck with an awkward smile.*

Haruki: Now that it's all over, I guess I should confess that I gave everyone the keyword, and I let them out of the cell. Sorry for betraying you like that, heheh...

[onigiri-senpai-webtoon]

He is my boy Ryusui. He is my latest oc that I’m dumping into the Naruto franchise (specifically Boruto). He’s 11 years old and a sweet little gob. He’s nonverbal due to his kakegenki [he doesn’t realize his voice combined with his eyes cast insanely strong ninjutsu so he just thinks he bewitches people so he chooses not to talk :( poor guy] his kakegenki is one that hasn’t been seen before because it’s a unique blend of families: uchiha, hyuga, haruno, and something else I have yet to name. His kakegenki works exactly as follows:

Hyuga influence- he is able to see the flow of energy aka chakra in a sort of feng shui kind of way (think that one jojos bizarre adventure stand from part 6 where Jolene is in jail). Not only does he see the chakra in the human body but he sees chakra everywhere. Even if a tree branch is abt to fall in a few minutes he can “see” it before it happens due to the shift of energy. This ability is purely eyesight based and can’t be turned off. Because of this he usually keeps his eyes closed unless he’s in a dangerous or intense situation.

Uchiha influence- his eyesight along with his voice allow for him to cast some insane genjutsu. Whatever he says or describes is exactly how the target perceives it. There’s a slight issue though, he doesn’t know how to control it yet. Currently it affects everyone within his radius, even allies. Since he didn’t grow up around shinobi he doesn’t know that this is a genjutsu ability so he was never taught how to control it. (He learns to eventually I swear)

That is the extent of his kakegenki ability. His blood is actually 50% Haruno which allows for pretty good chakra control. He has a “freckle” on his neck that is actually a collection of chakra (similar to Sakura and Tsunade’s diamond on their foreheads) he doesn’t realize this because he has had it for as long as he can remember. Due to his feng shui ability the chakra just happened to pool within his throat and boosts his genjutsu (he has yet to realize this but will eventually lol)

Backstory: he grew up with his father but never knew his mother. His father was Haruki Haruno (Kizashi Haruno’s brother, that’s not cannon by the way I made it up but Kizashi Haruno is real and is Sakura’s dad). When Ryusui was 7 Haruki suddenly went missing. Ryusui managed to survive on his own well enough due to being able to see the flow of energy. In a way he sort of “followed good fortune” and managed to keep himself alive. The day he meets Mitsuki and Team 7 he was following his “gut feeling” (the feng shui based kakegenki) and met Sumire at one of the labs run by the Leaf Village. Sumire brought him inside and it just so happened Team 7 was there on a mission to deliver some ninja tech. Mitsuki takes a liking to Ryusui and decides to take him back to the village to try and help Ryusui understand his weird powers. (Mitsuki knows his parent well enough to know that Orochimaru could probably help this kid) of course that plan is derailed as Naruto calls an emergency change of plans and orders Team 7 to join with Konohamari and Mugino. Then booyah my boy is basically in the story now. Will I write a fanfiction? Maybe.

[thelogicofpeanut]

"In the spring of her twenty-second year, Sumire fell in love for the first time in her life. An intense love, a veritable tornado sweeping across the plains—flattening everything in its path, tossing things up in the air, ripping them to shreds, crushing them to bits. The tornado’s intensity doesn’t abate for a second as it blasts across the ocean, laying waste to Angkor Wat, incinerating an Indian jungle, tigers and all, transforming itself into a Persian desert sandstorm, burying an exotic fortress city under a sea of sand. In short, a love of truly monumental proportions."

Sputnik Sweatheart, Haruki Murakami.