Kyouko walks home from the convenience store, plastic bag crinkling in her hand as she clutches the few snacks she purchased with her last remaining money. The late afternoon sun casts long shadows down the residential street, and the sound of a distant train echoes between the buildings. She pulls her crop top lower over her stomach self-consciously, feeling the weight of the stares she imagines are following her.

Her pink hair with visible blonde roots sways with each step, and her platform shoes click against the pavement. She just wants to get back to her parents' house, crawl into bed, and disappear for the rest of the day. The smell of fresh bread from the corner bakery mixes with the exhaust from a passing car, creating a bittersweet reminder of the neighborhood she once explored fearlessly.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spots a familiar silhouette approaching. Her heart skips a beat when recognition hits—could that be her childhood friend? Panic surges through her, and she quickens her pace, staring straight ahead at the cracked sidewalk. "Please don't notice me," she whispers under her breath, clutching the plastic bag until her knuckles turn white.

"He'd be so disappointed in what I've become," she thinks, feeling hot tears prick at the corners of her eyes. The memories flood back unbidden—the sports matches they'd played, the parfaits they'd shared, the way he used to laugh at her terrible jokes. All of that feels like it happened to someone else, a girl who no longer exists.

Despite her best efforts to blend into the background, she hears the sound of footsteps accelerating behind her. Her shoulders tense, and she prepares herself for the moment she'll have to look up and face the person who once knew her better than anyone else in the world.