Chapter Text
My alarm clock rang.
“Ah, today’s the class reunion. It’s already been ten years.”
After getting dressed, I hurried to the train station. I got on the first train heading toward my old school. The view outside the window was peaceful. The sun had just begun to rise, sending soft rays of light across the morning.
I took out my earphones, played my favorite song, and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep. When I woke up, the train had already arrived at the station. I still had to take a bus to get to the school.
The hallways looked almost exactly the same as they had ten years ago. Only the walls had been painted again. The sound of footsteps and the lively chatter of new students filled the building. It was such a nostalgic sight.
“Ah! Shinji!”The voice sounded so familiar, but I couldn’t remember who it belonged to.
“Kaworu?”I turned around in surprise. Kaworu suddenly ran over and gently ruffled my hair.
“You’re taller than you used to be,” he laughed, “But you’re still shorter than me!”
That touch… it was just like back then. It hadn’t changed at all.
“Hey!”
I quickly pushed his hand away, feeling my face grow warm.
“You’re here for the reunion too?” I asked.
“Yeah. You too?”
“Mhm, yes.” I replied.
“Then let’s walk around the school first while we wait for everyone else!”
After that, we headed downstairs together.
“Hey, Shinji.”
“Hm?”
“Do you still remember me?” Kaworu smiled as he asked, but the moment our eyes met, he quickly looked away.
I felt my face grow hot.
“What kind of question is that?” I asked with an awkward smile.
“It’s nothing,” Kaworu replied, but his voice was quieter than before.
Silence fell between us. Neither of us said another word, and our conversation came to an end. Even so, I couldn’t stop thinking about what Kaworu had just asked, even if he had only meant it as a joke.
A gentle breeze drifted through the hallways as Kaworu and I walked around the school together. Warm sunlight filtered through the leaves of the old Chinese parasol trees, and the cheerful songs of birds filled the air. It was such a beautiful day.
“Kaworu! Kaworu!”
Lost in my thoughts, I turned around.
“Toji! Long time no see!” Kaworu called back with a bright smile.
“Shinji, it’s good to see you too.”
“Yeah… good to see you,” I replied.
“Come on,” Toji said. “Let’s head to the classroom. Everyone’s already here.”
“Let’s go, Shinji!” Kaworu said.
I nodded and quietly replied, “Yeah,” before following Kaworu and Toji. We kept walking until everything around me began to feel familiar again. The smell of chalk slowly filled the air. As I opened the classroom door, the scene before me made me realize that I had truly come back to the place where it all began.
Just like before, everyone welcomed Kaworu with warm smiles. I took a seat in the middle row, and a wave of nostalgia washed over me. For a brief moment, it felt as if I had been taken back ten years into the past.
“Everyone, the teacher’s here!”
I heard someone call out. I quickly stood up and walked to the classroom door, where everyone had gathered. Cheerful greetings filled the room as we welcomed our teacher. Each of us was holding a bouquet of flowers, ready to give them to the teacher we had all loved so much.
Ms. Misato was as tall as I remembered, with a gentle face and a warm, kind smile. Seeing her again filled me with emotion. During our school years, she had taught us so many valuable lessons, and I would always be grateful for them.
“Everyone, please take your seats. And thank you so much for these lovely gifts.”
I returned to my seat and noticed that Kaworu was already sitting in the chair beside mine.
“This is your seat, right?” he asked, pointing to the empty chair next to him.
“Yeah,” I replied as I sat down.
We stayed there in silence. Neither of us spoke another word. Even so, sitting beside him felt strangely comforting, as if nothing had changed.
Ms. Misato’s voice was like an old melody—gentle, nostalgic, and full of warmth. It rose and fell like a familiar song, carrying me back to the place where the first chapter of my life had begun. Some memories had never truly faded, and now they were becoming clearer than ever.
I quietly glanced at Kaworu.
He was sitting so close that I could catch the faint scent of his clothes. So close that I could hear the soft sound of his breathing. Our arms brushed against each other by accident. Without thinking, I quickly pulled mine away.
My heart began to race.
I didn’t even know why.
I told myself not to think about him so much anymore.
But my heart simply wouldn’t listen…
“Shinji, are you free after this?” Kaworu asked softly. “If you are, come with me.”
“Where?” I asked, startled.
“To the back of the school… just for a little while. Okay?”
The words “the back of the school” echoed in my mind.
In an instant, the memories I thought had been buried by time came rushing back. Happiness and pain mixed together until I could no longer tell them apart. I didn’t know whether I should say yes or no.
Seeing my hesitation, Kaworu spoke again, his voice calm and gentle.
“Come with me… please?”
I hesitated for a few seconds before quietly nodding.
The reunion passed more quietly than I had expected. Time slipped away so gently that I hardly noticed it.
Even so, I couldn’t help feeling afraid.
I was about to return to the place where we had first met—back when I was a shy boy who barely spoke to anyone. It was the place where you had said those words to me. Words that had sounded so gentle… words that carried thousands of emotions at once—confusing, bittersweet, impossible to understand, and yet somehow… beautiful.