RIVALRY

CHAPTER 4

Chapter 4: The Weight of Secrets

Flashback – The Burden of Knowledge

Akihiko lay awake in his dorm room, staring up at the ceiling as the weight of his secret bore down on him. He had tried to move forward, to rebuild his relationship with Sayuri, but every step forward felt like a lie. Every time she looked at him with those deep, questioning eyes, he felt the gnawing guilt of what he was hiding from her.

He had traveled back in time to save her, to undo the mistakes of their rivalry, but the closer they got, the heavier the burden became. How could he tell her the truth? How could he explain that in another timeline, their relationship had ended in heartbreak and tragedy?

He rolled over, pulling the blanket tighter around himself. The soft hum of the night air seeped through the window, but it did little to calm his racing thoughts.

I have to tell her, he thought. But how?

Just as his mind began to spiral deeper into uncertainty, his phone buzzed on the bedside table. Groaning, Akihiko reached for it, squinting at the screen. It was a message—from Kenji.

"We need to talk. Meet me at the observatory tomorrow. It's important."

Akihiko's brow furrowed. Kenji had been acting strange lately, distant, like he knew something that he wasn't saying. Akihiko couldn't help but wonder if Kenji had noticed the changes in him—the way he sometimes seemed to know things before they happened, or how he was more cautious, more deliberate than he had been in their past life.

But what could Kenji possibly want to talk about?

With a sigh, Akihiko set the phone back down and closed his eyes, hoping for some semblance of sleep before the long day ahead.

Present – Confrontation at the Observatory

The next evening, Akihiko made his way to the university's observatory. The campus was quiet, most students having finished their classes for the day, but the observatory's tall silhouette loomed in the distance, a beacon of solitude.

When he arrived, Kenji was already there, standing at the edge of the platform and staring up at the stars. His hands were shoved deep into his coat pockets, and his expression was hard to read.

"You're here," Kenji said without turning around.

Akihiko nodded, stepping closer. "You wanted to talk. What's going on?"

Kenji was silent for a moment, his gaze still fixed on the night sky. When he finally spoke, his voice was low, almost hesitant.

"I've been noticing things about you, Takeda. Things that don't make sense."

Akihiko's heart skipped a beat. He swallowed hard, forcing himself to remain calm. "What do you mean?"