Otonashi, Yuri Yanagi, and I are within the Silver Screen of Broken Wishes, just as before.

The Box takes the form of a red movie theater.

The impossible, unreal cleanliness of this place is putting me under slowly increasing pressure, as if it’s trying to eliminate my human filth. It’s an ongoing attack meant to wear down my mind and put an end to my wish.

Amid this pressure, I ponder something that has been bothering me.

This is strange.

I look around.

The curved passage covered in immaculate red carpet connects to four theaters.

On the electric sign hanging in the middle of the lobby we are currently in is written the message THE SCREENING OFREPEAT, RESET, RESETHAS ENDED.

I’ve been forced to watch three movies so far:

Breaking of Close Ties,

A 60.5-Foot Gulf, and

Repeat, Reset, Reset.

They presented my past from the perspectives of Miyuki Karino, Haruaki Usui, and Maria Otonashi, respectively. Expertly edited to make me suffer, these films were an attack, a screening of my sins. There are four theaters, which means there’s one more movie left.

Its title is 15 Years Old and Earrings, running from ten thirty PM to midnight. If I don’t resolve this today, my defeat is certain.

But this is strange.

I thought I had already taken care of Kazu.

“Oomine, what’s with that look?” someone asks as I scowl.

…No, I probably shouldn’t call this girl “Maria” now that she’s done away with her demure past self.

“Aya, I have a question.” I use her other name instead, and oddly enough, it feels right.

Yeah, I guess that’s how it should feel. When we first met within the Rejecting Classroom, “Aya Otonashi” was her only name. The girl with me now is the Aya Otonashi she built to pursue her ideals over the decades in that time loop.

I couldn’t have called her Maria while the world was still on repeat. That name was one she said purely on a lark, a false name that should have been lost to oblivion. “Maria Otonashi” never existed in that world, and Aya never intended for her to, either.

That she did was a miracle only Kazu could have brought about, as someone who was able to retain his memories in that world.

You could say Kazu threw a monkey wrench into Aya Otonashi’s plans, changing her fate.

I, on the other hand, was no miracle worker. It was impossible for me to hold on to the name Maria through the repetitions.

For me, she has always been “Aya Otonashi,” even if she originally borrowed the name from her older sister.

With no particular reaction to my calling her Aya, she asks, “What’s your question?”

I tell her about the discrepancy. “Why hasn’t the Silver Screen of Broken Wishes ended?”

Aya frowns. “What’re you talking about? That’s simple. It just means Kazuki Hoshino hasn’t destroyed the Silver Screen of Broken Wishes.”

“But don’t you see what I’m getting at? Why hasn’t Kazu done that? He should have been heartbroken the moment you stopped being Maria Otonashi. He would have given up the fight almost as a matter of course, don’t you think? Why is the Silver Screen of Broken Wishes still around?”

Yes, this fight should have been settled.

After all, Aya Otonashi is here. Kazu should be in total despair.

Why hasn’t this ended? Why hasn’t his heart been broken?

“Oomine, you’re completely clueless. Somehow, you don’t understand just how terrifying Kazuki Hoshino is.”

“What do you mean?”

Aya replies without a change in expression. “It’s easy. His heart isn’t broken.”

“What?”

That doesn’t make sense.

Kazu’s mission is to bring Maria Otonashi a normal life, free of the Boxes. But he would have seen the futility of his endeavor the moment she arrived here in the Silver Screen of Broken Wishes and decided to erase “Maria Otonashi.” It’s no longer possible. Surely he must feel it even more acutely than I do.

So why is his heart still intact?

“Are you suggesting that Kazu still thinks there’s something he can do for you?”

“Exactly. He’s not normal. He will never give up, as long as his purpose has not vanished. He could have zero chance of achieving it, but it wouldn’t matter. I believe the very idea of throwing in the towel has never even existed for him.”

He has no concept of giving up…?

That’s not possible. And yet, the truth is that the Silver Screen of Broken Wishes is still in effect. Plus, I can’t imagine Aya being mistaken about Kazu’s nature.

Meaning it’s the truth.

Which means…

“…This is bad.”

From the beginning, this battle has been about breaking Kazu’s heart.

With Aya as she is now, he has no chance of completing his mission. He has failed for certain. However he wants to think about it, I can’t see it any other way.

But just because Kazu has lost doesn’t mean I’ve won. At this rate, it’s going to be a loss for both of us. If Kazu isn’t broken and the Silver Screen of Broken Wishes doesn’t come to a halt, then the fourth movie, 15 Years Old and Earrings, will be shown. Once it ends, my Box will be destroyed, regardless of whether I want it to or not. If that happens, then it goes without saying that my plans to use Crime, Punishment, and the Shadow of Crime to mass-produce dog-people and heighten people’s individual sense of ethics will go up in a puff of smoke.

As things stand now, I’m going to lose, too.

Why is this happening? This was going according to plan. I neutralized Yuri Yanagi right away when she was sent in here as an assassin, and I successfully summoned Aya here to me. Nevertheless, I don’t have any more cards to play. I haven’t failed, yet I’m on the brink of defeat… What the hell is with that guy? Is he like some boxer who’s immune to punches?

Now I see why O thinks I don’t stand a chance against him.

“Otonashi.” Yuri Yanagi finally speaks.

I listen closely, thinking whatever she says could lead to a breakthrough.

“You used to call him by just his first name, but now you’ve stopped.”

But it’s just the most meaningless crap ever.

It pisses me off.

“What the hell, bitch? You wanna know now that they’ve split up? You think it’s your big chance to hook up with Kazu? You’re a real pain in the ass, so just keep your mouth shut, you stupid slut!”

“Whooooa! Where do you get off talking like that?! You’re awful! You’ve been acting like I’m not even here this entire time, too!”

“That’s what you do with the characters who’ve played out their role. Aya has been at odds with Kazu all along, so you’re worthless now. You’re worthless in this story, and yet you insist on ruining the pacing with your babbling, you empty-eyed teru teru bozu doll. Go pray for fair weather somewhere else.”

“S-so I’m getting in the way just by talking?!”

There’s no bigger waste of time than dealing with her, so I ignore her retort.

But it is true that Aya has changed how she refers to Kazu. Maybe she can’t be so familiar now that she considers him an enemy.

An enemy.

An enemy, huh…?

“By the way, Aya, I’m just checking, but can I assume this means you’re on my side now? Kazu’s going to keep hounding you until he breaks, right? You need to see him lose.”

“Yes, I do need him beaten. Kazuki Hoshino is not someone I can afford to ignore. There’s probably no way of fighting him, but that doesn’t mean I can lower my guard. I still see him as the greatest obstacle to my goals.”

“I suppose you’re right. Working with me for the time being is your best option in my mind, so how about it?”

Aya is silent for a moment. “…I can’t accept your Box,” she says, “your Crime, Punishment, and the Shadow of Crime. The way you sacrifice others goes against my principles. You and I are alike, yes, but I cannot accept your methods.”

“…So you’re saying you won’t join forces with me?”

If not, there’s no way forward for me. Kazu still hasn’t given up the fight, even under these circumstances. No matter how you slice it, if I’m going to break Kazu, then getting Aya involved is a must.

“No. I’ll help you.”

That’s why her reply inevitably puts my mind at ease.

“There’s no doubt that crushing him comes before anything else. I just want to say, though, that I am only working toward my own ends, not trying to save you. For example, you may have a time limit, but I don’t. The difference may not work in your favor.”

“Same goes for me. I may betray you depending on how things go.”

“Then I don’t see a problem.”

“Great. So let me ask you something. I’m not clear on how to break Kazu. But you know, don’t you, Aya? Tell me. What’s the most effective way for me to attack Kazu?”

“……”

Aya falls silent.

There are two reasons why I asked this question. The first is simple. Aya understands Kazu inside and out, so she can concoct a better means of getting at him than I can.

The other is to confirm that Aya really has severed her attachments to Kazu.

It may not show on the surface, but with their relationship being what it was, I wouldn’t be surprised if she still had some feelings for him. The last threads of her bond with Kazu could even lead her to put forth weak ideas. In that case, she would become a hindrance. The best thing to do would be to get as much use out of her as I can but keep her at a distance.

But Aya’s answer is:

“I need to forget about Kazuki Hoshino.”

Not even a shred of affection for him left. It’s obvious in her reply.

“If I use the Misbegotten Happiness on someone he knows, then I’ll forget all about him. It’ll be like what we built in the world of repetition never existed. That’s what I need to do.”

Her idea—

Her idea is guaranteed to succeed.

Kazu still holds on to hope without breaking because he knows he is special to Aya. Put another way, it’s all he has.

Without that, his last hope would be gone.

So he needs to become a stranger to her. Someone who isn’t special to her in the slightest.

Still—

“……You…”

My hands are trembling at what Aya has just said. I mean, how can she say such a thing so calmly?

The two of them cared for each other. It was a powerful interdependence. A firm bond. A connection so profound that without it, the two of them would become completely different people.

And now Aya Otonashi is saying she’s going to just throw it away.

“Are you really okay with that?” I ask without thinking, but I already know the answer.

She is. She could never mention a plan like this if she weren’t. Aya must be some superhuman, her emotions immune even to forgetting about Kazu. A monster on some level I can’t fathom.

But instead, she says:

“I’m not.”

“…What?”

My thoughts screech to a halt.

That was completely unexpected. Much, much more unexpected than a stony, superhuman declaration that she didn’t mind at all.

“Of course I can’t be okay with it. If I were, I never would have done what I did to stay with Kazuki Hoshino all this time. If I refuse to admit he was important to me, I’d just be running away. There’s no way I can face him if I don’t accept this.”

It will be painful to forget Kazuki Hoshino, Aya is saying clearly.

I don’t understand.

“Then—”

Why is she able to suggest such a thing?

Why is she able to suggest an idea where the biggest sacrifice is her own feelings?

“But what he is to me is not an issue.”

“…Why?!”

“Because my feelings will not interfere whatsoever.”