43-beyond the boundary...




'How was it? My big day!

Stuttering, Alina brushes her hair and tries hard to show her elegance.
Dripping with cold sweat, I could see that she was trying her best to act like the tongue-in-cheek Alina. She awkwardly put her hands on her hips and assumed an air of grandiosity, glancing at me and quickly looking away.

'You were beautiful.

I offered my compliments, almost laughing. The gap between us was huge. The prickly Alina is blushing and embarrassed. She was a completely different person.
Aki immediately looks at me and gives me a sharp rebuke.

Comet. Say something a little more profound.
'When we are moved too much, we reach the ultimate emotion. It's 'simplicity. It's a heart of pure gold, with nothing adorned on it. Sometimes people criticize me for being too simple. I'm impressed.
'Yes, 0 points'.
'Okay. ......'

Alina, who is by my side, observes Aki-senpai and me alternately. One is a close senior, and the other is a mysterious man. She is speculating what kind of relationship these two have.

Finally, I can't take it anymore.

'Alina, back to work!
Uh, yeah.
'I'm sorry, Aki-senpai. I have work for the student council.
'Hm? Okay. Bye!

I was a little pushy, but I couldn't stop myself from asking. Aki, as if sensing something, parted from me without hesitation.

She put her armband on again.
Alina was fidgety and restless. It can't be helped. She doesn't know who I am. Someone close to her other self. I guess that's all she knows.

You're sure you're the comet, right?

Alina muttered.

'Yes.
'Good. I knew it.
'Why me?'
'Here.'

Alina took out a small notebook.
It was a commonplace notebook with the name 'Alina Hinoha' written on the cover. It looks like a study notebook.

The other me is writing down important things for me. I don't like to show it to you too much, but I can show it to you if it's your page.
''It's kind of embarrassing.

I went to pick it up, but she pulled it away. She puffs out her cheeks and refuses to take it. Apparently, I am not allowed to touch it. Alina opens her notebook and thrusts it in my face. The page is about me.
My name, my personality, my relationship, and other details about me. Apparently, in Alina's eyes, I was 'not a bad guy, but crazy. That's a bad word.
But there were some pleasant surprises.

You can trust this guy.

It said so in the corner of the page.
It brought an indescribable feeling to my heart. To be honest, I almost lost my tear gland. I had no idea that he thought that.
There were other details written on the page as well.

"The stupid person who won't leave me.
He was so upset when he confessed his feelings to me.
The only interesting person to talk to.
Someone who doesn't make fun of people.


Someone who will not abandon you, who will not reject you.

The last sentence stuck with me.
Before I could think about it, Alina closed her notebook.

'Yes, that's it.
'It was pretty interesting. I didn't realize you thought so.
'I was surprised, too. I had no idea that you were the one I met in the infirmary. I thought we were dating, but I was relieved to find out we weren't.'

He sniffs in a very good way.
I said what I had wanted to ask him for a long time.

What does Alina think about her other self?

As we walked, I casually mentioned it. I didn't want him to know that I was serious. I meant it as a roundabout way of saying, "I'm not stepping into your shoes.

The real me.
What?'
'It's really me. The poisonous rose is the real me.'

I don't understand exactly.
I wonder if he is referring to his unconscious self. Are you trying to say that you have appeared like a deep-sea fish wandering still and lonely in the deep sea where no light can reach?

'Sorry, I didn't quite make sense ......'
I'm a fake. The name Alina Hiba belongs to her.
'Let's see. So your basic persona is not you?
'Yes. You know it well! A word like "basic personality"!



Does that mean what Dr. Akakusa said was a little off?
I myself had always assumed that Alina in front of me was Alina in her basic personality.

I don't remember anything before the sixth grade. None of it. It was Alina who told me about my past. She wrote it down in her notebook.
'Wait a minute. But the Alina I know doesn't seem to remember either. She doesn't seem to remember anything before the third grade.
'I know. But I won't tell you.'
'Why is that?'
'Because I don't think Alina wants me to tell you.

Another mystery deepens.

We all carry something black and painful in us. Even those who call themselves good people have boils. And sometimes they cloud the minds of others. That is when hidden secrets and facts are communicated by voice.
Therefore, entering into a person's secret is a responsibility. It gives us the power to influence the destiny of others, even to control them. We must not enter with a half-hearted attitude, regardless of the merits or demerits of the part of our hearts that is out of the spotlight. Those who still reach out are serious.
Do I fall into that category?

'Comet. Are you ready to step in?