—Prologue

"...Your remaining life... is not long."

I listened to the words spoken by the doctor as if they were about someone else entirely.

I had been weak since I was a child.

So, I knew a day like this would come eventually.

It would be a lie to say I wasn't sad.

But, strangely, I wasn't afraid.

I look out the window.

It was almost the season for the cherry blossoms to bloom.

Next year, and the year after that.

I wonder if I'll be able to see those cherry blossoms.

While I was thinking about that—

A familiar voice called out.

Turning around, my childhood friend Senzo Tachibana was standing there.