As Rei stood on the checkered floor of the school’s rooftop, he peered out at the well-maintained campus below.

He could see the telltale signs that revealed spring was on its way. Flowers were beginning to bloom and the weather was becoming less chilly.

Soon enough the campus grounds would be filled with a plethora of vibrant colors, mixing into the green leaves that were already present.

As he looked towards the brick paths of the school, he could see red roses beginning to reveal themselves amongst the path’s bushes.

Once, a long time ago, Rei had been particularly fond of the roses that grew on campus. The red petals of the roses never failed to remind him of a certain someone.

He had once thought that he would never get tired of the roses that bloomed in the spring, but now he hoped to never see them again.

After he had spent so much time seeing the same roses every spring, seeing the same of everything, no matter how hard he tried to change things;
absolutely everything had become dull.

He wished to be free.

Quickly, Rei tried to pull himself away from that train of thought. He knew that rumination over his situation always got him into unnecessary trouble.

He had been there before, with urges to end his life in some way or another, but it wasn't like dying ever solved anything anyway.

He had tried committing suicide before, only to wake up alive in his bed on the first day of school.

No one around him had any recollection of anything that happened before and he felt even more alone than ever.

His friends and family's memories were erased, for better or for worse.

Ritsu couldn't remember their reconciliation... At this point, it was pointless to try.

Time after time, the results were always the same: the school year would end and Rei got nothing but yet another school year.

He had never felt so isolated.

He closed his eyes as he tried to think about anything else.

As Rei stood with his eyes closed, a familiar laugh rang out as arms wrapped around him from behind, breaking him out of his internal spiraling.

A gasp broke from his lips in surprise. He hadn’t thought that anyone would find him.