After breaking up, my ex asked me to win her back

```

Several hours earlier.

"So, we want Ayakoji Chiyoko to be the one to initiate the breakup,"

"Initiate?"

In a corner outside the school building, Kagura Hikaru leaned against the wall, talking on the phone with Kohinata Motoyo, whose whereabouts at the time were unknown.

"That's right, initiate," Kohinata Motoyo said with a laugh, "People only believe in the choices they make themselves, and the decisions they make are usually harder to regret and overturn. If Mister Hikaru wants to break up with her peacefully, then this should be the best outcome. I assume you don't mind sacrificing a bit of your pride for that, do you?"

"Of course not," Kagura Hikaru said, "The key is how exactly to go about it."

"The simplest and most direct method, of course, would be to make her detest you, to the point where she becomes physically repulsed. Naturally, she will choose to distance herself. But this method comes with consequences: after the breakup, you can no longer be friends,"

"Alright, that's a last resort. What else is there?"

"Nothing else. If you want a clean break, this is the only way," Kohinata Motoyo said, slowing her speech, "Don't worry; even making someone hate you has its degrees. We won't make you do anything too extreme."

"Like cheating with you, for example?"

"Ah, Mister Hikaru, when did you learn to be as sarcastic as Hina?"

"I'm not joking," Kagura Hikaru said seriously, "That's the one thing I absolutely refuse to do."

"...I understand, I won't,"

"So, Suse, may I ask what your motivation is?"

"? What's this all of a sudden?"

Kagura Hikaru stood up and went to the vending machine nearby, inserting a coin and choosing a beverage as he spoke on the phone, "You like me, I know, but I've already made it clear that we won't be together. I will not get back with you."

"...Yes,"

Kohinata Motoyo on the other end responded softly,

Her breathing became slightly heavier.

Kagura Hikaru picked out a bottle of peach juice, crouched down to retrieve the drink, tilted his head to clamp his earphone between his shoulder and neck, and twisted off the bottle cap with both hands, "Even so, you still want to help me. What does it matter to you whether I break up with Ayakoji Chiyoko or not? Or do you simply detest Ayakoji Chiyoko yourself, wishing her to suffer?"

"...It's simple. I just don't want to see you hurt anymore," Kohinata Motoyo said quietly, "Mister Hikaru, both of us understand that lies will one day come to light."

"Yes, that's all too clear,"

After taking a sip of peach juice, Kagura Hikaru's shimmering gaze seemed to reflect the image of that white Christmas night.

The longer a malicious lie persists, the greater the harm it will cause.

What starts as a minor cut can turn into a gaping, bleeding wound.

A lie is just a lie; it can never become the truth.

Just imagine, if one day in the future, he, already a graduate and of marriageable age, were to receive a marriage proposal from Ayakoji Chiyoko.

Of course, Kagura Hikaru could never marry her. He would then have to reveal the truth, that he doesn't love her, that it was all an act, a plan devised by Kiryu Hina.

What would she become then?

It would only be a tragedy even more horrific than that of Kiryu Hina.

He could not let them continue towards a deeper abyss out of temporary weakness.

So this matter could not be dragged on.

The longer it dragged on, the worse the outcome would be.

He needed to slowly apply the brakes, closing this chapter in as stable a manner as possible while fulfilling Hina's request.

By doing so, the peaceful life he yearned for might return.

```

And Ayakoji Chiyoko was bound to be hurt, subsequently drawing away from him.

As for what Kohinata Motoyo said about them possibly not being able to remain friends, if it truly came to that, Kagura Hikaru would regret it, but there was no helping it.

With every choice made, a corresponding outcome was born.

In the story of those two, there was only one happy ending for Ayakoji Chiyoko, and that was if Kagura Hikaru continued to hide the truth, preventing others from divulging it, and kept playing the role of her boyfriend until he actually fell for her one day.

But Kagura Hikaru would not do so.

Moreover, such an ending simply did not exist.

A lie was just a lie and could never become reality.

Besides, there were too many people aware of the matter, all of whom did not get along with Ayakoji Chiyoko, and had their own agendas in private.

Even if Kagura Hikaru was willing to sacrifice his own wishes, he might ultimately lose the ability to continue for various reasons.

An ending built on false happiness was unfeasible from the start.

Kohinata Motoyo's words only made him more determined to break up.

"So, what exactly do you intend to do?" Kagura Hikaru lightly tapped on his drink bottle, "Inviting us to participate in the play, you must have some purpose."

"Exactly."

Kohinata Motoyo's tone regained its cheer as he explained, "The play is just the first step. I will make sure that your roles diverge from that of a couple, and I will have you act out scenes that make her uncomfortable. You must not console her, but instead show indifference, thereby helping Ayakoji Chiyoko to realize the difference in your values, which is often the start of many couples breaking up."

"..."

It sounded somewhat far-fetched, yet somehow plausible.

The core idea was still the same as what was said at the beginning: it was a plan to make Ayakoji Chiyoko dislike him, very easy to understand.

Kagura Hikaru knew what kind of person he was; he was someone who could easily be swayed by emotion. Even though he knew that maintaining a distance from Ayakoji Chiyoko was right, sometimes he couldn't be that resolute.

But now, with Kohinata Motoyo beside him to supervise, maybe this time he could finally take a firm stand.

"I understand. Let's do it that way."

Saying this, Kagura Hikaru emptied his peach juice with one gulp.

The flashback ended.

Returning to the present.

"You pitiable creature of darkness, what kind of life are you familiar with?"

As Christine in "The Phantom of the Opera," Kohinata Motoyo recited her lines with a tender and sorrowful vibrato in her voice, a look of deep compassion in her eyes and a complex smile of self-sacrifice on her face, as she slowly walked toward Kagura Hikaru.

"Pitiful, miserable Phantom, I must tell you, you are not alone."

She was not wearing a costume, still clad in Ugao High's summer uniform, which was a blue and white sailor outfit.

Yet her superb acting made her seem just like the real Christine, as if she were wearing a long gown from the last century, beautiful and elegant, captivating the gaze of those watching.

The Phantom portrayed by Kagura Hikaru, silent and filled with the thrill of anticipation and success, drew Christine into his arms.

After exchanging looks for a moment, Kohinata Motoyo closed her eyes and leaned in to offer her lips.

"Stop, let's not get so detailed with this part,"

With a swoop, Ayakoji Chiyoko placed the script between their lips, her face as cold as an iceberg.

"What are you doing, don't interrupt the actors' rehearsal!"

The Drama Club president, Takeuchi Momo, was hopping mad, but her hops did not even reach the height of the stage, making her look entirely unthreatening.

Ayakoji Chiyoko paid her no mind, her gaze fixated on Kohinata Motoyo until she withdrew from Kagura Hikaru's embrace with a smile.