"I still can't forgive."
Kaito murmured on the rooftop.
Sora sat next to him. "Forgive what?"
"Myself. For that failure."
Mira and Hiyori also joined.
Hiyori asked gently. "What kind of failure?"
"Six months ago, I hurt a friend. I apologized, but I can't forgive myself."
Mira wrote in her notebook. "Self-criticism."
Sora observed. "You've been blaming yourself all along."
Kaito nodded. "Back then, I should have thought more before acting."
"Regret is natural," Hiyori said. "But continuing to blame yourself forever?"
"Punishment?" Kaito answered. "For myself."
Sora said quietly. "Self-criticism hinders growth."
"Why?" Kaito asked.
"By continuing to blame, you're trapped in the past. Can't move forward."
Mira wrote. "Forgiving and forgetting are different."
Kaito was surprised. "What do you mean?"
Hiyori explained. "Forgiving is accepting the past and letting go of attachment."
"Not forgetting," Sora added. "Keep the learning. But let go of guilt."
Kaito pondered. "But if I forgive, won't I repeat the same mistake?"
"The opposite," Sora said. "By forgiving, you can learn calmly."
Mira wrote an example. "Self-criticism → defensive. Self-acceptance → learning."
Kaito read. "Defensive?"
"When you blame yourself too much, you want to avoid looking at failure," Hiyori explained.
Sora continued. "But when you forgive yourself, you can see failure objectively."
"See objectively and think about what to learn," Hiyori added.
Kaito took a deep breath. "It's difficult."
"It's difficult at first," Sora acknowledged.
Mira said quietly. "I also couldn't forgive myself."
The three were surprised. It was rare for Mira to talk about herself.
"About what?" Kaito asked.
"Past choices. But I learned to forgive."
"How?"
Mira wrote. "Past self did their best at that time."
Hiyori understood. "Don't judge the past from today's perspective."
"Yes," Mira nodded. "The self of that time didn't have today's knowledge."
Sora explained. "There's a concept called hindsight bias. After knowing the result, you assume it was predictable."
"So I blame myself saying 'I should have done this then,'" Kaito understood.
"But the you of that time is different from the you now," Hiyori said.
Mira wrote. "Treat your past self like a friend."
"Like a friend?" Kaito asked.
"If a friend fails, do you blame them?" Sora asked.
"No, I encourage them."
"Then the same for yourself," Hiyori said.
Kaito closed his eyes. "What should I say to my past self?"
"First, 'well done,'" Mira wrote.
"What?"
Sora explained. "Even if not perfect, the you of that time made effort."
Hiyori added. "And say 'you learned.' Acknowledge you could grow from failure."
Kaito slowly murmured. "Past self, well done. And, you learned."
Tears ran down his cheeks.
"That's good," Hiyori said gently.
Sora continued. "Forgiving yourself is not weakness."
"Rather, strength," Mira wrote.
Kaito laughed. "Strange. After forgiving, I feel lighter."
"Guilt is heavy baggage," Sora said. "When you put it down, it becomes easier."
Hiyori asked. "From now on, what will you do?"
"Move forward," Kaito answered. "Not carrying the past, but carrying learning."
Mira smiled. "Good answer."
Sora said quietly. "Being able to forgive yourself is proof of self-growth."
Hiyori added. "There are no perfect humans. Everyone learns while failing."
Kaito looked up at the sky. "Forgiveness is this freeing."
"It's freedom," Sora nodded. "Freedom from the past."
The four sat quietly. Forgiving yourself is not an end, but a new beginning. Kaito finally understood that.