Sakakibara, Kouichi

Kouichi Sakakibara is the new transfer student into Yomiyama North Middle School's third year's third class (in May 1998). He is 15 years old and the only son in the Sakakibara family. His mother supposedly passed away 15 years ago after giving birth to him.

He becomes very interested and curious about Mei Misaki and attempts to pursue a friendship with her, but little does he know of the trouble this is going to cause...

He has pneumothorax (collapsed lung), which is the reason why he is absent from the school for a month at the start of the story. This is also the reason why he doesn't know Misaki was treated as "one who does not exist" that year.