Catching my gaze, Rin quickly turned away, leaving me with confusion.

I saw Rin staring out the window, trying to keep her eyes open. Although it was still dark inside, I could tell that she wasn't looking outside, but was turning her face away to avoid my gaze.

This Rin girl, she's a pro at everything, but her acting is terrible. If she wants to make me believe that she's looking outside, she should at least pretend to look down at the street. Looking straight ahead, across the window from my house is just the second floor of a villa that looks exactly like mine across the street.

I put the bento box on the ground under the windowsill and awkwardly said to Rin.

“Katashi went out for a while, he told me to give you this. It's not that I care about you or anything.”

“…”

“I'll leave it here.”

Rin did not answer, I also stepped back.

This afternoon, I had been a twat to Rin and pressured her for no concrete reason. Adding to that the accident I caused at the entrance with the car earlier, Rin probably wouldn't be able to stop being angry with me no matter how much I apologized. Normal contact with her was already difficult, but now, after the terrible things I had done, it was practically impossible for Rin to listen to a word I had to say.

I really wanted to know why Rin was crying alone while looking at the moon, but perhaps now was not the right time. When I was the villain here and she was ignoring me. After putting down the lunch box, I just silently turned away, leaving Rin alone.

If Rin needs some space, the very least that I can do for her is to leave her be. I understand. Because when I'm angry or emotional, I want others to leave me alone to deal with it.

That violet light in Rin's eyes, is it really a code? Or is it just my hallucination in the dark? I've seen and done so many strange things today that it wouldn’t be big of a deal anymore. My best friends, Miyu, Sayo, Meiko, and Airi are all dead. My parents have become zombies, and my little sister is wandering out there all alone. Now in this house, there's only me, Rin, and Yamato downstairs, all people I didn't know two days ago. This zombie apocalypse came so suddenly, like a punishment for my selfishness. Just like a wave swept through my life, washing away everything important to me and turning this boring but peaceful life upside down.

So, no matter what Rin's eyes were looking at right now, I didn't have the mind to care anymore.

I'm so tired.

But just as I turned to leave, a voice that I never thought I would hear again today rang out, causing me to stop.

“Hana… You were right.”

Is that Rin's voice? Is she talking to me?

“What happened in Tokyo 3 years ago, actually, I already knew everything…”

_ _ _

6 hours ago, in the car.

After crying herself to exhaustion, Hana Tachibana leaned her head against the car and fell asleep.

Katashi sat in the trunk, the tip of the sword stuck to the floor, watching the red blood dripping down. His long black hair fell down with the rain, hiding the sad and tired look on his face.

Daisuke held the wheel tightly, focusing on the road ahead. The others in the car were all exhausted, they had just survived a life-or-death battle, and had just escaped from hell. What was left behind would always be left behind. The future ahead was also very uncertain, but for now, they had survived and deserved a moment of rest.

Rin leaned her head back against the trunk and whispered to Katashi.

Normally, she had no interest in another living person, let alone a boy. But from the moment Rin met this student with the Katana, there was something that made Rin feel quite interested. Not in a charming way, but in a strange way.

“Hey, you idiot, you had the chance to die just now, if you just stayed in that trash can a little longer you would have gotten your wish? Wouldn’t that have been easy, have you given up already?”

Katashi didn't reply. He had already used to Rin Murasaki's sarcasm. If it was before this zombie disaster, he would have argued back to her, but now, it was more comfortable not to let her sarcastically say anything.

Rin glanced at the girl sitting next to her, who was leaning her head against the window, dozing off. Hana Tachibana, the high school prodigy, a beautiful and arrogant young lady that somehow always found a way to make people hate her. But after what happened today, Rin finally saw that inside this girl who always appeared mature and noble, there was nothing more than a silly child. Even her face when she slept, shone with an innocence that made others want to protect her even if they didn't want to.

“Or can't you bear to leave your little princess alone in this world?'

Whenever Hana was mentioned, Katashi felt a little tickled. She might have been his childhood friend, the one who grew up with him, and even betrayed him. It wouldn't be hard for an outsider to ship the two together. But the feelings he had for Hana, even Katashi wasn't sure if it was love or not.

Katashi sighed, let go of the Katana, causing it to fall on to the floor, and leaned against the trunk.

“If you've pushed me this far, then yes I have a reason to protect Hana…”

There was one thing Hana didn't know about Katashi, and that was that he and Rin had known each other before the three of them met in the warehouse this morning. So when he talked to Rin, even though they were just teasing each other, Katashi didn't feel uncomfortable with her.

“Hey, do you remember that 'work' I told you about that day?”

Rin put her index finger to her lips, trying to remember.

“Oh, that's too bad, now that you mention it, it seems like the author of that 'work' is no longer alive to release its ending…”

Rin shrugged, making a pained gesture towards Katashi.

“My condolences, it seems that God is not so kind, to let you have an incomplete death.”

“Wrong.” – Katashi shook his head.

Katashi looked towards Hana, looking at her with a gaze full of affection.

“The driving force that allowed me to survive, the one who holds the ending of that 'work', is this girl…”

“What? You mean…”

“The author of the novel I was telling you about is Hana.”

At this point, the car suddenly jolted and then braked sharply, causing everyone, including Katashi, to fall forward. Daisuke and Hari hurriedly ran outside to check.

On the way down the mountain, they hit something that ran across the front of the car. By the time they braked, it was too late. Even though his head was still aching, Katashi couldn't help but be curious, holding his head, opening the trunk, and jumping out to look.

His conversation with Rin had to be postponed here.

Under the gloomy sky and the weight of the rain pouring down on them like a waterfall, Daisuke shined his light under the car, the three of them gathered around, saw a mass of dark brown fur torn in two, scattering bits of flesh all over the undercarriage and even stuck to the front axle. The red eyes were wide open as if they were about to fall out of their sockets. Even though it had been torn apart, the thing under the car was not so deformed that they could see that it had once been a wild boar.

Katashi covered his mouth as if he was about to throw up. Daisuke stood up straight, scratching his head.

“That's disgusting.”

_ _ _

Just as I turned to leave, a voice that I never thought I would hear again today rang out, causing me to stop.

“Hana… You were right.”

Is that Rin's voice? Is she talking to me?

“What happened in Tokyo 3 years ago, actually, I already knew everything…”

I turned around, and once again, I saw Rin on the windowsill. She was no longer hiding. Standing out in the darkness were two purple lights, one coming from the moon in the sky, the other from Rin's eyes. The two lights blended together, emanating from the darkness, creating a mysterious, yet vaguely attractive feeling in this deep corridor.

“You… you…”

At this point, my throat felt choked, partly from surprise, but mostly from not knowing how to react.

Looking at Rin's determined eyes, she was really serious.

Rin bowed her head, I heard a sigh, it felt like she had just released a burden deep inside her soul.

“Rin, then what happened there…”

“That… that's not the whole story, is it?”

“Sorry… that's all I know.”

Suddenly, Rin's voice changed, returning to the firm tone from before. Rin raised her face, allowing me to see her expression clearly.

This time, it was a murderous look. Her eyes had turned sharp again, causing me to shrink back when facing it.

Before I could ask any further questions, Rin immediately interrupted me.

“I'm telling you that so you don't have to continue blaming yourself. But if you ask any more questions about what happened in Tokyo three years ago, don't blame me for having to shut your mouth.”

Looking at Rin's eyes, I knew that I couldn't continue to extract any more information from her. The white space in her eyes below her deep purple pupils, like the eyes of a demon, would not hesitate to do anything to me. The image of the weak Rin from a few seconds ago, was immediately erased from my subconscious, returning the powerful Rin as before.

“Okay… I understand.”

I had to humble myself and turn away.

But just as I took a step, I suddenly remembered something, it probably had nothing to do with the walls in Tokyo, so I turned around and asked Rin.

“Hey, just now when you were crying, I saw a code appear in your eyes, how do you plan to explain it?”

“I'm not crying!” – Rin coldly replied.

“…”

I returned to my room. Now that my body was clean and I had nothing else to do, I threw myself on the bed, intending to take a long nap, to temporarily forget the bad things that had happened and try to escape from what was happening. However, lying flat on the bed, I couldn't fall asleep right away, and kept tossing and turning.

My room wasn’t big, half of the wall was under the roof so it was missing a 45 degree angle, below the roof was the bed I was lying on. I was alone in the room, the cold moonlight reflected on the wooden floor.

Suddenly, a feeling of loneliness arose in my heart. It is true that every night I am alone in this room, wandering alone in the dark, but I have never felt so lonely like this.

I once read in a book that the nature of every human being is loneliness, but the rhythm of daily life has made us all temporarily forget it. When night falls, each person returns to his or her own room, does their own work, sleeps alone in their own bed, and dreams their own dreams. However, each of us can rest assured to fall asleep, because somewhere out there, we know that life still continues. A new day comes and we continue to immerse ourselves in the rhythm of daily life, connecting with other individuals in the cyclical movement of life.

But have I ever stopped and wondered, what is the real meaning of tomorrow?

My life, I don’t know since when, has been repeating itself. Every morning I wake up, take a shower, then go to school. Spend the whole day at school, and by the time I get back, it’s already dark. Eat dinner, prepare lunch for the next day, do homework, sit down to write code… then take another shower and go to sleep. Life is busy enough for me to stop and think, but I’m comfortable with it because I know that tomorrow will come, and I don’t even have to think about what I have to do to live my life to the fullest. Around me, there are familiar faces, my father, mother, Toru, Airi, Sayo, Meiko, Miyu, Hibiki Sensei… and other classmates at school. Because I’m surrounded by those familiar faces, I always feel like I’m a part of this world, and I’m not alone.

But now, everything around me is no longer like that. I suddenly woke up from that seemingly endless rosy dream to realize one thing, my whole life I have been clinging to that thing called 'the cycle of life', because I was afraid of facing tomorrow. I knew that that peaceful life would end the moment I graduated from high school, but throughout my whole high school life, I had never prepared for that, because I still thought that I had a lot of time, and the time I could stay in this town would never end.

I thought that the future my parents had planned for me was the worst thing that would happen to me in my life.

Who would have thought, now I no longer have to fear graduating from high school. From this moment on, no one will be able to force me to leave this town to go to Tokyo, no one will be able to marry me off to the son of a rich chairman, and I, from this moment on, am free to go anywhere, do any job I want, wear anything I want to wear, become anyone I want to be. There are no more barriers that can stop me from moving forward, but I'm not sure I'm truly satisfied with this change.

I curled up, my hands gripping the sheet beneath me. Why did I think that this life that is not cozy enough? Why did the lights below made me jealous? Biting my lip, my heart aches beyond description. Is it only when I lose something that I learn to appreciate what I have?

All around me, the familiar faces, father, mother, Toru, Airi, Sayo, Meiko, Miyu, Hibiki Sensei… all of them, were no longer there.

Lying on this bed, listening to the breath of the town through the rain outside, I no longer feel the cycle of life.

And tomorrow when I wake up, there will be no school for me to go to.

No more annoying boys, with their silly love letters.

There will be no more dogmas in the teacher's office or gossips behind my back.

No more lonely afternoons at the pool after school and stopping to watch the sunset on the way home.

And there will be no more family meals, and no more scolding at the dinner table.

The things I used to hate, why do I suddenly miss them like this?

It's over, it's all over, there's nothing left out there.

And there was nothing waiting for me, right in this very house.

Even though it's only the second day, my mind is already tormented to this extent. Is this what the feeling of the end of the world is like?

I bit my lip, trying not to let the tears fall. Why did this have to happen to me? Was this God’s punishment for not appreciating the life he had given me?

And tomorrow, when the sun comes up, this rain will be gone, then what will I do next?

It's been a long time, really, I have no plans for tomorrow.

Thinking of this, the lights on the second floor suddenly turned on.

It seems that Katashi and Daisuke's plan to steal the power source was successful. Now the second floor hallway is covered in a warm orange-yellow tone light.

The power is back on? I jumped out of bed,

Even though I didn't expect it, it was at least a good sign that made me feel a little better, because at least I knew that Katashi and Daisuke were still out there somewhere, and that they were safe.

Looking at the light shining on the ceiling, I suddenly wondered why Katashi had to try so hard.

Even though he had staged a play so perfectly that I and the others were forced to believe that he was doing something evil, in my heart, I saw the compulsion in every action he took. Katashi forgave me, he risked his life to save me, and brought me home. Even in his final moments, I saw in Katashi's eyes, a reflection of myself. I couldn't see any malice in those eyes. Even though we had been apart for a whole year, looking back at his entire life before that, was there anything Katashi didn't do for me?

Fearing his silly personality, Katashi always hid his feelings, and silently sacrificed for others. With every thing he did, only I was the one who benefited, and never knew how much Katashi sacrificed for me.

This time I don't believe that Katashi suddenly became evil without a reason. Surely, when he returns, I will know why he was in such a hurry.

Because I've always believed that, no matter how bad things he did, it definitely wasn't for Katashi himself.

But it was for me.

Right, what am I doing? While he was still risking his life to go out there and face the zombies, I could only curl up on the bed and feel tormented.

Katashi had done his best for me, and there was nothing I could do to make it up to him. I slapped myself hard, then hurriedly went to the desk to get my laptop.

I suddenly remembered that the world had ended, but there was still a task I had to complete.

I am a very strict person with myself. Once I feel bad, I will find something to do to calm down, instead of wasting time crying like this. Hana, the apocalypse has made you too soft.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, with the laptop in front of me, I immediately started to continue my unfinished work. Soon, my passion for work returned, I was drawn back to the screen, with the lines of code in front of me.

Katashi, thanks for reminding me, I still have work to do.

_ _ _

One year ago, rooftop, high school.

Katashi took a deep breath, looking up at the clear blue sky above his head.

His feet were dangling on the wall, one slight slip and he would plummet headfirst down.

“Enough is enough!” – Katashi muttered to himself.

No matter how clear the sky above him was, through Katashi's lifeless eyes, it could never be as beautiful as before.

Rather, no matter how romantic the world is, he had forgotten how to feel that romance.

In Katashi's eyes, the world was nothing but gray.

It was now the middle of third period on a Friday morning, and all the students and teachers were in the classroom. The atmosphere was quiet, peaceful enough for Katashi to have a peaceful death.

There was no one outside who could interfere with his death. The school was on top of a mountain, a long trip away from town, and from his perspective, there was only forest all around, extremely romantic. Even though he couldn't feel it, it was clear that there was no better time for Katashi to have the ideal death he desired.

Feeling the gentle early autumn wind pass through his sleeves, and letting his hair follow the wind, Katashi closed his eyes, preparing to fall forward. He shouted loudly.

“You can't stop me! I have no connection to this world anymore!”

It all started a few months ago, when Katashi thought his boring but peaceful life couldn't get any better, suddenly, a series of disasters fell upon him from nowhere.

He failed the entrance exam to the art university he wanted, his sister was hit by a car and died, his academic results declined, his family fell apart, his future was uncertain. In just a short period of time, all the things that made his life peaceful were just fragments of memories drifting away with the wind.

But all of that combined, still couldn't hurt as much as the fact that he was betrayed, betrayed by a girl, and his irreplaceable friend.

That was also the biggest turning point that changed Katashi's life. Not the above things, but that betrayal ruined his life.

Because if it weren't for the promise he made to that person, he wouldn't have intended to apply to art school in the first place.

Because if it weren't for that person, he wouldn't have gotten drunk on the afternoon his sister was crushed to death and his family wouldn't have been broken up like this.

Because if that person hadn't appeared in his life from the beginning, his life would have been very different now.

Katashi, was betrayed by his childhood friend, by Hana Tachibana.

Hana, what is it about that name that gives Katashi a headache every time he thinks about it?

But it's okay, all of those things are no longer important to Katashi, no matter how much he torments himself, his life will never be the same again. Now Katashi is just a soulless boy with no hope for tomorrow, and he knows, it's time for him to free himself, from this tiring series of days.

However, no matter how completely the stage was set up, for the entire week since he started to make up his mind to commit suicide, Katashi still couldn't perform the act of tumbling from the rooftop to the ground, because there was still a sarcastic voice, always present behind him.

“If you want to jump, then jump quickly… It's my turn too!”

“Shut up, if you want you can jump first… Ladies first! Please!”

On another corner of the rooftop, a fair-skinned girl in a crimson school uniform leaned against the iron grating, holding a book in her hand, her chin resting on her hand, waiting for Katashi's performance.

“So are you going to jump or not? What kind of man is that, he doesn't even dare to commit suicide?”

"And you dare?"

“Dare, only I'm not a man.”

Katashi was going crazy over this girl. Since Monday, he had made up his mind to skip Math class at 10am and go to the rooftop to commit suicide, but this girl suddenly appeared there, nagging him, making it impossible for him to concentrate on jumping. So Katashi had to patiently wait until Tuesday, then Wednesday to have a truly private death. But this girl was always there, interfering with his 'death'.

“If you didn't sit there every day, I would have finished my work a long time ago. Can't you just let someone die a good death?”

The other girl shrugged, replying softly to Katashi.

“It’s not my fault. Who told you to sneak up here right when my literature class is? I only skip literature class. Any earlier and you wouldn’t have seen me. Why don’t you go unalive yourself at nine-thirty or something?”

“No! Absolutely not!”

Katashi snapped.

“What's wrong? I thought death would be the end of all worries in this world, and you still have plans for something else at 9 o'clock?”

“What else? My class has literature class at 9 o'clock, and this week our class is doing a research project on Osamu Dazai's “Setting Sun.” How could I miss such a masterpiece?”

“…”

“Like you, I can only skip the 10 o’clock math class. I also hate Mr. Dojima, my math teacher. If I die in another class, the subject teacher will be implicated… Only by dying in his class can I rest in peace.”

The girl's face was blank, revealing an expression that was at odds with her beautiful face.

“Are you stupid or something?”

Katashi paused for a moment, stroking his chin in thought. I was a bit stupid.

“Stop it!” – Katashi snapped – “Just let me die!”

The other girl ignored Katashi, stroking her long black hair.

“See, I turned away, just pretend I'm not here, now no one will witness your death anymore.”

“But if you keep nagging, how can I pretend you're not here?”

The girl didn't reply anymore, the space suddenly became quiet. Katashi turned his head to look, she had been focused on the book for a while.

So she let him die. Now there was no one who could stop Katashi.

However, something seemed to hold Katashi back to the wall. He stopped and asked the girl softly.

“Hey, if I jump, will you really follow me?”

“Maybe so, I'm not sure.”

She was focused on the book, but still answered Katashi's question.

“But maybe not today… or the day after that, or the day after that.”

The book had turned to the last page, in the girl's eyes there was a hint of regret.

“I guess I'll stay in this world, just a little longer…”

“What's wrong?” – Katashi sneered – “Are you discouraged too?”

“No,” the girl closed the book in her hand, “Focus on your death.”

“Oh? How mysterious, then if you don’t tell, I don’t jump.”

“Whether you jump or not is your business, what does it have to do with me?”

Katashi suddenly felt a little bitter. If he couldn't win an argurment with this girl, he wouldn't be at peace even if he died.

He had to temporarily postpone his leap, biting his fingertip and thinking about the girl's suicide.

“Let me guess, the book you're reading is the second book in the 'Okinawa Ice Castle' series, right?”

“How do you know?”

“I see you read that book every day. It's my favorite novel too. Too bad we never get to see the ending, huh?”

“So what?”

“The second book ends at the climax. By the time the third book was finished, the author had passed away from a serious illness before he could finish it. So no matter how long we wait, none of us will ever know how it ends, right?”

“So what does it have to do with me?”

Knowing that he had hit the girl's nerve, Katashi continued to press forward.

“However, it’s not all hopeless. A group of writers have gathered together Eji’s final drafts, and invited all of Japan’s most notorious writers to complete his final volume. So, although it’s not official, ‘Okinawa Ice Castle’ will have a temporary conclusion… I guess, you feel like it would be a bit of a pity if you died before you could touch that ending, right?”

At this moment, Rin raised the corner of her lips.

“So you are truely stupid.”

Katashi looked up at the sky above him. The gray in his gaze suddenly changed to a beautiful blue.

Katashi suddenly felt like he didn't want to die anymore. He closed his eyes, feeling the cool wind wrapping around his body.

The gentle feeling of the autumn wind, how refreshing. It had been a long time since Katashi had felt this way.

“Hate you… Hana… even if I am about to die you still couldn’t leave me alone.”

Katashi stepped down from the steps, returning to the ground level of the rooftop.

“What? Waiting until tomorrow again? Chicken.”

“No…” – Katashi smiled slightly with satisfaction- “I think I will be like you…”

Katashi put his hands in his pockets and looked into the distance.

“I think I'll stay in this world a little while.”

“Ha… so you are no better than me, making up excuses to run away with your tail between your legs.”

“Nonsense… I was going to jump off anyway. It’s just that you reminded me… that I also have a ‘work’ that I still don’t know the ending to.”

“'Okinawa Ice Castle'?”

“No…” – Katashi shook his head – “It is a very special work to me.”

“So what is 'it'?”

“I can’t say.” – Katashi looked towards the town in the distance, below the green mountains and old railway tracks surrounding it.

“So you're not jumping anymore?”

"Not for now."

“You idiot.” – She turned her face away, thinking she was about to see a real suicide, but…

The bell rang to signal the end of class. Class 2A's math class and Class 2C's literature class were finally over, which meant Katashi and the other girl had to return to class.

Not wanting to commit suicide, Katashi stuffed his hands in his pockets and leisurely walked past the girl.

Suddenly, the girl spoke up, surprising Katashi.

“Hey boy, what class are you in?”

Katashi ignored the girl's call and continued walking calmly. It seemed that this time, the argument was Katashi's victory.

“Why do you care about my business? I hope we never see each other again.”

She looked in the direction Katashi walked. Even though she had never had any friends before, and she had no intention of making any. But in her beautiful purple eyes, she could never forget the image of Masayuki Katashi that day.

“You're interesting too… you idiot.”

_ _ _

I was concentrating on the computer screen, with its complex lines of code, when suddenly there was a loud noise downstairs that made me unable to continue. Being pulled out of my stream of thought, I was a bit annoyed, so I immediately shut down the computer and went downstair to check.

It was Daisuke's voice. They had just returned from Katashi's deadly mission. Hearing Daisuke's voice, I wasn't too worried. But his tone was extremely harsh and urgent.

What's going on down there? A strange feeling of unease rose in my heart. Although I couldn't hear the words Daisuke was shouting, I could sense something unusual in his voice.

Without hesitating another second, I hurriedly followed the stairs straight down to the floor below.

Just Daisuke's voice? I ran with my heart pounding in my chest. The few seconds from the second floor down felt like an hour, trying to listen to the sounds ringing in my ears but unable to focus on forming words, trying to purse my lips and mumble a prayer that nothing bad would happen when I got downstairs.

Running down the stairs, seeing that the living room was empty, I immediately turned towards the kitchen.

At the doorway of the kitchen, Rin and Yamato were there before me, both of them looking very surprised at what they were seeing. No, no way? I immediately pushed Yamato aside, to see clearly ahead, and then, the very thing I didn't want to see the most, was what appeared before my eyes.

I hurried and covered my mouth with both hands, too moved to speak.

At the back door of the kitchen, Daisuke had his arm around Katashi's shoulder, both of them soaked to the skin, sprawled on the floor, the katana lying on the ground beside them. Daisuke looked very anxious, while Katashi just bowed his head, letting his wet black hair cover his face.

The rain continued to fall outside the door behind them, the wind howling from outside and the rain splashing on my face.

Now, I could clearly hear Daisuke's scream, without a single mistake, every word clear.

“This is bad…Katashi…he was bitten.”

Beside Daisuke, Katashi was panting heavily, a large tear had opened on the bicep of his shirt, and crimson blood was seeping down, soaking his black sleeve.

Rin stepped forward forcefully, looked down at Katashi coldly, and asked Daisuke.

“What now? Do you have a plan? Do you want me to kill him and throw his body outside?”

Not letting Rin repeat herself a second time, Daisuke hurriedly spoke up, stuttering in reply.

“No! He hasn't reanimate yet. Right when he was bitten on our way back, I had this idea… but didn't dare to carry it out…”

Daisuke raised his face, revealing an extremely bitter expression.

“The only way to save him now… we have to amputate this arm.”

…

I just stood there watching Daisuke lead Katashi into the living room, Yamato curiously hop on the sofa, and Rin followed.

Daisuke placed Katashi on the coffee table in the living room, then immediately turned towards the door to pick up the Katana from the kitchen floor.

What is going on, this can't be real.

I was completely frozen, my throat tight, unable to even make a sound. This incident happened so suddenly that I didn't have time to react.

As soon as the lights came back on in my room, I was sure that Katashi had finished his work smoothly and was on his way back. He had just given me hope that I would continue living, in order to fulfill my promise to him, when Katashi responded to my sincere thanks with such a thing.

I thought that today I couldn't be more broken, I thought that no matter what happened in the world, Katashi would always be by my side.

But right now, the person who made me worried was Katashi.

No, Katashi, why did it have to happen so soon? Am I dreaming?

Katashi, just a few minutes ago, I was still diligently finishing that work, so that I could fulfill my promise to you.

Katashi… I… I'm not ready yet.

Seeing me still cowering in place, Daisuke shouted angrily.

“Hana! Are you blind? Why don't you go get some medical supplies?”

But I didn't move, I really couldn't. Because what happened before my eyes was too sudden for me.

“Damn… damn…”

Daisuke didn't waste any more time with me, he walked straight past me and went to get the first aid kit himself.

A few minutes later, everything was in order. Katashi bit a piece of white cloth on his mouth. Yamato held his arm tightly, rubbing alcohol and painkillers were applied around the biceps above the bite. Rin and I stood far back, watching anxiously.

Daisuke held his Katana tightly, muttering non-stop.

“Bear with me, brother, it won't be easy!”

His words were strong, but his actions were inconsistent. Standing before Katashi, the hilt of the sword that was firmly held in both palms was still shaking. Surely even Daisuke, who had no qualms about attacking the dead, would hesitate a little when facing a living person like this.

I can't blame Daisuke, because it's the basic human instinct. Cutting off a limb from a dead person is easy, but doing it to a living person, is not comfortable at all.

While I was still standing there, Daisuke had already gathered up his courage.

Especially now, with Daisuke's decision, Katashi's life is completely in his hands.

“Daisuke…” - Katashi looked at Daisuke firmly one last time, his mouth still biting the white cloth. His face had turned pale at some point, his eyes were purple and he was breathing heavily from within.

“You don't have to do this.”

“No…” – Daisuke shook his head, both of them were still wet and he was sweating profusely – “Don’t say that Katashi, I will save you…”

“No, it's not like what you think, I'm going to die anyway.”

“Don't be so pessimistic, Katashi? You won't die, okay? You will live!”

Katashi stopped, he must have seen something in Daisuke's eyes. Knowing that there was no way to stop the brown-haired boy's will, Katashi closed his eyes and sighed in frustration.

“Okay, whatever you want.”

“I'm sorry, Katashi!!!”

Daisuke regained his composure, put all his strength into his palms, closed his eyes tightly and shouted loudly.

He is ready.

With Daisuke's fierce shout, the sword flashed and slashed down. With a thud, I covered my face with both hands in fear.

But then, I could no longer hear any sound, so I mustered up all my courage and gently opened one eye.

In front of me, Daisuke still had his eyes closed, in his hand, was still the hilt of the sword. The blade had already slashed down with great force, but it still hadn't touched Katashi's arm.

Daisuke's whole body trembled on his feet. Daisuke rubbed his face with his hands in frustration.

“Damn it… I can't do it…”

He lowered his sword, and relaxed his body.

“Katashi… I'm sorry… I can't do this.”

The living room suddenly became quiet. Nothing happened. Everyone in the room looked at Daisuke's miserable state, no one said a word.

Katashi looked up at the ceiling, silently watching the light above. I placed my hand on my chest, anxiously wondering what would happen next.

No one is strong willed enough to cut off Katashi's arm… so, are we going to leave him alone to turn?

And then, like a gust of wind, in a brief moment, at the exact moment when no one expected it, Rin boldly stepped forward, snatching the Katana from Daisuke's hand.

In the moment when everyone else and I could only open our eyes wide to see what was happening here, a sweet slash was swung down, causing Katashi's arm to break and fall to the floor.

I saw Katashi’s face contort, his mouth screaming in pain. The first slash hadn’t completely severed his arm. It was only half severed, but it snapped to the ground like a broken branch.

The scene was horrifying, all I could see was red, the red of blood. Katashi's half-cut arm was dyed a deep red. The red blood flowing down from his arm created a blood-red tablecloth, covering the tea table and the ground.

And most clearly, standing firmly in front of me, the red from the back of the Blazer Rin was wearing.

Without hesitation, without pity, unlike Daisuke, Rin didn't hesitate for a second to end this herself.

She stood straight on her two feet, showing no sign of fear.

And then, the moment Rin was about to strike down for the second time, I suddenly saw Katashi's dying body. He was writhing on the table, and kept screaming loudly.

This is bad, this is really bad. The first slash failed to sever that arm, but Katashi's endurance had already exceeded its limit. If Katashi received another slash, he would die.

Rin! Stop it, you're killing him!

Having been friends with him since childhood, I knew that Katashi's body was very weak. Although Katashi's spirit was very strong, his body was not. If I couldn't stop Rin now, Katashi wouldn't be able to take it anymore.

In that brief moment, my reason took over my entire body, my legs gained strength and stepped forward, and my hand tightly held onto Rin's arm. Knowing that Katashi's arm had been severed like this, there was no turning back, but I still had to stop Rin, because in my heart, I didn't want to see Katashi continue to suffer.

But my instincts still couldn't overcome Rin's physical strength. She easily pushed me away, knocking me backwards.

I tried to reach for Rin again, but from behind, Daisuke and Yamato were there holding me back.

I lost my temper, tried to scream at Rin, begging her to stop, but all my efforts were in vain, because Rin had already made up her mind.

I collapsed to my knees, preparing to hug my face in despair and cry, when a gentle voice spoke.

“It's okay Hana… Everything will be alright…”

Hearing that warm voice, I quickly raised my head, surprised and looked straight ahead. No way… this voice… could only be…

In front of me, on that tea table, his face was pale, his head tired, and his eyes were sunken, but he still tried to smile gently at me.

It's Katashi… aren't you in a lot of pain, your arm is being severed, yet you still try to let go of the cloth in your mouth to comfort me.

Katashi… in the end, I couldn't do anything for you… it was all you sacrificed for me.

It was too late, I couldn't stop Rin anymore, the blade slashed down a second time with a clean cut, Katashi's arm dropped to the floor with a thud.