Yuuna and the others finally returned home, their footsteps heavy, their faces etched with exhaustion and something far darker.
But it wasn't just their weary expressions that caught the eye.
Slung across Sakurako's back, limp and unmoving, was the lifeless body of Kouhei.
His skin was pale, almost ghostly, and the warmth that once radiated from him was gone.
Aria had been watching from the entrance.
Her eyes lit up the moment she saw them—especially him. She hurried forward, her heart fluttering with anticipation to greet them.
But the moment her eyes caught the figure on Sakurako's back, her entire body locked in place.
Like time had stopped.
That body… it was a young man's.
The man her heart longed for.
"K-Kouhei-sama…" Aria's voice broke into a tremble, barely able to escape her lips.
Her legs moved on their own, slowly carrying her forward, step by step, like she was walking through a dream.
She knelt down beside him and reached out a hand.
There was flinch, or a shiver.
There was no sign of life, either.
Her fingers sought a pulse, but there was none.
No breath stirred from his lips.
The realization slammed into her like a tidal wave.
Her knees gave way completely, crashing to the floor beneath her as if her very soul had crumbled from within.
Tears welled up in her eyes, unbidden.
It was a rare, shocking sight. Aria, who was always composed and stoic, was sobbing.
But here, in this moment, surrounded by silence and sorrow...
She clutched at him, shaking him gently, desperately, trying to rouse him.
But his body remained still, heavy with death.
And yet… his expression was calm.
Despite the vicious wound, his chest blown open, a gaping hole trailing through his body... he looked like he was at peace.
Like he had accepted it.
Like he had finished something important before letting go.
Maybe, in his final moment, he believed Masayoshi had been dealt with.
Maybe he thought the danger was gone. And with that, he let his guard fall… and allowed his soul to rest.
He had no idea Masayoshi had escaped. In his mind, the battle was already over.
Sakurako, her movements quiet and reverent, carried him to his bed and laid him down carefully.
He didn't bleed anymore.
There wasn't any blood left to bleed.
The sheets beneath him remained white.
He simply lay there, motionless.
Hina stood close by, staring down at his body.
Her wide eyes betrayed the turmoil in her heart.
Shock. Disbelief. All at the same time.
It radiated from everyone in the room.
Even Sakurako, who had never been close to Kouhei, looked shaken.
She had always kept her distance from him. Both of them were formal and polite with each other, but distant. Yet now, even she couldn't hide her stunned silence.
As all of them stood frozen, paralyzed by what they were seeing…
Yuuna suddenly trembled.
A deep ache had been building in her chest.
It was one she didn't recognize.
She had lived most of her life with a blank expression, devoid of emotion.
She was raised to be cold and mechanical.
All her life, she'd been emotionless. She didn't understand what she was feeling now.
But now her body was screaming at her, begging her to release it.
Her knees hit the floor with a hard thud beside the bed.
She reached for Kouhei's hand—the hand that used to hold her—and gripped it tightly.
Then, slowly, tears began to fall.
Big, heavy droplets that rolled from her cheeks and splashed onto his lifeless fingers.
Yuuna was actually crying.
Hina turned toward her.
Yuuna… of all people…
She had never seen her cry.
But now, her face was soaked, her shoulders trembling.
Hina looked back at Kouhei's body, her breath caught in her throat.
She could only stare.
Then, a sudden noise shattered the stillness.
The door burst open with a loud bang.
Yumi stormed in, panting hard, her face pale and tight with panic.
She had come as soon as Misuzu told her what happened.
Her eyes scanned the room, then locked on Kouhei.
Her heart stopped when she saw the massive hole in his chest.
She flinched visibly, a gasp escaping her lips.
That kind of wound… there was nothing she could do.
No matter how powerful her healing was, it couldn't turn back time.
It couldn't revive the dead.
Kouhei was already gone.
Her shoulders slumped as she turned to the others, her voice barely above a whisper.
A crushing wave of despair washed over the room.
It wrapped around them all like a suffocating fog, squeezing at their hearts.
There was no undoing this.
There were no second chances.
Kouhei was already dead.
And they could do nothing about it.
Kouhei's eyes blinked open.
He stared at the ceiling above him, blinking slowly.
The familiar one from his apartment.
He sat upright, stretching, and yawned deeply, rubbing his eyes.
It felt like he had just woken from a long, strange dream.
The ending… that part had been a nightmare.
It was like he'd been living something surreal. Beautiful, even.
Almost like he had stepped into a dream world that shouldn't exist.
A sharp voice rang out from outside the room.
"You're already late for class! What the hell are you still doing in bed?!"
It was his aunt, Yukari.
She stood at the doorway, hands on her hips, wearing only a loose white top with one sleeve dangling off her shoulder, and a tight pair of panties clinging to her hips. From the subtle curves pressing against her top, she clearly wasn't wearing a bra.
Kouhei's eyes shot to the clock.
"This is bad…! I've got a quiz today!"
"Then get your ass out of that bed and start moving already!" Yukari barked, her voice laced with both irritation and urgency.
With that, Kouhei began getting ready for class.
He headed straight to the bathroom.
The moment he stepped inside, his eyes twitched at the sight—panties scattered across the floor like fallen leaves, some even hanging in places they absolutely shouldn't be.
"Yuka-nee! How many times do I have to tell you? Keep your underwear out of my sight! Have some mercy!"
From outside came a loud retort. "What did you say?! Are you saying my panties aren't sexy enough for you!?"
"That's not the point!" Kouhei snapped. "You shouldn't just leave them lying around everywhere! Honestly, for your age, you act like a child..."
He let out a heavy sigh as he started picking up the panties, grumbling under his breath. His hands moved mechanically, collecting the offending garments while shaking his head in frustration.
And there it was—his reflection in the mirror.
His face was... average. Unremarkable.
His hair looked like it hadn't been trimmed in months, long bangs falling over one eye. It gave him the look of a shut-in otaku.
Well, he is an otaku.
"You should cut your hair, Kou," Yukari suddenly said from behind.
"Don't just barge in here when I'm inside!" he yelped, spinning around in surprise.
"Why not?" she said casually.
"What if I was changing or something?!"
"It's no big deal. I've seen you down there."
"Well yeah—when I was little!" Kouhei replied, flustered.
"You're acting like it's grown since then."
"Oh yeah?" she said, raising a brow. "Then let me see it."
"Why the hell would I show you?!"
"Well... hmm..." Yukari paused, tapping her lip with a teasing smirk. "I guess it's fine. You want your girlfriend to be the first to see it, right?"
Kouhei's face flushed bright red.
"I–I'm not going to show her either! And can you please get out and take these panties with you?! I'm already late!"
"Alright, alright. Fufufu~ You're such a cutie, Kou."
That was just how Yukari always was.
And ever since he got a girlfriend, her teasing had only intensified.
"Seriously..." he muttered with a sigh before stepping into the shower.
After a while, when he was dressed and fixing his tie, the doorbell rang.
"Kou! Your girlfriend's here!" Yukari called from the hallway.
"I'm coming!" he shouted back, still fumbling with the crooked tie as he rushed to the entrance.
"Senpai, you've kept me waiting again~..." she pouted, cheeks puffed out adorably like a pufferfish.
"I'm sorry," Kouhei said, scratching his head. "I woke up super late."
"I'm sure it's because you were up playing games all night again. You always end up sleeping late because of that," she scolded, arms crossed. Then, seeing the crooked tie around his neck, she straightened it up and fixed it for him. "Honestly, senpai, you need to take better care of your girlfriend."
"W-Well, this is all new to me, so I'm still figuring things out," he replied nervously.
"Hmm, well... I guess it's new for everyone," she said with a smile. "Shall we? We'll be late if we dawdle any longer."
"Bye-bye, you two!" Yukari called out with a playful tone.
And with that... Kouhei and his girlfriend, Himeno Yui, left for school together, hand in hand.