**[HIKARI]**
The sound of the gunshot was still echoing in my ears.
I couldn't move.
People screamed. Glass shattered. The world spun around me in chaos—but all I could see was *him*.
Kazuki stood completely still, eyes fixed on the man inside the restaurant. The body. The blood.
Then, slowly, he turned to me.
His eyes… they weren't cold. They weren't proud.
They were full of tears.
"*You have only 85 days left,*" he whispered.
My chest clenched.
I stumbled back, nearly tripping over the curb. "No…"
His voice trembled. "I didn't want you to see this like this. I just—"
"Stop."
My heart was hammering against my ribs, louder than the sirens closing in. My skin felt cold, my vision blurry. The number. The countdown. It changed again. *It's real.*
He stepped toward me, hand out like he wanted to reach me.
"Don't," I said.
His eyes widened, just a flicker.
"Please… I need you to understand," he said softly, like he was begging.
But all I could see was the man on the floor. All I could hear was the *bang*.
And all I could feel was fear.
I took another step back.
"You're scaring me."
He stopped.
His hand dropped to his side. His mouth opened, then closed again. The tears finally broke free and slid down his cheeks, quiet, unspoken pain trailing behind them.
I turned and ran.
---
**[KAZUKI]**
She ran like I was death itself.
And maybe I was.
I didn't chase her. I couldn't. My legs wouldn't move.
All I could do was stand there—surrounded by broken glass, chaos, sirens, and blood—watching the only person who ever saw me as more than a ghost disappear into the crowd.
*You're scaring me.*
I wiped at my eyes with the back of my sleeve, but it didn't help. The weight in my chest only grew heavier.
"I just wanted to save you," I whispered.
But maybe the truth wasn't meant to be seen.
Maybe I never was.
---
**[HIKARI]**
I didn't know where I was going.
I just ran. Through crowds. Across intersections. Down streets I didn't recognize.
I didn't stop until my legs gave out beneath me.
A park bench. Or maybe it was just a low wall. I collapsed onto it, clutching my chest, gasping for breath.
Everything spun.
His voice.
*"You have only 85 days left."*
The way he said it, like it was a fact. Like he'd seen it.
Because he *had.*
I pressed my palms over my ears, trying to shut it out. Trying to push the thought away. But it wouldn't leave.
And neither would the image of his face—shattered and desperate, like I was the one dying in front of him.
I buried my face in my hands.
I wanted to believe he was lying. That he was crazy.
But I saw what happened.
He *knew.*
Tears slipped out before I could stop them.
"…Kazuki…" I whispered. "What are you?"