The rice was... decent.
Not perfect. Not like the kind her mother used to make.
But warm. Simple. Real.
And for her, that was enough.
"Don't like the miso?" he asked, glancing sideways.
Megumi blinked, surprised by the question.
"Ah… no, I do. It's just… been a long time since I had a homemade meal."
The spoon trembled slightly in her hand.
Alex/Yamada said nothing.
He just kept eating.
The silence wasn't awkward.
It was… strange.
Like both of them were trying not to scare the moment away.
Megumi didn't know what to expect from him.
She still remembered the things the other Takashi had said to her, how he tricked her...
The sweet, empty words that only led to a bed.
To a kind of pain she wasn't sure had even healed.
And yet, now this Takashi was serving her soup with trembling hands.
"Do you think about it?" he asked suddenly.
"About what?"
"The baby."
Megumi reflexively placed a hand on her belly.
"…Sometimes I picture them." She smiled sadly. "I don't know if it'll be a boy or girl. But I think they'll look like you."
Alex looked at her.
He didn't say anything.
She lowered her gaze.
"And that scares me."
The silence was a knife.
Megumi bit her lip. She didn't even know why she'd said it.
Maybe because she couldn't keep swallowing the words.
Maybe because she needed to hurt him — just a little.
But he didn't get angry.
He didn't shout.
He just set his chopsticks on the table and said:
"I'm scared too."
She looked at him.
His eyes were downcast, voice rough.
"I don't know how to be a father.
I don't know how to take care of anyone.
I don't know how to make someone feel loved.
Nobody ever taught me how to be happy."
His voice cracked on that last word.
And for the first time...
Megumi felt that the fear he carried wasn't so different from hers.
Two broken people.
Carrying a future they never asked for.
Trying not to fall apart... in front of each other.
Without thinking, Megumi reached across the table.
Placed her trembling hand over his.
The touch was brief.
But it was enough.
"I don't want promises," she whispered. "Just… stay.
For now."
Alex nodded.
Just once.
But it was enough.
---
"If Someone's Going to Believe in You... Let It Be Me"
Point of view: Alex / Yamada Takashi
The rusty gate creaked shut behind him.
A bag of vegetables hung from his right arm.
His heart… was hanging a little too.
When he opened the apartment door, Megumi was on the couch, legs tucked to the side, hands gently resting on her belly.
Her eyes were fixed on her phone screen — but she wasn't really watching anything.
"I'm back."
She looked up. She didn't smile. But nodded, tension flickering across her face.
Alex left the bag in the kitchen and approached. He sat on the edge of the couch, keeping a respectful distance.
"I went to your old school."
Megumi blinked.
"For what...?"
"To try and get you back in.
I showed them your grades. Your certificates. Said I'd cover the costs.
And if anyone dares talk trash about you again...
…they'll have to deal with me."
The silence grew thick.
Not awkward — just full of barely-contained emotion.
Megumi looked down, biting her lip.
She seemed to be fighting herself.
"Why are you doing all this?"
Alex didn't answer right away.
He took a breath. Let it out slowly.
"Because you've already lost too much.
And if someone's going to believe in you… let it be me."
Megumi closed her eyes.
No tears fell, but her body visibly trembled.
They didn't hug.
They didn't hold hands.
But in that moment... something between them held steady.
---
Interlude – "She Was Never Your Friend"
Later that evening, as Alex stepped out to buy prenatal vitamins from a nearby pharmacy, he crossed paths with a group of students.
He recognized one of them immediately.
Kirishima Nao.
Megumi's former friend.
Straight shoulder-length hair, expensive nail polish, a forced giggle.
The same girl who cried at the funeral of Megumi's reputation — then started dating Hikaru like nothing had happened.
"Oh... Yamada," Nao said, feigning surprise. "Didn't expect to see you here."
"I live here," he replied flatly.
"With Megumi, right? Wow. That's... bold. Taking in someone like her."
Alex clenched his jaw.
"Someone like her," he repeated.
Nao giggled.
"Don't get me wrong. I've got nothing against her. But, you know how it is... girls like her bring that kind of trouble on themselves."
Girls like her.
The words echoed like poison.
Alex took a step toward her.
Nao instinctively stepped back.
"You know what's funny, Kirishima?"
"W-what?"
"Girls like you are worse than monsters like me.
Because at least I admit I hurt her.
You just pretend she never existed."
Nao tried to speak — but no words came.
Her mask cracked.
Alex walked past her without looking back.
And for the first time in a long while...
He felt like he was doing something other than destroying.