"No—that's not the main point. Don't you dare try to dodge the issue."
The next moment, Maki reached out and tapped Takumi on the back.
"Since you're injured, you should have said so earlier. There's nothing going on for the moment anyway, so I can completely come over and help you apply medicine and bandage it."
"Next comes the crucial do-or-die battle. No matter what, all of us have to maintain our best condition."
"Don't you dare go off and hide alone like this again. If something happens, can't you come talk to me? Or do you think I'm not reliable enough?"
The girl's displeased tone, as well as the concern contained within her words, made Takumi feel a warm sensation rise from the bottom of his heart.
"If you keep caring about me like this, I might just confess to you, Maki-san."
So he smiled and joked, turning his head and facing Maki directly.
"What is that? Confessing after just a few days of spending time together—that's something only really shallow men would do."
Maki's face flushed at Takumi's words, but her momentum did not falter at all, and she immediately rebutted with full confidence.
"Although it's only been a few days, we've gone through life and death together and experienced many twists and turns. This level of richness isn't something other couples could achieve even in a year of dating. So in terms of emotional depth, I believe we're already equivalent to having known each other for a year."
The curve of Takumi's mouth grew even more delighted, and his words became just slightly more unrestrained.
In a sense, he had gradually figured out the basic boundaries to keep in mind when interacting with Maki, and Maki was also getting familiar bit by bit with Takumi's personality. Between the two of them, they no longer needed that kind of polite, distant boundary that ordinary friends required.
"That line was too lame—it's practically like you're deliberately flirting like some scummy guy."
And so Maki immediately revealed an expression of disdain.
"Ah, is it necessary to think of it that way? I'll get really hurt, you know."
Takumi instantly reacted in a slightly exaggerated way.
"It's just too lame. And what kind of calculation method is that supposed to be? Couples and all that… Hmph, let's talk about it after we get out of here. For now, focus on the present. As long as we can leave this apartment safely, maybe I really will listen to whatever excessive and rude request you have. A-all right, I'm done with the bandaging. I should go."
Maki muttered as she slightly averted her gaze, her reddened face appearing even cuter under the dim light.
For a moment, Takumi was still somewhat dazed. He couldn't help but think that compared to those frightening and bizarre Horror Story anomalies, it was perhaps this kind of pure girl's reaction that struck him with an even stronger impact.
So, when Maki stood up preparing to leave, he grabbed her wrist.
"W-what are you doing?"
Maki, who had not expected Takumi to do this, asked in a somewhat flustered tone.
"I don't want to wait for some 'after we get out.' Those 'we'll talk about it later' situations always run into all kinds of difficulties when it comes time to fulfill them, so let's talk here."
Takumi took a deep breath, applied a bit of force, and pulled Maki to sit back down in front of him.
"T-talk about what? Now isn't the time to talk about this kind of thing…"
Maki's cheeks grew even redder, and her voice became a few degrees weaker. Her hands struggled, yet she seemed unable to truly muster the strength to break free of Takumi's grip.
"To me, you are extremely important, Maki. From the first loop when you saved my life, to the second loop when you supported me, and now, being able to see you who retained your past memories, you who remember the battles we once fought together. Someone like you is extremely important to me, so I want you to listen to me properly."
Takumi's expression grew more and more serious.
"T-this… no, Takumi-kun, you…"
Maki's face turned redder and redder, her voice trembled more and more, and she became increasingly unable to meet Takumi's gaze.
Her heartbeat began to pound intensely.
And sitting across from her, Takumi wore an expression of unprecedented seriousness.
Although he had always dreamed about becoming some kind of two-dimensional harem king or whatever, Takumi had to admit that during this period of time spent in this haunted place, everything this cute girl Maki had done for him had already shaken his heart deeply.
If she were willing to acknowledge him here, to trust him here, to choose him, then Takumi felt that perhaps his entire life would be tied to this girl.
At least in this moment, he truly had such a thought. Because in his view, a girl like this was someone worth protecting for a lifetime.
So, he wanted to tell her—even if they ultimately failed, even if they could not leave the Shirakawa Apartments, he still wanted to tell her, to let her know the feelings he held for her, what he wanted to say—
[Pat—]
Before Takumi could say it, Maki suddenly tore free from his hand, scrambled up from the floor in a panic, and dashed straight out the door.
"I-I'll go ask Oba-san if she's ready over there. Takumi-kun, y-you, you, you also need to rest properly. All right, that's it!"
Finishing that sentence in a hurried rush, the sound of the outer door closing followed right after.
Ah…
She just ran off like that?
Takumi sat there in a daze for quite a while, and in the end he could only pull back the hand he had stretched forward, the one that had originally been tightly holding Maki's hand.
"So it really was too hasty, huh, but I really don't want to tempt fate…"
Sighing like this, Takumi lay down on the floor, closed his eyes with a bit of helplessness, and temporarily rested.
...
The matter of attempting to confess his feelings to Maki only for the other party to run off immediately was merely a small interlude before everything began.
The light outside the window dimmed, then brightened again, then fell into darkness, and then brightened for the second time.
The time of the third day approached rapidly under the constant acceleration of the clock.
Standing in the living room of Room 206, Takumi looked at the two beside him—Kaguya and Maki—and a bit farther away, the extremely tense Yamamoto Hiroshi, Green, and Maeda Miwa, as well as Jamal, who was waving her hands excitedly like an elementary school student on a field trip. His tone solemn, he slowly spoke. "Then, everyone, are you ready? Once we set off this time, we either leave this apartment alive, or we die halfway. There is only that one possibility."
"Let's go. Now is not the time for hesitation." Kaguya spoke in a cold tone, taking the lead as she walked forward.
"…Mm."
Maki only gave a soft response. Not daring to turn her head to look at Takumi, she lowered her head and followed after Kaguya.
"We're really going to follow them…"
Green shivered a little. He had originally thought he would just stay behind as always, but he hadn't expected Takumi's single sentence—"everyone has to go"—to immediately decide that all the survivors on the second floor had to follow and take action together.
"It's mainly because we really can't stay on the second floor…"
Yamamoto Hiroshi understood this decision quite well. He lowered his head, looked at the floor that had already become drenched, and the unease on his face could not be hidden no matter what.
The apartment's condition was deteriorating.
After the toy doll that carried a portion of the core Horror Story obsession had been taken out of Room 304, the condition of the entire apartment had been worsening without pause.
The walls of the originally safe second floor had begun to sprout moss, water still dripped from the ceiling, and filthy dirty water gradually appeared on the ground. It was as if the place was shifting toward that former moment, toward that worst moment this apartment had once experienced.
They could no longer remain on the second floor.
The second floor of the Shirakawa Apartments would completely transform into an area of unknown danger before long, so for this operation, the original logistics personnel could not be left behind. Every person had to enter the third floor, and only after reaching the third floor would they try to find a place to settle those who were not suited for exploration.
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