Itsuki chased after Miyu, lungs burning, heart pounding. "Miyu… you stupid… don't just run off on
your own! It's dangerous!" he muttered, voice cracking.
He couldn't see her. Shadows twisted between the trees and the park gate. "Miyu! This is not a
game! Come out! Let me walk you home! I'm not feeling well!"
A silly voice floated from the shadows. Miyu stepped out, grinning. "You're no fun, baka Itsuki!"
There was a sharp contrast between them. Itsuki, panting at the park gate, tense and shaky. Miyu, carefree and playful, standing inside the park, oblivious to the danger lurking nearby.
Itsuki started walking slowly toward her, taking careful, heavy breaths. Then he saw him. A man running straight for Miyu, a metal bat clutched in his hands. He was closer to her than Itsuki could be.
"Miyu! Run!" Itsuki shouted, his voice cracking with panic.
But it was too late. Just as she turned, bam, the bat struck her.
Itsuki lunged, tangling with the attacker, but his body was weak. He barely held on before a sharp kick to his face sent him sprawling. The attacker ran, disappearing into the darkness. Something dropped to the ground behind him, a small clue Itsuki would notice later.
Bleeding from his nose and barely able to stand, Itsuki collapsed beside Miyu. He cradled her head in his lap, muttering frantically, "No… no… no… it's my fault. It's my fault. Miyu! Wake up! Miyu,
wake up!"
She wasn't moving. Blood pooled beneath her. His hands shook as he called the ambulance.
"Please… hurry she's bleeding we're at the kurosawa park!"
"They'll be there as fast as possible," the operator replied. "It'll take a little time to reach the park."
Itsuki's vision swam, body trembling, but he refused to let go of Miyu. Images of her laughing in the
rain, teasing him just hours ago, flickered through his mind.
How can the world take something so pure and bright so easily? he muttered through clenched teeth. His voice rose, ragged and raw. "God… is this how you pay back your good people? Is this how you do things, huh?"
In the chaos of his grief and panic, he didn't notice at first behind him a glove on the ground the attacker had dropped while fleeing. Only when he stared down at it, breath coming in
ragged gasps, did he realize this is what he left behind. Maybe it can help. Maybe maybe I can still stop him. But first I have to get Miyu to safety.
Even as darkness threatened to swallow him, Itsuki tightened his grip on her, refusing to let go. I'm not letting her die. Not now. Not ever.
He lifted her fragile body into his arms and started running toward the hospital, screaming, crying, blaming himself. "Help! Miyu! Don't die! Don't leave me!"
The city streets blurred around him. Rain slick pavement slipped beneath his feet. His strength was failing, his vision swimming, but he refused to stop. He refused to let her go.
Just as the hospital came into view, a distant wail of sirens reached him. Itsuki's knees buckled, and
darkness swallowed him. But even as he collapsed, he could hear the ambulance approaching.
Itsuki's eyes fluttered open. The fluorescent lights of the hospital room stabbed at him, and the faint
beeping of machines filled the silence. Panic surged. "Miyu… Miyu…" he whispered, voice
trembling. "Where is she?"
Ignoring the tubes and drips attached to his body, Itsuki began pulling at the hospital equipment.
"Miyu! Miyu! Where's Miyu?!" His hands shook violently.
A doctor stepped forward, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. "You need to rest," the doctor said calmly.
"Rest?!" Itsuki shoved him aside. "Where's Miyuuuuuu! Let me see her! Let me see her!"
The doctor's expression hardened. "She's in a coma right now. We don't know when she'll wake up.
You can't interfere with her treatment."
Itsuki's knees buckled. He collapsed to the floor, clutching his hands tightly, muttering, "Coma?it's my fault… I'm so weak… so useless… it's all my fault…"
The door opened, and Miyu's parents stepped in, faces pale and anxious. Itsuki scrambled to his
feet. "I-I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! It's all my fault!" he cried, bowing his head, pressing his hands to their feet. "I should have protected her! I… I failed!"
Miyu's mother's hand shot out, slapping him across the face. "I told her to stay away from this boy,
but she never listened!" Her voice cracked with fear and anger.
Itsuki didn't flinch. He lowered his head further, continuing to apologize, his voice breaking.
Her father, Ishida Suzuki, an imposing man with the stance of an ex-Marine, stepped forward.
"Stop. Stand up. Calm down. Explain what happened," he commanded, voice firm but controlled.
Itsuki stammered, trying to relay the attack, the chase, and the panic, his words tumbling over one another. Ishida listened carefully, eyes narrowing as he absorbed every detail.
"And the attacker left something behind?" Ishida asked sharply. "Show me." Itsuki's hands shook violently as he held out a glove black, with a strange white marking on the wrist. Ishida's gaze locked onto it.
"Itsuki… Miyu is our only daughter. If she dies, I will never forgive you," Ishida said, his voice low and cold.
Itsuki fell to his knees, bowing his head, his mind fragmented. "I-I'm sorry… I failed her… I'll find that… that fucker… I'll kill him… I'll kill him… I'll kill him…"
Ishida punched him sharply in the stomach. Itsuki doubled over, gasping, clutching himself. "Come to your senses! If you really want revenge, then work on yourself. You can't do anything with this useless, thin body of yours."
He stepped back, voice cold. "I don't want to see your face near my daughter again."
Itsuki slumped, the weight of guilt, rage, and despair crashing over him. The hospital room fell silent, save for the faint beeping of the machines and Itsuki's ragged breathing.