In a room loud enough to drown out the world, Haruto Kanzaki sat alone, listening only to the silence of his glowing screen. He sighed and leaned back, glancing toward the crowded dance floor in the center of the hall.
"Why did I even come here?"
He stretched his arms before getting his attention back to his phone. But then,
"You can go in and enjoy yourself too y'know. That's the whole reason I invited you."
Haruto tilted his head to the left. Standing there was a young woman in a charming dress.
"Miss Lila, are you not gonna dance? You know the party host has to at least show at least some moves before the guests, right?" He asked teasingly.
"Huh? Who came up with that rule?" she walked over to him and sat on a chair beside him. Then, giving him a teasing grin she asked, "So? Where's your little princess, eh? You aren't seriously gonna let me go without showing me some moves of your own, are you?"
"Hana went off somewhere with Haru. And... could you please stop calling her that? No matter how I see her, she thinks of me as a close friend. Nothing more." Haruto said casually as he returned to reading comments.
Lila just sighed in disappointment as she swiftly snatched his phone.
"Hey—"
Lila cut him off with a sharp glare.
"You're all grown up, but I'm still your teacher, remember? Now, if you want your phone back, go get things straight with Aira."
"But—" he tried to protest.
"Nope, no buts! You have to come clean about your feelings before the party ends. The mood is set, and you just have to make your move. Nobody's gonna bother you."
He just sighed. "It doesn't work like that. Hana isn't like any other girl. She's—"
"A weirdo?" she cut him off.
"No. She's just... y'know, a bit different. In a good way."
Sensing his concern, Lila placed a hand on her student's head, "Haruto, listen. We're all different. Everyone's a weirdo in their own way. You two didn't get the life you deserved. But what matters is the present. Not the past."
"It's easier to say than to apply to reality." He let out a quiet scoff. "All this philosophical stuff doesn't suit you, you know..."
Haruto pushed himself up, slipping his hands into his pockets. He looked over to the balcony above, spotting both Hana and Haruki there. He was about to go there when,
"One time your mother told me something... pretty cool per say." she said, stopping him mid step. Lila gave a confident grin as she continued,
"You can only call yourself a true author the day you learn to write your own story."
For a moment, the noise of the hall felt distant.
The words didn't move his expression—but somewhere deeper, something stirred that he chose not to name.
Then, he looked back slightly, seemingly unfazed. "I don't like to call myself anything."
"You know what you are. I don't have to baby you, kiddo." Lila also sat up from the chair. Dangling his phone in her hand, she teased, "Come to get this only with the good news. For now, I'll be keeping this. Don't mess this up~"
"Easy for you to say..." Haruto just sighed and waved her goodbye as he departed into the second floor.
Miss Lila just looked at him with a smile before heading towards the buffet table.
The music was loud enough to rattle the chandeliers, but the balcony above the hall felt strangely distant from it all—like a quiet island floating over a noisy sea.
Haruki leaned against the railing, lazily staring down at the dancing crowd with open boredom.
"So," she started, "... We're actually doing this, huh? Y'know, the guy is supposed to be the one to ask a girl out first..."
Hana nearly choked on her drink.
"W-Well—I think it's... Um... I think I should probably be the first to ask just to see his embarrassed face. Yeah..."
"Right..." Haruki continued flatly, "you've been in love with that idiot for years, y'all really can't be this awkward now. Just talk things out."
"I... want to but... What if he doesn't see me as a... Y'know."
Haruki gave her a slow, merciless look.
"Who cares? You really think HE'S gonna say no when you go up to him and ask him out? He's an idiot but he's not a loser. You know him better than I do."
"Well, yeah but..." Hana argued, "I don't want to ruin our friendship just because I thought I loved him. It's all so sudden for me. Could it be that I gaslit myself into thinking I'm in love when it's just an affection?"
"You can't be serious..." Haruki sighed in disappointment.
"Haru, I'm sorry I—I didn't mean it that way! It's just that I think we should wait—"
"Y'know, after mom died he was never the same." Haruki's voice cut through the tension. She lowered her head slightly, looking down at the dancing crowd below. "The brother I grew up with, changed completely after just that one incident. He saw it first hand." Haruki tilted her head toward Hana, "... Do you think it was painful?" She asked.
Hana had nothing to say. She just placed a hand on Haruki's head like the older sister she is.
"It must've been very painful. And he's probably thinking that it was his fault too. He's an idiot who overthinks about everything." She gently patted her head, "...But sometimes losses are the only solution for growth. You really don't have to worry about those stuff. Just let him do his thing."
"I know... But still." Haruki muttered. "I don't like it."
"C'mon now, let him do his thing. It's for his own good." Hana reassured.
"I'm her daughter too y'know." Haruki argued as she tilted her head to meet Hana's gaze, "... shouldn't we both be carrying that burden togather?"
"So that's what you mean by unfair..." Hana just sighed as she looked up at the chandelier on the ceiling. "You're right. It's not fair. But it doesn't have to. Nothing is fair. But we're still here, aren't we? It doesn't matter. What he wants is to take care of you. He's simply doing it by not letting you carry that weight he's carrying." Hana wore a prideful smile as she added, "He's one dumb little guy, isn't he?"
Haruki scoffed, "You're just realizing that?"
"Hey, didn't you just say I know him better than you do?"
"Nah..."
Hana pinched her cheek, "You little—"
"Oh, hey bro!" Haruki waved her hand, making Hana think Haruto is behind her. She turned immediately.
"Ah—we were—ah... where..."
It was a distraction.
Haruki just couldn't hold her laughter anymore. "YOU... YOU REALLY THOUGHT HE'S HERE, HUH? YOU SHOULD'VE SEEN YOUR FACE!" She started laughing at her as Hana turned red in both embarrassment and frustration.
But then,
A hand grabbed Haruki from the head, paralyzing her at the realization.
"Looks like you're having fun. Mind if I join?"
Haruki escaped Haruto's grip as she held a defensive stance, "THIS IS ABUSE—OW!" He flicked her on the forehead.
"Just shut up, will ya?"
"Hana," he called out, "Can we... talk a little."
Hana froze for a moment.
His usual calm expression looked... thinner somehow. Fragile around the edges.
"S-sure." she finally answered.
Haruki looked between them once, sighed, and stepped aside.
"Well," she muttered, patting Haruto's shoulder as she passed, "don't mess this up, will ya?"
"Very encouraging," he said sarcastically. "... Don't get your hopes up."
She just waved dismissively without turning back and stepped down the stairs, leaving the two of them alone beneath the soft glow of balcony lights.
Silence settled in.
Heavy.
Expectant.
Haruto rubbed the back of his neck.
"...So. Uh... You having fun?"
Brilliant. Truly the words of a man destined to die alone.
Hana nodded quickly.
"Y-Yeah. How about you?"
"Same."
Another silence.
Somewhere below, people laughed.
Music stirred.
Haruto exhaled slowly. Realizing that this is going nowhere.
"...Thanks," he said.
Hana blinked. "For what?"
"For... everything."
A small pause.
"... you're probably the best thing that's happened to me." He said, leaning on the railing.
Her fingers interweaved with nervousness.
"You're exaggerating it," she murmured.
"No. It's true."
He shook his head.
"I just... couldn't find the moment to tell you."
The words felt clumsy in his mouth, like they belonged to someone braver.
"...I could've become something entirely different, if you weren't there with us." he continued quietly.
"You drew for me... You listened to every dumb idea I had... You encouraged me..."
A faint, fragile smile played at his lips.
"...You're kinda... impossible to get rid of my life."
Hana's heart pounded so loudly she was sure he could hear it.
"...Haruto..."
The music below pulsed.
Laughter rose and fell like distant waves.
He remembered what miss Lila said.
Perhaps it's time to get a little selfish and write his own story.
Or...
Is it too soon?
For the first time in years, he felt like the next sentence mattered.
Like this moment... was a page that would never come again.
His hands trembled. His brain overwhelmed by the pure pressure.
"... I obviously can't be without you. You're irreplaceable. Just like... Just like..."
"Just like Haru?" she asked.
He just chuckled, "Yeah, just like that thing."
He tried his best to face her with a calm face. Yet his eyes betrayed him. Finally, he made up his mind.
"... I wanna make it permanent. You a-and me. Just... I just..." He struggled, no matter how hard he tried.
This is the day he truly realized that writing romance novels, is vastly different than reality.
Hana inhaled sharply.
"...Me too."
They both froze.
Then—almost laughed, soft and nervous.
"I-I see." Haruto, tried to make sense of her words with his mushed brain.
"I mean—well, I—" she said.
"I-It's okay, you don't have to say that because you feel bad for me—"
"Shh... you're going overboard again..." She whispered as she put a hand on his mouth, stopping him from speaking out of pressure.
The world itself seemed to hold its breath.
"...Okay," she said with a teasing grin. "...You wanna hear my honest answer, right?"
A tiny, startled silence.
Then—
"I..."
Flames swallowed the night.
A roar tore through the building, violent and absolute.
Light turned white.
Sound shattered into chaos.
For a fraction of a second, Haruto's mind went completely blank.
Instinct took over.
His body lunged forward before a single thought could exist.
Arms wrapped around her—pulling her fragile body into his embrace.
Heat crashed into his back like the wrath of a collapsing star.
Someone screamed.
Maybe him.
Maybe everyone.
Glass exploded.
Air itself burned.
Time fractured into broken, flashing pieces.
Why?
The thought blazed brighter than the fire.
WHY NOW?!
His grip tightened desperately, shielding her with everything he had—
as if flesh and bone could argue with the force of an explosion.
For one impossible heartbeat...
There was only the two of them.
Pressed together.
Alive.
Then—
Darkness.
No pain.
No sound.
No light.
Just a vast, endless quiet.
...
Something stirred within the void of despair.
A presence without shape.
A voice without sound.
Cold.
Ancient.
Watching.
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Silence trembled.
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A distant warmth flickered—faint as a dying star.
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Two souls lingered in the endless void, as they peacefully flew through the vast emptiness.
The world had far been vanished.
Leaving them with only themselves.
But what awaited them ahead... was where the true journey begins.
...