The night was darker than usual.
The entire house had fallen silent, with only the soft sound of the cold wind passing through the trees outside.
The moon was hidden behind thick clouds, leaving the corridors almost completely swallowed by darkness.
Somewhere far away, a clock quietly marked the passing hours.
Amane stood alone inside her room.
She looked at herself in the mirror for a long moment.
Her eyes were still swollen from crying, but there was something different in them now. For the first time in years, grief was not the only thing inside her heart. Hope was there. And that hope had a name.
Akira.
Amane opened the old wooden wardrobe and slowly moved the clothes aside. Her fingers stopped when they touched a dress hidden behind the others.
She pulled it out carefully. It was the dress Akira had given her. The first dress she had ever worn after entering his home.
For a few seconds, she simply held it against her chest.
She remembered the way Akira had looked at her that day.
She remembered his voice, his smile, the strange warmth she had felt around him when she still believed happiness was something she could never have.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"Wait for me, Akira."
She changed into the dress.
Then she quietly left her room. The corridor was almost completely dark. Amane walked carefully, holding the edge of her dress as she made her way toward Kento's bedroom.
She stopped outside his door and knocked softly.
There was a short silence. Then the door opened. Kento appeared, his hair messy and his eyes half-awake. He looked at Amane, then looked down at her dress, and his sleepy expression immediately changed into his usual ridiculous smile.
"Well, well... visiting me at this hour? I didn't know you missed me this much." Before Amane could answer, she noticed movement at the end of the corridor.
A guard.
The soldier was walking toward them, performing his night duty. Amane's eyes widened.
"Kento!" She immediately grabbed him and pushed him backward into his room. Kento stumbled, lost his balance and fell onto the floor.
Amane tried to follow him, but her foot caught the edge of the carpet. She tripped. And fell directly on top of him. Kento stared at her for a second.
Amane stared back. Before the guard could reach the door, Kento quickly lifted his leg and pushed the door shut with his foot. Silence. The guard's footsteps passed outside. Kento looked up at Amane with the biggest grin imaginable.
"Hey, darling... so is this a new way to take revenge? To be honest, I like it." Amane punched him lightly in the face.
"Can you ever be normal, you freak?"
"Ow!" Kento rubbed his cheek dramatically.
"Violence. Against an innocent soldier. This is how heroes die." Amane stood up and adjusted her dress.
Kento slowly got back onto his feet, still rubbing his face.
But Amane's eyes suddenly stopped on something. A half-packed briefcase was lying on Kento's bed. Her expression changed.
"Where are you going?" Kento froze.
He immediately stepped in front of the briefcase.
"Going? Me? Nowhere. Absolutely nowhere." Amane narrowed her eyes. Kento smiled nervously.
"I was just... checking how many clothes can fit inside a briefcase." Amane stared at him.
"You really think I'm dumb?" Kento's smile became even more nervous. "Yes... no! I mean no.
Obviously not. Why would I think that? Anyways, let's see you tomorrow. I have some work to do." He turned toward the door. Amane's voice stopped him. "You might know where Akira is."
Kento froze. For the first time that night, his smile disappeared. "Akira..." He looked away.
"He's in heaven. He was a good guy after all."
Amane's face became cold.
She stepped forward, grabbed the collars of his shirt and pulled him toward her. Her eyes were filled with both anger and sadness.
"If you loved me, why didn't you save me yourself?
Why did you choose to hurt yourself by doing something you didn't even want to do?" Kento didn't joke this time.
His eyes lowered. There was pain inside them.
"Maybe because..." His voice became quieter.
"I'm a coward." He gently removed Amane's hands from his collar. Then he turned around, picked up the briefcase and closed it.
Amane watched him walk toward the door.
"Then where are you going?" Kento opened the door slightly.
"I'm going for not being a coward anymore."
Amane's heart stopped. Her voice became almost a whisper.
"You're going to save Akira?"
Kento stood there with his back toward her.
A small smile appeared on his face. "I know Pearl told you everything." He opened the door a little wider.
"Akira is going into war with an unrecovered body. If I don't stop him..."
Kento's fingers tightened around the briefcase.
"I might never be able to forgive myself."
Amane suddenly looked toward the small table beside her. A pistol was lying there. Without thinking, she picked it up. Kento heard the movement and turned around. Amane placed the pistol against her head.
"Take me with you..." Her voice trembled.
"Or I'll shoot myself." Kento's face went completely pale.
"Put it down."
"No."
"Amane, that's dangerous." She opened the lock.
The tiny metallic sound echoed through the room.
Kento's eyes widened. "AMANE!"
Her finger moved toward the trigger.
Kento lunged forward.
He grabbed her wrist and forced the barrel toward the ceiling.
The gun fired. BANG! The sound exploded through the house. The bullet struck the ceiling. Both of them fell to the floor. This time Kento landed on top of Amane. For several seconds, neither of them moved. Kento stared at her with tears already filling his eyes.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?!"
Amane looked up at him.
There were tears in her eyes too. But she smiled. Just slightly.
"Love is craziness."
Her voice trembled.
"That same love keeps insisting that you protect me. So how could you imagine that I could live without my love for Akira?"
Kento said nothing. He simply stared at her. The anger slowly disappeared from his face. Only pain remained.
After a few seconds, he pushed himself up and snatched the pistol from Amane's hand. He unloaded it and placed it far away from her. Then he looked at her again. His eyes were still wet.
"Go sit in the jeep outside."
Amane blinked. Kento picked up his briefcase. "You're coming with me." Amane slowly sat up.
"Kento..."
He didn't look back.
"Don't make me regret becoming brave tonight."
He walked toward the door. Outside, the dark corridor remained silent. But somewhere beyond those walls, a jeep was waiting. And somewhere far away, a wounded man named Akira was preparing to walk into a war he might never return from.
Tonight, Amane was no longer willing to wait for fate. She was going after him.