The siren of ambulance echoed throughout the school grounds.
Red and blue emergency lights flickered across the windows and hallways.
Students stood gathered from a distance while whispering quietly between themselves.
Nobody had the guts to approach the corridor anymore.
Not after what they had witnessed.
Meanwhile—
Shinn slowly carried the unconscious Hiro throughout the hallway.
Blood stained Hiro's knuckles completely.
Several students fearfully moved aside the moment Shinn approached.
The atmosphere around him felt suffocatingly heavy.
One paramedic immediately rushed toward them.
"What happened here?!"
Shinn calmly looked at him.
"An School violence."
The paramedic stared blankly at the destroyed hallway behind him.
Broken lockers.
Blood on the floor.
Unconscious students scattered everywhere.
"…This doesn't look normal."
Shinn's expression remained emotionless.
"You're right, It wasn't."
The paramedics quickly rushed past him toward the injured bullies.
Nearby police officers had already begun arriving as well.
But strangely—
None of them approached Hiro or Shinn aggressively.
Almost as if someone higher up had already interfered.
Shinn quietly noticed that immediately.
"…So they already moved."
His eyes lowered slightly.
The genetically enhanced orphan program clearly had connections powerful enough to erase problems quickly.
Which meant—
This entire situation would soon disappear quietly.
Just like always.
One of the teachers suddenly rushed toward Shinn nervously.
"Sh-Shinn! Are you injured?!"
Shinn casually touched the back of his head where the baseball bat struck him earlier.
A small amount of blood stained his fingers.
"Nah."
The teacher looked horrified.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'NAH'?!"
Shinn simply ignored the screaming and continued walking toward the ambulance.
Inside his arms—
Hiro remained unconscious.
Yet even now—
His fingers still twitched slightly.
Like his body still wanted to fight.
Shinn quietly stared down at him.
"…How much rage were you carrying inside all this time…?"
For a brief moment—
He remembered Hiro's normal self.
The awkward idiot who panicked around Fumi.
The guy who got overly excited discussing Gundam weapons.
The person who genuinely smiled while eating lunch together.
And now—
That same person had nearly beaten multiple people to death.
Shinn slowly lowered his eyes.
"…I really did drag you into this."
A strange feeling quietly settled inside his chest.
Guilt.
The ambulance doors opened.
"Put him here."
The paramedics quickly placed Hiro onto a stretcher.
One of them immediately looked at Hiro's fists.
"…His knuckles are severely damaged."
Another paramedic frowned while examining the unconscious bullies nearby.
"…Most of these injuries were caused by bare hands?"
The silence that followed answered everything.
The paramedics slowly looked toward Hiro differently afterward.
Almost cautiously.
Shinn quietly stepped inside the ambulance as well.
"We're taking him to your hospital?" one paramedic asked.
"Yeah."
The ambulance doors slowly closed.
Then—
The vehicle began moving.
---
Inside the ambulance—
The atmosphere remained strangely quiet.
The siren echoed loudly outside while the city passed beyond the windows.
A paramedic carefully wrapped fresh bandages around Hiro's bleeding knuckles.
"…Honestly…"
The man sighed quietly.
"I've never seen injuries like these from a student fight."
Shinn leaned silently against the wall.
"It wasn't a fight."
The paramedic paused slightly.
"…Then what was it?"
Shinn slowly looked toward the unconscious Hiro.
"…An explosion."
Said shinn as he watched hiro with his
The paramedic frowned awkwardly.
Clearly unsure whether Shinn was joking or serious.
Meanwhile—
Hiro's unconscious expression remained tense.
Even in sleep—
His eyebrows twitched slightly.
Almost like he was still angry.
Shinn quietly stared at him.
William's voice slowly echoed inside his mind again.
*"You really think using Hiroyuki is the right thing?"*
Back then—
Shinn answered confidently.
Because he truly believed he could control the situation.
He believed Hiro's strength could become something necessary.
Something useful.
A weapon capable of crushing monsters hidden beneath society.
But now—
After witnessing that berserk rage firsthand—
Even Shinn himself wasn't completely sure anymore.
"…You're dangerous, partner."
His voice sounded unusually quiet.
"But maybe…"
His eyes slowly lowered toward his own bloodstained hands.
"…that's exactly why this world needs you."
The ambulance continued driving silently through the evening streets.
---
About an hour later—
The sky had already turned crimson from the setting sun.
Warm evening wind drifted peacefully across the hospital rooftop garden.
Dandelions floated softly through the air.
The atmosphere felt unbelievably calm compared to the chaos earlier.
Hiro slowly opened his eyes.
"…Mgh."
His vision looked blurry at first.
Sunlight.
Sky.
Wind.
Then suddenly—
"HUHH?????"
He instantly sat upright.
"What the hell?!"
His eyes darted around frantically.
"…Hospital?"
Then panic immediately struck him.
"WAIT WHAT HAPPENED TO FUMI?!"
"Oi oi calm down already."
Hiro immediately turned toward the familiar voice.
Shinn sat casually nearby while drinking canned coffee.
"Relax."
"Fumi is safe."
Hiro instantly froze.
Then finally—
A massive sigh escaped from his mouth.
"Oh thank god…"
His shoulders dropped heavily in relief.
But then—
He noticed the thick bandages wrapped around both of his hands.
"…Huh?"
Hiro blinked repeatedly.
"My knuckles…"
He slowly raised them.
"…Why are they wrapped up like this?"
Shinn quietly stared at him for a moment.
Then sighed.
"You seriously don't remember?"
Hiro frowned slightly.
"…Remember what?"
Shinn leaned back lazily.
"You went completely berserk."
Hiro's eyes widened.
"…What?"
"You started beating every single person who came near Fumi."
The memories slowly returned.
Punches.
Blood.
Screaming.
The horrifying feeling of rage consuming his body.
Hiro's expression immediately paled.
"…Oh fuckkk…"
"You wouldn't stop."
Shinn pointed toward Hiro's hands casually.
"That's why your knuckles are destroyed now."
Hiro slowly stared down at them silently.
"…I did all that?"
"Yup."
A quiet wind passed softly through the rooftop.
The sunset painted orange light across both of them.
Hiro slowly lowered his head.
"…Shinn."
"Hm?"
"…I'm sorry."
Shinn blinked slightly.
"For what?"
"I lost control."
Hiro's fists slowly tightened.
"I…"
His voice became quieter.
"I wanted to kill them."
The confession sounded disturbingly honest.
No hesitation.
No denial.
Just truth.
Shinn quietly stared toward the sunset.
"…I know."
Silence followed briefly.
And Then—
"I would've done the same."
Hiro slowly looked up toward him.
Shinn's eyes remained fixed on the distant horizon.
"It all depends on one thing."
The evening wind blew softly through his hair.
"How far are you willing to go…"
His voice lowered slightly.
"…to protect what you love?"
Hiro quietly stared at him.
Something about those words deeply shook him.
His fists slowly tightened.
Small dots of blood leaked through the fresh bandages.
"…I see…"
Shinn immediately noticed it.
Hiro slowly stood up.
"…I should head home."
"Yeah, you should"
Shinn lazily waved his coffee can.
"I still gotta deal with those trash bags downstairs."
Hiro blinked.
"…Trash bags?"
"The bullies."
A small awkward silence followed.
"You sure you're okay alone?" Hiro asked.
"Ah."
Shinn casually shrugged.
"I'll survive."
Then—
For the first time since waking up—
A small genuine smile appeared on Hiro's face.
"…Thanks."
Shinn looked slightly confused.
"For what?"
Hiro quietly scratched the back of his neck.
"…For stopping me."
The rooftop became silent again.
Then Shinn smiled faintly.
"…Anytime, partner."
It was a golden hour, yet the skies were painted with pastel pink colour, the breezes continued to pass on.
Hiro slowly turned away started walking.
The gentle breeze slowly swayed his hair.
Shinn slowly took his eyes away from hiro to the scenery Infront of the hospital room balcony as he stirs his coffee cup.
"To protect what you love...huh..."
That one sentence ringed in hiro's head as he walked out of the hospital.
He finally reaches out the hospital, and he started slowing down.
He slowly looked down to his palm and slowly started lifting his palm to the front of him.
"I need to...get stronger..."
"For the ones I love..."
He gently closed his hand into a fist.
And his eyes widened as his eyes started to portray the girl standing infront as he closed his fingers in.
"Fu...."
He stepped into the rays of golden hour as he walked towards her.