Some tears

A memory emerges from the shadows of her mind. A girl, full of rage, cries out in desperation:

"WareNeon ruined my life!"

And then, the image fades into nothingness.

Beneath the dark waters of the river, Raiko watches as his red hair and eyes illuminate the surroundings with an ethereal glow. In front of him, Yshini opens her eyes in surprise upon seeing him, but without hesitation, she starts swimming toward the surface. Raiko tries to do the same, but a sharp pain shoots through his body. His bones are broken.

He looks at his leg. And he thinks he won't make it out.

"Well... at least I saved her."

The cold water engulfs him, and his strength begins to fade. He's losing air, his consciousness blurs, but suddenly, a hand grabs him firmly. It's Yshini. She pulls him toward the surface.

On the bridge, Gael watches the scene with a pounding heart. He remains alert, hoping both will make it out alive. A few seconds of uncertainty pass until he finally sees them reach the shore.

"They did it!" he exclaims with relief, but his expression changes when he looks at the stairs leading down to the beach. "No… this is going to be terrible..."

On the sand, both cough and struggle to spit out the water. They were on the brink of death. Yshini, with tears forming in her eyes, sits on the sand and murmurs:

"Why…? Why would you sacrifice yourself for me? You don't even know me…"

Raiko, still lying on the sand, replies in a tired voice:

"Honestly… I had no intention of dying. I want to change this city… but at a certain point, I didn't care as long as I could save someone."

Yshini looks at him in surprise.

"Save me…? You know nothing about me or why I did this… I just want you to leave me alone."

Raiko observes her for a moment before answering:

"And you don't know why I really saved you either…"

She frowns, intrigued.

"I saved you… because you're you."

Raiko's response is firm and immediate. Yshini's eyes widen in astonishment. For the first time in a long while, she feels something other than desperation. She feels… seen.

She blushes slightly and stammers:

"W-What exactly do you mean…?"

Raiko realizes what he just said and also gets nervous.

"I… I meant your eyes. Your pink eyes are unique, just like mine. That's why I wanted to save you… And even if you didn't have them, I still would have."

Yshini watches him in silence and thinks,

"This is… new."

Raiko tries to stand up.

"I want you to help— Ahh!"

But the pain stops him.

"What's wrong?" Yshini asks, worried.

"I have several broken bones… and it really hurts…"

Yshini moves closer, serious.

"I have fast regeneration, but even so…" Raiko tries to explain, but suddenly, he feels a warm glow surrounding him.

Yshini's hands shine, as does her hair, which takes on a phosphorescent pink gradient.

Raiko, amazed, thinks:

"How… beautiful… Pink suits her incredibly well… Wait, hold on… my leg… it hurts less."

After a few seconds, Yshini stumbles, exhausted.

"I… returned the favor… Thanks for before…"

Raiko, still surprised, asks:

"So your ability… is healing?"

"Yes… I'll tell you more details later, but for now… we should go. It's really cold."

With difficulty, they both get up and begin walking toward the pedestrian bridge that crosses the highway known as the Circuit of Lights.

On their way, they run into Gael, who arrives panting.

"Seriously… those stairs are—" But he immediately changes his tone upon seeing Yshini. "Hey, Yshini! Why do you look so exhausted?"

She sighs.

"Wow… I guess Martin also told you my name." Then she murmurs,

"Martin is such a gossip..."

Gael was about to respond, but Yshini keeps talking.

"I'm exhausted because I used my healing ability on Raiko."

Gael replies, "I see," then looks at Raiko and says, "Lean on me. You look like you're suffering."

Raiko, trying to sound nonchalant, replies:

"I was worse before. I just hid it well so Yshini wouldn't notice… Let's go, Gael. Time to climb the stairs. There aren't any bus stations here."

Gael stops dead and looks at the endless stairs in front of him.

"Seriously… these stairs are going to ruin my life…"

Minutes later, the three of them slowly make their way to the top. In the end, not only did Raiko end up leaning on Gael, but Yshini did too, barely able to stand from exhaustion.

"Finally… we made i—"

Yshini stops when she sees Gael, who looks completely dead inside.

"Raiko… are you sure Gael is okay?"

"Of course. He's been in worse situations… A few stairs are not going to finish him off."

Gael collapses onto the ground.

Later, on the bus…

Yshini watches Raiko, who sits next to her, staring out the window. Her phosphorescent reddish hair, and everything she did before, make her feel... safe.

"Yeah… he's like me. For now, I'll trust him."

She gives a faint smile, but as she looks away, her expression turns serious.

"I hope I never see him again."

She wasn't talking about Raiko. But about someone else…

Hours later, at home.

Raiko speaks to Yshini.

"You can take a bath while washing your clothes. There's a washer and dryer in the upstairs bathroom. That way, you can put the same clothes back on in a bit. Tomorrow we'll figure out the pajama situation."

"Alright… but what are you going to do?"

"Me? I'm going to order dinner and check if Gael is still alive."

Raiko glances at his friend, who is still lying motionless on the couch.

During dinner, they barely talk. Everything changes when it's time to sleep.

"Right now, the only available room is mine. But we can't sleep in the same bed, so I—"

Yshini interrupts him without hesitation.

"I don't care about that."

Raiko looks at her in disbelief.

"Huh? What did she just say?"