60

Ashi’s breath caught in her throat. Her heart wasn’t just racing from the tremor now—it was pounding from how tightly he was holding her.

The warmth of his chest, the strength in his arms—it was overwhelming.

She clutched the front of his shirt, stunned. “Haari…”

“I’ve got you,” he said firmly, glancing around, shielding her body with his. “Just stay close.”

Then—

CRACK.

A sudden sharp snap overhead.

A piece of the ceiling a rubble size broke off and plummeted downward—droped onto Ashi’s shoulder.

Her eyes darted upwards.

Her blood ran cold.

They were standing beneath an old, abandoned building—one that had been barely standing for years. And now…

Ashi’s eyes widened in sheer horror.

The old, abandoned building they had taken shelter under began to collapse.

“Haari—!!” she screamed, but her voice was swallowed by the violent roar of the storm.

A sudden, unimaginable gust of wind surged through the air like a raging beast, shaking everything in its path. Dust and debris whirled around them, reducing visibility to almost nothing.

The earthquake’s tremors intensified. The very ground beneath them cracked and rumbled, as if warning them of the impending disaster.

Ashi gasped.

The building is going to collapse any second now!

She turned to Haari—he was standing there, frozen, his mind struggling to process the chaos around them.

There was no time to think.

With everything she had—Ashi shoved Haari away.

“Wha—?!” Haari’s body stumbled backward, his eyes wide with shock as he was suddenly pushed out of harm’s way.

Ashi turned on her heel, trying to escape.

But—

It was too late.

CRACK—!

With a deafening roar, the building came crashing down.

Haari's heart stopped.

"ASHI—!!" he screamed.

His body was still stumbling from the force of her push when—

SCREEECH—!!!

A car, moving at full speed, rammed into him.

The impact was brutal. His body was thrown to the pavement like a ragdoll, his head slamming against the cold, hard road.

A sharp, burning pain shot through his skull. His vision blurred. Warm liquid trickled down his forehead—blood.

"W—What… just… happened?"

Through his hazy sight, he turned his head—and his world shattered.

The building had collapsed.

The place where Ashi had stood just moments ago was now nothing but a mountain of crumbling debris and dust.

Haari’s breath caught in his throat. His body trembled. A cold, sinking realization gripped his heart like a vice.

"Ashi…?" his whole body vibrating.

No.

No.

No. No. NO.

"NICAWA-SAAAAAAN!!"

His scream ripped through the chaos, raw and desperate, filled with an agony unlike anything he had ever felt before.

He tried to move—to crawl, to stand, to reach her.

His body wouldn’t listen.

His fingers twitched.
His limbs felt heavy… weak… foreign.

No… not now.

He gritted his teeth, trying to move, trying to stand—but his body refused to respond.

I have to save her… Like I always do…
I promised—

But his own voice, even in his head, was fading.

The pain he had ignored—pushed aside—now surged in full.

His side throbbed. His leg wouldn’t move.
He tasted blood.

The crash…
The way the car had slammed into the side of the falling rubble as he pushed Ashi out of the way…

He didn’t even remember the full impact. All he remembered was her—that flash of her wide eyes before he threw her aside.
Then metal, glass, and crushing force.

But none of it mattered.
Only Ashi did.

But his body didn’t obey. The crash with the car had been so brutal that several of his limbs were broken—injuries he hadn’t noticed or had completely ignored. Because the only thing on his mind now was Ashi. His vision darkened.

His body collapsed.

The last thing he saw before his consciousness faded—

The ruins swallowing Ashi whole.

Haari lay on the hospital bed, an oxygen mask strapped to his face. His head felt heavy, his body sore, like he had been crushed under something massive. His fingers twitched as a dull pain spread through his limbs. Then, a sharp cough tore through his throat, making his chest ache.

The nurse beside him gasped, eyes widening. "You're awake! Doctor! Doctor!" she called, her voice echoing through the quiet room.

Moments later, a doctor walked in, flipping through a chart. He glanced at Haari and nodded. "You're finally up," he said, adjusting his glasses. "Your reports are normal, but don't move too much yet. Your body’s been through a lot."

Haari blinked slowly, trying to make sense of the words. His mind felt like a foggy maze. How long had he been here? What had happened?

Before he could ask, hurried footsteps approached. The door burst open, and in rushed Ane, Aunt, and Boss.

"Brother!!" Ane practically jumped on him, hugging him tightly. "You're awake! You’re really awake!"

Haari he patted Ane’s head. Let out a weak chuckle, his voice raspy "You're squeezing the life out of me."

Ane pulled back, sniffing. "I thought you were never gonna wake up, idiot!"

Haari frowned, suddenly uneasy. "Wait… what do you mean by that?" His voice was hoarse, but panic crept in. "How long have I been here?"

Ane hesitated, looking at Aunt and Boss as if unsure how to answer.

Boss cleared her throat. "It’s been six months since you were hospitalized."

Silence.

Haari’s body went rigid. His mind raced, trying to process the words.

"Six months…?" His voice barely came out. Then, like a flood, the memories of that night came rushing back—the storm, the earthquake, Ashi, the building collapsing.

His breath hitched. "Nicawa-san—" His heart pounded. "Where is Nicawa-san? Is she okay?"

The room fell eerily quiet. No one met his gaze.

Haari’s stomach dropped. "Why aren’t you saying anything?!" His voice cracked as he tried to sit up, but pain shot through his body, forcing him back down. "WHERE IS SHE?"

Aunt placed a hand on his arm, her eyes filled with sorrow. "Haari…"

Something inside him twisted. "No… no, no, no." His fingers dug into the sheets. "Tell me she’s okay. Tell me she’s safe!"Tear drop from his eyes " Please say she's having sweet dream at home."

Boss exhaled, rubbing her temples before finally speaking. "That night… Rafta and Oki were in a car accident. They… they didn’t make it."

Haari’s breath caught. His vision blurred. "No…"

"And Ashi," Boss hesitated, "she went missing after the collapse. We searched everywhere. There was no sign of her."

Haari’s world shattered. That night I lost everything.... Again.

His fingers clenched the sheets so tightly his knuckles turned white. His body trembled.

"No… this can’t be…" His voice cracked as he shook his head in denial.

Ane sniffled, reaching out to touch his hand. "Brother—"

Boss stopped her with a firm look. "Let him be."

Ane bit her lip but nodded. Aunt wiped the corner of her eye before turning toward the door. Boss silently followed.

As the door clicked shut behind them—

A raw, gut-wrenching scream erupted from inside. " AAAAAAAAA"

Haari’s cry of agony roared through the hallway, shaking through the walls, carrying the weight of all the pain, all the loss, all the love he would never get back.

And outside the room, Ane broke down in silent sobs, clenching her fists.

Haari had always been strong. But at that moment—he sounded utterly broken.

A few days had passed since Haari woke up in that sterile, white hospital room. The world outside hadn't stopped. It never did.

Cars still honked impatiently. People still laughed. The sun still rose and set as if nothing had happened.

But for Haari, time had frozen.

Now, he stood in the graveyard, a place where the living and the dead existed side by side, separated by nothing but cold stone and fading memories.

The sky above was a dull gray, as if mourning with him. A faint drizzle had started, making the earth beneath his feet damp and heavy. The scent of wet soil filled the air.

His right shoulder throbbed beneath the sling, a dull and constant reminder of that night. The accident. The rain. The impact. The screams.

And now—this.

In front of him stood two graves, their inscriptions carved into the cold, merciless stone:

Rafta Densi
Oki Habi

Their names were permanent now, just like their absence.

His face was pale, gaunt from sleepless nights. His eyes, swollen and red, carried the weight of days spent drowning in grief, haunted by memories he could never relive again. He had cried so much that his body felt empty—hollow, like a shell.

With trembling hands, he knelt down and placed a bouquet of fresh white lilies in front of their graves. His fingertips brushed against the rough stone, tracing their names as if that could somehow bring them back.

His throat tightened.

"...Hey, it’s me," his voice came out hoarse, barely above a whisper.

A breeze swept past him, rustling the trees, carrying away his words like a cruel joke.

He swallowed hard.

"I—" His lips trembled. The words wouldn’t come. He inhaled sharply and clenched his fists.

Then, suddenly—

"Dammit... DAMN IT!"

His fist slammed against the damp ground. The impact sent a sharp pain up his arm, but he didn’t care. He didn’t care about anything anymore.

"Why... why did it have to be you two?" His voice cracked, the anguish in his heart overflowing into every syllable.

A bitter chuckle escaped his lips, empty and broken.

"Rafta…" He wiped his face with his sleeve. "I can still hear your stupid laugh, you know?" His vision blurred. "It was like yesterday when you teased me about being single… bragged about how you and Oki had it all planned out."

He forced a small, painful smile, but it disappeared just as quickly.

"You were supposed to have a long life together, idiot. You had a future. A dream. A family waiting for you. You were supposed to grow old together, complain about work, argue about what to eat for dinner." His voice dropped into a whisper. "You were supposed to live."

His chest tightened painfully, his breath coming out in uneven gasps.

"You," His eyes softened as he looked at Rafta's name. "You always knew what to say, didn’t you? Always told me to stop overthinking, to stop running away from my feelings."

His voice wavered.

"You won’t believe what I did." He swallowed, gripping the edge of the tombstone. "I finally confessed to her, Rafta. I finally told Ashi how I felt."

His lips trembled.

"And you know what?" He let out a broken laugh. "She actually accepted. She said yes. I finally had something… someone."

His voice grew weaker.

"Until—"

His body tensed.

"Until it all slipped through my fingers."

A gust of wind blew past. Haari squeezed his eyes shut, a single tear escaping.

"But now…" He exhaled shakily. "She’s gone too."

He looked up at the sky, sunlight pelting against his face.