Attachments

One sat alone on a park's bench, overlooking the scenery there. Although outside, there was no sound or color in the nature surrounding him. The giant tree at the center of the area wore a bluish gray tinge. And despite swaying its branches wildly, the great winds couldn't be seen affecting anything else.

It was here, One remembered. 

A flash of him holding the stasis bomb in his hand. Another of his determination fizzling out. He quietly sat there as those images entered his mind.

***

*Tick tock, tick tock*
The door to Lena's house opened and the sound of a clock emanated from within. It was dim inside. The lights hadn't been turned on, and the windows were covered by an oppressive set of blinds. Despite that though, the boy who wandered in could still tell where everything was. 

The stairs, dinner table, and furniture were all in the exact same places he saw them before. The entire layout of the house was the same too. Even the television was just like he remembered it.

"Remember..."

*Tick tock, tick tock*
The memories started flooding in. The lump in his chest growing colder and colder as he was bombarded with every waking moment of his life spent here, constantly being reminded of all he'd sacrificed.

One in particular came back to him the second he entered the kitchen. He saw himself standing there alongside Lena, the latter bandaging the former's finger.

"So... Without that bomb to worry about, how do you feel about going back to school."

The boy blinked. He remembered the way he responded as clear as day.

"It seems like a waste of time."

He clutched his chest in pain.

"Well... I guess I felt the same way at first... But you know, it might be a nice change of pace. Having your only worries being a couple of tests."

"...Maybe..."

*Tick tock, tick tock*
The clock's ticking grew louder. His breathing grew heavier and heavier. Faster and faster as the regret began to overwhelm him. 

The lights flickered on all around him. He looked in every direction to figure out why and that's when he saw her.

"Rin, what's going on!? Are you okay?"

There standing by the light switch was none other than Lena. One look and he knew she wasn't just a memory this time.

"...You- How can you be here...", Rin said.

His voice was incredibly shaky as he asked that. Lena answered him with a question of her own.

"...What are you talking about?"

Rin opened his mouth to say something but shut it quickly. He clutched his chest, finally getting his breathing under control again. His panic had dissipated, but a different emotion rose in its place. 

Tears welled in his eyes. For the first time though, he couldn't hold them back at all. They burst out of his eyes like a flood through a dam, streaming down his face rapidly as he collapsed to the floor. And no matter how many times he wiped them away, they kept coming back.

Lena knelt down next to him.

"Hey seriously, what's wrong?", she asked gently.

"I just... can't believe..."

He couldn't even finish his sentence, his constant bawling interrupting him whenever he tried to. Giving up fighting it any longer, Rin allowed his emotions to fully overtake him.

Lena silently watched over him as he cried and cried and cried some more, finally letting out everything he'd been bottling up until now.

***

Several minutes later, Rin calmed down. His eyes were completely red, his cheeks flushed. He didn't remember exactly how it happened, but he and Lena were now sitting at the dinner table. 

"Was it a nightmare or something?", she asked.

Rin looked down at the table. 

"...Something like that."

"Hmm?"

She smiled mischievously.

"...What?"

"Nothing. I've just never seen you bawl like that before. It must've been really scary."

Her tone was a little musical. 

"S-Shut up..."

Lena laughed. Upon hearing that, Rin smiled unconsciously. But he stopped pretty quickly as a question creeped to the surface of his mind.

"Are you... real?"

He never looked up from the table, afraid of how she'd respond. Ultimately, she never did, but it was clear what the answer was. Still, did it really matter at this point? 

-What would I do if she wasn't real? Would it be such a bad thing for to stay here even in spite of that? 

As those questions raced in his mind, Rin let out a wry smile. He realized what was happening here.

"...So that's what you were counting on. One..."

***

One sat in the park alone.

"Yes. It's the real reason I guided you all the way to New Year's Eve. The same reason neither you nor I can detonate the bomb ourselves."

He looked up longingly.

"Because no matter how meaningless our struggles to improve our lives were... The obstacles we faced..."

One recalled his first time wandering the void.

"The pain we endured through...."

Then his desperate attempts to save Lena.

"The hope for something better...."

And finally, the moment he watched himself die.

"Without even realizing it, we'd become attached to life. And we didn't want to admit that everything we'd been through... was for nothing."

***

*Tick tock, tick tock*
Rin found himself repeatedly waking up to that sound. At first, every time he did, he wondered how long he'd been asleep for. But he stopped caring pretty quickly. Whether it was seconds, hours, days, months, or even years, it didn't matter to him, because he was perfectly fine with staying here.

That's what he kept telling himself, at least. The truth was every tick of the clock felt like a tiny stab to his gut. Yet despite his desire to ease the pain, he couldn't bring himself to do it. He turned over to look at the door to his room. It was open.

-It doesn't matter, he thought.

-I don't want to leave, he thought.

Rin buried his face into his pillow and shut his eyes, trying with all of his might to fall asleep.

*Knock*
Lena didn't enter the room. She simply spoke from the other side of the door.

"Hey... You haven't come out of your room in a while."

No response.

"Is everything all right?"

No response. 

"Well... Just know you can talk to me whenever, okay?"

*Tick tock, tick tock*
Rin could hear her footsteps getting farther and farther away. He listened to them for as long as he could until the sound eventually dissipated. Clenching his fist, Rin turned onto his side and then his back. He stared up at the ceiling for what felt like forever. 

Slowly, he sat up in his bed. Something he'd done every morning of his life was now a herculean task for him. He turned to look at the door to his room. It was still open. 

He moved his left leg, then his right, and pushed himself to a standing position with both of his arms. His first step forward was hard, but he pressed on. Each step after was quicker than the previous one. 

Before he knew it, he'd left his room, descended the stairs, and entered the living room.

*Tick tock, tick tock*
For the first time in a while, Rin came to a complete stop. He couldn't help but pause to experience the room's atmosphere one final time. His hand ran over the couch as he took in everything around him. The smell, layout of the furniture, and all the memories connected to the place. 

Finally, he spotted the door leading outside. The time to say goodbye had come. He made his way over to the doorknob and grabbed it, but as soon as he did.

"Where are you going?", Lena asked.

Rin gripped the doorknob tightly; out of fear he'd let go. He didn't turn to face the person speaking to him.

"...I just need to take care of something."

"Oh, do you need me to drop you off?"

"...N-No, I can get there myself."

There was a brief pause.

"Okay then. Be safe, all right?"

Rin turned his head slightly.

"You're not going to stop me?"

"...Why? Are you doing something bad?"

Rin's hand shook tremendously as it clutched onto the doorknob for dear life. He knew he'd lose his nerve if he let go.

"...I'm sorry...", he said. 

No response.

"I should have listened to you. If I did then you wouldn't have..."

No response.

He finally turned to face her. A sad smile was on his face.

"You must have really hated it...

Being related to someone like me."

Just like before, she had no response. So, before Rin could lose his resolve, he pulled open the door behind him and let the light from outside consume everything. 

The house, Lena, as well as himself.