Ren was breathing softly, unconscious—but his arm was healed.
Itsuki stammered, "I-I didn't do that… I was about to heal him, but it's already done…"
Souta gently lifted Ren.
"I'll take him. Itsuki you bring the girl home."
The little girl walked up to Ren, took off her scarf, and gently wrapped it around his neck.
"I'm sorry…"
Ren stirred and gave her a tired smile.
"It's okay… none of this was your fault."
Then he climbed down from Souta's arms.
Itsuki, staring at Ren's hand in disbelief, muttered,
"How… how did your wound close?"
"I… I don't know," Ren replied quietly.
But Souta looked closely—and saw something strange. Ren's red eye shimmered.
A small, glowing fragment had appeared in it—like a crack of power forming.
Souta frowned, thoughts racing.
"Is he… okay?"
The wind was soft as Ren, Itsuki, Souta, and the little girl walked her home. They watched quietly as she ran to her father, throwing herself into his arms. The man trembled as he listened, then looked toward the trio. Tears welled in his eyes as his daughter repeated Ren's words:
"She might be gone… but your heart is strong enough to carry her love. You're not alone. She's watching through you now."
The man smiled faintly, despite the pain.
Itsuki gave a small wave, his demon book tucked close to his chest as the three boys turned to walk home. But their peace was short-lived.
---
BOOM!
Souta was in an awkward crouch, trying to patch up Ren's bruised body.
"Stop squirming," Souta growled.
"I'm fine," Ren muttered, glaring away.
Three stubborn hours later, the bandages were finally on. Souta flexed his fingers like a tired medic, while Ren sat, arms crossed and unimpressed.
---
Later that night, they both lay in bed under the dim light of the moon.
Ren sat up slightly, eyes fixed outside. "Hey… Souta. You still awake?"
"I wasn't," Souta mumbled, turning over. "What?"
Ren pointed. "Can you see it? That red orb in the sky?"
Souta dragged himself up, peering through the window on his side. Nothing. Just stars.
"I don't see anything, dude."
Ren frowned, still staring. "So I'm the only one who can…?"
Souta sighed. "You sure you're alright?"
"Yeah. Just… forget it."
Souta shook his hair and rolled back to sleep. "You think too much. Get some rest."
But Ren couldn't. That orb—it was closer tonight.
Drawn to it, Ren slowly reached out through the air. His hand touched something solid, like warm glass. Suddenly—stab. A sharp pain pierced his palm. He gasped quietly, clenching his jaw to keep silent, then looked at his hand…
Nothing. No mark. No blood.
But the orb… it was bleeding. Droplets of Ren's blood dripped from it—then it began to glow, flaring up like a red sun.
Pain shot through Ren's right eye. He clutched his face, whispering through clenched teeth:
> "Why… why does this hurt?"
Then—darkness. He collapsed onto his bed, unconscious
As Ren slept, his body twitched slightly. A faint glow pulsed beneath his skin.
A mark began to form along his right arm, creeping up like a living tattoo, etching itself across his back. Its shape was unknown—twisted, ancient, almost alive.
But Ren didn't wake. He only shifted once, muttering something no one could hear.
Morning.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
A voice called from outside:
"Delivery! Letters for room 27!"
Souta, fresh from the shower, hair still damp and a towel tied lazily around his waist, cracked the door open—
SLAM!
He slammed it shut with a blink.
The delivery man on the other side shivered and quickly hurried away.
Souta shouted back into the apartment:
"YO, REN! OUR LETTERS CAME!"
From inside the bathroom, water was still running. Souta tore open his letter, his eyes widening. "Yes… I'm in."
Curious, he peeked into Ren's envelope too. "No way… Ren got in too."
The door suddenly swung open. Ren stepped out—soaking wet, completely naked, casual as ever.
"Yo," Ren said calmly, water dripping off him, "What did I get, man?"
Souta, eyes still on the paper, replied, "You got accepted too. Same place, gotta go pick up our uniforms an—"
He looked up.
He froze.
His eye twitched.
"…REN."
"…Yeah?"
"GET A FREAKING TOWEL!!"
The scream sent Ren flying back into the bathroom like a blast wave. He stumbled back out seconds later, this time with a towel.
Grinning, Ren raised a fist. "Yay, we made it!"
Souta snorted. "Took us long enough."
Ren grinned wider. "Come on, let's go get our sh*t on."