"Izana-kun, you have to get along with Mikey, okay? No more blaming each other over every little thing."

"And stop thinking like you're all alone. Kaku-chan's been following you for so long, and the guys in Tenjiku - they're not with you because they fear you. They truly respect you, and they admire your strength."

"Izana-kun, you need to open your heart to others more."

"You can't keep treating everyone like your servants."

"And you seriously need to stop seeing everything in such an extreme way."

...

Takemichi starts lecturing, nagging Izana nonstop. Honestly, this guy's only older than him in age - his mindset's twisted, pessimistic, and half the time, childish. Takemichi decides it's about time someone straightened him out.

The so-called leader of Tenjiku, head of the most violent generation, sits there with one leg crossed, chin resting on his hand, watching the blond boy talk seriously without a break. The look on his face practically says he's enjoying it. Seriously... why does this feel like watching a parent scolding their kid?

Izana can't help but chuckle. This little brat - ever since he managed to charm him, he's lost all sense of restraint. But that's fine. Even if Takemichi keeps scolding him all day like this, he'll still be happy to sit and listen. The way that small, pouty mouth moves when he talks... it's just too cute.

"Ah! Someone hit me, I must be dreaming, right?"

Mochi's face goes pale - he's terrified by what he's seeing, convinced it's some kind of hallucination.

"Aiya, look at that. Another poor soul catching a severe case of love-sickness."

Ran clicks his tongue and shakes his head. One look and you can tell the symptoms. Rivals in love only ever multiply, never decrease - but when your own boss joins the competition, that's a whole new level of difficulty.

"He's never even talked that much to me before. I met him first, too."

Rindou's been sulking and seething with jealousy more times than he can count today.

"Bakamichi..."

Kakuchou, who might as well be Izana's babysitter at this point, feels oddly touched. Hearing someone care for and scold Izana like that - and even mention him and the Tenjiku members so much - he can't help but feel genuinely happy that Takemichi, his childhood friend, still cares about him deeply.

The thing is, four big grown men are currently squatting outside, secretly lining up by the door and peeking through the gap to spy on what's happening inside. They've been waiting for a while, but it's taking too long - the Haitani brothers, worried Izana might try something, decide to take a look. Of course, Mochi tags along because he's got nothing better to do. At first, Kakuchou, the ever-righteous one, protests... but seeing those three idiots fidgeting restlessly, he eventually gives in. After all, the people inside are the ones he cares about the most.

After a while, Takemichi checks his phone. Seems like he's got a message-he freezes instantly.

"Ah, damn it, I totally forgot - Hina-chan. How long has she been waiting already?!"

Takemichi shouts so suddenly that Izana and the others all jump.

He scrambles to his feet, moving too fast and accidentally putting weight on his injured leg. The pain shoots up and twists his face.

"Careful, Takemichi. What's going on?"

Izana frowns, watching the boy's clumsy struggle.

"I was talking with you, Izana, and totally forgot Hina's supposed to come over this afternoon."

Izana's frown deepens. Who? Hina? What kind of person makes Takemichi this flustered?

"I'll walk everyone out now. I'm being discharged tomorrow anyway, and I'll visit Shinichirou's grave on the 22nd."

"Mm, let's go together."

Izana smiles, but there's no real warmth in it. So that's it-I'm being dismissed already? He's barely had any time with Takemichi at all.

The rest of the noisy bunch outside hear them and quickly scatter back to their posts as if nothing sneaky ever happened.

Takemichi limps slightly as he walks with Izana toward the door. His wound isn't deep, but stepping flat still hurts too much to bear.

"You're injured, Takemichi. Go rest-you don't have to walk us out," Izana says, unable to hide the concern in his voice.

"It's fine. I'm heading down to meet Hina anyway, so I'll go with you guys."

Takemichi laughs it off with his usual easy smile, while three faces nearby grow darker by the second. But when Takemichi glances over, their expressions instantly return to normal.

Izana still doesn't know who this "Hina" is, or what she means to Takemichi - only that he says her name so sweetly, and the way he reacted earlier... Something unpleasant stirs in his chest.

"Who's coming? Your girlfriend?"

Izana could swear he hates himself for asking.

"Yeah. My girlfriend."

Takemichi scratches his cheek, smiling shyly. He looks adorably bright when he does that - but it only makes those three faces cloud over even more. The air around them drops to freezing. Mochi shivers, having no clue why. Kakuchou says nothing, though the tension hits him too.

"Didn't expect you, Takemitchy, to have a girlfriend," Rindou mutters, his tone begging for a punch.

But this time Takemichi doesn't react. He doesn't bite back. He just smiles, speaking in a calm, conversational tone.

"Hmm? Do I look that hopeless - like someone who couldn't have a girlfriend?"

Everyone freezes for a second. Then Kakuchou elbows Rindou sharply in the ribs, hard enough to make him nearly fold over. Kakuchou shoots him a threatening glare that clearly says: Say one more word and see what happens.

Takemichi's emotions are fragile lately - his mood swings without warning. You never know when he's cheerful or when he's sinking. One minute he can joke and smile; the next, a careless word might wound him deeply.

This time, Ran doesn't side with his brother. He speaks softly instead,

"Rin's just joking, Takemichi. He didn't mean anything by it. Whoever's your girlfriend-she's really lucky."

Takemichi laughs.

"Actually, it's the other way around. Meeting her is the luckiest thing that's ever happened to me."

He looks at Ran as he says it, his eyes glowing with quiet happiness. Ran stares back, frozen by that look.

And suddenly, anger rises in him - hot and sharp. Then pain. He knows I have feelings for him, doesn't he?

There are plenty who secretly love Takemichi, but Ran's the only one who's ever shown it openly. So why does Takemichi look at him with those blissful eyes, talking about another person? Is he trying to tell him he's already in love? That it's time for him to give up?

Ran bites his lip hard, forcing himself to suppress the emotions that make his body go numb. Within seconds, he's back to his usual calm self. He has to stay composed - he can't afford to show too much emotion again. That'll only make Takemichi even more guarded around him.

Girlfriend? So what. The feelings of a teenager, no matter how passionate, are fragile - they break too easily.

Rindou and Kakuchou stay silent. Izana, walking beside them, clenches his hand so tightly that veins pop along his arm. His grip looks strong enough to crush anything he's holding.

What the hell is this? So damn suffocating.

They soon reach the lobby. Takemichi immediately scans the area and spots Hinata and Naoto sitting in the waiting seats. The two also notice him at once. Takemichi waves happily.

"Thanks for visiting, see you later!"

Takemichi gives a polite thank-you, but the atmosphere suddenly feels heavy for no reason. Kakuchou quickly breaks the tension before Takemichi can sense anything off.

"Get some good rest, Takemichi. We're heading out."

Kakuchou secretly tugs at Izana's sleeve, signaling him to cool his head. Izana pretends not to notice, his eyes fixed on the girl with peach-pink hair.

Hinata and Naoto instantly feel that dark, icy gaze drilling into them. Hinata shivers and instinctively wants to look away, while Naoto frowns, meeting the stare head-on. Those dangerous men still haven't stopped glaring at the two of them like predators watching prey.

"Izana-kun, what's wrong?"

Izana smiles instantly, as if he never had that menacing look toward the Tachibana siblings. Then he takes Takemichi's hand with reluctant tenderness, his tone soft and almost teasing.

"Takemichi, I'm leaving, okay? See you next time."

"Take care, everyone."

Takemichi waves goodbye, then cheerfully jogs back to his girlfriend.

Tenjiku's group stays where they are, watching him. Takemichi reaches Hinata, takes her hand, and with his other hand accepts the basket she's holding. He says something to her - probably an apology. Hinata shakes her head lightly and smiles sweetly at him. Even from the side, it's clear Takemichi's smiling back at her with the same gentle warmth.

The two disappear from sight, leaving Naoto standing there, sighing helplessly at the public display of affection. Then he glances at the intimidating group still watching them. Naoto raises a brow, then tilts his chin toward the direction Takemichi and Hinata went, a faint smirk curling on his lips.

Naoto may look kind and serious now, but that doesn't mean he'll ignore a bunch of guys staring at them like enemies - especially when it's their first time meeting. The two big, scary-looking ones are fine, but the white-haired guy, the one with long hair, and that flashy two-toned bastard? He hates the way they look at his sister, like they want her to disappear. Normally, he wouldn't go out of his way to provoke anyone.

We are gonna be family someday. Who do they think they are?

The group flares up immediately, eyes burning with killing intent as they glare at Naoto, but he doesn't care and simply walks off after Takemichi and Hinata.

"That little bastard," Rindou mutters through gritted teeth.

Hinata walks into the hospital room and starts laying out the snacks she's prepared for Takemichi - cookies, cupcakes, and neatly cut fruits, all ready to eat.
Takemichi's face lights up the moment he sees her.

"You didn't have to go through all that trouble, you know. Just having you here is enough."

"It's no trouble at all," she smiles. "Naoto helped me too."

Naoto, sitting off to the side with his chin resting on his hand, watches the two lovebirds dote on each other and feels like a giant, glowing lightbulb-like always.

"Takemichi-kun," Naoto finally says, "who were those guys that came to visit you earlier?"

"Oh, those? Some new friends of mine."

"They were looking at me and Hina-nee with some seriously scary eyes. You should watch out, Takemichi. I've got a bad feeling about them."

"Naoto."

Hinata calls his name softly, a reminder not to interfere too much. After all, they're Takemichi's friends. She knows Takemichi wouldn't befriend someone without thinking it through-and no one likes hearing their friends talked badly about.

"But, sis, you saw them too! That white-haired guy and the one with the long braid-"

"That's enough."

Hinata glances at Takemichi and notices the faint tension in his expression. She assumes it's because of Naoto criticizing his friends and is about to comfort him when Takemichi takes her hand, his face turning serious.

"Hina-chan," he says quietly, "those guys you saw earlier - they're my friends, yes, but they're delinquents. And they're much more dangerous than anyone in Toman. I'll make sure they never get near you or Naoto again. Don't worry."

Hinata wants to believe him. But there's something that's been gnawing at her since earlier. When she approached those men before they noticed her, she overheard part of their conversation. She heard a name - Kisaki. Someone asked if the person who put Takemichi in the hospital was Kisaki. Could that Kisaki be Kisaki Tetta-her old elementary school classmate?

She wants to ask, but she knows Takemichi won't tell her. He once promised that one day he'd explain everything he's been doing and going through. But that "one day" feels so far away.

When Hinata first learned that her boyfriend had collapsed from exhaustion-and later, depression-she was stunned. Heartbroken. She blamed herself for not being someone Takemichi could lean on. Maybe he thought sharing with her wouldn't help anyway?

Since last July, he's been different. He's more affectionate, more gentle - so much that Hinata feels her heart melt every time he smiles at her. She's never been happier. But as time passes, that happiness starts to feel... distant.

Takemichi spends less time with her. Even holidays like Christmas, they can't be together. He always apologizes and tries to make up for it later, but for a girl in love, it's impossible not to feel lonely.

Sometimes his mood shifts without warning, and every few days he starts acting strangely - or disappears entirely. No texts, no replies, nothing.

And lately, danger seems to follow him everywhere. The people around him keep changing - more of them, each one giving Hinata looks filled with something she can't quite name, but she understands anyway.

Jealousy flares, then doubt follows - a hollow insecurity that coils around her. She trusts Takemichi's love. She trusts the kindness he shows everyone. But deep down, she knows-

Takemichi isn't her hero alone.

And she isn't the only one who loves him.

He's already carrying too much. Hinata can't burden him further, can't demand answers, can't force him to let her in. So she stays silent, holding her worries close.

They both just want to protect each other. One hides everything, wanting his loved one to live free from the pain and scars of all those twisted timelines-hoping she'll look forward to a peaceful future. The other stays quiet, afraid of adding to his burden, waiting for the day he'll finally open up.

A cycle with no end, impossible to break as long as both keep choosing silence.

Naoto watches them, his chin still in his hand. On the surface, they look fine-smiling, chatting - but underneath, something's wrong. Love problems can only be solved by the people in them, and Naoto has no idea what he should do. Still, he can't shake the feeling that if he doesn't step in, things will only get worse.

"Sis, are you really okay?"

Later that evening, after the Tachibana siblings spend some time talking with Takemichi, Naoto walks home beside his sister and finally asks.

"I don't know," Hinata murmurs, letting out a small sigh.

"You two need to talk," Naoto says. "Keeping quiet like this isn't going to help."

"But... Takemichi-kun's already so tired. I don't want to trouble him anymore. If he doesn't want to talk, I can't force him."

Naoto sighs too, thinking for a moment.

"If he won't tell us, we can find out ourselves."

"Huh? Wouldn't that be... prying into his business?"

Hinata sounds like she's against the idea.

"You just want to understand what's wrong so you can help him, right? Depression's a mental illness - you have to know the cause before you can heal it. If he won't open up, then we have to do it ourselves. You don't want him to keep suffering like this forever, do you?"

Naoto's words sink in. Hinata hesitates but finally nods.

"But... how are we even supposed to find out?"

"I think," Naoto says slowly, "I know someone who might know a thing or two."