When they returned home, summer continued.
Technically.
The same streets were there.
The same recreation center.
The same arcade.
The same creek.
The same three friends.
Yet something invisible had followed them back from District 8.
Chifuyu began noticing every pause.
Every yawn.
Every time Yukinoya sat instead of stood.
If she didn't finish lunch, he noticed.
If she walked slower, he noticed.
If she went quiet for too long…
Chifuyu: "You okay?"
The first few times, Yukinoya answered normally.
Yukinoya: "Yeah."
Then it became—
Yukinoya: "I'm fine."
Then—
Yukinoya: "Chifuyu, stop asking."
He tried.
He really did.
But he couldn't unlearn what he knew.
One afternoon, Yukinoya stood up too quickly and grabbed the edge of a table.
Chifuyu immediately jumped from his seat.
Chifuyu: "Yuki?"
She straightened.
Yukinoya: "I'm okay."
Chifuyu: "You looked dizzy."
Yukinoya: "I stood up too fast."
Chifuyu: "Maybe you should sit—"
Yukinoya: "I'm already standing."
Chifuyu: "That's not—"
Yukinoya: "Chifuyu."
Her voice stopped him.
She wasn't angry.
Not exactly.
Just tired.
Yukinoya: "Please."
He slowly sat back down.
Chifuyu: "Okay."
She smiled.
But the conversation didn't recover.
That happened more often now.
Moments that would've once become jokes simply…
ended.
Dakota noticed too.
He handled it differently.
He rarely asked Yukinoya if she was okay.
Instead, he quietly changed things.
If they planned to walk somewhere far, Dakota suddenly suggested staying inside and gaming.
If Yukinoya became tired at the arcade, he complained that he was bored so they could leave without making it about her.
Once, when Chifuyu questioned why he kept changing their plans, Dakota simply shrugged.
Dakota: "I felt like it."
Chifuyu knew he was lying.
He didn't call him out.
Their friendship hadn't changed.
Not really.
They still argued.
Still laughed.
Still spent nearly every day together.
But now there were things underneath the laughter.
Things nobody wanted to say aloud.
Chifuyu sometimes caught Yukinoya's parents speaking quietly to his own.
There were more appointments.
More days when Yukinoya couldn't come outside.
More mornings when texts arrived saying she wasn't feeling well.
Whenever she returned…
She acted exactly the same.
Sometimes almost aggressively so.
Yukinoya: "Why're you two looking at me?"
Chifuyu: "We're not."
Dakota: "You're paranoid."
Yukinoya: "Good."
She'd smile.
And for a few hours…
They could pretend.
But summer was beginning to end.
The days slowly shortened.
The air became cooler.
And Yukinoya's good days…
Became fewer.
Chifuyu didn't know it yet.
Neither did Dakota.
Even Yukinoya herself still held tightly to hope.
But that week in District 8 hadn't been a temporary scare.
It hadn't been one bad night.
It hadn't been something they could simply leave behind with the mountains and canals.
Something had changed.
Her illness had begun moving faster.
And unfortunately…
The heaviness that followed them home wasn't going to get better.
Summer kept moving.
That was the strange part.
The sun still rose early.
The recreation center still opened every morning.
Children still crowded the sidewalks with bicycles, water guns, and too much energy.
The arcade still flashed brightly from behind its glass doors.
The creek still ran through the edge of the district.
Nothing had changed.
And yet…
Everything had.
Chifuyu, Yukinoya, and Dakota still spent their days together whenever they could.
They still played games.
Still argued.
Still ate too much junk food.
Still sat around doing absolutely nothing and somehow made an afternoon out of it.
But the air around them had become heavier.
Not enough to stop them from laughing.
Just enough that the laughter never seemed to linger as long as it used to.
One afternoon, the three sat beneath the same tree near the recreation center.
Dakota had his handheld console.
Chifuyu lay on his back in the grass.
Yukinoya rested against the trunk.
Chifuyu: "We should go back to the creek tomorrow."
Dakota: "Too hot."
Chifuyu: "You complained when it was cold too."
Dakota: "I'm consistent."
Yukinoya laughed softly.
Yukinoya: "We can go."
Chifuyu turned his head toward her.
Chifuyu: "You sure?"
There it was.
That question.
Again.
Yukinoya's smile faded just slightly.
Yukinoya: "Yeah."
Chifuyu immediately realized what he'd done.
Chifuyu: "I mean… if Dakota isn't too scared of sunlight."
Dakota: "Sun damage is real."
Yukinoya: "You're eleven."
Dakota: "Exactly. I have a lot of skin left to protect."
The conversation recovered.
Barely.
Chifuyu laughed.
Yukinoya laughed.
Dakota smirked.
For a few minutes, they almost felt like themselves again.
But Chifuyu noticed the way Yukinoya leaned her head back against the tree.
How her eyes closed.
How she didn't open them for several minutes.
He wanted to ask.
He didn't.
Instead, he sat up and started talking louder about something stupid Dakota had done earlier.
Yukinoya eventually opened her eyes.
And smiled.
That became their summer.
Everyone pretending not to notice what everyone else noticed.
Yukinoya became tired more easily.
Some days she couldn't come outside at all.
Other days she showed up full of energy, almost as if she were trying to make up for the days she'd missed.
Those were the days that worried Chifuyu the most.
She'd insist on walking farther.
Playing longer.
Doing one more thing.
Always one more thing.
One more game.
One more trip to the store.
One more lap around the park.
One more hour before going home.
Chifuyu began understanding what she was doing.
He hated understanding.
One evening, they sat on the curb outside Chifuyu's house eating popsicles.
The sky had turned orange.
Yukinoya looked toward the sunset.
Yukinoya: "Summer's almost over."
Chifuyu: "Still got time."
Dakota: "School starts in three weeks."
Chifuyu: "Why would you say that?"
Dakota: "Reality."
Chifuyu: "Keep reality to yourself."
Yukinoya laughed.
Then coughed.
Only once.
But the sound lingered inside Chifuyu's head much longer than it should have.
Yukinoya looked over.
She caught him staring.
Yukinoya: "Don't."
Chifuyu: "I didn't say anything."
Yukinoya: "Your face did."
Chifuyu looked away.
Yukinoya nudged his shoulder.
Yukinoya: "I'm okay today."
Today.
Chifuyu hated that word too.
He nodded.
Chifuyu: "Okay."
Dakota stared down at his melting popsicle.
None of them spoke for a while.
The sunset continued without them.
⸻
A month after District 8…
Yukinoya went back to the hospital.
This time, there were no northern lights.
No beautiful city.
No festival.
No excuse that she'd simply pushed herself too hard.
She had woken up feeling terrible.
By afternoon, she could barely stand.
By evening…
She was admitted.
Chifuyu found out while sitting at home.
His mother entered his room slowly.
That alone was enough to make his stomach drop.
Chifuyu: "What happened?"
She didn't answer right away.
Chifuyu sat up.
Chifuyu: "Mom?"
Her expression told him everything before she spoke.
Chifuyu's mom: "Yukinoya's back in the hospital."
His feet hit the floor immediately.
⸻
The hospital looked the same.
Chifuyu didn't.
Neither did Dakota.
They sat beside each other in the waiting room, but there was no restless joking this time.
No pretending she'd be discharged tomorrow.
No complaints about the chairs.
Yukinoya's parents sat across from them.
Her mother had been crying.
Her father stared at the floor with his hands clasped together.
Chifuyu kept waiting for someone to say that treatment was working.
Nobody did.
Hours passed.
Doctors came and went.
Every conversation seemed quieter than the last.
Treatment continued.
Then changed.
Then intensified.
But Yukinoya's condition kept worsening.
Her body wasn't recovering the way it had before.
The things that had once helped were no longer enough.
Chifuyu understood only pieces of what the doctors explained.
He didn't need the medical details.
He understood their faces.
That was enough.
Eventually, one of the doctors asked the family to sit down.
Chifuyu and Dakota were there too.
Nobody told them to leave.
That frightened Chifuyu more than anything.
The doctor spoke carefully.
Softly.
He explained that Yukinoya's kidneys had deteriorated severely.
That her body was struggling.
That despite treatment…
They weren't seeing the response they had hoped for.
Chifuyu kept waiting for the part where the doctor said what they would try next.
It never came.
Instead…
The doctor said they should prepare themselves.
Yukinoya's mother covered her mouth.
Her father lowered his head.
Dakota froze completely.
Chifuyu stared.
Chifuyu: "Prepare for what?"
Nobody answered.
He looked toward the doctor.
Chifuyu: "What does that mean?"
The doctor's expression tightened.
The answer came gently.
But there was no gentle way to understand it.
Yukinoya didn't have much longer.
Chifuyu looked around the room.
Waiting.
Surely someone would correct him.
His parents.
Dakota.
Yukinoya's father.
Anyone.
Nobody did.
Chifuyu: "No."
His mother reached for him.
Chifuyu pulled away.
Chifuyu: "No."
The doctor continued speaking, but Chifuyu couldn't hear him anymore.
The room sounded distant.
Like he had been dropped underwater.
He stared at the floor.
His breathing became uneven.
Dakota sat beside him with both hands pressed tightly together.
Chifuyu looked over.
Dakota's eyes were already wet.
That made everything real.
Chifuyu: "What are we supposed to do?"
Dakota didn't answer.
Because there wasn't an answer.
For once…
Neither of them knew what to do.
⸻
A day passed.
They stayed with Yukinoya.
Almost everyone did.
Her parents.
Chifuyu's parents.
Dakota's parents.
Chifuyu.
Dakota.
The room was rarely empty.
Yukinoya spent much of the day asleep.
Whenever she woke, everyone tried acting normal.
It was terrible.
Her father told bad jokes.
Dakota talked about games.
Chifuyu complained about school starting soon.
Yukinoya smiled when she could.
Sometimes she even laughed.
And every time she did, somebody in the room had to look away.
By evening, she was awake for longer stretches.
She looked exhausted.
Much weaker than even a week earlier.
But she was still Yukinoya.
She still rolled her eyes when Chifuyu annoyed her.
Still told Dakota his taste in games was terrible.
Still complained that hospital food looked like something scraped off the bottom of a shoe.
Those moments hurt the most.
Because they made it possible to forget.
For a second.
Then the monitor beside her bed would beep softly.
And everyone remembered.
Later that evening, the adults decided to get food.
Dakota's parents took him with them.
Yukinoya's father hesitated at the doorway.
Yukinoya: "Dad."
He looked back.
Yukinoya: "Go."
Her mother kissed her forehead.
Yukinoya's mom: "We'll be right back."
Yukinoya: "I know."
Chifuyu remained in his chair.
His father looked toward him.
Chifuyu: "I'm staying."
Nobody argued.
The door eventually closed.
The room became quiet.
Only Chifuyu and Yukinoya remained.
For a while…
Neither said anything.
Chifuyu stared at the window.
Night had begun settling over the city.
Yukinoya looked toward him.
Yukinoya: "You're being weird."
Chifuyu glanced over.
Chifuyu: "How?"
Yukinoya: "You're quiet."
Chifuyu: "You complain when I'm loud."
Yukinoya: "Yeah."
A faint smile.
Yukinoya: "But this is worse."
He looked away again.
Chifuyu: "I don't know what to say."
Yukinoya: "That's new."
Chifuyu almost laughed.
Almost.
Silence returned.
Yukinoya stared toward the ceiling.
Yukinoya: "Do you remember the roach?"
Chifuyu blinked.
Chifuyu: "What?"
Yukinoya: "At your sleepover."
He stared at her.
Then a reluctant smile appeared.
Chifuyu: "Dakota tried abandoning us."
Yukinoya: "He grabbed his bag so fast."
Chifuyu: "Coward."
Yukinoya laughed softly.
The sound was weak.
But real.
Yukinoya: "And you were gonna sacrifice him."
Chifuyu: "It was tactical."
Yukinoya: "You screamed louder than both of us."
Chifuyu: "That's not true."
Yukinoya: "It absolutely is."
Chifuyu smiled.
Then the smile disappeared.
Yukinoya noticed.
Yukinoya: "Hey."
He lowered his eyes.
Chifuyu: "Why are you talking about that?"
Yukinoya: "Because it was funny."
Chifuyu: "No."
He looked at her.
Chifuyu: "Why are you talking like everything already happened?"
Yukinoya didn't answer.
Chifuyu's chest tightened.
Chifuyu: "Stop."
Yukinoya: "Chifuyu—"
Chifuyu: "Stop acting like this is it."
Her expression softened.
Chifuyu: "They're wrong."
His voice trembled.
Chifuyu: "Doctors are wrong sometimes."
Yukinoya said nothing.
Chifuyu: "You're gonna get better."
Nothing.
Chifuyu: "You did before."
Yukinoya's eyes began to shine.
Chifuyu: "So just do it again."
His fists tightened against his knees.
Chifuyu: "Just…"
He swallowed.
Chifuyu: "Get better again."
Yukinoya looked toward him for a long time.
Yukinoya: "I want to."
That answer destroyed what little composure he had left.
Chifuyu looked down quickly.
Yukinoya: "I really do."
He rubbed his eyes.
Chifuyu: "Then do it."
Yukinoya gave a tiny laugh through tears.
Yukinoya: "You make everything sound easy."
Chifuyu: "Because it should be."
Yukinoya: "I know."
Chifuyu: "We're supposed to go back to District 8."
Yukinoya's lips trembled.
Chifuyu: "You said we would."
Yukinoya: "I know."
Chifuyu: "We still have to go everywhere else too."
He remembered the conversations beneath the tree.
Snowy mountains.
Cities.
Forests.
Beaches.
Everything Yukinoya wanted to see.
Chifuyu: "You said you wanted to travel."
Yukinoya looked toward the window.
Yukinoya: "Yeah."
Chifuyu: "So you can't just…"
His voice stopped.
He couldn't say it.
Yukinoya understood anyway.
Her eyes closed briefly.
Yukinoya: "I'm sorry."
Chifuyu immediately shook his head.
Chifuyu: "Don't apologize."
Yukinoya: "But—"
Chifuyu: "You didn't do anything."
He finally looked at her.
Tears ran freely down his face now.
He didn't bother hiding them.
Chifuyu: "So don't apologize like you did something wrong."
Yukinoya stared at him.
Then started crying too.
Neither spoke for a while.
There wasn't anything left to argue about.
The room simply held two children who had reached a problem neither of them could fight.
Eventually, Yukinoya wiped her eyes.
Yukinoya: "Chifuyu."
Chifuyu: "What?"
Yukinoya: "Can I ask you something?"
He hesitated.
Chifuyu: "Yeah."
She looked at him.
Really looked at him.
Like she was trying to memorize his face.
Then…
She forced a smile.
A small one.
Painful around the edges.
Yukinoya: "You better not forget about me."
Chifuyu froze.
His mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Yukinoya continued smiling.
But tears rolled down her cheeks.
Chifuyu tried again.
His lips trembled.
He bit down hard enough to hurt.
He wanted to tell her she was stupid.
Wanted to tell her there was no way he could forget her.
Wanted to promise something.
Anything.
But the words refused to move.
His throat closed around them.
Chifuyu: "I…"
The hospital door opened.
Voices entered the room.
Their families returned carrying bags of food.
Dakota stepped inside first.
Chifuyu stopped.
The words died before they could escape.
He lowered his head.
Yukinoya quickly wiped her eyes.
By the time everyone gathered around the room again…
She was smiling.
And Chifuyu never got to finish what he was trying to say.
***
A week passed.
And somehow…
Yukinoya got better.
Not slightly.
Not enough to simply stabilize her.
Better.
The change came so suddenly that even the doctors struggled to explain it.
Her numbers improved.
Her strength began returning.
The exhaustion that had weighed down every movement eased day by day.
Treatment that had seemed to be failing suddenly began working.
At first, nobody trusted it.
Yukinoya's parents were afraid to celebrate.
Chifuyu was too.
Dakota barely said anything whenever the doctors gave them another positive update.
Everyone had already prepared themselves for the worst once.
Hope felt dangerous now.
But the improvements continued.
One morning, the doctor entered Yukinoya's room carrying test results and wearing an expression none of them had seen in weeks.
A smile.
Doctor: "She's responding remarkably well."
Yukinoya's mother immediately covered her mouth.
Her father leaned forward.
Yukinoya's dad: "How well?"
The doctor glanced at the chart.
Doctor: "Far better than we anticipated."
Chifuyu's heart began pounding.
Doctor: "If this continues, there's a real possibility that with treatment and time, her condition could improve dramatically."
Yukinoya stared at him.
Yukinoya: "Dramatically?"
Doctor: "Possibly to the point where this illness no longer controls your life the way it has."
Silence.
Nobody moved.
It was almost as if everyone was afraid the moment would disappear if they breathed too loudly.
Yukinoya's mother started crying first.
She immediately threw her arms around her daughter.
Yukinoya: "Mom!"
Her father joined them a second later.
He laughed through tears, burying his face against both of them.
Dakota stood beside the bed looking stunned.
Dakota: "So…"
He blinked.
Dakota: "She's actually gonna be okay?"
The doctor smiled.
Doctor: "Things are looking very promising."
Chifuyu didn't hear anything after that.
His vision blurred.
His chest tightened.
Except this time…
It didn't hurt.
He started crying before he even realized it.
Yukinoya looked toward him.
Yukinoya: "Chifuyu?"
He walked forward.
Then practically launched himself at her.
Yukinoya: "Whoa!"
Chifuyu wrapped both arms around her.
Tight.
Too tight.
Yukinoya: "Ow!"
Chifuyu: "You're okay!"
Yukinoya: "Apparently!"
Chifuyu laughed through his tears.
Chifuyu: "You're actually okay!"
Yukinoya: "Stop crying all over me!"
Chifuyu: "Shut up!"
She laughed.
Then hugged him back.
Dakota watched them.
Yukinoya glanced over Chifuyu's shoulder.
Yukinoya: "You too, Dakota."
Dakota immediately looked away.
Dakota: "I'm good."
Yukinoya: "Get over here."
Dakota: "No."
Chifuyu grabbed his sleeve.
Dakota: "Don't."
Yukinoya reached for his other arm.
Dakota: "I said don't."
They dragged him into the hug.
Dakota: "This is humiliating."
His voice shook.
Chifuyu looked over.
Dakota was crying too.
Yukinoya laughed.
Yukinoya: "Aww."
Dakota: "Mention this to anyone and I'll deny everything."
For the first time in what felt like forever…
Everyone laughed without forcing it.
There was no weight behind it.
No fear waiting at the end.
No thought of tomorrow.
Just relief.
Hope.
The kind of hope that made all the pain before it feel worth surviving.
⸻
Yukinoya was discharged not long after.
The day she walked out of the hospital, Chifuyu thought the sky looked brighter.
Maybe it did.
Maybe everything simply looked different because she was beside him again.
Their families celebrated that evening.
Food covered the table.
Their parents talked louder than usual.
Yukinoya's father kept raising his glass to absolutely everything.
Yukinoya's dad: "To treatment!"
Everyone cheered.
Five minutes later—
Yukinoya's dad: "To good doctors!"
Another cheer.
Then—
Yukinoya's dad: "To summer!"
Yukinoya: "Dad, you're running out of things."
Yukinoya's dad: "To running out of things!"
Chifuyu burst out laughing.
Dakota shook his head.
Dakota: "He's unstoppable."
It felt normal again.
Better than normal.
It felt like they'd been given something back.
Something they had already lost.
⸻
Another week passed.
Golden Festival was still underway.
The trio returned to everything they'd thought they might never do together again.
They wandered through crowded streets.
Bought snacks.
Played games.
Argued over nothing.
Chifuyu challenged Yukinoya to anything remotely competitive.
She accepted every time.
Dakota complained while following them anyway.
The heaviness disappeared.
Or at least…
Chifuyu thought it had.
That afternoon, the three walked through one of the busiest festival streets beneath rows of golden decorations fluttering between buildings.
Yukinoya held a cup of shaved ice.
Dakota carried a bag filled with things he'd already claimed were "investments."
Chifuyu laughed while listening to the two argue.
Dakota: "I'm telling you, this one's collectible."
Yukinoya: "It's plastic."
Dakota: "Rare plastic."
Yukinoya: "You paid twenty dollars for it."
Dakota: "History will vindicate me."
Chifuyu: "History's laughing at you."
Dakota: "Neither of you understand economics."
Then…
Chifuyu stopped walking.
The laughter around him continued.
Festival music drifted through the street.
People brushed past his shoulders.
Yet something felt wrong.
His smile slowly disappeared.
A chill ran down his spine.
Not from the weather.
Something deeper.
Instinctive.
Wrong.
Yukinoya took a few more steps before noticing.
Yukinoya: "Chifuyu?"
He stared ahead.
The street looked normal.
Too normal.
Golden banners.
Food stalls.
Families.
Children.
Nothing unusual.
Still…
His body wouldn't relax.
Yukinoya walked back toward him.
Yukinoya: "What's wrong?"
Chifuyu rubbed the side of his head.
Chifuyu: "I don't know."
A dull ache formed behind his eyes.
He winced.
Dakota: "You okay?"
Chifuyu: "My head hurts."
The pain sharpened.
He pressed two fingers against his temple.
Chifuyu: "Actually…"
His stomach twisted.
Chifuyu: "I don't feel good."
Yukinoya immediately smiled.
Yukinoya: "Oh?"
She leaned toward him.
Yukinoya: "I hope you weren't hiding an illness too."
Chifuyu stared at her.
For some reason…
The joke didn't land.
His chest felt cold.
He forced a laugh.
Chifuyu: "Haha."
It sounded fake even to him.
Chifuyu: "Of course not."
He stepped backward.
Chifuyu: "I'm just gonna head home."
Dakota: "Want us to come?"
Chifuyu shook his head.
Chifuyu: "Nah."
He forced another smile.
Chifuyu: "You two stay."
Yukinoya: "Get some rest."
Chifuyu: "Yeah."
He raised one hand.
Chifuyu: "See you later."
Yukinoya waved.
Yukinoya: "Bye!"
Dakota lifted two fingers.
Dakota: "Don't die."
Chifuyu: "Very comforting."
He turned away.
The moment his back faced them…
His expression went blank.
Something was wrong.
He just couldn't understand what.
⸻
Chifuyu made it home without much trouble.
By then, the headache had worsened considerably.
His parents weren't around.
That didn't strike him as strange.
Nothing did.
Not yet.
He found pain medicine in the bathroom cabinet, swallowed it with water, and stumbled toward his bedroom.
Chifuyu: "What the hell…"
He dropped onto the mattress.
His head throbbed.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
Every pulse felt like pressure building behind his skull.
He buried his face into the pillow.
Chifuyu: "Just let me sleep."
He closed his eyes.
Nothing.
The pain wouldn't let him.
He rolled onto his side.
Then his back.
Then the other side.
Chifuyu: "This sucks."
He pressed a pillow against his head.
Chifuyu: "I bet Ariel's sleeping soundly while I'm over here dying."
Silence.
Chifuyu's eyes opened.
He stared at the wall.
…
What?
His breathing stopped.
Chifuyu slowly lowered the pillow.
Chifuyu: "Ariel…?"
The name felt natural.
Too natural.
Yet completely out of place.
He sat upright.
His heart began pounding.
Ariel.
Why had he said Ariel?
He looked around the room.
The television.
The desk.
His schoolbooks.
His eleven-year-old body.
The old walls.
Everything.
Something shifted inside his mind.
A crack.
Tiny at first.
Then wider.
Ariel.
Hunters.
Vampires.
Hanabi Island.
The forest.
Nicholas.
Iris.
Hairene.
Lily.
Chifuyu's eyes widened.
His hand flew to his forehead.
Memories came crashing through at once.
Not gently.
Violently.
He wasn't eleven.
He wasn't spending Golden Festival with Dakota and Yukinoya.
He had been standing inside a ravine.
Lily pointed at him.
Then—
Darkness.
Chifuyu staggered off the bed.
Chifuyu: "No…"
His breathing grew heavier.
He stumbled toward the bathroom.
Turned on the faucet.
Cold water rushed over his hands.
He splashed it onto his face.
Once.
Again.
Again.
He gripped the sink.
Water dripped from his hair.
He slowly lifted his head.
The mirror reflected the eleven-year-old Chifuyu back at him.
His expression had changed completely.
No confusion.
No innocence.
His eyes were grim.
Angry.
Chifuyu: "This isn't real."
His voice came out low.
The bathroom remained silent.
Chifuyu stared at himself.
Then the memories he'd been avoiding finally returned.
Not the version Lily had created.
The real ones.
The hospital.
The doctor.
His parents crying.
Dakota sitting beside him, completely broken.
Yukinoya growing weaker.
There had been no miracle.
No sudden recovery.
No discharge.
No second week of Golden Festival.
None of it.
His fingers tightened against the edge of the sink.
Chifuyu: "Yukinoya…"
His jaw clenched.
She hadn't gotten better.
She had died.
A week ago.
In that hospital room.
He remembered.
He remembered all of it.
The truth tore through the false memories like glass shattering.
Yukinoya never walked out of that hospital.
She never returned to Golden Festival.
She never laughed about Chifuyu hiding an illness.
She never waved goodbye.
That wasn't a memory.
It was a lie.
A world built from the one thing Chifuyu had wanted more than anything at eleven years old.
A second chance.
His head throbbed again.
Chifuyu gritted his teeth.
Chifuyu: "That vampire…"
Silver hair.
That playful smile.
The finger pointed toward him.
Lily.
This was her ability.
Not sleep.
Not exactly.
She had trapped him inside something deeper.
A dream.
An illusion.
A memory twisted into the ending he'd always wished for.
Chifuyu slowly raised his head.
The reflection in the mirror smiled.
Chifuyu didn't.
His blood ran cold.
The reflection continued smiling.
Chifuyu stared at it.
Chifuyu: "Cute."
The reflection's smile widened.
Chifuyu's expression darkened.
Chifuyu: "But you picked the wrong memory."
The bathroom lights flickered.
The walls trembled.
Somewhere beyond the door…
Festival music began playing again.
Distant.
Warped.
Wrong.
Chifuyu turned off the faucet.
His hands stopped trembling.
The headache remained.
So did the pain in his chest.
But now he understood both.
He wasn't supposed to feel comfortable here.
This world was trying to make him stay.
Trying to give him something reality had taken from him.
And for a while…
It had worked.
Chifuyu stared at the eleven-year-old face in the mirror.
Chifuyu: "Yukinoya died."
The words hurt.
He said them anyway.
Chifuyu: "She died in that hospital."
The reflection's smile vanished.
A crack appeared through the mirror.
Chifuyu's eyes narrowed.
There it was.
Chifuyu: "I remember."
Another crack.
He stepped closer.
Chifuyu: "So I don't need your fake ending."
The mirror fractured again.
Chifuyu's hand tightened into a fist.
There was grief in his expression.
But beneath it…
Rage.
Chifuyu: "Now get me the hell out of here."
The bathroom walls began to shake.
The bathroom lights flickered again.
Once.
Twice.
Then everything went still.
Chifuyu remained in front of the fractured mirror, breathing slowly through his nose.
The fake reflection had stopped smiling.
For a few seconds, the only sound was water dripping from his hair onto the tile.
Then—
Lily: "Wow."
Chifuyu's eyes shifted toward the mirror.
Someone stood behind him.
Silver hair.
Small knife resting loosely against one shoulder.
A playful smile that looked completely out of place inside his childhood home.
Lily leaned against the bathroom doorway as though she'd simply wandered in.
Lily: "You actually figured it out."
Chifuyu turned around.
The anger in his expression didn't change.
Chifuyu: "Took me long enough."
Lily: "Long enough?"
She giggled.
Lily: "Most people never do."
Chifuyu said nothing.
Lily stepped into the bathroom.
Lily: "That's one of my favorite abilities."
She slowly dragged one finger along the wall.
The entire room shimmered beneath her touch.
Lily: "I put you to sleep…"
The walls vanished.
For an instant, Chifuyu found himself standing beneath the northern lights again.
Yukinoya laughed somewhere behind him.
Then the hospital appeared.
Then the creek.
Then the arcade.
Then District 8.
Memories flickered around them like pages being turned.
Lily: "And your own mind does most of the work for me."
She looked fascinated by the changing scenery.
Lily: "Regrets."
The hospital.
Lily: "Things you wish you'd said."
Yukinoya smiling from her bed.
Lily: "People you wanted to save."
The image changed.
Yukinoya walked out of the hospital alive.
Lily: "All those little possibilities you secretly wished had happened."
Chifuyu's jaw tightened.
Lily spread her arms.
Lily: "I just give them somewhere to live."
The world returned to Chifuyu's bedroom.
Lily hopped onto the edge of his desk.
Lily: "Pretty nice, right?"
Chifuyu: "You're disgusting."
She blinked.
Lily: "That's rude."
Chifuyu: "You dug through my memories."
Lily: "Technically, your brain dug through them."
Chifuyu: "And then you twisted them."
Lily: "Improved them."
Chifuyu's eyes hardened.
Lily smiled sweetly.
Lily: "Don't look at me like that."
She pointed through the bedroom window.
Outside, Yukinoya and Dakota were walking down the street.
Alive.
Laughing.
Waiting for him.
Lily: "You could have stayed here."
Chifuyu stared.
Lily: "Forever."
His gaze slowly returned to her.
Chifuyu: "Forever?"
Lily nodded cheerfully.
Lily: "You'd never wake up."
There wasn't even a hint of shame in her voice.
Lily: "Your body would just keep sleeping."
Chifuyu: "Until I died."
Lily tilted her hand from side to side.
Lily: "Eventually."
Her smile widened.
Lily: "But you wouldn't notice."
She hopped off the desk.
Lily: "That's the best part."
She walked past him.
Lily: "No fear."
Another step.
Lily: "No grief."
Another.
Lily: "No war."
She stopped beside the window.
Lily: "Just the life you wanted."
Chifuyu: "It's not my life."
Lily looked back.
Chifuyu: "It's a lie."
Lily: "Does that matter if you're happy?"
Chifuyu: "Yeah."
Lily genuinely seemed curious.
Lily: "Why?"
Chifuyu stared at her.
Chifuyu: "Because it didn't happen."
Lily: "That sounds miserable."
Chifuyu: "Reality usually is."
Lily: "Exactly!"
She spun around excitedly.
Lily: "That's what makes this better."
Chifuyu's expression darkened.
Lily: "Think about it."
She pointed outside.
Lily: "Yukinoya's alive."
Chifuyu's fist tightened.
Lily: "You get your friend back."
Chifuyu: "Don't say her name."
Lily paused.
The room became colder.
Chifuyu: "You don't get to say her name."
For the first time, Lily's smile weakened.
Only slightly.
Then returned.
Lily: "Touchy."
Chifuyu: "You showed me something that never existed."
Lily: "Something you wanted to exist."
Chifuyu: "There's a difference."
Lily: "Is there?"
Chifuyu stepped toward her.
Chifuyu: "Yeah."
His voice lowered.
Chifuyu: "Because the real Yukinoya died."
The words hurt exactly as much as before.
He didn't look away.
Chifuyu: "And pretending she didn't doesn't honor her."
Lily's eyes narrowed with interest.
Chifuyu: "It just makes me feel better."
Lily: "Isn't that what people want?"
Chifuyu: "Maybe."
He glanced toward the fake Yukinoya outside.
She turned.
Smiled.
Waved at him.
Chifuyu's chest twisted.
For one terrible second…
He wanted to wave back.
Instead, he closed the curtain.
Chifuyu: "But she deserved better than being turned into something I use to hide from reality."
Silence.
Lily stared at him.
Then—
She laughed.
Not mockingly.
Genuinely.
Lily: "You're weird."
Chifuyu: "I've heard."
Lily: "Most people beg me once they understand."
Chifuyu: "Then go find one of them."
Lily: "Some realize they're dreaming and still choose the dream."
Chifuyu: "Good for them."
Lily: "Some scream when I wake them."
Chifuyu: "Sounds annoying."
Lily: "Very."
Chifuyu: "Then stop doing it."
Lily: "No."
Chifuyu sighed.
Lily watched him for another moment.
Her eyes seemed to search his face for hesitation.
There was plenty of pain there.
Plenty of grief.
But no uncertainty.
Lily: "So that's really it?"
Chifuyu: "What?"
Lily: "You're choosing to go back?"
Chifuyu: "Yeah."
Lily: "To Hanabi Island?"
Chifuyu: "Yeah."
Lily: "Where thousands of vampires are currently slaughtering people?"
Chifuyu: "Yeah."
Lily: "Where your friends could already be dead?"
Chifuyu's eyes sharpened.
Lily: "Where you might die five minutes after waking up?"
Chifuyu: "Are you going somewhere with this?"
Lily's smile vanished.
For once, her expression became almost serious.
Lily: "The life you're going back to is going to be hell compared to this."
The world around them changed once more.
Chifuyu stood beneath the northern lights.
Yukinoya stood a short distance away.
Alive.
Healthy.
Smiling.
Lily's voice came from behind him.
Lily: "Here, she lives."
The image shifted.
Dakota and Yukinoya raced past him as children.
Lily: "Here, nobody takes her from you."
Another change.
The three sat beneath their tree.
Older now.
Still together.
Lily: "You can grow up with them."
Another.
District 8.
Another.
A summer that never ended.
Lily: "You could have everything."
The scenery dissolved.
Hanabi Island appeared instead.
Fire.
Screams.
Ruined streets.
Blood.
Lily stood beside Chifuyu.
Lily: "Or you can go back to that."
Chifuyu stared at the burning island.
His expression didn't change.
Lily: "Still want to wake up?"
Chifuyu: "Yeah."
She tilted her head.
Chifuyu: "I don't care if it's hell I'm walking back into."
Lily's eyes widened slightly.
Chifuyu stepped forward.
The flames reflected across his face.
Chifuyu: "I don't need your fake fantasies."
Another step.
Chifuyu: "I don't need some sick nightmare pretending to be the life I wanted."
The younger body around him began to distort.
For flashes at a time, his present-day form appeared underneath.
His Hunter uniform.
His blade.
His scars.
His real self.
Chifuyu: "I've already made my choice."
Lily watched silently.
Chifuyu: "I'm gonna live."
The illusion trembled.
Chifuyu: "I'm gonna fight."
Cracks spread through the sky.
Chifuyu: "And I'm gonna end this war."
Lily's expression sharpened.
Chifuyu: "Humans."
Another crack.
Chifuyu: "Vampires."
The northern lights shattered like glass.
Chifuyu: "I'm ending all of it."
For several seconds…
Lily simply stared at him.
Then she burst into laughter.
Lily: "Ahahahaha!"
She held her stomach.
Lily: "That's your answer?!"
Chifuyu frowned.
Lily: "End the war between humans and vampires?"
She wiped beneath one eye.
Lily: "That's adorable."
Chifuyu: "Laugh all you want."
Lily: "You seriously think you can do that?"
Chifuyu: "Yeah."
Lily: "People have been killing each other since before you were born."
Chifuyu: "Then I'll be the idiot who tries something different."
Lily stared.
Chifuyu: "Better than sleeping until I rot."
Her laughter slowly quieted.
A strange smile remained.
Not playful anymore.
Interested.
Lily: "That's an ideal you'll never realize."
Chifuyu: "Maybe."
Lily: "Humans hate us."
Chifuyu: "Some do."
Lily: "Vampires hate humans."
Chifuyu: "Some do."
Lily: "People like Hanako exist."
Chifuyu: "I know."
Lily: "People like me exist."
Chifuyu: "Unfortunately."
Her eye twitched.
Chifuyu almost smiled.
Lily: "You're seriously annoying."
Chifuyu: "I've heard that too."
Lily stared at him for another long moment.
Then…
She snapped her fingers.
The entire dream stopped.
Everything froze.
The flames.
The people.
The sky.
Even the wind.
Lily: "Fine."
Chifuyu narrowed his eyes.
Lily: "I'll let you out."
Chifuyu: "Just like that?"
Lily shrugged.
Lily: "It's no fun anymore."
She turned away from him.
Lily: "Once someone knows, the fantasy becomes boring."
Chifuyu: "Glad my trauma couldn't entertain you longer."
Lily: "Don't be dramatic."
The ground began breaking apart beneath them.
Chunks of the false world fell into endless darkness.
Lily looked over her shoulder.
Lily: "Still…"
Her smile returned.
Lily: "I'd love to see you try."
Chifuyu stopped.
Lily: "That impossible little dream of yours."
The world continued collapsing.
Lily: "Ending the war."
Chifuyu stared at her.
Lily waved.
Lily: "Maybe you'll surprise me."
Chifuyu turned away.
He began walking.
Not toward Yukinoya.
Not toward the summer.
Not toward the version of his childhood he'd desperately wished had existed.
Away from all of it.
Each step destroyed another piece of the illusion.
The arcade disappeared.
The creek vanished.
His childhood home fractured.
District 8 collapsed into darkness.
Then the northern lights appeared one final time.
Yukinoya stood beneath them.
Exactly as he remembered her.
Sky-blue eyes.
Short black hair.
That familiar smile.
Chifuyu stopped.
His fists clenched.
For a second…
His anger disappeared.
Only grief remained.
The real grief.
The kind that hurt because it belonged to something real.
Yukinoya raised her hand.
You better not forget about me.
Chifuyu stared at her.
This time…
He answered.
Chifuyu: "I didn't."
The image vanished.
His eyes hardened.
He turned his back on the past.
And kept walking.
Anger returned with every step.
At Lily.
At the Slayers.
At Hanako.
At the vampires tearing Hanabi Island apart.
At a war that kept taking people and leaving everyone else to carry the memories.
By the time the final pieces of the dream began crumbling around him…
Chifuyu was angrier than he'd ever been.
Chifuyu: "Open your eyes."
Darkness swallowed him.
And somewhere far beyond the dream…
His fingers moved.