Why did she muster the courage to go to Haizaki's room and stay the night?
It was because when the lights were turned off and darkness enveloped her once more, the loneliness and unease that had dissipated when Haizaki returned surfaced again.
The more she tried to ignore them, the heavier that loneliness and unease became.
She turned the light on again, but even the brightness of the room could not bring her peace or allow her to fall asleep.
She thought back to that night at the Nagoya hotel two months ago.
It seemed that tonight… without Haizaki sleeping nearby, she truly could not fall asleep.
And so, after much inner conflict, she decided to go next door to Haizaki's room.
He was injured—what if something happened during the night? Holding onto that thought, she knocked on Haizaki's door and said she would stay the night.
Yet, as the unease faded, a strong sense of embarrassment welled up inside her, forcing her to put on a front to ease her shame.
"Get some good rest tonight."
After laying out the bedding and placing the pillow, Utaha looked at Haizaki with gentle eyes and reminded him, still somewhat worried.
"Mm. I know," Haizaki nodded.
"If something happens, call me. Don't endure the pain."
"I know. If it hurts too much, I'll let you massage it for me—how about that?" Haizaki said lightly.
"Mm." Utaha nodded, her face slightly red.
At least here, her heart should feel calmer… right?
She thought nervously.
After turning off the lights, would the unease and fear return? If they did, what would she do? She couldn't exactly go hug him to sleep, could she?
"Alright, I'm turning it off!"
As the bedside lamp went out, the entire room fell into darkness.
In the silent night, only the faint sounds of their breathing remained.
There was no loneliness or unease—but instead, a sense of tension took their place.
At this moment, Utaha's mind was filled with Haizaki.
The good parts, the bad parts—memories from their three months of acquaintanceship surfaced uncontrollably, playing through her mind like a movie.
One minute, five minutes, ten minutes.
There was no sound from Haizaki's side, while she felt no sleepiness at all.
In the end, Utaha slowly turned her body toward Haizaki.
Because of the angle, she couldn't see his profile. The only thing she could be sure of was that Haizaki was lying there, completely still.
She tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. She wanted to chat, but worried it might disturb Haizaki's rest.
In the end, she could only—
"Can't sleep?" Haizaki heard her movements and spoke up.
"A little." She wanted to know what had really happened to him.
"Want to talk?"
"Mm."
"What do you want to talk about?"
"How did you get back after the crash?" Surely he didn't walk all the way back?
If he had, how far would that have been? How much strain would his foot have endured? Utaha felt a pang of pain in her heart. She felt she should do something for Haizaki.
"Nothing much. Walking, driving." Haizaki spoke calmly, as if it hadn't been anything serious.
That only made Utaha feel worse. Clearly in pain, yet still acting nonchalant just so she wouldn't worry.
"How far did you walk, and how far did you drive?" she asked directly.
Now he would have to answer.
Haizaki fell silent for a moment, which confirmed her suspicion.
"I want to know."
"Two kilometers on foot, two hundred kilometers by car. All together, about eight hours."
"Mm."
Utaha responded softly in the end.
She felt so heartbroken she wanted to pull him into her arms and comfort him.
"Get some rest early. Good night…"
"Good night…" Haizaki's voice gradually weakened, as if he were falling asleep.
The girl pressed her lips together. Getting back had been far harder than she had imagined.
She had a question she wanted to ask—why did Haizaki rush back? Why didn't he stay somewhere overnight and return the next day?
The night grew deeper.
Both of them gradually fell asleep.
...
Morning came, and Haizaki slowly regained consciousness, opening his hazy eyes.
He slept very well last night.
As he prepared to get up, Haizaki suddenly realized that his left arm was wrapped in something soft.
Delicate, slightly elastic—so much so that he almost wanted to touch it.
His mind exploded.
Suddenly realizing something, Haizaki carefully turned his head to the left.
Black hair spread across the pillow, a delicate profile, beautiful eyes closed tightly—she was sleeping soundly.
Cool…
Why were they sleeping together?
Haizaki looked around and realized he was still on his own bed. He hadn't rolled off to squeeze onto Utaha's floor bedding.
Why?
His mind was full of questions, but no answers.
"Mm…"
Utaha shifted slightly, letting out a soft sound. Haizaki grew even more tense.
He carefully tried to pull his left arm free, but found it difficult.
The feel of the girl's skin and pajamas was undeniably comfortable, and the pleasant scent near his nose made it even harder to pull away.
What was going on?
Did he sleep with Utaha?
That couldn't be possible.
Haizaki clearly remembered that he slept properly. He hadn't drunk any alcohol last night that might cause him to lose control.
If it wasn't him, then only one possibility remained—
Utaha herself…
That was… maybe… possible.
Was she too scared to sleep alone at night, so she climbed up herself?
Wasn't that courage a bit too small?
"Are you awake? You were really intense last night."
Haizaki froze as if struck by lightning.
That sentence carried far too much information.
"I told you to be gentler—why were you still so rough?"
Now it wasn't just shock—Haizaki felt completely unwell.
What should he do? How was he supposed to handle his relationship with Utaha going forward?
Nine months later, Utaha would inevitably forget him. What would he do then?
Haizaki was very aware of reality. If not for the "Trans-Spatiotemporal Human Civilization Salvation System," if not for the fact that this world had only the two of them left, there would have been no possibility between him and Utaha.
In his previous life, even their acquaintance during the apocalypse had been the result of drastic changes in the external environment.
Now, he had already resolved to sacrifice himself—to do everything he could to prevent the apocalypse in the original world, to let ordinary life continue forever.
There was no future for him and her.
Yet now, the one thing that should never have happened… had happened.
His mind was in complete confusion, utterly unsure of how to deal with it.
Why did it turn out like this?
...