She stopped.
The street was still lit, the city still breathing normally, but something about her posture changed. Her back tensed slightly, as if she had anticipated this moment for a long time.
"Know what?" she asked, without looking at me.
I swallowed.
"What truly binds you to Kuro?"
The silence that followed wasn't gentle.
It was heavy. Uncomfortable. Real.
Hikari smiled... reflexively.
But that smile shattered almost immediately.
"Jaika," she said carefully, "I told you it doesn't matter."
"It does to me," I replied. "Because every time you mention her name, something changes in you. Because it's not hate I see when you look at her... it's fear."
Her hands trembled.
"You shouldn't have met her," she murmured.
"Hikari, it's too late for that. And I can see how it affects you."
For the first time, Hikari turned to me, her eyes wide. There was no tenderness in them. There was panic.
"If you know," she said, "everything's going to get complicated."
"Maybe it already is."
A streetlamp flickered.
Hikari took a deep breath, as if gathering words were a painful act.
"Kuro isn't... someone who should be here," she finally said. "She exists because something went wrong."
My chest tightened.
"With you?"
She didn't answer right away. When she did, her voice was barely a whisper.
"With me."
We walked to a nearby bench. Hikari sat down, hunched over, as if carrying an invisible weight. Her smile was gone.
"I tried to forget," she continued. "I tried to move on. To smile. To be kind. To become someone who wouldn't hurt."
She looked up at me.
"But Kuro remembers."
I understood then that I didn't hate her.
I feared her.
"She keeps everything I can't," she whispered. "Rage. Guilt. Things that... shouldn't exist."
"Then it exists for a reason," I said.
Hikari shook her head in despair.
"No. It exists because I failed."
The lights around us seemed to dim slightly.
"If you keep asking," she added, "you'll see her for who she really is. And when that happens... you won't be able to stay with me anymore."
Her words didn't sound like a threat.
They sounded like a plea.
Hikari took a deep breath, as if gathering words were a painful act.
"Kuro isn't... someone who should be here," she finally said. "She exists because something went wrong."
My chest tightened.
"With you?"
She didn't answer right away. When she did, her voice was barely a whisper.
"With me."
We walked to a nearby bench. Hikari sat down, hunched over, as if carrying an invisible weight. Her smile was gone.
"I tried to forget," she continued. "I tried to move on. To smile. To be kind. To become someone who wouldn't hurt."
She looked up at me.
"But Kuro remembers."
I understood then that I didn't hate her.
I feared her.
"She keeps everything I can't," she whispered. "Rage. Guilt. Things that... shouldn't exist."
"Then it exists for a reason," I said.
Hikari shook her head in despair.
"No. It exists because I failed."
The lights around us seemed to dim slightly.
"If you keep asking," she added, "you'll see her for who she really is. And when that happens... you won't be able to stay with me anymore."
Her words didn't sound like a threat.
They sounded like a plea.
"I don't want to lose you," she said. "I don't want you to choose his darkness."
I approached her and took her hand.
"I'm not choosing anyone," I replied. "I just want to understand."
Hikari closed her eyes.
"That's what scares me the most."
That night, walking home, I felt something different. It wasn't sadness. It wasn't fear. It was a crack. Small, but irreversible.
And for the first time since I arrived in the city...
I saw Kuro again.
She was across the street, watching me silently. She wasn't smiling. She didn't seem satisfied.
Just tired.
Our eyes met.
She nodded slightly, as if she knew the question had already been asked.
And that nothing would ever be the same.
Decision
- Find Kuro to hear his side of the story
- Stay with Hikari, trying to piece things back together. (Go to Where the Light Is Enough)
I approached her and took her hand.
"I'm not choosing anyone," I replied. "I just want to understand."
Hikari closed her eyes.
"That's what scares me the most."
That night, walking home, I felt something different. It wasn't sadness. It wasn't fear. It was a crack. Small, but irreversible.
And for the first time since I arrived in the city...
I saw Kuro again.
She was across the street, watching me silently. She wasn't smiling. She didn't seem satisfied.
Just tired.
Our eyes met.
She nodded slightly, as if she knew the question had already been asked.
And that nothing would ever be the same.
Decision
- Find Kuro to hear his side of the story
- Stay with Hikari, trying to piece things back together. (Go to Where the Light Is Enough)
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