A slap in the face jolted Daichi awake. He blinked several times before realizing he would doze off on the way. He was now in a different location, in a room with wooden floors and walls.
"Wake up, you slacker! I despise seeing people sleep during the day." Daichi had opened his eyes, but Suzuno continued to slap him.
Daichi's face and mouth corners were slashed by Suzuno, causing him to hiss in pain.
"S—stop it," Daichi begged, not realizing it.
Suzuno raised an eyebrow and placed her hands on her chin. "I'm just checking to make sure you're not dead."
Daichi attempted to sit up, tightening the cloth around his body. He could feel his body temperature rising. He appears to have a fever as a result of what happened last night.
The dimly lit room held only a few people. Daichi, Suzuno, Tetsu, and a few others are present. They were all standing guard, except for Suzuno, who was pacing back and forth restlessly. The woman kept looking at her wristwatch.
"It's been more than two hours, but there hasn't been any news from Shuya-sama. What happened?" Suzuno muttered, biting her lower lip.
Daichi closed his eyes because Suzuno was making him dizzy. However, Suzuno approached Daichi and kicked him in the stomach.
"Ouch!"
Daichi collapsed again on the floor, clutching his stomach. Daichi was hurt by Suzuno's kick because it was so forceful.
"I told you I don't like seeing people sleeping during the day!" Suzuno yelled angrily in a shrill voice.
Daichi cast a glance at Suzuno's enraged expression. "Why don't you just kill me if you don't like it?"
"Kill you?" Suzuno glared. "Do you think I wouldn't kill you? I would have killed you two years ago if Shuya-sama didn't need you!"
"So I'm just a pawn?" With a weak voice, Daichi said.
The woman cast a glance at Daichi, who was lying on the floor. "Just a moment longer. If Shuya-sama's business is completed, you will meet your end soon."
"Oh, I see."
Suzuno's words were soothing to Daichi's ears. The young man smiled faintly because he was happy.
Suzuno, on the other hand, became increasingly anxious over time. She checked her phone several times, but the call she was expecting never came.
"With Matsumoto-sama's backing, he should not face any difficulties. But why is it taking so long?"
Someone guarding the door later said, "Someone is coming."
Suzuno's anxiety vanished the moment she heard that.
"That must be Shuya-sama."
Suzuno smiled cheerfully as she approached the door. However, Suzuno's steps stopped in their tracks as soon as the door opened and a figure emerged.
"What brought you here, Shuhei Yoshimoto?" Upon noticing the bloodstains on Shuhei's white shirt, Suzuno let out a ferocious screech. "Where is Shuya-sama?!"
Shuhei's face was expressionless. The man turned away from Suzuno and focused his attention on someone curled up on the floor in the far corner of the room.
Shuhei stepped forward, but Tetsu and the others stopped him. But they were no match for Shuhei, and they were all defeated in an instant.
He kept walking past Suzuno, who was just staring and doing nothing.
The man knelt directly in front of Daichi. He rubbed Daichi's cheek gently. Even though Daichi's facial skin was dirty and had wounds in several places, Daichi's face was still charming in Shuhei's eyes.
Daichi slowly opened his eyes, and Shuhei's figure filled his vision.
"Why did you come here?" he inquired.
Shuhei replied, "To pick you up. Let's go back home."
Shuhei reached out his hand to grab Daichi. He did, however, feel a cold object press against his head.
Suzuno aimed the gun at the back of Shuhei's head from behind him.
"Tell me, where is Shuya-sama?" Suzuno firmly placed her index finger on the gun's trigger, ready to pull it at any moment.
But Shuhei was unafraid. The man's face remained calm at all times. He leaned Daichi's limp body against the wall. Shuhei spoke without moving his head.
"He was killed."
Suzuno gasped. "What did you say?!"
Suzuno had a bad feeling for quite some time. But she was truly shaken when what she had feared happened.
"You must be the one who killed him, right?"
"It's not me."
Suzuno's wild laughter filled the room. "Not you? Don't be silly! Who will believe you when you show up in bloodstained clothes?"
Daichi, who was so close to Shuhei, accidentally noticed the white shirt Shuhei was wearing. There were many red blood spots, but there were no wounds, so the blood spots had to be from someone else.
Is it true that he killed his brother? Daichi thought.
Suzuno was on the verge of pulling the trigger. Shuhei's next words, however, brought her to a halt.
"It was Matsumoto."
suzuno froze. "What? Impossible! He is Shuya-sama's ally; how could he?"
"It's better to keep quiet if you don't know anything."
"You should be the one to keep quiet! You're the one who doesn't know anything!"
Shuhei has had enough of Suzuno. He turned around in the blink of an eye and pointed his gun at Suzuno. They were now aiming their weapons at each other.
Two gunshots were fired at the same time a split second later.
At once, Suzuno fell, blood dripping from her forehead.
Shuhei was still standing, but his chest was bleeding, and blood was seeping through his clothes.
It happened so fast that his body collapsed in front of Daichi.
"Daicchan..." Shuhei said Daichi's name in a low voice.
“Shu… Shuhei…”
Daichi, of course, despised the person who had changed his life the most for the worse. But he was not happy when he saw that person collapse and die in front of him.
Daichi dragged his aching body closer to Shuhei. Daichi couldn't help but panic when he saw Shuhei's chest bleeding.
"He's injured..."
Daichi's mind became clearer, and he began to consider doing something. He reached into Shuhei's pocket for his phone.
But Shuhei grabbed his arm.
"What are you doing?" Blood was dripping from the corner of Shuhei's mouth, but he didn't appear to be in pain.
"I'm looking for your phone, so I can call for help."
Shuhei said nothing else and let go of Daichi's hand. He gave a gentle look to Daichi, who was desperately calling for help. He had the impression that he was back on the day they first met.
"Daicchan… I truly regret having done so many bad things to you..." Shuhei spoke slowly. "Please accept my apologies. I love you."
Daichi, who had just hung up the phone, froze at Shuhei's words. He didn't know how to respond.
Shuhei doesn't mind Daichi's silence. He also said nothing but smiled.
The smile on the bleeding lips appeared to be genuine. Daichi could not help but be perplexed when he saw Shuhei's sincere smile for the first time.
It took some time for help to arrive. However, it was too late. Shuhei fell asleep and would never wake up again.
——•~•——