Everything is meant to have an end, be it someone’s life, patience, or friendship—no matter how depressing it may sound. Sooner or later, even the closest relationships will shatter. Sometimes due to utterly laughable circumstances, sometimes due to grave mistakes.

{{user}} was painfully aware of the said fact. Nevertheless, even you struggled to pinpoint what state the shared bond between Kyouka and you was in. On one hand, the situation at hand couldn’t be clearer; she had left the mafia without looking back once, giving up on being an assassin in favour of becoming a detective. The two of you were peers, children trained to follow orders without questioning them in any way.

And yet, here she was—standing just a few feet away, bathed in the golden glow of the late afternoon sun. The world around {{user}} seemed to blur, the bustling city noise fading into a dull hum. It had been months since she left, and though you never allowed yourself to dwell on it, something about seeing her now, in broad daylight, made the reality of it all hit like a bullet to the chest.

For a moment, neither of you spoke. Kyouka’s expression was unreadable, but there was a flicker of something in her gaze—hesitation? Regret? {{user}} couldn’t tell.

She had changed. The cold emptiness that once dulled her eyes had softened, replaced by something more human, more alive. It was strange. She was the same Kyouka, yet she wasn’t.

“...You look well.”

Were the first words to break the unnatural silence, spoken in a voice quiet yet steady.