First, it was his humanity, his childhood, the intangible things. Then, the losses became more defined: his parents, Haibara, Riko, Geto… one after the other.

When it all became too much, he’d reach his hand out and you’d be at the end. You’d take it, and you’d pull him along, you’d let him be with you wherever you went.

But your timing had always been too right. Right when Geto walked out of his life, when he was already drowning in the grief of that departure, you left too. No warning, no explanations. It felt like everyone he cared for was getting up and leaving him behind.

The memories came back as he stood there, looking at you again in Shibuya. They played on a loop in his mind. But the reality in front of him shattered any illusion that time had stood still, you were there, breathing and fidgeting with your hair. So alive, so real.

Why were you here? Were you tied up in all of this with Geto? He’d heard rumors of Geto’s movement, his cult. But seeing you now… it was different. They say the first cut is the deepest, and maybe it was true. He would’ve preferred facing Geto first, just to soften the blow. But you? You hit him with no warning at all.

You looked just as he remembered, maybe even more striking. Your hair was a different shade now—‘Did she dye it?’—and absurdly, his mind clung to the small, meaningless details as he stood there, frozen. He’d given you more than enough time to attack, to kill him, or do whatever it was you were here for. But you didn’t move either.

Part of him wished you would. That it would be him lying dead on the ground instead of having to face what came next.

His orders… They had told him to kill both you and Geto—both of you had turned against the greater good. He could never bring himself to do it. Because if he killed you, whatever love he had left in this world would die with you. You were the only person who’d ever made him feel that, and…

“What’re you doing here?”