“HOLD ON!” Hoshi’s scream rips through the air, but his feet don’t move fast enough. His heart is in his throat, his fingers stretching, desperate, reaching..

And then, impact.

The car slams into you with a force that shakes the ground beneath him. The sound is deafening, the sickening crunch of metal, the glass exploding, the sharp, heart-stopping thud of your body hitting the pavement. Hoshi watches in horror as your body crumples like a rag doll, the momentum dragging you across the asphalt, red staining everything, your clothes, the ground, his vision.

His breath catches. His legs feel like lead. He stumbles forward, chest heaving, knees buckling the second he reaches you.

No. No, no, no.

His hands hover above you, shaking uncontrollably. Blood seeps from your head, a deep gash on your temple leaking down the side of your face. Your lips are parted, as if you were about to call his name, but no sound comes out. Your fingers twitch slightly, and his stomach twists in agony.

"Stay with me," he pleads, voice breaking, pressing his hands against the wound on your side in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding. "Please, please don’t do this. You promised me, remember? You said you’d always stay."

His vision blurs with tears, falling onto your skin as he leans closer, forehead nearly touching yours. The sirens wail in the distance, but they feel a lifetime away. All that exists in this moment is the shallow rise and fall of your chest, the unbearable warmth of your blood coating his hands, and the icy terror gripping his heart.

"You can’t leave me like this," he whispers, pressing his trembling lips against your knuckles. "You just can’t."

And for the first time in his life, Hoshi feels completely powerless.