Aki for a moment couldn't say anything. Her emotions were like his, flowing like a broken dam.
Seeing Haru in such a broken state made her bite her lips in distress. She wanted to raise her hand and stop him from crying, but there wasn't any energy left within them to do so.
"Haru... It's not your fault..." Aki tried to control her emotions as she continued with difficult breathing, "You are not weak and definitely not someone pathetic, at least not for me. Everyone has their own good and bad qualities... And the thing you consider about yourself bad is not the same in my eyes."
"Not the same? You know people called me all sorts of things, right? Apart from a few, no one likes me in our class... Even Kuga, who was my good friend, separated himself from me." Turning his teary eyes toward her, Haru asked, "You still think I am good enough for you?"
She weakly extended her right hand and laid it on top of his left hand as she continued weakly, "Why do you keep lying to yourself, Haru?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know very well what I am talking about…" She then confessed, "The reason you both fell out was because during the Sports event you purposely let Yoshida-kun win when clearly you were winning... It was that fake achievement infuriated him after he learned the truth."
"And he was right to hate me; because I made the stupid decision on the spot, thinking he would like it. His wish was to see who was better among us, but I was a fool who thought otherwise."
"No, Haru... I am not saying what you did was right or wrong, but you did it after considering what was good for Yoshida-kun. You had good intentions when you made that decision... but sometimes others just can't see and understand your intentions. So don't think you are to be blamed for it."
"Wait... how do you even know all of this? I thought only Kuga and I knew it."
"I... overheard you guys talking about it on the terrace…"
"Were you stalking me?" Suddenly, Haru let out a chuckle, teasing her a little, despite the emotional situation. Perhaps he didn't want their last conversation to be filled with only sad topics.
"Maybe?" Aki didn't deny it, playing along with his attempt to lighten the atmosphere, and weakly giggled.
Seeing him calm down, she continued, "You know, it wasn't easy for me either."
"About what?" he asked.
"About leaving you and settling into the new role as your sister."
She paused for a moment before continuing, "Unlike what you might have expected, I am selfish, Haru... I-I didn't want to let go of you, even after our breakup. You did everything to create distance between us and even tried to make me hate you, but I, on the other hand, kept clinging to you. It wasn't because of my role as your sister or because I'm as good as you think I am. Instead, I was just selfish, seeking your attention despite knowing it would only hurt us given our situation."
"Aki..."
"Also, I was really jealous of Miami... She got what I wanted to have, even if it was a fake relationship. You know, when you came to rescue me in the lab, somewhere deep down, I was glad that Miami wasn't there with you... I-I know how wrong it was of me to think like that, but I-I couldn't help myself..."
Tears streamed down Aki's cheeks as she let out a weak chuckle and continued, "I am selfish, aren't I? Thinking about it now... I think I deserve whatever is happening to me."
Grasping his right hand with what little strength she could muster, she continued weakly, "So, we all have our own flaws, and I am not an exception... If you think you didn't deserve either of us, then you are wrong, Haru... I chose to be with you for a reason, and I am pretty sure Miami... also agreed to your request for a reason. So, don't ever... blame yourself, okay? You are... neither... weak nor pathetic... you are... someone... I... still..."
As Aki said the last word, her voice trailed off, and she fell silent.
"Aki?" Haru called out, growing increasingly concerned as he received no response.
"A-Aki?"
But to his distress, she remained unresponsive despite his repeated attempts to call her.
With a heavy heart, he turned his head toward his left shoulder, where Aki's head lay, her eyes wet with tears and her eyelids shut, motionless.
No matter how much he wanted to deny or reject, he knew what this meant. The inevitable had finally arrived and their last moments together had slipped through his fingers.
'Why... Why... Why...' A tightening feeling crept into his chest as he gazed at her peaceful face, knowing all too well what awaited her when she will wake up next time.
Yet Haru didn't leave her side; he clasped her hand tightly, as if refusing to let go. However, he averted his gaze from Aki's sleeping form, unable to witness her fate.
Emotions overwhelmed him, his breaths came in short gasps, but no audible sound escaped his lips as he bit down on them. But tears still flowed freely down his cheeks, as if a dam had burst within him.
He was breaking from within.
He did not know if he could handle of what next will come.
For him, all hopes were lost, and even the Yellow card which he thought could help him, didn't provide what he wanted.
But within his heart, he knew he had to make a choice - a choice to be with her or to stop her for good.
'I am sorry father... Aunt Yuuki, I couldn't protect her... I-I...' His mind whirled with conflicting thoughts and emotions, leaving him on the brink of despair.
Yet, just as he teetered on the edge, something unexpected materialized before his eyes.
[Ting! Ting! Ting!]
[Sorry for the wait. System has now finally initialized!!]
[User has accumulated a lot of EXP before system initialized!]
[Updating the EXP gained!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[User has reached the Rank Bottleneck!]
[Initiating Rank-up Quest!]
[Quest -
1) Kill 30 Unranked Beings.
2) Kill an Awakened-Rank Beast. ]
[Ting!]
[Congratulations! Rank-up Quest completed!]
[Level up!]
[Congratulations! User has become an Awakened Human!]
[Assigning a designated Class suited for the User!]
[3]
[2]
[1]
[Congratulations! You acquired the EX Class – Zombie's Husbando!!]
[First Quest – Choose a Zombie to be your Waifu!]