Sakura could feel the weight of the silence pressing down on them both. The sound of the water lapping against the shore was the only thing filling the void between them. Haruto sat motionless, his hands limp in her grasp, his eyes empty, as though everything that had ever mattered had been stripped away. He couldn't hear her. He couldn't hear anyone.
The world had gone dark for him. His soul had been swallowed by grief, and the loss of Miyuki had broken him. Sakura could see it in his eyes, the hollow emptiness that had taken root inside him. He had already said goodbye.
"Haruto, please… I need you to come back to me." Her voice cracked as she spoke, each word dripping with desperation.
She had no idea how to fix him. How could she? How could she be the one to heal a wound this deep? Miyuki was gone, and Haruto had loved her with everything he had. She could only imagine how painful it was to lose someone so precious, someone who had been his reason for everything.
But Sakura refused to let him give up. She couldn't lose him. Not like this.
"I can't lose you, Haruto. Please, talk to me. Tell me what you need. I'm here for you. We can get through this together. Please… don't shut me out."
Haruto's eyes flickered, though he didn't move. His hands were still limp in hers, his body slumped. He seemed far away—lost in a world of sorrow that no one could reach.
"I failed her," he muttered under his breath, his voice hollow. "I couldn't save her. She's gone, and I couldn't do anything. I was supposed to protect her, and now... she's gone."
The tears that had been threatening to spill over finally broke free, flowing down his cheeks. His entire body trembled, the sobs wracking through him like a violent storm. But no matter how much he cried, no matter how loud his pain echoed inside him, it still wasn't enough to numb the guilt, the regret that gnawed at him from the inside.
Sakura's heart shattered at the sight of him. She pulled him into a tight embrace, holding him as he collapsed into her arms. She didn't know what else to say—she didn't have the answers. All she had was the promise that she wouldn't let him face this alone.
"I know you loved her, Haruto. And I know you tried. You did everything you could. It wasn't your fault," she whispered, her voice trembling as she stroked his hair. "Miyuki wouldn't want you to do this. She wouldn't want you to destroy yourself."
Haruto clung to her as though she was the only thing keeping him tethered to this world. His sobs shook his entire body, his grip tightening around her. It was the first time he allowed himself to break completely, the walls he had built around himself crumbling under the weight of his loss.
But as the moments passed, as his tears slowed, he began to feel something shift within him. The darkness that had clouded his mind seemed to lift, if only slightly. It wasn't a miracle, but it was something. A glimmer of light in the overwhelming darkness.
He pulled back slightly, his tear-streaked face meeting Sakura's. "I don't know if I can keep going on, Sakura… I don't know if I can ever be the same."
Sakura met his gaze, her own eyes filled with empathy and determination. "You don't have to be the same, Haruto. You don't have to carry this burden alone anymore. I'm here. I'll help you through this. We'll face this pain together."
He looked at her for a long time, searching her eyes for any sign of doubt, but he found none. She was offering him something he thought he had lost forever—a reason to keep going. A reason to live, even after the storm.
"I don't deserve you," he whispered.
Sakura shook her head. "You do. You deserve to find peace. You deserve to live, even after everything."
Haruto's chest tightened, but this time, it wasn't from the crushing weight of guilt. It was something else—something unfamiliar. Hope.
He didn't know how he would get through this. He didn't know how he would ever heal. But he also knew he couldn't let go completely. There was still a part of him that wanted to keep fighting, even if it meant taking it one day at a time.
With Sakura by his side, maybe, just maybe, he could find his way back.