[Scene: A quiet residential street, late at night. The streetlights flicker, casting long shadows. Hana and Takumi walk side by side, their footsteps the only sound cutting through the silence.]
TAKUMI: (kicking a stray pebble down the road) "You ever think about running away?"
HANA: (stuffing her hands into her pockets, exhaling softly) "Not in the way you mean."
TAKUMI: (glancing at her, curious) "Then how?"
HANA: (pauses, then shrugs slightly) "Not physically. Just… disappearing. Being somewhere else without actually having to move."
TAKUMI: (grinning) "Ah, the classic 'what if I just stopped existing' fantasy. Relatable."
HANA: (gives him a side glance, unimpressed) "You make it sound stupid."
TAKUMI: "It's not stupid. Just… dangerous. If you think about it too much, you might actually start believing you can."
HANA: (murmurs) "Maybe that wouldn't be so bad."
[Silence. The wind moves through the trees, rustling the leaves like whispered secrets.]
TAKUMI: (after a pause, voice softer) "Hana."
HANA: (looks at him, expression unreadable) "What?"
TAKUMI: "You're not planning anything, right?"
HANA: (smirks faintly, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes) "If I was, would I tell you?"
TAKUMI: (stopping in his tracks, turning to face her fully) "Yeah. Because you know I'd come find you."
HANA: (stares at him, surprised by the seriousness in his tone, then scoffs and looks away) "Idiot."
TAKUMI: (grinning, stepping back into pace beside her) "Your idiot, though."
HANA: (rolling her eyes, but her shoulders relax just a little) "Stop saying that."
TAKUMI: "What, does it make you feel things?"
HANA: "It makes me regret buying you those chips earlier."
TAKUMI: (mock gasp) "So cold. And after everything we've been through?"
HANA: (snorts, shaking her head) "You're impossible."
[They reach an intersection. The crosswalk signal blinks red, but there are no cars in sight. They stop, standing under the dim glow of the streetlight.]
HANA: (staring at the empty road ahead) "What do you think would happen if we just kept walking? Didn't stop, didn't turn back? Just… walked until we were somewhere else?"
TAKUMI: (watching her carefully) "Then I guess we'd find out what's at the end of the road."
HANA: (softly) "Do you think it'd be different?"
TAKUMI: "Maybe. But maybe different isn't what you need. Maybe you just need to know someone will walk with you."
HANA: (pauses, then exhales, shaking her head with a small, tired smile) "You always say dumb things like that."
TAKUMI: (grinning) "And yet, you keep listening."
[The crosswalk signal turns green. Neither of them moves immediately. Then, without a word, Hana steps forward. Takumi follows. The night stretches ahead, vast and quiet. And together, they keep walking.]
[End of Chapter 6]