Paramedics arrive
Kazuo's pulse was weak but present. He wasn't breathing well on his own. They carefully immobilized his neck and rushed him to the ambulance.
With an oxygen mask strapped on, they monitored his vital signs. His heart rate was rapid but irregular, and his breathing was shallow. Suddenly, his pulse weakened, and he went into cardiac arrest.
At the hospital
Doctors and nurses swarmed around him. CPR started immediately. The trauma team prepared for emergency head imaging to assess the bleeding or swelling inside his skull.
...
The doctor looked at Kazuo and thought,
Oh...
Meanwhile: Hinto vs. Johei
I don't know how to explain this...
I'm running full speed toward Johei, but at the same time, it feels like time is moving slowly. I can feel every breeze of air passing through my fingers, my hair, and even my lashes.
I know that this is a messed-up situation, but why...
Why am I...
Enjoying this...?
"HINTOOOOOOOOOO!" Johei yelled.
They both threw their first punch, and they both hit each other in the face at the same time.
As Johei's fist hit Hinto's face, Hinto felt a sensation he couldn't describe.
This burning, warm sensation.
The tingling of his skin.
And he thought,
Is this how it feels to fight someone... strong...?
Johei was sent flying at least two meters, but he landed on his feet and dashed toward Hinto in an instant.
Hinto, on the other hand, slipped away just a tiny bit and put his hands up.
Here he comes! he thought.
Johei punched Hinto, but Hinto didn't budge one bit.
This made Johei confused and angry at the same time.
Why is this guy so stro—
Before Johei could finish thinking, Hinto spun and kicked him in the face, sending him to the floor.
"URGH!"
"No..." Johei whispered.
Johei thought back to that moment when Hinto was towering over him while he was lying on the floor, powerless, just waiting to accept his fate.
"NO! NEVER AGAIN!"
That angered Johei, and in that moment, as he got angrier, his muscles increased even more.
Hinto, shocked at what he saw, said, "What the—"
And as he said that, Johei bit him in the leg.
"AAAAAH!" Hinto yelled as he punched Johei in the face, sending him flying.
"GRRRR," Johei let out, as if he were an animal with rabies.
What is in that stuff he took? He's like a completely different person... Hinto thought.
Johei ran up to Hinto, grunting as he tried to hit him.
I gotta finish this quick. I don't know what it is, but for some reason, I can feel his killing intent growing by the second... Hinto thought.
He stood still, dodged one of Johei's punches, and countered it with a spin kick.
Johei hit the ground for a second but got up instantly.
Hinto stood in front of him, breathed in, and hit him with a barrage of punches.
Johei let out a grunt and hit the ground.
"Sheesh..." Hinto said as he felt something wet on his forehead.
No way... he thought. I'm actually sweating?
I should probably call an ambulance, he thought.
But as Hinto grabbed his phone, Johei got up really fast and yelled,
"DIE, HINTOOOOO!!"
Shit... he's already up!?
If I hit him any harder than I already have, he might actually die... Hinto thought.
"WRAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Johei roared.
Guess I have no choice... Hinto thought as he swung his hand toward Johei.
...
Chop.
"Ughhhh..." Johei let out as his eyes turned white and he hit the ground.
Hinto had given him a fast chop to the neck, knocking him out.
Great... now I have a sleeping psychopath lying in the middle of the street. Luckily, no one is around, so it won't look strange if I pick him up and carry him, Hinto thought.
Hinto picked up Johei and started walking.
I can't send him to a hospital either. If I do, then he might go berserk in there... I have to wait until he somehow goes back to normal, Hinto thought.
Meanwhile, something was going on in Johei's mind while he was unconscious.
Johei walked around in a room full of darkness, and his footsteps left ripples, like he was stepping on the surface of water with every step he took.
"Where am I?" Johei asked himself.
"How unfortunate. I was having quite some fun in here... haha. Too bad," a voice said.
"Hey, who are you!?" Johei asked.
"All of that knowledge doesn't have any value at this point. Enjoy what you're about to see," the voice said.
"What!?" Johei responded.
All of a sudden, memories started appearing around Johei, lighting up the dark room he was in.
"Why am I seeing all these things?" Johei wondered.
There were memories playing of the first time he saw Hinto saving Rika. But something was different this time... Johei grabbed his face as he saw this.
"No... wait..." Johei whispered. "That's not how I remembered it..."
His breathing became heavier.
Another memory of Hinto came flooding in, from when Hinto was towering over Johei at the school all those years ago.
Hinto was standing over Johei, and right before he was going to finish him, Rika came from behind, held Hinto, and said, "STOP, HINTO! THAT'S ENOUGH!"
Urami interpreted this as Hinto being consoled and loved by Rika, even though they were supposedly friends. But this wasn't the case at all... Hinto threw her off him, and he was about to teach her a lesson, consumed by anger. And then she said something that stopped him.
Johei took a step back.
"No..." he said, shaking his head. "She wasn't protecting him..."
His voice started cracking.
"She was trying to stop him..."
He clenched his fists.
"All this time... I hated him for something that wasn't even real?"
"WHY!? WHY DIDN'T I REALIZE THIS!?" Johei screamed.
His voice echoed through the dark room.
"I made him my enemy... I blamed him for everything..."
He dropped to his knees.
"And Rika..."
Johei's eyes widened.
"I hurt her too... didn't I?"
After that, he got another memory...
Johei was lying in a well-lit room, and his mother was holding him.
"My little Urami <3" she said with tears in her eyes.
"Mom..." Johei thought. This came as a shock to him, realizing his mom actually loved him, even though she had been neglecting him for most of his childhood.
Johei reached his hand toward the memory, but his fingers passed right through it.
"You... you looked at me like that?"
His lips started trembling.
"I thought you never wanted me..."
His mother smiled at the baby version of him.
Johei lowered his head.
"So why...?"
His voice became weaker.
"Why did everything become so cold after that?"
His father was also there, but not only him. Another lady came into the room, holding a baby.
"Akemi-chan! Your baby boy looks so cute! What's his name?" she said.
Johei thought, Who is that!?
His mom responded and said, "Hey, Ame!"
"his name is Johei. Urami Johei."
"Ame?" he thought. Then he looked at the baby she was holding.
"Hinto, say hi to little Johei!" Ame said.
"HINTO!? IS THAT HINTO!? BUT WAIT, HE HAS... BLACK HAIR!?" Johei yelled.
What am I saying? Of course a baby wouldn't have white hair. He obviously dyed it, haha, Johei thought.
Our moms knew each other, I guess... Johei thought.
Johei stared at the two babies in the memory.
"So we weren't supposed to be enemies...?"
He swallowed hard.
"We were connected from the start?"
He looked down at his hands.
"Then what the hell have I been doing all this time...?"
But then for Hinto memories also came rushing in.
Hinto smiled and thought, despite all the things we went through, Johei, I still remember something about you that I won't ever forget.
The memory
After the whole thing with the dog went down, Johei and Rika went home, but Hinto noticed something off about Johei and followed him home.
When Johei arrived, he went inside. Hinto grabbed a piece of paper from his bag and started writing.
As they were walking, Hinto started talking about that letter he wrote for Johei on the day of the dog attack incident.
"Hey, you are Johei, right? Akemi's son? My mom and your mom used to be friends, at least before she passed. Anyway, I noticed you got mad because you obviously have a crush on Rika, and I just want you to know I have zero interest in Rika. Girls are yuck. If you want, you can take your shot. I'm sure she will like you too. Or not. It's up to you, buddy."
- Hinto
"You must have thought it was dumb, and you probably didn't bother reading the letter, haha."
Johei stood completely still and thought "the letter I tore up out of anger..."
"He really did that...?" Johei wondered.
His voice became quiet.
"He knew?"
Johei's eyes started shaking.
"He knew I liked Rika... and instead of making fun of me..."
He clenched his teeth.
"He tried to help me?"
The darkness around him started to ripple harder.
"If only I knew..."
Johei covered his face.
"Fuck, I feel like an asshole," Johei said.
His voice broke.
"I hated you, Hinto..."
"I hated you for years... and you were just trying to help me?"
After hearing those words, Johei started waking up.
"Hahah, you're finally awake, huh, sleeping beauty," Hinto said.
"Did my stupid letter wake you up!?" Hinto said, laughing.
For a moment, Johei didn't say anything.
He just looked at Hinto.
"Hinto..." Johei said weakly.
"Hm?" Hinto reacted.
Johei's eyes started to fill with tears.
"Hinto... I'm sorry..." Johei said.
"!?" Hinto reacted.
Johei tried to move his hand, but his body felt heavy.
"I didn't know..."
His voice shook.
"I didn't know anything..."
Hinto's smile faded.
"Johei...?"
"Tell Kazuo I'm sorry..."
"And tell Rika..."
"Rika... I'm sorry..." he said, tearing up.
"You can tell them that yourself you idiot!" Hinto said.
Johei gave a weak laugh.
"Haha... you still talk like that..."
He looked at Hinto and said.
"You really are annoying..."
Then his expression softened.
"But... I guess... you were never my enemy."
Hinto froze.
"Johei... what are you talking about?"
"Haha... but just in case, tell her I lo—"
And as he said that, his body disintegrated into paper-like pieces.
Hinto was surrounded by pieces of grey paper, and he suddenly felt the weight of Johei disappear.
"Huh... he... Johei... what...!?" Hinto reacted.
He turned around and fell to his knees. He tried to grab the pieces of paper, as if he was trying to see if he was losing his mind.
But no.
Johei had actually disappeared.
In his despair, Hinto grabbed his head and screamed.
"JOOOOOOOOHHHHHHEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"
Rest in peace, Urami Johei....