Prologue
“I WONDER WHY I DIDN’T ACCEPT THEIR INVITATION. It was a mistake not to… Saori even went out of her way to invite me…”
Kazuya was rolling around in bed. The phone in his hand was open to an image of three girls wearing yukatas. Along with the image was a message that said, “We look cute in our yukatas, right? Too bad you won’t get to see it!”
The girl front and center in the picture was Kazuya’s high school classmate and childhood friend since elementary school, Manabe Saori. She had invited him to join her and her friends to see fireworks, but Kazuya had declined since he thought being the only guy in a group with three girls was embarrassing.
Shiina Kazuya tumbled around in bed as he listened to the distant booming of fireworks from his room. Kazuya was the only one living in the house. His parents had passed away in an accident when he was young, and he had no siblings. He was raised by his grandfather, who had also passed away last year. The inheritance left behind by his parents and grandfather would last him until he graduated college, so necessity hadn’t forced him to get a job yet. The sixteen-year-old second-year student spent his days going to high school and then heading back home. He maintained slightly above average grades, and his looks were just as ordinary.
From the other side of his screen door window, a consecutive series of grand explosions signaled the end of the fireworks show.
“Those were the last fireworks for this year. Well, no point in thinking about it now. Maybe I should treat myself to some ice cream.” Kazuya exited his room and headed to the kitchen downstairs.
“Which should I have today? I’m feeling like some shaved ice.”
Kazuya opened the freezer and looked inside, only to find it completely devoid of sweet treats. “No way! No ice cream or nothing in here? I guess I’ll go for a walk and grab some on the way back.” Kazuya rushed back up the stairs to his room, grabbed his wallet and phone, and then headed in the direction of the convenience store.
He glanced upwards and was greeted by a cloudless, beautiful night sky. The only thing covering the stars tonight was the smoke from the fireworks show.
Since the show had ended, families in yukatas and other small groups could be seen walking in the direction of the train station. They were all smiling, likely talking about the fireworks show that had just ended.
“I wonder if they’re selling any new brands of ice cream?” Kazuya ignored the groups of people in yukatas headed in the opposite direction, his mind occupied by the question of which ice cream to buy. Just as he was close enough to see the convenience store, people rushed out of the store while screaming.
“Ahh!”
“Run away!”
Couples in yukatas and parents with their kids were fleeing from the store. Behind them, a man was waving around a knife.
“Die! All of you! Die!” The man’s head swiveled left and right, his bloodshot eyes tracking people as they ran away. He locked eyes with Kazuya, who was simply standing there, then charged at him.
“You’ve gotta be kidding me! I need to get out of here!”
As he turned around to run, Kazuya noticed that right behind him were two middle school girls in yukatas. Their knees had failed them, and they were sitting on the ground. “You two need to get up and run!” Kazuya shouted at them, but they were paralyzed with fear; there was no way the girls would be able to get away in time.
“…I guess I’ll just have to man up.” Kazuya took a deep breath before turning around and facing the man with the knife. He lowered his stance, tensed up, and waited for the right moment.
“Taaake this!” Kazuya shouted as he tackled the man’s waist with all he had. The two of them fell onto the sidewalk, entangled together. Kazuya straddled the man and held him to the ground, shouting, “Someone grab his knife!”
Suddenly, starting from his stomach area, a warm feeling traveled throughout his body.
“You…!”
Kazuya punched the man, causing him to lose his grip on the knife, which fell to the wayside. Seeing the man was disarmed, several bystanders approached to help Kazuya hold the man down.
Adrenaline had initially distracted Kazuya from the heat emanating from his stomach area, but once he looked down, he realized that blood was flowing unimpeded from where he had been stabbed. The blood had already dyed his t-shirt red. Kazuya tried to get up, but he no longer had the strength to do so and instead fell onto his back. The night sky filled his vision. He turned his neck sideways in an attempt to move and saw that people were using their phones to call for an ambulance and the police.
A passerby brought a large amount of towels out of the convenience store and pressed them down on Kazuya’s wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. The passerby shouted, “An ambulance will be here soon! Hang in there!” Everyone around Kazuya had worried looks on their faces.
The two middle school aged girls in yukatas that had collapsed to the ground earlier approached Kazuya. “K-Kazuya, is that you?!”
Kazuya recognized the girl wearing light makeup. “Oh… You’re Saori’s younger sister, Manami… Long time no see…”
“…Yes. It’s me, Manami… Thank you for saving me. If you didn’t…” Manami was trembling as she thanked Kazuya with tears in her eyes.
Blood continued to flow from Kazuya’s stomach wound despite the towels compressing the area. Kazuya gradually began to lose consciousness. The heat he had originally felt gradually turned into a cold chill that took everything away.
Kazuya raised the hand that he could still just barely move and used it to pat Manami’s head. “…I’m glad the two of you are okay… I’m feeling a little dizzy… I think I’m going to take a nap.”
“Kazuya! You have to keep your eyes open!” Manami insisted as she shook Kazuya’s shoulders. However, Kazuya no longer had the strength to do so. He couldn’t even feel Manami’s hands on his shoulders anymore.
“Sorry… Doesn’t look like I can.”
Kazuya’s strengthless hand fell from Manami’s head.
“No! Kazuya!”
That was the last thing Kazuya heard before fully losing consciousness.