Her eyes froze for a moment, and a chill ran through her body.

  All these years she had known Sota, she had never been able to stop feeling sorry for him.

  Since he was a child, life had never been fair to him. His father had dragged him into his own mess and handed him over to those monsters.

  It had always seemed that no one had ever truly cared about him.

  And yet, even after everything, Sota was still full of warmth. Even after all those years inside the organization, there was still a softness in his eyes that nothing had managed to break, not even the scars carved deep into his skin.

  He was still Sota...the boy she had known long ago.

  And she cared about him deeply.

  But now she was afraid.

  There was a seriousness in him… and an emptiness in his eyes that appeared the moment Takashi left the room.

  “Is this about the thing inside the pendant?”

  she finally asked in a lowered voice, almost as if she didn’t want to know the answer… as if she hoped it wasn’t true.

  “You saw it?” Sota asked quietly, still sitting on the edge of the bed.

  “Yes,” she replied, lowering her head.

  “And you’re assuming what’s inside?” Sota asked, looking at her.

  “Yes,” Yuna replied quietly. “I think I know what Hiroto left in there.”

  She paused.

  “What will you do with it, Sota?”

  She slipped her hands into her pockets.

  For a moment, the room fell silent.

  “I’ll do the right thing,” Sota said at st, lowering his head to avoid her eyes.

  “If this is what I think it is, I’ll take it to the police and finish this once and for all.”

  “The right thing…” Yuna exhaled slowly.

  “Do you ever think about yourself, even for a moment, Sota?”

  She walked closer and sat beside him on the bed, her hands clenched tightly on her knees.

  “For my whole life, everything has been taken from me, Yuna,” Sota said quietly.

  “When they took my parents, I couldn’t do anything. When they tortured me, I couldn’t do anything. When they killed Hiroto, I couldn’t do anything.”

  His voice grew steadier.

  “But now they want Takashi.”

  He lifted his eyes slightly.

  “And this time… I can do something. I can protect him.”

  He took a slow breath.

  “I’ll endure some time in prison. Maybe they’ll go easy on me once they get the information.”

  “Why not tell Takashi about this?” she asked, shaking her head.

  “He’s the w. He could negotiate...”

  “No,” Sota interrupted firmly.

  “He wouldn’t allow it. He would never let me do this.”

  He stood up slowly.

  “He must not know about this. Promise me, Yuna.”

  He searched for her eyes, but her head was lowered. She couldn’t meet his gaze.

  “This is what I want,” he continued with quiet determination.

  “My choice.”

  After a long moment, she finally lifted her head and looked straight into his eyes.

  “I promise…” she whispered.

  “If this is what you want…”

  Her voice faded.

  She knew what it meant.

  Sota was ready to sacrifice himself again as if his life had never mattered at all.

  “I’ll bring the ptop,” she said, standing up.

  She understood that Sota had already made up his mind. There was nothing she could say to stop him.

  But deep inside, she knew she couldn’t allow that to happen. Not anymore.

  Now Sota had someone who wanted to protect him.

  He had Takashi.

  Watching them over the past few days, she had seen how deeply Takashi cared about Sota, how gentle he was when he brushed Sota’s hair back, helped him drink water, or adjusted the bed so he would be more comfortable.

  To Takashi, Sota seemed like something fragile… something precious that needed to be protected.

  And that made her happy.

  They couldn’t lose each other.

  No.

  Life had to be fair to them this time.

  Sota scrolled through the files, his eyes moving quickly across the screen.

  He had been right.

  Hiroto had gathered a rge amount of evidence,documents, names, transactions, everything that could help Takashi finally get the justice he had been fighting for all these years.

  A quiet sense of relief settled in Sota’s chest

  At least Takashi would be safe.

  Sota closed the ptop and carefully pced the memory card back inside the pendant.

  Despite being wounded, the past few days had been the happiest moments of his life. Watching Takashi sit beside his bed, sleeping peacefully, sharing meals together, ughing quietly, their retionship had grown stronger with each passing day.

  But the thought of what he had decided weighed heavily on him.

  How much would this hurt Takashi?

  Even though he knew it meant they might never see each other again, Sota remained determined. Takashi would eventually forget him and move on with his life.

  Sota knew that the moment he stepped into prison, there would be no turning back.

  And men like the ones he had betrayed always had ways of making sure someone like him disappeared forever.

  The door opened, and Takashi stepped inside with a wide smile on his face.

  “I’m back.”

  His eyes briefly gnced at the ptop resting on the nightstand beside the bed.

  “This is our st night in the hospital,” he said with a smile.

  Today he looked different...brighter, almost lighter. He wore casual clothes, his hair neatly styled, freshly showered. His scent filled the room, and that alone calmed Sota.

  Takashi no longer carried the guarded, cold, calcuting expression he had when they first met.

  Now his face was gentle.

  And Sota could feel his warmth even more clearly.

  Sota smiled at him, his eyes shining.

  “Tomorrow we’re going home,” Takashi said as he sat on the edge of the bed.

  His gaze drifted to the ptop on the nightstand for a moment, wondering why it was there, but he quickly brushed the thought aside.

  “Do you need anything?” he asked.

  “No,” Sota replied calmly.

  “Yuna was working on something while you were gone, so she must have forgotten her ptop here,” he added, noticing Takashi’s curiosity.

  But that expnation didn’t convince Takashi at all.

  After all, he was a detective, and his instincts were rarely wrong.

  He could feel that something had shifted while he was gone. Something in Sota’s eyes had changed.

  Still, whatever it was, Takashi told himself he would be ready this time.

  Kenta was already negotiating with the chief about Sota’s situation. And until everything was settled, Takashi had made up his mind about one thing...

  he wouldn’t let Sota out of his sight. Not even for a moment.

  He pced his hand over Sota’s.

  “Since this is our st night here, I was thinking about ordering some food. I’ll ask Dr. Akiyama if that’s all right.”

  He smiled, searching Sota’s eyes.

  “Let’s say we’re having a small party tonight. Kenta will come too. He’s been dying to talk to you since the first time he heard about you.”

  Sota lifted his head slightly.

  “A party?”

  “Yes,” Takashi said, gently squeezing Sota’s hand.

  “We need to celebrate your recovery.”

  “That would be nice,” Sota said, smiling widely.

  “So, we’re having a party tonight,” Takashi

  replied with a grin.

  “I’ll go find Dr. Akiyama.”

  As he stood up, he reached for the ptop on the nightstand.

  “I’ll take this with me.”

  For a brief second, Sota’s eyes widened but he kept his smile.

  “Yes, you should,” he said casually, though his heart had started racing.

  Takashi had been focused on that ptop from the moment he entered the room.

  Luckily, there was no trace left on it… even if Takashi decided to take a closer look.

  For Takashi, the most important thing now was taking Sota to Ryo’s apartment the next day and not letting him out of his sight.

  Just as Sota had helped him without hesitation and risked his life, Takashi was ready to do the same for him now.

  Revenge was no longer important.

  He was ready to face everything alone if he had to.

  But Sota… he couldn’t allow him anywhere near those monsters again.

  As evening approached, the food arrived, and Dr. Akiyama came to the room.

  Takashi stood up and pulled out a chair for her.

  Sota was already sitting at the table.

  Looking at their faces, Takashi felt his suspicion grow stronger. Something was wrong, he could feel it but he couldn’t figure out what.

  “What are we waiting for?” Dr. Akiyama asked, gncing at the food.

  “We’re waiting for Kenta,” Takashi replied. “He should be here any minute.”

  Sota stayed quiet, though he kept a smile on his face.

  But that smile didn’t fool Takashi.

  Still, he remained calm and didn’t show his concern.

  Suddenly, Sota stood up.

  “I’m going to the bathroom while we’re waiting.”

  Takashi immediately stood up as well, almost instinctively.

  “I’ll go alone,” Sota said firmly. “You stay with Yuna. I’m feeling fine. Don’t worry.”

  Takashi slowly sat back down, though he hesitated almost as if he feared that if he let Sota walk away, he might disappear from his life.

  “He’ll be fine, Mr. Mori,” Dr. Akiyama reassured him gently.

  An awkward silence filled the room after Sota left.

  Then, suddenly...

  “Dr. Akiyama.”

  Takashi lifted his head.

  She was avoiding his gaze.

  “Do you have something to tell me?”

  His question nded like an arrow.

  For a moment, she lifted her head, as if she were about to say something,

  but just then the door opened.

  Kenta walked in with a bright smile and a bouquet of flowers in his hands.