Twenty-One

Damn it!

Terasaki Kousuke buried his head in his palms. Things had gone terribly wrong. That boy had died. No matter how much he despised him, the boy had not deserved to die. No. He should not have died. After all that had happened, Miyazono was her happiness and she was steadily recovering too but now...

He had failed.

He had said that he would protect the both of them but he had failed. He had sensed a hostile entity and had taken his eyes off of them to deal with it. He should have known that it was a trap. By the time he had returned, it was too late. The boy had breathed his last just as he had gotten to them. Either way, he would not have been able to save him. He loathed himself for that. He had never thought that his personal sentiments would hinder his productivity. He had never cursed himself for merely being human before.

It was a vile emotion indeed.

"Kou-chan?" Chizuru went up to him slowly and touched his arm. "Are you crying?"