They were demons – all of them. Even those kind-hearted ones like Tsuchida and Makizono. They were all demons. How did Akiyama know? Because the only angel in this whole game was the one sleeping next to him.
There was only so much time before the Interval was over. Nobody was really supposed to be sleeping. (Well, maybe Fukunaga, but he was a cocky dumbass without a care for anybody else.) But the stress of being left behind with a 100 million yen debt took it's toll and when Akiyama looked to his left, Kanzaki Nao's head was touching her chest, with her shoulders raising and dropping in slow rhythm. She had fallen asleep.
He watched her a moment before crossing the lane and taking a seat beside her. He wasn't going to do anything – offer her his shoulder, wake her up – it was just an innate reaction. He was going to be by her side. He would protect her from anything. He was just sitting there, with his hands in his pockets, staring straight ahead and thinking. It just happened he was at Nao's side.
Time kept passing through and he heard a noise squeak out of Nao. His head turned and he could see her fingers curling around her elbows. It was innate once again, to unzip his jacket and pull it around her shoulders. Nao's shoulders sagged underneath the weight, but her body went calm again and she was asleep.
When Akiyama stared straight again, he caught that Katsuragi was observing him from the upper level.
She knew.
Akiyama tightened his mouth and sighed. Well...well damn if she knew. Everybody knew how much he would sacrifice, as long as Nao was safe. Everybody knew this since the Revival Round. This wasn't anything knew.
But Nao wasn't a weakness. She would never be a weakness. Because whoever wanted to end Nao...
He would end for her.