Minako liked to pass time in class by texting anyone who wouldn't scold her for not paying attention. Usually she would put more effort into being a good student, but the spring air made her head swim with visions of things she'd rather be doing.

The past year had been pretty uneventful. She made some new friends, played volleyball, learned to sew, improved her cooking... And that was about it.

It sounded so mundane when she laid it all out like that.

She had so much energy at the beginning of the semester, but everything had gotten slower and fuzzier since sometime in February. Junpei said that it was normal for seniors to feel exhausted all the time. With their junior year was finally coming to a close, maybe it was just her senioritis setting in extra early?

It was the best explanation anyone could come up with. Why else would a perfectly healthy sixteen year old sleep so much and still have deep, dark circles under her eyes? Thinking about it only made the constant lightheadedness worse.

Shaking her head to push those nagging feelings away, Minako peered down into her lap. One arm was folded over her textbook, a paltry attempt to shield the obvious way she was cradling her flip phone beneath the desk. She and Yukari had been going back and forth for nearly 20 minutes, trying to think of something new to do this week.

She kept cancelling their Sunday plans, or sleeping straight through them. It was becoming a constant source of guilt, so they decided to try for Saturday instead.

Which meant… today was Friday? Minako chewed the inside of her cheek, feeling her heart thump against her chest in a way that it hardly ever did these days. She nearly forgot. Akihiko would be free after school, so she wouldn't be tempted to go straight back to the dorm and sleep.

He still invited her to go running or practice boxing drills, and having to turn him down again and again felt awful. Today, she wanted to make time for him. It was the least she could do.

lets spend some time together after class is over aki!

meet me on the roof? ／(^ x ^)＼

She looked at the clock again and let out a disbelieving scoff. Did it always move so slowly? Today felt worse than usual. Just in front of her, Yukari seemed to clap a hand over her mouth to stifle a fit of giggles. That was strange. Maybe Minako's own restless behavior was more obvious that she thought it was.

A moment later, her phone vibrated. Yukari had sent her another two messages.

if ur gonna write flirty texts, can u make sure u ACTUALLY send them to ur boyfriend?

i cant believe u use bunny emojis w him omg minako (•̀o•́)ง

Minako swiftly shut her phone, burying her face in both arms on top of her desk. Her cheeks felt hot enough to melt the words off of her book, and she could feel the eyes of her classmates honing in on the scene as Yukari abruptly stood up and left the room. Between bouts of laughter that sounded like they might choke her, she managed to cough out an excuse to a puzzled Ms. Toriumi.

At least class went by quickly after that.

Akihiko was already on the roof when she got there, having corrected her texting mistake before the final period ended. He'd been looking out over the city, but turned back when she opened the door. He smiled at her appearance. It was hard not to be a little jealous of how vital and energetic he looked, even with exams right around the corner.

"There you are," he said, some small amount of relief coloring his expression. "I thought you would beat me here. I had to swing by the school store before coming up."

She walked over to stand beside him, throwing only the briefest glance toward the sparkling ocean. It was practically blinding at this time of day.

"Really? That's… kind of a detour, isn't it?" Minako couldn't help but imagine that Akihiko literally had to run up every single flight of stairs from the first floor. She didn't take that long gathering her belongings, though fending off Yukari's thinly veiled teasing wasn't easy.

"Yeah, but I wanted to make sure I got one before they ran out." Akihiko held out a package with yakisoba bread inside, still fresh enough that the plastic was foggy. As she looked from the bread and back to him, his gray eyes seemed to sparkle. He looked oddly proud of himself.

"You're still feeling sluggish, right? It's even harder to eat well-balanced meals before tests, so I thought a snack might help." He leaned down to grab her wrist, placing the bread in her hand. "It's no substitute for meat and vegetables, but tasty things are their own kind of medicine."

Her heart swelled at the sweet gesture, then deflated just as quickly. There wasn't a good way to tell him that she simply had no appetite lately. Words couldn't describe how much she appreciated his efforts, but she couldn't force food down while he watched.

She beamed up at him, ignoring all of that.

"Thanks, Aki. It's pretty big, so let's share it!"

They traded the package back and forth while chitchatting, Minako taking the smallest bites she could manage without looking suspicious. She kept finding different points on the horizon for her gaze to linger on. It didn't take long for the many reflections of the city to make her eyes sting, but the pain helped keep her awake.

"...Admiring the view?"

There had been a lull in the conversation, and she didn't even notice. Minako looked back to Akihiko. She had a blink a few times to see his face clearly.

"Oh. I was thinking…" She folded her arms, wearing a troubled sort of frown. "I don't know if I'll come back here anymore after you graduate. I think it would make me too sad."

He laughed through his last bite of the yakisoba bread, using his free hand to affectionately ruffle her hair.

"Come on, don't say stuff like that. This place is special for us, right?" He was right. It took some serious patience, but this was where she and Akihiko finally sorted out their feelings for each other. That day felt distant now, in more ways than one.

"I want you to keep coming here and enjoying it, even when I'm not around."

She responded with tepid agreement, but the wind was picking up. It was hard to figure out if he was able to hear it at all. For a spot filled with wonderful memories, something was deeply wrong. An icy sort of foreboding was spreading through her veins like poison.

This was supposed to be a nice change of pace. A favor to someone she loved to make up for becoming more and more shell-like over the past weeks. What was different?

"Jeez, you're trembling… You can say if you're cold, you know."

Akihiko threw his own blazer over her shoulders, guiding her over to a nearby bench. They sat down, and he let her recline against his chest. He pressed insistent kisses across her hair. The way he held her so securely in his arms only made her chest ache. She still couldn't seem to speak.

"Minako, please don't cry." And to her surprise, she was. She rubbed the heels of her hands across the silent tears streaking down her face. It didn't stop. "Tell me what's wrong. I promise, we'll be able to fix it."

Fighting her weak limbs, Minako twisted around to face him. She grabbed the front of his vest and pulled. Their mouths crashed together awkwardly. She moved her lips furiously against his, trying to silence the part of her brain that wouldn't turn off.

Suddenly, she was struck with the stark notion that this is where she would die. Without knowing how or why, but that her body and mind would simply not recover from whatever was ailing them. She was going to get worse and she was going to die.

Akihiko took a startled breath and pulled away, cupping Minako's face in his hands. The alarm and confusion in his expression made her want to keep kissing him until it was better.

"I-I don't understand…" He sputtered, and her lips spread into a wide, genuine smile.

"Aki… I'm so happy." She was scared too, but her heart was so full it felt like it could spill over. He was right about this place being special. She didn't want it to make him sad, either. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, Minako." He replied without missing a beat, uncertainty still casting a shadow across his features. "But, what's…?"

She shook her head, drawing his hands away from her face and holding them tightly. Whatever was happening in her body, the finality felt like a call to action. Her fate may be inescapable, but the happiness of all of her loved ones was still on the line. She wanted to make things easier for them.

"We'll spend a lot of time together before graduation. I don't want you to miss me too much, Aki."

He finally, slowly cracked a small smile.

"That's impossible. I'll miss you everyday."

Minako leaned forward, pressing another soft kiss to his lips. She didn't want to pull away again.

"I know. I'll miss you too."