Akihiko's P.O.V:

She went to Tartarus alone the next day. No one knew save for Fuuka who had agreed to not tell a soul once she "sensed" that Minako Arisato was in Tartarus when she did her nightly sweep around the floors we had explored and of course me, Akihiko, knew about her nightly forays into the tower.

Her eyes were blank and rose-red when she emerged bloody and bruised that night, proof that she was lost inside that brilliant mind of hers (and not in the good way). She saw me and Fuuka standing on the entrance of Tartarus but she pushed past us and collapsed in a heap on some random (or was it random?) space in the circular floor.

I approached her shivering body and covered it with my jacket. I did not talk to her. No one did after what happened the night before. Even me, who has every right to act like her couldn't talk to her – couldn't bring her out of her bubble of misery. Shinjiro – my best friend…the only one who I had left who had ties to my past, half-dead. For a second there a flash of metallic anger stole through the back of my tongue and an itch in my battle self pleaded to come out.

I knew then it would be simple to crush this bone-tired girl knelt before me…knew that if I crushed her, any trace of this unacceptable emotion would die with her. She let out a soft, heartbroken sob and my momentary rage vanished right then and there.

I couldn't hate her. I couldn't lay a single finger on the very thing that kept me from going insane. Hating myself for even thinking about it, I thought of redeeming myself by treating her to something she likes next time…

"Akihiko-senpai," the light-blue haired junior called. "It's getting late. We still have school tomorrow, remember?"

I nod and gently took Minako's shoulder and shook it. "Minako, time to go."

Three minutes have passed and she remained unmoving but when I called out her name again, softer this time, she eventually stood up and pressed her frail body onto mine and it stayed that way when I placed her atop my bed that very night.

She protested feebly when I tried to turn away; she clung tightly to my uniform and pleaded to me with her eyes.

"Aki…don't leave me tonight." I saw how broken she was, how devastated she still was. I was angry at myself for permitting her to get close to Shinjiro – angry that Shinjiro hurt her in a way that would always be a thorn to her side. Jealousy and anger whipped me.

But as I stared into those rose-coloured eyes, I saw everything I was looking for. Who was I to turn away? I knew that every minute I get to spend time with her is precious. Did I really have a choice in the first place?