Pain.

Pain can be of many kinds and can happen anywhere. Pain may be caused through some physical injury like in the state I am, or can be caused by immense emotional or mental stress. That kind of pain hits the chest with immense force strong enough to knock a person out of their senses and on the ground. The emotional stress pain may be caused by immense depression, distress, or the pain of losing someone dear to you.

Surviving this solely depends on the person. For both kinds, if he wants to live, and he has the ability to do so, then he will. Strangely, that's how the world works. And, now…

I, Hachiman Hikigaya, am currently going through both immense physical and mental pain at the same time, but the blond-haired woman sitting by me does not share the same thoughts and is currently vigorously shaking my body to wake me up.

"Get up, Hikio!"

Finally, I decided to give in to her demands and stated trying to get up, but the only thing I could do was open my eyes. I thought my whole body had given in to the urge of staying unconscious 'till death, but she forced me out of it.

"Get up Hikio, please don't leave me…" the voice spoke softly.

I opened my eyes slowly. Through my blurry vision, I saw her face covered with long lines of water, continuously being replenished by her eyes. It was the afternoon, and the sun was directly facing us. All sounds outside the room were muffled, leaving the two of us in silence. Her face being illuminated by the sun just made me look at her more. I swear I felt a tinge of sadness upon seeing the scene.

Why is she crying for me?

I used up all the energy I had left in me to try to get up, but couldn't do better. She slightly smiled at the scene. Not the usual smile that gives a dominating aura, but the one she was sporting right now was nothing but a calm, sweet, and even a cute one. She helped me to sit up and, in a flash, and embraced me tightly. I wanted to put my hands around her to return the embrace, but my body refused to do so. Or was it my mind? I couldn't do anything, so I just resorted to patting her head like an idiot. I-It's just that I used to do it to Komachi! Don't get any wrong ideas!

I couldn't do anything but be shocked by the sudden turn of events.

She finally let me go after what seems like ages and looked at me. Her green eyes that can casually burn someone to ashes with a glare were looking so soft that I couldn't take my eyes away from it. We kept staring into each others eyes until I decided to break the awkward silence.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"Just a couple of minutes…" She replied. Just a couple of minutes and they felt like a couple of centuries to me. In just a couple of minutes, she managed to cry so much that it ruined her makeup.

A couple of minutes is pretty long.

"Thank you for saving me Hikio."

"No need to thank me, Miura. Anyone would have done just that. I was just at the spot by chance." I asked with an aim to inform her that it was all an act of normalcy.

Something hit me. Doesn't she live in the opposite direction where my house is? Why the hell is she here? There is no mall or anything like that for a mile in this direction, so there is no need for her to be at this place; at an alley, no less.

She broke my chain of thoughts with a massive shake of my shoulders.

"Why Hikio Why?" She frantically exclaimed. "Why don't you accept your credit even once? You put you life on stake to save mine! Why?"

"As I've said, Miura, anyone would have done the same if they were in my place. I just happened to be at the roof of a near building, and heard a scream." I replied, assuming that the shouting would attract some people outside. Tch, this is embarrassing. "Also can we go somewhere else? We are getting unwanted attention here."

She looked at me with an expression which was a mixture of anger, embarrassment, and determination. I did not know this kind of face was even possible. It felt out of place, but somehow, it also felt natural. Why?

She helped me get up and we went to a nearby park. The walk to the park was uneventful. We didn't spare each other any glances; at least that was what I thought. I just kept my gaze onto random things around us. As we got farther away from the hospital, the people were also lowering in number. The sun is nearing the horizon; it was nearly sunset. I looked up. I gazed into the orange-hued sky. At that moment, I wondered.

Why is the sky empty? [1]


She took me to an unoccupied bench near the artificial pond of the park and we sat there. There were very few people. The only sounds that reached our ears were the rustling of the leaves, the sounds coming from the gust of the wind, the movement of water on the pond, and the chirping of birds. The awkward silence from the alley was back, and so was a feeling in me to break it. I still had something bothering me, though.

"By the way, Miura, why were you in that alley in the first place? Isn't your house supposed to be on the opposite side?" As I inquired, her eyes widened. She started to fidget as if she had done something wrong. After a few moments that she took to gather her self and her words, she replied.

"I was following you."

What? What the hell?

I wanted to interrogate her, but the way she was acting all guilty broke my determination. I should take it slow, I guess.

"Why were you following me Miura? Did you need anything from me?"

"I was following you because I had the feeling you were going to do something wrong!" She replied, practically shouting once again. "When I saw you rushing out of the school in the opposite direction at an odd time, I got suspicious! I didn't expect you to do so, but the way you put your foot over the edge, I got the feeling that you might consider committing suicide!"

I was at a loss of words. My mouth was slightly agape, and my eyes are wide.

"You are right, Miura." Her eyes widen in shock "I was going to commit suicide if I didn't hear your scream."

"But, why? Why would you do that?" She asked with a worried expression.

"You ask me why? I think you know what happened to my family. The inspector who called me was your father, right? What do I have to live now? Komachi is in the hospital. My heart breaks by just seeing it. My parents are no more. Even the damned service club which I considered my last hope was gone. I went there just to hear that I was a mere tool. What more do I have to live for?" I replied with a tinge of despair. I hadn't planned to show it, but it seems like I wasn't able to bottle everything.

She was shocked at my sudden outburst of emotions.

Third Person POV

Yumiko could not believe what she was hearing. The burden that the world had brought upon the young man sitting next to her was monstrous. With the way he had been treated ever since the start of high school, or even before that, he had now been finally broken down and pushed into despair.

She realized that he had lived a far more troubled and harder life than she had. Despite that, he managed to hide it in a way that even the one closest to him could not understand his pain. However, now, everything had taken a toll on him. He was done. It was like the final blow for him. He had broken down into pieces. He needed someone to pick them up and join them again, or he would be lost forever, or so that's what she believes.

She decided that she had to be that someone. She owed him a lot; she owed him her life.

With surprisingly little effort, she slid closer to him and slipped her arm into his, leaning her head on his shoulder.

She felt him tense at the contact, clearly not expecting it. She rather enjoyed it. For someone as predictable as Hikigaya who flinched even at the slightest contact of a female, to be caught off guard was obvious. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"If you wish to honor you parents and sister for whatever they have done 'till now for you and taken care of you, then don't die. Live for their sake instead." Yumiko spoke. It was something she had heard from someone dear to her before. That particular sentence was what kept her from giving up on anything.

These words hit him like a speeding bullet train. He lost all that he was thinking just a second ago.

He remembered Komachi, waking him up with a cute smile, making delicious breakfast for him, teasing him by adding tomatoes in them, dealing in Komachi points all the time. He remembered his parents, giving into corporate slavery to fulfill his and his sister's demands and providing them a good life. He still remembers how the couple get into an argument, and laugh it off after a while.

To him, everything that was happening was illogical. The reason to live that he was given was making no sense. He didn't understand. Even so…

He had finally decided. He will not die but will live for their sakes. No one knows, not even him, why he had done so, but he did.

She looked up to him when she heard him release a deep breath, his hot breath tickling her ears. The contact made her flustered; she fidgeted embarrassingly. Who knew Yumiko's ears were that sensitive? The deep breath was akin to that of someone who had kept a massive amount of emotion in it released all at one time before relaxing and letting a genuine smile grace is features for the first time.

She had never seen such a smile coming from him. It was not one those creepy smiles he forced out of him. There was something different about this smile, and it made her heart skip a beat. Whether it's true, or it's just her eyes, it looked pure to her.

They both closed their eyes and stayed like this for a long time. Hikigaya woke up first and noticed it was already pretty late so he decided to gently shake her awake and escorted her home.

The walk back went without a word, a comfortable silence between the two.


Hachiman POV

We finally reached her house, basking in comfortable silence. That is, until she spoke.

"Hikio, give me your phone." What? What is this about asking for the phone suddenly? Is there any need to exchange phone numbers? I did not want to make her angry, so I reluctantly complied. I handed over the phone to her.

She then began typing at light speed and handed him the phone back. How the hell are the girls able to type this fast? Are they born typing geniuses? I never managed to get anywhere close to that speed even though it's my phone. She then took out her phone and started typing again.

Hey, aren't there things called 'wireless signals' or something? Or was it Bluetooth? Whatever it is, isn't that way easier?

Soon enough, I got a text. I opened it to see her name saved as Yumiko. The message read: 'Meet me at the school roof tomorrow during lunch break. Don't forget.'

Leaving me flabbergasted and not giving me any time to recover, she stormed off inside her house. I was going to ask which school building, but she was gone before I knew it. What was that all about?

I started to go home, picking up some fried chicken on the way for my dinner. Hell, I hadn't eaten anything for two days straight.

After dinner, I laid on my bed recalling what had transpired today.

Damn, that sure was a long day.


[1]: A reference to 'The Doctor Blake Mysteries'. Season 2 Episode 9: The Sky is Empty

A/N

Well the second chapter is done guys. Hope you like it. Please leave suggestions and constructive criticism at pm or in reviews. I really do appreciate it and thank you for all the follows and favs in just one day.

Beta (Aqua-sama) is just too tired to write an A/N lol.