*Sol*

The bell signals the end of the school day. I shove my books into my bag and nearly sprint out of the room. There are only weeks until the year is over, only weeks until Shuusei graduates and moves on to Mari Izumi academy. I dread the time where I can only see him after school. I curse Takashiro, why can't he manipulate our rebirth so we can be born in at least the same year? Of course, I'm being irrational.

I meet Shuusei at the front gate. "His little fanclub is here," I notice sourly. Shuusei is popular, almost too much so. I don't like the idea of so many people striving to be close to him. He waves goodbye to them. I notice, with perverse happiness, that the smile on his face is the fake smile he uses for those he doesn't really care for. Immediately I feel a bit regretful, why on earth do I have to feel this intense possessiveness? We both climb into the car.

"Hey," I call to Takashiro's secretary, "How long do we need to be escorted around? We're not children." She smiles.

"Once you move to the Twilight mansion." I scowl at the implications of this. Zweilt are moved to the Twilight mansion once it is deemed too dangerous or difficult for them to survive as normal human beings.

"Damn Takashiro and his attempts to give us a normal life." I say, only half-sarcastically. Shuusei laughs next to me. The car ride was typical, and as always, it was too short. I regretfully part from Shuusei, and our hands touch for a mere moment before I part. I know I'll see him in only a few hours, but I still hate any separation. We had Zweilt training as usual today, but I realize that I had forgotten one of my bags in the library. I come to this realization as soon as I step into the house, and quickly turn around to leave again.

"Hotsuma." I turn back to see my mother smiling. I look back, warily. I'm still unsure of her feelings towards me. I'm sure she harbors fear for her own son, but I'm hopeful that there's love under the uneasiness. "Where are you going?"

"Just to the library." I say, controlling my tone carefully.

"Alright," she says, "I'll make your favorite dinner. Come home soon." She is still so kind to me, but it feels different than the genuine kindness I remember from my childhood.

"Got it."

I sprint to the library in record speed. At the library I ask the librarian if she's seen my bag. She seems taken aback by my gruff politeness. Hah, it's funny how the adults assume I'm some hyper-aggressive brat. She hands me my bag and I check it quickly. Good, everything's still there. That'll teach me to take my games to the library… I thank the librarian and she waves me off slightly dazedly. I switch on the game console from the bag to check the time. I still have an hour until I need to meet Shuusei. I walk at a much slower pace to return home, stopping by a convenience store to buy a soda.

Without Shuusei, time seems to pass so slowly. As I sip the fizzy drink, I think back. In all the time that we have known each other, I don't think I've gone more than a day without seeing my partner. Although Takashiro mentioned to me once that one Zweilt pair had been reborn as siblings. "I'm jealous…" I think. It must be nice to spend every moment since birth with your partner. I still have a long walk until my home, so I allow myself to become lost in memories of previous lives. Flickers of memories cloud my vision as I walk the straight line home.

I lean on the railing of a balcony overlooking a well-groomed garden. Translucent curtains billow in the wind as I feel the comforting presence of my partner beside me. I look down at her; her eyes are closed and the light breeze plays with her long chestnut hair. I admire her long eyelashes and smooth skin. She shivers slightly as a slightly stronger breeze passes through us. I wrap my arm around her shoulder and her hand rises to cover mine. "I wish this would last forever." I look down at her, surprised. "Just us, the sun, and the wind." I chuckle, burying my mouth and nose in her soft hair. Her scent is unique, a mix of flowers and a natural sweetness. She turns her body towards me and free hand cups her cheek. Her clear eyes stare deeply into mine. "I love you." She murmurs. I tilt her head up with my hand, pulling her closer. My lips meet hers in a gentle kiss. The breeze carries flower petals from the garden up to the balcony; they surround us, tangling themselves in our clothes, the curtains, and her hair. My heart is overflowing with love. "I love you."

A car horn jerks me out of my memories as a car nearly runs me over. I leap backwards to avoid the car and look up to notice that I'm outside my home already. I take a few minutes to calm myself down; it seemed the only memories of Shuusei I had were romantic or sad. The blush finally fades from my cheeks and I enter the house silently.

"I can't take this anymore!" That's my mother's voice. I slowly approach the opening of the living room.

"Just put up with it for a bit longer, you know how much money's at stake here." My father. I start to walk in, to ask what's wrong when,

"How long do we have to wait!? I can't do this anymore, I can't constantly live in fear! If we do anything to upset Hotsuma's mood a little, we'll be the ones to burn!" The shrill voice cuts through my body like ice.

"The power of God?" she continues, "The power of God?! He's just a MONSTER!"

A single tear falls from my eye. All my hopes, that they loved me, or even cared about me. Shattered. There wasn't love. Just greed, greed for the payoff they would get for giving birth to me. I leave the house in silence. A bitter laugh escapes me. I guess the jokes on me, eh? Why did I get my hopes up… My body feels empty. I walk towards the park, to where our spot was, without reason or rational thought.

"Hotsuma?" I don't even look up, I know who it is. Shuusei jogs towards me, worry evident on his face. "What are you doing? What's wrong?" Nausea crashes over me and I press a hand to my mouth.

"Shuusei, I'm gonna be sick…" He quickly leads me to a bench and sits me down.

"I'll go get you something to drink, stay here." He runs off, looking back several times as he left. I barely hear him, I can hear nothing but my mother.

He's just a MONSTER!

MONSTER.

I am a monster. All I'm doing is scaring the shit out of my family, out of my classmates. All I do is cause pain. Why am I even here? Why am I alive? What's the point to this life I'm living? A life hated and cursed by all. Realization finally comes to me.

"Y-yeah. That's it." I mutter. Why has it taken me so long to come to this conclusion? All the control that Takashiro has been teaching me, I guess it'll finally be put to use.

"Die. Hotsuma Renjou."

Flames explode from the ground at my feet, encircling me. Embers and smoke explode from the spot. I don't even notice the pain as the heat becomes unbearable. I can relax now. It's over. My eyes droop shut, when a pair of arms suddenly encircle my waist.

"Hotsuma!" It's Shuusei, clinging to me, wincing at the intense heat. Intense fear grips my heart.

"Shuusei!" I shout, my voice hoarse from the smoke, "Let go!"

"No! I won't let go! I will not let go!" I can see the fire begin to singe his clothes, he has none of the resistance to fire that I possess. I can see the pain in his eyes. " Didn't you forget?! If you do this, then we can never meet again! Not even in our next lives!" I forgot. How could I have forgotten. The fire is out of my control now, I can't stop it. "If you're still going to do this," Shuusei shouted, "then take me with you!"

No. NO! Shuusei buries his head in my back, I can feel his arms trembling as the fire burns him alive. His groan of agony sends a jolt through me.

"Stop."

Please, God…

"Stop!"

Don't let me lose him.

"STOP!"

In an instant, the fire is extinguished, leaving a ring of smoking concrete. Shuusei's death grip on me suddenly loosens as he collapses. I fall to my knees to catch him, his clothes are destroyed and I can see burnt flesh underneath. The burns extend across his shoulders, down his sides, and on his back. He moans weakly and his eyes flutter open. His breaths are short and labored. His hand raises to touch my face. Tears blur my vision as he whispers my name.

"Ho…tsuma." His hand falls to the ground as he loses consciousness.

"Shuusei! SHUUSEI!" Tears are falling from my eyes, landing on his ruined clothes. Takashiro suddenly appears, apparently out of nowhere, and takes Shuusei from my arms. I refuse to take my eyes of Shuusei as he's lifted into an ambulance, Takashiro leads me into the ambulance. I'm in a daze. This isn't happening. An IV is pushed into his arm and an oxygen mask is fitted over his face. I don't notice the ambulance moving until we pass over a bump in the road. Shuusei groans in pain as he's jostled by the movement. I growl at the driver until Takashiro places a firm hand on my shoulder.

"Are you hurt?" My head jerks up. A female paramedic is looking at me worriedly, tentatively holding out a hand. I look down at my own hands and am shocked to see them covered in a light layer of blood. Confused, I touched my left forearm with my hand, and felt no pain. I realized, in horror, that it was Shuusei's blood. Horror fills me, and only Takashiro's firm grip keeps me from screaming.

The ambulance comes to a gentle halt and the back doors are thrown open. Shuusei is wheeled out, and I try to follow him. Takashiro holds me back. I nearly attack him before I see the severe look on his normally neutral face. He leads me into the waiting room of the intensive care unit of the hospital. With a firm, "Stay here until I call." He leaves me, presumably to see to Shuusei. In the empty room, I finally realize what I had done. What I did to the one person I swore never to hurt. Tears begin to pour from my eyes. Images flash through my mind; images of the fire and his wounds. For the first time since I was reunited with Shuusei…

… I feel truly alone.