On the train ride back, Hinata fell asleep since they were alone. Komaeda looked at the other sleeping on next to him for a moment, and then turned his eyes to the floor between his extended legs. His cheeks were still burning hot despite his efforts to calm down. He knew he shouldn't be this happy from something so small, but…

Just thinking about it was making his heart beat faster and he couldn't stop himself from smiling. His heart was fluttering like a light butterfly, and the feeling was so unfamiliar that he didn't know what to even do with all these emotions inside him. Smiling like an idiot was the only thing he knew how to do, but it just wasn't enough. It was making him feel restless, and he leaned back and sighed.

Even if it had been his idea, he was happy that the plan had been abandoned. He just wished that this really was what made Hinata happier as well: he felt bad that the other had refused to go because of him and his happiness. It wasn't something Komaeda had… had wanted the other to take into account. He had wanted Hinata to just do whatever he wanted, and to support him no matter where they were going to.

It wasn't what he had wanted, not at all but despite that he felt his heart swell from warmth… He didn't want it, but maybe—maybe he needed it.

Komaeda shook his head; this train of thought would take him nowhere. He should probably think about their plans for rest of their time in Tokyo, and how he was going to arrange everything. He wanted to make everything perfect for Hinata, to compensate for the amusement park.

His planning was disturbed however when he felt Hinata suddenly leaning against him. He almost flinched in surprise, but he held himself back to not wake the other up. For a moment Komaeda was confused at what he should do: the other was breathing very calmly, and he didn't really want to wake him up yet since there was some way to go still.

Hinata's hair was right beside his head, and after hesitating for a moment Komaeda slowly leaned his head against the soft hair. His cheeks were heating up again and his heart was beating fast, but at the same time he felt comfortable and good as they were now, and he decided to just enjoy this moment until they arrived at their station.

He didn't still really understand what he wanted, but in this moment he was happy and most importantly, Hinata seemed to be too.

When Komaeda woke up the next morning the room was completely quiet, and when he sat up he found Hinata still sleeping. When they had had to get off the train, Hinata had still been completely sleepy and had refused to wake up properly. Eventually Komaeda had half-carried him back to the hotel, and Hinata had just headed immediately to bed after changing into sleepwear when they got back.

Komaeda smiled a bit as he went through the memories of yesterday, before shaking his head and getting up from the bed. It was still pretty early in the morning, almost early enough to consider just going back to sleep but he wasn't really tired at all. No, instead he felt like he was full of energy and zeal.

He dressed up as quietly as he could, glancing back at Hinata occasionally to make sure he was still asleep. The other seemed to be very heavily asleep though, so his worry was probably for nothing.

Komaeda glanced at the suits they had worn yesterday. He could probably take them back alone, and let Hinata sleep a bit longer. Swiftly he brushed his teeth and prepared to leave. When he was mostly ready, he walked over to Hinata's bed and hesitantly seated himself on the bed and began to shake the other awake by his shoulder.

"Komaeda…?" Hinata mumbled as he slowly opened his eyes. "Is it time to wake up?"

"No, you can still go back to sleep. I'm going to return the suits now. I just thought… thought I'd tell you I'm leaving," Komaeda said softly as he pulled his hand away from Hinata's shoulder. "I'll try to not take long. When you wake up, you can order anything you want to eat from the hotel service, they'll add it to the bill." Hinata grinned sleepily.

"Mm, I know. You don't need to worry so much…," he mumbled as he tried to keep his eyes open.

"Ah, sorry. I'll go now and let you sleep in peace…," Komaeda said as he began to stand up from the bed. Before he could leave though, Hinata grabbed the hem of his jacket and he turned to look at the other in surprise.

"Bye bye, be safe…," Hinata said with a smile, his eyes already closed.

"Y-yeah, bye," Komaeda answered and Hinata let go of his jacket. With a soft smile on his lips, Komaeda picked up the bag with the suits and left.

It started to snow when Komaeda was driving on his way back. It served as another reminder that he should get his car's tires changed before they headed any more north. He hummed as he parked the car to the hotel's parking lot; it would soon be midday, so Hinata would most likely be awake by now. They didn't have any plans for today, but Komaeda was thinking of spending today resting. Maybe buying some books like they had talked about, talking about all of their plans for the rest of the year and taking a walk in the snowfall…

Well, he'd still have to ask Hinata's opinion on the matter. With a cheerful smile playing on his lips he locked the car's doors and started to walk towards the hotel. The snow had yet to form a solid layer on top of the ground, but undoubtedly it was already coloring the world whiter one snowflake at a time.

It was also definitely cold, and the warmth of the hotel was a pleasant change. The hotel was relatively quiet now, the breakfast having ended already an hour ago and most people probably having headed out. Even the elevator was waiting on the first floor for him, and only the quiet music accompanied Komaeda on the way.

When he finally got to the door of their hotel room, he stopped for a moment to take in a deep breath before opening the door.

"I'm back," he said and as soon as he said that, Hinata came to meet him with a small smile on his lips.

"Welcome back," Hinata said, and for a moment they just looked at each other, both wearing small hesitant smiles and their cheeks gradually heating up. Quickly the moment grew awkward and they broke the eye-contact, Komaeda dropping his eyes and Hinata lifting them up. "Ah, your hair is full of snow…," Hinata said in amusement right after and Komaeda touched his hair to realize he was right.

"It's snowing a lot, and I don't think it'll stop soon," Komaeda explained as he shook the snow out of his hair. "As it is, there might be a thick layer of snow by the evening, so maybe we should take a walk then."

"That's okay with me. Should we go buy the books as we planned before that?" Hinata asked and Komaeda chuckled as he took his jacket and shoes off.

"I was thinking the exact same when I was walking back. There's a small bookstore nearby, so we can walk there," Komaeda offered and Hinata nodded.

"Sounds good to me!" he said cheerily as he walked back into the room, followed by Komaeda. "Let's plan for a moment and go then, alright?" Hinata asked and it was Komaeda's turn to nod. They settled by the small table in the room to think of how they should spend their time.

All that time they both had small smiles playing on their lips, the mood around them light like they were just kids planning their summer break plans, instead of being two adults thinking of the last things they wanted to do before the world would end.

They stopped by a café after they had bought the books. Komaeda placed the two bags under the table before seating himself. They had eventually bought a lot more books than they had originally planned for. Komaeda glanced at the clock on the wall to confirm it really was starting to get late in the afternoon: the day had passed by quickly despite the fact that they hadn't done much.

"We really bought a bit too much, didn't we?" Hinata said. "I wonder if I'll even be able to read all of them. At least there's enough variety."

"Better too much than too little," Komaeda said as took a sip of his coffee. The warmth immediately spread all over his body; it was still snowing a lot outside, and the radio that had been turned on at the bookstore had informed them that a lot of the trains were late, or in worst cases completely unable to run, due to the surprisingly heavy snowfall. They had been relieved that they hadn't taken the train to go into any bigger bookstores, since all stations were packed with people trying to catch the trains that were running.

The waitress came over to take their orders, and after she left Komaeda turned to look outside the window. Luckily today wasn't as windy as yesterday had been, so the snow wasn't too much of a bother for walkers. Not yet, at least.

"We should probably take the books back to the hotel after this," he said as he turned to look at Hinata. "Before going for that walk, since they're heavy and it'd be bad if snow got into the bags."

"You better let me carry the other bag this time," Hinata said with a smile on his face. "We'll get back much faster that way than to have you carry both of them again. I appreciate the effort but it's clear as day that you're not strong enough to carry them and move quickly at the same time." The grin accompanied by his words was contagious, and Komaeda smiled widely as well.

"Alright, you've made your point…," he said and they both laughed cheerily. Their conversation went on the same way, they talked about the books they had bought and had fun, but for some reason Komaeda felt a heavy weight on his mind the whole time, like there was something he had forgotten.

Something very, very important.

"Ah, you didn't take long," Hinata said as Komaeda walked back outside. The other had chosen to wait while Komaeda took the books into their hotel room, despite his protests that it would be cold.

"I didn't want to keep you waiting in the cold for too long…," he answered and Hinata sighed with exasperation and shook his head.

"I told you I won't freeze to death during such a short time. Let's go," he said and Komaeda nodded, following after Hinata. He did know that in such a short time, the other would barely start to feel the cold, but mostly he just didn't want to make the other wait alone. They began to converse again, and this time their topic went back to the movies they had seen yesterday, their plans having been talked through already. Tomorrow they were going to go check out shops and buy more clothes to last them without having to worry about washing their clothes, and after that go to the arcade again as Hinata had requested.

Komaeda couldn't deny that he was feeling giddy and excited about their plans. They had planned them through so well that he was already waiting for tomorrow. Though, in the same time he sort of didn't want tomorrow to arrive yet, since he wanted to enjoy today fully as well.

It was a mixed feelings of happiness, and his steps felt like they were flowing lightly despite the thick layer of snow. The snowfall had stopped for a while, but judging by the clouds it was going to continue sooner or later. The sight was beautiful all around them: the world was buried in the clean, untouched snow, but Komaeda couldn't really focus on the sights as much as he usually would. He was driven by this odd sense of wanting to be and talk with Hinata as much as possible as… as long as they had time. There was this weird bad feeling haunting the back of his mind, like he was supposed to worry about something but he forcefully pushed it back to enjoy the moment to the fullest.

After walking for a while, they eventually found a park. The place was still completely empty, and the snow still untouched. They both stopped for a moment, and after sharing a look they both smiled and began to run all over the snowy playground. It was a moment full of childish glee: they left their footsteps everywhere, shaking the snow off the slide and trying it out only to realize they were far too old and big to properly slide down it. They didn't speak much; it was like they both were trying their hardest to return for a moment to the childhood days when everything had been alright, and they didn't want to break the immersion.

Eventually they settled down to build a snow castle. Their clothes were completely wet from the melted snow, and it was honestly cold to sit on the ground just gathering snow into a pile, but Komaeda just ignored it and focused on building the castle.

A peaceful silence had lingered between them for a while before Hinata broke it.

"Yesterday… yesterday you mentioned that you think your luck was the cause of your parents' death, didn't you?" he said hesitantly, his hands held together in his lap as he stopped building the castle. Komaeda took a break too, and nodded.

"That's right. Is there… is something bothering you?" he asked meekly, his mind filling with worry. It might be that the other was regretting coming along with him now that he knew how dangerous it was. With his luck being the way it was.

"I… I know you didn't tell it to me in expectation that I'd say something in return, but it just feels fair that I… tell you something as well," Hinata said, proving Komaeda's initial worry wrong and instead he tilted his head with a concerned look, waiting for Hinata to continue. The other just bit his lip, seemingly finding it hard to continue. When a silence prevailed between them, Komaeda smiled softly.

"I don't think I have asked you this yet, but what's your favorite food?" he asked, trying to give the other a bit more time to prepare himself to say what he wanted to say. Hinata seemed surprised at first, but seemed to relax a bit after that.

"I, I guess kusamochi would be it," he said. "I also really hate sakuramochi."

Komaeda chuckled and Hinata smiled for a small moment, before dropping his eyes to the half-finished snow castle.

"My parents are also dead, and the… the reason they died is because of me. I didn't kill them, but it was a result of my actions, so it is still my fault," Hinata said quietly, before lifting his eyes to look at Komaeda. Komaeda gave him a sympathetic look in return, feeling like he shouldn't ask for more details.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Any other words he tried to come up with sounded either cheap or hypocritical, so he didn't say anything else but he offered his hand for Hinata to hold. The other looked at it for a few seconds, before taking up on the offer. They sat there for a moment, awkwardly holding their hands over the snow castle without saying a word, before they just smiled and resumed building the castle.

The bad feeling was stronger in the back of his mind now, like it was just a moment away from being realized, but Komaeda pushed it back. He had more than enough time to think about it later.

"Ah, it feels great to eat something warm after being so long in the cold!" Hinata said cheerfully before going on to eat the rest of what remained of his ramen. They had found a small ramen shop during their walk, and after spending hours outside and the snowfall coming back, they hadn't taken long to decide to go in.

"That's true," Komaeda said. The food was good as well. He still had more left than Hinata did; despite having been hungry, he didn't have a lot of appetite. He still forced himself to continue, since he didn't want to have the other noticing that he was feeling a bit under the weather. It wasn't probably anything serious after all, just the cold, melted snow getting to his bones.

The other finished his bowl and smiled at Komaeda, and he returned the motion. Hinata had been a lot more cheerful today than he had been all this time until now, and it was making Komaeda feel happy as well to see him relax for a moment. It made him think that he was doing something right.

Suddenly Hinata jumped forward in his seat, making Komaeda flinch in surprise.

"Ah, sorry! I just thought I saw a cat outside…," Hinata said and Komaeda relaxed. The other could see the front entrance from his seat, so it made sense he would see stuff that Komaeda didn't. For a moment Hinata squirmed in his seat, glancing at the door before giving in. "Do you mind if I go take a look? It feels like it's been forever since I last saw a cat…"

Komaeda smiled.

"Yeah, I'll finish up quickly and be there right after you," he said and after thanking him, Hinata rushed out of the door. Komaeda stared at the bowl in front of him, poking the food with his chopsticks. Today had been a good day, even better than the one before. They had found many good books, the park had been empty and most importantly they had had good conversations going on the whole day. It was like everything was going well for them now, maybe a bit too well—

His luck had been smiling on him for a while now, Komaeda realized with shock, the bad feeling in the back of his mind emerging. If you didn't count few cases of bad luck, like the bad movie choices yesterday, his luck had been nothing but good for a long while now. His whole mind was suddenly filled with dread: this could only mean that the bad luck had been waiting to happen, waiting until enough good luck had happened to strike back…

He didn't understand how he had forgotten to pay attention to it, he was supposed to be used to this, an expert on the matter by now. He glanced back at the front of the store, and he couldn't see Hinata through the window. The other's smiling face passed briefly through his mind, and he fully realized why he had forgotten the whole matter. He jumped up from his seat quickly and rushed outside to find Hinata, the bad feeling growing ever stronger with every step he took.

The front of the store was empty, and a quick glance around didn't provide him with any results on finding Hinata. His heart grew heavy, and he shook his head to clear his thoughts before moving. His steps felt guided as he rushed to the side of the store, like the last moments of his good luck were helping him, trying to get him back to Hinata's side. He slowed down a bit when he walked down the side of the shop to the back alley and heard faint sounds behind the corner.

When he peered around the corner, he saw a mugger holding a knife to Hinata's neck and saying something, and before he managed to think of anything else he pushed his hand to his pocket and grabbed the handle of the gun.

Thank you for reading all the way here! I don't have much to say this time, so the next chapter will be up on 20th of November and I hope to see you there!