"Mom and I are going out. We'll be home by evening, alright?" Hitomi Tadano stepped out of the apartment.

"Also, please, don't do anything dumb. We understand it's been tough on you, but the least we want is for something else to happen to you. Alright then, see you later!" She waved goodbye to her brother as she closed the door. He didn't wave, or even say anything.

Once the door closed, he went to check if it was locked. He then retreated to his room, closing the door behind him and drew the curtains close, before settling down on his bed.

He felt empty. It was as though his happiness had been sucked out of him, leaving him with nothing but negativity.

"I will never… break up with you… no matter what happens…"

Tears were forming in his eyes.

"Shouko… I miss you…" He stared at a recent picture the two had taken at a photo booth, where he had given Komi a kiss as a surprise.

It had only been 14 hours since the break-up. He still wished it was a nightmare. He didn't want to believe it.

Unfortunately, this was his reality right now.

He could understand Komi's worries, but that did not help at all.

"I was… so selfish… telling her that I just wanted to be with her and not care for my own safety…"

Slowly, he walked to the fridge. There was something he wanted to do.

He flung open the refrigerator door, searching through the piles of food, condiments and ingredients.

He found it: A bottle of sake.

He was old enough, and he heard it might help drown out his sorrows.

"I don't think having a little would be too bad…"

He grabbed a shot glass, then sat at the dining table, slowly pouring small amounts into the shot glass before taking a swig.

It didn't feel so bad, but that was all he was going to drink.

He returned the bottle and shot glass to their original places, before returning to his room.

As he lay down in bed, wanting to fall asleep, his eyes stung with tears.

He felt absolutely hopeless.

All he wanted right now was to feel his girlfriend's loving touch, embraced by her warmth. But he wouldn't get any for the foreseeable future.

"I'm… so… sorry…"

He cried himself to sleep that afternoon.

"Shouko? I brought your lunch up… I don't know if you have the appetite, so it's not much…"

Komi Shouko glanced towards the door.

Her usually tidy hair which fell gracefully down her shoulders was messy.

Her face was red, eyes slightly bloodshot from all her crying over the past night.

She barely got a wink of sleep.

Slowly, she stood up and headed over to the tray of food her mother had left on her coffee table.

It was delicious, but she didn't feel like eating. She felt like crying all over again.

Her bin at the corner of the room was nearly overflowing with tissues from her tears. In her mother's words about the state Shouko was in last night: "The amount of tears could contain enough water to end droughts"

She grabbed her cat pillow and hugged it tightly. Tear after tear slowly slid their way down her cheeks.

All she wanted to do right now was return to him…

But… I can't…

She was scared. Tadano had almost been murdered on two occasions. She did not want to bear the pain of losing him, even if it meant breaking up. It felt so wrong, yet so right.

"H-Hito…" She looked at the picture he had sent her some days ago. It was the same one Tadano was looking at, the photo booth, the sudden kiss…

She really missed those moments, but it was for his safety.

"I… hope you understand… Hito… I'm so… so sorry…" She hugged her cat pillow tighter, as streams of tears started to flow once more…

"Hey, did you hear? Tadano-kun and Komi-san broke up…"

That sentence was the talk of all the school come Monday morning, even though neither Tadano nor Komi had shown up to school that day.

This had sent shockwaves through the student population at Itan who knew the couple well.

"What on earth happened between them?" Najimi, cheery as he/she always was that morning, had not made a single funny joke or comment since he/she heard the news.

"I have no idea… I just hope they're still on good terms…" Manbagi sighed.

Mikuni Katou and Ayami Sasaki had it the worst.

"We've called her about 5 times, she didn't want to pick up!" Sasaki was confused about the whole situation.

"She won't even reply to our texts…!" Katou felt desperate. The two had supported the relationship for so long as they brought Komi into it and helped her all the way. To see it shattered just like that made them feel as if they had failed.

"Do you think it had something to do with recent incidents?" Kometani spoke out.

"We don't know anything yet… We shouldn't really speculate about what happened. Rumours will start flying about in no time…" Ase sighed, before looking up at Naruse. His narcissism had taken a break due to the surprising news, and he couldn't bring up anything.

"I just hope both of them are alright…" Manbagi hoped.

There were people who were happy, like say, the Church of Komi.

"They broke up!" Chiarai came running in first thing during the meeting to spread the news, which was received with applause and celebration.

For the first time in weeks, Yamai looked and felt alive again. Tadano was no longer in her way on her path to grab Komi all for herself.

"I guess your efforts worked then, Ramorou-kun. Good job."

Ramorou had been given more attention by the cult members since his attempt, but the news just made his popularity among the cult members tenfold.

He let out a smile. "Thanks."

The next step for the Church would be for Yamai to claim Komi. Once they had done that, everything would be perfect, the way they wanted…

"I'll make sure… they will pay for what they did…"

"Who's going to pay, and what have they done?" Hitomi burst into the room, catching her brother by surprise.

"Huh? Oh, nothing…"

"You're acting funny."

"It's nothing!" He snapped, shutting the curtains by his bedside.

As depressed and upset as he was, Hitohito Tadano felt something more in him.

A thirst.

A thirst for vengeance.