“... Are you sure about this? Kinda seems like snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, no?”

  “I’m not going to kill her. I’m not going to kill anyone. I need to get back to the hideout and see if Exon’s okay. And I need to talk to her.”

  “Woah, hold on there.”

  As Riina set out for the door that would return her to the apartment, Orlan placed a hand on her wrist.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Even if you can heal from anything, I’m not convinced that battle didn’t take its toll on you. I know you’re worried, but at least let Haritte check you over.”

  Riina gently but firmly removed Orlan’s hand.

  “Later.” And with that single word, she departed. Orlan didn’t stop her. There was no point.

  “... A real unstoppable force, that one.”

  The fire alarm shrieked. Smoke filled the air inside the apartment, and Exon was nowhere to be seen.

  “Exon? Where are you?!” Riina shouted, panicking. Even as her lungs filled with smoke, causing her to cough, she continued searching, wandering through the empty rooms and corridors.

  A flashing blue light illuminated the apartment from outside. Riina rushed to the window and looked down to the street below to see a fire engine and an ambulance parked outside. Firefighters were hosing the building down with water, snuffing out fires that had apparently sprung up in Retter’s attack. However, Riina wasn’t looking at them. She scanned the street, desperately hoping to see that familiar face.

  She cried out in relief. Sitting on a wheeled stretcher, wrapped in a space blanket, was the brown-haired girl she loved. At that instant, she was spotted. The firefighters looked up at her. A few of them stopped extinguishing the fire and ran to pick up a mattress, before moving it under the window.

  “Miss! You’re going to need to jump! Don’t worry, we’ll catch you!”

  They didn’t need to say anything. Of course Riina would jump. She had to get closer to Exon. She slipped through the open window and landed semi-gracefully on the mattress.

  “Miss, do you know if there’s anyone else still in there? We can’t apologise enough for not saving you when we went in there before, but if you were with anyone we need to know before it’s too late.”

  “Er… There are a few people still in there, but I think they’ll be able to get out by themselves. Oh, there!”

  Riina pointed at the side of the building. The Outsiders emerged unscathed, with Krau carrying Elka on his back and the others walking side by side. Elka’s world could be glimpsed, briefly, through the door, before it swung closed and disappeared.

  With the firefighters’ worries assuaged, Riina was able to leave. She ran over to where Exon was sitting, but stopped for a moment, unsure of herself.

  Why? What is this bad feeling for…?

  “... Hi.” Exon looked at her, her eyes wet with tears. Her face and hair were grimy with dust, but she was unharmed. Riina couldn’t last a second longer. She rushed forward and swept Exon into a hug. Exon wrapped her arms around Riina, hesitantly at first, then leaning into it and burying her face in the other girl’s shoulder.

  “I’m so glad you’re okay… if she had hurt you, I… I think I would’ve killed her.”

  “... You didn’t?”

  “No. I don’t… I don’t want to kill anyone, if I can help it.”

  Exon squirmed a little and Riina relented, taking a half-step away to give her space. Exon looked away.

  “I wish you would. Then you could be done with all of this.” She said in a small voice. Riina frowned.

  “... You’re still acting like that.”

  So that’s what this unease was about.

  “Yes! Yes, I am!” Exon’s sudden outburst shocked Riina. “I want you to be done with this, with me, and move on. Get out of here, get somewhere safe. Take your mom. I… I don’t want to watch you die.”

  “Huh? I can’t die, you know. You’ve seen that in action, haven’t you? I just come right back.”

  “... No. I heard what that boy told you. And… on some level, I knew it myself. You’re going to die if you keep this up.”

  Exon looked up at Riina, defiant, eyes swimming with tears. “You’re going to throw your life away for someone who can’t be saved.”

  “Didn’t I already tell you? After all that, did you forget? I already promised I would keep you safe until this is all over. Hey, are you really throwing that in my face?”

  I don’t want to say things like this to her. Why am I being so cruel?

  The fire engine began to drive away, its crew having accomplished their task. Illuminated by the flashing light of the siren, which blared out into the night, Exon mouthed something.

  No, she spoke. But the siren was too loud for Riina to hear. So Riina just stood there, uncomprehending. As the siren faded and sound returned, she began to ask Exon to repeat herself. But Exon was already turning and walking away. Bitter, despairing anger welled up in Riina, directed at herself but redirected at Exon.

  “Was it you?”

  Exon stopped.

  “Did you brand Elka? Give her the burden of killing ten million people if she wants to survive? How many people have you condemned to death?”

  Exon’s eyes widened. Tears which had begun to dry, leaving her face reddened and blotchy, flowed freely once more.

  “No. But I’m glad you now understand what kind of person I am. This was a mistake from the very beginning.”

  “What’s wrong with me? Hey, what the hell is wrong with me?”

  Riina was sitting with her knees drawn into her chest, trembling slightly. She had been muttering under her breath ever since Exon had left. She had been coaxed into sitting on the steps of a building across from the burned-out apartment block, but her muttering had not ceased. Gentle hands wrapping a blanket over her shoulders made her recoil.

  “Hey, easy, it’s okay. It’s just me.”

  Luun sat next to Riina, distant enough to avoid causing offence, but not so far that Riina couldn’t cling onto her if she felt the need. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. You guys are a thing, right? It takes more than something like that to break up a pair of lovers. Even if you said some things you didn’t mean, you’ll be able to make up with her. Promise.”

  A whimper escaped from Riina’s lips. Luun turned to see her newfound friend’s eyes filled with tears. Riina was about to start bawling, but just dried her eyes with the back of her hand, even as new tears rushed in to fill the void and her lower lip trembled.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  “I… hobe so… I mean…” Riina sniffled. “Hope so…”

  “Hey. We’ll look for her, okay? I mean, we do need to figure out what to do with Miss Golden Sorrow, but we’ll make finding Exon a priority. With all of us working together, we might even be able to cover the whole city!”

  “Thank you.” Riina made to get up, then paused. “Um… about Elka.”

  “It’s not my story to tell. I think she’d be up for talking about it, though.”

  Elka stood a short distance away, looking unsure of herself. Waving goodbye to Luun, Riina walked over.

  “... Riina! How are you?” The girl beamed, cheerful as ever.

  “I’m fine, thank you. I’m exhausted, though. It seems like that’s one thing my healing can’t reverse. … I wanted to ask you about your Devil Brand, if you don’t mind.”

  Elka looked crestfallen for a moment, but nodded.

  “You saw the number. Of course… that’s not something I can do. But don’t worry. The penalty for failing the Quota affects people around you, right? When the time comes, I’ll seal myself away inside my world. No one will get hurt.”

  Riina gritted her teeth.

  “You mean no one else will get hurt. Damn it.”

  She had never felt so powerless. But Elka reached out and gently clasped Riina’s hand in both of hers.

  “Hey. I’m going to be selfish. The reason I cover up my Quota isn’t because I’m ashamed of it. It’s because I don’t want the people I love being reminded of it. You’re one of those people now, Riina. So, please, don’t go being moody about it. I’m the one who has to deal with this, you know? So I don’t want you to be upset because of my burden. That… that isn’t fair.”

  Riina was taken aback. With her other hand, she squeezed Elka’s. In an instant, her mind was made up.

  “You’re right. I’m sorry. And… thank you.”

  She began to walk off into the black night, in the direction of the girl she had come to love so dearly. Everything else had faded away. She was going to find Exon, no matter what.

  “... Riina? Where are you going?” Luun called after her, but received no response besides a casual wave. Before long, she had disappeared into the impenetrable darkness.

  Exon leaned against the wall of the bathhouse. She held an unlit cigarette between her fingers, and was scrutinising it intently. Back in the Institute, she had occasionally been shown films detailing human behaviour. One such behaviour, when people wanted to wallow in their emotions, was to smoke cigarettes. But looking at it now, she was unsure. Anyway, she had forgotten to ask the person whom she borrowed it off to light it for her, and so had no way to smoke it in the first place. Finally, she decided to place it between her lips anyway, hoping it would give the intended impression if… if she showed up.

  If she finds me. But, well, I have to believe. Or at least, I want to.

  Whiling away the time, Exon’s mind wandered. She couldn’t help but be impressed that the bathhouse owner had gotten it repaired in the time since she and Riina had been there.

  “Could it be… connections to the mafia? Ahaha.” She dryly mused. There was no one around to hear her. Although the night had long since progressed into its second half, it was mid-Autumn, and the Sun would not think of rising for a while yet. So the people didn’t rise either. There was only one person she needed to be walking around at this hour.

  Idiot. After scorning her like that, you really think she’ll come back for you?

  She had only been out here in the real world for a few weeks, but she already knew. That kind of thing only happened in films. She shook her head, dispelling her fantasies, and idly stared into the distance.

  There. A black-haired girl in a singed, white robe was running. Running towards her. Gasping for oxygen, her panting breaths turning into fog in the cold air. The cigarette fell to the ground as Exon’s mouth opened in shock. She came to a stop and doubled over, hands on her knees as she tried to recover.

  “Ahh… ahh…”

  “... Riina…”

  She stood up straight upon hearing her name. Uncomfortable words formed in Exon’s throat, but she didn’t choke them back. She had to tell her the truth.

  “Riina, I-”

  “Please, let me speak first. Sorry. But I have to.”

  “... Okay.”

  “I’m sorry. I lashed out in anger and blamed you for something you had no part in. I can’t take that back. But when I talked to Elka, I realised something. You’re one of the people I love, and I don’t want you to blame yourself for what I feel the need to do to protect you. It’s my decision to protect you. I’ve made it, and I’ll stand by it.”

  “But… Riina, you were right. I condemned you to death. And you don’t even know the truth. I tried to say it before, but… I have to tell you.” A gust of wind blew past, scattering the glistening teardrops that filled Exon’s eyes. “The deadline for the War is the same for everyone, no matter who gave them their Devil Brand. That’s because… we Exon Edit Homunculi have an expiration date. We are faulty artificial humans who can live for two years at most. So, on my nineteenth birthday… I will die, and so will you. Unless you fulfil your Quota, my doomed fate will be shared with you.”

  Riina took both of Exon’s hands in hers.

  “Doesn’t matter.”

  “Don’t you understand? This is why… I can’t do it. I can’t watch as you kill yourself for the sake of someone who has months left to live.”

  “Yeah. You’re right. And at first, I was trying to tell you that I didn’t care if it killed me. I said I’d do anything to keep you safe until this War is over, and that’s still true. But you know what? It doesn’t matter that we’re going to die if things carry on the way they are. I’m going to find a way forward for us.”

  “...!”

  “I’ll save you, and I’ll save myself. I’ll save Elka too, and everyone else. It doesn’t need any sacrifices.”

  “Riina…”

  “You and I. Both of us, without exception. We’re going to live beyond the deadline.”

  Once again, the public bath was deserted except for the two of them.

  “This bathhouse being open 24/7 really is convenient…”

  “Ahaha, right?”

  “I never got the chance to say this before, but you really do look cute in nothing but a towel.” Riina remarked, and grinned at Exon’s flustered reaction. Out of all the time they had spent together so far, it was rare for Exon to be the one on the back foot. And so, Riina pressed her advantage. They sat on the side of the pool, their legs dangling in the water. Riina placed her hand over Exon’s, interlocking their fingers, and squeezed. “You really are so cute.”

  “Y… you’re cute too, it’s not just me…”

  Riina had overstepped. Now she was reeling from the unexpected compliment. Feeling her face begin to redden with embarrassment, she made up her mind. There was only one way to ensure Exon wouldn’t see her blushing face.

  She leaned in and kissed her on the lips. There they sat, side by side, and shared a moment no one else could witness. Both melted into it, embracing, intertwining hands and arms. In a moment that lasted forever, they discovered and acted upon these latent feelings that had been growing within them all at once. Love blossomed between and within them, a single organism, a plant whose flowers touched by the graceful meeting of lips.

  When they finally separated, becoming two distinct beings once more, it was only to avoid passing out from the heat of the water and themselves filling them up. Blushing bright red but confident, Riina posed a question.

  “Do you want to meet my mom?”

  “... Shit. I guess my keys got caught in the attack on the bathhouse, huh? Along with my phone…” Cringing at the thought of having to wake her mother up to let her in in the early hours of the morning, Riina braced herself and rang the doorbell. To her surprise, the door opened only a few seconds later. Her mother stood in the doorway, wearing a dressing gown, her face blotchy and red.

  “I’m home! Sorry to wake you…”

  “Where have you been?”

  “Uh…” Riina was taken aback.

  Has she been… crying?

  “Well? Did you go to school on Friday? Why didn’t you come back home? Why… why didn’t you even answer my calls, Riina?” Shiiko’s voice trembled as fresh tears appeared in her eyes.

  “Sorry, mom. I stayed over at a friend’s house. And, uh… I lost my phone. And my keys. Yeah.”

  Shiiko grabbed Riina’s shoulders, a little roughly. She looked into her daughter’s eyes.

  “Is that the truth?”

  “... Mom, do you really care?”

  It was a retort. She said it without thinking, and then realised what she had done. But as her eyes widened, Riina was pulled into a hug. Her mother embraced her fiercely, locking her in place as if she would never let go.

  “Of course I do. You’re my precious daughter. I…” She buried her face in Riina’s neck. “I’m sorry. I trust you, angel.”

  “Ghh… thanks, mom… but you’re squeezing a little tight…”

  Reluctantly, Shiiko let go. She finally spotted Exon, standing out of place behind Riina as if she didn’t want to be seen.

  “Oh, this is Exon. She’s my… friend. We met each other recently, and I thought you might want to meet her too.”

  “Is that so?” Shiiko smiled. “In that case, I can’t let you get away without a hug, can I?”

  “Eeeeek! Ghhh…” Incredibly, she hugged Exon even harder.