Leaving the store, the cold evening air immediately enveloped them. The sky had taken on a deep blue hue, and a few snowflakes were already lazily falling again. It must have been around seven p.m., but Mayohi's enthusiasm made the night almost bright.
— DAMN, we had so much fun!! she shouted, spreading her arms like airplane wings, zigzagging on the sidewalk. — You kept messing around, I laughed like never before! Really, Hinata, you're incorrigible!!
Hinata walked behind her, hands in pockets, cheeks still warm with embarrassment recalling her "exploits" in the games.
— You're exaggerating... she murmured.
Mayohi suddenly turned around with a leap, slid next to her, and placed a cold hand on the back of her neck, making Hinata flinch.
— We should do this again, don't you think?
Hinata looked at her for a second, then a sincere smile formed on her face.
— Yes... we really had fun. I didn't even notice the time passing.
Mayohi immediately let go to raise her arms again to the night sky:
— It's crazy! Whenever I'm with you, I have fun like never before! It's amazing, Hinata, you're my good luck charm, I swear!
Hinata lowered her head slightly, a gentle warmth growing in her chest. Seeing her friend so radiant made her proud and happy despite herself.
They resumed walking side by side. Mayohi kept talking, unstoppable, re-enacting the scenes from the store in detail.
— And the moment when you almost broke the window! No but Hina, YOUR FIST, I thought you were going to commit involuntary manslaughter on the poor set!
Hinata raised a finger to protest.
— You, in my place, would have taken the same beating! Don't pretend you would have dominated that weird game!
Mayohi burst out laughing so loudly that two passersby turned around.
— Hahaha! You're really a sore loser, Hina!!
— I'm not a sore loser!
— Sure, sure.
Hinata looked away, puffing her cheeks, offended... but her smile betrayed that she couldn't be really angry.
Their footsteps crunched on the fresh snow, their breaths formed light clouds in the cold air, and the echo of Mayohi's laughter seemed to follow the rhythm of their steps — a mix of warmth, friendship, and life making this ordinary evening almost magical.
The two friends finally arrived at the intersection where their paths separated. The snow fell thicker, illuminated by streetlights giving the street an almost unreal halo.
Mayohi stopped and blew into her hands to warm up.
— Well... I think we'll part ways here.
She looked up at Hinata, a soft smile on her face.
— See you tomorrow, okay, Hina?
Hinata was about to nod... when Mayohi suddenly leapt at her and hugged her tightly. The strength of the embrace surprised her.
— What could I have done... to have a friend like you, Hina...?
Mayohi's voice shook with a rare emotion. Hinata felt her heart beat faster, her cheeks blazing. She hesitated half a second before returning the hug, eyes closed, savoring the moment like a precious warmth in the freezing winter.
When they separated, Mayohi smiled with a radiant, sincere, almost childlike smile.
— Tomorrow... I'll come see the start of your training for the festival!
She placed her hands under her chin, playfully determined:
— And maybe I'll take the chance to train with you... to surpass you!
Hinata let out a small, soft laugh.
— No problem, Mayohi. I'm looking forward to it.
They nodded at the same time, then each turned toward their direction. The snow crunched under their steps.
And as the distance between them grew...
The worst happened.
A sharp noise. A violent impact.
Like thunder in the calm evening.
Hinata stopped abruptly.
The sound of a car hitting something — or someone — still echoed in the air. She turned around suddenly. In the distance, car headlights sped away, disappearing immediately around a corner at an abnormal speed.
— ...Mayohi?
Hinata could no longer see her.
Her heart contracted.
— Mayohi?! MAYOHI, WHERE ARE YOU?!
She took a few steps forward, frantically searching around.
A meter away, a faint red gleam in the snow caught her gaze.
Then her world collapsed.
— No... no, no...
Mayohi was there, lying on the ground.
Blood already formed a dark halo around her frail body, terribly contrasting with the whiteness of the snow.
Hinata sprinted toward her, breathless.
— MAYOHI!!!
She knelt abruptly, trembling hands, then gently took her friend in her arms despite the warm blood already sticking to her skin.
— Mayohi! MAYOHI, answer me, please!!
Mayohi painfully opened her eyes. Her breathing was ragged. Blood flowed from her mouth, from her nose... a deep wound marked her skull. Her voice was but a whisper.
— H... Hina... I... I can't feel... my whole left side...
Hinata felt her heart stop.
Mayohi's left side was strangely motionless, probably broken. The driver had hit her and fled.
— Don't talk! Don't talk! It's going to be okay, alright? I'm here!
Hinata slid one arm under her legs, another under her back, and lifted her with a desperate strength. Mayohi's blood stained her clothes, hands, neck... but Hinata felt only her terror.
— We're going to the hospital! Right now! Hold on... I beg you, hold on!
On her back, Mayohi weakly nodded, her fingers sliding against Hinata's coat as if trying to hold onto life.
Hinata started running.
In the night.
In the snow.
Breath short.
Heart torn.
Praying that her friend would survive.
Hinata ran as fast as she could, Mayohi held tight on her back.
Her legs almost gave way, but she refused to slow down. She trembled — not from cold, but from fear — and desperately tried to hide it.
"Mayohi..." she whispered between two gasps. "You know that tomorrow, we were supposed to train, right?"
No answer.
Just that short, irregular breath making Hinata panic more with each second.
"Well... since you'll be in the hospital, it'll be for another time." she tried, voice falsely light. "You'll get better fast, and we'll be able to resume training. Okay?"
Still nothing.
Just the faint sound of Mayohi's breathing, almost covered by the icy wind.
The snow fell silently, mingling with the tears Hinata no longer even noticed she was shedding.
"And imagine... When we win the festival..." she continued, looking up at the sky to avoid breaking down. "We'll go out like crazy. I'll take you wherever you want: nail salon, photoshoot, arcade… We'll do everything, you'll see. It'll be fun, right?"
A broken whisper finally reached her ears.
"H... Hina..."
Hinata clung to that voice like a lifebuoy and answered too quickly, too loudly:
"Yes Mayohi? I'm here!"
Silence.
Then a barely perceptible breath.
"I think... it's over..."
The world froze.
A violent shock pierced her chest, as if someone had just hit her point-blank.
"What? But what are you..."
Mayohi continued, each word costing her immense effort:
"I... I feel like everything is destroyed inside. I don't feel anything... at all..."
Hinata smiled — a twisted, trembling, desperate smile — while her tears ran endlessly.
"But shut up, Mayohi... stop saying nonsense... We're almost at the hospital, you'll get through this. Hold on, damn it!"
Mayohi let out a broken laugh that sounded more like a sob.
"I think... I can't hold on anymore, Hina..."
Her own tears flowed, mixing with the blood on Hinata's back.
"Thank you... for everything..." she whispered.
"I wish you... to succeed in this festival... and make your big brother proud... My path ends here... Kisses... Hina..."
Her arms slid down.
Like a doll whose strings have been cut.
Hinata stopped abruptly.
She didn't dare turn around immediately.
It was only when the silence became unbearable that she forced a nervous laugh:
"Stop it, Mayohi... look... we're almost out of the alleyway. There will definitely be people to help us. Right? Can you hear me? We're saved now!"
Nothing.
"Mayohi?"
She searched for a sign, a breath, a movement.
Nothing.
The snow fell softly on the motionless body clinging to her back.
"MAYOHI?!" Hinata screamed, her voice breaking like glass.
Still that silence.
A silence too heavy, too cold.
Then a horrible shiver ran down her spine.
A shiver she had never known before.
She placed a trembling hand on her friend's arm.
The contact pierced her.
"Mayohi..." she stammered, eyes wide open. "Your body... it's... it's cold all over..."
Her fingers slid over skin already almost frozen.
"It's... it's just the snow, right?" she begged, her voice completely breaking. "It's just that... tell me it's just that... please Mayohi... answer me..."
But there was nothing left to answer.
No more warmth.
No more voice.
Only Hinata, alone, in a cold street where the world had just collapsed.