Krisna and Aiko pushed through the heavy rain — Krisna kept glancing back from time to time, making sure that girl wasn't following them.
Dim lights guided them through the night's darkness. Rain soaked their tactical clothes and Krisna's mask.
The Helmet Gang girl slung over Krisna's shoulder kept whining,
"N-no, ru-run!"
Krisna felt a bit bad for her.
"Ah, damn."
Halfway through, Krisna remembered he'd left his spear behind when they escaped.
Thunder followed their run — eventually, they reached the alley that led to Aiko's house. Krisna checked again: was that girl following?
Once he felt safe, they sprinted toward Aiko's home.
By the time they arrived, they were drenched. Water dripped from their clothes, pooling on the floor.
"I'll go shower first," Aiko said.
Krisna turned, watching her head to the bathroom while carrying Qia. He set the Helmet Gang member on the floor, then removed his own mask.
He bent down, planning to open the girl's helmet — but the memory of what happened earlier stopped him. Not wanting to cause trouble, he let it be.
He glanced toward the kitchen.
"Lis, show yourself," Krisna muttered quietly.
———
Oh my god! Krisna, thank goodness.
I thought you were dead…
———
"Heh, trivial," he said, scratching his nose.
———
So? What do you want?
I'm trying to sleep here.
Hurry up.
———
He sighed.
"Well… why did they die? And how could there be a Halo-destroying bomb?"
———
Huft, idiot.
Stop relying too much on
the game. Things can be different.
———
"No, I meant—how could it kill them…?"
———
Well, that bomb severed their Halo connection.
Like cutting the cable of an electronic device.
———
Krisna's eyes widened.
"So basically, a soul-destroying weapon?"
———
Something like that.
———
"The—"
Aiko came out of the kitchen, guiding a groggy Qia who had just regained consciousness.
"Alright, go on." She walked toward her room, then paused.
"You're not tying that up? Be careful, you know."
"…the rope?" Krisna asked.
Aiko's mouth formed an O.
"In the kitchen, there should be some. And go change your clothes too."
"Alright."
Krisna stood and headed to the kitchen to search. There, right beside the plastic rope, he found something that caught his eye.
"Found it?" Aiko shouted.
"Y-yeah." Krisna stood up, ignored the object, and began tying the Helmet Gang girl.
A simple but firm knot — then Krisna walked toward the bathroom.
The cold night nipped at his skin, the sound of rain sharp in the air.
While washing himself, he thought,
"If that bomb's left alone, it'll be dangerous… but how do I stop it?"
Under the whisper of rainfall, Krisna forgot the cold, sinking deeper into thought.
"Right… that could be it." he muttered.
Klack — Krisna stepped out.
In front of the door, he saw Aiko boiling water. He approached, touched her shoulder, then opened the fridge to grab a snack.
Aiko glanced at him.
"Hey, don't snack at night. You won't be able to sleep."
"But I'm hungry…" he said, munching.
"By the way, how's Qia?"
"Qia? She's fine." Aiko looked down,
"Th-thank you."
A pink tint warmed her cheeks.
Krisna smiled.
"Relax, we're friends, right?"
The kettle whistled — Aiko rushed to turn it off and poured the hot water into her cup.
With the warm drink in hand, she approached Krisna.
Without meeting his eyes.
Krisna tilted his head.
"What is it?"
Pink bloomed across Aiko's face. She looked down, her hands trembling a little — then she bolted to her room, leaving Krisna confused.
Still holding the snack, he went to his room — once an old storage space, now filled with furniture, even more than his old rented place.
But instead of sleeping, he opened his laptop — his part-time tool — and searched for something the whole night.
---
Dawn broke. Birds flew happily — students were busy experimenting.
Krisna stepped out of his room, dark circles etched under his eyes.
"Wow, you're not up before dawn for once," Aiko said from her seat.
Krisna jumped, his drowsiness evaporating. His heart raced.
"Holy—" he rubbed his face, while Aiko giggled.
The Helmet Gang girl began to stir. She looked around — her eyes landing on Aiko, then jumping to Krisna.
"It's you!!" she screamed, trying to move, but the rope held her down.
"W-what is this!? Let me go!!"
Tok — Aiko bonked her head.
"Ow… why!?"
"Too loud for the morning." Aiko replied.
Krisna studied the girl.
Her orange Halo contrasted with her brown hair — her helmet was red with black stripes, her jacket red as well.
"A-ahh—!" the girl shrieked, panicking.
"H-hey, what's wrong?" Krisna asked, while Aiko held the girl's shoulders.
With heavy breath,
"m-my friends… they're dead…"
Hearing that — Aiko and Krisna froze. Quickly, Aiko told Krisna to get water while she hugged the girl, slowly removing her helmet and loosened the rope that restrained her.
A brown-haired girl was revealed beneath, trembling with tears.
Aiko cupped her cheeks gently.
"It's alright. Cry." she whispered, stroking softly.
The girl's sobs broke loose — memories of her friends being blown apart haunted her.
Krisna returned with a glass of water.
He was shocked — the girl no longer wore her helmet.
Wiping the girl's tears, Aiko asked softly,
"What's your name?"
Still crying,
"m-my name is Inoue Alisa…"
"Alright, Alisa. Drink first. Then… tell us what happened last night. "
Aiko said gently.
To be continued…