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It was…there was really no use, was there? The smaller boy wiped his eyes again before slowly sat down on the floor next to Jace, watching him intently. Maybe some things were better not understood, even if not understanding is a little scary.

Maybe Jace was just scared too.

Hugging his knees to his chest, Kouta rested his head against his knees. After a moment of silence, he opted to speak up.

“Uhm…” Kouta attempted to speak to the girl, though it came out more like another whimper than anything else. He wasn’t even sure what to say!

“U-Uh….” Kouta faltered once again, trying to speak up. This was dumb! Even if she was new and looked….looked kind of scary, he needed to toughen up! Magical girl Hoshi no Hoshiko would never judge someone without meeting them!  So the magician slowly and carefully approached the new student.

"D-Do you...do you think this is funny...?" Kouta stared down at Jace, a foreign emotion weaseling through his veins. Much like Jace's personality itself, he couldn't quite place it. He was angry. He was angry at himself and angry at Jace for pointing out the reasons he was angry with himself. He was angry and afraid and hurt and none of it made sense any more.

"Why...Why are you acting like this? Don't you know...Don't you know what's happening?" Kouta stared down at the pad and pen on the floor, small water droplets staining the page. Were those from Kouta?  

Elizabeth saw the pocket knife fall to the floor, recognizing its appearance. “S-Senpai…Senpai didn’t keep it…?" A shiver trickled down her back. After Kouta’s explanation, Elizabeth blinked a few tears away, and picked up the small knife. “Kouta-kun…. I don’t think Senpai would like you not appreciating her gift." She said lightly. Elizabeth placed the knife in his hands, closing and encasing the knife. The girl gave him another hug, wrapping her arms around his shivering body. “Don’t blame yourself so…Senpai…Goichi-san…They wouldn’t want you to do this."

"I don't..." He tried again, but to no avail. He wasn't even sure what it was he was trying to say. 

"I...I..." Kouta stared down at the ribbon with enough force to set it ablaze. He bit his lip and looked back to Elizabeth. He could feel the familiar lump in his throat, and the tears threatening to well up in his eyes. He was used to this feeling, just...not like this.

---

Tentatively, Kenneth opened his door. It was late in the evening, maybe no one was up? He hoped so at least. It’d be a real fucking bad time to make a guest appearance right now, after hiding out for the week.

Just as it looked like he was clear, he heard foot steps. Shit, shit!

He had nearly ran straight into Kenneth Campbell.

"A-Ah..." 

Kouta could feel his knees buckle under the weight of his own heart. This wasn't supposed to happen, he was supposed to be braver than this! And yet, he wasn't. His palms were already becoming sweaty and his eyes hurt from opening so wide. 

"P..Puh..." Kouta stammered, staring at the malnutritioned boy with eyes full of terror. Even though it was hard to see in the poor lighting, Kenneth...wasn't looking so good. Even though he looked weaker, somehow he looked scarier than before. 

"Do...Don..." He tried to speak again, shakily backing away from the politician. He couldn't pry his eyes off of Kenneth's, not for a second. He...he was a rat that couldn't be trusted! That should have never been trusted in the first place!

As she pulled her hand away, Elizabeth tilted her head at the boy playfully, “I’m sure we will. Matsui-san and the others too! (Campbell-kun, can come i suppose) We can make a proper memorial for everyone when we get out, okay? Maybe i could watch your magic shows as well! and meet your pet rabbit! Eheh." Yes. They’d do that together. She just didn’t want to leave his side, ever. “Also, Kouta-kun, May i call you Kou-chan? It’s a cute name for a cute boy."

"Kou...chan...?" Kouta blinked, processing the new nickname. He wasn't sure that he liked her seeing him as cute. Did that mean she didn't like him in...that way after all? Had his little meltdown made her like him less? Would they not get to kiss or hold hands any more?

"I...I'm really okay, Elizabeth-chan! You don't have to worry about me..." Kouta explained, allowing his voice to trail off into a soft mumble while he averted his gaze nervously. Did he look tired? Now that he thought about it, he felt tired. He felt tired and weak and hurt and he just wanted to go home. Then again, he hadn't really earned that right.

He still...deserved to die here, didn't he?

"I'll be fine." Kouta assured the Elizabeth with a weary smile. After all, Elizabeth was suffering just as much as he was. It didn't seem right for him to lock himself away inside of his friends' rooms while she was being strong.

A moment of silence.

”..-G.Goichi-san..Suzu-senpai…Mori-san..i’m sure they’re believing in you that you’ll be alright. Besides, I’m sure i’ll be safe in your hands." She parted away from him, smiling and tilting her head a bit. Kouta would always be there for her. Always, and she would do the same too.

No...that was silly! Of course he could! We could and he would! He just he had to straighten up first. It's hard to protect someone when you're hiding away and crying all of the time. Souda and Yukan and Suzu...they wouldn't appreciate him acting like that, probably.

"Y-You're right!" Kouta responded, lacing his fingers around hers once again. It felt warm and safe, and reminded him that he wasn't quite as alone as he thought he was.

"I'll definitely...I'll definitely make sure we get out of here someday! The two of us..." He stared down at their linked hands in thought. If they kept holding hands like this, there's no way one of them would get hurt...right?

Oh.

"I was worried about you, s-so i wanted to look for you. Pl-plus…Goichi-san…wanted us to protect eachother so.." Elizabeth bit her lip, unable to find the words she wanted to speak. She had to admit, she often cried at night, or broke the promised curfew to say hello to the others at the memorial. She missed them, but usually once a spirit is put at peace, they’re at peace. Calling them would’ve meant pulling them away from their happiness in the other side, and she didn’t want that.

"You're right! Sou--...G-Go--..." Kouta felt his hands tremble and shake within Elizabeth's, along with his voice. It didn't make sense to him. Why couldn't he just be stronger, or braver? He'd tried so hard before, and yet Elizabeth was here to console him. He was supposed to be consoling her, right? That was the way it usually went on tv...

"We...I should be looking out for you right now!" He explained, attempting to keep up appearances with a grin. "You...You're the most important person to me here right now." 

"Mmmm, where could he be..?" Elizabeth wandered the hallways. Kouta always seemed to be depressed nowadays. Understandable. Suzu and Souda were gone, and the one other ‘leader’ they had was a coward. She checked the magicians room earlier, knocking and ringing his doorbell. No dice. Everywhere else in the school was scouted as well, and still no trace of him. It was only by chance that she happened to notice a certain persons door slightly open, and some sobbing noises inside.

Elizabeth read the name plaque.

[Suzuki, Suzu]

That was odd. Elizabeth would’ve sensed it if a ghost decided to do a haunting in one of the rooms. That would’ve only meant one thing. Opening the door to enter, Elizabeth stepped inside.

He was only slightly relieved to meet eyes with the real culprit.

"Eh! E-Elizabeth-chan!" Kouta sputtered, making a quick but futile attempt to straighten himself out. This was no good! He wanted to be the one to protect her, after all, but maybe it really was impossible for Kouta to protect anyone after all? Even after all of his training with…

"I just thought I'd take a look around...because I...I-I thought I left something in Suzuki-san's room awhile ago!" Kouta explained, trying to think of a good reason for hiding out in your dead friend's room that didn't sound completely creepy or weird. Was that even possible? The boy hopped off the bed and walked to the girl, ready to leave as to not cause concern.

"B…but I guess I was wrong! Ah hah...hahahahah." Kouta rubbed at the nape of his neck nervously. Was it even worth bothering to hide the fact that he'd been crying anymore? If there was one person he didn't want to look weak in front of, it was Elizabeth! But…

“If I hadn’t been s…so stupid, Goichi-san wouldn’t have had to…” Kouta explained in a hushed tone. Though slightly comforted by Elizabeth’s gesture, he kept his head down, face obscured. It was embarrassing, being in this position, but he was much too distressed to care.

“I…I even told him where they were. I-I…I lead him right to them…!” The boy raised his voice in desperation at the memory. He’d been dwelling on the thought that maybe, if he had kept his mouth shut, both Suzu and Souda would be alive at this moment. Elizabeth wouldn’t need to set up this memorial, and all of them could be happy again. If he hadn’t been so…

Bringing his face back out to the open, the magician slowly reached into his pocket with his free hand, eventually bringing out a small pocketknife. He held it out in front of them in plain sight for Elizabeth to see.

“….I found this in my pocket, after I woke up from a nap with Neechan a few days ago.” Kouta explained, extending his hand and releasing his grip. He let it fall to the ground, allowing the cold metal fall against the floor with a clatter. “That’s…that was her only weapon. Sh-she…she gave it…to me.”

“I…messed up,” Kouta stared down at the small blade with an empty gaze. It was just a small piece of metal, but it could have easily been the difference between life and death in a number of situations. “I-I had plenty of chances to give it back to her, but I—“ The magician bit down his lower lip, nearly drawing blood.

“Sh-she said she didn’t need protection, but I…” Kouta continued, desperately trying to keep his breathing even. He allowed his grip to tighten around Elizabeth’s hand in return. He couldn’t cry now! “I…" He closed his eyes tightly, hoping to will away the thoughts.

------ 30 minutes left.

Elizabeth took out some leftover incense from her box to pay homage to the traditions of spirits, and prayed that they were happy, wherever they were.

As a final touch, Elizabeth placed a few different flowers that she had picked earlier to make it look pretty, placing a rosemary with all of the items, and different colored flowers surrounding the memorial. Giving it a rather haunting look.

But why did she place rosemary specifically with the items? Well, a person with the knowledge of the meaning could know why. Rosemary meant things such as; memories or quiet strength, but the most special meaning within them to Elizabeth was;

"Because you have entered my life, all my worries have dissappeared."

“Wh…” The boy cleared his throat. He couldn’t sound so pathetic! Not in front of Elizabeth! “Wh-What is this?” Well, so much for that. He just couldn’t shake his stutter. He took a few steps toward the girl, the girl who was perhaps the only person he could trust now. Should he even trust her? He had fully trusted Kenneth and Souda too, and...

And that didn't exactly go so well. 

The boy took a seat next to the girl, bringing his knees to his chest and resting his chin on them. He was tired, but not tired enough to do anything about it. So he looked over her memorial quietly. A little gathering for all of the people they'd lost.