The bright golden rays outside the window gradually grow dimmer. The cityscape is slowly enveloped by the hazy light of the evening sunset. Fluffy clouds and the sunlight paint long streaks of orange across the sky, making it look radiant and almost magical. The cool breeze drifting through the window blends with the melody of Izana's favorite song, suddenly stirring something inside him.

Izana looks out at the sunset beyond the window. He doesn't even know how long it has been since he last sits alone and watches an evening sky like this. He doesn't have much free time, and he isn't particularly fond of sunsets either. As beautiful as they are, sunsets carry a sadness of endings and farewells. They make people feel lonely and lost beneath this vast sky. For Izana, they also bring back the feeling of being abandoned, and he has never liked that feeling.

Ah, actually, he has seen a beautiful sunset recently.

Back then, the sky looked as if it was burning behind that person's back.

That person is radiant and shining that day, blending perfectly with the orange hues of the sky. That light makes it impossible for him to look away. It feels as though it spreads through the air, reaches him, touches something deep inside him, and pierces straight into his heart.

It's just that everything around him is bathed in warm colors that day, except for one thing.

Before those eyes close, he sees the blue in them weighed down by a sadness, a loneliness that seems endless. And for a brief moment, there is a yearning in them—something he cannot understand.

He looks like...

"He looks like he wants to disappear from this world."

The words slip from Izana's lips as he whispers them to himself.

The emotions from that evening suddenly return to Izana, accompanied by an inexplicable sense of fear and unease.

The ringing of his phone pulls Izana back to reality. He glances at the caller's name, a little surprised, then pauses the song and answers.

"Takemichi."

"Izana-kun, I'm calling to let you know that the party is this Sunday at the Shiba family's house, okay? I'll text you the address. I don't have Mochi, Shion, or Mucho's numbers, so can you call them first and then send their numbers to me?"

Takemichi's bright, chirpy voice rings through the phone like a little singing bird, bringing a gentle smile to Izana's face. Izana walks toward the balcony, gazing out at the city as its lights gradually begin to come on.

"Yeah, sure. I'll text them to you later. Though, I thought we'd be having it at your place."

"I'd love that too, but my house doesn't have a yard, so Taiju lets me borrow theirs for the party."

"Hmm. The Shiba family really is loaded, huh?"

"Loaded doesn't even begin to cover it. Their house even has a swimming pool."

The two of them then move on to another topic.

"Izana-kun, what are you doing right now?"

"Just listening to music and watching the sunset. Nothing special."

"Oh."

Izana can practically imagine the amazed look on Takemichi's face on the other end of the line.

"What did you think I was doing for you to go 'oh' like that?"

"Hehe, I don't know, but I didn't think it'd be something so romantic."

Romantic?

Izana doesn't think of himself as a romantic person.

"Hmm? Then you'll be surprised to know that I can play acoustic guitar."

For some reason, he suddenly wants to tell him more things.

"Izana-kun plays guitar too? That's pretty damn cool. I have one too, but I quit after learning for a while. It's way too hard."

"If you want to start learning again, I can teach you."

"Really? But I'm seriously not very talented at it. Teaching me is gonna be exhausting, you know."

"You just need to spend more time practicing. It's fine."

"I'll try! Izana-kun, you really do look like a romantic guy too."

Izana laughs at Takemichi's choice of the word "romantic." He starts teasing him, and the two of them continue talking. Both of them are unusually enthusiastic, jumping from one topic to another, as if neither of them wants the conversation to end here.

They start talking about each other's interests. Takemichi is amazed more than once when he finds out that Izana likes keeping fish and that there is a rather large tropical fish tank in his room.

"They're Betta fish. Their colors are really vibrant and beautiful, and they're pretty easy to take care of too."

"Whoa, Izana-kun spends his mornings beating people up and comes home at night to play guitar and feed his fish. What a rich and fulfilling life you've got there."

Izana snorts before he can stop himself, then ends up laughing so hard that tears well up in his eyes at Takemichi's utterly sincere exclamation.

"Takemichi, saying something like that is worthy of getting punched too, you know." Izana puts on a threatening expression.

"Ehhh, but it's true!"

The person on the other end immediately puts on a wounded tone. This kid really doesn't know the meaning of fear.

The two of them then giggle together over their ridiculous back-and-forth like a pair of idiots.

Something warm begins to seep into Izana's heart, a soothing feeling that is difficult to put into words. It is as comforting as being wrapped in a warm blanket in the middle of winter, making him want to sink deeper and deeper into that warmth without ever having to wake up.

The sky is completely dark now. The city is fully lit up, and Tokyo is truly dazzling and beautiful once night falls.

"Takemichi, you know, when I was watching the sunset earlier, I thought about that evening."

Izana's voice drops, gentle and carrying a faint sadness. Takemichi isn't sure if he's sensing it correctly, but his own voice softens as well.

"Really? If you're thinking about that day, my neck hurts a little just thinking about it."

Neither of them expects that they can talk about what happened that day so casually in a conversation like this. That day, Takemichi practically tries to use his own death to threaten him.

"Takemichi was pretty scary that day. You planned it all out, didn't you? I was completely captivated."

Izana speaks in a tone that is half teasing and half serious, not even bothering to hide the reproach in his words. That seemingly innocent kid has completely taken over his mind, leaving him thinking about him as though he has been placed under some kind of spell.

Izana hears Takemichi sigh. Then there is a brief silence before he hears the sound of a window being opened.

"Izana, you weren't captivated by me. That day, I just made you think about Shinichiro."

Talk about cheeky.

He has already accomplished exactly what he wanted—he has thrown Izana's mind into complete chaos—and now he is turning around and scolding him for it.

What he says isn't entirely true, though. That day, Takemichi leaves something far deeper in Izana's heart than merely the image of Shinichiro. Izana simply hasn't realized it yet.

"Takemichi, you remember I told you that you have to take responsibility for the things you've done, right?"

"Yeah."

Takemichi doesn't say the word very decisively, but that doesn't disappoint Izana.

"Then, Takemichi, I'm entrusting the rest of my life to you."

The other end of the line falls completely silent. Izana has to pull the phone away and check whether Takemichi has hung up on him, but the call is still connected. Then he hears a deep breath.

"Izana-kun, I can't take you home as my wife. I already have a girlfriend!"

What the...

Izana freezes for a moment, and then—

"Hahahaha!"

All Takemichi can hear is Izana's loud, hearty laughter.

But... he is being serious when he answers! Why is he laughing so much?

Takemichi secretly pouts. He still can't imagine what that white-haired guy looks like when he laughs this happily.

"It's fine. I can be your second wife or your mistress or something. I promise I'll behave." Izana says it while laughing so hard he can barely catch his breath.

"I'm not joking around with you anymore, Izana-kun."

"Okay, okay, I'm done joking. But you can still think about it. It's not easy to find a handsome, romantic guy like me."

"Izana!!!"

Takemichi screams into the phone.

Izana and Mikey really do have the same habit of teasing Takemichi until his face turns bright red and he starts screaming before finally stopping. Takemichi can't help but think that even though the two of them aren't related by blood, there are so many things about their personalities that are exactly the same.

"Okay, no more joking. All right... then, should we hang up?"

Even though Izana is the one who brings it up, he doesn't seem to have the heart to do it. Takemichi feels the same way.

He doesn't understand why, but he doesn't want this conversation to end either. Izana is still a stranger to him, and there is still a distance between them, yet somehow, during this phone call, it feels as though none of that exists anymore.

He gets to learn so many new things about Izana. He feels excited, as if there is something almost magical about it. He feels like an explorer eagerly discovering a brand-new land. He gets to see sides of Izana that he has never seen before, things he has never even imagined.

Who would have thought that the infamous and ruthless sole king of Tenjiku would spend his free time listening to music and watching the sunset, keeping fish, and playing guitar?

Those little things suddenly make Izana feel closer to him, more real, and somehow... really cute.

Takemichi also feels a little regretful, along with a faint ache in his heart. In the past, the two of them were nothing more than strangers. They never had the chance to become friends, nor did they have the opportunity to learn anything about each other.

Maybe this time, he can make up for at least a little of that.

"Yeah, okay then. See you this weekend. Good night, Izana-kun."

Izana smiles when he notices the reluctance in Takemichi's voice.

"Good night, Takemichi."

Even after that, he still can't bring himself to hang up. He intends to wait for Takemichi to end the call first, but after a while, he realizes he can still hear sounds coming from the phone.

"Takemichi?"

He tries calling his name, his heart rising with anticipation at the thought that he might still hear Takemichi's voice.

"Huh? What?"

When he realizes Takemichi is still there, Izana feels even more reluctant to let go.

He wants to see him.

He really wants to see him.

He wants it so badly that it aches, so badly that he feels like he can't stand it anymore.

"Takemichi, sleep well."

He wishes him good night when the clock has only just reached six-thirty.

Takemichi is caught off guard by the absurdly early good-night wish. He suppresses a laugh before answering.

"Yeah, I haven't even had dinner yet. Good night, good night."

Izana realizes he has just done something incredibly stupid and feels a little embarrassed, but he still can't stop himself from wanting to stretch this moment out just a little longer.

He really doesn't want it to end.

"Takemichi, can you hang up first?"

"Then I'm hanging up, okay?"

"Mm."

"Good night, Izana-kun."

"Good night, Takemichi."

Then Takemichi actually hangs up.

Izana keeps the phone against his ear for a while before finally lowering it. He stares at it blankly, almost dazed.

The phone in his hand has grown warm. The battery was still full this afternoon, but now it's already down to half.

The two of them have somehow spent more than two hours talking like this.

He really has no idea how much the other person is going to end up paying for this call.

Izana still hasn't completely come down from his conversation with him over the phone. The questions, the answers, the teasing between them still echo in his mind. It feels unreal, like he has just woken up from a dream. The lingering aftertaste of it leaves him intoxicated, as though something sweet is slowly melting on his tongue. A warm heat spreads from his chest, gradually radiating throughout his entire body.

Izana tries to suppress his smile, but he can't. He lets out a laugh as he looks up at the night sky. The cool night wind rushes against his body, making his white hair and hanafuda earrings sway. It seems determined to clear his head as well.

He sees the pale crescent moon hanging in the vast sky above.

Just like him, it is distant and impossible to reach.

Izana feels as though he is back in that moment when he watches Takemichi from afar, standing beside Mikey on the beach. Someone living in a world completely separate from his own, someone he can never truly cross paths with. Yet even knowing that, Takemichi still makes people yearn to reach out and touch him.

So many intense and varied emotions have never surged through Izana like this before: longing, heartache, pain, fear, and happiness.

It leaves him feeling trapped.

His smile suddenly turns sad.

He truly still doesn't know what he should do next.

Should he keep going and achieve his goal, or should he stop right now?

Takemichi, too, can't immediately shake off the emotions left behind by their conversation. They are a tangled mess inside his chest. There is happiness, but there is also something that makes his heart ache.

"Izana-kun... I wish we could be more honest with each other."

He whispers the words to himself, and to Izana.

Thinking that Izana and Kisaki may still be secretly working together, Takemichi truly struggles to keep himself from feeling disappointed. He is desperately trying to hold on to a little hope that placing his trust in Izana isn't a mistake, that Izana isn't lying to him, that he really has nothing to do with Kisaki anymore.

But he isn't certain that it's the truth.

The truth is, I already know the answer. I just don't dare face it.

I'm content with this false sense of peace, desperately hoping that it is real and that it can last forever.

Takemichi feels bitter.

That uneasiness and anxiety once again weigh heavily on his heart.

But he doesn't want the people he loves to have to carry this burden. They are happy. They are living their own lives. Sometimes, he truly feels powerless, caught between wanting to tell them everything and not wanting his problems to affect them.

He looks around his room.

The weather is clearly getting warmer, yet all of a sudden, he feels unbearably cold.