□ TW: mentions of death; mentions of blood □

~Kazuha's POV~

Wow.

I was able to go home, but I don't have my keys with me, and Heizou took the spare ones.

I tried to call them already, but they just won't pick up.

Then I thought maybe I could go buy myself food because I'm pretty sure I don't have anything home.

But I also don't have my money with me, of course.

Sighting, I sit in front of the door and wait for Heizou to call me back.

~~~~~~~~♡

~Aether's POV~

Ugh.

I can't do this anymoreeeeee.

I'm constantly thinking about Lyney, and my mind just doesn't want to switch.

It's so annoying and... irritating!

Damn Lyney!!

"-ther! Aether!" Venti called me from the kitchen.

"What?" I shout back.

"Pick up the phone! There's no way you didn't hear it!"

Oh. The phone was ringing?

I look at my phone, but there aren't any missed calls, so I take a look at Heizou's.

He apparently forgot it, but he should be back soon. He just went to the supermarket.

I call Kazuha back anyway.

"Hey Kazuha!"

"Aether?"

"Yep. Hei is out to the supermarket, and he forgot his phone."

"Alright. Say, are there keys anywhere that look like mine?"

"Wait a moment, I'll search real quick..."

Ah yes, they are here.

"Yep, your keys are here."

I hear a sight at the other end.

"I can bring them to you if you want. I'm bored anyway."

"Okay, thank you, Aether!"

I hang up.

Maybe that'll get my mind off of it.

I throw something on and make my way out.

The sun shines, the birds sing, and everything screams just spring.

How cliché. Falling in love in spring.

I breathe the air in. Everything smells like flowers.

I start to walk out of the campus.

There are only a few students, the most went home for the easter holidays.

I wonder how Lyney is doing.

Oh, shut up.

Soon enough, I get to the five floor building Kazuha lives in and get up to the third.

He doesn't live too far away from the school, so he doesn't have to walk too far.

But there wasn't anyone in front of his apartment.

Goddamnit... I think I'm in the wrong house. Again.

With a sigh, I turn back.

~~~~~~~~♡

~Kazuha's POV~

Huh...

That's strange.

Aether should be already here by now.

Maybe they went to the wrong house.

Wouldn't be the first time.

Then the door beside mine opens.

"Oh! Grandpa Hilmar! Nice to see you!"

I smile at the old man who appears in the doorframe.

"Hello, my boy. I heard you forgot your keys?"

"Yeah... my friend wants to come by and bring them to me."

"Well then, would you want to come in for a cup of tea while you're waiting?"

"Sure, I have time."

Grandpa Hilmar is a very friendly person, but he's 103 years old and very alone lately, since many of his friends died and the few who lived that long are too fragile to walk far.

His wife also died about twenty years ago, I didn't even witness her, but Grandpa Hilmar often says that she was the light of his life.

I step into the apartment and close the door behind me.

It's very clean here, different from what many would suspect because of how old he is.

I guess he just doesn't have anything better to do.

As I come into the kitchen, he sits at the table, two cups of tea and a small cake on the table.

Was there something to celebrate?

His birthday was only next month.

He points at the chair on the other side of the table, and I sit down.

"Kazuha, today, twenty years ago, my wife died." He looks so much older now. It hurts a bit to realise that he won't be for much longer around.

Oh.

"I'm-"

"Do you know why I treat it like this? With two cups of tea and a cake? So it looks like celebrating something?" He cut me off.

"No... why?"

"Because her last words were: 'Start a life... and don't be sad.' So I tried not to be sad. I really tried. But if a dear person to you passes away, you can't help but be sad. Like you surely know."

He looks out the window.

I nod.

I know very well.

"But" he continued, "after a while, I moved on, little by little. Cleaning my apartment, packing away her things. You see, I was very introverted before that and didn't do much except for sitting around and programming something. But my wife wanted me to start a life. I had to find something to do. So I started to join clubs. Sports, IT, anything that interested me, even if only a bit. And... I started to make friends. Now, many of them have passed away as well. But I move on every time. And I really recommend you do the same. Life is really worth living." While speaking about her, he seems much more alive, as if she's lighting him up from inside.

"Thanks, Grandpa Hilmar. I'm sorry for your loss, and I'm sorry for making you worry."

"It's okay, my boy. It's alright. Now, let's drink the tea, shall we?"

He looks back at me.

I nod.

As we drink tea and eat the cake, we chat about normal and... happy things.

Grandpa Hilmar does look much younger than he really is.

After a while, he says: "Someone's at your door."

"Oh, I think it's Aether. He finally found the house!" I say with a smile.

"I'll take my leave for now, Grandpa Hilmar! See you soon!"

"Alright, take care, my boy."

I wave at him and step out of the apartment, where Aether waits.

"Finally found the place?" I ask with a raised brow and chuckle.

"Oh, shut up. I brought your keys."

"Alright, alright. Thanks."

He hands me the keys.

"Say, do you want me to help you with something? Maybe you have to clean? I can help!"

"Uhh... sure. I guess some company would be nice."

"Alrighty then! Let's go!"

We both go into my apartment, and I stay in shock for a couple of seconds.

On the walls is dried, rusty blood.

On the floor are things that fell down. And oh, it stinks.

I rush to the windows and open them.

We start cleaning, and after a short while, everything looked like before, only the blood was still there.

"Hmm... do you have paint?" Aether asks.

"Yeah, I think I should have something here..."

I look under the bed, and yes, there is paint.

So we clean the walls until there is no evidence of what happened.

I treat Aether lunch, and he goes home.

After that, I notice that it's pretty late, so I call it a day and go to sleep.

~~~~~~~~♡