Though his tone was joking, the sorrow in Kariya's eyes could not be concealed no matter what.
"Dad..."
"The days I spent with you were very happy. I was just as reluctant to let go of that happiness. But..."
Holding the two most important people in his life, Kariya tightened his arms around them.
"Dad once promised that the four of us would go somewhere far away together. I can't go back on something like that."
"Rin understands. Rin is a good girl. Rin definitely won't cry."
Although Rin said that, tears rolled straight down from the corners of her eyes.
"So, Dad, you have to do your best, okay~?"
"Yeah, I will!"
Kariya nodded firmly at Rin, then turned his gaze back to Aoi.
"Aoi..."
Aoi smiled through her tears and gently shook her head. Cupping Kariya's face, she deeply kissed the corner of his lips and said softly:
"Since you've already decided, then go do what you want to do."
"Then... let's go."
The moment he finished speaking, the scenery around Kariya vanished completely. Rin and Aoi disappeared as well, leaving only utter darkness around him.
"Why not stay? Isn't sleeping forever in happiness a wonderful ending?"
A voice rang out in the darkness. Then, a purple-haired girl dressed in black clothes patterned with red suddenly appeared before Kariya.
Faced with the girl's question, Kariya smiled, and there was no longer any burden in that smile.
"Because there are still people waiting for me outside. There are still things I have to do outside."
"I see..." After hearing Kariya's answer, the girl nodded slightly. "Then this truly isn't a place for you to stay. Go, to where you belong..."
Kariya nodded and strode toward the distant darkness. But after only a few steps, he suddenly stopped with his