Naoki had a very, very long dream.
In the dream, he stood in a pure white space. There was no up or down, no left or right, nothing to use as a point of reference—only endless whiteness stretching in every direction.
He lowered his head and looked at his hands.
The hands that had once been covered in blood were now so clean, as if they had never touched anything at all.
"You're awake."
A voice came from behind him.
Naoki turned around.
Aikawa Yumi stood not far away, still wearing that red dress and still wearing that same smile. But her figure was somewhat transparent, like a thin mist in the sunlight, as if she could vanish at any moment.
"Yumi..." Naoki's voice was hoarse.
Aikawa Yumi walked closer and reached out to stroke his cheek.
Her hand had no sensation to it, as light as a feather.
"My Anu is finally free." She smiled, her eyes curving into crescents. "Isn't your big sister amazing?"
Naoki opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but his throat felt blocked by something, and he couldn't get a single word out.
Aikawa Yumi's fingers gently caressed his cheek, just as they had before. Only this time, her touch was especially gentle, especially reluctant to let go.
"Don't cry," she said softly. "Your big sister hates seeing people cry most of all."
Only then did Naoki realize that something warm was running down his face.
"Why did you do this?" His voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible.
Aikawa Yumi tilted her head, as if pondering the question.
"Why..." she murmured, then smiled. "Probably because I've done a lot of bad things in this life and deceived a lot of people, but there's only one thing I've never regretted."
"Finding you by