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'Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain'
— Joseph Campbell

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Stalking up the tiny home's vacant driveway, Tadashi let out a shaky exhale. He had run here from the school, making sure to check every available nook and cranny Haru could've gone in. He thought he might as well come here, so here he was...

But, he was still in shock. Haru's current predicament, and that revelation— it hurt him. Why did Haru keep all his worries to himself like that?

"Your worries, your concerns, your trust; they all belong with your friends. Burdening one's worries on their shoulders alone leads to their own destruction. That's why you rely on your friends for help."

Tadashi gritted his teeth in remembrance to Ayame's words, snapping his head around in frenzy. Didn't Haru already know that?

The echo of metal hitting the floor jerked Tadashi's attention and he whipped his head towards the sound. It was coming from the garage.

The brunet didn't waste a heartbeat to run towards the place, and entered into the darkened shed. The low ceiling and the darkened sky outside signalling it was going to rain soon made the room seem more forbidding than it already was. The scraping of metal snapped Tadashi's head towards the corner of the room.

There was Haru, crouched down facing the wall, and if Tadashi's eyes weren't decieving him, an unknown liquid kep rolling down his arm and to the ground, creating a puddle. Tadashi's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets when he realized it was blood, and the item Haru was holding to his arm was a knife.

Lunging at him, Tadashi grabbed onto his arm to stop him, utterly aghast. "Haru! What are you doing?!"

Without even reacting, a dull Haru looked up at Tadashi blankly. He caught sight of the small gashes and scars leading up both his arms, shaking. A small laugh escaped Haru's lips at Tadashi's shocked reaction. "Death is scary, Tadashinn."

Quivering, Tadashi's eyebrows knitted together.

"When you are pushed so far into a corner, it makes you want to die even though you know it's painful. Depression has that sort of effect on you. But I wonder why humans' first instinct when faced with crushing despair is to "die." Why not "live?""

Tadashi slowly let go of Haru's arm, blood soaking his trembling fingers.

Haru lowered his head. "That's why I acted energetic and stupid. To show those very people who couldn't help but fall into despair that there's more to life. That they're not alone. That they could have fun, enjoy life, and laugh too. But those people ended up leaving anyways... And now they can't come back..."

An immense feeling of sorrow overcame Tadashi and he stifled back the urge to cry. Haru... was in this much pain... And he didn't even...

"I'm sorry, Haru... I'm so sorry. I'm sorry..." Tadashi didn't even know what he had to say to him. He had failed as a person; as his friend.

To his surprise, Haru let out a chuckle, "Only those who haven't experienced enough pain could say "sorry.""

Tadshi's eyes opened and closed slowly as Haru went on.

"You haven't experienced enough pain, Tadashinn. This game is nothing yet... It'll become more painful eventually... That's why I should start by giving you pain..."

Before Tadashi could process what was happening, Haru gripped onto the knife he held and swung it towards Tadashi's abdomen. Tadashi lurched backwards just in time, allowing the knife to miss him by a mere millimeter.

Tadashi glanced up at his friend, jaw-dropped and absolutely petrified. Haru stared down at Tadashi with an inexpressive look, holding up the blade.

"H-Haru..."

"You've always been quite annoying Tadashinn. Always trying to understand me like that... Why do you think you have the right to pry into everyone's life?" Haru said monotonously. "I would've been fine with Sasarin coming. That way I could've killed another member like he told me to do."

H-Huh... A chill ran down Tadashi's spine. He began shuddering. The male in front of him wasn't the Haru he knew. Or maybe the Haru he knew wasn't even who he really was — just a mask he put on for everyone. The male before him could only be one person; the one close to everyone but not close enough to be doubted as a traitor; one whose obliviousness made it seem like he was no threat at all... And yet the perfect one to leak information about each and every one of them to an outsider.

Why did the answer seem to boil within Tadashi in that instant? It seemed like the answer fit perfectly with the male before him, in a way Tadashi's body still couldn't comprehend it. Though, his mind did.

The right-hand man.

Haru was the mastermind's right-hand man.

Stepping forward, Haru held up the blade. "He did say not to kill you but a fatal wound is good, right? Might as well get to the point of this game in one swing. I'm tired of waiting."

A fatal wound? Tadashi swallowed hard. He let out a shaky laugh. "Wh-What are you talking about, Haru? C'mon. Usually, your jokes are funnier."

Tadashi mind was haywire. His thoughts were an incomprehensible jumble, yet that label was the only thing he could process.

Haru wasn't...

Tilting his head, Haru's lips tugged up into a sadistic smirk.

He wasn't the—

"I'm not joking, Tadashinn. What's so funny about pain? Are you a masochist?"

Lifting up the blade above his head, Haru didn't hesitate to thrust it downwards. Tadashi shut his eyes tight.

—right-hand man!

.

.

.

A loud slam against the cement caused the brunet's eyelids to shoot open. There was Haru pinned to the ground, another person on top of him. Once they snatched the blade from his grasps, Haru growled, shoved them off of him, and raced out of the garage.

"Haru!" Tadashi yelled after him.

"Matsumoto, there's no time for that."

Tadashi's heart stopped at the familiar tone of voice. Robotically, he craned his neck to the side to see the person who had tackled Haru to the ground. Her magenta coloured hair was wild and everywhere, and her sweaty complexion and ragged breathing expressed her exhaustion.

His eyes shrunk back in recognition.

"Chiaki!"