黒 ( kuro )
— black

— ○ —

08 | b l a c k

Sitting beside Mrs. Fukuda, Haruka stared at the door of the operation theater. Doctors have been there for hours now. How did they manage to work for so long without taking a break?

Currently Akane's gallstones were being removed. She didn't want this to happen, she wanted to die peacefully. She told her mother that she would die soon anyways, so there was no reason to do this operation. But the doctors and Akane's mother forced her. They wanted to make sure they did their best to keep the girl alive.

Everything seemed empty since Akira left. Haruka had made sure that it all seemed like a dream to Akane, but it still scarred her a bit. She thought that death was calling her, that's why she met dead people in her dreams.

But reality was much more twisted.

The emptiness started to become too severe at one point. That's when Haruka realized that it was not Akira's absence he felt, it was Akane's loneliness. And boy, did he want to make that emotion go away.

He had a plan in mind, but for that he would need Akane's phone. He wasn't able to have it before since the girl was always doing something on it. But now that she was away, maybe he could do something?

Haruka stood up and started heading to the cabin. He found the girl's phone on top of the bedside table. He picked it up and unlocked it, going to the messages section. He tapped a certain name and then wrote a message that said, "My gallstones are being removed today. I wish I could see you." Then, he pressed send.

Satisfied with his work, he put the phone down and stepped out of the room. He was now going to continue waiting.

— ○ —

"Are you feeling alright, ring!  " Mrs. Fukuda asked.

"That's about the ninth time you've asked that, mum." Akane replied with a tired voice. "I'm fine."

"Alright.." The blonde woman bit her lower lip, nodding.

Even though Akane said she was fine, she looked far from it. Her skin was almost paper white by now. Her lips were dried up and colorless. Her cheekbones seemed to be way more noticeable now and her voice was deeper than usual.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Both the females' and the angel's heads turned to it, the oldest one calling, "Come in."

Haruka smiled, immediately knowing who it would be at this time.

The doorknob twisted, and opening the door, a tall, young man entered the room. He was very attractive with his black hair and blue eyes. He cleared his throat and said, "Mrs. Fukuda, hello."

"Kuro!" The said woman's voice sung. "You came to see ring!  "

"Yes," The boy named Kuro scratched the back of his neck. "I heard that she was going through an operation today, and..." He suddenly made eye contact with the red haired girl's shiny, green eyes, making the male blush.

All the while, Akane was staring at the two with wide eyes. She didn't tell Kuro about removing her gallstones, she didn't tell anyone. Then how did he find out?

"Oh, I see!" Akane's mother grinned widely. "You guys talk, I'll go get some snacks for you." Saying this, she left the room.

"Kuro.." Akane spoke up. "How did you—"

" Ring!  " Kuro said rather loudly, making Haruka glare at him. "How are you?" He asked softly.

"I'm fine." The said girl mumbled. "The more important question is, how did you get to know about my operation? I didn't tell anyone."

The boy raised his eyebrows, smiling a little. "You texted me, remember?"

"I did?" Her voice was surprised.

The boy just nodded. He sat on the bed, facing the girl. "You said you wanted to see me, so I'm here."

Haruka walked over to the two teenagers, inspecting each's faces.

Akane was still surprised, her eyes wide and round. On the other hand, as the he spoke, Kuro seemed to be a bit flustered. His cheeks were painted with a light pink blush. He had a small smile too.

"I must've completely forgot." Akane said in an amused tone.

Kuro's smile faded a bit. "I guess so."

Silence fell upon the room. Haruka yawned, walking around aimlessly in the room. He was here so that Kuro couldn't harm Akane, but it didn't seem like he would anyways.

"Kuro," Akane called the boy's name. "I think we should settle everything between us."

Kuro shifted in his seat. Settle everything? Haruka didn't know about anything that was going on between the two. He only knew that they were attracted to each other to a certain extent.

" Ring!  Let's not rush things? It's probably—"

"I don't have much time, there's no other choice but to rush now." Akane said harshly.

The blood in Kuro's face slowly went away. "What do you mean, not much time? The doctors said your health was improving, right?" He asked slowly. His voice shook and his face showed just how shocked he was at the moment.

Haruka crossed his arms, looking more interested now. The doctors never said that Akane's health was improving. In fact, their words always used to make Akane's mother cry with worry and sadness. Then why does Kuro think that she had more time?

Did Akane lie to him?

"No, it's not." Akane looked away. "Actually, during the removal of the gallstones, I lost a lot of blood. And you know how hazardous that is to my health."

Kuro took in a deep breath. Haruka noticed that his knuckles were shaking.

Why is he so affected by Akane?

" Ring!  " Kuro started to speak. "There's a lot more to worry about rather than the..." He gulped a bit. "The issues between us. So why don't you just leave them be for now? It's not like I'm mad at—"

"Kuro, please!" Akane suddenly cried out, stopping the said boy midway. She realized that she just yelled at him, so she said, "I'm sorry. But just.. Hear me out, okay?"

Kuro was a bit intimidated at this point. He nodded slowly and said, "Alright.."

Akane nodded as well and cleared her throat. Then she started to speak. "Look, there's no point in hiding it. Let's admit it— we both like each other." She blushed a bit while saying this. "But please try to understand— even though I fully want to accept your feelings, and.. and be with you, I can't."

Kuro seemed to be really dissatisfied as he heard this. "But why not? If you want to accept me, why are you rejecting me?" He asked with much desperation.

"I won't be here for long! Do you really think that being together for such a short amount of time is going to mean anything?" Akane looked frustrated. "Getting attached to me was your first mistake. And now, rather than trying to make up for it, you're taking more wrong steps. Why are you doing this to yourself?"

" Ring!  I know there isn't much time, but that's exactly why I won't leave you alone. The little time we have left, I want to make full use of it. Please," He took the girl's hand in his own. "Let me make you happy."

At this point, Akane couldn't hold it back anymore. Tears started to flow freely from her eyes. "You want to make me happy?"

"Yes."

"And what about yourself?"

"What about me?"

"Who's going to make you happy?" Akane wiped her tears. "After I'm gone, what'll happen to you?

Suddenly, Haruka felt another presence near the room. He quickly turned towards the door to see who it was.

He saw that the door was slightly open, and Akane's mother was peeking inside. Her expression saddened when she saw her daughter and the boy, and decided to leave them alone for now.

Without letting the younger ones know that she was here, Akane's mother left.

Haruka turned back to Akane and Kuro.

"It doesn't matter, all I want is for you to be happy for once." Kuro said.

"I know why you're doing this.." Akane's tone changed. "Deep inside, you still think there are chances of me surviving, right?" She flashed a bitter smile. "You can't bring yourself to accept that I'll be gone."

Kuro didn't have anything left to say. After all, Akane was speaking the truth. Kuro didn't believe that Akane would die soon. He couldn't. No, deep inside, he knew that some miracle would take place and let the girl live. It had to.

But hearing her words, his heart started to shatter. There really wasn't any hope, and he was truly realizing it now.

Kuro hung his head low.

Haruka walked over to the couch and sat down. He had been feeling the slow ache inside his gut since Kuro came, but now it was becoming unbearable. He looked over to the two as he placed his arms over his stomach.

Akane came forward and sat on her knees, wrapping her arms around Kuro's neck. This made the boy look up at the girl and when he did, she leaned in to kiss him.

Haruka saw the two hug each other as if they'd never let go.

"Soulmates who can't be together, huh?"  Haruka thought to himself.

It's only been about two months since Haruka has lived on earth, and he already understands how cruel and horrible this world is.