The next few days were the most torturous I'd experienced in all my life. Sora's condition only got worse and worse, his trembling never ceasing, and his temperature only rising.
It had infected his mind so much that he didn't even recognize Yuto anymore. I alone sat at Sora's side. It was the only thing I knew to do...
My presence seemed to calm him, if only a little.
But seeing him this way was too much to bare. It wasn't just the sightー in the short moments he was conscious, the only thing Sora would ask for was water.
The one thing I couldn't give him.
Yuto had explained to me that the poison infecting him grew from moisture. To rid Sora of it for good, he needed to be dehydrated. I felt sick to my stomach each and every time he looked at me with only one request.
I couldn't handle anymore. It was too much for my heart to take.
"I can't do it, Yuto."
I told him in a firm, but quiet tone of voice, standing outside Sora's door. "I can't watch anymore."

"Ayano," he tried to calm me. "I know it sucks, but it's what's best for him."

"It's taking too long," I snapped, trying to keep myself calm and failing. "There has to be another way, there has to be a cure. If I have to see him like this another moment I'll break."
Yuto was silent for a long moment as he took in my words. He knew I was worried, and I was sorry for yelling at him when I knew he was worried, too. Finally, he met my gaze.
"There's only one known immediate cure for this, as far gone as it is."
I stiffened, looking at him with rounded eyes. There was a cure...!
Urging him with my expression to continue, he went on, his voice smooth. "It's almost impossible to get ahold of, Ayano. I can't let you do something like that."
My eyebrows knitted together. "What do you...?"

"It's called mellowleaf. It's really rare, and the only way to find it are at places that use witchcraft, or other kinds of places with people whose livelihoods thrive on magic."

"Magic...?"

"They're bad news. You can't trust a single one of them, all out to trick you into giving up too much. I don't want you to have to deal with something like that."

My face contorted, my hands balled in fists. "But I have to... He needs me, Yuto. You know we can't just let him hurt like this."

Yuto's own face hardened, and it was the first time I'd seen him look so frightening.

"He'd be hurt more if he lost you, Ayano. You know that."

He went on as I clenched my jaw.
"Out there I can't protect you. The only magic shack I know of is in a part of the woods with an enchantment cast on it. My power would be so thin there that my body would even weaken. I could never look out for you in a state like that..."

His face softened and he started to look more like himself as he looked down, his eyes moistening as if he were going to cry. "We can't lose you... I can't..."

My chest ached as I looked at him, and I saw no other option than to pull him into my arms and hold him tight.
"...okay," I relented. "I'll stay..."
I felt his body relax against mine. "...thank you.."