---
The bonfire crackled under the starlit sky, casting long shadows across the sand. Laughter echoed from the circle of students gathered around, but Haru stood at the edge, half-present. His eyes drifted across the beach, searching—though he didn't know for what.
Ren hadn't come back.
After volleyball, he'd vanished again, like he always did.
"You're distracted," Souta said, appearing beside him with two drinks in hand. He offered one to Haru. "Thinking about him?"
Haru didn't answer right away. He took the drink, more out of politeness than thirst.
Souta's gaze followed his. "I don't get what you see in him. He's cold. Weird. Unstable."
"He's not unstable," Haru said quietly. "He's… lost."
Souta's jaw tensed. "And you want to be the one to save him?"
Haru turned, startled by the bitterness in his voice. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means I've watched you drift further and further away ever since he showed up," Souta said, his voice low but sharp. "I don't even know if you realize how much he's messing with your head."
Haru looked down at the sand, struggling to breathe past the tightness in his chest.
"I don't understand him," he admitted. "But I want to."
Souta looked like he wanted to say something else, but stopped himself. Instead, he turned and walked away, the firelight flickering against his retreating form.
Haru didn't follow.
---
Later that night, the beach was nearly empty. The fire had burned low. Most students had returned to the hotel. Haru sat alone near the water's edge, knees drawn up, waves lapping at his feet.
"You always wait until everyone leaves," a voice said behind him.
Haru turned.
Ren stood a few feet away, barefoot, his jeans rolled up, the hem of his shirt damp. His hair clung to his forehead, and his eyes… they weren't unreadable this time. They were sad.
"I don't like being watched," Ren added, almost like an afterthought.
"You said we'd talk," Haru said.
Ren sat beside him, not too close, but not distant either.
For a long time, they said nothing.
The ocean filled the silence.
"I didn't plan to come on this trip," Ren finally said. "But I knew I had to. I felt it. Like something was pulling me here."
Haru stared at him. "What do you mean?"
Ren looked up at the stars. "You ever get the sense that something's about to end? Or begin? And you're standing right on the edge of it?"
Haru nodded slowly. "Lately, all the time."
Ren exhaled. "There's a reason you can't hear me. And it's not just because I'm quiet."
Haru's heart skipped. "Then why?"
Ren didn't answer immediately.
Then he said, barely audible, "Because I'm not fully here."
Haru's skin prickled.
"What does that mean?" he asked, voice tight.
Ren looked at him. His eyes weren't just sad anymore. They were scared.
"It means I'm not like you," he whispered. "Not like any of you. And soon, I won't be able to stay in this world much longer."
---
From the cliffs above the beach, unseen, Souta stood in the shadows.
He didn't know what he was watching anymore—a confession, a goodbye, or the beginning of something he couldn't stop.
But one thing was clear.
He wasn't ready to let Haru go.
---
To be continued…
***