A knock on the door made him flinch.
"Ryuu?" A familiar voice. Mina. "Are you in there?"
His throat tightened. Of course she'd know he was back. The whole school probably knew by now.
And then came another voice. It was Momo's. "We heard the helicopter. Recovery Girl said you were cleared to return to the dorms."
He should answer. Should open the door. But his feet wouldn't move.
"We're not leaving," Mina said, and he could hear the shaking her voice. "We've been waiting for two days. We're not leaving now."
The numbness cracked slightly. Just enough for something else to seep through. Something that hurt worse than the emptiness.
Ryuu crossed the room and opened the door.
Mina and Momo stood in the hallway. Both looked exhausted. Mina's eyes were red and puffy. Momo's usually perfect appearance was disheveled, her hair pulled back hastily, and her uniform wrinkled.
They'd been waiting. For him.
The moment they saw him, Mina's face crumpled. "Oh god. Ryuu."
She lunged forward, arms wrapping around him. Momo was right behind her, joining the embrace.
And finally, after forty-eight hours of horror and grief and running and loss, Ryuu broke.
The sob tore from his chest unconsciously. His legs gave out. If not for Mina and Momo holding him up, he would have collapsed right there in the doorway.
"He's gone," Ryuu gasped between sobs. "My dad. He's gone and I couldn't save him. I just ran and left him and—"
"Shh," Mina whispered, guiding him back into the room. "We've got you. We've got you."
They lowered him to the floor, both of them surrounding him, holding him together while he fell apart. His hands clutched at their uniforms like they were the only solid things in a world that had tilted sideways.
"I felt him die," he choked out. "Through my Resonance. I felt the connection break."
Momo's grip tightened. "I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry."
They sat there on his floor for what could have been minutes or hours. Time had stopped meaning anything. There was just the three of them and the overwhelming weight of everything that had happened.
Eventually, the sobs quieted. Not because the pain lessened, but because his body simply ran out of energy to express it.
Mina pulled back slightly, her hands moving to cup his face. Her golden eyes were swimming with tears.
"Listen to me," she said, voice fierce despite the crying. "This wasn't your fault. You hear me? None of this was your fault."
"I left him—"
"You survived," Momo cut in, equally firm. "You survived because he made sure you would. Don't dishonor that by blaming yourself."
Ryuu wanted to argue. To explain that surviving didn't feel like victory when it came at someone else's expense. But he was so tired. Exhausted down to his bones.
"Can we..." His voice came out small. "Can you just stay? I don't want to be alone."
"We're not going anywhere," Mina promised.
They helped him to his bed. Mina kicked off her shoes and climbed in beside him, pulling him against her. Momo settled on his other side, her hand finding his.
"Sleep," Momo murmured. "We'll be right here when you wake up."
Ryuu closed his eyes. Didn't think he'd actually sleep. Didn't think his brain would let him.
But exhaustion finally won. With Mina's heartbeat steady against his ear and Momo's fingers intertwined with his, he drifted off.
His last conscious thought was of violet eyes that looked like his own.
And the weight of being the one who survived.