Chapter Text
“A… record player?” Kou hears Nene ask, skepticism lacing her voice. He turns to where she faces Hanako, who holds one of those big old-timey record players. Kou has half the mind to wonder where he even managed to get one of those things.
Hanako nods, a bright smile adorning his face. “Isn’t it cool? Back in my day, these things were all the rage.” Nene grimaces with a laugh as Kou walks over to where they’re huddling in the corner of the bathroom.
“You sound like a grandpa,” she says, inspecting the thing in Hanako’s hands. He doesn’t seem to take her comment as an insult, humming. “Have any records?” Hanako grins, nodding at her before setting down the record player to pull out a handful of different records seemingly from thin air. Nene’s eyes seem to light up at the sight of them, and she giddily clasps her hands together, peering over his shoulder. Kou honestly can’t care less about old records, but he humors Hanako, looking through the different songs on one of them with Nene. There are too many fast-paced, country sort of songs in this album for Kou, though, a surprise coming from Hanako, and Kou sets it down gingerly knowing these things are god knows how old in favor of skimming through the others.
“Oh!” Hanako exclaims when Kou picks up a certain record, eagerly snatching it out of his hands. “Ah, I remember this.” Flipping it over in his hands, Hanako floats to where he set down the player. “It’s been a long time since I’ve listened to this one. Good choice, kid~” he singsongs as he carefully takes the record out, lifting up the needle of the record player and gently setting in the disk. As soon as he places the need back down, the player stutters to life and the bathroom is filled with the sound of music. Hanako hums along to the jazzy toon, tapping his foot to the rhythm.
Nene laughs at his enthusiasm, seeming to get more into the song as well. Kou will admit, it’s nicer sounding, better than the looks of those other ones, and he can’t help the smile growing across his face at the scene in front of him. This is a nice way for them to spend Valentine’s Day, he decides. No need to leave Nene alone on a day such as this one, especially after she had complained only yesterday about having no Valentine.
Though, Kou supposes it’s weird that Hanako hasn’t said a word about Valentine’s Day. Has he forgotten? It makes a bit of sense, seeing as there really aren’t any sort of calendars available to him. Still, Kou would think that he would have found out a lot sooner from the students. It seems all everyone wants to talk about in Kou’s class, at the very least, is today.
“Earth to kid.” Hanako waves a hand in front of his face and Kou is snapped from his thoughts, eyes darting to the boy in front of him. Hanako grins down at him. “What’s with that face? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” While he falls back, laughing at his own joke, Kou can only sigh. Nene seems to share his reaction, groaning into her hands. When Hanako calms down, he pouts at the two. “What? That was funny!”
Kou purses his lips but says nothing. He supposes he’ll let Hanako have this one.
“Anyways,” Hanako says as he perches himself in his usual spot on the windowsill, kicking his foot. “What were you thinking about?” Nene nods, moving to turn down the music a little bit. It’s switched songs, this time to one that’s a little louder and more upbeat. Kou can’t say he likes it any less than the other.
“I was just thinking about today,” Kou says with a nervous smile, scratching his cheek. He supposes he can tell; it isn’t as if it’s any sort of secret, even if he is a bit embarrassed to admit his worries to his boyfriend.
“Oooh!” Nene cries, clapping excitedly. “I know, right? The day of love and chocolates and flowers! How romantic!” She seems lost in her own world, swooning to herself. Kou has no doubt in his mind she’s thinking of some cliche knight in shining armor again. He can’t help but chuckle. It’s so like her.
“Do you have a Valentine, Yashiro?” Hanako asks with a mocking grin, slinging an arm around Kou’s shoulder as if to rub it in her face. At least it seems to clear up Kou’s previous doubts of Hanako wanting to be his Valentine (not that there’s a reason he shouldn’t want to. Kou decides it was a dumb thought on his part). Nene flushes and looks away, expression flustered as she stutters for an excuse.
“Don’t tease me, Hanako-kun!” she says, pouting at the apparition with crossed arms. “You don’t know anything.” If Nene is trying to dissuade Hanako from prying deeper, then she’s made a fatal mistake. Instead, she only seems to egg him on, piquing his interest.
Eyes widening dramatically, Hanako makes a show of his surprise, gaping at Nene. “What?” he exclaims, earning himself an eye roll from Kou that goes completely ignored. “Am I wrong? I thought you were only saying how lonely you were yesterday, Yashiro. Did something happen?” His voice borders on teasing, a sly smile spreading across his lips. Nene doesn’t seem all too pleased with him, but her face still turns a shade darker and she bites her lip, avoiding Hanako’s eye.
“I don’t have to tell you anything,” she declares. At this point, Kou can’t lie, he’s certainly curious. And maybe Hanako is rubbing off on him a little bit more than he’d like because he finds himself chuckling and placing a hand on her shoulder.
“Who is it, senpai?” he asks, smiling animatedly, sharp canines peeking out. Nene sighs, covering her face with her hands. “Did something happen?”
“Nothing bad!” she says hurriedly, rushing to explain herself now that she’s more or less cornered. Her arms flail in the air and she manages to hit the record player, successfully putting an end to their music. “I-I guess I was asked out, and that’s great! It’s just, um… It’s just that I’ve never even considered this person like that before because they… well, uh…” Nene trails off, yet Kou can’t fill in the blank. He wracks his mind for an answer that Hanako seems to reach far before him.
“Ah, I know,” he says triumphantly, other arm wrapping around Nene’s shoulder, which only leaves the three huddled in a less than comfortable position in the bathroom. Seriously, Kou sincerely hopes no one walks in. It may be difficult to explain (not that anyone would even come in here. Hanako rarely gets visitors in the bathroom, most too scared to even come near the old school building due to the rumor). “It’s a girl, isn’t it? I’m right, aren’t I?” One glance at Nene would tell anyone that Hanako is indeed correct. She blinks at him as if she didn’t expect him to guess so easily before throwing her arms over her head to shield her embarrassment.
“Don’t say it so loudly,” she hisses as if anyone aside from Kou would really be able to hear her, frantically glancing around the bathroom before heaving a defeated sigh. “But yeah, it’s a girl. Oh, help me, Hanako-kun! I don’t know what to do!” The poor girl looks so distraught, even over something as minute as this. But Kou supposes Yashiro is one to typically overthink things.
Hanako hums thoughtfully. “I’m not really much help on these sorts of subjects,” he says, either ignoring or not even noticing Yashiro’s grumbling. (“Says the one with a boyfriend.”) “But you know who might be?” He grins wider, eyes glinting with a mischievous air. “That friend of yours! Akane-san, is it?” When Nene only stares at him, face aflame, Hanako takes it to think she doesn’t understand. “Yashiro, you know who I mean! The girl from No. 2’s boundary, when Kou was turned into a plushie!” When Kou shoots him a look, Hanako only laughs. “What, kid? You were so adorable as a doll~ Yako-san should have kept you like that. Talked less, too.” Kou frowns at him.
“At least I’m not as bad as you!” he argues, albeit half-heartedly. “Right, senpai?” A moment of silence passes with no response from Nene, and Kou glances over to her. “Senpai?”
“A-ah,” she sputters, nodding a bit too quickly. “Right! He should learn to keep his mouth shut.” She seems flustered, distracted. Kou can’t place why. Maybe Hanako is right? He can’t see how, though.
“You two are so mean,” Hanako whines, finally letting go of Nene and Kou in favor of hovering a bit higher to properly face them. “I let you into my bathroom and this is the thanks I get? Kids these days, so ungrateful. You should--” Mercifully (or maybe not, depending on how you would look at it), the door to the bathroom is hastily opened and the rest of Hanako’s rambling falls of deaf ears. Kou’s head quickly spins around to face the entrance, greeted with a somewhat familiar purple pigtail updo.
“Nene-chan!” Aoi exclaims when she sees her, rushing up to Nene with an excited smile. Kou’s not close enough to really tell, but for a moment, he thinks it might look a bit strained. “Here you are! I’ve been looking all over for you! Gosh, I should’ve known you’d be hiding in the bathroom again.” Nene’s visibly nervous, but she still weakly nods.
“Sorry, Aoi,” she apologies, dipping her head slightly. Aoi only waves it off.
“No need,” she reassures her, taking her hand. “Anyways, you shouldn’t have to spend Valentine’s Day alone in the bathroom like this, Nene-chan!” Nene glances over at Kou, a silent nod to him, and it’s at that moment that Aoi even seems to notice that he’s here. “Well, I suppose you had Minamoto-kun with you. What were you two doing?” She cocks her head to the side slightly in question.
Too quickly to not warrant any sort of suspicion, Nene says a bit too loudly, “Nothing!” When Aoi gives her a quizzical look, she clears her throat and tries again. “Nothing. Don’t worry, Aoi.” Nene gives her her best reassuring smile, which seems to be enough.
Hanako, who Kou had admittedly almost forgotten about until this point, manages to sneak up on Kou, placing a hand on his shoulder. It takes all of Kou’s willpower to not screech in surprise. It would be difficult to explain to Aoi, seeing as she (obviously) doesn’t see Hanako.
“Kid,” Hanako says behind him, voice low even though Aoi can’t hear him. Maybe it’s to not distract Nene. She looks happy as Aoi talks to her, holding her hand eagerly. “We should leave them be, yeah?” With one more look towards the girls, Kou nods absentmindedly, letting Hanako take his own hand and pull Kou away from them. When he turns around to face him, Kou recognizes that he isn’t being led to the exit. Instead, Hanako steps up onto the sill of the window, opening it slowly.
“What are you doing?” Kou whispers as the window is propped open. Kou can feel the cold winter breeze on his face and shivers, because even though the winter uniform has long sleeves, at least, it certainly isn’t made to protect him from the frigid wind. (Kou’s amazed that neither Aoi nor Nene seem to notice them, the sound of their conversation filling the bathroom.)
Hanako slips out of the window, hovering above the ground three stories below them. Kou swallows hard, eyebrows creasing as the apparition takes his hand again, leading Kou closer and closer to the edge.
“Ah, wait, I’m going to--” But it’s too late. With one final tug, Kou’s being pulled out of the window and is sent free-falling. He watches it happen in slow motion, the world falling around him, and the sense of déjà vu is strong. But just as quickly as he started descending, Kou stops, hands gripping his arms and pulling him up, up, up, until he lands safely on the school roof, heaving for breath while he regains himself.
When Kou glares at Hanako for pulling that little stunt, Hanako only chuckles and says, “What? You had no problem with it the last time.” (Kou wants to argue that that was different, but he doesn’t have enough in him to after that shock.)
Kou’s still cold, trembling on the snow-covered rooftop, and he knows he’ll have to get back inside soon enough. But Hanako turns away for a moment, placing down the record player from earlier in a patch of snow that significantly shallower. Kou has half the mind to wonder where the turntable came from, but he decides against asking, figuring it was most likely Hanako’s Hakujoudai (and if it’s not, then he doesn’t really want to know).
“I bet you thought I forgot, right?” Hanako asks as a new song starts up, this one slower. Kou’s starting to grow used to this, being with the ghost like this, but he still gets butterflies stuck in his stomach when Hanako takes off his hat, setting it next to the player in the snow, and offers a hand to Kou with a sweet smile. “Care to dance?” he asks, and while Kou knows he’s going to be made fun of the absolute embarrassment he calls his dancing skills, he still takes the outstretched hand, grinning when Hanako pulls him close, holding onto his hand while the other rests on Kou’s waist. And while it might be just the slightest bit uncomfortable with the height difference, Kou doesn’t think he can care any less.
As the music surrounds them, a sweet melody filling Kou’s ears, they sway to the music. Kou nearly gets lost in the moment until Hanako giggles, glancing up at Kou. “You’re terrible at this, kid,” he muses, obviously enjoying Kou’s frustrated reaction.
“Don’t give me that, you’ve probably done this a hundred times before,” Kou grumbles, but Hanako only shakes his head. It’s cold, Hanako’s cold in Kou’s arms, and while that wants to be the thought at the forefront of his mind, Kou finds himself having something better to worry about.
“Of course, I haven’t,” Hanako tells him, squeezing Kou’s hand. Almost on instinct, Kou squeezes back. “I’ve never done this before. You’re just that bad, kid.” Kou huffs. There’s no way this is his first time dancing. But Kou doesn’t think it’s worth arguing over, so he lets it slide in favor of focussing on dancing better for Hanako. He wants this to be nice. And while the music picks up around them, Kou watches his feet as they move in time with Hanako’s.
But Kou is still horrible at it no matter how hard he tries. If anything, all he manages to do is make Hanako laugh. “Here, here,” he says, moving his hand from Kou’s waist to take his other hand, pulling him in a little closer. He moves his feet, demonstrating how Kou should be dancing and moving to the music. It’s a pattern, he tells him. He just has to pay attention.
It takes an admittedly long time for Kou to get the hang of it, long enough for multiple songs to pass, but Kou’s laughing all throughout it, even when he steps on Hanako’s feet more times than he can count. The spirit doesn’t seem to care in the least, just continues to help and show Kou until he has it down. (First time dancing, his ass. That was obviously a lie.)
Another song passes, and Kou can do it comfortably without staring at his feet the whole time. He’s able to look at Hanako again, watch as snowflakes start to flutter to the ground around them, landing on their clothes, on their faces, in their hair. The sight of Hanako smiling at him, snow sprinkled throughout his hair in the evening light makes Kou’s heart warm despite the plummeting temperature.
“Kid, you’re staring,” Hanako tells him with a chuckle. Kou can only look away. It isn’t like it’s something he can deny, he knows he was staring. Hanako laughs again, holding Kou’s hands a bit tighter before letting go of one. “Spin!” he says, lifting up their intertwined hands so Kou can apparently spin. Though he isn’t too fond of being the “girl” in this dance, he still humors Hanako and lets him spin him around and around.
“Alright, alright!” Kou cries when he starts to grow dizzy, the ground swaying beneath him. Hanako’s laughing at him but Kou has to focus on staying upright instead. “Jerk, you did that on purpose.”
“Maybe,” Hanako hums, the little brat, but Kou still lets him take his hand again and they continue to dance as before, swinging to the beat of the music. The song changes again, slowing back down, and they fall into the rhythm easily. And though Kou is chilled to his bones he still tolerates it, huddling a little closer to the apparition on instinct despite knowing he won’t give off any sort of heat no matter how hard he prays.
Kou glances around at the snow around them, watching their feet as they leave footprints, proof of their evening together. The wind is just a little less harsh when it’s facing Hanako, and the apparition seems to not mind in the slightest, his hair blowing ever so slightly. When Kou looks back to his boyfriend, he’s grinning almost mischievously, eyes sparkling. Kou doesn’t like that look.
“What are you planning?” Kou asks hesitantly, eyeing Hanako as they sway. Hanako doesn’t seem surprised in the slightest for Kou to have noticed the slight change in his demeanor. If anything, he looks pleased.
“I have an idea,” he declares, hands moving again. This time, he reaches to take one of Kou’s own and places it around his waist, the other gripping Kou’s shoulder firmly. With a toothy grin, Hanako says, “Dip me.” Kou presses his lips together, face blooming in various shades of red (which is stupid because he’s done more with Hanako than simply dip him, this shouldn’t be such a big deal). Hanako snickers at him but otherwise stands unwavering, his request sitting in the silence between them.
“Uh, I don’t know--” Kou starts to say, breaking himself off with a squeak when Hanako leans back on his own, causing Kou to tighten his grip on him.
“Like this,” the apparition tells him as if it will serve any good. Kou lets him lead him down, arms shaking under his weight. Hanako is heavy for something that shouldn't even be palpable to most people, and Kou can’t support him as well as he wishes he could say he can.
That is to say, Kou is weak and uncoordinated and, with the grace of an elephant in rollerblades, drops Hanako.
Kou’s lucky that Hanako is a ghost and is able to catch himself, hovering a few inches above the ground with mock hurt scrawled across his face. “Kid!” he cries, letting himself fall into the cold snow, dramatically placing the back of his hand on his forehead. “How could you? I could’ve gotten seriously hurt!”
“You seem fine to me, asshole.” With a huff, Kou drops onto the cold ground next to him. Snow soaks through his pants, leaving his legs freezing and wet, but it lets him be closer to Hanako and that’s well worth the sacrifice, even if the stupid apparition can certainly be a jerk at times.
“You can’t just call your boyfriend an asshole,” Hanako says with a frown that Kou knows can’t be anything but fake.
“I can if it’s true.”
“No!” Hanako argues, sitting up to face Kou and brushing snow off of his back. “It’s against Boyfriend Law.” Kou raises a brow at him.
“‘Boyfriend Law?’” he parrots, internally questioning where Hanako is going with his nonsense this time. But he looks happy, so Kou decides to play along, at least to some degree.
“Yep,” the apparition says, placing a finger to his chin in thought. Kou can guess that he's just making this up as he goes. It is somewhat entertaining, though, he assumes. “Boyfriend Law states that you can’t insult your boyfriend, kid. Unless you wanna go to jail, that is.” Kou still can’t help but roll his eyes.
“And who’s going to arrest me if I decide that you are an asshole?” Kou asks, a smile pulling at his lips despite how ridiculous this is. Hanako at least seems pleased that he’s playing along.
“The Bad Boyfriend Police, obviously,” the spirit tells him as if it’s apparent, serious look plastered onto his face. But the corners of his mouth are twitching, and Kou can tell he’s trying not to burst out into laughter.
Kou chuckles, disbelief lining his voice as he says, “Right.” Hanako folds his hands together as the wind picks up again, sending a shiver down Kou’s spine. They should really go inside soon. “The Bad Boyfriend Police. Is teasing also against Boyfriend Law?” Shaking his head, Hanako’s grin fits naturally back into its place as if it had never left in the first place.
“Nope,” he says, placing his hands behind his neck. “Perfectly legal. The BBP can’t lay a finger on me”
Kou groans. “I hate you,” he mutters, though he can’t help but laugh along with it, shattering the annoyed demeanor he was going for.
Hanako tuts at him, wagging his finger. “You can’t say that! That’s again Boyfriend Law too, kid!” he exclaims, glancing around them as if someone could hear and “arrest” Kou.
“Then what am I allowed to say?” he asks, crossing his arms. Deciding that, damn the snow, Kou leans back to lie down, uncaring to the wetness that clings to his shirt because the view in front of him, of Hanako smiling as the snow flutters down from the sky, is well worth it.
“Well,” Hanako says slowly, and Kou senses a hint of hesitance in his voice. “There are another three words that are allowed in Boyfriend Law.” Kou can feel the cogs in his brain turning for a moment before his eyes widen a fraction and he shoots back up, the nice view forgotten, in order to properly look at his boyfriend.
“Hanako, that isn’t something you should joke about,” Kou says, smile slipping from his face and being replaced by a thin press of his lips. On the inside, Kou is freaking out, a stuttering, nervous wreck, but the severity (at least to Kou) of what Hanako is implying leaves an urgent seriousness that seems to take over him without regard for his other emotions (and maybe that’s more of a blessing).
But Hanako’s smile falls into something just as serious as he leans closer, crowding into Kou’s space just a bit. “What if it isn’t a joke?” he asks, searching Kou’s eyes. For what, Kou doesn’t know. Hanako’s own face is unreadable.
The question hangs in the air, and Kou can feel that serious mask starting to slip away and let his flustered emotions bubble to the top. He can feel his face growing hot despite the cold surrounding him and he swallows harshly, trying and failing to come up with a response as Hanako seems to inch closer and closer, ever so slowly that Kou can’t tell if it’s his imagination or not. He wants to say something, but his throat closes up and he feels silly as he opens and closes his mouth like a fish on land gaping for water. If Hanako finds that humorous, he doesn’t show it.
At the point that his boyfriend is so close, Kou swears there’s only a few mere centimeters between them, he knows it isn’t his imagination. Staring into his eyes, Kou barely hears Hanako whisper, “I love you,” before he presses forward and locks their lips together. Kou can hear his heart throbbing in his chest, not knowing how he’s supposed to feel. He only knows that his face is beet red and his lungs may never fill with air again with the way Hanako kisses him, more passion poured into it than ever before.
The kiss lasts just a bit longer than it usually does but Kou still feels like it isn’t enough time for him to both collect himself and have the mind to kiss back. He nearly regrets not being able to do the latter when Hanako pulls back, leaving Kou just a little more breathless than before.
“I-I, uh--” Kou’s left a sputtering mess, trying to pick up himself and form a coherent sentence. Instead, he cuts himself off abruptly before he makes a bigger fool of himself, looking away. He wants to say something, anything, but he’s an idiot, oh so stupid, and couldn’t get his dumb mouth to move for the life of him.
Thank whatever god is out there, Hanako doesn’t seem to take it the wrong way. He pauses for a moment, most likely recuperating his own self before he’s laughing. Kou’s never enjoyed that grin more. “Something wrong, kid?” he asks as if everything is absolutely normal, teasing lilt tracing his voice.
“Y-you--” Kou curses himself and his tongue that feels too big and slow and syrupy in his mouth to form words.
“What’s that?” Hanako questions, raising a hand to his ear. Kou might not be able to talk quite yet, but he manages a small scowl at the boy, albeit half-hearted. “Have something to say? Be careful, though, wouldn’t want to break Boyfriend Law again, would we?” he asks with a snicker. “That wouldn’t be any good. You can’t--”
“Do you ever shut up?” Kou finally manages, more grateful than ever for Hanako’s ability to seemingly defuse any situation, including the one he started.
Grin morphing into something more genuine, Hanako leans back to rest his hands in the snow, supporting his weight. “There we go,” he says. “I got scared for a minute there. You can’t do that to me, kid!” Hanako laughs, but it all too quickly seems to turn a little sourer, his smile flickering. “I might’ve gone a little too far. That’s my bad, I didn’t mean to--”
Kou concludes, in a rush of thoughts that pass through his head as the apparition talks, that maybe Hanako can be more of an idiot than Kou (and that’s saying a lot).
Cutting him off with a quick kiss, Kou looks into Hanako’s eyes, picking out his words carefully. “You didn’t go too far, Hanako. It’s alright, I just--”
“Amane,” Hanako mutters, causing Kou to stop. He tilts his head at him.
“What?”
A little louder, Hanako says, “Amane. You should call me Amane.”
Kou doesn’t think he’s ever smiled wider.
“Amane,” Kou tries again, liking how the name feels on his tongue, the sound of it leaving his mouth. Hanako’s--no, Amane’s-- eyes widen, seemingly startled to see him agree so easily, but soon his smile is just as bright. “I love you, too.” Kou’s voice is firm, more sure than he’d imagined it ever being saying those words to someone.
Pulling him in for a third kiss that night, Amane wraps his arms around Kou. When they separate, they’re both still smiling ear to ear, drunk on happiness and love, Kou tells himself. Because it’s true: he’s in love with Amane, and admitting that feels better than anything else.
But the high wears off, and Kou notices he’s still sitting there in the cold, wet snow. “You’re shaking,” Amane notes, squeezing Kou’s hand again. It’s the first time Kou really realizes it, but he’s right. Kou is shaking, his hands quivering in Amane’s. The cold is really getting to him (among other things). “We should probably get inside, huh?”
Kou has never nodded so quickly in his life.
Standing up off of the ground, Amane grabs his hat. Wordlessly, he places it onto Kou’s head with a laugh. Kou’s sure it looks silly, but he pulls the brim down a bit to more comfortably sit on his head and finds that he really couldn’t care less.
Taking back Kou’s hand, Amane guides them to the door leading off of the roof. When the warmth of the school heating unit hits his face, the door to the chilling outside closing shut behind him, Kou can’t help but sigh. As beautiful as the snowy rooftop is, his pants are wet and he’s still shivering. It’s great to be back inside, he decides, as nice as a date that was.
The walk back to the bathroom is a short one, but considering the near eerie silence of the hallway, Kou can assume that Nene and Aoi are long gone. Good for them, whatever happened, Kou thinks to himself. Nene deserves someone for her like Amane is for him.
The sun is finally starting to set as they walk down the hallway, a comfortable silence floating between him and Amane. The sky makes way for just a few lone stars, shining brighter than the rest, so much so that Kou can see them still through the glint of the school windows. It reminds him of their first date under the sky, where Amane had seemingly spent an eternity explaining the stars to him. It feels as if it was forever ago, even though Kou knows it couldn’t have been more than a few months.
And Kou feels silly for the thought to even cross his mind, would never even imagine telling Amane, lest he’s prepared for even more teasing, but Kou can’t help but hope that their story ends up being that significant. To put them in the stars, tell their tales for generations to come. And, of course, it’s illogical, would never happen, but Kou can only smile at the thought.
How fitting would it be for them to be placed among the stars, together for eternity up there in the endless sky?
“You’re awfully quiet,” Amane says, glancing at Kou as he’s pulled from his thoughts with a bright grin still spread across his face. “Whatcha thinking about, kid?” Kou shakes his head with a laugh.
“Nothing, Amane,” he says as they walk back to the bathroom hand in hand, fingers intertwined. Amane squeezes gently, an impossibly knowing look in his eyes telling Kou that Amane wouldn’t mind a fate in the sky with him in the slightest. “Nothing at all.”