A bit later on, Akito and Shiko stood outside the hospital. They had stepped away from all that heavy sorrow hanging in the air. It felt like a dense fog that just choked everything up. City lights twinkled far off in the distance. They did not care at all about the awful thing that had happened. Cars moved along the roads with a low hum. They paid no mind to the broken lives right under those lights. The world kept spinning on its own. Their lives had cracked apart in one terrible instant. A chilly evening wind sliced across their skin. It tugged at their hair like cold hands. Still, it could not ease the mess churning inside their heads. The pain of losing him sat heavy on their chests. It made breathing tough. Each heartbeat pounded like some sad drum.
Shiko spoke up first to break the quiet. His voice came out rough and full of feeling. "We need to take some kind of action."
Akito kept his eyes down. He dug his nails into his hands. That left little half-moon shapes on his skin. He tried hard to stop the tears from coming. His throat hurt from words stuck inside. "What kind of action? We cannot bring him back."
"I get that." Shiko's reply came sharp. His voice cracked a little. Then he let out a quick breath. His shoulders shook from feeling so powerless. "His family, though. His sister. He supported them all. We cannot sit back and ignore it."
Akito gripped his hands tighter. His knuckles turned white. At last he nodded. It was a slow, careful motion. His voice sounded rough and low. Almost a murmur. Each word scraped past the sadness in his chest. "We will step in. We will look after them." The sharp edge of his feelings tore at him. Guilt stabbed like a knife in his side. He shoved it down for now. Aelric's family needed help more than anything. "His reviews too. His channel. All his work. His memory. We will keep it going. Not let his efforts disappear. Not let him fade."
Shiko's gaze grew darker. A strong resolve mixed into his sorrow. "His sister as well." He said it with firmness. His jaw set hard. His tone stayed steady. "Nobody touches her. Not ever. We owe him at least that."
They stayed quiet for quite a while after that. Their words lingered in the air. Thick like smoke from a fire. The seriousness of their vow settled in slowly. It dropped like rocks into deep water. Promising to keep Aelric's work alive. To guard his family. To shield his sister. Those were huge responsibilities. Way bigger than what young guys like them should handle. Yet they knew it was the only real way to remember their friend.
When they walked away from the hospital at last, the streets seemed far off. Almost not real. Like the whole place had turned into a bad dream version of itself. Their bodies went numb as they moved through the city. Every footstep dragged. Each breath came jagged and rough. Streets they knew so well felt strange now. Every turn and building held memories. They haunted the spot with what they had seen. Smells of food from vendors, car fumes, and wet pavement after rain. Those mixed in their thoughts with a sharp taste of blood. It kept reminding them in a mean way of the loss. Even the route to home, once so safe and easy, turned into a trap of old thoughts. They stuck close like that same choking mist.
Shiko fumbled for his phone. His fingers shook a lot. His sight blurred just a touch as the screen lit up softly. The message from Akito's mom earlier felt remote now. It did not match the brutal truth they had faced. His thumb hung over the keys. He paused, like typing might call up something that could not happen. He took a deep breath that wobbled. Then he wrote.
Shiko: "Come to our house. Now."
The answer popped up right away. It was like Akito's parents had waited for some kind of word that would not come.
Akito's Mom: "What's wrong?"
Akito's Dad: "We're coming. What happened?"
No text could cover this. Words seemed empty. Too weak to hold the terror they had seen. They could not calm the fear. Nor get anyone ready for the painful fact.
By the time they got to Shiko's place, both pairs of parents stood on the porch. Worry lined their faces deep. The second they spotted the boys, their eyes went wide with shock. The porch light threw a pale shine over the blood on their clothes. Dark spots of dried red stood out clearly on the cloth. The dads noticed it first. Their looks turned hard right then. The truth hit them solid like a hit.
Shiko's mom drew in a sharp breath. She moved closer with hands that shook. "Shiko. What. What is all this?" Her words came thick with worry. They broke from the pressure.
Akito's mom pressed a hand to her chest. Her gaze jumped from one boy to the other. She hunted for some sign or reason. "Why. Why do you have blood all over you?" She spoke softly, almost. But the fear in it filled the space.
The quiet after that rang loud in their ears. Every question not said weighed down the air. It smothered them. The fathers held back differently. Tough and controlled. But that control felt risky.
Shiko's dad's face grew stormy. His eyes stayed keen and firm. Akito's dad went rigid. He balled his hands at his sides. His jaw locked with anger held in tight.
"What did you do?" Akito's dad said it low and even. But anger bubbled just under.
Neither boy replied at once. Their empty looks and flat faces made the quiet worse. Thicker, almost too much to take. They lacked words to tell what went down. No fix for it. No calm for the mess building.
Shiko's dad took his son's shoulders firmly. He gave a light shake, like it might shake out the story. "Tell me now." He ordered it rough. But his hands shook too. "Whose blood is that?"
Akito's dad moved up closer. His tone turned cold and cutting this time. "If something went wrong. If you two. Did anything."
"WE DID NOT." Akito's shout broke. His body shook hard as feelings rushed over him. "We did nothing wrong." His insides knotted up bad. Guilt and sadness twisted there. Ready to break him. He had not braced for this face-off. Nobody could.
Shiko let out a wobbly breath. His words came faint like a breath. "It is. Not ours."
Quiet dropped dead heavy then. That one line pushed down like weights. All of them sensed what followed. But none wanted to face it.
Akito swallowed hard. His throat felt raw. His voice scratched out weak like string. "It is. Aelric's."
Everything froze right there. The air got thick. Sounds faded, like the world held still. Waiting for the fall.
Shiko's mom put a hand over her mouth. A choked sound slipped out. "No." She said it softly. She backed up shaking. Her thoughts could not match the fact. "No, no. No."
Akito's mom went white. Her legs almost buckled. "What do you mean it is? Aelric's." Her sound barely carried. It fought the thick quiet in the room.
Akito's dad's frame went stiff. Shadows hid his face. His hands fisted up. Shiko's dad's jaw clenched. Pain darkened his eyes. The words hit hard. Burned right through.
Shiko spoke softly, hardly heard. "He is. Dead."
Shiko's mom let loose a cracked cry. Her body shook as truth slammed her. Akito's mom sank to the couch. She held her head tight, like that might keep things whole.
Shiko's dad breathed out slowly and unevenly. His steady way slipped. "What. Happened." His usual strong voice sounded small now. Crushed under sadness.
Akito's breath came quick and far off. His voice split on the past. "We. We're heading home. The three of us. Then this truck showed up." He gulped down hard. His body locked. "It. Was aimed at us. All three."
Shiko's hands balled up. His face drained of color. "Aelric. He shoved us clear. He. Took the impact."
Akito's mom's breath caught. She shook badly. Eyes big with shock and hurt.
Shiko's mom cried without stopping. She grabbed her husband's arm to hold on. "He saved you." Her words turned to a hush. Full of doubt and pain.
Shiko's dad glanced at his boy first. Then at Akito. The tough look in his eyes eased. He grasped what it meant. His own son. His son's close pal. Might have vanished. Without Aelric, all three could have gone.
Akito's dad stayed still like stone. His hands shook. The idea looped in his head. Over and over. It might have been his boy. Ought to have been. Then the last hard truth sank in. Aelric did not just pass. He gave his life to save their kids.
Quiet filled the room again. Thick and pressing. Like the air itself grieved.
Shiko's dad rubbed his face. His breaths came ragged. He had zeroed in on the blood before. The shock of it all. Had not let the feeling hit. Not till now. Watching the boys hang on by a thread felt like a gut punch.
Shiko's mom shook her head no. Her sobs grew louder. "He was only a kid. He should have grown up. His whole future waited."
Akito's mom brushed tears from her puffy eyes. Her voice shook weakly. "Aelric. He felt like our own son."
Akito's dad drew in a quick breath. He looked off to the side. He would not show the crack in his hold. His chest hurt deep. But he needed to stay solid. For his people. For Akito.
Then thoughts of Aelric's folks struck them.
Shiko's dad's words came soft and loaded. Steady even with the shake under. "His mom. His young sister. They lost it all."
Akito's dad gave a nod. His jaw stayed tight. Heart weighed down. He pictured Aelric's mom swallowed by grief. His sister is now alone without the brother who kept her steady.
They all got it in that moment. This went past just sadness. Past simple loss. Aelric saved their boys. But he left his own kin in pieces. Guilt and hurt bore down on them. Heavy like links in a chain.
Shiko's dad breathed out long and turned to his son. His voice rasped but held. "We will help them however we can."
Akito's dad nodded, still facing away. His tone strained tight. "Aelric acted like a brother to you two. He lost his life for yours. We will not waste that gift."
The boys said nothing back. They just stood crushed inside. The load of it all is ready to tear them apart.
But none of them realized Aelric had been reborn in another world.