The air was warm when I finally calmed down. Alex, still quiet but kind, handed me a mug of hot chocolate. Steam rose between us in soft swirls. I took it in my hands, trembling slightly.
"I—I… tha—"
Before I could even finish, he looked me dead in the eyes and said, "You don't need to thank me. Just… relax. I don't want to see you cry."
He offered one of the rooms for me to sleep in that night. I didn't argue. I was drained—physically, mentally, emotionally. But even when I lay in bed, I couldn't sleep. My thoughts wouldn't let me.
Then the door creaked open.
Alex entered with his twin sisters. Quiet. Shy.
They didn't speak—they just crawled into the bed, one on each side of me. Small hands wrapped around mine.
Alex stood by the door. "Goodnight," he said softly.
And then, as if someone had waved a wand, my eyes closed.
For the first time in days, I slept.
When I woke up, it was already 5 p.m. Sunlight bled through the curtains like soft gold. I stepped out of the room and found Alex in the kitchen, cooking dinner.
The twins ran to me and hugged me tight.
"We're sorry about last night," they mumbled into my coat.
I smiled. "Don't be. Thank you… for everything."
That night, we ate together—quiet, simple, healing. When dinner was over, I looked at Alex and said, "Thank you. For helping me… hold myself together."
He didn't reply. He just nodded, like he understood.
After I left the apartment, I went straight to the hospital.
Yuki.
As I entered her room, I wasn't alone. Members of the Hero Association were there, waiting.
"We need your help," one said. "There are villains trapped beneath the rubble. We believe they may have critical information. We need to rescue them—immediately."
I didn't hesitate."I'll do that… later."
"But—"
"Later." I turned my head slowly, my voice cold.
One of them put a hand on my shoulder.
Wrong move.
I looked at him—my eyes sharp, unreadable—and he flinched, pulling back quickly. "I… I apologize," he muttered, then left with the others.
Inside the hospital room, Yuki was standing by the window, looking up at the night sky. Her expression was peaceful, but her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
When she turned to me, she smiled. "Zeff is in the stars now."
I walked closer, biting back the weight in my throat. "I'm sorry I was late to save him."
She turned to me, reached for my hand.
"It's not your fault. It was never your fault. Zeff… he died for the greater good. For the world he loved. You know that, right?"
I said nothing, just nodded as tears fell silently from my eyes. We stood there together, crying. Not just for Zeff, but for everything we'd lost.
"I promise you," I whispered, "I'll make this world a better place."
Yuki smiled through her tears. "Of course you will. I'll be waiting for that world."
A week passed. Yuki recovered faster than any doctor expected—her will stronger than most. She took a month-long break from hero work. I handled the rest.
As for the two villains we'd captured? I personally oversaw their extraction from the rubble.
They didn't go quietly.
I interrogated them myself.
"How do you know who I am?" I demanded.
Their response?
"F*** you."
I didn't take that well.
They're now sitting in the most secure prison in the world. And they're not getting out anytime soon.
But something about what they said—and the way they said it—still echoes in my mind. Someone knows about my past. Someone dangerous.
And that means I need to move faster.
I made a promise—to Yuki, to Zeff, to myself.
If I'm going to change the world, I need a second member.
Someone strong. Someone loyal. Someone who won't run when things get hard.
The search begins again.