The grief and the pain threaten to overwhelm him again, causing another round of sobs so intense they lead to more more dry heaving, but there is something else, underneath it all. Something he will seize on later, once the trauma isn’t so fresh.

Rage.

He needs it. Ayumu says that his mother’s murderers are gone, that they can’t harm him anymore, but how does she know? He needs revenge. He needs to see the blood fountaining from their necks, see the bodies at his feet....

But that’s later.

Now, he focuses on holding onto Ayumu for dear life.

“Please don’t leave me.”