The crowd started murmuring immediately.
Another girl grabbed Himari's sleeve. "Himari, stop! Please don't go closer!"
"It's fine," Himari said without looking back. "Minato is still Minato… right?" She forced a small smile, her eyes fixed on him.
Minato didn't answer right away. His throat felt dry. His mind went blank for a second.
Then Himari asked the question he didn't want to hear. "By the way… where's Yuto? I saw him earlier with you. Is he okay?"
Minato froze completely. His body went stiff, and his heart felt like it stopped. He looked at her... her hopeful eyes, waiting for him to say something, for him to answer.
He opened his mouth, but no words came out. He bit his tongue, trying to force the words to move. His eyes started watering. His grip on the blood axe loosened up.
"Himari…" he responded quietly. "Yuto is… he's…" He struggled to finish, his voice breaking. "Yuto... Yuto is dead."
