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Chapter 5—Siege of Gold
part I
3.47 AM.
It was almost 4 AM. The clock's ticking too fast it feels like a time bomb haunting the silence. None of them were saying anything.
Kazuna sat on the edge of his bed, her legs tucked beneath her, watching the numbers flicker. At this point, she hopes that she have the power to stop the time.
What a funny hope.
The bandage on her forehead itched. Her whole body ached like crazy, but the adrenaline was gone now, at least—it replaced by something heavier... exhaustion, that sat in her bones like lead.
Itsuki was curled up on the floor, using a folded jacket as a pillow. His breathing had evened out a few minutes ago.
While Riku sat against the wall near the door, arms crossed, eyes half-closed but not quite sleeping. Keeping watch.
And Tanaka was staying beside her on the bed—not too close, but close enough that she could feel the warmth radiating off him.
He'd been quiet for the last hour. They all had.
She looked down, stared at her hands. Dirt under her nails. Some small cuts she hadn't noticed until now.
It makes her overwhelmed once more. She really wanted to just cut off the whole fingers if she could—only to get rid of the dirt.
But she trying to ignore it instead.
Then, "...I should go home," she said quietly.
Tanaka's head turned. "It's still dark outside."
"Yeah," She pulled her knees closer to her chest. "But my parents—what if they wake up and I'm not there..."
"They'll search for you," Riku finished. Not a question.
Kazuna nodded.
Tanaka rubbed the back of his neck. "I get it, but you can barely stand. You want to walk back like this?"
"I'll figure it out—"
"You'll pass out on the sidewalk, that's what you'll do."
Itsuki had already stirred, mumbling something in his sleep before rolling onto his side. Riku shot Tanaka a look—keep it down, and Tanaka exhaled through his nose, frustration bleeding into something softer.
"Stay," he said. Just that. One word.
Kazuna almost opened her mouth to argue.
"Just until the morning," he added quickly. "A few hours from now, then—we'll walk you back. Together."
She wanted to say no. Every instinct told her to leave quickly, to handle it herself. She doesn't want them look at her like this, pathetic, all curled up.
But she failed anyway. Her body didn't move.
A pause.
"...If they ask," she said—finally, "I'll just say I went for a walk with friends. In the morning. Sorry for not letting them know."
Tanaka blinked. Then a tired smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "That's your plan?"
"Do you have a better one?"
He didn't. They both knew it.
Riku let out a quiet snort from the corner. "A morning walk. With friends." He looked at Kazuna, something almost warm in his tired eyes. "That part's not a lie, at least."
Kazuna didn't know what to say to that. She looked away, tucking her hands under her thighs.
Tanaka leaned back against the headboard, closing his eyes. "Wake me if you need anything."
She nodded. But she didn't wake him.
Instead, she sat there in the quiet, listening to three people breathe. The steady rhythm of them—alive, safe, here—washed over her like something she didn't have a name for.
Her eyes grew heavy. Her head drooped.
And for the first time since the bat swung, she fell into deep slumber peacefully.
———————————————————
Morning came in soft shades of gold.
Kazuna woke to light filtering through thin curtains, painting lines across the floor. She was lying on her side now—someone must have moved her. A blanket was draped over her shoulders.
She sat up slowly—and as she looked around, the room was empty.
For a moment, panic flickered in her chest. But then, she heard voices from somewhere deeper in the apartment. Laughter. Itsuki's, high and bright. Riku's low chuckle. Tanaka saying something she couldn't make out.
She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, wincing as the movement pulled at the bruise spreading across her ribs. Her head throbbed, but the world stayed steady, thankfully.
When she stepped into the hallway, she found them in the small kitchen—Itsuki was sitting on the counter, legs swinging, holding a rice ball in both hands like it was treasure. Riku leaned against the stove, cup of tea in hand. Tanaka stood by the window, the morning light catching in his hair.
They all turned when she appeared.
"You're awake," Tanaka said. He looked at her for a moment—checking, she realized. Making sure she was still standing.
"Did you sleep at all?" she asked.
He shrugged. "A little."
Itsuki hopped off the counter, holding out a rice ball wrapped in plastic. "Here. You should eat."
Kazuna stared at it for a second. Then she took it. "Thanks."
It was simple—just salt and nori. But her stomach growled the moment she unwrapped it, and she had to stop herself from eating too fast.
Riku watched her with something unreadable in his expression. "How are you feeling?"
She swallowed. "...Better."
"Liar," Tanaka said, but there was no heat in it.
She didn't argue.
They ate in comfortable silence. The morning light kept shifting, stretching across the floor, and somewhere outside, a bird was singing. It felt strange—to be here, like this, after everything. Like stepping into a different world.
After a few moments, Kazuna finally finished her rice ball and looked toward the window. "What time is it?"
"Almost six," Riku said.
She stood up slowly. "I should go."
Tanaka grabbed his jacket from the back of a chair. "I'll walk you."
"We all will," Itsuki added, already heading for the door.
"You don't have to—"
"Too late," Tanaka said, slipping past her. "We already decided."
Kazuna opened her mouth, then closed it.
There was no point arguing. She could see it in their faces—they weren't going to let her walk home alone.
So she had no other choice to followed them out.
Tanaka leads the way in front, he even opens the door for them. He looks ridiculously gentle and she couldn't tell why.
Finally, as she stepped outside—the morning brew immediately greets her with warm welcome.
The kind of warmth that doesn't bring chaos, just calmness.
The streets were quiet this early. The kind of quiet that felt sacred, like the world was still holding its breath before the day began.
The sky was painted in shades of pink and orange, bleeding into blue at the edges.
Itsuki walked ahead, pointing out things as they passed—a cat sleeping on a car hood, a vending machine that still had his favorite drink, a poster for some festival neither of them had heard of.
Riku walked beside him, answering his questions in that calm, steady way of his. Such a figure for a brother to his younger one.
While Tanaka stayed beside Kazuna. Not touching, but close enough that their shoulders almost brushed.
She kept her eyes on the horizon. The sun was just starting to crest over the buildings, spilling gold across the rooftops.
For a moment, everything was quiet—the city still holding its breath before the day even began.
Her fingers brushed against the camera under her jacket pocket. She'd almost forgotten.
She pulled it out slowly, her movements careful, like the moment might shatter if she rushed.
The viewfinder framed the sky in shades of fade pink and orange bleeding into blue, the sharp edges of rooftops softened by the glow, making such a gradation like it was a painting.
Then. A soft click.
She lowered the camera, but didn't put it away. Just held it against her chest, watching the light shift and settle.
The sunrise would be gone in any minute now, but the photo would stay forever. A piece of something beautiful, caught between all the chaos.
A simple camera. A digital one.
Doesn't need an expensive one. The one that the quality is poor, but held the richest memories.
"You're really love that camera, huh?" Tanaka suddenly said.
She just nod.
That nod seemed to answer everything for him.
"...You know—" She finally put her camera away. "You didn't have to do this," she said quietly.
"Do what?"
"Walk me home. Stay up all night." She paused. "Any of it."
Tanaka was quiet for a moment. Then, "Yeah, well. You didn't have to save Itsuki that night. But you did."
She frowned. "That's different."
"Is it?"
She didn't have an answer for that.
Ahead, Itsuki had stopped to look at the sunrise, his face tilted up toward the light. "It's beautiful," he said softly.
Riku stood beside him, arms crossed, but there was a softness in his expression that hadn't been there before. "Yeah," he said. "It is."
Eventually, they all slowed down.
Kazuna let herself watch it too. The way the light touched everything—the pavement, the windows, the faces of the people beside her.
She didn't know how to name what she felt. Heavy, but lighter than before. Tired, but not alone.
They stood there for a while, none of them speaking, watching the sun rise over a city that had almost swallowed them whole the night before.
Rainbow comes after the storm.
That's what they said.
——————————————————————————
Her house came into view, soon.
Kazuna stopped at the gate, her hand hovering over the latch. She could see the lights on inside. Her mother would be awake by now.
Maybe her father too.
Itsuki shifted behind her. "Do you want us to wait?"
She shook her head. "I'll be fine."
Tanaka stepped up beside her, lowering his voice so only she could hear. "If you need anything—"
"I know." She finally looked at him. "You guys need to go to school right after this."
Then, before they stepping back.
"...Thank you. All of you." She hesitated.
Itsuki beamed. Riku gave a small nod. Tanaka just looked at her for a moment, something unreadable in his eyes.
She opened the gate, stepping right inside the yard of her house.
But before she goes straight to the front door, she stood still for a moment. Her hand lingers above the handle.
A soft sigh, gathered the courage to open the door.
For a second after she gets in, the front door clicked shut behind her.
"Kazuna? Is that you?" Her mother's voice came from the kitchen suddenly.
She slipped off her shoes, wincing at the ache in her feet. Her clothes wrinkled, the rim of the hoodie torned, her forehead wrapped in bandages.
There was no hiding it.
She walked into the kitchen.
Her mother turned from the stove, spatula in hand. Her smile lasted exactly one second.
"Kazuna—what happened?!"
Kazuna braced herself. She'd practiced this on the walk over. It had to sound natural.
Not too dramatic, not too casual.
Just enough truth to make the lie stick.
"I was walking along the river this morning," she said, keeping her voice steady, almost too steady. "And I saw a kitten. It was stuck on a branch over the water. I tried to reach it, and—" She gestured vaguely at herself. "I slipped."
A lie.
Her mother's hands flew to her mouth. "You fell into the river?!"
"Just my head, really. My friends were there—thankfully, they pulled me out."
That's true.
Her mother was already moving toward her, hands reaching for her face, tilting her head to examine the bandage. "Friends? Who—"
Her mother slightly shakes her head. "A- Are you okay? Did you go to a hospital?"
"It's just a cut. One of my friends knows first aid. He patched it up."
It's kinda messy, but it's alright.
Her mother's hands were trembling. Kazuna could feel it. The same way Tanaka's hands had trembled when he cleaned the wound.
It looks new.
"Oh, Kazuna..." Her mother pulled her into a hug, careful, like she was afraid she'd break. "You should have called. I was so worried."
Kazuna stood there, stiff at first. Then slowly, she let herself lean into it. Just slightly.
"Sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to scare you."
Her mother pulled back, cupping her face, eyes glassy. "Just—tell me next time, okay? Before you go running off to save kittens."
Kazuna almost smiled. "Okay."
Her mother frowned at the bandage again. "We should go to the clinic. Make sure it's clean."
"I'm fine, Mom. Really."
"You're not fine. You fell into a river."
"A small river." she replied.
Her mother gave her a look that said we are not done discussing this. But for now, she let it go. "Sit down. I'll make you breakfast. And then we're checking that wound."
Kazuna sat.
Her mother moved back to the stove, muttering something about reckless daughters and daring rescues, but her shoulders had relaxed. The panic was fading.
Kazuna watched her for a moment. Then she looked down at her hands.
The dirt was gone now. She'd washed them before leaving Tanaka's. But she could still feel it—the grime, the blood, the ropes.
All of it.
It felt too real to be a dream.
She tucked her hands under the table.
For once, her mind had gone quiet. Not peaceful—just... nothing.
As if she was trapped with the time between the reality and the unreality.
But at least, she doesn't feel any threat. That's the important thing.
Then, a mug.
A hot chocolate.
She raised her head. Her mom smiles tenderly, as if there's a warm radiating off her face.
They both doesn't need another words to to be said. They both already know.
Kazuna pulls the mug in front of her, looking down on the chocolate swirls around, she already could feel the rich flavour i her tongue by just smelling it.
Without she noticed, her lips almost curled up into a smile, just almost.
"...Mother,"
"What's wrong?"
Kazuna traced the rim of the mug with her finger, not quite meeting her eyes. "I... want to go to school today."
It feels like she's asking instead of giving a statement.
Her mother's expression flickered—concern, hesitation, something softer, and anything else that mixed up beneath it.
"Are you sure?"
She nodded. "I don't want to stay home just doing nothing, I just—" She stopped. Swallowed hard.
"I can't skip class, there will be exam day coming later..."
Silence.
It took a few seconds for her mother to process it. It is hard indeed.
"Alright—but don't push yourself," Her mother took her hands, holding them tight but not too much. "...Okay?"
She nods, "Okay... mom."