"Ugh…" I grumble as I stumble up and wake up.

*Beep**Beep**Beep*

I look to my left where my alarm clock is and smack it to turn it off. "What day is it today?" I ask myself as I look towards the ceiling of the room.

The calendar tapped to the ceiling showed that it was April 16 today. Big X marks on the numbers, huh? Today is the day my Kouhai Tamura invited me with Satoru out on lunch.

I got off bed groggily as I go in autopilot mode. I freshened up, taking a morning shower, something like that. And made breakfast, just some eggs with mixed vegies, nothing grand at all.

I lifted up my spoon as I see my hand shake in tiredness. "Ugh… Where is Satoru when I need him." I spoke as I finished eating my breakfast and again, prepared to go out.

I got dressed as I reached out to my desk and picked up my glasses. My vision became clearer as I stood up and got ready to leave. "Man, I wish I could've had just far better eyes."

<< Confirmed. Granting unique skill: Eyes of Craving >> A voice rang in the background, but I ignored it as left out the house; the cold morning breeze passed me by as I continued walking forward towards my garage.

I got inside my car as I started and the engine, waiting for a moment for the engine to warm up before I drove towards the rendezvous.  Satoru's image flashed in my mind as I let out a warm smile.

My eyes darted to everywhere as my current speed was 70 kilometres per hour, and soon I saw an intersection. As soon as I reached appropriate distance, I swerved a little to the right first before fully turning to the left.

The car drifted perfectly to the right lane as I stopped precisely just after the pedestrian lane, to which I got off my car and walked towards the crowd before the lane.

"Yoho~! Satoru." I spoke in a chirpy tone as I looked up at the 37-yearold general contractor, might I add, virgin. "Ugh...  Akari." Satoru grunted as he sighed right after. "You and your literal insane driving."

"Teehee~!" I knocked on my head as I stuck out my tongue at him. "Teehee, te nandayo!" He spoke in exasperation. "This is going to be a long day." I only squinted my eyes at him with that comment of his.

"Satoru-senpai! Akari-senpai!" I heard Tamura shout quietly at us as I tilted my head and saw them behind Satoru,  a smirk finding itself upon my face as I saw the person beside him.

Satoru turned around as I walked forward, taking my right foot forward as Satoru also did so on beat with me as we walked side by side towards the duo. "SO Tamura, what did you want to discuss with us?"

Satoru asked with a slightly irked voice as he saw the girl beside Tamura. She bowed briefly before standing up straight again as she spoke. "Hello! I'm Sawatari Miho. I see you two a lot, but it's our first time speaking."

"Hi~! I'm Akutagawa Akari, so that's your name; truly, I had seen you a lot with Tamura here." I smiled at her as I nudged Satoru with my elbow. "Oh… Hi. I'm Mikami Satoru." He spoke.

"I know who you are, of course. You're famous." He continued with a smile. "What! Famous?!" Miho-san asked him, "I mean, all those rumours…" This jerk. "W-what rumours??!" Miho-san inquired.

"Haha!" I chuckled. "Calm down young lady, he's just joking with you." I spoke as Tamura assured her too. "He's just teasing you Miho." To which she pouted with mock anger.

"So…" I shuffled my pockets for my car keys as I lifted it up for them to see. "Any restaurant to fill the stomach of the women here, Tamura?" Satoru raised a brow as he nudged me with his elbow.

"You and your Gojira-like appetite." I pouted at him as Miho and Tamura chuckled. "Don't make fun of a woman's appetite!" I shouted at him as the whole group laughed.

"Ignore him,  Akari-senpai. I did plan a place, you guys like yakiniku and yakitori, right?" Tamura intercepted with a warm smile as I, again, nudged Satoru's side with my elbow.

"At least Tamura knows how to please me." I spoke as we walked towards my car. "More like please your stomach." Satoru retorted as I did nothing but kick his leg in annoyance.

The reason why this guy is single although he has the looks above average and women close to him like me, is because he's a f*cking jerk for making fun  of everyone!

I wish I could just say it to him and convince him and somehow tell him how stupid and dense he is. It's so frustrating!! Like c'mon! Why can't he just notice for once and be the kind of guy everyone wants!

<<Confirmed. Granting unique skill: Enticement.>> The same voice from earlier rang out in the background as we entered the car and I drove the car slowly over to the place Tamura prepared.

I looked left and right before speeding up but just as we were about to cross the intersection, a truck suddenly appeared running full speed at us. "What the–" I exclaimed.

Using every ounce of attention and reaction speed I had, I stepped on the gas and turned the wheel to the right as fast I could, and the car swerved to the right with immense speed.

Still the truck hit the left of the where I was in the driver's seat. The car spun over a few times before stopping as it hit a light post nearby, and my head was spinning around like hell was on earth.

I looked to the back and saw that Tamura and Miho were relatively safe with minor injuries, just knocked out. "Good…" I swerved to the right as much as I could intentionally to minimalize shock to the back. But that brought consequences.

Adrenaline flooded my body as I struggled to unbuckle the seat belt and turn to my right. "Satoru!!" I shouted with a weak voice as I saw him lay limp on his seat with glass shard all over and his head was bleeding.

The engine explode and lit up on fire as I quickly unlocked the doors and got out, I prioritized Tamura and Miho as I dragged them out of the seat belts and laid them outside.

I knees were giving out and my bones creaked, but I pressed on and got Satoru out of the combusting car; just before it exploded. I laid him on the brick flooring of the side walk as pain finally hit me.

"Ugh!!" I grunted in agony as my stomach felt like it was eviscerated. Looking down towards my abdomen, it really was torn open. I reached out to the huge piece of glass shard and pulled it out.

"Ahh!" I screamed at the pain as blood was spurting forth. I bit my lips to silence myself as I looked at Satoru in worry as I put my blood-stained hands to his nose and felt nothing…

I put my fingers just below his jaw, on his neck and felt out pulse, I felt none… I put my hand above his wrist to feel his pulse, my eyes were blurred with tears as I… felt nothing.

"Fuck!" I exclaimed. If I just knew what would happen!! If only I knew a better way out of that situation!! <<Confirmed. Granting unique skill: Eyes of justification. Similar skill had been granted: fusing skills…  unique skill <{-Eyes of Laceration-}> granted.>>

If only I was faster! If only I reacted faster! <<…> I clutched my heart as I felt a searing pain that I won't forget burn inside of it. My blood leaving my body at a death ensured rate.

If only I could better than what I already was! If only I could have controlled the acceleration! <<…>> I knew that feeling well, it was the feeling of emotional damage, deathly damage.

If only I could have slowed us down more than that! <<…>>  Grief, anger, frustration, regret, despair, misery, anguish, woe,  you name it, every single negative emotion I could muster up and feel.

I felt my body weaken inch by inch, as my hand fell on his lifeless body. <<…>> Grief that eats me up inside making me want to just die along with him, without him, I am nothing.

I slowly lowered myself to his chest to hear his heart. <<…>> Anger at myself for not being able and responsible for watching out for disaster, it spelled our doom in an instant.

I directly placed my head unto his left chest where his heart should be around. <<…>> Frustration that I couldn't be more skilled, frustration that I couldn't be faster than I am.

The pain that I felt from my stomach was completely ignored as I listened for the beat. <<…>>  Anguish, mental torture at the thought that I couldn't be with him anymore.

Though my body was shouting at me that my bones were broken, I kept listening. <<…>> The misery at losing you the very day that was supposedly to be spent happily with you.

My mind was losing it, the pain, both emotionally and physically were attacking me. <<…>> Despair hit me in waves upon waves as I think about the future where you don't even exist at all.

I ignored everything, and just focused into hearing his heartbeat. It was weakening steadily, but it was still there. Last but not the least, actually, the most. Regret that I didn't even have the guts to tell you.

Regret that I couldn't tell you, and regret that I didn't tell you. <<…>> "Haha…" I laughed bitterly, my ribs poking my lungs made the difficult, impossible. "You know, every time, our hearts never did beat the same rhythm until now." My heart stopped.

And yours did too, finally, they were at the same pace. <<…Confirmed. Unique skill: <{-[Accelerando: Ex Nihilo]-}> granted.>> Just shut the fuck up already, will you?