I definitely recommend going to Wattpad from this chapter on. I left details about why that title (Mcsample on Wattpad)
In the previous chapter of In the Middle of Two Sides...
Kouta collapsed. His body produced one last explosion. So calm down...
Silence...
Too much silence...
Yui (trembling):
"Kouta...?"
She approached Sane. She touched him. His aura was stable...
but his eyes were closed.
He wasn't breathing...
No response...
Everyone surrounded him.
The wind blew, carrying aura ashes... his body was slowly beginning to disintegrate... Could this be the end?...
(Beginning)
Kouta's body remained motionless.
The aura ashes continued to float, swirling around him as if the world hadn't yet decided whether he was alive or dead. Sane's hands were shaking from having cast so much healing; Riko didn't cast anything... she was just watching.
Yui approached with short steps, barely breathing.
Yui:
-Kouta... please... come back...
A suffocating silence.
Finally, Kouta opened his eyes.
But he didn't say anything. He felt like he wasn't. He smiled. He just looked up at the sky... and then, with a jerky movement, he stood up. Giving them a smile that, rather than calming the group, only made them feel like something was wrong...
Kouta:
-I'm fine.
His voice was different. More serious. More subdued. More... distant.
He didn't speak to anyone. No one dared.
The return to camp was in complete silence.
At Yui and Kouta's house...
The living room filled up. Everyone was waiting for answers. Kouta stood, leaning against the wall, showing no emotion. Finally, he took it. Telling them everything he'd experienced, from his fight with Kiyomi to the fight he'd had in his mind with himself.
Haruto frowned. Sanae covered her mouth with both hands.
Kouta:
"Let's merge. Now I'm both of us. And... I'm not sure how that will affect us now... I don't know what he's capable of..."
Silence.
Yuzuki was the first to speak, her tone cold.
Yuzuki:
"So... what's stopping you from turning around at another time?"
Naoya:
"Or from killing one of us if your "other self" decides to take control?"
Masaki: (arms crossed):
"You have the power. But there's no peace. We knew that. You're only confirming that."
Kouta (to surprise them):
"That's why I'm leaving."
The group reacted suddenly. Everyone was stunned, not thinking that her words would break what little spirit Kouta had left.
Healthy:
"What?"
Yui got up from the blow, banging the table with wet eyes.
Yui (screaming):
"No! Don't think about it!"
Tetsuya:
"Kouta, you can't just abandon everything like that! Not you!"
Haruto (more calm, but hurt):
"You're not a leader who commands... you're the one who stays."
Kouta clenched his fists.
Kouta:
"I'm not the leader they need right now. Not while I can't control this... if I'm going to lead everyone... I have to lead myself first..."
Sane burst into tears.
Yui (through tears):
"You promised you wouldn't leave us..."
Kaede, silent, arms crossed... just lowered her gaze. She gritted her teeth. Tears fell, but she said nothing.
Kouta turned around.
And without looking back... he jumped.
But before leaving the area, a gentle—but determined—presence took him by the arm before he flew away.
Healthy
Her expression... wasn't like usual. There was no mischief. There was no flirtatiousness. Just her. You are just the way you are. That's how it feels.
Sane (looking him straight in the eyes):
"Are you really going to do it?... like this?"
Kouta (in a low voice):
"Well, don't follow me. I can't bring anyone with me this time."
Sane (with a shaky, but firm tone):
"I didn't come here to prepare to go with you... I came here to tell you what I don't want to call you."
Kouta stopped and turned his gaze to her.
Healthy:
"Ever since I met you, I thought you were a mess... arrogant, stubborn, impulsive... but I also thought you had something that no one else here could do.
That damn habit of carrying everything... even if you break up."
Kouta lowered his gaze. Sanae took his arm.
Sane (voice breaking):
"You've become something important to me, did you know that? And not just because you're strong. No matter how you fight, or how you command. But because... every time I look around, you're the one who's always there... I like you, Kouta... and I can't stand you hurting like this anymore..."
A brief silence. The wind swirled around them both, as if holding its breath.
Healthy (with moist eyes):
"Then yes... I'm sorry you're leaving. Don't let me help you.
But if you really have to do this... then do it."
Kouta (with a sad smile):
"I have no other choice. If I'm like this, I'll hurt them. I need to understand what I am now... before I go back to who I was..."
Sane (cutting off a tear with her manga):
"Then promise me something."
Kouta:
- Whatever you want.
Healthy:
- Roll the boat. Sea when sea... a boat to return.
Kouta agreed. Sanae looked at him, and without asking permission, she approached and hugged him tightly. She stole a passionate kiss, venting everything she felt while tears continued to fall from her eyes.
Sane (in a whisper):
- I'll wait for you...
Kouta didn't respond. He just hugged her back. For a moment. Just a moment.
And then... he let himself go.
He flew upward, leaving behind Sanae's silhouette, standing alone, looking up at the gray sky.
As he flew away, a thought lingered in his mind.
In the night sky...
He was flying alone.
The world was vast, dark, and cold at that altitude.
Kouta (thinking):
"I was a mediocre student... an ordinary boy... I died protecting someone who wouldn't even look at me... I was reborn in a world where I was never enough..."
"And now... I'm something more. Something I don't even understand... Why do I have to be the one to whom these ridiculous things happen?"
And just then—
A blow.
Kaede.
It had appeared like a gust of wind. With both hands, she swung a double-axe handle. They both fell between the trees, shattering the ground.
Kouta (screaming):
"Kaede?!"
Kaede:
"IDIOT!"
She threw a punch. Kouta blocked it. Another. He dodged it.
Kaede (crying as she attacked):
"You can't just walk away! Not like this!"
Kouta:
"Kaede, stop it!"
Kaede:
"You made me trust again! You made me talk about things I swore to bury!"
Hit. Screams. Tears. Kouta wasn't fighting. He was just defending himself. Until she collapsed. She hugged him, crying into his chest.
Kaede (sobbing):
"I hate you... for making me feel this way... for leaving me like this..."
Kouta didn't say anything.
He just held her.
And when she calmed down, he gently pushed her away. He looked into her eyes one last time.
Kouta:
"I'm sorry." This is something I must do, but I promise I'll come back... stronger... mature... and in control...
And he rose into the air, before shooting off.
Kaede fell to her knees. The wind ruffled her hair, and tears fell like rain.
Kouta didn't look back.
He didn't even say where he was going.
He just flew... toward the farthest mountains in the world.
Where no one could reach him...
End of Stage 2: "Praeludium" (Prelude)
And it'll be a long time 'fore you ever see me again, me again~~~
With this, I conclude the first season (or stage 2) of my novel. I hope you enjoyed it a lot because I honestly put a lot of effort into giving it a good ending. Obviously, it will continue after this, but give me a few weeks to decide how I'll continue this story. See you next time :) (or See you again lol)
-mcsample