Sei’s face was rigid but he couldn’t hide the pain in his eyes as he watched Hinari. Watching her, Sei understood why Zaki firmly decided to hide this from her but Sei strongly believed that the decision he and Davi made was the best thing they could do for the two closest people to them.
For many years, Sei didn’t stop searching for something that could save Zaki and he kept on searching, even now. Sei believed that there was no reason for them to give up just yet. This was why for the first time, Sei chose to break his promise to Zaki. He wanted Hinari to stay with him and give him a reason to fight. He wanted Hinari to never give up on him and to make Zaki not to give up on himself.
“Hinari, Zaki already gave up on himself since a long time ago. Back then, no matter how I tried to stop him, he was always being reckless, always telling me the words ’I have only some few years left, so let me do what I want now’. He already accepted his fate and he never once complained about it. To him, his death is inevitable and dying is easy. But lately, he started looking depressed until he finally told me he wanted to live. Hinari, I believe this is because of you.”
Hinari was so shocked. Again, she cried in pain. She remembered how Zaki showed her that he cared for her, how he respected her and didn’t touch her even in situations where it was inevitable for him to lose control. Hinari remembered how he purposely shoved her away yet he couldn’t leave her alone, always appearing every time she was in danger.
Thinking about those times as she cried, she finally understood that Zaki was doing this to her because he didn’t want her to get hurt. He was running away from her all these years not because he hated her but because he didn’t want her to share his pain. All this time, Hinari thought that she was the only one who was hurting. She thought that she was the only one struggling. But she was wrong. She never thought that Zaki, the strongest man she’d ever seen in her life, the most mischievous man who constantly bickered with her, was actually going through something like this.
Hinari’s tears just wouldn’t stop. They kept flowing from her eyes endlessly, like a waterfall.
“Hinari, Sei and I are doing our best to find anything that could help Zaki. We can’t say for sure if there is something that can help but I believe there’s still hope, so please hold on and be strong, okay?” Davi said and Hinari slowly pulled away from her. It seemed like Davi’s words immediately gave her strength and she started wiping her tears.
Seeing her reaction, Davi smiled and she held Hinari’s shoulders.
“That’s it, Hinari… you are a strong woman. You have to be even stronger at times like this. You are the one Zaki needs the most,” she continued and Hinari bit her lip hard. Her eyes were now swollen with all these unending tears and pain but hearing that Zaki needed her, she immediately felt the surge of fighting spirit inside her, carving its way out from the darkness and pain that were cloaking her heart.
At that moment, Sei stood and he walked closer to Hinari. His eyes were still intimidating for her. Even these eyes held some pain in them as he looked at her gently.
“Hinari, don’t leave my little brother… please.”
For the first time, Sei said the word ’please’ to someone else aside from Davi.
