this chapter covers chapters 184-186 of the manga. i would highly recommend getting through with those chapters before reading this.

"Shinzaki? Yeah, I'll put the Sniper on."

Mayuko tipped the phone away from her ear and swiftly handed it over to Sniper, placing a hand on her hip and looking out the window. Mayuko was able to get on the phone with Kuon, as Sniper had asked her to. The baby in your arms had been showing no signs of waking up soon. It was crazy how well it was sleeping despite the crazy circumstances in the surrounding area.

"I'm sorry, you two, but I must go to where Honjo is..." Mayuko's voice trailed off, snapping you out of your thoughts. You looked up from the baby's face, your eyes meeting with the blonde's frustrated expression. "I am scared of the Mask of anger... but protecting Honjo is everything to me."

"Ah," you spoke up gently, giving her a soft smile as you rocked the baby slowly in your arms. "We understand. There's no need to apologize." She returned your grin with a confident one of her own.

Sniper also let out a small hum, his voice steady and smooth, as it always was. "Make sure to take care of yourself, too."

"Sniper, Y/N... Thanks for everything," she responded, shooting you one last grin before turning around. "See you." She dashed down the hallway in a flurry, her movements clear and concise. You admired how much she cared for Yuri, their commitment to protecting one another was sweet.

"Kuon, it's me." Sniper finally put the phone up to his ear, listening for a moment. You watched him carefully, looking for any change in his body language to indicate some new information. His eyes slowly trailed over to you, the silvery color softening as they made contact with your form. "Yeah, Y/N is with me. We kind of have a grasp of the situation here... so let's share the information in detail."

Kuon must have agreed, because before you knew it, Sniper was giving a full report to her. He didn't miss a single detail, ranging from Rika's condition to the condition of the idol Masks. His memory capacity was really something else, far above yours. It was quite impressive.

Though you could listen to the sound of your boyfriend's voice for hours, an extremely detailed rerun of all the information that you already knew wasn't the most appealing thing. Deciding to put your focus elsewhere, you looked down at the baby once more.

As much as you sympathized with the child, there was no way that you could take care of it. Sure, it may have reminded you of yourself, but you weren't prepared to take care of a child in the slightest. Children were mentally taxing, and God knows that your mental state wasn't going to be the best after you got out of here.

This realm was exhausting to the mind. Watching so many people die day in and day out was a reality you never thought you'd have to face, and if you were being completely honest, you weren't sure if you would be able to face it once you were back in the real world. You needed time to yourself to focus on healing, and a child would make that exceedingly difficult.

Plus, you were way too young. You were in school, and you were trying to build your life back up from rock bottom. A baby would just be a distraction. You needed to focus on yourself.

Right?

Letting out a small sigh, you frowned down at the child. Too many thoughts were rushing in and out of your head, you needed a break. Trailing your gaze from the baby over to Ein, you were caught off guard by the eyes of China Mask staring directly at you. Or more specifically, the baby in your arms.

"Do you want to hold it?" you offered up, watching as she snapped out of her trance. A blush came over her face as she realized that you had caught her staring, an awkward smile crossing her face.

"A-Ah, oh, um... No, that's okay, you can keep holding it if you want to. I just couldn't help but notice how cute the baby was-"

You shook your head with an amused laugh, slowly walking over to her and crouching down. "Here." You positioned the baby so you could safely hand it to her, watching as she reached out and stared at it with awe.

"Now-" You helped her position the child in her arms so the head was fully supported, watching as she carefully moved her arms around into a comfortable location. "Rest the head right here." You gestured to her arms and allowed her to do the rest. After the baby was situated snugly, you gave her a small grin.

"So small..." she gawked, her eyes glued to the child in her arms.

"Right?" You smirked, standing up and brushing off your skirt. She seemed content in holding the baby, her awed expression soon turning into one of excitement. It was definitely strange to see such a small human in this world, you couldn't blame her. Though, you didn't take her to be one for children. Seeing her so delighted to hold the child was a pleasant surprise.

"There is one thing I'm worried about," Sniper's voice cut through the air, and the sentence made you tune back into the conversation between him and Kuon. He was silent for a moment, but his relaxed posture tensed up awkwardly. "What? Oh, okay..."

He lifted the device away from his ear and stared at it for a moment, tapping on a button after a few seconds. Kuon's voice traveled up through the speaker of the phone, entering your ears.

"Can you hear me too, Y/N?"

Her words were nearly drowned out by a strong gust of wind picking up in the speakers, but it quickly subsided. "Yup," you responded plainly, waiting for her to go on. She must have asked to be put on speaker, meaning that her next words would be something she wanted both of you to hear.

"Great. I think that we should do what the person closest to God is supposed to do."

You furrowed your brows, lifting your stare from the screen up to Sniper. To your surprise, he was already looking at you with an intent look. You blushed a bit from the sudden stare, but gave him a small smile with a raised brow. He simply shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, the two of you listening back in to Kuon as she continued.

"You've heard about the Three God's Codes? One of those three codes... I am going to acquire that code which needs the Railgun!"

You were a bit taken back by her sudden boldness, your eyes widening. Ever since the battle with Aikawa, she had definitely taken charge and accepted her role as a God Candidate. As proud of her as you were, you couldn't help but be concerned at how daring she could be.

"If I can get that, it may turn into something powerful! Hopefully, our current problem can be solved... I'm not sure if it'll work, but it's worth trying!"

Her tone was full of hope and ambition. You were about to speak up, but Sniper beat you to the punch.

"Kuon... just listen to what I have to say. Geez... when you're into something, you can't see other things well."

Her excited breaths on the other line calmed down a bit, and the both of you knew she was fully focused on his voice. From his tone, you had a feeling that he had some doubts himself.

"Listen, there's something that's been bothering me while we've been talking." He paused for a moment, letting out a sigh and leaning against the wall. "I can hear the sound of wind from your side. Don't tell me..." He brought one hand up to pinch in between his eyebrows. "Are you on the rooftop?"

Her silence confirmed the both of your suspicions, Sniper bringing his hand down from his forehead. You sighed, reaching for the phone. He placed it in your hand, watching as you rested a hand on your hip.

"Kuon... without Yuri or another person who's skilled in combat up there with you, it's really dangerous to be up there. You should know that..." You frowned, concern evident in your voice. Sniper pushed himself off of the wall and walked up next to you, putting in his two cents.

"Kuon, you need to go somewhere inside."

"But, Y/N, Mr. Mask... to get that code, I need to be on the rooftop-"

"You can do that later!" Sniper snapped, raising his voice slightly. "I respect your fighting spirit, but this is too dangerous right now!"

You were surprised by the amount of frustration seeping through his words. He seemed to be losing control of his temperament at the moment, but you couldn't blame him. Kuon was important to the both of you, and without a skilled combatant up there to protect her, there was no telling what would happen to her.

"Kuon..." you mumbled, biting the inside of your cheek. "We'll be out of here and back with you soon, please just find somewhere secure. Your safety comes first."

There was a moment of silence after your words, the only sound coming from the phone the small wisps of wind dancing through the air. The air whistled through the speakers, an eerie noise. It was similar to the sound of a windstorm blowing harshly against a house, the snippets of the air sneaking their way through the cracks on the exterior of the building. A feeling of unease overcame your stomach at the absence of sound. Something was wrong.

"Kuon-"

Your words got cut off by a loud bang, one that sounded all too familiar. You flinched at noise, a loud crash following it, along with a few choked gasps.

"K-Kuon...?" you whispered over the line, your stomach churning restlessly as you awaited a response.

Silence.

Your eyes widened a bit, the grip you had on the phone weakening quickly. Your legs felt like jelly, and they didn't seem like enough to support your weight anymore. The back of your throat felt like it was burning, and your eyes couldn't seem to focus anymore. Dizziness came over you, your legs finally giving way under the pressure of your upper half. As they wobbled, Sniper quickly snatched the phone with one hand, gripping your waist to keep you standing up with the other. He began to shout frantically, keeping a panicked eye on you.

"Kuon!"

Nothing.

"Hey, Kuon!"

Nothing.

"Kuon, talk to me!"

Not a word.

"Come on, Kuon!"

Emptiness.

"Talk to me!"

She's gone.

"Kuon!"

You stared down at the ground with wide eyes. Nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing. Her voice... it wasn't there. The last you were left was the sound of her choked cries and coughs. The last of her voice that you heard was her suffering. Right after you reprimanded her. Did she think that you were mad at her? Did she think you were disappointed in her during her last moments?

You brought both hands up to your mouth, barely keeping up your stance as you tore yourself from Sniper's grasp, staggering down to the floor. Was this goodbye? Kuon had been there for you from the very start, if it weren't for her... would you have even been able to get to know Sniper? She had arguably been your greatest friend in this world, and she was... gone?

Your throat felt dry, your stomach nauseated. You couldn't tear your gaze away from the carpet, millions of thoughts running through your head by the second. You felt heavy, like hundreds of tons were piling onto your back with each breath.

"Guys... I'm sorry, but I have to leave here. I must... go to see Kuon..." Sniper's voice caused you to shift your gaze to the side, watching as his shoes shuffled slowly ahead of you.

"Yeah..." he muttered, fake hope in his voice. Though, it was easily drowned out by the dread. "Kuon isn't going to end in a place like this... I can tell... I know... because I've been with her all this time..."

Sniper suddenly stopped in his tracks, falling down to his knees. You shifted your gaze from the carpet up to his back, an onerous lump caught in the middle of your throat.

"Eh, hey? What happened?" China Mask's voice resounded in your ears, confusion spread over each of her words like butter on toast. "Well, Mr. Sniper? Are you okay?"

Sniper collapsed...?

You couldn't will yourself to walk over to him, the shock still settling itself into your body. Too much was happening at once, you were overwhelmed. You brought a hand up to your face, burrowing your fingertips into your hair as you pushed your palm into your eye. Your lip quivered.

The sound of the phone clanging against the ground resonated as it slipped from Sniper's hand, your eyes shifting to the device. The way it bounced on the ground felt like it was in slow motion, your eyes following each moment carefully until it fell flat. It was similar to a bear, loud and active until it fell asleep for months, entering hibernation.

Your eyes widened at the thought, a small gasp escaping your lips. You reached a hand up near your heart, feeling the lighter in your breast pocket. Blinking at the sudden realization that zapped into your mind, you scrambled up to your feet quickly.

Hibernation... Sniper!

chapter factoids:

-The reason Sniper's reaction to Kuon's death was so much different than his reaction to your 'death' was because there was a possibility that you were alive. He approached your situation with much more desperation and fear, while Kuon's death was addressed with denial and grief. He knew she was a goner the moment the shot went off.
-The moment the bullet hit her, Kuon's mind immediately traveled to you. She thought about when you first met and how often you had been there for her. Before she closed her eyes for the last time, she looked at her lock screen. The picture of the three of you together brought her a moment of peace before her death.

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a/n:

sorry for not updating in a couple of days! i was kinda dreading this chapter ngl, i knew it would happen, but i didn't expect it to come up so soon haha

hope you liked it, despite the big event haha! new chapter will be up in around one to two days, hopefully! see you next time<3

-aly