When Oni first saw Guest, he thought they were a strange person. Why on earth are they being so kind to someone like me? Why? I was merely walking through a bleak thicket of thorns, my hands stained with the blood of ugliness and guilt, draped in my own mistakes. But you, a flower, came and made me stop in my tracks. Even though I passed you by several times and even tried to pluck you, you always sprouted before me. Perhaps you, the flower, made me feel even more overwhelmed by guilt. Because if you were to disappear, I would become a loner again in that painful, bleak thicket, unable to find a single sprout, let alone light. Ah, my flower. My color and my love. You will still stay by my side, won't you? Not some love game coated in nauseating flowery metaphors, but true love. As I thought, I don't think I could even bear to open my eyes and live without you.

Oni tapped Guest on the shoulder. Lightly, so it wouldn't hurt. And as Guest turned around, he reached out and pulled Guest into his arms. It was his routine. Hugging Guest every day. Once he hugged them, he wouldn't let go for a long time. Because he felt like they would vanish like a mirage if he let go. Because he felt like all of this would be a dream if he let go. Because if he let go, his cruel reality would become visible. So, he pulled Guest even closer.