He stopped speaking. He noticed that Kazuo was shaking his head. Mitsuru moved his tongue, which had now turned gooey, and continued, “Then we’re escaping? All right then, we’ll find a boat–”

Kazuo said, “Listen.” Mitsuru stopped again.

Kazuo went on, “I’m fine either way.”

Although Mitsuru clearly heard him, he kept on blinking. He didn’t understand what Kazuo meant. He tried to read Kazuo’s thoughts from the expression in his eyes, but they just calmly shone in the shadow over his face.

“W-what do you mean, you’re fine either way?”
(more…)