There was a bitter aftertaste in his mouth, and his head throbbed with pain. His body felt stiff, and a twinge of pain shot from the injuries on his back as he tried to move.

Opening his eyes, he noticed the sun's rays entering the bedroom through an open window. Mirai sat underneath it, her eyes closed, leaning against the wall. She appeared to be asleep, but the relatively quiet groan that escaped his mouth, as Ren attempted to sit up, jolted her back to consciousness.

Her eyes fluttered open, and a smile curved her lips when she saw that her soon-to-be husband appeared to be in decent condition. She immediately rushed toward him, crawling on all fours, then threw her arms around him in a hug. As soon as she did, she pulled back, clearly afraid that she might cause him more pain by pressing on his wounds.

"I-I'm so sorry..." She mumbled, her expression filled with panic and tears forming in her eyes.

Ren gently pulled her back into his arms. "It's fine," he whispered, his throat too sore to speak at full volume.

She relaxed in his embrace. "You made me so worried," she complained, her tears soaking into his clothes.

"I'm sorry... Who knew it would turn out like this? I definitely didn't."

"It's my fault. If I didn't…"

"No," he cut her off with a single decisive word. "The decision was mine. I could have refused to go at any moment, but I didn't. It's nobody's fault. We didn't know how strong they would be..." He snorted, realizing that if the other two were just as strong as 'The Twelfth,' they stood no chance, no matter what.

Their conversation was interrupted by the sliding door, and Hiro'shi's face appeared in the gap.

"You're awake," he observed. He clearly wanted to say something more but his eyes shifted to Mirai, and he bit his tongue. "I healed you as much as I could yesterday," he informed. "How are you feeling? Any pain?"

"Just a little in my back, but I'm sure it will pass soon. My head hurt a lot initially, but it seems to be mostly gone. However, I wouldn't say no to a bit of water. My throat is sore."

"I'll bring it!" Mirai announced, quickly getting back on her feet and storming out.

This prompted the doctor to fully enter. "Your healing factor is ridiculous," he whispered. "A wound like that, in a day?" He snorted. "I didn't want to say anything when she was here, because I don't know how much you told her, but this will definitely raise some eyebrows. Just telling."

Ren nodded. "Can you tell me exactly what happened?"

"You were brought here in the middle of the night. Captain Jiro ran with you in his arms all the way here. You were treated by the medics working with the guards, but I switched with them as soon as I found out. I did my best."

"What about the others?"

As Ren asked the question, Mirai entered the bedroom with a bowl of water. She knelt by his side and gently brought it to his lips. He took it with one hand and drank everything.

Hiroshi began to explain, "Not everybody was as resilient as you. A few apparently died on the spot, including Kaito and several guards. A couple bled to death on the way, and the rest were saved. They are all in the hospital, including most of the participants of the tournament who were with you. Kazuki seems to be the only one who got out of this with only a couple of scratches."

Mirai added, "He wanted to stay here until you awoke, but I told him to go home."

Ren smiled at her and said, "You did good."

She took the bowl from his hands and gave him a slight smile in response.

"Well... Since you appear more or less fine, I'll go home now. If you need anything, you know where to find me," the doctor said and then sighed heavily. After that, he vanished into the corridor.

Both Ren and Mirai watched him until he disappeared before they looked at each other.

She felt a bit awkward and said, "Uhm… You should rest. I'll make you some food."

„Yes, he accepted the offer, then quickly added, before she could leave, "I-I missed the date…"

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"Date?" Mirai inquired.

"Yes… We were supposed to go to the temple, later yesterday, but… I didn't come."

"Oh," she blushed, "Right, the ceremony. We can wait until you feel better."

Ren replied, "I feel good right now. If I eat, we could go."

His words brought a smile to her face. "Then let's go after you finish breakfast," she responded and then left the room.

Ren watched her until she was gone, but once she was out of sight, his mood quickly worsened. He had been thinking about it but kept the thoughts at bay while she was near to avoid worrying her. He wasn't sure if he could keep a natural expression.

What happened the previous night was worrying him. The Hearteater had taken over his body and was ready to not only kill the enemies but also to massacre everybody else. He felt the urge to kill and consume their hearts. Then there was the mysterious warrior with the Hyottoko mask, with the number twelve on it. The warrior was unbelievably strong, and combined with the obsession to take the Maken from Ren, it was a major problem. And lastly, there was Kaito's death.

Although both of them barely knew each other, the similarities in their bodies made Ren feel as if he had watched his own death. Execution with a clean, powerful cut.

‘What do I do now? I need to get stronger... Should I even be dragging Mirai into this mess?’ The worries consumed him, and he didn't even notice when she returned holding a tray with multiple bowls filled with food.

"I made dinner yesterday, but there was nobody to eat it, and Hiroshi reheated some of it for breakfast, so I actually didn’t have to do much,” she said, slowing at the end of the sentence as she noticed his expression. "What’s wrong?” she asked.

At that moment, all the regrets from Ren’s past life flashed before his eyes. All the wrong decisions, the moments when he didn’t speak up when he should have, the missed opportunities, and all the mistakes.

‘Not this time,’ he thought to himself. “We need to talk,” he said aloud.

“About what?” She asked, coming closer to kneel by his side, and she also placed the tray on the ground next to him.

“About what happened yesterday and more.”

“I’m listening.”

Ren began with a deep sigh. “I know that what we have isn't really love. You made a decision, and I practically picked you up because I found you so pretty that I felt like I needed to have you.”

As he spoke these words, she grabbed his hand and smiled at him. “We might only know a little about each other now, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn more. We will grow closer with time, I know it. I’m already growing closer to you,” she said, smiling with a blush on her cheeks. “You are a good man. Brave, strong, with a kind heart. Otherwise, you wouldn't be worrying about such small things.”

‘This world is different,’ Ren suddenly realized. ‘I brought all the baggage from my previous life, and I completely forgot about it. Back there, people were so focused on love that they often neglected other things, but here... This world works differently.’

“I’m attracted to you. I want you. I won’t deny that, but…” he sighed. “I might have gotten myself knee-deep in trouble. The man who almost killed all of us yesterday… He wants my sword, and I am sure he will eventually come for it. The way he looked at my Maken… I don’t want to put you in danger.”

She smiled, closing her eyes. The embarrassment was gone, and confidence radiated from her face. “I will be by your side for good or for bad. I already decided that if you will have me, I’m yours. If you want me gone, I will go, but I believe there is an easier solution to this… Just get stronger. I know you came out of nowhere, and in three months, you became strong enough to earn the title of the candidate. Now, you are on the lips of everybody within the clan,” she pointed out. “My brother… I watched him struggle on the same path, and when he became a candidate, I cooked and cleaned for him so he could focus on his training. He got chosen in a few years. I can do the same for you. I will take care of you while you get stronger, Ren.”

“I…,” he started but had to stop, as he was unsure how to express his thoughts without hurting her. “I don’t plan on going to the Realm of Gods, Mirai. I just want to live a happy life,” he confessed.

“I already told you. I support your every decision. To me, it doesn’t matter if you go or not. All I want is for you to take me with you if you ever change your mind. I know that forcing you would be cruel, so I don’t want to do it, but I also can’t pass up the chance if it ever presents itself.”

He freed his arms from her grasp, only to grab her hand instead. Then he brought it to his lips and placed a kiss on her skin. "If I ever go, I'll take you," he promised. "But there is one more thing I need to tell you," he added. This was the hard part, so he needed a moment before he could explain. She waited patiently. "I… My body was created. That's why I have no memories. There was no accident. I came out of nowhere because I have no past," he confessed. "Hiroshi made this," he touched his own chest. "That's why I can heal so fast…"

She immediately touched his cheek with her free hand, caressed it, and then leaned forward to place a kiss on his lips. "I don't care if you were born or created. You are mine now, and nothing will change that," she said, peeling her lips off his.

"Let's eat and then go to this damn temple… I want to marry you," he said with so much determination that his words made her giggle.

"Let's do that… Then we should make another decision."

"What?" Ren's eyebrows rose, showing how surprised he was by what Mirai said.

"I have a house after my brother and a small fortune he left me. It will soon be yours… If I could ask you for something… I have many memories associated with that place, so I would prefer to keep it. But having two houses when it's only the two of us doesn't seem wise…"

"We can sell this one," he interrupted her. "I don't mind where we live, as long as I get to live there with you."

She immediately kissed him again. "You are making it hard for me to wait until we are married," she whispered, biting her lips.

The reaction of his body was immediate. He could feel certain parts of him rising. He gulped, suddenly feeling that his mouth was dry. "I-it will be soon… W-we can get married very soon."

She giggled once more. "You should start eating now."

Ren didn't need any more encouragement. He grabbed the chopsticks from the tray and then the closest bowl and started to devour the food.