Date: Fifteenth Day
Location: Northern Lowlands, Campfire under Rain
---
The rain didn't fall hard — just steady.
Like a heartbeat.
Like a reminder: We're still here.
We set camp beneath the trees. Wet, cold, tired.
No monsters today. Just silence.
But the silence wasn't kind.
---
Riya
Riya had been quieter the last few days.
Her usual sunflower smile had dimmed, but not disappeared.
She kept watch longer.
Checked supplies twice.
Helped Gideon without asking.
Then tonight, she finally whispered:
> "If we walk too far from ourselves… who brings us back?"
She didn't look at me when she said it.
But I answered anyway.
> "You, Riya."
And she smiled. Gently. Like someone catching sunlight between clouds.
---
Anna
Anna laughed that afternoon — loud, bright, stupid.
She made a fireball shaped like a cat and gave it bunny ears.
Said it was "Flamepuff, the Terror of the East."
Everyone laughed. Even me.
But when she thought no one was looking,
she took out a mirror fragment she kept hidden.
She stared at herself for a long time.
And whispered:
> "Still me?"
She put it away before the tears could fall.
---
Leander
Leander cooked that night.
Burnt the fish. Twice. Called it "Extra smoky."
When Elric finally took over, he sat beside me.
Didn't say much.
Then after a while:
> "I miss him, you know? The old me."
I looked up.
> "He was stupid. Loud. A flirt. A fool."
He smirked.
> "But he never had blood on his hands."
Silence stretched.
> "You're still him," I said. "Just carrying more now."
> "Yeah…" he said. "Heavier cloak. Same idiot underneath."
And then he smiled again — soft.
Different.
But still him.
---
Elric & Alice
Later, they both came to me.
Not together.
But with the same words.
Elric knelt as he cleaned his tools.
> "Don't let the numbness settle in, Nitsuo. It's quiet… but it rots."
And Alice?
She didn't speak first.
She just stared.
Then finally:
> "I've watched monsters become men, and men become monsters."
> "Promise me you'll stay somewhere between."
I nodded.
> "Only if you'll drag me back when I forget."
She didn't blink.
> "Every time."
---
Lily
When night fell, and the fire grew dim…
She sat beside me.
Didn't speak. Just leaned in. Her shoulder brushing mine. Her warmth steady.
After a while, she whispered:
> "You'd die for us. I know that."
I didn't answer.
> "But I want you to live for us, Nitsuo. One step. One breath."
> "Even if it hurts?"
She nodded.
Didn't flinch.
> "Especially then."
And that was enough.
---
Final Journal Lines
> "Maybe numbness is a shield.
But shields can rust.
And if I keep hiding behind it…
I'll forget how to bleed for what matters."