Another month passed, and Rukawa's condition showed no signs of improvement. After school, he silently made his way toward the basketball court. People chatted and laughed as they bustled around him, but Rukawa seemed like a solitary wanderer existing outside of everyone else's world. No one could affect him, and he had no connection to anyone.
In this world that felt almost entirely gray to Rukawa, a flicker of red suddenly seemed to drift across his field of vision from behind a large tree.
With just that single glance, it was as if Rukawa were in a pitch-black house when a match was struck with a crisp *scratch*, suddenly illuminating the space.
Chapter 45