Have I Proposed to Hagiwara Today?

The next time Kuriyama Yuii appeared beside Hagiwara Kenji holding a rose, it was by Hagiwara Kenji’s tombstone.

The red rose looked utterly out of place there.

He simply laid the flower on the empty coffin, lingered for a moment, then turned and left.

The next time they met, he was covered in wounds outside the house Hagiwara Kenji rented.

“Could you take me in, kind officer?”

He said it without paying any mind to Hagiwara Kenji’s wary gaze, then took a rose, crushed almost beyond recognition, from his pocket.

“Could... this be a thank-you gift?”

Later, Hagiwara Kenji dragged him away from the man who had beaten him nearly to death.

There was no rose.

Only a ring, still safe in his hand.

“Hagiwara Kenji, please marry me.”

Kuriyama Yuii was a very strange person. That was Hagiwara Kenji’s first impression of him.

And the battered red rose, the flowing blood, and the brand-new ring...

They were the past and future he shared with Kuriyama Yuii.

Theme: Give it everything you’ve got.