EVEN IF I BURN ( f. sakuya ) ?

The moonlight poured through the dorm windows, but Sakuya still couldn't sleep. His hands trembled and his forehead burned.
He couldn't stop thinking about the dream, the vision.

That golden-haired man, screaming beneath a sky engulfed in fire. Leo's voice, thick with grief and rage. "I'll bring you back..."

The seal carved into stone. The weight in his chest that still hadn't left. Sakuya had tried to breathe through it, to rationalize it, but the terror clung to his bones.

A knock sounded on his door, light and hesitant.
"...Saku?"
It was Ryo.

Sakuya opened the door, eyes still wild. Ryo stepped in as he saw the state that his friend was in, and didn't ask anything right away. He just nodded for them to sit by the windowsill, where the breeze cooled their skin.

"Talk to me," Ryo said.
"I saw a man burning," Sakuya whispered. "A seal. Leo. He was... crying."

Ryo was quiet for a beat, then exhaled deeply.
"I've seen it too."

Sakuya's head whipped toward him.
"You what?"

"I've had visions...flashes. At first I thought they were nightmares, but then I heard Leo's voice. The same one you described." Ryo's voice lowered. "I think there's more going on. More than Leo ever told us."
The two sat in silence, the pieces falling into place.

"...He's hiding something," Sakuya finally said. "Something big."
"Then let's make him talk," Ryo replied, standing. "We're not getting answers just sitting here."

By morning, the boys had gathered in the dorm common room, each sitting up straighter than usual after hearing Sakuya and Ryo's words.

"He was crying?" Jaehee asked with a frown.
Sion crossed his arms. "Do you think these visions are real memories?"
"I know they are," Ryo said firmly.

Yushi shut his notebook. "Then we need to find Leo."
"Now," added Sakuya.

"Where even is he?" Riku asked.
"Still at HQ," Sion answered. "He and Selene pulled an overnight to update the mission reports."
"Perfect," said Jaehee, already standing. "Then let's go there."

˚ ༘ ೀ⋆｡˚

The headquarters was quiet that morning, the city barely waking up beyond its glass walls. Most of the staff had gone home.

Leo and Selene were in the debriefing chamber, screens lit around them with stacks of scrolls and reports still untouched. Selene was seated on the edge of the round desk, scrolling through a tablet. As Leo stood near the wall with his arms crossed, as he was lost in thought.

Then the door slammed open.
All six boys burst in.

Selene blinked in confusion. "...Good morning?"
Leo barely moved. "You're early."

"We're not here for a morning greeting," Sakuya said.
Ryo stepped forward. "We want answers. About the visions. About you."

Selene looked between them. "What's going on?"
But Leo remained still.

"Don't play dumb," Yushi said, stepping up. "They saw it. The fire. The man. The seal."
"And we think it's real," said Sion.
"You've been hiding something," Sakuya growled.

Leo's gaze slowly shifted toward them.
Then he raised his hand as a wave of heat surged through the chamber. Flames erupted from his palm—brighter, hotter, older than anything Sakuya had ever felt. They didn't flicker like normal fire. They roared to life and circled the group like a beast unleashed.