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As much as he didn't want to, Rei wakes up the next day.Ritsu, still transformed into a cat, lays beside him, sleeping soundly. Fortunately for him, Ritsu was quite a deep sleeper. And that's just what he wanted. He sits up, looking outside through a window. Good. The sun hasn't risen yet.Rei feels horrible for lying. But how was he supposed to tell Ritsu his real intentions? How was he supposed to tell his dear brother that something he's been investigating for a long time turned out to be true? How was he going to say that the things their parents have been telling him, Ritsu, and Natsume were no longer just innocent childhood stories? That someone was indeed trying to release 'Medusa' into the world they lived in?How was he supposed to tell Ritsu that the only way to stop that was to end his own life?Rei couldn't possibly subject Ritsu or Natsume to that kind of pain.Those two have been through enough, Rei decides. There was no way he was going to tell them about his plan.That morning, Rei was never seen again, leaving Ritsu's side in the dead of night. He had promised Ritsu something; and he knew that, but keeping his brothers alive was a more important task at hand.-- To plan the confrontation of one being to another was one thing. The actual execution, however, was another thing entirely.The sky was red that day.Rei stands at the edge of Yumenosaki’s rooftop, gaze directed to the slithering figure being released into the world.His family … had caused this to happen. His parents let this happen. And once again it was up to him to clean up the mess. What was it the snake told him? Someone needs to stay in its haze to ensure that it doesn’t get out.He thought all of this through. What was stopping him now?Rei peers over at the edge of the rooftop, metal railings suddenly warm to the touch. Was he really going to do this? What about his brothers? He worked so hard to gain Ritsu’s trust back when they were younger, and now to throw it all away so soon… What about Koga?He had just met Koga last year, too. That was barely enough time for the two of them. He hasn’t even told Koga that he…Rei jumps in his position when he hears the door to the rooftop slam open. Turning around, he sees Ritsu, panting, tired from the journey up.Ritsu wasn’t supposed to find him.“I’m sorry,” Rei frowns, refusing to leave his spot, now sitting on the railing, it being the only thing preventing him from falling. Ritsu says something — something Rei can’t quite discern, hearing and sight beginning to be masked by the snake’s haze.He can hear Ritsu begging, though. It was the most heartbreaking thing Rei had ever heard. Ritsu sounded broken, and Rei was almost glad he couldn’t see as clearly as he did before.He’s unsure if Ritsu can hear him too, but Rei tries. Just one final thing before he has to make his escape, and thus his departure.“It’s your turn to be the big brother now, my dear Ritsu. I’m afraid I have other matters to attend to. We talked about this, didn't we?”Through the hazy darkness, Rei finally smiles, hoping to give Ritsu one last thing to hold onto.“Take care of Koga for me, would you?”A final request, before the snake pulls him down with it. The last thing Rei sees?The color red.—The sky was red that day.Everything was red. Everything felt red. Ritsu could only see red.Red was really starting to become his least favorite color.It reminded him of his eyes. His siblings’ eyes. His father’s eyes. His mother’s eyes.And most of all he remembers that the snake was red.And his brother...Red reminds him of his brother. ‘Red is the color of heroes’, that dumbass would say. That red wouldn’t save him now.Rei radiated the color red. At least, that’s what Ritsu saw. He wondered if his brother saw the same thing when he was swallowed into the snake’s gaze.Ritsu wonders if Rei saw the same shade of red — or if Rei only saw the ground coming closer.What does it feel like to die?Ritsu hoped it was painful. It’s what that idiot deserves.But then... why can’t Ritsu stop screaming?He’s reaching out for a brother who never looked back. He’s reaching out for a brother who didn’t bother. Couldn’t be bothered.Ritsu retreats his arm back, eyes wide as he shuffles back onto the rooftop. He watches as the snake writhes and hisses. Watches as the snake begins to dissipate into nothing.And soon he was left alone with nothing but memories of his brother.He hears something thud against the concrete floors below.Ritsu doesn’t want to look.But he knows. He knows what he’s going to see.The color red.