Things are starting to get bad. Flowers--Snapdragons, to be exact--are blooming from her palms and her shoulders. It's so painful, and it's becoming increasingly more and more difficult to function. She feels like staying in bed all day, but she needs to help. Akira never gave up on her, even if she'd brought him so much pain; Hifumi wants to do the same for others, too.

But she needs to try to bring her temperature down a little, first. She's weak, she's dizzy, but she manages to get to the water. She goes onto her knees and splashes some water on her face--as best as she can, considering the state of her hands--before she hears the sound of something else splashing nearby.

She turns, and she sees a boy skipping rocks next to her. "Oh--I'm sorry, please excuse me. I'll move out of your way."