I do not, in any way, profit from this story and all creative rights to the characters belong to their original creator(s).

This is a short. Please enjoy.

She never even saw it coming, and strangely enough, neither did he. The entire human race went to rest that day; the same day Nozomi confessed her deepest secret to the person she admired the most.

Her timing was precise, right down to the second her body was converted to stone. A huge weight felt like it had been lifted, but out of time, her declaration of guilt received no closure. The last thing she saw before darkness took her was the look of surprise on his face.

This image stayed with her for over three hundred decades. Was it because of her that Senkuu looked so alarmed? She never meant to put him on the spot, but at the time, her control was running thin. It was all her fault, not having a better hold on her emotions. She let Taiju get under her skin and talk her into confessing to him.

It was a mistake; one she'd never get to chance to right. Inside she was crying for mercy. Her lungs filled with air, but no sound came out. Nozomi just laid there, inches away from where she knew Senkuu had been. It was hard to imagine, like she was trapped in a dream she'd never wake up from. All she could think about was apologizing for being a rotten friend; all she wanted was the chance to make it right.

One unforgettable afternoon, a surge of light woke her. The stone exoskeleton around her body splintered and fell away. Nozomi cried out in shock. She leapt up from the cavity she formed in the thick earth and gasped for air. It wasn't that she couldn't breathe correctly, but because she was lying face down, her fear of tight spaces overwhelmed her. Fat warm tears clouded her bright eyes as she wept loudly.

Was this a dream? Had by some miracle her hopes been answered? She wasn't sure, but what she did know was that she was alive. I need to calm down and stop being a coward. Or else I won't last an hour, wherever I am.

Aware that she was naked and covered in mud, Nozomi picked herself up and stumbled over to the cavity she had been lying in. The pieces of stone that once covered her laid in a messy heap; a three dimensional model of herself shattered beyond repair. She found no reason to put them back together and left them as is.

I was mistaken. My body didn't turn into stone; it was a husk. But how did she break out? In hopes of finding the answer, Nozomi glanced around the area. She was in a dense wooded region, from the looks of it. But how did she get here? Last place she remembered being was inside the school.

Her eyes widened in revelation. Senkuu. He had been near her when she petrified. Was he still around? From the looks of it, no. A broken husk of stone laid near her, pieced together like someone had tried to rebuild themselves. Knowing him, the genius had probably already figured out something that she could not see. But where was he? Did he leave any clues?

Nozomi tried to follow in his footsteps. She knew that the most logical thing to do was to stay alive. Figuring out the root of the situation could wait.

I need to find a water source, then maybe I can make something to wear. She knew that eventually the sun would go down and she would need to build a fire; tools were essential for this. The list went on. Nozomi sighed in exhaustion, but urged herself to get moving. Her eyes wandered over to the spot where Senkuu had been resting and frowned.

Soon … give me a little more time. Please don't be mad at me; please Senkuu.