Hazuki Horiuchi is Makoto Nakazono's childhood friend, a relationship central to the narrative. Makoto possesses the ability to see soul-stealers or grim reapers that manifest before human deaths. He has always passively accepted their presence as inevitable, refusing to intervene. This lifelong resignation shatters when Makoto discovers a soul-stealer targeting Hazuki Horiuchi. The immediate threat to her life forces Makoto to act. He resolves to intervene against the soul-stealers, specifically to save Hazuki. This decision marks his transition from passive observer to actively confronting the supernatural forces around him.