Ruru was Honoka's best friend and creative partner in the mangaka duo "Charles de Macking"—until terminal kidney disease took her life.
The two had romantic feelings for each other, and Ruru wanted to take their relationship further. Honoka felt the same way, but couldn't bring herself to get closer knowing Ruru was dying. Afraid of the grief that would come, she made the hard call to cut off the friendship entirely, leaving Ruru to finish their final manga alone.
After Ruru's death, Honoka spiraled with guilt, convinced she'd caused it. She blamed herself for making Ruru work on that last chapter solo—overwork combined with heartbreak from losing Honoka had, in her mind, hastened the inevitable.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
