“That must be what’s going on, yes… M-maybe I jumped the gun on assuming he… Well, you know.”
It was still difficult to think straight, and her hands couldn’t stop trembling, but there was something a bit reassuring with how calm Jack was. If he wasn’t concerned about what she had seen, then he must have been confident that Noboru was alright. She sighed, letting her shoulders relax.
“Well, if you see no reason to worry, then let me help you find Tasuku– Jack? Jack!”
But all he could do was say his Buddy’s name as he pushed past her, effectively ignoring her attempts to regain his attention.
She had turned around just as Jack held Tasuku’s mangled and lifeless body in his arms. The blood in her veins turned to ice as she approached, falling to her knees beside the despairing Jack, unable to speak. What could she say? Were there any words to express the horror she felt, to offer any comfort to the person beside her?
A trembling hand reached out to find a pulse only to be met with cold skin. Tasuku was gone. Dead. She had to turn her head away from the horrible sight, forcing herself to stare at Jack’s grief stricken face instead.
“What could have even done this to him…?”
It was this thought, and what Jack said, that caused her to pause. Her stomach churning in grief, she forced herself to look back at Tasuku’s mangled body. There was no denying the trauma the boy must have gone through, but aside from his body, nothing else was around in the immediate area. Nothing that could have done this kind of damage. She would have seen it; she had come from this direction just a moment ago.
Is… Is this another nightmare come to life…?
A hesitant hand reached out, gently placing itself on the Buddy Monster’s shoulder.
“Jack, listen to me. This… Th-this can’t be happening. I would have seen Tasuku when I was running. I would have been able to–” Zal shook her head, giving his shoulder a small squeeze.
“This… He… He can’t really be d-dead. You just said that it hadn’t been that long since you got separated. This has to a cruel trick.”
She hoped with all of her heart that was the case, but her words were an attempt to reassure the both of them. This was merely some physical manifestation of a nightmare, just like he had said earlier Right?
“...I know one thing that could’ve done this. I’ve...I’ve seen this happen before.”
His eyes burned as he remembered the image. He still saw it sometimes in his dreams, and his worst fears had been realized right before him. Seeing it the first time had been traumatizing.
“It was long before we met... Tasuku suffered horrific injuries mirroring these ones... That time, he barely survived...but now... Now he’s...”
Seeing it the second time was enough to break him.
It shouldn’t have made sense, and it didn’t, but Jack could only stare at Tasuku’s bloodied, beaten body and wonder whether he had been at fault once again, whether he had been unable to protect Tasuku this time as well--
“Jack, listen to me. This… Th-this can’t be happening. I would have seen Tasuku when I was running. I would have been able to–”
He looked up, hopelessly distraught, at Zal as she, too, struggled to find words. Jack wondered whether it was just desperation that made him want to find truth and sense in her words.
“That...that’s right... For something to cause this much damage... It must’ve been powerful, right? And we would’ve heard such a thing before it happened... It doesn’t...make sense for his body to have been just...dropped here.”
But Tasuku’s body just felt so real that even Jack’s strong heart wavered at the sight. His entire frame shook as he shut his eyes and turned away.
“But...then why is Tasuku here?! Why...why is he...dead?! Was I...unable to protect him again...?”
