Seto took out his phone only to see a text from Honda, a preview above a row of older attempts he had ignored since morning: wake info? yugi and anzu are asking too. shizuka told us tonight but not the time. just send address. and let us know if you need help with anything if you can. we’re worried, man. hope you’re holding up
Worried. He stared at the word until it lost whatever mercy or compassion Honda had intended for it.
He wondered, with a distant and almost procedural contempt, what it would feel like to be only worried. To stand at the edge of the day with nothing but dread and concern, untouched by the knowledge of Katsuya’s body under fluorescent morgue light, untouched by the wet ruin of his face, the absent ring, the hand that had been reduced beyond presentation. To feel grief in the communal register the others still had available to them. They hadn’t seen what he had seen at the morgue. Whatever gentler feeling might have existed had been burned out of him that night, leaving only the clean, violent heat that gave the day its shape.
He opened the thread and typed the address: Shingetsu-ji. 6:00 p.m.
It was no use thinking on it any more. Worry would not go back to Igo Station and turn Katsuya toward home. It would not restore the hand, or remove the gloves from the service. Honda’s worry belonged to the wake, to everyone they knew gathering helplessly around a casket. Seto had no use for it here.
There was only Hirutani.
Complete; 32,321 words. Art by @kaftofi, written for 2026 Dragonfire Exchange for @pureichor.
Summary: Katsuya is found murdered, his wedding ring missing from his hand. This leaves Seto with a wake to plan, an obituary to write, a body to approve for cremation, and a voicemail from the man Katsuya died trying to save.
Grief won't bring his husband home... but violence can certainly still be arranged.
_
OR: Hirutani kills Jounouchi, which obviously doesn't fly by his very well adjusted husband, Kaiba.
Tags: Major Character Death, Noir, Mystery, Mutism, Murder, Revenge, Hirutani SUCKSSSSSSSSSSSS, Foxes, Dead Wife Vibes Galore, Baddie Sex Workers Unite, Foxes, Drug Use, Bougie Vacations, Bougie Apartments, Bougie Mansions, Everyone is Very Sad, Morgues and Funerals, Seto Is Also Losing His Damn Mind As Per Usual, Daddy Issues As Per Usual, Surreal Dream Sequences As Per Usual, Erotic Nightmares, Did I Mention Hirutani Sucks, Accidental Character Study
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