I know this is going to take a long time to complete, so feel free to completely ignore this ask if you want.
If you are up for it, would you be willing to write what happens after you and the ghoul you were with are found dead (or not dead for special cases) by the other people that went on the mission with you?
Whether you agree or decline, I just want to let you know that Starcrossed had me hooked and I really loved it!
Keep up the good work!
starcrossed pt. 2 ౨ৎ Tokyo Debunker
SFW // Angst
content., shorter drabble stories, not as bloody as the previous story though mentions of decay + dead bodies, not as dark as the previous part, Towa doesnt gaf about Ren being dead, implied that Towa has romantic feelings for the reader in Ren’s, Ren vomits in Haru’s, this isn’t very detailed, not everyone gets found (towa, rui, ritsu), implied Lucas + Kaito death, Jiro injected w painkillers !!: READ THE COMMENT
also heads up; all the ghouls are dead even if they lingered on in life in the previous part, they unfortunately all ended up perishing.
a/n: Thank you so much for the support! I’m glad you liked it!! ( ˶ˆᗜˆ˵ )
Part 2 to the previous angst story I did, here.
Jin—
Tohma shuffles down the hall, two institute agents walking behind him with slow, hesitant steps. He steps over the numerous debris scattered on the floor, stopping at a white door, engraved with a gold trim. He jiggles the doorknob, struggling to open the jammed door before pushing it open with his body weight.
His eyes glaze over the room— a bedroom mostly untouched by the anomalies’ attack, except for a knocked over vanity, shards of a mirror scattered over the floor. Tohma’s eyes move to the bed, and his face falls.
Your body was curled up like a fetus on the bed next to Jin’s unmoving body. He approaches but is stopped by an agent.
“We’ll take it from here.” An agent moves towards the bed, stretching a pair of plastic gloves over their hand.
Tohma watches as the agents check for a pulse before pulling your dead body away from Jin, fitting you into a body bag and zipping it up.
“Has everyone been evacuated?” Tohma places a thumb under his chin, asking inquisitively.
An agent nods, the two beginning to help each other heave Jin’s heavy body towards the other body bag.
“The rest of your colleagues were evacuated, if that’s what you mean.” The agent stuffs Jin’s head into the body bag, unfazed by his corpse, “The blonde boy and purple-eyed kid. They’re both on their way to Darkwick General with minimal injuries.”
“I see.” Tohma winces as he noticed how rough the agents handle Jin’s body, though he swallows his discomfort.
The bag is finally zipped up, both of the agents gripping either side of your body bag before lifting it onto a cart. They sigh before looking at each other with dread before struggling to lift up Jin’s body bag into the cart. They carefully drop the bag to the floor before slowly shimmying the bag onto the cart.
“I’d be a bit more careful.” Tohma narrows his eyes, “Funeral proceedings will be difficult if you continue to be so reckless.”
The agents nod and murmur in halfhearted agreement, making a show of just how gentle they are by adjusting
Tohma is left in charge of funeral proceedings, Darkwick donating just enough to the funeral funds to seem considerate, not that it’s needed.
Kaito and Luca are completely distraught when they learn what happened to you. Their best friend. Luca doesn’t say it aloud, but he feels guilty for your death. If he had just been there— he could have taken the brunt of the attack, or at least help the two of you fight.
He forever curses himself for it as he watches your casket lower into the ground a cold week later, your grave right next to Jin’s. Luca’s eyes flicker over to the freshly piled on dirt of Jin’s grave. Jin tried his best to protect you. Luca knows that. Jin would always try his best to protect you, in life and after death. He breathes out, his breath creating a warm cloud in the air as he drops a single white rose onto your casket, watching as dirt shovels atop of it, slowly concealing it until he can’t see it no more.
Tohma’s eye glints behind his monocle as he watches, arms crossed and stern. He doesn’t allow the grief swallowing him while to show on his face. Ever.
He’s been appointed captain of Frostheim now, and he never lets his emotions weigh him down now. Though, late at night, Tohma stares at Jin’s old piano, never having the heart to get rid of it after moving into the captain’s room.
Luca and Kaito can see something lying under Tohma’s weak smile though. They’ll exchange worried looks at each other, but will never bring it up to their captain. They understand after all, they’re grieving too.
Tohma—
“N- N- Noo! What the fuck, man!!” Kaito screams, squeezing his eyes shut, toppling over and turning his face away from the anomaly as he launches an arrow towards it.
“You hit it Kaito!” Lucas affirms, tightening his grip on his swords.
Kaito cranes his neck up towards the anomaly, watching as it writhes against the floor. Jin slams his foot into its back, before sinking his sword clean through its neck, the anomaly’s head toppling straight to the ground.
Kaito stammers, backing up as Jin comes up to him, kneeling down and scrunching up Kaito’s collar with his fist, lifting him up like a mother cat carrying her young. He adjusts Kaito onto his feet properly.
“We’re not done.” Jin says, the silence coming after his words radiating in the air for a moment.
Kaito and Luca already know what he wants.
“Find them.”
Luca nods, beckoning Kaito to follow him who is still stammering. Kaito quickly finds his step, hurrying after him as Jin watches on. He watches as the pair dip behind the corner of the hallway before starting the other way.
Jin had seen the two of you before you were forced to run off. Your shirt bloody, Tohma trying to hide his limp as he carried you off. Needless to say, Jin was worried.
He steps down the hall, steps something between a walk and light jog. His gaze catches on something at the end of the hall, a splintered, pushed in door. It certainly wasn’t like that when the group came by earlier. Jin takes a step through the door, kicking wooden debris out his way before his eyes land on Tohma’s bloodied back.
“Tohma.”
Jin gets closer to the bed, slowly at first, before rushing over as panic sets in.
“Shit—“
His fingers slowly land on Tohma’s back, eyes flicking between the back of Tohma’s head and towards your face. Jin knows what this is. He’s seen it before. Slightly parted lips, jaw still slightly slack. And yet his breath still hitches in his throat as he expects your chest to rise and fall. He cranes his head down towards Tohma.
He knows it’ll be the same. He takes a step back.
The thought of turning Tohma’s face towards his own made him sick.
Jin doesn’t move as he hears the sound of two pairs of shoes clacking against the floorboards, one uneven and heavy, the other more elegant. The steps grow more urgent before halting, just outside the threshold of the door.
“Cap–”
Kaito’s voice falls short, and Jin can only assume Kaito’s seen past him towards your body limp on the bed. Luca pushes past the doorframe, eyes wide. He stops at the edge of the bed, pausing for a few moments before glancing back at Kaito, still standing in shock. Kaito’s eyes begin to water before he squeezes them shut as tight as he can, stars pricking his lids before he turns on his heel, running off with heavy steps.
Luca’s lip quivers. He feels the need to go after Kaito, but–
He looks back towards you on the bed. Something about this moment feels too final. He feels something deep down, sick, disgusting. Luca finds a weird need to savor this moment. This is the closest you’d be to life, and he feels like leaving you, abandoning you, would be a crime.
“They– They can still–” He chokes out, and Luca is surprised how dry his voice comes out.
Jin, who had been silently mulling over something in his head, gripped the box of Dunhills in his pocket. He lit the cigarette, in an instant taking in an incredibly slow breath before exhaling.
“No.”
Smoke blows out of Jin’s mouth and curls around his head, obscuring his face for just a moment from Luca.
The two stand in silence, neither moving. Jin takes another long draw from his cigarette, holding his breath for a moment this time, before exhaling a large pouf of smoke again. Luca grimaces, his head burning as the smell reaches his nostrils. He coughs, before turning away from the acrid smell, unable to bear it. Luca hobbles for the door, vision hazy, stopping with his hand against the frame. Was Jin even inhaling the smoke?
Not that it mattered, Luca supposed. His choice.
Though, maybe it was on purpose. Maybe Jin just didn’t want Luca to see how Jin had to bite down on his bottom lip to stifle his cry. Maybe Jin wanted to blame his watery eyes on the smoke.
…
Luca stepped out of the room, limping towards the direction Kaito had run off in.
Jin had always preferred solitude anyways. This feeling was nothing new for him.
Kaito—
Jin slams his sword down into the neck of the anomaly with pure brute force, blood splattering across his face and vest. He wipes his hands across his cheek, moving blood away from his mouth and spitting out a drop of blood. Luca slowly lowers his swords, watching as the anomaly’s body slowly disintegrated before returning them to his artifact chain.
“… Shit, where’s y/n and that blonde shitstain?” Jin swivels his head towards Luca and Kaito.
Luca glances around for a moment before looking at Tohma for further guidance. Tohma takes a step towards Jin, adjusting his stained gloves and looking Jin in the eye.
“They went East.” Tohma explains, “We’ll find them.”
Tohma’s reassurance sounds mildly hollow though as the group begins walking in the East direction. Tohma leads them, moving branches and leaves out of the way before they stumble into a clearing. The tone instantly shifts as the group uncomfortably stares at your bodies, perfectly lit up by the moon.
“Kaito!—“ Luca immediately cries out, running towards the two of you before he’s stopped.
Jin holds Luca back by the back of his collar, watching as Tohma reaches your bodies first before letting go. Luca watches from a distance as Tohma moves to the side of your body, respecting your right hand intertwined with Kaito’s left. Tohma firmly places two fingers against your wrist before pressing them up into the crook of your jaw and neck, frowning.
Jin sighs, knowing exactly why Tohma’s expression is so sour.
“Contact Darkwick.”
“Huh?” Luca’s eyes are wide, breath shaky.
It takes him a second to reach for his phone, his face stuck in the same expression as he calls their house advisor. Professor Dante’s stoic voice answers.
“Hello, Errant.” He says, “Are you having issues on your mission?”
Luca doesn’t answer, his throat too dry and full of shock to form words. Jin glanced at his face before reaching for the phone, easily snatching it from Luca’s weak grasp.
“Dante. We need reconnaissance.” Jin’s tone is gruff, “Two bodies.”
Dante hums in response on the other side of the line, voice trailing off for a moment like he’s leaned away from the phone before he returns.
“Alright. Agents will be there in an hour.”
Jin hangs up before Dante gets the chance to, sliding Luca’s phone back into his pocket for him.
All of Frostheim grieves your death, but there’s no one who feels worse than Luca. Two more. Two more people he cared for and couldn’t protect. Again. He feels like an empty husk walking to class, remembering how you and Kaito would walk by his side, Kaito complaining about how hard studying was as you both listened to him ramble. His eyes are glazed over, hardly full of life.
Everyday is the same cycle. Eat, school, train, sleep.
Again, and again. He does it again. Every time he goes to sleep it’s the same too. Walking into that clearing and seeing you and Kaito. Blaming him.
Jin and Tohma refuse to assign him to missions anymore. Too unstable.
The cycle will never be over for him. Nothing new will arise. He’ll always be stuck in this cycle of grief, won’t he?
Lucas—
Kaito’s grip on his bow slackens, hand shaking. It slips free, falling towards the floor before a clinging sound rings out and it returns to his Artifact chain. He slumps against the blood-splattered wall exhausted, before grumbling to himself and pushing on. He had to find you two first.
Kaito grins.
Damn, the two of you are gonna be so impressed when you find out he took out an anomaly all by himself.
He stumbles through the halls, hand pressed up against his stomach. He had gotten slammed against a wall, a large bruise flourishing across his skin, the aching feeling gnawing at his side.
“Luca!— Y/N!” Kaito calls out, before wincing.
He curses in annoyance. Where’s Jin? Hell, he’d be grateful to see Tohma!
A loud crash echoes from somewhere else in the manor. Kaito freezes. Are there more anomalies? He’s in no condition to fight, he’ll get fucking massacred! Kaito tiptoes to the nearest pair of still-attached doors and pushes them open before quickly shutting them behind him. He sighs, before turning his eyes towards the room. It’s sorta big, yeah– lots of blood, but he’s desensitized to that by now. The only thing that matters is there’s nothing dangerous. And, you’re in here–! Wait, holy shit–
“Y/N!” Kaito cries out, his voice faltering as he notices Luca’s slumped over body.
“Luca… hey, man?” He tilts his head, slowing his pace.
A quiet, wet sound echoed from beneath Kaito’s shoe. He glances down, lifting the sole up to see thick rivulets of dark, red blood trailing off. He stumbles back, a stain of blood in the shape of the soles of his shoe etched onto the floor.
“Hey, hey–! Shit, are you guys okay?” Kaito clambers down, grimacing as he tries to ignore the feeling of cold blood seeping through his clothes.
The lack of response hurts Kaito’s ears as he reaches for his phone, dialing Jin’s number. The phone clicks as Jin picks up, but Kaito doesn’t make a sound. Hell, it doesn’t even register that Jin is speaking on the other side of the line.
“Dead.” Kaito squeaks out after a moment.
Jin scoffs, voice going cold, “What are you talking about?”
Kaito doesn’t answer. Jin’s voice is rising over the other side of the line, growing with anger then desperation. Kaito can’t understand a word of what he’s saying. Jin’s words only come out through a muffled stream in his ears.
Beep.
His thumb hovers above where the ‘hang up’ button was just a moment ago, trembling before his phone slips towards the ground, crashing into the semidried puddle of blood.
Kaito gags, turning away to regain what was left of his composure. He groans, resting his head up against a wall, facing away from the two of you. His head is throbbing. Painfully, he feels like none of this is real. His body doesn’t feel real, like this is a dream. He’s far too detached from his own self, he can’t feel his fingers, the palm of his hands, his core, everything feels like it's floating. The only sense of reality he has is the cool touch of the marble wall against his temple.
Kaito squeezes his eyes shut and curses, “Fuck you, man. Said you’d protect me and y/n forever.”
He huffs one more moment before he loses control of his body, slowly touching the ground and passing out.
Alan—
Leo is dragging his white sneakers against the school halls, a faint smear of blood dripping off the toe and smudging against the floor.
“Dude.. you want me to carry you or somethin’?” Sho cocks a brow at Leo, watching him drag himself down the hall.
“Fuck you. Don’t need it.” Leo scowls, more agitated than usual.
Sho shrugs, “Opportunity’s on the table.”
Leo doesn’t answer, sliding a classroom door open and peeking his head in. The moon is bright enough to illuminate the whole room, though Leo doesn’t see anything of note.
“They just up and vanished when that thing attacked.” Leo crosses his arms, expression sour, “Cap could’ve at least tried to fight it.”
“He was more focused on keeping y/n alive, y’know.” Sho frowns, “You can’t blame him.”
Leo ignores Sho. He understands Alan’s soft spot for you, but it’s so annoying. Watching him coddle you like some sort of precious baby. Alan doesn’t say anything, but Leo can tell. You’re always the one Alan runs to protect when missions get dangerous, first to receive first aid, first to be pulled from a fight, always the first.
Alan could have at least taken care of the anomaly before falling back with you. Leo could hardly see you during the fight but it’s not like you were half-dead.
He pulls open the classroom door at the end of the hall, stepping in before stopping. His eyes follow the blood trail leading straight to the pool of blood underneath your body. Leo can hear Sho’s breath go shaky behind him before Sho pushes past him towards you and Alan.
Sho crouches down, keeping his shoes just out of the crimson red puddle. His fingers gingerly move up to the side of Alan’s neck. He braces himself for the worst, still frowning when his fears are confirmed.
“Dead.”
“Seriously!? Fucking hell..” Leo curses under his breath.
Leo’s face scrunches up in discomfort, his stomach queasy. Sho scratches the top of his head, standing back up and looking at Leo, feelings of dread setting in.
“Um.”
Leo blinks. He feels strangely uneasy. Gross. Gross, gross, for his thoughts. He stands still, his feet planted to the classroom’s floors, whispering as quietly as he can under his breath.
“Haxs.”
Leo holds his breath. Listening. Listening to see if your heartbeat will come back. Idiot. Did you really have to go die on him? Just because of his bratty thoughts– He didn’t mean them. I was just annoyed. Upset. Please. You have to understand. You can’t die thinking I hate you. It was just jokes. Please?
“Leo.”
I’ll scream if I have to! I know you can fucking hear me!
“Leo, c’mon man.”
Everything was okay. Everything was fine. Why couldn’t you just stay? Stop ignoring me. You know this shit pisses me off.
“Leo!”
Sho shakes Leo back and forth, “Dude, we need to contact Darkwick, you got your phone?”
Leo’s eyes, wide and terrified, looked into Sho’s, his face scrunching up in resentment. Leo pushes Sho away, sending him back.
“No.”
Sho scowls, “This isn’t something to be a brat about, Leo. Knock it off.”
His right eye twitches, his brow furrowing, “You wanna contact the school responsible for their death?”
Sho doesn’t answer, staring at Leo with a disapproving frown.
“No, no, I’m fucking out of this shit.” Leo yells, “They don’t give a damn about us! I fucking hate that place. We don’t even get to leave, it’s sketchy as hell, the classes–”
Sho grabs Leo’s shoulders firmly, his grip lethal as he stares into Leo’s eyes with a look he’s never seen before.
“Call the fucking school.”
Leo grits his teeth, shoving his phone into Sho’s hands, “Do it yourself.”
Sho watches as Leo stomps into the hall, slamming the door behind him. He waits for a moment before looking down at the two of you. He scoffs, tears running down his face as he holds Leo’s phone. Fuck. Should’ve gotten to you sooner.
“I’m sorry.” He whispers, “I’m sorry.”
He almost expects you to move, to say ‘it’s okay’, but the room is completely still.
“This school’s a bitch. Leo’s right. You guys don’t deserve that.”
Sho looks down at the phone, lightly tapping the display with his thumb, Leo’s bright, electric wallpaper flashing onto the screen.
“It’s okay.” He whispers to himself, dialing Professor Dante’s number.
Across the door, just out of sight, Leo stands pressed up against the wall. He could hear Sho mumbling to himself in a low, trembling tone. He hates hearing people sound like this. Like a fork being scratched along metal. Grief. Despair. A pitiful tone. He hates it. More than anything else.
Leo grips his headphones, pulling them over his ear, the sound of Sho speaking to Professor Dante immediately dimming, before turning on his heel and walking off.
He doesn’t know where he’s going. Where he’ll end up. Where–
Leo looks around. How long has he been walking? It’s like in an instant he’s ended up on the streets of the city.
His hands are stuffed into his coat pockets, face unreadable. A loud, heavy rhythmic sound leaks into his headphones, making him look around. Shinjuku. He has no clue how he managed to walk so far. Just off to his right is a club, colors so bright it illuminates the entire street. Ever since he got to Darkwick, he’s always… Leo pushes the door open, immediately suffocating among a large crowd of people. It’s so loud, even without his stigma– even with his headphones– music doesn’t stop playing. It feels almost like a heartbeat. Alive. Leo blinks. There. At the bar. He blinks again. Oh.
Someone with your face, smiling. Alive.
Leo maneuvers his way through the crowd, stopping behind the bar. Haxs.
The loud music is almost shattering his eardrums apart, but he doesn’t care– he pretends not to notice, flushes it out. He’s listening to their heartbeat. Leo smirks.
“He-ee-ey, mind if I bother you?”
Sho—
Leo spits out a rivulet of thick, red blood onto the wet asphalt, stomping it in with the toe of his shoe.
“Hey, cap.” He sighs, looking up at Alan, “You got any medicine?”
Alan tosses a vial of anomalous medicine towards Leo, gold dust swirling inside. Leo pops the cap, watching as the little glimmers of dust breeze over his injuries. He lets out an exaggerated sigh of relief, throwing the bottle over his shoulder and ignoring the sound of the glass breaking into pieces.
Alan looks around the empty street, green and red light reflecting from the traffic lights onto the rain-soaked road. Leo catches his gaze.
“Looking for Sho?”
He nods in response, eyes flickering to an alleyway. Alan takes a step towards the dumpster like he can just sense the two of you are there. He stops short when he sees the two of you slumped over against the wall, frowning as he crouches down and checks for a pulse on your wrist,
Nothing.
Alan’s jaw immediately clenches down as he moves his fingers to Sho’s neck, concentrating hard. It’s barely there, faint, but his heartbeat is still there, hardly clinging onto life. His eyes move down to Sho’s injuries as he reaches for his pocket for the last vial of anomalous medicine.
He stops.
Leo turns his head down to look at Alan, frustrated, “Well?”
“… That was the last vial we brought on the mission.”
Leo went silent, the weight of his mistake lingering heavy on his chest. He didn’t think twice when he downed the vial. He grinded down on his teeth. How could he be so stupid? Of course you’d get hurt. Of course you’d drag Sho into it. But Leo can’t fully find it in himself to blame you, no matter how hard he tries. He feels more at fault than anything.
Alan seems to sense Leo’s frustrations, rising and looking him in the eyes, unsure of how to comfort.
“So that’s it?” Leo’s voice cracks, “They’re.. dead?”
Alan pauses for a moment before nodding, “There’s nothing we can do.”
Leo wants to lash out but he stays silent, hands at his side.
“Darkwick needs to be informed.” Alan turns on his phone, poking at the screen.
Leo watches Alan try to figure out his phone before grabbing it from his grip, “I’ll do it.”
Leo feels numb as Professor Dante picks up the line, asking what the matter is at this late hour. He responds, voice monotone as Dante says there’ll be institute agents to help them sort everything out.
Vagastrom is never the same after that. Leo hardly talks to anyone, and when he does, he’s completely hostile. He doesn’t poke his nose into Darkwick’s business anymore, unless it has to do with your case file. He stares down at the paper, looking at where your signature should be on the report. There isn’t a second of the day where he doesn’t feel guilt for that night, even if there was no way he could possibly have known to save that bottle.
Alan feels like a robot. Forcing himself out of bed to take the Vagastrom general students out for training. Forcing himself to go to class. Forcing himself to complete every mission Darkwick sends him on, but he always has one condition now.
He’ll only go on missions alone now. Says he works better alone. But we all know how much better he worked with the two of you.
Leo—
Alan shoves Sho up the steps of the station, before launching himself for the top of the stairs as well. Behind them, the entrance of the subway warps, the stairs spreading across the walls and ceiling into a spiral before spreading out so thin it’s impossible to make anything out.
Sho looks around for a moment, rubbing his bruises and sore joints through the cloth of his shirt before frowning.
“.. Where are they?”
Alan’s head perks up as he surveys the pavement, looking for any sign of you or Leo before grimacing and pointing around at the local area.
“Search for them.”
Alan and Sho pace around the subway entrance, calling out your name. Sho’s hand traces the brick wall of a building, peeking his head past the alleyway, and searching for any sign of the two of you. His eyes narrow when he catches sight of what looks like the top of your head, though he immediately feels his chest weigh down when he realizes it’s not you— just some plastic bag caught on a pile of boxes.
.. Why do they even make plastic bags in that color? They should all just be clear, it’s so fucking annoying. Sho scowls, reconvening with Alan who’s had no luck either.
“They’re probably still in the station.” Alan crosses his arms, face dark.
“Why don’t we call them!?” Sho exclaims.
“I tried.. it said ‘call couldn’t go through’ or something.”
“Well obviously you didn’t do it right!” Sho hisses, fumbling with his own phone and calling Leo’s number.
He stares down at his phone screen, staring at Leo’s contact image of him making that stupid face, sticking his tongue out and smiling at the camera.
“The number you’ve called cannot be reached.”
Sho throws his phone down and groans, swiveling on his heel and punching the nearest building.
“There’s nothing we can do, the anomaly closed its domain.” Alan’s grip on his arms grows tighter as he clenches his jaw, “We’ll have to come back another time.”
“Seriously? That’s it!?” A vein pops out of Sho’s forehead, “They were practically half-dead when we last saw them, they’re not gonna be able to wait for us to come back.”
Alan sighs. He knows Sho is right, but there’s nothing they can do. Even if they walked back into the station, it’d just be a normal train platform.
“.. They’ll turn up eventually.”
Alan has to drag Sho back to the Galaxy Express, firm grip on Sho’s shirt. It doesn’t matter though. Sho won’t ever forget about you two, even if he doesn’t know if he’ll ever get to see you again, he still searched for you everyday, lingering around the subway station hoping the anomaly will show up again.
But it never does. And neither do you and Leo.
Haru—
Ren stares at the small ‘read’ under his text message, frowning as he waits for a response from Haru he’ll never get.
“Stupid fuckin’ clown.” He scowls, “Wants to meet up but won’t say where he is.”
Towa glares at Ren, though doesn’t say anything as they continue walking through the woods, leaves crunching under their feet. Ren hastily ducks under one of the anomalies’ strings, Towa following suit and wondering in his head if he should push Ren into the sharp thread. Probably not. Haru wouldn’t be pleased.
“Man, we’ve been looking around so long.” Ren crosses his arms.
Ren suddenly stumbles forward on an object, quickly catching his balance and looking down before crying out. He backs up, hand over his mouth as he takes in the sight of Haru’s upper body separated from the rest of him. Ren’s eyes slowly trail down to the top of your head, slumped over.
He doubles over, turning around and gagging twice before he hacks out a puddle of vomit. Towa ignores Ren’s groans, stepping past him and looking down at you and Haru.
Towa frowns at first. Then squeezes his eyes shut as he finally lets it sink in that you’re both gone. The people he had been closest to. The two of you had felt like parents to him. His throat whines for a moment before he breaks down, his knees hitting the ground as he sobs.
Ren turns back around to face Towa, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his jacket before immediately regretting it and turning back around and shakily typing in Darkwick’s contact number into his phone.
The dial tone drones on before the sound of Professor Hyde cheerfully greeting Ren cuts through.
“Oho! Shiranami. How’s the mission going?”
“Help!— Send help— gag— please.. they’re—“
“Oh. I see. I’ll send reinforcements.”
The line clicks dead, and Ren stares at his phone in disbelief for a moment before hastily calling Professor Hyde again. The ringing goes on, no one picking up, and Ren feels even more sick now. The sound of Towa sniffling fills his ears and he turns away from everything, squeezing his eyes shut and shoving his hands on the sides of his head and over his ears.
He just wants it to all stop.
Ren—
After the two of you had gone lost at sea, Towa and Haru had been whisked back to Darkwick by speedboat before they could search for the two of you. Although Towa isn’t necessarily keen on finding Ren, he desperately wants to find you, and Haru shares his sentiment. Haru is going to Professor Hyde and the Chancellor’s office every day, begging them to check nearby islands, anything.
Darkwick eventually grees, although weirdly reluctantly, to send a reconnaissance squad out on a boat to the islands that surrounded your mission, Haru insisting on tagging along.
They don’t find the two of you on the first day, though the institute agents that came along don’t really seem to be giving it their all, heading back to Darkwick after just a day on the water, much to Haru’s dismay.
Haru pays no mind, deciding to take initiative, sneaking back onto the boat at night with Towa who tagged along as well, the two going out to search for you themselves.
Haru sighs as he marks off another island on the paper map in his hands, folding it up.
“… That’s all the islands in a 25 mile vicinity.” Haru grumbles, turning to Towa.
Towa frowns, look out towards the murky black ocean, stars twinkling in the sky above them. He perks up, pointing into the distance.
“We haven’t checked there.”
Haru unfolds the map, glancing from the paper back up towards the small island, “That’s weird, it’s not marked on the map anywhere.”
Haru starts the engine of the boat back up, steering the boat towards the small chunk of land ahead. The boat comes to a slow brake as it gets close to the shore, Haru cutting the engine and swinging his legs into the shallow water and wading towards the sand. Towa follows, splashing water everywhere as he tries to run against the weight of the sea.
“This island’s pretty small, so we don’t really need to split up this time, okay Towa?” Haru looks around the beach, his eye catching on something.
Towa nods, though Haru is already taking off, jogging towards a dark silhouette across the beach. Haru’s step slowly falls short as he catches sight of what he was looking at.
“… Uh.” Haru gulps, a bead of sweat dropping down his forehead.
“Dandelion?” Towa calls out quietly, though your body doesn’t move.
“I guess we’re supposed to.. we need to contact Darkwick.” Haru reaches for his phone in the pocket of his jumpsuit while Towa steps towards you.
Towa steps over Ren’s dead body, leaning down to your face, “Maybe they’re just sleeping. See? Their eyes are closed.”
“Ah. Yeah.. um. Let’s take a step back Towa, okay?” Haru looks up at Towa, visibly uncomfortable as his phone dials.
Towa moves to side of your body, kneeling to sit down next to you. Towa’s eyes move to your chest, waiting for it to rise and fall like it should. The fabric on your chest shifted, didn’t it? Maybe he just wants to believe it, but he can have hope, can’t he? Towa slowly looks over the rest of your upper body, eyes trailing over down your arm and to your hand— holding Ren’s.
Ren’s fingers are stiffly wrapped around your hand, unmoving. Towa almost reaches out to rip your hand away from Ren’s, before he stops himself.
“Don’t bother them Towa.” Haru lowers his phone as he finishes his call to Darkwick, “Come here.”
Towa glances back at you for a second before scampering to Haru’s side.
“We just have to wait for a squad to get here, you wanna wait on the boat?” Haru looks over at Towa.
He shakes his head in response, staring at you, “Wanna stay.”
Haru nods, trying to turn his attention to something besides your dead body, looking up at the night sky. He squints his eyes, “Huh. Towa?”
“Hm?”
“You’re good with stars, right?.. What constellation is that?”
Towa leans his head back and looks up at the night sky, trying to find what Haru is talking about. All the stars he’s seen before are there, but something else is there. Just off to the side of the sky is a new arrangement of stars he hasn’t seen before, brighter than any of the other constellations.
“Mmm… I don’t know!”
Haru crosses his arms, small smile on his face, “Kinda looks like two towers, maybe.”
Towa shakes his head, whining, “Noo! It’s two people! Look!”
Haru takes a closer look before nodding, “Oh, yeah. You’re right. They’re holding hands in the middle.”
Towa grins and nods, “Do you think they’re in love?”
Haru pats Towa on the back, “Yeah. Probably.”
Towa—
There’s no come coming for you. No one that cares about you, or even cherishes you. Even if the two of you were able to cling onto life. Haru and Ren would have never come for you, as they had met the same fate as you, heads pounding in on themselves before bursting splatters of blood all throughout their room.
Darkwick didn’t even consider sending in a reconnaissance squad to find your bodies, much to the outrage of your other friends at the academy, but even then, they understand why Darkwick never did. Multiple ghouls died. The entirety of Jabberwock was now empty, no one truly able to understand and care for the anomalous animals. All of the Jabberwock duties were dumped on Darkwick’s janitor, Elias Pratt, as well at the few volunteers who were willing to help out in the park in your memory. Though it doesn’t take long for the entire house to become defunct, unable to support itself anymore with just one person watching over all the animals.
The park animals slowly get sold off to turn a profit, with the more powerful ones staying in Darkwick’s care.
You almost feel unrest from beyond the grave knowing you won’t ever receive a proper burial, as Darkwick refuses to send any more missions to the manor. Instead they sectioned off the area from the public and anyone that wanders in on the grounds with an electric fence and numerous warning signs, hoping no one else will go missing like you.
But Lucas and Kaito need to know what happened to you.
You were their best friend, the main component of your chaos trio. Lucas had always been one for following rules, but it feels like something is clawing at his throat. He needs to know if there’s still a chance you could be alive.
So, the two decide to find out what happened that day, making their way past the electric fence by disabling it, past the signs warning caution, over the overgrowth of the forest, and right to the front of the manor you had your last mission.
The splendor of the house is uncharacteristic for its surroundings, but Lucas barely hesitates as he pushes the door open, sword drawn as Kaito cowers behind him.
They’re immediately greeted by a line of servants, bowing at their arrival. There’s something in the Head matron’s eye that unsettles Kaito— hunger.
Like she hasn’t had a meal in years.
Taiga—
“2:23 am, we are now making our way down the West hall of the auction house.” Ritsu speaks into his recorder, following behind Romeo.
“Turn that stupid shit off, for once.” Romeo grumbles.
Ritsu pays no mind to Romeo’s words, keeping his composure, “You seem more agitated than usual, Vice-Captain.”
“FICO. Fee-” Romeo begins to sound it out for Ritsu before stopping, cursing, “Fuck you, just forget it.”
The two walk down the hall in silence, their footsteps clacking softly against the polished floor. Ritsu kept his gaze forward, glancing at the back of Romeo’s head every so often, wondering what could have ticked him off so bad. As the two turned down the hallway, Ritsu spoke up.
“Are you perhaps upset because that gentleman smacked you with the stock of his rifle?”
Romeo swivels his head around, revealing a large red mark spanning across the midportion of his face, his brows furrowed against his eyes. He sputters for a moment, trying to think of a retort before huffing and turning back around. Ritsu frowns, thinking of a way to pull Romeo out of his mood.
“Rest assured, your attackers have been taken care of.” Ritsu speeds up his stride a bit, moving closer to Romeo, “Your safety has also been secured.”
“I would’ve preferred if they used the other end of the gun, but sure..” Romeo mutters, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“What was that, Vice-Captain?”
“Hm? Nothing.” Romeo plasters a bittersweet smile over his face, before dropping it, “Let’s just find that BTH and Y/N.”
Ritsu nods, remembering their original mission. Romeo abruptly pauses, Ritsu bumping into him as a result.
“Vice-Captain, I ask you to–” Ritsu steps to the side, moving past Romeo before stopping.
Ritsu stares at the floor, dragging his foot to look at the bottom of his shoe, a dark, dry smear following.
Blood.
His eyes widened, slowly following the trail of blood.
“That BTH..” Romeo scoffs, “Probably killed every hooligan in this place.”
Ritsu frowns, moving carefully so as to not disturb the drying pool of blood spreading across the floor. He scrunches up his face, the metallic smell stinging his nose.
Ritsu pauses, stopping in front of a slightly cracked door, “In here.”
Ritsu raises a hand up to the door, pushing it open softly. The door creaks as Ritsu steps into the room, Romeo following close behind. The two stand in the doorway, mouths agape at the sight. Romeo curses.
For a moment, Ritsu thinks that the walls and floors have been painted red, for they have been, just not with paint. His breathing goes shaky. How is this even possible?
Blood coats every possible surface, bodies slumped on top of each other like an animal massacred and stacked each of them.
“Did Mr. Hoshibami…?” Ritsu struggles to string his words together properly.
“Taiga, you…” Romeo’s attention seems directed towards not the corpses surrounding them, but instead the middle of the room.
Slumped right up against the wall. You and Taiga.
Ritsu’s hand twitches. It’s not right to tamper with a crime scene, especially not one of this caliber, and yet– he wants to grab you. Feel your pulse. Wipe the blood dripping out the side of your head. Try to resuscitate you. But he knows it’d be futile. That not even your fingers would twitch. Ritsu’s jaw clenches as a tear falls down his face, clapping a hand over his mouth.
Romeo’s face is hot, red if either of you would look at him. Ritsu’s sobs don’t seem to register in Romeo’s ears as Romeo slowly drags his feet closer. Closer to you, and closer to Taiga.
The soles of his shoe cut through the blood-soaked floor, his steps sounding small splashes that cause blood to streak across the floor.
Ritsu watches as Romeo falls down to his knees, blood soaking through his pristine clothes. Romeo stays still for a moment before reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a handkerchief, dragging it across your face.
It doesn’t do much, most of the blood already beginning to brown as it dries down to your skin. With a bit more persistent rubbing, Romeo tilts his head, more satisfied when he can see your expression better.
It’s haunting.
He tucks the cloth in on itself, gently lifting your fingers out of your lap before placing the handkerchief in your hands. Romeo glances at Taiga’s face. Bloodsoaked. Slack jaw. A glint catches his eye— Taiga’s gun. It doesn’t shine like it did before, like it’s lost the life it once had.
It’s placed in his palm.
Romeo narrows his watering eyes, ignoring the burning feeling behind his sockets as he realizes what Taiga did, “Idiot.”
Romeo—
“Fuck you mean?!” Taiga angrily pushes the vase off Professor Hyde’s desk, broken porcelain scattering across the floor.
“We tried, Mr. Hoshibami.” Professor Hyde sighs, his voice condescending despite his attempts to sound disappointed, “The entire island was destroyed in the blast, as well as their bodies.”
The sound of Taiga’s gun clicking radiates throughout the room as he points it towards Professor Hyde, “You did this shit on purpose.”
Hyde stares at Taiga, unwavering, shallow smile on his face, “I understand your anger, Mr. Hoshibami, I would never endanger my students.”
“Twenty-eight.” Taiga hisses.
“Hm?”
“Twenty-eight distress calls, all within the span of 24 hours.”
“A shame, really.” Hyde frowns, though it’s not of grievance, but annoyance.
“That anomaly was secured on the island by the institute 18 years ago.” Taiga continues, “Any attempts to exterminate it were only to be carried out by institute agents ordered by the Chancellor. You know that.”
“I don’t appreciate what you’re insinuating, Mr. Hoshibami.” Hyde crosses his arms, “The Chancellor had no issues in approving the mission.”
Bam.
Smoke drifts from the barrel of Taiga’s gun.
“... Don’t do that again.” Hyde’s voice says through the smoke, completely unmasqueraded as hatred drips through his voice.
As it clears, Taiga frowns, Professor Hyde’s head moved just inches away from the bullet that had been shot straight into the wall. Taiga backs up, gun still in his hands as he slightly lowers it.
“Fuck. You.” He hisses, “You got what you wanted, didn’t you?”
Hyde ignores him, “We’ll try to retrieve their ashes for an urn.”
Taiga turns on his heel, stalking off towards the door.
“Though, I suppose you wouldn’t be able to tell if I gave you their ashes or a pile of campfire ash, would you?”
Taiga pauses, his finger twitching against the trigger of his gun, before he steps out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.
“Mr. Hoshibami!” Ritsu cries out, moving from where he had been leaning against the wall, “I heard a gunshot, are you alright?”
Taiga grumbles in response, walking past him.
“Did Professor Hyde say anything about y/n?” Ritsu picks up a faster pace to keep up with him, “Or the Vice-Captain.”
“Shut the fuck up, Shinjo.”
Ritsu stutters, going silent when he sees the dark look in Taiga’s eyes.
“I’ll handle it.” Taiga murmurs to himself, “That dirtbag will learn what it means to get blown sky high.”
Ritsu—
The sound of gravel rolls underneath Romeo’s feet as he stops at the entrance of an alleyway, gloved hand gently pressed against the brick and mortar.
“Ahh.. you onto something, huh Lulu?” Taiga hums in Romeo’s ear, smiling.
Romeo harshly nudges Taiga with his elbow, turning back to look at him with a frown, “Found security footage of them around here.”
Taiga looks around the alley, unimpressed.
“They just vanished.” Romeo huffs, scanning the alley.
Romeo had dragged Taiga along to Shibuya after you stopped answering his texts asking you to pick up newly launched beauty cream for him– 100 SPF, by the way, totally revolutionary– not for the anxious feeling gnawing through his chest, telling him you needed help. Romeo crosses his arms, eyes narrowing as he tries to think.
Taiga grumbles, shopping bags rustling as he shifts his weight around, “Tell me we’re going home soon, yeah? Even better, we could stop at that steak house I saw earlier. Fuuck. I’m so hungry.
Romeo scoffs, stepping into the alleyway, “That mission–... They–... They were supposed to be back a day ago.”
Taiga pauses, thinking for a moment before he realizes Romeo’s actually right, “Huh. Yeah.”
Taiga sets Romeo’s shopping bags on the pavement, one toppling over, a small crashing sound as the products fall onto one another, before following him into the alleyway. Romeo doesn’t even bat an eye at the sound, kneeling down in a corner next to a dumpster.
“What’cha see, Lulu?” Taiga leans against the wall, looking down at him.
“…Something.”
Romeo runs his fingers along a small, small dried splotch of oxidized blood. He narrows his eyes, standing back up.
“Blood.” Taiga says.
“Maybe. Yeah.” Romeo sighs, “But, I bet you there’s a million different stains in this alleyway that look like that.”
The exit door is pushed open, an employee dressed in black from head to toe with an apron and white face mask hauling a heavy trash bag. The two swivel their heads towards the employee walking through the door. The worker stops, staring at Romeo and Taiga, leachate leaking from a small hole in the bag and slowly dribbling down the alley towards them.
“Uh, sorry.. We don’t..” The employee glances at Taiga, “We don’t feed the homeless… company policy, sorry.”
Romeo clears his throat, ignoring the connotation.
“No, we’re sorry.” Romeo stands up, his face and tone immediately softening, “We’re looking for our friends, they– they were recently. Uh, greyish hair, blue-grey eyes.. About this tall–”
Romeo held his hand up in the air, wavering it a bit, “And he was with our friend as well, um–”
The employee's eyes widen in realization, “Oh, yeah, I know who you’re talking about. Uh, that guy was like, a lawyer, or something. Yeah, yeah! Offered me his services. Those two stopped by on, like, a date or something and asked something about… uh… bugs? Yeah, something like that.”
The employee rambled, moving past the two and heaving the garbage bag into the dumpster, a loud metallic clanging sound echoing throughout the sludge.
“Do… you know where they went?” Romeo asked.
“Think they took the back exit, no clue.” The worker shrugged, slowly starting to retreat back into the restaurant.
Romeo nodded, watching as the employee disappeared behind the door before turning to Taiga, whose upper half had overturned into the dumpster. Romeo scrunches his face up as Taiga pulls himself back up, watery sauce and bits of food running down him.
“Please, tell me you had a reason for doing that that doesn’t include being hungry.” Romeo closes his eyes in disbelief and exhales, turning his head away.
Taiga wags his hand back and forth, a frown on his face, “Recognize this? Shinjo’s dumbass recorder, he takes everywhere.”
Romeo’s eyes widen as he jolts towards Taiga, “Play it back!”
Taiga clicks ‘play’, the two standing in silence as static plays for a good minute.
“Love— You—”
The two glance at each other, unsure expressions.
“Sounds like the neophyte.” Romeo murmurs.
Seems like that's all that's left of him too.
Subaru—
Haku yawns, shuffling his feet into slippers. Haku cranes his neck back, catching a glimpse of Alan sitting with his knee propped up against his chest, already fully awake.
“Morning, Mido.” Haku nods towards him, smiling, “You wake up early, huh?”
Alan nods, quietly murmuring, “Mm. Yeah.”
Haku responds with a quiet chuckle to ease the silence before sliding the door open and stepping out into the hall of the ryokan. Alan isn’t exactly Haku’s first choice for a roommate on a mission by any means, but he’d feel evil if he split you and Subaru up on a mission. Haku drags his feet down the hall slowly, rubbing his eyes, his stomach and mind set on breakfast. Subaru probably has a whole bunch of different tea leaves and hors d'oeuvres already set up in your room. Haku throws his head back and smiles, stopping in front of the sliding door leading to your room.
“Heeey, guys.” He calls out, “Mind if I come in?”
He waits for a moment, tilting his head when he gets no response. What is that smell? Are you guys really still sleeping? Sure, you tend to wake up when you want, but Subaru tends to be up a bit earlier. Ohh. Late night maybe?
Haku snickers, turning on his heel as he shouts over his shoulder, “I’ll be in the lobby, they got complimentary tea, y’know.”
He begins walking back down the hall, humming minyo to himself quietly. This mission has felt more like vacation to him, zero leads on the anomaly so far, but getting to sit in the hot springs and spend late nights with Hotarubi has been fun. Haku moves over a board, distracted and momentarily tripping before he catches himself, “Shi–”
“Haku!”
A tall, gangly pale figure floating behind Haku rises from beneath the floorboards, panic set in his face.
“Oh, Zenji.” Haku exhales a sigh of relief, “Scared me. Join me for tea?”
Zenji shook his head hastily, “No– No!! Haku–! Y/N– Subaru–”
Haku’s easygoing smile begins to grow its doubts before melting into a frown, “What’s going on?”
Zenji flies through Haku’s body, Haku running to keep up, slamming his slippers against the boards with urgency. Zenji phases through the door to your room, Haku hesitating for a moment, fear freezing him. Something in him doesn’t want to see what’s on the other side of the door. He already fears the worst. Haku bites down on his bottom lip, stifling any type of noise he could possibly make as he slides the door open.
Pure blood.
Everywhere.
The dark red seeps through the tatami, staining every possible surface, Haku can hardly make out the shape of your bodies through the mutilation. Zenji hovers just off to the side, their demeanor matching each other– bodies both frozen except for their trembling hands, eyes wide yet both looking at different things. Zenji refuses to look anywhere except for Haku’s face, hoping to forget what he’s seen.
Haku takes a step forward.
“I–” His vision unfocuses, red bleeding through his cornea until it’s all he can make out.
Haku turns his head away and blinks, covering his mouth.
“We’ll– I’ll– Uh, call Darkwick. And–” Haku sputters out from behind his palm, words muffled.
He trips over his own feet, tumbling towards the ground, a sharp pain shooting up through his knees as he throws his hands out to catch himself. Haku stares at a line of blood centered right in front of him, splattered across the floor, growing darker as it bled into the tatami.
Haku lifts himself back up, heaving himself through the door.
Death is a natural part of life, he’s always known that. He’s put many spirits to rest, from children to the elderly, he’s seen death ever since he was a child working in his family’s shrine. He always felt a little bit of pity whenever he looked into that casket, skin smoothed over, never moving even a centimeter. Tranquil. Quiet. Yeah. He had grown to find peace in that look though, that their spirits would move on and rest.
This. This is not that.
This isn’t anything like that.
“That– Not–” Haku coughs, falling onto the wall.
Death isn’t peace. Not for you at least. And certainly not for Haku.
Haku—
Subaru stares into your photo, your eyes, glossy and full of light completely disreflect his own. It’s funny though, you’re the one who’s dead, yet anyone looking at Subaru would likely assume the same. He’s stiff. Face unmoving, eyes refusing to blink. The candlelight lit among a row of assorted flowers seems to refuse to light up Subaru’s face, like he’s just some sort of black hole.
It’s been a week since the mission.
Zenji had begun to fade from Subaru’s vision as the days went on, slowly becoming quieter and quieter before he said a temporary goodbye to Subaru, and his hopes to meet again. Without Haku’s spiritual presence, Subaru wasn’t strong enough to keep his connection with Zenji despite their bond, leaving him completely alone. The only ghoul in Hotarubi. Subaru glances behind him, Zenji’s doll standing in the doorway, casting a large shadow onto Subaru’s back.
“There’s a large bowl of incense lit, you may not want to come in.” Subaru’s voice barely above a whisper, traveling like smoke.
The doll stays still.
Subaru forces a small smile onto his face, not reaching his tired eyes before he turns back to the photo, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a small wrinkled polaroid.
“Y/n, here, you may want this too– in case–” Subaru chokes on his words, a tear suddenly falling down his face.
He moves across the room, sobbing and letting out choked breaths as he tucks in a photo of you, Haku, Subaru, and a floating doll at the amusement park into the frame.
“I’m glad we went back there, even– hic–” Subaru wipes his face with his sleeve, skin burning from the friction of the fabric of his uniform, “Even after the mission, it was–”
Subaru stops talking, burying his face into his hands with shame despite no one else in the room. He wails loudly, hunching over, “Don’t— leave– me. Please.”
“I can’t– I can’t– lead Hotarubi on my own..” Subaru’s lip quivers, “Just don’t–”
His knees buckle beneath him as he curls up into a fetal position, shaking. A grotesque sight for no one except wandering spirits– seeing a pretty face in the public world contort into pain and rawness in private. Subaru wails, rocking himself back and forth as he speaks to himself.
“I can’t do– hic– anything right–” Subaru screams, “I can’t protect the people in my House, I couldn’t protect you, I can’t–”
His voice quiets down, “I can’t do anything alone.”
He lays there for a minute. Thirty. An hour. He can’t move, whispering over and over, hoping maybe you would hear and come back to wipe his tears, reassure him it’ll be okay.
“I can’t do this alone.”
Rui—
Lyca snarls, standing up from the chair, “What’s that mean?!”
Professor Moby shrinks back into the plush fabric of his desk chair almost immediately, sweat beading across his tentacles.
“I just– I mean–” Moby whimpers, “We can’t recover the bodies.. Um.. per se.”
Ed stares at the wood of Professor Moby’s desk, arms folded over his chest as he stays seated next to Lyca, letting his chair envelop him while Lyca shouts at Professor Moby. There’s not much of anything going on through his head, unusual to him, where’s the quips of philosophy?
The centuries of years of this same thing happening to him, and yet.. Nothing. Every mortal dies, yes. Not every mortal lives a full life, also yes. But this feels.. Unreal. Preventable. Too soon. The span of time he had known you and Rui was simply a blip in his life. Like tripping over a shoelace or stubbing your toe. But this doesn’t feel like something he’ll forget in twenty minutes, maybe not even a decade, or century– maybe not even when Darkwick has been burned to the ground, not when humans have been wiped out, maybe never.
Lyca’s hand flies out in a dramatic display, almost hitting Edward in the face, his shouting still raining on.
“We’ll be the only two people left in the dorm!--” Lyca barks, “Why can’t you go get them?! I don’t wanna be stuck with this dumbass casanova!”
Lyca wags his hand towards Ed, pausing for a moment before he continues yelling. How annoying. The young. Never know anything, yet still keep talking.
“Mr. Colt– We can’t– They’re not ali–”
Was this meeting even necessary? Ed already knew. That feeling of despair had caught up to him before any news, like every other time he’s predicted something.
… Can fate be changed?
“I’m sorry, we’ll send a fruit assortment..” Professor Moby mumbles as Lyca finally grows tired of yelling, watching as he begins to turn for the exit.
Ed watches as Lyca pushes the office door open, closing it behind him.
“Ehm.. anything else, Mr. Hart?” Moby asks, an undertone of worry for another yelling match.
Edward thinks for a moment about everything he could say, the ready recovery team Darkwick has but refuses to send, the reason Moby thought this mission would be safe enough, the glowing tree in the courtyard, the way Darkwick will burn down in a month, or…
… Can fate be changed?
“... Mr. Colt doesn’t particularly care much for fruit. Get him some chocolate.”
Lyca—
Rui staples his phone in the crevice between his shoulder and ear, “Yes, yes– We’ll be home in like, 10! I just–”
He grunts, cursing under his breath as he attempts to shove leaves and branches out of his face with his other free hand.
“I just need to find doggo and y/n, y’know how it is.”
Ed sighs on the other line, “Kids..”
“Dude, y/n is almost the same age as me, and Lyca is like– two years younger, or something, I dunno.” Rui grumbles, trying to navigate the dense forest to the best of his ability, “Y’know, it would be great if you could get off your ass and actually help on a mission.”
“Just keep walking, you’re in the right direction.”
Rui rolls his eyes, impervious to how Ed could possibly know what was right or wrong.
He continues pushing through the forest, blocking out the sound of Ed watching YouTube on the phone, the loud sound of chips crunching and assumably falling onto Ed’s double chin. Rui groans as his path is blocked by a tangle of vines.
“Shit, sorry, gotta go.” Rui hangs up, moving his phone into his coat pocket, while using the other to maneuver the vines out of the way.
Rui mumbles to himself out of annoyance as he untangles the mess for a good minute before stepping back. He strips off his gloves, complaining on how he didn’t just do this sooner, pressing his hand up against the vines and watching as they curl up. There’s a low, writhing sound, like the plants are screaming as they begin to wither away. Rui slips his gloves right back on, stepping through into the clearing. Rui pauses, before rushing over to your body, realizing it is you. He crouches down, hands hovering over your body glancing at Lyca.
“... Dogg– Lyca?” Rui tilts his head, worry tensing up his face, “Hey? Hey!”
Lyca’s body is completely unmoving, stiff, his eyes not reflecting any sort of light. Hollow and dark. Rui knows that look. Rui looks towards your hands– Intertwined. Rui’s eyes widen.
His hand twitches as he moves it just a tad bit closer towards Lyca’s wrist. Pulse? Should he check for a pulse, maybe? The idea is stupid in all honesty, Rui already knows there will be no thump of any kind. Maybe that’s what makes him feel it’s alright.
He raises Lyca’s hand into his own, pressing his thumb gently onto Lyca’s wrist. Nothing. Maybe it’s just the gloves– and the pulse could be a bit faint too! He slips off his glove, discarding it onto the grass and pressing his middle and pointer finger onto the pulse. Of course. Nothing. Lyca’s body doesn’t even crumble a tiny bit. It’s not warm– though it’s not cold. There’s some remnant of heat.
Rui sighs and knocks his head back, staring up at the moon. Yeah, he had read the file. Something about snake venom. He narrows his eyes.
Rui looks back down between the two of you. Something in his demeanor has changed. Maybe it’s something in the air.
He reaches into his pocket, pulling out his phone. The screen brightens as soon as he pulls it out, the time flashing across the screen, reminding him just how long the three of you had been out here. Fuck. He really should have checked in with you guys sooner. Things could’ve been different.
“I’m sorry you gu–” Rui stares in shock at the drop of water on his screen.
Raining?
No, it’s a clear night. Oh. Rui wipes his eyes with his sleeve. He bites down on his bottom lip, the feeling completely numb as he dials Darkwick.
“Mm!-- Professor Moby speaking!”
Professor Moby’s voice crackles through the phone, his mouth full.
Rui’s mouth, agape, doesn’t make a sound despite being open. He stammers.
“We– There’s– hic–”
“Ohhhhhhh.”
The call goes silent for a moment, the sound of Moby shuffling something in his desk.
“You’re in Habu Forest, no?” Moby waits for no response, “Your location is pretty deep. Can you try moving them closer to the edge?”
Rui stays still, dumbfounded at Moby’s words, mouth struggling to come up with a response. He stares far off into the distance, past the trees, grass, and vines into nothingness.
“Mr. Mizuki?”
“Yeah.”
Click.
Professor Moby hangs up on him, eager to get Rui off the phone. Rui slowly lowers his hand, looking towards your corpses on the ground, unsure of how to move now. I guess… it might be a little harder to carry Lyca. So maybe he should get you out of the way first. He reaches for you, hesitating. This feels weird. He’s going to touch you.
He clears his throat, trying to figure out how he’s going to move you. Rui grips your wrist, still for a moment, before screaming and recoiling, crawling back.
Holy shit. You’re alive. You were alive. He watches in horror as your body begins to shrivel up. Normally, people would scream. But you don’t even make a sound. You don’t move. You just lay there as your body decays.
Why the fuck didn’t I just grab my gloves–
Rui sits there, eyes struck with grief and terror.
“I didn’t– hic– mean to–”
Rui hardly ever means to kill someone. He can hardly ever bring himself to, and yet this one time. This one time.
Yuri—
!!tw: morphine injection/suicide!!
Jiro’s eyes, creased with exhaustion, can't focus. He can’t make anything out as Professor Nicolas speaks to him.
“... Mr. Kirisaki? Can you hear me?” Professor Nicolas tilts his head, eyes glossy and soft, nothing like Jiro’s.
Jiro nods, “... I… Yes.”
He attempts to clear his throat, accidentally choking on his own saliva, pressing his fist up to his mouth as he hunched over. Professor Nicolas rests a hand on Jiro’s back, craning his head downwards.
“Mr. Kirisaki? Are you alright?” Professor Nicolas furrows his brow.
Jiro nods, still coughing into his fist. He fumbles over his own feet, reaching out his other hand to stop himself from falling onto the professor’s desk. His vision is blurry still– eyes stinging, I can’t– he can’t– breathe. Episode. Is this another episode? Shit, shit, shit–
“Mr. Kirisaki!” Professor Nicolas looks around, starting to understand the problem, “Your medicine–”
Professor Nicolas’ eyes dart around the room, surely he had some on hand. He rushes over to the large, white apothecary cabinet, pulling open sleek, modern drawers. The chilled air hits him as soon as the doors open, Nicolas immediately reaching for different vials. Phytomenadione, Enoxaparin, Daltepar– shit, wrong drawer–
The sound of Jiro’s ragged, harsh coughs pour out into the room behind Nicolas, nonstop. Professor Nicolas furrows his brow, fumbling with the key ring clipped onto the inside of his lab coat. Large brass key, no– that’s for the general hospital, small silver key.. no, that’s for the electricity room. Right, right. Nicolas picks out a medium-size key with a surprising bit of weight to it, clicking it into place in a smaller drawer.
There.
Among five other vials stored in the drawer– Jiro’s medication. He picks it up, bringing the glass up to light. What the hell?
Nicolas swirls the vial around, watching in horror as the only drop slowly runs around the bottom of the glass. Was it not stored properly? He moves the bottle around, reading the FIFO date.
He had stored the bottle a year ago– When it had first been formulated. It expired almost half a year ago.
Behind him, Jiro’s feet drag across the floor, stumbling before he lands against the apothecary cabinet with a thud. He shakily raises his hand, pointing at a bottle in the drawer Professor Nicolas had just opened. Professor Nicolas raises it up, reading the label and looking at Jiro, shaking his head.
“No– this– this is morphine–”
Jiro’s knees buckle, his body plummeting for the floor before he barely catches him. Jiro looks up at Professor Nicolas through his brow, nodding.
Professor Nicolas hesitates, staring at the bottle of morphine then back at Jiro, watching as his breath grows more shallow, more jagged. His breathing is painful and dry as he slowly extends his palm out. Nicolas squeezes his eyes shut, dropping the bottle into Jiro’s hand, before uncapping a syringe for him.
Jiro swipes at it, holding it as firmly as he can in his hand, slumping down next to the apothecary cabinet. He holds the handle of the syringe in his mouth, turning the vial upside down and drawing up the fluid through the needle. Jiro takes a deep breath, trying his hardest to stabilize his hand before pressing the needle through his skin, taking in a long breath as he injects it. Jiro exhales, his breathing growing shallower, yet more stable as he lets it overtake him.
Professor Nicolas takes a step back, covering his mouth with his hand.
“You deserve privacy.”
Nicolas closes the office door behind him softly, locking it.
Jiro lays on the floor, blinking so slowly it feels like an hour. He doesn’t mind. He knew he was going to die regardless. You two– you and Yuri. You were the only thing keeping him alive. Only people that would talk to him. Yuri. The only person that could administer his medication properly. Without you two, he’d be dead within a week. More painful. Mooree painful thaan this. I doon’t feel too badd actually. Sluggish. Beeesstt I’ve felt with my condition.
He blinks. Slower and slower each time he does so.
Taro? Are you here with me now? I can see you. Maybe this is a dream though.
I don’t get why you’re upset. Is Yuri with you? Is y/n? This is my own choice.
I don’t want to live my whole life in pain. Just go. I’ll see you soon.
Jiro—
Yuri stares up at his ceiling fan, eyes unfocused. 2 weeks. 2 weeks, 3 days since he first got the news. At first he screamed. Screamed at every single person who had any hand in the mission. Professor Nicolas, then the Chancellor, Romeo for some reason, and every Mortkranken student in a 6-foot radius that dared to even slip. But now. Now he was tired. Lead. Feels like lead has replaced every bone in his body. He can’t move, open his mouth. Just breathe. Is he breathing? Oh, yeah. Good.
He blinks for the first time in two hours, his eyes sour and red for a moment, threatening to overflow with tears once again, but this time Yuri can’t find the energy to sob anymore. A tear rolls down his cheek, rolling onto his pillow. How long has it been since he’s moved? Dunno. Who’s keeping track of the weeks and days?
Yuri blinks again. Get up. And he melts further into the mattress. Get up. He thinks to himself as he turns his head to face the curtains that were pulled shut over each window.
“III can’t do anything..” He murmurs.
“I’m a fraud.”
He closes his eyes, thoughts flooding his mind. Should’ve gone instead of being lazy. That’s what a real doctor would do. A real doctor wouldn’t be scared. A real doctor would have risked their life for a patient, someone who trusted you with their life. A real doctor would have done what it takes. He turns his head to the other side.
You can only publish so many theses about anomalous medicine. You can only ignore your problems so much. It hurts now that you’re gone. Why would you leave me so soon? I still need help. I need my assistants. I need your smile. I need your stupid faces.
There’s a knock on his door. Yuri only partially opens his eyes, glancing towards the general direction of the door. No one speaks. There’s only a quiet shuffling noise before the footsteps disappear down the hall.
Idiot. Probably some imbecile that thinks he’s pathetic for walling himself up in his room. I understand. I’m a coward.
Yuri rolls over, falling out of the bed. He lands with a thump, grunting. The pain resonates throughout his abdomen for a minute before he finds the urge to get up. Stupid door. Isn’t there a Do Not Disturb sign up?
Yuri glances through the peephole for a moment, worrying about being seen before opening the door and staring out into the hallway. It’s desolate. Quiet. Dark. He glances down. The tattered Do Not Disturb sign had fallen facedown, wrinkled, clearly stepped on. Yuri sighs, picking it up before he notices something. A small basket. He blinks.
Yuri drags it into his room slowly, not yet closing the door as he rummages through the contents. The first book of his favorite light novel series. Amedei chocolate. A classical music CD. He stares at the CD. He recognizes this song. The Blue Danube. His favorite. He and Jin had listened to it together quite often.
Yuri glances back out the door again, trying to catch anyone lingering in the hallway at this hour. He pops open the CD case, carefully handling the disc as he inserts it into the music player atop his desk.
Yuri pauses for a moment, just standing there as the first few notes play. He breathes the notes before humming along quietly, shutting the door. He crumples the paper Do Not Disturb sign, releasing it into the trash can before taking a seat at his desk chair, letting the music wash over him. He doesn’t move, staying there for the whole night listening to the symphony.
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