At first, my mind only registered the wall. My back found it cold and hard and really, really uncomfortable.

Next came the realisation that my body was slumped limply against it, and that I couldn't sit up on my own.

I couldn't move.

Something smelled of iron.

My shirt was damp and sticky.

My face ached.

My stomach throbbed.

And slowly, very, very slowly, my jumbled thoughts pieced themselves back together.

They told me of the glint of silver, a barrage of savage blows, and a storm of foul words.

It'd been just another instance of me being at the wrong place at the wrong time, only… by the time I'd realised they'd been carrying knives, it was already too late.

My eyes clumsily scanned the area, searching for something, scanning over everything…

What was I… searching for?

Actually… now that I thought about it… I couldn't see the bag I'd been carrying.

Oh.

They must've taken it.

So I was mugged.

Of course I was. After everything that'd happened to me thus far, it only made sense for me to die like this. When I was young and finally happy for once in this accursed life of mine…

I didn't need to be a genius to figure out that it was already too late to seek medical treatment, and it wasn't like the ambulance wouldn't arrive in time anyway. Not at this hour. Not with how far away I was from the nearest hospital.

If I hadn't fallen unconscious for a while there, maybe I would've made it. Maybe.

But I had.

I'd been knocked out, and now all my time, save for a few measly minutes, was gone.

Just like that.

Pushing those thoughts to the side for now, I groggily dragged a bruised hand in the direction of my jeans, fingers clumsily fumbling to find my back pocket.

Words… they could not describe the joy I felt when I found my phone was still there, albeit with a large crack running up its screen, and in my unsteady haste, I let it clatter loudly to the pavement.

It was almost pitiful, really, how such a small thing could make me feel, especially in this condition.

The phone was easy enough to retrieve, though it'd taken my hand quite some time of blind searching before I'd been able to do so; ultimately, this meant that I'd lost another of my precious minutes.

I pressed the button at the base of the device, and it lit up. Reflexively, I swiped my finger across the screen, and my eyes sought out the little patch of grey in the bottom left corner.

A while ago -just last year, actually-, I'd made it so that his name was the first in my short list of contacts; not that I'd told him; his head was big enough as is.

I applied pressure to the small blue phone symbol that soon popped up, and my ears were instantly assaulted after the very first beep.

"Where the hell are you?! Do you know what fucking time it is?!"

"Eh?"

"Your dinner's cold now, baka!" He huffed in irritation. "And you didn't answer my questions."

"You… cooked?" Although I asked my own question, I continued to pay his no mind.

"So what if I did?" His voice was defensive and wary; it was from embarrassment, most likely. Honestly, he reminded me so much of a cat that it was almost laughable.

"Did something good happen today?" I probed; it wasn't often that he cooked, and even less often that he waited up for me.

"Che."

I wanted to roll my eyes, only, my face hurt too much to do so. "If I'm not there in person, I can't tell if that's a yes or a no."

"I felt like it," he grumbled gruffly.

I tilted my head back, looking up. "I see." Up at the sky, up at the stars, up at the faint outline of the new moon etched into the beautiful blue expanse of space… This would be the last time I'd ever get to see it again… But, what I wanted to engrain into my mind more than anything, what I wanted to take with me, what I wanted to remember the most, more than anything, was his voice. "What'd you make?" I purposely kept my tone light, not wanting him to pick up on that something was wrong. I couldn't let him notice.

"Soba."

I snorted, and then winced as the pain in my stomach twisted, once again reminding me of my situation, though I otherwise ignored it. "You always make soba."

"Fine! If you hate it so much, you're not getting any!"

"Don't be like that." My voice was soft; I couldn't manage more than that at this point. My feet were beginning to tingle. "What if I'm starving?"

"Then you can just pick something up while you're out!"

I pouted without meaning to. "Meanie." I couldn't feel my legs anymore. "I like it when you cook."

"Then you'd better be prepared to work for it!"

"Pervert."

"How can you be sure I meant in that way?" There was a teasing note to his voice. He was messing with me again.

I let my eyes drop back down to take in what lay around me. The street was dirty. There was trash littered literally everywhere. Why had I taken this shortcut again? "Then in what way did you mean?"

"In that way."

I groaned. "You, Yu Kanda, are an intolerable man." By now, that horrible cold feeling had reached my stomach. I had to hurry this along. There wasn't much time left. I didn't have much time left. "Fortunately for you, I love you, ya big jerk."

There was a brief pause. I could only image the look on his face. He'd be staring at the phone incredulously, his dark eyebrows furrowed, and that permanent V between them would be more pronounced. His shoulders would be tense… and…

Maybe he'd be blushing…

A blushing Yu… That image made me giggle, even at an inappropriate time such as this.

"The fuck's up with you?! Are you drunk?"

I squinted as my sight began to fade in and out, the edges going blurry. "No… I just thought that as your boyfriend, I don't tell you that nearly enough." I tried to blink through the haze, hoping it was nothing, but it stayed. Oh. I'm…

"You're such a weirdo."

"Really?" I shifted, stifling a hiss. "But you still love me, right?"

There was another second of silence. Then I heard him mutter, "Hurry up and get your ass home."

"Mmm." I would not offer him false words, not when I knew that I wouldn't be coming home tonight. "Hey…" I swallowed thickly. "I… I wanna hear you say my name."

More silence.

"Yu?"

"Stop being stupid, Moyashi."

I doubt those words should have made me feel worse, but somehow, they did. "I… I gotta hang up now." I didn't want to, not now -not ever!-, but if I stayed on too long, he'd be sure to notice. My acting wasn't that good.

Another silence.

"Goodbye."

"Che."

I smiled despite myself as a small beep signalled the line had been cut.

My fingers, strangely numb, let the phone slip through them and fall.

I coughed, small throaty sounds that hurt my throat, and brought a hand to my mouth to quieten them. I rubbed my hand over my lips, and when I looked, I saw red.

I dropped my hand to let it rest by my side; it was too difficult to hold up anyway.

I'm fine.

The wet hot tears I'd been holding back 'til now overflowed, spilling down my cheeks and dripping from my chin.

P-perfectly…fine.

A small wail fell from my lips, followed by a hiccup.

Fine…Everything is…fine…

I tried to brush away the tears, but my hand would no longer follow my commands. All I could do, with my face all messy from snot and tears, was watch my fingers twitch as I wheezed, and my chest erratically rose and fell. Everything was quiet but for my ragged breaths, short occasional sobs, and the unpleasant sound of unconcealed hiccups.

I'm such a horrible person…

My heart hurt. It ached terribly.

Funny… I don't remember being hurt there…

I shivered, and exhaled, feeling something wet on my lips.

Blood, most likely.

"Ah… Dammit…"

…sorry for being weak…

There were no feelings of peace here.

I was scared.

I didn't want to die.

But I was smarter than that. I knew when to give up. So instead of fighting, instead of trying to get my stupid body to move, I simply closed my eyes, took one last shuddering breath, and let sleep take me.

S|W

The summary was made to lure you into a false sense of security, suckers.

This was my first time writing an actual death scene, so don't judge.