When one of them dies, will the other be able to cope-or be driven into insanity? Spiritshipping (JohanxJudai), Japanese names used. Worth the read!
If you have never heard the song "Even in Death" by Evanescence, I strongly suggest you listen to it before reading this story. Here is a YouTube link for a video with the lyrics.
watch?v=sTP5Cx4BbZw
This story won't contain all the lyrics in the text, but just the first passage and some of the last.
Give me a reason to believe that you're gone…
Judai huddled on the bed in the corner of his room, knees tucked to his chest with his arms wrapped around them. He gazed, unblinking, into the darkness, wearing the same expression of shock that he had for days. Bags were starting to form under his eyes, and he was pale and sickly-looking. He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten, and he certainly hadn't been sleeping well. He couldn't carry on. He had lost all will to survive, and preferred to hiding in his hotel room in the dark, longing to hear a familiar whisper in his ear, assuring him that he would never be alone. But it didn't matter. The voice never came. Still, reassurance or not, Judai knew that somewhere amidst the shadows and shock the tragedy had left behind, Johan's spirit still lingered.
"Two are injured and one is dead tonight after a vehicle collision near Tokyo Bay, which happened at approximately 10:32 p.m.…eighteen-year-old Johan Andersen, a Scandinavian immigrant who had just recently graduated from Duel Academia, died soon after arriving to the hospital. Yuuki Juudai, also eighteen and a recent Academia graduate, remains in stable condition in the hospital. Police are still investigating the cause of the accident."
"Judai…you were both in the accident. But Johan didn't make it…"
Judai froze at the nurse's words. He had just awakened, and some woman had just told him that he and Johan had been in an accident. He didn't remember much, but he did remember something. He remembered lying on a stretcher on the cold asphalt beside Johan, who was also on a stretcher. Judai tilted his head to look at him, at how still he was, and worried. He reached out and touched his hand, trying to comfort him without words, and also to confirm that he wasn't dead. He panicked at the lack of response, but finally, after several seconds, Johan's fingers wrapped around his. He tilted his head as well and looked straight at Judai. He was bleeding from his temple, his neck, his forehead, but he offered Judai a small, kind smile, even as his eyes were wet and his skin was stained red. His hand moved to his waist, and he pulled something off his belt; then he pushed into Judai's grasp and somewhat nodded. Then he closed his eyes, and the distant sirens suddenly rang louder, and four people rushed over and picked Johan up with his stretcher. Judai looked over at him and panicked, reaching out with his hand—but his friend was already gone, and the ambulance pulled away. He then glanced at what he held in his hand and began to cry. It was a leather box the size of a deck of cards, and Johan had given it to him to keep.
There was a cluster of small white candles arranged on the nightstand beside Judai and groups of them in the corners of the room, causing soft amber light to dance across the shadowed white walls. Judai had discovered this the day of Johan's death—he had seen Johan's faint silhouette watching him from the shadows, he himself being only a shadow. That was six days ago, but he had done it every night since then, not only so he could watch for him, but also because he found the candlelight rather therapeutic. It was good to have something to concentrate on.
Silently, Judai waited. He wasn't sure how many minutes passed—minutes, hours, days. He didn't care. He had learned the true meaning of patience one week earlier, at the hospital.
It all went wrong at the hospital.
A/N: I apologize for a short first chapter, but I needed a cliffhanger.
I was horrified when the thought for this entered my mind, but I was excited to make a story out of it. In my mind, I'm handling pure gold here for angst-y Spiritshipping fans, but by no means was this story easy to write. It was hard to put my thoughts into words, and each chapter needed to be revised about three times before I could accept them. And yet, even so, here is the first chapter, still flawed and imperfect.
However, I'm not going to quit. In some morbid way, I enjoy writing this. If readers like this, I'll be posting one chapter each week, so please review-a reader's feedback is the only thing that keeps me writing.
Plus, if you review, you get a virtual cupcake. :P
Cheerio!
~Kindlehope