All of these chapters will be short and take place somewhere in mid-December. This could be a part of a larger series in the future.
"Dude, stop!" Yosuke never fucking thinks before he does anything. It's so. Fucking. Infuriating. Kanji reaches out to grab Yosuke and stop him from this fool ass charge but he's too fast. He's always too fast. The feeling of Yosuke's shirt just barely touching his fingertips and Kanji's heart dropping to his feet with urgency will haunt him later. Right now, he's cursing, yelling and screaming but the result is always the same. There is no stopping Yosuke from putting himself between their leader and danger. This is not the first time this happened but it's one of the few moments he's ever been afraid of the result. Everything seems to go too slow but happen too quickly for anyone to react.
The next moment their leader is shoved to the ground and lightning strikes with a crash sending Yosuke careening down into the furthest wall. For a moment, Rise's shriek is lost to the sound of the wet crack Yosuke's body makes upon impact. The ground shakes as Kanji breaks into a run so hard and fast, shooting pains pierce the soles of his feet. The ferocious scream of rage their Leader lets out precedes several Agidyne explosions.
Just yesterday Kanji grabbed Yosuke by the scruff of his collar and shouted in his face, "if you don't stop doing shit like this you're gonna get killed!" And Yosuke responding in his normal way - dismissive, carefree – only made him angrier. "Think of us, dude! Think of your parents! What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Their Leader broke them up before Yosuke could say anything. He never got an answer. Right now, he's afraid he never will. Chie-Senpai and Yukiko-Senpai are with Naoto in an entirely different part of this multi-story slice of hell. Rise is sure to get their attention but there's just no telling.
The dust is persistent as their Leader launches attack after attack. Kanji's sure he doesn't even even care that that shadow is weak to fire, he just wants it dead. There's a part of him that wants to share in the fury but in the rare moments their Leader loses his infamous cool, it's best just to stay out of his way.
Yosuke's body lays crumpled in a struggling heap. Gagging, gurgling dry heaving are not the best signs of life but Kanji recently learned the very important English idiom "Beggars can't be Choosers." He doesn't reach Yosuke until the other has barely pulled himself into a sitting position. Holy shit, that right arm is shattered. His ribs must be liquid.
"Shit. Shitshitshit..." Kanji finds himself muttering he doesn't even know where to start. "H...hang in there, Senpai..." God what does he even do? Yosuke-senpai is broken. Everywhere he looks, something is either bloody or bent in the wrong direction. How is he even conscious? Yosuke's head is hung, as he takes gasping, gurgling breaths. Fuck. Fuck. "What were you thinking, man?" The usual nothing, he figures until he catches wind of the gurgling, ragged reply.
"I...i...isssss..."
"No, no, you jackass..." Kanji cajoles gently pressing his hands to Yosuke's face wordlessly pleading with him to lift his head. He doesn't want to think about the wetness on his hands. "...don't try to talk, alright?" He wants to shake this asshole and scream. WHY DO YOU KEEP DOING THIS!?
"I...ssssss...pa-pa-aaaaart." Part? Part. Partner!
"Partner? You mean Senpai?" All he gets is a faint noise of confirmation. His hands are braced around Yosuke's face like he's keeping it together.
"O...ok..." That "k" is terribly painful for Yosuke to eek out. "k...ay?" Okay? Okay. Is Partner okay? Kanji glances over his shoulder. The shadows are gone and and he's running toward them as fast as he can but he's a far ways off.
"Yeah. He's okay. Just...don't try to talk anymore, man. Please." He doesn't. The wet feeling on Kanji's hands starts oozing through his fingers. Panicking, he briefly pulls his hands away. Their Leader runs up just in time to see blood from Yosuke's bent head dripping into Kanji's hands. He's never panicked before in his life but suddenly he's on his knees, hands braced on Yosuke's shoulders, desperately calling his name. He'll apologize for shoving Kanji out of the way later. Maybe. "This is bad, Rise. How far are they?" He never thought Kanji's voice could shake like that. This isn't a cracked rib or a broken arm. This is different. This is terrifying.
And it's his fault.
"I'm okay, Yosuke, I'm fine, see?" Kanji hears a thin, shaking "why did you do that?" That wasn't meant for him to hear. So he pretends he didn't. At the sounds of His Partner's voice, Yosuke finally struggles to lift his head. Kanji let's out a quiet "fuck" when they both finally see where all that blood comes from. He can't take it. He looks away and he's ashamed that he does. Their hopes rely on how fast Yukiko-Senpai can run. Yosuke-Senpai might really die for a goddamn fool decision. Surely, their Leader could have chosen another persona and blocked that Lightning attack.
Right?
"Yosuke? No, Yosuke, don't! Look at me! Look at me, damn it!" Their Leader's desperate pleas make Kanji's eyes snap back to Yosuke's heaving chest. He hears the gasps for air before he sees his one good eye left rolling back. Gasps turn into gurgles, blood slips from his lips in tiny drops, but when his mouth hangs open, like he's still trying to speak – goddamnit Yosuke you talk to fucking much – blood covers his teeth and bubbles in the back of his throat.
"There's nothing to heal if you're dead!" Teddie warned them one day. "So even if you have this spell you've gotta be extra careful!"
"Please, Yosuke...c'mon, Partner, don't do this to me." Their Leader begs His Second to stay alive. Stay breathing. He takes Yosuke in his arms, he's so limb and fragile. Kanji's pleas sounds more like sobs and he becomes too aware of his own tears dripping off his chin.
"Amaterasu!" A familiar warmth breaks over the boys as harmless sparks rain from white wings circling protectively around them. Yukiko's here. Chie and Naoto aren't far behind. "Don't tell me I'm too late." She's pretty beat up, even limping a little. She doesn't care. But when she hears a loud, greedy gasp for air from Yosuke. She cast another just to hear it again. She drops to her knees, exhausted and doubly sure she sprained her ankle back there. She doesn't know how close she came to being late. She just knows that she's the reason Yosuke is alive now and that's all she needs. By the time Chie and Naoto skid to a halt, Yosuke has gone from limp in Their Leader's arms to bent over on his knees. It doesn't look like an improvement to Naoto but judging by Rise's panicked sobbing and Teddie's wailing, she'll have to take what she can get.
"Move, Senpai give him some room." Kanji's voice is still shaking, but he has to peel Their Leader off of His Second. Healing Spells might be a godsend, but they are not free of consequences. Sometimes, a body just can't handle the shock. Everyone cringes as Yosuke's consequences are heaps of coagulated blood and other unpleasant substances erupting from his mouth with a sickly "guuurk". Their Leader sits back on his haunches, eyes closed in what he hopes is relief. He doesn't look relieved. He looks angry. Chie is pretty sure it's her job to be angry at Yosuke for pulling stupid shit, but she doesn't feel angry right now. In fact, she wants to cry a little. She can still taste the fear in the air and Rise and Teddie's frantic calls of "on our way" aren't helping. Was Yosuke really about to die? Kanji, not Their Leader, rubs Yosuke's back as he shakes and gags though more convulsions. "That's it, man. Let it all out. Get it all out." Everyone stews in their relief for a moment. Rise and Teddie come flying in, cringing at Yosuke's poor state. Kanji finds himself glad they didn't see him just moments ago.\
The shock falls off, desperation crumbles and all that's left is the disturbing reality of the situation. God, Yosuke-senpai seriously almost died. The hot tongues of anger start stoking a fire in Kanji's chest once again. He's used to being angry at Yosuke, but he doesn't feel like shouting. Instead of shouting at him, they're all forced to think back at how many times this has actually happened. No one's talking. The sound of Yosuke's labored breathing seems louder than anything else in this place. Yosuke sags against him and Kanji almost checks if he's still breathing. He's exhausted. Anyone would be. Yosuke glances up, expression unreadable. It's so weird to see him speechless. Kanji opens his mouth to speak but he never gets the chance.
"Get him up." Everyone's eyes snap to Their Leader. He's talking to Kanji, but he can't seem to tear his eyes away from Yosuke. For once, Kanji is at odds with him.
"Give him a minute, Senpai, he's..."
"Get." The first word is so heavy ans strained, Their Leader has to look away as he forces it out. "Him up." After a pause, Their Leader adds in a gentler tone, "Please." Whatever Yosuke wants to say sticks in his throat. He doesn't have the wherewithal to hold onto it. "We're going home for the day." Kanji helps Yosuke to his feet.
"C'mon." He says quietly. Yosuke might be whole again, but he still feels so breakable. He doesn't quite catch Yosuke's murmured "thanks", he's too busy trying to pretend that his friend's blood wasn't just all over his hands. Teddie walks a little too close to Yosuke's other side. Trailing behind them is Naoto, already planning ahead and marveling at the fact that Yosuke-senpai's headphones and music player are still together in spite of having been thrown from his person.
The music player still says "play" but all she can hear is garbled muttering. Relief aside, she dreads telling Yosuke-senpai his precious headphones are broken.