Another update! I actually just woke up from a very long nap that I hoped would keep me asleep for the rest of the night, but unfortunately my insomnia made me wake up early. *sigh* Anywho, wow, we're almost done with this story! I hope you all will appreciate the twist I'm working on. After this, I'm starting a requested fic from incidentalmusic, then another from BlueRoseDream. So, long story short, I have my work cut out for me for a little while! Now, on to my love for you~! Winter In Japan, awwwww, really?! Thank you so much! Sayroo01604, haha, I think you'll like the ending! BlueRoseDream, yay, a medal! On another note, evil children...? I'm intrigued! Logic Dive, Psyche has shipped your lights! I'm glad you like it! darkestlight96, glad you like it! Quiet. Crash, so I'm forgiven for being misleading? I really do love you! Cael Luciano, it is stupid for Tsu-chan to not care. I've already posted my Hetalia fic! adorableness, ah, thank you! I just worry about my Psyche and Tsugaru stories... I'm not as great at writing them as I'd like to be! Now, on with the story!


The Seventh

Psyche sits beside the brunette girl, trying to think of a way to explain what's happening. She's watching him patiently, not saying anything. The raven looks back and forth between her and the wall. At least... It used to be a wall.

The glitches are surrounding them now. Psyche can't even tell there was ever a room here. It's entirely blackness and emptiness now.

Just like his home.

Just like outside.

Just like his life.

And Tsugaru...

"Psy-kun, is everything okay? You look like you're freaking out," Erika says.

"I-I'm not okay... I'm not..."

"Tell me what's wrong."

"I think... No, I know, I'm going crazy. All I see when I look around is static and emptiness... It's like watching a television channel that doesn't get signal anymore... What do you think that means?"

She doesn't answer. She only wears the same expression she's always worn since he's met her. Which was just the other day...

No... He's met her before. He just can't remember when. What's her last name...? What's anyone's last name? Not having a past seems to be driving him insane.

"Tell me what's wrong."

Psyche deadpans, looking up at her in alarm. Erika's entire body is now consumed by the static, and it's coming closer to him.

"E-Erika-chan...?"

"Tell me what's wrong."

Psyche stands up and backs away, careful to avoid the endless pit he's being presented with. Erika continues to talk, but her voice seems to fade away.

The raven makes his way outside, or what's left of outside to be more exact. There's not much of anything anymore. It's all emptiness. All of it... All...

He has to go find Tsugaru. If their world is being destroyed, he wants to be beside his lover. How stupid he's been! It doesn't matter about what's happened before! It doesn't matter! He only wants to be with Tsugaru!

He runs as fast as he can toward his home. It's hard when there's not much to go by. There are no street signs, no crosswalks. He's simply running from blackness into more blackness. This realization only makes him run faster.

If Erika was consumed, would Tsugaru be? Also, does that mean Psyche himself will soon be caught by the glitches? If that's the case, how much time do they have?

He reaches his house, pleased to see it's still standing. He finds Tsugaru outside on the patio, steadily being drenched by the rain.

"Tsu-chan!"

The blonde turns just in time to find himself bombarded by a pink and white clad raven. He clutches the sopping mess to his chest, and buries his face in the wet black locks.

"Psyche... You came back..."

"Of course I did! I'm so sorry, Tsu-chan! I don't care what's happened before! I only wanna be with you!"

The two men share a passionate kiss right in the middle of the chaos. Tsugaru is the first to break away.

"N-No, you're right. You've been right this whole time. I do think of you as a kid sometimes... I never think of you as having actual problems... Maybe if I had listened to you, things wouldn't have turned out like this..."

"Tsu-chan, can you still see the glitches...?"

"They come and go. Why? Can you still see them?"

"I... I see them everywhere... I think our entire world is being destroyed..."

Tsugaru looks at him in alarm.

"Don't say that! We can't just be destroyed. It doesn't work that way! We have to be able to make things right again!"

"Make things right? What is your definition of right, Tsu-chan? Nothing has been right for a very long time!" Psyche hisses.

"Things have been right between us! They've been amazing! I... I don't want to go back to where we were!"

"Where were we?"

Tsugaru shakes his head and clutches his hair.

"No, no, no, no, no..."

Psyche pulls the blonde to him and holds him close as he rocks them back and forth.

"Tsu-chan, do you know something I don't?"

"W-When the...'glitches' come... I see awful things... Awful things about us... I don't want them to be true!"

"What do you see?"

The static consumes the sky, effectively ending the downpour.

"Can you see the static now, Tsu-chan? Can you see what you don't want to?"

Tsugaru stands up straight again and shakes his head.

"No, I can't see it right now... Psyche, can't we stay here? Like this? Just the two of us? I... I don't care if our entire world is fake... I really don't! I just want to be here with you!"

"Do you hear yourself? We can't just stay here if there's going to be nothing left! We're going to be consumed just like everything else! It's... It's just the way things are..."

Tsugaru wraps his long arms around the lithe raven's body.

"Can't you just be happy knowing I love you? Please..."

"If you love me, you'll tell me what you see."

The blonde hisses and jerks away from his lover.

"There you go again! You always issue ultimatums! You make demands and never listen to anyone else! It's not fair!"

"Tsu-chan! I've never once issued an ultimatum to you!"

"Don't fucking lie to me!"

Psyche's magenta eyes widen impossibly. In their entire life together, Tsugaru has never once used a swear word.

"I-I'm not lying... Calm down..."

"Don't tell me to calm down! You wanted to know where my strength comes from? You wanted to see it in action? Well, fine!"

With that, Tsugaru picks up their patio table and chucks it into the void that's growing ever closer. Psyche squeaks and ducks as it flies directly over his head.

"That could've hit me!"

Tsugaru is breathing heavily, his eyes flashing in anger. Psyche has never seen him so...livid... Yet, he knows he's seen it many times before now.

When?

Why does it seem like it's never happened?

"What is it going to take to get you to just...go back to how things were?" Tsugaru asks in a defeated voice.

Psyche feels something in him snap at this point.

"How things were? Do you have any idea how boring things were?!"

"Not boring! Controlled! That's the entire point!"

"The point is that it's boring! I can't stay here with just you! I... I need humans to observe! I need things to do! Stop being such a-"

"Such a what? Huh? Say it! Piss me off like you always do, louse!"

The static is at their feet now, steadily crawling up Psyche's legs. He's not sure how much time he has, but he has to get one message across before he goes.

"Don't call me a louse, you stupid fucking PROTOZOAN!"

Everything goes black, then Psyche knows no more.

Somewhere, in another life, Izaya Orihara opens his carmine eyes for the first time in weeks.


Sachi: :D

Psyche: D:

Tsugaru: ...

Izaya: Yay! I get screen time!

Sachi: Ahhh, I'm sure some of you saw this coming, ne? You know I love adding twists and turns! Review for the next chapter and get-

Psyche: A broken giraffe statue!

Sachi: ...

Izaya: Is it taller than me? I could put it somewhere and scare Shizu-chan with it…