The sounds of the wheels clacking against the ground was the only thing Yata could hear. He tried to put it out of his mind though as he kept his focus on where he was headed. He pushed his foot against the ground and picked up speed as he raced down the hall.
He had to keep moving.
He couldn't slow down or stop at all.
There wasn't time for that.
He pushed his foot down harder on the cement floor, giving him more momentum to move forward. Faster and faster he went as he continued moving down the hall. His frustration built up inside of him, but he made sure to keep on going.
But it eventually burst, causing Yata to shout loudly and angrily for Saruhiko. He shouted out his name, calling for the bastard, hoping that maybe then he would reveal himself. But it only ended up attracting Green Clansmen.
Yata tried to ignore them, but soon they held up bazookas and began to fire attacks towards him. Though, it was nothing truly bad for him, their attacks were weak and inaccurate, enabling him to dodge each and every one of them.
Besides, he had more important matters on his mind than taking care of the Green Clan. The only thing that was currently on his mind was Saruhiko. He needed to find him. He needed his answers. And he wasn't going to give up any time soon until he had found Saruhiko.
Soon he came towards a wall, but from the firing of the Green Clan, shells collided with it and broke it down. Yata passed on through without a scratch and found himself in a new location of the building.
And there he was. Saruhiko was just a few feet ahead of him. There was also that Green Clansmen: Sukuna, holding a scythe that glowed green with energy. Saruhiko was crumpled against the wall, and looking like he wouldn't have any time to react.
With another push Yata got himself close enough where he swung his metal rod and knocked away the scythe attack. Now that he stalled from a direct attack, Yata made sure to stop right in front of Saruhiko.
"Oh, are you switching players now? That's fine by me," Sukuna replied before charging in for another attack.
Yata narrowed his eyes. He wasn't about to stand for any of this gamer crap that this kid was talking about. He held out his metal rod again and quickly launched an attack before Sukuna could even get close.
The surprise attack drove the scythe into the floor, kicking up a large amount of dust and smoke. With that as a cover, Yata turned around and threw Saruhiko over his shoulder and moved as fast as he could to get the hell out of there.
Yata knew it would be a good diversion for now, even if it was only temporary. And just after he thought that, he heard Sukuna shout from behind. But that still was not what he cared about at the moment.
All he cared about was looking at Saruhiko, who was looking far more pale than usual. "Saruhiko! Are you alive?"
"Why the hell did I even ask that?!" Yata scoffed at himself.
Such a stupid question. But… the lack of response was starting to worry him. Aside from the usually pale complexion, Yata couldn't even see if he was breathing or not. His heart skipped a beat.
Yata then shifted his right hand a little to keep a better grip on Saruhiko. That was when he felt his hand push against Saruhiko's jacket and felt something sticky and warm.
Another spike in Yata's heartbeat came again.
"H-Hey!..." Yata started to say, but his words fell flat. What was he going to do if… if what he was fearing… was real? If what he felt was in fact that… How much had happened before he got there?
Thankfully he heard a short exhale. "You're… late…" the voice was faint and weak, but it was still Saruhiko's. "Y-You call yourself… a h-hot shot…"
Saruhiko breathed in, no doubt going to finish his insult, but instead he coughed. He coughed sharply and blood dripped from his mouth.
From the quickest side glance Yata could see it, and now the pain his heart moved to his stomach, tying a deep knot. "Shut up… You don't have to finish. Just… save your breath."
"Why should I?" Saruhiko whispered.
"Because…" Yata started to say. He tried to finish his words, but he found everything was getting stuck in his throat. He didn't want this to sound like it would be something dire or final between the two of them.
"You can't even think of a good reason… idiot…" Saruhiko remarked before another cough happened and more blood trickled down his chin.
"Hey!" Yata shouted. He wanted to get frustrated at Saruhiko, but the signs of weakness and injury were his main concern now. All the thoughts he had to say… that he wanted to say… would have to wait.
"I don't need you using up all your energy now. I got things I want to ask you, and if you use up all your words on insults, then… I just am not letting that happen, okay?! I am going to get you out of here, and then you are going to answer my questions and listen to what I have to say!"
"Sure are confident about that…"
"Stop being so pessimistic!" Yata yelled, anger burning in his throat.
He was going to push out as many thoughts on the subject as he could. He would do as much as he needed without showing how fearful he was. If he did… he knew Saruhiko would pick up on it easily. He wasn't about to let him know how scared he was feeling on the inside. "You aren't going to give up yet, you got that?! I am going to make sure of that."
Much to Yata's surprise, Saruhiko lifted his head slightly. He stared at Yata almost with a perplexed look, like he had not even expected that answer from him. He looked like he had something to say, but a flash of green light pulled them from any further conversation.
The blast came from the ground, knocking Yata off his skateboard, as well as his grip on Saruhiko. Yata gritted his teeth as he tried to position himself so he wouldn't topple over. Sukuna came flying up from the hole that was now in the floor, his scythe gripped tightly in his hands.
Just as he tried an attack, Yata managed to knock away the scythe before it could even get close.
"Saruhiko is in critical condition, and your health bar's turning yellow. So what will you do now?" Sukuna taunted.
Yata grumbled heavily. He did not want to have to deal with this kid again. He wanted to get out as soon as he could with Saruhiko. He needed to get him to safety. "Hey you little punk, don't you have any friends to play with?"
"I've always been a solo player. It's a hundred times better than having to deal with weak idiots who just slow me down. I'm strong enough on my own anyway. The only one who's fun to play with is Nagare. That's why anyone who gets in his way is going to get crushed!"
Sukuna then charged at Yata, preparing another attack. He was much faster than Yata expected, and before he knew it, Sukuna was in the air, ready to strike down. Yata tried to back himself up in order to dodge the attack. But much to his surprise, a dagger came flying past him. Sukuna instead had to direct his attack to deflect the oncoming knife.
Yata turned his head back to see Saruhiko laying on the ground, half sitting up. One hand was over his side, and despite being a couple feet apart, Yata could see the blood stained on his fingers. To top that, his slow and heavy breaths were clearly noticeable, as the strength he had used to throw the knife was more than he probably should have done.
"Shit," Yata cursed. "We need to make this fast…"
Finally he turned back to look at the brat child.
"So Jungle was your refuge huh? You remind me of how Saruhiko and I used to be, but… it's time to go home kid.
"You're full of it. I'm still way stronger than the two of you put together!"
"Ah, yeah right! Guess again!" Yata shouted, this time he charged at Sukuna, feeling more prepared.
Though he had said that, the last thing he wanted was for Saruhiko to get involved in this fight. He already was injured enough, and even if he didn't want to listen to the brat… he was right. Saruhiko was in critical condition. If that wasn't taken care of soon enough, then Saruhiko might…
Yata shook the thoughts away as he clashed weapons with Sukuna. "No. Stop it. I said I was going to get him out of here, and that's what I am going to do."
Yata extended his weapon to push Sukuna into the air, causing the boy to gasp for air. Just as he was preparing to toss him off, a knife whizzed by, warranting Sukuna to deflect it. The force of doing so was still enough to cause Sukuna to fall back to the ground.
Looking over, Yata saw that Saruhiko was trying to stand up. Blood still stained his jacket as well as his leg, but he was starting to push himself to his feet. Though, Yata could clearly see the pain that was going through his friend while he tried to do so.
"Saruhiko!" Yata yelled. "You shouldn't fight. Just stay back, I can take care of this."
Saruhiko laughed, although it was a bit weak, but it was still his usual laugh. "Yeah right. You won't be able to do it, not on your own."
Yata shook his head, rather than trying to argue with the insult, he tried to remain focused on what was more serious. "I won't let you fight. I… I can't have you getting hurt any further."
He could hear a faint scoff from under Saruhiko's breath. "Like a little blood is going to scare me. I'll be fine."
"But…"
"Misaki, stop being a whining baby about this and just focus on fighting. I said I'll be fine."
As much as Yata wanted to argue more, Sukuna grumbled in annoyance. "Come on already! I hate stupid cutscenes you can't skip!"
He lunged forward in the direction of Saruhiko, but he was stopped half way there by Yata. He used his staff to slam into Sukuna's chest, forcing him back once more. "Shut it you little brat. I'll finish with you right now, then you don't have to listen to 'stupid cutscenes' anymore!"
Sukuna gritted his teeth as he braced himself from crashing to the ground. "Well at least this is hopefully going to be more of a challenge. Though a fighter in critical condition shouldn't be too hard to wipe the floor with. I was already doing it before anyway!"
"You shut the hell up with that right now!" Yata said as he ignited his staff with his aura. He ran at Sukuna and tried to strike, swinging his staff from the side.
It was easily blocked by the scythe and small sparks flew from the two weapons. While the two of them held each other at a stand-off, another few knives came flying in from the side. Sukuna only had enough time to glance before one of the knives lodged into his arm. He staggered back and let out a cry before crumpling to the floor.
Yata turned to look briefly at Saruhiko. He still was breathing heavily and had what looked like a grimace on his face, though he seemed to be constantly fighting against it. He was trying to make it seem like there was no struggle from the pain he was no doubt enduring.
"Saruhiko-"
"Don't even start, Misaki," Saruhiko spat out. "I am going to help you deal with this brat whether you want me to or not."
Yata was about to say something more. He really didn't want to see Saruhiko fighting in the state that he was in. But before he could be given a chance to say anything, he noticed that Sukuna was standing back up.
Gritting his teeth, he went right back to swinging his weapon at the kid while also keeping the battle between the two of them. If he could just keep it that way and defeat the kid without Saruhiko having to get too deeply involved, then maybe everything would be all right.
But of course things never seemed to go his way.
Sukuna started to make quicker moves, jumping around Yata and slashing as quickly as he could, hoping to land a hit. All while he tried to deflect each attack, Saruhiko had begun to throw his absurd amount of knives towards Sukuna. With the knives heading at him, Sukuna turned his attention towards them, spinning his scythe around to deflect each and every one one of them.
Chuckling, he sped forward to Saruhiko before Yata could process the motions. He wanted to move, wanted to break into a run to stop the attack. But something was holding him back as the brat moved far too quickly for him to realize.
His heart pounded painfully against his chest while a pained cry was let out. Despite the initial freeze up, the scream was enough to make him move again. There was no reason for him to stop now. All he wanted was to stop the damn brat from going any further with this.
The hits became quicker and harder. He started to push forward all his energy into every swing, into every dodge. Before he knew it, he had pushed Sukuna back towards the crater in the floor that he had created to start. Never once did he let up on his attacks, making sure each one had more strength than the last.
It seemed not even Sukuna could figure out where this strength was coming from. He hardly had time to block the rapid attacks that were coming at him. Soon enough he realized he was at the edge of the hole. He had nowhere to go without trying to think it over, and if he thought too long no doubt he would be hit. He tried to deflect another strike from Yata when suddenly something lodged deeply into his arm.
There was now a knife embedded into his right arm. He gasped as he looked over to see that Saruhiko was on his knees, but his arm was extended out, having just thrown the weapon. Sukuna didn't even have time to figure out how Saruhiko had any strength left.
With the distraction of that, Yata charged forward and laid a single punch directly into Sukuna's chest, sending him flying back. The young brat let out a terrified scream as he fell back down into the hole until he wasn't heard anymore.
Now that it was over, Yata felt like he could finally breathe. Though the respite didn't last long as he heard a thud behind him. His heart raced as he turned to find Saruhiko collapsed on the ground, wheezing heavily.
"Saruhiko!" Yata shouted on his way over to the man. He knelt beside him, peering at the wound that had been inflicted. There was a large gash carved into Saruhiko's abdomen, and his torn jacket and shirt were soaked in blood.
"Saruhiko!" Yata shouted once more, his eyes drifting up to his crumbled up and pained face. Carefully and gently, Yata placed his hand on Saruhiko's shoulder. "Saruhiko, can you hear me?"
"I can… hear you, Misaki…" Saruhiko's breath was fainter than what Yata had expected, with each word almost sounding forced and filled with their own pain. "You… came all the… way out here… by yourself… then?"
Yata tried to listen to what else Saruhiko had to say, but the rest sound muffled and far too incoherent to understand. "Hey… just take it easy."
"I can do what I want… Misaki…"
Yata furrowed his brow, trying to figure out what he could do. A lump was building its way up in his throat, trying to seemingly stop his own breathing. He wanted to try and do something, but still there were too many factors that left him at loose ends. They were still alone, deep in the building with no one nearby to help them. He wasn't even sure if trying to move Saruhiko was a good idea or not.
"C-Can… do you think you can sit up?"
Saruhiko opened his eyes slightly, and even with barley opening them he sent an annoyed glare to Yata. "Idiot. Does… it looks like… I can sit up…?"
Biting his lip, Yata tried to think of what else to say. But his thoughts were quickly detailed as a voice came echoing through the area by way of Anna's marble, which he surprisingly still had on him.
'Yata. Hey Yata! Can you hear me? Where are you?'
Yata breathed out slowly. Now was not the time for this… well, he knew it had to be the time for it, but all at the same time he didn't want to deal with it. "Hey, Kamamoto…" he started his words off slowly, making sure that he didn't sound distraught.
"Saruhiko he's…" the voice got caught up and everything felt closed off. He wanted to say that everything was all right. He wanted to tell Kamamoto that everything was okay. He couldn't lie, but he didn't want to have to explain the truth either. It was the wrong time to start explaining and asking for a rescue party. There was just too much at stake, and he knew full well that Saruhiko wouldn't want all of the attention with everything else going on.
"Just say that… I'm fine…" Saruhiko whispered, his gaze still locked on Yata. "I'll be fine."
Yata swallowed. "Saruhiko is right here. He's… he's fine… f-for the most part." Internally Yata was screaming at himself for letting his voice break at the end. He could only hope that Kamamoto didn't pick up on the tone.
'That's good news. Anna, Fushimi's okay!' Kamamoto's voice seemed to grow distant for a moment but then it came back to being focused on Yata. 'But please hurry. We can't start until you get to your assigned floor, Yata."
"All right… got it… " Yata said, the weariness becoming far more prominent in his voice.
After that there was no other response and he was left alone again with Saruhiko, who had now closed his eyes. His breathing had slowed and color was starting to drain from his face. "Ah! Saruhiko! Stay with me."
Saruhiko grumbled softly. "Go…"
"What? N-No way. I am not going to leave you here. Not when you're like this."
"I'm not needed… can't do much of anything anyways…" Saruhiko mumbled. There seemed to be more to what he said, but just like before it became too jumbled to understand.
"But still… You're… I'm sorry," Yata whispered.
Saruhiko rolled his eyes to the side, his eyes barely opening again. There was not a look of annoyance now, instead his eyes were dazed and unfocused. "Not your f-fault that… that you're an idiot…"
"Crap… his thoughts are even incoherent… come on, think, Yata… what should I do?"
"Saruhiko," Yata said, trying to sound like he wasn't about to break away. "I can't just leave you like this. Your-"
"Who matters most… to you… right now?" Saruhiko replied with the most serious tone yet.
"A-Ah… What kind of freaking question is that? You do, of course! You're bleeding out… and… and I gotta… I can't just leave you!"
A weak scoff was given. It was weak, but still harsh enough to Yata's ears. "Wrong answer, Misaki… try again…"
"Saruhiko, come on… don't do this…" Yata breathed in slowly, trying not to let his emotions get the best of him. This could not have happened at a worse time. He lowered his head, no longer able to look at his friend. It didn't make things any easier staring at the ground, as the blood was starting to drip down across the floor, right into view.
"Answer… the question."
"Fine!" Yata sneered, whipping his head up at Saruhiko. Even when the guy was bleeding, no doubt in serious pain, he could still get him riled up by his annoying persistence. "It's Anna! Okay? Are you happy?"
"You need to go… You have a job so you shoud-"
Saruhiko's words were cut off as blood came in a heavy cough from his mouth. Yata could only stare with wide eyes as Saruhiko hacked up blood, letting it pool behind his face. Once he had a chance to catch his breath, he moved his hand slowly in an attempt to wipe away the blood, but it only smeared it across his face.
Seeing it as pointless, he stopped, but moved his head to stare at Yata. He pushed all his strength into raising his head, even though it barely moved off of the ground. "Leave me. Go… I'll be fine…"
"Saruhiko, I can't just-"
Without a word, Saruhiko pushed himself up into a sitting position all while wrapping an arm around his waist. He glared deeply at Yata, showing much more expression and liveliness than just moments ago. "Go!" Saruhiko shouted, raising his voice louder too. "When I say I'll be fine, I mean it. Don't worry about me."
Yata stared wide-eyed at Saruhiko's sudden moment. The surprise strength to sit up was not what he had expected at all, yet at the same time he knew he should have. Their eyes were locked now, with Saruhiko keeping a calm and serious composure and Yata trying to figure out if everything was truly okay.
Eventually Yata breathed out, dragging himself to his feet. He wanted to argue more, but he knew that it would all be pointless to fixate on it. "Fine!"
He still felt a bit of uneasiness in his mind, but he kept staring at Saruhiko, who never once stopped his glare. If Saruhiko was managing that well, then maybe… just maybe he could leave without too much worry. "I'll go, but I'll come back for you afterwards! I promise that I'll get you out safely."
"Hmph," Saruhiko hummed softly. "Don't make promises you don't think you can keep."
Yata winced. Fear began to eat into his mind once more. Or at least it tried to. Instead he shook it off, trying his hardest to prevent it from reaching further. He was determined to leave without anything dragging him down. He needed to stay strong. "I'll be back for you. You'll see."
With that, Yata sighed before dropping his skateboard to the ground and riding off on it, leaving Saruhiko behind him. Once he was far enough away, he finally felt the few tears that he had streaming down his face.
He didn't want to cry, he knew he had to be better than that. He honestly hated to cry for it made him feel weak inside, and letting others see it didn't bode so well with him either. Only a few select times he had he actually let his guard down, but every other time he was hardened and strong.
But he hated the fact that he was leaving Saruhiko behind, especially when he was severely wounded. The last thing he wanted to do was leave with things left unanswered. He had made it in his mind that he would make it and they could talk but things strayed far away from that. In the end of the situation though, he knew that there wasn't much choice. As much as he wanted to stay with Saruhiko or bring him along, the task at hand had to come first. Saruhiko wouldn't let him have it any other way otherwise.
"After all this is over… we can just talk…" Yata thought to himself as he headed to the area he needed to be at. He just needed some reassurance to himself, something to try and calm his mind down even if it was only for a short amount of time. "Everything is… is going to be all right."
Once Yata was out of sight, Saruhiko was finally able to stop forcing what little strength he had left. He knew his limits even though he would usually end up pushing himself over anyways. But now there was nothing else he could do. There was no amount of strength left in him to stop the blood from coming up again. When the trembling in his body stopped he nearly collapsed back down, but he at least tried to keep himself propped up. He was already soaked in enough blood, he didn't need anymore, not that it honestly mattered.
While he sat there, he looked around the room as carefully as he could. If he really was going to lay there and wait, then he might as well figure out something to stare at as the boredom taunted him. With his search he saw that just a few feet away from him there was something on the ground. It was something strikingly familiar to his eyes.
"Misaki…" Saruhiko thought, his energy far too low to speak aloud to himself.
Despite constantly reminding himself he was not strong enough to move, he pushed against the ground to pull himself closer. Every pull forward sent pain throughout this entire body, but he didn't care. What he did care about was the item that he saw before him.
His hand reached out and carefully his fingers laced around the familiar white headphones. "Misaki… you left them… so preoccupied… you forgot…"
There was no strength in him after that. He hit the cold floor with a thud, his eyes staring to grow hazy. No longer could he focus on anything far from him, so he brought the headphones closer to his face.
Even then his vision could barely see it. All of it was a fading blurry mess to his eyes. Every one of his senses seemed to be failing him at this point, but he didn't care. None of it seemed to matter to him, though he knew very well what was happening.
In the distance he could hear sounds. Sounds of footsteps running closer. No doubt it was just more of the Green Clan that would be trying to find him. But there was nothing that he could do at this point. Every part of his body was far too weak to move even an inch.
Letting the sound draw closer, Saruhiko closed his eyes, everything was fading away… he knew that it wouldn't be much longer for him. It didn't worry him even in the slightest, no longer did he care about what was going to happen.
Though honestly… that wasn't entirely true. There was still one thing… one thing that he tried his best to keep going in his mind. It was all he really had at this point, but still everything was fading so quickly…
Douhan had been given a simple enough task. It should have been simple anyway. With all her skills and resources, she knew that it should have been easy.
Retrieve Saruhiko Fushimi for the Blue King and leave it at that.
All she had to do was locate him and get him out of the building before anything else could happen. That was what was supposed to happen. But what she came across was far from it.
She had in fact located Saruhiko Fushimi, but even from a quick glance she could tell he was in critical condition. Not only was there a lack of response from her presence, but also the pooling blood that surrounded the man. But… he still was breathing. It was a faint and weak breath she could see from his chest rising and falling, but it was still breathing in the end.
Douhan knew that she couldn't waste any time staring at him. If she could get him out and to the Blue King, maybe then something else could be done. Carefully she reached out to him, hoping that moving him even in the slightest motion wasn't too much. Holding him in her arms, she could see his face was scrunched up, writhing in pain. She wished there was something she could do or say to him, but everything fell flat in her mind. It wasn't her place anyways to try and say anything, since she was only retrieving him after all.
When she had a good hold of him, she took to her escape route, going as carefully and as fast as she could. Without knowing the events that had happened before, there was no real way of knowing how severe his condition was. But it was truly concerning how pale he had begun to look.
Suddenly she heard a faint groan from the man. "Mi… Saki…?"
Douhan hummed softly, feeling a little relief that he was able to talk. "No, I'm afraid not."
A sound was made that sounded like something between a grunt and a scoff, but it was far too quiet to really distinguish. "Misaki promised… to come back…"
Douhan pressed her lips together. She had no idea what exactly he was talking about or referring to, but she didn't want to put any stress or pressure onto his mind. "Wherever he is, I am sure you will find him."
"He better…" Saruhiko Fushimi whispered faintly, his voice raspy and sore sounding. "He promised… promised me…"
Douhan hummed again, unable to think of anything to properly say. She could only hope that whatever this promise was, that it could be completed.
When Munakata turned around, he expected to see only minor injuries on Fushimi. With such an endeavor taking place, it was impossible to come out without a scratch. What he had not expected was to see Fushimi practically caked in blood and far too pale for what would be considered normal for the young man.
"I'm sorry… I found him in this state," Douhan replied softly.
Fushimi slowly lifted his head, his eyes only half open. His brow furrowed slightly. "Not… Misaki…"
Munakata straightened up and walked closer. "Set him down, I will call for a medical team right away."
Douhan nodded and carefully set Fushimi down on the ground before stepping away. Right away Munakata opened his phone and made the call. Though as he did, he kept his eyes locked on his best worker. It was eerie how faint and pale he looked, and it only seemed to be getting worse by the minute.
Munakata breathed in deeply, thinking over the situation and if it was going to be enough. Despite his efforts, there was a small lingering feeling of doubt that was settling in. It was rare for him to have such a feeling, but he was unable to shake it off.
While he thought, a voice cut through the air, louder than all the rest. "Saruhiko!"
Munakata turned to look to see none other than Misaki Yata, running right towards them. He shoved every other person in the area away from him as he ran, not caring one bit how any of them reacted to it. He could see desperation on the boy's face as he drew near. Quietly Munakata took a few steps back, seeing that he needed his space.
"Saruhiko!" Yata shouted again once he reached him. He dropped down to his knees, his eyes scanning over the still fresh wounds that Saruhiko had. It looked so much worse than before… so much blood was staining him now.
There wasn't any response given to him. No snark or any retort of any kind. Carefully Yata looked more closely at Saruhiko and saw that his eyes were barely open. His chest barely moved and everything about him just looked dreadful. Though quickly Yata's eyes fell to Saruhiko's left hand, which still gripped the pair of headphones tightly.
"S-Saruhiko…" Yata stammered as he maneuvered Saruhiko into his lap.
"Late… again…"
The words were soft, barely even audible. But Yata could hear them as clear as day. His heart struck pain in his chest when he heard how weak Saruhiko's voice sounded. "C-Come on, man… don't be like that."
He didn't even bother to stop his emotions from revealing themselves. There was nothing he could do at this point. No longer did he feel strong enough to keep them back. He looked down into Saruhiko's eyes, which were still only slightly open. But those hazy eyes were looking right up at him, seemingly trying to focus.
"Mi… Saki…"
"I'm here… I'm right here for you," Yata whispered. He could feel the tears streaming down his face, burning against his skin, but he made no effort to wipe them away. Instead his hands were around Saruhiko, holding him as carefully as he could to not cause any further pain.
A sigh escaped Saruhiko's lips before he raised his free hand up to Yata. He could feel the cold fingers brush against his cheek. Not even missing a beat Yata placed one of his hands over Saruhiko's.
"You gotta hold on," Yata whispered. "Please… You need to…"
His words caught up in his throat, creating a ugly feeling lump that he could not swallow. After that his hand let go of Saruhiko's hand and he watched as the arm fell to his side.
"Don't have… to do anything…" Saruhiko whispered.
"You have to though!" Yata shouted. "You can't die! You… I can't…"
"Can't… what?"
His voice was so soft and quiet, and far from his usual snarky tone. He sounded so confused and curious. So unlike how he normally was, and that only doubled the hurt that Yata felt. He bent over, bringing his face closer to his friend's. "I can't lose you too. I just… I'm sick and tired of losing. First Tatara… then Mr. Mikoto… I don't want you to be the next person I lose."
There was a faint hum coming from Saruhiko. Yata was only able to hear it with being so close to his face. He stayed there though, unable to lift his head, far too afraid of what he was going to see if he did. The smell of the blood was still soaked into Saruhiko and it only made things harder to bear.
"Such …. Baby… Misaki… Can't be… wimp"
The words were beginning to break up, but the meaning was still there.
"I d-don't care. Call me that all y-you want," Yata replied, trying the hardest he could to keep his own voice from breaking. "But I'm not going to let you die. I p-promise."
Finally, Yata fought against his fears and lifted his head again. He looked down at Saruhiko, who to his surprise, had opened his eyes a little more than before. It wasn't a lot, but it was some form of reassurance that Yata wanted to believe in.
"You… promises… don't mean…" Saruhiko trailed off before closing his eyes.
There was a pause and silence after that.
Yata's breathing picked up as he saw the world around him blurry up with tears. He closed his eyes, forcing away as many tears as he could. "No… please no…"
Suddenly there was a hand on his face again. Those cold fingers brushed right across his cheek, wiping away the tears. Yata blinked his eyes opened to see Saruhiko staring at him again.
His eyes were still heavily unfocused, but it was clear that he was trying to look at Yata. "Don't cry, Misaki… Don't look… sad. I don't… like it."
"Then you need to keep holding on… just a bit longer," Yata pleaded. "If you don't believe my promises… then can you at least promise me? That you will try and hold on?"
"Why?" Saruhiko asked, sounding genuinely curious.
"Because!" Yata snapped through the sore throat and tears that were consuming him. "You're supposed to make it through this so we could finally talk again! So we could finally… finally…"
His words were lost to him once more, being eaten up by his sobs instead. Every ugly emotion was showing its face, both on Yata and within him. It twisted and tormented him, burning and tearing his heart within each passing second.
"Misaki…"
"Y-Yeah?"
"Don't be… an idiot…"
Saruhiko's eyes closed and his hand finally fell from Yata's face. It hit the ground limply at the same time Saruhiko's head turned and laid there motionless. Yata held his breath as he waited… waited for something… for anything.
But nothing more came.
The finally suppressed sob that had been held back the longest finally escaped. A raw, broken scream left his torn and sore throat. He no longer cared at all who was watching and if they were judging. He never even cared about any of that in the first place.
Right away he shifted his potion so he was now cradling Saruhiko. He bent forward again, placing one hand on his face before pressing his lips against him. He breathed shaking breaths, unable to steady them. Ignoring that and the faint taste of blood, he kept on going, giving as many breaths as he could, hoping that it could do something.
He hoped and pleaded for a miracle that he knew was impossible. But it didn't stop him from doing it anyways.
He tried to do it rhythmically. Each breath he gave he wanted to make it work. He needed something to do… something to try… but eventually his pattern faltered and he could no longer keep up his own breaths for himself.
He wheezed and choked for air when he finally pulled away from Saruhiko's lips. He tried his best to get a breath of fresh air, but all that he could do was sob and sob some more. When he saw it was pointless to sit there and cry he went right back to pressing his lips against the others.
It was stupid to try anymore… but he wasn't one to listen to reason. He was desperate to keep trying, but that was no longer the only reason. He needed that feeling again. Saruhiko's lips against his own… he needed one last moment trying to understand what it could have been like. If things could have been different… would this be what it could have been like? Could there really have been this between the two of them? It was something that he was sure both of them had thought at some point. If only…
"Saruhiko…"
Yata sobbed again, letting his tears drip down onto Saruhiko's face. They hit his cheeks and then proceeded to roll off to the side, and no reaction was given. There couldn't be… not anymore.
With his own body trembling, Yata wrapped his arms around Saruhiko and brought him even closer. He no longer cared about the blood. He didn't care one bit if it stained every part of his clothes or his skin. None of that mattered to him, not at all.
The body pressed up against his was now devoid of all feeling. No warmth radiated, it only drained away. There was no faint heartbeat that Yata was pleading to feel against his own. There was nothing but his own sobs and heartbreak.
"Why…" Yata whispered softly. "Why couldn't I… I should have… I'm sorry."
Yata began to mutter his apology over and over again. It felt useless, there was no rhyme or reason to even be trying it, but like before he didn't think about or care for the logical reason. None of that mattered to him now, not anymore.
Slowly in the background of his lament he could hear footsteps. Someone was approaching him at a steady pace. "Yata?" It was none other than Kamamoto, but even that didn't register any meaning to the redhead now.
Yata kept his arms wrapped around Saruhiko while he had begun a rocking motion with his body. It didn't help the shaking that persisted in his hands, but it was only his jitteriness being translated throughout his entire body.
"Hey, Yata, you okay?" Kamamoto asked again, deep concern in his tone.
"Leave me alone." Yata was cold and direct with words, wanting to not let anyone take him from this moment.
"Uh, are you sure? Come on, Yata, you should-"
Yata felt a hand on his shoulder, something he did not want at all. He jerked away without noticed, hunching over slightly. He wasn't about to let anyone pull him away from Saruhiko. There was nothing that could pry him from his spot and he was sure as hell he wasn't going to let anyone try.
"Get the hell away from me!" he shouted. His voice may have been hoarse and broken, but he wanted to make his point absolutely clear. "Don't fucking touch me!"
Kamamoto withdrew his hand right away and seemingly stepped back a good distance. Alone again, Yata felt his heart breaking again, warranting more tears to fall. Carefully, he let his eyes move down to look once more, though it only twisted every part of him once he did it.
Seeing Saruhiko laying there, perfectly still and so peaceful was wrong. It all seemed so wrong. Never would there be snarky and sometimes crude remarks. Never again would Yata ever hear the taunting use of his actual name. Never again would there ever be anything.
All of it was lost to him now. All of the meaning and purpose he felt that he should have… gone. "Saruhiko… S-Saru…"
Yata tried to continue what he wanted to say. He wished he could say all of his thoughts and get them off his chest. But each and every one of them had become entangled, far too tied up to ever be free again.
Burying himself against Saruhiko he drowned out everything else once more. He let himself fall down further into his own despair, not giving anymore thought to climbing out. The only thing he had left was his memories. Some hurtful… but others treasured and cherished. He made sure to cling to those the most, for he knew from now on everything was going to be a lot harder. He would need as many of those memories to help keep him going after this. He only hoped it would be enough.
This one-shot was made as a birthday gift for my friend Hika-Neko-Chan.
But I hope all the rest who also read it enjoyed it :)