"You are Yuuri's life."

And with those words, Victor lets go.

He falls to the floor and lets out an anguished scream.

How come he didn't realize this soon? No, scratch that – Victor already knew, but he's too proud to acknowledge it. His stubbornness has cost him too far this time, and he can't do anything to reverse the outcome.

No, it's not the fact that Yuuri loves him that brings him to his knees like this. The one thing that makes Victor like this, numb to the core, is regret.

He regrets that it takes a real God to make him realize his own feelings for Yuuri.

He regrets that it's now, not sooner, that he understands why Yuuri makes him feel all the emotions that he can't explain.

It's easy to know that Yuuri likes him. The pure adoration, the stealing glances, the shy smiles; it's not difficult for Victor to interpret those gestures as feelings of affection for him.

But his own feelings for Yuuri? He always thinks that it's just pure curiosity that draws him to Yuuri, when it's love all along.

Because, if it's not love, then what else can explain the sparks in his own eyes?

He loves Yuuri.

But it's too late now, right? Victor thinks to himself. What's the use of these feelings if Yuuri is no longer here?

Because no matter how hard he begs Phichit, or any other Gods, to bring Yuuri back, Yuuri will still lay motionless on the floor, body cold to the touch and eyes devoid of emotions. No more laugh, no more warmth, no more Yuuri…

"It's still not too late."

A voice startles Victor from his thoughts, and he finds that it was Phichit who said that. The said God is now walking to approach Victor, a small smile plastered on his face. He then kneels down next to Victor and joins him on the floor.

"Say, Victor, actually, I prefer that you realize your own feelings sooner, and then you and Yuuri might live happily ever after. I mean, knowing you, I know you probably will confess your feelings to Yuuri, and then you'll go down the Georgi route and live as a human." He mumbles. "That's why I always nudged you to that direction, you know, to make you wake up and just say those three words to Yuuri. But again, you're too stubborn, and look what you've done here! Yuuri's dead, and you are now in such a miserable state that even your cousin over there pities you."

Victor can only stay silent and throws a glare to the man beside him. Phichit still continues his rambling.

"But anyway, isn't this the best outcome, though? Just imagine, Victor, that if you chose to be a human, and then in the middle of the process of making Yuuri likes you again, suddenly he died? That would be so painful, right?" he says. "Because, no matter what, Yuuri will still die. It's written by the Fate. With or without you interfering, he will still die as a replacement of a Lost Soul." Phichit finishes.

He then proceeds to give Victor a side hug, mumbling Oh, poor kid and turns his head to look at Yuri.

"OK, Yuri. Now that we've finished everything, it's time for you to do your job. No more dilly-dallying!" he says cheerfully, and with a snap of his finger, Yuuri's soul is coming out from his dead body.

Victor takes a deep breath as Yuuri, his beloved Yuuri, materializes right before his eyes, eyes closed and expression serene. Victor stands abruptly from his position on the floor and takes his position in front of Yuuri. He then feels a tug on his side and turns to see Phichit smiles and mouths something to him.

'It's still not too late.'

Victor widens his eyes and he finally understands what Phichit means.

He still has one last chance to tell Yuuri about his feelings. He nods and mouths 'thank you' back to Phichit before turning to Yuuri's soul.

He can do this.

The first thing Yuuri sees after he blinks his eyes open is white floors. He feels like he has seen the flooring before, but where it was, he just can't pinpoint it. He lifts his head and meets face to face with Victor's blue eyes. He jumps a bit in surprise and turns his head around to see his surroundings.

He can see that he's in the konbini where he usually works, and that besides Victor, there are some people here. There is a blonde teenager who scowls at him, a man with suit that sits in one of the chairs in the area who also wears the same scowl on his face, and then… Phichit?

Wait, how come Phichit is here? He remembers that he was on a da- on a friendly outing! Yuuri's mind corrects – with Victor, and then Minami called and he came here, and then there was a man with knofe asking for money from Minami and him, and then-

Yuuri gasps.

All the events that happened after that are flashing in his mind. He can feel that his lungs begin to constrict to get more air, and cold sweat creeps his nape and back.

Wait, if everything is true, then it means that I'm already…

He turns around to confirm his suspicion only to gasp more when he sees what lays before him.

There, on the floor, is his body, covered with blood and a knife sticking from his abdomen. He screeches and falls to the floor. He takes a deep breath to stop himself from panicking. After a while, he crawls to his own body and tries to grasp on to his body, only to find his hand falling through his own body.

He gapes and just stares at his hand.

He tries again, this time to touch the knife, and the same thing happens again. He gulps and looks at his own hands.

"So, I already died, then." He mumbles. He crouches on the floor, hugging his knees, staring at his own bloodied corpse before him. It feels surreal, to see your own body laid down before you. He feels like he's in an episode of a fantasy movie, or a very weird dream. Well, maybe it is a dream, he thinks, and he closes his eyes, praying desperately to make his body just wakes up and opens his eyes. To end this nightmare.

Suddenly he feels something touches his shoulder and he jumps, startled out of his thoughts. He whirls his body over and sees Victor towering over him, a hesitant smile on his face.

"Well, hi, Yuuri." He says carefully. It seems that he wants to say something more, and he opens and closes his mouth like a goldfish, but nothing comes out, and Yuuri smiles. Because even in this absurd situation, he still finds Victor adorable. He stands up and dusts his pants from imaginary dust, coming face to face with Victor.

"Yes, Victor. Hi to you, too." He replies. Victor only gives him another strained smile as a reply, and Yuuri smiles back. He wants to ask Victor million questions, but right now, he's more intrigued with the other people in the room. First and foremost, Phichit.

From what he can remember and understand, the blonde teenager, Yuri, and apparently also Victor, are some kind of supernatural being that takes human souls after they die. So it makes sense that the two of them are here, because, as he can concur, he's dead. But how come Phichit and another man are here, too? The last time he checked, the two of them weren't in the konbini.

"Phichit, why are you here?" he asks his friend. The said man waves and smiles brightly.

"Hi, Yuuri! How are you feeling? Ready for your trip to Heaven, or maybe, Hell?" he asks cheerfully.

Yuuri can see Victor chokes on that, and puts his hand to cover his mouth, face paling rapidly, eyes staring at Yuuri. Yuri has the audacity to chuckle and he can see the scowling man still sits with the same expression, eyes boring holes on Yuuri.

Yuuri can feel a cold sweat dropping on his back, feeling confused at why his friend acts like that. How come he can act like that? The normal reaction from someone that sees another dead body is panicking, or yeah, maybe they can be calm, but still, Phichit's attitude is far too normal. It is as if he sees dead body on daily basis. Yuuri shudders at that thought. And that question. Why did Phichit ask such bull's eye question like that? Does he know that I'm already dead? I mean, he sees my dead body, right? How come he can be so calm like that? Yuuri muses. Wait, how come he can see me? I'm dead! I'm practically a ghost! Unless…

Yuuri gasps loudly. "Oh My God, Phichit! Don't tell me you're a shinigami, too?"

Phichit laughs loudly at that, hands clutching his stomach. Victor just keeps mum, face pale and still staring at Yuuri, his teeth gnawing his lips, an expression akin to nervousness paints his face. Yuri face palms behind Phichit, and the other man is still sitting and still scowling.

"Oh, no, Yuuri, dear. No. I'm not a shinigami." Phichit says after he recovers from his laugh. "So, no. I don't take souls from human. Although maybe you can think of me as something similar like them." He gestures at Victor, Yuuri, and the sitting man. "Wait, can we still count Seung-Gil as a Death God, though? He barely reaps any souls nowadays, and mostly helps Yakov and me doing administrative job. Hey, Seung-Gil, are you still a Death God?" he adds as he asks the sitting man who only glares at him. Phichit shrugs his shoulder. "Oh, well. I guess that means yes, he is still a Death God." He finishes and turns his attention back to Yuuri, who just stands and gapes at him, trying to process all the information that he just heard.

"Hold on. Wait. So… Victor and Yuuri and Seung-Gil there are… shinigami?" he confirms to Phichit, who nods enthusiastically. "And you, Phichit, is not, but something that is similar to them?" Phichit nods again. Yuuri just looks at the others in the room, and shakes his head gently. He can feel a headache coming. Out of the corner of his eyes, he can see Victor approaching him slowly, wringing his hands in front of him.

"Anyway, Yuuri, that's not important. There's something that I need to say. I-"

"Stop."

Yuuri glares at Victor. He can feel something bubbling up inside his heart. Anger, he says in his head. He's not familiar with anger. He usually keep what makes him irritated to the back of his mind and just goes on with his day. But now, as Victor approaches him nervously, he suddenly feels a surge of emotion that need to be vented out. Victor, from his perspective, is also the one who plays him to what he is right now. He has every right to be mad at the man now. He's tired and confused and then Victor here suddenly tells him that everything here is not important?

How dare he?

"Don't you dare say that this is not important." He says between gritted teeth. "It's my life that we're dealing with now, Victor. You think my life is not important?" he asks.

"First of all, you lied to me, Victor. It seems you're not a programmer, let alone a human." He seethes with anger. "Why did you do it, Victor? Is it because you know that I'll be dead soon? Huh? Is playing around with stupid human your pastime?" Yuuri asks, voice getting louder and louder. He walks closer to Victor as he spews his fury. He no longer has any reasons to hold back now. I'm already dead, right? Might as well leave this world with no regrets, he thinks. To hell with it.

"Then, above all that, you dare made me feels things for you." He says. "Do you know, Victor? I like you. Damn, I would even dare say I love you, with how strong my feelings for you are!" Yuuri rants.

There. He finally says those three words.

"And then now you say that this - my feelings, our relationship – is not important?" Yuuri finishes as he stands in front of Victor, chest heaving from exertion and tears falling down his cheeks.

"Now that I'm no longer able to satisfy your curiosity, you think I'm no longer important, Victor?" he asks between shuddering breath.

Victor's blue eyes, the same eyes that captivate Yuuri, meet Yuuri's brown ones. Yuuri can see a lot of emotions swirling in that deep blue, but what it is that Victor's feeling right now, Yuuri can't pinpoint it. Victor himself seems to want to say something to reply Yuuri's outburst, mouth opening and closing many times, but instead of words, this time, Victor chooses to act on his feelings.

The next second, Yuuri finds himself being engulfed in a tight embrace by Victor. He blinks his eyes a few times, arms flailing on his sides as Victor squeezed him to the point it hurts. He is going to get angry again at Victor because to him, the man is trying to distract him from the situation they are in, until he can feel something wet on his shoulder where Victor puts his head. At that moment, Yuuri can feel all his anger disappears from his body.

Yuuri sighs, closes his eyes and takes his arms to wrap around Victor's shaking shoulder. He can hear Victor's shuddering breath and he lets the man be. He exhales and closes his eyes, embracing the man that he gets to know, and finally love.

So unfair, he muses.

After a few minutes, the silver-haired man finally lifts his head from Yuuri's shoulder, although he doesn't let Yuuri go from his embrace. His eyes, now bloodshot from crying, gazes sadly at Yuuri.

"Yuuri, I… I'm sorry." He exhales. "For lying to you. For not telling you the truth. For being stubborn. For everything." He takes a shuddering breath, eyes closing as he puts his forehead to Yuuri's. Yuuri blushes at the proximity, and secretly hopes that they can be like that forever. But Yuuri knows that it's just a wishful thinking, and this fleeting moment will end soon.

"However…" Victor pauses, and Yuuri waits in bated breath for the next thing that is going to happen.

When Victor opens his eyes and gazes at Yuuri, there's something in his eyes. Yuuri can see lights dancing around his irises, a fire that burns and makes him stay still in Victor's arms.

Sparks alight Victor's cerulean eyes, and Yuuri just can't take his eyes off Victor. He wonders briefly, is this what Victor means when he said my eyes spark? And then, Victor says those words Yuuri longs to hear.

"I will never be sorry for my feelings towards you, Yuuri." Victor confesses.

"I love you."

As Yuuri stands there in front of him, still like a statue, Victor, on the other hand, is panicking.

Because from all reactions he expects from Yuuri, the silent treatment is not something he has in mind.

He can understand if Yuuri cries, screams, or even angry at him, but no response at all makes him questioning everything.

Did Phichit lie to me? Maybe yes, considering his actions all this time. Does it mean Yuuri doesn't like me? Oh my God, he's angry now, isn't it? I'm sure he feels disgusted now what should I do help-

"Stop it, Victor!"

Victor snaps from his thoughts and sees Yuuri in front of him, face full of concern.

"Victor, no, I'm not angry at you, nor I feel disgusted by your feelings. So please, stop mumbling, and let's talk." Yuuri says.

Victor realizes then that he has said his thoughts out loud. He can feel his face warms in embarrassment, and he can hear snorts and giggles from behind his back (and without doubt, they must be coming from Yuri and Phichit). He also realizes that he still has Yuuri in his arms, and he unwind his arms from Yuuri and takes a step back, giving him and Yuuri some space for The Talk.

"Okay, now, Victor. I… I really don't know what to say." Yuuri sighs as he rubs his face with his hands. He then looks at Victor with those warm brown eyes, sad smile gracing his lips.

"Thank you for being honest, Victor." He says. "Thank you for being my friend for the past few months. In my entire life, the time I spent with you and Chris and Phichit is, I can say, one of the best times in my life."

Victor can see Yuuri's eyes becomes watery, and he can feel his heart sinks as one teardrop falls.

Yuuri takes a deep breath to compose himself, and says, "And thank you for giving me a chance to love someone like you, Victor. And also, for returning my feelings."

He chuckles and continues, "And yeah, I wish that this happened in another time, preferably when I was still alive, but well…" He then wipes his tears with his hands, and smiles ruefully at Victor. Victor can only bit his lips, trying his hardest to hold back the tears that are threatening to fall from his own eyes.

There they are, just standing in front of one another, with each of them trying to be strong.

Strong for whom?

Is it for themselves or for the other?

Yuri sighs and mutters, "Idiot." As he gazes at the miserable picture of his cousin in front of him, he takes a breath and makes up his mind.

Yuri clears his throat, breaking the trance between Victor and Yuuri. He steps closer to the soul of Katsuki Yuuri, and begins to explain what he is going to do to him now. The soul nods in understanding, accepting his fate easily. Too easily, even, in Yuri's opinion. He still can't fathom how this human can accept everything calmly (asides his outburst to Victor, which Yuri thinks Victor deserves) and not rioting against everyone here.

"So, I guess this is it." He can hear the human mutters. Katsuki Yuuri looks him in the eyes and nods, signaling Yuri to do what he has to do.

Yuri peers at his cousin next to the human. Victor looks like the times when he needed to drag Chris from a club or a party where his friend just went overboard on drinking, leading to some unfavorable situations that Victor must solve, but tenfold. Exhaustion mars his usually cheerful face, and Yuri can really see that this situation has taken a toll on him.

He lets his gaze return to the human, and he puts his hands in his pockets. He takes a deep breath for the thing that he's going to do next.

"So, Katsuki Yuuri." He drawls. He can see the human tenses, but his gaze is still fearlessly focused on Yuri.

Yuri smirks.

"What do you say if I can fulfill one wish before you go to the afterlife?"

Everything goes silent for a few seconds, until a high-pitch squeal from Phichit ruins the atmosphere, and the next moment, he finds himself tackled to the ground by his cousin, a litany of 'Thank you's whispered next to his ear.

So much for his first day of work.

An earful from Seung-gil and 30 minutes later, Yuri finds himself sitting at a cramped hall, watching a human wearing a costume of an oversized otter with a turtle hat performing some slapstick stunts. He looks to his right and finds the human and his cousin watching the scene before them with wide eyes, laughing and clapping along with the mascot's antics. He looks at the ticket in his hand. Chiitan's Special Performance glares in nold letter at him.

When Yuri said he will grant one last wish for the human, he expected some tearful goodbyes with his family or maybe a romantic date with Victor. He never expects to be dragged along to watch a weird stuffed animal's performance. He sighs as he thinks about his predicament, and then looks to his left. He smirks as he sees Phichit laughs at the mascot's antics and Seung-gil watches the performance with the same deadpanned expression as his. Why they also tag along with Yuri and the other two, he never knows. When he realized it, the God and his assistance were already sitting beside him.

Well, at least I'm not alone in this misery, he thinks as he watches the mascot on stage slips and falls face first.

"Well, that was fun!" Victor exclaims as the group exits the hall. Yuuri nods in agreement and smiles as he walks beside Victor. He's happy that finally he can bring Victor to this event. A proper date, his mind mischievously supplies, and Yuuri can feel his face warms up at the thought.

But that happiness disappears instantly when Yuri the Death God steps in front of him.

"Okay, human. I've fulfilled your wish, now it's time for you to go where you belong." He says tersely.

Hearing that, Phichit flicks his finger and they are transported to a park nearby. Yuuri looks around and realizes that they are right now at the park where The Hug Incident happened.

Well, trust Phichit and his mind to choose such a place, he muses.

Yuuri takes a deep breath and steels himself. He then feels something on his arm, only to find Victor's hand gripping him, his eyebrows scrunched together in desperation. Yuuri can only smile at him, and then he pries Victor's hand from his arm, much to Victor's displeasure.

No matter how happy he is now, he can't run away from the reality.

He's now a ghost, and no place in this world will accept him, for he doesn't belong here.

He then looks at the blonde Death God, now flanked by Phichit who smiles happily and Seung-gil who, as usual, as stoic as ever.

He looks at Phichit. He was mad at first when he knows that Phichit is actually a part of all of this. Also, from the hints he got from bits of conversations between the Death Gods and Phichit, he concluded that actually Phichit has bigger power than the rest of them combined, yet he chose to do nothing to stop what happened to Yuuri or Victor. But all those anger dissipated when Yuuri remembered all the time spent with Phichit. The not-so-good advice, the subtle hints about Yuuri's feelings, the late night conversations, the warm hugs… and Yuuri assures himself that he can forgive Phichit one more time.

"Thank you, Phichit, for all the time you were always on my side. You may not think of me as a friend, but for me, you are one of my real friends." He says to the man. Phichit grins and steps forward to hug Yuuri. He caresses Yuuri's hair and puts his face between his hands.

"And you, Katsuki Yuuri, is officially my favorite human." He says fondly.

Phichit then steps back and turns to Yuri, nodding at the blonde to let him do his duty.

Yuri takes his position in front of the soul, and extends his arm to Yuuri's chest. He thrusts his hand into Yuuri's heart and soon after, he extracts his hand, a shining orb floating above his palm. He can see Victor from his peripheral vision, wincing as he sees the human being reaped. The scenery almost makes him laugh, because it is a reminiscence of when Victor showed him how to reap a soul for the first time. Except, the roles now have somewhat been switched. He puts the reaped soul inside his leather pocket. He then turns his gaze to his cousin. What he sees before his eyes almost bring him to tears. Almost.

Victor is reaching his hand to the corporeal body of his human, trying to grasp the soul only to have it disperses between his fingers. He can see Victor mouthing 'I'm sorry' to the dying soul, and the human shakes his head, gives him a sad smile, and mouths back a 'thank you'. Victor reaches desperately as the soul dissipates quickly in front of his eyes, hands cupping the outline of the human's face as he tilts his head, his mouth meeting the faintest outline of the human's lips.

And with that, Katsuki Yuuri's soul disappears completely from this world, and from Victor's life.