Translation notes:
Vati and Mutti= Dad and Mom
Mi dispiace= I'm sorry
Si, grazie= Yes, thank you.

Chapter 8: Breathing Corpse

"What was your favorite subject when you were in middle school? What is your favorite food? What do you think of pasta? What is your mode of transportation? Who do you love the most? Do you like guys? Is there someone you secretly love?" Feliciano knew the correct answer to all questions.

"I zink it vas… math? My favorite food is wurst. Pasta is ok, better if it has wurst. I bike a lot. I love my vati and mutti zee most. Liking guys? Secretly loving someone? Vhy are you asking zeese personal questions? Leave."

Eyes swelling with disappointed tears, Feliciano apologized because leaving immediately. He swallowed a wail trying to crawl up his dry throat. His numb hand tingled as he pressed the elevator button.

As the doors opened, Feliciano wiped his eyes with his sleeve. He repeatedly sniffed, hoping to clear his running nose. However, only a few seconds passed before snoot oozed out again. Cheeks turning hot, Feliciano hurried down the hallway, following the signs pointing to the restrooms. The most he gave bystanders was a glance. They probably assumed that Feliciano just visited a dying relative. They would not understand how his loved one, although physically alive, was gone to him.

Feliciano's steps, the sound of ripping paper towels, and a sputtering honk broke the restroom's silence. The white paper towel's rough surface scratched his skin slightly as he wiped his nose, before being tossed into the garbage.

Warm water flowed out the sink. As his hands furiously scrubbed foamy soap onto each other, Feliciano continued to gaze at his darkened reflection. Behind him, the white walls and shiny stalls stung his eyes.

Whether intentional or not, people had their own ways to suggest they were having a bad day. Alfred sulked from his family and glowered whenever Arthur asked him to do something. Matthew became quieter than usual, a method he used to fade from his environment's rowdiness. Arthur snapped at the smallest things that irritated him, including Alfred's slurps and Alfred's boisterous laugh. Francis would sigh and shut his eyes, counting to ten to lower his blood pressure. Mr. Edelstein became more nit-picky about the band's mistakes. Toris looked more exhausted than usual. Ivan's dark presence would be more than enough to deter even the bravest people. By the next day however, people returned to their normal personalities, allowing yesterday's bygones be bygones.

Feliciano was no exception. When Feliciano's eyes failed to light at the sight of them, Alfred and Matthew gave each other knowing side-glances. Stayed behind them and unresponsive to their conversations? Check. Did not smile at anyone, including girls? Check. Barely flinched when Ivan forced his way into his lunch circle and sat next to him? Check.

"Don't worry." Matthew assured Alfred during passing period. "He'll be fine tomorrow. He's just in a bad mood."

As days passed however, Feliciano's eyes remained dull and empty. His smile was weak at the passing girls who greeted him. During rehearsals, he dragged behind the rest of the band, sometimes even refusing to make a single note with his saxophone.

The cheerleaders whispered worriedly to each other when they saw Feliciano's dejected expression and shagged shoulders. Every time Matthew asked if everything was fine, Feliciano always gave the same answer: Yes. During practice, the alto saxophone section glanced sadly at Feliciano, barely listening to Mr. Edelstein's instructions. Even Mr. Edelstein took him aside during the band's water break and asked if he was feeling well.

"Hey, Alfred?"

At Ivan's voice, Alfred nearly choked on the gush of water. "Y-Yeah?" He coughed, too much in pain to fake a smile.

"Is Feliciano ok?" Ivan's concerned expression and quiet tone did not repulse Alfred.

Clearing his throat, Alfred answered, "He's not saying anything. We don't know what's going on with him."

"I see… If he talks to you again, can you let him know that I hope he gets better. I would tell him, but he'll listen to you more. You are the band's hero!"

"Oh…" Was Alfred's bewildered response. "Yeah… Sure, dude."

For once, a promise for Ivan remained in Alfred's head when practice ended. As soon as Mr. Edelstein blew his whistle, Alfred made a B-line to his backpack. He had just barely struggled to put on his backpack when he saw Feliciano exit the football field alone, leaving behind the other alto saxophonists, who were setting their instruments in their cases.

"Hey, Feli!" Alfred called, chasing after the Italian. Although Alfred was an average runner, running with the sousaphone made it more difficult. Feliciano looked behind at Alfred's pants.

"Oh, hey Alfred." Feliciano greeted, his expression remaining blank at Alfred's hysterical panting.

"Hah… Hah…" Alfred breathed heavily. "I… Ah… I wanted to check up on you. You've been so quiet and sad. "

"…" Feliciano only nodded.

"Everyone's worried about you, dude. Even Ivan asked me to check up on you for him." Alfred continued.

"…Everything's fine, Alfred." Feliciano asserted, forcing a tiny smile.

"No, you're not dude." Alfred insisted. "I'm probably ignoring the atmosphere now, but please let me stay with you for now. I don't want to leave you alone."

Feliciano's fists tightened as tears stung his eyes. "…Grazie, Alfred." his voice cracked. "You're always so willing to help people, even people who don't deserve it."

"You deserve it, man. You're a kind-hearted dude who has done nothing wrong."

"But I did do something wrong!" Feliciano exclaimed. His tears blurred his vision. "Alfred, I made my wish to save Gabriel so I can tell him I love him and find a reason to be with him. But he doesn't remember me at all!"

Alfred's mouth dropped, unable to respond to Feliciano's sentence.

"Maybe it's best if he doesn't!" Feliciano continued, his voice trembling. "How can he love a zombie? How can anyone love a zombie?"

Alfred knew how he wanted to reply. Feli, you used your wish to save Gabriel. That's the most heroic thing ever. But how could he say that without diminishing the fact that Gabriel, the center of Feliciano's wish, would never reciprocate his sacrifice?

The only thing Alfred could do was keep his lips sealed shut as he gave Feliciano a pat on the back.

Feliciano briefly looked up from his history textbook at the sound of the front door unlocking. Judging from the clicking grandfather clock, it was Nonno. He usually returned from the restaurant around this hour.

After unlocking the door, Julius entered the living room where his youngest grandson was, sitting on a couch doing his homework. "Feliciano, I'm home!" he said as he took off his coat and hung it on the coat rack, expecting Feliciano to ask how was work today or tell him something interesting that happened at school. The only response he got was the sound of a page turning.

"Feliciano?" Julius asked again.

Feliciano jumped. "Oh! Nonno, mi dispiace! I didn't hear you!"

"It's fine." Julius's smile fell into a concerned look. "You're been awfully quiet recently. Are you feeling well?"

The leather coach dipped when Julius sat next to Feliciano. Looking into his grandfather's amber eyes, Feliciano wanted to throw his arms around him and rest his head on his shoulder as he confessed that he loved Gabriel, who lost any memory of him due to an accident. He wanted to sink into Julius's arms and enjoy the embrace's warmth as Julius rubbed comforting circles on his back,

However, how would Julius react to him, the purest and most innocent of all his many grandsons, having romantic feelings towards a boy, specifically a German boy? The night Lovino told Julius his feelings for Antonio still haunted Feliciano. Until then, Feliciano had never seen disgust distort Julius's facial features and fury blaze in his eyes. He never suspected that Nonno, who kissed his cuts and scrapes better, was capable of threatening to throw Lovino out if he did not repent for his sin. In his furious response, Lovino boldly told him he would be more than fucking happy to get out of this shithole apartment. He collected his essential possessions and fled to Antonio's place on the same night, before only coming back day by day to collect his remaining belongings.

"Will Nonno also throw me out like what he did to Lovi?" Feliciano asked himself. "I can't stay with Gabriel obviously. Will Alfred and Matthew take me?"

They would not, Feliciano. Who would house a zombie?

"Feliciano?" Julius gently stroked his hair. "You don't have to hide anything from me. Nonno is here to listen to you."

"…I'm just stressed with schoolwork." Feliciano smiled weakly. "Midterms are coming up."

"I understand." Julius gave Feliciano a smooch on his cheek before getting off the sofa. "Thank you for telling me. It's difficult being a student. Remember to give yourself breaks! Are you hungry?"

"A little bit."

"I make some pasta for you now. Would you like that?"

"Si, grazie."

Feliciano's smile fell when Julius turned his back to walk to the kitchen.

"So, zee vitch is here…" Ludwig's Soul Gem flashed brightly as he approached the construction site. He scaled up the chain link fence, ignoring the red no trespassing sign. His feet meeting the dirt ground, Ludwig walked deeper into the area, not halting when the city night surroundings transitioned into a pure white labyrinth.

"BAM!" Ludwig halted at the boom. In front of him, Feliciano's black silhouette leapt at the witch, a shadow shaped like a kneeling praying figure. Feliciano hurled an aqua magic ball of water at his target, only to have the witch deflect it with branches extending from its body.

The branches pushed Feliciano to the ground. The witch's familiars, vines with rat and snake heads, erupted from the ground and enveloped Feliciano, holding him to the ground as more minions began to wrap around his neck. Air source cut, Feliciano hacked as he tugged against the vines.

"Feliciano!" Longsword drawn out, Ludwig raced to his fellow magical boy. With a swipe, Feliciano was cut free from the familiars' grasps.

"Don't rush into danger like zat! Stay behind!" Ludwig ordered. "I'll take care of zis."

Ignoring Ludwig's command, Feliciano unsteadily got up, ready to lunge at the witch again.

"Oi!" Ludwig shouted.

"Don't worry. I got it." Feliciano's calm voice was eerie.

"Wait!" Ludwig could only yell as Feliciano dashed towards the wish. Another magic ball, the largest Ludwig had seen, spurned in Feliciano's hand.

The magic ball exploded through the witch's branches, sending water flying up the labyrinth. Feliciano shrieked his war cry as he threw ball after ball at the witch. Large droplets pattered onto the ground, drenching Ludwig, who could only gawk at the violent scene with stunned, wide eyes.

"He's expelling so much magic! More magic zan zee first time I saw him!"

With a final bang, Feliciano's magic dissolved the witch. As the labyrinth faded away, Feliciano picked up the fallen Grief Seed. Water droplets rolled down his damp hair. Dirt tainted the bottom of his soaked robe as it dragged across the ground.

"Please take it." Feliciano went up to Ludwig and forced the Grief Seed into his gloved hand. "This is what you came here for."

"Let me see your Soul Gem first." Ludwig replied.

"No." Feliciano said.

"You need it to recharge your magic!" Ludwig clenched his teeth as Feliciano's stubbornness.

Feliciano's uneven smile and vacant eyes made Ludwig's shoulders jolt. "I don't need it." His sweet voice faltered at the end of his sentence. "I'm used to the pain. After all, I'm just a breathing corpse."

Before Ludwig could respond, Feliciano leapt over the fence, disappearing into the dark night. Ludwig did not realize his hand quivering as he clutched the Grief Seed.

Feliciano walked down the lonely streets, barely shivering when the wind blew against him. His heavy shoulders drooped as he numbly gazed around his surroundings, caring less if something lunged at him from the shadows.

A flickering streetlight went out. Despite the street turning completely black, Feliciano's stomach did not flip-flop in panic. Even in complete darkness, he still knew that this was where Alfred and Matthew lived. His home were only a few mere blocks away.

"Feli?" Feliciano halted at the familiar voice.

Light from inside shone Alfred as he exited his house, trash bag in hand. "What are you doing out here, man?" he asked as he dumped the bag into a garbage bin.

"…Hunting witches…" Was Feliciano's quiet answer.

"Dude, you didn't even tell me! Also, it's so late! Hey… You're doing all right?" Feliciano hardly moved when Alfred approached him and took his hand. "You're cold! And your clothes are soaked with water! How are you walking around like that?"

"I'm just a body pretending to be alive." Feliciano shrugged limply.

Alfred narrowed his eyes. "No, Felciano. You are alive."

"If you didn't know me, would you still see me as a living human? You probably wouldn't." Feliciano accused, his empty eyes glaring at his friend. "In fact, you probably wouldn't understand why I decided to become one in the first place."

"I do!" Alfred protested. "You did so to save Gabriel! And you did it, dude!"

Feliciano scoffed as he smirked darkly at his friend's naiveite. "I did that because I couldn't resist my temptation. My motive was only driven by lust."

"Dude, stop it." Alfred felt his heartrate steadily rise in irritation. "You loved him."

"Yes, a boy."

"Why does that matter?!" Alfred's voice rose in frustration. "If you love another boy, you love another boy! Who cares?!"

"You won't understand." Feliciano glanced at the front of Alfred's house. "You're raised by two sinners. I wish I was as lucky as you. Being so unaware of sin that you are free to sin as much as your want. You wouldn't have to feel remorse about sinning like me."

"Why don't you become a magical boy?" Feliciano asked, ignoring Alfred's trembling tight fists, dilating narrowed irises, and furrowed brows. "To make up for your lifetime of sinning like me? What happened? I thought you wanted to be a hero like Mathias."

Thoughts feverishly ran in Alfred's head. This was not Feliciano. Feliciano was his childhood friend who would never hurt a fly. He was the bandsman who wanted to spread music's joy either by eventually becoming drum major or just giving his fellow band members a reason to smile. Most of all, Feliciano did not base others' morale on how they lived to his religious code. He accepted everyone with open arms regardless of their lifestyles and beliefs.

"So, you think it's better for two twin boys to grow up in an orphanage?" Alfred asked through gritted teeth.

Regret shone in Feliciano's eyes. "Alfred, I—"

"I understand what you're trying to see. And I agree. You're a zombie!" Alfred angrily declared, "A zombie who mindlessly follows some stupid religion so he can feel good about himself!"

Feliciano looked like Alfred slapped him across the face.

Alfred's outburst continued. "Are you that willing to please you God, the God that convinces people it's fine to throw their own grandsons out in the night? Didn't you see that happen? With Lovino? Maybe you are like them! You need to please some imaginary god because you don't have anything better to live for!"

"God is not imaginary!" Feliciano's voice shook as he retorted. "And he's worth living for!"

Before Alfred could argue back, the front door creaked open. Soft footsteps strolled down the concrete. "Al, what's happening?" Matthew asked.

As Matthew stepped out onto the drive way, Feliciano immediately ran down the direction towards his home. His breath hitched as tears burned his eyes. Rain began to plummet as thunder grumbled throughout the night sky.

"Feli!" Alfred exclaimed, reaching a hand out to his friend's shrinking silhouette. "Fuck, I'm such a fucking idiot!"

"Feliciano was here?" Matthew approached his brother.

Without responding, Alfred began to head down the direction where Feliciano went.

"Where are you going? Alfred!"

Alfred stopped. The rain pattered on the ground as it grew heavier.

"It's raining pretty hard. Better get back inside, eh!"

"But, Feliciano…" Alfred started, unable to look at Matthew in the eye.

"He doesn't live that far! I'm sure he'll be back home fine!"

The water rolling down Matthew's hair and body was illuminated by the house's glowing lights, unlike the murky streets. If Alfred insisted chasing after Feliciano, Matthew would likely tag along with him. Knowing their luck, it would be a while before they caught up with Feliciano and comforted him. By the time they got back, Arthur would be standing by the front door with a scowl and his arms crossed, prepared to scold them for running off into the rain, his way of telling them that he was afraid that they would catch a cold.

There was always tomorrow. Once when Alfred and Matthew met with Feliciano to head to school, Alfred could exchange solemn apologies with Feliciano. With one last look down the pitch-black block, Alfred followed him into the house.

Feliciano stood atop the fire exit, back towards his pitch-black room. Rainwater soaked through his darkened clothes, which were unable to absorbing any more water. His hair stuck to his forehead, allowing the water to flow down his face. Feliciano's eyes were set on the alleyway, hoping to see Gabriel standing there in his black coat and his cap next to his bike. However, such images were only fragments of Feliciano's memories and imagination.

Looking at the starless sky, Feliciano clasped his hands together. Gabriel. Gabriel. Gabriel. No matter how hard he concentrated, his cloudy mind only drifted back to his sin's cause.

Feliciano turned behind him, looking at his pitiful, soaked reflection. He could enter the shower and spend hours scrubbing soap onto his skin, or stay in the rain until morning. Yet, nothing could wash away the filth brought by his lust. He was too tainted to enter his own home, a home that would not allow him in once his sin is revealed.

With one last look at the door behind the glass, Feliciano climbed down the fire exit. He did not look back as he ran down the alleyway and the street.

The next day, Feliciano did not meet Alfred and Matthew in front of his nonno's restaurant. The day after, Feliciano became a missing person.

Author's Notes: When I first uploaded this chapter on AO3, I thought it was decent enough. Now, I currently have a lot of mixed feelings towards it, since I'm unsure if everything that's happening to Feliciano is enough to send him spiraling down. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to provide feedback! This story is going to get edited once when it's completed because there are some parts that can be improved.

The witch featured in this chapter is Elsa Maria from Madoka Magica. An analysis on Madoka Magica's witches suggested that it represents a black and white stance on what is morally good, so I think it fits well with this chapter.

The next chapter contains spoilers for the end of episode 8 and episode 9.