Chapter 9 - Blood-Stained Memories

Haru was on the defensive with the stranger, Chesu, there. She continuously swung her scythe towards him, all in attempt to end his life prematurely. He wasn't backing down that easily though. He had a quirk, a useful one at that. Once Chesu came closer, he protectively stepped in front of Amajiki and activated his quirk. Amajiki looked up, praying that Haru would be standing in front of him, saying they could go home. But he wasn't; he was still protecting him with his life. Tamaki had been so engrossed in ignoring the situation that he hadn't even noticed Haru's quirk activate. It was a sight to behold, that's for sure.

"Hey, Tama? I haven't told you my quirk yet, have I?"

"No."

"Well, do you wanna know?" The dark-haired boy said in a playful manner, gripping onto Amajiki's arm in the process.

"Sure. I'd love to know."

"It's called Shadow Blitz and, honestly, it scares me." Haru looked down, tightening his grip on the boy's arm. Amajiki noticed and laid his hand on Haru's shoulder. The other boy gazed back up to stare at his lover.

"Why does it scare you? It's your quirk, so it would never intentionally hurt you...would it?" This time, Tamaki's demeanor was serious and concerned.

Haru glanced down again, the floor becoming quite interesting. He fidgeted with his jacket sleeve before saying, "My quirk is...dangerous. I...it tried to kill me before. I don't think it...likes me."

"Nonsense! Of course it likes you, it's your quirk."

"Yes but...I'm not its Master... The original owner died a few years ago." He continued to mess with his clothes until the fabric started unraveling. Amajiki didn't believe what he was hearing. Master? Owner?

"What do you mean by 'Master'?" Tamaki pressed on, wanting an explanation.

"This quirk...it isn't mine."

The darkness was spreading yet again; it enveloped the two bodies, encasing them in a layer of black. It was Haru's doing, he had activated his quirk. It took a minute for Amajiki to realize, but when he did, he was somehow calmed by it. The dark fog circled around them, making it impossible to see anything on the outside; it was hard to even see on the inside. Amajiki stared up at Haru before speaking.

"So...this is your power?" He questioned.

"Yeah..." Haru glanced back at his boyfriend and gave him a reassuring smile, not caring about the tears that were slipping past his eyes.

"Why're yo-" He was cut off by the harsh sound of metal hitting flesh and bone.

A bloodcurdling scream tore through the darkness and silence with a fierce pressure. The sight reached Amajiki's eyes before the sound met his ears. All he could see was red, that's it, red, glistening blood. As the mist lifted, he could see Haru's limp body laying not too far from him. He was covered in blood, so much blood. Amajiki froze and his blood ran cold, his feet refused to move, but his mind was racing. He didn't know what to do.

"H-Haru...?"

When will the pain stop? Somebody, please make it stop, I can't take it anymore! The ground beneath me is drenched in my own blood, yet still I feel the pain. I can't take this anymore. My body feels heavier and heavier. I can't move my legs, I can't move my arms, I can't even move my head. Surely this'll be over any second now.

...

There's no way out. I'm gonna die, oh god I'm going to die. No, please, I want to live. I can't die, I mustn't die. I have to protect Tamaki. I don't wanna die. But I'm so tired. I can't even feel my legs, this isn't good. I need to get up, get out of here, save Tamaki, and live, but my body refuses to move. I guess I have no choice but to lay here, helpless. Somebody will help me soon though, I'm sure of it. Somebody will find me soon and save me from this mess...

...

Why must it end like this? This is not how I wanted it to end, this isn't how I want to die. But it's not like I have a choice now, there's nothing I can do. I just wish it was over already, just let me die...please...it hurts...so much.

Sleepy, I feel so sleepy. A quick nap can't hurt, can it? Ah, it doesn't matter. It may be the last nap I take, but it'll be the best. I'm just too tired, I need to sleep.

...

Forgive me...I love you...

"T-Ta...ma..."

"Ah! He's so pretty, isn't he? All covered in blood like that. It looks good, red is definitely his color. Don't you think, Tama?" Chesu mocked, swinging her scythe as she walked towards Tamaki.

Tamaki was stiff, his body was so weak. He couldn't fight her even if he wanted to. She continued to inch closer, scraping the bloodied metal against the pavement as she did. Tamaki just knew it, he'd be dead in a few seconds. If he didn't gain the courage to do something right now, he'd never live to see another day. Half of his body felt numb while they other half screamed in agony. The sharp, burning sensation was all he could focus on. His eyes darted all over, desperately searching for a way to relieve his body from this miserable feeling. He paused for a brief moment, contemplating all he had fought for and all he could lose if they gave up now. His entire body was trembling now. Weak and exhausted, it had cost him all his remaining strength to keep his eyes open. However, he felt like there wasn't much that could be done either way.

Suddenly, just when he was about to give up, he heard a loud crack in the distance. He looked up and his eyes met black. Black was the color of the man's eyes, the same as his hair. Amajiki gazed around and concluded that the noise hadn't been made by the dark-haired man, but an African-American man. He was crouched low to the ground with his hands placed on it. Amajiki then looked back to where Chesu last was. Her scythe was unmoving, seemingly bolted to the pavement. I must have been that man's quirk.

Tamaki was finally able to move a little and drag his body over to Haru. Yes, his arms were exhausted, but he didn't really care at the moment. All he was concerned with was knowing that Haru was alright. He reached his partner only to be dragged away as soon as he got there. The two men he had previously seen were pulling him up and away from Haru. He wanted to fight back, but he had no strength left. So he allowed the strangers to load him onto a stretcher and into an ambulance. Once Tamaki had been transported to an ICU room, the nurses sedated him and he fell straight to sleep.

A few hours went by before Tamaki awoke from his medically induced sleep. When he cracked his eyes open, he winced at the brightness of the white lights above him. He gazed to the left of him and saw an IV drip attached to his arm, as well as a nurse sitting on a chair across the room. She was writing something down, not noticing him until he weakly cleared his throat. After hearing him, she stood up and walked over to him.

"W-where am I?" He asked, raising his hand to massage his temple. "And...w-why am I s-stuttering...?"

"You're in a hospital."

"A...h-hospital? Why?"

"I'll answer all of your questions, but I need to know if you were with another boy when you were brought in."

He rubbed his head before settling his gaze back onto the nurse. His mind was hazy, but he definitely remembered that Haru was there with him before he was put in the ambulance.

"I-I know there w-was a boy t-there w-with me. His n-name is Haru Oiwai."

The nurse quickly wrote something else down on her clipboard before looking up again. Tamaki was so confused. Why would she need Haru's name? He wasn't sure, but speaking of Haru, he really wanted to see him.

"E-excuse me...can I s-see him?" Amajiki asked, still struggling with his newfound stutter.

The lady frowned and glanced down at her clipboard again. She looked upset, sad even. It was scaring Tamaki a little. He had to see Haru and make sure he was ok. He continued to ask if he could see him, but the response he received wasn't the one he wanted.

"Mr. Amajiki, correct?" A man walked in, presumably a doctor. He looked like a typical doctor, white lab coat, stethoscope, and glasses. Yep, definitely a doctor.

"Um...y-yes?"

The man sighed before speaking, giving Tamaki words he never wished to hear.

"Your friend, Haru Oiwai, was pronounced dead on arrival. There was nothing we could do, I'm sorry."

Dead!? No...no no no! It can't be. There's no way!

"W-what?"

"I'm sorry, Amajiki." With that, the doctor exited, as did the nurse, leaving him to mourn the loss of his beloved.

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Ok! This is the saddest thing I've written since the 3rd chapter of my story "Lighthouse" I hope you angsty people out there enjoyed this. Also, who can spot the hidden (sort of) TodoDeku phrases in this chapter? ;)