A/N: Welp, after all that talk about wanting to skip this chapter or stall a ton before it, this chapter ended up coming out extremely fast. I blame finally getting around to finishing Occultic;Nine, which had some references to the feelsier side of Steins;Gate and, well, my muses get inspired by everything.
*Takes a deep breath*
So. This chapter is more than likely going to be the saddest one of this story if not the runner-up (the bonus chapter(s) might be sadder). Still, the point stands, and you should probably have a tissue box ready.
You have been warned.
"At the end, I will nail your coffin with my own hand. I attack D/D Savant Schrödinger!"
Akaba Reiji falls to his knees the moment he realizes there are no other options left for him. After everything that's happened, after all of his Lancers sacrificed their lives—something he had never imagined, even in his darkest thoughts—after his own father died… it's all for nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing. He couldn't save Yuya like he promised, their deaths were all in vain, he lost.
…
…
…I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed… I'm sorry everyone, but I failed…
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…
"NII-SAMA!"
Reiji's head shoots up, eyes wide in alarm as he turns and sees Reira running towards him. He's close—too close—and Zarc's attack is right on the edges of his vision. He knows if he doesn't do something, Reira will get caught in the blast. That absolutely can't happen—he's lost enough already, he can't lose his little brother. So he does the only thing he can think of—scrambles to his feet in a mad rush and throws himself on top of the boy.
They hit the roof right when the attack hits.
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…Nn…
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"Nii-sama! Nii-sama!"
"Reira-dono, there is nothing you can do for Reiji-dono…"
"N-No! Nii-sama…! W-Wake up! Y-You can't die!"
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…Reira…
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…Tsukikage…
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Reiji's hand twitches, and in the next second he is aware of just how… numb he feels. Other than that little bit of movement, all he feels are pins and needles all over or absolutely nothing at all. Nothing. It's a… curious feeling, and one he doesn't like. He opens his eyes next, only to find that all he can see is a blur—his glasses are gone, likely smashed to pieces from that attack. He can, however, tell that Reira is in front of him, being held back by Tsukikage and—he's not sure who the girl is, but she's there.
"Nii-sama!" Reira cries, slipping out of their grasp and running to him. It's when Reira throws his arms around him that Reiji realizes two things: first, that he has been propped against a wall, and second, that he can't feel Reira at all. He knows that his brother is right here, he can see and hear him, but he can't feel him at all. "Nii-sama, don't leave me…!"
"Reira," he chokes out, unaware that his throat had been clogged. He coughs and sees red. "Reira, I'm right here." Reiji finds he can't move his arms much, so the best he can do to comfort his brother is move one of them into an awkward sort of hug. It only makes Reira cry even louder, a sound that Reiji wants nothing more than to…
…more than to…
…
"Reiji-dono," Tsukikage's voice cuts through the haze, and Reiji's eyes snap back open.
From the tightness in his chest and throat, he's almost certain he was about to die just then.
"I'm here," he murmurs, repeating what he'd said only a few moments ago. His jaw feels sluggish. "I'm here," he repeats, then adds, "It's alright, Tsukikage. Thank you… for… for being an ever-loyal friend…"
"Friend?" Tsukikage says, the idea foreign on his tongue.
Yes, friend. But Reiji can't explain it—that there is no reason why they shouldn't be friends—because his words have caused Reira to grip his clothes tighter and scream. "Nii-sama, don't talk like that! Y-You're not gonna—you have to be okay!"
The sound of his brother's sobs hurts as he remembers the moment, a year ago, when he first began seeing Reira as a person, much less his brother, rather than a tool. He'd been crying just like this, scared by a thunderstorm and nigh-inconsolable. In fact, the only way he'd been able to calm Reira down had been… "Semaru boush-shitsu…" he sings softly, having to stop after only two words to cough. But he has to keep singing, so he drags in an unsteady breath and continues, "Rangyoku awaku—" More coughing, and more red across his vision. "H-Hi-ka-ri—"
"Nii-sama, stop!" Reira pleads. "You're hurting yourself!"
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…I just wanted… to calm you down…
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…
"Sorry, Reira," he mutters. "I… I've been… a horrible brother… I can't even finish the song for you…"
Reira fervently shakes his head. "That's not true! You—you've been the best brother! And—and—you can—you can finish the song later! You're going to be okay!"
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…Oh Reira…
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"Hikari michite," a voice suddenly sings. A girl. The one who had been trying to hold Reira back a few minutes ago—by her voice, Reiji realizes that she's Yuzu, but how? "Hatenu reimei, anata o hitori omou," she finishes, her voice cracking on the last note. The rest of the verse Reiji had been trying to sing. "That song… my father used to, he used to try to sing that for me when I was little," Yuzu says.
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…How strange… so did mine…
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How Yuzu is here doesn't matter. He knows that she is the only one who can reach Yuya now—he knows that Yuya will answer if she's the one calling for him. "Yuzu, you… you have to… you can do it. You're the one that can save Yuya." He moves his arm a bit, and finds that even after everything, he's still tightly gripping the Pendulum—he can't even feel it in his hand, just like he still can't feel Reira, but he can see the vague outline of it through the red splotches across his vision. He wills his arm to move up. "If it's you, he'll listen. I-I've seen how much you mean to him."
Yuzu doesn't answer him, but the Pendulum falls out of his hand as his arm drops back down. He can't will up any more strength to move it again.
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…I'm… I'm really… dying…
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Reira's voice is distant yet frantic now. "Ni—stay—wake—"
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…I'm so tired…
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Deep in his mind, Reiji knows he shouldn't shut his eyes. He can't fall asleep, he doesn't want to die.
Everything goes dark and he panics. Blinking does him no good. His heart pounds painfully in his throat. "Reira? Tsukikage? Yuzu? Where—where did you go?" He knows they can't have gone far, but—but he can't see them, he's alone and dying and why did they leave?!
He doesn't hear an answer.
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…Why…?
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…I've been abandoned yet again…
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…Of course…
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…Reira… Mother… Father… and everyone else…
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…Wherever you are… I'm…
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…Sorry…
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A/N: Error 404 - Shimmering-Sky not found.