DISCLAIMER: Kuroko No Basuke belongs to its awesome mangaka, and this picture to its artist.
CHAPTER 14:
KUROKO POV
The megane scientist tells me to enter the limousine. As I step in, I see him sitting cross-legged and laughing at the monitor in front of him. My body shakes with fear—I'm afraid to sit beside him, to be anywhere near him. However, I don't have any choice but to obey. I can only tremble silently in horror, trying to put as much distance between us as the car seat allows.
As I settle in my seat, I finally realize what's on the monitor. Many people with guns in their hands are in a room, including the Genius Twins and Haizaki-sama. And at the center of the room… I have to hold my gasp in. Everything blurs out of focus and my world narrows down to him alone. Fiery red hair. The commanding aura despite his short stature. Thin lips set into a straight line. Serious crimson and amber orbs that were filled with hurt and betrayal the moment he saw me yet quickly hardened into ruby and gold in an attempt to hide the momentary blemish of his glorious perfection. All these features point to the reason I'm still alive, the person who saved and took care of me. It's none other than the man I love, Akashi-kun.
I want to reach out to him, to beg him to save me, to hold his hand and never let it go. But I can't—I don't have the right nor guts to do that, not when I am the one who betrayed him. I hang my head low in shame and clench my fists tightly. My heart becomes heavy with grief, and even though I want to look at him, I cannot bring myself to do it. What I've done is beyond forgiveness, and I can't bear to even show my face to him.
"Checkmate, Akashi Seijuurou." The man beside me states and I look up, catching the screen as it turns black. Akashi-kun! I lean forward reflexively as I will the monitor to show me even one last image of the man I love.
"Welcome back to hell," the man beside me greets and the sound of his creepy baritone makes me warily turn to him, catching the Cheshire grin on his face. I don't have time for a reaction as a sharp blow connects to the nape of my neck and I lose consciousness.
I wake up to a blinding light. I have to blink a few times to adjust my vision. My head feels heavy but my body is light, like I've been floating on air yet also strapped to the ground by heavy chains. Seconds pass as I try to gain a hold on my perception. I briefly wonder if I have died, but then the smell of bleach and an annoying beeping sound close by registers in my awareness. I decide that it must mean I am still alive, because I don't think death is this uncomfortable.
I turn my head to the side and see Imayoshi-san's back. I am surprised that I haven't felt any fear towards him; instead, I feel numb and devoid of any emotion. I note with meagre astonishment how a pale gray of nothingness unfolds in me, and I watch Imayoshi-san scribble something at the desk like I would to a black-and-white rerun—with no gleam of interest.
"Oh, you're awake." He turns to me. Is that pity I see on his face? "How do you feel?" I was about to say I'm fine but I couldn't find my voice. I couldn't even open my mouth.
"I'm sorry but I had to strap you to the bed. It was an order." That's when I realize there are ropes binding my hands and feet. Oh well, it's not like I haven't been there before. I don't feel the need to protest or even feel miserable that I am here. Why am I so strangely, numbly calm despite the fact that I'm being woefully detained again?
"You'll have to stay here for a while since I need to check up on you. And the baby." Why does he keep on talking to me? We aren't exactly in a relationship where we can go ahead and have a casual conversation. Though I try to keep up with his monologue, I can't keep my focus on him. I feel like a piece of paper gliding in the air, weightless and aimless.
"I'm sorry about… you know. I didn't actually think you'd betray him. I was kind of amazed that you came back here on your own. I thought you loved him?" His words too, are like feathers, drifting and swaying in the breeze, until they blur into the sunlight. I stare into the light above me and wonder, what if the last light that you see on your deathbed is the first light you see as a baby? Hmm, reincarnation sounds nice.
"Okay, I get it. I won't bring him up anymore. I don't need to see beyond that blank face to know that you are hurting. Don't worry, he's safe. He got away. Leader's not too happy though, coz he blew up the base again. At this rate we'll run out of places to hide." Mou, I think I'll stop trying to understand what he's saying. It makes no sense to me at all. I know the words mean something but I can only stare at him, bewildered. How could any meaning matter, at this point?
"Ara ara. That's weird? Even though you always have a poker face, I can usually identify your emotions in your eyes. But now they're so… lifeless. Are you okay? Did you get traumatic brain injury? Tsk tsk I'll ask him if I can get you an MRI. This is bad, budget's tight you know…" He rambles on while walking out of the room. I try to rearrange my thoughts which are in a haze. Was I given medication? I don't think so; it would be bad for our health. I try to recall the facts I am sure of.
My name is Kuroko Tetsuya. I am pregnant. I betrayed the man I love to save a friend. I am now back in hell. Love, life, everything was over.
Ah, so that is why nothing makes sense anymore. It was all over.
Because he's gone from my life forever.
An image of a piece of wood floating limply in a peaceful silver ocean flashes in my mind. It isn't moving, or rather can't move, for there are neither wind nor waves to toss it across the vast waters. It just lays there on the water's smooth surface, the fishes in the ocean and the birds in the sky not noticing its already weak presence.
I realize: the wood is a representation of myself. I am stranded and lost in the ocean of life, and I can't even drift off to reach new shores or drown myself and sink to the bottom of the ocean floor. I am alone, with no current to swim with or breeze to push me along.
Is the piece of wood some part of a boat or some vessel? If so, what had happened to the ship?
Maybe the ship had forcefully broken away from its own anchor, the one who had tried to hold her still during the storms of nightmares and had kept her grounded on reality when the ship drifted into waters of traumas.
Maybe I shouldn't be bothered by the realization of how accurate this comparison is to my current sorry state.
Slipping in and out of consciousness isn't comforting, but it helps me forget. In the few times I don't have a nightmare, sleeping is actually nice: it doesn't involve thinking, acting or feeling. In those rare dreamless slumbers, I am free from emotions, and it feels good not having to feel anything. Waking up isn't better, but it's not that bad either. I just let myself get lost in an unthinking stupor, holding on with all my strength to the numbness that keeps me from realizing what I didn't want to acknowledge. I made myself a bed at the bottom of a black hole and concluded that I don't want to see the sun anymore. Everything is colorless oblivion, whether I am awake or not, and it's exactly what I want.
Imayoshi-san is my only company, which is good because I haven't seen the other devils around, yet. Sometimes he makes small talk about trivial things like weather or food, and sometimes he doesn't talk at all. I still can't find my voice, though Imayoshi-san says there is nothing wrong with my vocal chords. Some part of me thinks this should upset me—losing the ability of speech. But there is nothing more left in me to be upset, or to feel anything. Maybe I simply have nothing to say anymore.
I am remotely aware that this phenomenon has happened to me before, but I do my best to stop myself from thinking about it. Remembering the people who had helped me to overcome it makes memories that I don't want to face come crawling back from the trench where I'd buried them. I know that my mental health can only remain stable by pretending they do not exist.
Being in a daze helps with the headaches and stomach cramps I've been having. I don't know how much time has passed, therefore I don't know how long I've been pregnant. The baby matters, if nothing else in my lifeless life does. Thinking about this pure and innocent one that has the right to live keeps me responsible and not suicidal. Death would be a relief, but I didn't want to consider it. If there was still a reason left for my remaining existence in this world, I would like to think it is the baby.
(And possibly, possibly, some part of my heart wished he'd come for me, dreaming he'd walk through the door and save me. Hoping, but not believing. The line was so thin I had to be careful not to lose balance while treading, lest I completely lose sense of what was reality and fantasy.)
Just when I thought being confined here in this makeshift clinic was a good way to waste the rest of my living days, one of the devils showed up. His dark grey braids fly past his face gracefully as he violently kicks the door down.
"You can't come in here," Imayoshi-san states quietly, though there is an edge in his voice. Maybe he's angry because of the broken door. "I'm not done with my experiment."
"I'm bored. Couldn't find anything to do this past week." Haizaki-sama replies indifferently. His head is bandaged, healing bruises and cuts are all over his body, and a band-aid is plastered across his right cheek. I momentarily wonder what happened to him, but I guess I don't really care. He might look beaten up but I know he's still the violent guy who wouldn't bat an eyelash in beating me even if he's injured. He looks at me with a grin, like a bully trying to be friendly, carefully concealing under that kind smile the intent of wanting to beat the crap out of you. And for the first time in days, I felt something—shivers of dread moving down from my shoulder blades to my fingertips.
"I was given two weeks for my check-up!" Imayoshi-san utters through gritted teeth. To me, his words sounded like "I was hoping to keep him alive for at least two weeks." Whether he wanted to keep me alive as a human being or as an experiment, I am grateful. I may be in a hopeless case of mental disorientation right now, but I'd do anything to hold on to dear life. For the sake of my baby.
"You really didn't think I could wait that long, did you? I'm so hungry for a punching bag. Especially after what that Akashi did to me." I flinch. The sound of his name slowly unleashes the pain that was clawing inside of me, the pain I've been trying to keep at bay these past few days. Despite the scientist's weak protests, I am dragged out of the room by my hospital gown. However, I do not struggle, desperate to find a distraction from the spreading emotional grief. Physical torture sounds better than this growing agony and despair eating my heart away.
I don't know if it was my memory lapsing again, because somehow I've been strapped naked to a wooden chair with piano strings. It is tight and my skin is protesting in pain, but I can't really object. This is what I deserve for betraying my savior.
Haizaki-sama licks his thumb, a sign that everything is going his way. "I've been told not to do much damage, but you can take a little pain, can't you? You need to be punished, especially after your boyfriend damaged my face." He looks at me apprehensively, waiting for a response. He raises a brow at my silence. Maybe he was expecting I'd beg him to spare me. I did want to do that, but my mind stopped functioning at the word boyfriend.
A sharp, stinging pain in my cheek. I didn't realize he slapped me. Tears form in the corner of my eyes but refuse to fall yet. He walks to a table and opens a drawer, pulling out a kitchen knife. Its straight-edged blade seems to gleam in anticipation of being used.
"I'm not allowed to punch you in the gut, but maybe this will be fun too. Let's decorate your face with red, shall we?" He grins creepily. As he slowly walks towards me while sharpening the knife with a steel rod, panic rises from the pit of my stomach. Though I pretend to be void of any emotion, I am still susceptible to pain. It still makes me feel. It still makes me fearful. It still scares the living shit out of me.
Holding my head so I'd stay still, he slowly cuts a diagonal line across my right cheek, and blood drips from the opening made in my skin. I bite my tongue to hold back the scream and tears. He gazes at my blood fascinatedly, as if it were rubies and precious stones. He repeats the procedure on my left cheek, deeper, longer. A whimper escapes from my lips. The cold air inside the room pricks at my fresh wounds, and I try not to gag from the metallic stench of my own blood.
"In case you're wondering, I'll give you twice the pain he gave me." He stands up, posing as if he was going to get more tools, but then swiftly turns around and right-crosses my jaw. I taste the blood inside my mouth but it doesn't really hurt. I am too dazed by the sudden punch to yet feel the pain.
Two Haizaki-samas pop their blood-stained knuckles distractedly. My head is swirling from the impact of the punch and I am starting feel nauseous from the rusty, salty smell. All of a sudden, my breath is taken away. The blow to my chest was so hard I swear I heard something snap. Black spots dance in my vision and there's a ringing in my ears. I try to breathe but it becomes painful. I haven't even recovered enough oxygen when I feel my leg swell up painfully.
"Huh, I thought it would break." Haizaki-sama looks at the wooden bat confusedly. He then turns to me with a grin. "I want you to scream so loud that even God will turn deaf because of you." With a grunt, he swings the bat sideways and it hits my left arm. I cry loudly. It hurts so much. He repeats the action several times, and each time my screams are louder and more high-pitched. Every hit of the baseball bat against my skin turns my muscles and bones to pulp, and all I can think about is wanting to black out from the excruciating pain.
When my arms and legs are colored fifty shades of red, purple and blue, he stops. He takes out a phone from his pocket and makes a face. Taking a deep breath, he wipes his sweat away, and throws the bat to the other side of the room. He grabs a fistful of my hair and licks the blood on my right cheek. "I'll come back, Kuroko." He says sweetly. Then he leaves, locking the door behind him. I am left agonizing in the dilapidated room, with my skin being pierced by the wires and my swollen arms and legs throbbing in pain.
I don't know if it was from the exhaustion or torture, but before the lights went out from my vision, I saw Akashi-kun leaning elegantly against the door, his small smile breathtakingly beautiful on his god-like face. Despite the pain, relief washes through me and I lean towards him, wanting him to touch me. He strolls gracefully towards me and warmly kisses my forehead, caressing my cheeks after. His liquid red and yellow eyes convey love and melt my insides, also making my heart feel like it's bursting out of my chest.
And I was thankful for the hallucination. It was a brief moment of heaven in spite of the hell I've been through.
I don't know how much time has passed, but Haizaki-sama didn't come back for a long while. Whenever I wake up, I brace myself for the moment when my eyes will see him standing in front of me holding some kind of torture device, but nothing has changed from the last time I opened my eyes. It feels like the calm before a storm, like my personal tormentor is waiting for me to recover so that he can make my life even more miserable than it already is.
Every inch of my body feels sore, like there's acid coursing through my veins. I want to move but my whole body is stiff; even my toes feel limp. The blood has dried and caked on my cheeks. My eyes are stinging from all the tears I've cried and it's really painful to breathe. Though I have been tortured more horribly than this before, it doesn't mean I am immune to pain. It still hurts like hell, so much that you'll wish you'll never see tomorrow. The whole thing about wishing for death instead of the pain is true.
But what I was really wishing for is more hallucinations about him. I wanted to see him, even an imaginary version my mind has made up out of desperation and agony. The thought of him alive makes me oddly frantic to be alive. Something makes me hope that I'd wake up in his lap while he looks down at me with soft eyes and caresses my cheeks. I want to drink in the sight of him, to smell his musky fragrance, to hear his commanding yet caring voice, and to hold his bigger hands. I want to imagine that none of this torture has ever happened—that I never betrayed him—and just be in his arms. I want to invent this make-believe alternate universe where my life isn't messed up like it is, and just be with Akashi-kun.
But the pain makes it hard to think. Aside from the suffering my body has taken, I have other troubles. When I'm not agonizing, I'm starving and thirsting. I wonder miserably if the baby inside me is hungry too, and it makes me depressed that I can't give it the nutrition it needs. I could take all this torture, but it pains me more that this baby is going to suffer because of me. If I die, it will too. I chastise myself; I can't give up. I'll hold on for tonight and I'll fight to live. I have to give my baby a future.
Without warning, the door creaks open. Panic and fear run through me as I expect grey braids and maybe a crowbar this time. But I see glasses and a lab coat, and Imayoshi-san comes into view.
Both relief and surprise become visible on my face. At least it's not Haizaki-sama. He closes the door with his shoulder because he's holding a tray. My mouth waters at the smell of bread and soup. He cuts the piano strings and my skin screams in liberation.
"Listen. I want you to ready yourself. We don't have much time." He refuses to look me in the eye, like he's regretting everything he says. It bothers me a little but my mind is preoccupied with the desire to eat.
"Eat this slowly. I put something in here that will also heal you." I nod in appreciation, though I find it weird that he's sneaking in food for me. He has never gotten to this extent of showing me pity in the past years. My stiff hands finds movement foreign after being immobilized for so long, so the megane helps me eat and feeds me the bread. "Did he do anything that might affect the baby?" He asks. I shake my head. I don't think the beating my arms and legs took has done anything grave other than leave bruises.
His eyes sweep all over my body in inspection, and declares that he'll give me a check-up for internal bleeding. He also helps me drink water and spoons the soup into my mouth for me. As confused as I am with his sudden generosity, I am grateful and I don't question his motives. The soup burns my tongue slightly but I hastily eat it anyway.
He makes me swallow a pill. After I downed it with water, he asks. "Can you stand?" He helps me up, trying not to hurt me under his touch but it can't be helped. Everything hurts and I have to grit my teeth to keep myself from crying out loud. My legs are wobbly after sitting too long and I almost fall down, but Imayoshi-san's quickly catches me. He hoists me up and drapes my arm over his shoulder. We slowly walk—or rather, he walks while I let myself be hauled back to his clinic.
I grunt in pain as I lie down on the bed. It feels like my whole body has been passed through a meat grinding machine. He injects something in my arm, faintly shaking his head, probably because he couldn't find my veins in the sea of black and purple swelling skin. He tells me that I can go to sleep and that he'll fix me up. "A-ano… T-thank you…" I whisper hoarsely. His eyes widen and he averts his gaze. "Just sleep." he tells me, and I close my eyes as a deep slumber takes over me.
I wake up with my head feeling like a crate of metal, and find my cuts have been patched up. The bruises have also started recovering, turning a yellowish-green color. The pain in my body has also lessened, but not much. These past two days flew by rapidly without me keeping up, as I repeatedly lose and regain consciousness. I turn my head and see no one in the room.
I drink the glass of water on the bedside table and instantly my scorched throat eases up. I realize the IV drip is in my hand and try not to move it. I wonder how many days I've been in that torture room. I hope I haven't been there long enough for any internal bleeding to worsen, as it might affect the baby. I will ask Imayoshi-san later.
Just then, he comes in. Relief washes over his face as he sees me awake. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been run over by a truck." I whisper. He gives a faint, non-creepy smile, which was the first time I've ever seen him do so. "You're out of danger now." He stops, as if there was something more he wanted to say. He continues with just, "For now."
"How many days have I been there?" I ask. My voice sounds dead.
"Five days. Any more than that and you'd have died. Five days without eating or drinking, or getting treatment. It is actually surprising how you survived it with your condition." I snort inwardly. He knows I've been through worse. But there is some truth to it. At least my baby's alive.
I stroke my stomach and whisper thanks to Kami-sama for keeping the both of us alive. But I also doubt how long I can keep myself alive, how much longer I can endure. How long can I keep holding on to my sorry life?
I almost forgot the megane is here. I catch him looking at me with soft eyes. He walks to my side and warns me.
"Leader is here. He's really angry because Akashi-san freed all the other prisoners and now business is down." His name pierces my ribs and agony rips through my heart. Four-eyes observes my reaction critically but continues. "Many of his men were killed too and our hideouts are limited. I'll try to stop him by saying your pregnancy is critical. But," he hesitates for a moment, then continues. "He'll definitely punish you. He brought your weakness." My eyes widen as I catch his last word. What? No… He's going to put me in one of those small cabinets or something. Anything but that. I choke out a sob.
"Here," he puts something in my ear. "Open your mouth." He touches a molar. "Thank goodness I put it in the tooth at the back." He sees my questioning look but doesn't give more information. He then silently proceeds to dab a liquid over my bruises, and the pain of them being touched registers in my mind but I can't even flinch. I can only stare as my mind goes blank.
"Be strong. It won't be long now." Those where his final words. He leaves just as quietly as he came. And with a roll of nausea, I finally understand his words. It won't be long—my death, that is.
As he closes the door, the dark cloud of terror drenches me. My eyes well up at the thought of my former prisons and I taste panic in the back of my throat. I can't go in there. I'll die. Help me, Kami-sama.
Help me, Akashi-kun.
I start to weep silently and talk to my baby internally. Surely it would understand how I feel, as we are connected. I try to ask its forgiveness, because this may be the last time I'll be able to talk.
I'm sorry, baby. I haven't been a good father… or mother… I don't even know what I am to you. I did want to protect you, but I'm not sure I can handle this. I may not be able to endure this one. I know, I'm so weak… But I'm so tired. I just want to close my eyes forever. Maybe you weren't really supposed to be born.
I wanted you to live. I wanted you to have a normal life. To experience life. Read books. Drink milkshakes. Play basketball. I don't even know if you're a boy or a girl. And I'm not sure I'll live to find out. I hoped you'd be able to go to college and get a job. You know, I always wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to be surrounded with the smiles of little kids like you. Maybe I will. If I go to heaven, maybe I can play with little angels like you there.
And I wanted you to meet my friends. I'm sure they would have been great uncles to you. Kise-kun would tickle you and hug you all the time. Momoi-san would read you adventure stories. Aomine-kun would teach you how to play basketball. Murasakibara-kun would bake you sweet desserts. Midorima-kun would patch you up if you get hurt. Takao-kun would sing you to sleep. Kagami-kun would give you piggyback rides.
And Akashi-kun… He'd be the best father to you. I know it from the bottom of my heart. You see, I really loved him, though we have been together for only a brief time. He saved us and protected us, but I did something that hurt him deeply, so he might never forgive me. When you grow up, I had hoped you'll be a respectable person like him. I also hoped we'd become a happy family.
I want you to know that I love you. Though this is an abnormality, a phenomenon that should have never happened, I am glad I was given a chance to bear you. I really really love you, little one. I just wish I could hug you and kiss you and that I had more time to make you feel my love.
I'll try not give in, but I can't promise you anything. I am so close to breaking. This may be the last straw of my sanity. But always know that I love you. I hope we can be both reincarnated, and that we'll see each other in the next life. Maybe we'll be Alaskan malamutes like Nigou. Isn't that great?
Goodbye, little one. I love you.
And then door creaks open slowly, the blinding light sucking me in.
I am faintly aware of him dragging me, beating me, Haizaki-san laughing, Imayoshi-san protesting. I see a coffin in front of me, and hear that manic laughter. I can't process anything. I try to struggle, but I am pushed inside. And the lights fade out.
The darkness is killing me. I hate that I can't see anything. It swallows me up and turns me to stone. I fight and beg; I keep myself strong and I cry. The dark is too hard to beat. All sorts of images keep flashing in my head, like demons laughing while dancing around a flame where the body of a man is lighted up, ghosts of people screaming and wailing for help from eternal damnation in Hades, sinners swimming in a lake of bones, skulls, and blood… a train station?…
The air grows hotter and damper, and the more I try to breathe, the less oxygen I inhale. My chest heaves up and down frantically, consuming what little air there is to keep me alive. The walls seem to be closing in, getting narrower and narrower by the second. I choke and cough, and my head throbs in pain. I pant harshly, clawing at everything, wanting to get out of here.
My whole body is sweating profusely. Is there an earthquake? Or is it me shivering in pain and quivering in fear? My heart beats erratically, and my chest tightens painfully. I want to throw up. The terror is suffocating me. Tears flow continuously. I can't breathe anymore. Am I dying? I am dying.
.
.
I am a child again, and there is a massive crowd of people around me. I try to run but the people keep me from reaching my destination. They push and shove and elbow me. I fall down on my knees and they crush my tiny body with their shoes.
.
.
I hear the manic laughter of devils. The bustle of raw energy and the shuffling feet of the crowd. The blood pounding faster than normal in my ears. Whispers. Screams. Or wait, maybe I am the one screaming. A child crying. Sayonara, Tetsuya.
.
.
"Tetsuya."
"Please don't leave me. Don't go." I cry.
"I'm here, Tetsuya. Do you recognize me?"
"I… hah.. c-can't… bre-athe."
"Tetsuya, calm down. I want you to breathe through your nose. Do it."
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.
"…"
"Very good. Calm down, alright? I will always come and save you, Tetsuya. Believe in me."
.
.
.
"H-help me… Get me out of here…"
"I will, Tetsuya. I will come and save you. No matter what happens, I will always find you."
.
"Remember when we played hide-and-seek? I always found you."
.
.
"Tetsuya? A-ah!"
I snickered. The little boy with red hair looked inside an old water tank but I placed a scarecrow with my clothes there. It must have scared him! I should've seen his face! I held my laugh in as well as I could.
"Tetsuya!" He growled. "I'm going to find you!"
I chuckled softly and whispered to myself. "Mada da yo (not yet)… You haven't found me yet!" *^-^*
"Mou ii kai? (Are you ready?)" He shouted at the air. It told me that he's going to start again. I squirmed in my hiding place. Moments later, a child's silhouette blocked the sun's light in my hiding place.
"Mitsuketa (found you), Tetsuya." He grinned, and kissed my nose swiftly. Though I had lost the game again, I felt warm and magical. I wanted this to happen over and over again.
.
.
.
.
"Seijuurou…"
.
.
"Mou ii kai?"
.
.
Seijuurou will come. Seijuurou always save me. Seijuurou will always protect me.
"Mou ii yo. (Ready)"
.
.
.
I am delighted with his smile. His small, perfect smile that was always reserved for me. His smoldering red eyes that have always shown self-confidence. His sculpted little nose and his tiny ears. Oh, and his bangs. He hates it when it gets into his eyes but I think it looks good on him. He is only a few inches taller than me, yet I look up to him not because of the height difference but because he is a great person. He always takes care of me and makes me feel like that I can do anything. At the age of six, I have found the person I want to be with for the rest of my life.
He holds out his soft, tiny hands for me, as he always does after I wake up from the afternoon nap with him under the cherry blossom trees. Even as a child, he has an aura of authority and maturity, though he can be gentle and patient too. I smile at him and he smiles back. I reach out to take his hand, so he can take me to the small hill where we always watched the sunset.
"I love you Tetsuya." He says in that sweet, childish voice. He leans forward and kisses my cheek as the sky turns orange and purple. My heart starts racing like it always does, when my childhood friend and playmate does this.
"I love you too, ..."
.
.
.
Huh? What was his name again?
.
.
.
"Mitsuketa, Tetsuya." The light shines bright, blinding me completely. Is it that child? No, his eyes are red and gold. He's not a child. He's the man I loved yet betrayed. He pulls me up and hugs me, whispering words of comfort. I'm okay now. I'm alright. He won't let me go. He has come to save me. That's what he'll always do. He loves me. He'll always be with me.
However, when the man I love pulls back to wipe away the hot tears falling down my cheeks, I finally see him. The child with bright red hair, with that confident smirk and fire red eyes that see through my soul.
I wonder what his name is.
.
Or if he was real.
.
Fin~
Hi guys! Ren-chan here.
Please understand that these are thoughts coming from a mentally disoriented person, and Tetsuya possibly can't understand his own mind too. Don't worry, Seijuurou will enlighten us next chapter. =)
I hope you liked this chapter. I did =D
And lastly, please don't be mad if it takes a while to update. I promise to make the future chapters better, because as a fellow FF reader, I'd rather wait for a good chapter rather than a fast, boring update. Desho? =)
(Psst. Read it again and play Secret Base by SCANDAL (I adore the band!) on the coffin confinement scene for BETTER FEELS. T.T)