As soon as Midorima hung up on them, Kasamatsu and Kise rushed out of their home. They quickly climbed into Kise's new blue sports car, with the human as the driver and headed towards Midorima's apartment. They didn't care if they were speeding or blowing through red lights, as everything was just a blur to them. They ended up reaching the apartment building in a fraction of the time it would usually take.
"Hurry up, Yukio!" Once the car was stopped, Kise was out and already halfway to the building.
"I'm coming, Ryouta. Let me grab the medical bag." Kasamatsu sounded angry, but he did understand Kise's reasons for rushing. The blond knew his human couldn't be as fast as him, so he slowed down slightly. With medical bag now in hand, the two worried friends made their way to Midorima's apartment as fast as humanly possible.
Once they reached the floor it was on, they practically ran to Midorima's door. That was where their rushing came to a halt. They tried the handle, but the door was locked. Kise frantically knocked on the door, but there were absolutely no sounds from inside. They even tried calling both Takao and Midorima's phones with no response from that either.
"What are we supposed to do now?" Kasamatsu looked to his lover only to witness Kise mumbling a few words before bringing up his leg and powerfully kicking the door. With a loud crash and various things cracking from the impact, the door split in half before it came tumbling to the ground with a thud.
"Look Yukio, the door's open." Kise smiled at his human before a horrified look took its place. Not only could the angel smell the blood from inside, but Kasamatsu could as well. "Oh god…" The blond was nearly too afraid to go into the apartment, but with Kasamatsu right behind him, he found his courage. It was that moment that the human was glad that the words Kise previously mumbled before kicking in the door were to set up a barrier. He hoped that along with the sight and sounds from the apartment were cut off from others, but hoped that the smell would also be in case anyone walked by.
With Kise now in the lead, the two began to enter the apartment. The first thing the two saw was little rivers of blood. Following them, they were led to a terrifying sight. Takao's mangled body lied in a pool of blood and the towels on him were fully drenched in crimson. It made it hard to believe he was alive, but he was, indeed, still breathing. Lying next to the demon was Midorima. He was also in a pool of blood, but it wasn't his. His phone was away from him but also covered in blood from one of the little rivers. It wasn't like he could have answered it anyway, considering he was clearly unconscious. Both of the human's hands were clinging to one hand of the demon's. If it weren't for all the blood and wounds, it would have been a cute sight
"Wha...What do we do?" Kise's voice was low and trembling. It was accompanied by a truly devastated look on his face. Neither things were common on the blond's face, causing Kasamatsu to take control of the situation.
"Wake up Midorima. He doesn't look hurt, but there could be internal damage. Don't shake him too much. If anything he's just in shock, but he needs to get over it quick." Kasamatsu pushed Kise when he realized that the angel still wasn't moving. "Go! I'll start handling Kazu."
"Okay…" Kise carefully stepped around the bloody body of his best friend to reach the unconscious human. Being an angel gave him some handy abilities, which he never really got to use, until now. Gently, Kise laid his hand on Midorima's forehead. He was able to heal the male enough that he could wake him up. He didn't want to go too far and use too much holy power so close to Takao. He didn't want to hurt him more than he was already.
It only took a few moments for the green-haired male to wake up. He slowly opened his eyes and stared up at the blond with dazed eyes. It was like he was still completely out of it, which worried Kise.
"Hey, Midorima? Are you okay?" Kise's voice was hesitant and nervous. Slowly, the haze cleared from the human's mind as his eyes widened. The entire situation came flooding back into his head.
"What's happening?" Midorima began to sit up, with Kise assisting him. Ignoring the angel, he looked at where his hands were connected with Takao's. That led him to realize Kasamatsu was at the demon's back trying to sow up the wounds. "How is he?"
"We just got here." Kise began trying to update the human. "When we got here you were passed out. Are you hurt anywhere?"
"No, only Takao was injured."
"So, what happened? You need to tell us so we can properly help Kazu." Kasamatsu cut into their conversation with his now worried voice. His hands were soaked in demon blood and he was beginning to panic on the inside.
"I always intended on telling you…" With that, the green-haired male began explaining the events from the exorcism, to where they were now. He remembered everything perfectly now and was able to mention every detail that could be important. He, however, chose to leave out his feelings and the fact that he had remembered his past time with Takao.
"Damn you Kazu… Why would he go there when he knew how badly he was hurt…" Kise was furious with his friend, but he knew it wasn't the time to get into it. He'd yell at him when he got better.
"So, what do we do now? He has wounds inflicted by holy power. Can those be healed by human methods?" Kasamatsu looked down at Takao and all the blood he was still bleeding.
"No, there's no way a human could help him now… I need to call Akashi." Those words prompted Kise to walk away from the two humans as he pulled out his phone. Midorima went paler than he was already at the thought of the redhead.
"What is going to happen? I can think of no good outcome to that demon coming here…"
"He is a demon Midorima, so he should have some idea what to do." Kasamatsu didn't want to scold the green-haired male for his negative comment towards Akashi, so he hoped it didn't sound like it. He knew how troubled the human already was at that moment.
"...I suppose you're right…" It was clearly difficult for Midorima to say that, however, before he could dwell on it, Kise returned to the room.
"He will be here momentarily."
"Momentarily? Is he close by?" The black-haired human was confused, causing his lover to chuckle. It was small and light, but it still helped to lift his spirits a little bit.
"You'll see." Within five minutes, an eerie black mist began forming just within the barrier of the door. The mist also caused Midorima to realize that his door was broken open.
"What happened to my door?"
"Nothing." Both the angel and his lover replied in unison. The door issue aside now, the three watched as the mist began to take shape only to reveal Akashi. His eyes were golden and his black angel-type wings were shown for them to see. He was quite a beautiful spectacle, and his smirk showed he was aware of that fact. Just a normal thing for the overly confident demon.
"I thought he was a demon?" It was safe to say the green-haired human was confused over how his wings looked. As far as he knew a demon's wings didn't look like that at all.
"He is a top ranked demon… Well, actually he's a fallen angel turned top-ranked demon…" Kise muttered in response hesitantly.
"Ryouta is correct. However, that is far from what's important at this moment." Akashi's wings disappeared and his eyes turned to their normal red as he approached the group. "Ryouta informed me as to what happened. I will assist however I can."
"Thank you." It was Midorima's turn to be hesitant. This polite and helpful Akashi was nothing like the one he originally knew. The red-haired male simply nodded as he began to look over Takao and his wounds. He ignored the hesitancy in the human's voice, as he understood why it was there.
"Do you have any ideas on how to help him?" Kise was being impatient, but Akashi was being very understanding… for now.
"He is badly injured by holy powers. His wings can never return, meaning unless we close his wounds, they will keep bleeding. He cannot heal himself, he can only sustain a comatose state."
"What does that mean?! Is he going to be like this forever?!"
"Calm down Ryouta. I haven't told you what we can do yet. I was getting to that." Akashi was being kind as well now, much to the other threes' surprise.
"So what can we do?" Midorima was close to being desperate now, but he kept his voice mostly calm. He felt like he was going to pass out from all the new things he was now feeling.
"Ryouta and I can help him, not humans."
"That was harsh Akashi," Kise mumbled to the demon, hoping he didn't actually hear him. However the redhead heard it, of course, but he decided to ignore the comment.
"Ryouta, you heal Kazunari with your holy powers."
"Do you want him to die?!" It was both the angel and Midorima who nearly yelled that question.
"Ryouta, Midorima, calm down. Akashi wouldn't tell anyone to do something that would kill Kazu." Kasamatsu being the voice of reason instantly calmed down the situation.
"Your lover is right Ryouta. Once you heal him, I will take him back to the demon realm to remove the holy wounds from him."
"...If you're sure it won't kill him... then okay..." Kise was still extremely hesitant to reach out his hands to the comatose demon. As he did that, Midorima had to force himself to not slap the angel's hands away. He could only trust the two to not kill his demon now. Even so, he was still extremely on edge.
"Go ahead. He will not die." Following Akashi's instructions, Kise reluctantly brought his power to his hands to heal the demon. The bright blue light from the angel's hands lit the entire room, along with forcing the two humans to look away while shielding their eyes. It was so bright because it was taking so much power to heal Takao.
The healing took only a minute but to the three concerned friends, it felt like forever. Akashi didn't count as a concerned friend, he was only slightly worried at best since he was so confident things would go how he said. Despite that, as the light faded, Akashi along with the others leaned in to see Takao and if the healing worked or not.
The holes where his wings got torn off were completely healed, but a scar remained. That scar would always remind Takao that he would never have wings again. Other than that, all the little holes and cuts were gone without a trace. The healing was a complete success, on the outside anyway. The internal damage due to the holy powers was still there, and getting worse.
"Will he wake up?" Midorima questioned quietly to the group.
"Give it a moment..." Akashi advised calmly as he looked at the nervous human. Sure enough, a minute later, Takao began to stir. He was groaning in pain, but it was much more than before.
"Why am I burning inside?" Those words from the demon were low and raspy. He slowly began to try to move to sit up but was stopped by Kise.
"No Kazu, you can't move yet. You are still internally injured."
"Huh? Ryouta?" Takao took the moment to look around while still laying face down. "Akashi, Kasamatsu, and Shin? What's going on?"
"Do you remember what happened to you?" The two humans and Kise slowly gently helped Takao sit up as he thought. He looked confused for a second, but then his eyes lit up with realization.
"Shin, are you okay? You weren't hurt, were you? How'd we get here?" The demon started to get frantic but was hushed by his human.
"I'll explain now. Just remain calm. Don't agitate your wounds." With that, the green-haired human explained all that went on after the attack. Once the words Midorima spoke sunk in, it showed on Takao's face that he was upset over losing his wings. He didn't say a word about it though, instead, he just smiled at his human.
"I'm glad the curse is broken and you're okay."
"Takao... You should be more worried about yourself."
"Your human is right. You are still dying due to the holy powers trapped within you." Akashi was, of course, the one to break the good vibes, but it was completely necessary.
"What can we do? I don't want to lose my best friend." Kise was as scared as Midorima was, but it was only shown on the angel. Midorima was now refusing to show any emotion. He was worried about what might come out if he let it.
"I will take him to the demon world like I already said. There, he will be cleansed of the holy powers."
"How long would that take?"
"A month at best. However, he must remain there to heal once the holy powers are removed. If his wounds are as bad as I think, it may take up to a year. However, there is always a chance it will fail and he will die."
"A year and he could still die?!" Midorima's outburst caught the redhead off guard. The other three jolted from shock.
"He is seriously injured. A human could not understand. I can only explain it best as a disease eating away at him. It takes time to heal something as bad as that, but it could also progress faster and stronger than the cleansing can handle."
"But... I don't want to be taken away for a year. What if they give Shin a new guardian? What if I can't come back?" Takao was close to tears now as his voice cracked. Seeing his demon like that, and realizing the severity of the situation caused a lot of pain to grow in Midorima's chest. It was becoming hard to hold his emotions back.
"He will return, right?" It was the green-haired human's only concern now. He thought his voice was still calm, but it was shaking and conveying the emotions within him.
"Like I said, there is no guarantee." Akashi's words caused the other four's hearts to drop. That was enough to cause tears in Takao's eyes to spill over, which caused Kise to follow suit.
"I don't want to lose Shin! I just got him back! I don't want to be separated from him again!" Takao ignored the pain he felt and moved to cling to his human, who surprisingly wrapped his arms around Takao in return.
"You have to. You will die for sure otherwise Kazu." Kasamatsu frowned as he spoke. He didn't want to lose contact with Takao for so long, but at least that way there was a chance he'd return to them eventually.
"I'll give you a moment to say goodbye, but make it quick." Akashi retreated to the door and brought his wings out in preparation for departing.
"Kazu, you better come back!" Kise's voice cracked as he cried, but he was still clearly understood.
"I will!" Takao let go of his human to hug Kise and then Kasamatsu. "I promise I'll come back." The two nodded their heads, then went to stand by Akashi to give the human and demon time to say goodbye.
"Takao..."
"Don't worry Shin. I love you, so I'll be sure to come back." Takao tried to smile at his human, but Midorima just shook his head. He didn't want Takao to force a smile. He never liked seeing such a thing on his demon.
"My curse is now broken. You have to return to me so that we can start what you've been wishing for all this time."
"Shin..." Takao began to cry once more and cling to Midorima. "I don't want to leave you. I am in love with you with everything that I am. Even if you don't feel the same yet. I'll wait for you to feel how I feel. Even if it takes forever." Midorima gently lifted Takao's head so he could look him in the eyes.
"You don't have to wait, Kazunari. I feel for you, what you've felt all along for me. I, as well, am in love with you. So, my Kazunari, return to my side when you can. I will wait for you. Just as you said, I will wait forever if I must." Tears slipped from Midorima's eyes as Takao burst into more tears. The two held each other tightly, as Kise cried tears along with them in the corner. He was so happy his best friend had gotten his only wish. It was so happy but so painful at the same time.
"I'm sorry Kazunari, Midorima, but it's time." Akashi walked over and gently pulled up the demon. The two lovers were still attached and didn't let go, forcing Midorima to stand with them. However, now that they were standing, it was harder to hold each other, so they had to release each other.
"Get better Kazunari. I'll be here waiting for your return."
"I'll be back soon. Don't worry." Right before Takao and Akashi faded away in a black mist, Midorima reached out one more time. This time, it was with his hands and lips. He hastily but gently grabbed a hold of Takao's face and pressed his lips to his. Takao instantly responded, making it the first, and possibly the last passionate kiss they would share together. As the kiss ended, and Takao was nearly completely gone, both lovers whispered a sad, "I love you."
With those words, Midorima was left alone with Kasamatsu and Kise. Only then did the green-haired human break down. The prideful man began to cry, true tears of pain from losing Takao. The uncertainty hurt the worst, as he didn't know if that would be the last time he would ever see his demon again.
It was so heartbreaking and out of character, that neither Kise nor Kasamatsu knew how to help him. All the angel could think to do was go to him and sob with him. Kasamatsu followed Kise and just stayed with the broken men, silently. He wanted to comfort them, but he didn't know how. He, himself, was just as hurt inside, but he knew he needed to keep it together for the sake of the other two. He needed to be strong for them.
The three couldn't even think about anything else at that moment other than the loss they just suffered and the uncertainty that went along with it. The more they thought about it, the more it hurt. No one knew how they'd come back from this serious pain they were all feeling now.