Thank you all who have been reading this story! Now, I present to you the last chapter.
Chapter VII
December 18th
To say Mayuzumi was in a bad mood would be an understatement.
The male was pissed.
It was approximately eleven in the evening when he received a call from a person he spoke to maximum three times - Midorima Shintarou. Mayuzumi wasn't dense though, so he immediately understood what this call was going to be about. And just like that his night was ruined.
Which brings the male to the situation he was at the moment.
Just as Mayuzumi had suspected, Midorima called him regarding that brat, Akashi. Apparently, he hadn't been picking up his phone for over two days now, the same with the mansion's phone. It was impossible to reach the redhead by any means, social media sites included. Based on some people's sightings, there was also no light visible in the house in that period. So either Akashi had left somewhere or something had happened to him. And that is why Midorima had called Mayuzumi, since he lived the closest. Midorima would have gone himself, but he had other urgent matters to take care of. And even though Akashi's senior was quite irritated by the inconvenient to him request, he agreed nonetheless. If truth be told, his last visit to the Akashi mansion shook him up, yet caught his interest. Something seemed very wrong there, and Mayuzumi had this strange urge to find out what it was.
Nevertheless, the male couldn't help but feel irritated. It was in the middle of the goddamn night in winter and he had to visit some brat's house. He wasn't even friends with that guy. Of course, it wasn't as if he was going there alone. The head maid will also accompany him, since she was the only one with a spare key. Sure, Mayuzumi wouldn't have let the woman enter that house alone either way, but he still asked Midorima about it.
…
''If she is going, why do I have to as well?''
''...For precaution purposes. If something had indeed happened to Akashi, it wouldn't be good if a maid all by herself found out.''
…
Nevertheless, Mayuzumi sensed something more in the other's tone. Perhaps he wasn't the only one who had strange suspicions about that mansion. That would make sense why Midorima seemed worried about Akashi, even though the latter was unreachable from merely two days.
Any other normal person would most likely get frightened, but Mayuzumi wasn't one of them. He was that one guy from horror films that tried to solve the mystery without allowing fear to take over him.
Was that a good or a bad thing though, no one could be certain.
When Mayuzumi finally reached the Akashi mansion, an elderly woman was already waiting by the front entrance. She had multiple layers of clothes on her due to the rather chilly weather, but other than that she looked well. Unlike Mayuzumi, the maid didn't seem too irritated about being called out in the middle of the night.
''Good evening,'' the gray-haired male greeted her politely when he reached the door.
''Ah, hello,'' she answered with a small bow. ''You must be Mayuzumi-san, correct? I really appreciate you coming all this way to check on Master Seijuurou.''
''Well, it wouldn't be good if something had indeed happened to him and we waited any longer,'' he murmured while looking at the door, slight annoyance breaking through. The woman didn't seem to catch it though.
''I suppose that's true,'' the maid hummed as she took out the keys and inserted them into the lock. ''Master Seijuurou had dismissed all servants until further notice awhile back for some reason, but we are yet to receive that notice, which, I must admit, is a bit odd.''
Mayuzumi didn't answer anything and only waited for the door to be unlocked. When it was, however, and the woman opened it, he stopped her from advancing any further.
''Perhaps you should remain here,'' he spoke warily, intently looking at the dark hallway ahead. That strange aura from last time... Not it was much worse. It was simply sickening and no person should want to enter such a premise. However, Mayuzumi's options were quite limited. And he wasn't simply going to allow this woman to walk inside house with such an uneasy atmosphere. ''I'll go in alone.''
''But... why?'' the maid asked puzzled. Did she not get the same foreboding feeling?
''It will be safer that way. If something had indeed happened to Akashi, I wouldn't want you to see it,'' Mayuzumi came up with an explanation on the spot as he slowly began walking inside. However, soon he stopped and glanced over his shoulder at the elderly woman. ''If I don't come back, don't follow me in. Instead, call the police.''
Color visibly drained from her face at such a command. Obviously she wasn't actually expecting the worse case scenario, but Mayuzumi felt the duty to warn her. If something was indeed going on here...
''Excuse me, but,'' the maid suddenly spoke when the male had started slowly continuing to advance further. ''You seem rather on edge. Why exactly are you warning me like this?''
''...Something just doesn't seem right here,'' Mayuzumi decided to stick with the truth this time.
After that the male went in further and searched for a light-switch. However, just as he flickered the nearest one on, the main entrance doors suddenly closed shut loudly. That slightly startled the gray-haired male, and he cursed on his breath.
Must have been the wind.
Nevertheless, he couldn't get frightened so easily. So after a moment of composing himself, Mayuzumi carefully began advancing further down the gloomy and dark hallway. Not even turning on the lights seemed to solve those factors. As if they were cold, unwelcoming. The corridor itself seemed more grim than last time. For some reason Mayuzumi got this odd feeling of being unwanted here. Not only that... Unexplained dread began slowly spreading inside his heart. He suddenly had this strange urge to leave, to leave and never come back, but the male shoved such irrational thoughts further down and only concentrated on the task at hand.
And that was reaching Akashi's bedroom.
From last time Mayuzumi fully remembered where that specific room was, so he had no trouble finding it. But the closer he got, the stronger that foreboding feeling grew. And by the time he had placed his hand on the doorknob, his heart for some unexplainable reason was seemingly pounding in his throat. He honestly didn't want to enter. As if something terrible would happen if he did. Nonetheless, again, those were merely irrational thoughts caused by this odd fear. And Mayuzumi wasn't going to let it control him.
Taking a deep breath and exhaling, the male pressed on the knob and opened the door.
…
As suspected, darkness greeted him. However, it felt so strangely heavy. Suffocating even. And that odd cold atmosphere... Mayuzumi did no enjoy being there, not one bit. Nevertheless, he slowly entered the room and flickered on the light-switch.
The first thing that caught the male's eyes when the room was illuminated was the broken computer on the floor next to the desk. Now that's odd. It almost seemed as if someone deliberately threw it from the table. However, Mayuzumi could focus on that later. Instead, he began scanning through the room, noticing the disheveled bed, the phone on the ground not far from it and finally...
Finally Mayuzumi's eyes landed on the slumped figure in the of the further corners.
The male quickly walked over to the unmoving redhead and knelt down next to him. Akashi had seemingly lost consciousness while in a sitting position, which resulted in the uncomfortable one he was in at the moment. Placing two fingers against his neck, Mayuzumi sighed in relief when he felt pulse, even if it was a bit weaker than it should be.
What on Earth caused this?
Lightly nibbling on his lip, the gray-haired male stood up and carefully scooped the redhead up. He should at least lay the other down on the bed before calling an ambulance. If Akashi had been in this position for more than a whole day, then he should feel quite sore when he'd wake up. But that wasn't Mayuzumi's main concern here right now.
After carefully laying the younger male on the soft mattress, his eyes caught something by the nightstand on the ground. Coming closer and taking the item from the floor, Mayuzumi could feel how confusion seeped into him.
It was an open bottle of sleeping pills. And by the looks of it, Akashi most likely took some in a hurry and tossed it away, loosing consciousness afterwards. Nevertheless... Glancing at the sleeping male, Mayuzumi couldn't help but wonder.
How many of these did he have?..
Just then, however, the eerie silence was cut through by a loud bang as the room's door suddenly closed shut. Startled, Mayuzumi quickly averted his eyes from the bottle of pills to the source of that unexpected sound. However, not giving him any time to wonder about it, the lights went out as well, throwing the room into unnerving darkness with only the dim moonlight illuminating it. The atmosphere just grew ten times heavier.
If truth be told, Mayuzumi would be lying if he said that this didn't creep him out. Sure, he was always the composed one, but even he could feel the uneasy shiver run down his spine. If earlier the male didn't want to be here, then now he badly wished to leave. His heart was already pounding against his ribcage, and nothing even happened.
That being said...
The uneasy silence was once again disturbed. A long, quiet creaking noise cut through it, making the blood in Mayuzumi's veins run cold. He immediately directed his eyes to that place, only to find that seemingly the bathroom's door was slowly being opened.
And there, in the doorway, someone stood.
Or something.
Either way, Mayuzumi was suddenly painfully aware that he and Akashi weren't alone.
Nevertheless, the male refused to allow irrational thoughts to cloud his mind. So he, when he managed to find his voice, spoke as firmly as he could.
"Who are you?"
It didn't answer. In this incredibly dim lighting Mayuzumi was unable to make out any features of the person or being, but what thing was certain: it was looking at him. It was just standing there, facing the gray-haired male.
Mayuzumi was unsure or what he should do, but all such thoughts were thrown out the window when the being slowly took a step in his direction and the moonlight illuminated it.
The lighting wasn't the reason why Mayuzumi couldn't make out any of its features.
That was because that being had none.
A dark human silhouette. A dark awfully familiar silhouette.
That was what that being was.
As if a mere shadow. A shadow that was slowly advancing in his direction.
All of Mayuzumi's instincts at that moment screamed for him to get out. Loud danger alarms rang in the male's head, clouding his mind with sudden fear. He did not wish to remain there for a second longer. Whatever that thing was, it was obviously not human. Far from it. And worst of all, it did not seem friendly. On the contrary, Mayuzumi now more than ever felt how unwanted he was.
He should leave.
He had to leave right now.
What about Akashi though? a sudden thought struck him.
However, for some unexplainable reason the male doubted the redhead was in any harm.
No, whatever that being was, it specifically didn't want Mayuzumi here.
Dropping the bottle of pills, he quickly made his way to the door and tried to open it.
However, to his immense shock, it was locked. No, more like, it simply wouldn't open. And no matter how hard the male tried to break through it, the wood wouldn't budge at all.
He couldn't get out.
Not having anything else to do, Mayuzumi quickly turned around to face that being. It was still slowly creeping to his direction, growing nearer by the moment. The male's eyes darted around the room, but there were no other means of escape. If the door was locked, then the windows would probably not be effective as well. He was completely trapped and could only watch as that thing advanced closer and closer, that dark, chilling aura growing by the second and that awful dread kept eating Mayuzumi's wildly beating heart away.
What the hell could he do?
What... What was even happening here?
Mayuzumi was sane enough to know he couldn't hallucinate to this extent.
The being, the dark silhouette of a presumably male, a bit shorter than the other, stopped right in front of him.
Mayuzumi could feel his body starting to tremble as he stared at the black figure, seemingly frozen in place, successfully trapping the gray-haired man against the door. His head had even begun to lightly spin at the sight of it.
This seemed so surreal.
''Who are you? What the hell do you want?!'' Mayuzumi managed to snap at the being as firmly as he could. Somewhere deep inside his mind a quiet voice whispered that it was no use, did it look like that thing could answer?
…
What
do
I
want?
...
You
should not
have
come back
…
Before Mayuzumi had the time to realize, the being's cold, dead hands wrapped tightly around his neck and lifted him slightly against the locked door. The male released a surprised yelp and his own hands instinctively made their way to the figure's, desperately trying to loosed its metal grip.
…
He
told you
to never
come back
…
The being was strangling Mayuzumi and it seemingly had to intention of letting go.
It was infuriated.
…
How dare
you
intrude
…
The gray-haired male was chocking, madly chocking. With all the power he had he tried to those dead hands off of him. However, it was to no avail. They felt as if made of steel. No matter how hard Mayuzumi tried to struggle, it was absolutely no use.
The being had absolutely no intention of letting go after all.
…
How dare
you
touch him
…
Black dots began dancing in Mayuzumi's blurring vision. The strength in his struggling arms was slowly fading away with each second and true, utter fear finally struck him.
He couldn't get this being to release him.
Was he seriously going to die like this?
Strangled by a shadow?
Oh God no
That being was murdering him.
…
I will
kill
you
…
It was hopeless.
The outcome of this was crystal clear.
Mayuzumi's arms fell to his sides.
His chocking ceased.
And just before his consciousness abandoned him once and for all, a quiet, barely audible icy whisper reached his hear.
I'm sorry
…
Mayuzumi's lifeless body hit the cold ground beneath the phantom's feet.
December 19th, 00:08
Akashi didn't quite understand what was happening at first. He was completely lost when his consciousness had slowly began returning. Firstly he registered that it was cold. Then, the pain came. All of his body ached, from neck to legs. Naturally, that caused confusion, since the redhead had yet to remember what had happened.
However, as his mind was steadily clearing and his senses returning, somehow he experienced a feeling he couldn't write off and was absolutely sure of it.
He was not alone.
Akashi couldn't understand why he felt that way, since the room he was deadly quiet.
Perhaps even too quiet.
But then, the silence was disturbed. Quiet, almost inaudible and incredibly slow footsteps began advancing in his direction. Immediately all sleep chased away, but Akashi refused to open his eyes or move a single inch. As if he had frozen. The only indication that the redhead was wide awake was his wildly beating heart. He desperately hoped whoever or whatever was present in his room wouldn't be able to hear it. Akashi didn't want to face them or it, to open his eyes, for he feared of what he might find.
It might have been a completely irrational fear, but Akashi wasn't taking chances. At least not with his clouded mind.
The slow, steady footsteps kept growing neared and neared and with them the redhead's heartbeat accelerated more and more. Oh God how he wished for it to slow down, to decrease in volume. It was such a dead giveaway of his awake state.
Then, the sound stopped.
Just a mere meter from him.
And Akashi didn't need to open his eyes to know that whoever or whatever that was was looking at him. Observing his unmoving body. Perhaps even listening to his wild heartbeat.
God know what was their plan.
Did they intended to kill Akashi? If so, then the redhead would have no choice but to fight back. But instead... Whoever that was, it just simply stopped and stood there. Simply stared at the madly distressed male.
Akashi didn't remember when it was the last time he longed for the light of day this much. Perhaps with it whoever that was would go away. Would leave him alone.
And maybe Akashi would be able to convince himself that he was merely hallucinating. That it was just his imagination.
Please, just leave me alone
…
02:48
It was so cold here.
But the redhead didn't dare to move.
He had been laying like this for hours. And that thing was still there. Akashi knew it. Akashi could feel its intense gaze, its presence right besides him.
As if waiting. Waiting for Akashi to give up and embrace the inevitable.
Whatever that was.
But the redhead still refused to give in.
…
03:55
This unexplainable coldness and his frozen position were slowly lulling Akashi to sleep. Fear and his will to keep his guard up kept him awake all this time, but gradually he was running out strength. Perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad idea to drift off and wait until day broke once again.
Oh how Akashi wished for the sun, for the light. Anything but this unnerving feeling in his chest, caused by whoever was staring at him all night.
And slowly, the redhead's thoughts began drifting into nothingness and sleep overtook his body.
Akashi was glad for that.
…
09:12
As the morning sunlight hit his closed eyelids, Akashi steadily began waking up. As always, his mind was rather dazed at the beginning, but as soon as he cracked open one eye, recent memories came crashing back with incredible force. His breath hitched in his throat as he remember everything that had happened.
Oh God, please tell me it was a nightmare.
However, perhaps it really was just a dream? Akashi was laying in his bed after all, even though he clearly remembered passing out somewhere on the floor. How did he get here then?..
Slowly opening his other eye, the redhead glanced at the clock besides his bed to find that it was just morning. And thank God for that. The sunlight was breaking through his half-closed curtains, illuminating the cold room. Groggily, the male sat up and rubbed one of his eyes. If truth be told, he wasn't quite sure what date it was. For how long was he out?
Finally Akashi decided to try and stand up. His whole body was sore and it hurt just to make the smallest of moves. His neck experienced the worst pain though. The male grunted lowly as he gently tried to massage the pained area and slowly turn his head from side to side. Just then, however, he slightly turned and his eyes fell on the room's door.
Akashi's heart dropped to his feet. His whole body froze.
His mind shut down.
There was someone laying there.
Someone who seemed awfully familiar and didn't display any signs of life.
…
Perhaps Akashi was still in that godforsaken nightmare.
…
As realization slowly sunk into the redhead's mind, a horrified gasp welled up in his throat, but Akashi managed to muffle it down by covering his mouth with his hand. The male's eyes were as wide as dinner plates, his petrified look fixated on the body by his door, laying on its side. The man's face was covered with his gray bangs, though even from here Akashi could make out that sickening skin tone.
The male felt like throwing up.
…
Akashi stood there for a good minute, completely frozen in place, before his senses slowly began returning.
And with it logic turned on.
He had to go there and inspect.
He couldn't just stand in one place forever after all.
Nevertheless, Akashi still had to muster up all his willpower to even take a single step.
For some reason the mere sight was revolting, so naturally he didn't wish to get any closer. But the male's rational thoughts got the better of him, so soon enough, after several slow steps and with drastically increased heartbeat Akashi had reached the laying man besides his door.
The redhead stared at him for a few moments before taking in a deep breath and kneeling down. With slightly trembling fingers he brushed away the other's gray locks from his face, his breath hitching at the sight. The man's eyelids were half-closed, his eyes glassy, unseeing. His whole face was sickening pale, lips parted, as if he had been gasping for air. But worst of all was the unfortunate victim's expression: displaying pure horror.
Akashi once again had to cover up his mouth to prevent any sounds from leaving it and in the hopes of pushing down that sick feeling of vomiting.
The redhead didn't even need to check the man's pulse to know that there wasn't any hope for him. However, based on the coldness of his skin, it seemed he had died quite awhile ago. Or, to be more precise, was strangled.
Mayuzumi Chihiro was murdered. In Akashi's own room.
And horror spread inside the redhead as he realized that he knew what had happened.
This... This had gotten completely out of control.
Completely and utterly out of control.
This absolutely has to stop.
Akashi quickly found the deceased man's phone and turned it on. At first he noticed that Mayuzumi had quite a few missed calls from various of people, starting Midorima and ending with Mibuchi. However, the redhead had other business to take care of at the moment.
Akashi inserted the number 110, but his finger stopped just above the 'dial' button as a sudden thought struck him.
Wait... If I report this, I'll be the one framed for murder.
That was right. Even though the male was certain that he did not touch the gray-haired male, there would be absolutely no other suspects. Akashi would be charged of murder and sentenced to prison, or worse, an asylum. Not only would his life be completely ruined, but this mystery would remain unsolved.
Akashi was the only one that could put a stop to this after all.
The only one that could...
The redhead's fingers erased the number and instead dialed a different one.
After a few rings, it was picked up.
''Good morning, Shintarou,'' he spoke a bit hoarsely before the other had the chance to open is mouth. The redhead lightly coughed a couple of times to clear out his throat.
''A-Akashi? What happened? Why weren't you answering your phone for so long? And why are you calling from Mayuzumi's now?'' the other spilled his questions like beans.
''Nothing. I accidentally overdosed some sleeping pills. And Chihiro...'' Akashi's eyes drifted to the unmoving body next to him. He stood up and continued his thought. ''He left his phone at my place.''
''Did he know... Akashi, are you certain nothing had happened? You sound off.''
''Everything is fine,'' the redhead lied smoothly. He perfectly understood that hiding the fact that a person was murdered in his room could cause severe consequences, but if the body is ever found Akashi would be going to jail for a long time either way. At least now he'd be able to buy some time, even if that meant lying to such an extent to Midorima. ''I simply woke up only a few minutes ago.''
From now on he will be working alone.
''...Then how you were able to contact your maid and assure her everything was okay?''
''What?''
''When I called your maid who was accompanying Mayuzumi after not being able to contact him, she said you had called her earlier and convinced her there was nothing to worry about. Or did such a thing not happen?''
Akashi was, to say the least, taken aback. He was certain he hadn't called anyone tonight, much less from his... phone...
The redhead's eyes quickly darted to the place he had dropped the device some time ago, but to his surprise it wasn't there. Instead, it was neatly laying on his desk, even though the male could have sworn he hadn't touched it. Perhaps when Mayuzumi came he picked it up and placed it there, and afterwards...
''A-Ah, yes,'' Akashi quickly regained his composure. He couldn't tell the truth after all. ''I had woken up earlier this night and contacted her, since Chihiro told me she would be worrying otherwise. I suppose I fell asleep later again.''
''...I see. Well then, I'm glad nothing had happened. And how are you feeling now? It's this day after all...''
''This day?..'' the redhead repeated puzzled, but a quick look to the phone's clock accompanied by today's date answered his unspoken question. And his heart dropped to the floor. ''O-Oh, yes. Um, yeah, I'm fine. Just, um, I'd like to be with myself for today, so don't disturb me.''
''I understand. Take care, Akashi.''
''Yeah, you too.''
With that the call ended.
The redhead lowered the phone and turned it off. No one was going to need it anymore anyway.
His crimson eyes once again fell on the man laying in front of him.
Akashi's whole life has officially been ruined irreversibly.
13:45
Strangely enough, Akashi, for the first time in quite awhile, didn't leave the house during the day. There were quite a few reasons for that, but perhaps he was simply paranoid that someone might find a dead body in his rather spacious closet if he left.
Also, now that this mystery had gotten so out of control, Akashi feared what might happen if he left. This could not continue any longer. The redhead had no idea what will become of his life when this ends, but he tried not to think about it too much. Simply live in the moment. He'll figure something out later.
Besides.
Akashi feared he wouldn't have enough strength to ever come back if he did leave.
So, until nightfall, the time when... it was most active, the redhead decided to push time around the manor.
In the end, he didn't remember what he had done at all.
21:25
It was around half past nine when Akashi had decided to take a bath. Even with all those sedatives his nerves were still driving him insane. Perhaps some warm water would be able to soothe his troubled mind.
The male should have figured that couldn't have been a good idea.
After the bathtub was filled with warm, clear water, the redhead carefully laid down inside it and closed his eyes. He tried taking deep breaths and listening to his heartbeat in the hopes of calming down. The water around him soothed his frail, aching body, managing to relax the tense muscles. Slowly, all of Akashi's thoughts faded away and he entered some sort of trance.
It didn't last for long though.
Just as the male had completely lowered his guard, he felt something touched the top of his head and, before he had the chance to react, it was pushed under the water. Immediately all haziness chased away and he on instinct began wildly struggling. However, whoever was holding his head down had immense strength and wouldn't budge an inch, only firmly kept it underwater. At this point Akashi had began panicking. Was he seriously being drowned? But he didn't hear anyone entering... Unless...
No, it can't be.
The red-haired male's thoughts shot to his murdered senior and the most possible culprit.
Is... is he drowning me?
But why?
However, Akashi didn't have any time to think about it. The shortage of air was very severe at this moment already and the redhead was madly struggling and trying to get out of that firm grip. Fear suddenly struck him.
However, just as Akashi couldn't keep his breath any longer and his mouth was beginning to open, the force holding him down suddenly disappeared and his head immediately shot upwards from the water. The male took a loud and deep breath the moment he could and delicious air filled his desperate lungs. Afterwards he began gasping for more and coughing soon followed. The lack of air had formed an ache in his head and even without opening his eyes Akashi could tell that his vision had darkened. Never before was he so glad to be able to breathe.
Finally, after his lungs were satisfied enough, the male slightly calmed down and opened his eyes, immediately looking around the room. Just as he had suspected, he was alone. However, his bathroom's door was wide open, even though Akashi clearly remembered closing it, even locking. The room beyond it was engulfed in complete, gloomy darkness, sending chills down the redhead's spine.
However, that wasn't the only odd, abnormal detail.
There were also wet footsteps leading from the bathtub to the exit.
Akashi immediately got out of the tub and grabbed his towel. After he had dried himself enough, he quickly dressed up and, with a heavy heart, went out of the bright room, turning off the light and closing the door in the process.
His own room was as cold as ever, but that wasn't the main thought on his mind.
It seemed the time had finally come. He couldn't back away now. Not that it would be possible.
He had been preparing for this all day after all. Nevertheless, that didn't calm down his rapid heartbeat or that slight tremble that was beginning to overtake his body. Before fear completely invaded his mind, Akashi, in a quiet, uncertain, slightly wavering voice finally spoke:
''T-Tetsuya?''
No answer. Was there supposed to be one?
''You're here, aren't you.''
The temperature seemingly dropped a couple of degrees.
''You're the one that killed Chihiro. The one that tried to drown me, right?''
I'm sorry
The whisper was so faint Akashi barely heard it. Nevertheless, the silence was so deafening, that he couldn't miss a single sound.
His heartbeat increased.
''I know you didn't mean it,'' the redhead continued, now in a hushed voice. It was slowly starting to tremble. ''Tetsuya would never do something like this on purpose.''
Silence. Even so, Akashi could feel his throat tightening. Such a devastating aura washed over him.
Tetsuya would never...
But he left me.
He left him.
He left him just like that.
'You can't blame him for that. You know you can't.'
Nevertheless...
''You left me, Tetsuya,'' Akashi found himself whispering. His shaking voice was barely audible. ''You can't just... You can't just leave and then come back like this!''
The male didn't know what he was feeling anymore. Grief? Anger? Regret? All he knew was that all those emotions welled up in his chest, clouding his already dark vision.
''You can't just do that, Tetsuya!'' the redhead suddenly shrieked, pain painting his voice. What had gotten over him?
Why was he loosing control?
Akashi forgot what was happening.
I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry
The whispers kept increasing in volume.
They kept increasing and increasing, desperation painting them.
Where were they coming from?
Perhaps from inside Akashi's head?
No matter the answer, they were driving him insane.
He wished for them to stop.
He couldn't bear hearing them.
The redhead dropped to his knees and tightly covered his ears, shrieking out a single word:
''Stop!''
…
''Please, just stop...''
…
''Don't apologize...''
…
''I'm... I'm sorry...''
…
''Please forgive me, Tetsuya...''
…
''I'm so sorry...''
…
Hot tears kept streaming down the male's pale cheeks, his body shaking with sobs, occasional hitched breaths leaving his lips into the heavy silence. God, he was so sorry. Akashi kept repeating that, again and again, completely loosing track of time.
He was on the brink of breaking.
'You must get ahold of yourself. Remember your initial task.'
My... task?
'He is restless.'
That's right...
There was a reason why Akashi finally decided to confront whoever was haunting him.
He couldn't break, not yet.
''Why, Tetsuya?'' an almost inaudible whisper left his trembling lips. Slowly he removed the hands from his head and slightly lifted it up. ''What's wrong? Why are you so restless? What are you regretting so much?''
As in answer, his room's door suddenly burst open. The hint clicked inside the male's head.
''You... you want me to go out?'' Akashi asked uncertainly. ''Where?''
Where did he want for him to go?
Where on Earth did Akashi need to go this late into the night?
On this day... This time...
Perhaps...
''...Do you want me to go to that place?'' the male whispered quietly. ''Will I... Will I find something there?''
That one the most possible option.
And as much as Akashi didn't want to, he slowly got up to his feet and began heading towards the exit, finding new determination inside of him.
He had nothing to lose after all.
23:21
The car ride was a long one. The road Akashi was taking at first had occasional cars here and there, but eventually they all disappeared, leaving the redhead all alone. No wonder. Who in their right mind would head to such a forest at this hour after all?
Obviously neither Akashi nor he were in their right minds.
But the redhead couldn't dwell on that. He had already decided he would see this to the end, there was no backing away now. Besides, Akashi was well aware that at some point he had gone crazy.
He absolutely had nothing to lose anymore.
Finally the lonely road ended in the middle of the dark forest. From here the male would have to walk a bit to reach his destination. And even though it was the middle of the night, somehow Akashi knew he wouldn't get lost.
And compared to the darkness in his room, this one was almost welcoming.
After sitting in his car for a few minutes, simply gazing through through the window into the gloomy forest, Akashi slowly opened the door and got out into the chilly night. He didn't bother locking it though. The male doubted someone would find his car here. Even if they did, he ceased to care anymore.
Finally Akashi began walking.
To any other these dark woods would seem creepy, frightening even, but after all the redhead had experienced it failed to leave any sort of mark. Besides, his mind was completely blank. He could only focus on reaching his destination.
That godforsaken lake.
After what seemed like an eternity (or perhaps just a moment?), a clearing entered his field of vision. The temperature wasn't below zero, so the still, dark water reflected the clear night sky above. So innocent, so pure.
So deceiving.
As if a robot, Akashi slowly walked around the lake and finally ended up in the spot that held such devastating memories. He still remembered it so vividly, as if it had happened just yesterday. He had been missing for a couple of days at that moment, and Akashi had grown beyond worried. He knew something must had happened and, of course, he dreaded of the worst. Casting all his work aside, the male completely immersed himself in helping to search for him along with countless of police groups. Akashi had to hire enough people for the search to be over as soon as possible after all. However, it seemed they didn't have to look that far.
One late evening Akashi received a call, informing him that they most likely found him. Dropping everything he had been doing at that moment, he immediately went to the said place. Here. To this spot. They had just lifted something out of the water and onto the ground. The dread that had been eating his heart away these days completely engulfed the male as he finally-
But this year, there was no ice. The temperature hadn't been as low to freeze the water. Perhaps, if the same had been last year, he wouldn't had-
Akashi weakly shook his head. What was the point in thinking this way now? He had a task after all, so he had to focus on that.
Wait... What am I supposed to do anyway?
Akashi was here, at the place he had died. What now?
What did he want for him to do?
The redhead's thoughts vaguely traveled back to that incident in the bathtub. He hadn't had the intention of drowning him after all, so why... Perhaps he wished to tell Akashi something.
Almost drowned... Under the water...
He wanted for Akashi to get under the water.
''...Did you lose something, Tetsuya?'' the male whispered unconsciously. ''Do you want me to find it?''
Of course, no one answered him.
The redhead stared at the still, presumably freezing water for a few seconds before coming to a decision.
After undressing himself to the last layer of clothes, Akashi approached the lake and dived in. The freezing water was excruciating. As if hundreds of icy daggers pierced into his bare skin, momentarily freezing his mind, stopping all thoughts. It was so, so cold, so painfully cold that it numbed all of Akashi's senses. However, the male gathered up all his willpower and continued to dive deeper. The bottom wasn't too far, but by the time he had reached it, the shortage of air was already quite severe, so the redhead could only search it for a couple of seconds before needing to resurface. The chilly winter air stung his lungs, but Akashi couldn't dwell on that. Quickly, he dived into the depths once more, resuming his search.
The redhead couldn't remember how many times he had repeated the same process, how much time had passed until his hand finally touched something foreign, something besides sand and rocks. Immediately he took the small item and rose up to the surface. After catching his breath, Akashi began swimming back to the shore. Once out, the male once more felt the immense coldness of the night hit him with full force, making his body shiver wildly. However, instead of dressing himself or doing anything else to warm himself up, all of Akashi's focus was on the small item in his hands.
It was a dark wooden box. It was a bit damaged from being in water for so long, even a little bit of mold had grown onto it, but despite that Akashi could still make out the detailed engraved tracery, indicating that the box had to be quite expensive. Nevertheless, not wasting time, Akashi turned the lock up and opened it.
Immediately, music began spreading from the box. A gentle, quiet tune, one that the male recognized immediately. A piece from the Romanticism era, one that both Akashi and he so much enjoyed and used to listed to quite often. The redhead even learnt how to play it, for what he was very happy. This tune hit a string in him stronger than he had wanted.
However, Akashi's attention was soon drifted to the inside of the box. There, untouched by the water, laid a letter. With shaking from both the cold and whatever he might find fingers Akashi took the paper out and unfolded it.
…
Seijuurou,
First, happy birthday! The 20th one is a very special one after all. I've known you for a very long time, but the last four years spent together were the best ones of my life. Each day I kept asking myself whether this wasn't just a dream, whether I was indeed so lucky to have you besides me. I still do. It's a bit hard to believe someone like you would choose someone like me.
Anyway... I just wanted to tell you how happy I am to have you. I wouldn't exchange those four years for anything, I wouldn't exchange you for anything. As if a beacon you came into my life, into my dull, gray life and changed it in ways I didn't think was possible. Like I said, it's still hard to believe that someone as perfect as you would love someone as ordinary as me. But nevertheless, I am very glad for that. I wish for nothing more but to continue living with you besides me. You make my each day brighter and the mere thought of you lights something up inside of me. It's so warm. I wish to be able to make you experience such a feeling as well. Perhaps I already do, I sincerely hope so.
Sometime earlier you mentioned that that music box I had gifted you a few years back was out of tune, right? You said you enjoyed it very much, so I decided to give you another one for you birthday, only a slightly upgraded one. You recognize the melody, right? I hope you'll like it. I had to use a lot of connections to put it together after all.
I know that you're not usually used to such affection, but lately you've been growing distant and I'm fearing something is wrong. If I did something wrong, I'm sorry. Really, if it's because of me, if I don't meet your expectations or satisfy you enough, I am very genuinely sorry. I'm trying my best to love you as much as you love me. If it's not because of me, then please, tell me what's wrong. Don't keep it all to yourself. It's hurting me knowing that something is wrong, that you're upset. I don't want you to feel any kind of pain. I know this may sound cheesy, but really, you mean the world to me. I love you so so much. I've never felt any similar emotions to anyone else. I love you so much that it hurts. And I know I'd regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't tell you that.
So, anyway, I hope you have a wonderful birthday! You deserve the best after all.
Best wishes,
Kuroko Tetsuya
…
At that moment, everything Akashi had been keeping locked up inside of him, broke out.
Such unbearable agony hit his already wounded heart, such excruciating pain twisted all his senses that Akashi forgot everything else apart from his crushing grief.
The male's legs gave out.
Someone was screaming. No, shrieking. Their cries were so broken, so filled with agony. Akashi didn't realize it was himself.
The realization was so torturous that he wished someone would just end his suffering already, permanently.
Tetsuya was dead. He was gone. He was never coming back. Never again talking, laughing, smiling, crying. Never again saying all those things.
Akashi didn't know what he was feeling anymore. Everything was too heavy. The pain, the guilt, the grief, the regret were all too heavy.
It was unbearable.
The dark forest was filled with his never-ending shrieks, filled with nothing but agony.
…
December 20th, 00:10
At one point Akashi's vocal chords gave out. Only then did that screeching cease. Instead, it was replaced with weeping. The redhead kept clenching that piece of paper tightly to his chest, never wanting to let go. Those were the last words Tetsuya had written to him. He only wanted to greet him for his birthday. How stupid was that? Tetsuya always didn't think things through. And now, it had come to this.
God, Akashi didn't know what to do with himself. With his life.
He didn't think about it. Only laid on the cold, hard ground, desperately holding onto that letter and whispering out Tetsuya's name between his sobs. Whispering random thoughts, that meant nothing anymore. Such as:
''You know, I wanted to propose to you. I wanted to spend my whole life with you. I was planning on doing so on your next birthday. I even got the ring and everything...''
All of this meant nothing anymore.
Nevertheless...
Akashi wanted to see him.
He desperately wished to see him.
He didn't care how.
Just please, let me see him. One last time.
I'm begging you.
Let me see my Tetsuya.
…
And he did.
Perhaps it was merely his imagination, but he could see him.
Just as Akashi remembered him. With those loving eyes and that gentle, albeit small smile. He kept gazing at the redhead for a few moments before slowly kneeling down next to him and extending his arms in his direction, silently asking Akashi to come to him.
Without a moment of hesitation, the freezing male, with great difficulty, lifted himself into a sitting position and embraced him, wrapping his arms around Tetsuya's frail body tightly. In return, Tetsuya hugged him protectively, bringing him into a reassuring embrace.
So warm.
It was so warm.
Akashi didn't feel the cold anymore. The agonizing pain from his chest faded away, everything else apart from that warmth disappeared. His eyes slowly closed as a whisper from Tetsuya reached his ears.
''Everything will be okay now.''
And it was.
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Kuroko Tetsuya
Time of death: 2015/12/19 22:38
Cause of death: drowned.
Mayuzumi Chihiro
Time of death: 2016/12/19 00:05
Cause of death: strangled.
Akashi Seijuurou
Time of death: 2016/12/20 00:12
Cause of death: frozen.
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You have 1 new message.
K Ur oko TetSuya: Akashi-kun?
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Kuroko Tetsuya: /*E/** /*M/ */*K
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K u R o k O T e T su y a: I love you, Akashi-kun
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Akashi Seijuurou: I love you too, Tetsuya
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END