"Daichi. C'mon man. I'm sure it's not that, right?," Asahi stood in front of a familiar door. It was locked, of course it was. Daichi had the key. That wasn't the issue. There was another glaring issue that was making his face contort into by far the worst snarl Asahi had ever seen yet.

This wasn't their first stop of the day, not by a long shot. They met up around ten for breakfast. Asahi remembered their dishes in excruciating detail. Then they got in the car, one that was a graduation gift for Sawamura. The same car that took him and Sugawara to college, and brought them back for the summer. The next stop would be the end to the day's bright and breezy feeling.

They knocked on the door, greeted by Mrs. Sugawara. She normally was bright and sunny, but as soon as her eyes landed on the two on her doorstep her eyes lost their light and a single drop of sweat trickled down from her face. Asahi freaked out and asked if she was okay, and she nodded in response. Daichi's face was pulled into a smile, but the warmth that should have been there was fading very quickly. He popped a question. Just one question, short and sweet. And the answer to that question led them to Kitsuna's doorstep, along with an impeccably timed call from a certain teacher.

"Daichi-"

"I'm going to open the door, and we're going to see what we see. I'm sure you are right, Asahi. Absolutely sure, one-hundred percent. Not a single doubt," Daichi started to sound like he was trying to brace himself for an exam. A test, the most brutal one of his life so far. That stress was contagious, and Asahi was already the type who was sensitive to that sort of thing. They both gulped as the lock clicked, dreading the sight that they would see as the door creaked open agonizingly slow.

So far, everything looked normal enough. Asahi breathed a sigh of relief as they entered the building. There was a bag by the door, and two sets of shoes. Further in, there was a tv on with a game paused. Controllers and clothes scattered around, just like any other time they dropped by on tight notice. Daichi was not relieved in the slightest, however. In fact, he appeared to be even more tipped off than before which sent Asahi spiraling again. His legs grew roots, there in the entryway, as Daichi slowly advanced into the house and he finally realized something odd. The strewn items in the living room were all normal. Nothing out of the ordinary. But there was something not adding up quite right. The math wasn't mathing.

Sugawara wasn't at home, so he could only be here. That made sense. Kitsuna would have slept in her own room, especially if something had happened like a sudden onset of cold symptoms. That left only one other reasonable place for the other to sleep. That spot was glaringly void of any sleeping form. Asahi glanced around, nope. Suga wasn't there. Definitely not. That could mean anything, anything at all. That's what the brunette standing in the doorway tried to tell himself when something popped into his head. A memory, from merely one day ago. Not even a full twenty-four hours. Of him standing in another entry area, with two others in tow, and a glimpse. A tiny fraction, between the countertop and cabinets separating the kitchen and living room. From the distance, there was no way he could have seen it as clearly as he did now in his mind's eye. Two figures, blurring into one, and the hissed warning from the older woman as she darted toward those intertwined bodies.

"It was nice knowing you, Suga. May you rest in peace," Asahi didn't move to stop Daichi's advance. Didn't even harbor a hope that he could stop it or prevent the violent crime seconds away from playing out before him. Simply made peace with things in that instant and went into mourning for his soon to be deceased friend of three and a half long years.

Across the house, now passing by the sofa and seeing red, Daichi turned slowly to his left. Toward a door that was partially open. Toward a sight that might finally make him snap for good, despite the eerie serenity washing over him just then. The curtains were drawn, significantly dimming the near-afternoon sunlight inside. On the floor, the picture was painted out clearly for his burning eyes. Clothes, scattered around. Shouldn't be alarming in the slightest, he knew that was how she kept her room. What was different was how quickly he recognized the crumpled and rolled up items there. A skirt. A shirt. Two items he had seen just the day before, draped over two of his most treasured companions. Something else, which was shocking enough on its own, was there. Lacey, small, and lying far closer to the edge of a blanket that half-hung off the bed. His eyes stopped there for a single millisecond, then trailed up. Slowly, stuttering. Until they found their target, the missing thing from the scene in the living room. Missing something more still, sleeping peacefully in the warm light with a blanket that was pulled tight around him.

"Suga."

Before he knew it, Daichi was standing just inches from the edge of the bed. Sugawara's back, turned toward him and lacking any kind of cover, tensed up at the sound of his name. Where he had been peaceful, serene. Almost cute even, with his soft smile as he held close the mop of dark reddish hair and freckled skin. As if sensing some kind of impending danger, the silver-haired boy's eyes snapped open and his breathing was nearly undetectable. A cold sweat broke out on his pale skin and every fiber of muscle tensed up. Daichi inhaled sharply, letting that breath out slowly and deliberately.

Shit. Shitshitshit. Suga went from peacefully cuddling his lover to feeling like he had mere minutes left to set his things in order before his own funeral. Though maybe not just his. The warm light in the room told him that someone else was on the chopping block, for an entirely different reason. Aforementioned future cutlet, Kitsuna, stirred somewhat just then. She squinted up at his face, failing to read his thoughts through his eyes and just smiling sweetly at him before wrapping her arm around his neck and drifting back off. Like a lamb slated for slaughter who was blissfully unaware of their impending doom.

"Suuuga," Daichi spoke softly. His tone was even, nonthreatening to any untrained ears.

Suga's ears were well-trained though, and he felt tears welling up as he resigned himself to his fate sooner rather than later and rolled slowly away from the comforting embrace. Kitsuna woke up a little more then, giving him a confused look. She looked around, several things dawning on her in quick succession. Bright, shit, late! Clothes, gone. Where? Don't know. Naked! Someone else there. Dark hair and eyes. Daichi? Shit. Fuck. Gods spare us all.