DiscorDance

by The Light's Refrain

On Day 3, after nearly suffering mind death at her hands, Rindo refused to recruit Nagi out of fear. On Day 4, Rindo feels feverish, abruptly turns into a Noise, and attacks Fret. Horrified, Rindo jumps back in time to avoid that fate. But this isn't a fate Rindo can run from so easily, as he finds out over and over. But he will sure try. COMPLETE!

14. Relative Absoluteness

Hello! Only about a week later than promised this time! I wanted to finish up the Rindo art first (which can be seen on the Ao3 version of this fic, though I may change the cover art on ffnet to it as well), and then I got snowed in at my parents' house for a week haha.

Anyway, this is more of a set-up chapter for the most part. A little on the longer side, but nothing you guys aren't used to at this point I imagine.

Thank you as always to oddvector and Darkblaw for being the best betas and helping me with lots of things, like making Hishima's dialogue more eloquent and his explanations more lengthy.

Scale 14: Relative Absoluteness

Rindo adjusted the Topo hat in the mirror. Yeah, this outfit was fine. This…This would do for now.

"Nice. That doesn't look totally dweeby," said Shoka. "So, you wanna keep shopping, or…?"

"Actually, I think I'll save the rest of the shopping for later," said Rindo. Rindo had picked out plenty of extra clothes too, for mixing-and-matching later, stuffed into the body-bag tote. Plus he could always come back here later. "Right now, I…I want to go to the places that Fret wanted to go." Those places Fret had cheerfully rambled to Rindo about, even while Fret had feverishly shivered in his arms…And the place that he really seemed to want to go to was…

"Oh okay. I'll, uh, leave you to it then," said Shoka. "Since I know that new singers need space and all…"

"Oh, um…I…" But he didn't want to be alone right now, with Fret only kinda-sorta here, maybe. Or maybe Fret was the one who didn't want to be alone? "Actually, can you…stay?"

Shoka's mouth dropped open. "Oh, do you want me to stay?"

"...Yeah. Yeah, I do. Let's start with the art floor. Since Fret wanted to go there, but we, uh, never did."

"Okay then, let's do it."

IIIIII

The art floor was so white. Like he had stepped into a lab instead of an art studio. Not even any art on the walls. The whole area smelled of very fresh paint.

It was extremely easy to spot the red-hooded support Reaper among all this lack of color. "Oh, hello! Eh? Have you started singing, Shoka? Who's this bloke?"

"Nah, I'm just along for the ride," said Shoka. "'This bloke' just got done singing himself and wanted some company."

"Already?" asked the support Reaper. "Welp, whatever. I'll escort you to the changing room where you can put your art clothes on, and then I'll take you to an art room."

There were lines of unisex changing rooms on both sides of the hallway. The so-called 'art clothes' were really just a cheap white T-shirt and pants with white sneakers. with faded paint stains splattered across the fabric. Well, Rindo certainly didn't want to mess up his brand-new outfit that he had spent hours assembling, and that was probably the whole point of these 'art clothes'.

As the Reaper showed them the way, Rindo got glimpses of various rooms branching off the main hallway. Some were just as blank as the main floor. Others were adorned with art, or attempts at it. Colors slashed on the canvases, on the statues, on the walls, even on the floor and ceiling. And some rooms were in the middle of being painted over with white again. A shame, since some of the art in there was actually quite good, like a beautiful watercolor seal Noise on the wall already half-erased.

"Yeah, if you guys like any of the stuff you create, you should take pics of it before you leave," said the Reaper. "Or take it with you. You can do that with any of the portable things. Saves us the trouble of throwing out the used-up stuff too. Though we'll have to put it in storage for a couple hours so it can dry."

"Got it," said Rindo.

Of course when they finally reached their own room, Rindo had no idea where to start. Clean walls, clean canvases lined up on easels in the middle of the room, clean statues of various plants and animals encircling the collection of canvases, clean figurine versions of said statues lining a separate shelf in the corner. The art supplies, which include everything from paint to pens to pencils to crayons, were organized on tables with multicolor splatter-patterned tablecloths. Probably so they could easily hide any actual paint splatters they got on them.

…Oh, they had some of those fancy coloring books! That would be a good place to start! Now, which abstract pattern did he want to go for…?

Shoka chuckled. "Really? You can do literally anything in this room and you're going straight for the premade coloring books? I thought you were feeling artistic?"

Rindo could tell by her warm tone that she wasn't trying to be mean. He had seen enough of that side during the Game to know the difference. It still stung a little though. But he wasn't gonna snap at her for a good-natured jab. Especially one that was kinda true. "I mean, I'd figured it'd be a good warmup? And I'm not exactly a natural artist."

Shoka smirked. "Ah, so Fret's the next Van Gogh, huh?"

"...Actually, Fret is probably even worse than I am." At least based on the doodles he'd seen Fret do during class, or the mind doodles he sent out during Reminds.

"Really? Then why did you guys wanna come here so bad if neither of you are into art stuff?" asked Shoka.

"I…" Why did Fret want to come here? "I-I don't know. B-But he wanted to come here, so I-I'll make something! For him!"

Shoka raised an eyebrow. "So he could tell you he wanted to go here, but not what he wanted you to do? What's he saying now?"

"What? Oh. No. He didn't tell me to come here, like...now. He wanted to go here, and a bunch of other places, before we, uh…Before we finished singing," Rindo explained awkwardly. "I just never got to ask him why he wanted to go here. Or any of those other places. Because he was already feeling really sick by then, so I knew…" Rindo swallowed. "But he definitely wanted to go! He mentioned it when he was about to keel over, which means it had to be important, right?" He frantically flipped the coloring book to a random page. "Uh…should I go with the first or second pattern here?"

Shoka's gaze slowly moved from his face to the book. "Hmm…second. I like how it kinda looks like devil horns."

"Okay, I'll do that one then."

But maybe Rindo should have gone with the simpler one instead? He hadn't expected the coloring to take so long, though maybe he should have, considering Shoka had picked such a complex pattern with so many little patterns within. But not even halfway through he was getting…bored?

Well whatever. Shoka was right, coloring books were dumb. And this was just a warm-up for the real art anyway, so who said that he had to complete it?

Now for his actual art project, he should…

Oh duh! He should draw Fret! He even had tons of art references with his photos…If Rindo's sight didn't blur with tears just looking at them…

…Okay, he'd start from memory first, and only use the photos when he really had to. Fret knew that he wasn't a skilled artist, so he'd be okay with it not being perfect, right? Hell, Fret would probably be happy with a stick figure drawing of himself, if it was done by Rindo. Even though Fret deserved so much better than that…

So Rindo tried. And tried and tried and tried. But no matter how many times he tried, or what medium he attempted, or how many times he stared at Fret's photos to the point of losing himself, Rindo just couldn't get Fret right. And he knew that Fret wouldn't mind, that he didn't mind, that he was probably delighted at all the adoration Rindo was trying to express, regardless of how clumsy they were. But Rindo wanted to, no, needed to recreate Fret perfectly, but how was he supposed to do that if even couldn't even get the basics right, much less the million smaller details that he didn't even—

"Hey."

Rindo snapped out of his thoughts to see all the blotted-out and torn-up remains of all the failed Frets around him. the easels and paintings scattered on the floor. "Yeah?"

"You…wanna try something else?" asked Shoka. Her own canvas had a Mr. Mew doll balancing, or maybe dancing, at the edge of a cherry blossom branch. It was simple but kinda cute. "Like maybe painting a figurine or something?"

Rindo glanced at all his discarded artwork. "...Yeah, actually, that sounds good."

Going over to the tiny statues, Rindo picked out…not a raven. Or a phoenix. Or a dog. Because the last thing Rindo wanted to be reminded of was their Noise forms. So instead Rindo chose a dragon, even with Shoka teasing him that of course 'rindragon' would pick a dragon, because dragons were cool, and more importantly not linked to anything traumatic.

Shoka meanwhile held up a little falcon figurine. Which…Yeah, maybe that was what her Noise form had been, where they had fought and—

But of course this Shoka knew nothing about that. And it would stay that way.

In the end, after looking through all the statues, Shoka didn't pick a falcon, or a swallow like Rindo might've guessed, but a shark.

Painting figurines was harder than it looked, because it required so much precision. But Rindo didn't mind his mistakes here nearly as much as he had when trying to paint Fret. Probably because this wasn't Fret, and so it didn't matter nearly as much. But being side by side with Shoka like this, each working on their own art, reminded Rindo of all the craft booths he and Fret had attended while at TOKYU HANDS. Rindo had been doing it then to stall for time, but it had also been…nice…

Just like doing this with Shoka…was also nice…

In the end Shoka made one red-and-black shark and a pink and blue bunny that she said was a gift for Kaie, while Rindo made two dragons, because Rindo made an extra one for Fret too. Rindo's was blue with gold stripes and wings, while Fret's was gold with blue stripes and wings. They had to leave them there for now though, because they still needed to dry. They could come back for them once a couple of hours had passed. Rindo took a picture of them anyway, and nothing else.

After taking showers and putting their regular outfits back on, it was time for the next destination. It didn't take Rindo long to decide this time, because his stomach decided for him. Yeah, he hadn't eaten much earlier, had he? And he didn't feel like going to the food court or returning to his room for room service, so that just left…

The Noise café. Which Fret had wanted to return to anyway. Perfect.

IIIIII

The Noise café was as cozy as ever. The Pale Noise, who knew Rindo well now, happily greeted him upon arrival. And Rindo was sure that Fret must be especially happy to see all the dog Noise again. Although he had been growling at them the last visit, being obsessively protective of his Rindude by that point…Funny, if not surprising, that Fret's sociability with others had taken a nosedive on that day…that final day…

But apparently the Pale Noise knew Shoka even better, since a lot of them went to Shoka instead. Actually, yeah, that made sense, since apparently Shoka was one of the favored Reapers who could just mooch off the hotel.

Hopefully Fret wouldn't get too jealous of most of the dog Noise liking Shoka better. They probably just didn't like Rindo.

"So you come to the cafe a lot?" asked Rindo, as Hip-Hop the pomerhythm ran circles around him. If the tiny dog Noise just calmed down a little, Rindo could have actually pet it.

"Well duh, where else am I gonna get gourmet Noise-flavored food without gutting my wallet?" said Shoka, stroking the chin of Rocky the rockatiel. "Seriously, this stuff is stupidly expensive everywhere else."

"Huh." Rindo supposed that made sense. It was gourmet food after all, and getting a Noise to possess a lifeless hunk of meat and sealing it inside was probably a pain. Not to mention that it had to be that special pinless kind of Noise or whatever.

…But he wasn't sure if he could ever bring himself to eat Noise-flavored food ever again. Fret had hated the fizzing feeling of the food, even when he had been literally starving for Soul. So starved that he had started feeding on Rindo's Soul instead, right in the middle of the meal…

So when Rindo and Shoka finally went inside to eat, Rindo chose the Noiseless version of his previous meal, just to be safe. Meanwhile Shoka ordered strawberry boba tea.

But after that Shoka grew unusually quiet, gazing at all the antique knickknacks behind the protective glass. "Wow, they finally found replacements for all those souvenirs. Antiques, huh? Psh. Bet Ayano told them not to add any Shibuya stuff."

"Huh?" asked Rindo.

"Oh, they used to have a whole bunch of souvenirs over there. You know, postcards, shrine charms, those super special local novelty foods that are total tourist traps—or the packaging from them, anyway—hats with 'I heart Shinjuku' on them. Now it's a bunch of fancy antiques. Probably Shiba's idea. He loves expensive crap."

That only left him more confused. "Shinjuku?"

"Oh right, you wouldn't know about Shinjuku, since…" Shoka's mouth flattened into a firm line.

Rindo looked around uncertainly. "Who's Shinjuku? Someone's...old singing partner? Uh, you don't have to tell me..."

Shoka didn't answer at first, but eventually she took a deep breath. "It's not a who. Shinjuku…was our original home. It was one of Tokyo's wards, like Shibuya. But then these Plague Noise got in and just…ruined it. Completely wiped out the whole city. Then the whole thing went through Inversion or whatever and now it…only kinda-sorta exists?"

"Huh? How does a place only kinda-sorta exist?" asked Rindo. "Wait, Tokyo has a ward I've never heard of?"

"Yeah. Apparently it got wiped from the RG, so only Reapers and Players remember it. Like it retroactively never existed to anyone in the RG. There's some kind of field over it, I guess, so that no one in the RG thinks it's weird." Shoka scratched her head.

"...How?"

"Dunno, honestly. Kaie or the others could probably explain it better, I was still a pretty new Reaper at the time," admitted Shoka. "But yeah, it…isn't really a place we could live anymore, so we had to move here to Shibuya instead."

"Y-Yeah, I…" No wait, Rindo didn't know that feeling at all. What should he even say then? "I-I'm sorry that you lost your home. That all of you lost your home. That's…"

"It's…Well, obviously it's not okay, but we're a family. Me, Ayano, Big Su, Tsugumi, Kaie, Shiba, everyone else...It doesn't matter if we're in Shinjuku or Shibuya," said Shoka. "And that will never change, no matter where we go. And that's…that's more important than just a place to me."

"Y-Yeah, that makes sense…" Just like Rindo could be okay anywhere as long as Fret was within him somewhere…

"Besides, I really like Shibuya." Shoka smiled fondly. "I don't like losing where I used to live, and I hate how much it's hurt everyone else, especially Ayano. But if you ask me, I hope we don't have to move again. There's nowhere like Shibuya. I'm...happy here." She cleared her throat. "So, anyway, seeing this shop finally replace all the stuff they lost in Shinjuku is pretty cool."

"That does sound nice, yeah."

...Funny. Even though Rindo had lived in Shibuya his entire life, it felt like Shoka cared way more about the city than he ever did.

Yeah, sure, it would suck if Shibuya stopped existing tomorrow. But what was Shibuya to him, anyway? He'd spent most of his life in his house, which he couldn't go back to, and school, which he also couldn't go back to. Shopping and eating out were fun and all, but he'd done that on free days. And that was stuff he could have done anywhere, really.

'His' Shibuya…'His' Shibuya was basically gone now, with his old life over. At least, out of reach, always. He might as well have been moving to a different city anyway, since he lived in the UG as a Reaper now. A Reaper now and forever, until he got erased, or sang again, or..."So which of the new antiques is your favorite, Shoka?"

"Pfft. They're all tacky. The worst one has got to be that vase right there. Just look at it." Shoka gestured. She was talking a little too animatedly. Had she noticed? "See, the problem with Shiba's taste is—"

The conversation went on until their food arrived. Rindo missed the extra pop and crackle of the Noise flavoring, but it was still pretty good. Maybe he'd order a Noise-flavored drink on the side and see how well Fret tolerated it.

…Yeah, it looked like Shoka would be on her dessert for a while, and he didn't want her to feel rushed. So he ordered a drink, took a sip, and…Yup, the static made his insides crawl, just like the soda had.

But that initial flash of disgust was almost immediately followed up by a strong craving for more.

Huh? Did Fret like it after all? Did he even love it? Even though he couldn't stand the fizziness? Or maybe this was just Rindo's own Inner Noise demanding more Soul? Even though the singing was over? Maybe Noise-flavored stuff was like candy to an Inner Noise?

Rindo lost count of how many drinks he ordered, while his actual meal remained half-finished.

Shoka seemed to find this funny. "Yeah, you better fuel up on the good stuff because this'll be the last chance for the free gourmet food." She paused. "Actually wait, you'll probably be here for about a week while you're recovering, but my point still stands."

Right, Rindo couldn't get used to this, or he'd be spending all his money on just meals. Still, this was good, at least for now.

So, where should they go next? Fret had wanted to go to the park, but Rindo wasn't sure if he was ready for that yet? To take to the air, watching Fret chase after him. Pursuing with such happy determination like maybe, if Fret went fast enough, he'd start flying too, no wings required. But there would be no Fret running after him now. And there would be no Fret to play frisbee with either, and no Fret to cuddle under trees with…

…Rindo wasn't ready for the park yet.

"Hey Shoka, is there anywhere you wanna go?" asked Rindo.

"Me? Hmm…" Shoka folded her arms as she thought about it. "Well, if we're talking about taking advantage of free stuff, we could go to the massage parlor."

Rindo winced as he felt his wings shudder and dig into his muscles. "I…don't think Fret's ready for that yet. He really hated the wing massage he got."

"Yeah. those can be pretty rough if you're not used to them," admitted Shoka.

Rindo nodded. He had been able to handle his massage, but only because Fret was there to leech away some of the bad emotions. But when Rindo tried to do the same during Fret's massage, Fret had been so afraid and guilty of sharing his own emotions, and only shrunk further into himself.

Then there was that time in the miniature garden afterward, where Fret told him of how he'd had to hold back his intense emotions all his life. He had seemed so uncomfortable even admitting to it. Like it had been a sin for Fret to have feelings. Fret had tried to hide his discomfort with his usual smiles and jokes, but it only made Rindo sadder.

Still, he knew that Fret needed encouragement in that moment, not pity. So he told Fret for the millionth time that he loved him. And as always it seemed to delight Fret, like it had been the first time he'd ever heard those three words. And then they moved on.

Yet, somehow, Rindo wished that they had shared more moments like that, no matter how uneasy it made them both feel. Maybe then Rindo would have finally understood why Fret was always plagued with such crushing guilt, no matter what version of Fret he knew…Instead of just using that guilt against him in the final fight to…

"Hey, Rindo? Anybody home?" asked Shoka.

"Oh, uh, sorry, did you say something?"

"I sure did," said Shoka. Her hand was on her hip, but she was grinning. "I said that we could go to the arcade. I think there's some new games there that I haven't tried yet. Wanna do that?"

The arcade…Another place he and Fret had enjoyed. "Actually, yeah, that sounds like fun!"

IIIIII

Shoka was better at games than Rindo and Fret combined, both figuratively and literally. Though maybe that wasn't saying much, since both he and Fret were garbage gamers. Their last trip here more than proved that, though they still had fun regardless. Though Rindo had gotten a little better since he could see the games more clearly now.

Rindo was better at DDR than Shoka though, much to her frustration. The way she growled and stomped the arrows with extra force when she was falling behind was…cute wasn't the right word. But it was definitely funny.

Still, Rindo missed the way that Fret could sync up almost perfectly with him, whether it was during DDR or during an actual sync, or that strange and somewhat scary mix of both when he had first accidentally drained Rindo.

And not so far from here…the door leading to the secluded karaoke room. Just looking at it made his heart clench. And yet…

"Hey Shoka, is it okay if I just…go to the karaoke area by myself for a bit?" asked Rindo. "I just wanna…think about stuff for a while."

"Sure, go ahead," said Shoka. "I get that singers need some alone time too. I need a breather after all that DDR anyway."

"Yeah, same."

The karaoke room was still as dark and desolate as he remembered. Not surprising, since it was only a couple days ago since he and Fret had been here together, crooning lyrics to each other. Rindo sat down on the lone worn loveseat in the room, gazing at the blank screen, but didn't put anything on.

Back then, under the searing weight of the singing and his own corrupted Soul code, even awkwardly belting his heart out in here exhausted him. Rindo had planned to drain Fret a little to stay more awake, only for Fret to have needed Soul even more than Rindo did. So Rindo had tried a Soul twister, thinking that maybe that would sate both of their appetites…

And at first it had seemed to work. The Soul blending had relaxed Fret, his muscles melting under Rindo's arms and wings, especially when Rindo had done it more slowly. Rindo, in turn, had also felt much calmer with his Soul coiled around Fret's, with Fret mumbling drowsily along to whatever they had been talking about, with Fret's head lolling against Rindo's heart…

Until Fret's voice had suddenly turned so fragile, so vulnerable, asking Rindo to please stay. And what else could Rindo have done in that moment but hold him closer and kiss him all over, telling Fret how much he meant to him, how he would never leave him behind, how he had reset time over and over just for Fret. Because Fret was a wonderful person who had always been there for him and deserved everything.

"So…you won't…" Fret's voice had barely been audible. Hopeful, yet disbelieving. "...Like he…"

"He?"

But Fret had sunk into a silent stupor after that. Just as well for whoever 'he' was, because if 'he' hurt his Fret somehow, Rindo would tear the guy to shreds if he ever found 'him'.

But more importantly, Fret had been finally peacefully asleep. And Rindo would soon be as well. It took a lot of mental effort to keep up a Soul Twister. Still, maybe a nap would have been nice for both of them.

But then Fret had let out a soft whimper, rolling onto his stomach and resting his chin on Rindo's chest. His eyes had opened and stared at Rindo, embers of pale blue light burning in the center of his pupils. He had cautiously sniffed and nibbled on Rindo's hand, though not enough to hurt. Then he had started nibbling on Rindo's Soul, his wide puppy-dog eyes still on Rindo.

Is this okay? he had seemed to be asking. Can I do this? You won't hate me if I do this, right?

And while Rindo couldn't have pretended that the nips to his Soul had been pleasant, it was only fair that Fret could drain him back. Fret's needs had mattered more than his own anyway, because Rindo loved Fret more than anything. Certainly more than himself.

So Rindo had petted Fret's hair and back, telling Fret that he could take as much as he needed.

And of course Fret had turned into a whining writhing mess of excitement after that, squeezing Rindo tightly and nuzzling his neck as his Soul nibbles went to Soul chomps and oh…oh whoa, between this and trying to maintain the Soul twister Rindo might have actually passed out, and if Fret had kept feeding like this…But maybe it would be for the best if this was how it…

But Rindo had woken up again, and by then Fret had been back to his usual self. His usual oblivious self, because he hadn't seemed to remember his Inner Noise taking over and draining Rindo. But considering how reluctant Fret had been to ask for drains, even though he had clearly needed extra Soul if something like that had happened when he had gone under enough…Maybe it had been just as well that Fret hadn't known what he had done. This could've been a good way to keep Fret fueled up without him feeling guilty about it. Couldn't have felt guilty about what he couldn't have remembered, right?

Of course Fret had found out about it later, and, as predicted, had been horrified by his own hunger. But that hadn't prevented him from going into a Soul-starved frenzy just a little while later, even though he clearly hadn't wanted that loss of control to happen at all. Rindo had done his best to comfort Fret through his tearful shame.

And over time, Fret's terror and guilt about draining had slowly ebbed to a grudging acceptance, until he had become eager for drains, eager to evolve and finally stop this endlessly expanding appetite.

Rindo understood. He had gone through a similar struggle himself. His weakened Inner Noise, unable to manifest, only had become more and more demanding of Soul, like a baby bird stuck in a nest. He had tried his best to hold it back around Fret, but he too had needed to drain Fret more and more. And when they had been cocooned together in the covers, with Fret's feverish body cooking Rindo alive, all he could've thought about was wanting to be free, wanting all this to be done.

Now he was free. Now it was done. But without the heavy heat of the singing, without the weight of Fret against him, now he was just…drifting in the wind uselessly.

What would he do now? What would he be, besides a Reaper? Besides being Fret's Reaper?

Staying here, in this dark quiet room, made him so sleepy…

Rindo came to, bundled up so snug Fret's warmth. So snug, in fact, that Rindo had trouble telling where he ended and Fret began. But when he opened his eyes, he…didn't see Fret? Only a restaurant table with an empty chair across from him.

But Fret was here, he was clearly here, because he could feel Fret's hold squeeze him tighter, could feel his Soul stubbornly weave deeper into his own, could feel it embroider itself into his heart.

Rindo tried to sit up more, to see where Fret was, only for warm arms to tug Rindo back into place, followed by a gentle weight on his head. "Where you going, my Rindude?" His tone was warm and playful, even as the threads of his Soul made Rindo's heart pucker with every pull.

Ah, that's why Rindo could see Fret, because Fret was behind him, holding him. Oh yeah, wasn't this…SBY BBQ? Only this time there was no Minamimoto to bother them. So toasty, peaceful, safe, now that Fret held him by the heart as well as the body…

Fret encapsulated Rindo with a coat, buttoning it up to Rindo's chin before tucking his arms around Rindo again. Another layer of protection from separation…Wait, Fret was wearing Rindo's coat?

…Right, because Fret had taken it and then…

"I love you, my Rindo," Fret whispered into Rindo's ear. He started leaning back against the seat, with Rindo in tow. "Now, let's—"

Fret let himself fall through the seat, and then through the floor, into waters below. So perfectly encompassing that Rindo had no idea how deep they were sinking. So perfectly balmy that Rindo soon lost the sense of where his or Fret's bodies were, though Rindo could see the ends of the black-and-white coat flare around him. So perfectly clear that Rindo could easily see the colors bleeding out of himself and Fret, mixing as they rose to the unseen surface without them.

Melting…They were melting…Together…

"Rindo…Rindo…My Rindo…"

Rindo heard Fret's words more in his head than his ears, felt his very essence soak into his mind and muscles, tasted Fret's Soul on his tongue…

…No, wait, he had to save Fret! Save Fret and pull him to the surface! He had to—

But Fret's embrace around his torso only tightened. "Don't go…don't go…don't go…"

"Fret, we've gotta—" The threads embedded in Rindo's heart pulled so hard that Rindo's heart was little more than a useless crumpled knot in his chest, a tension so great that it felt like his whole chest would cave in. While Rindo struggled for breath, he could feel a Soul twister drilling through his bound heart, threatening to turn it into little more than dust and paste.

"Stay…" Fret whimpered. "Please stay…"

"Fret…" Rindo's Soul only spun faster, and Rindo's vision was starting to spin with it. "Fret, I…"

"I love you, I love you, I love you…"

This Soul Twister was so demanding, unspooling his heart and muscles and thoughts so easily. "I…But I n-need to…love you…and I need…I love you…I need to…need to…love…" He fell quiet as he got lost in the vortex of unraveling emotions, so eagerly unwinding him and entwining with each individual fiber, so many helixes of ecstasy. Which only made the rest of his Soul further fray in envious loneliness, waiting, waiting for…

"I love you, I love you, I love you…" That last one had almost a growl to it.

"...I…" Because Fret loved him, every strand of him. "I…I love you…I love you…I love you…"

His limbs, so supersaturated with Fret's energy in every atom, woven and held together by Fret's own stringy Soul…Could he even call this body his own anymore? His heart certainly wasn't, long spun into meaty ribbons that bits of Fret's Soul had congealed around, slowly dissolving as the spiral went on endlessly…

"I love you, I love you, I love you…"

Who was saying those sweet words now? Himself? Fret? Both? Did it even matter? He could barely even remember who he was.

"I love you, I love you, I love you…"

Warm…Together…Safe…

"ILoveYouILoveYouILove—"

Rindo woke up with a gasp. What…What kind of dream was that?

Had…Had that been Fret? Why had Fret seemed…almost scary in that dream? Even though he showed Rindo nothing but affection? It wasn't like he hadn't been doing anything that different. It was just another Soul Twister, really, and Rindo normally loved those…Was it because this one seemed so unusually…intense?

So why did Fret seem so desperate when Rindo tried to squirm free? So…angry even?

Fret would…Fret wanted him to be happy, right? To go out there and experience the world and make more friends? Then why would he…?

Well, at the very least, Rindo could be Shoka's friend. He should check to see what she was up to out there. Staying in here much longer would only lead to more gloomy thoughts. Or more nightmares that probably meant nothing in the end.

It turned out that Shoka hadn't been too bored at least. Right now she was watching a game of Reversi, being played by none other than Susukichi and Hishima. Susukichi wore his usual cocky grin, while Hishima frowned at the few black pieces remaining on his side like a disapproving parent.

"I come here to indulge in some so-called 'retro' gaming, only to be cajoled into an unwinnable enterprise," grumbled Hishima. "Why exert myself?"

"C'mon flowerbro, Reversi's way more retro than any of the videogame stuff here!" said Susukichi. "You oughta love it!"

"Perhaps against an opponent I could vanquish."

"Gwahaha! You give up the board too easily, bro! C'mon, one more round!"

Rindo carefully shuffled to Shoka's side. "Um, hi."

"Oh, hey Rindo!" said Shoka.

"Rindo, is it?" said Hishima. "I see. Though how much your appearance takes after your partner instead is…intriguing."

"Yo, you won, birdbro? Congrats!" said Susukichi. "So how'd the match go?"

"How'd the…" Rindo glared at him. No wonder that one evolved Reaper was so peeved when Fret asked that. "Why do you want to know?"

"Big Su, he just got done singing…" Shoka crossed her arms, though her tone was more gentle than expected. "He's not gonna wanna talk about stuff like that yet."

"Gotcha, gotcha," said Susukichi, only seeming slightly disappointed. "But I just wanna let you know, don't feel guilty because you're the one who flipped a disc. In a game with no draws, there are only winners and losers. So you've just gotta play until the game's done."

Rindo only nodded. An inescapable game…He supposed that was one way to put it. Even though Rindo did have chances to escape. If only he had kept on the seal and controlled his desires better. If only he had fully gone through with the Taboo. If only he had just let himself turn Boss Noise. If only he had let her break his Noise down to a reasonable size again. If only he had let her break his Noise down to a reasonable size at the very start. If only he'd decided to do any of these things just a little sooner, then he would have been…and Fret would be…

"And here you are, the last disc standing, and nothing's gonna change that now," Susikichi went on, though his smile wasn't quite as wide as before. "The board on the last match has already been cleared. All you can do is start a new game, and keep that winning streak alive as long as you can. To show that you're worth all those discs that you've collected."

So to keep on living to honor those that were consumed, huh? "So you…your partner is…?"

"Either you exist or you're erased," said Susukichi, his smile gone now. "Black or white, simple as that. I know that some discs claim that they're both black and white at the same time…" His eyes darted to Hishima for a second.

"Proceed," said Hishima. "I will consider alternative viewpoints."

Susukichi blew out a sigh of relief. "...But like, I've never gotten any kind of sense of extra discs on my side of the field. Not even a ghostly feeling. And I didn't expect there to be either. There was the singing, the battle, and then…that was it."

'I…I see…" said Rindo. Was Fret so quiet because he…

"But aren't there singers who can just straight-up summon their partners?" asked Shoka. "Like, their old partners will actually take them over sometimes?"

That was a thing too? Rindo was jealous.

Susukichi's smile returned, but only slightly. "Yeah, some people say that. But I've been around a while, and I've seen a lot of Reapers, both before and after singing. And those evolved discs claiming that they can change color on a whim? When they act like their partner, there's always something off about how they do it. Their 'partner' acts too happy, or too angry, or too sad. It just feels like they're trying way too hard to be a disc they're not, y'know?"

So in other words, any 'possessing' partners might just be someone's own projections and delusions about the person they lost. Rindo's heart sank.

"So to me, it's not worth thinking about past boards too much," said Susukichi. "New games will start whether you're paying attention or not. And if you're still obsessed about whether you deserve to win a particular game or not, an opponent might just sweep ya while you're distracted. Either you won or you didn't, and if you didn't, well, you wouldn't be around to think about it now, would ya?"

"I…guess not…" mumbled Rindo.

"I dissent. The past is not wholly irrelevant," said Hishima. "Preserving your original memories of your partner is vital to not succumbing to insanity. This decadent place exists for that reason. The dyad safely forms positive memories together, until singing spoliates both. It baffles me that Shibuya originally had no such location. The leadership abandoned singing partners to fend for themselves. Utterly absurd."

"Really? Man, that sounds horrible," said Rindo. Well, of course Rindo would know personally, when he had tried to grapple with the singing alone during all those loops. Akinosuke Hotel made the whole process a lot more comfortable, even if it couldn't do anything to soften the warsong itself. Here, all he had needed to worry about was keeping Fret as pleased as possible, to make sure he had had no regrets. Rindo hoped that he had succeeded.

"Gwahaha! Those southsiders sure are dumb, huh? Imagine being so obsessed about everyone bein' an individual disc that ya don't even try to play to their individual game states."

"Yes, because having warsongs sung in the streets is a perfectly rational and acceptable way of running a ward," Hishima added in an especially condescending tone.

"Haha, yeah…" That did sound pretty messed up to Rindo. Although he had heard almost nothing but complaints about how that Shiba guy was running things. Like, was a Game that was dominated by the same Reaper team for two years really healthy either?

"Speaking of running a district, Shiba is certainly taking his time today," muttered Hishima. "He ordains us to arrive early, only for us to waste time awaiting him instead."

"Gwahaha! If you flipped his disc while you had the chance, you'd never have to wait on him again!" Susukichi grinned.

"Akin to purchasing an overpriced cinema merely for free refreshments. No thank you."

"Wait, you two were gonna sing each other?" asked Shoka. "Is this why you're, like, exes now?"

"Shiba desired me as a partner, yes," explained Hishima. "However, I refused. My emotional redirection psyche occasionally has its uses. And so we took different partners instead. And considering how little Shiba's ego changed, even after evolving, it seems that I made the right choice. " He paused. "This is unrelated to our parting of the ways, however."

"I dunno how much the boss agrees with your move," said Susukichi, before his phone dinged. He plucked it out of his pocket and squinted at the screen for a bit. The tiny phone looked comical in his gigantic hands. "Hold on a flip. Ayano wants me to find Li'l Tsu real quick. I'll be back to this region before you can spin the board!"

Shoka smirked. "Good, 'cause I'm definitely gonna win next time."

"I, uh, guess I could try a game or two of Reversi later too?" offered Rindo with a lopsided smile.

"Gwahaha! Looking forward to it, birdbro!"

As Susukichi left, Hishima went back to studying the pieces on the board. As if maybe he could still figure out a way to win while Susukichi was gone.

Meanwhile, Rindo was still thinking about Susukichi's blunt opinion on singing. What if he was right, and the sung were really just illusions in the singer's head? Wait, but didn't Susukichi imply that Hishima actually disagreed with that? "Hey, Hishima?"

"Yes?"

"So, uh, what is your opinion on what happens to the sung?"

Hishima emitted an irritated sigh, and at first Rindo thought that he wasn't gonna answer. "If you're looking for comfort, my view will not bring that to you. Do you wish to hear it regardless?"

Why did that not surprise Rindo? But Rindo wanted as many viewpoints on the subject as he could get. He could always ignore it if he outright disagreed, right? "Yeah, go ahead and tell me."

"Very well," said Hishima. "First of all, I do not agree with Susukichi's view on most topics, much less consumption."

"Consumption?"

Shoka rolled her eyes and put her wrists on her hips. "Some old-timey word for 'singing'. Before they figured out it was like combining our waves or whatever that means."

"Consumption? Like eating?" Well, it kinda was like eating. Consuming someone else and making them part of the self...Didn't that sound like what Susukichi had been saying? Existing or erased. Eating food made it part of him, but it didn't keep the food alive.

"Yes, as in consuming another. It also refers to a debilitating, chronic disease," Hishima said. "Many years ago in the RG, no one understood how consumption spread. It seemed to transmit to one's closest compatriots, the ones with whom one spent the most time. There was no cure. One simply grew weaker, until one passed." He was silent for a moment. "Eventually, the airborne transmission through aerosolized particles was understood. Yet the older Reapers' association of a terrible, inescapable, immutable disease spread to one's closest loved ones remained."

Shoka frowned. "That's...kinda dark. Damn, dude."

Rindo stayed quiet.

"The younger, newer Reapers thought of a propaganda campaign to give consumption a cleaner, more refreshing image. 'Singing' was the chosen term, evoking a couple that were serenading one another with a duet," Hishima continued. "I use the new moniker out of respect. However, consumption is more teleologically accurate.

Teleologically accurate, huh? Whatever that meant. He'd have to look it up on his phone later.

"As for Susukichi's opinion on the consumed—the so-called 'sung'—simply not existing anymore…If only I could believe that so easily myself."

"What do you mean?" asked Rindo.

"For me, the sung very much do persist," Hishima said. "But in much the way a corpse persists in the RG, eventually rotting away and, in some cases, petrifying into a fossil. A corpse resembles the living at first. Yet, no matter how desperately one embalms the body, it putrefies. Eventually, they are nothing but a zombified regret clinging to your Soul, demanding attention, penance, or both."

Rindo shuddered just listening to that description. For Fret to simply…fall apart and turn into something foul within Rindo…

"There is a reason the living cremate the deceased," Hishima said quietly. "Funerary rites exist for the living to grieve and for the departed to rest. But the consumed are not deceased—they are diseased."

Not deceased, but diseased?…Though what did deceased really mean at this point? Technically all Players and Reapers were dead already.

"Most deceased never join the Game," Hishima added, as if reading Rindo's mind. "Only a small subset, old enough to participate yet fairly young, and possessing sufficient Imagination, become Players. Some surviving Players take Reaperhood, and integrate into the UG. Others are chosen to pass on to the next world."

Okay. That kinda. Made more sense. Guess there was an afterafterlife, too.

"Regardless, I would have vastly preferred for the consumed's existences to end in easy if excruciating erasures," Hishima went on. "But now my Soul is a mausoleum. I live entombed in coffins until the day my coffin rests in another's sepulcher. The consumed can never be laid to rest until my entire existence comes to an end."

That…That sounded…

"I took their lives to further my own power and survival. In return, I must carry their gutted and twisted remains within me wherever I go. I must bear witness to their decomposition. I must be their gravekeeper, but the cemetery grows, and I can only tend to so many coffins. The atonement is unfathomably ceaseless. And the more I sing, the more burdens I must carry."

…Hishima was right: this wasn't an answer Rindo wanted. At all.

Shoka seemed shaken by this too, tugging at one of her hoodie's cat ears. "Is that…another reason that you didn't want to sing Shiba?"

"Indeed," said Hishima. "Either I would be vitiated into a ghoulish cadaver in his Soul, or he would become an even more unbearable hellspawn in mine."

"Ha...Ha..." Shoka didn't really laugh.

"Neither of which appealed to me, as you may have deduced."

"Y-Yeah…" said Rindo. "T-That makes sense…"

"And that is all that I wish to say on this unpleasant subject." Hishima stood up. "I will procure food before Shiba deigns to summon us all for your coronation as a Reaper. Farewell." He walked off.

"Oh, uh, later," said Shoka. She and Rindo stood there in awkward silence.

What would Rindo do if Fret became some kind of warped monster inside of him? It wasn't like Rindo could remove him at this point, even if he wanted to. Which he never would, because what was left of Fret depended on Rindo for his entire existence. Nor could Rindo simply go back to when none of this happened. He was long past the time window for resetting things, even if he did somehow find his pin again. If Rindo had just…done anything else with the renewable time he had back then, maybe…

…Crushing guilt. Rindo may never know what the source of Fret's crushing guilt was, but he was beginning to relate to the feeling. A shame so great that nothing he did ever came close to absolving it…

But what would happen if he sang so many people that he couldn't 'tend to all their coffins' or whatever Hishima had said? If he was using this much energy just trying to keep one person's worth of memories alive?

Fret would never 'demand penance' or whatever, because Fret loved Rindo too much. But attention? Oh, he had always demanded more attention. As if he was worried that Rindo would simply forget Fret's existence if they didn't spend every single moment looking at each other.

Was that how Hishima 'tended'? By remembering them? By giving them attention? Wasn't that why Rindo's mom and dad had made him make those stupid vegetable horses for Bon every year? Giving his ancestors a place to go and be remembered and given attention or whatever, and then sending them away with fire?

He'd asked his mom what would happen if they didn't celebrate Bon, once, and she'd shaken her head and said something about the unfulfilled becoming hungry ghosts. That they had an obligation to make sure their loved ones passed on properly and didn't spend the rest of their existences starving no matter how much they ate. Unable to reincarnate.

...Felt like the Game. Maybe this was Rindo's punishment. He wasn't remembered, and now he was stuck here.

But he couldn't let Fret suffer the same fate. Had to remember him. Had to remember everyone...But what would happen if he had too many everyones to remember?

No, he'd always put Fret first. Always. Right? Wouldn't he? Always...?

Shoka rubbed her arms. "...Hey, so, I can't really say anything about sung people myself, but…Well, Hishima seems like a real downer jerk. I bet I'd be a cranky ghost too if I got stuck with his sour ass for eternity too."

Rindo certainly hoped that Shoka would never get sung by someone like him. But Rindo chuckled anyway. "Thanks Swa…er, Shoka."

Shoka smiled. "Swallow, Shoka, same difference. Right, rindragon?"

He forced himself to crack a smile.

"Anyway, Hishima said that memories were important, right?" she said. "To help you not forget what Fret was originally like. I think that's just good advice in general, so you don't get too caught up in your own head."

Rindo nodded. "Yeah. And…Fret wanted me to…trusted me to help him pull himself back together after everything. So the best way for me to do that is…" He lightly smacked the side of his head. "Oh duh, I should look at his socials! That'll give me a wider view of Fret than just the stuff on my phone!" And then…get in contact with his family somehow?

"There we go. Now we're getting somewhere."

"Oh wait, right, we tried to look up their accounts way back at the start of the Game, but they were gone." Rindo deflated a little.

"Gone?" asked Shoka. "What do you mean?"

"I mean it was like our accounts never existed at all," said Rindo. "I guess because we were dead and they didn't want us posting about being dead in our blogs or whatever?"

Shoka frowned, folding her arms. "That…doesn't make any sense though. Yeah the Reapers can delete stuff from the internet if it makes it too easy to look up answers for a mission or something, but there's no reason that your social stuff's gone. It's not like Players can communicate with anyone in the RG anyway, other than using psychs to, like, push stuff around a little maybe, and if someone just died and all their accounts suddenly went poof, that would look really suspicious. Hmm…"

"So, um, what should I do then? Just look up Fret's family directly or something?" And then totally not sound like a creeper at all asking his grieving family about every tiny detail about Fret's life, down to how he put socks on in the morning. Well, maybe since he was a known friend of Fret's…Oh wait, but Rindo's physical appearance was entirely different now. And, more importantly, he was dead too. Should he haunt them just to get answers?

"Honestly, this will be way easier if we just get Kaie to do it," said Shoka. "He's got all of Shibuya's UG and RG data right there on his phone, so he'll be able to get whatever info you need in no time flat."

"Oh yeah, good point!" Rindo was just overthinking things as usual. "Let's do that then."

IIIIII

Shoka led the way. They stopped by the art room first, so she could retrieve the bunny figurine she'd painted for him. Dry enough, she declared. When she showed him to the fuzzy purple door decorated with occult-looking symbols, she held out the rabbit statue to Kaie like she was giving an offering. He greeted them enthusiastically. The bunny figurine soon joined a set of various cute plushies and knickknacks in Kaie's cramped room.

Inviting Shoka and Rindo in, Kaie turned towards Rindo.

"Greetings! :D" he typed with a small smile.

"Uh, hi." Rindo paused. "Wait, you live in the hotel?" Well, if he wanted to study singing…There sure were a lot of electronics jammed in here too.

"No, I do not live in the hotel. XD" Kaie answered. "This is where I offer my tarot services to singing couples. Shoka told me that you were coming to meet with me, so I arrived just a few minutes ago. :)"

Okay, that made way more sense. "Well, thanks for coming all the way to meet with me here."

"Of course. You are family, after all," Kaie said. "That aside, how are you feeling?"

"I'm…" Rindo wasn't really sure how to describe his feelings. "I-I'll be okay…" Great, he sounded so convincing, with the way his voice trembled a little. Real award-winning performance right there.

"It'll be alright Rindo," said Shoka gently, and for the first time she really sounded like his imagined voice for Swallow. "We're all here for you, as a family."

Kaie's smile grew both more warm and more sad. "I know that this is a lot to bear at first. But do not worry, your partner's Soul is there to help support you through it, even if you don't always sense his presence."

Rindo felt a tiny squeeze of warmth in his chest. Wait, was that—But it had vanished so fast. Had he imagined it? Made it up? It wasn't like he'd never felt his chest tighten before. But this had to be different, right? Fret had to be here, right?

"I must say that your singing was surprisingly ordinary, considering the circumstances around both you and Fret, though I did notice the two of you favoring possession attempts more than usual, especially Fret."

A knot formed in Rindo's stomach. "Wait, were you…were you watching the fight?" Which Rindo supposed did make sense if he wanted to collect as much data on their singing as possible, but—

"I'm only stating what I observed from your interactions while wandering the hotel, not the hotel room itself, don't worry. I'm referring to your overall singing, not the warsong itself," said Kaie. "We do have rooms for those singing couples who agree to allow being recorded, but yours was not one of them. It was in the End-User License Agreement you signed when you used the AAA originally. :)"

Oh, yeah, the app, which Rindo had just flicked through without reading.

"Both partners would have to opt in. I can assure you that you did not accidentally opt in to be recorded. Though if you ever feel comfortable enough to tell me about the warsong itself, my research would certainly welcome it. :)"

"I'll…get back to you on that," Rindo replied weakly. Right now his mind was doing everything it could to not think about that final fight at all. "So was there anything else…interesting about our singing?"

"Well I certainly wasn't expecting the corruption to mutate your Raven into a Phoenix! :O Usually such mythical Noise forms are not achieved until multiple rounds of singing are completed. Additionally, Fret must have had an incredible amount of Soul. It appears that there's more of his Soul within you than your own. :O"

"Really?" Actually, maybe half-singing Fret on multiple timelines contributed to that too. But at this point, the less he thought about those other timelines, the better. They didn't matter anymore. Those Frets didn't matter anymore. This was the timeline he had chosen, and the one he had to live in now. No second or third or seventh chances. The thought made Rindo sad, but also strangely relieved. No second or third or seventh chances to screw things up even further.

"And don't worry, your code is now stable in your new form, as predicted! :D"

Rindo figured as much, but let out a sigh of relief anyway. "Good to know. I certainly feel better than I did before." Well, physically anyway. It was nice not feeling fatigued or feverish for the first time in forever.

"Excellent! I'm sure your partner is feeling happy for you too! :D"

"I hope so…" Rindo drew in a deep sigh, but decided not to say anything else. He probably shouldn't have said anything at all, really. "Look, I need you to check something for me. Can you look up all of Fret's RG data for me? Just so I…I can get to know him better?" Maybe Fret would actually talk to him outside of dreams if Rindo reminded him with some old stories and pictures from his childhood.

"Of course :)," said Kaie. "One moment while I look up his data."

"Thanks," said Rindo.

"See? Kaie's got this," said Shoka.

"Y-Yeah," said Rindo, holding the scarf-sash around his chest. Don't worry, Fret. I'll find you.

Kaie's eyes narrowed at the screen. "Hmm! How peculiar! His RG data appears to be missing entirely? According to the national registry, there is no one named Tosai Furesawa."

"Missing?" asked Rindo, his stomach dropping. Oh no. "What do you mean it's missing? How does something like that go missing?" He suddenly thought of how his own accounts had vanished too. "Wait, what about my RG data? Like my school records! Or the family registry! Here, do you need my mom's name to find me? Not that it matters much by this point, but it is still there? Maybe we can use that to help track down Fret's RG data…somehow?"

Oh no. They really were going to be forgotten. No one would set up a shrine for him on Bon. No veggie horse made for him. No fire to send him back.

Not him, and not Fret.

Kaie backspaced a sentence or two before typing out a new reply. "I will check for your RG data as well. One moment."

Shoka folded her arms, though she looked more disbelieving than angry. "I don't get it. How could his RG data just be…gone? That doesn't make any sense! If someone dies and gets sent to the Game, people still remember that they died! They don't just stop existing in the RG! Sure, memories do get changed if Players actually win the Game and choose to go back to the RG."

Rindo stared at her. She sighed.

"Because you can't have people remembering you as dead for a week. So memories get tweaked so that no one remembered you died. But other than that, his RG stuff shouldn't be messed up. And definitely not totally gone."

"There are Rindo Kanades on the national registry," said Kaie. "But none live in Shibuya. So you are not one of them. :/"

This…did not bother Rindo as much as he expected it to. Rindo Kanade…That name felt wrong now, somehow. Just going by the name 'Rindo Kanade' ignored the Fret part of him entirely…

"I don't understand. Was the data somehow deleted?" said Kaie, furiously tapping and swiping on his phone. "Is there some unforeseen glitch in the RNS I've yet to detect? I need to run some debugging tests and check over the rest of the data."

But Fret's whole RG life…deleted? Fret had made so many friends, a loving family…probably. Actually Rindo didn't know anything about Fret's family, or what Fret did when Rindo wasn't around, or why he always carried around that hat on his belt loop, or why he tore it to shreds, or why…

Why why why why…

"Rindo?" asked Shoka, looking concerned. "You doing okay?"

"Why…" Rindo croaked out. "I've been with Fret so much. I've talked to Fret so much. We've done nothing but spend time together here the past few days, b-because we loved each other so much. I…I love him so much…" He felt the tears squeezing out of his eyes, despite his best efforts. "So why…Why don't I know anything about him?"

"Rindo…"

Rindo clutched his scarf, his knuckles turning pale. "H-How can I put you back together if I don't know anything about you, Fret? P-Please, give me something more to work with than feelings! S-Say something! Or Remind me of something, i-if talking's too hard for you." He smiled just a bit. "Y-Yeah, just Remind me of the cringiest thing I've ever done, I'm sure that'll be funny and totally worth the effort, right?"

Nothing. His weak grin faded.

Why? Why wasn't Fret answering? He needed Fret to answer him! He…He…

"Rindo?"

He needed Fret, he needed Fret, he needed Fret right here right now right in front of him, where he could see him and hear him and hold him and talk to him and know that he was right here, that he wasn't alone, that he wasn't alone, that he wasn't—

And suddenly it was so hard to think, so hard to breathe, so hard to stay awake…

"Rindo calm down. Rindo?...Rindo!"

…And Fret was here, right here, just like he always was, just like he always should be. Staring at Rindo with wide eyes, one hand clinging to his heart, the other stretched out in the empty air separating them.

The fragments of Fret's Reaper wings scattered all around them, sizzling with static.

His Fret…He could finally properly see his Fret again.

The distance between them didn't last long, as Fret rushed over whimpering. Holding Rindo tight, nuzzling him, clawing at the wings in his back.

"I love you, I love you, I love you…" Fret's voice trembled as much as his body did.

And Rindo loved him too. So much. More than anything.

But why did it feel like there was something wrong?

Fret's whines only accelerated, as he buried his face in Rindo's neck, holding Rindo so close that it was hard to breathe. The muffled whimpers turned to muffled yowls.

Rindo's heart twisted. "F-Fret, what's wrong?"

But Fret only smiled when he lifted his head up again. "I miss you…" He planted rapid kisses all over Rindo's cheeks and forehead. "I miss you so much…"

Fret…missed him? But weren't they…?

But the pressure of Fret's arms around Rindo's torso only increased. "Please don't go, I miss you so much…" Fret sounded so…

Those eyes…Even when they carried great pain that Rindo didn't understand, Rindo had always adored them. Their loving gaze, their vivid blue color, the pale light nestled within their pupils…

…Pale light? But hadn't Rindo defeated…?

And yet a tangle of gold and red tattoos, so distinct from Fret's earlier sunshine yellow, seeped from Fret's skin anyway, encasing his face in that maniacally-smiling muzzle once more. Then those tattoos kept branching downward, coating his neck in sharp and jagged fur. When it reached Fret's shoulders, a dog-like head sprouted on each side, each with an identical grin to Fret's own Noise maw.

Those false faces snapped down onto Rindo's shoulders, and Rindo screeched. His wings erupted out and he tried to fly away.

"Fre—"

His shriek was cut off as Fret's jaws clamped down around Rindo's throat, which only made Rindo struggle more frantically. Then Fret's broken wing fragments drifted up to the air, pointed at Rindo, and shot down, lodging themselves into Rindo's wings. This lovesick static infecting and electrifying his emotions to the point of uncontrollable incomprehension…Was this what it had felt like to Fret when Rindo had…

Rindo's body went slack in Fret's arms as Rindo struggled to stay conscious. He was barely aware of Fret leaning against him until they both fell to the ground, or how even more dog heads with snake-like necks erupted from all over Fret's tattooed body to greedily gnaw on Rindo, or how Fret wrenched Rindo's ribcage open with his bare hands so he could feed directly on Rindo's heart.

Though Rindo could clearly feel Fret's hands entwining with his own as he feasted. Even as those hands slowly grew teeth because they wanted to hang onto Rindo even more and make sure that he would never leave, because…

…Because Fret wasn't doing this in revenge. Even though this was probably what Rindo deserved, after everything he did to Fret. No, Fret was doing this because…

"I'mSorryI'mSorryButILoveYouSoMuchSoMuchINeedYouSoMuchINeedINeedINeedI'mSoHungrySoSoHungryBecauseILoveYouILoveYouILoveYouI'mSorryI'mSorryButILove—"

---

Is that the real Fret or not? That's the real question. Either answer has heartwrenching implications.

Next chapter is mostly ready! Just a matter of whenever my betas have a chance to read it over, which may or may not be a while. In the meantime, I have some gift art stuff to do. Once I finish that up, then I'll be working on ironing out the future chapters some more so they'll be more ready for later. Slowly but surely we're getting to the end!