Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He's waiting, for what, he himself doesn't even know. All he knows is that he's waiting, sitting on a branch of the tree that hangs over a whole village, filtering the harsh sunlight that streams down to the earth. The wind blows, causing his white scarf to sway in the wind. He tucks his navy hair to the back of his ear, watching a flock of birds migrate to the north.

How much time has it been? He doesn't even remember. He could have left, but yet he chose to stay. Sky blue eyes scanned the humongous branches of the tree, spotting a fruit in one of the lower branches. He hops down, picking the fruit, putting it close to his mouth and ready to bite down on it—

“Ah! There's someone here?”

A young boy’s voice interrupts him and he trips on his own foot in surprise, falling down the tree with a loud crash. The young boy runs up to his fallen figure, and he groans as he tries to get up.

“Are you okay?” The boy asks, and he cracks open his eyes— when did he even close them?— to meet with a pair of beautiful ruby eyes. The boy hums as he examines the older male and steps back. “I'm glad you're alright! That was quite a fall!”

But then he cocks his head to the side in confusion. “Huh? There's no injuries…” He mutters, squinting. “I'm sorry for startling you, uh…!” The boy trails off, and the navy haired male finally speaks. “It's Yasusada.”

“Nice to meet you, Yasusada!” The boy offers his hand to Yasusada, who gratefully takes it and gets up on his feet. “I'm Kiyomitsu, by the way.”

A blanket of silence suddenly envelops them and Yasusada notices the boy is fidgeting. “Uh, so…” Kiyomitsu finally opens his mouth. “Why were you up in the tree?”

That's not a question he expected, but Yasusada finds himself answering anyway. “I'm waiting for someone.” The boy looks up at him expectantly.

“Someone important to me. I can't remember how they look or what their name was but… They're everything to me.” Yasusada speaks, a hint of sadness in his voice. Kiyomitsu hums in response.

“What if they'll never come? Will you still be waiting?” It's just his curiosity taking over him, but when he sees Yasusada’s expression shifts into a hurt one, even only for a split second, he instantly regrets asking that.

“I'm sure they'll come.” Yasusada smiles, and Kiyomitsu nods, before his eyes widen in shock. “Oh right! I have to go back! I'm not actually allowed to come near the tree, but then I saw you…”

Yasusada pats him on the head. “Then, go. Don't make anyone worry.” Kiyomitsu smiles at him and took off, waving at him. Yasusada waves back, watching the retreating back of the brunet.

Suddenly, the figure of the boy overlaps with an older version of him, who is smiling. The figure mouths something, and Yasusada’s eyes widens.

Ah.

He was already here all along.

Chapter Text

“You pitiful, pitiful soul.”

The brunet walks into the room, every step of his causing the thick red liquid to splash around. He glances around with an expression that's a mix of disgust but yet sadness. Blood was sprayed on both the walls and floor— even on the ceiling. Corpses with chunks of flesh gone was scattered all around. His gaze locks on to the figure currently ripping apart a body, taking big chunks of flesh off with its teeth.

“Hey.” The brunet calls out, and the being immediately looks at him with a growl, shoving the corpse away and going into an offensive stance. “I'm not here to steal your food.”

The creature roars at him, but he merely cocks his head to the side. “Are you still hungry?” He asks with a smile, stepping closer to the bloodied figure, arms stretched out wide, as if he was offering a hug.

The creature charges and latches onto him, the force knocking him back, immediately sinking its teeth into his shoulder. He winces, but closes his eyes as he raises his other arm to rub the beast’s back as it feasts on his flesh. “There, there. There, there.”

After a while, the ‘beast’ stops eating and gasps, pulling back. “Kiyomitsu, I—” Kiyomitsu smiles, patting the other's head. “It's okay, Yasusada. It's not your fault.”

Yasusada glances around in shock at the bloody room. “D-did I…?” His gaze ends up at Kiyomitsu’s collarbone, where a good chunk of it was gone. He's about to speak, but the brunet raises his other hand. “Shh.”

And then it happened. The bones, skin and flesh that was gone starts growing back, slowly returning to how it exactly was before Yasusada (or what was supposed to be him) laid his hands on the brunet.

“Kiyomitsu, You—” Yasusada gasps, a hand gingerly reaches out to touch the regenerated skin. “This is…” It feels like completely normal skin. It's impossible— Even though it wasn't him, Yasusada vaguely remembers biting through skin and bones—!

“You weren't the only one cursed, you know.” Kiyomitsu nonchalantly speaks, wiping the blood on his shoulder with his sleeve. “I was, too.” He hums.

Yasusada merely stares at him in shock. “I'm now immortal,” The brunet continues. “Whereas you've become an uncontrollably man-eating beast.” Yasusada looks down at his bloodied clothes, and grits his teeth.

“I hate this.” Yasusada whimpers. “I didn't mean to— all these people…!” He pulls up his knees, hugging it. Kiyomitsu stands up and offers him a hand. “Let's go, Yasusada.”

“Go? Go where?” Yasusada looks up at him, eyes glistening with tears. “I'm a monster— every time I get hungry I'll become that beast, killing everyone in sight, just for food!”

He's crying now, burying his head on his knees. “I shouldn't be alive! If I die—!” Kiyomitsu clicks his tongue and grabs his hand, forcefully pulling him to stand up, to which he reluctantly obliges.

“If you're *that* worried, then what about eating from me?” Kiyomitsu suggests, twirling his hair with his other hand. “... What?” Yasusada blinks in surprise.

“I mean, I'm immortal. I can't die.” He shrugs, and Yasusada looks baffled. “But—” He tries to protest, but Kiyomitsu cuts him off. “If you're worried about the pain, then don't bother. I've had worse.”

“Kiyomitsu-”

“We're going, and that's final. Rather than giving up, maybe we could find a way to lift these curses.” Kashuu smiles and Yasusada, who doesn't know what to say in response, merely nods.

He lets Kiyomitsu drag him out of the bloody room into the sunlight.

Chapter Text

Sounds of clashing metal fills the air as cyan blue eyes meets red ones every time the metals collide. Wounds covers the both of them, blood dripping onto the already bloody ground.

“Why are you doing this, Yasusada?!” The brunet snarls, aiming for the other’s abdomen, only to be parried. Yasusada doesn't answer, his expression flat, lips pulled into a thin line, as he aims his sword at the other's neck and lunges.

“Yasusada!” He grits his teeth, blocking almost a tad too late, and the blade slices on the side of his neck. He jumps back, putting a hand on the newly created wound and glares at the navy haired male, who's just standing there and staring blankly at him.

“Is this how it's going to be?” Kiyomitsu takes a deep breath, exhaling as he readies himself once again. Yasusada does the same, and the brunet silently curses the reality of the situation

The fight was heated, creating more wounds between the two of them. But when Kiyomitsu lunges for the final strike, after a particularly strong blow that knocked the other off his feet, Yasusada drops his sword and smiles as the blade pierces his chest. Kiyomitsu had wanted to stop as soon as he saw the smile, but he couldn't stop his momentum.

Yasusada lies dying on the ground, still smiling, as Kiyomitsu walks over and crouches beside him. “Why did you do this, Yasusada?” He mutters quietly, looking at the pair of blue eyes. Beautiful, just like the blue skies, would have been what he's going to think, had it been any other day.

But right now, the man he loved lies dying on the ground, by his own hands. Yasusada runs a finger along the blade impaling him, and he laughs— it sounds weaker, softer, sadder.

“It was meant to be, Kiyomitsu.” The other finally speaks, and the brunet finds rage bubbling inside him. “What the fuck do you mean by that, Yasusada?!

It was meant to be? Don't fuck with me!” Kiyomitsu snarls, clenching his hands his nails digging into his palms. “Then why did you kill Izuminokami, and wiped out half of the citadel?!”

“Because—” Yasusada raises his hand towards Kiyomitsu, gently caressing the latter’s cheek. “It was predetermined… from the very beginning.”

“Pre-determined?! What are you—” Kiyomitsu was angry. Does that mean—

“I, Yamatonokami Yasusada, will die today, at this very date, in the hands of Kiyomitsu Kiyomitsu, because I'm a traitor.” Yasusada casually states, as if it was something that's part of their routine.

“...What?” Kiyomitsu is speechless. He can't react due to the shock, even when Yasusada grips the blade impaling him with both hands and pulls the blade out, causing him to bleed even more.

“I saw it… on that day.” Yasusada raises an arm weakly, as if he's reaching out to the stars glimmering in the sky. “When we found that strange book. I opened it—” He coughs, before continuing. “—it showed me what would happen, in the future.

“You—”

“I kept the book, even when you told me to throw it away.” Yasusada laughs a little, even when Kiyomitsu stares at him blankly, trying to take in all the information. “It changes every so often, according to what's currently going on in the present!”

Yasusada sounds giddy, even though his voice sound weaker and he's dying,  he still manages to sound like how he normally was. “Did you know… Kiyomitsu? This is the… best future I could manage to make.”

The best? THE BEST? Kiyomitsu glares at him, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. “What do you mean, this is the best?!” He practically screams, slamming a fist on the ground. “What could be worse?!”

“You dying.” Yasusada weakly said, his voice just above a whisper. “Every single future… ending with you dying…” He sounds a lot weaker now— No no no no!

“I just… can't let that happen.” Yasusada smiles weakly. Kiyomitsu reaches out, propping him up against his arm, pulling him close. “If it ends up… with only me dying… then I'm fine with this…”

“What about me, you idiot?!” Kiyomitsu yells. His vision blurs from the tears spilling from his eyes. “When you're gone, I'm—!”

“You have everyone else… still waiting for you to come back.” Yasusada weakly mutters. “It's not the same without you!” Kashuu cries out, hugging the other's dying body close to him.

And then there's silence, besides the occasional sobs he lets out. When Yasusada doesn't respond and goes limp in his arms, he pulls away, eyes widen in shock.

“Yasusada? Yasusada?!” He tries shaking the body in his arms awake. He looks as if he's asleep, if not for the wounds covering the body, and the amount of blood on both of them. He would've thought that Yasusada is asleep, if the warmth in the body isn't slowly dissipating.

He's… gone.

Kiyomitsu cries loudly into the starry skies.

Chapter Text

The sound of dripping water is the only thing he hears in the pitch black cell. From the ceiling to the rocky floor it continually drips, the sound it makes being the only thing keeping him sane in the darkness.

His arms are tied behind his back, and his legs chained to the wall. Usually, there would be sunlight streaming in from the barred window, high up on the wall where he can't reach, but now it's currently nighttime, and the place where he's at is much too difficult for moonlight to reach.

He counted every time the sun rises since his imprisonment, but yet it has been so long, to the point that he has forgotten how much time has passed. It's a wonder how he is still sane after all of this. But then again, there's a reason for that…

The sound of heels clicking against the rocky floor interrupts him from his thoughts. ‘Ah… here it is again.’ He purses his lips from the thought, preparing himself for what's to come. The cell door swings open with a loud creak, and he flinches at the grating sound.

There is suddenly a bright light, and he is momentarily blinded. Shutting his eyes from the harsh light, he takes a deep breath before opening them again to meet red eyes, amusement and curiosity twinkling in those orbs.

“Good evening, Ya~su~sa~da!” In a sing-song voice, the brunet in front of him swings the lantern he holds in his hand. Yasusada frowns, opting to not answer him. The brunet cocks his head to the side, raising an eyebrow.

“Did you forget me already? It's me, me! Kashuu Kiyomitsu!” Kiyomitsu gleefully speaks as he points at himself, before smiling lopsidedly. “Where's my greeting, Yasusada?”

The navy haired male sometimes forgets he has a voice, as there is usually no one to talk to in the cell. “...Go...od eve...ning… Kiyo...mitsu.” He tries to speak, only realizing now that his throat is too dry.

“That's better!” Kiyomitsu grins, placing the lantern on the floor beside him. “I brought food!” He produces a piece of bread and a bottle of water from his pocket, handing it to Yasusada, before actually realizing that the other can't do it by himself.

“Ah, right. You can't eat by yourself… and I can't release you or you'll punch me again like that time!” Kiyomitsu ponders, before raising the bread in front of Yasusada’s mouth. “Eat.” He orders, his tone dropping from the earlier lighthearted one.

Yasusada obliges, and he watches him slowly bite through the bread with a grin. After the other finishes the bread, he pops open the water bottle and shoves it in front of the other's mouth, causing Yasusada to choke on the liquid and spilling it everywhere. 

“Aw, you wasted some… But there's some left, so!” Kiyomitsu takes a large swig of the bottle, before pulling the other closer and kisses him, forcefully making Yasusada drink the water. Even after the water has all been drunk, he's still kissing Yasusada, playing with the other's tongue.

When Kiyomitsu pulls away, a string of saliva connects the two, and he smiles. “Why won't you join me, Yasusada?” He reaches out and gently caresses the other's face. “I love you, you know. It pains me to see you locked up here.” He trails his finger down to the other's neck, and finally ends up on Yasuada’s chest. 

“If you join me, then we don't have to do this,” Kiyomitsu continues, pulling Yasusada into a hug, burying his face in the other’s neck, before biting hard on the skin. Yasusada flinches from the pain, but does not answer. Kiyomitsu pulls away, admiring the bite mark he made with a grin. “We could be together forever!”

Then his tone drops. “Or, are you still hung up about the citadel? About the Saniwa?” Kiyomitsu scoffs, clicking his tongue. “Unfortunately, that bastard is still alive and well. They're hiding way too well.” Yasusada turns his gaze at the lantern on the side, sighing.

“But then again, two of their strongest swords are here, and more than half of the citadel has been wiped out, leaving only the weaklings, so—” Kiyomitsu cackles loudly, roughly grabbing navy hair, pulling Yasusada closer. “There's no way they'll be back on their feet before I find them and kill them.”

“So, Yasusada. Join me, please? I don't want to kill you—” Kiyomitsu smiles and releases his hold on Yasusada’s hair to the side, causing the other’s face to hit the rocky floor, but his eyes are devoid of emotion— Yasusada can feel it. “Just like how I killed Izuminokami, Horikawa, Nagasone, and the others.”

Yasusada doesn't answer, and Kiyomitsu sighs, standing up. “I'll be back to bring you food again tomorrow. I hope you'll change your mind by then!” He picks up the lantern and opens the cell door with another loud creak. “Love you, Yasusada.” He puts out the lantern and walks out, humming.

Even though it was supposed to be pitch black, Yasusada could still see . And the sight caused tears to run down his face. “No… No way…” He sobs quietly as he watches Kiyomitsu walk away, a skeletal tail surrounded by green flames swaying behind the brunet.

「Once they've changed, they could never be turned back to how they once were. The only way is to purge them out of existence.」

Kashuu Kiyomitsu is no longer able to be saved.

Chapter Text

The sound of rattling chains signifies someone he's been waiting for. Someone he has to save, at any cost. He unsheathes his blade, glancing at the taller male beside him, and nodding to the shorter one beside him. “Izuminokami, Horikawa, I'm counting on you both to back me up.”

The two nod and scatters to the sides of the arena prepared specifically for this battle. The brunet takes a deep breath, red eyes narrowing at the dark hallway leading to this very place, getting into a battle stance. Izuminokami and Horikawa hide behind the rubble at opposite sides, ready to strike the at any time.

The rattling sound of chains grows louder, now accompanied by the sound of footsteps. Kiyomitsu braces himself, gritting his teeth as a figure walks into the light, navy hair, its tips covered in dried blood, seems to shine in the light. Empty blue eyes stares blankly at him, a metal collar inscribed with runes hangs around his neck, with chains coming down the front, all connected to a pulsating crystal.

“Yasusada…” Kiyomitsu mutters, as the other raises his sword in front of him. “Please, it's me. Don't you remember me?” He continues, voice shaking, as he trails his gaze from the other’s bare feet, to ruined and bloodied clothes, and finally to the face still devoid of any emotions.

“I know you're still in there, somewhere. Please—” He hasn't even finished speaking and Yasusada already lunges at him, blade aimed to pierce his neck. Taken by surprise, he barely parries it, and the blade cuts through his favorite red scarf.

“Kashuu-san!” Horikawa yells and Yasusada ducks in time to avoid Izuminokami’s strike, and counterattacks with an upward slice, nicking the other's arm. “Fuck!” He growls, jumping backwards as the navy haired male targets him instead. Horikawa runs up to Kiyomitsu, who's still a bit shaken, since Yasusada tried to kill him, without any hint of hesitation and—

“Kashuu-san! Snap out of it!” Horikawa slaps him across the face. “We're going to save Yamatonokami-san, aren't we?!” That seems to have cleared his thoughts, and he nods, turning to where Izuminokami and Yasusada is still fighting.

“I'm definitely going to save you!” Kiyomitsu yells as he joins the fray. To save Yasusada, not to kill him, nor hurt him too much. It will be very difficult, but he has to do it. To save his partner, his lover, the only one who sticks with him till the very end— and the one who gave himself up to save the other, reducing himself into a slave of the enemy.

Three-on-one at any other situation would have been advantageous to the former, but this is Yasusada, who have sparred with the three of them in a daily basis, knowing all the tricks and moves they have up their sleeves, not to mention growing even stronger under the spell of the enemy, with all the blood that has been spilt by his hands.

The one enslaved should've been Kashuu Kiyomitsu, but Yamatonokami Yasusada offered himself to the enemy, to let the others go. In exchange, his mind was lost, and he's just a puppet to do all the dirty work, to kill anyone that stands in their way. How many casualties had there been, slain by none other than the navy haired male, each death causing him to fall more into the depravity.

Kiyomitsu still believes that Yasusada can still be saved. He's there, somewhere, and they only have to break what's controlling him— the crystal hanging down by the chains on his collar jingles, and Yasusada strikes Horikawa down, the force sending the other skidding onto a pile of rubble.

“Kunihiro!” Izuminokami takes his eyes off of Yasusada for one moment too long, and the other is already in front of him, eyes glowing an electric blue. “Shit—” He barely blocks the blade aimed to slice of his head, and he kicks the other, before counterattacking, dodged by Yasusada in a single jump to the back.

“Behind you.” Kashuu’s ready behind him, sword aimed at the neck, but it's not going for the kill, no— Yasusada turns around just in time for the perfectly aimed blade to pierce the crystal, shattering it into pieces. “I did it! Yasusa—”

Or did he?

He freezes, looking downwards to see Yasusada’s blade is embedded on his side. “Yasu…sada?” He croaks, but the other pulls away his blade and kicks him on the abdomen, sending him skidding backwards. He puts a hand on his side, trying to stop the bleeding and grits his teeth. “Why didn't it work?! The crystal should've been—!”

And that's when he notices it, the runes on the collar slightly glowing. He was wrong the entire time— the thing that's controlling him wasn't the crystal, it was the runes on the collar— a clear sign of a possession, to show that he belongs to the enemy now. Why is he such an idiot, to not notice this simple thing all this time—?!

“Kashuu!” Izuminokami’s voice snaps him out of his thoughts, and he looks up just in time to see Horikawa barely blocking Yasusada’s blade that was aimed for the brunet with the tip of his own. “Kashuu-san! We need to retreat!” Horikawa yells, as he parries and swipes at the navy haired male to no avail.

No. “No! We need to save him now!” Next time will be too late, is left unsaid, but the other two understands. “So, Captain.” Izuminokami joins them beside Horikawa, prepared for another round of combat. He cocks his head to the side as he continues, “How should we do this?”

“We break his collar.” Kashuu states, as if it was the most easiest thing to do, and the two turns to him to do a double take, before Izuminokami laughs loudly and Horikawa giggles. “Gods, the thing you do for this idiot.” Izuminokami grins whilst Horikawa nods, both readying to engage Yasusada, who has been still as the exchange went on.

“Well then, it's do or die!” Izuminokami declares, and Horikawa strikes first whilst utilizing his speed, catching the other off guard. Izuminokami switches with him, Slicing the metal collar on the side, cutting one of the rune’s alphabet in half. Yasusada seems to stumble as it happened, and Kiyomitsu realizes what he has to do. “Keep slicing at the collar!” He commands, as he joins the battle, with the other two giving sounds of approval.

One more alphabet— one more and the whole spell will be rendered useless—

That's what Kiyomitsu has thought, as he slices the last word and suddenly feels pain blooming in his abdomen. ‘This is like deja vu.’ He thinks as he coughs blood, looking down at his abdomen, Yasusada’s blades piercing through him. Horikawa gasps, and Izuminokami yells something he can't quite make out, but all he's thinking about is Yasusada and—

“Yasusada. It's time to wake up.” He raises a hand to caress the Yasusada’s face, as tears start flowing from the previously empty eyes, now sparkling bright— the eyes he loves looking at, down the other's cheeks. “Kiyo… mitsu…” Yasusada finally speaks, oh how he has missed that voice— “I'm— what—”

“Took you long enough…” Kiyomitsu laughs, before toppling backwards. He feels that his strength has been drained, and his vision darkens. He vaguely hears Izuminokami barking orders and rustling sounds as he felt himself being lifted up.

Everything went dark after that.

Chapter Text

Heels click on the white tiles as the brunet walks down a set of dimly lit stairs, a cup of coffee in his hand. He fishes a card out of his coat pocket, sliding it into the scanner as he arrives in front of a metal door. The door slides open, to reveal a small white room, something covered with a white cloth in the middle, surrounded by cables linked to different monitors.

The brunet sits down in a swivel chair in front of the only lit monitor, placing the cup of coffee next to the keyboard. He proceeds to  type a command into the machinery, and the room instantly comes alive— every monitor instantly lights up, displaying various things.

“Today is going fine, too.” He mutters to himself, humming. He picks up the mug of coffee and is about to take a sip before the phone in his coat rings— he almost spills the coffee all over the machines and silently curses whoever calls him. He takes his phone out of his pocket and sighs at the caller ID. He picks it up.

“Ah! Kashuu-san!” The voice on the other end speaks before he can even open his mouth. “Horikawa, what's up?” Kiyomitsu mutters, placing the mug back on the table.

“You see, tomorrow is… you know…” The other sounds unsure, and Kiyomitsu sighs. “The anniversary of his death, yes.” Horikawa goes quiet for a few minutes, and is soon replaced by the other idiot, as Kiyomitsu himself puts it. “All Kunihiro wants to say is, do you want to come with us to visit his grave tomorrow?” Ah. So that's it.

“I'm not going.” Kiyomitsu states, and he pulls the phone away from his ear. “Haaaa?!” Izuminokami exclaims, and the brunet vaguely hears Horikawa asking for the phone back. “What a waste of time…” He mutters to himself, switching the call into loudspeaker mode and placing it on the table.

He tunes the other two out into background noise as he works on his own thing, rapidity typing and taking occasional sips of his coffee. When the noise dies down, he picks up the phone again just in time for Horikawa to speak up, presumably having wrestled the phone out of Izuminokami’s grasp.

“You're still working on your research, aren't you?” He quietly asks, and Kiyomitsu is so tempted to be as sarcastic as possible, but finally decides against it, and instead ends answering softly. “Yeah.”

“Ah… I see.” Horikawa mutters, and the brunet swears he can practically see the sad smile Horikawa will have put up by now. “Let us know if you change your mind, okay?” Kiyomitsu nods, even though the other can't see it, and makes a sound of approval. The phone is hung up afterwards.

Kiyomitsu goes back to typing commands on the keyboard, gritting his teeth as tries different combinations of codes, but failing each and every one of it. He slides the chair back a little bit, and reaches out to a drawer on the side of the table, pulling out stacks and stacks of papers and files.

He glares at the words written on the files, taking his favorite fountain pen out of the breast pocket of his coat and crossing out a lot of lines. Kiyomitsu sighs as he shoves the stack of papers away from him and leaned backwards, red eyes gazing at the thing covered by white cloth in the middle of the room.

“Why can't I finish my research?” He stands up, walking toward the thing towering over him. He places both hands on the cloth, tugging on it slightly, and leans forward, forehead resting on the solid surface covered by the cloth.

“I swear, I'll definitely save you.” Kiyomitsu mutters quietly, before pulling back with a smile so fake it'll put Horikawa's to shame. He sheds off the white lab coat he has and places it on the chair he was sitting on, grabbing the empty mug of coffee from the table. “I need a refill.” He muses.

Kiyomitsu unlocks the metal door once again and walks out, turning back for a split second to look back at the thing, before going up the flight of stairs.

Unbeknownst to him, the earlier tug causes the white cloth to slide off, revealing a stasis  tank with a body inside it, navy hair framing a delicate pale face, eyes closed as if in a deep slumber.

He'll definitely bring him back, that he swears.

Chapter Text

He wakes up on a bed, in a white room. The smell of antiseptic wafts through the air, and he grimaces. He sits up, wincing as pain shoots through his whole body. “I'm… alive.” He mutters, looking at his own bandaged body, his right arm completely wrapped up. He tries flexing his fingers, only to find out that they're numb. He sighs.

The door to the room slide open, and a boy with short hair and cyan eyes walks in, almost dropping the bottles and other things he's holding as he sees the navy haired male on the bed. “Yamatonokami-san! You woke up!” He exclaims, causing another male to peek his head into the room. “Oh, Yamatonokami!” The taller male also walks into the room, heading towards Yasusada whilst the other puts the bottles on the shelf.

“Horikawa. Izuminokami.” Yasusada says, acknowledging their presence. “Damn. You got us worried, you know. Glad to see that you're still alive.” Izuminokami grumbles, taking a seat on the stool beside the bed. “What do you remember, Yamatonokami-san?” Horikawa joins them, sitting on the stool on the other side or the bed.

Yasusada looks down on his hands. “I remember we were going on the mission… and we went to the sealed area. And then—” He pauses, putting a hand on his head, noticing that there's also bandages there, and tries to remember. “I… I can't remember.” Horikawa and Izuminokami exchange glances at that.

“Maybe you should rest some more, Yamatonokami-san.” Horikawa says in a quiet voice. “You just woke up, after all.” Yasusada hums in agreement. “I probably should.” Izuminokami was weirdly silent, but Yasusada doesn't have the energy to question it, so he lays back down and closes his eyes.

(Izuminokami gives a look at Horikawa. Horikawa shakes his head. They both get up and leave the infirmary.)

A few days went by, and Yasusada is deemed to be healthy enough to be discharged. He feels weird, having bandages wrapped around his head and arm— Horikawa had told him that the enemy sent him flying towards the wall, and the rest is history.

Yasusada walks back into the— his room, blinking at it. The room looks bigger than he thought, with more things that he never noticed he owns. There was a vanity table, with red nail polish on the table. That's weird— he never uses any nail polish before in his life, and heck, he doesn't even like red.

Yasusada walks over and sits in front of the desk, staring at the reflection of himself in the mirror. He looks like shit. He looks to the side to see a hairbrush hung on the side of the mirror. It feels… familiar. He reaches out and grabs it.

He runs the brush down his hair. It feels nostalgic, but at the same time, he feels like he never did it himself— someone else did it for him. Someone who likes red, uses nail polish, a sly smile, beautiful red eyes and brown—

His head suddenly hurts, and he gingerly presses his hands on both sides of his head, applying pressure— anything to stop the pain. When the pain subsides, he looks at the mirror again, pressing his fully bandaged hand on the mirror.

Something doesn't feel right.

He feels like something is missing— someone is missing. What happened? What did he forget? What did he— and then he saw it, a space between the bandages covering his arm. “What…?” He squints at the space, before opening the drawer of the table to fish out a pair of scissors, completely slicing the bandages off.

His eyes widened. His whole arm, up to the very tip of his fingers were pitch black, like the void. There was an ominous feeling about it, and in an instant, his memories flood back to him, and he takes off, running out of the room and into the hallways. 

“Aruji!” He yells as he enters the room, finding Horikawa and Izuminokami sitting in front of a figure wearing a mask, sitting in front of the desk, fingers laced together. “Yamatonokami Yasusada.” The figure acknowledges him, and the other two merely stare at him in shock.

“Where's Kiyomitsu?” He asks, stepping in front of the figure, whilst the other two quietly stand up and bow to the figure, before leaving the room. “Kashuu Kiyomitsu is…”

Yasusada closes his eyes, hands curled into fists, ready to hear what he expects to hear— “...alive.” They said, standing up from their seat and walking over to Yasusada. The navy haired male gasps, not expecting that answer and is about to speak when the other cut him off.

“He may be alive, but it doesn't mean he's completely fine.” Eh? Yasusada looks at the figure in shock. “Wha—” The other cocks their head to the side, grabbing Yasusada’s darkened hand. “Do you wish to see him?”

Yasusada nods.

The two of them walks down a dimly lit stone stairway into a cavern, and Yasusada notes the numerous charms and talismans stuck on the walls. He feels uneasy, even though they're going to see Kiyomitsu, but for the brunet to be in a place like this is…

The figure stops in front of a dead end and pulls out a talisman, muttering something as a magic circle appears on the wall. The circle shatters, and the wall disappears to reveal another path.

“This is as far as I go.” The figure says, stepping aside. “Kashuu Kiyomitsu is right ahead.” He points down the path. “I shall be waiting here.” Yasusada shakes his head. “You don't have to wait.” He replies and walks down the path.

The feeling of uneasiness comes back as he continues on his way. He's scared— scared of what he will find. Scared, at what his memory showed him. He grips his own darkened hand as he reaches a small wooden room.

There is a slumped figure in the middle of the room, tied up with a bunch of ropes. The rope stretches on to the ceiling, and along the ropes, talismans were stuck on with even spacing. There are also hundreds of charms and talismans stuck along the walls, ceiling and even the floor itself.

But that is of no importance to Yasusada, because the figure in the middle is who he was looking for— “Kiyomitsu?” He mutters, as he hesitantly takes a step closer to the brunet.

The brunet looks up at him, red eyes glowing brightly, but still silent. “Kiyo… mitsu?”  He takes another step, and that's when it happens— the brunet roars, like a feral beast, trashing against the restraints holding him in place.

It is as he feared. Yasusada walks closer to the other, until he's right in front of the brunet. “Kiyomitsu, it's me.” He reaches out to touch the other's cheek, but the brunet roars again and sinks his teeth— no, fangs, onto Yasusada’s hand, causing the other to flinch but does not pull away.

“It's okay…” He murmurs, pulling Kiyomitsu into a hug with his other hand, ignoring the pain. “I'm sorry… that this happened. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.” He repeats it over and over again, even when the other stops biting him and opts to trash instead.

“I should've been the one, but you protected me. You saved me.” Yasusada continues, one hand pulling the other into a tighter hug, even as the other sinks his fangs into his shoulder. His other hand reaches onto the strap on his waist, pulling out his sword from the sheath.

“It'll be alright, Kiyomitsu. You won't suffer anymore.” He raises the sword behind the others back. Various magic circles appears on the sword, and a gigantic one under both of them. “I hope… we can be together again.” He smiles, as he slowly lowers the blade,  until the tip rests on the other's back.

“In our next lives…” 

Chapter Text

“Once upon a time, there were two childhood friends.” The navy haired stranger starts, as they sit under the tree on top of the hill overlooking a small town. Kiyomitsu laces his hands together on the top of a big rock, eyes twinkling with curiosity as he rests his chin on his hands.

“They lived happily in a small town on the edge of a kingdom, playing and laughing together. One day, a horde of monsters invaded the town, killing everyone on sight. The two successfully escaped, but not without sacrifices from the townsfolk and their own parents.

They then traveled to a town, where they were adopted and trained, to be warriors. Little do they know, that the two children will be the heroes that would save the world in the future.”

“Whoa! what happens next?” Kiyomitsu beams, tugging on the long sleeves of the older male. He smiles as he continues his story:

“They trained, and trained, and trained. With the years passing by, they grew up into soldiers, at first. Joining the kingdom’s army, subjugating the nests of the monsters, even though it causes hundreds and thousands of casualties. But then along the way, they realized they have powers that others don't— magic. They—”

“The people don't have magic?” Kiyomitsu cuts in, earning a blink from the other. “I mean, everyone here has it! Even me!” The boy waves his hand, and a ring of flames appears in front of his palm. The stranger chuckles. “It is but a story, little one. Now where was I?

They found others who could wield magic, and formed a new army to slay the monsters, and finally the Dark Lord. With the magical artifacts that they found in the dungeons, ruins and nests of the monsters, they finally reached the Dark Lord.”

“Oh!” Kiyomitsu raises his hands. “I know how this goes! They beat the dark lord and the world became peaceful!” The navy haired male laughs, patting the brunet’s head and messing with his hair. “Hey! You're ruining my hair!” He protests.

“That is correct.” The other continues, put then put his finger over his lips as if to shush the brunet. “But see, there's a catch. The Dark Lord isn't just someone who just appeared and tried to take over the world.”

“Huh?” Kiyomitsu tilts his head in confusion. “He's not?” The older male looks up into the sky as he continues. “Nope, the Dark Lord was a being that watches over the world. He was called The Observer.” At the brunet’s growing confusion, he laughs.

“The Observer is an immortal being that watches over mankind, but yet is not allowed to directly interfere with humans. But, because of conflict amongst humans, all the negativity went towards him, causing him to loathe humans. In order to kill all humans, He created monsters to wreak havoc across the land.”

“Wait a minute!” Kiyomitsu perks up. “But you said he's immortal. How did the two defeat him then?” The other smiles. “They erased him.” The brunet looks shocked at the response. “E-erased?”

“With the power of the artifacts, they erased The Observer’s existence, saving the world… but also condemning it at the same time.” Before the younger male could ask another question, he raises his hand to stop him.

“You see, The Observer is a being that's a necessity to the world.” The stranger speaks softly. “To gather the impurities, the negativity, away from humans and purify it. If left unchecked, humans will inevitably kill each other, and the world will end either way.”

“But… The Observer is gone, so how—” Kiyomitsu asks, but stops upon realizing the answer. “Yes, it is as you think, little one. Because The Observer is gone, someone has to replace him. And the one who became The Observer, is indeed one of the two heroes.”

“Oh no… He can't be with humans anymore, right? A-and he's become immortal, too!” Kiyomitsu looks down at his own hands. “That's so sad!” He whines.

“It's okay. It's just a story, little one—” The older male pauses as he looks at the sky.  “Ah, sunset. Shouldn't you go home now?” He asks, and the boy looks at the sky, before nodding.

“Thank you for telling me the story, stranger!” Kiyomitsu bows at him, before taking off while waving his hand. “Be careful, don't trip!” He yells at the boy, who sticks out his tongue in response.

He smiles, when the boy disappears from his sight. He closes his eyes and thinks back to the story. “‘That's so sad’, huh?” He muses.

“If there's no Observer, then the world will end! someone has to be the replacement!”

“But who?”

“I'll do it.”

“Yasusada?!”

“I'll be The Observer.”

“No, you can't, you idiot!”

“Yeah, don't be rash, Yamatonokami!” 

“I've decided.”

“Who said you can just decide by yourself, you stupid idiot?!”

“No, I'll do it!”

“Not you too, Kashuu?!”

“I'll do it, I'll become The Observer. I can handle it.”

“T-the place is crumbling! Everyone run!” 

“Kiyomitsu…”

“Leave, Yasusada. Before this place gets destroyed.”

“I'm sorry because I won't be able to keep the promise we made, but—”

“...Yasusada?”

“I'm sorry, Kiyomitsu.”

“Yasusada— what are you— this magic— Transportation Magic?!”

“I'm sorry, Kiyomitsu. But I'd rather sacrifice myself than have you suffer for an eternity.”

“Yasusa—”

“I love you, Kiyomitsu. Good bye.”

“It's nostalgic.” The navy haired male mutters. “Talking about the events that happened a long,  long time ago.” He stands up, and looks at the town. “I forgot how long it has been.”

He thinks back to the boy that was just sitting next to him, listening to his story. The boy who shares the exact same appearance and name. He smiles at the thought.

“You're now living happily in this peaceful world, and that's all that matters.”

Chapter Text

Looking at the writhing figure surrounded by a purplish black fog, Yasusada braces himself and nods to Yagen. He puts on the headgear, connected to multitudes of cables, before lying down next to the figure. “I'll save you.” He murmurs, grasping the other's hand, and closes his eyes.

“Here we go.” Yasusada hears Yagen say. “Dive commence!”

Yasusada opens his eyes in an empty black space. He looks around, trying to discern where he currently is. He then looks down, to see that the darkness dissipates at his feet, and instead turns into a thick red liquid. He grimaces. There's no smell, but he can guess what that liquid is supposed to be.

He moves forward. The darkness disappears wherever he steps on, turning it into the liquid, leaving a trail of it behind him. He walks, even when voices are heard from all around him, screaming, crying, yelling—

Even when the voices mock him, insult him, strike him at his weakness, he pushes onwards. Even when the voices reveals all the ugly, despicable side of the one he's trying to save, he never stops. He'll never stop.

Eventually he reaches an area that's just red, without any hint of darkness, save for a silhouette standing in the middle of the area. He approaches the figure.

“Why have you come here?” The figure speaks, voice distorted and echoes throughout the area. Yasusada closes his eyes, and put a hand on his own chest. “I have come to save Kashuu Kiyomitsu.”

“Save? Kashuu Kiyomitsu? Even after he betrayed you and your friends? Even when he embraced the darkness all of you hate?” The figure cackles, slapping a hand on their knee. 

“Why do you think I've come here?” Yasusada purses his lips, taking a step closer. The figure takes a step back.

“It's futile.” The figure cocks their head to the side. “There's no way to save him, Yamatonokami Yasusada.”

“You won't know if you don't try!” Yasusada yells, taking another step closer to the figure, who in turn steps back again.

“Then tell me, how are you going to save him?” The figure points a finger at Yasusada, and He glares at them. “I'll bring Kiyomitsu back to the light, even if it means I'll have to pull him out of the darkness!”

The figure laughs. “What's so funny?” Yasusada grits his teeth. The figure is slowly getting to him.

“So, are you telling me you want Kashuu Kiyomitsu back?” The figure puts their finger on their cheek as Yasusada nods in response. “Then…”

“Which Kashuu Kiyomitsu do you want back?” As the figure says this, they spin around, and two Kashuu Kiyomitsu(s) appear behind him, eyes closed, slightly hovering above the red liquid. Yasusada gasps.

The figure cups the cheek of the Kiyomitsu on the left. “Is it the Kiyomitsu from the past, the one that's happy, living under that person, together with you?” The figure moves to the other Kiyomitsu, resting their chin on his shoulder.

“Or is it this one, the one who was abandoned by that person, who lives while trying to gain approval and love from anyone, anyone at all?” The figure cackles, moving to the middle of the two and then pulling them close together, with them in the middle.

“Tell me, Yasusada. Who do you wish to save?”

Yasusada purses his lips, and then smiles, to the figure’s confusion. “I was often told I'm an idiot, so I can't really choose, but…”

He runs forward and pulls all three into a big hug, albeit with lots of difficulty. “I choose all of you, Kiyomitsu.”

The figure says nothing, speechless. “All of you are Kashuu Kiyomitsu. And I can't choose between any of you. You have your good and your bad sides— but that makes you, you.”

The two Kiyomitsu vanishes, leaving the figure still in Yasusada’s embrace. “Why… even though I betrayed everyone…?” The distorted voice cracks, and the dark figure slowly turns into Kiyomitsu, who grasps at Yasusada’s clothes, tears running down his face.

“I want to save you, Kiyomitsu.” Yasusada murmurs, pulling Kiyomitsu closer as the other cries. The red area vanishes, and the darkness turns into pure white.

“Let's go back, Kiyomitsu.” He puts out his hand, and Kiyomitsu takes his hand, this other hand rubbing the tears away in his eyes.

“Back to our world, together.”

Chapter Text

“So… You're going back, huh?”

The brunet speaks, red eyes refusing to meet blue ones. He looks down below, at the peaceful world that they've both just saved. They both stand on the highest branch of the world tree, where the highest concentration of magical power can be found. Yasusada hums in response.

“I have to. There are people waiting for me back in my own world.” He wistfully sighs, and Kiyomitsu nervously glances at him. “I would be very selfish if I ask you to stay, huh?” He mumbles as the navy haired male smiles.

Yasusada is about to open his mouth to reply, but a magic circle forms behind him, with an immense amount of magical power seeping into the spell. They both look at each other.

“I guess this is it.” Yasusada awkwardly laughs. The brunet nods as the other steps into the the circle. Kiyomitsu takes a deep breath. The magic circles shines brightly— it is time.

“Yasusada!” Kiyomitsu calls out, when the light shines even brighter, almost blinding him. “We'll meet again someday, won't we?” Yasusada looks surprised, before his features softens into a smile. “Yes.”

The light blinds him, causing him to close his eyes. The moment he opens his eyes, the other is already gone. Kiyomitsu drops to his knees, sobbing. A hand is placed his shoulder and he turns around to see—

“You… you're still… alive?”

The sound of beeping is the first thing that greets him as he slowly drifts into consciousness. He cracks open his eyes to see a white ceiling. He tries moving his body, but it feels sore, accompanied by dull pain on a few parts of his body.

He somehow manages to get into a (almost) sitting position, but blinks as he looks at his bandaged hands and his surroundings. He tries to speak, but his throat feels too dry to even attempt— in fact, he's sure that no voice would even come out.

The sound of the door opening startles him, and he froze, not expecting the person who just came into the room, of all the people to visit him. ‘Kiyo… mitsu?’ He mouths, and the other seems equally surprised at seeing him.

“Yasusada! You're awake!” Kiyomitsu tries to rush towards the bedside, almost tripping on air and holds the bar on the end of the bed and awkwardly laughs. Yasusada smiles in exasperation.

“How are you feeling?” The brunet asks, once he's settled on the chair by the bed. Yasusada opens his mouth to answer, but immediately closes his mouth and weakly raises a finger to point at his throat. The other seems to get the idea, reaching out to the bedside table for the jug of water and a glass.

“Here.” He helps Yasusada take a few big gulps before placing the glass at the bedside, awaiting the navy haired male’s response. “Sore.” Yasusada croaks. “But ‘m fine.”

“That's great!” Kiyomitsu smiles. “When I heard you got into an accident on the roof I quickly rushed over and—” He pauses, looking down. “I found out you were in a coma.” He mumbles, nails digging into his knees.

“But I'm so glad you're awake now!” Kiyomitsu looks back up with a smile, and Yasusada swears he can see the tears welling in the other's eyes. So he survived the fall, but… that's not his current concern.

“Kiyomitsu.” Yasusada calls out, gaining the attention of the brunet, who looks at him in confusion. The navy haired male takes a deep breath and—

“How are you still alive?” Kiyomitsu visibly flinches, and looks away. “All these years— Why didn't you contact me? I— I thought… I thought you were dead.” Yasusada croaks, weakly gripping on the sheets.

“I thought you were dead.” He repeats, tears flowing down his cheeks, earning an audible gasp from the other. “I thought I was the one who killed you. I—”

“I survived.” Kiyomitsu quietly mumbles. “I survived, Yasusada.” Yasusada glares at him, ready to yell at him— “But I— I lost my memories. The accident took away all of my memories, I—”

“In fact… I've only remembered a month ago. A few days before you fell.” He reaches out and grasps Yasusada’s hand. “You've been asleep for almost a month, Yasusada.”

“I tried to find you, to tell you that I'm still alive, that I finally remembered— but all I found was you, covered in bandages, lying in this very bed.” Kiyomitsu sobs. “They didn't even know if you would ever wake up at all!”

“I was scared. Scared that you'll never wake up, that you would be—” He gasps, before whispering. “...dead. Just like you thought I was— only that this time would be the end .”

“But…” Kiyomitsu reaches out pulling Yasusada into a hug. “I'm so glad— I'm so glad that you're finally awake.” Yasusada gingerly reaches up to the other's back and slowly pats him.

“I'm sorry, Kiyomitsu.” He mutters. “I'm sorry… I'm okay now. I'm here, alive. You are, too. I'm— I'm sorry for bringing it up.” The brunet shakes his head and hugs the other tighter.

“We're both alive, and we're together now… that's all that matters.”

Chapter Text

In long strides, heels clicking against the concrete floor, Kashuu walks, gripping tight on the strap of the bag containing his sword, hidden from the public, slung around his back. He stops in front of a guard, who nods at him as he returned the gesture, and steps into the room the guard was standing in front of.

The door shuts behind him, and he takes a seat on the chair in the middle of the room, in front of a desk and a glass wall, placing his bag on the side. He takes a deep breath, before looking through the glass, red eyes meeting blank blue ones.

“Yasusada.” He speaks, and the other replies; “Kiyomitsu.” The other has nothing so say as usual, and he would've brushed the other’s lack of response and leave, but today is different. It's so much different.

“Yasusada. Will you not tell me anything? Anything at all? Please?” Kashuu asks in a quiet voice, but the navy haired male doesn't respond, not even a gesture— he just sits there, staring blankly at him.  “Yasusada, please! Today is the last day— today is—”

“My execution, yes.” Yasusada finally speaks, in a disturbingly amused tone, for what he has just said, a smile gracing his lips. He hums, before continuing. “What do I have to tell you? I'm just a murderer, a criminal. And I'm getting the death sentence I deserve.”

“You're— You've killed people, yes, but why, Yasusada?” Kashuu presses a hand on the glass, and Yasusada does the same. If not for the glass separating them, their hands would have touched. “I killed them because I want to, simple eno—.”

“You're lying.” Kashuu cuts him off. “If killing was all you wanted, then why did you kill everyone? You could've just killed random people, but no. You killed everyone  you thought of as family, and then set fire to the residence.”

“Only after that you started to kill others.” Kashuu grits his teeth when he sees Yasusada’s expression morphing back into indifference. “I just wanted to know why, Yasusada. If you wanted to kill everyone, then you would've also killed me, but yet, you left me alive.”

When Yasusada doesn't answer, Kashuu balls his hands into fists and smashes then onto the glass. “ Please!” He yells. “At the very least, tell me why you spared me.”

“It's because…” Yasusada mumbles, voice just above a whisper. “You're not infected.” Kashuu looks at him in shock. “Infected— by infected you mean—”

“ That virus, yes.” Yasusada laughs. “Pray tell, Kiyomitsu, how would one feel when they've gone home ahead of their partner, only to find their entire family infected and almost converted, having to kill every single one of them and burning their corpses to stop the virus from spreading?”

“You mean—” Yasusada nods, leaning nearer to the glass. “All those other people too— I won't say I'm innocent, no. I'm definitely guilty of murder.” The navy haired male hums, and Kashuu merely stares at him in shock.

“Even if you knew and tried to defend me, there would be no evidence. None, because I burned them all.” Yasusada cocks his head to the side. “To the public, I'm just a mass murderer and arsonist.”

“If I'm to be executed, I sure hope it's by burning. Maybe like a witch hunt?” He giggles, as Kashuu looks at him as he's grown two heads. “Speaking of which…”

As if on cue, the door on Yasusada’s side opened, and two guards stepped in. “I would've like to talk more, Kiyomitsu, but I guess my time’s up, hm?”

“Wait—”

The navy haired male stands up and walks toward the guards, and turns back, for the last time, giving a bright smile at Kashuu. “Thanks for keeping me company, Kiyomitsu. Goodbye.”

Yasusada leaves, and Kashuu still sits there in shock, trying to process everything he’s heard from the other male, even when the guard standing in front of the room walks in and tries to escort him out. Everything falls in place. He's had the suspicions but—

As Yasusada turned around for the last time, Kashuu had seen it— black veins creeping from his neck onto his cheek— and “I sure hope it's burning”, leads Kashuu to one conclusion—

Yasusada is a carrier of the virus, and he's killed everyone he infected, preventing the virus from spreading far and wide— and now, he's going to be executed.

And there's nothing Kashuu Kiyomitsu can do.

There's no medicine for the virus, there's no hope in saving Yasusada, even if he stops his execution.

There's only despair waiting for him, left all alone in this cruel world.

Even death sounds like salvation.

Chapter Text

He walks through the ruins— the first one they visited, which marked the start of their journey together. Yasusada knows, that this place is memorable for both of them, that this place would be the place the other hides in, away from everyone else.

Yasusada climbs up the huge pieces of debris, caused by the beast that they all fought— a fierce battle, starting from the deepest part of the ruins, until the very entrance, where it was finally defeated.

Granted, they were very weak in the beginning, so a beast like that could almost kill them— but if it's now, he could probably annihilate it in mere seconds, even though this power is no longer needed, in the now peaceful world.

Yasusada finds Kashuu in the deepest level of the ruins, where the beast once made its dwelling. The brunet was burying his face in his knees, sitting at the highest step of the altar in the back of the room.

Yasusada walks up to him, and wordlessly sits down beside the brunet. The navy haired male looks at Kashuu, noticing that he was slightly shaking— was he crying?

He opts not to say anything, staring straight at the way he came in from. They stay like that for a few minutes, before Kashuu finally spoke, without even lifting his head. “Yasusada…?”

Yasusada hums, and Kashuu finally looks at him, eyes red— he definitely cried, which is reasonable, considering their days are numbered and there's nothing, nothing at all, that the both of them could do.

“It's unfair, isn't it?” Kashuu mumbles, scooting closer to Yasusada and resting his head on the other's shoulder. “Yeah.” The navy haired male replies, still staring at the entrance.

“We did so much— so much, for this world! But yet…” He trails off, gripping on Yasusada’s sleeve. The other reaches and pats the brunet’s head with his other hand. “Yeah.”

“We did all we could… so why is the world so unfair…?” Kashuu’s voice cracks, and tears start flowing down his cheeks. “Yeah.” Yasusada replies, for the third time— only this time, he turns and pulls Kashuu into a hug.

“Why? Why do we have to disappear?” Kashuu sobs into Yasusada’s shoulder,  as the other bites his lip, fingers running through Kashuu’s hair in a futile attempt to calm him down. “Only because we're halves—!”

“What should I do, Yasusada? I don't want to disappear, to be forgotten by everyone—” Kashuu chokes on a sob, and even Yasusada himself couldn't hold back his own tears.

“There's nothing we can do, Kiyomitsu.” Yasusada speaks, his cracking voice betraying his whole attempt at comforting  the brunet. “There's nothing…”

(They were both half-beasts, and purging all the beasts from this world would also mean erasing the two of them, from both the physical world, and from people's memories.) 

After they had both cried in each other's arms, Kashuu pulls away and laughs, voice still weak from crying. “I can't believe that just happened.”

“Neither do I.” Yasusada chuckles. “But I guess I felt better after crying.” Kashuu makes a sound of agreement, and they shared a broken laugh.

“Say, Yasusada. Will you stay with me until the end?” Kashuu asks quietly, looking down and intertwining their hands together. Yasusada gives him a look, and Kashuu is confused, but also scared, scared that the other will say no and—

He freezes when Yasusada leans in for a kiss, and stays so as the navy haired male pulls back. “Is that a sufficient answer?” The other asks, and Kashuu just laughs like a madman.

“What?” Yasusada is the one who's confused now. “I mean, why would I leave you, since we share the same fate anyways?”

“You're right. That was a stupid question.” Kashuu wheezes from all his laughter, earning him an adorable pout. The brunet leans in for another kiss.

(At least, until the very end, we'll be together.) 

Chapter Text

“Looks like we're surro~unded.”

Kashuu hums, backing up slowly, until they're pressed together. Yasusada snorts as he glances left and right, meeting the hungry gazes of the wolf-like monsters circling around the two of them.

“This is no time for jokes, Kiyomitsu.” Yasusada hisses, jabbing his elbow onto the back of his counterpart, earning a small ‘ow’ from the brunet.

“Even if you sa~ay that, there's nothing us weapons could do against them on our own!” Kashuu laughs, as one of the monsters lunges at him. He shoves Yasusada away and sidesteps, shifting one of his arms into a small blade and jabbing it deep into the body of his attacker.

He frowns as the wound he created starts closing immediately around his bladed hand, and he pulls away, joining Yasusada again, who was complaining about him almost shoving the other into his death.

An idea crosses his mind as he glances at the completely closed wound and then at Yasusada, then at his own bladed hand. Kashuu then cuts at the other's complaints by punching him on the shoulder.

“Hey, Yasusada. Rather than dying in vain here, would you try something out with me? Call it an… experiment.” Yasusada gives him a look, before they both sidestep another lunge. Kashuu cocks his head at him, and he decides— fuck it all— and agrees.

A circle appears under them both, the light blocking the monsters from entering the zone they have created. Yasusada recognizes this— the pact ritual, to form a contract between a human and a weapon.

“I, Kashuu Kiyomitsu, shall now devote myself as a weapon to my new master and wielder—”

What is Kashuu doing, activating the pact oath? They're both weapons, and there hasn't been anyone who's able to wield either of them since Oki—

Kashuu clicks his tongue. ‘Hurry up and recite the human side of the oath already.’ He mouths, and Yasusada huffs. It definitely won't work, but he decides to play along anyway.

“I, Yamatonokami Yasusada, shall now be thy master and wielder, and—”

He freezes as the circle actually brightens to the point of blinding him— It actually activates, which would mean—

“Aha! I knew it would work.” Yasusada can hear Kashuu’s voice, although it's different, as if it's echoing from his own mind—

The light subsides, and Yasusada finds a glowing red blade, crimson crystal shards floating around it. A cloth like substance grows from the blade and wraps around his arm.

Yasusada knows this— it's different from when that person was using them, but he knows, that this blade is Kashuu Kiyomitsu himself.

“Kiyomitsu, this—” Yasusada is confused, but Kashuu shushed him. “It'll probably also work the other way, but… There's more pressing matters to attend to aren't there, Bakasada? Now that you have me, those monsters won't stand a chance.”

Yasusada looks at the monsters, which looked more aggravated than they were due to the light from the ritual. He looks once more time at the weapon in his hand, and then smiled. He hears Kashuu snort at this.

“I'll be counting on you then, Kiyomitsu.”

Chapter Text

“...can't sleep.”

Kashuu sighs, walking down the sidewalk in the dead of the night. He fishes his phone out of his pocket, and scowls at the incoming messages.

” I told him we're through, why couldn't he get it through his thick head?” He hisses, immediately tapping the block button and proceeds to check the time— 11:48 p.m.

“There's class tomorrow…” He grimaces as he mumbles to himself, not looking forward to see his bo— Ex -boyfriend. Plus, he can't even fall asleep, hence why he's strolling in the middle of the night.

“Maybe I should get some coffee from the store if I'm not going to sleep at all tonight.” He pockets his phone and continues on. “If I recall, there's one if I go through the park to the other side…”

Walking at his own pace, he soon reaches the park he was just thinking about. It was of course, completely empty, considering the fact that it's almost midnight and what kind of idiot would decide to take a stroll—wait, he's the idiot .

He glances at the clock in the middle of the park. it has just hit midnight. Really now, he should get his coffee and then go back home and then— wait. His gaze lowers from the clock to the bench beside it, where a figure is slumped over.

Are they sleeping? In the middle of the park?

Normally, Kashuu would've ignored them and go on his quest for that sweet, sweet (not literally!) coffee, but for some reason, he walks towards the figure.

Navy hair, white scarf, light blue hoodie, bandaged left arm.

“Hey.” Kashuu call out, tilting his head. “You're gonna catch a cold if you sleep here.”

As expected, there was no response. And again, normally Kashuu would've just up and left but he reaches out to the male and slightly shakes him awake.

It works.

The guy wakes up and stares blankly at Kashuu. “You're gonna catch a cold if you sleep here.” He repeats, and the other blinks at him.

“Who are you?” He asks, and Kashuu mentally facepalms— Of course he'd ask who he is— “Who… am I?”

Wait what.

“Wait what.” Kashuu raises an eyebrow. Amnesia? Why is he sleeping in the middle of the park anyway? Does he even know where he— wait he's an idiot, of course the other doesn't know, He's an amnesiac.

“Alright, just… bear with me for a second.” Kashuu turns around, feeling fed up with the blank stare the other has been giving him the whole time. Ok. Calm down, Kashuu Kiyomitsu. Think this through.

“Alright, so—” He turns back to face the navy haired male. “What do you last remember?” The guy tilts his head. How cute— wait that's not the point.

“You don't remember?” He nods and Kashuu feels like he's going to scream. He did not sign up for this when he decided to get some coffee.

“Well I can't help you, so maybe we'll just—” The moment Kashuu turns around again, the other tugs on his sleeve, looking at him with puppy eyes.

Fuck.

And that was how they ended up in Kashuu’s room. On the way back, Kashuu found some writing on the other's right arm. Name, Yamatonokami Yasusada, Age, 19— the same as Kashuu himself. There's also some irrelevant info about the guy that Kashuu just skimmed through. Gee, it's like someone knows he's gonna lose his memories or something. And the handwriting looks so similar, but he just can't put a finger on it.

Kashuu ends up skipping classes in the morning, because every time he tries to leave, Yasusada would just tug on his sleeve and give him his best puppy eyes. And now he's basically stuck babysitting him.

Kashuu brings Yasusada out, mainly because the other doesn't remember anything at all, and the fact that maybe he can find someone who knows him.

Hours upon hours pass, and they end up having fun instead of actually searching for Yasusada’s origin. Eventually nighttime strikes again, and they find themselves back in Kashuu’s room, with the brunet sitting in front of his make-up dresser, and the other on his bed.

“0 progress.” Kashuu mumbles, and Yasusada gives him an apologetic smile. “I'm, um... sorry for everything. You even had to skip the… uh, classes?” He mutters, fiddling with his own fingers.

“Well, it's my fault too, for getting distracted by the sale…” Kashuu sighs, glancing at the shopping bag on the side. It was a sale, okay?! “But anyway,” The brunet hums. “We can continue asking around tomo—”

“There's no need for that.” Yasusada cuts him off, causing Kashuu to turn to him. The navy haired male in the middle of unwrapping the bandages covering his whole left arm, chuckling.

“What's so funny?” He strides over and plants himself beside the other on his bed. There is more writing, even more than the right arm, but there are lipstick marks and the handwriting still looks familiar.

“It's almost midnight.” Yasusada mumbles, glancing at the clock on the wall. Kashuu is still squinting at the words on the other's left arm.

“Hey, Kiyomitsu.”

“Hm?”

“Thank you for everything.”

“What for? I haven't—” Kashuu pauses at he skims down the words till he finds… his own name?

That's when it hit him. It was his own handwriting, on both of Yasusada’s arms.

But… How?

“Hey, Yasusada. Why is my handwriting—”

It is at this moment that he notices that the navy haired male is slowly turning transparent. “Wait! What's going on?!”

Yasusada smiles, not answering the question, and cups Kashuu’s face, bringing it closer so their foreheads are pressed flushed together.

“It was fun being with you, Kiyomitsu. I hope you'll treat the me you'll meet soon the same way as you did to me.”

Huh?

“Wait! What do you—”

“It was nice meeting you again, even if it's your past self.”

Past… self?

“Yasusada, you're—”

“My time is up. You probably won't remember me , but just know that I…”

Yasusasa’s dissipating figure completely disappears, leaving only the echo of his voice.

“... I'll always love you.”

Chapter Text

Everywhere he goes, he always looks down on his feet, never looking up unless necessary. Even when he bumps into people and things on his path, it's still better than looking up.

Why?

Because…

(Tick tock… Tick Tock… The clock echoes...)

“It's an accident!” A yell comes from a distance away and he looks up to see the horrifying scene happening before him. A truck crashed into the side, blood splattered onto the pavements and a mangled body flung across the street. Seeing it makes him want to puke— but his gaze isn't focused at the scene as a whole. No, he is staring above the body, where numbers float and flicker to nothingness.

(00:00:00, it had read.)

Timers. For as long as he lived, he could see timers above people. As long as it doesn't hit zero, the person in question will survive anything thrown at them. But when it does hit zero, that person will, without fail, die on that very moment, regardless of the cause.

When he was young, he didn't know what those timers mean, and began telling people around him about the countdowns. When no one believed him, he merely insisted— until the moment someone died as soon as he said that it's zero.

He was branded as a demon by the people around him and was accused of cursing the people to die , even though all he did was watch the timers count down to zero. His parents, in an attempt to save him (and themselves) from being branded and possibly killed, moved far far away where no one recognizes them.

Growing up, he was told by his parents to never ever speak of the timers ever again. He keeps his promise until now, watching time and time again as the timers hit zero and death takes another life.

But for some reason, he can't see his own— which is both good and bad, because he won't know when his time is truly up. It could be today, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year—

Seeing all the deaths has made him somewhat indifferent to it, even though he still find dead bodies disgusting— Everytime he sees someone's timer hit zero he would just walk away. (He even stopped making friends, or any sort of relationship, because of the fact that he could see when people would die, whether it be a stranger, or even a classmate.)

Except for…

He walks away from the scene of accident, for staying will actually make him throw up, but something catches his attention— a wandering zero timer, flickering between nothingness, zero, a random number, and back to zero. Repeatedly, never stopping.

“Wha—” He says, looking slightly down to meet red eyes, which looks as equally shocked as himself.

His name is Kashuu Kiyomitsu. The guy who doesn't have a definite timer, Yasusada nicknames him inside of his own head. The same age as him, albeit different schools.

Yasusada was shocked of the timer, but what was the guy equally shocked at? When asked, He merely said that Yasusada reminded him of someone he'd met before. (“Alright then.“ Yasusada hums to himself.)

Yasusada began following him since then. No, he's not a stalker, as much as Kiyomitsu calls him that. He's just… curious. Curious of the ever changing timer the brunet has above him.

Eventually, they got along together, often meeting up after school. Day by day, Yasusada slowly forgot about the main reason he got closer to Kiyomitsu, and started enjoying the other's company instead.

Though for some reason, Kiyomitsu always does reckless things. Like standing on a ledge, running across the road without looking left or right, among many others. Yasusada even had to pull him out of the way of an incoming truck once, yelling and scolding at the brunet who just laughed at him.

It was all fun and games, until the inevitable comes. 

Red. There is so much red in his vision.

His body is numb— he can't even move a single finger. Something pools down beneath him. He feels like he's drowning in it, slowly sinking towards a bottomless abyss.

Another red comes into his vision. A pair of ruby orbs, looking down at him.

“Why… did you save me?” A small voice he recognizes echoes through the abyss he's descending into, and he cracks a broken laugh. “Your timer… was… zero.

Crimson eyes widens, and a hand reaches out to him, cradling him. “I knew it… You can see the timer too…”

Too?

“I'm so sorry, Yasusada...”

“If we hadn't met, this wouldn't have happened.”

“The moment our eyes met, your timer immediately hit zero.”

Yasusada forces his broken body to look above—

Ah.

The flickering zeroes—

There was never any flickering zeroes above the brunet.

Was it actually his own all along?

(“I wonder,” Kiyomitsu chuckles, as he holds the now cold body closer to himself. “If I had succeeded in those small attempts that you had always stopped me from, that I could've prevented this from happening—”

“Maybe you could've lived way longer than this already decaying body of mine.”)

Chapter Text

A loud screech echoes through the space he entered, and Yasusada flinches at the loud sound. He looks up to the intricate machinery consisting of only gears, and purses his lips, taking out a notepad and feather pen from the pouch hanging around his waist.

He begins jotting down the things he sees, when a voice interrupts him, causing him to accidentally draw a line over what he has just written.

“Oh, you're the one in charge of documenting this time?”

Yasusada sighs, ripping the page off the notebook, and flips it close, turning around to meet his partner— Why is Kashuu Kiyomitsu here, even though they don't have any sorties assigned for both of them?

“Kiyomitsu, what are you doing here?”

“What, I can't come in here?” Kashuu hums, strolling closer to him, until they are standing side by side. The brunet glances at the notebook in the other's hand, and then looks up to the machine.

“It's slowly breaking apart, isn't it?” He whispers, as Yasusada starts writing in the notebook again. “Yeah.”

“I wonder if it can be fixed…” The navy haired male mutters. Something blocks his vision as soon as he finishes speaking, and he flips the notebook shut and reaches up to find that it's Kashuu’s black top hat, lined with golden patterns and gears surrounding red roses of different sizes on the side.

“Even if it's fixed, they would still try to destroy it again, slowly and surely, until supposedly, that the world will end.” Kashuu twirls around, and plucks his hat off of the other's hands.

“Humans were the ones who invented the concept of time , I don't really see how it would actually end the world.” The brunet hums, looking over Yasusada’s shoulder to see that the other is jotting down the damages on the machine.

“Maybe they just wanted to return it to when the concept of time doesn't—”

“Kiyomitsu, did you come here only to talk about those things, or what.” Yasusada stares blankly at him, clicking his tongue.

Kashuu laughs. “I mean, aren't you curious in the slightest bit?”

“About what?”

“About how the world would end if this gigantic clock were to break. Or why they're trying to break it.”

Yasusada sighs for the umpteenth time, and shoves the notebook back into his pouch. “It's like you're questioning the point of our existence.” He retorts.

“There's that too.”

“Ugh.” Yasusada adjusts the pair of goggles on top of his head, completely ignoring the other's question, earning a pout from the brunet.

“But anyway! That wasn't what I came here for.”

“Really, could've fooled me.”

“Wow, when and how did you learn to be so snarky?” Kashuu laughs, slapping Yasusada’s back.

“As if you need to ask,” The other grumbles. “So what did you come here for?”

“Ah, right. There's a new gear upgrade suitable for your sword, or so the smith said.”

“You could've told me sooner…” He turns to leave, but finds Kashuu still staring at the Clock. “You're not coming?”

“Nah, I'm staying here for a bit, you go on ahead.” Yasusada shrugs in response and leaves.

As soon as he is out of earshot, Kashuu turns around, staring blankly at the other's retreating back.

“If only…”

Chapter Text

“Duck!”

A spiked ball flies past above both of their heads, and Yasusada grimaces. It would've been instant death if that had hit them…

“Geez, pay attention will you?” Kiyomitsu stands up, and in turn also pulling Yasusada up, due to their hands being cuffed together. “I don't want to die by that spike ball or by any of the traps set up in this place, no thank you.”

Yasusada scoffs, staring at direction the spike ball went. “Neither do I.”

“Let's move on, we're running out of time.”

Why has it come to this?

They were just normal college students. Heck, they didn't even know each other aside from the fact that they have some of the same classes together. They never even talked before this.

That day, Yasusada was walking home from the arcade, as usual. He took the usual path home, through a small alley— a shortcut, when someone knocked him unconscious.

He woke up in a dark room, already cuffed to the person he knew only by name— Kashuu Kiyomitsu. An intercom had sounded, telling them that it is a game— a test, and they only have three days to escape the facility before the whole place is filled with poisonous gas.

A facility… with death traps. Pitfalls, spikes, swinging axes, spike balls… Honestly, to Yasusada, the place looked more like a dungeon in those animes he usually watch or RPGs he'd played before than a facility for a game… or whatever test it's for—

“Oi. What are you daydreaming about?” Kiyomitsu’s voice snaps him from his thoughts, and he turns to face the other, scowling. “Don't give me that, I'm supposed to be the one looking like that.”

“Right,” Kiyomitsu continues. “The spike ball almost killed us, so can we move on now instead of looking at where it went?” The brunet cocks his head to the side, earning a hum of agreement from Yasusada, which causes him to smile.

“Now then!” Kiyomitsu turns around and—

“Watch out!”

-He's tugged backwards towards Yasusada and his eyes widens at the axe that flew past, only missing him by an inch.

“T-that was close…” Yasusada sighs, only now looking at Kiyomitsu to his side, who has fallen onto the floor, visibly shaken. “Are you alright, Kiyomitsu?”

When the brunet doesn't reply, he crouches down and shakes the other for a bit. “Kiyomitsu? Kiyomitsu!”

“Oh, uh, I'm… I'm alright…” Kiyomitsu mumbles, staring down at where he was standing before. “Thanks… for saving me.”

Yasusada hums. “Let's go, Kiyomitsu.”

Kiyomitsu nods, and stands up straight. He intertwines both of their fingers. Yasusada looks at him in confusion.

“We're stuck anyway,” The brunet points at the handcuffs with his other hand. “This is easier, let's go.”

And so they proceed onwards.

Throughout the whole ordeal, only one thought keeps running through their minds.

‘I wonder if we could get out of this alive…’

Chapter Text

“Yamatonokami-san!”

A voice wakes him up from his slumber and he cracks his eyes open to meet cyan eyes staring down at him. “...Horikawa?” He mutters, just loud enough for the other to hear. “You didn't go with Kiyomitsu and the others?”

“Mm, I figured I'll keep you company for the few days they'll be gone!” Horikawa smiles. “Kane-san can take care of himself! He's strong and—”

“—cool. Yeah, I've heard that a million times.” Yasusada laughs, sitting up.

“You missed lunch.” The shorter male hands him a basket. “And sleeping under a tree in the open isn't healthy, Yamatonokami-san.”

Yasusada hums. “I'm not Izuminokami, I can take care of myself.”

Horikawa laughs, and takes a seat beside Yasusada, who promptly opens the basket to reveal some bread and a bottle of water. He thanks Horikawa and begins digging in, mind wandering to what has happened.

They've just raided a dungeon, and successfully slain the boss without any casualties. After that, they have to report to the King, who ordered the raid to take place in the first place. But Yasusada has always felt that the King is a bit… creepy, and of course, extremely cryptic.

“I'm going to stay in this town. Since we're going to head to the mountains, and we still have to pass this town in order to get there, right?” Was what he said to the others, before Kiyomitsu shrugged and said to do whatever he wants.

At a normal pace, it will take 2 days to go back to the city by carriage, a whole day for all the formalities, and another 2 days to return. He prefers lazing around in a town than be stuck in a carriage for four whole days, thank you.

Though, four days passed and Yasusada, who's extremely bored, has half the mind to randomly accept a hunting mission, finish it, and return by the time the others arrive. But Horikawa's practically everywhere and busy accepting odd jobs so they're also currently perfectly fine on money. Not to mention the shorter male keeps telling him to save his strength for the expedition up the mountains. 

Yasusada sighs. “Won't something happen, just anything?”

It isn't sure if it's fortunate, or unfortunate, but a horn echoes, far and loud, across the town.

Yasusada widens his eyes, picking up his sword. Horikawa runs up to him, right on time. “There's a horde of monsters coming, and there's a Titan among them!”

A Titan?!

“We need to evacuate the townspeople, we can't defeat it with only the two of us. Horikawa continues. “Kane-san and the others won't be back until tomorrow and—”

“I'll stall them. You evacuate the townspeople, Horikawa.”

The shorter male’s eyes widens. “Yamatonokami-san, that's—”

Yasusada shoves him aside and dashes towards the entrance of the town. Horikawa silently curses. He calms himself down quickly and whistles, causing a hawk to swoop down. He stretches his hand out and the hawk perches on it. With his other hand, he reaches into a pouch on his belt, pulling out a red ribbon, and tying it quickly on the hawk’s leg.

“Go to Kane-san.” Horikawa whispers. The hawk takes off, and he looks towards the direction Yasusada ran off to. As much as he wants to help the navy haired male, the townspeople’s safety is his priority. He takes off into a different direction.

Yasusada stands his ground, a few ways from the entrance of the village, facing hundreds of monsters slowly approaching. He draws a line in front of him with his sword.

“You won't get past this line.” He grins. “Now bring it on!”

Somewhere else in a forest, a hawk perches on a long haired male’s arm, and he turns towards a certain brunet, who purses his lips, pulling off the red ribbon from the hawk’s leg. 

“We have to hurry.”

Please be safe, Yasusada.

Ripping off a piece of cloth from his sleeve, Yasusada wraps it around his bleeding arm, pulling on it tightly with his teeth. He swings his sword, splashing the blood on the monster corpses all around him.

“What, this is all you got?” He cackles. More monsters mindlessly charges at him, promptly being cut down on the spot— true to his words, none of them have gone past the line he drew yet.

“Very cocky, for a human.” A deep voice rings out. Yasusada realizes it's coming from the titan.

Shit.

It's a self-aware, intelligent Titan.

Rank A? no, probably close to S…

From afar, the Titan looks small, but its size is at least five times of Yasusada himself. The Titan has been watching him slay the monsters. If it's an intelligent one then… It must've been learning his moves.

The Titan raises its hand, and the remaining monsters back away.

Yasusada swallows, throat dry.

He's fucked, isn't he?

A brunet walks out of the town to see multitude of carcasses, grimacing. “Did that Idiot do this himself…?” He mutters to himself.

A loud crash interrupts his thoughts and he looks up to see clouds of dust in the distance. He quickly approaches, to see cracks along the ground.

“There's a titan.” Horikawa had said, when the brunet asked. “I think Yamatonokami-san is going on ahead to fight it… alone.”

He arrives just in time to witness the Titan slam the navy haired male into the ground, creating more cracks.

Yasusada tries to stand up with his sword, but to no avail, dropping down onto the ground, as well as coughing blood.

“At least… At least until Kiyomitsu and the others arrive…”

“Yeah, I'm here now. You can rest.”

Yasusada eyes widens, and he looks up to see Kiyomitsu unsheathing his own sword, as well as picking up Yasusada’ sword off the ground, electricity running on both blades.

“You… took too long.” Yasusada mumbles.

“A hero arrives fashionably late, you know.”

Yasusada weakly chuckles, before finally blacking out, faint clashing sounds filling his ears until nothing is left.

Chapter Text

“I finally found you.”

Kashuu looks up from his phone, to see a certain navy haired male standing before him.

“Yasusada.” was the only word that came out of his mouth. He taps on a certain app on his phone, a finger hovering over the only one button that will decide the outcome of it all.

“Why are you here?” Kashuu tilts his head, currently seated on top of an overturned car covered by rubble, as he looks down on the other.

“I was looking for you.” The navy haired male seems determined, much to his confusion.

“Why? You've won, and stopped my plan. What else there is to do?” Kashuu pauses. “Or perhaps, have you come to laugh at me? Kicking me while I'm down?”

“Wh— That's not it!”

“Then what is it? Have you come to finish the job?” He points his phone towards Yasusada. “I may have lost once, but I won't go down without a fight.”

“That's not it, Kiyomitsu!”

“I've had it with you, Yasusada.” He grits his teeth, standing up. He's ready, ready to tap on the button and summon—

But his phone is knocked out of his hands by the other— When the hell did he get here, did he use a demon with the phantasma ability—

“I want you to join us, Kiyomitsu!”

Huh?

Yasusada pulls him into a crushing hug, causing him to lose his balance, and the both of them fall onto the rubble.

“...Join you?”

“To create a better world, with the power of Polaris. There wouldn't be any need for—”

Kashuu laughs, cutting off Yasusada’s words. 

“That's awfully idealistic, coming from you.”

“I know right? So…”

“Fine.”

“Huh?”

Kashuu pushes Yasusada off of him, standing up. He walks over to his fallen phone, checking it out, before looking back to the dumbfounded male.

“I said, I'll join you.”

The face Yasusada makes is too bright, he feels like puking. But he'll tag along, to see the better world the navy haired male claims he'll make.