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There were so many voices screaming at once that it started to bleed into static.
This was not supposed to happen.
No one was supposed to die.
Nicea’s only purpose was to send videos whenever one of his friends were in danger. Even if he checked everyone’s phones, he came up empty-handed. If there was no video, there was no danger of losing anyone. That was the way it should have worked.
If that truly was the case, then everything should be quiet. Instead, he heard an onslaught of voices through the darkness, arguing endlessly over the right thing to do .
There was hardly a right way to decide the fate of another person’s life.
Hibiki was not entirely sure about what had happened on the battlefield. All he could hear were the cries of demons as they attacked his teammates in groups. The ambush was so sudden that they were backed into a corner, desperately trying to fend for themselves. The way he called Metatron to deal with the Cerberus was still clear in his mind, and the way the group of demons pounced on him was another detail he could clearly recall other than the taste of blood in his mouth. The images turned fuzzy when he heard someone call for him, and push him out of the way from an incoming attack.
He clearly remembered the face of the person who stepped in to save his life, and in the process, managed to get themselves knocked into the void.
Hibiki furrowed his brows.
Why did it have to be Daichi?
Everything was dark. Some voices were louder than others now that all the demons had been dealt with. He could distinctly make out Hinako’s tone, Yamato’s stern but calm rebuttals, and Otome’s panicked mumbling. Despite their different ideals, they seemed like voices of reason in a bundle of bad choices and decisions.
“We can’t just leave him like this, Yamato! He’s our teammate! What if it was you!?” Hinako argued feverishly in Daichi’s favor, something that Hibiki would have done himself had his throat not been dry. If he could gather his thoughts, he would try to make a case for his best friend. Yet, it felt like every sentence he built fell apart before he had a chance to speak. Letters and numbers formed in his head, but none of it had any meaning. Yamato’s suggestion in response to Hinako’s panic gave Hibiki chills. Did he have to sound so detached while saying it?
“Then, I suggest we cut off his arm.” The void had swallowed only a part of Daichi’s arm. While the chief had a point, there was still no way to do it that would not put Daichi through pain. Otome interrupted before anyone came to any rash decisions, her voice coming across as cool and collected, despite their dire situation. There was no doubt that she was a competent doctor with nerves of steel, putting forth both compassion and logic to shoot down Yamato’s idea. Hibiki did not know whether he was disappointed she was about to disagree with him, or happy that his friend did not have to suffer something so gruesome.
“We’re too far away from JP’s for me to bring my equipment. Even if I run the distance, by the time I come back, the scar will already have swallowed much more than I can salvage. Attempting to amputate him like this will not only lead to an inevitable death by something as simple as blood-loss, but it will be far too painful for him.” Hearing her say it like this was no comfort at all, but he felt relieved that he did not have to see his best friend get cut apart, or worse, help cut him apart. If he was told there was a chance to save him, he would do it in a heartbeat, but if he failed, he would feel responsible for making Daichi’s death even more insufferable than it already was. There had to be another way around it. He could not stop thinking until he found a solution; some better way to deal with this. Otome’s voice cracked, something it did very rarely given her composure.
“But… If…” All the words he tried to connect fell like dominos at her airy whisper. “-If anyone has a gun…”
“What!?” Hinako yelled loudly before Otome had the chance to finish, and the voices got even louder.
“Let me get this straight. Rather than let him live for a few more hours, you want to kill him? Like, right now? This instant? Hasn’t the poor guy suffered enough?” Joe joined, obviously against the idea.
“Hell no! You can’t treat him like that! Just discard that idea right away, Otome!” Airi was right behind him, and it seemed that the argument had escalated to a point where it was never going to come to an end.
“U-um…” The voice that pushed him out of danger’s way was finally speaking up, and prompted Hibiki to open his eyes and remind himself of what was about to come. He had not heard Daichi’s voice at all up until it finally cut through their screaming-match.
“L-look, I know what’s going to happen now. It’s pretty obvious. So can you just… leave me alone? Please? Does it matter what happens next when I’m already... like this?” Hearing Daichi confirm it only added to the chills. He was not ready to give up on him yet. They might not be able to cut off his arm, but perhaps they could knock the void back, or try to pull him out. No, none of those alternatives worked, but those were the only options. If his muscles had not been stiff with worry, he feared he might have dropped to his knees from exhaustion.
“Daichi… the void is slow-moving. It won’t swallow you whole in an instant. It will eat different parts of your brain until you can no longer function.” Fumi chimed in, expanding on Otome’s explanation to why she was insisting they give him a clean execution.
“In layman's terms, if we let you get swallowed by the void, you’ll suffer from something close to dementia in your very last moments before finally kicking the bucket-”
“Fumi!” Makoto raised her voice at her, but all Fumi did was chuckle bitterly, covering her lips with her hand as if to hide the fact she was smiling.
“What? Is ‘kicking the bucket’ not an acceptable term all of a sudden? I don’t think it’s time to argue semantics, Mako.” She returned to the point she was making before she was cut off, and her tone took a more serious turn.
“In any case, what Otome was trying to tell you was that it would be simpler on your cognitive if it was a clean and quick death.” No matter how it was explained, there were still people that were against the idea, and Daichi barely got a word in edgewise because of the arguments it started. Hibiki could not stand how they somehow tied Daichi’s situation to their own twisted ideals.
“Stop talking as if he’s already dead! Is this your twisted sense of justice? Those who cannot be saved are abandoned!?” Hinako yelled again, trying to push them to come up with other solutions, but the chief shook his head dismissively.
“Enough of this. Nothing any of you say matters.” He raised his hand to cut it in-between Hinako and Fumi so he could pass them by and face Daichi head-on.
“Shijima, do you realize that there is no possible way for us to save you?” Hibiki did not want to hear Daichi say it, because if Daichi gave up on himself, then what was he supposed to do?
“...Yes.” If even Daichi had given up, then there truly was no way out.
“Then you must realize that any further time we spend here will be wasted merely on the fineprints of your death. As such, I request you choose a suitable execution method of your own volition, so that we no longer drain what little time you have left in this world.”
“Ugh, do you have to make it sound official?” Airi was silenced by Fumi, who put an arm around her and pulled her back further into the crowd. Daichi stared up at Yamato, and for once, saw something akin to gratitude in his eyes. Gratitude, Hibiki assumed, that probably stemmed from the fact Daichi had risked his life to save someone else. Someone, Hibiki knew for a fact, that Yamato was very fond of.
“I’d like to stay here… if that’s alright with everyone,” His face scrunched up slightly, and he looked about ready to rephrase himself. “-wait, what am I saying. It’s my death. Everyone, out.”
“We can’t just leave you here!” Io finally spoke up, and Hibiki was reminded that she was also present. He wondered if Daichi was expecting him to speak up. He also wondered how many other people were here that were just as silent as him. Yamato turned to her, eyes piercing and cold.
“I advise everyone to respect Shijima’s wishes. It would be rude of you to take up even more time of his rapidly decreasing lifespan. Nitta, I suggest you spare him of your personal, selfish desires, and let him pass away in peace without further discourse.” She turned silent, and took a step back, stuttering.
The chief walked out of the group, heading towards the exit of the park with no falter in his steps, unsurprisingly. Fumi was the first to follow, with no real goodbye ready on her lips, just as the chief. Many followed in their trail; gone without a word. Keita was the third to follow them, and Hinako was right behind him, too afraid to bid farewell. Io and Daichi locked eyes. She was trying to get out the words, mumbling incoherently, until Daichi looked away- a simple sign that told her to just leave without saying anything just as the other’s had. It would be easier on her. It would be easier on him as well. They were not the closest, and the last thing he wanted was to force a connection that never happened.
Joe was the first person to walk up to him and reach down to grab his free arm, locking fingers with him to give his moral support. Jungo was the second person to reach out to him; to actually get down on his knees and wrap an arm around him, bury his head in the crook of Daichi’s neck, and stay there on the ground for a while before pulling away. Words seemed too painful for anyone. There simply was no easy way to bid farewell. Makoto found the courage to crouch next to Daichi before raising her hand. Daichi expected they were going to shake hands, so he prepared himself for it, but her fingers passed his without error and cupped his cheek. He could not help but to flush a little, embarrassed at both the warmth of her gesture and the saddened smile on her lips.
Hibiki saw it all unfold, but he was still thinking about whether this was the right thing to do or not. Somehow, he wanted to try and see if they could rush Daichi to JP’s in time to stop the blood-loss, but no matter how he stretched his imagination, it did not seem feasible. A hand touched his shoulder and snapped him out of his thoughts. He turned to face Makoto, and found her expression calm but soft. Her eyes were cloudy, and her voice was hushed.
“Are you alright?” He did not know if he nodded, or if he simply remained silent, but Makoto kept talking, nonetheless.
“We should do as the chief instructed,” She paused. “Unless…” He watched her avert her eyes, gaze shifting between Hibiki and Daichi before they finally decided on Daichi. “-Shijima, would you like Kuze to join you?” Everyone else had already left after their goodbyes, but Makoto took responsibility to see everyone out. The only person left that had yet to say a word was…
“...What? Why are you asking me that?”
“I notice that despite your close friendship, neither of you have said a word to each other. Would this be a good time for me to leave?” Hibiki turned his head slightly, and stared at Makoto at the corner of his eye. He wanted to thank her for reading the atmosphere, and for giving him a chance to talk without the pressure of everyone else leering at his back.
“U-um… Y-yes? But I don’t think Hibiki would want to-”
“I would like to stay here.” His sounded anything but confident. It was the first words he had uttered out loud since he was attacked, and his voice was strained with fatigue. Makoto let her hand rest at Hibiki’s back, pushing her palm against him very gently to urge him forward.
“I will wait for you outside the park to escort you back to JP’s Headquarters. Take care, Kuze.” She briefly turned to Daichi, and tried to smile one more time to see him off. “Shijima, thank you for supporting JP’s, and I’m sorry for all the troubles we have caused y-”
“I-It’s fine! Really! No need to be all formal about it,” He chuckled, still embarrassed she was one of the few people that actually managed to speak up. “-I’ll be okay. I’ll see you la- oh, damn, no, wait, can I do that one over? I forgot it’s-” Something akin to a chuckle was heard; a sound that did not come from Makoto or Daichi. They both turned their heads to lock their eyes on a smiling Hibiki. Daichi raised an eyebrow, and leaned his head back to stare up at his best friend.
“Something you wanna say?” Hibiki shook his head, and fixed his gaze on the floor.
“...You got your hand stuck in the void, and somehow, I thought this would turn you into a completely different person,” He felt himself smiling so wide that he had to close his eyes to try and keep his composure. “-I should have known you better than that.” Daichi rolled his eyes, but a smile tugged at the corner of his lips, saddened because of the reminder that the void was slowly nipping at his lifespan, but relieved that Hibiki finally decided to say something more human.
Makoto’s hand softly left his back, and he heard the faint clack of heels against the ground as she parted ways. The sound of boots started to blend with the whistle of the wind, and the enigmatic flow of the void.
“Now that the awkward silence is gone and everything…” Daichi started, but was hesitant to finish. This was, in a way, his last goodbye. “Do you… Do you want to…. y’know…” To stop Daichi from finishing the sentence, he substituted a different answer to the question.
“I was thinking I could stay here with you.” There was a conflicted look on his friend’s face as he bit his lip. He seemed happy about it, but something was prompting him to keep goodbyes brief.
“O-oh, uh… buddy, I appreciate it but do you really want to-”
“I do.” He did not want to leave the spot until he got to say everything that was on his mind. Hibiki knew that Daichi shared his sentiment deep down, and that he did not want to be left alone in his last moments, but he also knew that Daichi did not want him to suffer in his company, and there was a good chance that was going to happen thanks to the void.
“...But, you heard what Fumi said, right? I don’t think it will be a pretty sight…”
“I know.” Hibiki took a seat next to Daichi, and reached down to rest his hand on his shoulder. He gently let his hand slide down Daichi’s arm to take a hold of his hand. His touch might have been softer, but it was no different to what Joe did. Despite it, Daichi’s cheeks turned rosy, and he turned his head slightly to look down at the ground.
“Hibiki, um… you… you can leave. Really, it’s fine.” Hibiki squeezed his palm, and reassured him that he wanted to stay.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“I’m…” Daichi turned his head upwards to look Hibiki in the eye, but Hibiki had both his hands clasped over Daichi’s palm with his head lowered and his eyes closed. It was almost as if he was bracing himself for the inevitable. Daichi would have laughed a little at the sight had he not completely understood Hibiki’s anxiety. Still, he could make the argument that Hibiki was taking it a lot worse than he was supposed to. When he gave it more thought, he guessed that merging with the void would not actually hurt as much as it would disorient him until he finally drifted off. Meanwhile, Hibiki was going to remain with the memories of his distortion, his delirium, and the incoherent mumbling that would take place as a result of dementia.
“Thanks. I…” He squeezed Hibiki’s hand, and finally got him to open his eyes. “-I’m so glad you’re here with me.” Daichi was taking this a lot better than Hibiki thought he would be. Then again, there was no sense crying over something that was inevitable to happen. Hibiki could see the discomfort in Daichi’s eyes, and he smiled to reassure him that he would stay with him for as long as he wanted him there. Daichi’s expression softened, and he leaned his head to the side slightly, looking up at Hibiki with a curious gaze.
“...Has the void reached my head yet?” Hibiki furrowed his brows slightly. He did not even have to take a glance to know the void was nowhere near his skull, but he did so on Daichi’s request.
“No. Why do you ask?” Daichi parted his lips, his eyes remained unblinking, but a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
“Dunno… for some reason, I get the feeling you’re looking at me differently.” Right, there was something he wanted to tell Daichi. Something he never truly found the confidence to say out loud, but given their circumstances, it did not look like he was going to get the chance again. Hibiki let go of Daichi’s hand to press one palm against the ground, and raised his other hand to cup Daichi’s cheek similarly to how Makoto had done it. Hibiki wanted to imagine that Daichi’s cheeks were just as rosy when he touched him, but there was no way for him to tell when he kept focusing on the hazel in Daichi’s eyes- a healthy color that was soon to drain and turn as dark as the void that inched ever-closer.
“Y-you sure it’s not the void, because, um,” His fingers lightly brushed against Daichi’s throat soft enough for Hibiki to feel his friend swallow thickly. “-I-I have a feeling I’m either losing my mind, or,” Hibiki was really giving him a different look than usual. A look filled with both unexpressed emotions, sorrow, and longing.
“U-um, sorry… I...” A voice that was neither Daichi’s or Hibiki’s spoke up, and they both turned their heads to see Io standing a small distance away from them. Hibiki was so focused on his own speech that he had not noticed her shy closer. To his surprise, not even Daichi had noticed her.
“I-Io?” Hibiki could feel his eyebrow twitch at the mention of her name. Daichi always called for her in that stuttering, and yet charming tone. He quickly let go of Daichi to put some distance between them, and his chest felt heavy with disappointment. The sickly and sticky feeling only doubled when he realized that Io was taking up all their time doing nothing but mumble without getting to the point.
“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t know what to say, so I- I…” Daichi was quick to forgive, but Hibiki was not.
“I-It’s fine, really! But, um, why are you here?” Hibiki wanted to interrupt and say that she should leave them alone. That a friendship forged through ten years was a little stronger than a friendship forged over a week, but he knew he had no right to push her away. It was entirely up to Daichi.
He expected Daichi to say something when she got down on her knees next to him to offer him a hug, expected him to at least tell her to back off a little so they could finish their conversation, and especially expected him to pull away when she kissed him.
“G-goodbye!” She stormed off before anyone could say anything, but the shock of it all had Hibiki get up on his feet to catch her. Daichi tried to get up to follow them, but his arm dragged him back down, and he only ended up sinking deeper into the void. Hibiki grabbed him by the shoulders to pin him down to the floor. If he squirmed, there was a good chance he could worsen his condition and reduce his time limit even further.
“Don’t move! I’ll be right back-!” Although, his goals for running after her were far from admirable. When he finally caught Io’s wrist and pulled her over, he confronted her about what it was she had done. It was inexcusable. He was speaking in whispers, but the anger in his voice was clear.
“Why the hell would you lie to him like that!?” Caught red-handed. There was no way for her to even imply something that sudden was genuine.
“W-what do you mean?...” Although, she gave it her best effort. Hibiki could feel an onslaught of different emotions; none of them positive. It was difficult to know what to be upset about the most. Was it the fact that she had just lied to his best friend moments before his inevitable death, or the fact that she had practically taken the only chance of a meaningful kiss away from him by reducing it to something so abhorrent? He could not say for sure, but it made his blood boil.
“Io, he’s about to die! Do you really need to-” He heard himself try to build an argument in his favor, but his resolve to keep it going crumbled. “-no, I don’t have time for this. Just leave.” He let her go, and she apologized, saying something along the lines of it being to cheer him up, but Hibiki refused to hear her.
He had already decided to shut down any and all conversation with her and return to Daichi. He had no time to waste on conversations like these anymore.
There was no doubt that Daichi really loved Io a lot. There was also no doubt that getting to know she felt the same way would make him ridiculously happy.
But was it really fair to perpetuate a lie?
What about the person that had waited well over a year to profess his feelings? What about the person who was feeling guilty for causing his best friend’s death by being clumsy on the battlefield? Even if Hibiki wanted to take Daichi’s place, he had a feeling that Daichi would not let him, even as the void swallowed him whole. Daichi did look somewhat satisfied with the turn of events. It made things harder on Hibiki.
“So. That happened.” Hibiki did not want to hear it, but he assumed that this was going to be what their last few moments consisted of. Moments that were shortened by Io’s rash actions. He turned his head away, nails practically digging into his chest at the memory of Io’s lips touching Daichi’s. He regretted taking his time. He regretted not telling Io to back off. If he told him about her deceitful kiss, he would ruin a good thing for his friend, and if he did not, he would have to live with the memory that he could have told Daichi his true feelings but never did.
For a dying person, Daichi seemed to be taking a lot of enjoyment in this.
Then again, his crush was just proven mutual.
His chest ached again. Yes, Io was his crush. Was it really such a bad idea to give him what he wanted as a dying wish? Hibiki felt selfish for wanting to break the illusion. For wanting Daichi to desire him in his moment of need, rather than Io. His friend seemed to have picked up on it, and chuckled.
“Haha, I think someone’s jealous!” Not because he got to kiss Io. Not because it was Io. No, but because it was fake, and because a first kiss was supposed to mean something. He parted his lips to speak, teeth gritted, but let out nothing other than a sigh before pressing his lips into a thin line. Despite a sweater and a hoodie, he shivered under the fabric, needles running up his arms and down his chest from hearing Daichi imply he was jealous.
Hibiki knew that he wanted to be Daichi’s first kiss, but it was clear that Daichi wanted Io to be his, no matter how much he wished otherwise. Forcing his own affection on Daichi would be no different than Daichi forcing his affection on Io, or Io forcing her affection on Hibiki. The love triangle was the most messed up part about their relationships.
Perhaps there was no harm in letting Daichi believe something like this before death, but it was not something Hibiki could allow. He never kept secrets from Daichi during their entire friendship, and he was not going to start now. It might have been selfishness again, just another excuse so he could cup Daichi’s cheek and pretend he wanted his hands there instead of Io’s.
“Relax,” Daichi’s lips curved into a smile, and he put his fingers over his mouth to hide his face, his words coming out a little muffled. “-I know the kiss was forced.” Hibiki stared, and Daichi looked away, hand still curved over his lips. There was now two options. He could lie and try to convince Daichi he was imagining things.
“...You could tell?” Or, he could tell the truth. Daichi shook his head, and Hibiki got paranoid that he would accidentally rub against the void.
“No, actually. I believed her, but I don’t believe you. Your pokerface sucks, man,” He chuckled halfheartedly. “-seriously, get a better pokerface. For a moment, I almost died happy.” Hibiki could tell Daichi regretted joking like that the moment he said it, so he chose not to bring it up. There was no point spending time together if they were going to spend the rest of it bickering.
Hibiki did not want to spend their time in silence either, but he had no way to start a conversation. He also had no clue what he wanted to talk about. The best he could manage was try and dig out anything he wanted to say before Daichi finally passed on- something that he had been holding back for a while. Even when faced with something so definite as death, he could not bring himself to tell Daichi just what he felt for him. Instead, he took a different approach.
“How could you tell?” Hibiki was curious. Daichi usually commented on how difficult he was to read, but he seemed to have mapped out his feelings perfectly from one look alone.
“I’ve seen what you look like when you’re jealous. This isn’t the look, dude.” Hibiki cocked his head slightly.
“I have a look?” Daichi was willing to go into detail from what Hibiki could tell.
Extreme detail.
“Sure, you do!” Daichi brought his hand up to the bridge of his nose to point. “You furrow your brows, but you get small wrinkles around here when you do it. Your eyebrows usually twitch, too.” Being caught so easily made Hibiki’s cheeks turn a light shade of red. Of all the things, it had to be a twitch that gave him away.
“...Anything else you’d like to tell me that I should know?”
“Yeah. Actually, there’s one thing.”
“Go ahead.” Daichi’s tone was less playful, and a familiar crack returned to his voice.
“I’m… terrified.” There was no wonder that everything had been somewhat peaceful up until now. The void was creeping in over his shoulder, immobilizing him to the point he could no longer sit up if he so desired it. It was easy to tell that the panic was finally starting to settle. The rise and fall of Daichi’s chest through his uneven breaths was enough for Hibiki to cup his cheek again to see if it could calm him down.
“I’ve tried not to whine because I can’t actually feel anything, but,” Hibiki could sense Daichi tremble against his palm, and hated the fact he could no longer hug him without putting himself in danger. “-but, I-... I don’t regret it. I’m scared as all hell, but I don’t regret it.”
Fumi spoke about the void at a point. About how there was nothing at the other side. About how anything that gets deleted can be rewritten. Daichi hoped that this was the case, because if this was how he was going to spend his last moments with Hibiki, then he wanted at least one more hour and some mobility to wrap his arms around him. He choked back a forced laugh. Humor and playfulness went straight down the drain, along with hope that the void would simply stop on its own.
“The thought of becoming nothing, huh… I guess it won’t be that different from how it is now.” Hibiki furrowed his brows.
“If you weren’t dying, I’d kill you for saying that.” Daichi chuckled and brought his hand up to squeeze Hibiki’s shoulder.
“Thanks… Thanks for being my best friend. For everything.” Hibiki felt appreciated every time he heard Daichi say those familiar, sweet words. Felt both giddy and guilty as a leader because this was ultimately where they ended up due to his leadership. He put his hand over Daichi’s, and squeezed back.
“Why are you thanking me for this?” For getting him into trouble. For failing to keep him out of trouble. As a leader, he took it upon himself to care for the group, and he had failed one of his most important friends.
“I would have been a lot worse off without you.”
“Daichi, you’re about to die because I-!” Daichi did not let him finish.
“I protected you. That's all I wanted.” Something about the smile on Daichi’s face seemed bittersweet. “For once, I protected you .” Hibiki could tell he took pride in it. It only made things a lot harder to swallow. “If I die, nothing will change, but if you or Yamato die, it’s game over for everyone. At least, I did something worthwhile instead of burden you. Better me than y-”
“Shut up!” The shrill ringing in Hibiki’s tone had him tense up. It was the last straw. Watching Daichi slowly fade was already emotionally draining on his psyche, and while Daichi was no stranger to self-deprecation or self-loathing, Hibiki could not accept it at a time like this. Not when his arms were shaking with dread, and his chest hurt from guilt.
“Hibiki… I…”
“Stop beating yourself up over this! Stop talking down to yourself! You’re about to die and you’re lying here lamenting about how you’re useless!? I won’t have it!” Hibiki grabbed his scarf and clawed at it, hands and body shaking. “Is that how you want to spend the last minutes of your life!?” Daichi looked nervous, and swallowed.
“Haha… funny. I… had something I really wanted to tell you, but now I can’t seem to remember what it was.” Hibiki’s hands released Daichi almost instantly.
“The void-!”
“Void…?”
“Shit…!” The void was spreading faster, and had already started tugging at the strands of his best friend’s hair. Hibiki gently cupped Daichi’s cheeks, and tried to fix his attention solely on him.
“Daichi, here, look at me. Focus,”
“I’m focused, I’m focused!”
“Do you still remember me?”
“Yes, why wouldn’t I?” Because this was going to be painful. He needed to know just how much the void had swallowed.
“How old are you?” Daichi looked at Hibiki questionably before realizing why answering the questions was crucial.
“Eighteen.”
“What is my name?”
“Hibiki.”
“What’s the square root out of four-hundred?”
“Hibiki, I didn’t even know that when I was studying, what makes you think I’ll know it now?”
“I love you.” Hibiki had to tell him before he was swallowed by the void; before he lost his mind and started to grow disoriented. Daichi stared at him with disbelief, but eventually broke into a smile.
“So, this is the part where I start hearing things… Didn’t think it’d happen so soon.” Before the darkness managed to reach even further, Hibiki pulled close to place his lips on Daichi’s. It took a while for Hibiki to finally feel Daichi kiss him back, his free hand resting just a small bit above Hibiki’s abdomen.
Whether Daichi’s response was slow due to the void or surprise was irrelevant. Hibiki was jealous of Io for being the person Daichi desired the most. Jealous over the kiss she had taken from him only moments before his confession, and jealous over the fact she was not going to suffer from this loss as much as he would. He pulled away just in time before the void started expanding, and saw the faintest blush present on Daichi’s cheeks- a blush that was not there compared to when he kissed Io.
“That was… nice,” Daichi should not be smiling. “-we should do it again some time.” Hibiki kept his hands at Daichi’s cheeks, rubbing his thumb over his lips.
“I’m sorry…” The words were uttered quietly. Small, weak, insignificant and irrelevant. Daichi heard him express his worries, despite his delirious state.
“Hibiki,” He chuckled, and his words slurred slightly. “-your mom will be upset if we keep fooling around. Let’s go home.” Hibiki shook his head, and moved his hand away from Daichi’s face when he saw the scar cut into his cheek. Instead, he took a hold of Daichi’s palm, squeezing it softly, moreso for his own benefit than for Daichi’s. The friend he used to know was already gone. All that was left were fragmented memories with undefined timestamps.
“I’m so glad I met you.” The void was seeping into the very last parts of his brain, mercilessly devouring and erasing his memories. Despite it all, he still remembered Hibiki’s face, and still looked at him as if he was the most precious person in the world. If the void had already done its job and eradicated his earliest memories, Hibiki supposed that the look Daichi was giving him was fair. Growing up, they only had each other. Parting right now was a terrible end to a wonderful friendship. There were so many things that they did not get to do. So many things that they planned to do that were never going to happen, all thanks to a stupid mistake. Daichi’s eyes were unfocused as he spoke; misty and unclear with a muddy gray that clouded his iris. Yet, he still found the energy to smile.
“You look… familiar. What’s your name?” Hibiki was reluctant to let go, but had to pry his hands off Daichi when the void began creeping in on his chest. It seemed like Fumi’s calculations were off only slightly. Daichi’s condition could not last longer than perhaps a minute. Despite Hibiki’s sorrow, he could not help but know it was a more merciful end. His lips parted to answer one last question. He never thought that the last words Daichi would want to hear would be his very own name.
“Hibiki… Hibiki Kuze,” So, he changed it. “I’m… your best friend.”
“Hibiki?” The effort it must have taken for Daichi to chuckle at a time like this must have been immense. His speech was slower; broken apart in fragments, as if he forgot the meaning behind the words he was uttering. “I like it… but… isn’t that… a girl’s name?”
Of course, it was not unlike Daichi to make him smile effortlessly one last time before both his heart and his mind was swallowed by the void, leaving nothing but darkness in a place where his childhood friend used to rest.