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a merchant from the seas visits a nearby riverside house. it looked to be small, but the merchant can manage. he then eyes the small man scaling the fish he had caught from the waters. fishing in mesopotamia... the man shrugs. it is a way of life, here in mesopotamia. in the fertile crescent. he laughs a bit and grabs the man's attention. little did the merchant know that he's falling in love with the fisherman.
he was upset. many people around him rumors about his greatest general betraying him, becoming the next ruler of the byzantine empire. he bites his lip. no. he can't let that happen. and, they're the best of friends! the general cannot betray him. after so many years of loyalty for him, he can't just backstab him out of nowhere. but he was not responding to his letters. he's still in italy.
he coughs. his immune system is failing him. he can see his lover, standing by his side as he tries to heal him. but, as much as he does not want to admit, he can't. plague swept everywhere, but he does not care if he dies. at least he'll die at his lover's arms.
Kaito awakes with a cup of coffee. He was in Shuichi's bedroom. Shuichi himself was seated on his desk, writing something. Kaito raises a brow. He envelops Shuichi to a hug.
"Still obsessing 'bout those dreams, huh?", Kaito asks. Shuichi leans into the touch, making a content hum.
"Of course", Shuichi replies. "Why are some of your dreams different than mine, though?"
Kaito laughs. "'Cause yours are basically prehistory and mythology."
Shuichi smiles faintly. "Okay."
he looks down at the gravestone. it was his best friend. he looks at it with empty eyes. he feels conflicted; he feels bad for killing him, but at the same time, he feels jealousy inside him for his friend. he hates the way he talks to him, he hates the way he talks to people, he hates the way he looks at him, smiles as him, as if there was no one here making rumors. as if no one here is going to expect him to become the sultan, to overthrow him. there's only one sultan in the ottoman empire.
he spends time with his children and wife, before his death. he can feel his heart beating, and he can feel his breath hitching. then, the cell opens, and in steps the guards, ready to escort the former king of france to his inevitable doom. he's now facing the crowd, all of them shouting curses to the king, telling him how much they had suffered under his reign. he knows it wasn't his fault; but he doesn't care. he looks at his prosecutor. it was the shoekeeper who keeps the shoe store from the streets below.
he looks back at his rival from the field in new jersey. he has his gun, and he hears him fire the bullet. but he couldn't care less. he remembers his son, who died for him, the first president of america, looking down at him, his mother, who had died in the carribean, looking at him with a smile on her face; she must be proud of what he had done. but he knows that he'll never erase his one mistake; being faithful to his wife. he can see his best friend leading an army in the heavens. he smiles at the thought, and unknowingly aims his pistol at the sky.
Kaito scratches his head, groaning. "I... don't want to remember more."
"Why?"
Kaito looks at Shuichi with sad eyes. "Because I'm unable to dream something that doesn't involve you getting killed by me, or dead."
Shuichi stays silent, then sighs. "It... seems as if yours are much more traumatic than mine, then."
Kaito shrugs. "Maybe... I don't know. I just feel queasy from all these past life dreams."
"Me too."
he enjoys seeing people suffer at his own hands. he enjoys feeling people's eyes on him, wide with fear. and he enjoys forcing a certain someone to participate in a danganronpa audition. it's the greatest thing in the world; why does he hate it? but he can't help liking his... friend.
he was strapped onto a rocket, and was upside down, the rocket drilling towarss the depths of the earth, and he coughs and turns purple from the sound of the drill, the sickening thoughts about his execution, and his own sickness. he was in love with his sidekick; but he never got the chance to tell him. he feels regret, but it all disappears as he sees the stars. he's... in space? he smiles, but then starts to cough. fuck. he's going to die in this beautiful scenery, huh? oh well then, so be it. he coughs his final cough, blocking the window with his blood, finally collapsing to the floor below.
Kaito hugs Shuichi tightly.
"Don't leave me", Kaito whispers.
Shuichi looks at him with a smile. "I won't, Kaito. I promise."
Kaito gives him a kiss on the cheek. "I hope you don't. I don't want to see you die again."
Shuichi nods.
"Me too."