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It was supposed to have been a normal day.
“April. We have received urgent intel regarding August and December.” The man’s gaze was as hard as steel.
Chikage felt a shiver crawl down his spine. The hair on his neck instantly stood up at the ominous feeling gripping his heart.
“The mission failed. August is dead and December’s status and whereabouts are unknown. It was highly likely December betrayed us and led August into a trap.”
Time froze.
December… a traitor? August… died…?
Chikage’s jaw quivered, an inaudible noise escaped his pale lips.
His eyes were trembling, barely maintaining eye contact with his fellow agent.
A sharp ache began to sprout in his heart, swiftly engulfing it until it hideously bloomed.
He would never forget the feeling of his family disappearing on what should have been a normal day.
How could he ever forget the day he was helplessly left alone in this world?
Chikage‘s eyes shot open, his heavy breaths, throbbing head, and the sharp aches beating within his chest immediately assaulted his senses.
The bewildered man gripped his chest and began to breathe deeply in a desperate attempt to calm himself down.
It was just a dream he futilely repeated in his head.
Gazing into the empty void of the night along with his already unstable state of mind opened the floodgates of regret.
Repressed emotions flooded his chest, ravaging everything in its wake as it raced to swallow his heart in grief.
December… August… I’m so sorry…
Years of rage. Years of wrongful rage.
Even if Hisoka had forgiven him, August never could.
Laying in agony, Chikage tearlessly endured the lonely hell of his thoughts until daybreak.
However, unbeknownst to him, a concerned man had been listening to his nightly battles.
It had been several since Itaru had been hearing incessant rustling and groaning from the upper bunk.
At first, he didn’t pay it much attention. Ever since Chikage began sleeping in the same room as him, it happened occasionally and in the morning, his senior would act as cheeky as ever so he merely dismissed it as common nightmares.
But for a week straight? Of course he was bound to worry.
After the third night in a row of nightmares, the concerned brunette began to observe his senior closely.
Although the enigmatic man seemed normal on the surface, he was a tad paler and developed a tendency to stare into space with an aloof expression when left alone.
Of course, other members of the troupe noticed and probed the issue, but Chikage had only brushed away their concerns and insisted that nothing was wrong.
Seriously, what’s up with him? Itaru’s thoughts wandered as his fingers mindlessly logged invoices.
I’m sure Senpai will be fine since it’s him after all, but what could he possibly be dreaming about for him to react like that?
The brunette’s eyebrows unconsciously furrowed as he remembered the ghastly sounds coming from the bunk above him.
Come to think of it, didn’t he act like this before? His hands paused.
Yeah, it was during Oz after he and Izumi returned, he was so out of it I was worried if the play was even gonna turn out well… Could it be related to something that happened then?
For an instant, Itaru entertained the thought of Chikage tossing and turning in bed agonizing over a girl and nearly burst out laughing in the middle of the office.
That unromantic guy and a girl? Lmao he would be the type to sleep soundly after knowingly breaking the hearts of 100 girls if he was a harem protagonist.
Suddenly interrupting his thoughts, Itaru’s desk phone began to ring. Quickly calming himself down he cleared his throat and answered the receiver.
“Hello? This is Chigasaki speaking.”
“Hello Chigasaki-san. Utsuki-san collapsed due to a mix of exhaustion and a fever. You and Utsuki-san live at the same place right? Don’t worry about your hours for this week, can you take him home?”
… Huh? Collapsed? Senpai? The brunette’s eyes widened upon hearing his supervisor’s words.
“Chigasaki-san?”
Snapping out of his shock, he hurriedly replied, “Ah yes I can, where is he now?”
Once he knew where Chikage was located, he hurriedly said his farewells and rushed to the green haired man.
After asking to borrow a car from the company, the two swiftly arrived back to the Mankai dorms.
Naturally, seeing Itaru struggling to carry an unconscious Chikage on his back as they entered through the doorway caused concern among everyone in Mankai.
Handing off the KO’d man to Tasuku, the brunette began to explain his limited knowledge of his senior’s condition to the rest of the troupe.
Spending an hour or so discussing what to do about Chikage, it was eventually settled that Itaru would try to talk to him once he awakened.
As the group dispersed, Itaru immediately went back to their shared room.
Quietly entering the dimly lit room, he looked towards the bunk beds.
Due to the brunette’s bed being the lower bunk, the incapacitated man was naturally laid there.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Itaru’s eyebrows furrowed as he gazed at Chikage’s face.
It held the forlorn expression of a person drowning in intense loneliness. An expression Itaru was intimately familiar with.
Quietly, in the softest tone he could muster, Itaru spoke.
“Sen- no, Chikage.”
His fingers unconsciously brushed his senior's warm cheek as Itaru gazed at his flushed face.
“I don’t know what you’re going through right now, but we’re here for you too you know.”
He paused for a moment, a melancholic smile slowly spread across his lips.
“We’re family after all.”
The brunette’s words trailed off, enveloping the room into silence once again.
“... Our circumstances are probably different but I understand how it feels to be alone. It was suffocating and my heart… well, to explain it as well as I can, think of a debuff where you take damage every turn, like poison. You take a little bit of damage every turn until you realize that your HP is in the red and anything can kill you, even those weak attacks that usually never hurt you.”
Itaru closed his eyes as he recalled his high school days with Tonooka. He took a deep breath before continuing.
“But that’s changed ever since I joined Mankai. I’ve laughed and cried with everyone more than I have with anyone in my life.”
His hand clutched his chest.
“They cured the poison in my heart. And they can help remedy yours too.”
Just as Itaru finished his speech, he felt a weak tug on his shirt.
“... Is it really okay to have another family?”
“It’s okay.”
“... I won’t be left alone again?”
“You won’t be alone ever again.”
Warm tears began to stream down Chikage’s face as he clung onto Itaru’s back.
The junior’s back stiffened in shock at the sight of his normally inscrutable senior crying and clinging to his back like a child.
Ahaha… He’s gonna kill me once he recovers.
Mulling over his impending demise, Itaru eventually noticed that his senior’s faint weeps were replaced with steady breathing.
Letting out a shaky sigh, Itaru buried his head in his hands. The darkness of the night veiled the blush encroaching onto his face.
How… can Senpai have so much gap moe… Cool normally and cute when vulnerable? Are you serious? How can his cheats extend to this too?!
As his thoughts continued, his conscious slowly began to fade.
“Hey Chigasaki.”
A menacing presence wrapped his arm around Itaru’s shoulder.
“Last night never happened. Right?”
“Ahaha what’re you talking about? No crying happened at all.”
“...”
Chikage roughly pinched his cheeky junior’s cheek.
“Ow ow ow! Stop I’m sorry!”
“I’ll forgive you if you treat me to curry later.”
“Deal! Whaling for Senpai is a small price to pay!”
Immediately after getting released, the brunette hurriedly began to rub his sore cheek. Chikage’s expression softened.
“... Thank you for saying that though. I really appreciate it.”
“Don’t sweat it. Family’s supposed to have each other’s back after all.”
“... Yeah you’re right. You can be really cool after all huh?"
"Oh yeah? You think I'm cool enough to get isekai'd in a world where cute girls will fawn over me?"
"Definitely not that cool."
As the two laughed, Chikage looked up towards the sky.
August. I hope you’re doing okay up there. I feel like an idiot worrying about if you’ve forgiven me or not haha. Of course you have since you’ve given me a second chance at a family.
An incomprehensible emotion filled his eyes as they rested on the man walking beside him.
I hope you can meet them someday.