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Taichi froze in his seat. "What?"
You stayed calm in front of him, eyes focused on the crackling fire. Your physical form is nearly minutes away from withering, if not for the plant that you held close to your chest as a lifeline. It pained you to take their life away like this, but you had no choice. "I said, you have to cast Imperio instead."
He silently gripped the chair, wanting to say something, to shout and completely shut down the idea. But words clung to the roof of his mouth when he saw the exasperated look on your face. His grip loosened but his gut twisted in ways that made him sick.
"I know what you're thinking."
Taichi looks back up, not expecting you to elaborate or even say anything else.
"Look at me. I can barely stand. Not even the curse can sustain me for long. I have to make do with the time I'm given." You directed your attention to the plant in your hand. It was finally drained of all life, so you tossed it into the fire. Taichi stood up to place a new one in your hand.
"So when the time comes, I want you to do it."
He stood in front of you, his face blank but his fists said otherwise. "I don't want you to die."
Your head snapped up to face him. "I'm already dead, Taichi. I'm a parasite. I leech off of anything just to live."
He kneels down and takes your hand and places it to his chest. Power surged your body and you realized what he was doing. You yanked your hand away from him, hiding it to your sides. "What are you doing? You're gonna hurt yourself!"
"You can feed off of me."
"Are you out of your mind? Absolutely not!"
"Why not?"
"Because… you don't deserve it."
He sighs. You can tell that he was angry, but not at you.
"I can't let you die from the killing curse."
"It doesn't matter how I die, it will happen soon enough."
"It's not the 'how' that is the problem here!" Taichi yelled, the lump in his throat messing with the tone of his voice. You sink deeper into the armchair.
"It's the fact that there's no other option. And I can't even protect you from it."