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The boat drifted aimlessly across the water, Rokkenjima becoming nothing but a blur in the distance as the two boys sat, back to back, in silence. Akira didn’t dare look behind him, afraid that if he did, the witch - his witch - behind him would be nothing but a figment of his pitiful imagination. He blindly reached for Goro’s hand, entwining their fingers together. A symbol of everything they had been through on that hellish island, the countless October 4ths blending together in his mind. He squeezed the hand resting in his. His witch squeezed back.
“...Akira.”
He felt Goro shift behind him, wrapping his arms around Akira’s midsection and resting his forehead on the shoulder in front of him. With a shaky exhale, Goro spoke once more.
“In this world of yours… Will I be able to live…?”
Akira didn’t answer. How can he, knowing that no matter how hard he tried, he would never truly be able to solve Goro’s problems? Instead, he tilted his head back to look his witch in the eyes, a signal for him to continue talking.
“The amount of sins and atrocities I have committed while residing on Rokkenjima… is too great a burden to carry with me,” Goro sighed, “How can I live, knowing all that I’ve done? Your world is much too lustrous for a witch such as me to live in.”
Goro had barely finished the end of his sentence when a pair of rough hands grabbed him by the shoulders firmly, Akira having turned to face him. Grey eyes stared into wine red with a burning intensity, glittering with unshed tears. Raising a shaking hand, he cupped Goro’s cheek and gently swiped a thumb below his eye, catching teardrops that Goro was unaware even existed there.
“..No.” Akira whispered gently, yet with enough force to still a thousand soldiers charging into battle head-on. “No. You have to live. You’re going to live,” Akira took an unsteady breath, “If your atrocities are too much for you to handle, then keep living in defiance. The only way to atone for your sins is to keep living… with everything you have.” He flashed a smile at Goro, a smile filled with thousands of words unsaid… thousands of love declarations he was too afraid to voice, afraid he would chain his witch down when he had worked so hard to set him free.
“I… Akira…” Goro choked out, tears flowing freely, streaming down his cheeks and gathering in Akira’s palm that was still gently cupping his cheek. “..Is that truly the only way for me to repent...? To keep living?” Akira nodded in response, continuing to dry the tears that fell from Goro’s eyes. He smiled softly, prompting Goro to give a weak smile of his own in response.
“Hey, don’t look at me like that. All teary eyed and stuff, it’s embarrassing,” He laughed, “extremely unbefitting for the famed Golden Witch of Rokkenjima.”
Goro burst out laughing at that, a maniacal cackle that truly captured the essence of his days as a bloodthirsty witch, toying with his victims before killing them in the most gruesome way possible. Yes, it’s true - he is the Witch of Gold, how pathetic of him to be crying over something so trivial! He grinned wickedly, taking Akira’s hand and pulling it away from his cheek, instead lowering it to his side.
“Forgive me. Would it be more appropriate if I were to say something along the lines of…” He brought a hand to his chin, pretending to be lost deep in thought, before putting on his best ‘I’m-a-dangerous-witch’ voice, “Foolish human. As punishment, you ought to be cursed for stealing the witch from his Golden Land. Close your eyes.”
He paused, then spoke once more.
“..It’s… embarrassing for me, too. Now close your damn eyes, Kurusu.”
Akira complied, eyes fluttering shut. As soon as his vision was covered by complete darkness, he heard Goro moving in front of him, then… the sensation of the witch’s lips covering his, slotting together as if they were truly made for each other. Goro kissed Akira as if he would never have the chance to meet him again, hoping to convey just how much Akira had affected him, the love he had for said man flowing through him like a river flowing down to the vast ocean. Everything that had happened over the past three days (plus the amount of time loops he had trapped Akira in) had led up to this. Then, as quickly as he had leaned in, he pulled away.
“Goodbye, Akira.”
As soon as Akira opened his eyes… his witch had disappeared, the boat now empty with him as the sole passenger. Panic squeezed his heart with a vice grip as he abandoned everything - the gold, the boat, what little possessions he had brought with him - and dove into the water below him, determined not to let his witch escape his grasp.
And he had made it in time.
As he watched Goro sink into the darkness below him, he heard the witch’s voice ring loud and clear in his head.
“Didn’t I tell you? I cannot atone for my sins, therefore I cannot live.”
Akira desperately attempted to say something, anything, in response, but all that left his mouth were strangled, watery gasps and a myriad of bubbles that floated towards the surface. But that’s not where he was headed. He kept chasing Goro, swimming downwards with all his strength, determined to reach his lover before the lack of air could kill him. He would see his witch one last time, even if it resulted in his death. He couldn’t tell if he was crying or not, salty tears blending in with salty water. Said saltwater stung at his eyes, making it impossible for him to see clearly. With a muffled cry, he pushed himself deeper, propelling himself forward with an outstretched hand.
And then.. As if it were a miracle… his hand reached Goro’s. He grabbed ahold of his beloved’s wrist, pulling himself toward the witch and wrapping Goro in his embrace, clutching him tightly, afraid he would lose him again. He opened his mouth to speak once more, his words becoming lost in the vast ocean, yet the two of them heard it loud and clear;
“I won’t let go of you.”
Goro melted into Akira’s embrace, the two hugging each other tightly as they sank into the murky abyss below them. Fate would never try and tear them apart again, for they would find each other no matter what came their way. Two had become one, worlds of fantasy and mystery merging together. Akira brought his head close to Goro’s, resting their foreheads together as they disappeared into the darkness, once and for all.
In that darkness, there floated a single golden rose.