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There was blood everywhere.
All over the ground. All over the body.
All over Josuke's hands.
"Josuke, get off him! There's nothing you can do!"
Josuke wasn't really sure who was speaking. All he could focus on was the blood.
And the body.
Okuyasu was laying down on the pavement, eyes closed. His blood had puddled around him, a massive slash of it across his chest.
But no wound.
Josuke ripped open Okuyasu's shirt, revealing smooth, undamaged skin underneath.
"He's fine," Josuke whispered, barely breathing. "He's fine. He'll wake up and he'll be fine."
He had to be. He was Okuyasu. Of course he was fine. Why wouldn't he be?
"Josuke! Josuke!!"
"I healed him," he whispered, placing a hand on Okuyasu's chest. "I healed him. He's not hurting anymore. He's fine."
But he wasn't fine.
If he was, he wouldn't have his eyes closed.
"Josuke, stop! We need to go!"
Josuke felt raindrops hit his cheeks. It didn't usually rain in Morioh.
"Why aren't you fine? What didn't I do?" Josuke whispered to Okuyasu. The rain fell harder. Why wasn't it washing away the blood? Why did the blood stay on his hands?
Josuke clenched his jaw, and grabbed Okuyasu's face.
"You bastard," he choked out. "You fucking bastard. Why won't you come back? I healed you! You're fine now!"
The rain only fell harder, droplets falling on Okuyasu's neck and cheeks.
Josuke stared at his friend for a moment before laughing. His laughter only grew louder until he was nearly shrieking.
"I get it! Funny joke! You had me going for a while there!"
He sat Okuyasu up, but he only slumped over, unmoving.
Josuke felt his heart shatter.
He'd done this so many times. He'd fixed so many people. It didn't matter what their bodies looked like, whether it was a scratch or they were ripped apart. They all turned out fine.
Why wasn't it working?
Why wasn't he working?
Josuke held Okuyasu's face, staring at him. It finally started to dawn on him.
Even if he was fine on the outside, that didn't mean he was fine on the inside.
Josuke sucked in breath after breath, but none of them reached his lungs. The rain blurred his vision.
" OKUYASU !" he screamed, shaking him roughly. "Get up, dammit! Open your fucking eyes!"
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Josuke let go of him, and he fell back with a thud. The sound made bile crawl up his throat.
He couldn't save him. No matter what he did, it would never be enough. He would never be enough to save the people he cared about.
What's the point in even trying?
Josuke held a bloody hand to his face as he hiccuped. It was only then when he looked around and saw a clear blue sky that he realized it wasn't raining.
He hiccuped again, all sound muffling as he stared at his friend's body, hugging his knees to his chest and sobbing harder than he ever had in his life.
He wasn't enough. Why did he think he was?
Now Okuyasu was broken.
And Josuke couldn't fix him.