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When Toya awoke it was night. He was outside, in the grass. He didn't remember falling asleep, especially not outside. Toya pushed himself into a sitting position glancing around. He didn't entirely recognize where he was at first. There were flowers around.. The park.
It's a weird place to fall asleep. He rarely went to the park in the first place. The moon felt especially bright. It hurt his eyes.
There's something wet soaking into his clothes. He reached down to touch it. His hand came back covered in deep red blood, almost black.
He stared at it in horror. He didn't remember getting such a wound. It barely even hurt.
His skin looked like he had become a corpse.
Most of his senses felt rather dull.
He reached his hand up to check for his pulse. Nothing. Hell he hadn't even breathed in several moments.
He was shaking, digging his nails into his arms. What happened? Did he die? What is he? A zombie? He pressed his hands against his ears, tightly closing his eyes. This wasn't real. It couldn't be. His chest felt heavy. His throat tightened.
It was just a bad dream. It had to be.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, seeing as he didn't wake up from the so-called dream. At some point, he managed to calm down enough to think clearly. It certainly took a moment though.
He examined any extra changes that might have occurred. The only really notable thing was that stitches kept his arm attached. Stitches also appeared to have been on his abdomen but were torn.. Now he just has a gaping wound. Luckily it didn't hurt but.. it might freak people out. It certainly freaked him out.
He can't stay in the park all night. He had to find somewhere to go. He didn't have his phone with him... What a predicament. He pushed himself off the ground, almost stumbling. Everything felt a bit more numb than it used to. Standing felt.. weird.
Luckily, he knew how to get to Akito's house from pretty much anywhere.
Toya stood outside the house, staring at the door. He knocked hesitantly, hoping Akito would be awake.
The door opened, and Toya wasn't sure if he'd ever seen Akito that startled before.
Akito took a step back, his eyes wide. His hands were visibly shaking. Akito slowly reached his hand out, setting it on Toya's shoulder. He immediately pulled it away as if just the touch alone had burned him.
"You died," Akito whispered, his voice notably shaky. "You died you died. I saw it happen! What are you doing here?" Akito shook his head looking away. "This has to be a dream."
"Akito close the door," Toya heard Ena's voice from inside. He then saw her peek her head out from around the corner. "It's cold outsi- Toya?" She looked almost as shocked as Akito.
Toya blinked before slowly waving at her.
Ena was silent as she slowly went back around the corner.
"So I'm not dreaming. Huh." Akito took a deep breath. "Okay. Uh.. Come inside." He stepped out of the doorway, letting Toya inside. Akito led Toya to his room, motioning for him to sit on the bed.
Toya sat down, staring blankly at Akito. His memories right before he woke up were rather hazy.. But what did Akito mean by seeing him die?
Toya was distracted from his thoughts by Akito speaking. "You're bleeding."
Ah.. He almost forgot about that. It's not like it hurt. "I know."
"You look like a corpse.."
"Is that so? You said I died."
Akito sat down on his chair, running a hand through his hair. "You really don't know, do you?"
"Not particularly."
Akito looked down at his hands. They hadn't stopped shaking. "You.. We were walking home together. A car didn't stop. You pushed me out of the way and got hit instead." This might be the first time Toya has seen him fully cry. "That was two weeks ago! You died. The funeral was yesterday! I was there!" There was a moment of silence while Akito tried to calm down. "And then you just show up like it's nothing."
Toya looked down at his hands. "I don't remember dying."
"It's probably better that you don't. It's not a pleasant memory." Akito shook his head, trying to regain his composure. "Sorry- You're still bleeding."
"It's fine. It doesn't hurt." It really didn't. It feels like he should feel some pain, but he can't. There wasn't even that much blood coming out now. Honestly it probably should be a little concerning. The blood wasn’t clotting meaning the lack of bleeding more of meant his lack of blood.
"We should at least.. Get you bandaged up." Akito stood up. "I'll be back."
He left, giving Toya some alone time with his thoughts. So he died. So technically he's considered to be dead right now. He's a corpse. Literally. Why is he back? Why?
"Toya?"
Toya glanced up. When did Akito return?
"You spaced out." He must've. "Are you good?"
"I should be asking you that."
Akito was silent for a moment. "We'll talk about that later." Makes sense. Toya couldn’t imagine what was going on in Akito’s mind. "Move your shirt so I can bandage this."
Toya nodded, doing as he was told.
"Have you just not been breathing?"
"I don't need to."
"I see.. Your blood is.. thick."
"That happened."
Akito sighed, finishing up the bandaging. "Let me find you something to wear."
Toya nodded, glancing around Akito's room. It looked slightly more disorganized than usual. Maybe he should organize it for him. He figured it would have been rough when he.. "died." Something however caught his eye. "Is that my hoodie?"
Akito paused for a moment to see what Toya was talking about. "Yeah when you died.. I- Do you want it?"
"That's.. up to you."
Akito nodded, tossing the hoodie over to him.
Toya caught it, taking off his blood stained shirt and putting on the hoodie instead. It was comfortable. Smelled a lot like Akito for behing his hoodie. It was nice though.
"Were those.. stitches keeping your arm on?"
"I think so." Toya wasn't entirely sure about what's different now he's.. undead? We'll go with that. Seemed like Akito had it harder than he did. "Are you doing okay?"
"No. Not really. I'm not sure what to think."
"Neither am I."
"We'll get through it, partner."
Now that he's.. Less dead than he was two weeks ago, Toya has a lot to deal with. After staying with Akito for the night, he went over to Tsukasa's that morning. Unfortunately, he didn't believe Toya was back over text.
Toya didn't blame him. He wouldn't either. But now he stood outside the Tenma's house, staring at that dreaded door. Braving the sun was enough. He's been more sensitive to light lately. The sooner he knocks maybe the sooner he can get away from the bright sun. He knocked, waiting a few moments for the door to open.
Honestly he shouldn't be so surprised at Tsukasa's reaction.
"AAAA TOYA! IT'S TRUE? YOU’RE ACTUALLY ALIVE??"
Toya gave a tiny smile. "Uh.. Yeah. More or less."
He was almost knocked off balance by Tsukasa tackling him in a hug. Barely a moment later, Saki joined in on the hug. He didn't even notice her appearance.
Toya giggled quietly. He missed them both.
"AAAA TOYA YOUR ARM!!"
"What- oh." The stitches must've come undone. His arm lay limply at his side, luckily caught up in his hoodie sleeve and not fallen onto the ground. It felt more odd than anything.
Saki was less squeamish than Tsukasa, but even she seemed a little freaked out. As expected. Looks like he's got some explaining to do.
Toya sat on the couch at the Tenma's while he explained his current situation to Tsukasa and Saki. Tsukasa called over his fellow troupe member to stitch Toya's arm back on. The director was rather willing and admittedly it was a little scary.
Tsukasa looked away the entire time to give Toya's arm some privacy. And Toya had to admit, seeing his arm off was at least a little gross.
Rui had it done rather quickly though which was.. Surprising.
"What are you going to do now?" Akito asked, laying down on his bed.
"What do you mean?" Toya was sitting upright on the bed, using Akito's phone to play a game.
"You've proved you're mostly alive to your friends but.. What about your father? Are you going to return to school?"
"I hadn't thought that far." What would all of them think.. Especially his father. It would certainly be a lot. Technically he's still dead.
"We should start thinking about it soon.. Maybe not today but.. You know?"
Toya nodded, focusing on his game again. It was hard though. So many thoughts flooded in his mind.
Toya smiled at something Akito said, taking a sip of his boba while they crossed the street. It was a nice day. The two had some spare time so they planned a small date together. Getting some milk tea and going on a walk together before watching the sunset together.
It was perfect.
It was meant to be perfect.
It should have been perfect.
It was far from perfect.
Why couldn't it have been perfect?
Toya wasn't thinking clearly when he heard the car not stop. When he heard it coming towards them. When he shoved Akito away. Anything to protect him. Anything to keep him safe. His safety was all that mattered.
Toya didn't process the fact that he should move as well until Akito was reaching for him a split second before Toya was launched across the street from impact.
Was it really approaching that fast to do this much to him..? Either way he's bleeding. Either way it hurts. He choked on his blood, coughing. His arm hurt.
Toya's vision was blurry but he still recognized Akito's bright orange hair. He was saying something, but Toya couldn't hear properly. At least Akito's okay.
Toya shot up fully awake, digging his nails into his palms. So that's what happened. No wonder Akito first reacted like that.