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Less than one day. Less than one day until…
Tasuku stared at the photo on his phone screen. It was the one that was taken after Gao had won the World Buddy Cup. Tasuku and all their friends were gathered around Gao, though Tasuku had the photo zoomed in so Gao was the only one fully in frame. As he did so, sitting on his bed in his dark bedroom, the events of the past few days replayed in his mind.
“Gao-kun!!” Tasuku screamed upon seeing the state Gao was in. He was lying unconscious after his Buddyfight with Wisdom, empty black eyes and body dragonified on the right side. Tasuku immediately ran toward Gao with the intention to hold him, yell for him to hang on, or otherwise try to get him to wake up. Tasuku faintly heard Ku’s yell of “Tasuku-senpai!” but he had no plans of stopping.
“Don’t you dare touch him!” Tasuku stopped right there and looked in the direction the voice came from. He watched as Batzz picked up Gao’s unconscious body and said a few words to him before flying off.
Tasuku continued to stand there, playing every worst case scenario in his head. They needed to take Gao to the Buddy Police Hospital. There, he could be saved and return back to normal. But if Gao was already gone, then…
“Tasuku-senpai, are you alright?” Ku asked.
Tasuku turned to her. “I-I’m alright…” he replied.
“But,” Ku said slowly, “you’re crying, indeed.”
Tasuku reached up to touch his cheek and, indeed, it was wet. He did his best to wipe the tears away then said, “We need to go after Batzz!”
“Sorry, Tasuku-senpai, but the commander wants you and this officer back at headquarters, indeed,” Ku replied. “There seems to be a lot of people going after Batzz, so it should be alright, indeed!”
Tasuku’s heart sank hearing that, but he put on the best smile he could muster and replied, “Understood.” He got back into Satsuki with Ku as they headed back to Buddy Police headquarters. The entire time, Tasuku worried about Gao, trying not to believe the worst.
Tasuku remembered the mix of relief and newfound fear he felt when he called Gao’s friends to see how Gao was doing. Relief that Gao wasn’t gone for good seeing as he was now a ghost, but fear that he may not be here for long. Tasuku insisted they bring Gao to the Buddy Police Hospital, but they said they knew what to do and didn’t want to alarm Gao’s mother or teachers. It didn’t last, as they were found out and Gao’s mother had the Buddy Police come pick Gao up. It was comforting for Tasuku since it meant he could be with Gao. Unfortunately, Tasuku was still unable to interact with or even see Gao’s ghost. Until the possession happened.
Tasuku fell once he regained full consciousness. He felt so tired after having Batzz’s power completely flow through him while Gao was using the X Tempest Buster in Tasuku’s body.
“Whoa there,” he heard Batzz say as he caught Tasuku before he hit the ground.
“Tasuku-senpai?!” a voice shouted. Wait…
Batzz laid Tasuku on the ground. “My mighty power flowed through him, after all.”
“Are you alright, Tasuku-senpai?”
Tasuku opened his eyes and when he saw who had been speaking, he was overjoyed. “Gao-kun,” he said, “I can finally see you, too.”
Gao smiled so big when Tasuku said that, it made his heart melt. He thought he couldn’t be happier in that moment, but that’s when Gao leaned forward to press a kiss to Tasuku’s forehead. Tasuku may not have been able to feel it physically, but he didn’t need to. Being able to see and speak to Gao was enough.
Unfortunately, Tasuku didn’t make any progress in returning Gao back to normal after that. Not with Batzz destroying the Buddy Police facilities anyway. Now, it was nighttime before the final day. After sunset the next day, Gao would no longer be able to return to normal. He would be…
It was a scary thought. Tasuku didn’t want to lose Gao, he couldn’t. Aside from Jack, Gao was everything to Tasuku. Despite not realizing it at first, he had fallen in love with Gao the day they first met. Losing to the so-called Mighty Sun Fighter definitely left an impression on him, what with that bright aura, fanged smirk, and adorable confidence. How could Tasuku forget their fight that day? Neither could he forget that day in Dragon World where Gao nervously confessed he had feelings for Tasuku. It was the day that they promised themselves to each other. Even if they were only kids, Tasuku just knew this was the boy he wanted to spend forever with.
Tasuku tried to have hope that it would all be okay. After all, he’d nearly lost Jack when he was taken to Star Dragon World with the caveat that he may not survive the trip there. But against the odds, Jack had returned to Tasuku. He was hoping Gao, too, would return.
“Gao-kun,” Tasuku said quietly to the image of Gao on the phone screen. Just the feel of his name rolling off Tasuku's tongue was comforting. “Please, come back to me.”
Tasuku let out a small laugh. Gao couldn’t hear him right now. Though, maybe it would help to keep going, to get his thoughts out like this. “I know Batzz is working to bring you back to normal, but it’s still…” Tasuku couldn’t get the last word to leave his mouth, even if he was alone in his room. He ignored the wetness gathering in his eyes as he continued, “…I miss you, even if it’s only been a few days since we were together. I wish you could hold me and tell me it’s going to be alright, like you always do. Gao-kun…”
“You called?”
Tasuku immediately stiffened. It wasn’t for long as he turned to the source of the voice. “Gao-kun?!”
Sure enough, Gao’s ghost was hovering in a crossed leg position in the air a few feet from the floor, looking cheerful as he often did. “Figured I’d stop by since you can see me now! Gonna be honest, though, I thought you would’ve been at HQ overnight.”
Tasuku looked down, sadness once again taking over. “Takihara-san made me go home. He said I needed to rest. I really wanted to, though.”
“Hey, cheer up, Tasuku-senpai!” Gao said as he flew over to sit next to Tasuku on his bed. “It’s okay. We’re together now, right?” Tasuku looked at Gao, who was currently wearing one of his bright, cute smiles. Gao raised his hands to Tasuku’s face. “So, don’t cry! Here, let me…”
Gao trailed off as he tried to wipe the tears Tasuku didn’t even know he shed. Although it looked like Gao’s hands made contact with Tasuku’s cheeks, Tasuku couldn’t feel them. By the look of Gao’s fallen face, he’d come to the same conclusion. The frown only lasted for a second, as Gao was smiling again just as fast. “It’ll be okay. Batzz will work hard to get my Miracle Life points up to ten tomorrow. I believe in him. He’s my Buddy, after all!”
Tasuku reached up to wipe his tears in place of Gao and also smiled. There’s that confidence he loved. “Then, I’ll believe in him, too.”
“I’m not dying on you that easy!” Gao put his hand over one of Tasuku’s, despite not being able to feel it. “I mean, we said we’d be together forever, right?”
Tasuku laughed, “We did say that. Many times…”
Gao laughed too, leaning over to press a kiss to Tasuku’s lips. Tasuku let him, and they both indulged in a kiss that neither of them could feel physically. It didn’t matter. Knowing Gao was here was enough for Tasuku.
If Gao was the sun, then Tasuku thought of himself as the moon. The moon doesn’t make any of its own light. Instead, the light comes from the sun shining on it. The moon then reflects that light onto everything else. Without Gao, Tasuku didn’t have the ability to shine the way he did when Gao was by his side. Gao was Tasuku’s light.
Gao pulled back from the kiss with a smile on his face. Tasuku was smiling as well, staring into Gao's beautiful yellow eyes that always reminded Tasuku of the sun. He didn't even pay much mind to how translucent they looked now.
"You look a lot happier now," Gao said.
"I am," Tasuku replied. "It's hard not to worry, but there's still plenty of time for Batzz to get your Miracle Life up. I trust your bond with him."
"Exactly," Gao laughed. "Hopefully, you won't stay up all night worrying now!"
Tasuku pouted as he blushed. He wanted to refute Gao's statement, but Tasuku knew he would've lost sleep over this if Gao hadn't shown up. Tasuku sighed before he said, “In that case, we should both get some rest.”
“I don’t think I really need to sleep since I’m a ghost now,” Gao once again laughed but was betrayed by a yawn. “Never mind, I’ll head home.”
“Good,” said Tasuku, once again smiling. “Then, I’ll see you tomorrow, Gao-kun.”
“See ya, Tasuku-senpai!” Gao flew toward the window before he turned back to Tasuku with a bright smile and pink cheeks. “I love you!”
Tasuku blushed as well. “I love you, too.”
Tasuku watched as Gao effortlessly phased through the closed window to begin his journey home. Once he was gone, Tasuku got under the covers to sleep. In the back of his mind, there was still the worry that Batzz would fail to get Gao’s Miracle Life points up to ten before the next sunset, but Tasuku chose to believe that Batzz would beat the clock and bring Gao back to him. It was the last thought Tasuku had before he drifted off to sleep.
Tasuku stood at Gao’s side next to Gao’s mother as the sky outside started to turn orange. Gao’s body had almost been completely dragonified by this point. Tasuku refused to look away from Gao no matter how hard it was to see him like that.
Noboru let out a frustrated yell. “The sun’s already setting!”
“And we still haven’t heard anything from Batzz and Chibi Panda,” said Baku.
“What are we going to do?” Kuguru said, worry evident in her voice. “Is Gao-kun going to be stuck like this?”
“We have to believe,” Tasuku said, “until the very last moment.” And he did believe. He knew Batzz would find the X Tempest Buster before the sun had fully set. Tasuku hoped the rest would do the same. Despite this, his heart was pounding as the sun continued to set. There was no sign of the dragonification stopping, but Tasuku knew it would soon. It had to. This wasn’t the end for Gao.
The sun had nearly finished setting when Tasuku noticed the dragonification had started to reverse. Slowly, Gao was returning to normal. Tasuku heard Gao’s mother gasp in excitement. He was excited, too. Batzz must have found it, the X Tempest Buster, and Gao was saved.
Once the dragonification was fully reversed, Gao sat up, a little dazed. “Gao-chan!” Gao’s mother exclaimed as she hugged her son before Gao could even get a word out. Tasuku decided to step away to give them some space. He watched as Gao hugged his mother back, reassuring her that he was okay now. The sight was so sweet. It made Tasuku feel incredibly happy. Gao was here, back in his body. Just as Tasuku liked him.
“What’cha crying for, Tasuku-senpai?” Gao asked, now standing in front of Tasuku.
Tasuku reached up to touch his cheek. He hadn’t realized he’d started crying until Gao pointed it out, just like the night before. Tasuku smiled and shook his head. “I’m just so happy you’re back.”
Gao also smiled and reached up to wipe Tasuku’s tears, succeeding this time. Tasuku let him, enjoying the warmth of Gao’s hands on his face. Tasuku couldn’t stop thinking about how relieved he felt to have Gao back. He'd missed Gao so much, even if it had only been three days.
Once Gao had finished, Tasuku pulled him into a tight hug. It didn’t matter that they were in front of everyone else right now. Tasuku needed this. Gao didn’t seem to mind either as he hugged back.
“Gao-kun…”
“Tasuku-senpai…”
“Welcome back.”