Work Text:
Stupid.
Stupid. Stupid. STUPID!
“Misa!” Minami shouted over the loud ghostly groans in the school hall of the other realm. “I thought I told you to stay put!”
“I…couldn’t…”
Pathetic. Irresponsible. Weak.
He grit his teeth. He couldn’t deal with her nonsense right now. Facing down the problem right in front of him, this ghost girl that just didn’t know when to quit, Minami found an opening. “Fuck OFF!” And gave a great big kick. Just like last time, she was sent flying by the impact, down the hall and far away.
But not gone.
“And fuck you!” Minami swung his head to look at her. Misa Isshiki. That reckless human fool bleeding on the floor over there. “Why?” Without meaning to, he rushed to her side at a quickened pace. Without wanting to, he scooped her up in his arms with a gentle touch. And without his control, his demon heart pounded like mad. “Why did you come here?”
“For you,” she said simply. Coughing up a spot of blood, she laid limp in grasp. “To protect you from H.O. From Seiya.” Her gaze dimly flickered to him. “I did it all for you.”
Again, this girl managed to render him speechless. Again, she protected him. Worse, right after he specifically told her not to.
Now look at her. Half-dead and happy for his sake.
“Take it,” she said. “My soul. Take it, Minami.”
The magic words. A verbal statement to seal the soul binding contract he’s been vying for all this time. Right there, served on a silver platter.
He didn’t want it.
He wanted it.
He didn’t want it.
Not like this.
“Idiot!” With Misa safe in his arms, Minami took off running. Yelling a slew of expletives along the way, he made it to the nurse’s office. Kicking the door open with a BANG! he breathlessly brought her inside. “You! Save her!”
Startled, Yui was at a loss for words. But adapting quickly, she diligently got to work.
Minami stepped back, averting his eyes when Yui had to cut Misa’s clothes. He looked hard at the floor when she began sterilizing the wounds. Then he left the room entirely once she started to stitch.
“I’m going to keep watch,” he said as he made his escape. “Gonna make sure that ghost brat doesn’t come back.”
Yui didn’t answer him of course, too busy taking care of Misa to pay him any mind. Not that he wanted her too, he just needed an excuse to get out, as lame as it was. Blood and violence weren’t anything new to him, never a thing of discomfort before. But now he found it revolting. Wracked him with that disgusting feeling of fear. Every cry of agony Misa made increased that feeling tenfold. Regardless, this was a good thing.
It meant she was still alive. She’d survive.
Letting out a shaky breath, he leaned against the wall and slid down. She was going to be okay. Misa was going to be okay. This was good for one reason and one reason only.
Her soul.
~ ~ ~
Minami had no idea how to take care of a wounded person - usually he’d be the one inflicting the wounds - but Yui foisted Misa upon him when time ran out in this realm. Thankfully when they returned to Hell, the H.O. was as inept as ever, making it all too easy for Minami to shake them and Seiya off without a hitch. Successfully bringing an unconscious Misa back to his humble abode and tucking her into his bed.
Now came the hard part.
“Mh…Minami…?” Misa stirred at last, bringing an end to his torturous internal conflict of self-conscience.
“Finally,” he huffed, chucking gauze and disinfectants at her. “Here, redress your wounds yourself; I did enough work for you today.”
“...what?” Sitting up, she immediately winced. “Ah!”
“Idiot!” How many times has he said that today? “Don’t get up too fast, you’re hurt!” And how many times has his heart beat this hard for this human?
Hesitantly touching her abdomen, Misa inhaled slowly. “Oh, I remember now.” She had to have been a bit disoriented after surviving a brutal spectral stabbing, but her gaze shot sharp. “You saved me. Why?”
“Why?” Did she need him to spell it out? “For your soul, of course. It’s always been about your soul, Misa.” If she did, then he’d be all too happy to remind her. Flipping his scowl into a smirk, he changed his tune. “Ahahaha! Misa, don’t tell me you thought that was some romantic gesture or something! Besides the internal bleeding, maybe you suffered brain damage too!”
“No.” Except she wasn’t letting it go. Cutting into his forced laughter and cruel jokes, Misa stayed firm. “I offered you my soul before that. Why didn’t you take it then? Why did you save me?” she asked again, remembering it all clearly and rightfully calling him out on it.
Caught off guard, Minami blinked at her dumbly. “Um.”
“Because it’s not just about my soul anymore!” she pushed. “You care, Minami. A lot more than you let on. Why won’t you just admit it?”
In just a few short days, this human managed to see right through him. He still tried to laugh off her poignant observations. “Damn, you must’ve hit your head pretty hard.”
“Minami-!”
“Misaaaa!” Whining now, he wanted to drown out all her rebuttals. “I do not care! Not in the pathetic lovesick way you’re thinking! I just…” He shook his head, struggling to come up with a logical reason. “Go back to sleep!” So he said nothing of the sort and admonished her instead.
“...will I see you there?”
In her dreams.
“No,” he answered tersely. “There are other things I have to do, like eating a parfait or tormenting Seiya.” He was sulking and she knew it. Yet, surprisingly, she didn’t fight it.
“Okay, Minami.” Her voice was resigned as she laid down. “Do what you want.” Disappointed. With great effort, Misa turned her back to him.
And eventually fell asleep.
“Hah…” Minami didn’t have an appetite right now, nor did he want to have another run in with the H.O. Gingerly, he approached Misa’s sleeping figure. Laced with pain and labored breaths, her slumber was anything but peaceful. His eyes flicked to the discarded gauze. She needs more care than this. It was at this moment that he knew what to do. What must be done.
“You’re right, Misa,” he murmured. “I do care.” Gently lifting her from his bed, he started retracing his steps. Back to the H.O. Back to the Kalifa tree.
She’ll recover properly breathing that shitty air, he thought, moving carefully to not wake her or reopen her wounds. She’ll lift her burden and return home if she…
Setting her down by that blasted tree, Minami stepped back. Misa already looked better. And if she does what needs to be done when she wakes up, she’ll be able to leave Hell. A weakness overwhelmed Minami at the thought, and he couldn’t wholly blame the Kalifa tree. There were two heavy weights he was carrying at the moment: the thing beating in his chest and the thing he found in Misa’s bag - that of which would bring the beating to a stop.
“Misa…” They both felt equally heavy on his person. “When you wake up, do the right thing. Go home, escape this place and live out your life.” With his head down and his back to her, he retreated. Barely a whisper, he said-
“Kill me.”