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Kohaku was running away, as fast as he could, before anyone could get to him. But his legs couldn't escape the danger fast enough, and his lungs were barely able to get any oxygen. His partner, Madara, was nowhere in sight anymore. Did he escape, or did they get to him already? He had no idea. The boy’s thought process was cut off, as suddenly an ear-piercing gunshot resounded through the alley.
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“Are you scared, Kohaku-san?” Madara’s voice echoed in the empty room, as his flashlight lit up their path.
“This ain’t our first time, Madara-han…” Kohaku sighed, following Madara closely behind, looking around.
Double Face were sent to investigate a shady place near the ES. Nobody in the agency had an idea what was going on inside, though. At first, Kohaku simply refused, saying that they should reach out to the police instead, but the person commissioning them stated that it wasn't possible. They decided not to question it, since DF didn't have any tasks to do for a while already, so it wouldn't hurt to take on a mission.
It did seem shady, though. Was the fact that it was close to the ES the only reason to send them? Usually they were supposed to work with the help of idol activities, and this was far from it. Kohaku couldn't help but get suspicious.
Madara and Kohaku froze, as someone's footsteps echoed nearby. The halls were dark and spacious, so it was easy to hear, but not easy to spot anything.
“...? Is someone here?” An unfamiliar voice pierced through the silence, as more footsteps became audible, most likely from more people gathering around. Shit, did they hear us?
Madara tapped Kohaku on the shoulder. They knew they were about to get discovered, and they should run back to the entrance. They couldn't proceed, since they didn't know who or what was the enemy.
Both of them started running towards where they came from, and apparently footsteps followed them.
“Hey! There's someone here, after all!” Another one of the unfamiliar voices shouted out, as the halls brightened up from someone turning on the old, rusty lights.
They had nothing to protect themselves with, since none of them expected to be surrounded like this. Was it all a trap?
“Madara-han–” Kohaku tried to ask for directions, tried to ask about anything. But Madara's face simply stated that he probably won't get any answers.
Both of them were trying to get away as quickly as possible, both of them were in the same boat. Although Madara seemed… guilty. He was most likely blaming himself for taking on this mission, not doing much of a background check, and simply going for it, dragging basically a child, no matter how skilled, into a situation like this.
“If they keep chasing us even after we leave this place, we split up. There's a lot of them on our tail.” Madara spoke up, even if his quick breathing was preventing him from making clear sentences. Kohaku simply nodded, acknowledging their next moves.
Both Kohaku and Madara had weapons with them, so they could technically protect themselves. But they couldn't look back. Did their enemies have weapons as well? There were so many footsteps, a lot of people were probably chasing after them, and they weren't planning on making a bloody massacre here.
As they ran out of the tunnel, they split up, as Madara ordered them to. Most of the footsteps followed after him, not Kohaku, which in a way was reassuring, but also scary.
Kohaku finally decided to look behind, only to see a group of middle aged men chasing after him. They definitely didn't seem friendly. He was running towards ES, which could be a bad idea to lure dangerous people there, but maybe they'd give up the chase if he went to a crowded place.
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Kohaku gasped, as sharp pain pierced his side, hopefully missing his organs. He stumbled, trying not to fall over, and bit his lip to stay conscious.
“This kid's dead, let's go back.” A muffled sound came from behind Kohaku, as the men retreated.
The boy leaned against a nearby wall, coughing up warm, metallic blood. There was a lot of blood leaving his body, as the wound kept oozing out more sticky liquid. He tried to push his hands against the wound, to prevent it from bleeding, but it wasn't helping much.
“The ES–” was the first thought that came to Kohaku’s mind.
He wanted to get back, no matter if he survived this in the end or not. He pushed himself away from the wall, and slowly started walking again, approaching the familiar Square. It was pretty close by, as the boy could already see it, but his bleeding side wasn't helping to get him there faster. He wanted to get there quickly, to once again see those who are beloved to him.
Kohaku, Hiiro and Aira started dating a while ago, but since two of them are in a different unit than him, it was sometimes difficult to arrange dates or any other meetings. They all had their first kiss, they all laughed and cried together already, so… even if this was possibly the end, Kohaku felt… sort of fulfilled. He could die tonight, feeling loved and appreciated. And that's what mattered.
He pulled out his phone, with a hand that wasn't covered in blood, and opened his group chat he had with Hiiro and Aira. Apparently they've been texting about something to each other, but a sudden headache was preventing him from reading those small letters on his phone. He could see a pretty photo Aira sent, though. It was a selfie of him, Hiiro and the blonde boy from their first date. … Right. It was their three month anniversary soon. Maybe they were reminiscing.
Kohaku left a heart reaction under the selfie, and proceeded to share his location with the other two. He rarely did this, saying that “it's only for emergencies”, so they should realize something happened, and they should come over. Right?
The boy felt multiple worried stares on him, as people started approaching, asking if they should dial an ambulance. Kohaku simply shoo’d them off, though. What if the ambulance doesn't come fast enough, and he dies surrounded by strangers, and not those who matter to him? He wouldn't like that.
There's, of course, a chance of him surviving this, but Kohaku preferred to think of the worst outcome.
Suddenly, his phone started buzzing. Aira was calling him.
He reluctantly picked up, putting his phone next to his ear, as he continued walking.
“Kohakucchi? Are you alright? Did something happen? You were supposed to be with Mikejima-senpai, right?”
Kohaku was glad to hear a familiar voice.
“Love-han… ‘m sorry.” Kohaku managed to mutter out, before his phone slipped out of his hand, shattering on the ground.
There was less and less strength left in his body, as he fell over to the ground, right after entering through the Ensemble Square gates. Nobody was patrolling the place right now, since it was probably the break between the day and night shift, or something like that. So he couldn't ask anyone for help.
He crawled towards the nearby tree, leaning his back against it, looking at the starry sky. They were shining brightly today, giving him some sort of hope for a better tomorrow. He weakly smiled at the sky, as his consciousness started fading away.
Suddenly, he was awakened by a familiar voice, shouting his name nearby.
“...! Kohaku-san!” Hiiro’s voice woke Kohaku’s woozy mind up, as he looked towards them.
“Kohakucchi?!” Aira followed right behind, gasping for air. They must've been running pretty fast. “Hey, hey?! What happened?!”
Both of them caught up to him, kneeling next to Kohaku, as Aira's shaky hand pulled out his phone, and dialed an ambulance.
“K… Kohaku-san, what happened?! Where's Madara-senpai, wasn't he with you?!” Hiiro tried to stay calm, but he was clearly failing.
His hands seemed unsteady, checking Kohaku for a wound. Right, since he was covering it with his hand, it wasn't visible from the outside.
“We split up.” Kohaku answered quietly.
He was wondering where his partner was, too. Was he okay, did they catch up to him as well? Was Madara also thinking about him? Probably not.
“T- The ambulance will be here soon, Kohakucchi…!” Aira's eyes started welling up with tears, which broke Kohaku's heart. He didn't want to see this, he didn't want his beloved to cry because of him.
Hiiro put his hand on Aira's shoulder, trying to steady him, while he pried Kohaku’s hand from his body, revealing the gunshot wound. The redhead audibly gasped, as Aira gagged, trying not to throw up his dinner. Hiiro was definitely used to the sight of blood, unlike the blonde.
“Aira, your hoodie.” Hiiro signalled that he wanted Aira’s clothing, even if the blonde had a hard time understanding why. He didn't fight back though, and gave it to the redhead without a second thought.
He tied the hoodie tightly around the wound, squeezing it securely so it would stop bleeding out so much. Cold sweat covered Hiiro’s forehead, as he clearly wasn't taking this situation well either, no matter how tough he tried to seem in front of Aira.
Even if Kohaku and Aira were of similar age, Aira was the weakest of the three. He was delicate, and could break easily if something went wrong. The other two swore to protect him, shield him from any danger, and make sure he was happy and loved. So why was Kohaku causing him so much pain right now? Why was Kohaku weakly wiping Aira’s tears from his warm cheek?
His hand left a bloody trail on the blonde's face, but the younger one didn't seem to mind. He leaned into the touch, holding Kohaku's hand against his face, not wanting to let go.
Hiiro crawled to the other side of Kohaku, holding the pink haired boy's shoulder, before giving him a tight but careful hug. He couldn't hold in the tears for much longer either.
“You said…” Aira held back a sob, choking on a cough. “You said w- we’ll go on a date in a few days… K- Kohakucchi…” Aira cried out into the hand that he was holding onto like his life depended on it. “S- So! You… Stay awake…!”
“‘m sorry, Love-han…” Kohaku’s heart kept breaking more and more each time Aira let out a sniffle.
Hiiro was still hugging Kohaku closely, so the pink haired boy decided to bring his other hand to caress the redhead’s fluffy hair. He didn't want to make it sticky from blood, but at this point, none of them cared about this.
“Kohaku-san… Please…” Was all that he could mutter out. He didn't want to break, not in front of Aira. But Kohaku could feel how much he was shaking, how much he wanted to let himself cry. “Do you… Do you remember? Our first date… We promised each other to become the best idols together, right…?”
Right. Their promises, so many of them would be broken, just because of a dumb mistake he and Madara made.
Hiiro pulled away, not wanting to suffocate Kohaku or bring him more pain. The redhead stared at him with a pained expression, as they couldn't do much more other than sit here and wait for help.
The closest medical help was inside of the ES, which wasn't going to be easy to get to, and they probably won't be able to make it on time. They didn't have much professional help either, and the chances of any help being there were slim.
Hiiro tightened the hoodie around Kohaku’s waist, trying to squeeze the wound more, but the damage was already done. The clear, red trail that Kohaku left behind him was telling Hiiro more than necessary. He lost too much blood for him to be able to do anything right now. If necessary, he would attempt CPR, but the pink haired boy was still awake.
His consciousness slowly started fading though, and his sight was getting blurry, as thoughts started invading his mind.
Are Crazy:B okay right now? How are they doing tonight, is Niki having a fulfilling meal? Is Rinne once again gambling his money away somewhere? HiMERU… Is he doing well? He won't get to see them again, Kohaku just realized. Are Kohaku’s sisters doing well? Would they miss him?
And… Aira and Hiiro. Are they going to be okay? They'd hopefully keep dating, just... without him, right? Kohaku didn't know, and that's what he dreaded. They can't go out together as a three anymore, they can't… do anything, except for sitting here, begging for help to come faster.
Kohaku’s eyes started closing, but before that, he could see the bright lights of an ambulance getting close, and he heard some footsteps along with familiar voices from nearby. Crazy:B? Possibly… Did someone notify them? Aira?
Kohaku’s tears finally spilled from his eyes, as they soon closed, most likely forever. He could hear people shouting, his boyfriends shaking him to keep him awake, as their cries pierced his weak ears.
He wasn't so ready to die anymore.