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Kaito felt an intense shudder run through him as he stared up at his own warped reflection in the top slab of the cold press. He didn't know that just laying underneath it would bring such an intense feeling of doom and anguish. It was terrifying looking up at the steel slab, which had stopped just a few inches above his face.
If Kokichi had stopped just 5 seconds later, he probably wouldn't be alive. Instead of carrying out their plan to end this killing game, Kaito would be crushed, and Maki would become the blackened while Kokichi slowly succumbed to the strychnine.
If Kokichi had been captured by one of his tremors, if something stopped working...
It wasn't even the idea of losing his own life that scared him the most about the dark slab. It was the fact that Kokichi would have to look up at it knowing that it would be the last thing he saw.
Kaito and Kokichi never had the best relationship. In fact, the two probably got along the least compared to all of their other classmates. Kaito thought that his hate was justified. You couldn't blame him; Kokichi would say he enjoyed the killing game, acted as if he were the mastermind... He caused the deaths of Gonta and Miu.
And while Kaito hadn't necessarily forgiven him for his dubious actions, his view on the conniving guy had changed without a doubt.
When he thrusted the antidote into his hand, kept a reassuring hold on him as he drank, Kaito knew that Kokichi was good. Underneath all the maniacal laughs, soulless grins, and downright evil words he spat, there was a boy that was just as scared as the rest of them. All of his suspicions were confirmed when Kokichi told him his plan.
Kokichi may have been a pain in the ass in the past, but nobody deserved to go through something like this. The boy had been shot twice, once in the spine with a poisoned arrow. Kaito had no idea how he was able to stand. He was poisoned with one of the cruelest poisons out there, often used for torture. He would seize, and not even someone like Kokichi could hide the amount of pain he was in. And if that weren't enough, he'd have to give up his own life for a game he never wanted part in. He wouldn't even know if it was a success. Kokichi was only 17, and it just wasn't fair.
The idea was insane.
People would die. Kaito would die, and he would have to lie to all of his friends before he did. Kaito hated it. He hated it with all his heart. But it was too late for those feelings.
He forced himself to clear his mind, banishing the horrible thoughts and feelings to a corner of his mind. Or tried to, at least. He didn't want to make Kokichi stand up there any longer than he had to.
Being careful not to knock the jacket's position out of place, he crawled out from the press' maw.
"Did you get it?" Kaito called up to the boy at the control panel. His face was scrunched up, and he gripped furiously onto the metal railing. He gave a weak nod of the head.
Kaito nodded back, trying not to look at him for longer than he had to. It physically hurt to see the boy who was usually so confident, so sure on his feet, tremble in pain just from having to stand. If he stared for any longer, he'd lose his will to see this through to the end.
"...All right. I'm coming up to get you." Kaito replied, heading up the stairs. The metallic clanking of his footsteps did nothing to ease the dread that gradually filled his empty chest. There was so much metal. Cold, hard, and so sure in itself. The metal in this hangar wasn't malleable. The cold steel of the press wouldn't show any forgiveness to those lying in its jaws.
Kaito was quick to sweep Kokichi off his feet, but made sure not to touch his wounds. He tried not to look at them. Swollen, red, oozing.
Kokichi was shaking hard and could only manage to press his head against Kaito's shirt. Kaito had one arm under his knees, while the other one wrapped around his shoulders.
Kaito wished he knew what to say to make this any better than him. These were his last moments, the last time he'd get to speak to anyone. The last time he'd get to be alive, and Kaito didn't know what to say to him.
Kaito considered himself a charismatic person, but Kokichi was a puzzle he could never work out. His jaw tensed when he realized he had given up before he even tried.
Kaito was also an angry person, which Kokichi took advantage of. Kaito was angry, and Kokichi was infuriating. It wasn't a good mix.
But in his last moments, Kaito wanted to be a friend to him, someone that could make Kokichi feel appreciated before dying. Loved, even.
With the arm he had around his shoulders, Kaito ran a hand through his hair. Kokichi didn't react much, just pressing his forehead against him harder.
Once they reached the bottom of the stairs, Kaito sat him down. He didn't want to force the guy to stand anymore. He sat across from him. He had to say something to him before he died.
"I'll... I'll make sure this works, okay?" Kaito started, his words unsteady. He reached out and put a hand on Kokichi's shoulder.
Kokichi didn't fight the hand on his shoulder. It took him a second to talk as he battled his pain.
"Nn... Y-You better..." He got out, though the words were quiet. "I..." Kokichi started, but took a second to catch his breath. "I'm betting money on you, Kaito. I'll have m-my goons track you down and beat you up if you lose... 'Kay?" Kokichi grinned, trying to keep a semblance of himself in his words.
Kaito tried to grin back, but it felt weak. It was hard to feel anything but hopeless. The two stayed silent for a moment, and Kaito was sure that they were both feeling the heaviness of what they had to do. Kokichi, lose his life in the hydraulic press. Kaito, kill his friend when he was just starting to understand him. Kaito sighed.
"...I'm gonna put on one hell of a show out there, you got that, you crazy bastard? I'm gonna make sure this is all worth it. You're gonna go out with a bang." Kaito tried reassuring him.
"Mm... Make sure they remember me... A-And have them start a cult dedicated to me once they get out of here..." Kokichi replied with a shaky smirk.
"Obviously I'll make them remember you, but man, don't force me to make promises I won't be able to keep..." Kaito replied. He felt a gnawing guilt in his chest.
"Too much? I have an... an easier one."
Kokichi reached out, placing his own hands on Kaito's shoulder. The one with the arrow wound trembled uncontrollably.
"...Yeah?" Kaito's eyes widened a little as he looked at the smirking boy. Kaito had no idea how he managed to keep this up while in that state.
"I wanna..." Kokichi trailed off, his grip tightening the smallest amount on his shoulders. "I haven't had my first kiss yet," he admitted, smirk faltering.
Kaito stayed still, and the smallest amount of heat rose to his face. Typically, it would've been more, but it was hard to feel much besides the pain in his lungs and the heaviness in his heart. "Y-You mean...?"
"I just wanna see what it feels like. Maybe it'll be nice."
Kaito was still shocked, but had no intention of denying his request. It was the least he could do.
"Ah... My mouth's gonna taste like blood, y'know."
Kokichi shrugged, then looked back up at him. After a few seconds of eye contact, it was clear that he expected Kaito to initiate it.
"Uh, yeah, sure... Here, I'm gonna move you closer." He warned him as he reached out his hands. He gripped Kokichi's hips, his thumbs resting on his bare skin. It was still so unnatural seeing Kokichi without his shirt and checkered scarf. He pulled him closer, so that he was sitting on his thighs.
Kokichi looked at him with melancholic eyes, which looked so genuine that it hurt. Kaito looked back.
Kokichi raised his hand, tucking some of Kaito's flat hair behind one ear. Neither of them were particularly clean with the lack of showers in the hangar, only washing off with the sink and hand soap.
A small shiver ran through Kaito when Kokichi's hand slid to the back of his neck. Kaito decided to move his own hands, placing one on the small of Kokichi's back and one on his hip.
Normally, Kaito would find such a situation absurd. But at that moment, Kaito knew he was doing the right thing.
They both exchanged a glance before Kaito leaned forward, tilting his head to the side. Kokichi reciprocated, tilting the other way.
They both closed their eyes as their lips connected gingerly.
Oddly enough, holding Kokichi so intimately and kissing his lips made some of the tension leave Kaito's body. He couldn't really explain it. Maybe it was just the hormones in his body reacting to the kiss. Maybe it was because he was able to give Kokichi one last chance to enjoy himself before he died.
Kokichi experimentally attempted to press his tongue forward, which was a bold move for a first kiss. Nonetheless, Kaito opened his mouth, letting his tongue in.
It wasn't intense, or rough, or awkward.
Both of them moved slowly and gently, and once they would be over, it would leave a bittersweet aftertaste on their tongues. Kokichi's lips trembled against Kaito's, which Kaito assumed was from pain.
When they pulled away, Kokichi let out a soft hum, his tongue licking over his lips. Kaito continued to hold him, but loosened his grip.
When Kaito looked at Kokichi again, his heart squeezed at the eyes that met his. It was an expression that could only be described as broken. His eyebrows were drawn together, his eyelids looked heavy, and he wore a frown. His eyes were glossier.
Kaito sat there as Kokichi leaned forward into Kaito chest, then wrapped his arms around him. Kaito returned the gesture, still avoiding the wound.
He felt tears wet his bloodstained shirt. He gently patted him on the back, between the shoulder blades.
The boy's tears had turned into sobs, and Kaito didn't say a word. He had a feeling he needed to get this out.
They stayed like that for a couple of minutes until Kokichi calmed down. Kaito leaned down and kissed the top of his head, which he hoped was the right thing to do.
"...You're a spectacle, Kokichi. I'm not just saying that either. It may have been quick, but you're life is something that nobody could ever forget... You're a goddamn shooting star."
Kokichi looked up at him, wearing a weak grin. "You're corny... but... thanks. But y-yeah, at least I wasn't boring, right?"
It was heartbreaking having to help Kokichi climb into the press, and Kaito cried too. Despite the difficulty, Kaito did it. He did it, and he walked up to the control panel.
Kaito used to love hangars. He'd spend a lot of time in aircraft hangars when he was just getting into aeronautics, and even got the opportunity to go inside of a rocket hangar once. He remembered marveling at all the machinery, excited to visit similar places frequently as an astronaut.
Now, he just felt sick as he stared at the camera and the button.
He steeled himself as he clicked both as the same time, making the press whir to life.
He told himself it would all be worth it.