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When Shihō woke up, he was alone, cold, and aching.
Water was splashing at his cheeks, rousing him from his unconscious state. His hair and clothes were soaked, along with his skin, but last he remembered, he hadn't been wet.
Wait, what did he remember?
He sat up, rubbing his head and groaning quietly. The sound echoed off the walls around him, setting him on edge. Last he remembered, he was with the squad.... They had been ambushed by a Four Horseman of John, which normally would be a breeze for them, but Mitsuba had gotten hurt and then it had all went to shit. Shinoa had rushed to her side, Yuu was standing guard near them in case any danger approached them, and Yoichi had climbed onto their car so that he could have a higher vantage point to help Shihō take it down. Before they could even think of attacking, Yoichi had gasped and announced the arrival of another Four Horseman of John. Knowing that Yoichi could handle the other one, along with Yuu, he decided to lure the other one away from its course: which just so happened to be the two girls and Yuu.
Yoichi had yelled for him to come back, but Shihō knew that he could handle this. And he knew that Yuu would be incredibly smug if he took down a Four Horseman of John all by himself while Shihō 'needed' to have help- not that he minded Yoichi's help at all, but Shihō was sure that he didn't want to see Yuu's smug face, so his plan didn't seem all that bad when considering the alternatives.
A Four Horseman of John, he could handle that.
A collapsing building, not so much.
After luring it blocks away, he went on the offensive. He was about to land the killing blow before he was knocked away. He'd had worse landings, and got back up to continue his assault, but then he saw one of its limbs coming for him and ducked into a doorway to dodge. He wasn't met with ground, however. He kept falling and falling, and then his vision went black to the sound of rubble crashing around and on top of him.
And now Shihō was awake, dazed and trying to assess himself and his surroundings. He remembered the building he'd ducked into; it was an old auto shop. He must have fallen into one of the pits mechanics used for car maintenance. There was enough light to show the cement walls and cold, cement floor. His blades weren't by his hips, he must have dropped them when he'd fallen. Some steel bars, pieces of walls, and beams were around him, miraculously missing him. His ankle had been cut and it was stinging, but he could tell it wasn't deep. He ripped off part of his sleeve, tying it around his ankle with a hiss to stop the bleeding. When he stood up, most of his weight on his uninjured ankle, he realized he could reach up with his arms and touch the edges of the pit he was in.
The problem? There was debris all over the top, blocking his only exit with heavy steel beams and various metal tools. Was that a tire hanging in slightly?
Great, so there was also a car blocking his exit.
It was sinking in just how fucked he was. He was stuck underground with no way to escape, he was injured and no one knew exactly where he was, there was still a Four Horseman of John roaming around with his teammates, he was wet-
Wait, why was he wet?
Shihō looked up, narrowing his eyes at the dim lighting. It was still bright outside, so the water hitting his face in steady droplets couldn't be rain. It had been perfectly sunny when he had been fighting. He found the source of the water eventually- a thick pipe that was laying crookedly underneath everything else, it had probably been cracked when everything fell on it. The water fell like it was just barely raining, sprinkling, like it was about to come a downpour. Thankfully it was just a pipe- a huge pipe with bigger width than his head, but just a pipe.
Shihō raised his hands, taking a deep breath and suddenly pushing on the debris with his palms flat. It was heavy and he didn't have much of a vantage point, but he strained his muscles to try and lift the mess. Metal ground against metal, filling the eery silence and covering the sound of water dripping. When the pile of dense rubble was tampered with, a few stray pieces fell in and threatened to crush Shihō, so he stopped. Thankfully, he hadn't been hit. Unfortunately, however, none of the debris had made a big enough spot to squeeze out through. The holes were barely the size of his fist, if even that. He couldn't continue unless he wanted the entire metal structure to fall in on him.
Without much else to do, he took a deep breath and started shouting.
"Yoichi! Shinoa!"
He knew that there was a monster out there, but he didn't know where. If it could hear him, it would probably come running back, but he just wanted out of this dark, damp place. He needed for his teammates to find him, to dig him out of here. He knew he couldn't do it himself.
"Yoichi!"
With one final shout, not hearing anything in return, he sighed and sat down, cradling his injured head in his hands. He was pretty sure he had a concussion, but other than that and his ankle, he was fine. No broken bones, no organ damage- other than his brain. Hell, he hadn't even lost or cracked his glasses. He was incredibly lucky.
He rested his head against the cement, shutting his eyes and frowning. His only chance of getting out of here was to get outside help, but with his squad not knowing where he was..
There was suddenly a metallic groaning above him. Thinking that they had found him and were trying to dig him out, Shihō shouted, "Guys?!"
Directly after he shouted, the pipe above him suddenly burst and he was caught in a downpour.
His glasses were knocked off of his face by the impact, and he was almost knocked over. He stood up swiftly, getting away to the furthest corner so he wasn't being pelted by freezing water. It was coming down in gallons, hitting the concrete rhythmically. He felt around for his glasses, cursing his luck. Great, now the sprinkling of water had turned into a rainstorm, it was freezing, and he was in pain. He found his glasses and put them back on, frowning at the droplets of water on them and the cracked lenses.
He stood back up straight and sighed heavily, glancing down at the ground and kicking the pooling water by his feet. Great, his boots were getting soaked. His feet were still dry, thankfully. He hoped the water levels didn't rise anymore, he didn't want it to pool into his boots and make his feet wet and cold-
Shihō froze. Wait, there were gallons of water falling down into this tiny, enclosed space, which he could not get out of. It was already started to gather and flood the ground, but what if it continued? He was stuck in here, there was no way he would be able to escape or breathe if the water levels got too high.
"Guys! Yoichi, Shinoa! Mitsuba! Yuu! YOICHI!" he yelled, trying to lift the heavy metal again. It barely shifted, but a cinder block fell inches from the back of his head, making him flinch and drop his arms. He tried again, looking for weak points and tugging just solitary pipes and pieces of debris to see if it would budge.
By the time the water reached his upper thigh, and really did seep into his boots, Shihō was starting to realize that he wouldn't make it out alone.
"Yoichi! Guys! Someone, anyone!" he shouted, his voice hoarse and his throat raw from all the screaming. He tried moving the pipe that was still spurting water, but only got another face full of water for his troubles. He backed against the wall, shivering and holding his arms close. It was dark in there, it was getting colder, and fuller, and the water was up to his hip now. His body felt numb as he watched the water pouring into the pit like rain, the only sound other than his labored breathing.
Shihō didn't want to admit it, but he was scared. He was alone and cold and he was going to die here. No one would ever find him, probably. He'd never see the squad again, he wouldn't see Mirai, he wouldn't see Shinoa or Mitsuba or even Yuu. He wouldn't ever see Yoichi again.
Yoichi...
Shihō pressed his palms to his eyes, denying to himself the tears that gathered there. Yoichi was his best friend, he was his family. He was special to him, more so than the other members of his squad. He felt as strongly for him as he did Mirai, just in a different way that he hadn't deciphered yet. He didn't want to die. He had a sister to look after and protect, he had his new family, he had Yoichi.
Shihō took a deep breath, reaching up and trying to tear holes in the twisted metal about his head. "Yoichi! Shinoa, Yuu! Mitsuba!" he screamed, his nails scraping against metal and concrete walls. His arm muscles were straining and aching from being tensed and stressed, but he didn't give up. He couldn't. He needed to be here to protect everyone. He yelled in frustration and exertion as he pushed again, names tumbling from his mouth from Yoichi to Mirai to even Guren.
He kept pushing until the water was up to his neck, and he was swimming. Anytime he pushed, he was just pushing himself underwater since his feet couldn't reach the bottom without his face going underwater. Now, however, he had enough room to dig and try to get himself out since he was closer. He didn't have much time, so he worked hurriedly and started trying to rip the debris apart. He got his arm out at one point after knocking a sheet of metal away, but the hole was only about the size of his face. Definitely not big enough for him to crawl out of. He tried moving the beams, tried to move concrete slabs and pipes, but he couldn't get them to budge and he just moved himself around in the water. "Yoichi!!"
"...... zuki..?!"
Shihō stopped yelling when he heard a sound in the distance, looking up to the clear blue sky through the hole. For a moment, he could only hear the sound of water hitting water. Then, he heard it again.
"... mizuki..?!"
"Guys!" Shihō shouted, having to tilt his head back so water wasn't filling his mouth when he opened it. He was almost out of air at this point, his forehead pressing against a piece of metal. He felt a warm liquid run down his temple into his hair and the water and figured that he was cutting his forehead against the metal. He couldn't even feel it at that point, he was so cold. "Guys, I'm over here!!"
"Kimizuki!" Their voices were getting closer. "Where are you?!" He could hear them approaching the area from around the block, and he knew he had to get their attention somehow. Just yelling wasn't going to cut it..
"Over here!" He quickly took a deep breath, moving his face away from the hole and under the water slightly so he could stick his hand up. The metal went to his elbow, so they would hopefully be able to see his hand and forearm. He waved until he heard them calling his name close by and rubble starting shifting, and he yanked his arm back down. He didn't want the debris to hurt his arm. He gasped for air, coughing and trying to catch his breath.
"Kimizuki?!" he heard Shinoa shout. "Are you okay?!"
"Careful! Moving this stuff too much makes it collapse in!"
He heard them shifting rubble and sighed, relieved that he wasn't alone anymore. Some water got in his mouth and he choked, coughing to dispel the water and craning his head once again to keep away from the rising water.
"Are you okay?" he heard Yuu ask.
"Fuck no!" he shouted, and the others could hear how tense and- even though he would deny it- scared he was. "A pipe burst, don't you hear it? This place is filling with water and I don't have much air left!"
There was a pause before he heard footsteps on metal and winced when metal groaned around him, a piece or two of small metal falling into the water with a splash. There was suddenly a shadow over him, and he saw Yoichi's face peering down at him in horror.
"Shihō," Yoichi breathed, looking away from him all too soon for Shihō's liking. "He's almost completely underwater, we've got to get this hole bigger to pull him out!" He looked down at him with a reassuring smile, but it was shaky and Shihō could hear he panic in his voice. "Don't worry, Shihō, we'll have you out of there in no time!"
His head disappeared, and Shihō felt alone again. Which was ridiculous because he could hear them moving the beams and flinched every time the rubble shifted. His mouth and nose were pressed as far up as he could get them, but now water had filled his ears and everything was muffled. "Please hurry!!"
"Don't worry, we'll have you out of there soon!" he heard Yuu shout determinedly, but the sound was muffled by the cold water.
"I can't-" he choked, coughing when the water filled his mouth. It took him a minute, but he got the water out of his mouth and took deep breaths with his nose, pushing at the metal again in panic. It wouldn't move at all.
"Shihō?" he heard Yoichi ask, and he was suddenly looking up at him. His eyes burned as the water rose over his eyes, and he took the biggest breath he could through his nose before the water rose above it.
Yoichi's eyes widened at this. "He's drowning! We've got to get him out of there!" Yoichi started to turn away, but Shihō reached up and grabbed blindly for him. If he was going to run out of air, he didn't want to feel alone. He caught Yoichi's sleeve and managed to look up at him, hoping to convey his thoughts with his eyes. Shihō wanted him to know what he hadn't been able to say, what he hadn't been able to figure out until his brain was deprived of oxygen.
He loved Yoichi.
His last moments were going to be spent in Yoichi's company, and he couldn't even be upset about it.
Yoichi seemed to be, though. Tears were spilling from his wide, bright green eyes and his eyebrows were scrunching together, and his lips were quivering. No, they were moving, saying something. But he couldn't understand, his ears were ringing and his eyelids were lowering to the sight of Yoichi's face fading and turning darker. His chest hurt, and his heart was beating quickly, and he was finally unable to hold his breath anymore. He instinctively gasped for breath, only to be met with a lungful of water. He started choking, his stomach and lungs chilling him with the cold water. He felt Yoichi grab his hand and squeeze, but he couldn't find the strength to squeeze back or try to focus on what he was saying. He looked up at him groggily, his vision blurring and blurring until finally
Finally, he closed his eyes with Yoichi's face fresh in his mind, and his hand went limp in Yoichi's grasp.
"SHIHŌ!!"
Yoichi clutched Shihō's limp hand, his eyes wide and his breathing frantic. He shook Shihō's hand, but no matter how much he tried, the male remained unresponsive. "Get him out!" he screeched, whirling around to look at his frantic teammates. They really were trying, but they could only move so fast. "He's drowning!" With a last, desperate glance at Shihō, he let go of his hand and went to help the others.
"There's a beam in the way, it's blocking everything else!" Mitsuba shouted, drawing her cursed gear and getting ready to swing. "Everybody back!" Once her teammates were off of the rubble, she hit the beam with her battle axe. The rubble shifted and Yoichi winced, hoping that nothing fell on Shihō. She hit it again and the beam flew off in the other direction, taking some rubble with it. It was enough to make a good sized hole in the mess of metal.
Yoichi rushed forward, but Yuu beat him to the hole and had already jumped in. He waited for a few tense moments, neither surfacing from the dark water. He gasped when Yuu came back up, arm wrapped around Shihō's middle. Shihō's head was lolled against Yuu's shoulder and was bleeding from his forehead. His skin looked pale, paler than anyone Yoichi had ever seen. "Shihō!" He grabbed Shihō's uniform jacket, pulling him out of the water with the help of Shinoa and Mitsuba. Yuu climbed out of the water and was shivering, but Yoichi didn't notice. He had started chest compressions to try and force the water out of his lungs. He heard ribs snap and winced, but it was necessary. He hoped he didn't damage any internal organs trying to save him, but Shihō wasn't breathing and he had to do something. After thirty chest compressions, he tilted Shihō's chin up, pinching his nose and immediately pressing their lips together. It wasn't romantic, it wasn't anything like he had dreamed it would be.
Thirty more compressions, another breath. He was in the middle of the next set of compressions, palm flat against the base of his ribs and other palm on his hand, when he felt Shinoa place her hand on his shoulder. "Yoichi...."
He shrugged her hand off. "Just a little more!" he said frantically, not even noticing the tears falling from his face down to Shihō's already wet face. He leaned down and gave Shihō his breath again.
Just as he pulled away, Shihō lurched up and started coughing. Yoichi pushed him on his side with Yuu crouching down to help, just in time for Shihō to start coughing up water. Yoichi rubbed his back soothingly as he breathed heavily, gasping in lungfuls of oxygen. He blearily opened his eyes, looking up at them before focusing on Yoichi. He smiled gently, reaching a hand up to cup Yoichi's face, content with seeing Yoichi's face one more time before he closed his eyes.
When Shihō woke up, he was in a warm bed and a cold room. He reached for the covers, pulling them closer to conserve heat. He blinked his eyes open, once again seeing Yoichi close to him. He was asleep in a chair, arms crossed on the bed with his head resting on them. He couldn't help but smile, even if he felt like shit and Yoichi's frame was blurred without his glasses. His chest hurt and so did breathing, and he felt drowsy and weak, but otherwise was alright for almost drowning. "Yoichi," he muttered, reaching out and pressing his fingers gently to Yoichi's arm. He was happy to see him again, happy that he hadn't died earlier even if his last sight would have been of the one he loved.
Love...
He was in love with Yoichi. He was still reeling from the realization, but somehow, he wasn't surprised. Yoichi was so kind and thoughtful, so cute and reliable, so loyal and just an all-around good person. Who wouldn't love him?
Shihō was so wrapped up in his thoughts, admiring Yoichi, that he didn't notice when Yoichi himself woke up. Yoichi grabbed his hand, causing Shihō to actually focus on him. "Shihō..." His voice sounded so relieved.
Shihō smiled at him gently, rubbing Yoichi's knuckles with his thumb. "I'm okay.."
Yoichi's eyes started tearing up, causing Shihō to frown. "I.. I fractured your ribs, though.... I mean, the doctor said there's no internal organs damaged but I still fractured your ribs and you have pneumonia now-"
"But you saved me..." Shihō squeezed Yoichi's hand weakly. "You saved my life. Thank you."
Yoichi's eyes widened before he jumped forward, wrapping his arms around Shihō and shuddering with sobs. Shihō wrapped his arms around him, holding him close despite the pain of his ribs, and rested his head on the side of Yoichi's. "It's okay," he whispered soothingly. "It's alright, Yoichi. It's alright."
Yoichi pulled away after a minute, pressing his palm to Shihō's cheek and frowning. "I thought you were dead.. I thought you were going to die, I-" He cut himself off, biting his lip. "I thought I had lost you.."
"You haven't," Shihō muttered, and this time when their lips met, it was much more romantic, and everything either had ever wanted.