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“We’re here.” Tecchou felled a final tree, having cleared a path clean through the roadside forest.
“Tecchou-san… you didn’t avoid a single tree in our path.” Jouno emerged from the shadows not far behind, already familiar with his peculiarities but still ever eager to address them. “Was there any particular point in cutting them all down?”
“It’s part of investigating the truth of this world.” He responded, a certain dramatic flair to his words that fell flat with the deadpan execution.
“The truth?” Jouno urged him to finish his statement.
“Going directly to the destination is the fastest way there.”
“What an idiotic idea!” It seemed they could only keep indulging him for that long. No matter, Tecchou had gotten his point across and was pleased about that fact. “I’m just saying this now, but of all the members of this group, I hate you the most.”
“Hate?” That word did not seem to match the behaviours he’d come to associate with Jouno. Yes, they often publicly prayed for his downfall, but Tecchou knew that to be momentary annoyance rather than a deep-seated hatred for him as a person. They wouldn’t have tolerated him for this long, otherwise. So, the only correct question to ask in return was: “Why?” Not ‘why do you hate me’, but rather ‘what has upset you this time’. If he knew what had caused Jouno's dissatisfaction, he could fix it– the reasons were more often than not petty things Tecchou could resolve easily.
“Because your soul has no artistry.” A familiar complaint, but not one he could remedy and also not one he had recently displayed signs of. He’d have to keep digging. “You say it’s good to combine foods that are the same colours, so you put shichimi spice on strawberries, don’t you?”
“Yup.” Tecchou saw no need to deny it.
“And you put sugar on white rice, and sauce for noodles on youkan–” They kept listing off more examples– all of which occurred in the last week. Tecchou almost found himself smiling at the fact they paid such attention to his eating habits.
“Yup.”
“I wish you’d die right now.” Another familiar statement. Sharp words bounced off Tecchou’s skin, leaving not as much as a speck of dust in their wake. Jouno started walking forward again, but they weren’t done with their tirade yet. “You’re totally useless right up until we’re face-to-face with the enemy–” Untrue, had he not just cleared the path for them? But he knew better than to interrupt them mid-sentence at this moment. “–so if you’d shut up and stay out of the way, I’d take it as a personal kindness.”
A moment passed. Tecchou had a feeling Jouno was not done talking yet.
“Also the sounds of your heart beating and your breathing are incredibly annoying.” There it was, along with the answer to his initial question of the cause of their agitation. With enough patience, it wasn’t too hard to get answers from them, if prepared to catch a few choice words in the process. “Please try your hardest to stop doing both of them at your nearest inconvenience.”
And so, ever willing to humour his colleague in the name of fulfilling a mission, he did. He filled his lungs to capacity and proceeded to hold his breath as Jouno bent down to press their ear to the ground.
1… 2… 3…
They seemed to be relaying information to him. He was preoccupied listening to his own heartbeat in his ears, trying to gauge whether the volume was too disruptive.
4… 5… 6…
Jouno had pushed themself back upright, kneeling while looking pensive. Once they lowered their hand from their chin, Tecchou released his breath.
“We’re finally meeting the enemy?” He deduced from the way Jouno’s composure had turned more serious. “Then, before that, I should eat to build my strength.” He conjured a boiled egg from one of his pouches and began eating it whole. The resulting indignant face from Jouno was a lovely sight to see. Probably one of his favourite expressions on them, if he had to choose.
After another improvised lecture, Jouno had left his side to infiltrate the targets’ vehicle, having given him precise instructions of where among the trees to await them (and to not cut them down this time). So he followed the car’s route with his eyes, noting the way it seemed to stay on course despite Jouno’s presence inside it.
It wasn’t until they had arrived on the final stretch of road that a door came flying off and someone got thrown out of the side of the newly formed hole. A child, it seemed– so young to already be affiliated with such vile influences. It was almost sad, were the kid to be anyone worth pitying. Anyone willingly following such rotten examples was just as rotten themself, in Tecchou’s book.
Resisting the urge to bring punishment upon that discarded criminal– only really held back by the fact Jouno had told him not to move until they had left the vehicle– he began slowly walking along the side of the road in the same direction as the car when it suddenly disappeared, leaving only Jouno behind.
For a second, his muscles tensed, ready to leap forward were Jouno to be sent flying, but they remained moving at the same speed they were before, indicating that the car hadn’t disappeared, it had just gone invisible.
Considering Jouno should barely experience any difference because of it, Jouno reacted rather dramatically– the sudden tensing of their posture as though they’d lost track of the criminals was quite exaggerated, they were laying it on thick. Tecchou made the mental note to reprimand them for playing with the targets later.
Likely provoked by the opening Jouno had offered, one of the culprits jumped at the opportunity to pull them out in an act of perceived self-sacrifice… or perhaps just foolishness. Jouno landed steady on their feet while that man made a tumble, sliding across the asphalt.
“Well played.” Jouno straightened their cap. “After erasing the car and disorienting the body, you dragged the two of us out here. However…”
That sounded like the cue Tecchou had been waiting for. Emerging from the trees, barely having to cross any distance due to some rather accurate estimations on Jouno’s part, he planted his feet a little behind them. Ready for a fight.
“Illusions have no effect on me. I let myself be pulled out on purpose.” A bait, in order to separate the targets– all in all a clever move, only to be expected of them. Perhaps they wouldn’t need to be reprimanded after all, if this had always been the plan. “First let’s take care of the two of you.”
“Jouno, should I cut them down now?” He awaited further instructions, pretty confident he had read the intended course of action accurately, but choosing to discuss regardless, if just to avoid the casualty of an important asset.
“Yes, feel free to make yourself useful, o strongest swordsman of the Hunting Dogs.” They couldn’t resist another jab at him, it seemed, but that was still no bother. They had gotten to the part of the plan that he was meant to fulfil, and he intended to do it perfectly.
“Prepare yourselves.” He raised his sword, ready to leap forward and strike, when–
Huh.
He was already sent flying before the pain registered, his steady footing disrupted as he was flung through the air with impressive force. The sheer force of the impact made his vision go black, the edges fraying as he lost consciousness for just an instant.
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When he came to again, seemingly a mere moment later, he was laying on his back with a figure looming over him. He blinked away his blurry vision, making out the shape of white hair.
“…Jouno…” His voice came out a little croaked, still dizzy from the collision with the car. The other didn’t seem too impressed with his performance. Truthfully, he wasn’t either. It was somewhat pitiful that he hadn’t managed to stop that from happening. “I… apologize…”
“Tecchou.” That was strange. Jouno didn’t usually address him like that, more casually. He didn’t like that, he decided. “Look what we have here. Are you not ashamed?”
Well, he was, perhaps a little, though definitely more parts angry at himself than embarrassed in any capacity. But the combination of Jouno’s drier tone and the uncharacteristic lack of honorifics made him feel like he had messed something up. Royally.
Eyes squinted, he tried to look for any kind of hint as to what had caused Jouno’s sudden displeasure. Surely it wasn’t just the car– he scrambled upright, now face to face with his partner.
Did they get taller? Did he get shorter? Did their hair always reach their shoulders and had he just never noticed that before?
And their face… something about it looked different too. He couldn’t really pinpoint it, never getting the chance to study their features too closely before being told off for staring– and Jouno must have noticed that same thing happening now, because they followed up their question.
“Nothing to say for yourself? Why are you even here?” Tecchou wanted to respond that he didn’t quite know where ‘here’ was, since the earlier pink hues of dusk that had coloured the battle scene had been replaced by the clear blue sky of high noon. Unless he had been out for a while, that wasn’t a logical progression of time.
He was still studying Jouno’s face intently, hoping to catch onto the differences his gut was screaming about. Was he just thrown off by the hair? There was definitely something with the hair–
“Did you change your hair?” He eventually settled on asking. He had no sensical answers to the questions they had asked anyway, it would only agitate them further to receive a response that didn’t satisfy them. Jouno seemed somewhat taken aback by his response, their hand instinctively lifting up to the ends of their hair.
“No? Not recently– not that you’d notice, anyway.” What a petulant response– and a blatantly untrue one, too, considering Tecchou just pointed it out. Clearly he did notice. “But answer my question! Why are you here?”
“I got hit by a car.” Retelling the events leading up to this moment seemed like the closest thing to a truthful answer he could give. “You were there, Jouno.”
“I wasn’t– are you daft?” Tecchou waited patiently for Jouno to finish their thought, judging there must be a second part to that statement. The air remained silent. He took the time to let his eyes finally move on from their face further downwards. They were not in uniform, form slightly tense in a way that could be attributed to their agitation rather than intention to fight. It seemed the battle had been fought while he was out. Embarrassment finally reared its head as he started to fidget uncomfortably in the prolonged silence, plagued by both the failure in the mission and his continuous misreading of Jouno’s speech patterns.
“We were fighting the Detective Agency. Did they get away?” For the first time in as long as he could remember, he was the one to cave first in the standoff.
“Detect– how old are you?” It was as though all the annoyance left their body at once, making place for a revelation. It seemed that whatever they had been pondering, they had figured it out.
Tecchou wished he could do the same. The lines of Jouno’s face were still taunting him with their uncanny imitation.
“I’m 26.” It seemed like such a strange thing to ask. Jouno squinted at him–somewhat, at least, with their nose scrunched up and brow furrowed like they usually did when they did not believe him but could not find the sound of a lie in his words.
“Say that again.”
“I am 26 years old.” He made sure to clearly pronounce each word with conviction, letting Jouno get a clear read on his tone and heartbeat to prove his honesty.
“Right. That explains it.” It didn’t explain anything, really. Tecchou was still left to ponder what it meant– a dig at immaturity? That didn’t make sense, Jouno was younger than him–
Wait.
After realisation dawned, the difference was obvious. Their face looked sharper, more angular than he recalled it being, the rougher edges concealed by their longer hair. He wondered whether that was on purpose.
“You look older.” He couldn’t help but share his observation out loud.
“Thanks.” Jouno spoke through gritted teeth. “I’m 36, for your information.”
36. That was nearing the Commander’s age– his version of the man, at least– That was almost hard to imagine. He opted not to point that out, though, considering their already sharp tone at being called ‘older’. Either way, judging by that statistic, he’d landed himself roughly a decade into the future.
All that for getting hit by a car? It seemed very unreal.
“You seem well.” He hoped that came across as a compliment, even if he blurted it out without thinking too much. “Not too different from how I know you.” Tecchou’s gaze lingered on the black clothing– it was strange seeing Jouno in anything but the wine red fabric of daily life as a Hunting Dog. “Though the lack of uniform is… jarring.”
“Can’t keep wearing dead skin.” Jouno shrugged as Tecchou was left to decipher what that could mean.
“Dead… skin?” Just as he was about to question who died, they elaborated on it.
“The Hunting Dogs no longer exist. The unit disbanded years ago.” They sighed, turning their head to the side. “It’s not like I still have the uniform in my closet as some sort of keepsake, and even if I did I wouldn’t wear it out anymore.”
“The unit disbanded?” He parroted the words before he could help himself.
“Yes, disbanded. We stayed in touch, though– or at least most of us did. I was just on my way to meet Tachihara and Teruko when I ran into you, in fact.”
Tecchou couldn’t help but notice his name wasn’t mentioned. Immediately his mind jumped to more drastic explanations of that– Jouno not specifically searching for his company wasn’t unfamiliar, but for them to not mention his existence meant he simply was not there. They wouldn’t be able to resist making a jab at his expense, otherwise.
“Did I die?” He asked somewhat meekly, but Jouno just snorted like he had asked the funniest thing.
“Don’t you think I’d have been at least a little more surprised to stumble across a dead man? No, you’re alive to my knowledge– you were on the news the other day, even, you’re likely thriving– You’re just a jerk.”
Well, if Jouno of all people was calling his future self that, he must have done something incredibly noteworthy to deserve it.
Despite the urge to pry, Tecchou remained quiet, falling back on the familiar strategy of letting Jouno fill the silence. It stretched on a little while, longer than it usually did when he used that same technique on the colleague he knew, but eventually he still got an elaboration– be it a clearly reluctant one.
“When the unit fell apart, Tachihara returned to the Port Mafia, Teruko got assigned to a new unit and you… you left. Without as much as an explanation or a goodbye. You might as well have died.” They shook their head. “Imagine my surprise when he’s off somewhere in Europe receiving formal thanks for his service.” The switch from ‘you’ to ‘he’ put some distance between Tecchou and the blame of his possible future actions, but he still felt judgement breathing down his neck.
This Jouno was so calm about something that so clearly upset them. It was uncanny to witness. He wasn’t sure whether to call it maturing or just changing. He had grown so accustomed to the explosive qualities Jouno’s anger had that seeing it restrained in this way was reason enough for alarms to ring in his head that something was wrong. That this was some sort of breaking point that they had been past for years now.
“I hate him.” They said, and Tecchou could hear a quiet, seething kind of anger to those words, that for the first time ever sounded genuine in the hatred it spoke of. A hatred directed at a version of himself he could not excuse either. Time itself seemed to slow down, that chill in the air seeping into his very bones and making a home there in those few, dreadful seconds it took for Jouno to elaborate. “Not for leaving, but for acting as though we never existed in the first place.”
“I’m sorry for that.” He offered his condolences, even if it didn’t really feel like it was his place to do so. “I… cannot imagine why I would do such a thing.”
“A lot changed. I suppose you did as well.” They shrugged it off, and just like that the faint air of upset was gone as soon as it had appeared. “No use crying over spilt milk. It won’t change the past. I’m perfectly happy in the present, despite it.” A hand raised to their chest, fidgeting with something there. A shiny, small… pendant? No, a ring. A pretty intricate one, at that.
Tecchou blinked, letting the image register in his mind. That’s when the world came crashing down around him.
“You got married?!” He just short of blurted out the words, trying to wrap his mind around that information. Jouno, married– no, that didn’t seem like something the Jouno he knew would be interested in. Though he wasn’t exactly the best judge of character, either. It was possible he had completely gotten them figured out wrong.
“Engaged.” They corrected. “It’s a pretty recent development.” That would explain why they were adjusting it, not seeming used to its presence yet.
“I… congratulations.” Bitter. It felt so bitter to say that. And there was more he wanted to say– share his bewilderment, demand to know the name of who had captured their heart in a way he didn’t think was possible– but it didn’t feel appropriate to do so. Not with the kind of trails his older self had left behind.
“Thank you.” A polite tone, reserved for colleagues and not much more. A baseline of familiarity without any warmth to spare. It hurt, a little bit, but he understood. “I have invitations to give to the others, for the wedding– we don’t even have a date for it yet, I think he might have gotten a bit too eager with it all.” They shook their head, but the slight exasperation was clearly fond. “Not to mention he clearly overestimated how many people I’d know to invite.”
He. So that was where Jouno’s tastes lie– alright, well, Tecchou had guessed as much, though he had never been sure about it. It had always been hard to picture them with a woman, at the very least… not that picturing them with a man had been particularly easy, either, for entirely unrelated reasons.
A colourful piece of paper was extended to him, the corners decorated with a thin golden border.
“Here. I have too many of these anyway, you can keep one.” A wedding invitation, as if to add insult to injury. But just this once it didn’t feel as though it was Jouno’s intention to pester or hurt him. “I had half the mind to send you one either way, if just to see if you’d show up, but if I actually knew where to send it you’d be receiving something different from an invitation at your door.”
“Ah. Thank you, Jouno.” It was all so bittersweet, the confirmation Jouno cared enough to invite him, directly tied to how he had broken that fragile affection straight in half with his own foolish actions– or not even his, but rather this other, oh so stupid iteration of him.
He wondered what it was that could have sent ‘him’ reeling so much that he’d ever consider such a departure.
He didn’t even bother looking at the names printed on the card before putting it in the pocket right over his heart, making sure to seal it tight. Selfishly holding on to the kind gesture from someone he held dear, however different they were now.
Blinking his eyes made the world more blurry– not because of any unshed tears in his eyes, he did not have any urge to cry despite everything, but as though he had been keeping them open for longer than this world wanted to allow, the bleary edges of a dream pulling him back down to the floor with just one last glance towards where Jouno stood moments before.
They were already gone.
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The world faded around him and he was laying on the ground, now for a second time, the sky having turned back to the pink hue he had left behind. His ribcage seemed to have finally caught up to the collision, pain that betrayed a probably nasty bruise starting to spread on his right side.
Still, he pushed himself upward, noting that time seemed to have been standing still in the moments he had just spent speaking to someone from a future he resented. There, before him, was the Jouno he did know– not looking pleased, but more bored than angry.
“Incredibly, you were still useless today, Tecchou-san.” A familiar appellation. Even the insult sounded light-hearted– though anything would, compared to that quiet anger he had felt moments before. “Have you thought of getting a new job?” All these light, superficial jabs, like fingers poking at him, only served to aid Tecchou into shrugging off the lingering feelings of sluggishness.
“All right.” He unsheathed his sword. “I’m warmed up.” Jouno just hummed thoughtfully, stepping aside to clear the field for his next move, already anticipating what came next.
Tecchou had been told that he was too theatrical by Jouno before– something that directly contradicted their complaints about his alleged lack of artistry. Despite that, he still took care to broadcast his ideal justice outwards, if just for the criminals to hear.
“There are wrongs that go unpunished, there is good that goes unrewarded.” The words felt quite familiar on his tongue, often saying something similar– it was easiest to talk while fighting, he had found that keeping himself busy meant words flowed smoother as well. “Without my blade, nothing that happens in the world can be weighed and judged fairly.”
His blade shot forward to cleave the escaping vehicle right in half. Beside him, Jouno made an exaggerated head movement to indicate they were rolling their eyes at him, in spirit.
The two near-equal halves of the car both came to a halt, further falling apart at the collision with the hard asphalt. Jouno already walked leisurely towards where the criminals had come to fall, leaving Tecchou to trail behind them once he had retracted his sword back to a manageable length.
“Coming back instead of abandoning your comrades.” Tecchou got the impression Jouno wanted to praise the act, but decided against it before those words really got past their lips. “Sadly, now all of you will die instead–" They came to an abrupt halt right in front of the driver. “Well, that’s usually how it goes in the world.”
How very strikingly them, to taunt those on their knees while Tecchou was left to handle the execution. Though he supposed this way he could at least guarantee something swift and near-painless, a mercy he was sure Jouno would not grant.
Now, Tecchou could admit he was frustrated, even angry. The earlier glimpse at the future had left him with a sour taste, and these people were the cause of those visions, if indirectly. Additionally, their methods disgusted him in a way that made his very bones crawl in aversion after seeing that video broadcast. They could not be forgiven.
And so he was rash. His hand flew to his hilted sword before getting any signal to, and he cut down both the illusionist and the child that tried to save his ally, non-fatally– he wasn’t reckless enough to kill in a way that could not be excused.
“There’s no escape from my sword.” Was it a warning to not bother to flee or was it more of a twisted statement of fact that bordered on bragging? Neither option really captured the intention behind the spoken words.
Still, the criminal attempted to summon a weapon. Destruction or self-defense, it did not matter the motive, it was a foolish move. His blade cleaved through the notebook with the same ease that it had taken the car apart with, cutting into the man’s shoulder as well. Properly disarmed.
“And now you can’t use the power of your notebook.” Said Jouno, ever fond of stating the obvious just to rub salt in the wound. “We’ve confirmed how powerless you are, so Tecchou-san…” He perked up slightly at the sound of his name. “Please kill the doctor.”
“Are you sure?” When it came to taking a life, it was better to exercise some caution– Tecchou had gotten quite adept at determining whether spoken words were some sort of intimidation tactic to throw the targets off balance or a genuine order, but he could not risk such a permanent consequence as a result of misunderstanding his partner’s intentions.
“It’ll be a problem if she heals her allies.” Jouno elaborated. “Also… she is ‘the Angel of Death’. Her end is for the sake of the world.” A most clear justification for the woman’s demise– Tecchou had heard the name in passing, and could not deny he would approve of seeing this ‘angel’ slain.
“Why do you… that name…” The woman seemed to shiver, even tremble. It seemed even the one responsible for so many marching towards their demise felt fear when faced with the prospect of her own death.
Most people he had executed had made an expression similar to that. Most of them felt regret and fear in their final moments. Even the most hardened criminals that could drown in the combined blood of their victims seemed so meek in the face of that fate.
It was pathetic.
“Make it an instant death, Tecchou-san. If she’s on the verge of death, she’ll heal.” He had intended as much– he wasn’t one for letting people bleed out slowly, no matter the situation.
“Stop! Don’t kill her!” The driver, who Tecchou had now mentally assigned the position of leader in this group, called out with clear desperation. “We get it, we’ll surrender!”
Something in Jouno’s composure shifted, a glimpse of intrigue slipping through the cracks as they clearly heard something worth noting.
“The sound of your heartbeat is very interesting.” They sounded almost pensive, as though they were deciphering the deeper meaning of the rhythm as they were saying that. “You, Kunikida-kun, the idealist. You feel relief now, do you not?”
“…what are you saying?”
“I’ve read the data.” That was making light of Jouno’s habits– on multiple occasions Tecchou had found them at the kitchen table engrossed in documents. It was like a pastime for them, picking the words apart until some sort of weapon or weakness remained. “Your ideals are big and lofty as a hot air balloon, but at some point, the balloon will always run out of fuel and fall to the earth.” A grin spread over their face, taunting. “You have always lived in fear of ‘that day’.”
Despite the disapproval he felt towards Jouno’s relentless provocations, Tecchou turned his blade towards the doctor he’d been tasked to execute, intending to finish the job before falling into familiar bickering.
“Stop.”
“You’re in luck, Kunikida-san. Starting tomorrow, you’ll be free.”
Sharp pain pierced his shoulder before his blade could cross the last of the distance to the woman’s heart.
“Wh…?” A startled noise– not pained or fearful, just baffled at being caught off guard– escaped him as his own blood splattered against his cheek.
A helicopter?
Even Jouno seemed surprised, usually first to notice any ambush long before it had the chance to let the trap clamp shut. The sound of propellers only now seemed to start, drowning out the voice of the person on board of the vehicle.
How did such a thing stay in the air without the motor running?
Tecchou didn’t have time to ponder before bullets started raining down. Still kneeling, he was slightly unstable as he lifted his sword to hopefully block the worst of the firing. Shielding head and chest first, everything else was secondary. With his shoulder injured, his swings weren’t as fast as he’d hoped, so there may be a few to slip through the cracks.
A second sword deflected a bullet aimed straight for his leg as Jouno– who undoubtedly could have fazed through the onslaught without lifting their own blade– extended him cover.
Once the relentless rain of bullets subsided, the Agency was already gone– pulled upwards by heavy duty rope to fly off without meeting their just ends.
“Impossible.” Jouno’s voice echoed the disbelief Tecchou felt. “The Detective Agency… still has an ally?” They lowered their head with a sigh as they sheathed their sword. “Tecchou-san, if you would…”
“On it.” Still half on the floor, he raised his sword to the sky in the general direction of the escaping helicopter, sending it forward to pierce the walls.
It did not matter the speed at which the vehicle tried to flee. His sword would always be faster. Soon enough, he could feel the familiar resistance of the edge meeting a surface, a momentary pause before cutting straight thought.
“You won’t escape.” He said to no one in particular– the real targets were beyond the reach of the words– his voice a rough grumble spelling out his lingering dissatisfaction with the course of events. Bending the tip of his sword, he made a makeshift grappling hook, quickly retracting the blade in order to catapult himself upwards.
The outer surface of the helicopter had plenty of protrusions to grab a hold of, letting him free his sword for further use. Coming from the inside of the vehicle, he could hear panicked voices, though it was impossible to make out the words above the rather loud noise of the propeller blades gyrating right above his head.
“Destroy all evil…” He took aim at the rotors, intending to send the entire vehicle crashing down. Tecchou could survive the fall, he was certain, and even if the Agency could, with that doctor on board, they would at least be grounded for an easier execution.
Before he could strike, however, the door slammed open and a pair of feet collided with his chest, pushing him back hard enough to force him to let go.
What a pain.
“How stupid. Even from this height, I won’t die.” His voice was just the slightest bit smug, emphasizing just how hopeless this situation was for the criminals. “I’ll just chase after the helicopter with my sword again.”
“You’re the stupid one.” With the freefall, the other moved more clumsily. Tecchou took the time to ponder whether he should ensure he didn’t hit the ground head-first on the way down. “I won’t let anyone ruin my plans.” The man grabbed for something that had been concealed under his clothing, finally catching Tecchou’s attention. “My name is Kunikida Doppo! I will not let my ideals fall! With this life as fuel–”
What?
“–I will fly for eternity!”
The torn paper shifted into a grenade right before Tecchou’s very eyes, confirming what he already thought.
He’s a lunatic.
A blinding light cut off any reaction Tecchou could have hoped to give.
It’s practically suicide. All that to keep his comrades safe.
Tecchou would have dared to call it dedicated, if not for the intense heat and pain quickly spreading all over his torso. His ears were ringing in response to the loud noise, the shockwave finally separating the two falling men barely before hitting the ground. Two pieces of paper burned to cinders, one as the weapon, the other adorned with the name of someone Tecchou held dear, officially destroying the one single indication that he had not simply imagined his brief visit to that world that had been so familiar yet so wrong.
He felt… miserable. He was quite sure that once the adrenaline started slipping away, so would his grip on his consciousness.
Soft and precise steps approached his side– for the third time in quick succession, Tecchou found himself looking up at Jouno from a position at their feet. Each consecutive time, it seemed as though the pain got worse. Now, it was agonizing.
“Hm. Tecchou-san, can you still move your legs?” Jouno inquired, brow furrowed in concentration. Tecchou tested whether it was the case, managing to get his leg to twitch slightly with a hiss of pain. “Alright, the fact you can feel pain is a good sign, at least. You’ll manage. Now do you think you can walk yourself to the main road or do you need a hand for that?”
Tecchou wanted to respond with words aimed to chastise Jouno for calling pain ‘a good sign’, but he could only manage a gurgling sound before spitting up blood with a miserable little “eugh” sound.
“Well, that’s as valuable as any insight I’m going to get from you.” They shook their head. “I called for an extraction. You’ve done enough.” It seemed as though they were trying to reassure him that he had done his job well, but that was hard to believe with the majority of the criminals having escaped. He was sure they could pick up on his disappointment, but it was either that they didn’t care to debate him on it or were just ignoring it outright.
Though on second thought, Jouno seemed a little disoriented, or at the very least out of their element. They were turning their head more than usual– they didn’t really tend to have the need to ‘look around’, after all, they mostly faced people to be polite– and seemed to be looking for something.
Tecchou had all the time in the world to be staring– it wasn’t as if he was going anywhere by himself, he could barely push himself upright– and so his eyes lingered on Jouno, on the lines on their face, committing them to memory so he’d be able to pinpoint any differences in the future. It was thin– he had never really noticed how thin Jouno’s face was until he met a version of them that was a little fuller– in fact, it wasn’t just their face that was lean, their entire body followed the same trend. Decently built, sure, but Tecchou was inclined to credit the enhancements for that, given the fact they were all too happy to stand by the sidelines during training.
“…you should eat more.” He managed to croak out, regaining his grip on his voice. “You’re very thin.”
“You’re the one always spoiling my appetite!” They immediately shot back, turning around to cross their arms at him. “Don’t try my patience when I have your life in my hands. I could just leave you here.”
“…I’d appreciate if you didn’t.” Tecchou knew not to push further, as Jouno was often very serious in their threats–he didn’t care to test whether they were intent on sticking to their word this time.
From his spot in the dirt, he watched as Jouno kneeled to pick up Kunikida, holding the man under one arm, adjusting their hold until he was comfortably clutched to their side. They then walked over to him, standing right in front of the sun that had been shining into his eyes, the light forming a ring of light behind their head.
“You’re going to have to grit your teeth for a bit, this is going to hurt.” They warned, and Tecchou knew not to make light of such words. The warning was appreciated, and also completely valid, as they lifted him from the ground like a limp sack of potatoes as well, arm curled around his lacerated chest.
That did indeed hurt. Tecchou found himself grimacing, teeth pressed together as he resisted the urge to make a pained noise. He reminded himself that this was better than the alternative of being left where he had fallen, but it was hard to believe Jouno didn’t get at least a little bit of satisfaction from the way they were handling him.
And just like that they took off. Tecchou wouldn’t exactly describe it as running as much as he’d call it leaping– a graceful, practically gravity-defying type of hopping, no doubt aided by their ability– cushioning his ride along by keeping the movements fluid, descent slowed slightly by Priceless Tears such as not to injure their legs landing on possibly uneven ground. Kind of like a deer, or an antelope. It was an entertaining sight to imagine such an animal in their hair’s white and red colours, maybe even wearing a cape like their uniform.
That train of thought probably should have been the first indication of his mind starting to slip, the combination of blood loss and blunt force trauma catching up with him.
In the silence of Jouno’s concentration, his mind wandered back to the conversation he had had with their alternate self– their mirror image? Was there any term coined for such a counterpart?
He still vividly remembered the chills running down his spine when confronted with their hatred for the man his other self had become. His eyes strayed to his Jouno’s face, concentration etched into their features, and Tecchou found it impossible to imagine how he, or that other half of him, could have so easily left behind this person that was now dragging him along to safety, who had not left him when presented with the option to– be it out of a perceived sense of obligation or some sort of empathy, that didn’t matter. He had the same kind of duty towards them. One he had seemingly neglected, then.
He could not let that happen.
“Jouno…” Tecchou tried to get their attention, and a half-attentive hum in response showed they were at least listening. “…I have decided…we should get married.” Perhaps a bit of a rudimentary solution to irrevocably tie him to their side, but certainly an effective option, were they to entertain that notion.
“Nonsense.” His offer was shot down. The pain in Tecchou’s chest wasn’t exclusively from the injury anymore. “Was it the car that scrambled your brain up or is it the explosion that has you talking crazy? Don’t speak to me again until you get checked for a concussion.”
“…most likely the car.” Tecchou mumbled, voice growing more faint with defeat as the edges of his vision began to blur. That car collision– or rather the world it had shown him– had been the trigger of that line of thought, as much was truthful, and Jouno likely gathered that much as well from the way he had said it, even if they would never know exactly what had transpired in that split second.
They were approaching the edge of the trees, the main road visible just ahead, a bland government vehicle with tinted windows already waiting for their arrival. Jouno said something more, but Tecchou had slipped too far to make out the words they said as they handed the criminal over to the enforcers.
The last thing he registered was being laid across the backseat, his head resting on something soft and warm and his hair being brushed out of his face, away from the burns that had formed there.
When he would come back to, there would be no trace remaining of the harm he had suffered aside from a fresh scar across his chest and the dull ache of being patched up, but they would be there, next to his bedside, if just to complain about the prisoner’s lack of interest in cooperation.
He hoped he could keep them with him forever.