CW: graphic injury, blood, near-death experience, trauma responses, dissociation.
Also contains: 27 seconds of (devastating) tenderness beneath the rain.
"A-Hikari. My name is Hikari..."
He repeated it slowly, tasting the syllables. "Hikari... You... a student?" Another cough tore through him, harsher this time. He instinctively curled inward—a spike of agony contorted his features.
"W-watch out!" Hikari gasped, bracing him. "Jin said you shouldn't move!" Her voice rose, thin with panic. "And I... I am. Tokyo Metropolitan University."
"The... brats too?"
"B-Brats?"
"The girls that..." He paused, breath whistling. "That... forced you... to touch... me."
Hikari flinched. Her face, already pale, turned ashen. The memory rushed back—the hands, the laughter, the violation. "...Oh. Right. They..." Her throat closed.
Kuro managed to tilt his head higher, his gaze locking onto hers despite the pain etching lines around his eyes. His hand drifted weakly toward his ribs, then fell back. "...Don't worry," he murmured, each word an effort. "They probably... won't do anything... anymore..." He fell silent then; his breathing... fell into shallow, alarming stillness. His eyes drifted shut.
"K-Kuro?!" Panic clawed up Hikari's throat, sharp and suffocating. She jammed her palm harder against his head wound—the sticky warmth bleeding through her sleeve felt like time slipping away. "D-Don't close your eyes! Tell me—" Her voice splintered. Desperation made her reckless: "Tell me what you do! Jin called you Boss. He sounded like... like a soldier. Following orders."
His eyes flickered open—slivers of red in the gloom—drifting upward with immense effort. Half-lidded. Distant.
"A-Are you..." She swallowed, the question tumbling out before she could stop it. "...a Mafia pimp?"
A choked, wet sound escaped Kuro—not quite a laugh, but something close. Amusement flickered in his glassy stare. "P-pimp?" He coughed violently, body seizing. Agony contorted his face. "No, no... I was just... an associate." His voice faded to a whisper. "...Worked in shadows."
"So... a Mafia goon," she pressed, frantic.
"N-not... directly..." His words dissolved into silence. 〖He's slipping!〗
"Y-You, you're old. R-Right?" The question burst out—anything to hook him back.
His head tilted slightly, confusion knitting his bloody brow. "Am... I old? W-What? Statement? Question?"
〖Stupid! Why did I say that?!〗 A flush crept up her neck. "I-I mean! How old are you? Since you call me 'kid'..."
"Ah... Thirty-eight."
"Thirty-eight? I'm twenty-eight."
"..."
"You look older," she blurted, blunt and trembling.
"...Thanks...?" Kuro murmured, dazed.
"That wasn't a compliment!" Her voice cracked, louder than intended.
A ghost of a smirk touched his lips. "...'Kid'... old habit..." He took a shuddering breath. "Father... Father used to..." His voice trailed off, eyes drifting shut.
"K-Kuro?!"
〖Where is Jin?! Five minutes became an eternity!〗
His head lolled back in her lap. She leaned closer—close enough to smell iron and rain on his skin—desperate to catch any sound. His eyes were unfocused, pupils wide and black in the dim light. Blood trickled fresh from his nose. She pressed her other sleeve to it.
His whisper was barely audible beneath the rain:
"...Called everyone 'kid.' 'Kid.' 'Kid.' Must've... engraved... in my head..."
Suddenly, his head tilted back further, gaze lifting toward the roofline. Hikari followed his stare—nothing but dripping pipes and bruised sky. His trembling hand rose, shaking violently, fingers reaching as if to grasp the invisible.
"...Stars..." Kuro breathed, his voice a threadbare whisper as his trembling hand fell limply to his chest. Raindrops caught on his lashes like false tears. "I always feel... peace... knowing everyone... sees the same stars... same... sun..."
"...Sun..." The last word dissolved into a sigh—barely audible, fraying at the edges like worn cloth. His hand dropped from his chest, palm upturned on the wet concrete. Empty. Open.
Hikari's breath hitched. "K-Kuro?"
No response. His eyes remained closed, lashes dark against unnervingly pale skin. Rain slid down his temple, mingling with the blood still seeping beneath her trembling palm. The warmth of him against her legs felt frighteningly fragile.
〖Say something. Please. Say anything.〗
She pressed harder on the wound, leaning close, her voice breaking. "Kuro! Talk to me!"
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