Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The SDU falls quickly after Takumi. No one wants to believe that dear Takumi would ever hurt them, which makes them easy pickings. Eito only remembers small details from each kill — the look of dawning realization in Hiruko’s eyes as the life leaves her, the way Ima throws himself on the blade as though it’d buy Kako enough time to escape (it doesn’t), the way Shouma doesn’t even resist, and that of all of them, only Nozomi realizes what’s happening in time to attack back. He saved her for last, certain that if anything would stir Takumi back to life, it’d be this. The look of hatred in her eyes is truly beautiful, any affection she has for Takumi gone with her friends.

Eito draws it out. He doesn’t sneak attack, and he takes his time in the fight, waiting for the second his body jerks out of his control as Takumi refuses to kill his dearest friend. Any moment now. He’d said this was his entire reason for fighting, wasn’t it? It’d be pathetic to have burned himself out too soon to stop her death from coming to pass.

Any second now. Any second now, that hideous voice will come to life and squawk and screech about how horrible and evil Eito is.

It never does, and the knife finally reaches her heart with no resistance from Takumi. No crying or screaming, no attempts to wrest back control…nothing. It almost feels like she joins Takumi in death.

After that, it’s only inertia that drives him. There’s still one person left alive in the academy— the ghost boy in the defense room. Absorbing his cryptoglobin is easy with no one left to stop him. And then…the Last Defense Academy goes silent. The systems shut down before the backup power wakes up enough to keep the place livable, but there’s no one else left, no sound in the academy apart from distant systems whirring and the sound of his footsteps. Normally, this would be the kind of environment Eito would prefer, but…it feels strangely unsatisfying this time.

The days drag on with no invader attacks— there’s nothing here for them to target, after all. Eito starts to suspect he was too hasty in killing the baby so early, at least invaders attacking would give him something to do. He spends his days reading books in the library and eating canned rations from the refrigerator, which is…almost a peaceful routine.

He still visits the blue room he’d shared with Takumi, but it’s…as Takumi left it. Empty aside from him and a red splatter that’s long since dried up. It’s the last remnant of Takumi there is, a hideous stain. For once, Eito refuses to clean it up, not wanting it to seem as though Takumi were never here. Wanting a trophy of his victory over him.

The days go on, each one just like the one before, and Eito slowly comes to the conclusion that he’s made some sort of mistake. He allowed ugly Takumi to rob him of a satisfying victory. Sure, he had wanted Takumi to feel the same pain he’d inflicted on him, to truly suffer as compensation for the cruel person he was, to have no mercy just as he’d given Eito no mercy. And it was hard to say he hadn’t gotten that— Takumi’s body was his, and they had shared pain, so he knows Takumi’s self-inflicted suffering had far exceeded the amount he’d inflicted on Eito to kill him. So Eito should be happy, but…

Well, he’d sort of assumed Takumi would get back up at some point. Wasn’t that what all heroes are supposed to do? Takumi really failed at that. He’s a pathetic excuse for a hero.

…It’s not the same without Takumi around to respond or react. Any performances or insights he has feel meaningless with no audience to hear them. This is all Takumi’s fault. If he’d just been a good boy and accepted his loss, then Eito would have…

…Well, he’s not sure what he would have done first, but definitely not this. Takumi wouldn’t be let out of this so easily. This kind of unsatisfying ending is all his fault. If Eito could do it all again…

He hates it, but he’d have to be more careful. He mentally sighs at the thought— Takumi had been a vile monster of a human being, but he had been perhaps more…fragile than Eito had anticipated. It would have to be like how it would be had Takumi tortured him. No relying on the Revive-o-Matic and careful consideration to keep him only on the brink of death, never beyond. If Eito wanted to make Takumi beg for forgiveness, plead for death as he writhes in agony beneath him again and again, he’d have to be a lot more careful to keep him from finding the death he seeks.

But…that was only an if. He’d had one shot, and that was it.

The days go on and on like that until day 99. He knows by reading the schematics in the war room that today’s the final day. Tomorrow, the escape pod will emerge to be boarded, and he can go to the Artificial Satellite to massacre every human there. …The thought doesn’t excite him like it used to. Growing up, the thought of delivering righteous judgment to every awful human was his one solace during lonely, dark grey days. Now? It just feels like…pest control. Warranted, clearly - a human who’d sooner choose death than responsibility was just as vile as one that’d cheer on their suicide. But he gets no satisfaction out of the thought. It feels as boring to think about as setting up fly tape or spraying pest spray.

Try as he might, he can’t shake the thought that once he finishes and every human is dead, it’ll be like this forever. Silent. Still. Empty.

…There is an other option that comes to mind, though. Takumi went back in time. He had the power to do so because of his specialist skill, combined with the power of the baby in the defense room— both things Eito has now. If he focuses, he could probably do the same as Takumi did.

…It’d be a big decision to make. There’s nothing wrong with this timeline—it’s exactly as he had wanted when he started this. Going back would be a betrayal of everything he’s stood for— everything he’s worked so hard for. He has his victory—even if he lost his righteous eyes, he hasn’t lost his judgment, and he knows this is a victory for him and a loss for humanity. But…

He thinks back to vile, ugly Takumi. The red of his hair above the bruised tomato-like sludge that made his body. The indignant little shrieks when he was mad, the ones Eito knew exactly what buttons to press to draw out. Even that awful yet distinctive scent of his that had permeated the room he was in.

…What good story doesn’t have a villain in it? There can’t be any meaning without someone to triumph against. In order for his victory to feel real, he needed Takumi. If Eito could get this far once, he could do it again— and do it right this time. Takumi would be his sole witness, the one human spared to watch as the rest of them burned. Maybe afterwards, he’d change and earn his spared life, or maybe he wouldn’t, and Eito would lead him around in chains and a collar for the rest of his life. But either way, none of this meant anything without Takumi.

Eito closes his eyes and focuses, the ability to turn back time unintuitive to him. This wasn’t his body, after all, and he didn’t look back like Takumi does. But he has all the time in the world to get it right, and eventually, he figures it out. The world goes white around him-

Takumi wakes up in the middle of the night, shambling over to his mirror to gather his bearings. Something about this doesn’t feel real. He stares into his reflection. “I’m…Takumi Sumino, aren’t I…?” he wonders aloud, to no response.

He’s about to write this as a pointless bit of sleepwalking when his heart stops. It feels like all of his blood boils at once, like it’s all racing towards his near-exploding heart, like there’s something, someone else forcing its way into his veins. He grips onto the sink, but it doesn’t help him as every nerve bursts, consciousness slipping away from him.

When he comes to, he finds himself in a blue version of his room. This is a little odd on its own but not as all weird as the fact that he sees Eito there with a big smile on his face. “There you are, Takumi. I’m so glad to meet you again.”

“Again…?” he trails off. Huh? “How are you here?”

“Do you really not know?” Eito asks, tilting his head, playful tone in his voice. “I guess we’re starting slow this time.”

Takumi shakes his head. He…doesn’t. If Eito’s joking, it’s a joke he’s not in on. “Was it…related to what just happened?

Eito stares at him, smile slowly falling and eyes narrowing. “What just-you know what just happened, don’t you?”

Takumi shakes his head again, confused, before a thought occurs to him. “I’m…asleep, aren’t I?”

“…Of course, Takumi. Your room isn’t normally this blue, is it?”

That’s a little sharp, but he guesses he had that coming. His mind slowly works, grasping towards some, any conclusion. None of this makes any sense-

Until it hits him all at once. No-this did make a kind of sense. His mind couldn’t come up with this, so it had to be something greater at play. “Wait, I know what just happened.”

Eito raises an eyebrow, visibly anticipating. “Oh?”

There was only one explanation for it. A sudden throbbing in his heart. An Eito in his dreams that he wouldn't conjure up— because he’s not Takumi’s, he’s something far greater. He nods. “It makes sense. I’ve experienced enough romance novels secondhand through Karua not to recognize it.” He takes a deep breath, composing himself. If this IS true…it’ll sort of disrupt parts of his worldview, but…he remembers the feeling of his heart exploding as his body burns before he passed out. His world is already pretty shattered. “You’re my soulmate.”

Eito’s eyes visibly widen as he leans forward, stunned. “…Huh?”

“Not-not this you. But the real you. The real Eito has to be my soulmate. …I mean, you know something I don’t, right? That means you can’t just be a dream. Or at least, you’re not my dream. So…you’re a sign from the universe. A sign pushing me towards Eito.”

His face goes red. “Which…would mean my soulmate isn’t Karua, and is a guy. That’s…unexpected, but…” He tries to give a smile. “I’m…at least glad it’s you, then?”

Eito tilts his head slightly, still looking shaken. “You are?”

He nods. “Out of everyone so far, I feel…most at ease? Around you. You’re like a voice of reason among the crowd.”

“I…see.” Eito looks at him for a long time, almost studying, before leaning back again. “You got me,” he says, confident edge slowly returning to his voice. “We are soulmates. I’m a projection of the real Eito Aotsuki, here to guide you towards romantic bliss together.”

Takumi can feel himself light up, but Eito keeps talking. “And the first step of that is for you to go back to bed.”

He pouts. “Wait, already? Can’t we talk about this? Like-I still have so many thoughts and so many questions, and-“

Eito shakes his head. “As a fragment of the real Eito speaking, I can tell you that you taking care of yourself is very important.” Concern spreads across his face. “I practically grew up inside a hospital, Takumi. You…wouldn't believe the bad things that can happen to you if you don’t take care of yourself. Don’t hurt either Eito.”

…He guesses that makes sense, and besides, he doesn’t like seeing Eito frown like that. “…Fine. But tomorrow, we’re talking about this!”

Eito nods, reassuring. “Of course. Tomorrow morning, I’ll be there bright and early for you to talk to. But for now…rest well, Takumi.”

He snaps his fingers, and Takumi falls into a gentle sleep.

Eito stares at Takumi for a long while after he’s fallen to rest. He had planned quite a lot of things to say to Takumi, a lot of directions he could take this, and somehow this was not on the radar as a way this could play out.

Avoiding the obvious, it…would have been better if Takumi remembered. Not necessarily their challenge - he does not want to risk Takumi doing that ever again. But at least something of that first timeline. This Takumi…knew nothing of the real him. He looked at him with rose-colored glasses, seeing someone that didn’t exist. Just like everyone else does. That connecting thread he’d felt to Takumi was snapped in half.

Or at least, to the old Takumi. He can’t avoid the elephant in the room forever. Soulmates? What foolish, thick, soft-hearted, utterly irrational drivel. He can almost imagine the saccharine, empty scene Takumi must be thinking of, imagine that blood-red string of fate tying them together, so close that they almost seem to meld into one.

…He’d retch, but as just a spirit inside someone else’s body, he can’t do that anymore, can he? Perhaps that’s for the best, having over a month of no human contact would have made the process of adjusting to it again an unpleasant one.

But regardless, the idea of him and Takumi being that compatible was absolutely revolting. Much worse is that it…almost makes the slightest bit of sense, despite how insulting it is. There’s no way he could feel anything like love for a vile beast like Takumi, but there was no way he could feel that way towards anyone. Takumi is the one person he would spare, if only so he could witness his look of despair every day, first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Perhaps that’s as close to soulmates as someone like him could have.

…Besides, if Takumi is paired with him, that means he can’t be with anyone else, and that thought appeals to him greatly. It makes his life easier, at least. If he had to spend the next hundred days in a front row seat as Takumi romanced someone else, if he had to feel every vile sensations as he touched their bare hands, kissed their lips, did anything more, then he would do away with this facade and kill everyone else in the SDU right then and there.

…More importantly, it makes his life much, much easier. This soulmates thing didn’t really matter-it was made up, it was fake, it was some stupid idea Takumi got into his idiotic little head. What mattered was that he believed in it, which gives Eito power. The promise of having to feign kindness and normalcy to his archenemy again is unappealing, but…as he’s learned, Takumi’s mental state is far more fragile than it looks. Provoked with the wrong stimulus and it’ll snap, not resting until it’s torn him apart entirely. He can’t make moves too sudden around him. …Maybe he can let the mask gradually slip. Boil the frog slowly but surely.

He can do this. He won’t ruin his second chance. Takumi won’t escape from him ever again. They are one, after all. Takumi just doesn’t know it yet.

Takumi rushes to the cafeteria that day, running faster than he ever has in his life. In the cold light of day, at first, Takumi had dismissed his dream as just a figment of his imagination, but…he can’t get over Eito acting like he knew exactly what happened. The Eito he knows is inquisitive, not smug like that. His mind wouldn’t have made that Eito up, which means…it wasn’t him. It was the universe. Because they were soulmates.

He spots Eito off to the side, watching as some of the others eat breakfast. “Morning, Takumi,” he yawns as Takumi walks over to him. “Sleep well?”

“Kinda. …Hey, did you feel anything weird last night?” he asks, nearly tripping over words in his excitement.

Eito raises an eyebrow. “…Weird how?” he asks.

That was a maybe. He could work with that. “Like…your heart stops, before all the blood in your body surges at once? Like something else suddenly gives you a huge boost? That’s what it felt like for me.”

Eito nods. “…You know, I didn’t think much about it at the time, but that did happen to me. …Do you know what that was?”

Takumi nods furiously. “I think I do. Can we…talk about it in private, though?”

Eito looks a little wary, but he agrees, and they duck into a nearby classroom to keep talking. Takumi’s a little hungry, but that’s fine. He can have breakfast later. “I wouldn’t think that much of it if it were just a bit of heart pain, but I had a weird dream last night.”

“You too?” Eito asks. “…What about?”

“You were in it, but…how to put it…you weren’t quite like you? You were a lot more smug, a lot more confident. …It wasn’t like a normal dream, but I know what that means. We’re soulmates.”

Eito looks at him, looking almost shocked. His face is pale and almost sweaty. “Really? Are you…sure about that?”

Takumi nods slowly. “I wasn’t at first, but…it feels right. I know it’s right.”

Eito looks down, deep in thought. “…Soulmates, huh” He looks back up at Takumi, eyes firm. “…I hate to do this, but you know that’s not much evidence…”

“Then I’ll prove it to you,” Takumi says firmly. “I’m ready. I’ll show you that I’ll be a good partner. I’ll protect you, I promise. I’ll sneak you food till Sirei backs down, and I’ll make sure you don’t have to fight.”

Eito doesn’t look entirely convinced, but he slowly nods. “I…may not fight for the group…ever. We don’t know why we’re here. I can’t put my life on the line for that. But…”

He offers up a small smile. “I’ll work as hard as I can to figure out what’s going on. I still don’t know about all this, but I can’t just accept you protecting me. I’ll work hard to find stuff out for you too.”

Takumi feels a warmth filling his chest. This’ll work out. He knows it. “That sounds wonderful. And I’ll make sure you have the time to.”

Eito smiles back. “I should…get on that then. If you need me, I’ll be in the library.”

Takumi watches him go, lingering for a moment in the classroom. He knows he should go to the cafeteria, but the idea of seeing the others doesn’t really appeal to him today. He’s not sure why-it’s probably just in comparison to the rush of soulmates that hanging out with the others feels almost kind of gross. He’ll go to the cafeteria for breakfast later, when everyone’s dispersed.

So the other him made roughly the same choice he did, Eito muses from the inside of Takumi’s mind that night. That would make sense - they came from the same root. The other him has to recognize it as just as much of a golden opportunity as he does. He did a good job of hiding his revulsion, too— if he could talk directly to his other self, he’d give him a pat on the head for an acting job well done.

Takumi’s asleep across from him, tired out from a night of getting almost nothing done. Had he known how much time Takumi wasted most of the time, he’d have felt almost insulted that this guy stopped him in his timeline. But that Takumi had learned from that error, at least.

…He missed that Takumi more and more with each passing day. This one just wasn’t the same. That Takumi neither saw nor knew him was bad enough—he was almost starting to miss his Takumi’s misguided drive and sense of righteousness from the lack of anything like that in this one. No wonder he’d attached so much to Eito to the point of making up some ridiculous story about them being soulmates, he really had nothing else going on, did he?

He looms over Takumi’s sleeping figure, focusing on the rise and fall of his chest. The heartbeat was the same as his own-they shared a body, after all. …He didn’t get to choose that other Takumi, did he? That even, unbroken heartbeat would be violently disrupted with his Takumi by now, over and over again in a cycle of violence. All he had left was this Takumi, the blank slate.

…No. He’d remake the Takumi he met in the gym. He didn’t know the full details of what that first Eito had done to make him so determined, but he’d replicate what he knew happened. And there’d be no chance to go back — 100 days in Takumi’s body would be more than enough to store up enough control to prevent Takumi from ever going back. He’d sabotage the mission, and then they’d have eternity together.

Maybe that’s why, when the other him disappears a few days later, Eito breaks one of his own rules-to keep up the ruse by only talking to Takumi at night. “Calm down,” he hisses to Takumi as he rushes through the school.

Takumi stops in his tracks. “Eito?” he asks, looking around wildly for the source of the noise.

“In here,” he clarifies. “…It takes a lot of energy, but I can communicate to you like this if I need to,” he lies.

“Thank goodness…You have to know where the other you is, right? I mean-we can’t be together forever if you just die this early, right?” Takumi asks, near hyperventilating.

“Breathe, Takumi,” Eito says. Takumi’s heart rate is his heart rate— he can feel his tension from here, and it’s too much. “You’re not going to be of much help to me if you’re running around with your head cut off.”

Takumi stops and takes some deep breaths, heart rate slowly approaching a more normal level of elevated. “I…guess you’re right. But seriously, do you know where he is?”

Eito doesn’t, but he can make an educated guess. The other him successfully killed Sirei, and that means he has a body he needs to get rid of. The little intergroup squabbles had given him the perfect excuse to run off and do something with the body. That’s as much as he knew, though—where the other him went to dispose of Sirei was just as much of a mystery to him as it was to Takumi.

But he did know, regardless of where the other him was, he could use a head start. “I’m afraid I don’t— the details aren’t much more clear to me than they are to you…but I can guess he’s far away. If you’re going to save him, you need to make sure you’re prepared first.”

Takumi nods. “That’s…a good idea. Thank you.”

He’s sure Takumi will regret that thanks-he’s able to micromanage him, make sure that by the time Takumi leaves, he’s spent over an hour getting everything ready, but the resentment never comes. All he feels from Takumi is worry and determination. There’s something…pure about him that just sends disgust through Eito’s core. It’s like he’s never even heard of hatred.

No worries there. Eito will teach him, in time.

It turns out that Takumi never needed Eito’s directional help at all—he just focused hard on Eito, then followed his homing instinct. Like a dog. And somehow, it worked.

They found the other him collapsed, surrounded by invaders. Eito hears the others talk about how lucky it is that they found him in time, and internally laughs. There’s no way his other self’s predicament is genuine-it’s such a perfect, pitiful scene that he has to admire his other self for setting it up. The wounded gazelle gambit— a classic. Anything he could ask Takumi for, Takumi would agree to out of sheer relief that he’s alright.

 Takumi doesn’t see it that way, though, and if there was ever any doubt that he knew hate, it’s dispelled through watching him fight. He doesn’t give the invaders clean kills— he rips them apart, slashing their broken bodies into smaller and smaller pieces. It’s almost horrific, Takemaru giving him a visibly wider berth in battle, and Darumi watching in awe.

She’s right to. It’s beautiful.

After the fight, though, Takumi insists on carrying Eito back, and from his vantage point in Takumi’s mind, Eito’s heart sinks. This…this would be horrific. To wake up tossed over some vile ogre’s back would be a nightmare for him. He doesn’t want to feel this, doesn’t want to be a part of his own torment. “Takumi,” he whispers.

Takumi tilts his head, careful not to dislodge Eito. “Hm?”

“…Once I wake up, put me down and let me walk.”

Takumi visibly hesitates. “…Are you sure? You look pretty injured…”

He’s dead certain. The other him…does look a little worse for the wear, but that’s just committing to a plan. Spending more time around Takumi will hurt him much more than the invaders ever could. “I’m sure. …Let me keep a little dignity.”

“If you insist…” Takumi says, before stopping in his tracks as Eito wakes up. He gingerly tries to put him down, keeping an offending arm on his shoulder as Eito sways. Huh. That part is weird. Eito’s just acting, right? He doesn’t need to commit this hard.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” Takumi says warmly, and Eito internally cringes a little. Takumi’s trying to be dashing, but that’s harder to pull off when he’s a too close hideous pile of flesh. There’s no way it’s going to work on him.

“Hmgh? Where am I?” other Eito asks dazedly.

“You’re outside the school,” Takumi explains. “…Are you feeling alright?”

Eito nods. “I’m still feeling a little woozy, but I’ll be okay.”

Takumi nods, warmth flooding his chest. “Do you need me to carry you?” he asks.

Eito shakes his head, movements more firm. “I’m not that far gone. …Just give me some time, and I’ll be fine.”

Takumi nods, and slowly begins to walk, arm still slung around Eito’s shoulder. “So, uh…why did you have to leave alone?”

Eito looks down firmly as he walks. “Does it matter?”

“It does to me,” Takumi says, passion building. “…You could have died out there. I know you’re trying to help, but…it means nothing if we lose you along the way. …Please don’t make me go through that.”

Eito looks away from Takumi-likely disgusted by his emotions. “…I’m sorry,” he gets out, likely as a courtesy. “I had…just thought, if I could find anything of home, any clues on how to get back to the complex, or anything of Earth…” he trails off. “I thought I could find a way out of here, but I just…failed. There really is no early escape for us.”

Takumi squeezes his shoulder gently. “That…sucks. I’m not going to pretend it doesn’t. But…please. Lean on me a bit. We can face this together. Just…let me help you. Please don’t make me worry about you like that again.” He’s one to talk, some bitter part of Eito speaks up.

But even so, other Eito nods, before he keels forward. Takumi just barely catches him before he’d collapse onto the ground, unconscious. That’s…bizarre. That’s very bizarre. He was already pitiful enough—he didn’t need to add to it. There’s no way-he wouldn’t get actually lost and injured like that, would he?

Takumi, oblivious to his mounting disbelief, just picks Eito up again in his arms and continues walking home.

At the very least, the other him knows how to capitalize on that little incident. The commander on the next day is strangely strong, able to capture all four of the soldiers despite their boosted hemoanima. Eito wouldn’t admit it, but the feeling of Murvrum’s tight grip around Takumi is…uncomfortable. The pain on its own isn’t enough to give him pause, but…

The feeling of dying with Takumi is familiar. Too familiar. Uncomfortably so. Enough pain like this could turn even this one into a demon. He was planning on not letting Takumi know he could still control his body, but he would if he needs to, anything keeping Takumi away from forming that deadly addiction again-

Luckily for him, the other Eito has that covered-swooping in at the right moment to save Takumi, carving off four arms at once.

(Not exactly looking as delicate as his cover story would suggest, but his Takumi had…been lost without figuring that part out, so it was a moot point. Besides…Takumi was alive and still himself. He could overlook a little shoddiness in the act for that.)

The rest of the battle is mostly a blur, though for just a second, he could swear he saw Eito’s scythe flash blue.

Everything afterwards doesn’t matter-Takumi’s tired, which means he’s tired. He needs some time to think through what to do next-he knows he needs to coordinate with the other him, which is harder than it seems, given that there’s no way to communicate with him directly. He can guess most of what he’s doing, but every now and then, he makes a move Eito wouldn’t, and he needs to tell if it’s a mistake to be corrected or new plan to help with.

And speak of the devil-he comes by to visit Takumi late at night. Eito reclines in his couch as they talk, content to let them do so without him. Eito’s here to express gratitude for saving his life, which is a clever move. It’s a good way to reinforce that bond and keep Takumi even more susceptible to him. He tunes some of his words out, until Eito goes off script.

“Takumi, I…have something to confess to you.” Eito says quietly.

Both inner Eito and Takumi’s ears prick up. “Oh? What is it? …You can tell me anything,” Takumi reassures, stomach aflutter.

Eito looks down at him nervously. “When you first said we were soulmates, I…didn’t believe you. It just…it felt too outlandish. For someone like me to be with someone like you. I mean, we don’t…have much in common. But…well…I had a weird dream like you on the second day, too.”

….Huh. That…shouldn't have happened. Takumi only had this “dream” because he inherited Eito’s hemoanima. Eito continues on, despite the other him’s confusion. “A dream about you, where you said some things that, well…you wouldn’t. At first I dismissed it-sure, he knew some things that I had never told anyone, but…well, I knew them. Of course a figment of my imagination would know anything I’d know.”

This sounds…familiar. That was at least one experience the two Eitos share-the Takumi who knows everything about them already. But…hmm.

 Takumi, oblivious, just nods. “That makes sense.”

“I was ready to write it off, but…he said some other stuff too. About this war, and about the future.” Eito looks nervous, and it’s hard to tell if it’s an act. “Truth be told, part of why I went exploring was to check if what he said was true. If it wasn’t, then I’d know it was just a dream, but…”

He trails off, the meaning clear. Takumi hangs on his every word, but from inside his mind, Eito can feel himself growing more and more agitated. Eito was…experiencing something just like Takumi. It wasn’t just a weird dream he thought was similar, it was the same. There’s no way…

The other Eito looks Takumi in the eyes. “I don’t know how, but there’s another you stuck in my mind. A...worse off you, one that wants to die but can't. I can't tell if his state is a warning of things to come, or a sign about you, but either way, I can't keep watching it. I'd appreciate nothing more than if we could figure this out together—as soulmates.”

Chapter Text

If Takumi were to describe the last days of his endurance match with Eito, he’d say it felt like treading water. Like they were both stranded in the ocean, waiting to see which one of them loses energy and drowns first. And just for a second, as his real body hit the ground after jumping off the roof, he could almost see his friends’ faces on the lifeboat coming to save him—

Before his head finally goes under and he sinks beneath the waves.

One of the worst parts of drowning has to be the sensation of trying to breathe in on reflex, only to breathe in water. The liquid searing against lungs was so, so painful the first time he’d drowned, but the point was to make Eito suffer, so to the very last second, he had breathed in as deeply as he can.

This time, he hasn’t the energy to breathe, so he doesn’t, body going still and lifeless as it sinks further and further away from the real world, lungs filling with water until the breathing stops entirely. Everything stops, in fact. Not enough for Takumi to cease to be entirely, but just barely. It feels like there’s a chain around his ankle that lashes his soul to his body. One that Eito had first used to drag Takumi down to hell with him, but now, was the only thing keeping him from passing away entirely.

So Takumi drifts, deep, deep below the surface, any awareness of what’s happening rapidly diminishing to nothing. He distantly remembers hearing that deep sea fish don’t have eyes, because once you get too far down, there’s not enough light for eyes to be necessary. That’s closest to what Takumi is feeling now. He’s far enough gone that he doesn’t need any of his senses anymore. The only thing he experiences is a slight tug on the chain around his ankle every now and then, but even if he wanted to respond to it, he no longer has the ability to. So instead, he drifts through the dark, endless ocean.

.

Until one day, the chain at his ankle pulls, hard enough to pull his body too, forcing it to rapidly rise to the surface. The pressure hurts, tearing up his body even more from the sudden exertion, but he can’t resist it as it forces him up, out, into the bright light-

When Takumi opens his eyes, he finds himself…in his room again. Not the real one, the one in his dream. And it’s not quite the same—it’s red now instead of blue. Plus, when he woke up here before, he’d wake up on or above his bed. This time, he finds himself sprawled across the couch, where he stays. He knows what’s going to happen next-what has to happen next-what he has to do next. He needs to find another way to kill himself that’ll finally bring Eito down. It’s the only thing he can do for the others—die then live then die then live, live to die, die to live.

Except…he couldn't even do that, could he? He’d just…stopped after that last time, and naively had thought that’d finally let him rest. But it hadn’t—he’s back here again. Ready for the cycle to start anew.

His body feels like it’s made of lead, even if he knows it isn’t (he’s seen his insides splattered across the floor enough times by now to be very familiar with what his body is made of). He knows he needs to get up and look around—try to see where his enemy is—but he can’t muster up the energy to. Instead, his eyes drift shut, and he hopes this time to finally cease to be—

He’s interrupted by a distantly familiar sensation, a searing pain before his body rips apart. Even if he’d only been able to rig a death by explosion once or twice—telling Sirei wasn't an option, he couldn’t figure out which Eito was really Tsubasa, the ones he’d tried with had refused to make him a detonator to blow himself up with, so the only times he’d been able to die by explosion had been when he had cut open his stomach himself to blow the bomb up manually—but those few times, the sensation was distinctive enough to remember. The bomb in his body must have just gone off.

In his last seconds before his consciousness fades and the Revive-o-Matic does its job, he wonders what set it off. It doesn’t matter, it works for him, but…

As usual, he comes to just a bit later. After all, death doesn’t matter as long as the Revive-o-Matic works, only the method and pain of dying do. He lies there face down on the couch, deathly still, until-

“Takumi? What are you doing here?”

…That voice was Eito’s, but…not quite. There’s something about it that sounds just wrong. It’s too…nice? For him. There’s no mocking edge, despite that there should be.

It takes energy he doesn’t have, but he turns over to see Eito looking down at him, eyes narrow and evaluating. He looks inquisitive but not disgusted, which is also off. He must just be hiding his disdain for Takumi, but…why? They both knew how disgusting they both were—that was the point of all this. “…Is that a trick question, or…?”

He can see Eito’s eyebrows rise. “Of course it’s not. How did you get here?”

…Why is he acting like he doesn’t get it? “…You know the answer to that already. If this is another way to torment me, it’s pretty weak by your standards.”

Eito slowly starts to pace, visibly confused. “…This doesn’t make sense, but it’s just a dream. Dreams don’t have to make sense. And having Takumi in my room would be a nightmare that my mind would prepare me to face.”

Takumi’s mind swims, last brain cell working hard as it can. Eito’s words ring in his head. This is no ordinary dream. Eito isn’t a figment of his imagination, he’s a manifestation of the blood in Takumi’s veins. But…Eito hadn’t been able to leave that room. Takumi had done all he could to make it that way. When he had woken up here, it was…just him and no Eito.

Eito faces Takumi, face set in determination. “…Please leave my room. I need my privacy.”

He’s trying to be nice about it, and that one detail breaks Takumi. The Eito he knew would never,ever do that, because both he and Takumi are vile, awful demons trying to torture each other until one of them breaks entirely. He wouldn’t act out innocence for this long.

Takumi slowly raises an eyebrow. “…Eito, what day do you think it is?”

Eito narrows his eyes. “It’s the night of day two. You should know that—you’re a creation of my imagination. You should know anything I know.”

Oh. That’d explain what the explosion was. He failed to stop Eito from killing Sirei, didn’t he? “So, uh. About that. I don’t know that, because I’m not a dream. I’m a manifestation of the hemoanima within you, or…something like that? Your words, not mine.”

Eito’s brow furrows in disbelief. “What? How, pray tell, did I get Takumi’s hemoanima in me for you to show up like this?”

…Well, that’s a hard question to answer. “Time travel?” Takumi shrugs. “I had your hemoanima in me in the future, and then somehow time got rolled back, and then…this happened. I just woke up here. I don’t really get it, but I also don’t care anymore,” he yawns, before rolling back over to go to sleep. He closes his eyes, trying to return to rest, to not being-

Before Eito shakes his shoulder roughly enough to disturb him. Takumi tenses up, hoping Eito will give up and go away, but he only shakes harder. “Takumi? That wasn’t a proper explanation.”

Can’t he just give up already? Takumi doesn’t have any answers and is too exhausted for this—wait a second. Exhausted…there is a way to make Eito go away, isn’t there?

Takumi turns over, looking Eito in the eyes as he snaps his fingers. Any second now, he’ll fall asleep here.

…Any second now.

Nothing happens. Takumi blinks, then tries again, more careful with his snapping motion. Eito stays exactly where he is, studying him warily. “…Takumi, what are you doing?”

Takumi looks away, embarrassed. “You know, the other you made this look so easy,” he grumbles, before taking a moment to step back and focus. All of this is just a mistake, and it can be rectified easily. “That’s beside the point. You wanted me to leave, right? Trust me, I’d be glad to.”

He gets up a bit clumsily—it’s been ages since he’s done anything but rot away—but he is able to get to a shaky standing position before he pats himself down, looking for his reliable knife. If nothing else would work to get him out of here, this would-

…He doesn’t find it. Okay. The mental space here clearly held some differences to the physical. Good to know. He slowly looks back at Eito. “Do you have any sharp objects, by any chance?”

Eito slowly raises an eyebrow, scrutinizing Takumi. “Why do you ask?”

“So I can die.” What a stupid question. “If I die in here, then it should stick. And if it doesn’t take the first time, I can try until it works-“

“Are you stupid? I don’t want your filthy blood staining my room,” Eito snaps back, bile finally returning to his voice.

To think, Takumi had almost forgotten how frustrating it was to interact with any Eito. “Fine! I’ll make do without,” he says, before putting his hands to his neck and squeezing. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Eito glaring at him more and more, and he rolls his eyes in response. “What? It’s not a bloody way to die. Trust me—I’d know—“

He’s stopped by the feeling of strong arms gripping his hands and forcing them away from his throat, traitorous body gasping for air. “What makes you think it’d be any better to have a corpse laying around here? Stop that!”

Takumi looks at him blankly. If he’s not supposed to die here, then…what is he supposed to do? What’s the point of him?

What’s been the point of him for a while now?

To put it mildly, Eito had not planned for this to happen. His plan had been simple—Sirei had been about to reveal secrets to unite the group, so kill him before he can. That part went over just fine—well, he’d hoped that the bomb in his body was a bluff, but that part was just a minor setback. He could endure a little pain for the plan.

No, the real problem was that it seems that heart-clenching feeling he’d felt right before blowing up hadn’t been nerves after all, and somehow he seems to have…contracted a Takumi in his mind.

He can feel him. That’s the maddening part. It feels like a parasite always there in his skull. He doesn’t get why Takumi couldn’t have just gone out the door and left. Didn’t Eito have enough to deal with? And what’s worse is that he can feel Takumi affecting his thoughts. As he leaves his room, his eyes move on their own to focus on things he wouldn’t.

Off the roof over the fence. Down the stairs with a little luck. Poisoned food. Stab wounds with the knife. Stab wounds with the fork. …Choking with the spoon.

Everywhere he looks, he sees death. He had never experienced this before—while he didn’t want to die before his mission was completed, he wasn’t exactly living in fear of the thought. This means, of course, that this has to be Takumi’s doing.

There’s also the matter of how Takumi acts. The one in his head is, to put it mildly, extremely melancholic. He couldn't be any less like the one in real life at all. It’s…vexing. Extremely so. The one in his head doesn’t feel like a creation of his mind, either—if so, he’d be a lot more knowingly disgusting. There’s something about him that feels…real. And yet, he doesn’t act like Takumi at all.

There’s only one explanation Eito can think of for the discrepancy in Takumi behavior. One way to bridge the gap between the grim Takumi in his head and the real one in the real world, and unfortunately, it requires admitting he was wrong. The real truth here is that he misjudged Takumi initially.

He isn’t an idiot or an easy mark—in fact, the opposite is true. He had Eito fooled, just as he has everyone else fooled. The Takumi in front of him, entering the cafeteria with a dumb smile etched onto his hideous blobby face, is a liar and a fake. The one in his head is the reality of who he is, forced into honesty from his captivity in Eito’s head. Really, Takumi’s just like him—playing the same game as he is. It’s easy to see why Takumi would put on this kind of act, he seems so foolish and helpless that any sort of guile or misdirection feels wasted on him.

He can almost hear Takumi’s laughter from within his head, but that doesn’t mean he’s wrong. If anything, it makes him more certain than ever. It’s a two pronged offense—one peddling a lie and the real one jabbing at him and making him doubt himself. It’s…impressive, almost. Takumi must be a master of his craft to fool even him so effortlessly. Were he not a vile little ogre, Eito would even consider asking him for advice.

But Takumi is a human, so the only thing he ever could be to Eito is a rival to be inevitably crushed. All this does is make the process slightly less mind-numbing.

So, when the real Takumi makes a beeline to him to talk, even dragging him into another room for privacy, Eito sees it for what it is—an opening move in the game they’re playing. He responds to Takumi’s act in kind, expertly playing the part of the confused and concerned friend.

The first surprise is that Takumi’s willing to acknowledge whatever happened yesterday to put himself in Eito’s head. An interesting choice, but he supposes that if he has no way to get rid of the Takumi in his head, then of course the real one has room to gloat. The injection of filth into him worked. Another reason he has to destroy him.

That surprise is eclipsed by the second surprise-when Takumi says they’re soulmates. It takes all of Eito’s self-control to restrain his first reaction of deep disgust, forcing the bile creeping up his throat back down and forcing his hands to stay by his side, instead of clutching at his mouth. It’s-the very idea of being destined to be with Takumi of all people is noxious, makes him feel dirty to even consider, fills him with the deepest of loathing-

…Just as it should. Just as Takumi likely intended it to.

He takes a deep, shaking breath, steadying himself. That’s right. There's no way Takumi actually believes this. You’d have to be completely brain-dead to come to that conclusion. No, this is just Takumi making a particularly bold first move, one he’d have to know would throw Eito off his balance. All he has to do is respond properly, even if the idea is nauseating, hideous, filthy-

Oh god, he’s right.

Eito nearly jumps at hearing Takumi’s voice from inside. I’m not going to fall for it more if you double down on it, he thinks back angrily. I know your tricks. You can’t fool me.

Are you still on that-nevermind, that’s not important. He kind of has a point. I mean….being roommates with someone means you share a room with them, right? So if two people share a body and a consciousness like this…

Takumi at least has the decency to sound uncomfortable with this—though maybe it doesn’t count as decency if it’s yet another way to toy with him. That assumes we’re equals sharing a space, which we are not. You’re more of a parasite that I can’t get rid of.

He swears he can hear Takumi mumble something about that being rich, coming from him, but he ignores it to put on a shaky smile that makes the sympathetic of heart swoon. He has to focus on putting on the act to fool the real Takumi, the fake one’s lies can be dealt with later.

Even so, trapped between Takumis, he can feel his heart start to race. It’s been ages since something has given him this much challenge. He has to work to keep up with what they’re up to and how to outmaneuver them. It’ll almost be a shame to crush them completely.

…Almost.

Takumi stays idle for almost an entire day, before the frustration moves him to try to do something. Being stuck with Eito still is maddening, even more so seeing him work his dark deeds from a bird’s eye perspective. The shoe is on the other foot now, after all. He’s the annoying parasite in Eito’s head-surely that means he can ruin his plans just like Eito ruined all of his.

Except…taking control of Eito’s body isn’t going like he’d hoped it would. He thought he had it figured out—Eito could only take control of his body because either he wasn’t paying attention, he was asleep, or because he was pressuring Takumi into despairing or giving up. Either way, times when he was too much the dominant personality. And…okay, sure, Takumi’s spirit is…to say it’s flagging would be an understatement, but he’s not submitting at all to this Eito. He’s pouring every bit of energy he has into trying to take control of this body. Trying to dominate. Be the alpha male. Sigma, even.

But it doesn’t do anything.

The realization quietly and slowly comes to him that he was wrong on how controlling their body works. It…wasn’t based on domination and submission. There was more to it than that. Which would…mean that all of those five hundred deaths were for…nothing. They'd never work, and all he’d managed to do was whittle himself down into nothing for absolutely no benefit to anyone.

He can’t tell whether he wants to laugh or cry. He wants to strangle Eito for putting him in this position in the first place, but that wouldn't fix anything.

He lies back down, giving up on getting control of Eito. It’d be really nice to just die for good. This is the longest he’s lived in a while, and he can tell he’s out of practice. But it seems that as bad as he is at living, he’s much worse at dying.

But it’d be nice to get away from all of this. Watching everything play out from here is a torture of its own. It’s like watching someone step onto a bear trap in slow motion. The other him is completely hopeless against Eito—he can’t see his true malevolence at all. There’s nothing he can do—nothing he WILL do—to stop Eito’s plans. Watching it slowly play out is agonizing. Watching who he used to be as he walks blindly into the arms of someone who will grind away any good from him is worse. God, he just wants this all to end.

But if it can’t end by letting him just die, then how? Is he doomed to suffer forever from the second he killed Eito?

After days of waiting, an opportunity to dispose of Sirei’s body finally lands in Eito’s lap. Of course the others don’t want to join him in exploring outside the walls, that’s only natural. He wouldn't normally either, but they provide a perfect alibi. He just went out to try to find the TRC out of desperation. That Sirei’s body went missing then is just coincidental.

God, you never had any good intentions, did you?

Takumi’s awful voice reverberates through his head, something Eito’s trying hard to grow accustomed to. It’s still deeply unpleasant and he hates that it’s unpredictable, but if he wants to go toe to toe with Takumi, he needs to adjust to it somewhat. “Of course not,” he responds as he picks up the garbage bag containing Sirei’s body and starts to move to the schoolyard. “While I need to find the TRC eventually, disposing of Sirei takes priority.”

Takumi bitterly laughs at that. Even now you’re taunting me! You know damn well you won’t find the TRC, but why be honest when you could pour salt into my wounds instead?

Eito’s pace slows a bit as he walks into the ruins. “Of course I want to find the TRC,” he hisses. “There are still plenty of humans to be killed there. That’s just not my first priority. What do you mean I won’t find it?”

You lie just like you breathe. You know you can’t get to the Artificial Satellite without the escape pod, so of course you won’t find the TRC out here.

That makes Eito stop for a moment. “What? Satellite?”

Takumi continues after a moment of hesitation. Yeah. The TRC is on the Artificial Satellite. That’s what we see every night in the sky, not the moon. Since this isn’t Earth. …Which you know. You’re the one who told me we’re on Futurum instead.

Eito adjusts his glasses, before forcing himself to take small steps forward. He only has so much time before the others go looking for him. Even if Takumi is trying to confuse him, he still needs to focus. “Takumi, this is day five. I’m not sure where you think I learned any of this, but thank you for telling me. Assuming this isn’t another well-placed lie, that is.”

Takumi goes silent as Eito walks, embarrassment radiating off of him. Either he did get Eito confused with someone else, or he realized that lie won’t work on someone as sharp as Eito is. Regardless, it doesn’t matter. All that matters now is finding a good hiding place for the body-

That way won’t work.

Takumi interrupts him just before he was going to go straight at a set of three branching paths. “Beg pardon?”

That way won’t work. The other me will find you in seconds if you go that way.

…This could easily be a trick. It’d be trivial for Takumi to psych him out that way, but it could also be a bluff. Either way, Eito needs more data, so he feigns listening, backing off and choosing the left path—

That way won’t work either.

Okay, so Takumi is probably messing with him. That’s fine, he can take the third and last path-

Neither will that one. Man, you’re really bad at this, aren’t you?

Eito seethes at the insult. “In case your hideous eyes didn’t notice, Takumi, those are the only options.”

So they are. But I’ll find you if you go down any of them…I’ll find you regardless. You won’t get away with this.

For once, Takumi’s voice is filled with an emotion that isn’t depression. There’s almost a hint of determination and pride in it. It’s…unearned and vile for a filthy little beast like him, but there’s something novel in it. Eito has to wonder if this is what Takumi will sound like right before Eito beats him for good. “So then, it doesn’t matter where I go. Good to know.”

Takumi goes quiet, which is almost a shame. Almost—it does free up Eito’s mind to just the task at hand. He’s able to dispose of Sirei’s body fine, but on the way back, invaders find him. It’s unfortunate, but he manages to hold them off-

Right up until the second his body moves on his own. It’s only a moment of terrifying loss of control, but it’s long enough to throw his scythe away. Control returns to him, and for a second, the invaders stare at him in disbelief. He stares back, unable to process what just happened. And then, they capitalize, rushing at him.

As he dodges their blows as best he can, anger starts to fill him. He has a guess at who’d do that to him. “Takumi-“

Sorry, Takumi responds internally, voice subdued for someone who’s finally let the mask drop. I can’t let you do this. This timeline’s probably doomed anyways, but I have to try.

He’d love to give a retort back, but the invaders close in on him before he can, and despite his best attempts, a blow to the head from one of them knocks him out cold.

Takumi can control him.

Vile, hideous, ugly Takumi can control his body with no warning and from that moment, no way to fight back.

He awakens in that red room, across from Takumi like usual. Despite all of his machinations, Takumi’s still splayed over Eito’s couch. Like nothing in the world matters to him, and something snaps in Eito. How dare Takumi ruin their blossoming rivalry by cheating? Did he really think Eito would let him get away with that? Even if his real body is done for, the least he can do is make Takumi pay.

He rushes forward, wraps his hands around the part of Takumi’s filthy body that must be the neck, and squeezes.

This is hardly the first time Eito’s strangled someone. He expects the same thing to happen as usual—the flailing, the struggles, the cursing, all before the body finally goes limp.

That…does not happen here. Takumi is dead still, just looking up at him with those hideous eyes of his. There’s no anger to match Eito’s, no desperation, no…anything. They’re hollow and cold and dead.

“You cheated,” he growls, trying to rile Takumi up.

Takumi blinks. “Again, rich coming from you, but it doesn’t matter anymore. If you want to kill me for this, go ahead. There’s nothing left for me.”

…This should be reverse psychology. If Takumi were a proper rival to him, that’s what this would be—a desperate ploy to delay his inevitable murder at Eito’s hands. It wouldn't work, that’d require for Eito to have any sympathy towards him, but that would be what it is. But, try as he might, Eito can’t find any will to live in Takumi’s eyes. These are his last moments, and yet he’s as calm as can be.

(…It comes back to him that the first night he’d met this Takumi, he’d tried very hard to kill himself, despite there being no benefit to it.)

He tries as best he can to keep the one-sided anger up, but with nothing to match it in response, it dissipates. He lets go of Takumi’s neck, trying to wipe the grime off of his hands in disgust. “It isn’t worth it. What’s wrong with you?”

“A lot,” Takumi sighs, looking up at the ceiling. “But it’s all over now, at least. If my count is right, this should be death #511 for me now. Wonder if it’ll finally stick?”

…There’s no way Eito heard that right. To die that many times would be unimaginable. “Sorry, what? …How did that happen?”

Takumi’s gaze stays distant as he speaks. “We were fighting. I was out of options, and thought if I killed myself enough times…” He shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

Eito studies Takumi closely. There was…something true about this one. There’s no reason for him to lie here—both of them are waiting to die. If Takumi’s plan works, there won’t be an after this to plan for. It was…possible this Takumi wasn’t a manipulator, and his manner is as it was from so much death and suffering.

Eito is firm in his goal-it’s what he lives for, and when he dies, it’ll be what he dies for. But even so, the idea of dying that many times for it…

“It’s almost a relief,” Takumi bitterly laughs. “No more pain. No more fighting. No more struggle…” He turns to face Eito. “No more nauseating humans, either.”

…The idea of no more humans and no more disgust is appealing. Eito would love to not have to deal with their filth or their stench ever again, but…not like this. He had hoped to do more than this. The idea of ending his life in the hospital had occurred to him countless times, but there was always a reason not to. He wanted an end to his suffering because the cause of it was gone, not because he was gone.

He sits down next to Takumi’s couch on the ground. “You mentioned we were fighting, right? Who won?”

Takumi doesn’t answer, and he continues. “I can take a guess. I did, didn’t I?”

“Of course you’d say that,” Takumi grumbles.

He tilts his head. “Am I wrong?”

Takumi is silent. Then, he whispers a quiet, defeated “no”.

“That’s what I thought.” He pushes his glasses up. “I wasn’t just asking to lord over you, though. I can’t rest until I’ve gotten rid of every single evil, despicable human. Any pain is worth it for that ultimate end.”

He looks up at Takumi. “If all you’re fighting for is a reprieve from the pain, then of course you’re going to lose. You don’t have a future or a way to win. All you want is for the game to end.”

Takumi’s quiet for a long time, looking away as though deep in thought. “Who knows?” he eventually answers quietly. “As we speak, the others are on their way to save you. They shouldn’t, but they don’t know that yet. Guess there’s nothing to do but wait and see if they’ll get there in time.”

Eito nods, before letting the room fall into a calm silence. Takumi knows there’s merit to what he said, he just needs to accept his defeat. And…he supposes Takumi has a point, too. There's nothing left to do but wait. Despite how empty and miserable his life has been-no. Because of how empty and miserable his life has been, he hopes someone finds him before he’s beaten to death. That his life won’t just end like this.

The red room is silent in the face of death, until…

Eito slowly comes to. It seems…someone found him in time after all.

A vile stench assaults him the moment he wakes up, but it eases quickly as he’s set on his feet. It’s hard to tell with how dizzy he is, but it seems like Takumi was carrying him back before now. He can’t tell why—his actions still don’t quite make sense—but with everything that’s happened, he lets it be. He’s alive. He’s alive.

Takumi’s talking to him—something about wanting to support him and being worried about his death. Between that and how he put Eito down and didn’t subject him to his filth up close, Eito still can’t make any sense of him. If he’s just a fool, then it doesn’t make sense how he’d know to give him a wider berth and care for him enough to do so. If he’s as much of a liar as Eito is, then the digs at his condition are too subtle and too…earnest.

His head is still swimming. The only option he can take is to act out sincerity in response, before his wounds catch up to him. Whatever Takumi’s doing, he can take him at his word just this once. When he passes out, he lets himself fall into Takumi’s arms, falling into a dark, empty sleep.

Takumi looks at his hands in the red room, mind racing. He still can’t just die, but…he supposes that’s not new. He hasn’t been able to for a while now. No, what’s bothering him more are Eito’s words. He was…never going to win that endurance match. Even if he had been right about how controlling the body works, he wasn’t going to win. He didn’t have a future to endure for. Even the love of his friends hadn’t given him any hope of what would be left for him after all of that carnage.

And yet…there was an after that. No one won. Both he and Eito lived. Takumi lost in every way he could, but he’s still here, and it seems by now that death isn’t going to give him an easy out from this.

…Why is he doing this? What future does he want?

He thinks back to that first Takumi. Eito does have a point in that that doesn’t resemble him at all anymore. He lost that self ages ago. But…that Takumi is still alive and here, innocent and hopeful and kind. …He doesn’t deserve what’s coming to him. There may be no second chance for this Takumi, but there could be for the other one. After all, wasn’t a second chance what he was fighting for before all this?

So, when Eito goes to fight Murvrum as another part of the ruse, Takumi helps him. Not for the same reason, but to give the other him more of a chance. He pours all of the energy he has into the fight, into the hope of a kinder future for a Takumi, even if it’s not him.

After the battle, Eito pays a visit to Takumi’s room. He still needs to figure out the one in the real world, after all. He seems to know too much about Eito to be just the fool he initially presented as, but he keeps making strange decisions for the manipulator he could be.

You’re still on that?

He doesn’t react to Takumi’s voice. You just don’t make sense, he thinks back. The other you doesn’t, at least. I can…understand how five hundred deaths would reduce someone to this. You make sense. The other you doesn’t—he acts like he knows about my disorder, yet saved me anyways. That isn’t normal.

…He doesn’t know. Not fully. If he did…he would have stopped you, Takumi responds. He’s not at all prepared to handle you.

Then why does he keep acting like he does?

Takumi doesn’t answer, and that’s for the best. The answer he’s putting forth is…disappointing. Unfortunately, the way the real Takumi acts backs him up more. He acts…normal. Enthusiastic about the soulmate thing and about Eito being kind to him. Eito even lets slip that he has a Takumi in his head too, in the hopes that it’ll make him crack, but…nothing. Either Takumi’s mask is near untouchable, or he really is just a normal, boring human. And the latter’s looking more likely with every minute that passes.

Eito’s just about ready to give up on him when something…strange happens. The image of Takumi—the rancid, hideous blob of flesh—blurs in front of his eyes. For just a second, Takumi doesn’t look monstrous at all. If anything, he looks…beautiful. Dignified yet approachable, endearingly disheveled, and full of hope. If Takumi really were like this, then…Eito wouldn't have any doubts as to what to do with him. There’d be no reason to fight him. He’d spare no effort to sway him to his side.

The image flickers, and he can almost hear Takumi from inside his head swear. Despite that, it dissipates, snapping Eito out of whatever delusion was settling. What he sees now—the hideous monster—is the real Takumi. His eyes show him the truth. And yet, for a second…

No. There’s only one person that could be responsible for that. He quickly excuses himself, going to his room for privacy. The second he’s alone… “Takumi. Care to explain what that was?”

He can almost hear the sound of Takumi cracking his neck. Sorry. I can’t watch you trick the other me anymore. If you really need some kind of crazy mind game against me, then I’ll take you on for round two. Just focus on me and only me. Leave the other me alone.

There’s something different about his voice—something determined about it. Eito can feel his heart begin to race. “You don’t really think you can beat me in a match of endurance, can you? I told you, I have more to endure for. You’re never going to win.”

He can almost feel Takumi shaking his head. I know that now. That's not what I’m playing for. All I have to do is make you give up before the finish line to win. If you’re really going to kill all of humanity, then I’m going to make you look at their beauty as you do it.

Yes. This is how a rival of his should act. “There are more reasons than ugliness to hate them,” he responds. “You’ve certainly got your work cut out for you.”

Oh, trust me, I know. But I’ve got nothing but time. You’re going down. If becoming a demon to beat you won’t work, then I’ll drag you kicking and screaming into the light.

Despite everything, Eito can feel himself starting to smile. If Takumi thinks he can stop him, he’s more than free to try. This kind of challenge is exactly what was missing before. He’s wrong, and he’s going to lose, but Eito will savor every second of grinding Takumi into the dirt. It’ll make it even more satisfying when he gets his final victory.

Chapter Text

It’s not like Takumi really sleeps in the red room, but he’s roused from a nice session of bedrotting by the sound of someone at Eito’s door. Which is…concerning, given how late it is. He’d love to roll over and let it be, but Eito’s sound asleep, so it falls to him to deal with it. He heaves a sigh before forcing Eito’s body up and moving. Late nights like this are about the only time Takumi can control the body, after all.

As he gets up, he hears a few more knocks, then a voice. “Takumi?”

…It’s. His. Voice. As in, the voice of his original body. To hear himself calling for him is…surreal, but it’s nowhere near as bad as the moment of realization of who it really is. Original Takumi wouldn’t do this, which means…

Eito. His Eito. He’d come back in time, too.

No. No. He-he had to have-all of the deaths-was everything Takumi’s done to try to stop him for nothing? The horror freezes him in place as the doorknob moves, letting Eito in. He looks so nonthreatening in Takumi’s body, but Takumi knows better. God, does he by now.

His face looks back at him, one eyebrow raised quizzically. “Oh, so you were awake. Could you not have let me in?”

That-he had no reason to do that, ever. …But there was another question in his mind from Eito’s presence here. “You don’t lock your door? After giving me so much shit for it?”

Eito shrugs. “I’m a light sleeper. If someone barged in, I’d hear them, and then there could be a tragic accident where I overreacted to the disturbance. A tragic misunderstanding where I can’t be blamed for killing someone.”

Takumi rolls his eyes. “Of course it’s something like that. …Why are you here?”

“I could ask you the same thing,” he responds cryptically before continuing. “I just wanted to talk to my worst enemy. Is that so wrong?”

Takumi stares back. “And here I thought you’d be glad to be rid of me.”

Eito gives him a weird look back, before beckoning him outside to talk more. There’s…something strange about him. Namely, he should know Takumi’s not going to agree to this. But he seems blissfully ignorant as Takumi nods and lets him leave the room first...before closing and locking the door behind him-

Or at least, he would have, had Eito not noticed, frowned, then grabbed his wrist and dragged him out onto the roof with him. Good to know he’s still an asshole.

“I see you haven’t changed a bit,” Takumi comments grumpily. “Isn’t this risky? If I wake up, I’m going to know whatever innocent act you’re putting on is full of shit.”

Eito regards him with a look far too smug to fit on his face. “Hardly. The other you’s fast enough asleep to be dead to the world for as long as I will him to be. …What, can’t you do that to your Eito?”

His voice is teasing, and far more annoying for hitting the truth. “What a shame that I’m not as bad a brain parasite to have as you are.”

Eito grins. “What a shame indeed. You are only human, after all.”

Anyone else wouldn’t see that for the barb that it is, but Takumi knows Eito far too well by now. He rolls his eyes. “That aside…I do actually have some questions for you.”

Eito perks up at that. “Oh? I’m all ears.”

He takes a deep breath, before starting. “First off…you’re the reason we went back in time again, aren’t you?”

There it is-a slight break in Eito’s smug demeanor. Yeah, looking pensive and lost for words is way more fitting for his face. He recovers faster than Takumi would, though. “Guilty as charged. Why do you ask?”

“What I want to know is why. You…won. What more could you possibly want?”

Eito tilts his head. “I’ll answer that if you answer a question of mine. It’s only fair.”

Oh joy. They’re starting this again. Takumi sighs, but nods as Eito continues. “…If you were alive that whole time after our game finished, then why didn’t you say something?”

…Huh? That’s what he wants to know? And that’s not all-Eito’s not done talking with a sharp tone. “It was over a month of radio silence. I killed each one of your friends trying to get some, any reaction out of you, but you just did nothing. What, did you care enough about them to die five hundred times for them, but not enough to say a single word to me as they died?”

There’s something petulant in his voice that’s…honestly almost funny. Part of it’s how Eito’s anger just doesn’t translate over with his vocal cords, but another part is how familiar the anger is—it’s just like the anger this Eito gets when he thinks Takumi might not be an evil mastermind after all. “You know, when you say it like that, it sounds like you wanted me around, rather than getting rid of me being your goal.”

“Just answer the question, Takumi.”

He sighs. He supposes he can get to that, though it’s not a pleasant thought for him either. “I don’t think I could have responded back to you if I wanted to,” he confesses. “After our game ended, I lost everything that I was. I stopped moving, breathing…even thinking. Something stopped me from just passing away and finally moving on, but I was effectively dead at that point. …Which is what you wanted. Why are you complaining?”

“Of course that’s not what I wanted!” Eito snaps. “What I really wanted is…”

Wait, what? “Sorry, what? You hated me for killing you. You wanted me just as dead as I made you.”

“That’s-I just…” he sighs, collecting himself before speaking. “What I really wanted was to watch you struggle against the inevitable, until I tasted victory and you tasted despair—“

“Which you got,” Takumi responds back. “You got to watch me struggle and suffer for over five hundred deaths, just to lose anyways. Trust me, I got more than enough despair. You got exactly what you wanted. Why go back on it?”

Eito glares long and hard at him, before sighing angrily. “Trust me, this didn’t work out the way I planned it . He’s…not you. You have no idea what it’s like being in this Takumi’s head. He doesn’t know anything. Certainly nothing about me.”

“Which…should be better for you.” Again, what does he have to complain about? “There’s no way the other me could possibly resist your manipulations. If you want to shape him in your evil image, or take out whatever anger you have at me on him, there’s no way he could figure out what’s going on in time to stop you. You’ve won. Entirely. Even on the off chance that I can stop this you, you can just sabotage this timeline through your Takumi anyways.”

The steam keeping Takumi going runs out as his words sink in. He…lost, didn’t he? “It…might not even be worth it for me to do anything here, since you’re just going to win anyways—“

“Takumi, I swear to god if you kill yourself again,” Eito hisses. “You have fewer survival instincts than a deer in the headlights. Surely you know that it won’t do anything by now.”

…yeah. Over five hundred deaths he’d suffered, all for nothing. “Yeah, I’ve…gathered that by now,” he says quietly. “I can’t seem to die, and my last attempts amounted to nothing. …I was wrong on how controlling the body works, wasn’t I? I’ve been trying to dominate you all week, and nothing.”

“Oh, absolutely,” Eito says. “Which you should be glad about—the truth is better for you. If it really were based on submission, then you’d never get control, since I’d never submit to you. …Of course, I…could have told you during your game.” There’s something weird about his voice. It sounds…genuine. Pained, even. Which both are things Eito Aotsuki rarely if ever is. “Perhaps that would have stopped you before you went that far. Of course, it’s still your fault for starting such a stupid, pointless, self-destructive venture in the first place.”

The words sting from having some truth in them. “Which I only did because of you threatening me! It’s your fault for backing me into a corner where that was my only option.”

Eito almost pouts, a strange sight to behold. “Well, I wouldn't have needed to punish you if oh, I don’t know, you hadn't killed me? You can only blame your own cruelty for how things turned out.”

That-he can’t be serious. “I only killed you because you betrayed me! It’s in your nature.” The words flow to him smoothly, even if he doesn't remember learning them. “You can’t be surprised when the frog drowns the scorpion. If you had stayed nice, then I wouldn’t have had any reason to kill you.”

Eito glares back at him. “Well…it’s your fault for being an ugly, stinking human. If we’re talking about our natures, then yours is filthy and cruel and absolutely irredeemable. So when you get down to it, all of this is your fault.”

Takumi sighs. Yeah, there’s no arguing with Eito once he breaks out the thesaurus. “I suppose I can’t argue with that.”

Eito smirks, glad to win their verbal slapfight, and Takumi takes a second to process a few things. “Wait, sorry, hold on. Go back for a second. You…hate being with the new Takumi…because he isn’t me. It almost sounds like you’re saying you…miss me.”

“You’ve got that wrong,” Eito says quickly, almost cutting him off. “Though what else can I expect from the Takumi I know and hate? It’s only in comparison. You…knew me. The true me.” He moves to push his glasses up, before finding nothing and returning his hands to his sweatshirt pockets awkwardly. “Of course, you then killed the person you saw, which made you worthy of torment. Every second spent torturing you was exquisite to me. It was earned. Two demons creating misery and suffering for each other in a cycle that goes on forever.” His voice is warm for some reason. “This Takumi…doesn’t see anything or know anything. There’d be no fun in hurting him, which means there’s no fun whatsoever.”

Takumi takes a second to study Eito before him. There’s definitely something…off…about him. During their game before, it had felt like sheer sadistic glee was driving him ever since he made the mistake of killing him, which…should make Eito happy now. He gets the opportunity to take out that sadism out as much and however he wants. But there’s no doubt about it—the person in front of him doesn’t seem happy at all. He seems angrier, and to be fair, he was also that quite a lot since Takumi killed him. But Eito also seems…sad. Wistful. Which makes no sense whatsoever-

…The strangest thing is that it does sort of resemble something in his other self. Eito had seemed genuinely dismayed that other Takumi was really just a normal guy and not the evil mastermind he’d thought he was (which…come on. Of course he wasn’t. Occam’s razor, which is a concept he definitely didn’t know before he shared a body with Eito but applies here). There was some part of Eito that had…genuinely and strongly wanted a rival to thrill and challenge him.

He sucks in air before speaking. “So, you don’t really miss me, you just…want a better chew toy. The one you have just doesn’t offer enough resistance.” Eito looks at him weirdly, but he’s right. “That tracks. The other you was so desperate for that, he thought I was an evil mastermind on your level and manipulating him in tandem with the me in his head.”

Oh, the reaction on Eito to that is satisfying. “Really? Takumi is an utter fool. That should be apparent from even a glimpse at him. Any version of me in any universe should be able to grasp that fact.”

“Right? Trust me, I tried to correct you, but you just thought it was more psychological warfare. The hints that the other me knew about your condition were enough to get you theorizing.” He pauses. “Which, saying it out loud…those were you, weren’t they? The little details that Takumi knew more than he should.”

Eito nods. “Guilty as charged. Did other me appreciate not being hauled back to school on the back of a hideous beast?”

…He’s pretty sure neither of them noticed. At the time, Eito had just been relieved to be alive, and then had been unconscious. “He had…other things to think about. Speaking of which…the soulmate thing was your doing, wasn’t it?”

He’s genuinely shocked when Eito shakes his head. “That part was all you. Something about romance novels your despicable childhood acquaintance shared with you. All I did was capitalize—if you thought I was your soulmate, you’d listen to me more. I’d have to be as much of a fool as you are to turn down this opportunity.”

…Right, Karua had done that, hadn’t she? Those memories feel like a lifetime ago by now… “I…see. I’d apologize for my other self, since god is that an unpleasant idea, but I fear he’s right.”

Eito recoils at that. “I beg your pardon?”

“The other you reacted just like that too, but you both know I’m right. It’s like roommates, but with souls. All it means is that we’re sharing a body, not…destined for romantic bliss together or anything like that.”

Eito looks down, deep in thought, before eventually looking back up to meet Takumi’s eyes. “Even if you’re right—which you aren’t—you are not soulmates with that Eito, just as I’m not with a Takumi that doesn’t know the first thing about me. You and I should be the real soulmates here. We were meant to be one, after all. That we aren’t and are stuck with worse versions of each other are an anomaly that needs fixing.”

…God, he is not unpacking any of that, but at least it’s probably just phrased like that to rile him up? Besides… “Against all odds, I kind of agree with you. The guy you’re possessing hasn’t done anything wrong. He deserves a second chance that you don’t ruin.”

“And the one you’re possessing doesn’t deserve you either. Not like I do. Does he even know how selfish and cruel you really are? That, even among humanity, you’re a special case? I bet he isn’t treating you with the harshness you deserve.”

“Point is,” Takumi says, face red. Why does Eito have to phrase things like that? “If there were a way to take you off of that Takumi’s hands and contain you somewhere you can’t harm this timeline, then I’d do it in a second. …But if we’re talking what ifs, I think I’d like to not have killed you, for you to not have betrayed me, for you to not have your disorder, and then for our paths to have never left the TRC in the first place.”

For just a second there, Eito had perked up, but he looks annoyed and uncertain again. “So…where does that leave us.”

“…I don’t know,” Takumi admits. “Regardless of how it happened, we’re stuck in these bodies now, and I have my hands too full to deal with two Eitos at once. Victory may be impossible, but I still have to stop you, and stopping this you sounds a lot more feasible. You can…I don’t know, have fun with the other me? Go at least a little easy on him, he hasn’t done anything.” He yawns. “For now, I need to sleep off so much Eito in my system.”

Eito’s eye twitches. “As a spirit in someone else’s head, you don’t need sleep. You could stay here and talk more. I should know.”

“Maybe YOU don’t,” Takumi yawns. “You just have to deal with me.”

“Which is worse,” Eito retorts. “Because you’re a hideous, ugly little ogre of a person, and I’m the only sane, reasonable man on the face of the planet.”

God does Takumi not have the energy for this, and he gets a terrible idea of how to get out of this. “Let me rephrase that—if I don’t get enough sleep, I’m not talking to you anymore. Either you. I’ll do something to make sure the other me joins me, too.”

That shuts Eito up fast. He looks like he wants to say something, before eventually averting his eyes. “Fine. But this had better not be the last time we talk. Don’t think I’m above destroying the rest of the SDU if you decide to just lay down and die again.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re very evil and I’m stuck with you forever,” Takumi grumbles. “Night.” He goes back to Eito’s room, not looking back as he shuts the door. The moment he’s inside, he lurches, world rapidly spinning as he goes dizzy, before the room around him goes red and he collapses onto the couch. That means…

Takumi. Care to explain what that was?

…Yep. The Eito whose body he’s inside is awake and in control. He heaves a sigh. “Aren’t you supposed to be asleep? You were when I started this?”

I woke up midway through and decided to listen in. What an interesting little conversation that was! I’d say it was with Takumi, but it wasn’t, was it?

He heaves a sigh. As much as he’d love to tell Eito to go fuck himself (which, thinking about it, loses its punch when Takumi’s included in ‘himself’), he’s so tired, and that’ll come faster if he just cooperates. “That was my Eito. The one from the future. He turned back time, but surprise surprise, you’re shit at time travel and fucked up so bad that I ended up in you and he ended up in me.”

Eito’s quiet for a long moment, lying down in bed before he appears in proper in the room across Takumi. “First of all, of all the character flaws to have, being bad at time travel is far better than every other flaw vile ugly humanity has. I don’t know how you’d expect better—“

“I don’t know, I’d expect competent enough to keep who belongs in which body right,” Takumi comments as he yawns.

Oh, he can feel his heart rate rising. Look at that—he can get under Eito’s skin too? Good to know.

“That aside,” he grits out. “You still have plenty to explain. What the hell did you do to the other me?!”

…Huh? “Sorry, what? You did so much more to me than I did to you. If anything, I should be saying that to you.”

Eito almost looks scandalized, which would be much funnier if it were over something else. “Don’t play dumb with me. I know me, and I wouldn't give up my goals for anything. If I won over you and humanity, then I’d sooner learn time travel just to prevent anyone from ever undoing my perfect victory. Clearly, you did something to interfere with the other me’s priorities.”

Takumi sits up straighter on the couch. “Wait a second, that’s not just me who noticed that! You also think that’s weird.”

“Of course it’s weird!” Eito nearly throws his hands up in frustration. “The only thing that matters to me is making sure humanity gets what it deserves. You included. There is no reason to ever back down, much less for a human, and definitely no reason to address you like that! Not to mention, and I wouldn’t think this would need saying, but it would be impossible for me to ever be soulmates with you. I cannot deserve you, because you are inherently filthy and ugly.”

Takumi has to restrain himself from jabbing about how Eito wouldn’t say that if he saw how he really looked—it’ll be easier to convince him of that later if he doesn’t nudge him about it. “Okay. Good to know. For what it’s worth, I have no idea how the hell other you got to be that way. Last time we spoke, you said I was so hideous I made you want to puke. I mean, you were trying to stop me from the endurance match and all, but that could’ve been that I had a chance of winning.”

Eito studies him closely. “And you’re not lying to me, are you?” he asks, voice threatening (or at least attempting to be. There’s nothing he can actually do to Takumi, and they both know that.)

Even so, he shakes his head, and Eito continues. “Good. That definitely wasn’t it. I was never going to lose to you in a competition like that, and if I know that, then the other me surely did too. So he wasn’t begging for his own sake, because he was doing better than you were.” He looks away in thought, mercifully not slowing to insult Takumi more there. “But then, why would I try to stop you? It shouldn't matter one bit if an ugly, vile human kills himself over and over.”

Takumi just watches him think, feeling almost content. He has no more idea what’s going on than Eito does. It sounds more and more like the other him should have been suggesting he do a flip off the roof next time rather than trying to force his legs away from the edge. That said, the process of talking it over is…almost heartening. There’s some sense here.

…He wishes it weren’t from the same person that caused all of this, though.

…That’s not a thought he wants to dwell on. How to change the subject…“No comments about me using your body while you were asleep?” he prods.

Eito glares back at him. “Filthy. Hideous. Disgusting to even consider. …Isn’t there anything I can do to stop it? I was asleep—I can’t compete with you for control then.”

How the tables have turned. “Nope! Though I am still restricted to only whatever your body can do. So if you tied yourself up before going to bed, that’d probably work.”

Eito rolls his eyes. “There are so many logistical issues there that it’s not worth even going into. No. Not doing that.”

Honestly, Takumi should leave it there, but it’s fun getting to be the one teasing Eito for once. “That’s a shame. I’m sure Kyoshika would have been happy to provide pointers…” he trails off.

Kyoshika. Remembrance crashes into Takumi all at once. Nozomi.

Oh god, there’s a whole second academy that needs saving, and he’s stuck in the body of someone who would love nothing more than to let them all die.

Eito leans back on the couch in the blue room, unable to settle down like he normally does. He had thought seeing Takumi again would…feel better. And maybe it had at the time—for a glorious, shining moment, the world felt as it should again for the first time since Takumi started that stupid challenge. Takumi hadn’t lost his touch for banter that was just barbed enough to require some thought to parry, but nowhere near enough to be something he's at actual risk of being outwitted by. But…the moment had passed. Takumi’s stuck in other Eito’s body, and he’s…stuck here. With an empty Takumi who doesn’t know anything about him.

And who seems despicably cheerful this morning. “Someone’s chipper,” Eito comments bitterly.

“I had…a really good morning,” Takumi says, awful face red like a mosquito got to him. “I dreamed that you—the real you—and I talked under the stars.”

Ah. So Takumi did see some of that. He hadn’t seen that coming, but Takumi doesn’t seem concerned as he continues animatedly. “I couldn't quite make out what either of us said, but…I remember how I felt. It felt like we were two halves of a whole, like I’d been waiting ages just to see you again…even though I saw you right before I went to bed,” he laughs. “It was…incredible.”

…Takumi really is a fool. None of those feelings were his or for him in the slightest, and they should concern Takumi more. And yet, he seems unbothered as he blathers away. Something about likening what he was feeling to his childhood friend? How foolish. How insulting. Though he was right about one thing—just like how he and his Takumi are further apart than ever, he’ll make sure Takumi never sees his little friend again.

Takumi finally seems to notice he’s quiet, and steps closer to him, seeming almost concerned. “That dream was…your doing, right? A soulmate thing. A glimpse into our life together. A guarantee that that desire to be one will be fulfilled eventually.” He smiles. “It worked! I know we’ll find a way to be together.”

…He’s starting to see how the other him could have mistaken Takumi for an evil mastermind. He's an idiot, but he has a gift for saying all of the wrong things. Everything he says grates on Eito today. He regards Takumi frustratedly. It’s truly unfair that he has to even look like his Takumi, despite not being like him at all. He’s like an empty, cruel mirage of an oasis in the desert. Even so…

Perhaps there is something his dear little soulmate could do for him. He does look and sound like other Takumi, after all. Why not take advantage of that? “That future will only come to be if you stay,” Eito lies. “You’ll do that, won’t you?”

Takumi tilts his head, but his enthusiasm is undeterred. “Of course. I mean, you’re my soulmate. I’d be a pretty bad boyfriend to you if I ditched you.”

“You would be,” he hisses. That’s right. Giving up and then letting them be parted was Takumi’s fault. If he’d just accepted what he did and that the two of them are one from now on, then none of this would have happened. The words are said by the wrong Takumi, but it sounds like him. And there are a few more things he wants to hear that voice say. “And you won’t leave, will you? No matter how much it hurts, no matter how much you want to die, no matter how uncertain your future is…you won't just leave me, right?”

Takumi looks like he's thinking for a second, before stepping closer. Before Eito can say anything, Takumi wraps his hideous arms around him. “Of course I will. No matter what happens, I’ll protect you. Even if it gets me hurt, it’ll be worth it.”

He’s of two minds. On the one hand, ew. Ew ew ew ew, too close for a squishy, hideous thing like him, go away, go away-!

...On the other hand. Every single one of these promises are ones that the other Takumi let him down on. He deserves some recompense from that, even if it’s from another Takumi. He pulls Takumi closer-far too close to ever run away. “Good. And while we’re at it, you wouldn't kill me, either. No matter what happens…you wouldn’t ever be so cruel, would you?”

Takumi is still in his grasp. Good boy. “Weird hypothetical, but...of course not. I…love you, and I’ll be the best soulmate you could ever have.”

Soulmate. What a nice reminder of how fake all of this is. He pulls Takumi in tighter-tight enough to hurt. Tight enough to feel his awful heart beating a steady rhythm. This Takumi’s alive, and going to stay that way. He’s here with Eito, and that’s exactly where he’s going to stay as long as he still lives. “Good. …You and I will be together forever. I’ll make sure of it.”

Takumi nuzzles in closer. “Mhm. Just like in all the romance books.”

He couldn’t be more wrong, as usual, but Eito allows it just this once.

Chapter Text

Takumi paces back and forth in the red room in what has to be the most physical activity he’s done in ages. He wishes he could say it’s for a good reason, but he really can’t.

What the hell is he going to do about Second-to-Last Defense Academy?

If this timeline is anything like his second timeline, in a few perilous days, the academy is going to get attacked, and their Revive-o-Matic is going to be broken. Someone needs to go and warn them, but…original him knows nothing of this. And it’s not like he’s naturally going to find it—the way he got over there the first time was that Eito knocked him out and dragged him far away from the academy. Which would be great to have happen again, but it seems more and more unlikely to happen the more he argues with Eito and brings him further from his first self.

(Besides, by the time the barbecue happens, it’ll be too late.)

Takumi, he can hear Eito grumpily think at him. In case you somehow forgot, which would be exactly the kind of achievement in ignorance I’d expect from you, we share a body and sensations. It’s already enough of a strain keeping from being sick from so many people around while I get myself breakfast. Do you really need to add making my whole body tense and stomach turn? Whatever you’re doing, knock it off.

And there’s the problem. Eito. They were…adversarial with each other, broadly speaking. Eito still sees him as broadly untrustworthy. Try to kill a guy in the desert once and you’re suspicious forever, apparently. Which is a standard that Takumi did not apply to the original Eito, for the record. But the point is, any sort of manipulation he may try to do to this Eito is going to be hard to pull off. He would probably be down to poison the group and drag Takumi off into the wilderness early if it were his idea, but if Takumi suggests it, then he’ll suspect foul play and not do it.

Which is so unfair. Yes, it would be manipulation, but…it’d be manipulation for a good cause. Manipulation to save lives. That doesn’t really count as manipulation at all!

…Takumi sighs. Between the five hundred deaths and endless agonizing sensations he’d sought out, he’d forgotten the feeling of having the world on his shoulders. And to be honest, he doesn’t miss it. It’s…so much. It’s always too much for him. Even among all of the deaths he could think of, it’s too much.

Is it too late to give up on this and just die?

Depends, Eito thinks back, startling him ever so slightly. Does humanity also die?

No.

Then no. And please drop it—I don’t like having my eyes drawn to all the ways in this cafeteria I could kill myself.

Oh man, Eito. That’s so rough that you have to deal with, Takumi responds with the most sarcastic tone he can muster. I can’t imagine anything worse than that as a side effect of someone stuck in your head.

You know, if you’re going to jab at me, it works better for things I actually did-

“Good morning!”

Both of them nearly jump. Real Takumi stands in front of them, beaming a happy smile. Eito recovers faster than Takumi does, putting on a fake smile to match. “Good morning to you too! …Did you need something?”

Takumi sits down at the table across from Eito-unasked, oh Eito must hate this. “What, can’t a guy eat breakfast with his boyfriend?”

The word boyfriend sends an instinctual shudder of disgust through Eito, and reminds Takumi that right, he can’t just be a passenger here (as fun as it is to watch Eito squirm). He channels all the little energy he has into trying to fool Eito’s eyes. It’s…not any easier this time—how the hell had his Eito been able to do that flawlessly while talking and toying with him the whole time? It’s almost too much for Takumi to think and do this, so he tries to clear his mind and just focus.

For a long, tense moment, nothing happens. But eventually, something gives, and the Takumi he sees through Eito’s eyes is…himself as he knows him. He looks like a normal guy. It’s mundane for Takumi, but he can feel that it isn’t for Eito. He can say or think what he likes, but he and Takumi share a body—he can feel the deflation of tension as ease spreads through his body.

This means nothing, Eito petulantly responds.

As much as Takumi would love to gloat over how clear bullshit that is, he can feel his grip on Eito’s perception already starting to slip—diverting attention to arguing with Eito would just ruin it faster—

You know, you have no actual proof that this will work, Eito continues, voice shaky.

Is he serious?! You know we share bodies, right? I can feel how much you’re reacting to-damn it!

He falters for just a second, and for a moment Takumi in front of him turns into a hideous flesh blob, before returning to his normal self. Damn it—he needs to concentrate—

You’re still relying on the impact of seeing you like that being stronger than the truth I know. Humans don’t just look vile—they ARE vile. Everything they’ve done, everything they could do…every bit of human history is repulsive. They could look as good as they want, but that one fact would never change.

Takumi breathes heavily as he tries to keep this up and block out Eito’s words as best he can. Of course Eito would say that, but he’s just wrong. His body is telling a very different story with how relaxed it is. If he can just keep this up, then eventually Eito will have to back down-

Oh, and one more thing?

No. Whatever Eito has to say, it isn’t important. If he can just last a bit longer…

You’re just working on one sense. The other you still smells like old, rotting socks, sounds like nails on a chalkboard, and I’m betting doesn’t taste or feel any better. But please, do tell me about how turning the other you into the human equivalent of a rafflesia plant is going to make me crumble.

In an instant, Takumi’s concentration snaps.

Oh. This isn’t just going to be hard, it’s going to be impossible.

And then, all of the exertion he’d done for that catches up to him as the world goes black and he passes out.

Takumi finally goes quiet, and the one in front of Eito returns to the horrible self he truly is. Like a more realistic outcome to Cinderella at the ball—no real prince would marry a commoner like that. Humans are far too attached to their systems of wealth and prestige to allow a fleeting moment of real connection to supersede that.

Just like how that brief second of seeing Takumi as beautiful is nowhere near enough to make him ignore his humanity. A moment of weakness is nothing compared to a lifetime of determination. And as long as his will outpaces that of the Takumi in his head, it’ll only ever be a moment he has to endure.

With the Takumi in his head silent, he finally remembers the other one and looks up back at other Takumi…who’s regarding him a bit quizzically and with a face redder than usual. …Arguing with his Takumi had taken up time and left him blankly staring at him, hadn’t it?

“Sorry about that,” he clears his throat and lies. “I would love to have breakfast with you.”

Takumi accepts his excuse, getting comfortable in his seat. “So…what do you want to talk about today?”

His voice is cloying in a way that doesn’t work at all with how awful it is to listen to. Eito clears his throat. “If we’re…”

He hesitates. It’s for the plan. It’s so every single awful, filthy human like Takumi can meet their final end, and have no humans left to replace them. Even if this is degrading, it’ll be worth it in the end. Just say the damn word.

He takes a deep breath before continuing. “If we’re boyfriends, then we need to get to know each other better, right? I’d love to know more about you!” This is a risky play, for sure, but he can lie to Takumi just fine. Even if he couldn't, he could just give the bare minimum of information about his early life.

Luckily for him, Takumi has no sense of deception. “Of course! Whatever you want to know, just ask!”

Eito can feel his smile growing genuine. He does need to keep the Takumi in his head on his toes, after all. Plenty may have deviated between that one and the one in front of him, but their history should be the same. He prepares a good hundred questions that it’ll be good if Takumi answers half of-

And Takumi answers all of them. His voice is eager and earnest the whole time as he tells Eito anything he could ever want to know. Even including embarrassing stories and intimate personal details (he notes down the nickname of Takky as something to deploy later against the other Takumi). It’s as though he’s foreign to possible betrayal.

(A part of him wonders if this isn’t somehow a trick. No normal person would offer up this much information freely without asking for anything in return.)

Takumi does get the last laugh, though. When he gets up to leave, he leans in too quickly to push away and places his horrible squishy lips against Eito’s cheek. When he pulls back, his grotesque features are pulled into a smile, as though he didn’t just smear his filth against Eito’s cheek.

“Guess I should let you go,” Takumi says, voice reluctant for some awful reason. “Unless…you want me to stay?”

The answer Takumi wants is obvious, but it’s not one he’s going to get. Eito needs some time away from his hideous scent. Time to scrub away the still tingling part of his cheek where Takumi’s lips were until every trace of him is gone. “Sorry, maybe later. I need…some time alone,” he says, coughing loudly. His condition doesn’t manifest like that, but Takumi doesn’t know that.

He frowns. “That…makes sense. Listen, anything you need from me, any time…just say the word. I do want to take care of you.”

How much he wishes Takumi had enough guile to mean that both ways. He’d love for Takumi to try to “take care of” him much more than he would the literal meaning of it. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he lies, before leaving.

Once he gets to his room, he wastes no time rushing to his sink, scrubbing at the cheek Takumi defiled. Even after one rinse, it doesn’t feel clean, so he scrubs harder and harder, until the skin is red and rubbed raw. It hurts, but it’s far better than the feeling of residual filth there. How dare Takumi do that to him…!

The memory comes back to him unbidden. Of how quick he was, how horribly hot he was that close, the smell of him, that pale skin so close to his…

…No, something isn’t right. In his memories, Takumi seems barely hideous at all. He isn’t a slimy, stinking beast of a man, he looks…almost…beautiful.

…Hm. Takumi, he grumbles internally. I see someone’s awake again.

What tipped you off? Takumi snarks right back.

I’m surprised you’re up and about to be a thorn in my side again. And here I thought your weak human brain was just not strong enough to affect my perception for long.

He can hear Takumi sigh. You’re right. I wish you weren’t, but you’re right. Especially when you try to ruin my concentration! What, were you too busy making heart eyes at other me to do that the first time?

…That is an unfitting description, but what else could he expect from a filthy human? That’s not what happened, but that’s beside the point. I have had time since then to think and adapt. You’ve read the Odyssey, right?

Oh, he can feel Takumi’s irritation. I’m a normal high school student. Of course I haven’t!

I’m also a high schooler-I’m younger than you, even-and I’ve read it. The Iliad, too. What’s your excuse?

There’s nothing normal about you—just get to the point!

Takumi’s annoyance radiates off of him. It’s satisfying, like the smell of a well-cooked meal. You’re familiar with sirens, right? You should know that much—it’s entered pop culture. Unless you just slept through that.

Takumi ignores the barb. A shame. Of course I know what a siren is. What’s your point?

I just realized that’s what you’re trying to do to me. You’re trying to seduce me into abandoning my plans and flocking to you, where you’ll devour all that I am. He shudders. Of course I can’t just let you do that, but neither plugging my ears nor tying myself to the ship like in the myth will work. So, I came up with another solution. I could just force the siren to stop its abominable singing.

…Of course you did.

He grins. It feels so good to feel Takumi acknowledge his genius plan. He continues. It was perfect. …It should have been, at least. So, care to explain why you look…not hideous in my memories?

Good is the word you’re looking for, Takumi responds, confidence returning to him. Good. Any rival of his should be able to put up some kind of fight. I realized that at least for now, you’re right. It’s hard to fool just one of your senses for long, even more with you sabotaging me. Fooling three at the same time is impossible as things are now. …So I did what I could. The other you refused to go through my memories, since they’re too ugly, but I’m not him. Every instance of me I found in your memories, I corrected.

…Hm. The very idea feels almost…invasive. And you think that’ll be enough to work when just interacting with you reinforces your hideousness each time?

Takumi’s confidence falters, but his voice is still defiant. I think there’s a chance. Every time you interact with me, you have to face that I haven’t done anything wrong to you. That I’d love nothing more than to be nice to you.

…Takumi’s wrong, but what an interesting prospect. Nice is different than good or right. That the other you is nice means nothing when you’re inherently filthy, but go ahead and try.

Takumi goes quiet, which is honestly a shame. He goes back to his normal day, but he can’t quite settle down. The idea of Takumi in his head refuses to leave, despicably handsome. …Perhaps this will require some effort to counteract.

Takumi finds himself pacing back and forth in the red room, as tense as he’s ever been. Second-to-Last Defense Academy is going to be attacked soon, if it hasn’t already. He doesn't have time to wait around like this, but he still has no idea of what to do.

Maybe he could go right now? Hope that Eito will stay asleep long enough for him to get there-no, that won’t work at all. If he couldn't get a full conversation with other Eito without this one waking up, there’s no way he’d be able to make the full trip over there without getting interrupted.

…Other Eito…maybe he could do something there? Bribe him to make the other Takumi go over sooner or at least get knocked out within Nigou range? He was acting…really weird towards him, so maybe that could be used-

No, that’s also a bad idea. Eito isn’t the kind of guy he wants to give an unspecified favor to. He could do all kinds of evil things with it…like force Takumi to kill his friends himself, or kiss his boots (which…would be his own, but would still be degrading). But then what? What can he do?

…If he can’t do anything, then…maybe he needs to reach out. It’s a cruel thing to do, dragging someone else into his mess. And it’s no one’s fault but his-had he just found a way to win against Eito, he could do it himself. …But that’s not really an option anymore, is it? And he can’t enlist other Takumi-he’s got Eito in his head, Eito can just filter out what he’s saying or anything he’d write down, because he can do that.

But…there is one more option. One person who just might help. Who might already know, or who would be more likely to listen to him. He doesn’t feel good about it, but…it’s his only shot. The only shot for Nozomi to get to live. Any him, even one worn down by so much suffering and death, would do what he can to give her a chance to live.

Takumi wakes up from his bed to the sound of loud but methodical banging at his door. He slowly blinks—he’s never been a morning person, and it is way too early. He must be learning, though, since it almost feels like his body gets up on his own as he slowly comes to.

Come on, Takumi. Up and at ‘em!

Eito’s aggressively cheery voice from inside his head gently rings through as the early morning fog clears. Right. He’s not alone in anything anymore, is he? Even slow, sleepy mornings are something he gets to face as a team. As he shambles up to the door, his heart is warm.

When he opens it, he finds Hiruko on the other side, looking down at him sharply. “Good morning, Takumi,” she greets as a courtesy. “Care to explain this?”

She hands him a piece of paper, and he takes a second to read it.

Hi Hiruko

There’s another academy called Second-to-Last Defense Academy, and it has five people that are gonna die if they’re not rescued soon. There’s probably a map in Sirei’s computer on where it is. I can’t go myself. Please go save them. Please. You said you wanted to save everyone.

P.S. START LOCKING YOUR DOOR

“I found it in my room this morning right inside my door,” Hiruko continues. “I analyzed the handwriting, and it matches yours perfectly.” She raises an eyebrow. “I also double checked, and there is an academy by that name. Care to explain why you did this and how you knew?”

That…looks like his handwriting. But…how? He definitely didn’t write that. Hey, Eito. Any ideas? I’m kinda stumped here on how the heck this happened.

He feels his heart clench uncomfortably for a second, before finally letting go. No idea, Takumi, Eito responds back, voice tight and rigid.

That’s…weird too, isn’t it? He feels unsettled, and it almost feels like that emotion’s coming from Eito. You know you can tell me anything, right? If you know something, we can face it together-

“Takumi,” Hiruko hisses, seemingly not happy with him zoning out.

“I…don’t suppose you’re going to take ‘I didn’t write it and I don’t know anything about it’ as an answer?” he tries hopefully.

She raises an eyebrow. “Again, it’s in your handwriting. Either someone else impersonated you for this, which I’d need a reason why, or you did do this. …If you wrote it, I just want to know how you knew.”

“I can’t think of why someone would impersonate me for this…” he sighs. If it didn’t, then…that’d mean he did it, though. “Maybe I sleptwalked? …Sleepwalked? Sleptwalk?”

Sleepwalked, Eito chimes in.

Thanks!

Hiruko pinches the bridge of her nose. “So your explanation is…that in your sleep, you got out everything to write me a message, wrote that, put it under my door, then went back to sleep all perfectly with no memory of it.” Her hands return to her sides, but now she’s glaring. “Even if that were somehow what happened, how would you even know this for you to write it subconsciously?”

“Uh…” What…would work here? What would explain it. “It could be random-“

“It could not be random, the odds of you writing random letters and it being entirely comprehensible are infinitesimal. You meant to write this.”

“That’s not going to work, huh? Hmm…” He racks his brain, trying to think of some, any answer. Despite his attempts, though, only one answer comes to him. A bad one, but…what other explanations does he have? “Maybe it’s…the morphogenetic field?”

That startles her ,and he hurriedly continues. “Like, from 999: 9 persons 9 hours 9 doors! Another me went through those things and knew that, and that information got transmitted to me somehow?”

She looks like she’s maybe ten seconds from putting her head in her hands, but she still responds. “So…what you’re saying is that there are alternate timelines, and you do remember them.”

“I mean, not consciously, but yeah.” He shrugs. “It’d make sense for there to be other timelines, and for me to…remember…”

He stops. This was mostly a bullshit explanation to get her off his back, but…the more he thinks about it, the more real it feels. He can almost picture another him…standing here…going through these days…

Takumi?

Eito’s calling out to him, but he can’t respond. The world feels like it’s spinning around him. He’s…been here before, hasn’t he? Except it was different then.

 Memories crash into him all at once. A person in a black suit carried by bees. His own body with a long red line down the middle. That same suit chasing him with a buzzsaw. And worst of all, the sight of Eito’s body in a morgue.

Memory after memory floods in, crashing over him. It’s…too much. It’s way too much. The last thing he processes as his body sways and the world goes black is the panicked sound of Eito’s voice.

Eito had listened into that conversation from behind another one of the dorms. He realized what happened from the second Hiruko brought it up, though he wishes he could have seen what was on the note.

A note that’s written in Takumi’s handwriting, yet the real Takumi has no memory of writing it. I wonder how that happened? He thinks in a sing-song voice.

The Takumi in his mind is silent, but that in its own speaks volumes. Again, care to explain why?

If I wanted to talk about this with you, I would have just done that. I trust Hiruko with this much more than I trust you.

Oh, Takumi…you really think that’ll be enough to stop me. How quaint-

He’s interrupted by the sight of other Takumi swaying, nearly collapsing on the spot. There's…nothing with the conversation that led to that, is there? Is that normal for you?

It’s not, Takumi responds, voice as confused as he is.

The other Takumi catches himself, quickly straightening up in movements too smooth to be his. It’s clear as day to see-the other him is in control. “Sorry about that,” the other him lies smoothly. “Didn’t have enough to eat last night. If you’ll excuse me, I need some time to recover.”

Hiruko sighs, then nods and turns to leave. The iron is hot. Time to strike. “Excuse me-Hiruko?”

She turns back to him, exhaustion clear on her hideous features. “What.”

He puts on the kind onlooker act as much as he can. “I overheard some of that. It sounds like there’s something going on…? Whatever it is, I want to help.”

She looks him over closely-that’s odd. That hadn’t happened before. “Really? Why?”

…There’s no way she’s onto him, is he? He hasn’t made any big mistakes yet.

Ha! Serves you right. Especially after what you did to her.

Once again, other me did that. Let me at least earn your scorn, Takumi, he snarks back, before focusing on the act. “Why wouldn’t I want to help out? Teamwork makes the dream work, after all. Two heads are always better than one!”

Ugh. I can’t believe I ever fell for that. I can feel your disgust from here, Takumi comments. Unfortunately, Hiruko seems to have a similar response, scrutinizing him intensely. He keeps up the idiot smile—even if she suspects, she has no proof, and they both know that.

…Eventually, she breaks and looks away. “Fine. We leave at dawn tomorrow. Don’t be late.”

He’s not entirely sure what they’re doing—he didn’t see the note, after all—but whatever it is, if Takumi wanted it, then he can sabotage it. He smiles brighter. “Looking forward to it!”

She stares at him for a lingering second, before turning and stalking away. The moment she’s out of earshot-

“Takumi.”

It’s other Takumi’s voice, and it’s tense. He turns to face him…self, he guesses? “Takumi, what the hell is happening?” other him asks.

For a long moment, things are awkwardly silent. Takumi, I think that’s your cue.

I know. I don’t feel like talking to other you at the moment.

…But I’m asking you something.

I know, but I’m tired. You can see magic 8 balls with your vision, right? It’s like that. Ask again later. Or don’t! That’d be great if either of you could learn to leave me alone.

“…He says he doesn’t know anything,” Eito slowly says, editing carefully.

“Takumi” rolls his eyes. “Oh, for goodness sake, Takumi, can you really not figure out how to control me yet? It works on willpower, and clearly you’re capable of that. Just talk to me-“

“You don’t deserve that!” Takumi snaps back with Eito’s voice.

That doesn’t get the reaction Takumi wanted. Other Takumi smirks, an expression that doubtlessly looks handsome and cunning when Eito does it, unlike when it’s in Takumi’s hideous body. “There we go! So good to talk to you again…Tell me what’s going on with you.” Smugness falters-it shouldn’t. But it does, replaced by…is that really desperation? That shouldn’t be felt for any human, let alone Takumi. And yet… “The other you’s unconscious. No matter what I do or try, he won’t respond. Fix it. Do…something.”

Takumi sighs in his body. “Other you told you the truth. I don’t know anything more than you do about what happened to me—hell, you probably know more than I do! So you can just leave me alone and get to whatever evil things you’ve got planned with full control over my body.”

Takumi probably has this whole mess covered, but if Eito has to sit through any more of…whatever the hell Takumi did to mess up his other self, then he deserves compensation. “No, really, as the Eito of this timeline…why do you even want Takumi awake? If I could have my Takumi unconscious for good, that’d be wonderful. What does he have on you to make you act like this?”

The other him looks profoundly uncomfortable. “…You wouldn’t get it,” he says quietly. “A world with just you doesn't look how you think it does.”

…What the hell is THAT supposed to mean? “It’d be a world with no humans. Isn’t that what we’ve always wanted?”

The other him doesn’t respond, eventually just turning away. “If you can’t help me, then I have no need of you. Goodbye.”

For once, he agrees, heading back to his room to reevaluate as well. As much as he’d like to dismiss other him’s words as some kind of Takumi-transmitted madness, it’s…himself saying all that. There has to be a road to him thinking that, but the thought doesn’t sit well with him. Of course he wants all humans gone. The world being empty aside from him is what he wants. No more filth. No more hideousness. No more disgust. That…should be enough for him. After that, he can find out what else he could want out of his life without anything unpleasant dragging him down.

You know, Takumi starts, voice despicably level. He’s not mocking Eito, and that makes this worse. If you wanted to turn back now, you could. At any point, really. Both mes would accept it. I’m sure everyone else would too.

…The idea of making peace with monsters like that still nauseates him. Emptiness has to be better than that. That’s not an option, despite what other me may say. He has to hold firm.

Worth a shot, Takumi yawns, leaving him to his thoughts. For just a second, he wishes Takumi would keep trying to convince him, even if it’s a doomed venture.

Eito storms back into Takumi’s room, before abandoning his physical consciousness to retreat into the mental one. He’d managed to catch Takumi before he crashed onto the blue floor, but had sort of awkwardly been holding him up until now. Which, granted, he’s fairly sure that Takumi would be easy to hold in the real world, and in the dream world where he is king, he doesn’t weigh a thing…but still. It’s not a comfortable position, to be sure.

The hope was that whatever fainting spell had come over Takumi, it would wear off soon, and then he’d get up on his own. Said hope did…not pan out. Yet.

…It would be uncomfortable to keep holding him, so he pulls down the blanket of Takumi’s bed before unceremoniously tossing his body onto it. Takumi can just…rest there until he comes to. While it would have been funny to just leave him on the floor, it would have messed with the whole soulmate thing when Takumi wakes up, so Takumi can get the deluxe treatment by Eito standards. He should be grateful.

…It just isn’t the same without Takumi around to respond. He’d even take this Takumi’s ignorant kindness. He’d miss the barb entirely and would eagerly thank him like a puppy thanks its owner for treats. That’d be ugly, but better than just…silence.

Eito leaves Takumi there and goes back to sit on his couch alone, trying to relax. Trying being the operative word. The longer the silence drags on, the more and more uncomfortable it gets. As foolish as this Takumi could be, he was…something. He provided vital entertainment to Eito with how dumb he is. He did make Eito’s life more eventful, even if those events were mostly hideous. With him like this, it’s…almost like last time. When Takumi was reduced to nothing more than a bloodstain for days and weeks and months. Probably forever if Eito hadn’t turned back time.

…And there’s no guarantee this won’t last for that long, too. That Takumi isn’t just dead to the world forever again.

He finds himself moving, lying down in the bed before positioning Takumi on top of him, head next to his shoulder. It takes a few minutes, and he has to remind himself to keep his nerve a few times with his smell this close, but eventually he has it so Takumi’s comfortably trapped in his grasp. There. That way, the moment Takumi comes to, he’ll notice.

And in the meantime, he can feel every beat of Takumi’s awful heart against his. Funny, despite Takumi’s inherent hideousness, there’s almost something reassuring about it. Bloodstains don’t have heartbeats, after all.

This won’t be like last time. Takumi will wake up. And when he does, they can go back to their game of manipulation.