Chapter Text

“You know I love you right?” 

“Of course I do, you know that I love you more?” Isagi exclaims as he stares up at Kaiser with the fattest grin stretching across his face. They’d been together for about five, no six months now, and all that Isagi could think about was what to gift his boyfriend for their half-year anniversary coming up in a couple days. Of course, nobody knew they were a thing, at least not yet. Although Isagi often wonders when Kaiser plans to come out and stop sneaking him around everywhere just to show even the slightest bit of affection, like furiously making out in the locker rooms when nobody else is there, or trailing his hand dow-

Yea you get the point.

But Kaiser had been acting differently, it’s not like he hasn't always been though. Isagi just never brought himself to notice it, really notice it. What once looked at him with hopeful, pure, innocent love in his eyes, now looked at him with disdain. Or maybe Kaiser always has looked at him this way and Isagi chose not to notice.

But it’s pretty hard not to notice when you get jumped for protecting your boyfriend, and he does literally nothing about it. It’s pretty fucking hard not to notice.

Isagi

Heyyyyyy u ui

uo*

up*

u wanna hang out today? imy

Kaiser

uhh im kinda busy sry

Isagi

with what lmao

Kaiser

soccer

shouldn't u be practicing too

Isagi

lol I do 

i leveled up my 2 gun volley shot 

cant wait to show you

Kaiser

yea sure ofc u can show me tmr

I gtg bye Yoichi

Isagi

aw bye

i love youu

Kaiser

love you too

"At least he still says I love you", Isagi mumbles to himself before launching back onto his bed. Kaiser's been getting more and more distant recently, and he's not sure why. He doesn't want to admit that he's afraid of asking, afraid of the truth, afraid to accept that maybe some people are better off staying as strangers.

But no. Kaiser isn't just anyone, Kaiser saved Isagi, and for that, Isagi wholeheartedly believes he owes him all the love he'll ever have to give in this world. And when that runs out, he hopes simply staying by his side will compensate. 

Today is a special day. Really special. It's their 6 month anniversary, Isagi wonders if Kaiser even remembers. Of course he does, why wouldn't he? Isagi has been itching to surprise him today with something really special, for their really special day.

Cologne? A new suit? New shoes? No, he wants something that Kaiser would cherish, something that would bring a genuine smile to his face. That "something" that Isagi decided is a ticket to see the match with Bastard, their favorite club, against PXG. Kaiser often would trail off for hours talking about his dream of being the best player in that club. Isagi never knew why it was Bastard, it could've been any other club, but he chose Bastard.

"Enough thinking", Isagi murmurs as he stares at his reflection in the mirror while nitpicking his hair to look neat. After spending his morning carefully constructing a plan to surprise Kaiser, he finally came to a conclusion. Meet him at the football field after practice with flowers and the tickets behind my hands, then tadaa!

He's not sure if the flowers are a good idea though, it's not like Isagi wants to come out today but Kaiser is well, a bit more sensitive on this topic.

That's another thing that's been bugging Isagi, Kaiser would rather get skinned alive than tell anyone he's dating another man. But all is good, he makes up for it by giving him affection which by the way, he clearly hasn't been doing. Isagi is fine with it though, he's still dating him after all.

Isagi pulls his phone out of his pocket and looks at the clock, 2:04 PM I still have time. Kaiser's practice ends at 3 so he figured he would put a little bit more effort into his appearance before heading out. It might not seem like it but Kaiser is heavy on looks, if not for football he would spend hours looking at himself in the mirror, finding every perfection, and every flaw, just to get himself as close to perfection as possible.

Perfection is all he wants. Perfect goals, perfect hair, perfect body, perfect style, and the worst of all, a perfect reputation. It drives Isagi crazy how Kaiser focuses on everybody but them at school and even during their dates which he still insists they stay in for most the time. It's practically a miracle if he wants to hold hands while walking home past 11 PM, a wish granted by God himself.

Isagi slips on his shoes and opens the door with the bouquet in his hands, it's a beautiful blue and the sun glistening on the petals remind him of just how gorgeous Kaiser is. The hue of the flowers cleanse Isagi of any doubts hes had about him as he locks his door to make his way towards the school.

Today's Saturday meaning he has football practice at their school which is about a 20 minute walk. That would give him 30 minutes to mentally prepare before meeting face to face with Kaiser.

Damn, today's a good day. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, he's finished all his homework, and he feels good about himself. If anything he can make sure he looks as perfect as possible during the time he waits for Kaiser to finish. Actually Isagi is supposed to be on the field with him right now but he skipped to make sure this day turns into one not only him but Kaiser can thoroughly enjoy.

8 more minutes to go.

He looks down on the flowers again, feeling the edges of the petals with his fingers. They're soft. Not just soft but the color is one of the most beautiful shades Isagi had ever seen.

Blue roses aren't easy to find, not to mention the fact that they don't grow out in nature. They're made in labs, experimented on till it results in the perfect shade, the shade Isagi is laying his eyes upon at this moment.

He feels the roses even more, there's not a single flaw, his fingers make their way down the petals to see what else awaits him. What he didn't expect is that the thorns of these roses are sharp enough to cut diamonds. The cut immediately becomes noticeable as blood drips down on the bouquet.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck I cant believe I just fucked this up how am I supposed to clea-

"Hey isn't that the dumbass that's always trailing around Kaiser?"

Laughter like rocks clinked down concrete. Isagi turned. Multiple older guys—too many and way too loud—were walking toward him, sun flashing off a gold tooth as if it belonged to a different, meaner world.

Huh, who are they talking abou-

"Oh shit Loki your right that's fucking him!'

Are they talking about me?? I don't follow Kaiser around what the hell are they talki-

"Ay lorenzo gonna have a field day with him"

The footsteps get louder and closer and all Isagi can do is just stand there, waiting to understand what's going on. He finally brings himself to turn around and look at whoever is approaching him.

"Oh wow you're looking good today aren't ya?" an unfamiliar face starts walking towards him. Well not only one unfamiliar face but many. Isagi looks around hurriedly, one, two, three, four, five fucking scary ass dudes, their all definitely older too. 

"Uhh, do I know you?" Isagi didn't recognize them at all, they mentioned Kaiser though so maybe Kaiser talks about Isagi to his friends. The thought of this alone brings a smile to his face. His doubts are definitely gone now.

"The hell is he cheesing about?" One of the pink haired dudes declared while laughing. His long lashes are the first thing Isagi notices about him.

"Somebody is going on a date ay?" Gold teeth flashed when he talked. "What's your name again? Yochichi or somethin?"

"Its Yoichi, didn't know we were on a first name basis."

"Is this bitch stupid or what? Bitch you got a problem?"

"Haha Loki chill out, he's a man, he cant lose his pride", the pink haired one replied. Behind the group stood one with dark green hair, also with long eyelashes. 

"Alright well Yoichichi", the one with gold teeth said while stretching out his name as laughter rippled across the group. "Sorry to interrupt your little date you got going on but your friends with Kaiser aren't you?"

"Yes", he hesitated. Why would a whole group, especially one he didn't recognize approach him out of nowhere? "Why?"

"I'll tell you why, that broke ass hoe stole a watch from my friend here", Loki pointed at gold teeth who was grinning like he just won the lottery, "and he ran off with it! Crazy right?"

The pink hair then continued, "Lorenzo here freaked the hell out and begged us all to find him to get it back, you'd tell us where your little friend is, right?" He finished his sentence with a glare at isagi, he wasn't smiling.

Isagi knew that telling them where Kaiser is would only result in trouble. Not only did they look way stronger but they also all looked like they had nothing to lose. And those types of people scare Isagi the most, the ones who don't care what happens to them as long as they get what they want. "I don't know, I mean we're not really close anyw-"

"Stop fuckin with me", Gold teeth finally stopped smiling. "I know you and him are close alright? I got info from one of my homies, now call him or something and ask to meet up. I been looking for that bitch for months now and I'm not losing the opportunity to get my hands on him. I'll let you hold a dollar if you do", he said while pulling a couple hundred bucks out of his pocket. That watch must've cost a fortune if he's freaking out this much.

Isagi’s branches of logic crashed apart. He shouldn’t call. He shouldn’t get involved. But Kaiser’s face, the merciless, perfect face he’d seen many times, in practice shirts, in the quiet—flooded his mind. “He wouldn’t,” Isagi said before he could stop himself. “Kaiser wouldn’t stoop to your kind.”

The first fist connected before the last word left his mouth.

Chapter Text

Salty sand. The bitter yet sweet taste of salty sand lingers in Isagi’s mouth as he strolls down the beach, football in hand. The waves silently crashing against the shore barricades much of his thoughts from overwhelming him, as they usually do. The sound of the damp sand crushing underneath his feet is abnormally loud, yet somewhat relieving. 

A familiar voice merges in with Mother Nature’s melody. “Yoichi, what’re you doing here all alone?”

Isagi turns swiftly to look back at Kaiser, evening sun glistening across his skin while illuminating his golden hair. He scoffs with a slight laugh, “You're here with me though, aren’t ya?”

Kaiser reciprocates his laugh, “I just got here, whatchu mean?”

“Hmm, maybe you should’ve come here earlier then.”

“If you insist”, he says as he walks faster to match Isagi’s pace, some weird crinkling sound follows him.

Isagi drops his ball and starts kicking it along the shore with his sandy feet, each kick matching the sound of the water clustering against itself, meanwhile Kaiser's eyes track the ball. “Your ball control is getting better, looks like you won’t just be all brains anymore.” 

“Oh shut up man”, Isagi sighs as he playfully pushes Kaiser towards the water, his feet splashing against the ground echoes in his mind. He frowns — barely noticeable but it’s more than enough for Kaiser to catch.

“You know, I think it’s pretty good that you’re still honing your skills even after you got kicked from the team.” Wrong move, Isagi’s frown is immensely noticeable now.

“No, dude, like seriousl-” Kaiser was met with millions of sand particles flying towards his face, he could feel each individual grain attacking him.

Isagi giggled as he's met with Kaiser’s ridiculous expression; he tries to fight back — with words but his mouth is sealed shut with the wet sand. 

Kaiser rolls his eyes and gives Isagi a playful punch. He rinses the sand from his mouth — and whatever other unknown substances that decided to invade, yuck.

“You're just saying that.” Isagi mumbles under his breath, smile gone.

Silence followed after, whilst the seagulls parading in the background filled the empty void cast between them.

 “I really don’t,” Kaiser shattered the silence and continued, “Anyone in your position would probably have quit playing, but you didn’t. That’s pretty fuckin iconic if you ask me.”

Kaiser looked relieved when he peeked a smile from Isagi. “It kinda sucks though,” Isagi continued while staring at Kaiser’s imprints left behind in the sand, huh his feet are way bigger. “It’s not like I was the only one who was caught, I just don’t understand why it was only me.” He finally looks up at Kaiser, he’s met with eyes that look as if they understood every problem, every possible situation that's ever occurred in the universe.

“Didn’t Igaguri get kicked off too?”

Isagi’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment, “Yea but come on — I mean, Igaguri? He would've gotten kicked off anyway.”

“Well that means you're not alone.” Kaiser counters.

“I guess, but everyone knows that coach was planning to cut Igaguri next season to begin with, so it technically doesn’t count.”

Kaiser laughs, a real warm-hearted laugh, “You make it so hard to win against you,” Isagi tilts his head in confusion, “listen, if anything, you can prove to the coach next season just how much you’ve improved. I can’t wait to see how that victor looking ass reacts when you come back like a gazillion times better.”

“If he even lets me come back.” Isagi shoots him a glare, he’s not mad at Kaiser though, he knows he’s just trying to cheer him up.

“Nah he definitely would,” Kaiser says as he side steps and shuffles around before stealing the ball from Isagi, “You’re still ass at one on one’s though.

Isagi sighs, Kaiser stares at him with slight disbelief. Soccer used to be a part of his life — hell, it was his life. The exhilaration of running across the soccer terrain, the feeling of possessing the ability of controlling everyone there, and of course, the sweet smell of scoring a goal. That sweet smell of a goal now, is followed by a bitter aftertaste. An aftertaste that reminds him of his failures — and worst of all, the reminder that he probably won’t ever have the freedom to run across the field again. Without an absolute care in the world.

Somewhere off into the endless sky, there's a subtle sound of thunder.

“Damn, it looks like a storm is coming.” The crinkling sound from kaiser projected with each movement.

“Yea looks like it, what’s that in your pocket?”

“Hmm I don’t know, wanna see?”

“Duh, show me.”

Kaiser speculated for a brief second before revealing what was in his pocket. Two ice creams; one chocolate and one strawberry. “No way you remember my favorite flavor, thanks babe!”

“Yea, of course,” Kaiser looked around for a second, as if he lost something. No, actually, it seemed as if he looked to see if anyone else was around. Isagi attempted not to notice.

The misanthropic sound of thunder inched closer to them and the clouds followed while they enjoyed their ice cream. Each bite of the chocolate ice cream on his mouth melted exponentially, leaving an unusual cold aftertaste which he felt throughout his entire body. 

“Oh yea by the way, you think blue highlights would suit my hair?” Kaiser said, breaking the silence.

“Ooh yea, it would match your tattoo, you're gonna get it done?”

“Yea” He said while laughing, “Ness said it would look good. Apparently my hair is too boring for my appearance.”

Isagi laughed with him, he just can’t help how captivating Kaiser’s laugh is. “He’s right, now that you mention it, your hair is a bit bland with just the blonde.”

“Oh wow, so you’re basically saying my hair looks ugly huh?”

The wind started blowing harder, carefully fluffing Kaiser's blonde hair away from his face. A slight piece of sunshine that escaped from the unforgiving clouds above shone right on Kaiser, elucidating his beauty to the world. Oh wow. His beauty is unimaginable, inhumane even. Isagi swallowed hard as he observed Kaiser looking off to the shore.

His posture complimented him perfectly, giving him a confident look. His muscles peered through his shirt as the wind pushed it even harder towards his skin, revealing the perfectly carved out body that laid underneath. Isagi looked up again and the sun complimenting his otherworldly features soon vanished, just as quickly as it appeared.

“Oh please, stop twisting my words.” Isagi fought back. Anyone who dared think that Kaiser was unattractive is out of their minds.

“Yea yea whatever, I’ll let it slide this time. I hope he doesn’t fuck up my gorgeous hair though.”

“Who?”

“Ness. He told me he does hair.”

“So he’s doing your hair?”

“Uh, Yea? I thought I mentioned it?”

“Kaiser, that's bullshit! You just said he told you to dye it, Not that he’s the one doing it!”

“Awwww somebody is jealous.” Kaiser smirked up at Isagi, who was seething with anger, the imprints of his disappointment seeping through his face. 

“No bro I’ve genuinely never heard ANYONE mention the fact that Ness does hair,” Isagi says defensively, “Your hair is about to get fried off.”

“Hmmm, maybe it will, maybe it won't," The wind starts blowing harder, Isagi wonders if he’ll even be able to keep his balance if this continues. “Besides, I trust him.”

Trust.

Trust. That’s something Isagi believes is given only to those who prove themselves worthy. It’s not like he’s ever been betrayed before, well, maybe once. Like the time his plug accidently laced his weed and Isagi started hallucinating during dinner with his family. Or when his mother would keep forcing food down his mouth while repeatedly reassuring him he just has to take “one more bite.” Or when he trusted his friend bachira to not copy his notes word for word but he did it anyway. They both received detention for a week that day.

Nevertheless, trust is something precious. Give it to the wrong person and it’ll harm you much more than it’ll harm them.

Isagi wasn’t the smartest person, he knew that no matter how hard he tried in the one life he was granted, there would always be someone better. But he was sure of one thing, and that was that Ness is not one to be trusted.

Instead of ruining the mood that Isagi noticed Kaiser had, he bottled his feelings up inside. Bringing up the fact that he doesn’t want Kaiser to be with someone he doesn’t trust, is just childish. It’s stupid. And it doesn’t matter, Isagi trusts Kaiser anyway.

“You’re making such a mess.” Kaiser remarks. Isagi is transported back to reality and before he looks down, he can feel the ice cream dripping down his hand and onto his thigh.

“Fuck, it’s gonna be all sticky now.”

“We should go,” Kaiser takes his eyes off Isagi’s thighs and shoots him a prepotent look. “It looks like it’s about to rain,” He pauses for a brief second, thunder bolts from the distance, “hard.”

“Yea, let's go.” Isagi gets up and throws his unfinished ice cream towards the rocks in the sand. Meanwhile, Kaiser slides the remnants of the stick in his pocket as he reaches to collect Isagi’s ball with his other hand. The ice cream continues to melt, staining the rocks of its bemired residue. As Isagi walks away, hand in hand with Kaiser, he turns around for a brief second, glancing at his ice cream. Damn, I should’ve just finished it.

Ughhh oh my fucking god

An incessant pounding in his head woke Isagi from an everlasting sleep. Only then was the metallic, ruby wetness that blurred his vision, brought to his attention. 

The sun no longer shone where Isagi pathetically laid. If anything, an invisible light staged upon Isagi shamelessly, as if trying to announce his piteous self to the world. He felt like shit, and he knew he looked like shit too.

He attempted to set his body up from the cold, unforgiving concrete before collapsing once again due to his muscles screaming from fatigue. Isagi couldn’t remember much of what he was dreaming about, and if he’s being truthful to his soul, he doesn’t want to. 

Looking up at the view, he doesn’t recognize where he is. He knows he's been here before, but doesn’t remember when. The modern styled houses projected the wealth that circulated in the neighborhood. Each brick, placed with the utmost care. 

Isagi dragged his lifeless body towards a wall, he guessed it was someone's backyard, and found support for his back, which was aching in pain. 

Laughter could be heard from the distance, even if heavily muffled, Isagi could make out the sounds of joy coming from the house nearby. The backyard was open — and inside, Isagi guessed it was a couple. They enjoyed not just the activities they did, but the presence of one another. A wave of remorse then shook Isagi back into awareness.

Isagi immediately scavenged his pockets, ignoring the bruises on his fingers, and pulled out his phone. They must’ve beaten him even more after he lost consciousness. But even the scale of pain he just felt can’t compare to the realization that Kaiser hadn’t even contacted him at all since he left his house.

He just had gotten jumped. On his way to meet Kaiser. 

He just got fucking jumped while protecting his shitty boyfriend who couldnt even take time out his useless day to check up on the man he was supposed to be dating.

Frantically, he refreshed his phone multiple times, hoping that maybe — just maybe, something got in the way of Kaiser sending him a message. 

Isagi believes heavily in trying to view situations through different perspectives, so naturally, he does the same for Kaiser. He could have been busy with soccer, or his wifi is out again, or he could’ve just forgotten. He's human too.

Hoping to find a reason to justify his boyfriend's arrogance, he calls him. The ringing lasted for a millennial and his senses soon blurred, turning the robotic, consistent buzz, into a soundless melody. If he doesn’t answer, he just wasn’t on his phone. Everything's clear. On the other hand, if he does-

Hello?

He picked up.

Yoichi?

He had his phone the entire time.

Im kinda busy right now-

Kaiser was interrupted with dull chatter in the background, none of which was regarded by Isagi.

I’ll call you back late-

“Your so fucking cruel to me Kaiser.”

Wait ahaahaa — shush I can’t hear him. What’d you say again?

“I hate you.”

Isagi threw the phone across the street, hoping it would break. But it didn’t. Maybe that's what Kaiser thought of him. An object he can throw around rashly without it losing its durability, but even objects have their limits. Isagi has limits, and he’s not afraid to let go of stuff he doesn’t need. He’s not afraid to let pernicious matters melt away. 

I’m so done with that bitch.

The stars which Isagi hadn’t cared to notice blinked in and out of existence. He wished he was like those stars, being able to exist whenever he wanted and disappearing whenever he wished. He wished he didn’t exist right now. The new clothes he bought to surprise Kaiser were drenched in dirt and grime, and the roses were scattered across the floor, showing signs of being trampled. 

The world, unfortunately for Isagi, continued on. Life continued to move on. The couple nearby continued to laugh and have a good time and move on. The laughs continued to sound unbearable as they grew louder, approaching him rapidly. The sounds of the couples morphed into a familiar voice Isagi himself remembered sharing similar memories with. Before he knew it, he spotted blue. Not just any blue, but the perfect shade of blue.

He watched across the street as the rose tattoo he was so accustomed to moved along with every stride and every step taken. Next to him, he saw pink. Not just any pink, but the perfect shade to match.

Isagi felt his heart drop down and hit the concrete with a bang that rippled across his mind. His body was in a paramount of pain but in a split second the pain was gone. In a split second he found himself storming through the street, straight to the root of all the pain brought upon him. 

“KAISER YOU FUCKIN BITCH!” Isagi screamed out. He doesn’t know if it’s really him, or the adrenaline talking. Nevertheless it didn’t matter, whatever he was going to spit out was the truth, even if Isagi himself didn’t believe it to be.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Pink highlights fought back arrogantly. As Isagi barged closer, he recognized who the guy was, and that only succeeded in numbing Isagi even more.

“I’m not talking to you dumbass. Kaiser, how careless can you be?!”

“Woah man, you look rough.” Isagi scoffed at the judgemental and disgusted look received from Kaiser.

“Yea, you look like shit.”

“Ness can you actually shut the fuck up?” Isagi shot out and watched as Kaiser then stopped Ness from walking with a swing of his hand in response.

“No he won't. Besides, you're the one who cursed at me like a madman from across the street.” He stepped closer to Isagi with a serious tone as Ness stood there to observe. “And he’s right, you do look like shit, what happened?”

“What happened?” Isagi’s voice rose higher with each word, “What happened? You want to know what happened? I got beat up because of the shit you refuse to resolve, you don't text me all day, and I find you walking all happily with another dude.” 

Crying isn’t something Isagi normally does, especially in public. But with each word he forced out his throat, each tear he had to battle to suppress until he couldn’t anymore. “And then YOU have the audacity to tell me I look like shit without even making sure I was okay.”

“I get that you got beat up and all,” Ness squeaked out, “but is it really that bad that Kaiser didn’t text you, for only a day?”

Isagi met eyes with Kaiser and he signaled that they both go talk privately. The fact that even after all this, Kaiser still is worried about his reputation enraged him. He immediately closed the distance between them and attempted to punch Kaiser. Kaiser’s keen expression didn’t falter as he simply caught his hand with a swift move while Isagi, whose body and soul had been sucked and deprived of any energy, struggled to keep balance.

Kaiser’s hand tightened around Isagi’s wrist — not painfully, but enough to remind him of the power imbalance between them. His tone dropped.

“Yoichi, you’re losing it. Stop embarrassing me and calm down, let's go talk in private, now.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” Isagi’s voice cracked, and the sound embarrassed him more than the bruise on his jaw. “Do you even care about me, like genuinely? Or are you still worried about your own fucking self like always, huh?”

Kaiser sighed, finally releasing his grip. “You always do this, man — you twist everything into something so complicated. I don't remember asking you to fight for me.”

Isagi’s breath came out shaky yet stable. “No...I just thought you’d ask if I was okay.” His tears stopped rolling down. “I thought you’d ask, but clearly you couldn’t care less.”

For a moment, Kaiser’s face softened, almost regretful — before Ness, still wandering a few feet away, called his name again and Kaiser turned around to focus on him.

And that’s when Isagi knew it was over.

He laughed bitterly, voice rasped raw. “Actually you know what, you don’t have to explain yourself. You’ve already replaced me.”

Immediately after realizing his misstep, Kaiser shot his head back and looked at Isagi as if he was the only one there. But he wasn’t. Ness was there, and even if his eyes were on Isagi, his attention was elsewhere.

“Yoichi, that’s not— why are you being so sensitive? Holy shit practice was terrible today, coach was being a bitch to everyone, then I gotta come out and deal with your bicker-”

“Kaiser man, are you done yet?” Ness again yelled out, “Get the dude a doctor or something and come on, it's getting late you know?”

Kaiser's eyes shifted yet again towards Ness, and Isagi, fueled with rage, turned the momentum, and swung his hand towards Kaiser. The pain already subdued in his body, was felt to him no more, and as time moved in slow motion, all Isagi wanted was to get Kaiser to feel the same amount of grief he was shouldered with right now.

Moments before his fist connected, Ness called out in warning, “KAISER!”

Alarmed, Kaiser moved instinctively out of the way before gripping Isagi’s fist again, this time with more pressure. His bones cracked underneath the force of his hands and the crown tattooed on Kaiser’s hand reminded Isagi of the difference in strength, and status between them. Isagi might have had a chance against Kaiser any other day, but he was in no shape to fight and the signs were visible throughout almost his entire body. Each and every bruise inflicted not only seeped blood, but also parts of his willpower and self-esteem.

“Stop being humiliating,” Kaiser mumbled while preparing his very own fist for what seemed like a strike back, “You’re a fucking nuisance, let’s just end this.”

That's it? 

Like the object Kaiser treated him all this time, like a doll only meant for playing, he finally matured and decided to throw it out. 

As if time wasn’t slowing down enough, each second felt like a decade and Isagi could feel the wind slightly grazing his face with each slight movement Kaiser made. Even his fist connected in slow motion, he fell down again on the pitiless concrete in slow motion, he felt every second of pain in slow motion.

He didn’t even realize he was on the ground until the taste of copper bled into his mouth. His ears rang, blocking out whatever Kaiser said next — perhaps nothing at all.

The stars above blurred into one another, smearing and merging like wet paint across the night sky. For a second, he wondered if this was what disappearing felt like. Not dying, but simply fading into the background of someone else’s story. He did wish not to exist anymore, so maybe this was God answering his miserable request.

Kaiser turned away first. Of course he did. Ness followed, his pink highlights the last thing Isagi saw before the sound of their footsteps vanished into the oncoming storm.

Isagi laid there for a long while, or maybe even for just a few minutes, chest heaving, eyes burning. His concept of time has been degraded. Then, through the blur of lights and raindrops, he caught sight of something — or someone, at the corner of the street. A tall figure, teal hair glinting faintly under the streetlight, watching.

And before the world tilted and faded to black again, Isagi almost smiled.

At least someone was looking his way, at least he existed in someone else's story. Even if he looked pathetic.