Chapter Text
Going to bed with a heavy heart means hoping to feel better upon waking. But when Takumi stirs, he feels the exact same as he did before.
And how could he feel any differently when nothing has changed? The weight of the truth, of the fact that humanity lied to them crushes Takumi exactly as it had when they learned of the truth a day ago. They killed Eva, and yet even that is still nothing in the face of the weight upon all of the SDU’s shoulders.
The simple fact that has Takumi so torn up is that none of his memories are real. His life in the TRC with Karua, a life he was fighting to get back. All fabricated, simply to make him fight harder. It’s difficult to focus on anything else but that fact.
Takumi lies in his bed and finds great comfort in the comforters, the fabric making for a nice caccoon. At the very least, he doesn’t have to be a Team Leader anymore. He hasn’t left his room for a while, since nobody has needed him for anything. Not even Sirei is trying to get him up. Maybe everyone else is struggling the same way.
For however long Takumi is left undisturbed, he sleeps without dreaming. Remembering that when he was younger, Takumi would sleep simply to skip the time like in a video game… the thought nearly makes him smile, comforted by an old habit, until he remembers that never actually happened.
A hatred unlike him rears its head. He truly hates this situation, like he’s falling and has no point of reference to cling to anymore. When the feeling becomes too much to bear, he closes his eyes once more and falls back asleep.
Eventually his body is moved, but Takumi sinks deeper. He thinks of how his mom used to carry him in her arms when he got too tired to carry on… not that she ever existed. The thought just makes him shut off again.
A voice speaks, and while it’s scratchier and with less care than Takumi’s not-real-mother, he slips away once more.
Eventually, Takumi does dream. It’s a fake memory and little comfort to him now, but the images that flash in his head still fill him with warmth.
Karua leans against him as they rest underneath a tree. The grass bends beneath them, most likely leaving stains. But Karua doesn’t seem to mind, so neither does Takumi.
Summer vacation is so great, he thinks, because it means Takumi gets to stay up late playing video games and doesn’t have to do homework. It also means he gets to be dragged around by Karua on any sort of whim she likes, but again, Takumi doesn’t mind.
Karua pokes his cheek. “Hey! Were you even listening to me?”
Takumi blinks. “I was, I promise!”
She huffs, but doesn’t dwell on it any longer thankfully. “I was saying that I might try out a sports club this year!”
“Oh, is that so?” Takumi grins. “I thought you hated sports!”
“No, I never said that!” She crosses her arms. “I just hate PE…”
“So what makes you think that’ll work out for you?”
“I just wanted to try something new!”
Takumi makes a big show out of sighing. “I guess this means I’m doing it too, then..?”
Karua beams at him. “You know it!”
Such a mundane conversation, and yet just seeing Karua’s face fills Takumi with a soft feeling. He doesn’t open his eyes but smiles. Karua always was so determined whenever she set her mind on something… it’s wrong that Takumi is the only one able to experience this sort of thing. The feeling shifts back into despair, but before trying to fall back asleep, his mind conjures up the image of Nozomi.
What is that connection, anyway? Why does she have the same voice, the same expressions, the same kindness..? Takumi’s head pounds, trying to understand it all. But asking questions like this has led to enough heartache already.
…he shuts his eyes and prays he falls back asleep soon.
When Takumi wakes once more, he finds himself no longer in his room at the Last Defense Academy. For the briefest of moments he deludes himself into thinking it’s his childhood bed, but he knows it isn’t. He isn’t even on a mattress, in fact.
Wind brushes past him, but he only squints his eyes open after deciding his body is too heavy to do any more than that.
Where am I..? His vision blurs and swims in shapes and colors, probably due to how long he’s been asleep.
“How awful it is to see you awake, Takumi!” A voice that has haunted him for some time now quips.
“Go away,” Takumi groans, rubbing his eyes. “I’m dreaming.”
Once his vision clears, Takumi sees Eito.
He’s looking only somewhat worse for wear, which only fuels Takumi’s existing annoyance. He looks ready for battle in his Class Armor, which has held up nicely, and his glasses are only a little scuffed. Otherwise he’s the same Eito with light purple eyes that stick onto him like he’s a snake about to strike. He leers at Takumi, grip tight on his scythe.
Since Eito isn’t full on attacking him just yet, Takumi looks around. A strong sun filters through leaves, dappling where Takumi lays on tree roots. It’s just now he notices the rope wrapped around his wrists, which must take part of the heaviness he feels. Grass pokes his cheek where it presses into the ground, so he sits up the best he can. They’re in a forest, too. It’s the first bit of peace Takumi has felt since finding out the truth.
“Oh, Takumi. Do you dream of me? I’m so repulsed, it’s astounding… ah, but this is no dream. I’m very real.” Eito’s scythe swings to Takumi’s neck, blade pressed into the skin.
Takumi lifts his eyes to the landscape, then looks back at his attacker. “Are you going to kill me?”
“If only I could now! How fitting would that be?” Eito cackles in an ugly manner. “No, not yet. I still have some plans for you yet, Takumi.”
Takumi presses his neck into the scythe. Without meaning to, he winces at the pain but doesn’t shy away either. “Why not get it over with?”
A frown comes across Eito’s face, lips peeled back in a sneer. “The great Special Defense Unit’s Team Leader wants to die now? I wonder, what kind of development caused this..? Blood sucking leeches such as a human like you… perhaps you’ve finally realized how worthless you are!”
“You don’t believe me?”
Eito barks a laugh, but despite his clear confusion he draws his scythe back. “Of course I don’t! It must be a trick. Perhaps your worthless General Sirei put you up to this. Or maybe you actually put in the effort to plan some sort of trick yourself.”
Takumi shrugs. He doesn’t particularly feel like trying to prove to Eito that he wants to die. If he were to get killed now, then he could be free from the weight of the truth. The knowledge he regrets ever searching for. But, it seems like a lot of effort. So Takumi drops the idea. Instead he takes the path of least resistance.
“Why are we here, anyway?”
“I took you, Takumi. I kidnapped you.” That scythe swings from hand to hand. Eito’s voice drops to a mutter, and his gaze darkens. “Maybe such a low level life form like Takumi is struggling to understand that… maybe that’s why he’s so incompetent that he won’t even give me a look of terror.”
Takumi looks back to the forest while Eito grapples with himself. He’s been here before on explorations, he realizes. He sees grass and trees and plants, and it all comes crashing down upon remembering exactly why he doesn’t care to begin with. This beautiful planet; technically his real home. Humanity wants it for themselves. They want it so bad that they would make Takumi and give him fake memories so he would want it, too. He feels a little silly considering he hadn’t even thought about that yet.
Something pokes him– the end of a scythe, specifically. The handled end pokes his knee. Takumi looks back up to Eito.
“... I thought you would be more upset to see me.” Were it from anyone else, Takumi would say it sounds disappointed.
But this is Eito, and his words seem to be angry over anything else. He paces in front of Takumi, eyebrows furrowed and fingers covering his mouth.
“I can’t care anymore,” Takumi confesses. “You can absorb me, or kill me, or whatever it is you want to do. I just don’t care.”
Eito stops. He’s quiet enough for a minute, which is surprising considering how much he loves to talk. The wind blows through his hair, the sun glints off his glasses. Takumi surprises himself by how he appreciates that. How this planet, Futurum, has things like that. The TRC was kept at a cool temperature at all times, and had no natural phenomenon like clouds or wind or the sun. It makes sense now, knowing that it was a satellite.
Eito’s face closes in on Takumi’s as he kneels down.
“What do you mean? You don’t care?”
Takumi shrugs. “I want the invaders to win.”
A blade cuts into the bark next to Takumi, which admittedly almost makes him jump. “That doesn’t make any sense! You putrid ogre, you think such an idiotic attempt at escape will work?!”
There really is no getting through to this guy, huh? Takumi thinks to himself.
“Believe me if you want. I just don’t care.” He stretches the best he can in his ropes, and then lies back down. Better to go back to sleep than have to think about any of this nonsense.
Eito mutters something, but Takumi doesn’t care what he says enough to listen anymore.
When Takumi wakes, he’s somewhere else now. The sound of something crashing distantly fills the air, and instead of a sunny midday, a cool night sky hovers above him. And that stupid Artificial Satellite, too.
The ground is different than before. It’s soft yet scratchy, something described to him once as sand. Tiny rocks that make up an entire area called a beach. It’s a black void past the end of the sand, but if Takumi is on sand, he’s willing to bet that’s the ocean. Was it Eito who had told him, in the first timeline? Or maybe in Takumi’s nonexistent memories, he had learned it in school? Maybe Karua had.
What’s more, Takumi is face to face with Eito’s back. He’s ready to try going back to sleep, lying back down when Eito jumps up. Takumi wonders how Eito was able to tie him up, because he looks like he’s itching to strangle Takumi. He probably would have been strangled, had Eito no issues with touching humans. Instead, his eyes are dark and fixed on Takumi.
“Tell me everything,” Eito hisses. He’s grabbed his scythe and now has the blade pointed at Takumi. “Or else.”
It's funny that Eito thinks that threat will get him anywhere. Takumi has already made it clear he doesn't care. That and, briefly, selfishly, he doesn’t want to. He wants to hold this information and take it to the grave, to spare Eito from such an awful truth.
Even he doesn’t deserve that.
But Takumi has nothing left to lose or gain, and maybe once upon a time he wanted Eito to be happy. Maybe he’ll feel vindicated by this news, or whatever. Knowing him, he’ll probably use it as fuel to finally end all of the humans. At the very least he does deserve to know, since he too is just as affected as the rest of the SDU.
So, Takumi tells him.
Eito doesn’t say much to begin with. His face is neutral, even as he begins pacing. He doesn’t stop even when Takumi finishes.
It begins with a lot of quiet, but builds up over time. Eito murmurs and mumbles for a while, something about a possible sabotage or glitch. Then it turns into more sorrowful muttering, most of which is wondering why Eito alone bore this curse. It then evolves to a barrage of questions that Takumi half heartedly answers, and soon Eito is pacing groves into the sand.
Takumi drifts off once more when he’s not being asked a dozen different questions, but wakes to the sound of yelling.
Eito yells, slamming his scythe into the floor. Then, he runs away. He walks, then jogs, then just sprints away. He becomes just a speck of black, and soon after nothing at all. Swallowed by the void.
Well, at least Takumi can die out here knowing all of the SDU now are aware of this. He’s fulfilled his duties as Team Leader to the very end, at least…
Eito returns some time later.
Takumi realizes this upon Eito throwing pebbles at him to wake him up, which must be his way of shaking someone awake. Takumi doesn’t appreciate it.
“What do you want?” He groans. His eyes open and he’s underneath a tree, which he hadn’t quite noticed last night since it was so dark. The shade is pleasant, at least.
Eito doesn’t say anything. Surely he’s had enough time to think, but he doesn’t speak.
“I want to go back to sleep. Please.”
Eito finally clears his throat just as Takumi is dozing off once more.
“I will admit to you, Takumi… I was planning on offering you up to V’exhness. We heard news that the academy was weak, for some reason. Since I could slip in undetected, I volunteered. Anything to see you and your band of abominations crumble.”
Eito adjusts his glasses, his gaze stern.
“Now, I can’t say whether or not I want to do that anymore.”
This is the first time in a while where Takumi feels anything other than crushing emptiness.
He’s curious.
"...is that so…?”
“You still repulse me. But it’s quite the news, after all…” Eito’s voice even sounds a little… sad. Takumi isn’t expecting that, and now he’s really listening. “If you don’t fall back asleep again, I’ll untie you.”
You’re worried more about me being unconscious over me attacking you..?
“I won’t…”
Eito slashes through the ropes with his scythe.
“What are you going to do now?” Takumi asks. He rubs his wrists where the rope had clung to them. The way Eito is acting is interesting, and he can’t help but want to know more.
Eito fixes his glasses and scans the area. “I suppose we should look for shelter for the night.”
“We?” Takumi echoes. He can’t believe his ears.
“Now you know how horrible humans are. Look at what they’ve done to us!” Eito looks offended by Takumi’s shock. “Our whole lives mean nothing. We’re being used as pawns in this war. Surely you’re not planning on still fighting for them, Takumi?”
He huffs, watching a small creature with a pretty rock on its back crawl into the distance. “I don’t want to fight at all.”
“I’m not surprised. Surely we must avenge ourselves, though. How dare those revolting, vile monsters put all of us through that? Make us think we had something to return to once they got their way with this planet?”
Takumi is about when he remembers the name of that creature. A hermit crab. They wear those rocks on them for safety, the… the seashells. Now, he finally remembers it had been Karua that had taught him about beaches. It had been so long ago, too…
“Apparently if you hold one to your ear, you can hear the waves!” Karua says, stars in her eyes. She shoves the diagram into Takumi’s face, interrupting his epic dinosaur battle.
“I can’t see it if you put it that close!” He groans. He doesn’t even care that his dinosaurs just fell over.
She pulls the book back, pointing to the drawing of a seashell. “They’re so cool, aren’t they!”
“What’s a wave?” Takumi asks. He doesn’t quite get what Karua wants to see the ocean for when they have public pools at the TRC.
Karua jumps excitedly, clutching the book in her tiny hands. “It’s like a bunch of water rising and crashing into itself! It’s ‘cause of gravitational pull. Isn’t that awesome?”
Takumi stands up and brushes his knees off. He doesn’t want to try and ask what a ‘gravitational pull’ even is. “That sounds scary.”
“I’ll protect you from them then, Takky!”
Takumi takes the book and begins running around the room. “That’s my job!”
Karua chases him with glee. “Aw, Takky! You never share!”
Takumi blinks away the images.
“Oh, you poor, miserable creature,” Eito says. He’s so close to Takumi’s face, and his voice dances on the line between comforting and condescending. “You still look so disgusting, of course. But maybe you’re just a victim of those nasty beasts too.”
He didn't even realize he had been crying. He wipes the tears away, wishing with all of his heart that one of these days he’ll wake up and be right back in Karua’s room again, listening to her talk about silly things.
Takumi doesn’t shut down Eito. Not when he thinks of Karua’s voice and head swimming realizing she isn’t real. She never was, just something manufactured so he’d want to save someone enough to fight for it. He… sorta agrees with Eito, in fact. The thought is ridiculous, but that doesn’t make it any less real.
“Are you a victim too, then?” Takumi asks. He finds himself curious to hear more from him.
“I always have been. Their despicable actions against the environment and one another are horrid. I could tell you about the thousands of years of human history, of the horrors they committed and now expect to be forgiven for any of it. Not to mention, they sound and look and smell absolutely repulsive too. My righteous eyes have helped me see their true nature from the beginning,” Eito sniffs.
It must help knowing you’re not a human… although you’ve never cared about that before anyway, Takumi thinks.
The conversation wraps up there, and crazily enough, the two of them look for shelter together. No other words are needed, especially not when they find shelter in the form of a cave nearby. Takumi starts a fire with the dry tree fronds and some Undying Flames he finds burning some rubble. Eito watches the flames and seems to be thinking to himself.
Takumi holds his tongue, not wanting to disturb Eito. He feels reinvigorated, some of his resolve when he had gone back in time returned. Other than the pit of hunger gnawing at him, Takumi feels good. And it means he’s able to think about this now.
Does he really want to turn his back on humanity entirely, just because Eito said so? Can he even trust Eito enough to team up with him like that? The question opens up an entire can of worms Takumi doesn’t want to acknowledge, hasn’t wanted to this whole time.
Besides, Karua may not be real, but Nozomi is. Somehow the two are connected. If Takumi were to follow Eito, what of Nozomi and the rest of the SDU? He can’t just… leave his friends behind.
It occurs to him just then. Maybe Takumi could bring Eito back to the academy, and convince the rest to join them. Hearing Eito talk about it has definitely helped Takumi’s motivation. He may not see humanity as monsters, but he is a victim of their own selfish acts. Rage boils inside of him at the thought. If they got to the Last Defense Academy, then they could get the rest of the SDU on their side, and from there they could figure out how to stop humanity’s plans.
(Takumi ignores the twisted irony of wanting to cause exactly what he came back in time to prevent.)
The thought of seeing Nozomi again also warms Takumi up, even more than the fire does.
He clears his throat. “Eito, I’ve thought about it and I think… I think I’ll join you.”
Eito turns to him, glee apparent on his face. “You’ll join me, Takumi? You’ll fight against the humans?”
“Yes. It’s not fair what they’ve done to all of us… we never even had a choice.”
Nozomi did, actually. But she didn’t know about any of this. He’s confident she wouldn’t have been able to prevent this even if she did know.
Eito’s smile is uncannily sick. Takumi braces himself for the wave of nausea and heartache to return, the way it has every time Eito smiles since the day he betrayed them all. But it never comes. Instead, he feels at ease. Most likely because they’re on the same side now, which is something Takumi never imagined happening again… and truthfully, it feels a little good.
“Oh, Takumi… it really boils me up inside to hear you say that. Let’s destroy the humans together, even if your voice makes me want to eat glass!”
He sure hasn’t changed much, he sighs, but it isn’t with too much malice. They need to work together now.
Takumi turns away from the, quite frankly, bright smile on Eito’s face. “Good night.”
The uneven floor of the cave bothers him greatly, as does his hunger now that he feels like he’s been brought back from the dead. But eventually, he falls asleep.
Chapter Text
A voice cuts through Takumi’s peaceful, dreamless sleep. “Are you trying to annoy me, Takumi?”
“Wha…?” He opens his eyes to Eito sneering above him.
“I’ve been awake for hours. I was keeping watch, as a matter of fact. Your lazy habits will kill you out here. Have you considered that you may have a sleep disorder?”
Takumi yawns and figures Eito is right, but he’s still annoyed regardless. “No need to be so mean…”
“Typical, ugly Takumi… it’s because of your poor sleep habits that I was able to kidnap you in the first place.” Eito presses fingers to the bridge of his nose and sighs loudly.
He’s still in his Class Amor, surprisingly, Takumi notes. Most likely, he can’t take it off because he wouldn’t be able to call it back, without his infuser. Takumi will have to get his as well when they return.
“No matter, though. First we should search for food, then discuss our next matter of business.” Eito stands and walks out of the cave without waiting for an answer.
Takumi can’t argue with any of it, so he swallows his irritation and follows him. The brightness of the sun hurts Takumi’s eyes and he rubs them until they adjust from the gloominess of the cave.
Eito walks to the waterfront, and rolls his pant legs up.
“What are you doing?” Takumi asks.
“I saw some small fish here earlier. Join me… or, don’t, actually… fish already smells bad enough.”
Why even offer to begin with…
Takumi waits on the beach. He sits on the sand to watch, but it becomes clear quickly how Eito is struggling. Every time he leans in and tries to snatch a fish, he wobbles and nearly falls in. It’s funny for a while, until it gets old, and by then Takumi rolls up his own pants and wades in.
“Need some help?” He tries to avoid laughing in Eito’s face, but it’s hard to drop his smile.
Eito sighs. “This is how you catch fish, I know it is… Why am I unable to do this?”
Takumi doesn’t reply. His eyes focus on a small shadow dart towards him, and he clasps it in his hands. But he also loses his balance, sending him careening into the water.
Splash!
He sits up, now drenched from head to toe. If he hadn’t been awake earlier, he is now. The water is cold.
“Takumi, you utterly worthless creature!” Eito hops away, his uniform drenched. “You got me wet..!”
“I still have the fish, though!” Takumi grins. He holds up the floppy thing in his hands.
Eito’s expression visibly softens, if only to turn from something displeasured to somewhat grateful. He adjusts his glasses. “Well, maybe you aren’t entirely worthless. Give it to me. You catch fish, and I’ll hold onto them instead.”
There’s a lack of actual disgust in his voice, probably coming from the fact that Eito doesn’t have to hobble around in the water anymore. Takumi smiles more unwillingly. He passes the fish off to Eito. Then, he figures since he’s already wet that he might as well go deeper.
The fish stand absolutely no chance. In knee deep water, he lunges forward and snatches up unsuspecting fish with his hands. Then, he passes it off to Eito, who waits on the sand.
The fish probably aren’t used to being hunted like this, which just makes Takumi sad. They’re decently sized, their bodies a basic grey but with scales that shimmer in the sunlight. He loses track of how many he catches, but even with how much they have, there’s much more waiting. Eventually he decides they probably have enough, and wades back to Eito.
“Is that enough?”
Eito seems pleased, if the way his lips turn up means anything. “More than. Let’s get all this back to cook.”
Takumi is eternally grateful that Eito seems to have found some plastic to wrap it in. He hadn’t particularly been enjoying the idea of carrying dead fish in his hands.
They travel back to the cave underneath a hot pink sky. Bright orange clouds slash through the sky. Even after all this time, Takumi thinks his favorite part of Futurum is the sunsets. They get back to their cave by dark, and Takumi gets a good fire going (as in, he just catches a stick on fire with Undying Flames and gathers leaves).
They clumsily fashion sticks into skewers and shove them through their food. Eito talks about this type of fish, likening them to minnows on Earth; if not a little larger than they were described to be in his book. He talks about fish and rivers and oceans and Takumi feels some odd deja vu but eats his fish regardless and finds it delicious (to be fair, he hasn’t eaten a proper meal in a while, so anything tastes good right now).
They feast for a while, and when they’re done they still have plenty left over. Eito must be especially happy, because the only thing he finds offensive are Takumi’s dripping wet clothes; of the entire conversation they have, it’s the only thing Eito makes a remark about. It’s surprising to begin with that Eito would want to talk this long to him, Takumi thinks. But it’s better than the silence they had before at least. Even if Eito is just filling dead air and telling Takumi he’s going to catch a cold and give it to him.
The dripping wet clothes are annoying, sure, but Takumi doesn’t think Eito actually wants him to strip or anything. Instead, Takumi moves closer to the campfire and decides he’ll risk getting burnt alive if it means his clothes dry faster. Then he wishes Eito a good night, and even gets one back.
Distantly, Takumi thinks he remembers Eito saying he wanted to discuss their plans. But they have plenty of time. With a full stomach and hope that he’ll get to see Nozomi once more, he gives in to his exhaustion.
The next day, Takumi and Eito feast on more of their fish, when Takumi is done sleeping in. Eito chastises him once more. Then, he leaves and says he wants some time alone.
Meanwhile, Takumi leaves the safety of their cave to find materials. He hates the cave floor and is dying for some kind of cushioning to make it more bearable. Any kind of comfort he can get would be nice.
It’s difficult without his infuser, though. He struggles to hide from the invaders and he gets so much more tired without his Class Armor. But he gets his hands on a thick carpet. Although heavy, he’s grateful to have at least found something. He heads back and tries not to think about things, but fails.
For all Takumi knows, Eito could have gone to V’exhness and is rejoining her to finish his earlier job. Regardless, he decides he'll trust him. There's no harm in it, not when they'll need to work together to take down humanity. It's still unclear to Takumi, though, so he doesn't think about it. Besides, his first goal is getting back to the academy. Once everyone is on board they can all discuss what to do from there.
When Takumi returns, Eito is waiting in the cave.
“What do you have there?” He asks, half interested. He’s looking up from where he’s skinning a fish with his scythe.
“None of your business,” Takumi grunts. The carpet isn’t exactly light. It falls to the floor and he joins Eito to eat.
They’re back where they were this morning, eating a meal together. The silence isn’t entirely unnerving, but Takumi thinks now would be good to see how Eito feels about teaming up with the SDU.
“Aotsuki, I was wondering… we should go back to the Last Defense Academy. Maybe we can convince the rest of the SDU to join us.”
Eito hums, wiping meat juice from his face with his thumb. He’s lost some of that over the top cleanliness that Takumi is so used to seeing on him, but he’s still determined to be a little decent, it seems.
“Why should we?”
“It’d be good to have a bunch of people on our side. Strength in numbers, right?” Takumi smiles at Eito, thinking it to be very logical.
Eito sneers.
“What, so just because I can put up with one disgusting creature, I should put up with all of them?”
Takumi’s smile falters. “It’d be good to have the manpower is all, Aotsuki. I’m not asking you to join humanity’s side or anything! I know my friends would be happy to help!”
“If you want to rally those abhorrent monsters to our cause, do so yourself. But keep in mind that any connection you and I have is fragile, Takumi.”
“What?”
Eito smiles condescendingly, like Takumi just doesn’t get it. And he really doesn’t! It's just logical, isn't it?
“If you think Sirei would allow any of them to defect like that or that any of those selfish creatures would risk being blown up, you’d be wrong. Besides, I can’t stand the thought of working alongside any of those cretins, no matter the goal.”
“So why am I alright, then?” Takumi looks at Eito from over the fire, the heat warping his features.
“You’re not,” Eito says, taking a bite of his fish. The spine cracks beneath his teeth.
They finish eating in silence, and Eito excuses himself to go clean up. Takumi lies awake on his dumb carpet, if not to see if he’s going to bring V’exhness to finally kill him.
But, Eito comes back without her. He settles down, far away from Takumi, and there's no other sound other than the distant waves from the ocean and the crackling of the dying fire.
If Takumi isn't bearable for Takumi, then why does Eito want to work together? Why is it that nearly every time Takumi thinks he's got Eito figured out, he switches it up?
He deliberates over it for who knows how long, until his eyes drop on their own and he’s soon fast asleep.
The next morning, Eito is nowhere to be seen. Which is fine, actually. Takumi is determined to get to the Last Defense Academy before nightfall, so he doesn’t stay to tell Eito. Surely his absence will be message enough.
Takumi sets off after finishing off the rest of the fish over the dying embers. He can’t wait to see his friends, and he knows they’ll take his side on this.
The only issue becomes awfully clear after an hour into Takumi’s travels– he doesn’t know where he is, and he doesn’t know how to get back to the Last Defense Academy.
Just my luck… he thinks, although it sounds too much like Gaku for Takumi’s taste.
He gets away from the sandy beaches and finds himself in a forest, but it doesn’t look like any he’s been to before. If only he had his infuser, he could easily travel long distances. The Class Armor could suppress the exhaustion he feels now, sinking into his muscles and making his eyelids heavier as the sun lazily streaks overhead.
And, of course, it could help him fight against the invaders. There are multiple close calls, as he treks through this forest. All he can do is hide and hope he comes across the LDA soon. And then he makes it out of the forest and into a desert, and by then the sun has begun setting.
Takumi collapses by a dune, his throat parched and his stomach aching. And, of course, every other part of his body screams in pain and exhaustion.
It’s stupid, but he’s just so tired. Takumi closes his eyes.
The next time he wakes, he’s surrounded by the ever familiar clicks and gurgles of invaders. It’s dark out, too. They close in on him slowly, probably wanting to draw it out.
This is kinda a bad way to die, Takumi thinks. But he doesn’t want to fight it anymore, not when he’s lost his resolve once more. He's never going to find the academy.
Slash!
Nearly half of the invaders surrounding him are cut in half in the blink of an eye. Takumi sits up.
What was that?
Some foolish part of Takumi expects Nozomi to be standing in front of him, but just from the look of the Class Armor it clearly isn’t. Still, he holds out hope regardless.
“Kirifuji..?”
“I’m here to save you, you worthless piece of flesh,” Eito says cheerfully.
“I don’t need saving,” he mumbles.
Eito slices the rest of the invaders open, stepping away from their black blood. “Of course you do. Don’t tell me you’re so self absorbed you’d think you could make it out here without an infuser?”
It’s eerily similar to how Eito had run away, and how Takumi had found and saved him in the first timeline. It had been so long ago that Takumi had forgotten about it until now, when their roles are reversed.
Eito doesn’t offer a hand out to help him up, and Takumi doesn’t need it. He stands up by himself.
“Did you follow me, then? Wait until I was in serious trouble so you could gloat?”
“Of course not. I came back to the cave and found you weren’t there, and happened to find you out here.”
“Sure,” Takumi sighs. “Well, you found me. Now what?”
“I don’t know why you must be so difficult, Takumi.”
“You were the one that said if I wanted to get my friends’ help to do it myself…”
“What, you were looking for the academy yourself?”
"What else was I supposed to do?" Takumi sighs. "You don't want to work together, right."
Eito adjusts his glasses with a grin. “Ah, so you got the hint then? I’ve been waiting to kill you for so long, Takumi. Why would I want you on my side now?"
Eito raises his scythe, and Takumi’s muscles tense as he prepares for a fight. Without his Class Armor, it’s going to make it incredibly difficult, so he tries talking to Eito instead. “If you wanted me dead, why come after me?”
He laughs. “So I could kill you myself, naturally! I had planned to do so last night, but figured I could draw it out some more. Wait until daylight so I could see that ugly expression."
He sighs in annoyance.
"Then you decided to run off on your own, and almost died to these ridiculous organisms. Right before I got to kill you! It's so pathetic, of course I had to stop that."
Takumi is swung at, but he dodges easily. And once again it comes at him, but it’s very easy to avoid Eito’s scythe when he’s clearly holding back. But why would he be?
“Aotsuki, if you don’t want to fight, then don’t…”
Eito’s lips draw back and he fixes his glasses. “Of course I want to!”
Another swing, but this one comes even slower. It’s a little pathetic.
“Why wouldn’t I want you dead? My eyes aren’t righteous, all of that suffering was for nothing, and of course you had to be the one to tell me. Ugly, stupid Takumi.” His scythe falls. “Why would I want your help?”
Takumi steps forward hesitantly. “...because I can help. I want the same thing you do now. You can’t end humanity all on your own, after all.”
Eito grits his teeth. For a good moment he stands there, grip tight on his scythe. “Only you could underestimate me so, Takumi. I could handle it all on my own. It’s you that needs me, isn’t it?”
“Well, yeah. I couldn’t do it all by myself either.”
The scythe comes down back onto him, and Takumi uses the chance to slam into Eito and knock him over.
I hope the timing is right here..!
It's enough force that the two stumble over into the sand. Takumi grins above Eito, feeling pleased with himself.
"See? I'm still strong even without my Class Armor. You need me too."
"Get off of me you disgusting monster–!" Eito hisses, trying to shove Takumi off. He looks around for something, but he had dropped his scythe a few feet away. "How can something so tiny be so formidable!?"
"I'm not that tiny," Takumi grumbles. He gets off of Eito, watches as he gags and frantically dust himself off. When he calms down, Takumi clears his throat. "See? I caught you off guard. I want this as much as you do, Aotsuki. We can work together; you, me, and the rest of the SDU."
Eito squints at him, but in the dark it's hard to see the venom Takumi has come to expect. He stands up and grabs his scythe. For a moment, he's ready to jump to the side once more.
Then, Eito's expression smooths out– though, the annoyance in his tone is hard to miss.
“Fine. You want to see if your little friends will want to help us out? Sure. I’ll come, only so you don’t die like the useless leech you are, and to get our infusers. So you won’t be a burden anymore. We’ll work together, until humanity has fallen, and then I can kill you myself. Alright?”
Takumi lights up.
Chapter Text
They set off the next morning after Takumi begrudgingly wakes up earlier than noon. After all, the pair had gotten back to the cave very late last night. Eito had escorted him like a guard transporting a prisoner, poking him with his scythe. It had been less about making sure Takumi didn’t run off (why would he?), and definitely just because Eito wanted to provoke him. Probably for his own amusement.
Now, they walk more in the ever hot temperature. Takumi feels his eyelids dropping, but he doesn't want to push his luck when he has Eito on his side now. Even if the death threat still rings true, Takumi can deal with that later. Surely Eito doesn’t even mean it, and he’ll see that when it comes down to it. Once all of humanity has been taken care of, he’ll surely mellow out enough to at least not kill Takumi. Besides, it’s a little hard to deny how helpful Eito’s resolve will be. They don’t know anything about humanity or what kinds of weapons and technologies they have, which makes them incredibly dangerous.
So, Takumi wakes up earlier than he wants and hides his yawns behind his hand and doesn’t complain about being tired. They set off without saying a word to another.
What else is there to say? Eito had been trying to kill Takumi… sort of. And yet somehow Takumi is still alive, and now on the same team as his attempted murderer/kidnapper.
The silence lasts for only two minutes, anyway. Takumi soon learns that a large part of being on the same side as Eito means enduring his listless rants.
Sure, Karua talked a lot, but it’s nothing in comparison to Eito. Multiple times he doesn’t even let Takumi get a word in, he just goes on and on until he tires of talking and even then doesn’t let Takumi talk. He shuts him down with childish insults and more poking from his scythe if he deems he isn’t walking fast enough.
Takumi considers abandoning Eito once they get to the Last Defense Academy, once he has the rest of his friends with him, but then thinks better of it. Besides, he can tune Eito out easier if he isn’t constantly trying to add something to this one sided conversation. Takumi instead thinks about Nozomi and wonders if she’s okay. Surely she’ll understand that he didn’t leave willingly, right..? He thinks of his kidnapping, and it sinks in that Eito really did just take him like that. How did he sneak in undetected? Did Sirei even notice?
Frankly, with all of the different ways his life has been turned upside down lately, Takumi resolves to forget the kidnapping. It’s not like he can do anything about it now, and it did lead him to decide to put an end to what humanity is doing. He’s a little grateful, admittedly. It’s nice to no longer wallow in his own sorrow and let himself wither away. No, he’s been given a chance here, and he doesn’t want to lose it.
The landscape begins looking familiar, which catches Takumi’s attention enough to draw him from his thoughts.
“We’re almost to the academy, Takumi,” Eito sighs. “I can’t say I’m particularly excited to see those grotesque beings.”
Shouldn’t you be thinking better of us since we’re all not humans..? But Takumi wants to ask another question instead. “Aotsuki, I’m curious. Why wouldn’t we be working with the Futurans now?”
Eito stops, Takumi nearly bumping into him.
“I don’t think they would join us, Takumi. We may not have seen any invaders today, but they’ll still try to kill us all the same. You know that.”
Takumi sighs. “It would be nice to have the strength of the commanders though.”
“Stupid Takumi. You forget I was in their base, listening to every word they said. V’exhness would rather die than aid us. She wants us eradicated, no matter if we’re Futurans ourselves. It goes far beyond protecting her home.”
Sounds familiar...
But Takumi does remember her fury, the way it transcended language in his first timeline. How Nozomi had fallen into Takumi’s hands. The weight of her body in his lap and her pulse fading is hard to forget…what Eito is saying makes sense.
They walk until they see the Wall of Flames in the distance, which eases something in Takumi’s chest he didn’t even notice before. Of course, it falls apart instantly upon hearing the cries of battle, of metal clanging and people screaming and yelling.
“That might be V’exhness! We have to help!” Takumi cries, not caring whether or not Eito has the same sense of urgency.
Invaders are still piling in through a gap in the Undying Flames, so Takumi pushes them all out of the way and runs to his friends.
He sees them, all in their Class Armor, and it’s then that Takumi realizes he’s standing in the middle of a battlefield without his own. He doesn’t even have his infuser. He’s deliberating how he can activate his cryptoglobin, like Eito had done when he escaped, when an invader knocks him down.
The wind is knocked out of his lungs and Takumi can only lie on the floor, gasping for air. He screws his eyes shut and hopes the Revive-O-Matic can bring him to the War Room for his infuser when he hears an invader fall.
My friends have come to protect me! Takumi’s heart swells. If they’re fighting then they must have realized that even if their memories are false, they still have one another. He manages to catch his breath and opens his eyes to a blurry figure.
Nozomi..!
A hand is held out, and Takumi takes it. His vision unblurs and he sees Eito wiping his hand on his Class Armor with a look of disgust.
Did he just save me.. again? He wonders to himself.
“Go get your infuser, Takumi!” Eito yells over the sound of the invaders’ awful cries– right, it’s this commander… he hopes his friends have held up okay without him. “Or hide somewhere!”
Takumi doesn’t argue. He takes off running for his friends, who have noticed him now.
Nozomi’s face specifically is what he locks onto, equally shocked and relieved. She speaks into her headset.
“Yes, Sumino is here! Can you bring his infuser, Sirei?”
His friend’s eyes flash back at him, then back onto their targets. He wasn’t expecting a group hug or anything, but coming back mid-battle (especially when he can’t fight with them) is a little awkward…
Voices– non-invander ones, yell at him from all over the battlefield.
“You’re back!”
“Where did you go?!”
“Is that Eito?!”
He doesn’t have time to respond. A drone drops his infuser into his palms, and Takumi swiftly plunges it into his chest. His vision escapes him just for a moment, and then he’s side by side with his comrades slashing down invaders. Just as it should be.
The battle ends quickly soon after, and Takumi paces over to Eito. He can’t let anyone think Eito is an enemy anymore, even if Takumi himself is still unsure. Either way, he steels himself to defend his ally.
As Takumi had expected, the SDU immediately run over and point their weapons at Eito.
Hiruko is the first to speak as she squints, a hand on her hip. “What is the meaning of this?”
“What the hell is he doing here?!” Gaku squawks.
Kako peers over Ima’s shoulder. “Maybe it’s his spirit, here to get revenge on us all!”
Nozomi steps over to Takumi, and the others fall into background noise upon him meeting her reassuring eyes. “Where did you go, Sumino?”
Takumi gathers a breath and launches into an explanation. Eito had been right, and humanity doesn’t deserve their sympathy or their strength. (And, of course, he leaves out the murder attempt and the kidnapping. It won’t exactly help right now.)
Instead of the enthusiastic agreement he had been expecting, Takumi is met with silence.
Hiruko is, once again, the first to speak up. “You expect us to believe you’re following him of your own free will?”
Takumi is taken aback. “What? Of course I am. We all know humanity has been using us and that our memories aren’t real! It’s not right they did this to us! We need to fight back!”
Takemaru crosses his arms and his eyes flick over to Eito. “That sounds exactly like somethin’ that traitor would say!”
Some awful feeling stirs in Takumi, seeing the nods in the crowd.
Frantic, he turns to Tsubasa and her nervous face. “Kawana, your grandfather isn’t real, and neither is the shop. The thing you wanted to protect doesn’t exist!” He turns to Gaku. “And Maruko! All those siblings aren’t waiting for you on the Artificial Satellite, and you’ll never see them again…”
Hiruko adjusts her glasses. “We’ve decided to continue fighting for humanity regardless.”
Takumi takes a step back. “What..?”
Nozomi’s eyes fall to the floor. “It isn’t right, what humanity has done to you all. But all those people need a home…”
“If we don’t actually have anything to return to, might as well! Am I right?” Ima stretches luxuriously.
Kako purses her lips. “You’re just doing it for all that money we’re gonna get…”
“At least the Tsukumos have each other… the rest of us have nothing. But turning on humanity ain’t gonna make anything real either!” Gaku says.
Yugamu smiles in interest. “Although an intriguing offer, I’m afraid I must join everyone else on this. No longer will I kill without love.”
Shouma clears his throat. “I know a bile stain like me can’t do anything right, but I still want to help everyone!”
“...are you all serious?” Takumi’s heart drops. “You can’t be serious…”
As if it couldn’t get any worse, Tsubasa speaks up. “...I’m sorry, Sumino, but… isn’t it a little suspicious that he decided to leave like that too? The moment you left, we started getting swamped with defensive battles for days on end…”
Everyone nods in agreement.
“We did sorta need you…” Takemaru scratches the back of his head.
Moko squishes her cheeks. “I hate to agree, but it’s true! It’s like you’ve been on the same side as Aotsuki for ages now!”
Even Sirei, who had arrived moments before, chimes in. “You were the one who said he was dangerous, and yet here you are siding with him… what a shame.”
Takumi scans the faces of his friends, finding a mix of distrust and guilt there. He manages to push down tears that threaten to spill, but when he speaks he struggles to keep his voice from cracking.
“You’d all rather fight for the people who lied to us like that…?”
Even Nozomi… She steps back away from him and shakes her head. He feels sick to his stomach, his head aching. The world swirls around him.
Why would they do this? They know it’s wrong! How could this happen?!
A hand rests on his back. Takumi turns to Eito, who wears a neutral expression.
“Eito…”
Eito’s expression brightens. “Well, it was wonderful seeing all of you here! Takumi and I will be off now.”
He’s dragged away by the wrist, and although Takumi hears Sirei barking at the SDU to get their infusers back, they aren’t pursued. Eito pushes him through the Wall of Fire as the gap from the invaders closes, and then all the way to the cave. They don’t take any breaks, and so they make it back by sunrise.
Takumi crashes, instantly falling asleep the moment he lies down on his stupid rug bed.
After sleeping for god knows how long, Takumi can’t sleep any longer. After days of sleeping for so long, his body rejects giving him the escape from reality. So he instead lays on his stupid scratchy carpet in this stupid cave. If Eito is still here, he doesn’t make any effort to get him up. Instead of doing anything actually productive, he watches water drip from a stalagite (something Karua or Eito told him about once).
What else can Takumi do but think about what happened? It’s just another thing to add to Takumi’s list of things he’s mourning. Another blow to him that he has to sit with. The eyes of his friends are burned into his eyes, those eyes avoiding his like they accidentally missed his birthday party.
It had to be Sirei who swayed the group. Without Takumi there, they wouldn’t know to be wary of him the way he knew to be. He could influence just about anyone with whatever means necessary if it means getting them to fight. Hell, he has a brainwashing device!
Takumi stews on plans to free them, to find a way to break through to them, until he realizes… he just doesn’t want to.
There had been something in his friends’ eyes that seemed too much like themselves, like it was something they truly wanted to do. And if they wanted to, then Takumi wouldn’t stop them. He’s exhausted enough as it is.
At least this means they’ll be safe. Even if Eito and Takumi die out here, his friends will be okay as long as they can defend the school. And if the SDU is safe, then so is Nozomi.
Nozomi… She seemed so different then. After all, wasn’t it of her choice to fight in the war? What right does she have to say what is and isn’t fair when her memories are real?
Takumi banishes those types of thoughts from his head. He just wants her and everyone else to be safe. They might be on different sides now, but he can’t let go of his resolution to keep her, and everyone else, safe. Although it’s hard to fully let go of the idea of Nozomi actively choosing to be here, to defend humanity despite everything.
He decides to do something upon realizing that sitting here doesn’t help him. Maybe he’ll go exploring and get eaten by an invader or something, maybe then he’ll be freed from this cycle of being knocked back down again. Takumi turns and stretches, surprised to find Eito sitting across the cave.
“...good morning,” Takumi mumbles.
Eito meets his eyes. He’s smiling. “Ah, good morning, Sumino. It’s afternoon, but I suppose that’s close enough for you.”
“What should we do now?” Takumi asks earnestly.
Eito’s smile stretches wider. “I was hoping you’d ask that. Have you realized yet that we’re on our own now?”
“...did you know that was going to happen?”
Eito nods eagerly. “I can’t say I’m too surprised. Even if I don’t know any of them. I was in a cage for a long time, after all.”
Takumi ignores the clear jab at him and pushes away the frustration that rises. You were the one who tried killing Sirei…
But, Takumi supposes he can’t fault Eito for that. Not when he wants to do the same now.
“For now, we have to gather materials. Our top priority for now is survival, and once we can ensure that, then we can go from there."
Takumi is truly ready now for this. He’s ready to devote his life to this cause, because there’s nothing else for him anyway. Except for one thing…
“Will we have to fight them..?”
Eito grins. “Do you think they’ll just give up, Takumi?”
It’s something he hadn’t wanted to think about before. Takumi didn’t even consider that his friends would become so gullible, so of course he wasn’t thinking about it. The thought hits him like swallowing a pill without any water; it gets caught in his throat and lodges itself there. He wants to protect them. But all of their disappointed faces, even Nozomi…. if they don’t want to be saved, then that’s not his problem.
Takumi just nods.
Chapter Text
Time passes slowly now. It’s only been a few days, and yet it feels like it’s been years.
Maybe it’s because they have so much to do to stay alive out here. Especially now that Takumi can’t rely on the fact that he’ll be back at the Last Defense Academy. Gathering food, fresh water, basic essentials for their cave like defensive traps and making it a little more comfortable. Eito and Takumi go on expeditions together now, both to explore the land and gather materials. Now they have their infusers (Eito having managed to swipe his somehow when nobody was looking somehow), which makes things much easier. They needed some sort of win.. And Eito seems to be a bit more at ease being able to transform in and out of his Class Amor, which means less snark for Takumi to put up with.
Today, nearly a week after going to the LDA, they’re hiking back to the cave with armfuls of supplies. Takumi had been looking at the floor and trying to think of nothing else other than the grass he steps on, until he notices it changing. Flowers spring up, pressing in on his legs even as he tries not to disturb them. He looks up now, seeing that Eito has stopped.
Takumi is overwhelmed at the beauty of this field. It’s absolutely gorgeous, flowers of all different kinds having claimed every inch of this clearing. Trees that reach the clouds circle them, enclosing this magical place and making it feel secluded. Although more noticeably, the sun is still trailing down the sky, dipping the horizon. Despite Eito being rather strict with their schedule and getting back to the cave before sundown, he stops to sit down.
It’s bewildering, yes, but more importantly it's hypocritical. So when I chase some animal and try hunting it for meat, he drags me back to the cave and scolds me, but he gets to sniff the flowers…?
Takumi pauses and stands awkwardly next to him. “Do you need to rest, Aotsuki?”
“No, I just like the smell. It’s so much better than how you smell!"
Takumi sits down next to him. “Well, good thing I’m not an actual human, then…”
Eito looks to the setting sun even as the forest around them swallows it. “Ah, if only it were that simple. I’ve resigned myself to enduring you, but you still look so human. And you smell and sound like one, too.” He scrunches his nose up, even though he now turns to look into Takumi’s eyes. “But if I were being honest… I truly am grateful you understand now. To have anyone else wouldn’t do, I think. It makes sense it’d be Takumi.”
There’s no good way to respond to that, but Takumi tries regardless. “Nobody else believes me. Or us. We’re stuck together, I guess…”
Eito grins. “Oh, how dreadful that is.”
They sit in silence after that. Takumi finds himself agreeing with Eito; the flowers’ scent is unlike anything he’s ever smelled before. And the view is amazing. Petals of nearly every color surround them, colors matching his favorite colors of the sunset and the deepest depths of the ocean.
He stands upon seeing a flower that matches Karua’s eyes perfectly. Pale purple, nearly sickly in its shade yet still draws him in nonetheless. He picks it.
Eito appears behind him. “What’s this?”
Takumi is choked up, so all he can do is hold the flower out to Eito– partially, he wants it gone, partially he wants to share the beauty.
“Wow, it’s the exact color as my righteous eyes. Was that on purpose, Takumi?”
Takumi’s fist clenches involuntarily. He clears his throat and averts eye contact with those so called righteous eyes. “It just reminded me of someone, is all.”
“Ah, Kirifuji?” Eito’s voice drops off, lips drawn back in disgust. His fingers, gloves white as snow, delicately trace the petals. His head tilts as he observes it, strands of hair falling in his face. Takumi looks at him and sees him– maybe for the first time, since a different Eito than this one. He’s an objectively good looking dude, definitely. Were their memories ever real, Takumi could see Eito being popular amongst all genders. But beyond that, his pupils are dilated and his lips twitch. There’s a dark intensity that’s a little off-putting, warding away his imaginary fanbase. His whole being seems to be sucked into the flower in his palm. “I should have figured.”
“Ah, no… more like a childhood friend. She looked a lot like Kirifuji though, for some reason,” Takumi sighs. It’s nice to talk about, honestly. He’s been trying to forget about it, so a weight lifts off his shoulders. It’s also a little unnerving that Eito is letting him say this, but he talks on regardless. “Not like it matters. Karua never existed to begin with.”
“Hm… perhaps we can hold a funeral.”
“Are you serious..?”
“What, are you too good for one, Takumi? Of course you’d say that,” he giggles. “A funeral for the friend who only existed in your memories.”
It does sound nice, admittedly. Even if Takumi wanted to be skeptical, he has to confess there’s little harm to be done here.
“Alright, sure. How will we do that, though?”
Eito’s gaze is still stuck on the flower. He twirls the stem in between his fingers. “We can just do a eulogy here, I’m sure. Without a body, there’s no grave except one we carry around with us. And that’s better, isn’t it?”
Takumi’s throat is dry. “Yeah, I guess.”
“What was your friend’s name?” Eito asks.
“...Karua. Karua Kashimiya.”
“Goodbye, Karua. May you rest in peace.” Eito holds the flower up to Takumi, but doesn’t let him take it.
“Goodbye,” Takumi echoes. It does help to say it out loud even if he feels like this whole thing is ridiculous.
Eito’s eyes flick up over the petals now. “Takumi, tell me something. Have you truly accepted that your friends won’t be welcoming you back now?”
It’s a very loaded question. Just like with Karua, Takumi had been trying to forget about it. Focusing only on the act of exploring, of letting Eito boss him around.
“Yes, I have.”
“So you won’t be running off to your little group anytime soon, yes?”
“...No…”
Eito hums. “And you truly want this. The end of all humanity.”
Takumi looks to the sun, even though it’s already out of sight past the trees. It feels chilly. “Of course.”
Eito’s lips curl up into one of those deeply unsettling smiles, he sees it in the corner of his eye. “Just curious.”
“Why would I?” He scoffs. “They probably never cared about me to begin with.” It’s a lie, or so he hopes, but it soothes the pain that rises with this whole topic.
“I see. Well, let’s make it a funeral for more people then.”
Eito leans in. Takumi turns back to him, unease creaking in his bones.
“Goodbye to the Special Defense Unit. A little preliminary, but better early than never. May they rot in peace!”
Takumi suppresses the urge to laugh, because a sickly feeling of dread washes over him. Even if it isn’t directed at him, it’s deeply unnerving.
Eito continues. “Oh, and… goodbye to the old Takumi, too. May you rest in peace.”
He then crushes it, the flower. Right in his gloved hand. When his grip unfurls, pollen sticks to his palm, the petals squashed. The whole thing falls to the floor.
“Good thing we’re on the same side now. You’ve really changed for the better for me, Takumi.” Eito’s tongue wets his lips. That intense gaze from before, previously lazered onto the flower, is now pointed onto Takumi. Eito turns and begins walking away, in the direction of the cave.
Takumi scrambles to catch up.
About a day after the funeral, and a very tiring expedition, Takumi sits on the cave floor trying to craft something useful. He misses the Gift-O-Matic terribly, the mess of metal sheets heated up to be more malleable and yet he’s just burning his fingers and wasting time. They’re severely underequipped, and despite Takumi’s attempts at making them some weapons or tools, it’s clear just how fruitless the endeavor is becoming.
Eito sits down close to him. He’s been keeping his distance, so it’s alarming now when he invades Takumi’s space.
“It seems you’ve wasted even more of our materials,” Eito sighs.
“You try making a… a… whatever this is!” Takumi resists the urge to throw it away so he doesn’t prove Eito’s point. He’s really only doing this because he doesn’t have anything better to do, but Eito should at least be grateful he’s doing something.
“Why have you chosen to fight with me, Takumi?” Eito asks, changing the topic. His breath smells of the fish they had earlier, and maybe he has a point about the whole smell thing. Takumi suppresses the urge to gag.
“Didn’t I say that I agreed with you?” Takumi doesn’t look up from the amalgamation of metal in his hands, but his reply is immediate. Besides, what else could he do? The SDU might accept him back, but not when he’s still opposed to their mission.
“No, Takumi,” the mess is taken by Eito and put to the side. Takumi is annoyed, but gives him his full attention now anyway. “Why fight with me?”
Takumi doesn’t quite understand where Eito is going with this, so he just answers honestly.
“Humanity ripped my friends away from me, all of the people I cared about. Karua, mainly… I may not see them the same way you do, but they’re all horrible for causing us so much pain… and destroying a planet, just for their selfish reasons.”
Eito’s eyes sparkle like he’s heard something interesting. It makes Takumi squirm.
“Aren’t we friends now, Takumi? I’m still here, after all. The only one left, even.”
It’s a loaded statement, but the thought isn’t nearly as bad once Takumi actually sits with the thought. Eito hasn’t exactly tried killing him recently, and is even becoming bearable. Or even… pleasant?
“Sure, we can be friends.”
“Ah, you agree then? Wow, Takumi, you really are so nice… I never thought one day I would have a real friend, you know. Not only are you so helpful to the point of nausea, but you too want all of humanity eradicated. It could really make me cry, you know!”
Takumi still struggles to reconcile this Eito with the same one who was planning on killing him. Especially when Eito’s face gets closer than usual in his excitement, eyes crinkling and teeth glaring back at him in the light of the fire.
Whether or not Eito is honest isn’t too important to Takumi, either. There’s an implicit trust between the two now, however fragile, so Takumi decides to be honest.
“I’m glad to be your friend too, surprisingly. I’m not sure what I’d do to stop humanity without you… even if you were planning on offering me up to V’exhness or whatever…”
Eito goes on like Takumi hadn’t even spoken. “I just wish that your friends could have followed us on our mission. I truly believe Sirei was behind it, too. He did the same thing to that commander you held hostage, didn’t he…? He must have brainwashed them somehow. Maybe if we start now, we can save them before the 100 days are up…”
Takumi’s eyes fall to the floor. “No, I don’t think it’s brainwashing.”
“Oh? Whatever do you mean, Takumi?” Eito lays it on thick, clearly baiting him. Takumi doesn’t mind.
“Maybe Sirei played a part in it, but I know them. It all came from their own delusions.” Takumi’s fist curls. “If they don’t want to be helped, we can’t do anything about it.”
Eito grins like a cat. “So you don’t want to try again and see if they’ll come to their senses?”
“It’s like you said. If they get in the way, we may have to fight them.”
Eito falls silent, but Takumi doesn’t pay much attention to it. He’s focused more on the pain gripping his lungs. Much like a bruise, he pokes and prods at it by turning the scenario over in his head, and only causes himself more pain. Kako’s eyes meeting the floor, Moko’s lips curled into something remorseful, Takemaru’s insistence…
“Hm… it’s nice being reminded of where your loyalties lie, Takumi,” Eito finally says. “Rest assured, despite your hideous form, I have no other hold ups. I truly meant what I said.”
The tightness in Takumi’s chest loosens, and he picks up the metal he had been messing with.
“Do you think we could use this as a fork or something?”
Takumi thinks, very briefly, that maybe he’d side with the humans if they were to blow up the sun.
He had gotten used to the luxury of air conditioned rooms, and now he’s absolutely baking underneath the intensity of the weather. He wipes at the sweat building on his face as his shadow falls onto the water and he scans for fish. Of course he’s grateful to have such an important planet still intact and functional– Eito had undergone an entire explanation about the importance of the sun for life on Futurum on the way here, when Takumi had complained.
And he’s luckier than Eito, who is currently stuck on land where Takumi gets to stay partially cool in the water. Still, it’s hot. His Class Armor doesn’t particularly help, either, what with the black fabric and all. His pants are discarded as well, something Eito did not enjoy. But he doesn’t feel like risking having to endure another night soaking wet again, honestly.
A shadow darts in his direction, and Takumi uses his sword to stab at it. When his sword emerges, a healthy looking fish is skewed onto it. Blood drips from the puncture wound, its mouth hanging open in death.
Lately, he’s been wishing that could be Nozomi.
He knows the thought is awful. But he feels a similar tangle of anger and hurt and rage now at Nozomi as he had at the Eito in his original timeline. And that is a rather hard record to beat, isn’t it?
They’re on two sides of a war, and she now stands in between Takumi and his goal. At least before Takumi was able to kill Eito while being backed by his friends. Now all of Takumi’s friends have betrayed him. All he has is Eito now. It’s twisted irony.
The cycle has come out of nowhere. The way his sword slices through the fish doesn’t help his daydreaming, where he’ll think of how Nozomi would look with a sword stabbing through her abdomen. Then he’ll feel the weight of that thought crush him and he can’t breathe. Takumi remembers exactly how it had felt, seeing her dying in his arms.
But Nozomi deserves it, quite frankly, after acting like she’s gone through the exact same thing. Nozomi chose this war, and certainly it’s on her for swaying the others as well. But also, isn’t she allowed to make whatever decision she’d like? Nozomi is also a soldier and has also fought in this war, meaning she’s allowed to do whatever she wants. Takumi avoids his reflection in the water.
Past the guilt, past the disgust at himself, a small part of Takumi feels sick pleasure stirs whenever this sort of train of thought arises. Nozomi looks so similar to Karua– she is her, in a way Takumi doesn’t know and hadn’t been able to ask about. Not like he’ll ever get to now. And the memories mean less and less every day now, but Karua is still as goodhearted as she always was. Nozomi, however… she’s done something too serious to forgive.
His stomach lurches. Why is he thinking about this? He doesn’t want to hurt her. Eventually he may have to, but he doesn’t want to think about it– let alone fantasize about it.
“Bring that one over!” Eito calls, pulling Takumi from his thoughts. He shakes his head and heads back to the shore.
His sleeves are rolled up, but he’s so annoyed at how they seem to get wet regardless that when he’s back on the sand he peels them off. It leaves him in just the white button up underneath. That, and the weird protective junk circling the hollowed out pit in his chest holding a heatless flame.
“Warn me next time you decide to show even more of your hideous body! You might scare our food away!” Eito huffs. But he adds, “oh, look at the size of that one! Good job, Takumi.”
Like Eito had asked, Takumi shoves the fish over to him to wrap. They’ve graduated from the minnow-like fish in the shallow area to waist deep waters. This means bigger, more nutritious food at least. He wades back in and gets back to fishing, ignoring the fish’s dead eyes and how easy it is to imagine stabbing his friends like this.
After more fishing until dusk breaks out, they head back with a large amount of fish wrapped in plastic. The temperature has improved a little, but it’s still hot.
“Is this planet’s sun as hot as it was on Earth?” Takumi finds himself asking, dragging his Class Armor clothes back on. The sensation is unpleasant, his still drying body sticking to his pants. But whatever.
Eito’s face lights up at the question. He likes the sound of his own voice, and he likes when Takumi doesn’t know things the way he does.
“Well, it depends on the type of star it is. Different types of stars have different temperatures, but all of them are so hot you’d burn to a crisp within seconds of coming close to them. Like, for example, the sun on Earth had been a yellow dwarf star.”
“...The sun is a star?”
“Yes! And it’s not the sun that orbits us, but Earth– or, I suppose Futurum, that orbits the sun.”
Eito prattles on about dwarf stars and white giants, and despite himself, Takumi smiles.
The next day, Takumi and Eito are on an expedition. Their hands are full, and Takumi is in an especially poor mood. That’s why when he sees some sort of bird, he doesn’t hesitate to cut it open.
“Takumi! What poor manners, we already have food at the cave,” Eito chastises him. “How despicable of you, taking a life when you don’t need to.”
Takumi shrugs it off. He pushes the images of his friends from his minds, of their blackened husks after being stripped of their cryptoglobin. He picks the bird up by the neck and gives the materials he had been carrying to Eito.
“We’ll make sure to eat it then, so it doesn’t go to waste.”
He expects Eito to complain about having to carry more stuff, but finds he says nothing. Besides, the bird is incredibly heavy, and Takumi wouldn’t be able to carry it and his materials back.
Eito does continue to complain about how greedy Takumi is, but that’s to be expected.
They get back to the cave, and Takumi drops the bird onto the cave floor and immediately begins plucking the feathers. They’ve gotten good at this, surviving on their own. His mom would be proud (and he regards this bitterly).
He tries not to think about his fake memories, but it’s clear he had been, once he’s through preparing the bird. The feathers have been plucked, sure, but the raw meat is also red from how rough Takumi had been handling it. He breathes in deeply and tries to calm down, forcing himself to think only about putting the bird on a spit to roast.
When that’s done, he has not much else to do. Takumi looks up and sees Eito looking at him with an expectant smile.
“I have a book… would you like to read it with me?”
“Where did you get that?” Takumi hums, getting up and sitting next to Eito. He ignores Eito’s frown upon entering his space.
“I found it earlier in a pile of garbage. It’s in great condition!” So that must be why Eito is in such a good mood, then. “We can read until our dinner is finished.”
“Sure, alright.”
Eito opens the book, and Takumi scoots in.
Eito’s nose scrunches up. “Ah… maybe back up, a bit…”
“But then I can’t read it!” But Takumi obliges, at least. He doesn’t want to make his only ally upset, even if it definitely annoys him being reminded of how Eito sees him.
“How troublesome this is. Hm… oh, I could read it to you!”
“Seriously..?”
Eito starts anyways. Takumi doesn’t protest, just lets him prattle on. He kinda pays attention, just enough to catch that the book is about catacombs and bones or something.
Soon, he dozes off to the sound of Eito’s voice. It’s comforting, maybe because it’s the only one Takumi hears nowadays, even over his own.
When he wakes, he wonders why he’s so comfortable. It’s then that Takumi notices that it’s Eito's blanket beneath him and Eito far off on the other side of the cave. He’s curled up near the fire, reading the book by himself.
“Aotsuki?”
“You stole my blanket. Now I have to suffer until I can find or make a new one,” Eito grumbles back, not missing a beat. "So I ate some of your stupid bird. Then dumped the rest in the lake."
Takumi yawns, already tired again and uninterested. God, this blanket is so soft. “Mm… I’ll help you…”
“...thank you, Takumi. Go to sleep.”
He falls asleep before he sees that Eito is wrapping the rest of the bird in some plastic, setting it next to his slumpering form.
Chapter 5
Notes:
shorter chapter... i have no upload schedule i just post whenever i have the time to edit a new chapter hehe
tysmm for all the comments btw !! it makes me skip and jump in joy and whimsy!!!
Chapter Text
Takumi peers over the Wall of Fire. Eito is rather close to him, which is becoming more of a common occurrence lately. He tries not to think much of it, considering they’re both just trying to look into the Last Defense Academy. With so much of the rooftop they’re perched on having given in, there isn’t a lot of room anyway.
Yesterday they got the materials for Eito’s stupid blanket, and it only took the whole day. It wasn’t worth it, especially not when Eito had slipped up and said that he willingly gave it to Takumi, meaning he didn’t have to waste his time feeling guilty and helping him make a new blanket. But here they are now, doing a stake out on Eito’s insistence.
Takumi hadn’t disagreed. They’ve been doing practically nothing lately. Now they’re trying to see if they can gather any information on the SDU, their one connection to the Artificial Satellite. That, and…
They’ll have to fight the SDU eventually– their goals are polar opposites, meaning for one of them to win, the other must lose. Therefore, any scrap of information will help.
Over the top of the fire, they’ve got a pretty good view of the entire courtyard, on this crumbling skyscraper that somehow still stands. Takumi shuffles away from Eito but risks falling to his death in the hole in the floor. They’ve been here too long, Eito had woken Takumi up early again and he hates it. The courtyard to the school is dead quiet. But he steels himself– there has to be something happening eventually!
This whole thing feels wrong, despite his previous resolve to let them make their own decision, however ill informed. Is it really right to do this? Takumi wonders. I don’t want to hurt them…
Thankfully they aren’t here for that, just to spy.
Eito’s arm brushes against his when he shifts, which causes such a shock for Takumi that he nearly gives away their location with a scream. It was just their sleeves that grazed, after all. That’s it. He swallows his surprise and tries to move away enough so it won’t happen again.
“Should we go back?” Eito proposes, and Takumi is about to agree when movement happens in the Academy’s courtyard.
At first he squints and tries to determine who had walked outside by their silhouette. Then another person walks out, and another. And soon all of the SDU are outside, messing with… something. Eito and Takumi swap theories, but they simply don’t know until a fire starts and Takumi realizes they’re grilling.
They all look… happy.
And isn’t it awful? Takumi was there once too, in another timeline. One where Takumi was blissfully ignorant and believed everything Sirei told them. Gaku put the whole thing together, and didn’t they have such a good time? But now Takumi isn’t down there, and yet his friends still look so damn happy.
Upon squinting, Takumi can see Nozomi. Her smile is hard to miss as she converses with Moko, holding onto her arm.
Something ugly curls in Takumi’s chest, that same awful feeling he’s been getting that is soothed when he’s got something dead and bleeding in his hands.
How can she be so happy, even without him? How can any of them feel good about what they’re doing? Defending humanity from extinction even when their entire selves are fabricated. It’s like Nozomi, and everyone else, have forgotten that… and Takumi.
He can’t take how increasingly worse the feeling gets, so he turns to Eito for some sort of distraction. If Takumi is bitter, then Eito is repulsed. His lip is drawn down into an ugly sneer.
Takumi cools off a little, reminding himself they’re just here for intel. They need to come up with something to stop humanity, and this is all part of it. If the SDU were to spot them, he’s pretty sure he could hold them off.
They watch them a little longer and don’t see anything else of note. Takumi can’t deal with it anymore, the way seeing his old friends makes him itch all over. He’s bored, anyway, so he stands up and stretches.
“We should head back before it gets too dark,” Takumi yawns.
Eito doesn’t argue. They pack up their bags, and as they do it begins to drizzle. The rain comes with some dark clouds that roll over the sky and blot out the sun. Then out of nowhere, it pours.
“We should hurry back now, Takumi!” Eito calls to him over the sound of the rain.
“Wait, look!” Takumi points to the Academy’s courtyard, watching the SDU scutter around like ants. Their little get together is ruined, the fire on the grills quenched.
“We needed some good luck, I’d say!” Eito laughs, even though they’re also getting soaked the longer they stay here. It’s the first genuine laugh from him, or at least the first one not at Takumi’s expense.
Takumi laughs because of his bitterness, and it’s an ugly feeling. But isn’t it so deeply amusing watching a small bit of misfortune come upon his ex-friends? They deserve as much.
After some more time spent laughing over the SDU trying to save their cookout, once they’re all inside then Eito and Takumi too decide they must leave. They run back to their cave, arms covered above their heads the whole way.
Takumi doesn’t know when it became their cave, but he’s grateful they have a safe place to stay at. Besides, all of his stuff is here now. The blanket he had accidentally stolen from Eito the other night, the portable stove they managed to salvage from some ruins, the collection of expired medicine and rusted tools.
They’re drenched, too. With only some hesitation, Takumi decides he needs to get out of his wet clothes so he doesn’t catch a cold, and wraps himself in a blanket by the fire.
Takumi had been turned away, hastily throwing on battered pajamas he had found that smells like rotten eggs. When he turns back, he sees that Eito is also changed. Which is odd, considering usually Eito goes to change outside, and waits for Takumi to finish so he doesn’t have to see “even more of a hideous display of flesh and gore.” But here Eito is, across from him in his own stupid blanket, watching the flames.
Had Eito been watching him change? Maybe. Takumi doesn’t hate the idea too much, actually.
(It’s such a scary realization that he pushes the thought away altogether.)
With that out of the way, Takumi adds more wood to their fire from the little wood storage they started, and starts making dinner. Fish have been getting a little old, so Eito has been trying to hunt mammals. Together they can take down a good amount of food, even if it’s upsettingly easy. And the fur is a bit of a hassle, but the variety is nice at least.
They eat the meat of a small hooved creature and go over what they saw and come to a simple conclusion: before they can get to the Artificial Satellite, they need to stop the 100th day attack first.
The conversation lulls there. With the rain outside and a full stomach, Takumi dozes off where’s lied down right next to the fire. He thinks he hears Eito shuffle around and someone breathing next to him, but it feels more like a dream over anything else.
(Takumi hopes it’s real, even if it’s just because he wants to see what it would mean.)
The next day comes, and so does another expedition. Last night crosses Takumi’s mind just long enough for him to dismiss it as he’s waking up and Eito is hovering more meat over the embers of last night’s fire.
They head off to a city, Undying Flames scattering the environment just as the rubble of a past civilization does. Takumi personally is hoping for some sort of spice or condiment among the ruins, wanting something to make their food less bland.
That is the thought that gets cut off when they’re ambushed by a large group of invaders. One of the orange ones pushes him back and he falls to the floor with a cry.
“Takumi!” Eito shouts, scythe swinging the one that knocked Takumi down. It disappears and he turns to him. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine!” Takumi grunts, throwing himself into the middle of their attackers.
“How could you let yourself get caught off guard..?” Eito huffs in annoyance behind him.
Takumi ignores him. He’s more focused on fighting and the way his blade slices through the invaders like butter. As usual his muscles burn from the exertion, but it’s a welcome change. It’s been a while since he’s been able to go crazy like this. And lucky enough there seems to be no shortage of invaders swarming him, so he can’t stop fighting now.
He drives them back, diminishing their ranks. Eito is nearby, and he can hear his scythe tearing at invaders. The two are a formidable team, and soon enough the battlefield clears almost entirely.
Takumi takes a moment of respite to wipe his forehead of the accumulating sweat. “We’re almost there, Aotsuki!” He assures him. But when no snarky quips are thrown his way, instead a loud scream of pain, Takumi’s body stiffens.
He forces himself to turn, seeing Eito on the floor.
“Aotsuki!” He cries, lunging forward.
An invader had been hunched over Eito, ready to make a final killing move, but Takumi makes quick work of it. He drops to his knees and holds his companion.
“What happened?” Takumi frets, looking Eito over for any injuries. There’s a slice on his arm and some minor scrapes and bruises, but the worst is the gash in his torso. The amount of blood is terrifying, and he thinks he can see the inside of Eito’s stomach. “Aotsuki–! What should I do?!”
Eito mumbles, his eyes glazed over but fixed onto Takumi. “Press… press on it…”
Red soaks his hands as he presses into it, desperate to keep everything in. Wouldn’t this just push out more blood though? He looks around the battlefield for something, anything, but finds nothing except the remaining invaders that seem to be backing away.
Takumi spots a secluded building… Well, it’s good they’re getting some good luck thrown their way. Not having to deal with any more is a relief, he doesn’t think he could handle both Eito dying and having to kill even a tiny invader right now.
He scoops up Eito, promising him he’ll put him back down once they get somewhere safe. The movement makes him whimper in pain, tears in the corners of Eito’s half opened eyes. Two hands curling his ally’s body into his chest, Takumi carries him to a nearby structure as carefully and swiftly as possible. It’s difficult considering their height difference, and he grits his teeth each time Eito hisses in pain.
He sets Eito down and tears off part of his pants, pressing it into the wound. It soaks up blood quickly and becomes useless even quicker. His mind races a million miles a minute, going from wondering how an invader managed to get the jump on Eito to how he can stop the bleeding.
He strips himself of his Class Armor jacket and covers Eito’s stomach with it. Maybe if he had that sewing kit they picked up, Takumi could try to give him amateur stitches… but it’s back at their cave, which is a far distance from here.
Still, it’s the only thing he can think of.
“A-Aotsuki, can you handle it if I leave real quick..?” His hands shake, shake, shake as he grips Eito’s shoulders. “I… we have lots of supplies at our cave, but I’ll be… I’ll be gone… c-can you defend yourself?”
Eito groans in pain. “T-Takumi…”
He stands up, taking it as a yes. It’s the only option he has.
They must be in an old supermarket, because there’s plenty of empty shelves around to use as barricades. He maneuvers them around to provide as much protection for Eito as possible, covering all the entrances. It ignites a spark of hope, and he takes it and runs. Literally.
The only thing in Takumi’s mind is the heat of Eito’s blood now cooling on his hands. If he comes across any invaders, he doesn’t remember killing them. He registers only seeing the cave, rummaging through everything their useless materials until he finds what he’s after. Painkillers, the sewing kit, any medkit he can grab, and then Takumi is off once more.
By the time he returns, it’s late at night. He all but shoves the shelf out of the way, bothering to put it back in place only to protect them from more invaders. He doesn’t even feel any relief seeing Eito is alive, only more fear– fear that it could still go wrong, fear that Takumi will make it worse.
Takumi’s hands shake as he searches the kits’ contents. He shoves painkillers down Eito’s throat, cleans the wound quickly with antiseptic and does his best to stitch it up. It’s clumsy and surely painful even with the pills, because Takumi has to struggle against Eito’s squirming. The skin struggles to even close because the gash is so large, much like trying to close an overstuffed bag. Takumi feels sick but keeps trying, eventually closing the skin and stabbing through it feverishly.
It’s so weird seeing Eito like this. Takumi has seen him in a rough state before, but it’s usually by his hand. And it’s worse, enhanced by his overreactive imagination. Eito groans and whines and even grasps at Takumi’s shirt, which is how he knows Eito is out of it. Vomit eventually ends up everywhere (from who is hard to tell), but he doesn’t register it among the buckets of blood.
But soon enough, he’s done, and Eito is finally asleep. Takumi doesn’t stop himself from falling asleep either, his back against a wall for a good view of both the entrances and of Eito.
Later, when Takumi wakes up, he’s back by Eito’s side in an instant. He doesn’t know how long he’s been out exactly, but it had to have been a while considering the gaps of light that filter in past the barricades at the windows and door.
He pulls Eito’s Class Armor uniform up (he hadn’t been awake enough to dispel it) and checks the wound with bated breath.
The tension in his shoulders falls upon seeing it having held up alright. The stitches are jagged and messy, but they hold the skin together and that’s all they need to do. His entire body aches with how awful it would’ve been to… no, Takumi doesn’t think about that now. He pulls Eito’s shirt back down and sighs in relief.
“Takumi…” Eito mumbles sleepily. “What are you doing…?”
“Just checking to see if your wound is okay– it is, by the way.”
“Ah, how touching… if it wasn’t, I doubt I’d be talking to you, Takumi…”
Takumi ignores how his body feels hollow considering the thought, instead passing one of their water bottles to Eito. “How do you feel?”
“I’m alright,” Eito smiles up at Takumi, even as he struggles to hold the water bottle properly. He manages eventually, and Takumi doesn’t feel like he needs the help. Even if he wants to. “How curious such a disgusting looking creature could treat me so well..!”
“You should go back to sleep,” Takumi says, looking away with a flushed expression. He’s just so grateful Eito is okay. Clearly he is, if he’s able to remark on how awful Takumi looks to him.
“Wonderful idea, Takumi…” Eito murmurs, and then he’s asleep once more.
They spend the rest of the day sleeping; or, more accurately, Takumi watches Eito sleep. The sun slips down the sky, and Takumi tries to nap, but he can’t fall asleep. So he cleans up the stained floors and their clothes to the best of his ability. Then he finds some sticks and uses his sword to sharpen them, which takes almost all day. Then he goes to find food, and thankfully runs into the corpse of a dead animal. It’s hooved, meaning most likely edible. Invaders must have gotten to it.
He starts a fire in their little hideout and cooks it. Eito stirs enough to eat a little, and Takumi takes the opportunity to also force feed him more painkillers and make him drink some water. Then, Eito’s off again, and Takumi watches the fire die down.
His mind goes to a lot of different places. He thinks of lyrics to songs that never existed, or his favorite childhood games that aren’t real. Soon the high emotions and the long trip get to him, but he doesn’t want to fall asleep just yet.
Once again the only thing that Takumi can think now, seeing Eito’s sleeping form, is how grateful he is to have him. He thinks the thoughts he didn’t let himself think earlier, in the darkness of the night.
If Eito had died, Takumi would truly be alone, wouldn’t he? He’d have to put up with surviving all alone, putting an end to humanity’s plans to kill the remaining population on the planet. There’d be no Eito to look to for inspiration, or distraction, or late night book reading.
The thought sobers him back up, and he just has to double check the wound, and breathes a sigh of relief seeing it’s holding up just as it had earlier. His fingers trace the jagged stitches now that he thinks to, light enough to not wake Eito. They travel to his other scrapes and cuts, and Takumi notes his skin is… nice.
Having to do this alone would be horrible. Takumi would do it, now resigned to their cause as much as he is. Besides, Eito’s spirit would haunt him if he tried giving up, anyway.
But the company makes it actually liveable. Especially after what his friends had said, how they blamed him for leaving like it was his choice. And how they had blamed Eito, too, as if it wasn’t already obvious how disgusting this whole thing is. How disgusting the humans are. Takumi doesn’t have Eito’s “righteous eyes”, but he nearly wants to, just to see humans for what they really are. Yes, his relationship with Eito has been nothing but difficult, starting in his first timeline and carrying over to this one.
But they’re on the same side now, putting every ounce of themself into their goal. A shared goal. There’s something nice about that.
Takumi pulls Eito close enough for a hug. He doesn’t want to let go, even when the rhythmic breathing stutters in his arms. How has Eito managed to smell so nice, even after nearly dying?
Eventually Takumi lets go (only at the thought that he may disrupt the poorly done stitches) and he retreats to his wall once more. Exhaustion tugs at his body, and he gives in to sleep.