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“oh come fucking on, do i have to die not getting a satisfying ending of whatever hanasu and sou has going on with each other??? are you serious???? do they like, love each other or something? i dont know???”
“why is it you think about something like this before our inevitable death?”
itazura grumbled a little, facing daiki with a pout. she did not dare to face the flames before them, she wanted to have a bit of harmless fun for just a bit. she didnt want to feel the waves of heat thats significantly getting hotter by the second, or the sound of nature and man-made things alike finally at its knees, being crushed and damaged beyond repair from the destruction that appears before them.
the glowing embers from the flames danced in the air, shooting high up only to fall on the ground below. it fell closer to itazura, but her face is still turned to daiki.
“thats the whole point, daiki.”
its true, and its been said.
you cant escape the end forever.
“... about tasukaru-”
“him and his siblings are dead already, riiiight? that im guessing. theres no way theyre alive if we consider how the fire is spreading throughout yggdrasil so far.”
“you’re… you’re right. i understand.”
“im sorry.”
the only thing they both did after the exchange was stare silently. daiki zoned out at the fire with a tired face, while itazura’s head was down, facing her feet. the two didnt dare to make a noise as the fire did exactly that for them.
its creeping closer.
“is this the part where we confess our undying love to each other.”
“excuse me?”
“I AM KIDDING. the silence was just so awkward.. bro.. okay…”
“...alright.”
as if desperate to live a bit longer, she grasps onto daiki’s coat, her countenance more oddly sorrowful than usual.
“let’s go somewhere cold.”
daiki sighed quietly, yet a bit disturbed by itazura’s wording of her statement. not only that, but both of them know there isnt a single place here anymore that could be remotely cold. the tree is evidently in flames.
soon, theyll be engulfed by the scorching light as well.
“what do you mean?”
itazura chuckled, as if they were cozy and relaxed, just like every day before.
“i like to think theres some traces of hope here. do you?”
daiki didnt answer. a common answer for a question like this.
“awwww, you gave up already?”
although she was looking for some sort of reaction, daiki provided none of that. he frowned, thinking hard about something.
“theres no escaping no matter where you look, itazura.”
a defeaning silence, again.
“so… then what?”
itazura did not have the energy to gaze upon daiki, and instead meekly twiddled with her fingers. from her appearance, one can tell that she was waiting for an actual answer of any kind. shes desperate. she wants to live through this end to a new beginning. despite this, she isnt the only one.
daiki would have replied in a deadpan manner like always, making itazura pout in slight irritation. the old days, yet chaotic, were heavily cherished by daiki. in the situation they were in, he knew it would make everything worse. hes a bit embarrassed to admit, but every single time he hung out with itazura and tasukaru, he felt warm. he never longed for this feeling, but it lights up the following days to come as if it made his life more vibrant.
he felt selfish. he felt like a dumbass. why did he wish for days like that to never end? one day, everything will eventually finish, and he knew that well, so why?
the fire closes in.
itazura, accidentally ignored, reacted to the flames.
“daiki. i dont know about you, but arent they getting closer? theres…”
she stopped for a bit, trying to come to terms with what she has observed.
“...nowhere to go either.”
she had a small smile to indicate that shes okay overall, but her cloudy eyes says otherwise.
itazura, mentally begging to preserve her life for as much as possible, grabbed daiki’s arm and pulled him closer to her.
daiki could hear her hyperventilating, and felt her hands shaking in fright. aware of this, daiki let itazura hold onto him for comfort, without any words exchanged. they both stared at the raging, hot commotion quietly.
“hey, daiki,” itazura called out to him, “are we going to mess around again, just like before?”
daiki mumbled, as if he wanted his answers to be hidden by the crackling of the fire. the rising temperature was enough to make him sweat, fearful of the near future. it doesnt matter now.
this is your last chance to say everything you have always wanted to say, daiki.
use it wisely.
“i want to be certain, itazura. i really do.”
“hm? whaaat was that?”
daiki sighed at her, slightly smiling. out of everything else in the world, he didnt want to let go of the time hes given. he would do anything to stop it.
“hm, maybe you should get your ears checked?”
“DAIKI,” she groaned loudly, but her content expression despite their predicament is showing the opposite of the emotion she tried to convey, “ARE YOU TRYING TO TEASE ME??? AT A TIME LIKE THIS? wow… i expected better from you… daiki the fire is SO loud. we are about to DIE.”
“alright, alright,” said daiki, “you’re still holding my arm, though.”
she immediately let go, chuckling just a bit, as if his arm was hotter than the blazing heat around them.
oh.
time was running out quickly; both of them could have sworn that the fire was now half a mile away, approaching at high speeds. although they did not make a peep about it, they were in a never-ending state of dread. stalling is pointless and futile
“itazura, i want to live,” the hawk blurted out. he was trembling just a tiny bit, but his own thoughts clashed with each other, occupying his mind. “you do too, dont you?”
“i… do. yeah. i do…” itazura replied, slowly getting back to the situation at hand. “but our lives are bound to end one day, yeah?”
“mm, right..”
“um, so,” itazura started shaking again, grabbing her clothes to feel some sense of comfort. “so why did i… so why did i wish for it all to never go? is it just me? am i overreacting? i dont know… but every time we manage to talk to each other, i feel warm inside my chest… i have never felt enough of it, i think. is it selfish? i dont know…”
no one had to be a genius to know that droplets of tears were glistening, rolling down her cheeks. she tried not to make a scene, clearly holding in her sniffs and gasps. no amount of tears that she could shed would extinguish the raging inferno, its absolutely pointless. nevertheless, it built a weird sense of temporary mutual trust between the both of them. daiki felt a bit closer to itazura, sharing bits and parts of his own thoughts. now hes worried, wanting to at least give itazura some dose of relief.
he didnt like thinking about it either; leaving the people you have interconnected with is a dreadful though thats possible to come true. he also felt selfish. he also wished for things like that to go on forever. who knew how they thought about their life before werent so different, after all?
“dont mind about the fire now,” they both would think to themselves. it may have been said a million times, but they only have each other within this small patch of land. whats the meaning in fighting during a time such as this, right? they can share everything they have always wanted to say to each other now. whats stopping them?
“daiki,” itazura whispered, sniffling on occasion, “im going to miss everyone. ill miss you too, shortie.”
“itazura…”
“and now you going to be actually serious about this? wow… haha…”
itazura wipes her tears with her slightly oversized coat, not making eye contact with daiki.
daiki, who noticed, put a hand on her shoulder. he gazed at her face with a pained smile, though he tried to be reassuring.
“ah, excuse me if im bad at comforting, but isnt it okay to let anything out? we are… about to separate, arent we?”
he slid his hands onto itazura’s and held onto it, tight. he stared straight at her, finally determined to get everything running through his mind out of his mouth.
“i wont comment on anything right now if its want you want. i… um. ive wished for forever, too, i admit. and i felt selfish, too. you arent the only one.”
“eh? daiki???”
“um, what..? just saying what i feel. is that bad…?”
“i dont know thats… hehe. a bit unexpected. i knew you felt warm when hanging out with us. its plastered all over your body language.”
“say that again…???”
despite the sorrowful mood, they bantered, just like before. it was enough to put both of them at ease.
“wow… just like before. youve noticed that, right?”
“i did… yes.”
daiki tilted his head, but instead of answering her in a lighthearted way back, he seemed agitated. he grips on itazura’s hands way tighter than before. he didnt mind holding in his feelings, now.
“we can… we can live through this, right? come out alive together… i think that would be a wonderful thing. actually… i dont care anymore. lets just stay together. er, is that alright?”
“haha… youre crying.. uh…”
“oh. um… haha.. sorry, gh- sorry.”
it would have been a waste to hide his sobs, especially during a time like this, and despite how much he wanted to, he never wiped it away. he kept his hands grasping into itazura as he sniffled and gasped. he did it as long as itazura knew its okay to share anything to him, or forever hold her piece.
itazura hugged him, after a moment of standing there. she considered him as his friend, she didnt know how to comfort either, but she wants to make him feel calm and relaxed. thats what friends do right? she grinned, moving the hair from his face.
it was a bit windy, wasnt it?
daiki looked up at the slightly taller figure holding him in a warm, cozy embrace. he couldnt think of anything but the last seconds of a hug.
the fire burned.
he went closer.
it rose.
he held her cheek.
the flames spread, closing in on them.
finally, he pecked her on the lips. short, yet sweet. it was more than enough, anyways.
one final and genuine grin.
thats what he decided to show to her.
as if it happened in a blink of an eye, the fire covered them like a blanket.
at the distance, you couldve seen two dark silhouette, holding each other as they fade away.
a voice flickered in the heat, one last time.
“where shall we go now?”
nothing else remains.