Agreement

Shohei had expected many things to happen that night. He hadn’t expected to be holding Kyourin as he cried in his arms, looking much smaller than he ever had. And he hadn’t expected to still feel so much for him that it hurt Shohei to see him cry. He cradled Kyourin’s head and kissed his hair.

“How long has he been in there?”

“Almost five years.”

Shohei looked up at the tank and put a hand on the glass. There was a beauty to it all. Strange, haunting.

“He’s cured. The experiment worked,” Kyourin said. “Everything worked. But he doesn’t wake up. He took twice the dose meant for a human. It’s supposed to slow down the system, but he had too much… He’s not coming back. He… nothing worked until you came.”

“Me?”

Kyourin stood up on shaky legs and walked up the stairs so he was face to face with Saikawa. He put his forehead to the tank and both hands on the glass.

“His vitals are improving, slowly but surely. I…”

He looked down to where Shohei was sitting.

“I took a sample from you. A baseline. Then I gave you every supplement which had been successfully proven to be working by Ito’s team. Your body rejected it at first.”

“The allergies…”

“Yes. But it worked, despite them. And every sample I took showed improved values.”

Shohei stood up slowly and patted down his clothes. He turned and Kyourin was on him in an instant.

“You can’t leave.”

With a push, Shohei was on his back. Slowly, Kyourin leaned over him, pressing Shohei into the cold, hard ground. His hips pinned Shohei’s body, one hand holding his wrists together above his head, the other on Shohei’s throat. He squeezed briefly and Shohei gasped for breath.

“I need your body. The supplement isn’t potent enough yet. And until it is, I need someone to test it on.”

Shohei looked past Kyourin, up at Saikawa’s body, floating above him like an angel.

“So you’d rather harm me than him?”

“Yes.”

Shohei laughed. “And you claim you love me?”

“I do.”

“Take it, then.”

Kyourin looked at him with wide eyes.

“Take what you need from my body. I trust you not to kill me, if only because you need me to save him.”

There might have been love for Shohei in Kyourin then, but he knew it couldn’t last. Ran’s shadow was too large. It was all-encompassing. Kyourin was devoted to Ran like he was worshipping a god in his shrine. Shohei saw all of it. But what was the alternative? Just leave? Abandoning both Kyourin and his hope? No. He couldn’t do it. The mere thought of it hurt. As much as he previously wanted to get away, he now clung to this strange man. And where would leaving Shohei? Back into his old life, alone and unloved. No, he’d rather have this for as long as he could.

He pulled his hands free, and Kyourin closer. He kissed him even while his hands were around Shohei’s throat.

“I’ll stay. I’ll help. Until you’re reunited.”

Kyourin’s tears dropped hot and heavy onto Shohei’s face and he could taste them running over his lips. They kissed again, this time with Kyourin’s hands in Shohei’s hair. He pressed their bodies together like lovers. Shohei lost himself in the embrace, chasing the feeling of being wanted. Needed. It was headier than any kind of love. No one had ever wanted him. Everyone had only ever tolerated his presence. But here he was indispensable. It was a rush of feelings he wasn’t prepared for.

As they rolled over, Shohei looked up at the tank and screamed.

Ran’s eyes were open.