Supplement

Kyourin scrambled, scratching along the floor to get to the terminal that recorded Ran’s vitals. He frantically clicked through multiple screens, cursing, laughing, mumbling to himself.

And Shohei… Shohei just stared. Ran’s eyes were the lightest green he had ever seen. They appeared to be shining from the inside, as if bioluminescence had taken a hold of them, illuminating the flowers which cradled his face. But even though his eyes were open, he wasn’t watching anything. Looking far beyond the horizon, he stared straight ahead, with no indication of consciousness. Shohei pulled his phone from his pocket and turned on the flashlight. He shone it into Ran’s eyes.

“Eisaku. His pupils are reacting. He’s just not… here. Conscious.”

Kyourin looked up from the data. “His vitals spiked. I put another dose of nutritional supplements into the water earlier today. They must have dispersed by now. If we can repeat this, he… Ran will…”

Shohei looked up at the man at the centre of Kyourin’s universe and smiled. He’d do his part and then quietly disappear. There was no room between them, he could see that now. And that was… fine. Better to be needed for a while than not needed at all.

“I’m going to start prepping the raw material. There’s an extraction method with chlorophyll I haven’t tried yet. Maybe it’ll yield better results. I’ll do both in parallel."

He turned away from the tank, casting his face in shadows. Yet he could only make a few steps before Kyourin grabbed his arm and held him back.

“It’s already getting late. You should—”

“Don’t pretend to be concerned for me. I can see how urgent the situation has become. I’d never forgive myself if Saikawa-sensei came to harm through my inaction and I don’t think you would either. Besides, don’t we need to test the supplement on me first?”

Kyourin’s finger shook around Shohei’s arm. “I never tested them before the results from the rats showed they were safe enough.”

“Do we have the time for that now?”

Kyourin looked at the tank and exhaled shakily. “Perhaps not.”

“Then let me get to work.”

With force, Kyourin turned Shohei around, so they were facing each other. There were tears on his face. He leaned down and kissed him, and it was so desperate, Shohei wanted to crumble and disappear.

“Thank you,” he whispered against Shohei’s lips.

“You don’t get to thank me like this after everything you’ve done.”

He left Kyourin in the basement together with his lover.

——

When Ito walked into the lab to find Shohei asleep with his head on his arms. He was still in front of the samples, waiting for them to finish processing. The table around him was filled with mushrooms in various states of processing.

Ito turned off the ceiling light, as the sun had well and truly risen by then, and turned to wake Shohei by gently shaking his shoulder. Shohei was so tired, he could barely look ahead, blinking at Ito as if he needed to first determine which century it was.

“You’ve been here all night?” Ito asked.

“Yeah. There’s… I had a new idea for extraction with chlorophyll and I had to test it immediately while the samples are still fresh. There was a batch I could harvest last night.”

“And?”

“I don’t know yet. This batch should be… what time is it?”

Ito looked at his wristwatch. “10AM.”

“Yeah, it should be done.”

Shohei stretched and yawned at the same time, his joints creaking. He took a look around, but there was no indication Kyourin had been in that night. He was likely still below ground, monitoring Saikawa’s condition. Shohei had to proceed faster…

“I hate to ask you, but could I trouble you for a coffee? And an energy drink maybe?”

Ito laughed and patted Shohei’s shoulder. “Of course. I know how these nights go. Next time I’m stuck in a spell like this, you bring me a coffee. Deal?”

“Deal. You’re a lifesaver.”

Shohei watched Ito leave. He hoped he was alive enough to return the favour in the future. For now he turned back to the samples. Time to run an analysis…

——

It was evening when Shohei appeared in the underground with a new supplement. He put it down in front of Kyourin with a heavy sigh.

“I did my best. Here’s the analysis.”

Kyourin looked over the paper, on which Shohei had circled several values for emphasis. He double checked everything.

“It could work. I ran the historical data again and with this boost in antioxidants… it could just be enough.”

Shohei rolled up his sleeve and held out his arm.

“Then what are you waiting for?”