Chapter Text
The first time Seishu meets Hanagaki Takemichi, the boy is standing on the edge of a bridge, staring down at the river flowing below him.
It takes him a bit until he sees the boy hidden in the dark of the night, but he immediately stops upon noticing the figure atop the rail. Mere seconds pass before his feet move on their own and he's running towards the stranger and when his brain finally catches up, he screams as loud as he can.
"Don't jump!"
Desperation fuels his actions and manages to speed up just a bit, drawing closer and closer to the stranger. Said stranger flinches, turning to face him.
Blue eyes akin to ice face him and for a moment, out of nowhere, Seishu feels as if those eyes are familiar. As if he's seen them before.
He stretches his arm out, watching as the stranger stumbles, panic visible on his face before he falls backward.
And Seishu?
He runs, prays, and wraps his hand around the other's wrist.
He made it in time.
Tears build in the corner of his eyes as he gathers the last of his energy and pulls (with an ease that shouldn't be possible). Then he crashes down onto the ground of the bridge, the other falling on top of him.
It must be past midnight at that point. He remembers leaving the hideout at 11 pm. The stars shine in the night and slowly he registers the sound of muffled sobbing coming from the other. Before he knows it, he can't hold back his own tears anymore and so he joins the other one. The sound of their combined wailing fills the silence of the night.
During one of the colder nights in November, he lays outside on the ground without a proper coat but he doesn't feel cold at all.
Because that night, Inui Seishu saved a life.
(A life that he'll come to cherish a great deal as time passes.)
"... What? Inupi, why are you at the hideout right now? It's 2 am."
Seishu tilts his head in the direction where the stranger is sleeping on the couch, wrapped in a fluffy blanket. He just hopes it's warm enough. Then he directs his attention back to the phone call and answers Koko's question.
"I'm not alone, Koko."
There's no response from the other at first and Seishu wonders if he should repeat himself. But then Koko speaks up and he's able to detect a bit of concern in the other's voice.
"... What do you mean you're not alone? You never bring anyone else to the hideout."
And neither did Koko. That place is a sacred comfort to them, and neither is usually comfortable enough to bring a stranger in there. Even Taiju doesn't know it exists. So, really, he understands why Koko sounds so distressed about the whole thing.
"Look, I was talking a walk around one hour ago and then I saw this boy—"
"Wait, are you telling me you're there with a complete stranger?"
Seishu winces. It does sound bad spoken out loud.
"I know what it sounds like, but I assure you—"
"Seishu. That's too careless. You don't know this person at all. What if he hurts—"
"He wouldn't. I'm certain of that."
"You don't know that! You're usually so much more careful."
Seishu narrows his eyes, slightly annoyed. He knows Koko has all the reasons to be concerned, but this situation is just too much of an exception.
"Koko, he—"
"He what? Smiled at you once—"
"I found him on a bridge trying to commit suicide," Seishu interrupts the other, irritation lacing his voice.
Silence overtakes the conversation for a few minutes and a small spark of guilt slowly enters his mind. The stranger probably wouldn't want him to go tell others about that night's event. He told Koko without taking that into consideration…
A sigh resounds from the phone's speaker and he perks up, curious about what the other has to say.
"Wait at the hideout. I'll be there in 15 minutes."
Then Koko hangs up and Seishu's left to wonder whether this is a good or bad thing.
He lays his phone down on the coffee table and turns to face the sleeping boy, something akin to wonderment feeling his thoughts upon seeing the other.
He looks so peaceful resting there. The complete opposite of the expression he was making when Inui crashed his attempt.
Koko is right. He's aware of that. No matter the circumstances, anyone could have the intention of harming him, be it foe or friend. That risk increases considerably if that person is a stranger. Still…
Those blue eyes seemed so kind back then. Despite the sadness and agony reflected in them, they were full of a warm kindness. And Seishu? Seishu couldn't help but lash on.
The door opens and he can hear footsteps approaching him.
"You brought a suicidal person to our hideout instead of contacting someone more suited to help and take care of him?" Koko mutters instead of a greeting and Seishu blushes in embarrassment.
Koko sighs before resting his gaze on the stranger. Then he stares. And stares.
Seishu blinks, wondering about the other’s thoughts.
“He’s got no injuries, or?”
Seishu shakes his head. “Nothing except for a few scrapes.”
“Alright… then the only thing we can do is wait until he wakes up.”
“Yeah…”
He’s gotten so tired.
That’s maybe why he feels no particular joy, even though he leaped into the past to a time where even Baji is still alive.
He knows his reaction is… unlike him. He’s spent countless months trying to fix the clusterfuck that is the future—but he’s failed every single. Every single time someone died. Killing themselves or getting killed, either way, he’s the one that always ends up witnessing their last moments and getting adjusted to the sight of their corpse on the ground, painting it red.
Takemichi just couldn’t do it for much longer anymore. The sight of dead people has become something normal to him and he can’t understand anymore. He can’t understand himself and his slowly growing lack of care for death. The fact that he can’t even cry anymore feels like a strange dream.
So, when he woke up in the past, he was simply too tired to even try. Too tired to continue on.
Takemichi wanted— tried —to end it all.
“Oh, he’s waking up…”
He blinks a few times before slightly opening his eyes, immediately shutting them close at the sight of blinding light.
Then he fully opens his eyes and finally sees who’s staring down at him.
(The person who stopped him from ending it at all.)
Takemichi’s eyes widen in surprise.
Inui Seishu is smiling at him and Takemichi has absolutely no idea what’s going on.
He isn’t supposed to meet Inui until way later, after all.