Infinite Stratos X Neglected Male Reader

Chapter 21: Stars Align

Kuro's POV

Ah, how nice it is. It's a clear and lovely night, the moon is full, and since it is past normal students' curfew, most of the lights are out. 

Walking back to the dorms, I can't help at giggle at the sight that soon appears before me. There Ghost is, again.

"Staying up late again to look at the moon?" I asked as I peeked my head over his, blocking his sight, gaining a rare twitch of surprise. 

I guess he turned it off to enjoy the night sky. 

"Yes, it is one of the few things that I still enjoy."

Tilting my head a bit, I asked with a small smile, "Am I included in that list of yours?"

"Yes, you are."

Hearing that made interrupting my walk worth it. Slowly, I laid down next to him on the grass to look up at the giant orb in the sky that the three of us were all somehow obsessed with by now. 

"Tell me, Ghost, does staring up into the night sky still fill you with that feeling of satisfaction and freedom?" I asked as I got myself comfortable. "I know it does for me, but..."

"Do you still retain feelings of guilt and regret?"

"...Yes..."

The night that we were rescued, he gave up his own freedom to ensure that Kirin and I got ours. I watched his final smile fade beneath the rubble, and I can't help but feel disgusted at myself for feeling even the tiniest bit of joy right after it. 

I felt joy for finally being able to leave that hell, for my sister finding me, for seeing the face of the one that saved me from my own insanity, and from seeing a smile grace the face of the one that I always felt lacked a sense of happiness anymore. For me to feel even the tiniest sliver of it after all he'd done for me...how could I even look at myself anymore?

"When I look up there, seeing the moon and the stars, my muscles relax, my body feels lighter, and I feel...safe."

That night, the first thing that awaited Kirin and me, was the same that greeted Yn when he too escaped. Those emotions of freedom, of salvation, were undoubtedly reflected upon its surface, which is why all three of us can't help but love it. But it still acts as a reminder of how terrible I am, how weak I was for not even being to help him in his time of need. 

"Kuro, you're trembling."

My heart skipped a beat when he pulled me against him, and I could feel his warmth, I could feel his steady heartbeat. I can...

"Calm down. I'm alive and well," he assured me. Just those few words, those short responses that I knew were true, but it only made me cling to him tightly.

"B-but...you're not..." I whispered as I buried my head into his chest. "It's slow...but...I...I don't want to lose you. I don't want you to go!"

He just held me there, not moving an inch, letting his own heartbeat calm me down like a lullaby, but he didn't even realize that it was just like a bell ringing to tell me of my mistake. No matter what happened or what I said, his heart would never beat any faster than it does now, not unless there was something physically exhausting. It was yet another contribution to my mistake, to my powerlessness, because if I had just helped back then, maybe he wouldn't be like this, maybe he could have turned out differently-!

"Rid yourself of those thoughts immediately."

My eyes shot open, gazing into his own singular eye. I hadn't even noticed that as I continued to let my emotions run rampant, he had guessed my line of thought by my grip of his uniform and my own heartbeat.