A Farewell to All Futures

As Sweet as a Song

Warning: mentioned paralysis/incest/death

***

Nikei sat at the desk in his room, typing out an article on his laptop as he took quick looks at his notebook page full of research notes. He had decided to pick up journalism once again, and he wanted to make use of his skills to continue giving information to the people.

Some of his articles were about major news events, some of which were small yet memorable, but either way, he was allowed to continue his work by the Kisaragi Foundation. In fact, they sometimes gave him information about their plans and their progress so far so that he could have material to write.

Sadly, one thing was still bothering Nikei. He looked back at the beds, seeing Mikado lying down on his with one of his arms unstrapped to read a book. The wizard had been more silent recently, not even speaking to Nikei unless the journalist spoke to him first. When his powers were unsealed, though muted by the amethyst choker, he continued to wear the mask that Nikei hated. He was pretty sure that Mikado hated it too, but he wasn't able to show the slightest bit of regular emotions without it.

"Yo, Mikado." Nikei called behind him, looking over his shoulder at the other. "Does Mikako need either of us today? I can't remember if we have community service or a therapy appointment today."

"No, we don't..." The blonde paused for a moment before continuing. "She said that today was our day off, and our therapy appointments are tomorrow. We go back to work on the day after."

While he was speaking, the journalist noted that he had a depressed look on his mask, as if it was paining him to even be looking at his boyfriend. Nikei knew that he was feeling guilty for everything that had happened between them, courtesy of the husk that Junko created, but despite everybody reassuring him that it wasn't his fault, he still openly blamed himself for everything.

Despite the exorcist's advice of staying near him and being their for him, the wizard didn't seem to be improving in the slightest. But just because Mikado couldn't find it in himself to forgive himself didn't mean that Nikei was planning to give up, as stubborn as he was. He was still determined to get Mikado to at least accept his attempts at comfort.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Nikei stood up from his chair and went to open it, seeing Kanata on the other side. "Oh, hey. Need anything?" He asked.

"I need to talk to Mikado regarding the date for his surgery." The girl answered, and Nikei stepped aside to let her into the room. She walked up to the bed the wizard was strapped in, and the two of them spoke quietly about the appointment. After a few minutes, Kanata turned and left with a satisfied smile on her face while Mikado just looked tired from their exchange.

The wizard put his book and his mask on the bedside table and tucked his arm back under the covers, closing his eyes and going to sleep. Nikei watched him drift off, promising himself that he would confront Mikado about his issues sometime soon.

***

Behind the Kisaragi Foundation building, Setsuka sat beside an array of large bushes and waited patiently for what was to come next. She had made a plan to make three people confront each other about their actions, and she had slipped notes under their doors instructing them to meet behind the research centre at a certain time. 

When she heard footsteps approaching her location, the billiards player quietly hid behind the bushes and peeked out, thankful that they were thick enough to hide her. The person who had arrived was Hibiki, and she looked around when she saw that nobody was there.