Open, Warm Arms

¹⁷

You sat at your desk, looking at an empty desk. The desk of Itami Seigyo.

"Hey, Tsukishima-chan." You heard Kiyoko as she stepped into your classroom. "How's your arm doing?"

"It's okay. It hurts a little, though." You said, moving your hand to lightly pet over the fabric that laid over your bandages. You had a bandage wrap around your arm because you didn't want to accidentally mess with the wound and worsen it.

"I'm glad you're okay." Kiyoko stated. "Your brother has been practicing better. It sucks he's back to annoying everyone, though."

"That's just Kei. Isn't it?" You joked. 

"Hm, I'm glad the team is back to usual. They mean a lot to me... but I'd never tell them that." Kiyoko hummed.

"I think fireworks would go off if you did." You joked, giggling.

"I see the whore is back at school. How long did it take to schedule another abortion?" You heard a taunt.

You went silent, tilting your head.

"The joke's over." You said, plainly. It was almost silent in the classroom.

~♡~♡~♡~♡~♡~

You were walking to your fourth class, Asahi walking with you. You shared your third class so you usually split up at the stairs. Asahi went to the floor higher, you stayed at the same floor.

You walked into your class, writing notes as usual. You were focused on the class until you heard the fire alarm. Teachers peaked out of the class and saw smoking coming from the floor below. Everyone panicked to get out of the building, rushing past each other.

You got out of the building, coughing and waving the smoke away. You looked around and saw people staring at the building, busting into flames.

"Y/N! Are you okay? No burns or anything, right?" You heard Kei run up to you.

"I'm okay, are you okay?" You asked.

"Who cares?" Kei said, pulling you into a tight hug.

"Your older sister does, you idiot." You hugged back.

"I gotta go find Yamaguchi." Kei said, pulling away after a few seconds.

You nodded and Kei jogged off. You quickly scanned the crowd and got worried when you didn't see a certain someone. You started walking through the crowd, trying to find Asahi.

"Kiyoko!" You saw. "Hey, have you seen Asahi?"

"No, I'm sorry." Kiyoko shook her head. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you?" You asked.

"My tights caught on fire for a moment. I only have a burn on my leg but that's it." Kiyoko said. "Have you seen a short blonde girl? She usually has a side ponytail."

"No. I haven't." You shook your head.

"Okay. I'm looking for her so if you see her, tell her to find me." Kiyoko said.

"Will do." You agreed. "Tell Asahi to come find me if you see him."

You looked around and still couldn't find Asahi. Your heart dropped when you realized that he could still be inside the building.

"Hey, Kei!" You called, jogging over when you saw your brother with Yamaguchi.

"Y/N?" Kei looked confused.

"Do you know where Asahi is?" You asked, sounding more nervous.

Kei shook his head.

You looked at the building. Kei grabbed your arm and shook his head staring at you.

"Y/N... please don't. It's not worth it." Kei whispered. "You mean too much."

"Tadashi, do me a favor." You said, turning your head.

"Huh?" Yamaguchi tensed. "Okay..."

"Hold him back for me." You said.

You took a few steps near the building. Kei looked desperate. You quickly stole your wrist from Kei before running to the open door. Kei shouted, clearly struggling.

You rushed into the building, running up the burning and unstable stairs. You could barely breathe and you were sweating for the first time in years.

"Asahi! Where are you?!" You shouted, nervous. You ran up another flight of stairs.

You looked around and saw the sight of Asahi, passed out on the ground. He had debris that was on fire keeping him in place. You gasped but instantly started coughing.

You ran over and started struggling to shove the debris off of Asahi. You hurried to drag him away from the hole in the ceiling.

"Come on!" You groaned through coughs. "I'm not letting you die here, idiot! Wake up and let me help you!"

You quickly pulled his arm over your shoulder, trying to hold him up to stand. It probably looked horribly stupid but you couldn't care. You pulled him.

You heard him groan, seeming to regain a little consciousness. It wasn't a lot but he dragged himself to actually walk a bit so all of his weight wasn't entirely on you.

"Easy, we have to be careful with the steps." You said, gasping for air.

You stepped down first, letting Asahi only step where you deemed to be safe. You slowly lead him down the stairs. You were at the last few steps when you saw steam. There was water.

You quickly helped Asahi down and out the building. You looked around and saw a few firemen spraying water on the burning building. You pulled Asahi a few meters from the building before you crumbled under the weight.

You fell to your knees, coughing. You regained your ability to breathe before instantly pulling Asahi close.

"You're okay! You're going to be okay!" You said, tearing up as you saw injuries everywhere. Some were from burns, others were from him being crushed by the falling debris.

You heard sirens. Everything blurred together as Asahi was wheeled into an ambulance vehicle. You were being held tightly by a few people. You knew one was Kei. The last thing you remembered was the sight of your hands covered in blood that wasn't your own.