a/n : this picture isn't literally me rn
but i am on a roll 🙏🙏 god bless, but also i feel nauseous send help so i'm sorry if this chapter is trash, i'm not entirely in my right headspace haha
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kou tried to push himself to his feet, but couldn't muster the strength. he staggered back to a crouching position, staring up at what had once been his friend with wide eyes.
"mitsuba..?" he whispered, wincing. the dark haired boy giggled, his voice high pitched as he held the mitsuba amalgamation closer to him.
"mitsuba's wish was a little vague." he smiled, but his eyes were dark and blank as he started to quote mitsuba. "'i don't know what i want to do on the near shore, but i don't want to end like this. i want to stay in everyone's memories.' when a wish is vague... i can only turn them into shoddy, half done supernaturals. but..."
the apparition sent a grateful grin towards kou.
"...now i can do better. and i have you to thank for it."
"me..?" kou breathed incredulously. the dark haired boy nodded.
"yup. you drew our mitsuba's real wish for me." he confirmed. "the stronger the wish, the regret... the more distinct and powerful a supernatural can become. this was mitsuba's wish; 'i want friends. i want to stay with my friends, forever and ever.'"
kou gripped his staff in his hand, brandishing it towards the amber eyed boy with a newfound strength.
"w-what the hell are you talking about!? quit your yakking.... and turn mitsuba back, damn it!" kou shouted, but his shoulders slumped a bit. "besides, i thought mitsuba's unfinished business was to take pictures..."
"hmph. was it really, mitsuba?" the amber eyed boy turned to blink up at the supernatural innocently. "but, y'know... the more people you get to remember you... the longer you get to stay here."
suddenly, the boy brightened. "oh! i have an idea!" he pointed at kou, who's face became confused. "if you make him just like you... you could've together forever, huh?"
"wha...?" kou took a hesitant step back, furrowing his brows. the dark haired boy turned to face mitsuba with a hum.
"don't worry. it doesn't matter if what you want is good or bad, or who you hurt to get it. i will forgive everything." the apparition murmured, caressing what was left of mitsuba's face. "the price of this wish is your mind; now nothing stands in your way. so go! fight the laws of this world."
the boy grinned darkly, narrowing his eyes.
"let me see you struggle... mitsuba."
the amalgamation mitsuba now was seemed to sway, his eye fluttering open. half lidded, the pink haired boy trained his stare on kou.
"mitsuba..!" said boy whispered, reaching out. mitsuba's "neck" seemed to crack as he turned his head to look at kou, dark liquid dripping from his eyes and mouth. kou gazed up at him, a mixture of fear and hope on his face.
all at once, the white bandages that had been wrapped around mitsuba flung out towards kou. they wrapped around his body, then tightened slightly.
"ack!?" kou let out a shout of surprise, gazing up at his empty eyed friend. "mitsuba... stop it! snap out of it...!"
the bandages wound tighter around his body, and kou could've sworn if they went any tighter all of his ribs would snap. he shrieked in pain
the exorcist clawed at his throat as the bandages wrapped around it, cutting off his air.
"stop it!" he pleaded, gazing up at the supernatural. "can't you hear me...!?"
the dark haired apparition's words rang through his head again.
"and i have you to thank for it."
kou felt tears streaming down his cheeks, thinking back to his moments with mitsuba earlier that day.
"was i... wrong...?" he whispered, and he reached towards the pale boy's head. "come on... say something..."
kou rested his hands on what was left of the human part of mitsuba's face. he ducked his head, tears blurring his vision.
"...mitsuba."
a blade stabbed through the skin of mitsuba's body, inches away from kou's face. in one swift movement, the mass of darkness that was mitsuba split in half. hanako kun glared up through the supernatural, torn into pieces and falling to the floor.
the seventh mystery yanked kou away from the fallen supernatural by his collar, the young exorcist letting out a choked yell of pain. he started coughing, holding his throat and sucking in deep breaths of air.
"h... hanako..!" kou gasped, wiping at his eyes. the seventh mystery had on his cape, clutching his knife tightly in his hand. ignoring the spluttering boy, he stormed towards his identical twin, who had started to beam.
"it's amane!!" he shouted in excitement, smiling widely. "how many years has it been? ten? twenty...? oh! that's right, we met on the roof just the other day!"
the boy reached out towards hanako kun, giggling with glee, but his laughter was cut off by the seventh mystery grabbing his shoulder roughly. hanako kun slammed his twin against the wall, gritting his teeth and gripping the collar of his white shirt tightly.
"why are you doing this... tsukasa!?"
tsukasa looked dumbfounded for a moment, before raising his finger to his lips innocently.
"hmm... because i like it." he answered honestly, gazing at the grimacing boy in front of him with wide eyes. "the look on people's faces when they decide to stop holding back. yours was really good too, amane. back when you killed me."
at his younger brother's words, the seventh mystery paled. a cold sweat dripped down his cheeks, and his lips trembled. tsukasa grinned.
"...yeah. that's a good face." he reached out with his hand to cup hanako's face, but the apparition flinched away and wiped at his eyes, shaking.
"i love you, amane." tsukasa said to his sniffling brother, grabbing his wrists. "let's play together, like we used to. okay?"
the younger twin vanished in a wisp of smoke at those words, leaving his trembling brother to deal with the consequences of that afternoon.
"mitsuba! hey, mitsuba!!"
kou's cry snapped hanako kun out of his trance, and the honey eyed boy turned to look at the shaking blond exorcist. kou was holding a steadily dissolving mitsuba to his chest, his hands shaking.
"kid." hanako kun made his way to the little exorcist, who pulled mitsuba closer.
"hanako... hey, you... you can fix him, right..?" kou mumbled in question, gazing up at the seventh mystery. "like the misaki stairs and stuff... you can put him back..."
hanako kun stared at kou, sorrow and regret filling his face. the exorcist clenched his teeth, glancing down at the boy in his arms.
"mitsuba! you... you... this isn't you!" he exclaimed. "the mitsuba i know... mitsuba sousuke was... s— sassy..."
kou swallowed, his words catching in his throat, but continued again.
"looked like a girl... sarcastic, selfish... and his voice was annoying." kou's words were more like a plea than a statement. "he was obsessed with cameras... sometimes he was emo, and he was only fake nice, and...!"
the little exorcist pulled the pink haired spirit closer, allowing tears to flow freely down his cheeks.
"and he was my friend!!" kou tossed his head back with a gut wrenching wail. "mitsuba!"
hanako kun watched sadly, before stepping forward.
"...it's no use."
"no..." kou protested weakly.
"kid." hanako breathed in deeply, crouching beside his friend. "death... is the end. you can become a spirit and wander into the land of the living... but that's not a continuation of life. once you've died, it's all over. there's nothing after that. you can't go anywhere from there.
"it doesn't matter how deep your regrets are, or how much you wish things were different. if you couldn't do something in life... you can't do it after you're dead. that's how this world is made, and if you try to fight it..." hanako kun motioned towards mitsuba. "this is how you end up...
"i thought... if anyone could take care of his unfinished business... sever his attachment to this shore... it would be you. but it looks like it backfired." hanako kun's eyes hardened as he stared at mitsuba. "it's no use. you can't be so kind to the dead, because..."
the seventh mystery raised his knife above mitsuba's body, and then drove his knife into what was left of the boy's chest.
"...we have no future anymore." the amber eyed boy muttered bitterly. kou shut his eyes, feeling mitsuba quickly fading from his arms.
'...mitsuba.'
the sound of something clattering to the ground startled kou, and he snapped open his eyes to see mitsuba's camera before him. it was battered, and the neck strap was burned up. with shaking hands, the blond boy held the camera to his chest, biting back a sob. hanako kun sighed and turned to leave, but the sound of kou's voice drew his attention back to the boy.
"...more."
"huh?"
"there... should've been something more..." kou whispered, voice quivering. "something i could do... something i could've done for him... if i were stronger, like teru nii... it wouldn't have turned out this way—!"
"...hey, don't let it trouble you kid. i'm pretty sure destruction is the only salvation for the dead." hanako kun offered his words as comfort, moving to place his hand on kou's shoulder. "it's better this way-"
"it's not better!! besides—" kou shouted, grabbing hanako kun's hand roughly. "disappearing is the only way to be saved!? cut the crap!!!"
kou glared at hanako, seething with anger and sadness.
"that guy who did that to mitsuba..." the little exorcist was trembling, tears streaming down his face shamelessly. "i swear i'll make him pay..!!"
hanako was silent for a moment.
"...i see."
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kou had gone to the bathroom with hanako after regaining himself to bid farewell to you, as to not worry you, before making his way home.
the events leading up to where he was now seemed to pass in a blur, and soon he was curled up in his bed looking through the photos he had gotten developed earlier.
'hanako was right, sort of. there are rules to how the world's set up. your average person probably can't do anything about them. i get that much, but...' kou sighed, holding a photo of the baby birds above his face. 'i see supernaturals— i can see things that aren't part of this world. i was given the power to do something about those things.
'that must mean i can do something about these things we supposedly can't do anything about. i still think that, even now.'
"i don't get it..." kou muttered, pulling the photos closer to his face.
'these pictures are pretty weird...' he thought, rolling onto his stomach. 'wait, maybe pictures like this are good..? beats me. i do kinda get the feeling they're artistic...'
something caught kou's attention, and he furrowed his brows. "huh?"
he spread the photos he had been looking at across his bed, pupils shrinking at the picture of him. he recognized the scenery, from when they had been on the stairs.
"oh? what'd you take a picture of? the sky?" kou leaned against the railing with a smile.
"...who knows?" the pink haired apparition held his camera to the side, beaming back at his friend. "something important to me... maybe?"
kou let himself fall face first into his pillow, clutching mitsuba's camera close to his chest.
"mitsuba..." he whispered, feeling tears prick his eyes once more.
he wasn't sure how long he laid there, crying at the loss of someone who he hadn't even known that well, but eventually his door creaked open. light streamed into his dark room from the hallway, and he lifted his head blearily.
"i'm not hungry, teru nii." he rasped out, burying his head in his arms once more.
"that's a bummer. i even bought you some sweet potato jellies."
kou blinked in confusion at the sound of your voice, and he looked over his shoulder to see your silhouette in the doorway. you had on a f/c tee shirt with black shorts, and black knee highs to match; he wondered if you were cold. you were holding a reusable grocery bag.
"senpai..?"
"can i come in?" you asked; kou let out a hum of approval. you turned to someone just outside the door- kou assumed it was his older brother from the tall shadow cast on your figure. giving teru a reassuring nod, you eased your way inside kou's room and shut the door.
he felt the bed dip under your weight as you sat beside him and rested the grocery bag on your lap.
"your big brother said you didn't have dinner."
"not hungry." kou repeated in a mumble. you sighed.
"you seemed off when we said goodbye to each other today, so i asked akane kun to give me your brother's number- i mean, since they're in the student council together and all." your voice was somewhat hesitant, as though you were scared of crossing a line. "i hope that's not too intrusive- i was just worried about you."
he felt you pat his head gently, and he closed his eyes.
"so i brought you some of the rice and chicken i made for dinner, and then went and bought you some of your favorite snack- it's sweet potato jelly, if i'm remembering right?"
the grocery bag rustled as you dug through it, resting a warm bento box on the boy's nightstand. you placed a plastic wrapped container of sweet potato jelly atop the bento. you were being oddly sweet, kou noted, compared to your usual defensive self.
"you don't have to eat anything if you don't want to." you continued, running your fingers through the younger boy's hair. "but i'd like it if you did, and so would your siblings."
kou hummed in thanks, before slowly pushing himself to a sitting position. his muscles screamed in protest, but he had a newfound hunger at the scent of the food you had brought him. he popped the lid off of the box, mouth watering.
"i met your cat. he's really cute, what's his name?" you asked, starry-eyed at the prospect of the fluffy creature. kou shoveled some of the rice into his mouth.
"my sthister named him printhce." he mumbled around the food. you smiled softly, then waited out the rest of his meal in silence.
after a couple minutes, kou put the bento box down.
"thank you, senpai. it was good." he murmured, feeling a little better now that he had eaten.
"i'm glad." you smiled, resting your hand on kou's shoulder. "...hey, if you need to talk i'm here."
kou was quiet, pulling mitsuba's camera into his lap- maybe a way to silently explain. if it was, it worked- his action quickly caught your attention.
"i didn't know you liked photography."
"...it's not mine. this belonged to a friend." there was a sick feeling in his stomach as he said this, his tongue feeling too heavy for his mouth.
"...i see." your eyes widened in what could be considered understanding, but kou knew; you couldn't understand, not fully. instead of commenting on it further, you wrapped your arms around kou's shoulders. "i promise, i'm on your side, kou kun."
kou fought the wail that rose to his throat, instead burying his face in his friend's shoulder with a choked sob. you hugged him back tightly, resting your chin on his head.
"y/n..." he whispered, shutting his eyes. exhaustion rushed over him all of a sudden, and he felt his eyelids drooping. he was completely drained.
"oh, kou kun..." he could hear the worried frown in your voice. "...it'll all be okay eventually."
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a/n : oh i love sibling relationships
y/n and kou
🤝
having ghost bfs
see u in the next chapter