*** WARNING: this chapter contains very triggering subjects that may be distressful for some readers. reader discretion is advised. ***
"bokuto, don't come into the school! go somewhere safe, now!" akaashi had shouted through the phone. the commotion in the background along with akaashi's frantic voice raises alarm in bokuto.
when akaashi says that, he is in the main corridor of fukurodani, and the scene in front of him is absolutely horrific. there is a rush of terrorized screaming and sobbing students exiting the building left and right. the sirens of the fire alarm and the rapid firing of pops can be heard from outside. it doesn't take a genius to figure out what is happening, but it takes a miracle to understand why this is happening.
bokuto, against his better judgment, wants to dart into the school to make sure akaashi is safe and help get him out of there. but he knows better; his attempt would be futile, and akaashi would never forgive him if something happened to him.
instead, he turns around and sprints straight to akaashi's house. the fear running through his body is indescribable, and the thoughts of what could be happening inside make him feel sick.
when bokuto reaches akaashi's house, he frantically knocks on the door until yukie opens the door. "bokuto, what is going on? why are you banging on our door?" she seems irritated until she realizes the significance of his sudden presence.
the screaming...the alarms...the gunfire...it can all be heard clear as day from the front door.
"no time!" bokuto pants, his speech almost garbled and very panicked. "you and amber need to leave the house and get far away from here now!"
no questions were asked from there. yukie and bokuto rush in and grab amber from her bed where she is taking her nap. she wakes up startled and frustrated, trying to put a bit of a fight about being quickly removed from her slumber. yukie just picks her up, covering her head to mask her eyes from what is happening outside, and shoves her into the car.
bokuto quickly tells yukie that he will stay at the house, so he can make sure akaashi is okay. yukie didn't agree at first, but bokuto didn't put up with an argument. he just motions her to leave and drive as fast as she can. she didn't have time to properly secure amber in the car seat, but once she was far enough away, she would pull over to do so.
bokuto shelters back into akaashi's house, watching the chaos unfold like a horror movie through the window. his face is cold and pale while is body trembles and perspirates. seeing classmates flee is like watching the apocalypse through glass. every sound, every vibration, every emotion...he can feel it inside of him like he is still at the school.
little did bokuto realize, akaashi never hung up the phone. he can hear everything that is happening at fukurodani. what terrified him the most was when he heard akaashi grunt loudly with the sound of an impact, a loud gunshot, and the phone line going dead.
"AKAASHI!"
***
akaashi is standing on the toilet in the main men's bathroom, cowering and flinching at the horrid sound of gunshots outside. his quivering fingers are drilling into his ears in a fruitless attempt to block out the horrendous noise. his breathing is heavy and ragged, a cold sweat beading from his forehead. inside the stall, he can smell the potent aroma of sulfur, smoke, and fear.
i need to get out of here. i need to escape. i need to get home and make sure amber and yukie are okay. is bokuto okay? where did he go? oh my god, i need to get out of here.
his surroundings begin to go quiet; the sound of a pin drop can be heard. he waits for a few seconds or so to be sure, and once he still doesn't hear a sound, he makes his escape for the exit.
he knows what he's doing is reckless and stupid, but the adrenaline and fright are all that's clouding his mind. he is tunnel-visioned on getting the hell out of there. he needs to see bokuto and make sure he's okay. he needs to make sure yukie and amber are sheltered well enough from the sights and sounds of this.
he's sprinting as fast as his body will let him through the thick, ashy air. to him, everything feels like it's going in slow-motion with his body being weighed down. no matter how fast he is moving, it isn't fast enough. come on feet, move!
as he runs through the halls, he's continuously looking behind him and to the sides of him. all around him are scattered school supplies, blood, and a few limp bodies that succumbed to the rage of bullets. he wants to collapse and scream, but he can't right now.
suddenly, akaashi slams into something rock-hard, knocking him to the ground harshly. within a mere millisecond, a deafening pop goes off, making his ears ring. he feels a sharp, cold sensation run up his left arm that makes him grunt out a pained swear.
he glances up. he is face to face with the assailant, which makes his heart completely fall out of him. he's dressed in all black with a vest bulking out his chest and multiple weapons hanging from his belt. the gun is freeze-framed toward akaashi's head. "don't shoot, don't shoot! please, i beg. don't shoot!"
the gunman yanks down his face mask, revealing his identity to akaashi. it doesn't seem possible for akaashi to become even more petrified, but at that moment, it is.
this can't be real. please let this be a nightmare.
"daku..." akaashi gasps out, eyes widening as the crippling defeat starts to set in.
daku just stares down at him with an emotionally blunted demeanor. his dark, lifeless eyes are drilling holes into akaashi's soul. he looks like a stranger...a predator with a mission in power of his victims. his jaw sharpens, and his cold voice speaks on chilling word.
"run."
he cocks his gun, and akaashi scurries up from the ground to sprint once again with epinephrine at full force. another gunshot is heard, making akaashi jump in terror and nearly fall down again. in his peripheral line of sight, he sees a figure collapse with an injured groan and the life fleeing from its shell.
akaashi feels dizzy, and his vision is becoming blurred and distorted. blood is gushing from his arm, but it's so numb that he barely recognizes it. the entrance is too far for him to reach; he's going to collapse at any minute. he gets to the main office and quickly slithers in there. he finds shelter in a small conference room that holds a few shaken-up members of the faculty and the principal. his abrupt entrance makes one of the ladies scream until she realizes it is just a brutally maimed student.
akaashi allows his body to plummet to the floor underneath the long table. he rips off his tattered, blood-stained uniform jacket and tie. using his unaffected hand and teeth, he wraps the tie around his upper arm to use it as a makeshift tourniquet to slow the rushing river of blood from his forearm.
around him are quiet sobs of a few of the cowering faculty members, and he can practically feel the vibrations of the shaking bodies mixed with his own. there are still expeditious bullets flying through the halls and nearby classrooms that are crisply audible.
"it's daku..." akaashi whispers through his quivering jaw and heavy breaths with intermittent periods of pained wincing. he turns his head to the principal, who had scooted toward the wounded boy. "you better stay out of sight. he's looking for you."
the forewarning makes the principal's face drop, and he doesn't exchange a single word. akaashi just leans his head back with his eyes fluttering shut beyond his control. he feels his body become deadweight, and he just wants to sleep. it is calling to him.
"you need to keep your eyes open," the principal says, shaking akaashi's shoulder. "come on, stay with us. don't close your eyes."
akaashi forces his ponderous eyes open, vision hazy as the adrenaline begins to drain from him. his hearing must be diminishing; the only sounds around him are a faint ringing and the depth of his breathing.
"please tell me it's over," he prays to himself. "please be over. please."
after what feels like hours of being in that room, he hears distant shouts from outside the door, perking up his heart rate and attention from its haze. "all clear!" the door busts open and slams against the wall. swat officers enter the room with guns crossing their chests and protective gear shielding their bodies. "police! everyone put your hands up! hands in the air!"
everyone in the room complies in an instant, except akaashi, who can only lift up one trembling hand. the officers usher everyone out of the office, instructing that their hands stay in the air. one officer helps lift akaashi from the floor, radioing something about having another injured student in his custody.
"daku isamu," akaashi mumbles distraughtly to the officer holding him up through a state of delirium. "daku isamu. that's his name. he's the shooter. daku...daku isamu." he keeps on rambling the same sentences to the officer who is crutching him out. it's as if he couldn't say anything else. his mind has gone into autopilot mode to try to keep him going.
"son, you need to control your breathing," the low voice of the officer says calmly. "conserve your energy. we're going to get you help."
akaashi begins to stagger a bit with legs feeling like a pile of pudding. he keeps mumbling incoherently as his breathing shallows.
"what's your name, son?" the officer asks to try to redirect the injured boy and keep him conscious. he has a tight grip on him as they exit the building.
"a...akaashi...kei...keiji," akaashi replies. he's trying to blink his vision to become clear to some success.
outside, there are swarms of pedestrians, swat officers, caution tape, flashing red and blue lights of cop cars, fire trucks, ambulances, and mourning. lines of terrorized students and adults are exiting every side of the building with their hands in the air. some are running toward other people and being embraced tightly in sorrowful hugs.
the officer sits akaashi down on the back bumper of an ambulance, and emts begin assessing him and his injuries. his eyes are skimming through the sea of people to find the face of the one he needed to see. the one he needed to still be alive.
in the distance, he finally sees the features of black-white spiked hair and golden eyes, hoping he can see him, too. "bokuto?" akaashi tries to yell but to no avail.
bokuto's eyes widen once he's located his boyfriend, and he bolts under the caution tape and toward the ambulance. "akaashi!"
akaashi's bottom lip quivers and the stream of tears finally fall from his sullen eyes. "bokuto..." akaashi croaks. immediately, akaashi is embraced tightly by bokuto like a safety blanket. he starts sobbing relentlessly into bokuto's chest, letting all of his pent-up anguish out in the air.
"oh thank fuck, you're alive!" bokuto cries, running his fingers in akaashi's hair. "it's okay. you're safe now. i'm here."
"he shot me...daku shot me..."
bokuto releases akaashi, eyes full of newly formed panic. "what??" he looks down to see akaashi's blood-soaked uniform shirt and the open gash on his left arm with blood pooling around it. "oh my god!"
akaashi is then rushed into the ambulance with bokuto riding with him. bokuto is firmly holding akaashi's right hand while rubbing his thumb with his knuckles. akaashi hears the echoing of medical jargon from the emts as they stick his arm with a needle and place a mask over his mouth and nose. he can't quite comprehend what they're saying because his mind instantly becomes foggy.
"where's amber? where..." akaashi mumbles, fighting to stay conscious.
"she's safe. i got her and yukie out of your house and to safety," bokuto replies through the lump in his throat. he pulls out his phone and dials a number, talking frantically into it.
akaashi's eyes fall shut again. the world around him is spinning, his heart is pounding in his ears, and he can't understand what's happening around him. his will to fight slowly slips away from him, and sleep overtakes him. his body finally relaxes, and all of the agony is excreted out of him.
it's over.
***
[2092 words]
~ iikaiyo