[Rinne's calls are never a good sign. More often than anything else, they're annoying — a form of harassment when text isn't getting through to HiMERU (deliberately or otherwise) and in-person just isn't possible — but when not that, they're inconvenient... or bringing inconvenient concerns with them. Still, he has always said it is better to call when it's actually important, even if it never is.
Surely, this will be no different.
He answers with a dryness not unusual for Rinne, but maybe so with anyone else.]
This isn't Rinne's voice. This isn't anyone he wants to be hearing from Rinne's phone. Why isn't it Rinne? Why can't he speak? Why is Hiiro calling him? Why does Hiiro sound—
on the verge of tears?]
Where is he?
[A quick hitch of breath, and everything's shifted. The world seems to tilt with how quickly he stands, and before Hiiro can even answer, he's heading for the door.]
[She's a little girl who can hardly keep track of her own gemstone. She likely would've lost hers again if not for the pouch she uses to keep it hanging around her neck. He isn't convinced it's safe with her.]
[He wonders what he could possibly do. But in the face of such a broken, heartfelt plea, even his ribcage once thought petrified cannot resist the tremor.]
Stay with them. [Surely Hiiro would, even without being told.] You're with them, right? Don't move and stay right there. I'll be there as fast as I can.
[And he'll pocket the phone and break into a sprint as soon as he's out the door, clearing a path to the plaza where two people he, he— they're, they must be—
He runs and runs and runs some more, a straight shot through until he can lodge himself into the bloody pit of the commotion, where he will only find Hiiro still upright, one flaming peak of hair amidst a scene in red.]
[By then, Hiiro's done his best to move the bodies next to each other. He couldn't keep an eye on Niki's body if he only watched Rinne's body, but he did his best to move them with care. Crow was somewhere nearby, having given Hiiro time to call HiMERU. He himself was covered in blood, not his own, considering both Niki and Rinne were lifeless on the ground.
In that short time, Hiiro's fallen quiet, eyes just as devoid of life as the men in front of him. It might have been too late, even before he called HiMERU, and now it was sinking in.]
[He can't be sure how long it takes for him to finally step towards Hiiro and the bodies, and he is careful even as he drops to his knees beside them, soundlessly as he can manage. He feels submerged and claustrophobic, suffocating in this wide, open plaza, sinking his legs into these pools of blood reminiscent of the aftermath of rain some moons prior, but this red is even brighter, fresher, out of the arteries of someone he knows.
At least when Rinne had found him bleeding himself dry, it had been deliberate. He had been clean about it. It wasn't as scary as the other had thought; it was controlled, and purposeful, and...
Nothing like this.
Even Niki. Defenseless Niki. He'd never even so much as gotten a scratch on him — as far as HiMERU knew, and thank goodness for that — but all it takes is just one violent act. Just one death, and Rinne's had three himself. This isn't something to feel left out for, Niki.]
... How?
[A single word that falls like a pebble into the sea, a hint of quiet disruption in the otherwise silent disaster. His hands don't shake. His lips don't quiver. His voice doesn't tremble. Even his eyes do not waver, fixed and boring further into the bloody holes in both of their chests, as if he might see it. Find it. Seeking, searching, when there is nothing left.]
[He probably should have called anyone else, because HiMERU was also just an ordinary person like him. Someone who still just barely got out of school, who would not know how to deal with this anymore than he did. Kohaku might have been a better choice, but...
He didn't know what else to do.]
... Crow's daughter.
[He says quietly, unable to say the name. It pricks at him like a needle, slow and painful and sharp, even if it's short.]
She... did this. Nii-san-- Nii-san and Shiina-san... Why did this have to happen to them...?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
this is the WOOOOOOOOOORST
Surely, this will be no different.
He answers with a dryness not unusual for Rinne, but maybe so with anyone else.]
What.
If I have to suffer so do you
It takes him a few moments, a few attempts of voicing out the words, only for them to get stuck in his throat.
Help him. Save him. I don't know what to do.]
Hi---MERU-san...
[His voice shakes, cracks as he speaks, practically a whimper.]
Nii-san-- Nii-san is--
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This isn't Rinne's voice. This isn't anyone he wants to be hearing from Rinne's phone. Why isn't it Rinne? Why can't he speak? Why is Hiiro calling him? Why does Hiiro sound—
on the verge of tears?]
Where is he?
[A quick hitch of breath, and everything's shifted. The world seems to tilt with how quickly he stands, and before Hiiro can even answer, he's heading for the door.]
Where are you? Where is he?
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[He hiccups, wiping the tears from his eyes. It stings. Everything hurts.]
Nii-san a-and S-S-Shiina-san, they're both...
I don't know what to do.
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When had HiMERU even seen them last?
No, no, it's too early to think like that. After all, this isn't Rinne's first time, atrocious as that is to say. There's still a chance—]
I'm coming. I'm on my way. [As if the sounds of doors slamming and feet pounding and shallow puffing isn't enough indication.] Their gemstones?
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[He thinks? That's what Rinne said. Wasn't she Crow's daughter?]
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[She's a little girl who can hardly keep track of her own gemstone. She likely would've lost hers again if not for the pouch she uses to keep it hanging around her neck. He isn't convinced it's safe with her.]
Not Crow?
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[He starts, and the words get stuck in his throat. Why does she have them? Why did Rinne say what he did? Who killed them?
His thoughts feel like static noise.]
I don't know. Please... help them.
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Stay with them. [Surely Hiiro would, even without being told.] You're with them, right? Don't move and stay right there. I'll be there as fast as I can.
[And he'll pocket the phone and break into a sprint as soon as he's out the door, clearing a path to the plaza where two people he, he— they're, they must be—
He runs and runs and runs some more, a straight shot through until he can lodge himself into the bloody pit of the commotion, where he will only find Hiiro still upright, one flaming peak of hair amidst a scene in red.]
...
[His eyes don't know where to fall.]
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In that short time, Hiiro's fallen quiet, eyes just as devoid of life as the men in front of him. It might have been too late, even before he called HiMERU, and now it was sinking in.]
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At least when Rinne had found him bleeding himself dry, it had been deliberate. He had been clean about it. It wasn't as scary as the other had thought; it was controlled, and purposeful, and...
Nothing like this.
Even Niki. Defenseless Niki. He'd never even so much as gotten a scratch on him — as far as HiMERU knew, and thank goodness for that — but all it takes is just one violent act. Just one death, and Rinne's had three himself. This isn't something to feel left out for, Niki.]
... How?
[A single word that falls like a pebble into the sea, a hint of quiet disruption in the otherwise silent disaster. His hands don't shake. His lips don't quiver. His voice doesn't tremble. Even his eyes do not waver, fixed and boring further into the bloody holes in both of their chests, as if he might see it. Find it. Seeking, searching, when there is nothing left.]
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He didn't know what else to do.]
... Crow's daughter.
[He says quietly, unable to say the name. It pricks at him like a needle, slow and painful and sharp, even if it's short.]
She... did this. Nii-san-- Nii-san and Shiina-san... Why did this have to happen to them...?