tw: mention of dead bodies ( i dont go into detail dont worry)

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She was trembling, and she hated it.

He knew she hated it, and he relished in that.

"Did I tell you to kill him?" he slithered, his chair facing away from her. His way-too-smooth voice bounced and echoed off the perfect metal walls.

She didn't have an answer.

"No, I didn't," he said, unmoving. "I told you to bring him to me alive."

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Bring both of them to me. We're going to bring him back."

Her head snapped up, and for the first time in a long time, worry crossed her face. "He's only a kid! He can't do something like that, not yet."

"I don't care. I want him alive, no matter what it takes." His voice was harsh and cold, and chills ran down her spine as he spoke.

"Yes sir," she replied.

"Call your boy. Tell him I sent for him."

"I will, sir." She walked out, the door sliding shut behind her with a whoosh.

----

Maiko set down the phone, resting her face on her hands. She sighed.

"What is it, sir?" It was Kiyomi Kagome, the newest recruit. She stood at Fumio's old desk, tense and straight.

"It's... it's nothing. I'll be alright." She was lying.

Her earpiece buzzed, startling her. She tapped it, accepting the call. "What is it?" she asked tiredly.

"Ryuu's back. Should I send him to your office?"

"No... send him to Tanaka's."

A sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line. "Maiko... what did you do?"

She was silent for a few minutes. "Something I shouldn't have," she answered finally.

"Good luck in there, ok? You too, kid," the officer on the other line added to Ryuu as he walked by.

"Sure thing." Maiko tapped her earpiece again, and the call ended.

----

Ryuu made his way down the hall, a bit lost. He hadn't been sent to Tanaka's office in so long, he forgot how to get there. Through the help of various officers dotted along the hallways, he found it, at the end of a long hall on the top floor of the building. It was dark, save for dancing lights set in grooves along the floor. His step was light and cautious, much like Yasu's.

As strange as Yasu was, Ryuu had enjoyed spending time with him. He was like the dad he always wanted, the dad he never had. His heart ached, and he cleared his mind.

The door wasn't far now.

Why did Tanaka ask for him? What had he done? Was it because he was in a place where he wasn't supposed to be?

Or was this about Tamotsu?

No. It couldn't be. After all, Ryuu had killed him four months ago. If this was about Tamotsu, then wouldn't it have been better to talk about it then?

Whoosh.

The door slid open.

Facing away from him sat Tanaka, his body hidden by his perfect chair.

"Ryuu, I'm so glad you could make it." Ryuu could hear his awful grin in his voice.

"Did I do something wrong?" Ryuu asked, his voice shaking. Everyone shook when they met Tanaka, whether it be the first, the fifth, the fiftieth, or the last time.

Especially when it was the last time.

"Not at all, dear boy." His voice curled menacingly in the air, misted with something Ryuu couldn't describe. It scared him, though - he wanted out. "In fact, I have a favor to ask of you."

"R-really?" he stuttered. Something wasn't right. The thought of Tamotsu screamed out at him, and he felt sick. He couldn't stay in this room. Not with Tanaka.

"Oh yes, dear boy. Bring him in." His voice snapped into a harsh bark with the last sentence, and he snapped his fingers twice. An officer in a gray uniform who had not been there before shouldered past Ryuu, startling him and knocking him to the side. Quickly regaining his balance, Ryuu watched as the officer set down a long, jointed thing wrapped in white cloth onto a table in the middle of the room that seemed to grow up from the ground. The air became soiled and loud, and it got much harder to breathe. Someone was whispering.

After setting down the thing, the officer silently saluted Tanaka and Ryuu, and strode out, the door closing behind him. All light from the hallway was cut off, and Ryuu and Tanaka were left alone in the dark. With every inhale, Ryuu struggled to fill his lungs. He needed light, he needed open air.

"Do you know what this is, Ryuu?" Tanaka's voice was soft, but something in it was wrong. Like he was hiding something.

"N-no, sir. What is it?"

"Unwrap it."

Ryuu reluctantly stepped close to the table, his entire body shaking. The air around the thing grasped at his throat, begging him not to breathe. Forcing him to stop. He gripped the edge of the table so if he began losing consciousness, he wouldn't fall.

"Unwrap it, boy."

Tanaka's voice had a terrifying excitement to it, as though if Ryuu didn't do what he said fast enough, his voice alone would suffocate him from his cursed chair. Shaking, terrified of what lay under the cloth, he peeled back the cloth, each layer adding a heavy, awful feeling of dread to the air.

Someone was whispering, and it wasn't Tanaka.

Ryuu peeled back the last layer of cloth, and it all snapped into place.

Under the cloth was a dead body.

Not just any body - the body of Tamotsu Akiyama.

Ryuu stepped back, forcing down the urge to scream. He felt sick and anxious and awful. The dark and the whispers and the everything in the air were pressing in so hard on his body, he feared he would be crushed. Somehow, he kept himself from being sick all over the floor.

At some point, Tanaka had turned his chair around and now was standing shakily over Tamotsu's body. His limbs were thin, thinner than a normal human's should be. His entire body seemed elongated, as though he had been pulled. His fingers were bony and pale, and they tapped excitedly on the table. He lifted a shaking hand and softly touched Tamotsu's face, his mouth twisting into a maniacal grin.

"You know who this is, right?" he sneered.

Ryuu nodded, afraid that if he opened his mouth he'd throw up.

"Good. Bring him back."

Ryuu froze. "B-but sir-"

"You want your second chance, right? Don't you want to get to know him? Don't you want to be with him?"

"I- I-" Ryuu stammered, not knowing how to answer. Yes, he wanted to meet him; yes, he wanted a second chance - but this... this wasn't the right way.

"Do it, boy, or I'll make you!" Tanaka's voice wavered, raising in tone.

"No!" Ryuu shouted. He instantly regretted doing so - no one talked back to Tanaka.

"You what?" Tanaka growled, teeth gritted and bared.

"I-I said... I said-"

"How... how dare you? Get over here, you little brat-" He broke off as he stalked around his desk like a spider, grabbing both of Ryuu's forearms tightly. He threw Ryuu at the table, staring down at him darkly with an unmeasurable rage gleaming in his eyes.

"Bring. Him. Back."

Terrified, Ryuu scrambled to his feet. He moved the cloth off of Tamotsu's chest, a fresh wave of guilt seizing his chest. He swallowed, and placed his hand on Tamotsu's chest, just over his heart. His cold, dead skin still bore the mark that killed him - the one that Ryuu himself made. He didn't want to think about it.

Sending energy down his fingers, he channeled it into Tamotsu's body, and before both Ryuu's and Tanaka's eyes, the decomposition process was reversed.

The wound over his heart sealed up, and Tamotsu's eyes opened.

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a/n: HOLY shit that's two chapters in one day?? fun fact knx was supposed to end this year whoops hopefully i get close to caught up

also yes i know what happens to dead bodies after four months but isofheoihf im squeamish kinda and i didnt feel comfy going into detail :T sorry ack

but UGH im so happy with what's going on im so happy that i'm continuing this !!!!! 

next chapter should be out soon uwu ilya !!!! 

-milo/parker

(ps here take this)