The stale, now dry and brown pool around him reeked of something metallic. The scent burned his nostrils constantly, and his eyes darted around frantically. This wasn't a part of what he'd seen coming. The itching, searing fear eating him from the inside was never considered. His eyes switched between human and ghoul-like unevenly.

He smelt blood and blood meant food — but that was his blood. It was his, and it just reminded him of his oncoming death. His body was attempting to heal. He was too weak, not enough nutrients, not enough energy, not enough of anything. This was the first time he had wished his ability to heal would just go away. All it was doing was dragging out his pain.

At least he'd get to die with the thought that he had helped someone else. The ghoul that had been struggling previously was safe now, uninjured and fed. He wondered if the other would remember anything about him when he woke. He had been delirious the entire time he'd managed to stay awake. Would the ghoul remember his mask? He doubted that the ghoul would remember the small flash of his face he'd seen.

He heard his window bust open violently. He hadn't had the energy to flinch or jump in surprise and instead accepted his fate. The CCG would have found him eventually whether or not he had died at that point. This was the end of him, and as his previously active eyes settled and remained human, his crazed breaths calmed.

A feeling of peace and acceptance fell over him. Everything was suddenly quiet. There was no more of his heart thrashing. No more of his mind's wailing. The loudness from the window vanished, and he could only feel the vibrations of the floor as the figure approached. He couldn't bring himself to process the person in front of him, but the last thing he did before everything went black was smile.

It was a pitiful sight, really. The acceptance of it all was truly woeful. The way he seemed unfazed by everything in those moments, it left the figure in front of him sick. Those lifeless brown eyes looked as though they had seen and done it all. Behind those brown walls, though, there was this hopeless rush of despair and melancholy. Those lamenting brown eyes filled with black and red one last time before his eyelids fell shut.

┈

"Where exactly are we going?" Itona asked. "this guy sure does live close to campus."

Nagisa ignored his friend's sarcasm and kept jumping from the rooftops and going through alleyways. If he was honest with himself, he knew that he was probably going to stumble upon something traumatic. It had been a little over a week now, and realistically, Yamaguchi had probably died within the first forty-eight hours. All four of them had accepted the fact that they'll probably walk in on a decomposing corpse. Maybe bringing Isogai along was a bad choice.

"I'm pretty sure it's close. I recognize the area enough."

"So you're not completely sure where we're going either? You should have at least called Nakamura."

"She's busy. Besides, his place is right there. The window is still open."

Deep down, that made Nagisa want to gag. If the window was in the exact same position it had been when he left that night, then there was a possibility that Yamaguchi had never gotten up close it — or do anything else. As the four of them stopped on the fire escape, Nagisa's last bit of hope plummeted into the black pools of tar he called his mind, possibly to never be pulled out again. I'm not prepared for this.

"Nagisa, are we going to go in?" Karma asked.

"You've just been standing there, and we don't need to look suspicious," Itona said.

Nagisa didn't respond verbally and slipped through the window. He chose to ignore how Isogai had been uncharacteristically quiet during this whole thing. He'd been put in charge of holding the food they'd brought, courtesy of Itona. The brunet wanted to gag at the sight before him.

The dried blood looked black, and they didn't have to use too much of their imaginations to see how far it had spread from its source. A decaying, mostly eaten arm was several feet away. It had the same dry and iron-y substance on and around it. The rest of Yamaguchi Tadashi was nowhere in their immediate vision.

Isogai got sick and lost the little bit of food he'd managed earlier. The four of them jumped when two figures flew in through the window. Everyone except Isogai recognized them in an instant.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" Itona questioned.

"Shiota and Akabane said to find them the next time they went out. We thought that was now," Todoroki answered.

"What is this place?" (Y/n) asked. "is that blood?"

"This is Yamaguchi's house."

They all turned their head at the sound of footsteps in the other room. They all went to check against their better judgment and were surprised to see a short male with curly, pitch-black standing there. It was obvious that he had haphazardly pulled down his mask, and Isogai filled with hope at the sight of it.

"You're one of the crows," he stated breathlessly. "you came for him... Yamaguchi."

The ghoul didn't respond, just stared at Nagisa with a slight scowl.

"Bright blue hair," he uttered. "leave-"

"What happened to him? Where is he? Is he okay?" Isogai asked quickly. "I need to know, please."

The ghoul didn't respond to Isogai and instead revealed his kagune. His ukaku shot sharp, crystal feather-like darts at them. Several pierced Nagisa's torso, and one had flown right through (Y/n)'s knee.

When they looked up, the ghoul was gone and the kitchen window was open. None of them thought to go after him until it was too late.

┈

"Are you being threatened, Mr. Tsukishima?" the man over the phone asked.

"No sir," Tsukishima stated. "I saw the ghoul again last night, and can I say for a fact now that the ghoul wasn't Yamaguchi Tadashi. The ghoul was too large. Yamaguchi Tadashi is very thin."

"And you are completely sure you want us to eliminate this person from the possible list of culprits?"

"Yes."

Covering this up was easier than Tsukishima had initially thought. All he needed now was to find Yamaguchi and clear this up. He knew where to start, but after so many days had gone by, he doubted his friend would be at his apartment. Where else was he supposed to go? Yamaguchi was too smart to go home to his family.

The tall blond stood walking over to his window to watch the sun fall below the horizon. Tomorrow, he was going to go out there. Tsukishima Kei was going to go to school, attend practice, and then try to look for Yamaguchi before dark. If all else failed, the least he could do be inside before dark.

The oranges, reds, and purples of the sky created an appealing amber coloring on his walls as he fell back on his bed. He'd been just laying atop the sheets at night since that night. The fridged cold he felt at night kept him grounded; it kept him fully aware of the situation he had caused.

As his eyelids began to feel heavy, things he had seen had begun to click.

Yamaguchi walked in first. He'd never met those two, Yamaguchi's mother's job doesn't host 'bring your kid to work days.' Yamaguchi intimidated those guys in the hall. That time we stayed in class... What were Yachi and Yamaguchi talking about?

The thoughts and realizations haunted him that night. He had so many questions.

┈

He had failed. Tsukishima hadn't been able to go to school, even with his parents and brother encouraging him. He was looking forward to seeing the team, even the noisy ones, but something had kept him from leaving his home that morning. However, he had managed to drag himself out there to go to Yamaguchi's apartment.

When he arrived, pushing his spare key into the lock, he was horrified to find that the door was open. The first thing he noticed was the thin layer of dust covering everything. Yamaguchi was no neat freak, but he'd never allow this. Fear began to nag at the back of his mind. Tsukishima was afraid to enter Yamaguchi's bedroom.

Tsukishima Kei had never felt as sick and nauseated as he had at that moment. It reeked of iron. His nose burned as a single worst-case-scenario etched itself into his brain. Amber irises couldn't tear themselves away from the dark copper stain on the ground. It stunk. His mind went to the rotting meat his mother had pulled out of their fridge a month ago. It had a hint of something else that made him dry heave. He saw the arm next throwing up the little bit of food he had eaten recently all over the floor.

Tears welled in his eyes and he held back a screaming sob. With his arm supporting him against the wall, he continued to retch and spew. This is my fault. He's gone and it's my fault. I did this. I did this. I did this to him. I'm the monster.

He didn't catch the train home. Tsukishima ran, sprinting as fast as his legs could carry him. About halfway there, he decided he'd walk instead. Who cared that it wasn't safe? He deserved it. His best friend was gone forever and it was because he was an idiot. He might as well die one. For the first time in his short fifteen years, he sought nothing more than his own death.

His mind was blank from all except despair and regret. Black seemed to cloud the corners of his vision as he continued to slow his pace. Why is it so quiet? Tsukishima hoped for some sort of noise to point him the direction of something to harm him. I might as well speed up the process.

He made it home that night, immediately being embraced by his worried family. The light in his eyes had vanished completely and the once vibrant amber seemed to be stained with smokey grey. Nobody saw anything wrong, nobody noticed his broken silence.

┈

"Yachi! Hey!" Hinata called, his normal grin faltering. "have you... um... heard from Tsukishima or Yamaguchi?"

Yachi wanted to cave in at the thought. "No, I haven't. I hope they're okay..."

"Suga and Azumane seem the most worried," Kageyama pointed out. "what's with that?"

"No offense to them, but they're both a little softer than Daichi when it comes to touchy things," Ennoshita piped up from a few feet away.

"Yeah," Yachi said too quickly, "I... am as well. I'm really worried. Kids in our classes have been ruthless with their rumors..."

Yachi needed to leave. If she had to sit through this anymore, the young ghoul was going to scream. She's gotten the basic story from Karma during lunch, and she'd received a call from Tsukishima. The story behind what he said was a cover-up, obviously, but she could tell the main point was true. She'd had to excuse herself after that, going to break down in the restroom.

"Yachi..."

"Tsukishima! Are you okay? Have you heard from Yamaguchi?"

"Yachi, I... he's..."

"Tsukishima?"

"He's... gone... Yachi, Yamaguchi's gone..."

That's exactly what Akabane said... he vanished?

"Are you sure..?"

"I... please don't ask me that... I walked in on it..."

What does he mean..?

"Yamaguchi's gone, Yachi... he's gone... he..." Tsukishima paused and Yachi held her breath. "he's dead... and I wasn't there to stop him..."

"This isn't funny..."

"Why would I joke about this?" Yachi heard him sob. "he's... Yamaguchi... he... it's my fault..."

Tsukishima hung up. Yachi was going to be sick. Yamaguchi's dead..?

┈

"It's only temporary."

┈

(2112 Words)