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Nobody had wanted to go back to the hotel, but he made them.
He needed to be alone.
He dismissed Kurumi’s kind offer of food, claiming to not be hungry.
To be fair, it was true.
He didn’t feel much of anything, really.
Even Shinigami was quiet, clearly having something to say but (for once) not knowing how to say it. She just stared after him in utter silence as he slowly sat down on the couch.
That space that he’d given to him. To shelter him from the horrible downpour. And now this place was all that was left of him.
He shifted to lie down, staring off into space for a minute. Despondent. Empty
And he sobbed .
A horrible, twisted, anguished sound that echoed just as horribly off the walls as the whole world crashed and burned and ended around him. The man who had protected him from the Peacekeepers and fought for him throughout it all. The man who’d given him the very clothes that shielded him from the rain where his home couldn’t. The man who’d raised him up, even when he doubted himself. The man that provided him with the only stability he could recall.
The man who’d treated him like a son.
The sound continued to rip from his throat, awful and unceasing as his world imploded.
He’s gone. He’s gone. HE’S DEAD. And its YOUR FAULT. You wanted the truth so badly you’d even sacrifice one of the only people who cared about you. What an awful wretch you are.
His inner voice sounded a lot like Yomi’s.
That bastard.
He didn’t remember falling asleep but he was slowly waking up. Pushing himself up onto his arms, he was met with the same detective “office”. He looked around for Shinigami ( please, please i cant be alone right now i canticant-) but she was nowhere to be found.
“Hey, kid.”
He snapped out of his panic state and looked over towards the desk.
“...CHIEF!?”
He scrambled to his feet and threw his arms around the man without thinking. Yakou laughed and put an arm around him, ruffling his hair with the other.
“Yeah. I’m here.”
“I-i’m so glad you’re okay…”
“Hm? And when did I say that?”
“W-what?”
“You’re asleep right now, kid. You know that, right?”
“...so it was all real…”
“Yep. Sorry, buddy.”
“Why are you apologizing!? I- I killed you! I should be apologizin-”
“No. Listen, Yuma. What happened wasn’t your fault. If anything, I'm proud of you.”
“You’re proud of me for murdering you??”
“I’m proud of you for pursuing the truth, even if it scared you. Even if you didn’t want to know it.”
He tightened his grip around the boy as he felt him start shaking.
“And i’m proud of Vivia, too. For having the will to fight for you. With you. Tell him that, yeah?”
The boy broke down sobbing, clinging to his jacket. He merely smiled and let him.
“I’m proud of all of you. You’ve all grown so much. I’m sorry for ever doubting you all-”
“D-DAMNIT. Why are you apologizing??? I killed you! You shouldn’t be proud of me for any reason! I wasn’t able to stop Yomi when i had the chance. Now I have no idea where he even is and he hurt you and i cant take revenge against him. He’s horrible. I-i hate him. B-but more than him i- i hate myself i let you die i KILLED YOU.”
“..I don’t hate you, kid. You did what you had to. Better me than you, right?”
“H-huh..?”
“If you hadn’t solved the mystery, if you had just denied the truth, it would have killed you instead. And if you had done that, I would have been very upset with you.”
“Y-you say that like you’re about to ground me.”
“Maybe I would have! But luckily, you aren’t stupid. You chose the right path to take. So please.”
He knelt in front of Yuma, cupping his face to get him to make eye-contact. The boy was still crying.
“Please, carry on. I know you can, kiddo. And if you can’t do it for yourself, do it for everyone else. For Kurumi. For the Ultimate Secret, even, if you want.”
He said the last part with a bit of a laugh.
“B-but I don’t know what i’ll do without you!”
“You don’t have to know, and that’s okay. You’ll be okay.”
“...it doesn’t feel like it.”
His voice was so small.
“I know. But take it from me, kid. You can get through it.”
He got up and placed a hand on Yuma’s shoulder before turning to walk to the door.
“Oh, and Yuma?”
“..yeah..?”
“Don’t do something stupid like hire a hitman to kill you, alright? Don’t be like me. Oh, and also. Don’t smoke either. It’ll probably kill you before the hitman could.”
He was gone.
Awake for real this time, he sat up shakily.
“ You okay, Master? You look awful.”
“..yeah. I think…I think I’ll be okay.”