Left Side

Chapter 10

[TW: suicide]
[SMUT FROM THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN MOVED TO PATREON]

"Hah! I won!" Yuuma had grinned as he placed down his card. Kaji had known that once the boy had called Uno, he was gonna lose. One on one Uno wasn't the most exciting version of the game, but it was one of Yuuma's favourites so he had always played with him.

They'd just eaten dinner and had headed back to their ward for a bit. Kaji hadn't liked leaving him alone, especially with that trio stalking the home all the time.

"Yay! Well done, Yuuma," He had cheered, packing up the cards.
"Can we play once more?" He'd asked quietly.
He'd sent him a smile while suggesting "I have therapy tonight but i can play again tomorrow,"
"Oh... okay..." Yuuma had nodded with a sad tone.
"Hey, i'll be back in an hour or two just in time to say goodnight," He'd fluffed his hair and had given him a short hug before standing from his bed.
The teal-haired boy had forced a smile and tiny wave as Kaji left the room.

If only he hadn't of left.

He'd spoken with his therapist about possibly going home, had've taken the time to regain his mental health and motivation to fix things with his father. He'd congratulated him on his progress and sent him back an hour and a half later.

It was close to dark when Kaji had left therapy, the halls mildly lit up in a warm glow from lamps attached to the walls. The floor had creaked underneath every step - he remembered that.

His ward had been almost pitch black when he'd entered, everyone was already fast asleep. Yuuma's bed was empty but he'd not thought much of it. He might have been in the toilet.

He'd be back soon.

Yeah, he'd not thought much of it until he had sat down on his bed. A piece of paper had been crunched underneath his weight. Frowning, he'd shuffled off of it and picked it up.

Why hadn't he moved quicker?

He'd scanned over the words. And something hadn't feel right at all.

Because no one ever says 'Thank you for being the only one to ever care for me.' out of no where or with no explanation.

Especially not Yuuma. He'd always give reasoning behind his words - he had been careful that way.

Kaji had only known Yuuma for a month but they had built a bond like no other. They'd gotten to know each other's mannerisms, habits and pasts. They'd told each other about their favourite colours and Yuuma had talked about all of his favourite birds. Kaji had learnt that Yuuma would like to sit in the yard and bird spot, using his bird book he'd gotten as a gift from the home on his 8th birthday.

Kaji had known his favourite bird was the Ryukyu minivet. He'd written in his book a score of how many times he'd seen one - the count being 67 from the short 5 years he'd been 'free' from his childhood named hell.

He had not only liked bird watching, he'd also liked heroes. Ground Zero was his favourite - he'd said - because he was never scared, no matter what happened to him. And he'd admired that. He'd wanted to be like Ground Zero one day.

He'd often mumbled to himself about how when he'd grown up and left Harbour, he'd like to meet him. Kaji had made a promise that day to take Yuuma to meet 'Ground Zero'.

But as he had read those words, each part of Yuuma's fun little personality began to fade. Kaji's heart had began beating rapidly because no one ever says that out of no where or with no explanation.

Especially not Yuuma.

At that point, he'd woken up the boy in the bed next to his and asked if he'd seen Yuuma. The last he'd remembered was 3 boys from the opposite ward pulling him out of the room before he'd fallen asleep.