Big Book of Anime One Shots [REQUESTS CLOSED]

Nishiki x Reader ~ Comfort in the Dark

Requested by @YaoiMint

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In a room in an apartment in Tokyo's 20th Ward, a man sat on a bed. It was obvious that man was upset, at least if you judged his mood by the slump of his shoulders, the way his head was placed in his hands and how his amber orange eyes were streaming with tears.

"Kimi..." He whispered, succumbing fully to the grief. "Why you? Why did they have to attack you? Was it because of me, because they hated me for the things I've done?" The man paused, inhaling unsteadily. "If that was the case, then I don't know if I'll ever forgive myself."

A soft knock could be heard at the door, and the man's head lifted. He stared blankly at the entrance for a moment, eyes listless with grief, but eventually he forced himself to his feet and stumbled over to open the wooden door.

At the door was the silhouette of a person, unclear in gender or familiarity because of the shadow that they were placed in. The man looked down dully for a second, recognition seeming to flash across his features even in the terrible lighting.

"Oh. It's you. Come in, I guess."

The person stepped into the apartment, the soft light managing from a lamp on the counter illuminating [s/c] skin, large [e/c] eyes and tousled [h/c] as they pulled back their hood.

"Nishiki," they whispered, eyes filled with sorrow. "I came as soon as I heard."

The ginger haired man slumped once more onto his bed, ignoring their words. "I thought I could protect her, [y/n]," He whispered wretchedly. "I thought that I could keep her safe, that maybe I could name it work with her." Nishiki laughed, a cold, humorless sound. "Without her, there's nothing keeping me in the light, or making me stay at Anteiku. I could go anywhere I want, y'know?"

[y/n] looked steadily at him. "But as what price?" they whispered. "Kimi wouldn't want that."

He whirled onto the visitor. "You don't think I don't know that?!" he snapped, eyes wild and blazing. "You don't think that I don't know much she would hate to see me like this, contemplating giving up everything?! But she's not here! I've passed the point of caring, of actually giving a shit, [y/n]. I don't know what to do without her."

They looked sorrowfully at Nishiki. "I'm sorry."

Nishiki faced [y/n], sclera beginning to turn black. "You're not sorry," he snarled, kagune starting to form. "You never cared about her. You never did!"

That was the last straw. [y/n]'s temper blazed up, eyes turning black and red and [kagune type] forming within seconds.

"You think you know me?" they spat, [e/c] eyes fiery and furious. "You think you know how I cared for Kimi? You think you know how she and I went to school together since our primary years, how she protected me from those human bullies she thought wished me harm? You think you know, Nishiki? I've known her for far, far longer than you have; I have just as much reason to be sobbing over her death as you have. But no, I'm here for you. I thought you needed the comfort. Apparently- apparently I was wrong!" They crumpled to the ground with a sob, kagune almost instantly disappearing into the air.

"I miss her," [y/n] whispered, voice cracking as tears streamed down their face. "God, I miss her."

The man fell to his knees as well.

"What are we going to do without her?" Nishiki said. His voice was wavering and thin, seeming almost so fragile that it could be broken by something as soft as the touch of a feather. It was the embodiment of heartbreak, that voice, and pity be on those who lived to bear witness to such a sound.

"I don't know." [y/n]'s eyes locked with Nishiki's, and before either of them knew it they were in each other's arms, tears running down their faces as each drew comfort from the other. [y/n]'s face was buried in Nishiki's shoulder, and his head was nestled into theirs. Had it been any other situation the position might have been awkward, but not here. Not now.

[y/n] looked up at Nishiki, and through their tears the two grief stricken ghouls found some sense of solace in each other. It wasn't happiness, exactly, but it wasn't sadness, either. It was more like the sense of comfort that one receives from a light in the dark, a fixed point in a chaotic whirlwind. Each was the anchor to the other, it seemed, just as Kimi was the third ship that had been lost at sea. Alone they could never manage it, but perhaps together they could make it through to the clear morning after the storm.

"At least," he whispered, holding [y/n] tighter. "At least we have each other." His guest nodded, burrowing into his sturdy frame. Even without Kimi, they would find a way to live on, to make a better life for themselves. Even without her, they could be happy.

Watching from far, far above, the last remnants of what was once Kimi smiled.