90 Day Saioumami Challenge

𝟡 - Tell Me I'm Wrong. Say it. Please. ♣️

˜*°•.Chapter Warning.•°*˜

Suicide.

˜*°•.˜*°• ⛓ •°*˜.•°*˜

Rantaro held Shuichi's hand underneath the table as they sat next to each other, eating lunch with their friends. Kokichi, their other boyfriend, had told them he'd be late due to personal issues, something Rantaro found odd as he wouldn't ever say 'personal issues' unless he was hiding something.

"Hey, it's been a few hours now, shouldn't Ouma be here?" Akamatsu asked the two.

"Right, it has..." Rantaro sighed, slipping his hand out of Shuichi's grasp. "I'll call him, give me a minute." Leaving the fast-food restaurant where they talked, Rantaro called Kokichi on his mobile, leaning against the wall as he waited for an answer. Though, no one picked up the call. Frowning at the voicemail message, Rantaro tried again, going through to voicemail again. If Kokichi couldn't pick up the call, he'd hang up and send a text, Rantaro had never even heard the other male's voicemail message.

Something's wrong... Returning to his friends, he noticed how they all went silent and turned to him, most likely confused by the expression on his face. "He's not picking up... I tried twice but it went to voicemail," he explained.

"Maybe he just couldn't get to his phone?" Shirogane suggested.

"Let me try to call him." Rantaro followed Shuichi to the front of the restaurant as he held his phone to his ear. After a few seconds of waiting, Rantaro heard faint talking before Shuichi shook his head. "You're right, voicemail."

"Maybe we should go home to check on him? He said he hasn't been feeling well lately so maybe he's asleep?" Rantaro suggested, his heart beginning to race.

"You know that doesn't make sense Rantaro," Shuichi shook his head. "He always leaves his phone ringer on when we're out in case we call. Both you and I know it wakes him up in an instant."

"He could've forgotten today," Rantaro argued.

"He double-checked when I left him to catch up with you," Shuichi sighed. "Can we go home and check on him as you said?" Nodding, Rantaro reentered the establishment to inform their friends of their early departure before hurrying out of the door towards their car.

Rantaro gripped the steering wheel with strength that turned his knuckles white, driving at the same speed as his heartbeat. He listened as Shuichi placed his phone to his ear before groaning and hanging up the call. "Voicemail again! That's four calls now, something's wrong Rantaro."

"It'll be okay, he'll be okay. Maybe he dropped his phone somewhere and can't find it?" Rantaro suggested as he noticed a tear glisten against Shuichi's cheek. 

He knew something horrible had occurred though, he could feel it in his gut. Lately, Kokichi had confessed to his declining mental health, something his boyfriends had noticed but didn't want to push him into talking to him about anything. However, no one else knew this fact as Kokichi always pride himself on his reputation as a strong, independent person.

Kokichi had refused to leave the bed earlier in the day, his body weak due to lack of eating or movement. Rantaro and Shuichi had done all they could to get Kokichi to take care of himself, but they couldn't be around all the time. Deep down, Rantaro had a feeling his boyfriend's mental health had taken more of a toll than he'd thought.

"Maybe we should call for a welfare check? You know, in case something happened?" Rantaro asked.

"No, we're almost there so it'd be a waste of time. I'd rather see for myself," Shuichi huffed with determination. "We can't assume the worst Rantaro."

The two continued their ride in silence with Shuichi's eyes glued to their phones that remained dormant. As Rantaro pulled into their driveway, he hurried to jump out of the car and lock it, hurrying inside their shared house. He and Shuichi didn't hurry, not wanting to scare Kokichi in case they misread the situation. Even though their brains told them they weren't going to find a happy ending, their hearts still held onto one last strand of hope.

"Kokichi?!" Rantaro called through the small home, big enough for three people at the most.

"Kokichi where are you?!" Shuichi called as the two shared a concerned glance at the lack of reply.

"You check over that way, I'll check this way," Rantaro suggested, pointing at each end of the house. Shuichi nodded, rushing to the first room on his side of the home. Rantaro's hands trembled as he continued to call Kokichi's name, unable to see any hint of the male having been home.

The kitchen had no hints of someone having a meal or drink, although that hadn't become uncommon for Kokichi. Nothing was a millimetre out of place from how they'd left it. He couldn't believe it. If anyone else had been searching the home, they wouldn't believe anyone else lived there. It was almost as if Kokichi didn't exist.

A scream erupted throughout the home, reverberating off the walls from the other end of where Rantaro was searching. Rushing through the hallways, Rantaro noticed the usually closed door to the bedroom was now open. Stepping through, Rantaro noticed a sight that caused his hands to want to rip out his heart. He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry until he lost his voice, he wanted to die.

Kokichi's lethargic corpse hung from a rope that occasionally creaked as his body swayed ever so slightly. His shoes were placed neatly beneath him with a note propped up against them, telling the two all they needed to know. Rantaro took a deep breath, forcing his tears to hide as he wrapped his arms around Shuichi who sobbed and wailed on his knees.

"I want to hug him! Let me go! Kokichi please wake up! The joke's over!" Shuichi screamed, fighting against Rantaro's hold. He was strong, but Rantaro was stronger, holding him back so he couldn't do something he would regret. "No, no he can't be dead! Tell me I'm wrong. Say it. Please."

As Shuichi continued to cry, his voice wavered to a whisper as he begged Rantaro to wake him up from his nightmare. Unfortunately for them, it wasn't a dream. Shuichi gripped Rantaro's shift in his fists, sobbing into his chest as the two stood next to the dangling body. This... This can't be real... Is Kokichi really dead?

Reaching out to the victim, Rantaro's warm fingers brushed against Kokichi's, the freezing digits anguishing him. His eyes widened, the action cementing the situation in his mind that he desperately wanted to be fake. All of it could've been a prank, but no, not this time. Rantaro's senses shut down, the ghost of Kokichi's cool fingers torturing his hand. "Shuichi... Let's call the police... He's dead..."