lifeline | bl | jjk

10: december

10: december

Glass fragments slid across the floor; the cup he planned on using for the first cup of coffee that morning slipped from his hold as he read the text Satoru sent him. It was sent four hours ago, at two in the morning.

Satoru
College. Now. Yuuta hurt himself .

Without even washing his face or changing into shoes, Yua Shihori slipped on a pair of slippers, threw an overcoat over his shoulders, and ran out of his place to head to the college.

What the fuck.

What the fuck.

Yuuta-kun relapsed? Why? How?

Did something happen?

As he ran, Shihori sensed the tremor in his hands. The memory from six years ago resurfaced from the deepest parts of his mind. An image of little Yuuta holding a pair of scissors, eyeing his own wrist with a deadly look; Shihori's heart quivered in fright.

The nurse reached the college in record time. Without stopping, he hurried to the medical area. "Satoru! Satoru! Where's Yuuta-kun?"

Satoru caught his childhood friend by the shoulders before the other could bump into him. "He's inside still sleeping," the lack of tone in his voice went over Shihori's head, not realizing that Satoru was one step closer in taking Shihori away from Yuuta. "Shihori."

This time, without the nauseating endearments before his name, Shihori couldn't help but remove his attention from the door at their side. He glanced at Satoru, stunned by the lack of warmth on his expression.

Today, he wore his favorite pair of glasses and his eyes were for all to admire. However, instead of eyes filled with mischief, the ones staring back at Shihori lacked any light and that chilling coldness washed away Shihori's panic.

"What is it, Satoru?"

"I think it's best if you stay away from Yuuta for a while."

"... what?" Disbelief was written all over Shihori's features. "You want me to stay away when he obviously needs someone to support him?"

"..." Satoru said nothing. Instead, he avoided looking at Shihori. He knew this would happen. Even if he tried to warn him, even if Satoru showed signs that something was definitely wrong; it would just go over Shihori's head.

His hands tightened around the nurse's shoulders, the worry brewing inside his heart slowly settled down. "Fine, go inside and help Yuuta. Just be a little more aware, okay?" There was helplessness in his tone. There was nothing else he could do if Shihori remained disbelieving of him.

Throwing him a befuddled look, Shihori gently pried Satoru's hands off him before stepping inside the the clinic.

As soon as he entered, he saw a deathly pale Yuuta lying down on the bed. When Shihori saw the youth's complexion, his heart almost jumped out of his chest. He took a seat beside the bed, eyes looking over Yuuta's body.

It seems like senpai already healed him. That thought relieved him.

However, his relief was only momentary.

From the files Satoru had given him regarding Yuuta, Shihori hadn't read a single one where he tried to harm himself. If he thought more about it, it was probably Rika protecting him from himself. But what about this time?

Why didn't Rika stop him? Nothing seemed to have gone wrong this past few weeks. In fact, in Shihori's opinion, Yuuta was too busy trying to improve his strength to even think about anything else. So, what went wrong?