Keep me in distant sight

Chapter 15 : Sandman

Kōtarō hasn't moved from their spot in a long time, Tetsurō notes from the entrance they are leaning on. The sky is clear, the Bright Morning shining, yet their best friend remains on the ground, screwed in place in their high chair when they should be soaring with them. Their wings are dropping on the ground and collecting dust. Their eyes are fixed on the human laying on the white sheets.

Akaashi was cleaned by his peers and changed into new clothes, ones that stemmed from nillian culture but altered for the human body (mainly thicker and warmer). They hide the bruises and the whiteness of his skin, cocooning him from head to toe. They had put another thick sheet on him, made of hith, a smooth vegetal fabric they have filled with their own feathers. The kind of bedding you only see between close friends, families and partners. The light that spills from the high ceiling windows casts a smooth and tender glow on him. His eyes remain closed, his hair brushed and his whole demeanor speaks of profound calm.

Besides him, like yesterday and the day before, like the last two phases, is Kōtarō. They had been glued to their Soulmate's side since his peers had brought him out of their medical tent, after several hours inside. Tetsurō knows they didn't eat much, because they are the one bringing food whenever they can after work - Kōtarō's teammates swing by as well, of course, especially Atsumu and Kiyoomi. The feathers on the ground indicate the presence of Kōtarō's family as well, perhaps earlier in the day, to support their son.

Tetsurō barely recognizes their best friend. They have never seen Kōtarō so... still. Stiff. Silent. Their best friend has always been vibrant, brimming with energy, sunny in the way people can't help but love. They can be burning as well, which is something only their closest friends and family can know. But never in their life had they seen the other this way. Their feathers are in disarray, unpreened, their whole body dropping with exhaustion - because Kōtarō hasn't slept much these past phases, despite the combined effort of all the aforementioned nillians. Tetsurō looks at the paper in their hands and the words on it, hoping it will at least settle something in their best friend's hearts.

Humming comes from behind them. When they turn around, they see the brown eyes of Oikawa Tooru, compassionate and perhaps tinged with a smidge of sadness. Kenma chose to stay home today, which Tetsurō understands fully well. Their own Soulmate isn't that great at dealing with other people's emotions and cheering them up. Their own human is currently dissicating the whole "AI" of Akaashi's ship to understand what went wrong and, by the Three Sisters, it looks bad. Tetsurō don't want to talk about it with Kōtarō, perhaps later. And to be fair, it's actually incredibly hard to get a reaction from Kōtarō outside a simple "hm" . The other humans had to go back to their own worlds, parting with their brother and his Soulmate with a few words of encouragement. Only Oikawa has elected to stay, his own Fated One teleporting himself back to the kingdom of Saus (on the planet Zhoca, aka Gliese 832c from what Oikawa told them). But after more or less three human centuries side by side, they aren't too worried about separating for a bit. After all, it's for a great cause.

"So, how is Kō-chan?" The other asks quietly.

"Still the same. They don't talk."

The other hums lightly again. Tetsurō sees in his eyes the cogs turning inside his head, no doubt searching for the best route to take. The nillian waits. They were the one to call Oikawa, today. It hurts but they can't reach Kōtarō, not with their words, nor with their actions - it hurts to call a human, yet they feel Oikawa would know what to say. Or being better than them, at least. It's not something that sits right with them but they can be a beggar right now. Moreover, the human had been nothing but helpful during the whole ordeal, from the day they had contacted them to the gathering of the humans of space, thus participating in Akaashi's retrieval.