𝕙𝕚𝕣𝕒𝕖𝕥𝕙 // 𝕘𝕠𝕜𝕦 𝕩 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕩 𝕘𝕠𝕙𝕒𝕟

// 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥 𝕤𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕪-𝕠𝕟𝕖 //

hiraeth - part seventy-one

»»——⍟——««

       Light poured into the room through the windows, curtains blowing gently in the cool winter breeze. The fresh air hit the soft skin of Y/n's face, making her eyes twitch as her consciousness returned to her once more. A quiet groan slipped through her lips as she lifted her hand to her throbbing head, alarming the man at her side.

"You're awake," Black breathed a sigh of relief, Zamasu's words to him upon returning home ringing in his head. Zamasu had said that he wasn't entirely sure Y/n would come back from such an injury, even with the help of healing powers. The very thought that she might have never opened her eyes again thanks to that man made Black seethe, shaking with anger in his seat.

"What happened?" Y/n asked, throat scratchy and sore. How long had she been asleep? She glanced out the window, into the sky. It had to have been midday by now, meaning she'd only been unconscious for a few hours.

"Those filthy mortals got away thanks to that human woman, Mai. Their demise was so close within my grasp too, if only I had fought just a little harder, I could have—" Black was cut off as Y/n sat up, making his eyes widen as he reached out to help her. Her soft smile made him hesitate, unsure of what was going through her head.

"It's okay. I'm glad they got away. I know Goku didn't mean to hurt me," Y/n said, although as she looked away, Black could see the hurt in her eyes. Black knew her words were false, he did mean to hurt her, it's why they were fighting. She didn't expect him to hurt her as much as he did.

Black squeezed his fists into a ball, closing his eyes as he tried to force the memories of seeing her so mangled and hurt out of his mind. Black could never even hope to understand how Goku could lose control of himself like that, if that was even what happened. For all they knew, Goku was fully aware of what was going on, and was just ignoring it, ignoring her. Clenching his jaw, Black sighed shakily, but his attention was once again drawn to Y/n as she spoke up, her words making Black's eyes widen.

"Why are you still taking my side?" Y/n asked, her words confusing him. She cleared her throat, forcing a small smile on her face as she avoided meeting his gaze. "Or, rather, why are you still letting me join you? I'm well aware the connection broke; nothing is keeping you tied to me now."

Black didn't have an answer for that. He questioned himself why he didn't drop her the moment the connection broke. He questioned why he rushed to her side, defended her and swore revenge for her. Black always thought of himself as logical, he had no emotional ties holding him down from making necessary decisions. When he had decided to enact his zero mortal plan, he had killed his very own master twice, erasing any hesitation within his heart. He should have been capable of cutting Y/n off, betraying her.

And yet, he could not. Something in him would not allow him to betray the woman he told himself he did not care for. With the connection gone, any attraction he felt for her should be gone, but in its stead, was a pain running deep through his chest, reminding him of his failure to protect Y/n.

Goku Black was well aware that this body held many memories of Y/n. Even if he himself could not see those memories, he knew. The love and kindness Goku had felt for Y/n had spread to him, and for a time, the connection had made it even worse, clouding his judgement. Black sighed deeply, taking Y/n's smaller, softer hands into his own.

"Without the connection, my judgement is cleared; my mind is no longer clouded. And with my unfettered logic, I know that I need your trust. You have come this far with us, with me. We must see this through, together. I have already done everything I wanted to do in this universe, this planet was all that was left. Once the humans are gone, I will have no reason to fight. No reason to exist. So I simply wish to have somebody at my side who is in a similar state. Somebody who will have nothing, and everything at the same time." Black spoke softly, as if scared his words might scar her body even more. He could not force her to stay. He no longer wanted to. If she did not want Black anymore, if she did not want Goku anymore, then there would be no reason for her to stay at his side.