YOU, ME, US [ okkotsu yuuta x reader ]

07: ORPHEUS AND YOU

So this is it, Okkotsu thinks, watching you admire your graduation certificate. His eyes trace over your form, from the bridge of your nose to the curve of your lips, Okkotsu watches the sun illuminate your skin with an ethereal glow. He watches you, as he's always done, and basks in your presence, your company, your safety.

Okkotsu watches you, engraving your figure into his pupils, his mind. Okkotsu thinks that his eyes belong to you now, that his being, that his existence, is owed entirely to you.

Subconsciously, Okkotsu's thumb comes to swipe over his chest, his eyes widening as he feels the pound of his heart against his ribs, threatening to break free from the confines of its cage.

Thump-thump, thump-thump.

"U-Uh, Imai-san?" he asks, mentally berating himself for stuttering. He has a bad habit of becoming nervous or jittery around you; he doesn't quite know how to fix it. "Where... where do you think you'll be going after this?"

You don't even bother to spare him a glance. "Tokyo."

Thump. Okkotsu's heart stutters momentarily, his eyes wide with disbelief as he stares at you, as he's always done.

Tokyo? he wonders, resting his hand on a nearby desk to support himself up. That's an hour and a half by train. With you, Okkotsu's world falls silent. With you, he's free from the guilt, from the horror, from the curse. With you, Okkotsu feels whole again, like he's worthy of something, anything.

What is he going to do without you? Who is going to subdue Rika, if not you? How is he going to live, if not for you?

He wants to live. You taught him that he could.

Okkotsu thinks that, from the moment he met you, his life has been intertwined with yours. He thinks that, when he was crafted, and when the pieces of his eyes were put together, they were made for the sole purpose of beholding you, that his pupils were made to see you, that his irises were painted dark to reflect your silhouette. What would he use them for, if not for you?

He lives.

(For you.)

And Okkotsu doesn't really know what to make of himself now, his gaze trailing hesitantly over your figure, noticing the bittersweet look in your eyes and the way your smile falters a little bit. Subconsciously, he mimics your expression; he supposes he's become a mirror, parts of you engraving into his face. Okkotsu wants to force himself into your life, to fit parts of your features into himself and become reborn anew. To become someone like you.

(Someone worthy of you.)

From the self-assured smile you wear and the distant look in your eyes, Okkotsu notices it all. He notices the way you tap your fingers against your side, the way you lower your graduation certificate in order to catch a wisp of the sky, breathing it in.

He smiles a smile unlike himself-it's the kind of smile you always have-and he follows your gaze to the horizon line.

His eyes travel the world, crossing the depths of the sea and over the peak of Everest before returning to you, as they were made to do, and he sighs.

"What's wrong?" you ask, not looking at him. Okkotsu wonders what it'd be like to be the center of your attention, to be held in your gaze. Or maybe he doesn't have to be the center-or maybe he doesn't have to be the center-a place in your periphery would suffice, to exist in even a sliver of your sight

He fiddles with the ring dangling from his necklace. It glimmers in the light.

"Nothing," he lies. You hum in response.