where the winds blow strong {wind breaker}

"player 2" ~ kiryuu

Kiryuu peeks into the hospital room, a smile on his face upon seeing his friend looking bored reading a manga (which they've definitely read multiple times already). Kiryuu knocks, his grin growing wider as his friend looks up in delight.

"Ki-kun!" They beam. "I was beginning to think you'd never visit today."

"And miss out on making fun of your skill issues? Dream on." Kiryuu laughs, walking further into the room. He brought along his video game set and starts plugging it into the TV.

"We're almost done with the story, aren't we?" Y/n asked. They put away their manga and made space on the bed for their friend.

The pink haired boy nods and makes himself comfortable on the space given to him. He hands his friend the second controller and they log in to the game. It was a simple story, with combat elements, and an overall beautiful RPG experience. It was one of Y/n's favourite type of games. They've leveled up their characters together and got through the story easily enough. It's not that Y/n was terrible at combat, it's just that Kiryuu was so much better at it. Nevertheless, it's been an incredible journey. But it was soon to reach its end.

"After this," they said. "You gotta keep telling me about other games that you play."

Kiryuu remained silent. Deep in the back of their minds, they didn't know how long Y/n had left in them. It could be weeks or days. Time seemed to be running out and yet, the two friends still enjoyed each other's company in the stillness of their lives. Within the hospital room where it seems that time hasn't moved, despite knowing that all things come to an end, it was peaceful. Kiryuu just doesn't know when it could happen.

"Dude, focus, you're losing health."

"Oh, shit."

The afternoon passes by. The two have been playing for hours. As the final cutscene plays out, Y/n leans on Kiryuu's shoulder. The two enjoy the final moments before finally logging out.

"That was fun." Y/n sighs in content.

"Yeah, it really was." Kiryuu smiles as he goes to unplug the system.

"Thanks, Kiryuu."

Y/n fell silent after that. For all the times that Kiryuu had spent in that room, the faint sound of the heart monitor had blended into his mind that he no longer hears it. But now, it actually went quiet. There was a muffled silence, then followed by the realization that the ringing in his ears was in fact that flatlining of the monitor. Kiryuu turns around and it seems as if time had slowed down. He ran to the bed, but not before Y/n's mother rushed into the room and pulled the pink-haired boy away. The doctor and nurses came right after. All Kiryuu could hear was the ringing, endless and painful in his ears.

Kiryuu had to be dragged outside and away from his dearest friend. He couldn't believe what was happening and his brain refused to process what was about to happen next.
...
The doctor came. They spoke to the mother. Kiryuu was down the hall, sitting by the windowsill. He refused to let any tears fall. Y/n hated seeing him cry, even though it had only been one time because of a particularly tough level in a game they played. He then sees Y/n's mother sob into her hands. Kiryuu's eyes felt numb. His face felt numb. Everything else seemed to be numb. But his head throbbed with one single thought...

He just lost his Player 2 forever.