ODE TO THE MURDERED, bonten

55

PART FIFTY-FIVE !
giggle at the funeral.

            THE WEATHER REMAINED GREY AND SOMBER, it puddled through the empty hallway as Kakucho's expensive shoes clacked along the marble floor.

no one else was within the grey, empty room except for Kakucho and him—the man that was once charming and confident and cheeky by nature, now reduced to a husked shell who sat at the very front rows of the pews, staring blankly at the coffin and a stack of empty wine bottles laid messily all around him.

the dark-haired man could do nothing, no comforting words nor supportive manners he could think of to reach the heart of Haitani Ran.

Kakucho opened his mouth, but his tongue was heavy. so he shuts it tight, watching as his companion tipped his head, another glassful of burning liquid down the concave of his throat. the glass is slammed harshly on the wood and Ran—a mess of open-leafed collarbones, unbuttoned shirt and gelled hair unkept—barely sparing a glance up at him now that Kakucho is in his field of view.

"it's Nihonshu." Ran drawled hoarsely, a tone too deep than his usual airy voice. "Rindou's favorite."

Kakucho took a while to reply back to him.

"what, you planning to just stand there the whole day or plant your ass on the bench beside me and drink for his honor?"

"...Sanzu was looking for you," Kakucho said instead. "i know you're mourning, we barely even had any time to squeeze in a proper funeral ceremony for Rindou. but without you, we won't be able to find Koko and Mike—"

there was a crash against the silence.

Kakucho did not flinch, but he takes in the sight of Ran drunkenly on his feet; jaw clenched and empty shards of glass splayed across the floor before him. he had always admired the older Haitani, always looked up to him, but standing before him now, he doesn't look as tall as he once was.

"that's my fucking brother you're talking about, you bastard." Ran bit hard, his tone threatening, painfully strained.

"Ran, i know." Kakucho said, his fist clenching within his pant pockets. "i know. i'm very painfully aware that Rindou's..." the man stopped there, a very gaping pause awkwardly spills the empty air before he inhaled, tone hardening.

"we need you, Ran."

he emphasized every syllable with thickened desperation. the tremor in his tone was clear even for the drunk man. "i'm sincerely sorry for what happened to Rindou—fuck, Mocchi, Shion and i understand well what he meant to you, and why you joined Bonten. but every second we waste, we would also be losing Kokonoi and Mikey too, we cannot lose anyone else Ran—"

"we were supposed to run away." Ran spoke, then laughed bitterly, pushing back his bangs. his lavender eyes were glassy. "i'm also painfully aware that i was the one who roped Rindou into this, to follow me here in Bonten. i should've realized his struggles from the very beginning, but i didn't. i was supposed to make it up to him by asking him to run away, just me and him, like how it has always been since the very beginning."

a sob cracked through Ran's fragile tone then, his legs shaking.

"i raised that boy, Kakucho." Ran pushed through shaky breaths and pouring tears. "i remember the very moment i saw him in that crib, and i was so excited that i was finally an older brother. he was very small and wailed a lot but all i saw was his mess of blond hair and even bigger eyes staring back at me..."