saviour ✰ bokuaka

[ FOURTEEN ]

The night was hushed and gloomy, the kind of night where every frog, beetle, and human alike have drifted off to sleep, weariness weighing on their shoulders like liquid iron. Only a single beam of moonlight filtered through the window in Bokuto and Akaashi's room, almost reminiscent of a scene from an impressionist painting.

Akaashi stood over Bokuto to see if he was sleeping, waving a hand over his eyes to ensure that he was properly knocked out. Once Akaashi had decided he had tested him enough, he slung his bag over his shoulder and with faint footsteps made his way over to the door. His heels tapped lightly against the hardwood, but it seemed that it wasn't enough to wake Bokuto, so he turned the handle gingerly and stepped out, shutting the door behind him.

But Akaashi had miscalculated an essential detail: Bokuto was fully awake. And he had seen Akaashi leave the apartment in the middle of the night, had heard the click of the keys in the lock, had felt the rush of air against him as Akaashi's coat swooshed past.

After a week of trying and failing to stay up long enough to investigate Akaashi's midnight departures, Bokuto had finally succeeded, not only in keeping his vigil but also in fooling Akaashi. It wasn't because of... jealousy. Or doubt, for that matter. Bokuto reminded himself over and over again that he was following him out of concern, reminded himself as he dressed in all black, reminded himself as he slipped out the door, reminded himself as he opened the tracking app he had installed on both of their phones when Akaashi left his open on the desk.

The air was frigid, biting against Bokuto's uncovered hands. He rubbed his palms together to simulate heat, but it meant he had to pause to place his phone in his pocket, and he didn't have enough time to stall. The street outside the apartment felt like a separate dimension, even though he passed through it everyday on his way home. There was an atmosphere of whimsy, but uncertainty, too.

Past every lantern, in the corners of Bokuto's eyes, were flashes of movement, and maybe he was paranoid, and maybe he was hallucinating, but he wasn't taking any chances. He moved briskly, keeping an eye out for his surroundings every so often. Neither cars nor people passed by his block. He was alone, and he was shivering. But it didn't matter now. He had a plan, and he was going to stick to it, no matter how disappointed Akaashi might be if he found out. It was unlike him, sure. But in order to quell his nerves he had to see what was happening for himself; otherwise it would eat at him every time he looked at Akaashi, and eventually it would swallow him whole.

Bokuto restarted the app again and again, followed the calibration instructions, but it continuously showed that Akaashi was in an alley approximately seven minutes away. There was nothing in that alley, never had been. Was the app confused, or was he really there?

Bokuto had no choice but to follow the path his phone was displaying. On his own, he wouldn't be able to find Akaashi, no matter how effective he claimed his instinct was. Would it be better or worse if he didn't see him in the indicated alley? On one hand, it meant the app was incorrect and Akaashi was still lost. On the other hand, the only business Bokuto could think would happen in an abandoned alley was a drug deal.

Three minutes. Bokuto rounded a corner into a darkened street stretching nearly a kilometre, open road to open road.

Two minutes. He walked cautiously down the lane, kicking a rock as he went along, barely looking at the app anymore.

One minute. His stomach started to churn as if his insides were being twisted, and an unsettling feeling pushed on his chest. He noticed he was starting to sweat, even though his fingers were trembling from the cold.

Bokuto stopped right outside of the alley and slowly peered in, blinking a few times to rid himself of the dryness in his eyes from the wind.

The space was nearly pitch-black with the exception of the back of a tall figure, who Bokuto assumed to be Akaashi, standing in the middle of three unidentifiable mounds. He stepped into the passageway, his breath hitched in his throat, and walked closer to him.

Akaashi seemed not to notice his presence. He was staring intently at his hands, which were glistening slightly in the balmy light from the moon.

"K-Keiji?" Bokuto muttered, barely audibly. He glanced down at the heaps on the ground and realised with a start that they were humans, unconscious and laying on the concrete. They had the same glimmering feature on some parts of their bodies.

'Oh my God.'

Akaashi turned around slowly. The space was so quiet that Bokuto could hear him inhale and exhale, sharply, like a wounded animal. Then Akaashi's eyes met Bokuto's, panic mixed with dread mixed with fear, his bottom lip quivering slightly as he whispered, "What have I done?"