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How can you see into my eyes Like open doors? Leading you down into my core Where I’ve become so numb

Without a soul My spirit’s sleeping somewhere cold Until you find it there And lead it back home

(Wake me up) Wake me up inside (I can’t wake up) Wake me up inside (Save me) Call my name and save me from the dark

Victim: Skye Williams Location of Body: Kitchen Cause of Death: Asphyxiation Time of Death: 2:06am

The victim is Skye Williams. The time of death was around 2:06am. The body is located in the Kitchen propped up against the pantry door. Skye’s cause of death seems to be of asphyxiation. His expression is neutral and looks as though he could be sleeping. In addition, there is a wooden mixing spoon in his lap.

It was a task easier said than done, but Miyako truly was trying her hardest to take an easy pace between the motives and death and unavoidable stress, like Okudaira-san had recommended her to. Even now, she could still feel her heart thumping from the tension of that previous trial, even knowing it was all long over now, proven by the heart button that she kept protected on her person. She really did need a break from it all– not that that was going to truly happen anytime soon, but she could try, couldn’t she?

And if she needed a break, why not go to the Break Room?

Despite being the centrepiece of the Dining Area, which she had already dropped by multiple times, she had never taken the time to quite stop here– it was quite a nice area, now that she thought about it! Yes, she would have to stop by here more often, for certain. (Her gaze lingered over at the coffee machine. Katsuya-san would certainly be pleased about the addition of that, wouldn’t she?)

It took her a minute to register the presence of another person in the room, over by the water cooler; and it only took seconds for her to put a name to the individual. After all, you couldn’t see that hair on anyone else.

“Ah, Wi…Williams-san…! That’s right, isn’t it? It’s good to see you! And yes, you’d be correct. Ikumi Miyako, at your service!”

Skye Williams…Agemaki-san’s notes said he was close with Illjes-san, hadn’t they? She’d have to look out for him, then.

She chuckled at his exclamations. She did hope he’d be alright; he did seem rather easily spooked.

“Y-yeah, ‘s me! Just Skye’s okay, don’t worry ‘bout it... would be lyin’ if I said I fully knew how honorifics were meant to be workin’ with me name anyways. ‘S nice to meet ya properly and not. Y’know. In a trial or anythin’. Heard ‘bout y’from Stella- in a good way, c-course, y-yeah, why’d it be- ah, shit.”

Smooth.

As he spoke (or rather babbled), ‘just Skye’ was trying to subtly wring out his sleeve without Miyako noticing; she seemed like the kind sort to instantly offer help or condolences for anything, and Skye would hate to burden her with his own fuck ups. Especially for something he could sort out himself. Speaking of that sort of thing. Miyako’s offers of service actually flustered Skye a little bit, the male offering the midwife a sheepish smile and having some of his water as a distraction for himself. He could feel his face going a litle red, actually; seemed he really was taken aback by Miyako’s words. In a good way, though. 

(It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate it, after all. Skye just still wasn’t used to the concept of people caring about and being concerned for him.) 

“Huh? Oh, this thing!” Yes, Skye, that hoodie you wear more often than not. He frowned down at it, giving a tug on the thick material. “Aha ha! Yeah... not gonna lie, heat was pretty unbearable at times. Wear this sorta thing more often than not though. Old habits die hard I guess?”

Sadly as nice as Miyako was Skye didn’t feel all too happy giving away the real main reason he wore such large clothing all the time to her. Hopefully he didn’t seem uncomfortable though, even if his sip of water was a bit longer than before. In the case he had concerned Miyako at all by seeming uncomfortable (he really hoped not), Skye hoped to undo that with another warm smile.  

“Pretty much hit the nail on the head there! W-with takin’ a break, that is. Been through here a lot of times, ain’t actually stayed put for a while though. Didn’t really have anythin’ like this back in the research site... what ‘bout you, you lookin’ for a break too? Sorry if I disturbed that for y’then. Aha ha!”

“I… shouldn’t be so skittish…”

What kind of confident idol got scared by someone getting enthusiastic about video games? Surely that was a natural occurrence with the Hip Young Teens around here. Hyun-min suddenly feels very silly- or, sillier than usual, especially when holding a pineapple.

He decides against mentioning Skye fumbling around with the spinning chair, although he does jolt a bit, as if he were going to dive forward to grab Skye had the other fallen from the chair. Instead he just looks twitchy.

“A time… waster, right… I… well, when I have time to waste, this is- is what I… do.”

Things, amazingly, get even more awkward as the subject turns to the past trial. Hyun-min doesn’t seem to know what to do with his feet and ends up tossing the pineapple into the air like one would if they were holding a tennis ball instead of a spiky fruit. And, of course, he puts a smile on his face, as is instinctual when responding to something that he doesn’t want to.

“Oh, it’s fine! We… We weren’t, um… an-anyway, it’s best to move on, yes! Into… the future. Which will- will be much better, don’t you think? Umumu…”

Stuck awkwardly considering whether he and Raiden had actually been friends- after all, Raiden was sure to hate him now- the subject of the pineapple was a welcome relief.

“Oh! I, um… well, I stabbed it with a kn-knife. So maybe you… can’t put it back… I was just going to put-put it in my room, maybe, or leave it somewhere. Umu… Skye-kun, I do have a quest-question, if it’s okay… umm, I don’t know much about people from… your class, and I-I was wondering which of them… are… nicest? I gu-guess…”

“H-hey, it’s- ‘s nothin’ to feel bad about, y’know? D-don’t worry, I’m... I’m the same, actually! Shouldn’t be so skittish... n-not that you’re, you’re doin’ a bad thing right now, I... <<fuck>>.”

Well. He tried. 

After that fiasco in the name of comfort Skye decided to skip past commenting on the Rupert situation entirely, simply offering a small hum and dejectedly staring at the ground for a few moments. Then he picked himself back up again as Hyun-min made the decision to move on too, a frown flicking across his face before doing his best to make sure he didn’t sound negative in any way. 

“Well I ain’t exactly a cookin’ expert, but I don’t think just straight up stabbin’ a pineapple’s the best way to go about cuttin’ it. Aha ha! Nah. Bet there’s somewhere y’can leave it. Again, ain’t a cookin’ expert, but I don’t think one stab’s gonna make a huge difference.”

Wait, Hyun-min was asking something of him? That was a surefire way to get the attention of someone who had sworn to be helpful from now on. Pulling himself up in his chair (and making sure to not let it spin out of his control again) Skye offered his companion a grin that felt more genuine than any that had come with a hesitant attempt at comfort.

“Huh? Oh, yeah! Sure thing. Uh... jeez, I feel bad decidin’ who ain’t so great and stuff. Aha ha! Okay, uh... Stella for sure, ‘s really helpful round here too. Uh, she’s the one with the blue hair, eyepatch thing goin’ on, yeah.”

Not that you’re biased or anything, Skye. 

“Who else, uh... actually, y’know what? Gimme two minutes.”

His indication was clear when he deliberately spun the chair round to grab a pencil and piece of paper from the desk he sat it, tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth as he started to write down each of the surviving research site students and his own comment on them. Shame his handwriting is utterly terrible, really. He kept talking as he wrote however, in order to try avoid a silence that would surely be awkward for both of them. Even if his choice of topic wasn’t exactly 

“Seriously, I think you’ll be okay to just put the pineapple back. Go with ya and find somewhere to stash it away if y’want when I’m done with this. Speakin’ ooooooof...”

He drew out his last word, finally getting up and handing over a list that was probably illegible to the poor maknae. Skye seemed aware of this himself, actually, giving a sheepish grin. 

“If you, uh. Need me to translate any of that I don’t mind. Aha ha... h-hey, uh, do y’mind if I ask the same of you? Who’s... who’s alright in your group ‘n all?”

“N-No, it’s fine! I’m sorry for yelling! I’m just, umum… tense. I guess, but that seems like an understatement… games are surely… quite intense? Umm…”

Aaaand once more he looks scared, staring at the computer. The only thought in his mind? What the heck was minesweeper? You sad loser, Hyun-min. I’m sorry I can’t write narration with John Green talking in the distance.

“Ah, yes! Minesweeper! My… favorite game.”

Nailed that one.

“Ahaha…. I suppose it’s hard to mi-miss me, after… that… but, anyway! It’s over now, so we should all move-move on and work hard in the future, yes?”

Of course, excluding his imminent demise, probably. As if he’d forgotten he was holding it, the maknae looks down in surprise at the pineapple in his hands as Skye brings it up. Ah, yes. Looking ridiculous, as usual!

“Um… oh! I was going to… find somewhere to get rid of it, I guess… sorry.”

“’S okay! I’m sorry I startled ya, honestly... b-bit of a big reaction, aha ha... don’t blame y’for bein’ tense. Usually the same meself. Really am sorry ‘bout that.”

Two of the jumpiest students in a room together. No way this can’t end calmly. 

At the maknae calling attention to his game Skye swiveled on the chair slightly so he could see it again, frowning at the game over screen it still displayed. Though he was unsure of the reason for Hyun-min’s Skye followed on from his comment anyway, shrugging and spinning back round to face his current companion. (He nearly overshot, actually, but he liked to think that the way he frantically scrambled his feet to stop him spinning any further was subtle.)

“Always just found it a time waster, meself. A-as shown here, I guess! Aha ha... was intendin’ to be more productive than this...”

Ah yes and here was the more sensitive topic; their last trial that could only be described by Skye right now as horribly tense. He wasn’t sure where to look as Hyun-min spoke, eventually opting to let his gaze trace the lines between the computer keys instead. He kept staring there when he finally responded, having taken some time to think of the most careful way to go about a reply. Even then Skye still sounded hesitant, but then again, when didn’t he during face to face interaction with a new person?

“Y-yeah, I... you’re right ‘bout that, ‘s... ‘s done now, isn’t it? All we can do here is... k-keep movin’ on, like y’said.” A pause. “I’m... u-uh, sorry ‘bout your, your f-friend ‘n all...”

Oh god dammit. 

Instantly Skye’s face flushed and he let out a small groan, burying his head in his hands for a moment before looking up at Hyun-min sheepishly. Fuck! Though he’d considered offering condolences for Rupert’s - their performances in that trial meant they had to be close, right? - he had ultimately decided against the sensitive topic, only to let it slip anyway! Oh, he was so bad at this...

So jumping to the stranger topic of conversation it was then, even if Skye still did seem pretty embarrassed.

“H-hey, ‘s nothin’ to apologise for... ain’t gonna lie, I don’t know much about pineapple, but could y’not just put it back... wherever the hell it came from? I, uh... don’t mind helpin’ y’out with this. If ya want. ‘S not a problem.”

So, pineapple in hand, Hyun-min wanders down the hall looking for a suitable place to dispose of it. Or at least, somewhere he could leave it without anyone seeing him. The supply closet seemed like a safe bet, if he could shove it under something… but his walk is cut short with the sound of someone swearing loudly as he passes by a door. Having absolutely no idea what he’d done to deserve this already, he shrieks himself, holding the pineapple up in front of his face protectively.

“Ah! I’m sorry, don’t hurt me!”

You’re incredibly threatening, Hyun-min. Contrary to his terrified yelling, he freezes in the doorway and stares at Skye like a deer in headlights. If the other wanted to kill him or something, at least he would have a clear shot.

Despite Skye’s reassurances, Hyun-min just continues looking scared and confused. Gay and afraid.

“Mmmmmokay… a game…”

Me too, you gay.

“Skye-kun… it’s nice to meet you… you know who I am already, I gue-guess…”

As best as he can holding a pineapple, he bows politely in Skye’s direction.

“I- w-wait, shit, I didn’t-! I... a-aha ha, didn’t mean to scare ya, man-!”

Whether or not it was actually a result of his babbling or not (probably not) Hyun-min seemed to calm down, or at least accept that Skye wasn’t out to hurt him. Slowly Skye lowered his tensed hands, trying to make himself seem more comfortable on the chair rather than essentially tensed up in shock. While he was still wary of the maknae (something he’d sadly possibly made obvious now) he did genuinely feel bad scaring him. Time to try again.

...And actually continue the conversation too, yes, that was how you actually acted sociable, wasn’t it.

“R-really, man, I... didn’t mean to scare ya, was just... aha ha, sounds pathetic, was just swearin’ a-at this...” He vaguely gestured to the screen, frowning at it upon Hyun-min’s question. “Huh? Oh. ’S just Minesweeper.”

Evidently he assumed Hyun-min knew about the old game already. He also realised that he’d done a horrible job of moving on from the fact that he’d startled his new companion, Skye stifling a groan before trying yet again. And he thought he’d been getting better at face to face interaction too...

“...S-shit, sorry. I’ll shut up ‘bout that now... aha ha... yeah, would be lyin’ if I said I d-didn’t recognise ya from the trial already. ‘S nice to meet ya outside of there, Hyun-min...”

“...U-uh. If y’don’t mind me askin’... why do y’have a pineapple with ya?”

“‘S still worth a try, ain’t it?”

Ah and here it came, Skye’s ever-present low self-esteem. She really needed to get her head in the game to improve that, didn’t she? Thus, she came to the conclusion that she couldn’t afford to rest for too long - especially not when it meant to burden him with her problems as well

These two were surprisingly stubborn in that regard, weren’t they?

“We. That’s right, we. Not you or me, just we. Got it? ‘M not gonna let anythin’ else happen.”

(It should go without saying that if there was a way to get Skye out of this hellhole sooner in exchange of her life, she would take the chance instantly. Goddamnit, you two. Goddamnit.)

Her eyelids were half-closed yet again, just enjoying the hug when Skye suggested for her to sleep. That made her blink a few times, trying to get rid of the drowsiness that began to settle down.

“Same goes fer ya, y’… y’know…? If anythin’, ‘m goin’ only t’ sleep if ya do as well.”

“Y-yeah. We. We’re... w-we’re gonna be okay.”

It was actually pretty nice, saying something that supported him like that. Bit of a shame he had to have prompting and guidance from another to get it to happen, but it was progress of a kind. Before coming here he probably wouldn’t have been able to form the words. 

It was easy enough for him to tell that Stella was tired even without guessing as much from all that had happened, Skye (regretfully) pulling back from the hug just enough to see Stella’s face. 

“Jeez. Might be here a while if y’gonna lay down that condition. Aha ha!”

Well, at least he’d been comforted enough to make a joke out of the harsh situations. Even if it was a little at his expense. Afterwards though Skye gave a small sigh, pulling back further again so they were able to move more freely. The indication was to to curl up just as they had before, well, a certain fire had started.

“M’kay, I’ll try... hope y’okay with me stayin’ here though. Don’t intend to leave ya alone any time soon.”

His grin was lazier now, though Skye would be surprised if Stella could actually see it at this point. Though he wasn’t feeling tired yet (that he would acknowledge, anyway) Skye closed his eyes anyways, especially due to the quiet words he ended up whispering. While hoping Stella was asleep, admittedly. 

Though for now, she should focus on getting better instead of jumping to the next step, right?

“We really need t’ do somethin’ against that insomnia of yers… Isn’t there some kinda medicine that helps? At least, I think I heard o’ somethin’ like this before…”

Damnit, if only she could remember what it was all about… Though then again, maybe she could ask one of the other students if they knew more about it? Well, she would need to do that later on, huh? It doesn’t seem likely that Skye would let her go anywhere for the next few hours or so.

Not like as if she wanted to leave him alone either, given that choked tone he had while trying to reassure her that he was fine. Yeah no, even though Stella was anything but fine at the moment, she could pick that up.

Forcing her eye open again, she only saw how Skye’s hand was near his face. Oh, she could already guess what he had been doing just a second ago…

Lifting her head off from his shoulder, Stella placed on of her hands on his cheeks to gently stroke them, flashing him yet another reassuring, albeit tired smile.

“Same here… We really need t’ find more stuff ‘bout that goddamn mastermind and… just escape this hellhole. Mae’s right, we… really need t’ focus on that.”

The letter was still fresh in her mind, which made her also internally apologize to the debater - sorry Masato, looks like as if she had fucked up her hands unnecessarily again.

Aside from that, Stella squeezed his hand for a moment, before she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug.

“Aha ha, ‘s a nice thought... ain’t sure if ‘s actually insomnia, or just me bein’ s-scared of sleepin, though... maybe that makes it insomnia too, fuck, I dunno, Already established I ain’t a SHSL medical thing.”

When Stella cupped his cheek a mournful smile came onto Skye’s face, the male hanging his head as much as he could with Stella’s hand there. He caught her smile though, hanging onto that to keep him just above tears as he spoke. 

“Y-yeah... wish I could help, I- I s-said as much to Masato, b-but I... I ain;t c-cut out for this. Barely believe in me-meself when it comes to sleepin’, n-never mind people’s lives ridin’ on t-this shit...”

What was he doing? He shouldn’t be sitting here letting slow tears fall, Stella was the one that needed help here and that was what he had intended to do. But now he seemed stuck, gaze finally flicking back up to Stella’s in resignation and mouth staying open for a few moments before he finally managed to get words out. 

“Yeah. Y-yeah, we’ll... w-we can get outta here, you, we...”

Seemed he was having difficult including himself in this statement still, but was managing to make an effort nonetheless. That was progress, surely? 

(Though given the choice, he thought as he too pulled Stella close into a hug, he’d get Stella out of here before or instead of him in a heartbeat.)

“...Y’should sleep, ‘s... fuck, still early mornin’, you’ve been... y-you’ve been through a lot.”

Thus, it only added to the large amount of reasons as to why she wanted to make things easier for Skye. Pulling out a goddamn key and opening a door was the very least she could do. Really, it was nothing against what he had done for her during the last few days.

Muttering a quiet ‘thank you’ as she was set down on the bed, Stella watched how he placed a roll of bandages on top of her desk. The same one she seemed to have pushed against the door leading to Haruo’s loft, still with the damn note on it. God, she needed to push her desk back to where it belonged and also get rid of this ridiculous message. ‘Mister Shinji’? God, that just felt so stiff and formal, nothing like her.

Well, that’s what the Despair Fever did to her, huh?

Internally shaking her head to get rid of these thoughts, Stella decided to reply to him about the bandages question:”I think once a day shoulda be okay. So yeah, makes sense t’ have some o’ it here. Good thinkin’ there, I… didn’t really thought ‘bout bringin’ some along.”

Who is surprised?

When Skye sat down, Stella was already reaching out to him when it seemed like as if he would fall down. Luckily, no such thing happened, so she retracted her hands back - only to notice that despite his grin, his hands were shaking. She stopped midways with her movement, her heart aching when she realized just how much Skye had suffered. And he was trying to be strong for her it shouldn’t be like this, she should be always strong for him

Time to lock up her suffering away and focus on Skye entirely. She would deal with her problems alone, she couldn’t possibly burden him with anything more, not when he was still shaken up by everything. God, he must be so tired by now…

At first, she just silently took his hands into her own, rubbing the back of his hand gently with her thumb. She looked up, offering him a reassuring smile - well, as much as she could, of course.

“Yeah, ‘m… ‘m okay, at least I don’t feel so strange anymore. Just… fuckin’ tired ‘n all. But hey, so are ya.“

Stella was trying her best to keep that eye open, but it was harder than thought. Thus, she allowed herself to lean her head against his shoulder, eyelids dropping a bit.

He hadn’t quite managed to stop his hands shaking by the time Stella took hold of them, starting in surprise - he’d been incredibly focused on not letting himself seem fearful - but relaxing almost instantly, Well, relaxing as much as he could in this state anyway, though he did manage a smile upon hearing that Stella was better. Skye didn’t dare look up just yet though, instead watching Stella’s thumb rub the back of his hand. 

“’S good to hear... you not feelin’ so strange any more, that is. And hey, ‘m always tired, I can admit it. Livin’ the insomniac life here, y’know...”

(There was a bit more besides, of course, but Stella didn’t need another reason to worry about him. Especially not now.)

When Stella leant on his shoulder Skye gently tipped his against hers, closing his eyes briefly as he sighed. Sleep wasn’t creeping up on him, not yet; a combination of that still-muted shock and his own natural life was doing a good job at keeping him conscious. But that wasn’t to say that the events of the past few hours weren’t weighing on him heavily, Skye’s body feeling an almost physical weight pulling on it that sadly wasn’t due to his rucksack. 

He opened his eyes when Stella spoke up, however, and the choked tone to his voice made it clear he was starting to lose the appearance stronger than he actually was.

“I’m... I’m d-doin’ alright, it’s okay, you’ve- you’ve had a shit time, you’re the o-one who-”

You’re the one who matters; Skye only just stopped himself saying it and dragging his self esteem back to where it had been before coming to the site.

“...S-sorry-” There he went. Skye lifted his free hand up to swipe at his eye, hoping Stella still had hers closed. “’M okay, ‘s is okay, I’m... I’m g-glad you’re okay. What’s new, h-huh? Aha ha...”

No, Skye certainly wasn’t doing as well as he was making out. Probably obvious by now, if it hadn’t been before.

The shock of the execution was still very much present, but with distractions such as pointing out antics and whatnot, she could at least dull them to a degree. Seeing Skye blush just made it easier to not think about her own short-comings; she would think about them enough when she was alone.

“Ya don’t need t’. ‘S really nothin’ bad t’ stick yer tongue out, so who cares?”

Stella knew that if she was given enough time, she would have gotten more strength back and thus, would have been capable of walking on her own. It didn’t seem like as if Skye would let her though, given how he first nudged her before picking her up again. Stella surpressed a sigh, not wanting to create any misunderstandings. If anything, that sigh would have been directed at her own weakness and not anything that Skye did.

Different than last time, Stella wrapped her arms gently around his neck, securing herself more. She still felt rather awkward, not being used to be the one carried away in the slightest. She was always doing the carrying, so to be on the other end of it was… strange.

Pushing that aside, Stella glanced at his eyes when he mentioned the key. Hell, she would be absolutely pathetic if she couldn’t even do that.

“’S okay, Skye. Don’t worry ‘bout it.”

She had sensed his distress and unwrapped one of her arms to ruffle his hair a bit. Her key was in one of her pockets, so producing it out shouldn’t pose a problem.

When they were finally at the lofts, Stella stopped ruffling his hair, so she could take her key out of her pockets. Luckily, it went without any problems, so she unlocked the door and pushed it open with her hand.

Dammit.

“H-huh? Oh... aha ha, I ain’t worrin’, dont’... don’t you worry ‘bout it.”

It was a strained attempt at being lighthearted, Skye now barely holding back the panic that had been threatening to catch up with him ever since the Despair Fever had been announced. A quick flash of a grin was all he managed, though at least he had an excuse for changing expression due to arriving at Stella’s door. 

“’Kay, hold on, I can... get ya key somehow- oh.”

Stella got there before him of course, Skye blinking in surprise for a few moments at the opened door before giving a shrug and taking Stella inside. When he sat Stella down on her bed he didn’t go to her just yet, instead fishing out the roll of bandages from his hoodie pocket and gently placing them on the desk so it wouldn’t roll off. 

“Ain’t got any idea how often y’meant to change bandages or whatever, but... hey, they’re here for whenever we feel it, yeah?”

As he finally crossed over to sit by Stella Skye managed to hold his grin for longer, doing his best to ignoring the stinging at the corners of his eyes. Letting out a heavy sigh the male sat down next to Stella, nearly falling over in the process due to automatically accommodating for the weight of his missing rucksack. When he finally spoke up he spoke quietly, staring down at his hands (hands he was trying to stop from shaking) rather than Stella. 

“But… if there’s two o’ us, he mighta be more prone t’… ta ignore us, ‘cause injuring t’ many people wouldn’t bode well fer him, right?”

That sounded somewhat logical, didn’t it? Surprising, after having thrown her rational side all too easily after the execution. Well, it seems like as if she was slowly getting a grip of herself again.

As always, Skye was extra careful with her, prompting another small smile from her. It reminded her of Merry, though… truth to be told, she wasn’t as cautious as Skye was. A healthy amount of carefulness, yes, but Miriam knew all too well that she didn’t need to treat her like as if she was made out of glass. And sometimes, she was being a bit harsh when she thought that Stella got herself injured over literally nothing… hah, good times. Good times indeed.

Now that the ends of the bandages were hanging, Stella managed to hold onto her smile for a little longer.

“Well, if ya wanna tie a ribbon that badly… I mean, I have still that bunch o’ ribbons in m’ room, so…”

Yeah, just put all the ribbons onto you, just fucking do it, Stella.

Anyway, she couldn’t say that she didn’t agreed with Skye on the virtual place part. Some things would be more convenient than reality… For example, reviving. Oh, wouldn’t it be just dandy if everyone who died just revived somewhere else?

Then again, never dying was kind of scary in and itself.

Aside from that, Skye was finally finished with the treatment and Stella looked over his work. It wasn’t sitting too tight or too loose, so she thought that he did a pretty good job at that.

“Thank ya, Skye. Ya did a goob job there… by the way, did anyone ever tell ya that y’ stick yer tongue out when ya focus on somethin’? ‘S… kinda cute, really.”

Anything to distract herself, really. And hey, she was just telling the truth her, putting her hand up to ruffle Skye’s hair gently as she always did. Well, she didn’t feel much of his hair anymore, but it was… still soothing, to say the least.

“Oh, no, I- I can stand fer myself, really-”

Now that Stella had stopped crying, she didn’t wan to burden him any more. Thus, she slowly stood up… only to find out that her legs were more wobbly than she anticipated. She had both of her hands on her knees, grimacing slightly.

C’mon, ‘s only a bit until we reach the loft… ya can hold out until then.

“Just… just need a moment, really.”

(How much longer would they all have to go through this for?)

“Guess y’right... whole point is for us to kill each other, not just havin’ Monomi kill us off one by one. Woulda done that at the start if that was the point... course, this is assumin’ he even cares ‘bout us bein’ down there.”

Skye would probably continue being anxious about the situation, and he knew it,. But again, it wouldn’t help to panic over a situation that may or may not even happen right now. 

Luckily at that moment, Stella told him about his apparent concentrating habit. Safe to say that Skye hadn’t noticed- he was blushing before she even said it was cute.

“H-huh? Jeez...” He gave a sheepish grin, running a hand through his hair. “Aha ha, didn’t know that at all..! Shit... gonna be lookin’ out now.”

He would have perhaps run with the lighthearted moment a little more had Stella not chosen that moment to try getting up. Instantly Skye scrambled to his feet too, much faster than Stella and even dropping a roll of bandage in his pocket at the same time before holding his hands out to support Stella if needed. Eventually he gave in, nudging Stella slightly in warning before picking her up again as before to start moving out the supply yard.

“’S okay, I can get y’back to your loft too... just gonna need you to get y’key out when we get there. Shit, shoulda done that before we left... a-aha ha, sorry, I’m... I’m tryin’.” 

Although there had been never a rule, Stella felt fear building up in her chest - letting Skye return there all alone made her incredibly anxious.

“L-Let me come too. I… I don’t trust that fucker t’ not do anythin’ when someone goes back t’ the trial room. For all we know, he just makes up a new rule on the spot and-!”

Oh, will you stop scaring poor Skye with your own negative imagination? He had it hard enough as it was, no need to fuel his imagination with even worser ideas.

“S-Sorry, I… I shoulda keep my damn mouth shut.”

Stella squeezed her eye shut, not allowing herself to spill any more tears. Ah, goddamnit it, since when did she become so weak? That was absolutely the worst time to fall. The worst time to let out her emotions. She had been always so good at keeping them bottled up… where did that trait go now?

The blacksmith didn’t thought that Skye sounded selfish in any way. Even though she wanted to keep her mouth shut, she couldn’t just leave him hanging like this, could she?

“N-No, I… I understand.”

Despite that, she was still prone to act reckless. It had been always like this - whenever everything was relatively normal and calm, she understood that, but in the heat of the moment, she throws all caution away.

When Skye began to bandage her up, she couldn’t help but look from her hands to his face. Ah, his tongue was sticking out again. It always did when he was concentrating on something or if he wanted to be extra cautious.

“I...” Yes, good start, keep going now. “...Ain’t gonna lie, I’d feel safer with ya there, but... puts you in the possible firin’ line too. I ain’t so okay with that.”

With a small shrug Skye started wrapping bandage again, figuring it wouldn’t do to dwell on this right now. Neither of them were really in a place to go after his rucksack right now, after all- and besides, it was just a rucksack.

(It would sound pathetic to say anything else, wouldn’t it?)

Back to Stella’s injuries. Honestly Skye didn’t even realise he was concentrating so much and thus sticking his tongue out, taking extreme care to cover Stella’s hand with the bandage- until he had done so and was left with a strip of hanging bandage, frowning at it and finally speaking up.  Though it was partly another attempt to lighten the mood... he wasn’t fully joking. 

“O-okay, uh... what do you do now, huh?” He nudged the strip of bandage that still hung off Stella’s hand. “Just leave it there? Can try tie them in a bow or somethin’. Doin’ the job and lookin’ good if I pull it off.”

...Okay, no, he really didn’t have a clue. With a resigned sigh and a sheepish grin Skye started to paw through the first aid box again, searching for something that looked like it could help him out here.

“Aha ha! Y’bet. A lot of stuff would be easier, actually... somethin’ virtual places got over this...”

No. He wasn’t going to go down that path. Even just from an offhand comment.

“M’kay, lemme try this then...” 

His tongue was sticking back out the corner of his mouth as Skye ripped the small roll of tape he found and secured the bandages, sitting back afterwards with a thumbs up. 

“Good as new, huh? W-well. Eventually. Do y’want me carryin’ ya back to your loft or are you... d-doin’ better?”

It stung badly, but she endured worse. She could totally go through this with a few winces and hisses on her part. She had a high tolerance against pain as she probably demonstrated again and again.

The worry in his voice was all too clear, prompting Stella to look at Skye. Luckily, the tears started to stop leaking out after arriving at the scene, but the trails were still visible. Ah shit, she didn’t even mean to come across as if she’d assault Monomi straight after bandaging up her wounds. She always had to fuck things up, didn’t she?

Stella opened her mouth, but then hesitated to actually say anything. But when the quiet plead followed, she couldn’t just not say anything. Her eyebrows narrowed down a bit, Stella gave his hand a short squeeze before he let go off it, so he could treat her other wound.

“… I won’t.”

Even though it was damn well tempting to finally bash Monomi’s head in.

After some more winces from her side, both of her hands were clean. Well, the worst part was over, now they had to cover it with bandages.

“I, uh... left me rucksack. Down in the trial room. ‘S okay, I can go down and get it later... never heard a rule about not goin’ in the trial room when there ain’t been a murder.”

Well he hoped he was right about that assumption. It would be just his luck to get killed over a rucksack- and after pleading with Stella to not do anything ridiculous too. 

Speaking of. Stella’s response to his quiet words made Skye pause again, this time looking for bandages. He was hoping he didn’t look too helpless when looking up at the blacksmith, but the thought of Stella just recklessly throwing herself or her fist at Monomi... that wasn’t a pretty image at all. Especially for someone heavily sleep deprived who had enough nightmares developing his imagination as was. 

“...T-thank you.” 

Oh, way to sound selfish, Skye! Inwardly he cringed at himself, hiding his face while he scrambled to make it sound better by looking in the first aid box again.

“W-we just... we can’t lose anyone else carelessly, ‘specially n-not someone as strong as you, I... n-not that you’re careless-! I... fuck.”

Once again Skye gave up on a sentence that didn’t sound the way he wanted it to (in his opinion), trailing off with a sigh and returning to a safer topic. A small smile came to his face at the comment about fights, Stella now able to see his expression as he turned back to her hands. 

“Shoulda guessed, huh? Aha ha... if I’m goin’ wrong, just... I dunno, tug a bandage or knock me upside the head or somethin’. W-without hurtin’ y’hands, course. M’kay...”

Tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth without him realising Skye set about his work, probably exaggerating some of the motions in order to make sure he got it what he believed to be correct. 

Stella felt how Skye was constantly making sure to have a good grip on her, so he wouldn’t accidentally drop her or anything. When they made it to the elevator, Stella took a short glance up to Skye, seeing his soft smile. Although barely noticable, Stella tried to smile back, but she had to steel herself right after that, so her breath didn’t sound as shaky as it was.

It might be a bad joke, but it still elicited a barely audible chuckle out of her. It sounded rather hollow, but… it was at least something. The blacksmith needed all the distraction now she could get, because her mind was constantly going back to the execution-

Ah shit, here comes the waterworks again.

Honestly, if Skye didn’t inform her that they were going to the supply yard now, she wouldn’t have even noticed. With that though, she merely nodded, letting herself get carried to said building. There, she was being put down at last.

“… Mhm. I think it’d… be actually a better idea t’ just-”

Instead of continuing on, Stella simply sat down on the floor. Even she acknowledged that with her current state, it made more sense to sit down during the treatment than stand.

When Skye began to clean her wounds, Stella hissed. Oohhhh fuck, she almost forgot how much cleaning wounds could actually hurt. God, it was burning, but she had to grit her teeth and simply endure the pain. It’s not that much different from the fights she used to get into.

Therefore, no complaining came from Stella, no matter how painful it might become. In regards to Skye’s last statement, she furrowed her eyebrows dangerously low.

“If not w’ my hands I… I woulda kick his fuckin’ crotch.”

“...Ah, shit-!”

Yep, he’d left his rucksack back in the trial room. Quite incredibly (or maybe not, given the circumstances) for someone who could barely go around without the damn thing he seemed to only mourn its loss for a second. He would just have to pick it up later. Stella was very much the main concern right now. 

At the first few winces Stella gave Skye instantly stopped, worried gaze flicking up to check Stella’s face, but eventually he figured that the two of them would just have to battle on through it. Safe to say he was a lot less used to this process than Stella on both sides, a quiet apology occasionally slipping from his mouth as he continued to wipe at the blood trickling down Stella’s hands. He didn’t try to speak up again until Stella hissed her threat towards Monomi. That got a pretty worried response from him .

“...H-hey, don’t... don’t go stormin’ off straight after this, y-yeah?” He stopped cleaning Stella’s hand for a moment, just holding onto it. “Like... l-like runnin’ off to attack Monomi, I...” 

What was he even going to say? ‘I’ll have to stop you’? ‘I won’t let you’? Could he even hold those promises? He’d barely held on to Stella back down in the trial room. Skye seemed to acknowledge that he couldn’t finish the sentence, hanging his head and staying silent for a few moments before giving a quiet plea. 

“...J-just don’t... get in trouble, yeah..?”

Another bout of silence before Skye gently picked up Stella’s other hand, starting to clean off the blood there as though he hadn’t just basically begged for her to keep herself alive. 

The warning left her barely time to react - suddenly, her feet weren’t on the ground anymore and instead, she found herself in Skye’s arms. Even though it was completely for naught, Stella kept her hand to shield her tears away. Oh, she knew that it was completely futile, he knew exactly that she was crying, but he didn‘t need to see any more of that, did he?

Stella bit her lips, mentally chastising herself to stop crying, to stop being so helpless, to not crumble more-

But this time around, no matter how much she wanted to force herself from holding these tears back, they just kept coming. No amount of strength could push them back and so, they continued to flow down her cheeks.

Thus, Stella just let her head unceremonically slump against his shoulder, at least being careful enough to not get any blood on his hoodie. She had brought these wounds on herself, so she didn’t want to stain anyone with it. That’s the very least she could do if Skye had to carry her out.

When Skye told her about his plan to stop by the town hall, she just nodded weakily, starting to get light-headed. Exhaustion started to wear her down more and more, the sleepless nights catching up to her.

(The loss of Makoto was still eating at Skye, though. Very much so.) 

“Hey... y’ain’t got anythin’ to apologise for, y’know?” His gaze slipped to Stella’s bloodied hands and winced despite himself. “I’ll just listen out for snorin’, should I?”

It was a bad attempt at a joke but Skye decided to try anyway, blinking at the morning light when he stepped out into the colosseum once again. He ended up taking a different path to that he’d told Stella, however, instead taking them both to the supply yard.

“...Probably have better luck for first aid stuff in the supply yard, won’t we? Ahaha, sorry... town hall, jeez, I ain’t thinkin’ straight...”

After the trial the supply yard was of course (thankfully) cleaned up, though there was a notable gap where the burnt shelf had once been. Trying not to think on it too hard Skye continued to carry Stella until he found what he was looking for, taking the first aid kit from the shelf after carefully putting Stella down. 

“’M just gonna... sit on the floor if y-y’have to, yeah? M’kay, uh... probably should clean some blood of, ‘s a good start... if it’s hurtin’ a lot, just... say, yeah?”

He was talking more to himself as Skye gently took hold of Stella’s right hand and started to clean at it, biting back winces even though it certainly wasn’t his hand that was stinging. Occasionally his eyes flicked back up to look at Stella, one time offering a smile. 

Hearing Skye that Makoto wouldn’t be there anymore, that it would be too late to do anything… It delivered another punch to her face, finally making her realize that he was right. No matter how much she would punch, she wouldn’t get through and even if, Makoto was since long dead. There was nothing she could do, absolutely nothing.

Stella hated to feel so helpless.

With this realization dawning on her, Stella ceased the fighting, now just standing there, utterly defeated. Her shoulders slumped down as she lifted one of her hands up to place it in front of her eye. A chocked sob escaped her and her eye was squeezed tightly.

“No… p-please, I can’t… f-f-fail to protect a friend… n-not again… please no…”

“I’m... s-sorry, I...”

He didn’t quite manage to finish this new apology. Skye hadn’t realised it in all this time but his eyes were leaking too, though he paid his own tears no mind in favour of keeping his focus on Stella. With every moment the arms wrapped around the girl loosened until Skye could have just pulled her into a hug from behind rather than dived to restrain her, having to do his best to make his exhale not shake in a sob as he spoke again.

“‘S not- y’ain’t done anythin’ wrong, Stella, I... it a-ain’t anythin’ to...”

Stella lifting her hand up cut Skye off, his eyes widening slightly upon seeing their true state up close before making a decision.

“Don’t- don’t get surprised now, I’m just gonna-”

Hardly a fair warning but Skye wasn’t able to articulate more, wincing and already mentally preparing his apology to Stella as he shifted his hold on her in order to pull her up and into his arms, just as she’d carried him out this very same room before. Turning his back on the wall Stella had been hitting Skye began to take the two of them out of the trial room, speaking quietly to Stella as he went.