#shoko reader

Keisuke loved Mikey. That dude was crazy but that dude was also his brother. So with Kazutora, he got Mikey what he always wanted: the CB250T.

Somehow, along with the said motorbike, Keisuke and Kazutora ended up gifting Mikey the corpse of his brother as well. (That was what he thought until the second plot twist started and Keisuke went spiraling into insanity and Kazutora looked a mix of relieved, guilty, and sick.)

So there it was. A corpse stood below Kazutora and it just dawned on him what Keisuke said. Mikey's brother.

He feels like puking. The metallic smell of blood is disgusting and the sound of the wrench dropping on the floor drums on Keisuke's head.

Four words spin in his head, round and round like a merry-go-round or a ferris wheel, or even the way his head spins when confronted with an unfamiliar kanji character. It occupied his thoughts as his steps shook like his breath did, treading closer to Kazutora who looked at his blood stained hands and the blood stained floor and- oh god, the blood was everywhere. Keisuke didn’t like the color red.

(Kazutora killed Mikey's brother. Kazutora killed Mikey's brother. Kazutora killed Mikey's brother. Kazutora killed Mikey's brother.)

Keisuke held him, he was shaking far worse than Baji was. There were tears in his eyes and Keisuke was sure that there was in his too.

Keisuke would be going down with Hanemiya Kazutora, no matter what. This is the burden that they will share, the responsibility that will always be on their shoulders. He's going to risk it all and confess, step forward to his crime. Because Keisuke is his mother’s son and this is the right thing to do.

A thought runs around his head, haunting him like ghosts of cats that he never got to save. Would he have cared the same way if the person that died in front of him wasn't Sano Shinichiro?

(Baji Keisuke himself would think no with horror, sick of his own immoral thoughts. Everyone else would have said yes because Baji Keisuke is an angel walking on earth with a gruff exterior but also the most loving and caring being in this very existence. Keisuke would never believe them.)

That familiar ring of cops never felt so terrifying until now.

Kazutora is losing his mind. Keisuke already decided where he will be going, even if it means letting his best friend blame Mikey. Even if it means giving it all up just for him.

"Shinichiro, did you take my lighter?"

The voice echoes at the empty store, sounding louder than the nearing inevitable cops. Keisuke hadn't even heard a jingle of keys, an opening of the door, or even any footsteps. But when he looked back, a woman stood there. Sharp eyes, messy hair, eyebags as if she hadn't slept in the last three days.

This is it.

Kazutora whimpers and Keisuke holds him tighter. It's going to be alright. We'll be together. I will never leave you behind.

His gaze met with yours. Suddenly, the room smelled different. Smoke filled his nose even though there was no obvious presence of it, covering up the smell of blood.

They are both met with surprise. Keisuke could just not believe the words that left your lips as you held a disgusted expression, hands still on your pocket.

"Oh my god, did this asshole really decide to die in front of two kids? What the fuck, Shin? That's fucking traumatizing."

Kazutora shops shivering and Keisuke chokes. The boy with gold as his eyes looked at you and you noticed the one with the hairstyle like an octopus had the same horrified look. “Don’t worry, I’ll talk to him about this,” you replied as if it was the easiest thing to say.

This time, Keisuke is full-on sobbing because there is an insane woman talking insane things and being an insane person in general as you finally kneel down in front of the bleeding man (and fuck, the blood is getting on your knees). Purple energy gathers around your hands and smoothly flows into the corpse in front of you and Keisuke fears that he, as well, is going insane.

It might be the trick of the lighting or his soul failing him but Keisuke swore that the blood on the floor was slowly cleaning itself and Shinichiro’s face was getting less and less paler.

It was quick work for you, but the mental trauma that you also inflicted on the two kids was not going to be quick work at all.

When dark abyss-like eyes suddenly blink open, bleary but obviously alive, and a twitch of the hand before the corpse sit up, Kazutora vomited everything that was in his stomach even though there was barely anything to puke out.

When Shinichiro looks at Keisuke and coughs and asks, “Keisuke? What happened?,” Keisuke proceeds to follow Kazutora’s actions.

When Shinichiro stares down at his clothes and hands soaked with blood, turns his head and sees you, he understands.

You roll your eyes at him, crossing your arms.