Goodbye is the hardest...
by: Charlie
Note: So I didn't want to post an entire story so here's a one-shot. Rated T for Character death, and light swearing
"Tatara, I can't believe you broke your foot, and Yata's skateboard!" Dewa laughed sitting around the boy.
Rikio laughed before speaking up as well, "Really Dewa, I can't believe he managed to get him to take his camera across town to get pictures of the view all because it looks nice out!"
"On a fucking, dare." Tosuka muttered, "I only sent him cause you guys dared me to see how far I could get him to go."
"Well yeah, on any normal day Yata would have beaten whoever broke his board to a pulp." Rikio muttered drinking from the beer bottle he held. "I think we were all lucky it was you, or else he might be behind bars." His laugh came up and rang out along with the rest of HOMRA.
ring... "Uh-oh, Mikoto looks like you're the unlucky one." I laughed seeing his caller ID. "Looks like Yata probably is behind bars." I laugh shaking my head continuing cleaning glasses from where I watched the bar.
"What do you wan-" Mikoto grumbled into the phone before quickly straightening in his seat. "Yeah, I'll be there." he paused again. "Thanks Munakata."
I keep my eyes locked on my king ignoring all the laughter in the bar, "What did the Blue King want?" keeping my voice low to not attract attention.
Walking up slowly to me, he whispers quietly, "Don't make a scene, I'll be back." Mikoto leaned away. He set Anna into my arms before heading to the door.
I watch him go before taking Anna upstairs to her room for her to sleep. I quickly return to the bar and continuing cleaning glasses, trying to get lost in the voices again, but my mind couldn't stop bringing me back to the phone call Mikoto got.
"Where is Yata, think he got lost?" Rikio's highly intoxicated mumbles reach my ears.
"Naw, he probably is just trying to take his time, that or he really is slow without his board." Yu laughed.
Ding- My head whips around to see Mikoto standing there his back to the outside.
"Go home, we have to do something tomorrow, and you'll regret not getting any sleep before hand. Be here at 10." Mikoto's voice carries across the bar washing over everyone, his eyes don't reach anyone's, it looks like his looking through us all anyways.
Everyone quickly finishes their drinks before leaving, even Eric leaves early Tatara in tow. Once my bars empty do I approach him, still unmoving, I almost think he's gone and learned to sleep standing up. "I'll clean up Kusanagi, get some rest." His voice startles me as his eyes for the first time focus on me, really focuses on me.
"Are you sure Mikoto, I can-" I say grabbing near by glasses to fill my hands, scared to leave my friend alone.
"Let me do this, I won't be able to sleep anyways." His voice stops me at the same time as his hands grab my wrists.
"Okay, you'll tell me in the morning right?" I ask letting him take the glasses.
He sighs, "Yes, I'll tell you once you've slept okay." Mikoto nudges me towards the stairs before setting everything down on top of the bar and locking the front door, and turning the sign to closed.
Walking up the stairs, I swear I heard Mikoto whispering Yata's name. before I was out of earshot.
After making it to my room and changing into a pair of sweats I easily drift into a dreamless sleep knowing in the morning the mystery will be solved.
All night I slept waiting to be woken by Mikoto coming up stairs once Yata makes it back. For the past two years of their marriage living in the same building somehow Yata still managed to wake me up with his presence. But maybe that's because I always worried about him. That's why when they got married Mikoto kept it quiet no more enemies added to Yata's ever growing list he made on his own.
But for the first time since they started I slept soundly through the night.
beep-beep-beep-be... Grabbing my sunglasses from the night table I quickly get ready with a quick shower before heading down to the bar to get ready for the others, but it seems it's already finished.
Sitting in front of the bar is Mikoto and Anna both not speaking, on one who looks as if he didn't sleep. "Did, Yata get locked up for the night then?" I mumble going into the kitchen to get them something to eat.
"No." Mikoto mumbles. "Izumo come sit down a minute would ya." he clasps his hands leaning forward on them.
"Umm sure." I set down the eggs I was carrying.
After I sit silence stretches until Mikoto breaks it with a simple question "Do you remember last night?"
"Is this about the phone call?" I ask quickly becoming afraid of the answer.
"Yes. Munakata called me asking me to come to a building on Main, he needed me to identify a body." Mikoto mumbled out half brokenly as Anna began to sob next to him, wquickly crawling into his lap where she probably was most of the morning and night.
"A bod-" I didn't finish my question quickly remembering all the conversations from the night before, before the phone call that had Mikoto acting strangely. No, no, no, please not- "Oh god." I quickly stand up leaning on the bar, "Tell me I'm wrong Mikoto." I whisper as the feeling that I need to vomit doesn't go down.
"It was Yata." He whispers I see tears running down his face as he locks eyes with me briefly before I'm running for the bathroom. I dry heave up nothing.
Not Yata, not our fearless, childish, Vanguard who would rather put himself in danger than any other person in HOMRA, even for any blue if it came down to it.
"I'm sorry." Mikoto mumbles as Anna runs to me clinging onto the back of my shirt. The four of us were a highly dysfunctional close family, that coexisted inside the larger HOMRA family, and now Yata was- and I don't know how I will cope. How will Mikoto and Anna?
"I'll finish opening the bar, Fushimi's coming by in at 10 as well." Mikoto stood wiping the minimal tears off his face. He probably cried all night alone in the bar where he was waiting for no one to come home.
After sitting in the bathroom with Anna clinging to me for so long I finally decide to get up and look presentable. I quickly do the same with Anna as I hear the bell above the door ring.
"Hey Fushimi." Mikoto mumbles, "Thanks for coming." I walk out to see Fushimi, he doesn't even look towards us. he has the same look in his eye that Mikoto had last night.
"Hey." Is all he manages before he collapsed forward into Mikoto's arms. Broken sobs are wrenched from the younger boy, tears of regret, sadness, anger, and frustration, maybe even tears for what could have been. he broke in the lose of the friend he left behind, the friend who never stopped trying to save him even as he called him a traitor. "I'm... Sorry..." He finally heaves out in between his painful sobs.
"It's alright Fushimi, let it out, no one can judge you." Mikoto whispered, rocking the boy back and forth until he fell asleep. "Izumo, I hate to ask but can you-"
"Yeah." My voice breaks from all the sobbing and the dry heaving I did. It will be wrecked for days to come. I approach the two taking Fushimi and bring in him into my arms so I could carry him upstairs where he could sleep. It looked as if he hadn't yet.
When I got back down stairs Mikoto's sitting on the bar with Anna in his lap looking at the rest of HOMRA's faces. They all were standing and staring back waiting for me.
"Okay now that we're all here." Mikoto began
"Wait, Yata's not here yet." Rikio quickly noticed, "Should-"
"Wait and hear what I'm going to say." Mikoto cut him off. I saw Anna's shoulders starting to tremble, she's going to lose it soon. "Now all of you take a seat." He waited again until all of them were sitting much like he did for me. "Last night I got a phone call from Munakata, he asked me to go and identify Yata's body. Someone attacked him and shot him four times in the chest." Mikoto's words washed over the bar, "There was no way it wasn't him. Fushimi contacted his family, Kusanagi and I will have his funeral planned for two days from now." Sobs began coming from all across the bar, the loudest was still Anna as she clung to Mikoto, one of her father figures, the only living one. "The killer left us his name and face thanks to Totsuka's camera which was on his person, it also has Yata's last words. Munakata and Seri will be bringing it by in a couple of hours. after alls said and done, all who want to see him, at 8 tonight we'll go." Mikoto's voice final cracks on the last part.
Two days later... Engraved on the left side of the headstone, with only Mikoto's name and birthday residing on the right side.
In Loving memory of
Suoh-Yata Misaki
A loving husband, A loving friend
A fearless brother and comrade.
July 20,1993 - December 7,2012
Two weeks later... Engraved on the right side of the headstone, next to his already passed husband.
In Loving memory of
Suoh-Yata Mikoto
At peace once more
In Yata's waiting arms
August 13, 1988 - December 21, 2012