• hazy signals •

toya pov //

My eyes are rested, nearly squinting as I look at the floor silently.

I purse my lips and walk out Akito's room, downstairs to Ena.

I fill her in on everything that happened and she thanked me for saying, and I nodded quietly in return.

I genuinley can't believe anything that just happened. I physically can't process it.

My breathing is heavy and everything is fuzzy. I drag myself home, walking through the door as I blankly stare at my father shouting at me.

I sense his fist smash into my cheek, but I don't feel it. Everything's numb. His voice is all blurry and foggy, muffled speaking.

"Reply to me, you disrespectful brat!" He yelled.

"What did you say?" I murmur, blinking slowly. I'm beginning to feel like nothing actually exists. It's all a fake. None of its real.

"Huh? You didn't hear me?" He smiled and hit me again. Usually I'd be biting my lip, trying not to cry, but I actually don't give a shit. I cant, when Akito's struggling and won't tell me how or why.

"Go to your room! Forget dinner completely, don't show your face downstairs." He demanded. I nod and enter my room, gently shutting the door.

What does anybody even expect me to do right now?

I stand there for a moment, contemplating my entire existence. Everything switches away from quiet in the snap of a finger.

Oh my god. It's so loud. I cover my ears, collapsing to the floor.

I choke on my breath as water flows down my cheeks, and I sniff in, gritting my teeth as my hands move up to my hair and I breathe in before pulling it harshly, tugging on it.

My scalp aches, my eyes stinging from the pain of never ending tears. Father hears me crying and storms into my room.

He grabs my neck and lifts me up, shoving me against the wall.

"Why are you crying?!" He laughed.

"You're so weak. Always were. I'm embarassed that you're mine. You're a disgrace to this name, and everything about this house and the people in it. I'd consider my life better if you hadn't ever stepped into it." He smirked, telling me what he really thought.

In the corner of my eyes, I saw KAITO peeking over the edge of my phone, his eyes wide with sympathy and rage all at once.

"I don't care! I don't care anymore!" I shout. What the hell am I doing?!

"It's not my fault your standards are so freakishly high because of your own insecurity!" I laugh in his face, as he lets go of my neck and drops me.

"Seriously, get some help. You're living in this fucked up world up here." I tap the side of his head.

"Im sorry, what?" He smiled at me.

"You really do bring this in yourself, Toya." He sighed, closing the door as he turned around a moment later, his eyes grinning yet his face stone straight.

an pov //

I'm sat in sekai with Kohane, waiting for KAITO to return with updates. He- he said he'd be back around 10 minutes ago.

Speaking of the devil, he appears after my vision turns hazy for just a second. There's tears in his eyes, and he's breathing heavily.

"T-Toya he- n- needs help-" He stammered, holding his stomach as he bent over for breath.

"What? What the hell happened?" I shoot up from my seat.

"His d-dad.." KAITO looked up at me slowly, then at Kohane. I exchanged glances with her.

"We need to go. Now." I say between gritted teeth. Kohane stops playing 'Beyond the way' and grabs my hand so it takes both of us back. We appear in Vivid street, around 10 minutes from Toya's house.

KAITO appears on my phone, his hologram small and dim to mask himself. I leg it, running as fast as my body can take me. Adrenaline makes us both faster.

I don't care about the glares we are getting from people seeing us sprinting.

I get onto his road and tiredness kicks in. I gasp for air, holding my stomach as a stitch forms. I close my eyes for less than a second, pushing it down.

I check nobody's in the front room- a clear view to us- before I climb in through his window. He always leaves it unlocked.

KAITO appears more confidently, his hologram brighter as he looks around desperately. I collapse down when I get into his room.

Where even is he?

I look at his ajar bathroom door and go over, gently opening it. My face drops.

He's unconscious on the floor, his face bloody and bruised.

"Toya. Toya. Oh my god." I collapse down by his side and grip his hand for a moment. I lift his face with my hand, his eyes closed, lips pursed.

Kohane digs through his draw, finding large plasters and a few long bandages, tissues, a cloth and mousturiser too.

He opens his eyes, but they don't do more than squint.

"Toya? Can you hear me?" I blink. I hear footsteps dragging up his stairs. I shove the things we got out behind his toilet as I grab Kohane and run out, getting into his wardrobe, her next to me.

I shift so my legs are around her, brown hair resting on my chest as I link my arms around her torso.

His dad comes back in. Thank fuck I left the door as closed as it was when we got here.

"I'm s-sorry-" Toya stammered, his voice weak and trembling.

"Bullshit!!" His father yells. It sends goosebumps through my skin, my heart pounding so hard I'm sure if everything went silent he'd be able to hear it.

A smash is heard and I peer through the crack, closing one eye to enable better vision.

I see him unconscious again, blood running down the side of his face, shattered alcohol bottle fragments on the floor.

"I'll fucking teach you who's fucked up in the head." His dad whispered, grabbing toyas neck, dragging him into his bedroom, grabbing a glass off the side.

He lifted his arm above his head and shot it down to his son, another sickly clatter ringing through my ears.

I breathe out before I dare to look again, seeing more blood. A lot more.

Oh my god.

Oh my god there's so much blood.

It's running down his cheek and neck, dripping down his chest. I swallow and I feel Kohane tense up, as she whimpers. I shove my hand over her mouth quickly, jamming my eyes shut. He looks around but ignores it after a moment.

"Tch. Weak." He spits, laughing as he walks out. I throw myself out the cupboard, looking at the sight. The blood drip has reached just under his collarbone.

"Fuck I- I-" Stuttering, fear consumes my stomach.

Akito.

I spam call him, and on the third attempt he picks up.

"What do you wa-" He groans. I butt in before he can carry on and frantically explain, tears forming.

"Ena! Fuck! Drop me to Toyas house!" He shouts, before hanging up the call. I run into Toya's bathroom and get a cloth, holding it up to the side of his head. It catches a lot of the blood.

Kohane is panicking, fear spiking her eyes.

I don't care if Akito's got a day left right now, and he doesn't either.

After about six minutes I see hands slam onto the bottom of the windowsill as Akito hoists himself up. He has blood smudges under his nose and mouth but without fail got here as fast as possible. He doesn't live that long away, so on car it was even faster.

He gasps and bends down, picking Toya up, taking him to the bathroom.

I watch him get the cloth and tightly press it against Toyas head, wrapping bandages around it to keep it in place. I hear KAITO call my name quietly so I run and get my phone, putting it on the floor so he can see.

"Get out get out I need room." Akito ushered both me and Kohane, not looking at us once.

We settle outside the bathroom door, as she gripped my hand stressfully.

akito pov //

I stick my tongue out a little from focus, as I take his shirt off to see the state of his torso. The bruises plastered over it are dark, things that'll clearly bring him pain.

I find another cloth and wet it in freezing cold water, wrapping it tightly around my hand as I push it tightly up to them.

I've already cleaned down his face. There are only small cuts, the annoying ones that bleed a shit tonne but turn out to be tiny as hell.

The gash on the side of his head should be completely fine, it only bled that much because of the exact spot that was hit.

I breathed out, sat on his legs as I push the cloth up to his chest.

His eyes flickered open as he lifted his head, looking into my eyes as he yawned.

"Oh my god.." I sigh.

"I thought your ass was going to die." Blinking, my eyes meet his.

"What- happened?" He asked, look around his bathroom, confused.

"I don't know, but your old man did you pretty bad, Toya." I frown, focusing on trying to numb the pain he's getting from the bruises.

He lifts his hand to the gash on the side of his head, his fingertips brushing bandage material

"How does it feel?" I ask quietly.

KAITO is looking between us, before he rubs the back of his neck and dissapears off of An's screen.

"Uhh, it feels okay." He shrugged.

"Seriously, man. I thought you died there." I whispered.

He was looking out at An and Kohane together.

Kohane's head was on An's chest as she comforted her, kissing her head.

Toya lifted his hand and pointed at them.

"Why can't we do that?" He looked back at me.

"Huh?" I frown, then laugh.

"You do that with Hana, not me." I smile at him.

He's probably just hazy, that's all. I'd imagine lots is going on in his head right now, including confusion.

"No, we broke up." He said to me.

"Really?" I smile, looking after him as I tend to his injury.

"Yeah, look." He showed me his phone and I scrolled through the messages.

Oh holy shit. They actually broke up. I thought he was just- I-

"Oh, I'm sorry." I say to him hesitantly as I put his phone down, wiping his forehead.

"Now can we do it?" He asked quietly.

"Huh?" I blink. He wraps his arms around my chest, pulling me in as my head falls onto his shoulder, and he kissed the top of my head.

What.

What.

What.

My eyes widen as I blush, and try to contain everything.

"Please please stay. Right there." He whispered, rubbing my back as he kissed my head again.

"Haah?! Um. Nah, Toya. Do you feel okay?" I laugh and lift myself up.

"N-no everything's- dizzy.." He blinked.

Oh, so that explains it.

Fuck. For fucks sake. I bite my tongue till I feel blood, but realised there's no need.

Pain shoots through my throat, and my breathing switches to heavier. I cover my mouth as I lean over his toilet, gagging as I vomit blood.

"Are you okay?" He asks drowsily.

"I'm okay, I'm okay. Don't worry about me." I flush it down after wiping my mouth, turning back to Toya. I smile painfully, tears in my eyes.

"So, why did you want to break up with Hana?" I ask as I sigh, trying to strike up convorsation if it'll make him feel more attached to reality.

"Because I like someone else." He murmured quietly, I sit back, shaking my head as I smile.

"Which girl you after now, dumbass?" I say playfully, nudging him as I move and sit next to him.

"It's not a girl." He responded. I freeze, then swallow and force myself to untense. He thought I was his crush so he hugged me and kissed my head. Fuck.

"Huh, I don't know why that surprised me. Who?" I smile.

"Somebody." He looked at me. I breathe out, stopping myself from breaking down and screaming.

Now he loves someone else. Even worse, another boy.

I love you, Toya.

I love you, but I don't want to.

I can't escape the way I love you.

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2059 words

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHWAAHAHAHAHAH

akito thinks toya lives someone else but ITS HIM whwhahahaha

screams and cries out of pain

am i torturing you 😈

i feel so bad for toya i had a sad face on while writing this entire chapter

BONUS POINTS FOR PEIPLE WHO RECOGNISED THE LAST TWO LINES AS 'I LOVE YOU' BY BILLIE EILISH