Fault Line (Joe Tazuna x GN!Reader)

The Third Floor

A day passed.

Then another.

And another.

Three days and Joe was still asleep. You understood why. The shock from losing someone so close to him must've put his mind through so much, and essentially needed a factory reset.

But three days was a long time.

You felt guilty for Sara's death. You knew there was nothing you could've done to save her, yet you still felt somehow responsible.

It should've been anyone but her. It should've been Sou, or Kai, or Keiji, or Q-Taro, or... or...

Or you.

Anyone but Sara.

Because she was so bright. She was so bright. If Joe was the moon then Sara was the sun. The opposite could be argued, but it seemed like Sara was the sun in the current situation.

Now that she couldn't be here to shine, Joe no longer glowed.

You didn't know Joe very well. That didn't stop you from keeping an eye on him. For three days, you waited in his bedroom. You tried to sleep but you saw her every time you closed your eyes. You heard her. You could feel what she felt and taste the blood in your mouth, the smell of sweat rolling down your face and the ache in your throat from crying and screaming.

Sleeping would never be as peaceful as it once was ever again.

For someone who had been asleep for three days, you wondered how Joe was faring. You tried calling out to him every once in a while. Nothing ever happened.

You wondered if he had died every once in a while.

But he was still breathing.

It was almost like he was in a coma.

You wondered if this Death Game would be able to continue while Joe was in a coma. Selfishly, you hoped it wouldn't. You didn't want to deal with any of it, and you certainly didn't want to do it by yourself. Before, you were completely guided by Joe and Sara. If Joe didn't wake up, you'd have to lead yourself, or find someone else to lead you.

And you knew that was selfish of you to think, but humans are born to be selfish. No one would survive, otherwise.

No one would survive .

Coming from a place of pity, you hoped it would continue so Joe wouldn't have to deal with anything else. He'd already lost his best friend. If he woke up, everyone would turn back to him for assistance. They'd expect this seventeen-year-old boy to lead a group of primarily adults through a Death Game as if he had any fucking idea what he was supposed to be doing. He had enough pressure on him as it was.

You knew that some people worried about you. You hadn't left Joe's room much. Just about once or twice a day to grab something to eat, but at this point in the third day, you hadn't left the room at all. You weren't feeling hungry.

At least, you weren't, until you started thinking about eating.

You looked over at Joe. Still asleep, of course.

You wouldn't be long. You'd say there was a...0.9% chance of him waking up while you were gone.

The fact that there was any chance at all made you hesitant, but you'd done this before. You'd be quick.

So you stood up and quietly left the bedroom, closing the door behind you.

You sighed, letting your shoulders slump.