Reapers and Keepers

Chapter 3: Fly

"Oikawa,"

"Mm,"

"Oikawa."

"..."

"Oikawa-san?"

Oikawa lifted his head from his arms and gave the short figure clothed in a white kimono in front of him a sad smile. "Mm."

"Oikawa-san,"

"..."

"...let's go home."

Home?

"Oikawa-san?"

"...yeah."

Slowly, Oikawa stood up from the brick wall where he had been sitting and followed the robed figure in front of him as they plunged back into perpetual brightness.

"Oikawa-san,"

Oikawa made a small noise of recognition.

"You can cry if you need to."

A strangled sob made its way out of Oikawa's throat. He stopped walking, curling into himself and burying his face into his hands. He didn't know he could cry this much, he didn't know he could feel this broken.

He could feel the eyes from his friend on him, but he didn't care. It didn't matter. Nothing was right anymore.

"...-chan," he choked, the tears falling freely from his eyes. "I..."

I lost him.

"Wait, you're saying he actually saw you?"

Akaashi nodded once, a little apprehensively. He was sitting on the couch with Kenma in the lounge that was currently empty. The shorter boy set aside the game console in his hands which disappeared with a small poof.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, he could even describe what I looked like and everything," Akaashi responded.

"Huh," Kenma paused, looking at nothing in particular. "I've never had that happen before."

"Has it happened to anyone else here?"

Kenma blinked and then looked down. "One person, but other than him, not that I know of."

Akaashi sat up a little straighter in his seat. "Who??"

"Oikawa,"

Akaashi felt his shoulders slump. "He... probably won't tell me anything, huh?"

"What about me, Kozume-chan?"

The two on the couch jumped in response to the voice. Oikawa had appeared from the illuminated doorway and walked over to them before they had realized.

"Ah, Oikaw—" Akaashi began.

"Kozume-chan~" Oikawa hummed, handing the guardian a file. "Your new assignment~"

Kenma stared at the file blankly before grabbing it and nodding solemnly. Akaashi thought he saw a hint of hope flicker for a brief moment in the guardian's eyes.

"You can start whenever you want, or whenever you don't want. It doesn't really matter to you, does it?" Oikawa sang as he turned and started to head back out of the room.

"Oikawa-san," Akaashi started once more, getting up from the couch.

"Yes, Keiji-chan?"

"Kenma told me that your human is able to see you. Could you tell me about that?"

Akaashi saw something dark flit through Oikawa's eyes, but it was so quick he wondered if he had only imagined it. Oikawa stared at him for a moment too long and Akaashi felt as if he were being scrutinized.