I gasped and pushed out air from my mouth as I held an enormous amount of weight for just my left had to hold. I forced myself to breathe.
Hiro's face was just a metre away from me. It was blank, his blood-stained lips were partially open, and his eyes shut. I could see silvery trails from tears that had stained his skin. I let out another low gasp.
"Hiro?" I whispered, unable to speak any louder. What if I shouted and I let him go? I couldn't allow it.
"Hiro!" I repeated. His eye opened slightly and he frowned as if he was confused as to why I had caught him.
"Arch…er?" He slurred out, a small stream of blood falling out of his tear duct as more fell out his nose. "What…how di..d…you—?" I grinned and shushed him. I felt tears fall down my face.
"Hiro, I'm so sorry, I tried to fight—for you—but it took over me. And when I came to it all I could do was catch you before you fell too far." I whispered it all out, it was a murmur among the screaming of my heart. "I'm really sorry that it's come to this."
I could see how badly I'd injured him. But it hadn't really been me. Had it? I grimaced as I moved the finest bit and strained a shoulder muscle. Hiro slipped a little more out of my grasp.
I gritted my teeth and held him tighter. He wouldn't fall. He won't fall. He can't fall. He moved the slightest bit and I gasped in pain. "Hiro don't—"
"Archer." He said quietly, no longer looking at me. I didn't need more discouragement. If only Jae could grab his other hand, maybe then—
"Let me go." He said.
My gaze widened. I looked at him wildly as tears streaked my cheeks and fell across my lips. Filling my eyes with blurry shadows. "What…?" I let myself process those words. "What—no—why would I—?"
I looked away and then back. My gaze flickered across his bruised and battered face. He was really serious. He slipped just a little more.
"Hiro I can't hold on—!" My cry was cut off as he met my gaze. I felt my lower lip tremble as more tears fell.
I can't hold on any longer—but I can't let him fall!
Hirokazu Yamashita was smiling. Grinning. Beaming even. I let out a low wail and shut my eyes, shaking my head ever so slightly. It wouldn't happen, I couldn't let this happen.
"Why are you smiling?" I whispered, the pain was so obvious in my voice that I shifted my gaze away in shame. He was in this position because I let myself get captured. Fooled by deceit. "It's my fault."
Hiro chuckled and then coughed. My grip loosened. I looked back at him, determined to memorise the lines of his lips and the way his eyelashes curled over his perfect eyes. The curve of his chin and the way his hair fell around his ears.
"How is it your fault?" He asked softly. "I wandered into your life—not the other way around." He reached out with his other hand as if to stroke my cheek. "Don't blame yourself for something you couldn't prevent." He said.
I opened my mouth to tell him he can say that when he woke up in a week's time in a hospital bed, healthy and healing. But he pulled backwards. And the blood in between my fingers helped him easily remove his hand from mine.
"Find me in the next life." He murmured.
I watched horrorstruck as he slowly disappeared. And I had no time to stop myself from falling forwards in agony before someone could grab my hands and drag me to safety.
I felt sick, so much so that Jae led me over to an empty box where I could throw up. It was twisted, hideously so. I felt something snap inside of me as if I didn't need to feel the lightness around Hi—I threw up again. I couldn't even think of his name. It just hurt too much.
By the time I came to, Jae was bleeding all over and we were lying in the dirty guttering of the local houses before us. Maybe the people who destroyed my life thought we were dead. Dead from shock. Dead from life.
Dead from death.
Jae hugged me, she was sobbing silently. As if no noise was able to come from her mouth anymore. I grimaced as more tears somehow fell from my eyes. How was it possible? How could I still cry? I gritted my teeth and blinked them away.
And thus our lives, come hell or high water, we would continue without the light of King Hirokazu Yamashita.