FOUR

MORE

CHAPTERS

LEFT

WHOOOOOOOO

doing 2k words per chapter helped me alotta

so, here are the update days cus this last full week of school is gonna be one hell of a ride and my science teacher decided to throw one last quiz at us and i gotta memorize all 50 states of the US

Today, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday...

Hopefully-

(Haha hope)

WARNING: Minor swearing bc Haji bean is an aggressive boi
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"Cut his wings."

No.

No.

No, no, no, no, no, no.

How could he have been so naive? He should have known- at least could have been able to infer from the lifestyle in the Afterlife that deeds like this would have been consequential.

"IT WASN'T HIS FAULT! STOP!" Hajime hollered at the top of his lungs, his limbs attempting to jerk free from his restraints.

I warned you. Izuru said blandly.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Hajime growled at his older brother. "MAKE YOURSELF USEFUL AND HELP ME OUT!"

Sorry. I don't deal with the supernatural.

"IZURU. KAMAKURA."

But Izuru was gone, leaving Hajime wallowing in a pit full of despair and fear.

The mafia lord could only watch as the Grim Reaper was harshly dragged to a table in the middle of the room.

"KOMAEDA! FIGHT BACK! DON'T LET HER USE YOU LIKE THIS-"

Junko stomped once, her face twisting into a scowl.

"Oh, for goodness sake. Shut your mouth." She flicked her finger at him, and all the air in his lungs escaped, his voice box seeming to have disappeared.

Nagito was shoved onto the wooden table, his arms locked behind him as his wings were pinned to the table by black claws on each side. He was forced to kneel on the ground, his body slouched over the table.

"Wait, wait." Junko snapped her fingers. "Turn him so that Hajime can see his face."

On command, the table was moved. and Hajime's breath caught in his throat when he saw Nagito, his glasses gone due to the excessive force used to detain him.

"Nail him to the table."

Holy shit-

The albino gave Hajime a weak smile, the smile he treasured so much. Yet it was also one that inflicted so much pain into his heart.

Then came the nails, rusted and sharp, against those delicate wings as they were hammered into the wood beneath them.

Nagito's smile faltered drastically, his top teeth biting against his lip, drawing blood.

Junko narrowed her eyes, dissatisfied with his reaction.

"Deeper."

Another sound of metal against metal.

Nagito writhed in pain, but no sound came out. His eyes were clenched and sweat dripped from his forehead.

"Deeper."

Clank.

Still no noise.

Her voice lowered.

"Deeper."

Clank.

By now, the nails were halfway into Nagito's wings. Hajime almost retched when he saw the blood escaping the crooked wings. He knew how sensitive they were. To have nails driven in them. Oh god-

Junko sighed in exasperation.

"You know what? Just hammer it all in."

With a mighty swing, the nail went all the way in effortlessly.

A strangled, broken gasp on pain made its way out of Nagito's mouth. His lip was starting to bleed and the edge of his wings was twitching uncontrollably.

Hajime lunged, desperate to pull them out and end the albino's suffering.

An appeased smile blossomed on Junko's ruby lips.

"I did say 'cut his wings'. But I never said I wouldn't do more than that."

The smug expression made Hajime want to wring her neck until she turned purple and died in his hands.

He wanted to choke her, suffocate her, make her feel Nagito's pain.

He wanted to see her blood, her face of agony when the life slowly left her eyes.

"Now you can cut his wings." The Queen chuckled, turning around with a majestic sweep of her dress. "Be sure to write the word 'Consequence' on his wings."

A gleaming blade of bone met the leathery flesh, drawing a large 'C' into the skin.

Nagito still made no sound, his eyebrows clenched together in tribulation.

"You're quite boring, Nagito Komaeda. Come on. I want to hear the sound of despair in your voice."

Nagito kept still, looking like he was at the verge of going unconscious.

"We can't have you fainting on us, can we? Your spectator will be totally bummed out." Junko walked over to Nagito, crouching at his level and taking his chin between her fingers.

"Let's lower your pain tolerance, shall we?"

The simple sentence made Hajime's blood run cold, and a sudden paroxysm of abnormal rage blinded his view.

His arms slipped free of the grip on him, and he lurched from his position, his hands reached for the Queen's neck.

Without looking backward, Junko flicked her wrist and Hajime was thrown against the wall, shackles around his wrists and ankles.

Smirking sadistically, the royal drew a line from the top to the bottom, and a bloodcurdling scream erupted from the white-haired boy, his eyes bloodshot.

"Draw." She commanded.

The blade met against the wings again, drawing the letter 'O'.

The table shook violently with Nagito's spasms of pain, his eyes jerking violently.

The brunet struggled against the cuffs, but his body went limp when he knew it was useless.

He was useless.

He was just a pathetic, mortal soul who had no place in the Afterlife, who thought he could fit in as he did in the Mafia.

Worthless.

Absolutely pitiful.

Next came the letter 'N'.

Then, 'S'.

E.

Q.

U.

E.

N.

C.

E.

Pleased, the Queen of Hell reset the Grim Reaper's pain tolerance, and his last scream became a strangled noise at the back of his throat.

The metal around Hajime's wrists and ankles disappeared and he scrambled toward Nagito, his fingernails scrabbling at the metal.

Fear seized his chest as he saw the messenger of Death up close.

His chest was heaving up and down, his wings bent in an odd angle due to the position it had been in when the nail went through.

"Hey, Nagito." Hajime found his voice cracking. "Nagito? Hey, don't die on me now."

Thank god he hadn't cut his fingernails. With a strained tug, the nail came free, along with a mini fountain of blood.

The second nail was free in a matter of minutes, and the table disappeared.

Hajime caught Nagito, placing his head on his legs. his heart pounding against his chest. Gently, he tried his best to smooth the bloodied wings, his nose runny with tears that he tried keeping in.

"Nagito. Nagito?"

Please let him be alive-

The pale boy cracked open his eyes; dull with pain.

"Hey, don't cry," he wheezed out. "I'm fine."

A shaky hand went up to Hajime's face, cupping his cheek. Nagito cringed slightly, but with a wobbly smile, he wiped the tears away from the brunet's eyes.

"You fucking idiot." Hajime's eyes glossed over with tears of anger.

Suddenly, Nagito went limp, his hand falling onto his chest as his face contorted into one of discomfort.

The blood was unable to stop, bleeding onto the ground as well as Hajime's pants. Without Izuru, Hajime had no way of patching Nagito up, and much to his dismay, he called for the one person he never knew he would need assistance from.

"MIKAAAAAN!!"

~

"You should have told me."

The albino merely stared at the ceiling, his eyes unmoving.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Hajime said, this time a little bit louder.

"I..." Nagito started, his voice hoarse. "I wanted you to be happy. I didn't want you to suffer the same fate I did."

"You shouldn't have risked your life for a simple thing like that!" Hajime roared, flinging a chair across the room where it splintered into a million pieces.

His chest was heaving in outrage. If he had lost another one of his loved ones, he swore he was going to go mad. Chiaki had been a close one, but Nagito-

Nagito had been even closer than his childhood friend. He was always patient with him, sympathetic over what he had been through and never blamed him for his crimes. Unlike Chiaki. So unlike her.

"We need to get to work now," Nagito said, ignoring Hajime's hissy fit

"Oh, hell no you don't." Hajime pushed the Grim Reaper back onto the pillows, his eyes blazing with vexation.

"Hajime..." Nagito warned.

"It's only been a day and your wings haven't healed yet. You're not working until you've healed."

"Her Majesty doesn't allow any more days off after what I've done."

"Fuck her. Your wings need to recover."

Nagito started undoing his bandages revealing the nasty scars on his wings.

"Fight me."

The nerve of him-

Hajime pinned the albino beneath him, glaring daggers into his face.

"You bet I will fight you."

A flash of pain shot through the albino's eyes, a sudden yelp escaping his mouth as he recoiled, fear clouding his eyes.

Hajime looked down at his hand. He had accidentally placed his wrist on one of the wounds.

He cursed softly, brushing his fingers lightly over the wound.

"I'm sorry." His eyes softened, his fingers still caressing the wing, sending shivers down the other's spine.

Dipping his head, he placed a soft kiss on the injury, something he'd seen his mother do for Izuru every time he got hurt.

"Better?"

Nagito was evidently flustered, his face red.

"We need to work." He cleared his throat.

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pleeaaase?"

"I don't get why you want to work for that piece of horse shit that grew legs." Hajime rolled his eyes. "And yes, I know you're bound to the Afterlife, but that's not an excuse."

He heaved a sigh once he saw Nagito's face.

"Only if I carry you."

"How?"

"I have wings."

Nagito frowned, tugging at his bandages.

"But you don't know how to use them."

Hajime snorted, taking Nagito under the arms, heaving him off the bed. He clutched the albino to his chest as he unfurled his fully matured wings.

"Watch... me..." he grunted, attempting to raise his wings.

Nagito laughed lightly before taking the brunet by surprise when he switched positions with him. Automatically, his bandages fell off in a heap, and he spread his wings.

They launched into the sky with Hajime protesting in anger.

"Komaeda! Stop! You're putting too much stress on your wings."

"It's fine. I can fly perfectly well."

But Hajime knew there was something off with the way Nagito spoke and flew. His voice was light and airy as if he was going to pass out any time. His flight path was uncoordinated, and his grip on Hajime was looser than usual.

"No, you can't. Stop lying."

A blinding light met Hajime's eyes when they appeared in the real world, the ocean waves sparkling beneath them.

"Komaeda..." Hajime growled as Nagito's arms loosened. "Don't you are let me go like last time."

Nagito didn't respond.

"Komaeda? Hey, Komaeda!"

The world around Hajime went in a three-sixty motion, and he found himself falling back-first to the ocean.

"Komaeda!"

Hajime flipped his body, the wind instantly hitting his face. The Grim Reaper was right below him - within arms reach - and most likely unconscious.

Gritting his teeth, Hajime reached out for Nagito, to hold him as they plunged into the sea. But every time he attempted to grab the albino, his fist would only come into contact with thin air.

"Goddammit, Nagito! WAKE UP!"

The sea was approaching quicker than Hajime expected, and the only thing he could think of was-

Fly.

His dark wings sprouted from his back.

Come on, come on. Work, you stupid thing! Hajime begged, but the muscles in his wings refused to obey his commands.

Nagito landed in the water with a large splash. Hajime followed suit, taking a deep breath before he dove in.

The albino was sinking, one arm above him whilst bubbles came from his nose. Hajime's wings beat furiously as his legs kicked rapidly to get to the albino.

He was almost there; fingertips brushing against the boy's hand.

Almost...

His hand took hold of Nagito's, pulling him to his chest. With the last remaining ounce of strength he had, Hajime willed his wings to fly.

He pumped them hard against the water, determined to reach the surface.

Harder, harder. He needed to fly. His wings were heavy, dragging him down, but the will to save Nagito overpowered his tedious task.

Fly.

Hajime burst out of the freezing water with the albino in his arms, his wings beating behind him in synchronized movements.

A powerful push of his wings sent Hajime flying toward the shore, his clothes clinging to his skin. To his relief, Nagito started coughing and hacking up water just when they reached the shore.

"Komaeda?"

The Grim Reaper nodded his head weakly, indicating that he was still functioning.

"I fucking told you not to overwork yourself and what do you do first? Overwork yourself." Hajime grabbed the collar of Nagito's shirt, pulling him so that the pale boy had no other option but to look him in the eyes.

"It's my job."

"Your job doesn't mean that you can let your superiors manipulate everything you do."

"But they're my superiors." A hint of irritation could be heard in his voice.

"You know what? Maybe if I died then you wouldn't have to suffer anymore because of me. Isn't that right? If I had let that ugly, black, mound thing kill me, your wings wouldn't be in this condition. If I had never existed, the Queen would have never kept such a close eye on you. So it would all be better if I fucking killed myself."

"Fine then! You can go die for all I care! I don't need you. I'm capable enough of taking care of myself." Nagito exploded, hurling word after word at the equally agitated brunet.

With a growl, the albino spread his wings again, ready to depart.

"Oh no you don't-" Hajime wrapped his arms underneath Nagito's pinning his squirming figure to his chest. "You're not flying anymore."

"I already said I didn't care about you! Let me go!" Nagito hissed, kicking at the mafia lord.

"You're only saying that because you fucking care. You want me to push you away, to neglect you so that I wouldn't get in any form of trouble with the Queen or King. Isn't that right?" Hajime spat.

Nagito stopped struggling, and Hajime knew he had hit the jackpot.

"Listen, Nagito." He spun the white-haired boy around by the shoulders so that he was facing him again. "Forget what I said about me killing myself."

Nagito's brows were furrowed in hatred, causing Hajime to tighten his grip on the other's shoulders.

"Look. What I meant to say was..." He licked his chapped lips, scared of what Nagito's reply would be. "Was..."

Hajime stared directly into Nagito's eyes, his tone laced with seriousness.

"Run away with me."
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You guys seem like you're going to kill me for the first part of this chapter.

(Thanks to Unlucky_Chat for the sentence where it says, "I don't get why you want to work for that piece of horse shit that grew legs.")