Something was... wrong. You didn't know what or why but between Sans and the energy in the atmosphere, you felt on edge. You knew Sans wasn't telling you something. You could feel something in his soul was wrong. Like, really wrong. You could feel Naruto's soul was also... not his own. It was off. It had to be the demon. She hoped that whatever was going on, that Naruto would come back to himself and the demon would be sealed away once more. Her tail was stiff with tension. "I know that stance. What's up [Y/N]?" Hizuki came up from behind you. "Something is wrong with Naruto. Something is wrong with Sans. I don't know what to do." You replied blankly. "Something's... is this a monster thing?" You nodded and looked at Hizuki. "Their souls are off, Naruto's is under stress and Sans... it feels fragmented almost... in pain." You frowned. You felt... no... you knew... something had been wrong with Sans for a long time. It was only getting worse. You'd been afraid to come to terms... to accept that... Sans was dying.

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You didn't sleep that night. You have been trying to wrap your mind around the idea of Sans not being there. You'd only known him for a year and a half, yet... you were so scared to lose him. You had to face this though. Face Sans. Learn the truth behind why he was dying. You took a shortcut to your biological fathers place and knocked, steeling your nerves for the inevitable. "Come on-" You stopped yourself short. You weren't sure you actually wanted to wake him up. Sleep was probably his only escape from the reality. You bit your lip. You and Sans would have this conversation... just not until he woke up. Naruto's soul had stabilized which was good at least. Hopefully he would be back soon, you could really use a friend... or a teammate. You were fairly certain that Yoru was around while Kasai was at a clan thing. Super important if you recalled correctly. You just had to track down Yoru and see if he was busy. It took a hot minute to pick up any sort of scent or soul signature, but you were happy when you did. Hopefully he might have some advice on how you should handle the conversation or something.

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"[Y/N]? How may I assist you?" Your visit to Yoru's compound was no doubt a surprise to him, but as your teammate, he knew you never sought them out for no reason. "I guess I just really need someone to talk to. I know you don't really get the monster thing either, but..." He put down his book. "Say no more. Vent to your souls content." He led you to a more secluded location in his home so you could speak freely. "I... think Sans is dying. I don't know... how to confront him about it or how to... handle it." Yoru looked at you with wide eyed surprise. "Sans? Why do you think he's..."
"His soul has been off since we met and only getting worse as the days go by. It's in pain and feels fragmented, like it's falling apart." You explained. "... I see... I imagine... he's probably not sure how to tell you, you are his daughter. And you said yourself that you don't know how to face him. I can't really help that much other than be there for you, it's something you two have to discuss on your own. It should be sooner rather than later though, if he really is dying, you'll want to have as much time together as possible."

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So that left you to waiting for Sans to wake up. A dreaded conversation waiting to be had, but one thing was for sure. If he really was dying, you wanted to be there before his time came. You wanted to catch up on the years you'd missed being apart and with your other father busy with stars knows what, you had time before the next mission. You'd been shockingly inactive since you became a Jonin. You suspected it had something to do with the Akatsuki. Maybe Lady Tsunade didn't want them learning of your magic? Either way, for now it was working to your advantage in this critical time between you and Sans. You decided to take a shortcut back up to see if Sans was awake yet. To your relief (and dread) he was just coming out of his apartment. No more stalling now. You had to talk to him. "Hey Sans, just wake up?" He turned to look at you, grinning. His soul was screaming though. "yep. sup kiddo, need me for something?"

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How were you going to go about this? "Were you going to tell me you are dying?" Sans flinched almost immediately. Yep. That was your strategy. Rip off the bandaid. "so you know... huh?" You walked over to him. "I can feel your soul... I knew it was off but..." Sans took your hand, immediately shortcutting you back inside for this talk. He hugged you close. "i'm sorry, i should've known you'd figure it out on your own... i should have told you before now." You hugged him back. "Why is your soul-"
"it's a side effect... of losing your soulmate. i've been dying since your mother died." Your grip on him tightened. "W-what...?" Sans tried and failed to get you to sit down. "when one soulmate dies, the other usually doesn't survive long, but you needed me, so i kept myself together." You gulped. "You're suffering because of me."
"no! nononono! i- yeah it hurts, but you make it bearable. [Y/N]... i chose to live for you and i will continue to live for you." You whimpered. "I don't wanna lose you, I feel like I just got you back..." Sans rubbed your back comfortingly. "then let's make the best of what we have left."