One Heartbeat

“We found him,” Akaashi said as soon as Bokuto answered the phone.

“We’re on our way,” Bokuto replied, calling to Akiteru that they needed to go. “How is he?”

“I mean, considering everything right now, I’d say he was in real bad shape. But, we haven’t approached him yet.”

“Why not?”

“Call me cautious. I don’t want to take the chance that he’ll run off again.”

“Will you wait until we get there?”

“Hurry. But… be careful, okay?”

“We will. Love you, Keiji.”

“I love you, too, Koutaro.”

Akaashi hung up and put the phone back in his pocket. He looked down at Kei’s mom, who was keeping her eyes on her youngest son. She hadn’t said a word, and tears kept streaming down her face, but she’d heard him say that they needed to be careful approaching Kei, so she didn’t move.

They were close enough that they could get to Kei in a hurry, if needed. But Kei didn’t see them. They weren’t exactly hidden from his view, but in the state he was in, he wasn’t going to see anything. Akaashi’s heart broke looking at him. Kei was completely stone-faced, not even an echo of emotion could be seen. Tetsuro had told them once, soon after their reconciliation, that Kei tended to speak with his eyes more than with words. Akaashi had noticed it a few times himself.

But now, his eyes were empty, devoid of even the words he couldn’t say. His arms were wrapped tightly around his middle, as if he were trying to keep himself from flying apart. This wasn’t the Kei they had known since meeting him in Tokyo. This was just a shell. The moment Tetsu had passed away, it was as if Kei had died, as well, and what they were seeing was all that remained.

His phone vibrated, and he quickly took it out and answered.

“We’re here,” Bokuto said.

“Good. Take the main path. We’re not far from there. I’ll use my flashlight so you can find us. Don’t rush in. Be quiet.”

“Does he know you’re there?”

“No. I doubt he’s aware of anything right now.”

“Right. On our way.”

“See you when you get here.”

He hung up and tapped the screen to activate his flashlight. Turning it toward the main path, he set it to strobe. Within a few minutes, Bokuto and Akiteru found them and made their way over.

“What do we do?” Akiteru asked, clearly wanting to go to his little brother. “He needs us.”

“I agree, but he’s already proven a flight risk, and we can’t let him run away again. He might actually hurt himself,” Akaashi replied quietly.

“Would he really do that?” Bokuto asked, looking more worried than Akaashi had ever seen him. He reached out and held his boyfriend’s hand.

“He’s damn near catatonic with grief. I hate to say it, but I don’t trust him not to try and follow Tetsuro right now.”

Kei’s mom moaned, her hands flying up to cover her mouth. Akiteru wrapped her in his arms and held on.

Bokuto grabbed his arm and took him aside. “Are you okay? You’re the only one thinking clearly out of all of us right now.”

Akaashi inhaled deeply, and let it out in one shaky sigh. “No, I’m not. But someone has to be the one to do the thinking, and I can at least shut out my emotions enough to think rationally.” As he said that, a few of his own tears fell, but he quickly wiped them away. “I can’t let it hit me. Not yet. I’m sure once we have Kei back, everything will come down at once. I’ll need you then, Koutaro.”

“You have me whenever you need me.”

“Thanks.” He leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. “Now, let’s come up with a plan in case Kei runs again.”

“Right.”

They turned back to Kei’s mom and brother, who were watching Kei intently. Akaashi focused on his friend, and thought of a plan. It wasn’t a very good one, but it was all he could come up with.

“Guys, we’ll need to split up and then slowly make our way to him. Each of us takes up a directional point: north, east, south, west. That way, at least one of us can tail him if he runs.”

“What do we do if he doesn’t run, but still fights us?”

“We may need to knock him out. Do you think you could do that?”

“If it comes down to it… yes. But mom…”

“I can’t. I’m not strong enough, and I can’t strike my baby boy.”

“Right. We’ll help you,” Bokuto told her. “We don’t want to do it, either, but if we absolutely had to…”

At that moment, they all heard the most heart-wrenching scream, and everyone turned to look at Kei. He was no longer stone-faced, and his eyes… His eyes were pools of pain and sadness. He screamed again; the sound of ultimate suffering. The sound of a broken heart. Then, it was as if everything was in slow motion. Kei doubled over, and then toppled to the ground.

“Kei!!” His mother ran first, and the three of them were right behind her. She hit the ground beside her son, and wrapped him up in her arms as much as she could. “It’s alright, baby. Mama’s here. Shhhh… I’ve got you.” She kept up a litany of quiet words in comforting tones. “Help me get him up,” she ordered no one in particular, but they all knelt down to help.

Once they got him sitting up, his mother wrapped her arms tightly around him, as did Akiteru. Bokuto and Akaashi hung back, but stayed ready, just in case. But what troubled them both was that, from those initial two screams, Kei had once again gone silent and stone-faced. It was as if he was some sort of pressure cooker, letting off the steam as it built up, too much for him to handle; but then he’d close right back up again, only for the process to begin again.

“What can we do for him?” Bokuto asked quietly. “We want to help, but…”

“He might associate us with Tetsu, and seeing us would…”

“It’s okay,” Kei’s mom interrupted firmly. “You’re not wrong, but he’ll need you to be there, even if he acts the exact opposite. He’ll snap and snipe at you; it’s his way of protecting himself. He’ll try his damnedest to push you away, but the minute he loses sight of you, or feels as if you were truly gone, he’ll seek you out.” She paused to gently kiss Kei’s head. “He did something similar when his father passed away, and then again with his grandparents.”

“So, what can we do for him?” Bokuto asked again. He truly wanted to help, but needed to be told what to do.

“We know he doesn’t want to go home right now, so we need to go somewhere… neutral,” Akaashi began thinking out loud. “Akiteru, what about your place?”

Kei’s brother shook his head. “They were over almost all the time while they were at University together. Some of Tetsuro’s things are there, too.”

In the end, Bokuto and Akaashi chose to upgrade their hotel room to a suite, and took Kei there. His mom brought over some clothes, his phone, and tablet. Someone was always with him, not only as support, but also as a guardian. Akaashi cringed at the thought, but they had to be vigilant.