[color=silver][center][h2][color=0099aa]𝐃𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐭[/color][/h2]
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[i]Goddamn [/i]it was noisy. Was it really too much to ask to be able to say goodbye to a comatose friend in peace!? Man...

Duncan shifted uncomfortably, trying to ignore the arguing going on outside. Whatever problems they had, he didn't care. He had to do this, had to say his goodbyes before he managed to trick himself into believing Yuki had hope again. But if he could hear everything outside, from the loudest yell to the faintest mumble, he had no doubt the other Awakened could also hear him, and that thought alone made him acutely aware of his heartbeat. He didn't want to say something overly mushy and hear about it later. Like, what if someone heard and told [i]Hiroshi?![/i] No thanks.

Besides, it wasn't like Yuki could hear him. He could tell, even with no expertise on the topic. Nothing seemed to affect Yuki's steady, shallow breaths. He wasn't... wasn't [i]there [/i]to be moved by whatever anyone had to say, so any words he needed to get out would only be there to comfort Duncan himself. And if they were just for him anyway, he might as well just think them.

So, he tried. He [i]tried [/i]to come up with a whole speech in the confines of his mind, free of embarrassment, but his thoughts didn't cooperate. They kept wandering to memories, to what ifs, to apologies, to realizing how fucking [i]awful [/i]Yuki would have found all this. Eventually, Duncan gave up. Even if he did figure out how to do this, then what? Yuki would still be here, lying on the floor, unable to wake up. Words-- words wouldn't be enough. He had to let Yuki go, and not just figuratively in his head. He had to let Yuki rest, for real. He had to do something about those shallow breaths.

... But [i]what?[/i]

They did it with a pillow in the movies. There wasn't a proper one around here though, none of those fluffy white ones. And it wasn't like he could just use his hands - that'd feel like [i]murder[/i].

Wouldn't it still be murder, no matter what?

[i]Shit[/i], shit, the movies never conveyed how fucking hard it was to even think about just... offing someone. With his strength he could probably just smack Yuki hard enough and it'd do the trick, but he wasn't about to[i] beat his friend bloody[/i]. ... Blood. There [i]was [/i]his blood. It'd almost killed Sasuke. Not in a pleasant-looking way, but could Yuki feel anything anyway? He could say it was a delayed reaction to the blood he ingested earlier if anyone asked. And maybe-- just maybe if he tried with his blood [i]one more time[/i], it would actually work and he wouldn't need to think about any of this.

One last shot. Then, one way or another, Yuki would be free.

Duncan inhaled slowly as he raised his shirt. There weren't any objects sharp enough to make proper cuts around, but how difficult would it be to tear open a scar? ... Well, probably [i]very[/i], but he was ready.

Except, before he could start, he heard footsteps. Immediately, Duncan yanked down his shirt and whirled around in his cross legged pose, coming face to face with Yukiko. Damn. He must've looked like a deer caught in headlights, but even if Yukiko noticed, she said nothing. Just walked up wordlessly and plopped down on the other side of Yuki, hugging her knees.

... Oh. 

Silence settled over them, or over Yukiko, at least. It was never silent for Duncan and his newly found, superhuman senses. But it sure as hell was still awkward. He felt like he should've cheered her up, said something encouraging and hopeful, but really, that would've just delayed the inevitable. So what he said instead, was: [color=0099aa]"He won't come back, you know."[/color]

He let the words settle before continuing, not daring to turn to face her. He kept staring down at Yuki's sleeping face instead. [color=0099aa]"There's nothing more we can do for him, even with all the magic bullshit we got. You--- [i]you [/i]did good, though, alright? So don't go blaming yourself."[/color]

Before Duncan could stop himself, he was speaking again, blurting out his thoughts the way he'd been unable to before. [color=0099aa]"He wouldn't want us to see him like this. If he knew you were coming in, he would've insisted on staring at the mirror for half an hour and groomed himself first. Like this dude brushed his eyebrows! Who the [i]fuck [/i]brushes their eyebrows?! I asked him that once, and you know what this asshole said?"[/color]

He let out a wry, pained laugh. [color=0099aa]"'Stars like me.' Like he was... like he was mad popular, a celebrity in the making, with girls lined up at his door for every hour of the day. All cause of what, his Youtube channel? Daisuke and I were half his viewers. We watched every video. Multiple times. The numbers made Yuki so goddamn happy. He was sure they were all different chicks, all swooning, but really, it was two dudes and sometimes Maki, laughing at his antics with beers in hand. Oh, and kids, probably. Heard his vids were really popular with them. Somewhere out there's like an army of wannabe Yukis driving their bikes into lakes. They're gonna be devastated when--"[/color]

Duncan couldn't finish that thought, and he had to swallow a good handful of times before he was sure he could continue with a steady enough voice. [color=0099aa]"... We can't leave him like this."[/color] Duncan raised his gaze to Yukiko at last, brows furrowed. Not from anger, but from determination he hoped was infectious enough not to have her immediately freak out on him.[color=0099aa] "We... need to let him [i]go,[/i] Yukiko."[/color]

Usually Duncan used first names without thinking, never quite having gotten used to the Japanese system of politeness and honorifics. This time though, he did it very purposefully — because even though they were practical strangers to each other, they were in this particular flavour of hell together.[/color]