A moment of silence lingered before Daichi's face twisted beyond belief. With a hateful scowl, he flicked his middle finger at Ryuga.
"Fuck you!"
"Sorry, not interested."
"..."
Another moment of silence followed. This time Daichi's face wasn't just twisted, his mouth was hanging open. He was genuinely baffled by this half-dead shameless bastard.
"... I don't have words."
"Of course you don't. You were mesmerized by my beauty. Hate to break your bubble, but I'm not gay."
At that point, Daichi had enough. He began rubbing the bridge of his nose, trying to gather what little patience he had left.
Then a muffled chuckle slipped out of him.
"Huhhhhhh? Did I just hear a dog whimper?"
"SHUT UP!!"
Daichi shouted, barely holding back his laughter. He slapped a hand over his mouth, trying to suppress the smile creeping up.
Seeing that, a small smile formed on Ryuga's face too. "Hmm… Now it feels better."
Daichi steadied himself and sighed. "Yeah, thanks for that. I didn't realize it, but I really needed it."
"I guess you're… welcome? So, what exactly happened to you? If you don't mind me asking."
Daichi lifted his left eyebrow. "You just helped me calm down, only to immediately remind me of the terror I just went through. That's pretty humane of you."
Ryuga shyly waved his hands. "Aww, enough with the compliments. Like I said, I'm not gay. You're not getting in my pants. Shoo~ shoo~"
This time, Daichi didn't laugh. His facial muscles tensed, and his gaze fixed directly on Ryuga. "Enough… it's serious. You're just making fun of me now."
Ryuga instantly backed off, raising both hands in surrender, guilt washing over him. "Sorry… but seriously, I'm curious. What exactly happened? Being this shaken isn't like you. Brother, you're sweating bullets. This isn't normal."
Only then did Daichi actually notice. As Ryuga said, he was sweating buckets, his clothes completely soaked and clinging to his skin. He had been so focused on the dream that he hadn't even realized.
"I saw some shit. Really messed up shit. It felt so real I couldn't tell it apart from reality. But it had to be a dream… otherwise I wouldn't be here talking to you."
Ryuga's expression hardened immediately. "You were killed in your dreams?"
"Yeah, brutally. Half my face was ripped off, then my head got crushed like a watermelon. And the worst part? I felt all that pain exactly as if it were real. I'm usually not scared of anything… but that made me piss my pants."
"So that's why you were mumbling earlier about dreams not being painful. You felt everything clearly."
"Yeah, it hurt a LOT. Like genuinely a LOT. Bro, I was crying. Like bawling my eyes out. That is so not me. You know what hurt more than the pain? My inability to do anything. I think I'm just disappointed in myself for being weak."
Daichi hung his head low, his hands clasped tightly together. A shiver ran through him, making him feel pathetic.
A moment later, a hand rested firmly on his shoulder. A chill raced down his spine, and he snapped his head upward.
The one placing his hand on him was Ryuga. His other hand pressed against his stomach, his face subtly twisted in pain, though he masked it well.
"Hey, big guy. Being afraid isn't a bad thing. Actually, it's necessary. Fear is what made us who we are as a species. If we don't fear, we don't live. It's that simple. Being afraid isn't the problem, being a coward is. So get your filthy mood off and show me your smile."
Daichi didn't smile. Instead, he scowled. "Bro, you suck at therapy. How do you plan on becoming a psychologist? I felt second-hand cringe just listening to that. Ain't nobody getting therapy from you."
Slap!
Without a nanosecond of thought, Ryuga slapped him with all the strength he could muster. Because of his injury, the impact felt like a baby hitting you with a pillow.
Utterly horrendous!
Still, it made Daichi smirk a little. He shook his head and got to his feet. Towering above Ryuga, he patted his head like he was a child.
"Aww, the little baby is so weak. You don't drink your milk, do you?"
"Tch." Ryuga slapped his hand away in irritation. "I'm an aspiring therapist… But it's a pity I won't live that long. I won't be able to see myself become a therapist. I guess my dreams are just dreams…"
Daichi's heart skipped a beat. A heavy sense of dread swallowed his chest. Feeling something was truly amiss. He spoke almost entirely through a stutter. "What do you mean by that? W-W-Why won't you live that long? Is your injury that serious?"
Ryuga didn't answer immediately. He sat back on the bed and took a deep breath. "Yeah… my injury is that serious. Give or take, I have around two to three years max to live."
"You're joking, right? You were asleep all this time. You just woke up, so how would you know what happened to you? Don't play games with me!"
"Haaah…" Ryuga sighed again. "Look outside the window. It's evening already. You were out cold for too long. Even Souta knows about this now. By the way, only you and Souta know."
Daichi's mind was mush. His thoughts were tangled, looping without meaning.
He didn't know how to react. How to console him. Or if Ryuga even needed consoling. He was calm… too calm for someone who was going to die.
"Why are you so calm? Shouldn't you feel… I don't know. Bad, maybe? What exactly happened to you? What's your injury?"