Fragile No More

AU: I'm sorry. I'll try to keep my promises from now on.

Fragile No More

Yuhara opened the canister of kerosene and dumped it all over his house. The obscene oily smell that followed made Shinji fall out of his stupor, as he focused on the sight before him. His mind warped back to the moment when he was still in class…

///

"Damn, you dozed off again! Wake up; the professor is staring at you!" Yuhara whispered with furrowed brows, and poked him on his body, waking him up from his short, intoxicated nap.

Like someone that had been sleeping for an entire day, Shinji woke up with drool on his lips, and a red, flushed face. He grumbled a bit, and wiped his face with his hands, only to be interrupted by a sudden yell right in front of him.

"Hey, you! How dare you sleep in my class. Do you even realize that your already bleak future will end if you study like this? Children these days; if you're this sleepy, don't bother attending my classes. "

Shinji ignored the ventilated professor, the same grey-haired man from before, and reclined back on his desk. His head was hurting, and it felt as if even the air was trying to strangle him; it didn't feel right, which made it evident that Mizuki had used something far more potent on him!

"This old coot really gets on my nerves. Ey, Shinji, if you have time, wanna come with me to my house after college, I have something I want to show you." Yuhara slapped him on his back and asked with a goofy smile.

Shinji was already annoyed, and this provoked him further…until he realized that he could use him to get away from Mizuki. But…she was sitting right next to them, entirely fixated on their conversation.

"What are you two planning without me?"

With a gaze that had the power to boil someone alive, Mizuki smiled and waved towards Yuhara. She seemed awfully friendly this time, and even introduced herself to Yuhara, "Oh hello, I don't believe we've been introduced yet, have we? My name is Mizuki Aira, and I'm Shinji's girlfriend."

"Awesome; my name's Yuhara Minji. Nice to meet ya'. I just thought that it'd be great if I took him home today and played around out a bit, wanna join us?"

Yuhara asked casually, as if Shinji had already agreed to his plans. The cheerful banter of the classroom was filtered out in their ears, as they became fully immersed in the conversation.

"Aw, I want to, but I'll be nothing but a burden for you two friends. Minji-san, next time, come to our home, alright? I'll bake you some of the cookies that this dolt loves so much~!" She said with a bright smile and hit Shinji on his back.

Yuhara's lips twitched, as he answered with a chuckle, "Sure, sure! Who doesn't want free food? Certainly not me!"

Mizuki reclined a bit back and put her hand on Shinji's arm. Eyes that were deeper than a ravine glared at him, as she whispered, "Do you need to have friends? Oh well, enjoy yourself. I'll be waiting for you, so don't do, anything, stupid. Alright? "

Shinji dryly nodded and began to feel a violent change occur to his feelings for her. Her actual personality, hidden underneath her sweet words and love, was nothing but a rotten husk of her former self. If she desired so much control over his life, then how was he supposed to live?

While he was internally wondering on how to escape, Mizuki turned around and returned to her monotonous act of writing notes. Yuhara took it as an opportunity, and pulled Shinji closer and whispered to him, "You son of a gun, you didn't tell me that you two also live together! Come to `our` home, damn you two. I actually do feel like a failure compared to you now."

"Shut the fuck up…don-don't talk so loudly; she'll hear us! "

"…what a scaredy-cat, sheesh. Okay okay, I'll shut up."

Little by little, the sessions ended. As soon the bells rang, Shinji grabbed Yuhara, who got confused and walked out of the class after seeing that Mizuki was busy talking to another girl. The latter could do nothing but scratch his head, as they raced down the stairs.

"Holy shit, stop! Slow down, slow down, why the hell are you so excited about going to my house?"

"I'll tell you later, for now, call a cab!'

"Alright, man."

A short while after that conversation, they got into a taxi and went to Yuhara's home. It was a one-storied residence, right before a public cemetery. As soon as the bemused Yuhara opened his doors, Shinji barged inside and began to inhale and exhale rapidly. The novelty of seeing the insides of his childhood home wore off quickly, as he began to fear for his dear life.

"Listen, Yuhara; I've to tell you something. Mizuki Aira isn't what she looks like! She has kidnapped me and is trying to kill me. Please, you must help me! She…" Shinji's pleading ceased, as he noticed an abrupt change in Yuhara's expressions. His grin flattened, and without waiting for Shinji to finish, he went to the door and checked if it was locked.

"Shinji, all you have to do is remember. Don't you remember anything? Not even a single moment you spent with her?" Yuhara questioned, his tone suffocatingly raspy. His eyes closed, as he muttered further under his breath, "It doesn't matter. Just don't try to escape from her, and you'll be fine."

"W-what?! H-how do you know that she—"

"I know more than you think I do. You, me, her, are very…much the same. People that have never been treated with kindness usually reject it later in their life, but you're the opposite, you fell for the same trick twice. I'm not supposed to tell you this, but, oh well. Before she arrives, before she knows, before she even thinks about coming here, I'll be dead!"

Shinji, as confused and frustrated as ever, watched as Yuhara walked past him with a tight, paralyzed smile.

"Hey, wait!" Shinji called out to Yuhara in vain, as he went ahead and grabbed a canister and matchbox from a nearby cupboard. He tried shaking him, pinching him, and even went as far as to punch him on his back but he didn't budge.

"Here; catch!" Yuhara exclaimed, and threw the matchbox at him. He continued, with his face donning a lopsided, twitching smile, "Today; today will be the day I'll end this miserable life. And you, Shinji Keika… you'll be my only witness! " His words turned into sobs, as tears began to fall from his erratic eyes. Even then, he was incessantly looking at the windows and doors, as if he were afraid that something was moving behind them, watching him.

"Insane, you're insane! Why the fuck are you doing this?!" Shinji screamed, as he pounced on Yuhara and tried to remove the oil canister from his hands. It was futile however, as his strength had mostly disappeared due to the drugs Mizuki had used on him. Nevertheless, Shinji noticed the oil flooding the floor, and quickly scooped up some of it and dumped it on Yuhara's hands. He used his dry right hand and pulled at it, and somehow managed to get it from him!

"And you're too much of a fucking try hard, Shinji! Pretentious son of a bitch, what do you even know about me?! This entire town is insane! I'm wasting my words on you; someone with a life like yours won't understand me, or Mizuki!" Yuhara bellowed, took the canister back and threw Shinji off his body.

"Listen to me, I don't know what Mizuki did to you, but don't do this!? Don't play around with your life; you'll end up regretting this!"

"I know you don't care, so shut the fuck up. She…she…she…! Quick, Shinji, do as I say!" Yuhara barked as if he had turned demented. He quickly dashed to the corners of his house and began to drizzle gasoline on them.

Somehow, Yuhara stopped shouting, and listlessly whispered, "I am constantly torn between killing myself and killing everyone around me, thus It's best for me to die, Shinji. After I die, try your best to remember…"

Shinji looked on in horror, as Yuhara smiled and threw the canister in a room by the entrance.

Unfortunately…

"Good afternoon, boys. Is this what you two meant by 'playing around'?"

A nonchalant, almost purring voice rang out from the doorway, along with noises of shoes clacking against the floor. Yuhara's lopsided grin fell, as his cheeks began to twitch.

"I don't remember asking you to commit suicide in front of him, Yuhara. And you dared to sully Shin with your dirty words. What an idiot."

The girl entered the room, with her eyes calmly surveying the room. "Shin, oh Shin, but you were also trying to escape. I have to punish you two friends together~! But, this guy, he really needs to die, you know? I get jealous whenever I see you talk to someone other than me, I can't help it~!"

"N-no!! Mizuki, no, don't come here, please! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, don't take me there again, I'm sorry I'm sorry!" While fearfully shrieking without pause, Yuhara accidentally fell over near Shinji's feet.

"Stop screaming; you're interrupting me." Mizuki coldly spat out, and kicked him on his ankles. Like she had flipped a switch, Yuhara's mouth instantly closed, and he stopped moving. He was scared; very scared.

"Shin, you weren't supposed to see all of this. I was trying my best to be a doting girlfriend, but you just had to makes plans about escaping. Hmm, poor you…" She clicked her tongue, as if she was showing pity for him. Yet all Shinji could see in her eyes were lust, as if she had locked sights with a delicious chunk of meat.

Despite the freezing aura surrounding Mizuki, Shinji braced himself, and with courage powering him, he roared at her, "NO! Not anymore! I've had it with you and your sick, twisted love! Please, just let us go! We won't say anything to the police, just spare us!���

It was contradictory. Only hours ago, he was complimenting her care for him, and here he was, calling her out on it. Of course, back then he didn't know just how far she was willing to go to make him hers, but his own hypocrisy was stunning. Nonetheless, he didn't have the time to think about his actions, as he focused on her, and fidgeted.

"Liar. Just this morning, you were praising me, telling me that you care about me. Now you're asking me to let you go, just like that? Yuhara's making you talk like this, right? Do you like some man that you've met for a single day, more than me? Are you gay?"

"You're sick!"

"So?" She moved closer. Veins popped up all over her right hand, as she lifted Yuhara, albeit a bit slowly, and thew him above a puddle of oil.

"Don't do anything to him, please! He did nothing."

"Oh, I'll let you guys go, but only if you can manage to remember everything in the next fifteen minutes. I'm surprised you're this worked up over someone as insignificant him. Or could it be that you're interested in men instead of women?"

Like an insane, demented murderer, Mizuki flashed a chipper smile, and kicked Yuhara in his abdomen. Her speed was inhumane, and the strength inside was unexplainable, but even after suffering such a hit, he didn't dare utter a single word. He just coughed up a few drops of sputum, and laid down on the ground, like he had given up.

Shinji backed down and decided to stand near a window. He grabbed a vase from an adjacent counter, and shouted, "You…! I'm never going to get rid of you, am I?"

"No, no you're not. Isn't that obvious, though? You still have a lot of time to mull over your decisions, Shin; just don't choose the wrong one, because the thought of having to kill you is… disheartening." She titled her head, as if she were interested in what choice Shinji would make.

Shinji exhaled. He took one last look at Mizuki's sneering face and took out the matchbox he had hidden in his pocket. Her grey eyes expanded, as she quickly shrieked, "Wait, do—"

Shinji quickly hit a match atop the box, and threw it at the oil pooling under Mizuki's heels. With a thunderous sound, a towering flame burst from the floor, causing her to jump back. Surprisingly, her playful smile froze, like she had been disappointed. Through the colorless flame, she looked rather miserable.

Yuhara sobbed, as the flame came near him. It flashed and lit the entire house in a yellow glow, but he didn't move and instead closed his eyes, as if he had given up.

"Son of a bitch, stand up!!" Shinji dashed near Yuhara and picked him up. Astounded by his action, Yuhara looked at him, and didn't stop him. He stood up, and as if he had been injected with chicken blood, grabbed him and jumped out of a window.

Mizuki however, didn't try to stop them. She instead backed out of the house and left. The fire kept on raging, and eventually razed it.