Promise to Sirius (An Utapri / Uta no Prince-sama Fanfiction)

Natsuki Shinomiya

Just like how the lanterns hidden in the depths of the woods glowed differently depending on the melody being played, like how the exact same lyrics could be interpreted differently based on who was reading them, the same scenery could feel different to the heart depending on who you were with, how much that person or those people meant to you, and how much your heart and theirs were smiling.

Like how sitting by the river alone would be lonely if Natsuki were alone but was most calming to the soul when he came with his dearest friends. Like how the countless silver stars spread throughout the Prussian blue draped across the nightscape were brighter and more beautiful when he was gazing up at them with a heart that was not beating alone but together with theirs. Like how the lavender, blue and white of the flowers in the meadows were more vivid and the pink, red, orange and yellow of the fireworks that blossomed in the dark were much warmer when they were with him, the five of them glancing at one another with earnest smiles in their eyes and lips, the colours and lights etching themselves into memories that would never leave the heart. He knew more than anything how much warmer and brighter and more colourful everything seemed and was when he was with them, and that very fact, as well as the pieces of all those moments and memories, would never be forgotten by him, no matter what.

But... as much as they were all together right now...

Everything... had turned cold. Very, very cold.

"You guys... c-can have your jackets... and coats... back."

Ai trembled in Natsuki's arms, his fingers quivering too as they curled weakly around his own.

"You guys... might catch a cold."

"Us catching a cold does not matter right now, Ai!" Ranmaru yelled, shaking his head incredulously as Reiji pressed his foot hard against the accelerator pedal and drove even faster. "You can hardly move and you haven't stopped shaking from the moment you fell in the woods! The four of us catching a cold is freaking nothing; if giving you our outerwear is helping your cause, that's more than enough for the whole lot of us!"

Ranmaru gritted his teeth as he and Natsuki held Ai even tighter.

"Hang in there, okay? I know you can't see us, but all four of us are in this with you and takin' you to Hakase. And we ain't leavin' you for even a second, got it?"

"Yeap, Ai-chan," Natsuki agreed, smiling weakly as Camus looked over his shoulder and grunted in agreement and Reiji agreed while keeping his eyes on the road. After realizing how excruciating and cruel Ai's current condition was, Natsuki, Ranmaru, Reiji and Camus had all hurried out of the woods with him and back to the car, with Natsuki carrying a trembling Ai in his arms as he led everyone out. While Camus and Reiji sat at the front, Natsuki and Ranmaru sat at the back with Ai in the middle. All four of the eldest members of the group had given Ai their coats and jackets for them to wear and it had helped a little, but was not nearly enough to stop the teal-haired boy's quivers and pain. His head laid against Natsuki's shoulder, with the weight of his body soundlessly following suit. While both Natsuki and Ranmaru each had one arm draped protectively and reassuring around him, he was bundled up in the four jackets and coats from his friends, quietly inhaling and exhaling from time to time, even as his breath may falter. His right hand was intertwined with Natsuki's, often squeezing a little tighter, as though he was terrified that it was merely an illusion and would disappear. 

Giving Ai's hand a tight squeeze, Natsuki smiled painfully as he looked down into the pair of hollow teal eyes that had lost their sight, not a single flicker of light to be seen as his heart broke a little more at the cruel sight.