[KIYOMI]
The emptiness that Kiyomi woke up to was the cruel reminder of a decision she was already regretting. It had been easier to say it last evening, when it was just the two of them; two souls who had laid bare for each other.
Two souls who had sworn to find their way back to each other. And while Kiyomi had dared to hope for the best, the rogue doctor knew better than to wait and see. She knew that her clock was ticking.
She knew that hell was here for her, and there was no way that she could outrun it. So defeatedly, she walked to her best friend's room to deliver the final blow to her already bleeding heart.
Maybe it was something that Kiyomi needed to do, or maybe Kiyomi needed to go after the one she wanted and make her undo the humanity switch. It was always that simple.
Besides, Kiyomi knew Sakura loved her, so maybe she could use that to get the Lycan queen back to who she had been last night, right? Oh, but it was something she wasn't even sure of anymore. And that's the part that scared the hell out of her.
"Elif… can I please come in?" Kiyomi asked as she knocked on her sister's door gently.
She knew the human wouldn't take what she had to say lightly, and she also knew that there was very little they said about how Izanami had ended up in Odanera or even the paperwork that had resulted in the entanglement.
For the thousandth time, Kiyomi considered wiping Elif's memory. She wished it were that easy to make the human restart her life without Kiyomi, only that with Elif, there would always be cracks.
The woman had been there for her for the longest time, and at her worst. This right here wasn't something she could wiggle out of with ease and Elif was not going to let her screw herself over again.
It hurt, but that was what life looked like for Kiyomi at the moment anyway.
"Not if you smell like sex!" Elif shouted amusedly.
Kiyomi just chuckled.
She could tell that this was probably one of the last times she would be interacting with EElif. She wanted to skip over to the next day and wait it out for as long as she could, but Elif had already gone through so much because of her interactions with Kiyomi.
It would be peak selfishness for the good doctor to let her friend sit out in the cold this time, too. She deserved the course, too, if things hadn't gone well, given Kiyomi already assumed the worst of the worst.
"Sakura left early," Elif pointed out, her voice soft as he stared at the good doctor who was standing by her door.
It was a habit for Kiyomi anytime she had bad news for Elif, even when they had been back at the hospital, and Kiyomi had insisted on staying away from the human population.
"Yeah… she did," Kiyomi said, not sure of what to say.
"She didn't look angry… but didn't acknowledge me either, not that I am very fond of her. But I assumed after game night last night, I thought maybe we would be on good terms and she could at least say a good morning," Elif said.
Her tone was measured, like she wasn't sure where this discussion would lead. Kiyomi still stood by the door, careful not to walk into life's room, something that got the doctor worried, too.
Elif knew her best friend like the back of her hand, and Kiyomi knew that too, which was why the woman's silence as to what Kiyomi was doing right now was unnerving to Kiyomi. She wanted her to lash out, to be excited, to say something, anything.
She waited for the tone to change, and yet Elif was still understanding. It was storage, and it scared the hell out of Kiyomi. This human horrified her more than the Bogdan Lycans she had spent her entire life running away from. And that had to say something.
"We have to talk, Elif," Kiyomi said as she awkwardly walked into the room, the sound of the door closing making her wonder if it was a good idea to be in the same space as her best friend, who was about to be so displeased by the words she would be saying.
But there was not much of a choice for Kiyomi, and that was the part that sucked more than all that she had been through.
"Are you leaving again?" Elif asked.
"It's a bit more complicated than that," Kiyomi said softly as she sat on the human's needs, her posture still awkward, but Elif didn't say anything about it.
She could see the discomfort the Lycan was showing, and honestly, she was worried about everything could come out of Kiyomi's mouth.
It wasn't easy, but maybe a part of Elif had expected that shit was the kind of shit they would both have to deal with when Kiyomi's past caught up with her.
"I'm coming with you, if you have to leave," the human said, and Kiyomi stared at her softly.
"Oh, Elif…"
"Izanami popped back into your life, and Sakura didn't acknowledge me earlier, which means that she either hates me enough to not be bothered by the fact that I was awake before everyone;
"... or she turned off her humanity, like you always say your people do when shit is about to go down. I'm not leaving you to suffer on your own. I trained for this day. I went to taekwondo classes. I can kick ass and fight people… even if I'm human.
"I learned about Lycanthropes and what makes them tick. I found serums that can slow them down if they are on the offensive, and I can come with you without being a burden. I even have a to-go backpack just in case shit gets messy.
"And I didn't hire any van again, because the last time I did, it didn't turn out so well," Elif rambled, and for a moment, Kiyomi wanted to laugh at the simplicity of her statements.
It was like they were going to run from one person or a few hunters who would be relentless. But then, if that had been the case, Kiyomi wouldn't be having this talk with her best friend.
She couldn't be staring so awkwardly, looking everywhere but at Elif. It was not something then she took pride in, but what the fuck was she supposed to say to her?
That she was so fucked to the point that even the mate bond that she had unwillingly found herself into had finally snapped ad she was back to being alone and hunted again? What the hell was she to do with all that on her own, then?
"Elif—"
"I'm stubborn Kiki, but even I know not to mess with the forces against you. I am not asking you to take care of me or treat me like the human I am. I am asking you to let me come along. We both know that this is going to be hard on you.
"If Sakura doesn't remember me, then she doesn't remember her love for you, which is not something that you want to walk into. Let me be there for you. If not on the battlefield—
"... then let me nurse you when you tire," Elif said, her soft eyes pleading with Kiyomi's defeated ones.