i think about hiiro every day of my life. cant believe they made him just for me.... this fic contains spoilers for chapter 5 (up until what is released in the official server) ty :)
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Title: and it feels like water to a drowning man
Word Count: 7k+
Summary: What do you want? His brother asks, Aira asks. A question Hiiro had never understood, Hiiro did not want. Hiiro was told what he wanted and needed and the answer to that was that Hiiro wanted and needed what his brother told him. But Rinne did not want that for him, Aira told him that wasn’t right either.
So what did Hiiro want?
How did one even decide what to want to want? Was it okay to ask? Was he stupid for not knowing?
Hiiro had always known he was stupid, but it felt so much worse now.
What do you want?
What do you want?
Tell me Hiiro, what is it that you want?
---
In the aftermath of his brother disowning him, Hiiro tries his best to come to terms with what living for oneself really means. And how on earth he is supposed to do that, when the concept is as foreign to him as the sun to creatures who lived far beyond its sight
[ao3 link]
“Nii-san” Hiiro says, smiling up at his big brother as he walks through the doors. Rinne sighs as he looks over at him, shoulders drooping, and Hiiro grins wider. His brother is always tired after meetings with the elders, after lessons for his future as their Monarch.
Hiiro has no idea what happens at those meetings, but that’s okay, it’s not his place. He doesn’t need to know, he isn’t meant to know. All Hiiro needs to know is how to be everything his brother will ever need, because that is his role to play as his brother’s younger sibling.
And Hiiro is great at knowing what his brother needs, if he can say so himself.
“Hiiro.” His brother finally greets, smiling slightly. That his brother is always happy to see him is one of Hiiro’s greatest joys. It means that he’s doing a good job, that his brother needs him as he was born to be needed.
“Since your lessons lasted longer than usual, I made you something to eat!” The kitchen staff had ignored him as he puttered around beneath their feet but Hiiro was used to that. Hiiro had authority in name only, and the village showed that by leaving him to his own devices for the most part. “It’s just a sandwich and salad but I used all your favourite things!” He finishes proudly, holding the tray out for Rinne to take.
“Did you make something for yourself too?” His brother asks instead of taking the tray and Hiiro pauses, tilting his head.
“No?” The food was for Rinne, why would Hiiro make something for himself?
“Have you eaten yet?”
“I was making food for you!” And he’d been doing other tasks before that, it’s been a rather busy morning after all.
It wasn’t like Hiiro felt that hungry anyways, his brother’s well-being was much more important to him.
“I see.” Rinne replies, and though his grin remains in place he feels further away than he did moments ago.
Hiiro’s hands grip the tray tighter, Hiiro thought he understood his brother better than most people in their village but that did not make him faultless. But he was supposed to be, needed to be, how else could his brother know to rely on him for his each and every whim?
“I can go make myself something right now, if you want?” He offers but Rinne only sighs, shaking his head.
“No it’s fine, we can just share what you made.” Rinne replies instead, waving him over as he walks over to sit over the porch overlooking the garden.
“But I made this for you!” Hiiro protests, quickly following behind without thought.
“Mhmm,” Rinne hums, plopping himself down with ease. Hiiro copies him more sedately, careful with the tray still in his hands, “You sure did, and since it’s mine I get to decide what to do with it right?”
“I… I suppose.” Hiiro agrees. His brother was always right, but it still felt wrong to take what was his, even with his permission.
“Exactly, and I want you to share my food with me, so it’s fine.” Rinne continues, voice dripping with the confidence that always left Hiiro in awe. That assured him that Rinne would one day make the most amazing monarch they’ve ever had.
Hiiro nods despite his hesitance, but his brother's smile no longer feels quite so cold so he knows it’s the right choice. Finally, his brother takes the tray from him offering him half the sandwich as he does. Hiiro takes it, holding it in his hands, and simply stares at it.
While Hiiro appreciates his brother’s gesture, even though he does not understand the need for it, he still does not particularly want to eat this. He had catered the sandwich to his brother’s tastes, and there were one or two things in it that he could not eat without feeling a bit queasy.
Still, it was Rinne’s order that he eat this, so Hiiro has no place to question or deny him.
However, as he goes to take the first bite Rinne plucks it from his grasp, placing it back on the tray beside his own already bitten into half. Hiiro watches with curious eyes, neither upset nor bothered by this. It’s his brother’s right to do whatever he wanted, both with what was his, and Hiiro himself.
Without a word Rinne removes the top slice of Hiiro’s half, carefully removing all the parts Hiiro cannot eat before handing it back to him.
It is not until the sandwich is back in his hands that Hiiro finds his words again. “Nii-san! You didn’t have to do that I could’ve eaten it.”
“Or you could have removed it yourself.” Rinne replies, watching him carefully, but Hiiro simply shakes his head.
What right did Hiiro have to refuse what his brother requested of him? To change or modify his requests even slightly?
“Hiiro,” his brother sighs, “you can do things just for you sometimes, you know? Just because you want to.”
“I want to be useful to you!” Hiiro grins, being needed by his brother made Hiiro the happiest. To fulfill his duty to assist his brother for the rest of his life was all Hiiro would ever need. There was nothing else for him anyways, that was his future set-in stone already.
That he enjoys doing it just shows it was what he was born to do.
“I mean things that have nothing to do with me Hiiro, maybe even something I wouldn’t like.” Rinne clarifies, voice far too serious for something so ridiculous.
“I was born to be everything you could possibly need Nii-san, why would I ever do something like that?”
Rinne sighs, muttering something under his breath that Hiiro does not quite catch, though his brother's grin when he reaches over to ruffle his hair reassures him that it is not for any wrongdoing on Hiiro’s part.
Hiiro wouldn’t know what to do if his brother was ever disappointed in him, or no longer needed him by his side.
“You were born to be my cute and happy little brother, none of that extra stuff.” He replies, still ruffling Hiiro’s hair around.
“Nii-san I do not like to disagree with you but we both know that is not true.” Rinne’s eyes look almost indulgent as Hiiro speaks, like it’s some silly joke that Rinne is humouring. It is one of the many things about Rinne that leave Hiiro confused no matter how hard he tries to understand.
“Well, we’ll simply have to see about that.” Rinne says, voice far too confident for the ridiculousness of his statement.
Still, Hiiro nods, agreeing with his brother. Whatever his brother decides Hiiro will support, he cannot even begin to imagine a world where that would not be true.
Their days would continue like this forever, and Hiiro could imagine nothing better.
-
(But then.
Then.
What is Hiiro supposed to do when that is no longer the case?
When his brother disappears without a trace, taking Hiiro’s very reason for being with him?
Just what is Hiiro supposed to do then?
Who is Hiiro, then, without his brother there?
He doesn’t know. He doesn’t.
But he knows he needs his brother back, no matter what the village says.
It is the first time he goes against his village’s teachings
It will not be the last. )
-
Hiiro does not even have a fraction of the teachings and lessons his brother has. Hiiro is taught what is necessary, the basics, the fundamentals, and some things not at all (not that he would know). This is fine by him, his elders would not lead him astray, would not teach him lies.
Hiiro’s whole world is this village, and he loves and trusts it with all he is.
Knows everything they tell him to be true and correct.
Which is why he sits on the ground legs bent beneath him and back straight as he listens to today’s lesson. While his brother was taught how to be a good monarch, Hiiro learned everything he needed to be a good right hand, tool, weapon, shield, anything his brother might need in the future.
Learned everything about why he was here, and what he was meant to do.
And Hiiro listened to these lessons attentively until his legs burned beneath him and his back ached for relief. He’d learned early on that slacking off or feeling tired would not be excused. And why would it be? These lessons were setting him up for his future, there was no leeway for mistakes, for lack of care. Hiiro’s hometown raises him and shows him what and who he will be—that he will never be more or less than that.
Hiiro understood that which is why no matter how early or how late or if he felt sick or nauseous that day Hiiro came when called and listened with everything he had. Hiiro loves his brother, he could not disappoint him by being a poor student.
He drinks up these lessons like water, teachings from his parents, from his elders, from his teachers. Anyone who will offer Hiiro a word on how he should be, who he should be, Hiiro listens with rapt attention. Hiiro was brought into this world for a purpose he has to complete perfectly, wants to complete perfectly.
As he grows older, stronger, he only grows more and more assured in this. Every lesson and word and breath beat into his skull like a drum. All he can and will be burned into his brain never to be forgotten.
Hiiro was born to serve his brother, to assist the future in any and every way possible.
Everything Rinne tells him to do he must, he has no right to question him.
A million little rules he practices like breathing since birth until he can imagine no other way of being. Doesn’t even want to.
Hiiro has followed the rules and order laid out for him and in return knows he is doing right, knows he is correct. He is brought up in blacks and whites and those are the only shades he has ever known.
There is no questioning any of this, and Hiiro does not. But…
But.
Rinne does. Always asks Hiiro questions he cannot answer, shrugs off the comments and complaints of their elders as easily as Hiiro listens to their every word like the obedient child he is. Rinne runs and shirks from their traditions and goes off to places no one can find, not even Hiiro. Laughs at Hiiro’s reprimands while looking at him with eyes that see a world Hiiro cannot hope to breach.
The older they get the further his brother seems, but Hiiro is still here, still doing his best to be everything his brother needs, even when he’s unsure what that is.
He doesn’t know what to do with the fact that his life says one thing while Rinne says another. But Rinne does not make demands of him, does not order him, simply asks and asks even when Hiiro has no answers to give. So Hiiro continues to live the only way he knows how, does his best to make his brother happy even when he feels like he’s missing something.
It is all Hiiro can do. Until Rinne takes up the mantle of monarch and makes his wants so clear that Hiiro can finally understand. And hope that at that point in time Hiiro will be good enough to fulfill that wish.
-
(And yet.
Yet.
When he finally finds his brother after chasing him all around this confusing new world. When his brother looks at him, and does exactly what Hiiro has been hoping for this entire time—he tosses him away in that same breath.
Looks at Hiiro and tells him he is unnecessary, unneeded, useless.
Hiiro who has done everything in his power to be useful, helpful, needed by his brother. Hiiro who has done everything right by their hometown’s standards, wishes, demands.
Was that enough? Had he done something wrong here? His brother was confusing to him now, this world made little sense to him, he knew the concept of idols was not the malicious entity he had imagined. But then what could explain this? What else would make Rinne look at him and decide he is not worth keeping at his side.
What was Hiiro then, if not an existence to be by Rinne’s side?
Rinne said it like it was a gift, some honour he bestowed upon him as he banished Hiiro from their family, from their home, from their village, from everything he had ever known. And for all that Hiiro had come to enjoy his time here it was not his home, not where he was supposed to be. Meant to be.
And yet, his voice does not come out, cannot even think of questioning his brother's orders no matter how much he dislikes them.
Even if his brother does not need him, all Hiiro knows is to be needed by him.
So even until the final moment it is all he can think to do.
And for once, he wished himself capable of doing otherwise.
And he had no idea what to do with that feeling.)
-
The hours after pass in a blur.
Hiiro does not remember leaving, if he ran or walked or stood there frozen and terrified while his brother walked away from him for good. Hiiro just remembers fear and desolation building in him the more his brother talked. Just remembers searching and searching for a reason, what he had done wrong, what he could to fix it. But he could not comprehend what was happening then, could not comprehend it now.
He shivers, it had been warm earlier with the sun blazing above him but now cool winds blew and the thin fabric of his uniform offered little protection. It was fine, cooler air would help him clear his head, help him make sense of it all.
Help him figure out why he was no longer good enough.
Why he was so useless that his brother saw no other recourse than to discard him under the disguise of some sort of gift.
His hands clench, hard enough that his nails dig in and sting. Hiiro was weak, in mind body and spirit, it was the only real explanation. That he had gone so wrong that his brother that had always claimed to love him had abandoned him.
He didn’t understand, love was a concept too nebulous for him to grasp. He had thought often when he was younger that he loved Rinne, Rinne was his everything after all. But as he got older it never felt quite right. What he felt was different then what Rinne meant when he said it to him, what the villagers meant when they said it to their family. Even here, he failed to grasp how idols and their fans said it so easily, how Aira used the word like a catchphrase. Was that part of the issue, was Hiiro failing at something so fundamentally basic that his brother could not forgive? Hiiro has felt so lost since coming here.
In this confusing new world that constantly contradicts that which he has always known. He should have been able to look to his brother for guidance. His brother to whom he should always listen, his brother who can do no wrong, because all he says is right. Nii-san please , Hiiro had thought, still thinks , just tell me what it is I’m supposed to do to make things right . But his brother did not answer, ran further away the more he chased. Left him floundering by himself, alone with unknown choices.
He shivers again, and knows it is not from the cold.
Where does Hiiro go from here? What is the point if Hiiro is no longer ne—
“—Hiro!” Comes Aira’s voice, suddenly at his side, didn’t sense him coming even though Aira is often so loud and clumsy with his steps. And he thinks, I should greet him, as is proper, say hello, apologize, anything. Hiiro always does things correctly, always does things the right way as he has been taught. Yet here again he fails, voice refusing to come out, his mind whirring with too many thoughts.
So instead, he listens, he can do that much. Be an attentive listener, a good friend. He can be at least that right? He’s never had a friend before, isn’t sure what to compare it to.
But even here he fails, ran away when they needed him, never returned, Hiiro could not protect his brother, could not protect the friends he had made here from the doomed fate that loomed over them. His brother had ordered him to stay here, to live the life he was leading with the rest of Alkaloid, but if he could not be counted on at the most vital step then what right did he have to stand here at all? Hiiro was not good enough to be needed by his brother and he wasn’t good enough to be useful for Alkaloid either, it seemed. Aira, Mayoi, Tatsumi, they were all working so hard to assure their future, that they would still have a place to belong when this was all over.
And what was Hiiro doing? He didn’t understand why this was so important, why they were all trying so hard. Couldn’t even be counted on.
Even without him they would…
“Huh? Just what are you talking about?” Aira protests, and Hiiro blinks, not even really aware he had even spoken aloud. But even so Aira continues, reprimanding him in a way he has long since grown accustomed to. It was simply the way Aira spoke, and Hiiro was used to accommodating others to make them happy. So as he said he would, he listens. Takes Aira’s complaints to heart because he’s right, has every right to be upset with him, to be annoyed by his careless remark.
“… I can’t do this without you, Hiro. So please… I don’t know what happened, I can’t even imagine it, but please stay with us. Don’t just disappear without warning. I’m begging you.” Aira concludes, and Hiiro’s heart stutters, reaching and grasping for the small thread of something that Aira’s statement lights in him.
“… You need me, Aira?” He asks, his voice too quiet even for his ears yet when the words leave him his throat burns like they have just finished practicing for the day. Feels like his whole body is trembling with the question, braced for the answer.
Aira looks at him oddly in response, lips pursed. “I said what I just said. Do you need something more?”
And it is not quite the answer he wanted, but it is still enough to calm down some of this wild unsettled feeling in him. To allow some part of him that felt so far away to settle down and allow him to focus and speak a bit more properly.
Yet still it is not enough, still he hesitates, feels lost and unsure. A friend in front of him who has searched who knows how long to find him and Hiiro cannot even leave his own misery and confusion long enough to appreciate it. He does not deserve Aira, or the kindness and worry that any of the members of Alkaloid extend to him. But still for some reason he cannot let it go.
Hiiro has never been as alone as he is right now, and despite every reason he should, why he does not deserve them, Hiiro cannot find it in him to lose this too.
Perhaps that is why he cannot stop himself from latching onto Aira, wrapping him into a hug. Even while the words to explain his situation fail to find him he takes Aira’s comfort and support.
Perhaps that is why despite the fact he should not accept it he allows Aira to take him on his back and carry him home. Aira who is so much smaller and weaker than him, Hiiro who should never be so weak as to need help like this. Hiiro who has not been carried like this since he was young and small and Rinne would take him away from prying his eyes on his back just like this. A million reasons that he has learned since he was old enough to understand as to why he should not be so vulnerable as to allow such a request to even be made and still he accepts.
Buries his face into the crook of Aira’s neck and closes his eyes. Allows the gentle sway of the wind and slight unevenness of Aira’s steps beneath his weight to calm his racing heart and mind.
Tries to pretend for just a moment that maybe everything will be okay.
That there’s still something he can do to fix this.
There just has to be.
-
(There is a small little voice in him, that grows louder with each and every passing moment.
That cries out a call too shameful to be him but cannot be denied.
Need me, he wants to say, to his brother, to Alkaloid, to anyone who will listen. Need me. I can be useful, I can be helpful, whatever you need. Please don’t leave me behind. Please don’t throw me away, please. The words bubble just beneath the surface, wanting to burst free into the world.
It is a desperate and pathetic cry that feels shameful to even think about, and yet is still there, a part of him he is unable to deny.
Hiiro was born and made to be helpful and supportive and needed.
Needs to be needed.
Or else he doesn’t know how to live.
Was never taught how; it wasn’t supposed to be something he needed to know.)
-
Even after Tatsumi had explained it to him, what he thought was going on with Rinne, why he had done things the way he had. Hiiro struggles to really understand.
He tosses and turns in his bed, worries and anxieties he had never felt before refusing to let him rest, whirring his thoughts in one direction and then another. Enough that Hiiro gives up on rest in general, rising from his bed to go for a walk to try to calm his racing thoughts.
He moves quietly, not wanting to bother his unit mates more than he already had, shutting the door silently behind him and heading for the stairs.
Tatsumi said his brother’s actions towards him, at the end and all throughout, had been for him. For his benefit, because he cared about him. That Rinne’s path of destruction had been his own, his carefully calculated plan. And to that extent Hiiro could understand, his brother had always been smart, had always been great at planning and seeing things Hiiro couldn’t. From the start Hiiro could guess his brother was playing at a grander scale than Hiiro could visualize, it would not have been the first time. That his brother’s actions were intentional, that his self-destruction was a sacrifice for his people here in the city, that made sense to him. Coincided with the image Hiiro had always held of him, of the great wonderful big brother he was, of the magnificent monarch he would one day be—was off to be right now, Hiiro supposes.
This Hiiro could understand, but…
What Rinne had done to him… for him.
Tatsumi had said it was all done for Hiiro’s benefit, to protect him as best as he could from everything that was going on around him. Hiiro might not have understood what was going on but Rinne had, and if Tatsumi was right then Rinne had specifically planned all of this with Hiiro in mind as well, to give him the best ending in all of this that he could.
Rinne had said this was a gift, of giving Hiiro everything Rinne thought he deserved, everything Rinne had always wanted to give him.
Hiiro still didn’t understand what the gift was.
How any of this was of benefit to him.
It was what confused him the most, what he had been trying his hardest to try to understand. What he understood, even if just a bit now, is that his brother had never been happy, not in their hometown, not with the person Hiiro had been moulded into being by their village. Every action Hiiro had done in hopes of being useful to his brother, to be the much needed aid and shield his brother was supposed to have when he ascended as Monarch, had meant nothing to his brother. Or worse, had been hated by Rinne even.
Freedom, Rinne had called it. But what was that, how did Hiiro achieve it? If he enjoyed his life as his brother had asked of him, if he found the freedom his brother had ordered him to have would he then take him back?
Perhaps this was a test he had been given? A final way to prove his loyalty to his brother. If it were true then that would make sense to Hiiro, would work into everything he had been taught.
But that was the issue, no? His brother had no love for their hometown’s teaching, had run away from them specifically because all of it was far too suffocating for him. No matter how much more this way of thinking would make sense to him, it wasn’t what Rinne had meant.
Hiiro’s brain did not think in the ways that seemed necessary to live and survive in this new world. Perhaps that was the problem, not with this city, not with his brother, but with him.
With the way he was taught. But that… that was even harder to believe because if it was true then what did that say about everything Hiiro had based his entire self on?
He takes a breath.
It was not all wrong, it couldn’t be, there were still truths there, still things that applied both here and there. He could not let himself get lost in these thoughts. As confusing as this was, Hiiro had things to focus on here and now, to not let his friends down.
They still needed him, and Hiiro would not disappoint them like had his brother.
“Hey~” Aira calls, voice cheerier than Hiiro would expect at this time of night. He startles, pushing his thoughts away as worry for his friend overwhelms him. It was late, dangerous even, for someone as weak and defenseless as Aira.
But Aira waves his concerns away, reminding him of where they are, that he is not a child to be protected. Hiiro smiles, his friend was smart, understood things in a way Hiiro simply couldn’t, was still struggling with even beginning to comprehend.
Hiiro loves him, he thinks, loves his friends. As much as Hiiro is capable of loving, anyways. He had never been allowed to have such a thing back home. And he wondered sometimes, what it would be like to have grown up playing with the other kids in the village, to have been allowed to talk to people who were not his family or his teachers. His brother was his world, but in a time too far gone for Hiiro to properly understand he remembers… wondering.
So it was nice, to have them now, a much better and kinder experience than he could have ever imagined on his own. And it makes his heart soar to hear Aira reciprocate that feeling. To hear Aira talk about how happy he was to have met him, all of Alkaloid, after having felt alone for so long. How happy he was to specifically have Hiiro here with him, that he had not left them, left Aira.
“I’ll be lonely if you’re gone, Hiro.” Aira concludes, voice soft and gentle.
Hiiro’s heart thuds in his chest, palms opening and closing. “Do you need me, Aira?” He asks again, voice just as soft, not quite as gentle.
His brother did not need him, had cast him aside, but if Hiiro could just devote himself to someone new maybe things would make more sense. Could find some solid ground again.
“Why do you keep asking that over and over again?” Aira replies instead, answering his question with a question. “I don’t like that word, ‘need’,” he elaborates with a shake of his head, “it sounds too snobbish for me.
“I’m your friend, Hiro, so I want to be with you. At least, that’s how I feel.”
And even as Aira continues, Hiiro’s thoughts linger there. To want, to not need, to do something out of desire and not necessity.
It’s not a concept Hiiro had any familiarity with.
Had never been something he was allowed to have.
“So, what about you, what do you want to do next, Hiro?” Aira asks. “How do you want to live your life?”
It was something his brother had asked him before. More than once. What do you want to be in the future? Who do you want to be? What is it that you want, Hiiro? Something that has nothing to do with me, or the village, something just for you. Tell me. They were questions that Hiiro had never had an answer to. Had never seen the point of answering.
But here he is, with no choice left but to answer.
Nothing left of the world he knew, just one left for him to make.
“Don’t decide on something because of others’ orders. Don’t simply take on something because that’s how things went in your hometown. You have to think with your own brain and make up your own mind.”
But how can Hiiro explain that he doesn’t know how to do that. That the thought is far too frightening to broach.
But he supposes he doesn’t have a choice left to make here. So he simply has to do his best, and trust in Aira when he tells him that he and the rest of Alkaloid will do their best to help him. That they will not abandon him, that they will do their best to stay by his side.
Wanting is a confusing topic still.
But Hiiro can believe, Hiiro can hope, and he guesses that can be his first step towards the Freedom his brother has apparently gifted onto him.
-
(The thing is, Hiiro’s hometown taught him everything he knows. How to be good and useful and needed. Taught him their laws in black and white. It is all he has ever known, all he thought he’d ever need to know.
But it never told him that when he runs and leaves to bring his brother home the world outside will be painted in shades of gray. That the world is not written in a simple set of rules that must be followed to achieve happiness. Didn’t tell him what he’s supposed to do in this confusing new world all on his own. And while he might’ve initially thought he could look to Rinne for those answers it’s become more than clear to him by now that it’s not going to happen. That Rinne wants him to figure this all out on his own.
So then, all Hiiro can do is take that first step himself. Come to his own decisions.
Face this new world with open eyes and understand it for himself, not, as Aira had said, through what he taught or what his village would want.
And yet, what is he supposed to do when every path he thinks of keeps going against all he was taught. What is he supposed to do when he learns that their concealed small little world hid a whole universe from his eyes. It feels like Hiiro has learned more in the past few weeks than he learned in the last few years back home.
It’s not like he hadn’t thought this before, but now Hiiro sits with it, and tries to really think about all he has seen and experienced in this past while, it’s hard to ignore.
In this world there is no Monarch, in this land ruled by democracy as long as one abides by the laws of the world you are your own Monarch. You made your own rules.
Which meant Hiiro made his own rules.
It was overwhelming.
What do you want? His brother asks, Aira asks. A question Hiiro had never understood, Hiiro did not want. Hiiro was told what he wanted and needed and the answer to that was that Hiiro wanted and needed what his brother told him. But Rinne did not want that for him, Aira told him that wasn’t right either.
So what did Hiiro want?
How did one even decide what to want to want? Was it okay to ask? Was he stupid for not knowing?
Hiiro had always known he was stupid, but it felt so much worse now.
What do you want?
What do you want?
Tell me Hiiro, what is it that you want?
The question circles in his head around and around until sleep finally takes him for the night.
Hiiro wants things to make sense again. )
-
Hiiro sits on the bed in their dorm room, staring at his hands in his lap. The rest of Alkaloid sit on the bed across from him, waiting, expectant.
Anzu had excused herself after their talk, assured him that whatever he had planned was probably fine with her, and if it wasn’t she would deal with it. She had been too busy to stay any longer.
That was fine, it would be easier to explain to just Alkaloid, he trusted them, his fellow unit mates that had stood by his side all this time.
Aira’s foot taps on the ground, Hiiro tries his best to believe it has nothing to do with how long he’s taking to start. His hands shake, anxious energy buzzing through him.
Hiiro could not remember a time he had ever felt scared or nervous, and yet here it was now, suffocating him.
“Hiiro-san.” Tatsumi says, his voice firm, and Hiiro blinks, looking at him. Tatsumi’s face is stern before him, and from behind he can see Mayoi’s hesitant concern, Aira hidden behind Tatsumi’s frame. He blinks again, taking in the gentle pressure Tatsumi places at his hands and his gaze flickers down to them.
Ah, he thinks distantly, staring at the way his thumb has dug into his opposite hands palm for long enough and with enough force that the skin around it is white. When he looks up again Tatsumi’s smile is gentle, and he stares lost, feeling as Tatsumi pulls his hands apart.
“I’m sorry.” He says softly, “I’m not sure why I did that.” Couldn’t even remember initiating the action.
“There is no need to apologize,” Tatsumi says, his hands around his as gentle as his smile. “Are you ready to speak, or do you need a while longer?”
The question feels like an offer, not chiding or prodding, like the three of them really would wait however long it would take him to find the words. It makes him feel warm, the anxious energy buzzing through him calming just a bit.
“I’m fine,” Hiiro assures, voice coming out stronger than he thought it would, helps him feel a little bit steadier, “don’t worry about me I’m okay. I can talk.”
Tatsumi watches him steadily and Hiiro grins, meaning it truly and dearly.
“Alright, if you’re sure.” Tatsumi says, stepping away, doing an odd motion with his hand if he does.
Mayoi is almost trembling when Tatsumi sits beside him. Hand shaking by his face like it is taking an effort to avoid biting down on his nails. “Don’t force yourself alright, Hiiro-san, really, the energy in this room is enough to make me faint.” Mayoi says, voice quivering and breaking off into a shrill breath at the end.
“I apologize, my friends.” He says loudly, pounding his fist to his chest, the action sudden enough that both Mayoi and Aira jerk in surprise. “I have left you all worried and anxious with my attitude. There might be no need to express my apologies here but I would like to offer them anyways, because you are all dear to me and I do not wish to trouble you. I thank you for your care and kindness, it means a lot to me.”
No one other than his brother had ever really cared about him, and it was only now that Hiiro was truly beginning to appreciate that. What it meant then, what it means to have more people now.
“You don’t have to thank us for that Hiro.” Aira chides, though his cheeks are flushed as he speaks.
“As your friends we are happy to help you anyway we can.” Tatsumi agrees, Mayoi nodding his head feverishly beside him.
“I understand that better now.” Hiiro agrees, “Which is why I would like to ask you for something, a selfish request of mine.”
The word tasted odd on his tongue, Hiiro had never even had the opportunity to be selfish before, yet there was no other word for it. For what he wanted to do, for the feeling that welled up in him.
It did not feel… bad. Perhaps sometimes selfishness could be its own form of kindness?
He wasn’t sure, was still learning, but now wasn’t the time to ask.
“What is it?”
“I would like to… I want…” his voice trails off.
He had slept little even after finally getting to sleep, woken up early by his thoughts, and thought on it until he had an answer.
What do you want to do, Hiiro?
What is it you want?
He thinks he knows, at least something for right now. And he’s sure that later on this will be harder, it is not even easy now. Even this feels strange, as sure as he feels as he is. But right now Hiiro is almost sure he wants this, has always wanted this.
Hiiro had once told his brother that he wanted to make him happy. It hadn’t made his brother happy back then, and Hiiro understood now it was because Hiiro had said that because it was he was told he should, not because he felt that way.
But he wanted to, really. His brother had told him that he wanted to give him everything the world had to offer, every sparkling and shiny thing he wanted to gift Hiiro. That this act was his last effort in trying to provide that.
Because Rinne loved this world, this sparkling world of love and idols that Hiiro was still struggling with. And he was leaving it, for Hiiro, for Rinne’s unit. Hiiro admired his decision as the Monarch’s aid. But he was no longer that, was he? So then, as someone who had grown up as Rinne’s brother, Hiiro wanted to give it all back, to let Rinne live in this shiny world he had run away to escape to. And though that action would disappoint his village, Hiiro was sure, it was the course of action Hiiro wanted to take.
His brother’s happiness meant more to him than the ‘right’ thing to do. So Hiiro would do what he could to make him happy again, that was what he wanted to do.
Even if his brother would not like it.
His brother had told him before after all, that he was allowed to do what he liked, even if it would displease him.
So Hiiro would.
“Is this about your brother?” Aira asks, interrupting Hiiro’s thoughts. “Because I don’t forgive him, you know.”
“Aira-san...” Mayoi mumbles.
“Well it’s true! He hurt people, and especially Hiro; he’s been sad and mopey ever since they spoke! No matter how much Rinne says he loves him I won’t forgive that.” Aira huffs, crossing his arms.
Hiiro laughs, perhaps louder than necessary. Normally he would’ve defended his brother, a part of him wanted to, might even still, but at the moment more prominently Hiiro felt so happy that Aira cared that much for him, that they all did.
“Aira is right, my brother hurt many people, and they are all within their rights to be angry with him, to want to discard him.” Hiiro begins as his laughter subsides. “But, even so, I want to save him, to give him the place here he has always wanted. And that is something I want to do, something I have decided on all on my own.” He finishes proudly. The more Hiiro thought the more he appreciated everything Rinne had done for him back home, none of it necessary when Hiiro was supposed to be nothing more than his shadow, his aid, his shield, but because Rinne wanted to. Because Rinne loved him. And Hiiro wanted to show that he did too, loved his wonderful caring and kind older brother.
“Ugh,” Aira groans, “well when you put it like that what else am I supposed to say.”
“As I’m sure Aira-san means, if that’s what you want, we will support you Hiiro-san.” Tatsumi says.
“Yes!” Mayoi agrees hastily. “I know I have not been the most useful here, but however I can help, I will. Use me as you wish.”
Hiiro licks his lips, a quieter kind of worry rushing through him. “I’m glad, but... are you sure? This will not be easy, and if it goes wrong I’m sure we will not be looked on kindly for trying to help someone who is so hated. We are barely getting by right now, this is my desire, my wish, but I don’t want to take you all down with me either.”
“We’re a unit, Hiro.” Aira says, looking not quite annoyed.
“And that means we will listen to your plan and play it out as you wish, but we’re in this together no matter what. There’s no reason to all we have done, all the sacrifices we have made, and struggles we have survived, if at the end it’s just us three without you Hiiro-san.” Tatsumi agrees.
“It’s as, ah, other units might say,” Mayoi says, biting his thumb, “all for one and one for all right?”
“Thanks, you all.” Hiiro says, and the words do not express how happy he feels even as he begins to explain his plan.
It is the lightest he’s felt since his confrontation with Rinne, perhaps the lightest he’s felt since arriving here at all.
Things will be okay, he’s sure.
It’s what he wants after all, so he’s going to give it his all to make sure it happens.
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rambling about levels in apeirophobia because i have nothing better to do with my time!
i played this game religiously back in march/april, and i've gotten to know the levels very well. (i've been accused of speedrunning multiple times because of how quickly i managed to get through some of the levels /srs) but i havent played it in quite a while.
(and for those who don't know [aka most people probably]: apeirophobia is a backrooms game on roblox. seeing as apeirophobia is the fear of infinity or endlessness, i think its very fitting for a game about being trapped in seemingly endless liminal spaces)
(also this is very long i'm sorry)
level 0: lobby [4/10]
definitely not the best level.
once you get spotted by the entity, you really just cant get away unless you have the gamepasses that give you more speed and stamina (at least i think that would work? i don't actually have the game passes so i'm not quite sure)
i do like the layout of the map though. as long as i don't run into the entity, i can get through that level pretty quickly!
level 1: the poolrooms [7/10]
its very easy to do in multiplayer, but i can't do it solo. (thats most levels to be fair though)
i know the exact locations of all the valves you need to find! one of them is on the left side of the map, while the other 4 are one after the other along the right wall (leading to the exit). most people either don't know or forget about the 5th one, so i always go for that one. it makes the level go so much faster when the group doesn't have to go back and try to find the last one!
but if people are whistling and drawing the starfish towards the spawn hallway before anyone has a chance to get out, any like i have for this level just goes out the window.
and speaking of the metaphorical window,
level 2: the windows [5/10]
theres literally nothing to even say about this level.
its just 30 seconds maximum of running.
no obstacles, no entities, no nothing.
i mean its kinda fun to race the other players but thats it.
ranking this higher than the lobby because this one isnt annoying.
level 3: abandoned office [5/10]
i either really really like playing this level, or really really hate it. which is why it gets a 5/10.
when people do nothing but distracting the hound, leaving me to carry everyone else by getting the keys and buttons? those are the best. i genuinely love carrying in this game! i know where all the buttons are, and having someone take the hounds attention away from me makes it so much easier than if everyone was trying to find stuff at once! plus i know what buttons have been pressed and what keys have been found.
when i get to be the distraction, that's also not so bad! i like to lure the hound far into the spawn hallway so that the other players can run faster without needing to worry about it. sometimes i do die, i'm not that good, but being farther into thehallway also means i can immediately run to the exit when all the buttons are pressed!
when everyone is doing their own thing, that's when i hate it. no communication whatsoever. nobody knows who has the keys, or what buttons have been pressed, and everyone keeps dying to the hound. and considering as this is the majority of the servers i've played this level on, it just makes me not want to play it as much.
honestly, i would prefer to play this level with 3 people who have never even gotten to this level before that just let me carry them, than a bunch of "pros" that don't even realize that they have one of the keys on them.
level 4: the sewers [8/10]
this is the level that makes people think i'm a pro.
i have joined so so many rooms when people couldn't get past this level because its such a long and complicated maze (which it is) and the i show up and beat it easily.
i actually went to the wiki and looked at a map of the maze while playing it myself on a single player server. and if there's one thing i'm good at, its remembering random shit. in this case, it just so happens to be the way out!
i'm not perfect, there are a few parts that i keep forgetting where to go (and considering as i havent played this game for a couple months, i'm probably worse now.) but most of the time i still get through very quickly!
a singular point is being taken off due to me not having enough stamina to keep running. i already black out constantly in real life, i dont need that in a video game too! /lh
level 5: cave system [6/10]
i have mixed feelings about this level
on the one hand, the concept of the skin stealer thing is really cool! granted its kinda dumb in single player, but in multiplayer it makes it so much harder (in a good way). plus, i really like the map layout! even though i keep getting lost.
on the other, its just like the lobby in the sense that there's nowhere to hide from it. and since its the same size as a player, it can just follow you everywhere. also the bland white player model for the skin thing is pretty boring.
level 6: !!!!!!!!! [9/10]
another one i really like! one point off for not having enough stamina (like the sewers).
oh no! theres a large creature running after us! and the lights are all red! and theres loud emergency sirens going off!! clearly this level is extremely difficult, right? wrong.
it takes several seconds for the thing to actually start coming after us, plus its really slow. the red lights and sirens only serve to make you think its really dangerous.
most of the people who die on this level either dont know the layout and get stuck on the obstacles, are lagging and get stuck on the obstacles, or aren't good with the movement controls (mainly mobile or console players) and get stuck on the obstacles. once you beat the level once or twice, you figure out how it works and don't get stuck as often.
"but it sounds like its right behind us!" the entire map is us turning corners in a long hallway. if its in the hallway beside us (that we've already ran though), its going to sound much closer than it actually is, because its right beside us. not behind us.
this isnt actually me complaining about this levels difficulty. the fact that the entire level is designed to make you panic about a threat thats much more mild than you would expect? i actually love that! its purposely trying to stress you out and it works! (until you know about it that is)
maze + psycologically affecting the player + not needing to hide or gather items = 10/10 level in my book!!
but like in the sewers, i keep running out of stamina and blacking out. so minus 1 point for that.
level 7: the end? [9/10]
its a puzzle map!!!! and i've gotten really good at figuring it out!!
the only complaint i have is that the part with the book is soo time consuming. i have to look at the book, memorize a code, run over to the door, try the code, and pray that it works. otherwise its back to the book again.
thankfully, i have 2 monitors. so i can take a screenshot of the book, run to the door, and try all the codes i need without having to run back to the book.
still annoying though, so a point removed.
level 8: lights out [2/10]
there's only one level i hate more than this one.
its pitch dark, your flashlight does jack shit unless you're near a wall, and the stupid potato sack just loves camping the ONLY PLACE you can go to access the second half of the map. you know. the second half of the map where the exit is located???
like with the sewers, i have (mostly) memorized the way through the level. but unless there's someone distracting the sack thing, which typically there isn't, its going to take a long time to beat. if we even get that far.
also, there's occasionally a vine boom sound effect in the level. i have no idea why, but its a thing. plus one point for that.
level 9: sublimity [3/10] / [5/10]
this is my 3rd least favorite level, but hopefully the reason why has been fixed.
there was a glitch where, when you spawned, there is a large chance that you will end up stuck in the pool. completely unable to move. you just drown. and to make matters worse, if you respawned your screen just went completely black! you could still access the escape menu thankfully, but you couldnt even see the chat. your only hope was that someone didnt get stuck, and beat the level. because that takes you out of the "you died" screen without fucking up your game.
not including the glitch however, its like the windows. nothing really to do.
there's like 5 slides for the exit. i'm not sure if the different slides do different things, but i always just do through the purple one and it works.
3/10 because of the glitch, 5/10 if its been patched.
level 10: the abyss [7/10]
this level glitched out every single time i played it, but it was actually really funny.
the entities just. broke! they would occasionally move around a little but, but they never left the area that they spawned in. neither of them. you could even run up to them and they wouldn't even try and attack you! obviously if you run right up on them, you die, but that's different.
there supposed to roam around the map, and try to kill you once you once they spot you. so, you're supposed to hide in the lockers. but that glitch just makes it so much easier!
its annoying to try and find the keys in such a large map though, hence the lower score.
i've never actually played this level where the smilers actually work, so i don't know how the level is supposed to function. but with my glitched experiences, i like it!
level 11: the warehouse [8/10]
this one is parkour.
that's it, that's the level.
its difficult at first, but if you do it enough times you get used to the jumping physics of the game.
once you manage to get past the initial parkour and end up in the pretty easy maze, its smooth sailing from there! (unless you fall on the easiest jump like i did like twice)
its pretty easy to fuck up a jump and land in one of the lower shelves that you can't get off of without dying. but i'm not removing a point for that.
simply because its really funny to be speedrunning though the parkour and see someone in chat say "hey *user* look at me" and you look down and see them on the very bottom shelf just standing there staring at you.
level 12: creative minds [8/10]
i know where the paintings are, and where to put them, this is by far the easiest level to do in single player.
but i'm not going to talk about how the level works, i'm talking about the memorable encounter i had there.
my old avatar was mostly black (with some purple accents and white eyes). most of the entities in this game are pitch black. someone saw me turning a corner in this level and freaked out, thinking i was an entity at first. but what they said what that i was "too black". the other person on the server immediately called them out for being racist because they didn't have the context of black meaning #000000 and not the skin color. i got apologized to for an accidentally racist sounding comment about my roblox avatar on that level. i just think that was funny. especially when you add the context of me being very white irl.
level 13: the funrooms [0/10]
the entity teleports behind you. and if you dont turn around and look at it fast enough, it kills you.
there are 3 things that i am viscerally afraid of, and the third of those is being attacked from behind.
plus the creepily happy atmosphere just makes it worse.
i hope that the person who came up with this level gets a hole in their sock.
level 14: electrical station [6/10]
i haven't played this one very much, but its like the polar opposite of the funrooms. and simply because of that, it gets a 6/10.
level 15: the ocean of the final frontier [???/10]
what even is this level?
why are we on a boat?
how do we get off the boat??
question marks out of ten.
level 16: crumbling memory [3/10]
its like the lobby but worse. you can't see anything because of the black goo.
not much else to say
i didn't mean for this to be so long jesus christ 😭😭😭 very sorry about that
but anyways when the game updates and more levels get added, i'll reblog this with my opinions of those levels too!
so we'll see what happens then!
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