1x1 With miss kobayashi and rumioki

[phenol]

"Hey, wait--" Kaede only managed to get out as the guy yelled that he needed whatever he dropped and proceeded to jump over the other side of the overpass. "Holy crap," Kaede muttered as he broke out into a sprint, passing under the bridge and coming out the other side, just in time to see the ripples from the spot where the guy landed.

"Oh no," Kaede said, praying that the guy would resurface. He began to pace in short steps as he didn't, evidently either unconscious or struggling to swim up. His first thought was to call for help, but then he remembered that he still didn't have a phone. Kaede took a deep breath and shook himself out, knowing that he'd regret what he was about to do, but that it'd be worse if he didn't try something.

He stripped out of the sweater, tossing it to the side and waded in, acutely aware of how cold the water was and how the previous day, he barely had the strength to pull himself into a window, let alone pull someone out of the water and swim to shore. But still. Kaede took a shuddering breath and plunged in deeper, swimming closer to the spot where he had last seen the water disturbed in broad strokes. When he was almost certain of the spot, he took a deep breath and dove underwater, squinting in the murk to try and see any sign of the guy as he swam down. His lungs were screaming and he was about to surface to try again, when his hand brushed against fabric and he grabbed desperately at it, praying that he could get a fistful to try and haul them both up.

[miss kobayashi]

the current pushed him faster than he could catch up to the surface, his lungs finally giving out from the impact of the jump. he sucked in a breath, soon started to swallow the water by the mouthful, his body trying despairingly to get air.

this was it. he thought, his legs kicking against the water as fast as they could, but to no avail. no amount of struggle was helping him get to the surface, and he knew he had sunk too far for him to have any hope in trying.

without warning, he felt a tug on his sweatshirt, almost as if something was pulling on it, but the force of the jerk was enough to bring him out of the water.

ken barely made it to the surface, forcefully hacking once he had access to air. he couldn't stop his coughing fit, feeling water drip from his mouth with each painful expulsion. even so, the only thing still on his mind was the sketch. once he was barely in a state where he knew what direction the river was going, he started to swim that direction, still fighting his loud coughing.

[phenol]

Kaede felt the guy rise up past him and he did his best to follow as well, kicking his legs desperately to reach the surface. His limbs were exhausted and deadened, but the last thing he wanted to do was drown and he forced his arms to move, clawing through the water. He broke the surface just as he inhaled, coughing and wheezing, the cold snaking around his lungs like a vice, making it difficult to draw in a breath. Kaede blinked the water out of his eyes in time to see the guy swimming further downstream, coughing up a storm. He sucked in a deep breath and swam towards him, grateful that he wasn't fighting the current.

"Hey!" he called out, "You're going the wrong way!" he broke off, coughing as water filled his mouth. He spat and shook his head, struggling forwards, "The riverbank isn't that way, come on!"

[miss kobayashi]

someone must've jumped in the water to save him, because he could hear protests from behind him, which would explain how he was able to make it back to the top of the water so easily. but he couldn't focus on that right now.

" no! " he coughed back, still swimming downstream, his whole body weakly sinking into the water but forcing himself back to the surface with a collective motion of his arms and legs. " I need it! it's... all I... have! " ken breathlessly retorted, not wanting his efforts to fail in vain.

[phenol]

Kaede could feel his pulse behind his eyelids as he struggled to swim closer to the guy to grab at him. He was beginning to shake from the cold and the water flowing around him felt like it was actively trying to pull him down. Kaede gasped for breath as he swam close enough to draw alongside the guy.

"W--whatever it is," Kaede managed out through chattering teeth, "It's gone, ok? You're gonna d--drown, we got to get ashore--let it go, please?"

[miss kobayashi]

the constant bobbing in the water made it nearly impossible to hear what the other had said. all he could comprehend was 'it's gone,' and he shook his head again, feeling his throat tighten at the thought. " it's gone. " he repeated, fighting against another coughing fit.

" no, no, no. it can't be gone. " ken slowly started to repeat, still swimming downstream but quickly slowing down, his heart pounding from anxiety. the last thread of hope he had for the paper was gone, a swarming guilt as a treasured gift was now forever lost.

" no, no. it can't be. it's all I have. it's all--" ken had slowly been turning his head, still glancing downstream but not seeing the sketch. but instead of seeing his rescuer, there he was. like he had never left. kaede. ken knew there was only one explanation. he was dead. " I have. " he finished, staring at the other in complete awe.

[phenol]

Kaede squinted, blinking the water out of his eyes as the guy finally turned around and he could make out the person's face. Oh. The world hated him. The world absolutely hated him.

"Ken?" he asked, his voice still raspy and raw, "What the hell were you doing--oh my god," Kaede wanted to just stop swimming and sink to the bottom of the goddamned river. He felt exhausted enough to and seeing Ken wasn't helping any. The one person he wanted to avoid with his entire being--and here they were, in the middle of a river, while he shivered and bit back another cough.

He groaned as the cough finally pushed its way out of his lungs and he swallowed another mouthful of water, the current pushing over his head for a moment as he stopped moving his arms. Kaede forced himself back up and shook the water out of his eyes, blinking furiously to see Ken again. He was the last person he wanted to see, but he was still relieved that Ken hadn't drowned, although it seemed like a very real possibility that he would if he didn't try to swim for shore immediately.

"Let's go," Kaede pleaded, praying that Ken listened to him, even if he had no reason to, "Please--I don't think I can drag you out."

[miss kobayashi]

after a little deliberation, ken paused, still coughing and feeling a horribly painful scratch in his throat that jut worsened the more he coughed. he didn't want to look at kaede, but agreed, swimming away from the current and instead to land. his limbs didn't want to move, but he forced them to go anyways, every push against the water sending a stinging pain to his arms and legs.

once he made it to the bank of the river, he didn't have enough strength to pull himself up, and instead, just held on to the embankment until he built up the energy. he could barely breathe, heaving breaths of air between coughs. his coughing was still bad, but he would rather go through the pain from it than confront the delusion of kaede who supposedly saved him.

[phenol]

Kaede let out a small breath of relief as Ken listened, heading towards the banks. He swam close behind, forcing his legs to push him through the water until it was shallow enough for him to stand up and struggle onto the shore. Kaede sank down at the edge with his legs still in the water, groaning. He didn't know how far they had come--he could still see the bridge, but Yuuta's sweater was nowhere to be seen, and he knew that his shoes were even further away. Kaede closed his eyes, shivering violently as the wind picked up again.

"W--what the h--hell were you doing?" he asked Ken, trying to get his words out through his jaw clenched against the cold.

[miss kobayashi]

ken let out the last of his violent coughs, resting his head against the shore with an exhausted huff. his heart thudded against his chest, a fine balance of anxiety and desperate swimming to help his whole body tremble.

with barely enough strength he heaved himself onto the shore, his whole body, from head to toe, dripping with water. his limbs ached after he had escaped the frigid water, realizing for the first time how cold he was.

he could hear the other talk to him, but he didn't know if he should respond back, still thinking that kaede was just something his mind had made up. " I don't have it anymore. I lost it. " ken admitted shamefully, staring at the ground before coughing again.