Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

He grimaced, feeling blood trickling down his knuckles and in between his fingers. He flicked his hand to the side, small red droplets sprinkling the freshly-cut grass blades. The sun shined down brightly on the three figures present, a light breeze that gently ruffled his dark locks. How nice. How peaceful. Such a beautiful day. 

Until this asshole decided to make his pissy mood everyone’s problem.

Hakano Shisui’s nose twitched at the scent of copper wafting through the air. He looked down at Shibata and scoffed at the slight tremble of his shoulders, though his glare remained stubborn on his face, along with the blood coating his nose and lips, and the gash that split through his eyebrow, staining his blond bangs red.

Shisui sighed through his nose and crouched in front of Shibata, extending his fist until he was carelessly rubbing his bloodied knuckles on the dark fabric of his uniform. The blond’s face looked like it could start steaming at any moment, teeth grinding against each other as he quite literally bit back the insults he wanted to hurl towards the boy who stared at him as if he was no more than an annoying fly. 

“Y’know,” Shisui started, “you really should raise your grades before you go and bully someone for ranking lower than you, Number Sixteen.” His voice was plain, devoid of any emotion but with a glint of unmistakable mock in his eyes. 

Shibata scoffed and dug his fingers harder into the ground, dirt finding its way underneath his nails. His brows furrowed even more, if only he could will Shisui into bursting into flames right then and there.

The tan boy rose from his crouched position, groaning as he stretched his arms far above his head, a relieved sigh escaping his lips when he heard his back crack. He slumped his arms back down and turned his head towards the other guy there, just a couple feet away. He’d been as silent as a mouse throughout the whole encounter, the only noise he emitted was from his fidgeting feet.

Souta flinched at the somehow nonchalant but intense look. He slapped his hands together and dropped to the ground on his knees. “Thank you! Th-thank you so much, I don’t know what I would’ve done if you didn’t stop him! I-I’m so happy you’re here! Thank God you exist!” He babbled on, tears in the corners of his eyes, swaying back and forth as he went on and on about how lucky and grateful he was and all that. 

Shisui cringed, a bead of sweat sliding down his temple at the scene. “He is kinda pitiful.” He was tempted to voice that out but decided against it. He tried to inspect the brown haired boy for injuries but with all his moving around, it was a little hard to do so, so he plopped a heavy hand on top of his head and forced him still, turning it left and right to look at the bruises on his cheeks. “Eh, you’re not too badly hurt.”

Souta blinked, wide eyed and looking at the male as if he had brought down the moon and the stars for him. “Yeah! I’m okay, thank you!” Alright, this was becoming a bit awkward. Sure, it wasn’t a totally unfamiliar scene, but it’s never been quite like this.

Now, don’t get him wrong. It wasn’t like he purposely went out of his way to fight bullies (he was not that good of a person), but he’d stumble upon those situations more than he’d like to admit, and ‘y’know, I’m already here and able to do something about it, so why not do it?’

He let out a huff through his nose. “No problem. And don’t pay him much mind.” He nodded towards Shibata, who was still staring at him like he could shoot lasers out of his eyes, “He doesn’t really have anything on you, you are barely two ranks below him.” What he didn’t know is that, in Souta’s mind, he exuded a heavenly white light, flowers floating all around him and forming a flowery halo above his head, Souta felt like he would start levitating at any moment.

When Shisui saw the tears cascading down Souta’s cheeks, he deadpanned. He just made this guy burst into tears and he did not know him well enough to willingly deal with his crying, so he stiffly turned on his heel and started walking away. 

“Bye.”

Souta stilled like he had just experienced whiplash. After a few seconds, he just sighed disappointedly at the male’s retreating form and wallowed in the bit of shame that clung to him at his slightly (very) over the top reaction. 

Noticing the longing stare of the brunette, Shibata let out a deep growl, the sound snapping Souta back into reality as he remembered the presence of his bully not even five feet away from him. He shrieked as he stumbled onto his feet, putting as much distance between himself and the blond, and rushed after Shisui. “Wait! Hakano, don’t leave me with him!” He could hear the heavy breath the male let out even in the distance. “Please!”

——

As Shisui’s detention time came to an end, his homeroom teacher called for his attention. “We’ve been over this a hundred times.” He didn’t even try to hide the tired muse in his voice, words slurring into each other as he did his best to look like he actually gave a damn about lecturing his student.

Truth to be told, the only reason he was doing it was because the principal was adamant on having him deal with Shisui’s “fits”, as she liked to call them. But Renji had grown sort of a soft spot for Shisui, not that he’d ever admit it. 

Shisui averted his eyes towards the windows, arms crossed as he leaned his weight on a desk. “Yeah, yeah. If I’m gonna beat anyone up, at least don’t do it where everyone can see. But it’s not like dragging him out of the yard wouldn’t have gotten me in detention either.” He huffed, suddenly feeling a bit guilty about keeping the teacher after hours to watch over him after a quick glance at the clock. He dragged his gaze back to the older man. “I won’t do it again.”

A beat of silence filled the room, both staring at each other with deadpan expressions. Eyes analyzing every feature on each other’s face as they squint their eyes, the tension rising with each passing second until the two were holding their breaths, unable to even move a centimeter.

“Pfft.”

Shisui was the first to break, a snort crawling out his throat as he pursed his lips, fingers tightening around his biceps to try to keep the laughter from completely breaking out his chest, though that was deemed impossible once his teacher followed his snort with one of his own, chuckles resonating throughout the space at the ridiculousness of the teen’s comment. 

Renji threw his head back to gather his breath, feeling his shoulders slump. He walked closer to the boy, pushing his head down and roughly ruffling his dark locks. Shisui’s neck strained against the hand’s weight and raised his head just enough to give a playful glare at the man, not bothering to take the limb off his hair. 

“Let’s try not to lie to our superiors, boy.” After glancing at the clock on the wall, he offered his student a small smile. “You’re good to go. Try not to get into any more trouble this week.”

Today was Tuesday, so that was going to prove to be quite difficult. Trouble had a way of finding him, no matter how hard he tried to avoid it. “Thanks, sensei. See you tomorrow.” He slung his bag onto his shoulder and went for the door, lazily waving his hand at the man without bothering to look back at him.

“That rude little—” Renji cut his own thoughts off, at least he had actually called him ‘sensei’. For the longest time, Shisui would stubbornly refuse to call him his teacher, using only his name. 

Despite the boy’s careless attitude, the older man pulled his lips into a tight smile and shook his head, his eyebrow twitching as he muttered. “That kid’s gotta stop giving me grey hairs.” 

——

The boy closed the door behind him silently and put his shoes to the side. He clutched his bag tighter against his frame so its contents wouldn’t rattle, shifting his weight slightly to his toes so his footsteps wouldn’t be heard by the other occupants of the house. He treated lightly, headed straight for his room.

The sound of someone clearing their throat broke through the silence, he froze. Pausing midstep as his ears twitched, not daring to move a muscle, as if he would be overlooked if he waited long enough.

“You do know I can still see you, right? I’m not a T-Rex.” The deep voice of his father met his ears, the teen’s posture slumping as he exhaled defeatedly. 

Shisui turned around, looking at eyes that resembled his own, the amusement in them clear as day. “Well, a guy can dream.” 

Yasuo laughed, his large hand coming up to brush off some blades of grass stuck on the back of his son’s head, then coming down to the nape, massaging the tension out of his neck, eliciting a low grumble from the younger’s chest as he felt the stiffness subsiding a little. 

“Where were you? You’re back later than usual.” The sun was already down, temperature dropping as the moon and stars took center stage.

He took note of the fallen blades and raked his hands through his hair vigorously, trying to shake off whatever else stuck on it, and making the hand slip off his skin. “I was at the park near Takeda’s but I fell asleep.”

A quieter but firm voice cut through their conversation. “Shisui, I need you to do something for me.” He turned to the side, his mother emerging from her room without looking up from her phone, thumbs tapping repeatedly on its screen.

The youngest fought the frown that threatened to settle on his face. “Hello to you too, mom.” He let out pettily. It didn’t really matter though, her expression didn’t even twitch. “What is it?”

Finally, she tore her eyes away from the device, gracing Shisui with the rare opportunity of looking directly into her green eyes. “There’s a document I left back at the lab, I need to scan it and send it to Mr. Ishida tonight along with some other things. I still have other papers to go through, so I need you to go and retrieve it for me.” She spoke boringly.

The boy clenched his teeth. He hated the lab, hated it with his heart and soul, and going there made him want to die. “Why can’t dad go?” He asked, his voice grim as he held his stare against his mom’s. He heard his dad sigh and turned his head to look at him questioningly.

The male crossed his arms, an apologetic look painting his features. “Sorry, kid. I’ve got stuff to do as well, the project me and your mom have been working on has been pretty demanding. It’ll be in and out, you won’t be there long.” He tried to comfort, but it was of no use. They knew.

Shisui looked back at his mother, eyes flicking between each adult as they both went quiet. He unclenched his jaw and relaxed his brows (that he hadn’t even noticed were already weighing down on his eyes), turning sharply on his heel to head towards his room. “Whatever.”

He shut the door behind him, blocking out the sound of his mother’s scoff and his father’s uncomfortable cough. He chucked his bag to the corner of his room and stripped off his uniform. He threw himself on his bed, letting the wind from his parted window raise goosebumps on his bare skin as he breathed deeply, shutting his eyes and forcing his lungs to take air in and out. Repeating again and again until breathing felt natural once more. 

His eyelashes fluttered open, his pupils staring blankly at the ceiling as he went back to his neutral state. “Three.” He felt his lungs fill with air. “Two.” He stilled, the sound of his heartbeat echoing in his ears. “One.” He exhaled sharply, tensing his abdomen so he could bring his torso up and stand up from his bed. 

Shisui forced his mind blank, willing his body to move automatically. He quickly threw some clothes on, something casual that would still protect him from the cold of the night. 

He grabbed his bag once again, emptying out all of its contents except for a folder and his badge, latching his keys on a belt loop on the left of his pants, slinging the bag over his shoulder once he was done. Finally, he grabbed his headphones and left his room, his feet taking him to the entrance of the house with hurried but determined steps, determined to get this over as soon as possible. 

Not a word was directed at him when he walked through the inhabited living room, not even when he stopped at the door to tie up his black shoes, not even when he exited the building.

——

Kevin Parker’s voice filled Shisui’s ears, his fingers tapping against the bike handles to the beat of the song. The occasional car passed him as he kept to the side of the road, the chilly breeze softly brushing against his face. Every few seconds, he softly mumbled along to the lyrics. 

“But is there something more than that?”

As he got closer and closer to the facility, his leisure pace got even slower, fingers stilling on the handles. 

It felt inhuman, long hallways, the smell of bleach and the perpetual chill of the AC. He had been there enough times to have been given his own badge. Nobody even actually knew his name, he wouldn’t care as much if he didn’t know everyone else by theirs. 

To his parents, their job was everything to them, years and years of hard work, cancelled social outings, endless hours, sleepless nights, uneaten meals. It was all for this. 

It’s not like they abused him. He didn’t lack anything either. He had food, water, a roof over his head, education, money for his hobbies, his own bike so he could move freely, phone, headphones; he was privileged in that sense. He didn’t lack anything materialistic. But that was all they gave him.

It’s just– They were never there when it mattered for him, not during his first basketball game, nor the last one, not during the ceremonies they held for honor students, not when he was learning how to ride his bike, not when he fell sick at school and still had to walk home. 

The ceremonies were the worst, seeing his classmates being congratulated and cheered on by their parents; their pride. When all he got was a “keep it up” from his dad, and a nod from his mom when he got back home, they hadn’t attended. There was nothing natural about their interactions, especially with his mom, no closeness, no warmth. His dad tried, he really did. But he’s always been very “work is first”.

Honestly, Shisui doesn’t even feel like he’s rightfully upset. How could he? His life isn’t bad, he has everything he needs, he can’t help but feel a little immature and selfish for wanting his parents to give him more than what he’s receiving right now; there’s people who have it a lot harder. Sure, he can’t even think of anyone who he could approach first comfortably, but he could be suffering from a lot worse than “loneliness”.

He showed his badge to the guard, the man not even questioning why he was there. After having the gate opened for him, he swiftly pedalled to the front entrance, but let his bike simply roll forward when he noticed a figure right in the corner of the building. 

He couldn’t see their face but assumed it was a man, a muscular build clad in a black tank top, black gloves encasing his hands that seemed to be typing something down on his phone, a black belt with a silver buckle holding up black cargo pants that led down to also black combat boots—he wasn’t close enough to see if the black thing on his head was a beanie or black hair.

The bike continued coasting by, the man didn’t seem to acknowledge him, but Shisui knew better than to think this was just some random hanging out outside a research facility with restricted access, he didn’t have a face the teen recognized.

The man seemed to notice the weight of his stare, looking up and maintaining eye contact. Shisui’s heart beat faster and harder. The man was big—way bigger than him—and young, less likely to have many exploitable weaknesses.

The teen swallowed, ripping his gaze away and quickly ditching the idea of entering through the front and pedalled faster. He rounded up the building, hopping down his bike and laying it against the wall hastily as he tore his keys from his pants and sorted through them. 

When he got a hold of the back door key, he yanked his headphones off his ears and looked up and around, the little hairs on the back of his neck rising suddenly. His eyes caught the shadow of a silhouette, his breath catching in his throat at the approaching figure. He was close, too close.

Shisui didn’t waste any more time and forced the key inside the lock, twisting it open and pushing his body inside, his hands trembling when he heard the footsteps grow in volume and speed. He turned around in a heartbeat and went to slam the door.

A hand quickly shot out from behind and prevented it from closing, the man didn’t even let out a sound and started to push his shoulder into the door. Shisui, quickly taking notice, put his back against the door and planted his feet, putting his entire weight into trying to stop the male. 

Shisui clenched his jaw, teeth bare with effort, effort that seemed pointless once he saw his feet slipping, unable to anchor themselves against the strength of the trespasser. He groaned, slamming his head back, and forced himself to think, eyes sliding all around the place, measuring his options.

The older man still hadn’t said anything, not giving away anything about what he wanted and what his business was. It was logical to think that it had to do with something in the facility, but now that Shisui had seen him, he didn’t know if he would let him go unscathed or even alive. He hadn’t seen any visible weapons, but his pants seemed baggy enough to hide them. And even if he was unarmed, his physique alone would be enough to get the job done.  

He shook his head, the door digging itself deeper against his back as it opened more and more, slowly but surely. The boy took in a forceful breath, breaking his hyperventilating streak, and turned on his shoulder, planting his trembling hands on the metal and shifting his feet carefully against the floor.

He looked down, cursing when he realized he had left the keys lodged on the outside. He took in a few more breaths and shifted to a more solid grip, his legs shaking with the strain and his shoulder was already starting to hurt. 

He inhaled sharply, removing his weight from the door altogether, stepping behind the door as the man stumbled inside, barely able to catch himself before he could faceplant into the ground. 

Shisui took advantage of that moment, brusquely driving the door against the man’s face with all the power he could muster. It proved to be successful, the sound of the metal harshly colliding against something hard and the pained grunt that emerged, along with the sound of a heavy weight hitting the ground. He had been able to knock him into the ground, but that didn’t mean that he’d remain there. 

The black haired male took his chance and bolted, headed straight for the CCTV room, slightly stumbling when he heard the door slamming against the wall, faint curses harshly muttered into the cold air. “Shit, fucking—fuck, that fucking hurt.” The voice was deep and annoyed. Shisui moved faster.

Who is he? Why is he here? And today of all days? Why today? This was just oh so convenient. He was cursing his shitty luck with the most colorful vocabulary he could throw together with the adrenaline coursing through his veins.

His long legs carried him rapidly through the hallways. If things were still how they were supposed to be—which he highly doubted with how things were going, there should be a guard in the CCTV room, he hoped he had already seen what was happening through the cameras and was either on the way to help him or at least already called the police. 

The room finally came into view, relief knocking the knot in his throat a little loose. He didn’t slow down as he barrelled into the room, door bursting open against his frame. After a quick sweep of his eyes, he confirmed that there was no one inside, confusion flooding his senses as not even the screens were on. 

He shut the door behind him quietly, quickly turning around to try and turn on the computers to locate his pursuer, then dropped down under the desk to check if they were even plugged in, and when he saw they were, he abruptly tried to stand up, his head banging harshly against the desk, but the pain did not register.

Blood rushed through his veins when he went to flick the lights of the office on, cursing hushedly when they didn’t light up. The man or someone he was with must’ve turned the breakers off.

Shisui froze at the approaching hurried steps, he whipped his head left and right to see if there was anything he could use or anywhere he could hide. His gaze lingered on the closet, but not the main biggest part. He flung the little door of one of the small corner cabinets that was surely not big enough to fit someone of his build, but he knew that if he made himself small enough, he could shove his whole frame in there. 

He put his bum down first, shifting until his back was flat against the floor of the cabinet, his head against the side of it and putting his neck in a ninety degree angle and sliding his legs above him, his head ending up between his knees and his shins pressing against the wooden roof. He could only thank the gods that he was flexible enough to do this without being overly uncomfortable. He stretched his hand out to grasp the door and closed it, darkness shadowing his view completely as his elbows dug into his sides.

Shisui strained his ears, hyper-aware of his own breathing and the sound of his heart, shutting his eyes when the door of the CCTV office creaked open, unpaused heavy steps echoing in the small room. His breath got caught in his throat and squeezed his eyelids hard when the big closet doors were ripped open, only for them to slam closed not even a second later. He heard the burly man curse. “Man, fuck this. I don’t have time for this.” The sound of his footsteps led out of the room.

Shisui couldn’t bring himself to relax though, his muscles were feeling the strain of the unconventional position he was in, plus the tenseness his body held, he could already feel a cramp forming and his hands were trembling again. 

For a few more seconds he heard nothing, his lungs starting to work once again little by little, he thanked every possible god out there for the man being in a rush. He fluttered his eyes open and listened for a moment longer; once he thought he was safe, he pushed the door open silently. His head turned all it could and scanned the room, he slowly slid his legs out, he pushed himself out of the cramped space and rested on his knees for a while when he felt a dizzy spell overtaking. 

When he stopped feeling like he would pass out at any second, he crawled closer to the door, poking his head out slightly and turning his head left and right to see if the trespasser was anywhere near. He slowly stood up, his body swaying slightly before he pressed his shoulder against the frame. He reached out a little more, trying to discern things with more clarity as his vision started to blur a little at the edges.

The sudden silence was deafening, he didn’t even hear the crickets outside, nor the wind, the man was nowhere near, and all he could see was the long grey hallways. He kept sweeping his eyes over his surroundings; the hallways seemed even longer than just a few seconds ago—a trick of the light, maybe? 

He couldn’t feel his own face, his fingertips felt tingly and there was a faint buzzing just underneath his skin, his heartbeat was beating loudly in his own ears, but the sensation was different than it did when he was facing off against the stranger, it was dizzying, like it was counting down the seconds until something happened. He just didn’t know what. 

His breathing turned shallow—where was that ringing sound coming from? Somewhere inside the facility? He hadn’t even noticed when it started. He felt for his phone, his gaze flickering between the screen and the walls. He was doing something on his phone, he knew he was, but his eyes didn’t focus on it. 

His limbs felt unusually light and his head felt like it was in the clouds, his tongue felt like sandpaper inside his mouth—why was he suddenly so hyper-aware of it? Oh right, he was talking to someone, emergency services. He could hear it, hear himself letting out words—was that really his voice? He was barely able to convince himself it was, but he felt the slight rumble of his vocal chords every time he heard it, so it had to be his. He hadn’t even realized the woman had already picked up, and looking at the time his phone showed, they had already been talking for almost ten minutes. 

The call had fallen silent, Shisui supposed they had already dispatched cop cars, he was barely able to listen to the woman’s voice every once in a while, his brain didn’t seem to register her words even though he knew he was answering every time. 

Shisui sat, back against the wall, when through the fuzziness of his brain, he felt his elbow twitch, the limb slightly sliding closer to his body. Then, he felt it, it started with a mere crack in the air, a strange feeling that raised the hair on the back of his neck and made his skin prickle. The shadows in the room seemed darker, stretching unnaturally over the surfaces. A strange energy enveloped everything in a way that made his stomach churn. 

The air thickened, the pressure slowly building up, he felt his back pressing harder against the wall and he quickly stood up, his whole backside smacking against the structure, like he was getting sucked up by a vacuum. Confusion washed over him, there was something very wrong about this whole thing, not only the fact that there could potentially be a giant vacuum in this facility and he didn’t know how dangerous it could be, but there was also this strange energy that was unsettling, just wrong. 

He slid to the side, straining against whatever invisible force was anchoring him to the wall, it still wasn’t something too unbearable so he was able to poke his head out once again to try and see what could be happening, he couldn’t see anything just yet. But there was a noise, it was small, barely there, he wouldn’t be able to accurately describe it if you asked him, but it reminded him a little of when a sheet of metal would wobble, but it varied between lower and higher pitches. 

The teen’s brows furrowed, confusion washing over him when the pulling sensation suddenly increased tenfold, catching him completely off guard. He was pulled through the door frame, his arms panickedly trying to catch on to it but his fingers couldn’t get a hold of it. He gritted his teeth when he felt his feet lift from the ground. Not even a second after, his breath got knocked out completely from his lungs, his side slamming against another wall harshly. 

He coughed, the pain on his shoulder and hip completely clouding his senses as he tried to breathe between his coughs but his lungs just weren’t able to retain the air he tried to take in. He quickly found himself hyperventilating, eyes widened with panic as his brain struggled to put together what was happening and his body trying to protect itself against something that wasn’t even visible. 

His mind started to shut down when the pain continued to increase, he heard a crack, he didn’t know if it came from his own body or the fracture that ran down the wall he was pressed against. He heard a scream, multiple actually. This time he was sure those voices weren’t his own. 

More cracks started to appear as the pressure got worse, groans and grunts leaving the male as he squeezed his eyes hard. He didn’t know what was happening, he just was in pain, in a lot of it, and just wanted it to stop. It didn’t feel like it would though.

After a particularly large fracture formed, the wall gave out. Pieces of rubble falling apart as the force continued to pull the boy’s body through the hole it created. The pain didn’t alleviate though, it was persistent and it only worsened when he got hit by the bits of the destroyed wall. 

Colors blurred together, colors he was sure didn’t exist inside the facility. Flashes of white and black slipping through the flurry randomly. He was only able to get a mouthful of air before all of it was wasted when he slammed against yet another wall, flat on his back. There was no slow build up of pressure, just this suffocating force, spit flew out of his mouth upon impact, the pressure was slowly suffocating him, his lungs didn’t have any room to expand, like they were being squeezed for all they were worth, he couldn’t even curl up into a ball how his body wanted.

He screamed, loud and full of pain. The temperature of the place had increased unimaginably in such a short amount of time, nothing was making any sense, he was hot, but his skin was prickly, shivers running down his spine. 

What the fuck is happening? 

From the labs? 

What were they doing here? 

What triggered it? The power being out? Is it his fault? Was this it?

What is this? Am I gonna die?

Why did she have to send me here? Why today? Why?

Holy shit. What the fuck. What’s happening? 

Am I gonna die? 

I’m gonna die.

I don’t want to.

Not yet. Not here. Never here. 

Tears started to stream down his face, heavy trails of salty water coating his cheeks as his screams turned into whimpers, he couldn’t even just give up and stop straining against the force, his muscles were locked up. He didn’t realize the wall had started denting, just heard the cracks. He couldn’t even scream, his throat felt raw, like its insides were melting off, he choked, blood sliding down his esophagus.

The weird sound didn’t even feel external anymore, it carved itself inside his brain, ringing in his ears even louder than his screams did. 

I’m gonna die. 

He thought of his parents. Would this destroy them? He felt bad thinking about it but he kind of hoped it did. At least a little. It would show they cared. But do they? He’d like to think his dad does. He hoped his mother did. She never gave him the time of day, he only hoped to have a little attention from her. 

He hoped to be someone worthy of that. 

He thought of Renji, the only adult he had ever truly grown to respect. He hoped he had only spent a little more time in his classroom, messed around a little more. Maybe to have been a little nicer to the only man that had ever been actually kind to him. 

He hoped the others would continue to give him trouble, even though he looked perpetually tired, he knew they made his teacher’s day a little more interesting. 

He hoped he’d have a good time during his newformed parenthood, and that his kid grew to be healthy and loved.

He wished for Souta to grow a backbone, or else he’d continue to get bullied for the rest of his school years. 

He wondered if Takeda would notice his absence in the arcade he had religiously went to every weekend. 

He wondered if his old basketball team would think of him. 

He wondered if the nice barista would notice his prolonged absence after they had seen each other nearly everyday. 

He had never been truly close to anyone, never had a best friend, nor someone he could rely on. He wondered if it felt as good as people made it out to be.

He wondered if he had ever made any actual impact on anyone’s life, ever made any meaningful memories, ever had something to actually live for or strive for, someone he cared about deeply, more than himself. 

He didn’t.

He felt pain. 

Cold, so cold it burned. All across his back. 

He didn’t even react. He was delirious, deep in thought. He felt weightless. Different, unlike anything he had ever felt before. 

Then, he felt nothing. Not the pulling, not pain, not his hair against his face, nor his clothes on his skin. He couldn’t see anything, smell anything, not the copper scent of the spilled blood. He didn’t even feel himself breathing, nor his heartbeat. 

I’m gonna die. 

He closed his eyes one last time. 

“kairos”

the perfect, delicate, crucial moment; the fleeting rightness of time and place that creates the opportune atmosphere for action, words, or movement.

——

additional information

• yumira, shisui's mother, went to the facility herself after he failed to return home. she urgently needed the paperwork she had sent him to retrieve. the only things recovered from the site were debris, and traces of blood buried beneath the rubble. subsequent forensic analysis identified the blood as belonging to fourteen-year-old hakano shisui.
• enji contacted the hakano's after the teen's second consecutive absence from school. shisui had almost never skipped classes before, nor had he ever failed to provide a reason when he did.
• souta snapped at shibata four days after shisui's disappearance. shibata never harassed him again after that.

Chapter Text

Click.

Snap.

Click.

Snap.

Click. 

Tchk-tchk.

Snap. 

Click.

His hair swayed with his steps, the candlelights lining the walls illuminated the floorboards. Every now and then, shadows would move at the corners of his vision, the quiet shuffling of socked feet against the wood and faint creaks would blend in with the cricketing coming from the yards. 

He moved silently, almost ghost-like. Irises planted forward, but not quite seeing anything in particular. A woman was standing in front of a shoji door, her head dropped towards her feet. He didn’t pay her any mind, but could feel her gaze linger on him once he passed. 

He kept walking, his pace slow, almost lazy, as if he had all the time in the world. Fingers mindlessly fidgeting with the lighter.

Tchk.

Snap.

Click. 

Tchk-fshh.

He stopped at a window, head turning to look out into the sky. Through the foliage of the trees, farther away, he could faintly see the city lights, bright in the dark, moonless night. 

His dull eyes lingered on the tall lit buildings, a breeze blowing through his hair. A shiver dug its way from the bottom of his spine up to his nape, goosebumps rising from the cold wind. 

Snap.

He killed the flame.

“Hm.”

He kept walking. 

——

“What the–?” 

“What?! What’s wrong?!” Emiko screeched, chest heaving with effort, her hands panically reaching out to try to take her baby from the nurse’s hands. The wails were loud, and she only wanted to hold him. Comfort him. 

The nurse ignored her. “Doctor.” At her sharp tone, the man approached her swiftly. He looked down at the newborn, eyes scanning the tiny human from top to bottom, only for his expression to tighten. 

He gently took the infant in his arms, hands carefully turning him over to inspect his back. He swallowed. “Get pediatrics down here. Now.” He whispered to the nurse, already moving to exit the room with the bundle in his arms.

Ren shot to his feet, following behind the doctor with quick steps until another nurse stepped in his way. “Wh-where are you taking him? Is he okay? Is he breathing?” His voice shook, fingers trembling as he tried to sidestep the nurse but she kept pulling him back. 

The doctor turned briefly at the door. “He’s stable,” he said, yet the fact that his eyes never left his child did little to comfort either of them, “but we need to examine him further.” He left with a brisk walk. The door shut behind him and left the room in a strange silence. 

Ren stood frozen, hands extended as the nurse held him back by his forearms, trying to coax him back to his seat, closer to his sobbing wife. 

——

Emiko sat on her hospital bed, her face pale and fingers trembling as she held them close to her mouth, her chewed on nails scraped against her lips lightly, her eyes planted on the door of her room. 

Ren continued to pace restlessly, breathing slightly uneven as his body deemed it impossible to sit still, his arms were crossed at his chest, fingers digging into the muscle of his biceps, harsh red lines blossomed on his pale skin. 

The tension was thick, neither of them dared to make a sound as the clack of his footsteps and the beeps of her heart filled the room.

Ren seemed to snap out of his anxious spiral when Emiko’s heartbeat accelerated even more. Turning to look at his wife and seeing her; exhausted, trembling, barely awake, yet still unable to sleep, scared. 

He let out a shaky breath, crossing the room with almost hesitant steps up until he was right at his lover’s side. He took a seat at the corner of her bed, and took her hand, slowly, so as to not startle her further. He took her trembling fingers with his own and intertwined them together, squeezing lightly. 

Emiko slid her gaze from the door to her husband’s face, face still contorted with distress, but more present than she was before. Ren returned her gaze, brows furrowing with concern for her. He brought their joined hands to his lips and softly pressed the back of her palm against them. 

She smiled at him gratefully, leaning towards him to rest her head on his shoulder as he shuffled closer to her to avoid her exerting too much effort in her fragile condition. 

The creak of the door hinges broke the moment, the doctor opened the door and stepped inside, holding the door open for the nurse to step in, blanket in her arms, hiding what the couple hoped to be their baby. 

Emiko sat up straighter, Ren springing up to his feet, hands still joined together as they held tightly onto each other. “Is he okay? Is our baby okay?” She almost cried out. Relaxing the tiniest bit when she took note of the lack of alarm or worry in the doctor or nurse’s faces. 

The nurse smiled, looking to exude calmness, and stepped closer to the couple. She let the infant down on Emiko’s arms gently, the woman received him eagerly, even with the heaviness of her limbs weighing her down. 

Ren crowded closer to them, looking above Emiko’s head to really look at their son. 

Oh, how precious. 

He had an almost full head of dark hair, you could see the tiniest bit of amber in his squinted eyes, his nose twitched occasionally and his hands were forming small fists. He didn’t cry, only letting out babbles as he shifted constantly in his blanket.

Both Emiko and Ren laughed wetly, tears forming in their eyes. “He moves around a lot, doesn’t he?” He brought a hand to the child’s face, finger barely caressing his cheek. The newborn almost caught it, but was still a little too uncoordinated to actually do so. 

She chuckled, shuffling carefully to liberate an arm and wiping her tears before they disturbed their child. “I don’t really know how active newborns are supposed to be.”

The doctor laughed lowly. “He might turn out to be a quite hyperactive child, if I had to say.” The babbles were steadily decreasing though, his thick eyelashes brushed against each other as his eyes dropped closed. The man cleared his throat and dragged a nearby chair closer to the bed. “Well… to start. He’s healthy.” Both parents inhaled sharply, stares digging deep into the doctor’s eyes. “Your son is breathing normally, his vitals are good. His heart is strong. His reflexes are responsive. His neurological response appears normal as well. As of now, on paper, he’s medically healthy. There’s nothing threatening his life nor physical health.”

Both of them seemed to breathe a little easier, shoulders dropping the tiniest bit.

Just a bit.

Because he still looked… uneasy. 

Ren almost didn’t want to. “But?” He asked quietly.

The doctor hesitated. “There are some abnormalities we cannot explain at the moment.” At the frazzled look on their eyes, he continued. “There are certain… marks, on your son’s body.”

They both looked down immediately, Emiko slowly and with the lightest hand, started to move the blankets that covered his body from the neck down. She was careful enough to not wake him up, but her hand trembled when she saw them. 

The marks. 

They looked like scars.

How could a newborn just– be scarred?

They were both perplexed, hands frozen in place like they didn’t know where to put them. Breath hitching, Emiko spoke. “What– what are they?”

The doctor looked down at the infant and back up at his parents. “Scar tissue.”

Ren almost scoffed. “But how? He– he was just born.”

The man struggled to put the words together. “That is what we can’t really decipher. It’s scar tissue, yes. But the tissue is fully healed. There are no signs of active injury, bleeding, tearing, or infection. Not even internally.” His brows furrowed, like he was having a hard time believing what he himself was saying. “Which should not be possible for a newborn.”

Emiko’s words came out hastily, almost panicked. “Could it have been–? Something during the pregnancy? The birth? How could he have been hurt without any indication? From myself?”

The answer came almost instantly. “No. There’s no indication of external trauma during delivery, nor signs suggesting recent injury at all. Also,” he paused to think for a few seconds, “the scarring itself appears superficial.”

Ren frowned immediately. “Superficial?”

“The scar tissue doesn’t go deeper than the layer of skin,” he explained further. “The physical appearance of the scars suggests injuries severe enough to leave deeper damage. Muscular damage, nerve trauma, internal structural injury.” He noted briefly the way that their hands tightened as he kept on listing.  ”But there is nothing of that nature. Nothing more than the marks. There are no signs those injuries ever actually physically occurred."

Silence ensued as they processed the information. Ren’s stare went unfocused as he sunk deeper into his own mind, trying to figure out what this meant for their son.

Emiko looked down at that pudgy face. His eyes were still closed, he hadn’t stirred even a little since he had fallen asleep. Even though he didn’t show any sign of it, she just had to ask. She swallowed hard. “Is he in pain?”

The man’s expression softened lightly for the first time in hours. His answer held no hesitation. “Not from what we can tell.”

Their relief manifested physically, shoulders hunching, brows going back up, palms opening, the sigh was audible. 

“We ran preliminary examinations,” he continued, a little more cautious with his words. “Despite the scarring, your son appears healthy overall.”

Ren glanced down and shook his head. “So… what does this mean?”

The doctor held his silence for a second too long. “...We don’t know yet.” Not what they wanted to hear, but he couldn’t give them any other answer. “We would like to continue observation,” he said after a pause, letting them take the information in. “Possibly involve specialists. A case like his is… unprecedented.”

Emiko tensed.

Ren’s jaw tightened slightly. “Observation?” he repeated.

The doctor seemed to notice the shift. “Only if you consent to it,” he clarified quickly. “Additional tests, long-term monitoring, research into the tissue formation itself, why it manifested, why it manifested where it did–”

“No.” 

In all her exhaustion, in all her anxious, trembling self, Emiko spoke unwaveringly. 

She locked her eyes on Ren’s, mouth tight as sternness decorated her features. Ren spent a few seconds scanning her face, ending back on her green irises, the glint in them, steady and stubborn. Ren’s expression softened, he trusted her. 

She looked back at the doctor. “Thank you, but no. We’ll come back if his condition changes.” The man blinked. 

She looked down at her son. Glossy eyed but with a smile painting her lips.

At her little Shisui. 

“I just want my son to come home.”

——

The trees swayed with the wind, sunlight breaking through the leaves and warming their skin. 

Emiko swung back and forth, Ren pushing her on the swing lightly, face soft with a smile as his wife giggled. “A little less, my love. You’re gonna wake him up.”

His smile turned sheepish. “Sorry.” He pulled the chains back a little, stopping most of the momentum. “You’re not too tired, right? Do you want me to hold him?”

She smirked knowingly, looking back at him over his shoulder. ”Y’know, if you wanna hold him, just ask.” She placed her feet on the ground, standing up and rounding the swing over to her overeager husband.

Ren smiled widely, making Emiko huffed through her nose. “I didn’t wanna just take him from you.” He took him in his arms, admiring his soft little face, the tiny features, the soft lashes. He put his finger below his chin and gently pushed it up, hiding the child’s gums. 

A pink sakura leaf floated down from above, claiming its place on the baby’s nose. It seemed to tickle him awake, as amber eyes made themselves visible beneath his eyelids. His gaze was unfocused at first before catching on the petal. His nose scrunched but it remained stubborn. 

A tiny hand came up to try and get it off, limbs a little short and clumsy. At his growing frustration, Ren plucked the leaf from his nose before he’d start crying, transferring it to his son’s grip so he could hold it and inspect it himself. 

The infant stared at it in awe, turning it left and right to catch it from all perspectives, both adults watched him in silence. Ren’s eye caught something.

His hovering hand came down to pet Shisiu’s forearm, the slightly rough texture of the scar interrupted the smooth planes of his skin. He traced it, the featherlight touch sparking the baby’s interest. He dropped the petal, both hands coming together to grab at his father’s with a bright laugh. 

Ren felt his heart squeeze, his fingers looked so small against his own. He let out a bittersweet smile. 

Emiko’s eyes ping ponged between the two, she let her palm graze her lover’s shoulder before resting it at the base of his neck. She leaned on him. “What do you want for dinner tonight, love?” Her smooth voice tickled his ears, they twitched involuntarily. She giggled and when she planted a kiss on the shell of his ear, he jerked away.

His fingers moved in that surprisingly tight little grip, the digits serving their purpose as Shisui’s chosen source of entertainment. “Don’t do that! It tickles!” She snorted, creeping closer playfully as he stepped back cautiously. “No… Emi, don’t.” She laughed heartily, the sound drawing a toothy grin on his face, even when he continued to step back, turning away a little, as if he was hiding Shisui from her.

She rolled her eyes. “Seriously? What are you doing? Protecting our baby boy from little ol’ me?” She held her hands up innocently, though Ren only squinted his eyes at her. 

“”Little ol’ you” can be very merciless at times,” he replied instantly, turning away completely from her and giving her a view of his broad back. 

Emiko snorted once more. “You’re ridiculous.” She walked around with a pep in her step, planting herself in front of the taller man. “You didn’t say what you wanted to eat,” she reminded him.

Ren hummed thoughtfully. “Hm, some tonkatsu would be nice. What do you think?”

“Yeah, I think that’s good. We might have to stop at the store though.” She began walking. “Let’s go before it starts getting dark.”

Ren stepped quickly to his wife’s side. “Would you like me to help you with dinner?”

The immediate rejection almost hurt his ego. “No. Thanks, love, but I got it.” She didn’t even want to think about the time he had burned rice almost charcoal black, or the time the meat came out seasoned as if it was triple dipped in a pool of salt, or the time that–

“Oh, come on. I’m not that bad,” he groaned out. He tried, genuinely, but for some reason everything he cooked ended up being less edible than how it had started. 

Emiko held her silence. 

“...Right?”

——

The daycare was rambunctious, toddlers running around, screams, babbles and laughter filling the space. Some kids fought over the same toy until one of the caretakers brought a replica, prying the toy out of one of the kid’s hands and replacing it with the one she had. Both infants immediately forgot about their dispute and went their separate ways to play.

A two year old with iffy coordination ran past as fast as his little legs could take him, nearly knocking the plastic table over. One year old Shisui grabbed its edges to steady it, and when he checked that no pieces were sent to the ground, he continued stacking the chunky LEGO piece on top of the other, pushing it in until it clicked into place.

The castle was nearly finished, his small fingers working fast with eagerness as he reached to grab the last piece but before he could reach it, a hand snatched it away. “Huh?” he let out confusedly.

The two year old that had nearly knocked his LEGO set to the ground stood before him, turning the piece in his hand every which way before shifting his attention. “Shi-chan, play with me!” His voice was loud and squeaky, dark hair falling just above his brows and striking violet eyes gleaming with excitement. 

The younger boy blinked at him blandly, fixed on the stolen lego. His stubby finger slowly pointed at it. “Give back. I’m playin’,” he said. “Please,” he added after a pause. 

His pout was instant. “But Shii-channn,” he whined, "I wanna play with you. And this is borin’.” He didn’t get an answer from him, eyes still glued on the toy. The hyperactive child suddenly seemed to get an idea, Shisui could almost see the lightbulb light up above his head. “Ah!”

He shoved the entire thing in his mouth. 

…Ew. 

The piece protruded inside the boy’s cheek, the words slurred as he spoke. “‘ow ya can’t pway no mo’, co’ wih ‘e.” Shisui grimaced, brows furrowing and nose scrunching a little, while the violet eyed child just continued to stare at him with a bulging cheek and an innocent smile. 

Thin hands suddenly held his cheek and coaxed his jaw open, fingers prying the lego out of his mouth and placing it back on the table. “Kirara! Don’t eat that, you could choke! You only eat food, okay? Not toys,” scolded the woman, wiping her hand on her skirt and placing her balled up fists on her hips. 

The child looked up at her and said, “Sorry, Miss Hina!” He did not look or sound sorry at all, but it was something. She sighed and glanced down at the quieter one. 

She crouched to speak to them directly. “Instead of eating the toys, you could play with them. I’m sure Shisui wouldn’t mind sharing with you. Do you, Shisui?” she spoke gently and in a higher pitch than she did when scolding the older infant.

Shisui didn’t exactly like her voice.

Just because he still sometimes stumbled over his words and skipped over others, he could perfectly understand what she said without her having to use… that, tone. It was annoying.

He huffed softly, and looked at the lego that glistened with saliva and frowned. He lifted his gaze back up and met the expectant stares of Kirara and Miss Hina. 

“I don’t wanna play legos anymore.” He reached for the box, placing it on his legs and began taking apart the castle. 

Hina blinked in surprise, she watched the growing pout on Kirara’s face and scrambled to find something to say that would prevent the crying. “Uhm… okay, maybe Kirara can help you clean up and then you guys can find something else to play together!” she offered. She watched the younger infant stop, make eye contact with the ticking time-tantrum for a few seconds, and hum. 

It wasn’t an enthusiastic yes but it wasn’t a no either. Good enough for her.

And obviously good enough for Kirara. He beamed and lunged for the slobbered lego, launching it at the plastic box, Shisui moved back a little to avoid getting hit and simply continued to take the pieces apart and place them inside. With the overeager help, they were done in no time. 

Kirara trailed behind Shisui, bouncing in his steps but got left behind for a bit when he got distracted by something. The younger boy reached the shelves and slid the box in, the wood slightly groaned. He turned away, eyes searching. Behind him, he heard another creak.

He looked back. Nothing. 

“Shi-chan! Look what I found,” called his friend, grabbing Shisui’s attention and shaking the doll in his grip. “Isn’t it awesome?!” He bounded over. He looked behind the boy and his eyebrows raised. “Uh–, Shi-chan…?”

The toddler stared blankly at him, waiting for the rest of his sentence. But a hand out of nowhere snatched him by the arm and pulled him away. He squeezed his eyes shut from the brusqueness of the action and fell on his bum from the lack of balance. He heard the sounds of the plastic boxes crashing on the ground, toys slipping out of its confines and the wood hitting the floor. 

The daycare exploded in startled screams from the children, the ones closer scrambled to get further away and others huddled together. A few moments later, it went silent. After ensuring that the place wasn’t being attacked by extraterrestrial aliens, the kids just exploded with questions and comments. 

Hina kneeled beside Shisui, scanning him over for injuries and then asked him, “Are you okay, Shisui? Does anything hurt?” He opened his eyes and looked down at himself for a moment before shaking his head. 

He heard Kirara. “Shi-chan, you okay?” But before he could get close, someone grabbed him by the shoulders. 

“You need to be more careful, Kirara-chan! Don’t lean on the shelves. What if Shisui had gotten hurt? That would’ve been really sad, wouldn’t it?” He stood there, shocked before letting out a confused sound, his little face scrunched up with disbelief.

“Wha–? I didn’t do it, Miss Yui!” he defended, throwing his arms out in order to make his argument, but she didn’t listen.

She shook her head and gave him a look. “It’s okay to make mistakes, Kirara-chan. But we just need to promise to be more careful, so our friends don’t get hurt.”

The child felt something burning in his chest, and balled up his fingers. “But, Miss Yu–”

“Kirara don’t do it, Miss,” cut Shisui. He had walked over to them, Hina close to his side. “I see Kirara. Kirara don’t do it.” He then pointed at the fallen furniture. “Weird shelf.”

Yui stared at him, he looked sure enough. So she turned to the child she held and smiled apologetically at him. “Oh, I’m really sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to upset you. I was just worried. I’ll make it up to you, yeah?”

The boy only stared at her, frown still etched on his face. It was obvious he was not happy with her. “Shi-chan’s my friend. I don’t hurt friends.” He crossed his arms, huffing through his nose. 

Yui reached a hand up to pet his hair, but Shisui quickly grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him away. “Kirara, come. We go play.” He started waddling away. “Bye.”

Kirara beamed once more, already vibrating with each step. “Yeah!”

Both caretakers sighed and looked at each other. Soon they started to clean up the mess. Hina made sure to check the shelf, though she was unable to find anything unusual. 

“Let’s still put in a request to change it. Just to be on the safe side,” Yui suggested.

Hina agreed.

——

Emiko turned on her side, fingers blindly reaching towards her bedside table for her phone. She tapped its screen, the brightness momentarily blinding her. She squinted as she scrambled to turn down the brightness to a level her poor eyes could handle. Curse her light-colored lock-screen.

She looked at the hour. 

01:18.

She would’ve laughed if she was a bit more conscious.

Her legs slid from under the covers, goosebumps rising on her skin as she left the warmth of the sheets. She stepped quietly towards the door, palm rubbing at her eye, when she bumped into the doorframe. She froze. Breath halting as she waited.

…

…

Hrrrnn…

She let out a breath of relief at the snore. She rubbed at her shoulder and disappeared down the hall.

She grabbed a glass, the stream of water sounding like static in the silence of the night. She faintly heard the wind rustling the trees and faraway barks. She closed the tap and tipped her head back, throat bobbing up and down with each swallow. 

She cleaned the glass and walked back to their room. Sliding beneath the blankets and covering herself up to her neck. She closed her eyes. 

Fifteen minutes passed. 

She turned over.

Thirty minutes passed.

Her ear twitched at the sound of an owl.

Forty five minutes passed.

She turned back over. 

Her green eyes stared at the ceiling.

She stared for twenty more minutes.

She heard the dogs bark again.

Emiko stood back up lazily, almost heavy. She walked back down the hall, headed for the living room. She stopped at Shisui’s door. 

She pushed it open, the moonlight shining on her face from the window at the opposite side of the door. She stepped in with paused steps, focus fixed on her son’s closed eyes. 

She kneeled beside the bed, taking in every single detail she could. The slight wave in his dark locks, the curve of his brows, his eyelids, that hid the most gorgeous shade of amber, one he shared with her husband, the thick lashes that made her a little jealous sometimes, the slope of his nose, the pinkiness of his cheeks, the smoothness of his skin, the straightness of his mouth even while he slept. 

His posture was horrendous. 

On his back, limbs spread out in all directions, neck turned so he faced the side, his spine twisted in such a way that only children could sleep in without waking up with back pain, even then, he snored gently. 

He shifted in his sleep, body now completely facing up, his head fell to the other side. Her eyes stuck on that movement. More specifically, in the mark that was almost completely hidden. 

It ran from the right side of his nape, up behind his ear, and disappeared under his hair. Honestly, you couldn’t see it if you weren’t paying attention.

Emiko did, though. Pay attention.

Her index and middle finger lifted, grazing the scar with her fingertips. She traced it, from the bottom until she couldn’t see it anymore. She went back down, traced back up. 

Her fingers settled, her thumb laying down on his cheekbone, she stayed.

Minutes later, she slid her arms under his shoulder blades and the back of his knees, and stood. Shisui’s head landed on her shoulder.

Emiko headed back towards the living room, she searched for the TV remote and sat on the couch, arms still full of her son.

She pulled up a streaming platform, settling for a random classic she hadn’t seen in some time. The volume was set to almost zero, not wanting to disturb the sleep of either of the males in the house. 

She watched silently, the soft lights of the screen reflecting against her face. Her fingers rubbed absentminded circles on the skin of Shisui’s forearm, feeling the texture of the raised tissue. 

She shivered, she was going to ignore it before she thought, “If I’m cold, then Shisui probably is too.” She reached for the blankets that laid on the back of the couch, hand going past Shisui’s blanket, then Ren’s and grabbing hers. She covered the two of them, tucking it underneath his chin. 

When she tried to focus back on the movie, she caught her eyes wandering around her home. They slid slowly over different sections of the house.

The shoes sitting at the door, the bags, the tucked away box filled with toys, the drying dishes, the mugs and Shisui’s cup placed next to each other, the blankets on the couch. 

The smile grazed her lips without her even knowing. She felt the sting behind her eyes as her thoughts wandered, feeling the soft breeze of her child against her shoulder.

“How silly,” she thought. 

HRRRNN…

Emiko snorted, unable to keep the sound from escaping her. God, Ren’s snoring could get really bad sometimes. 

The shaking of her laugh had apparently woken Shisui, shuffling in her embrace and groaning weakly. “...Mom?” he spoke, voice raspy with sleep. 

She buried the laugh, grin still on her lips as she looked down at him. “‘M here, sweet boy. Go back to sleep.” Her voice was soft, not louder than a whisper.

He hummed, “Hmm.” And he did. 

Emiko listened for a few moments, counting the breaths. 

Children really do fall asleep unfairly fast. 

“selcouth”

unfamiliar, rare, strange, and yet marvelous.

——

additional information

• shisui didn't initially like kirara. unfortunately for him, kirara promptly attached himself to his side. after several failed escape attempts, shisui eventually gave up and allowed himself to be kirara's adopted introvert.
• shisui was born on january 24.
• hina quickly became kirara and shisui's favorite caretaker (even though shisui still found her voice annoying). yui was not thrilled by this development.
• the shelf was replaced three days later.