WHOA angst ahoy. During this, I was feeling SUPREMELY angsty, and it probably shows. A lot. XD

But anyway.

Rating is... well it's not bad at all. So yes.

"Takeshi. Takeshi Takeshi Takeshi." My mouth was moving on its own, a harsh whisper in the faint, flashing light. Sirens blared in the distance, at the scene we had abandoned. They'd be looking for us soon.

But I didn't have anywhere to go, not with him this way.

I was hurt. My cheek and both hands were scraped, badly, and blood and gravel coated my clothes and skin. My jeans were ripped. My leg was burned. My hair had been torn out in places, but not badly enough that I couldn't hide it. I kept having to wipe the blood away. Scalp wounds bled. Blood crept into my eyes at times, stinging and burning.

He was worse. Huge, slashing cuts had been taken out of his chest and arms, making it look like he'd been the chew-toy for a particularly violent cat. His clothes were covered in char, and what wasn't stained by that was coated in blood. I couldn't look him in the eyes, because the skin around his eyes was black and swollen. He was keeping them closed, for good reason. I almost wanted to stop and cry, and just cling to him. But I couldn't.

I'd slung him onto my back, but he was far too heavy for me to carry. I'd made it this far on adrenalin alone, but even that couldn't keep me going for long. I wasn't a super hero. I didn't have anything else. I had my tired, beat-up self, and tired, beat-up Yamamoto.

The action was a blur now, all sped up and meshed together into a mass of carnage. At some point, there had been more of the Family there. But not The Family. Lower ranked, grunt-types. Bright, hopeful individuals, trying to do something for us.

I knew they were all dead.

I was out of ammo, and I had no idea where my glock had gone. I'd fired so many rounds that night. I'd probably dropped the gun at some point, which was bad. It must've had my fingerprints on it.

"Hayato."

I jerked, nearly dropping him. "Takeshi? No, no, don't talk, just shut up and…"

"No, I…" Yamamoto coughed, his body shuddering. Blood dribbled down his chin and onto my shoulder.

I wanted to cry.

"I can't… keep weighing you down like this…"

"Don't!" I whispered frantically, the chill of fear setting in. "Don't talk like that, we're going to be…" I stopped to wet my lips, swallowing in a mouth gone dry. "We're going to be fine."

"No. You- you know that's not true and…"

"No, no! Stop talking! You shouldn't- you shouldn't talk because if you do…"

"I… Hayato, if I die here, you have to. Have to tell them goodbye for me." His voice was so faint. I concentrated on the sound of his breathing, and I didn't like it. His breath was gurgling, and I suspected that a broken rib had punctured his lung.

"Stop. Talking." I hissed, feeling the tears of exhaustion and fear spill from my eyes. "Just- you aren't going to die like this."

"No," he said casually, almost contentedly. "I think I am. I think I'm going to die. And… and I… I can't even look at you, one more time, before I go…"

"You aren't going to die!"I shrilled, my body shaking under his weight. "It doesn't matter that you can't see me, in a few days you'll be good as new and- and- you know it won't… have mattered…"

"… Hayato."

So quiet. Almost silent. I choked back a sob, not wanting to hear what I knew he was going to say. "Don't…"

"I always… always loved you. And I- I still d-do." He coughed again, blood spurting from his chest wounds. "And I'm. I'm going to die. So… I guess that it's… time for me to say my goodby…"

"No!" I screamed, not caring that anyone could hear me. I didn't care about anything, just the fact that he was dying and I couldn't fix it. I was out of options. I had nothing left if he died. "You can't say goodbye because you aren't leaving! You can't die because I- I loved you all along and I haven't fucked you yet! Takeshi! Just- just don't die!"

"But… I'm going to. I'm… I'm sorry. I can't… at this rate, I won't survive another hour…"

"Then- then wait until then to say goodbye! If there isn't a way out by then… there will be! I won't- I won't let you die and you aren't going to die! If you do, I go with you!"

"Hayato, don't s-say that. You don't… have to do that… you can survive, and…"

"Please, Takeshi, stop talking, I'm begging you."

"No, I… I have to keep talking to you until the end. Bec-cause I want to hear your voice."

"Then- then I'll talk, but- god, god, stop talking. I don't want you to die!"

"P-promise?"

"I promise. I won't shut my damn mouth until we get help. I swear." I whispered, feeling his breath ghost across my ear. "Takeshi. I really... I wasn't lying. I love you, really. And I know that I normally wouldn't say something like that, ever, but I… I can't lie to you when you're injured and you know it. I love you. So you can't die like this because I need you. I need you around, because I love you."

I felt his arms tighten around me. My pace was slow, but at least I was moving. I had to get him to safety and get help. I wouldn't let him leave me.

I kept up my speech with whatever random chain of thought crossed my mind. I had to. I was talking about random weather patterns, and how Lambo had bothered me recently. I muttered about how Ryohei had punched me in the face, and how much he bugged me, and how much Lambo bugged me, and how much everyone bugged me. And then I was running off on a tangent, talking about how I'd sometimes wanted to drop-kick Lambo, but really I didn't hate him, he just bothered me sometimes by being his immature, little-kid self.

And I was still crying, ranting through my tears. Every so often, I would hiccup or sob, trying to compose myself.

"-And really, he's important to me so I'd… I'd be depressed if he went away, even though he bothers me. Just like- like you bother me. You bother me all the time, you're constantly aggravating me and pissing me off. I can't stand you sometimes but Takeshi I love you. So even if I act grumpy and throw things at you, just please, please remember that I love you, love you so much it hurts."

I could still hear him breathing, so I knew he was listening. I ran with that topic, naming all the things about him that bothered me and stating quite frequently that I loved those things too. And I told him, sobbing, to never, ever change, because I loved him the way he was.

"And your obnoxious laugh, I love that too. The way you grin at me with absolutely no cares, and maybe no thoughts either, you moron, I love it. I love your stupid face and your stupid hands and your stupid everything, because you're stupid and I love you."

Yamamoto coughed faintly, and I could feel him grinning. If he wasn't so hurt, I'd have belted him. But even so, I didn't think I'd hit him that hard, even if he deserved it.

"So when we get back to the base and that damn pervy Shamal fixes you up, I'm going to kiss you until you pass out. And then when you're all better we can do whatever we want, because we got so beat up being mafia men. We'll be like veterans. It'll be awesome. And- and I'll let you be completely fucking moronic for a whole day without hitting you."

I could tell he wanted to laugh. And I wanted to hear it. But it would have to wait. Because I was going to hear his wonderful, stupid laugh again.

"Takeshi? I just, um, want you to know. I was the one who stole all your box weapons last month, but it was because Lambo had been messing with your stuff and I wanted to make sure they weren't damaged, and I should've told you but I didn't, and I'm sorry. You can yell at me when we get back. Yes, I'm confessing now because you can't say anything about it, hehe."

I wasn't positive, but I thought, maybe, that I was on the right path. Maybe, I could get us home. I was so tired. My muscles were screaming in agony. Yamamoto was essentially dea- not dead weight, just weight on my back, and I was hardly standing upright. I sucked in my breath, squinting at the street sign. I could hardly see. My scalp was still bleeding, but it had slowed to an ooze and the pain was dull. All I could think about now was how much pain Yamamoto must be in. With those wounds, his entire body had to be on fire with searing pain. I was trying not to jostle him too much, but he was much taller than me, and weighed more, and he couldn't support any of his own weight.

Were we going to make it? It all depended on which street we were on. I stared at the sign. What did it say? My mind was slowing. If I wasn't where I needed to be, we were dead. Fear was blurring my vision. I shook my head, rapidly, and looked again.

Then I nearly screamed. The shock was almost enough to knock me over.

We weren't- we weren't dead. We were going to make it.

I stumbled forward, knowing where I was, knowing where I needed to go. This path; I was so used to walking it that I hardly needed to think about it. Then I nearly tripped and I started thinking about it again.

"Takeshi. Hey. Do you know where we are? Of course you don't, you blind bugger. We're right… on your street. If I walk twenty more feet… then we can get you home. And. And you'll be okay."

His breath exploded from his lungs in a sigh, and I worried briefly. Then I pushed the negative thoughts from my mind. I was so close. I could get him home, and then I could call for a medical team, and everything would be okay.

I stumbled down the street, feeling the adrenalin wearing off. I couldn't believe I'd gotten so far with him. Just a few more steps. A few more. It couldn't have been more than five more.

Four.

"Takeshi, it's- it's gonna be all right."

Three.

"I told you it would be."

Two.

"And look. I was… I was right."

One.

We were safe.

"It's all going to be… okay."

"I-I know."

YESSSSS. FINISHED. Angsty content with a happy ending. AMAZING. I'm such an angsty writer, I suck. XD

BUT I STILL LOVE REVIEWS.