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The medical office is quiet this evening.
Kuroto taps aways at his laptop, and Kiriya pretends to read the report in front of him in an effort to look busy. Poppy left with Emu and Parad a while ago, saying she would be back soon. Kiriya hopes it's true. Kuroto is easier to deal with when Poppy is there to keep him in check, but Kiriya hates it when it's just the two of them. It makes his skin crawl, the way Kuroto looks at him like he knows him better than he knows himself.
The clock on the wall ticks. The sound of typing stops. Kiriya closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, bracing himself.
"You seem upset, Kujou Kiriya. I take it that conversation with Emu in the afternoon didn't go too well?" Kuroto says, materializing in the chair next to him. Not too long ago, that would've startled him. Unfortunately, he's quickly grown used to Kuroto's antics.
"I'm upset because you're talking to me. Go back to coding or whatever the hell it is you do." Kiriya says, not bothering to look up from the report he's still not reading.
As if Kiriya hadn't spoken at all, Kuroto continues.
"You're upset because Emu dumped you. But you should've seen it coming. Or perhaps you were too blinded by love? You thought this new life was your chance to continue your relationship with Emu, that he would be waiting for you with open arms and you would live happily ever after together."
Kiriya slams his report down on the table. Kuroto, now standing directly behind him, doesn't flinch at all.
"You didn't expect him to move on, but it's only natural. You were dead for months, after all. Ah, though he did mourn you for quite some time, if that makes you feel better."
"You're talking about my death far too casually, considering you're the one who killed me." Fists clenched, Kiriya twists his neck around to glare at him. As soon as he does, he knows it's a mistake.
Kuroto grins at him, clearly amused at having gotten a reaction out of him.
"You're picking over semantics to avoid the main topic. There's no need to hold back. God is always willing to lend an ear to those in need. You can tell me about it."
"Who would ever want to confide in such an insufferable God. And even if I did, there's nothing to tell. Emu didn't dump me, because we were together for a very short time. You made sure that was over as soon as it began, didn't you?"
Kiriya knows he's said too much. He's fallen right into Kuroto's trap. The chair makes a loud scraping sound as he abruptly stands up, but when he turns around to grab at him, Kuroto has already teleported away.
From halfway across the room, Kuroto leans back while pointing at Kiriya with that insufferable grin of his. It's incredible how much his next words sting.
"Aha, is that why you hate me so much? You blame me for Emu's betrayal. Are you thinking if you had lived, Emu would've stayed loyal? That if it wasn't for me, you could've popped out that ring you keep in your desk and the two of you would be living in married bliss?"
This time, Kiriya doesn't even try to reach for him. He stands rooted to the spot, unable to react. Nobody should know about the ring. He almost asks how he found out, but he decides he doesn't want to know. It will take him nowhere. Kiriya can tell when he's being baited, and if he rises to the occasion he'll just be playing directly into Kuroto's game. No, what he should be doing is figuring out how to get out of this. If he's learned something from dealing with Kuroto, it's that you should never let him get the upper hand.
"Suppose you're right. Why bring all of this up anyway? Are you going to take the blame and repent then? I can't imagine you're going to beg for my forgiveness. So what is it, then? What do you want from me?"
Kuroto pauses for a moment, surprised at being interrupted. He recovers quickly, slowly approaching Kiriya again, his smile this time almost resembling something genuine.
"I just want you to be honest with yourself, Kujou Kiriya. I want you to admit I'm not the only one you hold a grudge against." He places a hand on his shoulder, leaning in close to his ear. Kiriya doesn't even tense.
"You resent Emu for leaving you, for daring to love someone else when you've sacrificed so much for him. You resent Parad for taking him away from you. You can't stop thinking about what he must be doing to Emu, about what Emu must be letting him do to him." As he says this, something in his expression flickers. Kiriya doesn't miss it.
Bingo.
Resentment, is it? Two can play this game.
"Whoa, aren't you getting too detailed now? Sounds like projecting to me. Aren't you the one who is upset that Emu never loved you? That's why you had to get rid of me. That's why you had to keep Parad away from him, because you knew what would happen. You knew as soon as he met Parad, you wouldn't stand a single chance."
Kuroto doesn't immediately reply, seemingly stunned that the conversation has turned to him. Kiriya presses on before he can recover.
"You're the one who resents Emu, because he's everything you'll never be. You envy his talents, and his resilience. You both shun and crave his kindness. You tried to ruin his life because you didn't want him to achieve the happiness you know you're incapable of feeling."
Kiriya takes a step forward, and Kuroto takes a step back, and they're still too close to be having a normal conversation. Kuroto opens his mouth and again Kiriya doesn't let him speak.
"And you failed. Despite everything you put him through, Emu is happier than he's ever been, and you are the one who's a miserable man trapped in a little cell."
As he finishes speaking, Kiriya steps back. For a few blissful seconds, Kuroto remains silent. Kiriya almost tastes victory, but his triumph is short-lived.
Kuroto's expressionless face morphs into one of his most grotesque grins yet. His spine bends at an unnatural angle as he leans back and cackles. He laughs for so long Kiriya worries he might be stuck like that, like a broken record.
Eventually, Kuroto straightens. The pure excitement on his face is terrifying.
"You misunderstand. God does not make mistakes. My objective was never to ruin Emu's life, it was to control it." He throws out his hands in that grand gesture of his. Kiriya has never hated him more than in this moment. "His happiness and his suffering are all due to me. I made him into the person he is today."
"You're insane."
Kiriya falls back in his chair, unable to look at him anymore. He'd always known Kuroto was a mad man, yet still sometimes his madness managed to exceed his expectations.
"You're insane," he repeats, for lack of anything else to say.
There's no point in arguing with Kuroto, Kiriya knows this better than anyone else. But he had let himself be played today, and he had no one but himself to blame.
He doesn't want to see what deranged expression Kuroto is making. He doesn't want to be in the same room as him anymore.
Abruptly, Kiriya realizes he can just leave. If that means conceding victory, so be it. Unclenching his fists, he pictures the rooftop. His body dissolves into data, and just like that, he's no longer sitting on a chair in the medical office, he's standing on the rooftop looking out at the darkening sky.
How convenient it is to be a bugster.
He half expects Kuroto to follow him, just so he can keep tormenting him. But a couple of minutes pass, and Kiriya remains alone on the rooftop.
Eventually, Kiriya takes a seat on the edge. The breeze is nice out here. It helps him relax. He hadn't realized how tense Kuroto had made him.
He stares out at the city line, mindful not to look down. When he used to work as a coroner, he rarely came here. Part of it was that he spent most of his time in the morgue, but he also used to avoid the rooftop because the height made him wary. Now he avoids coming out here because it reminds him that if he were to jump, he wouldn't die.
Kiriya leans back and lays down. It strikes him, in that moment, that this is his life now. He's trapped in a body he doesn't want, watching the love of his life be happy with someone else, stuck living with a manic who's hell bent on making his life hell, and he couldn't even kill himself if he wanted to. With a sigh, he puts on his sunglasses and he closes his eyes.
"Kiriya? Kiriya!"
Kiriya has no idea how much time has passed when he hears Poppy's voice. He wasn't asleep, exactly, bugsters don't sleep, but he thinks he might've accidentally put himself on standby, if it can be called that.
"Yo, back so soon?" He raises a hand in greeting, not wanting to get up just yet.
Poppy materializes next to him, carrying a paper bag with her.
"Kuroto said you would be here. What happened? Did you have a fight with him? Did he say something to you?" She asks, visibly concerned.
From her expression, Kiriya can tell she must've already scolded Kuroto. Poppy is so, so easy to read. She always broadcasts everything on her face, unaware that there's anything to hide. Kiriya doesn't want to see the disappointment on her face when she realizes Kuroto is not improving at all, so he decides to wave her worries away.
"Nothing happened. I just came out here to enjoy the breeze." He says, taking off his sunglasses and sitting up. "How was dinner with the star duo?"
Poppy's face immediately brightens up.
"Ah, we went to the udon place you told us about! We got lost on the way, but we managed to find it. The food was really good— Oh, also, here!" She trusts out the paper bag she had been carrying. "Emu said you would like this!"
Kiriya opens the paper bag curiously. What he sees inside makes him so happy he almost gives himself whiplash with how quickly his mood has changed.
Strawberry and cream roll cake. His favorite.
Kiriya laughs, a little giddy.
His laugh must sound a bit maniacal, because Poppy crouches beside him and starts shaking him, alarmed.
"Kiriya!? Are you okay!?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."
Kiriya keeps smiling, letting his head swing back and forth like a bobhead until Poppy lets go of him.
Maybe he was being too dramatic earlier, acting like he was trapped in some kind of personal hell. Being a bugster has a lot of benefits, after all. And Emu remembers what his favorite sweet is, and Poppy cares about him, and Hiiro and Parad aren't even as mean as they pretend to be. Plus, Kuroto is kind of funny sometimes, when he doesn't feel like playing mind games on people to entertain himself.
Yeah, his life could be way worse than it is. He'll be fine.
"Wanna go back to CR and split this?" Kiriya asks, gesturing at Poppy with the bag.
Poppy's eyes light up with the promise of cake, and she nods enthusiastically.
They teleport back together to CR.