A/N: After watching episode 9 of Kiznaiver this little idea popped into my head and I just had to write it. It's set after the episode of course.
Summer was reaching a close, the sun still fought in vain to shine through the clouds, but it could not shake away the chill in the air. Despite this many people were outside, teens making the most of their last few days of freedom before they were dragged back to the monotony of school and regime.
One young woman in particular however could not find the energy to drag herself out of the confines of her room, the very same place she had holed herself up in ever since the Kizna System released her from their private hospital.
Despite being released, Chidori Takashiro had not gone back to her life before she became a Kiznaiver; the pain of what happened during the storm was still too fresh for her to even think of venturing outside. Her crimson hair hung around her face limply, unwashed and unbrushed. She had not even changed since returning home; thankfully her parents were on holiday so they did not have to witness the state their daughter was in.
While the group had been successful, the voices of their hearts connecting and speaking to one another, the emotional pain it caused nearly destroyed each and every one of them. After a long deliberation Sonozaki agreed to release them from the experiment earlier, however this was little comfort to Chidori; the damage was already done and her heart throbbed painfully almost constantly. I should have known Kacchon would never like me back, I never could have competed with someone as mysterious and beautiful as Sonozaki... Sighing, Chidori dropped her head into her hands, a strangled sob echoing from her throat as she struggled to contain her emotions. "Kacchon...you...you big jerk!" She muttered, a lone tear falling from her ruby red eye.
She had yet to see Kacchon ever since the incident; being one of the first released from being a kiznaiver she had managed to avoid seeing any of the others; too ashamed and embarrassed to see anyone. That day had been hard on each and every one of them; she was not the only one to be rejected, Nico had too. Chidori had always thought her to be a sweet yet eccentric girl, but seeing her breaking down at the fact Tenga did not instantly express he felt the same about her was horrifying to watch. She truly felt for Nico, knowing full well how painful and heart wrenching it was to be rejected.
This is all Sonozaki's fault, if she'd have never dragged us into that experiment we'd all still be okay, Nico wouldn't have got her heart broken, Honoka wouldn't have made friends only to lose them again so quickly, the only people it benefited was the Kizna System and Kacchan. With a loud groan she threw herself backwards, lying down on her bed with her hands wrapped around herself. Still... I hope they were all released okay... The day the decision was made to end the experiment Chidori was given a description of the process in a simple analogy; an elastic band. It was far safer to release one person at a time from the bond, rather than quickly breaking it off like the snapping of an elastic band. As a consequence however she had no idea if everyone had even survived the separation procedure, let alone if Kacchan was even home.
You just need to forget about him, he'll only break your heart Chidori. She thought to herself as she wiped her eyes. Just get up and clean yourself up, you can't mope in here for the rest of your life, it's not like you didn't do the exact same thing to Tenga.
Pushing herself to her feet, Chidori quickly gathered some clothes before shakily making her way towards the bathroom. Until Tenga had yelled out his feelings she had been completely oblivious, always presuming that he liked more mature, curvaceous women. As she shut the door of the bathroom she sighed, wondering if he was okay. She had never meant to hurt him, that had been the last thing on her mind, though perhaps that was the problem. For the longest time she thought only of Kacchan... no... Agata, that she had not even stopped to consider other peoples feelings, or the possibility that she could ever feel for anyone like she did him.
As she removed her clothes and stepped into the warm blast of water she closed her eyes, thinking back to that fateful day. Tenga had been ripping into Agata, furious that he had hurt her so badly that they could all hear it. He never hesitated to stand up and take action when he believed something was wrong; something she dearly wished she had the strength to do.
Why didn't I try to stop it, why could I not stop everyone from hurting... I didn't even try, why did I have to be so blindsided by K-Agata. The water ran over her body, washing the sweat and grime from her as she scrubbed her hair as though doing so could rid her of her thoughts.
As she rinsed the shampoo from her hair she jumped as a loud bang sounded from her balcony. Almost instantly she leapt out of the shower, turning it off and wrapping a towel tightly around herself. Maybe a bird flew into the window again. She thought nervously as she made her way towards the disturbance.
Cautiously walking into the living room, she looked around, grabbing hold of an ornament from the shelf. Her heart pounded as she stepped towards the balcony, a tight grasp on the ornament. Taking a shaky breath, she hesitantly pulled open the door to the balcony and looked around.
To her surprise as she stepped onto the balcony the first thing that caught her eye was two muscular arms gripping onto the edge between her flat and Agata's. She gasped slightly as she realised who it was and quickly rushed over to the arms. "T-Tenga? What on earth are you doing?"
Throwing her arms over the railing, she quickly gripped hold of his arms, terrified that he would drop at any second.
"You wouldn't answer your door." He grunted as he struggled to pull himself over the railings.
"So what, you thought you'd try jumping over from K-Agata's balcony? Have you already forgotten what happened last time you tried that!" She cried out anxiously, trying her best to help pull him up. "The pain isn't split any more Tenga, if you fall you'll die!"
"Like I'm going to die in such a pathetic way Chidori!" With a loud roar he threw himself upwards, knocking into Chidori as he fell onto the balcony. The pair landed on the balcony, Chidori pressed against the floor with Tenga on top. "Anyway, it was the only way I could see you, if you don't like it then open your bloody door next time."
Looking upwards at Tenga, a blush slowly spread across her cheeks as she looked into his eyes. "Why was it so important that you saw me Tenga? Why aren't you avoiding everyone else..."
"I wanted to check that you're okay." He replied simply, looking down at her. "I got released today and I wanted to check up on you."
"Check up on me?" The blush grew across her cheeks as she looked at him. "Could you...could you get off now?"
"What?" Realising that he was extremely close to her the red haired man quickly shot to his feet, an embarrassed look on his face as he awkwardly offered his hand to her. "S-Sorry. So... how are you?"
"I've been better." Taking his offered hand, Chidori got to her feet, looking up at the tall man. "Tenga... about the other day, what you said..."
"Forget about it." He grumbled, quickly turning away from her. "You should get dressed."
"Oh!" With a loud cry she quickly stumbled away from him, rushing into her bedroom. Her face was bright red as she threw some clothes on, embarrassed beyond belief that Tenga had seen her in just a towel.
Now dressed, the young woman made her way back out towards where she had left Tenga. "Tenga please, we need to talk about the other day. I...I know how it feels to-"
"To what, be rejected?" Stretching slightly, he looked at the redhead over his glasses. "That's it then isn't it, you've gave me an answer so there's no point in talking about it."
"No...I didn't... I mean, Tenga you're a really nice guy...I just..." Biting her lip, she sighed as she stepped towards him. "It's not fair on you, you deserve to be with someone who can love you wholely and I...I know Agata is never going to love me, but it doesn't mean that I can get over him instantly, it just wouldn't be fair on you."
"I'm not asking you to love me instantly Chidori, I just want a chance." Stepping towards her, he ran his hands through his messy hair. "But if you don't even want to do that then just let me know and we don't ever have to speak of it again." Stepping forward once more, the pair were nearly touching as Tenga looked down at Chidori. "Katsuhira doesn't know what he's missing Chidori, you're funny and smart and beautiful and-"
"You really think all those things?" Speaking quietly, Chidori looked up at Tenga. "I...I can't promise anything Tenga...b-but I suppose there's no harm in trying." With a nervous look at him, Chidori stepped closer to him. "I don't want to hurt you."
"Then just give it a try Chidori." He replied, pulling his arms around her carefully.
"I suppose it's better to have tried and discovered than never tried and never known..." She muttered, before leaning upwards and gently kissing him.